Guo Ziyi said: "So after Feihuxing, we will be separated."
Xie Yanchang said: "Yes, when young master goes to Songmo, he will naturally go north. The three of us will return to the Central Plains and go south to Taiyuan, the northern capital. Did Guo Jun's envoy return to Shuofang but not enter Yanmen Pass?"
Guo Ziyi said: "The roads in Hedong are difficult to navigate. I intend to lead the army out of Yunzhou and return to Shuofang from Sanshou surrender city."
Xie Yanchang said: "The wilderness outside the fortress is not conducive to the people's travel, but it is convenient for the cavalry to gallop."
Xiao Dayou said: "Oh, it seems that we have the hardest time. We have to walk two thousand miles of mountain road to get back to Tuji Road."
Xie Yanchang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiao Lang. We only need to walk six hundred miles on the mountain road. When we reach Taiyuan Mansion, I guarantee you a comfortable return to Heshuo."
Xiao Dayou wondered: "What's the best way to get comfortable? Hire a car? That thing is too slow, I can't stand it."
Xie Yanchang said: "It's more comfortable than riding in a car. How come Xiao Lang has forgotten what our Caogang does?"
Xiao Dayou became more and more surprised and asked: "By boat? Can we sail deep in Taihang River in the east of the river?"
Xie Yanchang said: "There is a Fen River in Taiyuan that leads directly to the river. In summer, the water rises. We can launch our boats along the current. We can enter the river in two days and reach Shaanzhou in three days."
Xiao Dayou said: "Mr. Xie, how come you, a Guanzhong native, are so familiar with Hedong Road?"
Xie Yanchang smiled and said: "There has been water transport in the east of the river since ancient times. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Mu of Qin used Fenshui to transport grain to save the Jin Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, wide rivers were dug to dredge water transport. During the Kaiyuan period of this dynasty, in order to alleviate the food shortage in Chang'an, Xijing Because of the difficulties, Pei Yaoqing, Minister of Water Transport, transported the grain from Taiyuan Yangchangcang to the west via the Fen River to Guanzhong, which was called northward transport. Since then, this waterway water transport has been controlled by our Western Gang Guanzhong boatmen, only because of the Fen River The water transport to Chang'an took the old route of the Wei River, while the canal water transport used the Guangtong Canal south of the Wei River, so he didn't know."
Xiao Dayou said: "Well, you Xie Yanchang, you control a water transport by yourself, but you still rob us of the benefits of water transport in the Grand Canal!"
Xie Yanchang cupped his hands and said, "Xiao Lang, please forgive me. We weren't a family at that time. Now that we are a gang, Lao Xie naturally has nothing to hide. Now I will take my two brothers for a ride on the Fen River." Boat."
After all, the Fen River is not as wide as the river or Tongji Canal. Pei Yaoqing decided on the transportation method of "ants moving mountains" by light boats and fast boats. Hundreds of light boats were connected in a line on the Fen River, which was called "floating warehouse", which was quite spectacular. Fenshui light boats are much smaller than the canal boats, so they can travel very fast. A boat traveling along the current can travel four to five hundred miles in a day.
Xiao Dayou laughed and said, "Xie Lao, I'm joking with you, but don't take it seriously. If you have a boat ride, you won't have to walk thousands of miles of mountain roads. It's too late for me, Lao Xiao, to be happy."
Jiang Shuo followed the previous practice of the Jianghu Alliance and said to the three of them: "I am going to Songmo and I don't know when I will return. I would like to ask Mr. Xie to be the acting leader of the alliance, Lu Lang to be the military advisor, Xiao Lang and Hun Erlang to be the law enforcers. Take charge of the Cao Gang. Matter by matter."
Xie Yanchang laughed loudly and said: "I know that I am not as talented as Lu Lang, so why should I be the acting alliance leader? Just let Lu Lang be the acting alliance leader and rule the entire gang. I have no objections."
Lu Yuxuan hurriedly said: "I think this arrangement is very good, Young Master. Mr. Xie is highly respected and able to convince the public. I think he still has some wits. Xiao and Hun have the most people under his command. They are responsible for enforcing the law and obeying orders without hesitation." . The young master has worked hard and arranged everything, please don’t refuse, Mr. Xie.”
Xiao Dayou also said that the young master's arrangement was appropriate, and asked Mr. Xie not to refuse anymore. Xie Yanchang had no choice but to accept the order with a smile. The three of them all said in their hearts, despite Jiang Shuo's young age, he was very considerate, and they couldn't help but feel sorry for this young man. The alliance leader secretly raised his thumb.
Jiang Shuo took out the eight-foot mirror and said: "I don't have any other tokens around me, so I'll just take the treasure of the leader of the Jianghu alliance as my faith." Then he asked Sima, who was accompanying the army, for pen and ink, and Lu Yuxuan wrote four copies according to the gang tasks. Jiang Shuo extended the mirror pattern and drew the monogram before handing it over to the three of them. Hun Weiming was not there, so he asked Xiao Dayou to convey it.
After the assignments were completed and the sky became brighter, Guo Ziyi said: "After all, we can't stay in the narrow valley for a long time. Looking back, I said we should rush on our way as soon as possible and rest when we reach Anbian City."
Everyone agreed, so Guo Ziyi ordered Shuofang's army to set out. After another day and night, they arrived at Anbian City at the north entrance of Feihuxing. In the first year of Tianbao, the saint changed the prefectures in the world to counties, and Yuzhou on the east side of the river was changed to Anbian County, and since then Lingqiu moved the state to Anbian City, and now Anbian
The city is the administrative seat of Yuzhou. Anbian City is the fortress of the border county. It is not very big but has all the necessary facilities. The towns of Hedong and Shuofang are both led by Wang Zhongsi. The general who guards the city also recognized Guo Ziyi, and immediately held a banquet and entertained everyone warmly. Everyone was full of wine and food. After resting for a night, we had to go our separate ways the next day.
On this day, ten miles west of the city, there is Zheliu Pavilion. The road is divided into three roads here. Guo Ziyi will lead his army westward into Yunzhong County, Caobang and his three men will go south to Yanmen Pass, while Jiang Shuo and Dugu Yesun will go north. Everyone walked into the pavilion. Guo Ziyi ordered the marching commander to arrange a banquet. Everyone drank three more glasses. Guo Ziyi said to Jiang Shuo: "Looking back, you and I hit it off right away. You saved me many times. If it weren't for military affairs, I would really like to I am so close to you, but I have the responsibility of commanding the army and cannot hang around too much. When you are done here, you must come to Shuofang to stay with him for a year and a half. Wouldn't it be nice for us to lecture on scriptures and practice martial arts together?"
Jiang Shuo hurriedly crossed his hands and said: "Guo Jun is too humble. You led Shuo Fang's army to save me, and I haven't thanked you yet. Don't mention this life-saving words again."
Guo Ziyi said: "In retrospect, we are all called brothers. I hit it off with you, and from now on I will call you Brother Jiang. You can call me Brother Guo, okay?"
In fact, Guo Ziyi is four years older than Li Bai, and almost forty years older than Jiang Shuo. However, Jiang Shuo mostly interacts with people who are much older than him. He and the older Xie Yanchang are also called brothers, and they are not based on their age. In order to express this, he crossed his hands and said: "Brother Guo doesn't think that his younger brother is humble, so why should I not be willing to hand him over? After I go north to Songmo, I have to go south to Beihai to visit Li Yong, and then I will come to Shuofang to visit Brother Guo."
Guo Ziyi laughed loudly and said, "Okay, that's what my brothers have agreed upon." He added, "Brothers going north to Songmo Prefecture need to pass through the garrison of the Hengye Army. The Hengye Army is a hundred and forty miles northeast of Anbian County. It's nine hundred miles away. I'm familiar with the Hengye Army Envoy. I'll write a letter to you. I can take care of you during the nine hundred miles. If you go further north, it's all up to you."
After saying that, he wrote a letter and handed it to Jiang Shuo. Jiang Shuo thanked him and put away the letter. Guo Ziyi ordered two tall horses to be brought in. Pointing to one of the peach blossom horses, she said to Dugu Xiang: "Sister Xiang'er, this is It's a long way to Songmo. I saw that you didn't have a good horse, so I gave this horse to you. This horse is named "Peach Blossom Chibo". "Chibo" is a famous horse in Dawan, although it is not as good as Brother Jiang's dragon horse. But they also have extraordinary foot power, and they are also among the thousand-mile horses. "
Dugu Xiang looked at this horse. Its coat was snow-white, but with some pink spots smeared in it. It really looked like the peach blossoms that had just bloomed after the spring snow. It looked very beautiful, not like Jiangshuo's licorice jade top yellow, which was so unattractive. She She didn't know horses, but she was naturally beautiful. This peach horse really suited her liking, so she smiled and thanked Guo Ziyi: "Thank you, Brother Guo. I would say this peach horse is better than Brother Shuo's old horse."
Guo Ziyi pointed to another green horse and said it was "Bi Luo Chi Pluck" and gave it to Dugu Wen to use as a leg strength. Dugu Wen didn't refuse and just accepted it with a smile.
Jiang Shuo drank three more drinks with the three Caobang men. The three leaders asked Jiang Shuo to remember the Caobang incision. After entering the customs, no matter whether he arrived in Fanyang or Taiyuan, he must immediately inform the Caobang branch, and someone would ask them. The messenger came to meet him, Jiang Shuo accepted, and then he parted with everyone in tears.
Jiang Shuo and Dugu Yesun were traveling northward, and they encountered the Hengye Army's cavalry. They showed Guo Ziyi's calligraphy, and the Hengye Army treated him with great respect. It turned out that when Wang Zhongsi went to conquer Khitan in the north, the Hengye Army and Shuofang Army were side by side. During the battle, the Hengye military envoy had a good relationship with Guo Ziyi, so he took great care of Jiang Shuo. Not only did he provide food and clothing, but he also sent a Biao cavalry to escort them all the way through the Raole Dudu Mansion controlled by the Xi people. They traveled for seven days. , and went straight to a thousand miles away before turning back.
The three men from Jiang Shuo followed the guidance of the Hengye Army and walked eastward for three more days. They saw an ocher-red mountain peak, which they knew was the Khitan holy mountain "Chishan". After passing here, they turned back and headed north. Within a day, they saw the mountains. There is a green patch of green in the middle, and there are only pine trees as far as the eye can see. This is where the thousand-mile pine forest - "Pine Desert" is located.
It was already turning from spring to summer. Although Songmo Desert was located in the north, it was still very hot under the scorching summer sun. However, the temperature dropped very quickly at night. Fortunately, the Hengye Army gave them fox fur robes as a gift, so they did not get cold. The three of them went there during the day. Rest under the shade of pine trees and travel in the cool night. That night, the moon was as big as a disk and the three of them were walking under the moon. The waves of pines relieved the heat of the day. They felt very comfortable while riding on the horse. Xiang'er couldn't help but sing softly.
Jiang Shuo suddenly interrupted her and said, "Listen, there is the sound of someone fighting."
Xiang'er said: "Where is it? Why didn't I hear it?"
Dugu Wen asked Zhu Ma to listen attentively for a moment, then he pointed with a riding whip and said, "Shuo'er has a good hearing. The sound of fighting comes from behind the hill on the left."
Xiang'er looked along Dugu Wen's riding whip. The top of the mountain was very far away, at least two or three miles away. He couldn't help but stick out his tongue and said: "Brother Shuo, you have become the ear of the wind. I can't hear the sound from so far away." .”
Jiang Shuo said, "Let's go over and take a look."
The three of them did not want to frighten the enemy, so they tied three horses in the forest and used Qinggong to walk through the forest. Jiang Shuo had only half-learned the Star Step from Dugu Xiang more than two years ago. Dugu Wen had already seen that what he had learned was incomplete. In the past half month, Jiang Shuo had carefully explained to him the wonders of the Star Step, especially the Xingyuan Step he created later. Under Zhao Rui's guidance in the past two years, Jiang Shuo had already gained a solid foundation. When asked about something, he immediately understood everything, and his kung fu of crossing the stars improved again. After running for a mile, he left Xiang'er behind, and he could almost keep pace with Dugu Wen, the old man chasing clouds.
Dugu Wen was interested in weighing what Jiang Shuo had learned. He didn't care about Xiang'er at the moment. He raised his energy and moved quickly, picking up mountain streams and walking on rocky places. However, no matter how weird and unpredictable his movement techniques were, Jiang Shuo could still keep up. After all, Jiang Shuo's internal strength has far exceeded that of Dugu Wen. Once he mastered the method of leaping, his body lightening skills will improve rapidly, which is no longer the same as ten days ago.
Two or three miles of mountain road passed by suddenly. As soon as the two of them climbed over the top of the mountain, they heard shouting and fighting sounds coming from the pine forest ahead. Dugu Wen pointed upward, and Jiang Shuo immediately understood. The two of them jumped up the tree and walked on the treetops. , using the sound of the pines to hide their traces, they approached quietly, only to see a group of Yiluohe warriors in black armor and black clothing surrounded a few Khitan warriors in a clearing in the forest and were fighting fiercely.
Yiluohe had more people and better equipment. Several Khitans were crowded together back to back, and everyone was covered in glory. It was already a trapped beast fighting, and it looked like they would not be able to hold on.
