Changsheng gave Batulu three fires in total, each of which weighed half a catty. Batulu had a big mouth and swallowed one in two mouthfuls. Worried that he would choke, Changsheng handed over the water bag.
Batulu waved his hand, looked around again, and saw that Li Zhongyong and others did not look at him, then he said to Changsheng, "Bring me a few more."
The previous two-horse shaft required climbing into the car hood. The four-horse car pulled by the shaft was larger than the car hood and could be entered by bending down. Changsheng bent down and walked into the car, grabbed a handful of fire and got out.
After secretly giving Huoshuo to Batulu, Changsheng asked in a low voice, "Elder brother, can we reach Yongzhou within five days?"
The horse's hooves were rushing and the wind was harsh. Batulu didn't hear clearly, "What did you say?"
Worried that Taoist priest Lin in the car would hear him, Chang Sheng did not speak loudly, but leaned into Batulu's ear and asked in a low voice.
"That's disgusting." Batulu shook his head.
Chang Sheng felt a chill in his heart when he heard this, and asked eagerly, "Wouldn't it be possible if everything goes well on the road?"
Batulu shook his head, "No, just do the math. Yongzhou is more than three thousand miles away from Yuzhou. Running five hundred miles in one day is as high as the sky. The fastest it takes is six days."
"Don't they all say it's eight hundred miles away..."
Before Chang Sheng could finish speaking, Batulu interrupted him, "You know nothing, you have to change horses several times during the eight hundred mile express. Traveling a thousand miles in a day is nonsense. Even the best horse can't do it in one day." You can only run four to five hundred miles, and if you run any further, you will die."
"Is the horse's endurance that bad?" Changsheng frowned.
"You just know that horses are different from cows. Horses have poor endurance." Batulu shook his head.
Li Zhongyong, who was riding on the right side, heard the conversation between the two and said, "Don't worry too much, Fifth Brother. There is a post station every fifty miles on the official road. It's just a matter of changing horses a few times."
Chen Liqiu, who was on the left side of the carriage, shook his head and said, "Second brother, do you think that every post station is a state city post station? Some county town post stations don't even have a decent horse. We have to use seven horses for one transfer. Only the state city post station Only the inns in cities or county towns have so many horses."
"Then just choose the prefecture city and the county city to transfer." Li Zhongyong said.
While everyone was talking, Tian Zhengong suddenly raised his fingers to the sky, "Look."
Everyone looked up following what Tian Zhengong pointed and saw a few homing pigeons flying over everyone's heads from south to north.
Carrier pigeons were not common at this time. Except for the government, it was against the law for ordinary people to keep carrier pigeons. In addition, these carrier pigeons were flying together. The first thing everyone thought was that the Yuzhou government was delivering news to the front.
However, these pigeons were more than thirty feet above the ground, and no one could intercept them even if they wanted to.
They must have seen the same kind flying in the sky, because the homing pigeons captured by Chang Sheng began to coo from the pigeon cage.
There were three homing pigeons in the sky, and two of them flew straight over. The one flying behind thought it heard the call of its kind, slowed down, and swooped down to take a look.
Seeing the opportunity, Tian Zhenyong raised her hand and fired the hidden weapon. What she fired was not a flying knife, but a strange cross-shaped hidden weapon.
The carrier pigeon was shot by a hidden weapon and fell powerlessly. Tian Zhenyong accelerated his horse and caught the carrier pigeon before it hit the ground.
"It's a carrier pigeon." Tian Zhengong took off the bamboo tube from the carrier pigeon's leg, threw it away, and spread it out for reading. "It's not from the officials, it's the beggars who are passing on the message."
When everyone heard the words, they were both happy and sad. Li Zhongyong asked in a deep voice, "What did you write?"
"They know the master's name," Tian Zhengong said, "They said that six of us killed their helmsman, Jin Datong, and drove northward disguised as officers and soldiers."
"Where to send it?" Li Zhongyong asked.
Tian Zhengong shook his head, "I don't know."
"These beggars are really haunting," Chen Liqiu's nose trembled, "They are so numerous that they cannot be underestimated."
Batulu filled his stomach and became proud, "There are many people of no use. If you dare to stop us, we will still kill you."
Although everyone was not as optimistic as him, they did not pour cold water on him. Morale was very important. The more pessimistic the situation was, the less depressing words should be said, even if they were telling the truth. People who said depressing words all day long were like night owls. Annoying.
Everyone has been following Lin Daozhang in the rivers and lakes all year round, and they are familiar with the paths and directions of various states and counties. Even the official road has forks from time to time. Every time he encounters a fork in the road, Batulu will choose one of them without hesitation, and the path he chooses is undoubtedly The shortest way to Yongzhou.
After a hundred miles, the horses began to sweat profusely. Due to the low temperature in early spring, sweat appeared on each horse's body.
"Elder brother, is the horse okay?" Changsheng Youxin was nervous.
"It's okay. It's normal for a horse to sweat. The more it sweats, the better it can run. When it stops sweating, it has to rest." Batulu said.
Everyone is wearing military uniforms and driving official carriages. There are many conveniences wherever they go. Some interrogation passes located at the junction of counties and counties see people from a distance, and they will grab the wood before they arrive. Move obstacles and blocking horses out of the way so they can pass quickly.
Everyone is well aware of the situation at this time. Previously, they could only be chased and intercepted by people in the Jianghu. This time, they may also be intercepted by the officials. The only thing everyone can do now is to work hard and get there before the opponent reacts. destination.
Although Batulu was confused, he was not stupid. He knew that there was no need to delay, so he whipped his whip frequently and urged his horse.
When heading north, Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu had been talking forward. Since the Beggar Clan had already released the carrier pigeons, and they didn't know where the Beggars' carrier pigeons were flying to, sooner or later they would encounter obstacles on their way north. It would be to their own advantage. In order to keep the secrets to themselves, the Beggar Gang is unlikely to reveal the information to other Jianghu gangs. What is disadvantageous to our side is that the Beggar Clan has a large number of people, and it can send a large number of gang members to wait and see their movements at any time.
The two people's worries were not unnecessary. In the evening, when they passed through Chaoge County in northern Yuzhou, there were indeed a large number of Beggar Clan disciples squatting inside and outside the city gate. Seeing their group of people speeding past, they all looked up.
Everyone knows the legend of King Zhou and Daji. Changsheng also knew that the capital of the Shang Dynasty was Chaoge, but he didn’t know where Chaoge was. This time he finally knew that Chaoge was in the north of Yuzhou, but it was already far away from the Shang Dynasty. Nearly two thousand years have passed, and there are no Shang and Zhou monuments left in the city.
After leaving Chaoge, Chen Liqiu said, "They just waited and watched but did not intercept. They must have not received the letter from Fei Ge yet."
"That's right," Li Zhongyong nodded and said, "This is a county town. Since the carrier pigeons are not flying here, they are most likely flying to Yunzhou. Yunzhou is the only state city leading to Yongzhou. Beggar Gang If you want to stop us, you will probably choose there.”
"Second brother, is there an inn ahead?" Batulu raised his eyes and looked into the distance.
Li Zhongyong looked up and said, "I guess so. What's wrong?"
"The horses are starting to foam. They need to rest or change horses," Batulu said.
"Let's go to the inn." Li Zhongyong rode ahead.
Chen Liqiu also followed after him on horseback. The two of them were good-looking, smart and agile, most like officers and soldiers. They went over first to take the front position.
When the carriage arrived at the post station, Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu were talking to the postmaster. The postmaster looked helpless and said that even for urgent military affairs, there were no horses to send. There was a war in the north, and the troops and horses had been replaced by the couriers who passed by before. At this time, there were only a few old, weak, sick and disabled horses left in the stable.
Seeing this situation, Batulu had no choice but to do the next best thing and said, "Okay, okay, don't be nagging, hurry up and get water for the horse, and put more salt in it."
Upon hearing this, the postmaster hurriedly called for people to bring water for the horses, while Li Zhongyong called for everyone to enter the posthouse to relieve themselves.
Chen Liqiu was very smart. After a brief conversation with Yi Cheng, he figured out the situation ahead. Hedong Jiedushi Li Keyong was leading his troops to attack Yunzhou at this time.
While Chen Liqiu was talking with the postmaster, Taoist priest Lin who came out of the carriage attracted the attention of other postmen. They couldn't understand why the official's carriage and horses were carrying people from the Taoist sect.
"It was this Taoist priest who first discovered the Beggar Clan's rebellion and informed it to my lord," Chen Liqiu said loudly. "He is the only one who knows the inside story."
"The beggars rebelled?" Yi Cheng looked shocked.
"Yes, their gang leader has surrendered to Li Keyong and is gathering people from various places to raise troops to respond." Chen Liqiu looked very serious.
"No wonder," a postman who was carrying water raised his hand and pointed south, "earlier I went into the city to buy fodder, and the beggars who were originally scattered all over the city gathered inside and outside the city gate."
"No," Yi Cheng said in panic, "I will go to the city immediately and inform the prefect to send troops to encircle and suppress them."
"Don't try to alert others, are there any homing pigeons?" Chen Liqiu asked.
"Yes, five are flying to Yunzhou and five are flying to Yuzhou." Yi Cheng said.
"Let them all fly, and give them an early warning," Chen Liqiu said, and handed the pigeon cage hanging on the shaft of the carriage to Yi Cheng, "Keep them healthy, we will take them away when we return."
"Okay, okay." Yi Cheng took the pigeon cage and nodded repeatedly.
"Let's go, I'll go with you to draw the pledge." Chen Liqiu turned around and went ahead.
The postman handed the pigeon cage to the postman who was carrying water and walked quickly to follow Chen Liqiu.
Changsheng didn't understand what Hua'an meant, and since there were outsiders present, he couldn't ask questions, so he and Batulu drank the horses separately. Batulu himself was thirsty, and he didn't care that the barrel was used to drink the horses, so he picked him up. It's just like a whale swallowing a cow and drinking.
After the postman left, Li Zhongyong and Tian Zhengong also walked out of the post station with Taoist priest Lin. Taoist Lin's face was very ugly, and he even needed Li Zhongyong to push and help him when boarding the train.
After sending Taoist Lin to the car, Li Zhongyong asked Changsheng, "Where is the third child?"
"I went with Yi Cheng Hua'an," Changsheng took the opportunity to ask, "Second Senior Brother, what does Hua'an do?"
"The writing on the booklet proves that the post station has received us. The booklet is the proof for the post station to claim expenses at the end of the year." Li Zhongyong said casually.
"Oh," Changsheng nodded and asked again, "Second senior brother, isn't Jiedushi a high-ranking official in the imperial court? How could he rebel?"
"Only high-ranking officials with military power can rebel, but it is even more difficult for ordinary people to rebel." Li Zhongyong said casually.
While the two were talking, a group of homing pigeons took off from the inn and flew north and south under the night sky.
Batulu, who was drinking his horse, saw Li Zhongyong smiling, and became confused, "Second brother, why are you smiling?"
"Three people become a tiger." Li Zhongyong said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Batulu was confused.
"We are in troubled times right now. When dealing with rebels, the government has always been willing to waste money rather than indulge in them. This time the Beggar Clan is in bad luck..."
