Although he didn't ask too much, it was enough for Xia Yun. Their enemy was the Han army, and Zhao Yanzhi was just a pawn, a lowly man waving flags and shouting. He was in a bad mood when he hit him head-on. He hit the rider's fatal spot with a heavy blow, threw him into the grass, and called on everyone to continue on their way.
He Yanzi asked in a low voice: "What should we do with the two coachmen?"
Xia Yong said without hesitation: "Get rid of it!"
Wei Shiqi watched He Yanzi greeting the two coachmen with hidden weapons, and thought that it would be okay to spare them two lives. Their whereabouts had been leaked, so it would be okay to add two more mouths. Even if the Han army came to find them, it would be a disaster. He glanced at it and saw that Xia Qian was disapproving but didn't say anything more. Bai Pai was soft-hearted and turned around and didn't want to look further.
The group of people mounted their horses and mounted their donkeys, and immediately set off towards Qingjin Ferry. Xia Yun and Xia Qian rode together, and the two siblings were silent. They knew better than anyone else that the Tianlong Gang was in a precarious situation.
The northwest was in chaos, the rebels were huge, and the Hu people were advancing on the three towns. The Daliang Kingdom relied entirely on taxes from the south of the Yangtze River to support itself. As early as half a year ago, the respected General Zhenyuan Deng Pu, a veteran of the three dynasties of the Daliang Kingdom, sent an envoy to contact Xia Quji and offered conditions to recruit the Tianlong Gang to surrender and become a side force under the Han army.
The military system of the Daliang Kingdom consists of regular troops and side troops. The former is under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, and the court directly allocates food and salary. It is an independent entity and does not listen to the instructions of the state government. The latter is eliminated by the main army or recruited by the state government, and raises its own food and salary. Half civilians, half soldiers, responsible for construction, transportation, mail and other miscellaneous tasks, usually without fighting in battle.
At that time, Xia Quji was instructed by Taoist Luo Li from Shenjing Mountain to pursue the path to immortality and no longer interfered much with the affairs of the gang. The young gang leader Xia Yun received the envoy from General Deng. After a conversation and testing, the other party's recruitment conditions were very favorable, but they never stated their true intentions. Xia Yun was suspicious and kept using words to probe. The envoy was very capable and did not reveal the slightest hint of his words.
The negotiations between the two parties lasted for three days. From beginning to end, Xia Qian was listening. She "guessed" Deng Pu's intention.
Daliang is in danger of raising tigers, and the three towns in Hebei are both an external barrier and an internal threat. If the three towns let go of their barriers and lure the barbarians south to join forces to cause chaos, the capital will be in chaos. Deng Pu clearly saw this, but he was old and frail, and his time was running out, and he was no longer able to abolish the vassal town from its roots.
The Jiedu envoys of the three towns were arrogant and domineering. They were born in the military. They served as generals under Deng Pu and made great military exploits. They were in awe of the old general. It can be said that until Deng Pu dies, Hebei will not rebel. Once Deng Pu dies, Hebei will rebel. To deal with the rebels in the feudal town, Jiangnan's wealth was the key. In a sense, the fate of the imperial court was tied to the grand canal that ran through the north and south.
Xia used force to break the ban, and Deng Pu tried to change the existing pattern and use civilian force to make up for the corruption and lack of military strength of the imperial army. The Tianlong Gang was recruited into the Xiang soldiers and directly subordinate to the Han army. This was a bold attempt. On the one hand, it was to ensure that Jiangnan taxes were not lost. On the other hand, the military was ambitious and tried to use this Xiang soldiers to strengthen its control of the state capital. control. This is not without precedent. The Jiedushi of the three towns in Hebei combined military and political power into one body. Compared with this, Han's army was just a small fight.
In Deng Pu's mind, turning the entire Jiangnan into a vassal town like an iron barrel may be more conducive to the survival of the Liang Kingdom. In fact, even if the three towns in Hebei colluded with the Hu people to rebel, as long as the south of the Yangtze River was not lost, it was not impossible for the imperial court to suppress the rebellion.
But all this goes against Xia Qian's thoughts. She knows clearly that the confrontation between the north and the south will only lead to constant fighting and devastation. The barbarians from the north will take over the Central Plains in a few decades and establish an emerging political power with lightning speed. The hidden force broke through the natural moat of the river and swept through the fertile land of Jiangnan.
That was an unprecedented disaster!
Xia Qian is determined to take advantage of the situation and give a small push to slightly change the direction of the wheel of history. She persuaded Xia Yun to politely refuse Deng Pu's recruitment, and painted a splendid picture for him. The Tianlong Gang moved to the north, opened up a branch, and found his destiny. Unify the north and the south in China, lay a foundation for eternity, and benefit all people in the world.
Then, they stayed away from the temple, retreated into the mountains and forests, and spent the rest of their lives peacefully under the forests and springs. Recalling the rivers and lakes forever and returning to the world with gray hair, wanting to return to the world and entering the boat, this is the ending that Xia Qian longs for.
However, what Xia Yun and Xia Qian didn't expect was that Deng Pu's reaction was so violent. He moved dangerously, subverting the Tianlong Gang from within, supporting Zhao Yanzhi, the leader of the Xingchuan sub-rudder, raiding the medicine refining hall at night, and hunting down the young man. Gang leader. Once Xia Yun dies, the Tianlong Gang will become the minions of the imperial court, and history will return to its original direction. This is something Xia Qian does not want to see.
She felt deeply sad that her fate was in the hands of others.
After all, Xia Yun is a person who does great things. After calming down, she soon felt that she had made a series of fatal mistakes.
After hearing the news, they set off in a hurry, thinking that the sheep guarding the rare goods would be a good place to live. To avoid publicity, they only took Wu Tong, Xia Qian and other ten people with them. If the loyal iron guards were around, they would be able to protect themselves and avoid falling into danger. to such a situation. They were not alert to the crossbow machine used by Zhao Yan when he attacked the medicine refining hall at night, thinking that he spent a lot of money to buy it from the black market, but he did not expect that the military was also involved. There was a lot of delay along the way. After escaping from Jinkou City, you shouldn't rest in the mountain col for too long, and you shouldn't stay in Xuyang Town afterwards. You might be able to get rid of the pursuers by traveling overnight. They made the mistake of choosing to return to Tongling. In all likelihood, the commander-in-chief had already fallen. Crossing the river from Qingjin was tantamount to throwing himself into a trap. Deng Mao's elite soldiers were opening their pockets, waiting for them to rush in...
Cold sweat dripped down Xia Yong's back. He pulled the reins suddenly, the horse neighed, he stood up, and stopped at the fork in the road.
To the west it leads to Qingjin Ferry, to the east there are barren hills, sparsely populated and lifeless.
Wu Tongchi approached him and asked, "Young leader, what's wrong?"
Xia Yong said categorically: "You can't go to Qingjin!"
"Not going to Qingjin?" Wu Tong was stunned for a moment and frowned slightly. What on earth was the young gang leader thinking?
"If we don't go to Qingjin, we can't cross the river. The Han army is waiting for us in Jiangbei! Master Wu, the situation is serious. The pursuers behind us are just a partial division. Jiangbei is the main force of Deng Mao's Chinese army."
Wu Tong hesitated and said: "The Han army is stationed in the Jiangdu camp and has always had a good relationship with us. Several rudders are under his nose. There has never been any trouble in these years..." He did not know that Deng Pu sent an envoy to recruit the An Tianlong Gang. , unaware of the joints involved.
"It's hard to explain clearly in a few words. Captain Wu, we can't cross the river. The only chance of survival is on the east side." Xia Yun made up her mind, and without any further explanation, she turned her horse's head eastward and galloped away first.
Wu Tong shook his head and murmured to himself: "The only chance of survival... is it so serious?" His voice was so soft that Yi Lianhe, who was so close, didn't hear it clearly.
Only Xia Yun, the group of people, followed the lead and turned around to follow closely, with doubts in their hearts. Wei Shiqi tightened the reins and slowed down his horse slightly. Bai Qi sat in front of him and asked worriedly: "What are you worried about, young leader?"
"Jiangbei is the territory of Han's army. He is worried about running into Deng Mao's Chinese army. It is always better to be careful. Zhao Yanzhi dares to take action, and there are people behind him. That Deng Mao's origin is not simple!" Deng Mao's origin is naturally not simple. , he is the son of Deng Quji, the coach of the Han army, and Deng Quji is the confidant of Huai Wang Liang Zhizhong.
King Huai really couldn't hold himself back and was planning to take action?
As the group of people got further and further away from Qingjin Ferry, Bai Qi sighed. An ominous premonition arose in her heart. She would never return to Tongling again in this life, and she would never see the old gang leader and Hall Master Du again.
