The disciples of the Qixia Sect carried the "Bronze Dragon" Jiang Boqu down the mountain with their heads down. They were intercepted by Li Mu's light cavalry. After some interrogation, they found it unbelievable. Fortunately, Li Mu has some knowledge and knows that there are all kinds of supernatural beings in this world, and there are many strange ones. He said that a horse is swollen when he sees a camel, but everything that happened in Qixia Mountain still makes him feel incredible. Xia Yun and others escaped smoothly, and Yang Hu actually possessed Taoism. , it was obviously an easy job, but things happened one after another, but how could he survive?
Li Mu knew that his foundation was unstable and he urgently needed to make meritorious deeds. He gritted his teeth and thought for a moment, then summoned a few native disciples of the Qixia sect, asked them carefully, and ordered them to be guides, leading the light cavalry southward for an extra hundred and eighty miles. Pass through Qixia Mountain through a winding and hidden canyon, and then go north to catch up with Xia Yun and his party. It would take two whole days to go back and forth. Li Mu kept his mind on obeying fate and set off without any doubt.
Everyone looked at each other and cursed in their stomachs, but they had no choice but to ride up and follow. Deng Mao was very strict in his military management. If he abandoned his commander and returned to the Jiangdu camp without authorization, he would be given thirty military sticks first and then dealt with according to military law. No matter how many heads he had, it would not be enough to chop him off.
As Li Mu said, the vegetation in Qixia Mountain is lush and there is no shortage of food for both men and horses. It is just a lot of extra effort. Li Mu set an example by personally feeding the horses and hunting wild beasts to satisfy his hunger. The riders under his command had nothing to say. All of them had gloomy faces and a suffocating breath in their chests, with nowhere to vent. Li Mu saw this and was secretly worried.
Traveling through Qixia Mountain was an unexpected nightmare. The canyon was dark and humid, infested with snakes and insects. The narrowest section only allowed two riders to ride side by side. Rocks fell from time to time rolling down the cliff. The people and horses were exhausted. It took a day and a night to get out. canyon. Li Mu assessed the situation, ordered the riders to rest on the spot, ordered a few strong soldiers, and took a step north to explore the road.
After a few hours, they hurried back and said that there was a big village at the foot of the mountain ahead. The village chief had seen a lot of the world and knew that soldiers were not easy to talk to. He begged them not to enter the village. He sent people to bring fodder for food. Change to peace. Li Mu had no intention of disturbing the people, so he led a group of riders forward slowly. He saw smoke from cooking stoves in the distance and villagers coming and going. He ordered everyone to find a safe place to dismount and rest, and went to negotiate with the village chief himself, asking for a few more buckets of heat. Water burns feet.
After eating and drinking, and having their feet burned, the resentment in everyone's hearts was extinguished a little. Li Mu called in the barefoot doctor in the village to bandage and treat the injured rider. At least he had peace of mind, and finally stabilized the morale of the army and did not cause any danger. disaster.
Everyone lay down here and there, sleeping soundly on their saddles, snoring one after another. However, Li Mu couldn't sleep, and compared the map to think carefully about where Xia Yun and others would go after leaving Qixia Mountain. His fingers moved up and down along the canal. Deng Mao's army was stationed in Tongling, and the Jiangdu camp blocked the way north. Is it possible that they would give up the helm and go south to the wild land? He thought over and over again, always feeling that something was wrong and that he seemed to have missed something key.
According to what Zhao Yanzhi said, Xia Yong was very ambitious. He was unwilling to have the Tianlong Gang's power limited to the south of the Yangtze River. Going north to Yangzhou was a well-thought-out move for him, but for some reason, the old gang leader Xia Quji never let go. This time Xia Yun learned that Yang Hu had been rescued by the medicine refining hall, and hurried to Jinkou to take over the helm, apparently thinking that he was a rare commodity. The Yang family in Heshuo suffered a tragedy, and only Yang Hu survived. The Yang family could reach the sky with its hands, and its business was spread all over the world. In the three towns of Hebei, even if they only grabbed a few sips of soup, it would be enough for the Tianlong Gang to make a lot of money. If you can't stay in Jiangnan, will Xia Yun go to the three towns in Hebei instead?
The more Li Mu thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. Compared with going south to Guilin and Xiangjun, the three towns in Hebei were obviously more conducive to the Tianlong Gang's revival and re-emergence. However, the Jiangdu Camp held the water and land route to the north, so Xia Yun would take that road again. Woolen cloth? He stared at the map and fell into deep thought, his eyes dry and dull. Unknowingly, he tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.
He slept so darkly that no one woke him up. Li Mu was woken up by the hunger in his belly. His intestines and stomach were twisted into a ball, his eyes were filled with stars, and his limbs were weak. He wolfed down four dead-faced steamed buns, gulping, gulping, gulping. After drinking a lot of water, I regained my composure. But not far away, I heard two riders chatting together. One of them mentioned that the fish and crabs on the mudflats on the seaside were gifts to poor people. As long as they worked harder, they would not starve.
Li Mu's eyes fell on the map, and an idea flashed in his mind. He realized that he had ignored the sea route, and he regretted it. He was so anxious that he summoned a few of his cronies, rode his horse one step ahead, and hurried north along the eastern foot of Qixia Mountain. Walking under the stars and the moon all the way, asking for news. On this day, I chased to the canal and walked around and asked about a fisherman's house. The boss of the boat took over a big deal and took a number of people from the rivers and lakes to the river. The fisherman who looked after the house heard something and it seemed to be "Chongming Sand". Three words.
Li Mu confirmed that Xia Yong would hire a boat to go to sea and take the sea route to bypass Yangzhou and rush to the three towns in Hebei Province. However, he was not at all proud. He had been delayed in Qixia Mountain for too long and would most likely not be able to catch up. However, giving up now would be betraying General Deng's guidance. He worked without sleep and spared no effort to rush back to the Jiangdu camp, asking to see General Deng to tell him all the details of his pursuit of Xia Yun.
After Deng Quji listened, he gave him half a tiger talisman and ordered him to go to Ding'an Port, where the Huaiyang Navy was stationed, to mobilize sea ships, lay a dragnet in the sea east of Chongming Sand, and wait for his opponent to hit him head-on. With the combat power of the imperial navy, it is certain to win against a ship that secretly goes north. The only question is whether Xia Yun will come, or whether he will sneak away first.
Li Mu gained Deng Shuai's trust and was full of energy. He rushed to Ding'an Port without any trouble. He was immediately reassured when he learned that there had been a strong wind on the sea recently and that no fishing boats had set sail. Seven or eight days passed, and the sea was calm. The navy set sail, blocked the sea area, and patrolled day and night. Li Mu waited patiently on the ship. In the first few days, he was leisurely reading and pretending to be calm to show that everything was under control. But as time went on, As time passed and there was still no news, he began to lose his composure. He was restless all day long, frequently looking from the deck, searching for every suspicious ship.
His heart began to waver, and he doubted whether his judgment was accurate and whether he had failed to live up to the trust of Deng Shuai and his son. He calmed down and thought about it. This trip was indeed a bit reckless. What if Xia Yun did not take the sea route, but faced the difficulties and waited for an opportunity to cross the river? , where is the road all the way north? Li Mu couldn't help but wonder what decision he would make if he were in Deng Mao's position.
If it were up to him to allocate troops, Xia Yun would not be allowed to escape at all. The lion and the elephant would fight the rabbit with all his strength. He would definitely mobilize the main force of the Central Army to seal the inside and outside of Jinkou City, leaving nothing to be exploited. opportunity. Xia Quji is already old. Even if he escapes, he will not be able to regain his strength. Xia Yun is different. He is still young. Even if he loses all his chips, he still has a chance to make a comeback as long as he lives.
The weather was unpredictable, and more than ten days later, the fleet suddenly encountered a hurricane that had not been seen in a century. It rained heavily and the roaring waves hit the sky. Three ships ran aground on the rocks. No one was spared, and Li Mu was also among the martyrs. The Huaiyang Navy suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat to Ding'an Port to take shelter from the storm. No one held a tiger talisman to urge them, so the blockade of the sea area was abandoned.
