Zhang Liao saw the surrounding situation and already knew that something happened to the grain ship, but he didn't know who sabotaged it. The biggest suspect should be Liu Bei, but if Xiaopei sent troops, he would definitely not be able to hide it from Lu Bu's eyes and ears.

"Who set the fire?" Zhang Liao asked directly without guessing.

Long Xiang shook his head, "The clouds were thick and dark last night. I don't know who did it, but I guess they have been keeping an eye on it for a long time."

"How to say?"

"While they poured tung oil on the boats and burned them, the bottom of the grain boats was actually damaged. They were unable to put out the fire and pursue the boats at the same time. In the end, they captured less than ten boats..."

Zhang Liao frowned after hearing this, and stroking his beard said to himself: "It seems to have been planned for a long time..."

"Could it be Liu Bei? I have fought with him in this area before, and this person is very familiar with the terrain..." Long Xiang deliberately mentioned Liu Bei to confuse the audience.

"Long Sima concluded that there is some truth, but the matter still needs to be investigated..." Zhang Liao was noncommittal and asked: "Can you see Guan Yu or Zhang Fei? How many people are there? In what direction did they go in the end?"

"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't see him. There were fires gleaming in the dark night, and there was no sign of the visitor. It is estimated that there were hundreds or thousands of people, and they were all cavalry. Since the general had only forty cavalry under his command, there was nothing to do afterwards.

If you dare to pursue me, I only see you heading towards Huaiyin..." Long Xiang pointed to the southeast.

Huaiyin? Zhang Liao was confused. He thought that if Liu Bei made a large circle, he might be able to avoid the scouts, but hundreds of cavalry would be an exaggeration. How many horses did Xiaopei have in total?

"General Zhang...General Zhang..." Long Xiang called out softly when he saw Zhang Liao was silent.

Zhang Liao woke up from his deep thoughts and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Although the last general fought hard to seize a few ships, the boatmen were frightened last night and took advantage of the chaos to escape. Please ask General Zhang to take them over and send them to Xiapi..." Long Xiang pleaded with his fists clasped.

"Is Mr. Han still waiting in Xiapi? Is Long Sima not going?" Zhang Liao raised his eyes and asked.

Long Xiang shook his head and waved his hands: "The general has caused such a big disaster and must immediately return to Shouchun to apologize to the lord. As for the remaining grain ships, the general will hand them over to General Zhang here. They are all going to be sent to the next place anyway.

Pi's, just let Mr. Han count them when it's time. If you encounter another bad guy along the way, I'm afraid only General Zhang can stop him..."

"All right..."

Zhang Liao nodded helplessly, looking at the shabby and tired soldiers on both sides of Surabaya River. He really couldn't force Long Xiang to go to Xiapi with him. Long Xiang was Yuan Shu's soldier, and Zhang Liao was not qualified to command.

After Long Xiang handed over the grain boat, he took the "remnants" to the southwest like a defeated rooster. The hundreds of boatmen who were operating the boat were sent away by Tang Hui in advance and were waiting ten miles away.

Long Xiang and Tang Yu were unwilling to kill people and silence them, so they did ideological work for the boatmen in advance (with both kindness and power).

The boatmen were required to follow the detained soldiers and live in Hefei secretly for a few years. Then, depending on the situation, they would take their families to Hefei or return to their place of origin in Lujiang to reunite with their families.

On the way back to Shouchun, Tang Fei had a solemn look on his face, and when it was time to rest at night, he called Long Xiang aside.

"Yun Qi, let's get things done now. If we return to Shouchun, we may have a narrow escape from death. We might as well follow the boatmen and take a detour to Hefei." Because Tang Wei was alone, he made suggestions from his own perspective.

Long Xiang shook his head when he heard this, "If you defect now, wouldn't you be asking for trouble? It will also implicate General Qiao and Shouchun's family members. If the lord comes back to question him, my nephew will shoulder the responsibility. Uncle Hui only needs to restrain his subordinates.

Just keep your mouth shut and don't expose the location of Hefei, otherwise all my efforts will be wasted."

"Don't worry, Yun Qi. This is a big matter, and Uncle Wei will save it. The rest are die-hard loyalists." Tang Wei assured him, patting his chest, and then asked worriedly: "Are you really sure you can handle it?"

Long Xiang nodded solemnly. He was actually not 100% sure, but the general must have confidence at this time, otherwise his soldiers would be affected.

Because he was not in a hurry on his way back to "please apologize", Long Xiang, in addition to sending Pegasus scouts to report the news, deliberately led the team to travel forty miles a day, taking more than ten days to reach Shouchun. Zhang Liao escorted the eight remaining grain ships, and three

Later we arrived at the pier in Xiapi.

At the same time that the grain ship Surabaya was attacked, Ji Ling's 100,000 troops were approaching Xiaopei, and Liu Bei sent Liu Yan to move in Xiapi, hoping to persuade Lu Bu to help through Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and others.

Since Lu Bu received the first batch of betrothal gifts, he has been pestered by Han Yin in various pretexts every day, and has almost no time to see other people, until Zhang Liao sent someone to send back the news.

Han Yin saw Lu Bu's expression changed drastically and asked hurriedly: "General Lu, what's wrong with you?"

"The fleet coming from Huainan was attacked by gangsters in the lower reaches of Surabaya River, causing more than two hundred grain ships to be burned and sunk. In the end, only eight were saved." Lu Bu looked fierce.

"Ah?" Han Yin was so shocked that he dropped the wine glass in his hand. He swallowed his saliva and asked, "Then Long Sima and the others..."

"We will know what the specific situation is when they get to Xiapi, but one thing is certain, there is someone who is causing trouble." Lu Bu's eyes were stern.

Han Yin was suddenly struck by thunder, thinking that Long Xiang had done this on purpose, right? If that was the case, was this guy too brave?

Lu Bu was not in the mood to enjoy the banquet, so he stood up and said with his hands in his hands: "I am going to the dock, please forgive me for not being able to accompany you any longer."

"Marquis Wen, later on, Han will also go to the dock to count." Han Yin stood up in a panic.

"Mr. Han, take care of yourself." Lu Bu said and walked away, thinking that there were only eight ships left out of more than two hundred, what else do you want to count?

Han Yin only had the carriage provided by the post house, which could not keep up with Lu Bu's red rabbit horse. When he arrived at the dock, Zhang Liao was nowhere to be seen. He asked the officers and soldiers on board the ship to find out that Long Xiang had not come to Xiapi. Through the scattered information obtained from Zhang Liao's subordinates, Han Yin

Yin was not sure whether Long Xiang did it intentionally or if he really encountered an accident.

Han Yin looked at the burnt stern of the boat and thought, is it really such a coincidence?

At this time, Lu Bu summoned Zhang Liao, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian and other generals at the Gaoshun military camp outside Xiapi City, and asked people to enter the city to invite his adviser Chen Gong.

"Is it really such a coincidence?" Lu Bu sat at the head of the table and patted the table, asking Han Yin the same question in his mind.

Zhang Liao cupped his fists and said, "When the general met Long Xiang, he was depressed and in a miserable state. His officers and soldiers were all in similar condition. It is unlikely that he was just faking it."

Lu Bu leaned back and sneered: "It is not something such a stupid kid dares to mess around with such a big thing as more than 100,000 hu of army rations. You all can help analyze it. If Long Xiang is lying, who is the mastermind behind it? If so,

What Long Xiang said is true, but whose are those hundreds of cavalrymen? They can’t really be big-eared thieves, right?”

"My lord, Xiaopei's horses are less than a hundred, and Liu Bei doesn't have that many horses at all now, unless he has secretly linked up with the Taishan generals..." Gao Shun took the lead and clasped his fists.

Cheng Lian then analyzed: "The last general thought it was not trustworthy. Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou in the past, and none of the generals led by Zang Ba surrendered. Instead, the lord became the lord of Xuzhou. Zang Ba wrote to the lord to express his goodwill, so the cavalry on this road was absolutely useless.

I won’t come to the north..."

"That means Long Xiang lied?" Lu Bu stroked his beard and frowned.

"Long Xiang's eyes were clear and he didn't dodge his words. At least he didn't see any flaws, but is there a possibility..." Zhang Liao hesitated.

Lu Bu waved his hand gently, "Wen Yuan, keep talking."

"Maybe it's Yuan Shu himself..." Before Zhang Liao could finish his words, a sonorous voice suddenly came from outside the tent:
Chapter completed!