After the founding of the state of Chu, the Chu princes went on several expeditions to the north, but all failed with the loss of troops and generals. After all these efforts, the national power of Da Chu was suddenly consumed a lot, and the strategic measures for Beihu could only be changed from attack to defense.
There is a saying that goes, "If you defeat a tiger, there will be trouble." The attack failed to pacify Beihu, but when Beihu found an opportunity, he sent small groups of elite cavalry year after year to surprise and harass the front line in the north of Dachu. Taking advantage of the opportunity,
They actually broke through the checkpoints and marched into the territory of Dachu, burning, killing and looting. Before the reinforcements could reach their peak, the Beihu cavalry had already returned to the grassland, drinking kumiss to celebrate.
Today, Shuozhou Cangliao is barren, and this is the reason.
Although the great strategy of the great Chu lord, the founder of Chu, could not annihilate the Beihu, after several plans, in order to prevent the wanton intrusion of the Beihu cavalry, the entire country mobilized hundreds of thousands of civilian troops, consuming a huge amount of manpower and material resources.
A hundred miles north, an ancient and unprecedented ancient ferry across the Han River was built.
Countless dead bones are buried here, including those of Chu people and those of Hu people.
Many large and small trees have grown on both sides of the ancient ferry of the Han River, giving hope to the desolate Yanmen Pass. The source of the surging ancient ferry of the Han River is the Chu-Qing River from Taiyuan.
It flows from west to east.
The ancient ferry of Han River is about five miles wide and six feet deep. It is the best barrier to prevent the landlubbers and barbarians. There is only a large stone bridge about 100 meters wide on both sides of the ancient ferry of Han River. It is extremely strong. The traffic on both sides depends on this bridge. The barbarians
If the iron weapons want to invade Yanmen Pass, they can only pass here. Otherwise, they can either sail across the ancient ferry of Han River, but this is not the specialty of the Hu people. Moreover, there are sights of Beizhen Army outpost battles in this area.
Be on guard. If there is any movement, Yanmen Pass will be ready. If you want to attack the key again, it will be difficult to reach the sky.
In addition to Yanmen Pass, if the Hu people want to enter the territory of Dachu, they can only attack from Yangguan in Mobei. However, to the northwest is Yongzhou where the royal family of Dachu is located. There is also a talented and powerful King Mingyue stationed in Yongzhou.
The troops are strong and the horses are strong, and Yangguan is not like Yanmenguan. Because Yangguan is located on the border of Yongzhou, and Yongzhou is a rich place in Chu, with rich manpower and material resources, it is ten times stronger than Shuozhou in Yanmenguan, so we attack Dachu from Yangguan.
The difficulty from Chu is much greater than from Yanmen.
Xue Poye was riding on a gray horse with Xiao Shitou at this time. He was stunned as he looked at the long and flowing ancient ferry of Han River. Such a huge artificially dug river, in Xue Poye's view, was impossible in an era without machinery and equipment.
, is simply a miracle.
People who are familiar with Xue Poye will not recognize his appearance at this time, and Xiao Shitou is also completely unrecognizable at this time.
Xue Poye, who was handsome and always had a weird smile on his face, now looked like a dying patient. His skin was scorched and his hair was messy, looking like a savage. The most peculiar thing was that his left eyelid
It was twisted in a very deformed way, and the chin was also twisted and turned upwards. It looked ugly no matter how you looked at it. Coupled with the fact that he was dressed in linen clothes, he was extremely desolate. He was completely different from the previous Xue Poye.
The small stone does not look very clean. Although it is not as sallow and thin as Xue Poye, it looks like an extremely mentally retarded imbecile. He has been playing with a very ordinary dagger in his hand. The dagger looks full of
It is rusty and dusty, and it is better to say that it is a piece of scrap metal than a dagger.
Two strange people, sitting on the thin-looking gray horse, stayed quietly on the bank of the ancient ferry of Han River.
The golden lion was too conspicuous, so it had already returned to Hangzhou with the convoy, but this gray horse was the most inconspicuous horse in the convoy. It was a perfect match for these two guys.
"Little Shitou, after crossing the bridge, the danger ahead is extremely dangerous. Are you really not afraid?" Xue Poye looked at the little stone in his arms and asked softly.
Xiao Shitou chuckled and said: "Master, as long as I am with you, I am not afraid of anything. It's just bandits and barbarians. I can deal with them without Master's action." Xiao Shitou looked confident and ecstatic.
The strength of the mental technique, the weird ecstasy steps, and the ecstasy fingering technique he just practiced were indeed enough to make him stink.
Xue Poye burst out laughing. The once silent and introverted Xiao Shitou gradually opened up his closed heart after following him, and began to establish his faith in life.
It's just that after following the master for a long time, he also contracted some of the master's bad habits, such as being feminine, being forbearing, and even... being self-righteous!
"Okay, master and disciple, let's see how ferocious the wild wolves in this prairie are!" Xue Poye tightened the reins and shouted. The gray horse immediately spread its hooves and rushed onto the bridge, heading straight for the other side.
Speed past.
…
…
Anyone who is familiar with the Hanshui Ancient Ferry knows that there are rows and rows of tall trees on the south bank of the Hanshui Ancient Ferry. They are very different from the sandy Yanmen Pass a hundred miles away. However, the north bank of the Hanshui Ancient Ferry is different from the south bank.
Very different.
The north bank of the ancient crossing of the Han River was not only caused by the trampling of horses and people many years ago, but also the change of terrain. It is a huge swamp with thick bushes. Except for the clear roads that have been explored long ago, there is nothing unusual about it.
The dark road contains huge dangers.
Many people who took the wrong path fell into the mire, leaving no trace of their bodies.
Xue Poye knew that in such a terrain, no matter how high your martial arts skills are or how powerful your troops and horses are, you still have to move forward cautiously step by step, leading the gray horse slowly along the road that has long been traveled by people.
There was a faint mist floating above the swamp, and I knew it was miasma.
There were a lot of poisonous insects in the swamp, and the smell was even more unpleasant. Xue Poye frowned, took out two ribbons, and covered his nose with the small stone. Thinking about the merchants and passers-by, it was really a journey.
hardships.
This swamp was filled with mist. Even though it was daytime, it was not far away. Looking from the road ahead, the fog was so thick that it was impossible to determine how big this swamp was.
"This is really a natural barrier." Xue Poye thought to himself: "If this barbarian cavalry wants to pass this level, I am afraid it will take a lot of time and lose some troops."
Xiao Shitou had been observing the surroundings of the swamp curiously, and suddenly asked: "Master, didn't you say that there are bandits here at the ancient crossing of Han River? Why didn't we see them?"
Xue Poye was stunned and cursed: "Little brat, do you really want to meet the bandits? Don't let the bandits cook and eat you."
"Hehe, we are not Tang Monk, what are they doing to eat us?" Xiao Shitou disagreed. Xue Poye once told the story of Journey to the West. He has always liked it, but he has achieved some success in Kung Fu, but he has never had it.
I have personally experimented, but I have been unable to test how strong my kung fu is. I have always been very regretful. If I encounter two bandits this time and test it, it will naturally be a great thing.
Xue Poye smiled bitterly and shook his head. The gray horse moved forward slowly in the misty swamp. Along the way, he even encountered a few barbarian caravans who were about to enter the Central Plains. After asking carefully, it turned out that this barbarian caravan was lucky.
He often travels back and forth between the two places, knows some Chu language, and tells Xue Poye that this swamp is dozens of miles in circumference. If you want to cross the swamp, you must not rush for success. You must be careful to get stuck in the quagmire. Use a normal speed to familiarize yourself with the swamp.
Those who are on the road only need half a day, but novices need nearly a day. Even if they go quickly and pass smoothly, it will still take more than half a day.
Before entering the swamp, you must first calculate your progress and get out of the swamp before sunset. Once it gets dark, the miasma in the swamp will be more serious and can poison people. Even the bandits in the area of the ancient crossing of the Han River will kill people at night.
They also did not dare to enter the swamps to rob. Because of this, some caravans with insufficient strength once tried to escape the bandits at night and crossed the swamps at night. Nine out of ten died in the swamps.
When the barbarian said this, he pointed his finger and said, "Look there, aren't there any dead bones?"
After he reminded Xue Poye and Xiao Shitou, they discovered that there were indeed dead bones among the weeds and bushes in the swamp, but the dead bones were dark brown in color. Obviously, the poison of this miasma was extraordinary.
After receiving this news, the two of them accelerated even more. Although their martial arts had reached the level of five-way warriors, they did not dare to take it lightly against a natural opponent like miasma. They just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
This place is full of traps.
However, when he encountered a python as thick as a thigh on the way, Xiao Shitou finally begged the master to stop and let him practice his skills. Xue Poye couldn't resist him and had to look after him, while Xiao Shitou was mixed with nervousness and excitement.
After many twists and turns, he actually cut the python into five pieces with the rusty dagger in his hand.
Xue Poye could only admire the little guy's natural bravery and the bloodthirsty hidden deep in his bones.
Seeing that the sky was getting dark, the two of them rode gray horses and continued along the road pointed out by the foreigner. In the gray mist, they never saw the exit.
Xue Poye was quite anxious. He could clearly feel that there was more and more miasma around him, and the pungent smell was getting heavier and heavier. If he couldn't get out of the swamp before dark, the consequences would be really disastrous.
Just as he was about to speed up, a scream suddenly came from his ears. The sound was very weak and seemed to be far away, but he could vaguely hear the great pain in the sound, coming from not far ahead.
"Master, are you a bandit?" Xiao Shitou had been immersed in excitement after killing the python. He obviously heard the faint scream and couldn't help but clenched his fists, looking even more excited. In excitement,
Naturally, there is also tension.
Xue Poye frowned. It was getting dark and the miasma was attacking. He didn't want to run into those bandits. He said solemnly: "Let's just go around them and don't get entangled." There are many intricate roads in this swamp, most of them.
They were all explored by caravans who risked their lives to avoid bandits ambushing in the swamps. Almost every path explored was marked to let others know that this road was passable.
"Then we don't care?" Xiao Shitou blinked, his voice was extremely sad, it seemed that he was tortured by the bandits: "Master, don't you usually say that we should be chivalrous people? Then
Someone must have been caught by bandits, why don't we go rescue them?"
Xue Poye was about to turn his horse around and go around other roads. Hearing what he said, he smiled bitterly and said: "Little Shitou, if we can't get out of the swamp before dark, we will have to have others save us. Not to mention this area.
The swamp is the home base of those bandits. Even if we go there, we may not be their opponents here, but don’t ask them to arrest us. We have already stopped here before we arrived at the Beihu Grassland."
Xiao Shitou said sternly: "I will remember what the master said. From now on, we must protect ourselves first. As for the safety of others, we can ignore it."
Xue Poye patted Xiao Shitou's head gently and said with a smile: "Haha, little guy, are you sarcastic about the master? It's true that you protect yourself, and it doesn't mean you don't care about the safety of others... In this way, let's go over and secretly
Take a look, if we can save it, we will save it. If the bandits are too powerful and we know that we are outmatched, it is better to leave early, but don't forget, we still have to go to the prairie."
Xiao Shitou chuckled and said, "I know that Master is still very chivalrous at heart."
The two people dismounted, led the horses, and groped in the direction of the sound. They looked like wild men, and they had ribbons around their noses. They looked very strange, and they really looked like they were lying in wait in the swamp.
Savages of the land.
Are there snakes and insects swimming around in the bushes? The smell is so disgusting.
The voice gradually became clearer, and both of them could hear it. The voice was mixed with fear, as if they had encountered something extremely terrifying. The two looked at each other, and they were even more sure that the pedestrian must have been caught by the bandits, maybe
I'm being tortured now.
Xue Poye knew that the target of the gray horse was too big, so he tied the gray horse to a bush and then quietly approached it with a small stone.
The swamp is thick with bushes and miasma is floating around. It is a very secretive place to lurk here. The two of them walked forward for more than two hundred meters when they saw a few figures flashing in front of them. They immediately hid behind the bushes and concentrated.
Look forward.
In front of them was a large mire, like a pond made of mud. On the edge of the mire, three or four big men in fur clothes were struggling and rolling on the ground, moaning in pain, and several weapons were scattered around.
In the quagmire, there was a person slowly sinking downwards. The mud was already up to his chest. Xue Poye knew that this was the horror of the swamp. Once he fell in and no one came to rescue him, he would have to wait to die.
Although he couldn't see clearly what the guy in the quagmire looked like, his hoarse screams could be heard clearly by the people around him. However, this guy didn't seem to die immediately, because he still had a clutch in his hand.
He was holding a rope, and the other end of the rope extended straight to the shore. A guy who was not very tall but dressed very thickly was holding the other end. It was really hard to tell whether he was rescuing people, because he was just casually
He grabbed that end and stood on the shore with his hands crossed, not pulling the person out of the mire.
The guy wore a cowhide hat unique to the Hu people, covering most of his face. Next to him, there was a taller guy, who was also dressed very thickly and also wore a cowhide hat on his head, but he
I was sitting on a big tree stump, very leisurely.
"Master, two barbarian bandits!" Xiao Shitou whispered.
Xue Poye nodded and looked around carefully. It was really only these two bandits. These two bandits actually defeated five or six strong men. The skills of their men were really not simple.
"Hero...Hero, spare your life...spare your life...!" Seeing his body slowly sinking into the quagmire, the big man inside kept begging for mercy, but what he said was authentic Chu language. It seemed that he was a merchant from Chu.
.
However, Xue Poye took a closer look at the few people lying on the ground struggling and tumbling. Naturally, they were in the same group as the people in the quagmire. They were dressed in strange clothes, with yellow headscarves on their heads, but they did not look like businessmen.
Xue Poye gently patted Xiao Shitou's shoulder and whispered: "Things are a little weird, don't act rashly."
The guy standing on the shore holding the other end of the rope said loudly: "I have told you several times, tell me where your boss is, and I will let you go. Hurry up, time is running out. After a while, you can
About to drown."
As soon as this person spoke, Xue Poye immediately frowned. He felt that the voice was extremely familiar, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't remember who it was.
"Ying... hero... I really can't say it. I... if I say... I say it... Big brother will... kill me...!" The man in the quagmire begged with tears in his eyes.
He is completely a weakling!
The guy who was sitting finally said: "You don't have to be afraid. Seven or eight of you ambushed the two of us and almost hurt us. We will always find your eldest brother and talk to him. If you tell where your eldest brother is, we will let him go."
I have to kill you, otherwise, don't blame us for not saving you. Look, you are about to sink." This guy spoke in a choked voice, pretending to be rude, but anyone who is more attentive can see that this guy's
There are clear vocal cords in the voice. It is a woman's voice and cannot be concealed.
After Xue Poye heard the voice, his whole body was shaken, and he instantly judged who this person was.
Xiao Shitou also thought of who it was for a moment and whispered: "Master, it's... the Beihu woman I met on the road!"
The person sitting on the tree stump is indeed the wild beauty Sumayu from Beihu. The one standing on the shore holding the rope is naturally Sumayu's companion Chinatai. This is really a narrow road for enemies. I never expected that I would be there.
I met here. These two people arrived at Yanmen Pass a few days earlier than me. Could it be that they had not left the customs and happened to leave the customs together today?
When he thought that it was Sumayu, Xue Poye immediately clearly saw Sumayu's big snow-white butt in his mind. The big snow-white butt twisted slightly, with two petals of snow. The buttocks were full of elasticity, and his heart was shaken.
Knowing that these two people were Sumayu and Chinatai, Xue Poye quickly figured out the situation in front of him. The so-called "merchants" were actually real bandits, rolling and struggling on the ground and in the mud.
The big men who were trapped were all bandits lurking in the swamp area of the ancient crossing of the Han River. They didn't know how they attacked the two Sumayu. They didn't want to steal the chicken, but they lost the rice. The two Sumayu were not subdued, and several bandits
However, he was subdued by two Beihu women.
Sumayu stood up and said angrily: "Chu people are really unhappy in doing things. Just say what you say. It would be better to die then than to die now? Say it quickly, it will be dark. If you don't say anything, the miasma will rise.
You will die faster."
Among the bandits struggling and rolling on the ground, another person suddenly said: "I...I said...!"
Sumayu smiled and said: "There are still sensible people." He walked over, stepped on the man's chest with his left foot wearing a leather boot, and said: "Speak quickly, I will let you go."
"There...there are four hills in this area. We are...we are from the Chu Clan...and our eldest brother is...!" The man was about to say his eldest brother's name when he heard a "swish" sound.
An arrow shot out of nowhere and hit the man's head. The man died instantly without even making a sound.
"Girl, are you looking for me? Haha... Or should I tell you personally, my name is Su Shisanlang!" A voice sounded, hazy and forbidding, and in the midst of the words, a group of people slowly walked out of the mist.