In the inn, after Chu Nanfeng and his party had dinner, the rain gradually subsided. Weng Mu said: "Mr. Chu, if we go more than seventy miles further, we will reach Xizhou City. After passing Xizhou, we will go west to Cizhou.
The state is more than a hundred miles away. If there is no rain tomorrow, we can walk early and we can reach Cizhou tomorrow night."
Chu Nanfeng looked at Cheng Rou who was sitting at the table next to him, "Rouer, when we get to Cizhou, we will stay for one day and then go back after the Mid-Autumn Festival, okay?"
Cheng Rou had stayed in her boudoir since she was a child. Although it was tiring to follow the crowd this time, she was like a bird in a cage. She loved the natural scenery on the road and wanted to move forward slowly. She clapped her hands and praised her for a while.
After chatting, they went back to their rooms to rest.
There was no rain the next day, so everyone got up early and packed up, then headed towards Xizhou. The rain came and went away quickly. The road was not muddy except for some water in potholes. The group arrived at Xizhou at noon.
City, and rested briefly at a tea shed five miles south of the city. After the accompanying arrow guards had fed their horses, they headed south.
Xizhou City is surrounded by mountains and rolling hills. It is surrounded by mountains on the west and north sides. To go west to Cizhou, you have to go south for forty or fifty miles before you can find the official road to Cizhou. After traveling for about thirty miles, you enter
There is a mountain path nearly two feet wide. On the left is a mountain peak more than ten feet high. On the right is a deep ditch down the slope. Across the deep ditch is a stretch of rolling hills.
After marching for more than a hundred feet, Chu Nanfeng, Weng Mu and others faintly heard the sound of swords and screams on the mountain on the left. The two looked at each other. Weng Mu did not wait for Chu Nanfeng to say anything, and he jumped up.
, tapped the saddle lightly with one foot, and used the strength to jump to the mountain on the left. Halfway up the mountain, his feet were nowhere to be seen.
After half a cup of tea, Weng Mu jumped down from the mountain, holding a man in hunting attire in his hands. He threw the man who could not move on the ground and said to Chu Nanfeng with a solemn expression, "There is a beacon tower above.
, all four officers and soldiers were killed, there were five people who came, and one escaped."
Chu Nanfeng raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised, looked at the man on the ground with a fearless face and asked, "Who are you?"
The man laughed miserably and let out a sigh. He saw bleeding from the corner of his mouth and was already dead. He thought he had poisonous fangs in his mouth. Weng Mu knelt down and found a badge from the man's waist, and then took it out from his own arms.
Hand it to Chu Nanfeng on three sides.
When Chu Nanfeng saw those waist badges, he saw "Shuo Qi" engraved on the front and "Jia Zha Lu Gu" on the back. Weng Mu said: "This should be the identity badge of the Khitan soldiers. They came here to kill Feng Huo."
It seems that something is wrong with the soldiers in Taiwan... There may be a large number of Khitan troops in front."
In his early years, Weng Mu served as a retainer with Wang Yanzhang, the famous general of the Liang Dynasty, and had extensive knowledge. This beacon tower was used to detect enemy soldiers during wars. Usually, every five or six miles, he would find the highest place with a wide view.
A beacon tower was built for observation. If enemy soldiers invaded during the day, smoke would be lit as a signal, and if it was night, a fire would be lit as a signal.
At this moment, the Khitan soldiers ambushed the officers and soldiers of the Beacon Tower, and it goes without saying that they were preparing to attack Xizhou City. Chu Nanfeng nodded when he heard this, "What Elder Weng said must be true. From here to the fork in the official road heading towards Cizhou
There are still more than twenty miles..."
After pondering for a while, he turned over and dismounted, walked to the left window of the carriage, and said to Cheng Zheng and his wife who were looking out with the curtains raised: "Brother-in-law, sister, I'm afraid there are a large number of Khitan troops ahead. You and Elder Weng will turn back to Xizhou first."
In the city.”
Mrs. Chu was surprised when she heard this: "What about you?"
"The people who ambushed the beacon tower just now should be the detective horses of the Khitan soldiers. If we hadn't noticed, they would have gone to the next beacon tower. After killing all the officers and soldiers on the remaining beacon towers, they would have attacked the city with an army. Click here
Judging from the time, if the prediction is correct, they should be planning to attack when it gets dark. Now that we have discovered it, I am afraid they will advance. I will go to the front to explore, sister, there is no need to worry."
Based on Chu Nanfeng, Weng Mu and others were not afraid of martial arts. However, Cheng Zheng and his family, who did not know martial arts, would not be able to rush through if they encountered Khitan soldiers and horses. Although the Chu family did not understand martial arts, they
He also knew how powerful it was, so he could only say: "Brother, please be careful."
Chu Nanfeng nodded, but when he saw Luo Xiaoyao looking up, he guessed that he also wanted to follow, so he shook his head: "Xiaoyao, you and the elder quickly go to the city to meet you as a teacher." Before waiting.
Luo Xiaoyao answered and rode away on horseback.
In desperation, Luo Xiaoyao, Weng Mu and others turned around and galloped towards Xizhou City. When they arrived at the south gate of Xizhou City, it was already late. When the gate guards saw Luo Xiaoyao and his party, they stepped forward to question them.
, Unexpectedly, Weng Mu asked them where the guard was.
One officer and soldier asked: "Who are you? What do you want from General Du?"
Weng Mu naturally did not want to be verbose with him, so he said: "I know General Du, please go and inform him quickly."
He didn't know the Xizhou garrison at first, and he wouldn't have known the garrison's surname was Du if it hadn't been for the officer and soldier's words. However, he had traveled around the world for many years and knew that the little devil was difficult to deal with, so he used words to scare him.
Seeing his tough tone, the officers and soldiers thought they really knew General Du, so they hesitated and said, "Then you come with me."
Leading Weng Mu, Luo Xiaoyao and his party entered the city gate, walked more than a hundred feet to the stone street next to the city wall on the right, and stopped in front of a row of about ten houses that looked like soldiers lived, "You sir
Wait, I will report it to our commander."
A moment later, a leader in his thirties, wearing a cloth armor, followed the guards out of the house and asked Weng Mu, "May I ask who I am?"
Weng Mu was anxious at this moment, so he replied: "Who is this old man and what does it have to do with you? Where is General Du? Please go and tell him immediately."
The leader laughed angrily: "My father-in-law didn't tell me who I am? How can I tell him?"
Weng Mu was startled and took out the badges of the Khitan soldiers and handed one to the leader: "Do you know what this object is? Take this object and go to General Du quickly and tell him that there is an enemy attack.
go."
The leader admitted that this waist badge was the identity certificate of the Khitan army camp. These days, he also heard the news that the Northern Han and Khitan troops were coming to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty, so he asked: "Where does this waist badge come from?"
Weng Mu glared and shouted: "Go quickly, are you able to take the responsibility?"
Weng Mu was a disciple of Wang Yanzhang in his early years, and he has been an elder of Tongbao Pavilion for more than 20 years. He has a certain dignity. Even when the leader shouted at him, he did not dare to contradict him. He said to the soldiers guarding the city beside him: "Look at them.
I'll report it to the general."
He turned around and went to the back of the house, fetched a horse, turned over and galloped towards the city. Weng Mu looked at the leader galloping away, stroking his beard and smiling at Luo Xiaoyao: "Young master has never been in the army... these soldiers
If a man doesn't say a few words to him, he probably won't listen."
Luo Xiaoyao smiled and said nothing, but the guard on the side smiled wryly. After drinking tea, he saw countless horsemen and horses arriving. The guard immediately ran to a man with a slightly dark complexion, a short beard and armor and bowed in front of him.
He saluted: "I've seen the general."
The general said "Huh", got off his horse, came to Weng Mu, raised his hands and said: "Du You, the guard of Xizhou, has met the seniors. I wonder where you got this badge?"
Weng Mu saw that his words were straightforward and he went straight to the topic without any nonsense, so he told the story again. After hearing this, Du You's face changed suddenly, and he stared at Weng Mu and said, "Is this serious?"
Weng Mu remained silent. He stamped his right foot and the stones on the road beneath his feet fell into pieces. All the generals were shocked. Du You immediately looked apologetic and said, "Du, I'm rude, senior, please forgive me."
He turned around and said to the soldiers around him: "If there is an enemy invasion, send our military orders, blow the trumpets and burn smoke, close the city gates, and all the soldiers on the city wall will be ready to defend against the enemy."
When Mrs. Chu heard the emergency in the car, she opened the window of the car and said hurriedly: "No, my brother is still outside the city..."
Du You was startled when he heard this, and Weng Mu said: "My husband went to intercept and kill the escaped detective horse to prevent the news of being discovered by us from being transmitted back. I think he will be back soon."
"What a hero, so courageous. Why don't you, senior, come with me to the top of the city to check." Du You looked at Weng Mu.
Weng Mu nodded in greeting, and Du You said to the messenger: "Send the order, first close the east, north and west gates."
A moment later, there was a whine of horns, and green smoke rose from the beacon towers on the surrounding walls. Du You looked at the carriage where Cheng Zheng and his wife were riding, and said to a soldier beside him: "Take them with you."
Don't be lazy when you go to the post house to rest."
Mrs. Chu looked concerned, but she was unwilling to leave. Weng Mu stepped forward to persuade her, but Mrs. Chu had no choice but to go to the post house with the three arrow guards and the soldier.
Luo and Weng followed Du You to the top of the south gate city. They saw many soldiers running around, but they were also orderly carrying out clusters of feathers, arrows and knives from the Chonglou on the top of the city.
Du You pointed at the large number of wooden and stone blocks piled up beside the city wall, "We also heard that the Han army and the Khitan people were going to invade south. We didn't expect it to be so soon. Fortunately, we met our seniors."
At this time, several soldiers dressed as commanders rushed over to discuss with Du You the military situation of the defensive arrangement. While everyone was talking, they saw a low rumble of horse hooves in front of them, and dust was flying four or five miles away. A soldier shouted: "
The enemy soldiers are coming, quickly raise the suspension bridge and close the city gate."
Du You looked at Weng Mu, who hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Turn it off."
It should be noted that it would take half a cup of tea to close the suspension bridge at the fastest. If the cavalry rushed to two miles away, it would not be able to reach it. Weng Mu knew the reason and agreed to pull up the suspension bridge. He glanced at the calm Luo Xiaoyao next to him.
, I secretly thought that this young master is a calm person in times of crisis.
Just as the suspension bridge was raised, Luo and Weng saw a white horse galloping three miles away. It was Chu Nanfeng. He was chasing a group of people about 200 meters behind him. When the road was wide, they spread out and formed a row of no less than three people.
There were more than ten rows of forty people. They all drew their bows and arrows and shot at Chu Nanfeng.
Chu Nanfeng did not look back, but when he felt the arrows coming behind him, he swung his herring sword back with his right hand, and the arrows were blocked by the sword energy. When the enemy troops spread, he suddenly felt the arrows suddenly raining down like "whoosh, whoosh"
" Coming, he stood up and slashed at the arrow rain with the "Long Shadow Dark Snow" move, and those flying arrows fell down one after another.
After landing on the horse, he had just galloped more than ten feet when another arrow rain came, followed by a long roar. He stood up, twirled in the air, shook the herring sword in his right hand, and made a move "Falling Leaves Flying to Zero"
"As he slashed at the arrow rain, the feathers of the arrows shot from both sides fell off one after another, and the more than ten arrows shot from the center were caught by Chu Nanfeng. However, as he rolled and swung, those arrows
Yaya galloped away from the chasing cavalry.
When Chu Nanfeng landed on the saddle, a cry of surprise came from behind, and several of the pursuers fell off their horses. The officers and soldiers on the city felt their hearts in their throats when they saw the arrows shooting at Chu Nanfeng like rain.
Everyone was silent for a moment, but when they saw Chu Nanfeng was so brave, he shot down the pursuers and immediately blew loudly.
Seeing that he was approaching the moat, Chu Nanfeng took a breath, stood up, tapped his horse with his right foot, jumped onto the retracted suspension bridge, stepped on the iron rope, and jumped to the top of the city.
However, the mount could not hold back and fell into the moat. It let out a mournful cry, struggled for a moment, and sank to the bottom of the water.
The pursuers behind thought they had never seen such an outstanding figure as Chu Nanfeng, but they forgot to shoot. They looked up at Chu Nanfeng flying over the city with a look of horror.
Seeing the soldiers on the city drawing their arrows, the cavalrymen did not dare to approach, so they retreated two miles away from the city and lined up with their bows drawn.
At this time, a deputy general next to Du You said: "General, they only have four or five hundred people now. The last general asked for orders to lead the troops to attack."
"No, the enemy soldiers are now at full strength, and a large force of troops will arrive in no time. Don't act rashly yet."
After saying this, he quickly walked up to Chu Nanfeng, cupped his fists and said, "The last general, Du You, is the guard general of Xizhou and has seen heroes."
Chu Nanfeng looked at the admiring eyes of the soldiers around him, shook his head and said with a smile: "General, you are serious. Chu is a scholar and does not dare to be called a hero."
"If it hadn't been for Hero Chu and Senior Weng this time, Xizhou City would have been difficult to protect... The enemy's large army may be arriving in an instant. The general will discuss with the generals how to deal with the enemy. Hero Chu will go back to the post house to rest first.
I won’t bother you again until this matter is settled.”
Chu Nanfeng knew that the military situation was critical and did not dare to disturb him, so he nodded in agreement, led Luo and Weng to say goodbye to Du You, and followed the soldiers to lead the way to the post house.
In the post house, Cheng Rou looked at Mrs. Chu who was fidgeting around and said, "Mother, you can rest assured. It's not like you haven't seen my uncle's martial arts before. Didn't you see that Khitan soldier was frightened to death when he asked me about it?"
Already."
Mrs. Chu couldn't laugh or cry when she looked at her daughter who was so big-hearted. She didn't dare to watch the Khitan soldier commit suicide by taking poison. This girl didn't even blink when she said it. She couldn't help but sigh and said with an angry smile: "The ancients said that scholars say goodbye to each other."
We treat each other with admiration every day, and you girl have been separated from us for a long time, and you are so brave."
Cheng Rou stuck out her tongue, "Mother, do you think Elder Weng's martial arts is great? Whoosh, whoosh! He flew to the ten-foot-high mountain peak in two seconds. When he saw uncle, he was so impressed that he called him sir. Mother, don't worry.
Already."
Mrs. Chu was about to answer when she heard a burst of cheers from the city wall. She felt strange and said to Cheng Zheng who was drinking tea: "Didn't you say that the enemy army is coming? Why is there still a burst of cheers outside?"
Cheng Zheng looked at Mrs. Chu and smiled, "Madam, just sit down and drink tea with peace of mind, and rest your mind. The so-called care leads to chaos. Rou'er is right. With Nan Feng's skill, nothing will happen."
Mrs. Chu rolled her eyes at her husband: "You two, father and daughter..."
The three members of the family were talking when they heard Weng Mu's laughter coming from the courtyard of the post house, followed by the sound of footsteps, Chu Nanfeng appeared in front of the Chu family, and Cheng Rou cheered.
This post house was a place for delivering official documents or for officials to board and exchange horses. It had some servants. Seeing Chu Nanfeng's bravery, the soldiers leading the way ordered the bosses in the post house to treat him well.
When the leader saw that everyone had arrived, he hurriedly ordered his servants to prepare some good wine and food for the reception. After the meal, it was already dark. Chu Nanfeng told Cheng Zheng and his wife to rest early, and then took Luo Xiaoyao and Weng Mu with him.
He left the post house and headed towards the south end of the city.
Along the way, he walked along the city wall and saw torches burning every few meters on the wall, but there were no torches at the city gate. Chu Nanfeng felt strange. When he walked in, he saw a group of soldiers passing outside the city.
He came in with buckets of water. It turned out that he was worried that the enemy soldiers would attack with rockets at night, so he asked the people in the city to bring the buckets and took advantage of the cover of the suspension bridge to get water from the moat for later use.
Although he has extraordinary martial arts skills, he is a layman on marching and fighting. Weng Mu understood it when he marched with Wang Yanzhang in his early years, so he explained the principles to Chu and Luo. After a while, all the buckets prepared were filled with water.
Well, the soldiers closed the city gate and then lit the torches.
The leader who directed the water collection was the military leader who brought Du You to meet Weng Mu. Seeing Chu Nanfeng and his entourage rush forward to salute, Weng Mu asked where Du You was. The military leader hurriedly led Chu Nanfeng and his entourage to the city wall.
superior.
Seeing Chu Nanfeng's arrival, Du You was not surprised. He nodded with a smile and said, "Xia Chu is interested."
"I am an ordinary man from Chu. I have been studying for decades now. I hope General Du will give me some advice."
Yi Wuwei came from a poor family. Both his parents died in his early years. Fortunately, he was taken in by a man in a Taoist temple and taught martial arts. Later, Huang Chao rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. He wanted to create a new dynasty with passion and let the people of the world live a good life, but he found out that the uprising
The generals also fought for power and gain, and the people's lives became increasingly miserable, and they were greatly disappointed.
For a moment, he felt that his uprising against the Tang Dynasty was wrong, so he wanted to go into seclusion. When he arrived at Taibai Mountain, he later established an academy, and his thoughts changed again. Looking at the people in the vassal towns and towns who were proclaimed kings and emperors in various places, he felt that they were all wrong.
Mr. Deming was both happy and worried when he saw the talented disciples in the academy. He sometimes lamented that he had no way to serve the country, and sometimes he misled his disciples. Under his influence, many of the disciples were unwilling to join the officialdom.
As a direct disciple of Yi Wuwei, Chu Nanfeng was greatly influenced by him. He hated the various places in the Central Plains that ignored the common people and caused conflicts between one family and one surname. He even disdained to participate in the various imperial courts.
The people were displaced, but they didn't want to see it in their hearts. However, they sincerely admired people like Du You who protected their homes and country.
Du You smiled when he heard this: "I don't dare to give you advice."
He led Chu Nanfeng to the city wall and pointed at the Han and Liao allied forces camped outside the city, "There are about ten thousand enemy soldiers, but it is not easy to take Xizhou City by force."
"The west and north of the city are close to mountains. The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate. The walls on both sides of the city are dug to the foot of the mountain and are more than six feet wide. Large groups of people cannot gather to attack the city on both sides. The road to the east of the city can lead to Fenzhou and Yindi City in the Northern Han Dynasty.
, the south of the city can lead to the two states of Jin and Ci. The enemy soldiers are now encircling the south and they must want to fight quickly. If we don't send troops from Cizhou to support us and attack from the front and back, we will definitely annihilate them here."
"The enemy troops stayed to the east without encircling them. It seems that there are enemy troops coming from Fenzhou to help. I have already set out to investigate, but I led the troops to ambush them last time. I'm afraid I don't dare to come again."
At this time, a soldier rushed over and said, "Report to the general that the three hundred men of Battalion A have been ordered to move forward."
"Yes, I understand." Du You nodded, then turned to Chu Nanfeng and said, "I expected that the enemy army would come to attack the city around midnight tonight, so I made some preparations. Sir Chu, Senior Weng.
Please go back to the post house and rest peacefully, and when I have the strength to kill these thieves, I will go visit you together with the governor."
Chu Nanfeng bowed and said: "I have been taught a lesson, Chu will resign."
Luo Xiaoyao had never seen Chu Nanfeng bow to anyone younger than him. He knew that his master admired this Du You very much, so he hurriedly bowed and left.
Back at the post house, everyone was thinking a lot. Chu Nanfeng was an outstanding martial artist. He had reached the state of Bao Dan when he was in his forties. There were few people in the world who could compare to him. His talent was also extraordinary. He could be said to be both civil and military.
An official career will certainly lead to great achievements.
Unfortunately, Yi Wuwei gathered a group of talented people who were frustrated and frustrated in their official careers. Their enthusiasm had long since dissipated, and they gradually tended to have a Buddhist and Taoist mentality of being independent from the world. Naturally, the dozens of disciples in the academy were greatly affected.
During the years, dynasties in the Central Plains changed and the owners changed several times. The idea of studying literature and martial arts to serve their country gradually disappeared among these disciples.
Today, he is in the midst of thousands of troops. Thinking that he has a unique skill, it is so dangerous. The situation of ordinary people can be imagined. He is chivalrous by nature. At this moment, his heart is filled with ups and downs. It is vaguely like Yi Wuwei's after the failed uprising.
His state of mind was such that he denied his previous knowledge, which was naturally related to Chu Nanfeng's open-minded and open-minded nature.
Although Luo Xiaoyao was also influenced by the academy, after all, he was young and bloody. Being in a situation with thousands of troops, his blood was boiling and he was eager to fight on the battlefield.
Weng Mu followed Wang Yanzhang in his early years and was greedy for glory. Later, he joined Tongbao Pavilion, and his mentality gradually became dull. Once there was a drought in Hedong, Tongbaotong was giving porridge to relieve the disaster. He felt deeply in his heart, and since he had no family, he actually
After years of saving money to donate to the victims, Elder Lu, who had known him for many years, suspected that he was in a dream, and it took him a few days to regain consciousness.
Everyone had their own thoughts and couldn't sleep. In the trance, there was a commotion in the distance, followed by shouts of murder, and all three people pushed the door open. Chu Nanfeng saw that Luo Xiaoyao was neatly dressed and showed no sign of taking off his clothes to go to bed.
After some thought, he smiled at Luo Xiaoyao and said, "Follow me as your master."
Luo Xiaoyao smiled and nodded in agreement. The three of them jumped up, jumped out of the courtyard and ran towards the south of the city. At this time, they saw clusters of sparks falling from the sky near the city wall. As the guard Du You expected, the enemy attacked.
, fired fire arrows, some of which fell on the roofs of houses and courtyards, and a large number of soldiers and civilians carried water to put them out.
The three of them climbed onto the wall, and heard the sound of "swish, swish" arrows. They saw many soldiers wielding their swords to block the flying arrows, or leaning on the arrow stacks to guide their bows to shoot at the enemy.
At this time, a soldier rushed to him and saluted: "General Du has invited three of you."
Chu Nanfeng was startled, and looked around amid the noise, and saw Weng Mu pointing to the tower beside him. Chu Nanfeng raised his eyes and saw Du You standing in the middle of the second floor, with several people holding shields standing in front of him.
The soldiers with sabers saw Chu Nanfeng looking at him and nodded with a smile. When Chu Nanfeng and the others went up to the second floor, Du You asked the soldiers in front of him to retreat. Of course, he expected that Chu Nanfeng and the others would take action.