After leaving the village, the sky was already getting slightly brighter. Chang Yu and his party walked south along the mountain road. They learned from the rich man Zhang that if you walk more than ten miles south in this valley, you can reach Longmen Ferry, which is the ferry where Mr. Zhang is.
, it’s just across the river.
Chang Yu's purpose was not Longmen Crossing. He took such a long detour just to avoid the thieves on the opposite side from getting deep into the hinterland. However, it was still dark yet, so he could still take the main road. When daybreak came, he would have to walk through the snow and into the forest.
Wu Mushan and Wang Fuchen walked at the front, Chang Yu and Qing Yi walked at the end. The remaining people dispersed in twos and threes and walked on both sides of the mountain road. The cold wind howled past, and everyone shrank their necks. No one spoke, only their feet were treading in the snow.
The sound of struggling.
After walking two or three miles, Qing Yi couldn't bear it anymore: "Shopkeeper, can I ask you something?"
"Ask," Chang Yu said casually.
"I heard that Zhang Xian said that Hejin County only had a few hundred troops stationed there, but Hancheng on the other side had more than a thousand thieves. Why didn't they send troops across the river to capture Hejin?"
Chang Yu smiled: "You are actually curious about this kind of thing, so I'll tell you. First of all, they don't attack. This has something to do with the strategic policy of the intruders. They focus on defense at this time, and attack is more important to them."
There is no meaning or benefit. Secondly, the ratio of defenders to siegeers ranges from one to five to one to ten. Three hundred people guard a small city, and the opponent has thousands of people. Even if they are all equipped, it is not so easy to win.
The last and most important point is, it’s not necessary!”
Qing Yi nodded and said, "Why is it not necessary?"
"Because you may not be able to defeat the enemy if you lose the troops, even if you defeat the generals, what's the point of massacring the city? Massacre of the city will lose the hearts of the people. If he doesn't massacre the city, why would he occupy it? Then a large army of officers and soldiers will surround him, and he will have to run back..." Walking on the two sides
Kuang Ren, who was in the front, took over the conversation and said. Qing Yi looked at Chang Yu and when he nodded, he couldn't help but sigh: "I'm really stupid. You all know that I just can't figure it out."
"Every line is like a mountain. We are soldiers. Our duty is to fight. The more we fight, the better we will understand. Even your scriptures and your skills can't be learned by us." Kuang Ren smiled and Qing Yi touched his head: "Brother Kuang
It’s really comforting.”
"Qing Yi, you really can bear the pain of traveling over mountains and ridges in the bitter cold, which really surprises me." Chen Suole on the other side of the road also talked to him, and Qing Yi smiled: "I already suffered like this when I came down the mountain.
, In fact, it’s not bad, because he was born in poverty and it doesn’t mean anything.”
"Speaking of the crime of bitter cold, I suddenly remembered the words of the Ninth Young Master. Do you still remember that he said in Yunwu Temple that he fell in love with the life of sleeping in the open air?" Chen Suole's words made everyone couldn't help laughing, and Chang Yu also smiled bitterly and shook his head.
: "What she did was called an outing at most. She had clothes on her hands, food on her hands, and her mouth was open. That's nothing like sleeping in the open. It's like what we are doing now, but if she can survive for an hour, it's considered amazing."
But no, everyone nodded, and Chen Suole sighed: "The ones who can really endure hardship are plain and simple, but they are used to sleeping in the cold, hot, wind, and open air."
"Wuzhong is fine, too. When he traveled around the world, he lived in the wind and snow and even competed with wild beasts for food." Chen Ruxin said with admiration. Chang Yu couldn't help but take a sip after hearing this: "Being pure is getting used to and enjoying that kind of life.
That poor loser in Wuzhong was too down and out at that time..."
Everyone couldn't help laughing secretly after hearing this. Qing Yi murmured in his heart that the shopkeeper never said that Wuzhong was good. It seemed that he was really bullied by him. He must practice his skills and teach him a lesson...
At this moment, Wu Mushan, who was walking in front, suddenly sounded a warning and waved for everyone to hide in the bushes on the roadside. Everyone knew that he must have heard something due to his excellent hearing, so they hurriedly burrowed into the bushes on the side of the road. Kuang Ren held a branch in his hand.
Carefully smooth out the footprints, because it is already light at this time and the traces left in the snow are easily visible.
"What's wrong?" As soon as Chang Yu and Qing Yi hid in the bushes on the roadside, Wang Fuchen ran over, "Wu Mushan heard the sound of horse hooves and there were at least ten horsemen."
The sky was slightly bright and more than ten riders appeared in the deep mountains. He could guess who they were with his toes. This made Chang Yu wary. The thieves were really on guard. Just a few hours after they had taken away the opponent's den, someone came
They came to investigate, and they were cavalry. If there were just a few of them, they could fight, but if there were more than ten or dozens of people, even if they had to pay a price, Chang Yu would not do this kind of business.
Although he likes to fight, the purpose of this trip is not just to fight.
"Shopkeeper, didn't you say that those who escaped might not report the news, and even if they reported the news, they might not come so quickly?" Qing Yi asked from beside him, Chang Yu's face heated up: "I didn't expect the thieves to be so strict."
.
As he was talking, he could hear the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Chang Yu squinted and looked to the south. He saw more than ten horses galloping on the gray mountain road. In the blink of an eye, they arrived in front of him and passed by like the wind. When he was gone, everyone gathered around him.
When they came over, Kuang Ren said: "They will be chasing us in less than half an hour. We can't walk on this road."
Chang Yu looked up and looked at the gray sky. It would be bright in less than half an hour, and the mountains and fields all around were white: "Climb the mountain!"
You can imagine the pain of walking over mountains and forests in the snow. At noon, when a group of people climbed up a hill and looked around, they took a long breath. Due east, the Yellow River was right at their feet, and they could see Hejin County on the other side.
They can also look at Longmen Village, which is right at their feet. The straight-line distance is only a few miles, and people can be vaguely seen walking around in the village.
"There are many villages in this area," Kuang Ren muttered. There were at least a dozen villages densely packed along the bank of the Yellow River near the ferry, many more than on the other bank.
"That should be Hancheng County." Wang Fuchen pointed to the southwest, and he could vaguely see a small town standing beside the Yellow River at the foot of the mountain. Chang Yu took out his telescope and looked at it for a while before putting it down. "Are we going down?" Wu Mushan asked.
After saying this, everyone looked at him like a fool: Wang Fuchen couldn't help but cursed, "Go down here to die. Why do we go through so much trouble to take such a detour?"
"The bandits have set up a dragnet along the Yellow River at the foot of the mountain. Do you think there will be their secret sentinel on the top of the mountain?" Qingyi Xiaoxiao asked, and everyone couldn't help but tense up: "Of course there is, so we have to be more careful." Chang Yu looked around
After looking around, he saw a cliff with thick trees to the west, so he said, "Go there for a rest, and then go southwest. Let's enter the country from Heyang County."
Everyone nodded and cautiously headed down the cliff. They were particularly cautious because they were worried that there would be a hidden stake on the mountain. When they saw that they were still more than 20 meters away from the forest under the cliff, a guard suddenly issued a warning.
With the gesture, everyone hurriedly hid their bodies, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Soon Chen Ruxin touched Chang Yu's side: "I found hidden footprints ahead, leading directly to the forest."
"Could it be traces of wild beasts?" Chang Yu asked. Chen Ruxin shook his head: "They were just swept away with branches after passing by."
Needless to say, there must be someone in the forest, but the identity is a mystery. If it is a hidden stake for the thieves, they should not be hiding in the forest, so they are still monitoring someone. Could it be that the officers and soldiers are not hiding at night? It is unlikely. According to Zhang Xian
It is said that the spies of the officers and soldiers cannot get through at all now, how could they be hidden under the noses of the officers and soldiers.
"In order to avoid alerting the enemy, let's go around." Kuang Ren and others suggested going around, but Chang Yu always felt that it shouldn't be a hidden stake for the bandit army: "Qingyi, keep your steps as light as possible and take a look, Kuang Ren, take cover."
, Ma Yaozi, Wu Mushan, you two go around from both sides, Lao Lu, you are on guard outside."
The few people obeyed the order. Qing Yi took off his cotton robe, took the long sword and moved toward the bushes lightly.