This wait lasted for three days, and during these three days, the few Jinyi guards who came to deliver the letter were so thirsty that their throats were almost on fire. They were asked this and that by Xu Qiyuan and the Wang brothers every day, and asked about the big news.
It's no wonder that every battle of the eunuchs happened. They had little information and only knew a superficial knowledge of many things. Now that they caught an outsider and the most well-informed Jin Yiwei, they naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.
The Jin Yiwei are all Chang Yu's biggest fans. They talk about protecting Taiyuan, guarding Baoding, chasing the Tatars...
It can be compared to the storyteller in the teahouse.
There is such a natural talent!
As the saying goes, heroes cherish heroes. After hearing about Chang Yu's various achievements, Xu Qiyuan and the Wang brothers were shocked.
Early that morning, Xu Qiyuan told Jin Yiwei that Prime Minister Hui Deng was here.
But Jin Yiwei didn't see Hui Dengxiang's person, and he suddenly realized it later.
It's coming, but it's not here yet.
But it has entered Xunyang's realm, or to be precise, it has entered Xu Qiyuan's sphere of influence.
Xunyang is located deep in the mountains. There are only two roads into the mountains, one is a rugged mountain road with eighteen bends, and the other is a waterway.
But regardless of whether it is a waterway or a mountain road, there are both overt and covert sentries from officers and soldiers everywhere. There are also countless informants in the fishing villages and mountain villages along the two waterways. It can be said that any disturbance on these two roads will soon reach Xu Qiyuan's ears, otherwise Xun Xun
How could Yangcheng remain unbroken for several years!
In the evening, Prime Minister Hui Deng and his 500 cavalry finally arrived at Xunyang City. It took them seven days to rush all the way from Wuchang.
Xu Qiyuan and others were greatly moved by the dusty look on their faces. They wanted to have a feast for the five hundred soldiers, but they were really short of money and had nothing to offer, so they reluctantly killed a pig!
I wanted to let Prime Minister Hui Deng rest for two or three days before leaving, but instead he said to leave at dawn to avoid a long night and many dreams. After hearing this, Xu Qiyuan and others murmured in their hearts and asked him if he knew anything.
Hui Dengxiang looked solemn and shook his head slightly. He met Yuan Zongdi on the way here and said that he tried his best to protect him along the way, but it was inevitable that someone would get into trouble, but the faster the border crossing, the less time the other party would have to prepare and the smaller the chance.
This makes perfect sense.
Early the next morning, Xu Qiyuan and Wang Guangen led 300 cavalry out of Xunyang, leaving Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang to guard the city. They warned them to be cautious.
A group of eight hundred riders rode along the mountain road. Wang Guangen was a talker, and he and Hui Deng were both friends with Zhang Xianzhong. They had many old stories to talk about, so they kept pushing each other along the way. Xu Qiyuan occasionally asked Hui Deng
Looking at some of the others, seeing his serious expression, he asked, "Is it possible that General Hui is worried that the thieves are setting up an ambush in the mountains?"
Prime Minister Huiden looked around with a vigilant expression: "The mountains are steep and we must be on guard."
Xu Qiyuan laughed: "The general is worrying too much."
Prime Minister Huiden was startled and said, "Please give me some advice, the governor."
At this time, Xu Qiyuan was the censor of Youqian City and the governor of Xunyang. Although military generals generally looked down upon civil servants, powerful people would always be respected. Civil servants like Xu Qiyuan who were good at fighting were rare in this era, so
Both civil servants and generals admired him very much. Although Prime Minister Hui Deng was a rude person, he was always respectful and polite in front of Xu Qiyuan.
"If the thieves do evil, how can they do it in Xunyang territory?" Xu Qiyuan smiled lightly. Prime Minister Hui Deng was also a smart man. He immediately understood that if someone wanted to stir up trouble, he would have to do it in Li Zicheng's territory, so as to intensify the conflict between the court and Li Zicheng.
.
"Not necessarily. What they want is to mess up the situation. They can do it anywhere. It doesn't matter where they do it. It's just..." Wang Guangen looked around: "If they want to ambush us, they can at least do it.
There are more than a few hundred people. If there are dozens of people entering the country, we may be able to hide it from us, but hundreds of people..."
The meaning is very clear. If there are few people, it means you are here to kill someone. If there are too many people, you can't hide it.
Prime Minister Huiden nodded and thought that these two people were indeed extraordinary. They cooperated tacitly on offense and defense. No wonder they were able to block Li Chuang again and again.
After two days of urgent travel, we finally left the mountain.
Going east along the Han River to Gucheng County, we scouted the horses ahead to report that there were hundreds of horses riding ten miles away. No one dared to be careless in ordering the troops to prepare for battle.
Before he could reach it, dozens of riders came running towards him. Huiden looked at Xiang Xiang from a distance and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Qiyuan looked at his expression, raised his eyebrows and stared at the galloping riders: "Brother Yuan?"
Prime Minister Huiden nodded and smiled slightly: "We have been fighting for two years, this is the first time we meet."
Wang Guangen laughed and said, "Governor Xu, you can have a good chat with that Yuan Zongdi, maybe he will follow us to Wuchang."
Xu Qiyuan's expression was not so relaxed. He knew the meaning behind Wang Guangen's words. He had recruited Wang Guangen to surrender in the first place, but he also knew that it was impossible to recruit Yuan Zongdi. He was a big fan of Li Chuang, but he said: "They are now
Now he is with us."
"Governor Xu, General Wang." Yuan Zongdi, who was far away, jumped off his horse, raised his hands and saluted: "I have heard about the famous name for a long time, but today I saw it and it really shines."
Xu Qiyuan looked at the burly man in front of him, and secretly sighed in his heart. What a great man, but he didn't have the aura of a thief. How could such a man be willing to be a thief?
Then he cupped his hands and said, "General Yuan, I've been troubled a lot by the way today. I'm very grateful to you for sending me this kindly."
This title was very useful to Yuan Zongdi. A few months ago, he was appointed by the imperial court as the Chief Military Officer of Xiangyang, a serious official of the imperial court.
"It should be so, it should be so!" Yuan Zongdi repeatedly handed over his hands, showing great respect for this hard nut that had allowed them to lose troops and generals for two years. This behavior also made Xu Qiyuan deeply sigh in his heart: "When I come back, I hope to have the opportunity to sit with Yuan Zongbing.
Let’s have some tea.”
"It's better to choose a day than to hit it. Mr. Yuan is waiting for you at any time." Yuan Zongdi hurriedly and kindly invited Xu Qiyuan and his party to Xiangyang as guests, but Xu Qiyuan declined politely. He only said that military affairs were important and would wait until he came back. There was certainly a lot of fear and worry in this.
Of course, Yuan Zongdi couldn't force him. If he thought about it from his perspective, he would also have many scruples if Xu Qiyuan invited him to Xunyang as a guest, so he agreed to meet again in the future. He immediately got on his horse and led his troops to escort Xu Qiyuan and his party east. Of course, there would be all kinds of casual chats on the way, but they were actually testing.
chat.
"I used to be a thief, and you were also a thief. Now you are the commander-in-chief, and I am also the commander-in-chief. It would be great for us to be upright officials of the court." Wang Guangen, a talkative man, sometimes likes to say things that seem to be nonsense.
Yuan Zongdi smiled and nodded, no!
The boundary of Xiangyang is flat, and a fast horse can cross it in one day. Xu Qiyuan and his party did not go to Wuchang along the river, which would be too many twists and turns. They just passed directly through Xiangyang and then entered the mountains and passed Suizhou.
Suizhou in the mountains is also Li Zicheng's territory. It can even be said that the first political power in Suizhou was established by Li Zicheng in the tenth year of Chongzhen.
However, beyond the mountain is the area controlled by the imperial court, and going from Suizhou to Wuchang also requires passing through Xiaogan territory.
Yuan Zongdi was true to his word and personally led his troops into the mountains to send Xu Qiyuan out of Suizhou. If someone wanted to do it, Suizhou, which was deep in the mountains, would be the first choice.