Under Peng Ning's order, a large number of soldiers rushed onto the river and chased Liu Xiu and others on the opposite side.
You must know that there is only a thin layer of ice on the river now. Liu Xiu and others were walking on it cautiously just now. The ice layer was a bit unbearable, making a crunching sound and cracks appearing. Now there are so many troops.
Soldiers swarmed up, and the ice on the river broke faster.
Seeing that the soldiers were about to run across the center of the Hutuo River, Wang Ba, who had already reached the north bank, rolled his eyes and looked around. He saw a large giant by the river. He grinned and greeted: "Ju Qing,
Come help!"
As he spoke, he quickly ran to the boulder, stood on one side, and held the bottom of the boulder with both hands.
Gai Yan saw it and immediately understood what Wang Ba meant. He ran forward and joined forces with Wang Ba to lift the huge boulder.
The two of them moved the boulder and walked to the shore. Wang Ba said: "Three counts! One! Two! Three!" As he spoke, the two of them used all their strength to push the boulder to the river.
Throw it out.
The boulder was thrown more than ten meters away by the two of them, and landed on the ice on the river with a loud thud. The ice, which was already full of cracks, could no longer withstand such huge pressure.
I saw a large number of cracks spreading out from the center of this huge boulder, and I could hear a series of cracking sounds on the ice surface. The cracks extended from the north bank to the center of the river.
The soldiers who were running quickly on the ice suddenly felt their feet go soft, and the ice cracked. People fell into the cold river like dumplings along the gaps between the ice blocks.
.
In an instant, the ice surface of the Hutuo River turned into a pot of porridge. People's shouts were heartbreaking. Many soldiers' faces changed drastically and they turned around and ran back.
But the broken ice seemed to have eyes, chasing people around.
The time before and after was less than two minutes. Looking at the water of Hutuo River, it was crowded with people just now, but now, not even a single person can be seen.
Only the soldiers who were closer to the shore managed to escape with their lives, wading through the cold water and crawling back to the south bank.
In the blink of an eye, at least three to four hundred soldiers fell into the Hutuo River, and nothing happened again. The river was calm, and no soldiers could be seen struggling on the water.
The Hutuo River was like a monster with its mouth wide open, swallowing up as many as three to four hundred soldiers in one go.
Peng Ning and Cao Qi, who were standing on the shore, could see clearly and couldn't help but shudder. At the same time, they couldn't help but retreat several steps.
At this time, the two of them were also frightened, and a layer of white hair sweat broke out on their bodies. Fortunately, they were smart enough and did not cross the river immediately. Otherwise, they would have fallen into the glacier like the soldiers who fell into the water, and their bodies would be buried.
No existence?
Liu Xiu and others stood on the north bank of the Hutuo River, looking at the chasing soldiers on the opposite side. After a while, he waved and said: "Let's go!"
After successfully crossing the Hutuo River and successfully getting rid of the pursuers behind them, Liu Xiu and his party marched northwest, and soon entered Zhongshan County in Jizhou.
The boundaries between states are not straight lines, but criss-crossing. Generally speaking, Youzhou is to the north of Jizhou, and the northwest of Hutuo River does belong to the boundary of Jizhou.
When Liu Xiu and others escaped from the inn, they did not leave empty-handed. They also took a lot of food with them, which kept them from going hungry for the next few days.
After entering the border of Jizhou, they still walked all the way north.
The further north you go, the weaker Wang Lang's control becomes, and the more advantageous it is for Liu Xiu. Soon, Liu Xiu and others arrived at Lunu.
Lunu is the county seat of Zhongshan County. The prefect of Zhongshan County is named Liu Jun, and his uncle is Liu Cheng. In the past, Zhongshan County was called Zhongshan Kingdom, and Liu Cheng was the king of Zhongshan.
In the ninth year after Wang Mang usurped the throne, he deposed Liu Cheng's throne. The Liu family in Zhongshan also declined.
Liu Jun received news from Wang Lang early that Liu Xiu might have escaped into his Zhongshan County, and ordered Liu Jun to do everything possible to hunt him down. Liu Jun attached great importance to this matter and sent his confidants to investigate secretly.
.
In the end, he found out that Liu Xiu and his men had indeed come to Lunu, but they did not dare to enter the city. Instead, they stayed in an inn outside the city.
The place where Liu Xiu and others lived was called an inn at best, or a big shack at worst.
There are no walls, just a few wooden piles supporting the roof of the shed. It is ventilated from all sides. The temperature inside and outside the house is almost the same.
There is a layer of hay mats on the ground. There are no rooms, partitions, and no fixed positions. Anyone who comes here can settle in as long as they see an open space and lie down on it.
Naturally, you don't need to see any road signs for such an inn, and the price is even lower. You can stay for a day with two copper coins per person. If there are more people, it can be even cheaper.
There were dozens of Liu Xiu and others, crowded into such a large shack. That night, when Liu Xiu and others had just laid down, Long Zhun came in from outside, walked up to Liu Xiu, and said: "My lord, someone is visiting.
!”
People were not sleeping yet. When they heard this, they were all shocked. Someone is visiting? That means the lord's whereabouts have been exposed! Liu Xiu sat up and asked, "Who is visiting?"
Long Zhun said: "The governor of Zhongshan, Liu Jun."
Zhu You stood up suddenly and asked, "How many troops did he bring?"
Long Zhun said: "I only brought two followers!"
After hearing this, everyone present was startled. He only brought two followers. What did Liu Jun want to do?
Liu Xiu thought for a moment and said, "It seems that this Governor Liu has no ill intentions."
Deng Yu reminded him solemnly: "My lord, be careful of fraud."
Liu Xiu smiled indifferently and said: "Liu Jun only brought two people here. If you are not afraid, what should I be afraid of?!" As he spoke, he lowered his head to Long Zhun and said, "Please!"
Long Zhun responded, turned around and went out. Not long after, he brought in three people from outside. All three of them were wearing big cloaks, and their heads were also covered by big cloaks.
After entering, the three of them lowered their hoods. Liu Xiu and others took a closer look. One of them was about forty years old, and the other two were in their twenties or thirties.
The middle-aged man is gorgeously dressed in a brocade cotton coat and thick animal skin boots. He is dressed all over his body. Not only are the materials good, but the workmanship is also excellent. This outfit is worth a lot of money.
The other two young men were both dressed as servants in green clothes and gray trousers, but they both had swords hanging on their waists. Judging from their body shape and walking posture, it could be judged that they were both skilled practitioners.
The middle-aged man looked around at everyone present and asked, "Excuse me, where is Da Sima?"
His opening was tantamount to stating his position. Liu Xiu's Grand Sima was conferred by Liu Xuan, and in Wang Lang's case, Liu Xuan was just a pseudo-emperor. Since he was a pseudo-emperor, then the official position conferred by the pseudo-emperor
Naturally it is also invalid.
Therefore, those who believe that Wang Lang is the orthodox will never call Liu Xiu the Grand Sima. Those who are willing to call Liu Xiu the Grand Sima must have recognized Liu Xuan's orthodox status.
Liu Xiu stood up, walked forward, raised his hands and said, "I am Liu Xiu!"
The middle-aged man's eyes flashed, and he looked at the young man standing in front of him. There was only a small oil lamp lit in the big shack, and the light was dim, but the middle-aged man could still see Liu Xiu's appearance clearly.
Although his clothes were not very good and in tatters, you could still see that he had a well-proportioned and slender figure. Looking at his face, which was covered with dust and dirt, you could still see that he had a majestic appearance and extraordinary appearance.
The middle-aged man looked at Liu Xiu for a moment, then bowed his hands and said, "Junior Liu Jun, pay your respects to Uncle Cong!"
Liu Jun is Liu Cheng's nephew. He and Zhending King Liu Yang are of the same generation. They are both seventh-generation grandsons of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu is the sixth-generation grandson of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. In terms of seniority, Liu Xiu is indeed Liu Jun's clan.
Uncle, the latter is not wrong to call him Uncle Cong, although he is more than ten years older than Liu Xiu.
Here we also sort out the relationship between the ancestors Liu Xiu, Liu Jun and Liu Yang.
Liu Xiu's ancestor Liu Fa, Prince Ding of Changsha, was the sixth son of Emperor Jing; Liu Jun's ancestor Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan, was the ninth son of Emperor Jing; Liu Yang's ancestor Liu Shun, Prince Xian of Changshan, was the fourteenth son of Emperor Jing.
The ancestors of the three of them are brothers. Counting further up, their ancestors are Liu Qi, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
By the way, Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period claimed to be Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan. The key point here is ‘self-proclaimed’.
There are many doubts about whether Liu Bei is the successor of Liu Sheng, but there is absolutely no doubt that Liu Xiu is the successor of Liu Fa.
Liu Jun actually called himself Uncle Cong, which really surprised Liu Xiu. He raised his hand and said, "Prefect Liu can just call him Uncle Xiuwen."
Although Liu Xiu and Liu Jun are relatives of the same clan, one is in Nanyang County in Jingzhou and the other is in Zhongshan County in Jizhou. There is little contact between these two branches of the Liu family, and they are no different from strangers.
Liu Jun also felt that the age difference between the two was more than ten years, and it was indeed inappropriate to call him Uncle Liu Xiu. He nodded with a smile and said: "Respect is worse than obedience, so I will call him Uncle Wen."
Liu Xiu smiled, waved his hand and said, "Prefect Liu, please sit down." As he spoke, he took the lead and knelt down on the meadow.
Liu Jun was not pretentious. He knelt down opposite Liu Xiu and said, "Jun is called Boyu. Uncle Wen can call me Boyu."
Liu Xiu nodded and asked: "As far as I know, Zhongshan County has surrendered to Wang Lang."
Implications: You have obviously surrendered to the prince. Now that you know that I am in Lunu, you do not send the county army to arrest me. Instead, you only bring two followers and secretly come to see me after dark. What is this?
meaning?
Liu Jun is a smart man who can tell the truth at a glance. He sighed helplessly and said with a wry smile: "It's hard to support a tree alone. I'm surrounded by enemies on all sides. What can I do if I'm the only one?!"
If it is true that Liu Yang does not support Wang Lang, Liu Jun can still join forces with Liu Yang to fight against him. But now, even Liu Yang has defected to Wang Lang's side. Liu Jun really has no choice but to follow the trend and do what he wants.
He expressed his willingness to submit to the prince.
Liu Xiu could understand his situation to some extent. He said quietly: "Xiu's head is worth one hundred thousand food!"
Are you really not attracted to my head at all?
Liu Jun's face straightened and he said: "Wang Lang claims to be the son of the emperor, which is nonsense! He has a different surname, but pretends to be a descendant of my Liu family, and wants to conquer the world. This is simply the sorrow of my Liu family! Jun and Uncle Wen,
How can we, both descendants of the Liu family and descendants of the great ancestor, be deceived by outsiders and kill each other, killing each other's flesh and blood, and let people with different surnames enjoy the benefits?"
Liu Xiu understood Liu Jun's intention, bowed his hands and saluted, saying: "Xiu is here, thank you Boyu!"
Liu Jun hurriedly returned the gift, stopped beating around the bush, and said bluntly: "Uncle Wen is so polite. Jun is here to secretly help Uncle Wen!"
