Seeing that this ruthless bandit was frightened by a weak scholar like Qiu Yizi, Yuchi Lianghong admired him and felt pity for him, so he comforted him, "Don't panic, just follow my instructions, and nothing will happen!"
Qiu Yizi continued, "Brother is right. Listen to me, I can certainly keep you safe. However, if you want to go further, you must be loyal to the Prince of Youyan. I might as well tell you now that when the prince returns to Youyan, he will reorganize the army and enter the pass to attack the tyrant. You will naturally be of use then!"
In fact, ever since Zheng Rong escaped from the prison of the Ministry of Justice, he has been irreconcilable with the new emperor Zheng Yao. A war is inevitable, and the Central Plains will soon be ravaged under the horses' hooves. Anyone who is not extremely stupid knows this.
However, the Black Spirit God was just an ordinary man. After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, he was already stunned. After a long while, he said, "These are all national affairs. I am just a bandit who cuts off the road. I really dare not get involved!"
Qiu Yizi smiled again and said, "If you don't want to get involved, can you just not get involved? The fact that you let Prince Youyan go will probably spread throughout the martial arts world. How could the current emperor, who dared to attack his own uncle, let you go? And I'm afraid you have heard of Prince Youyan's benevolence and righteousness. Who to help and who not to help is all up to you!" As he spoke, he looked at the dull look on the face of the Black Spirit God, and saw that Zheng Rong's convoy was getting farther and farther away, so he said in a very stiff tone, "Listen, there is a saying that 'it's easy to get on a pirate ship, but difficult to get off'. Listen to my instructions first and block this road again!"
Yuchi Lianghong, who was standing by, felt sorry for the Black Spirit God and said, "The branches and stones are ready, so you can start blocking the way now. After you are done, go back to your mountain stronghold and hide for a few days. We are not going to kill you right now, so what are you afraid of? Aren't you ashamed to be here like a pustule?"
Qiu Yizi was already a little impatient, and without waiting for the Black Spirit God to answer, he said to Yuchi Lianghong: "Brother, the prince has gone far, let's catch up! As for the Black Spirit God, you don't have to waste your words on him. I see that he is a smart man and naturally understands the pros and cons. Anyway, the prince has many brave generals under his command, so he won't be short of a seat; the sword in his hand is sharp, so one more head doesn't matter!" After that, he turned his horse's head and galloped forward.
After hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong said, "Take care of yourself!" and followed Qiu Yizi to the northeast.
In this way, Qiu Yi encountered a total of six or seven gangs of bandits along the way in Qingzhou, but none of them dared to disobey the orders of Yuchi Lianghong and fail to give face to Prince Youyan - they all made way for Qiu Yi and his entourage to head north happily; they then blocked the official road again, causing a lot of trouble for the government troops that were chasing after them.
Therefore, although the rugged mountain roads in Qingzhou were difficult to travel, they were easier than running day and night on the official roads in Kinki. The group traveled through the mountains for two whole days, and finally saw the vague outline of the "Qinggui Tower" in Anhe Town under Zhou Cijing's name in the mist.
Qiu Yizhi knew that as long as he could safely enter Anhe Town, find a ferry, cross the Yellow River, and step onto the black land of Youyan Road, he would have saved the lives of more than a hundred people in the group. Thinking of this, he hurriedly urged the people behind him to rush forward.
But before they had walked halfway, they suddenly heard the sound of war drums, and countless soldiers jumped out from the bushes and houses on both sides of the road, forming a battle formation to block Qiu Yizi's way.
Qiu Yizhi saw this and was terrified. He quickly gathered his troops. Looking back, he saw that Youyan King Zheng Rong had also been awakened by the sound of the drums and had already leaned out of the carriage shed to look outside. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Yizhi has calculated everything and rushed as fast as he could, but he still hasn't crossed the Yellow River before the government troops arrive. What should we do now?"
Although Qiu Yizhi was extremely intelligent, his experience in battle was only a fraction of Zheng Rong's. Zheng Rong was not in a hurry. He supported his body and stood on the shaft of the carriage. He carefully observed the formation of the general army and said, "Yizhi, don't panic. The enemy army in front of us is estimated to be only two or three thousand people, and the flags are in disarray. I guess it's just that the garrison of Anhe Town got the news and rushed to stop them." He was out of breath halfway through his words and said, "Yizhi can first take the head of their commander to dampen their spirit, and then you can break through in one fell swoop!"
After receiving the instructions, Qiu Yizi rode his horse to Yuchi Lianghong and was about to order him to go forward and kill the enemy's main general immediately. However, Ye Lu said from the side: "This is just a trivial matter, why bother Yuchi hero to take action? I will go to meet him first. If he is defeated, it will not be too late for Yuchi hero to take action!" After that, he rode his horse slowly towards the enemy formation with a knife in hand.
When the two armies met, if the commander of one army came out to challenge, the other side would usually send a general to fight back, otherwise it would damage the morale of its own side. Therefore, when the government army saw a lone rider coming forward to challenge, after a small commotion, they also sent a general to fight back.
Qiu Yizhi saw from afar that the other general had a full beard, was tall and strong, and held a long sword that was more than ten feet long. He looked very tough to deal with. He couldn't help but feel a little worried about Yelu, so he asked Yuchi Lianghong beside him, "Brother, what do you think is the chance of Yelu winning if he goes forward?"
Yuchi Lianghong replied, "Fighting on horseback is not as good as fighting on the ground. The moves are simple and direct, so it is more important to have a good weapon in hand and a good horse under the crotch. I see that Yelu only has a single sword in his hand, and the long sword in his hand is at least ten feet long. As the saying goes, 'an inch longer, an inch stronger', I'm afraid that Brother Yelu will suffer a loss." He paused and said, "But Brother Yelu is not an ordinary person, so you don't have to worry too much. If there is any mistake, I will take action."
Qiu Yizhi felt relieved after hearing this, but then he saw the other side's fierce general standing on his horse with his sword drawn, and said loudly: "In compliance with the emperor's decree, Prince Youyan is requested to return to the capital to discuss matters. Anyone who interferes will be killed without mercy!"
Yelu laughed and said, "You want to kill me? Ask yourself if you have the ability to do so!" After that, he turned his horse's head and walked back, leaving a sentence, "I see that you have grown a big fool but no ability. Go back and practice for two years!"
When the general saw Yelu's rude words and his arrogance to expose his back, he became alert, urged his horse gently, and stabbed Yelu in the back with his sword.
Who knew that Ye Lu was only pretending to retreat, but he saw the general's every move clearly with his peripheral vision. When the long sword was about to stab him, he slightly turned his body to the right and clamped the hilt of the long sword with his left arm.
The general did not expect Yelu to suddenly change his tactics, and his reaction was not satisfactory. He immediately grabbed the handle of the knife with both hands and pulled it back with force. However, Yelu was extremely strong, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not move it at all.
Seeing this, Yelu smiled contemptuously and said, "Looking at your cowardly appearance, do you think you can be a general?" Before he finished speaking, he slashed behind him with the knife in his right hand.
The general held the long sword tightly in both hands, and was completely unprepared for Yelu's sudden move. He hesitated for a moment, and the artery in his neck was cut. The general was so seriously injured that he loosened his hands and quickly covered the wound, turning his horse to go to the main camp. But once the main artery was broken, how could it be easily stopped? A cavity of blood still gushed out, and the general's body tilted and fell off his horse before he could reach the main camp.
When the hundreds of people on Zheng Rong's side saw that Ye Lu easily killed a fierce general of the enemy on the battlefield, their morale was high and they shouted "good" in unison!
However, this angered another general in the government army, who shouted, "Conspiracies and tricks are not the work of heroes! Do you dare to confront me head-on?" Then he rode his horse straight towards Yelu.
Yelu did not dare to delay. He put his sword back into the sheath, but held the long sword he had just taken across his chest, waiting for the general to come forward.
The general's martial arts skills were quite impressive. He raised his sword high and chopped it diagonally towards Yelu's shoulder.
Yelu was not in a hurry. He raised his knife to block, took the weight with both hands and said, "You are quite strong. Take my knife too!" After that, he raised his knife and chopped at the man's shoulder.
Seeing the ferocious power of Yelu's sword, the general did not dare to be careless. He quickly raised his hands upwards and used the "Wild Fire Rising to the Sky" style to block Yelu's sword.
Unexpectedly, Yelu changed his moves very quickly. With a twist of his wrist, he turned the blade sideways and hit the opponent's handle, then slid down along the handle. The general on the opposite side saw this and was afraid that the sharp blade in Yelu's hand would cut off his fingers, so he quickly let go of his right hand. Seeing that he had exposed a flaw, Yelu swung his sword to sweep away the weapon in the man's hand, and then cut his neck, instantly cutting off the opponent's head. A stream of hot blood gushed out of his neck and splashed all over Yelu's face.
Yelu quickly wiped his face with his hand, and immediately his face was stained red with blood. He sat on his horse and laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Who else is not afraid of death? Come here quickly!" His own men and horses behind him also followed his lead and cheered loudly.
The government troops were so frightened by the ferocious look of the big man who looked like a foreigner that they fell silent.
At this moment, Qiu Yizhi's own morale was high, while the other side's morale was low, so he drew out his sword and shouted, "Escort the prince, and charge forward!" Before he finished speaking, he rushed out on his horse. Seeing his actions, the soldiers behind him also agreed, urging their horses and driving their vehicles, and followed Qiu Yizhi forward.
The intercepting government troops had been hastily deployed for battle, and had lost all their fighting spirit after Yelu had killed two of their generals in a row. No matter how the officers whipped and scolded them, they remained indifferent and watched the enemy army pass by them and head straight for the Yellow River.
This was Qiu Yizi's third visit to Anhe Town. He had overlooked the nearby terrain from the tallest Qinggui Tower, so he was very familiar with the place. He knew that the streets in the town were narrow and there were many houses. Fearing that there might be another ambush, he led his troops to bypass the town and head straight for the Yellow River ferry.
However, when Qiu Yizhi walked to the bank of the Yellow River, she saw that the bottoms of several ferries moored at the ferry dock had been pierced, and they were half-sunk and half-floating in the turbulent waves of the Yellow River. When Qiu Yizhi saw this, she understood in her heart: the government troops sank all the ferries in order to prevent the Prince of Youyan from crossing the river, and trapped all their troops on the west bank of the Yellow River. (To be continued)