After the Tongji Canal was excavated in the Sui Dynasty, the surrounding rivers were introduced into the canal. The lower reaches of the Bianshui River, which used to be rich in water, became a small and medium-sized river, especially the Bianshui River section in Liangjun. The junction of the rivers and lakes has been introduced into the Tongji Canal in large quantities, and no decent river has flowed into the river since then. The Bianshui, which was able to carry soldiers and food before, has become a small river that is difficult to catch even big fish. The river is only three or four feet wide and eight or nine feet deep, and the water flow is slow, easy to cross and swim, and it is no longer a natural barrier.
Of course, if there is really a team that can set up a camp on the south bank of Bian River to intercept, then even if it is destined to be unable to stop Meng Rang's team from crossing the south, it will still bring some trouble to Meng Rang's team, but it is a pity, because the Qiaojun army Refused to accept Zhang Xutuo's invitation to send troops. From Yucheng County of Liang County to Pengcheng County, there was no one soldier who fortified along the river and was being chased by Zhang Xutuo's main forces. Meng Rang's team can then cross the river and go down the river calmly.
Thanks to the blessing of the Qiaojun army, the Mengrang team, which is huge and mixed in good and bad, took only a little more than a day to cross the Bian River in the northeast of Liangjun, from deep into the hinterland of Liangjun, and the main force of Liangjun officials Basically, they are concentrated in the northwest where there are many thieves and thieves. The surrounding Qiaojun army and Pengcheng army are all holding high the banner of self-protection. They only guard their own territory and refuse to cross the county to cause trouble. They were still chasing after more than a hundred miles away, so Meng Rang's team was not only in no man's land in the hinterland of Liang County, but also countless refugees and hungry people rushed to vote, and the team's strength grew stronger.
The good things were not over yet. After crossing the Bianshui River, Meng Rang's team was surprised to find that the people in the villages in the east of Liang County had a lot of food—at least compared to Qi County in the north, which had been almost paralyzed by the bandits. , Lu County and Jiyin County are much stronger! Meng Rang's team, who was worrying about money and supplies, was overjoyed. Regardless of Zhang Xutuo's approaching, he just took a day to loot and robbed all the villages and markets within dozens of miles around him in one day. It was a robbery. Some winter wheat just harvested from the fields by the people of Liang County was plundered, which relieved some of the military ration crisis. Meng Rang was overjoyed when he heard the news, and held a banquet for the generals that night to celebrate the bountiful harvest.
Drinking the village brewed beer wine snatched from the common people, eating farm cattle and beef enough to support a family, and hugging the young folk daughter whose husband and father had been killed in his arms, Meng Rang's subordinates were led by Wang Xin'e, Cao Cao, etc. Of course, the gang of thieves led by Wei and Li Chou were elated and happy, and they were satisfied with the celebration. Li Chou, who had followed Meng Rang when he started the incident, also suggested: "Your Majesty, Liang County is not bad here. Little is useless, the village has money and food, much better than Qi County and Lu County where we used to make a living, why don't we stay here for a few more days, rob more villages, and if we have the opportunity to attack another county, Then we will have even more fun!"
"That's a good idea." Meng Rang praised first, then shut the crying girl in his arms, then sighed and said, "Unfortunately, if that old dog Zhang Xutuo didn't follow us, Even if you don't say it, I will let the brothers have a good time in Liang County for a few days, but that old dog has already set our sights on us, and his team is chasing us, so we can't be carefree anymore, we have to leave tomorrow .”
Li Chou and other thief generals lamented loudly, and cursed their old enemy Zhang Xutuo for not getting anything, and cursed Zhang Xutuo to fall and vomit blood to death when he went out. Meng Rang, who deeply hated Zhang Xutuo, did not participate in this useless curse, but He said loudly: "Brothers, you don't need to worry, Liang County has money and food, and Qiao County and Huaiyang County in the south have more money and food, and these two counties are not under Zhang Xutuo's management, so we just need to leave After arriving in Liang County and going to the south, you can feel free and happy with confidence and boldness!"
The thieves applauded loudly, and then Wang Xin'e, the most powerful general under Meng Rang's command, said: "My lord, the Bian River has passed, and the food and grass are enough for a few days. Next, where should we go? You should speak." right?"
"Go to Huaiyang." Meng Rang said calmly without blinking his eyelids: "Originally, Qiao County in the south is the closest and has the most money and food, but Chen Yingliang, the general guard there, is too powerful. I heard that this little dog Since his debut, he hasn't lost a single battle. Many heroes of the rebel army are in his hands. Although we are not afraid of him, that old dog Zhang Xutuo is chasing him too closely. We can't delay, so we will leave him for now. Ignore him, let's go to Huaiyang first, where there are few officers and soldiers, and the money and food are not bad."
Meng Rang's team was able to escape under the attack of famous Sui generals like Zhang Xutuo and Zhou Fashang, relying on their bullying and fearful behavior. After hearing Meng Rang's words, it was not surprising that they all nodded and applauded. But Meng Rang saw that it was already dark and everyone's wine was almost gone, so he was about to order the banquet to be dismissed and let everyone go back to the tent to rest, but just as he opened his mouth, a man rushed in from outside the dilapidated Chinese army tent. Xiao Luo played to Meng Rang Jishou: "Your Majesty, our military patrols met a few people outside the camp. They claimed to be subordinates of King Du Fuwei, an old man from your hometown. They wanted to ask to see you. They said they had It's a matter of urgency."
"Du Fuwei's subordinates?" Meng Rang was taken aback, and said in surprise: "I heard that kid went to Xiapi to earn a living? Why did his people come to Liang County?"
"Your Majesty, just call them in and ask." Cao Wei, who is more intelligent and can be regarded as a military adviser, suggested, and then said: "I heard that Du Fuwei almost hit Yongcheng, Qiaojun. Since you have been active in Huaibei, you know more about the situation here than we do. Your Majesty wants to take us to Jianghuai to make a fortune, so it would be good to ask them about the situation of the officers and soldiers in Huaibei."
As soon as Meng Rang heard that he was in the right mood, he immediately ordered to summon him, and soon, our Yuan Tiangang and Yuan Dashenzhu led four followers and appeared in front of Meng Rang swaggeringly. After the meeting, Yuan Tiangang was still full of joy. Rang bowed and said, "Master Meng, God bless you, and the gods protect you. The student finally found you in time. Student Li Chunfeng, the deputy military advisor under King Du Fuwei, met King Meng!"
"Are you Du Fuwei's deputy military adviser?" Meng Rang looked at Yuan Tiangang, who was wearing ordinary clothes but behaved politely, and asked, "Du Fuwei sent you to find me?"
"That's right." Yuan Tiangang nodded, quickly took out a letter from his arms, held it up with both hands and said: "Master Meng, I will talk about other things later, this is a gift that King Du asked the students to bring to you, please You take a look."
"Gift?" Meng Rang was taken aback again, and said with a smile, "Li Chunfeng, you don't know how King Du bullied me, do you? This is clearly a letter, what kind of gift is it?"
"Master Meng, you will understand after reading it." Yuan Tiangang said respectfully: "This is not a letter from our king to you, but a letter written by the tyrant's lackey Zhang Xutuo to Chen Yingliang, the general guard of Qiao County, and it is still related to King Meng. Zhang Xutuo's letter."
Bo Mengrang, the head of Zouping County, Qi County, changed his face a little when the bandit had done it before. He hurriedly pushed away the girl in his arms and left the table. He came over to pick up the letter in person, and asked his soldiers to light more torches, and then opened the letter for a closer look. , and immediately discovered that this was indeed a handwritten letter from his old rival Zhang Xutuo, or a letter written to the recently famous Chen Yingliang. Send troops to the north, fortify along the Bian River and cooperate with Zhang Xutuo to wipe out Mengrang's team! ——that is, the letter that Mulan sent to Yongcheng and handed over to Chen Yingliang.
After reading the letter carefully, Meng Rang hurriedly asked Yuan Tiangang, "How did Zhang Xutuo's letter fall into your hands?"
"Our luck is good, and your luck is not bad, King Meng." Yuan Tiangang said with a smile: "We, King Du, went west to Pengcheng to get food. Several officers and soldiers on horseback set up an ambush because they took a fancy to their horses, and finally snatched four horses, and found the letter on a dead body. I didn't dare to deal with it privately, so I brought it back and dedicated it to our King Du. We King Du thinks it's a big deal. We think it's because of fellow countrymen, and because everyone is a righteous teacher and friendly army. We sent me to Liang County to look for you. team, send this official document to you."
After all, Yuan Tiangang saluted Meng Rang again, and apologized: "Master Meng, forgive me, because that dog official Chen Yingliang blocked the official road of Qiao County, so I had to take the small road on the side of Mangdang Mountain to enter Liang County, which resulted in much delay. It took more than a day, and I didn’t know your exact location, so I failed to send the letter to you in time, and almost missed your important event of crossing the Bian River in the south, the negligence of duty, Wang Wang Haihan.”
"It's enough if you have this kind of heart!" Meng Rang laughed, patted Yuan Tiangang's shoulder heavily, pulled Yuan Tiangang up and walked to the table, and said with a laugh: "Actually, it is enough for you to stop this letter, Chen Yingliang's The dog officer did not send troops to the north, it should be because you stopped this letter, I wonder why Chen dog officer did not send troops, it turned out to be thanks to you! Come on, quickly serve the food and wine, I want to thank this person personally Mr. Li Chunfeng! Also, go and pick another beautiful girl to serve Mr. Li to drink!"
Laughing, Meng Rang introduced the content of the letter to a group of illiterate subordinates, and pointed out that the self-armed army crossing Bianshui in the south was not blocked by the officers and soldiers, basically because Du Fuwei's team happened to snatch Zhang Xutuo's autograph The letter asked everyone to thank Yuan Tiangang for a good life, and also introduced his capable subordinates to Yuan Tiangang. Wang Xin'e, Li Chou and others were overjoyed when they heard that, not only did they not have the slightest doubt about Yuan Tiangang, but they also turned their attention to Yuan Tiangang. It was a thousand thanks, and he raised the wine bowl to toast Yuan Tiangang to thank him, completely treating Yuan Tiangang as Du Fuwei's person.
The new meat and wine were delivered soon. Meng Rang politely invited Yuan Tiangang to eat with wine and vegetables, but due to the rush of time, the beef was not fully cooked and turned red. Although Yuan Tiangang did not avoid raw meat, he was a little scared when he saw the color of the meat was wrong. It was human flesh, so he cupped his hands and said, "Master Meng, I'll drink the wine, but I'll thank you for the meat. If it's convenient, get me some vegetarian dishes. If it's not convenient, I'll just eat some dry food."
"Mr. Li doesn't like meat?" Meng Rang was taken aback.
"No." Yuan Tiangang was afraid that it would be more troublesome when he was forced to eat human flesh, so he simply cupped his hands and said, "The student is learning the alchemy of the Zhouyi and believes in gods and Buddhas. He has been abstaining from eating meat since he was a child."
Meng Rang laughed, cursed secretly but didn't mind. He just ordered the cook to buy vegetables immediately, and then asked Yuan Tiangang, "Mr. Li, where is your King Du now? How is the situation?"
"My Majesty Meng, our Majesty Du's team is currently in the Dingtao Mountain area in the south of Pengcheng, about a hundred miles away from Qiao County." Yuan Tiangang replied respectfully: "The last time we entered Qiao County, it was because of the traitor Miao Haichao who betrayed us. Accidentally suffered a defeat, and the loss was not small. At one time, there were only more than 6,000 people left in the team. Fortunately, our vitality is still there. In the past few months, our King Du has continued to recruit refugees and civilians to join the army, and the team has expanded to more than 13,000 people , the situation is not bad."
"That's not bad." Meng Rang praised, "Double the team in four months, Du Fuwei has some skills. By the way, how is the situation in the south of Pengcheng? Is it easy to find food?"
"The situation in the south of Pengcheng is similar to that in the north. Corrupt officials are rampant, and refugees and people are everywhere." Yuan Tiangang was prepared, and replied casually: "But it's okay, the main force of the dog official Dong Chun is also basically in the north. , the south is very empty, so our surroundings are relatively peaceful, and it is relatively easy to find food."
"Mr. Li, there are refugees all over the place, how easy is it for you to find food?" Cao Wei who was next to him asked in surprise.
"There is Tongji Canal in the south of Pengcheng." Yuan Tiangang said with a smile: "The tyrant Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo three times, and a large amount of grain and grass in the south of the Yangtze River was transported to the north. The canal is the Tongji Canal. We only need to make a big deal on the canal. More than 10,000 of us have been eating for ten days and half a month. Even small businesses still have oil and water. If those shippers’ boats snatch a few of them, they will get a lot of copper coins and food, and sometimes they can even grab a few. Not a bad girl, King Du snatched a sixteen-year-old beauty a few days ago, named Wu Mei, and took her as his wife."
"That's it." Cao Wei nodded believing it, and said to Meng Rang: "My lord, if we have a chance, we'd better find a canal for business. I heard that Zhai Rang of Wagang specializes in robbing canals, and he doesn't even have a village." Robbery, it still feeds more than 20,000 people."
Meng Rang also nodded, and scolded: "Damn! If Zhang Xutuo, an old dog, hadn't been chasing him too closely, I really wanted to stay in Liang County and do some business on Tongji Canal by the way. "
"Your Majesty Meng, are you not staying in Liang County?" Yuan Tiangang took the opportunity to ask curiously: "Then where are you planning to go? Are you heading south directly to Qiao County?"
"Go to Huaiyang first, and then we'll see the situation."
Meng Rang's answer made Yuan Tiangang's eye muscles twitch slightly. Fortunately, the movement was very small. Although quite a few torches were lit in the big tent, others did not notice, and Yuan Tiangang was not in a hurry to speak, but just put down He took out his chopsticks, sat cross-legged, took out three polished copper coins from his sleeves, put them in his palms, put his left hand on top and his right hand on the bottom, and closed his eyes without saying a word. Seeing Yuan Tiangang's actions, everyone in the banquet was stunned, and then the rude Li Chou asked loudly: "Mr. Li, what are you doing? You are holding the three coins in your hands, afraid that we will steal them? "
"Shut up!" the well-informed Meng Rang yelled, "Mr. Li is asking for divination, don't disturb him!"
Of course, Yuan Tiangang, the great magician who is counted among the five thousand years in China, is divination and asking divination. After a solemn expression, Yuan Tiangang shook the three copper coins several times in the palm of his hand, threw them on the table in front of him, recorded the yin and yang, and then He picked up the copper coin again, put it back in his palm, and closed his eyes under his left hand and right hand again to recite silently.
It takes a total of six times to ask the hexagrams with copper coins, and the time-consuming is not too short, so when Yuan Tiangang shook the copper coins six times, Meng Rang, Li Chou and others had already surrounded him curiously, and they looked at the hexagrams together. Like—the result is of course absolutely incomprehensible. When Yuan Tiangang saw the hexagram that was cast out of the copper coin for the sixth time, he immediately exclaimed, "The well hexagram! It's still the water wind well hexagram! How could it be the water wind well hexagram?!"
"Mr. Li, what is the Shui Feng Jing hexagram?" Meng Rang, who didn't even understand Zhou Yi, asked hurriedly, and then asked: "Also, Mr. Li, are you asking about the hexagram for me to enter Huaiyang?"
"Exactly." Yuan Tiangang nodded, and cupped his hands to Meng Rang and said, "Your Majesty, don't blame me. Before serving King Du, the students made a living by selling fortune tellers in the Jianghu. It is necessary to do divination first, which can be regarded as a little effective. King Du and the auxiliary military division did not think that the students came from humble backgrounds, and they entrusted the students with the heavy responsibility of deputy military division. This is also because students' divination and divination are often effective, and there is no deviation. When the students heard that His Majesty decided to go west to Huaiyang, they couldn't help it for a while, so they boldly made a divination for His Majesty, predicting good and bad luck."
"Sir, do you still have such amazing abilities?" Meng Rang was skeptical, and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Chunfeng, how about the good or bad luck you have?"
Yuan Tiangang didn't answer, but bit his lower lip with his upper teeth, his face was embarrassed, then he raised his head to look at the surrounding people, and finally fixed his eyes on Li Chou who was full of curiosity, and asked suddenly: "General Li , your family was poor when you were young, and you used to herd sheep for others when you were young, and you also learned carpentry, but your skills are not good, and you have not learned delicate carpentry, so you usually swing an ax and pull a big saw, am I right?"
Before Yuan Tiangang finished speaking, there was already a sound of exclamation in the dilapidated Chinese army tent. Meng Rang, Cao Wei and others who knew Li Chou's past were all dumbfounded, and Li Chou himself almost stared his eyes out of their sockets. He yelled, "Mr. Li, how do you know?"
"Of course I can see it from your face." Yuan Tiangang replied calmly, but he muttered in his heart: "Idiot! Put your trousers down, and don't let me see the old scars on your legs bitten by wolves. Show the calluses on your palms, and don't be so rude when you drink, like a good carpenter, I can't see it."
Li Chou was dumbfounded, and after a while he roared again like thunder, "Sir, you are really a god! You are so accurate!"
"Mr. Chunfeng, can you really tell someone's past from their appearance?" Cao Wei couldn't believe it, and hurriedly said, "Then ask Mr. Chunfeng to take a look for me. What is my past experience?"
"Forgive me, General Cao. The student is going to say something that offends you." Yuan Tiangang cupped his hands to Cao Wei, and said calmly, "Your eyebrows are long, your face is red and your ears are rootless. This is the appearance of loneliness. The eyebrows are higher than the right eyebrows, and the male should be on the left and the female on the right should be female, if the students expected correctly, you should have lost your loving mother when you were young."
"Fairy!"
There was another thunderous sound in the big tent, and Cao Wei himself almost tore his throat from roaring, while Yuan Tiangang glanced calmly at Cao Wei's original seat, and also took a look at the place where Cao Wei hugged him before. The woman in her arms smiled secretly: "Others hug young women, but you hug a woman who is obviously older than you, or a woman with big breasts. Isn't this a lack of maternal love since childhood?"