The sun shines through the dense jungle, and sprinkles a little spot of light miserly, shining on the forest full of twisted tree roots and messy rocks, and also shining on Qian Xiangmin who is panting heavily. Qian Xiangmin, who pays attention to the appearance of clothes, is very rare at the moment, wearing the clothes of ordinary people. The clothes are still full of mud, moss and dirt, which is extremely filthy, making the plain-looking Qian Xiangmin even more wretched.
Panting heavily and walking hard, Qian Xiangmin didn't know whether he tripped over a tree root or a vine, and suddenly a dog ate shit and fell to the ground. He Er and Qin San, who were waving their knives to open the way, hurriedly turned back to check the situation, and then He hurriedly helped the pampered Qian Xiangmin to sit up, and then, the painful and desperate wailing sound once again echoed in the mountains and mountains of the Taihang Mountain...
"I can't go anymore! I won't go! I won't go! Even if you kill me, I won't go! I won't be an official anymore, I want to go home, I want to go home! I miss my son, I I miss my wife, I miss my concubine A Ting! I want to go home!"
"Qian Canjun, Qian Canjun, calm down, calm down! Don't shout so loudly, be careful not to be heard by Turkic scouts, if they hear it, we will be finished!"
"That's right, Master Qian, you can't call anymore. The voice can be heard far away in the mountains. If there are Turkic soldiers entering the mountain to search, it will be troublesome to hear your voice."
We can't blame our money to join the army for being useless and incompetent. It's because our luck in joining the army is really bad. After we left the main force of the Qiao Peng Sui Army and headed north, our money joined the army. Finally, before we had time to get close to Xinkou, our Qian joined the army, just like Ambassador Li Yuanli who led a small number of cavalry northward to grab credits. He was very unlucky to run into the guerrilla sentinels of the Turkic army, and was chased by the Turkic sentries who were greedy for property and mounts. After running for more than a hundred miles, they didn't have time to join Xinkou's King Qin's army. They were forced by the Turkic guards to flee to Wutai County in the northeast. Finally, relying on a guide and a little bit of luck, Qian joined the army. Although the three were lucky enough to get rid of the Turkic pursuit, the three horses were shot to death one after another and died of exhaustion. In the end, they could only walk on their legs.
By the way, the three horses of Qian Canjun's party died one after another. In the final analysis, it was Chen Yingliang's stinginess, because he was not optimistic about this mission at all, and he knew that Qian Canjun would not be able to bring his mounts with him on the mountain road, so he was reluctant to give money with a steed mount. Joining the army and the others to ride, they only gave Qian Canjun and the others three rough horses to travel—three points worse than the rough horse that Chen Yingliang rode from Daxing to the eastern capital Luoyang back then. Naturally, such mounts could not withstand too much trouble.
The mounts were exhausted, and he didn't want to be this bad at all. Of course, Qian Canjun wanted to give up halfway, but after carefully identifying the terrain, the guide, Third Brother Qin, told Qian Canjun that this place was already near Jian'an Township in Wutai County. The county town is not far away, and considering that there are already a large number of Turkic outposts in the rear, Qian Canjun changed his mind and led Qin Sange and He Er to Wutai County, intending to stay in the county town for a rest , and then consider whether to sneak across the mountains to Yanmen City. —Attention, it is reconsideration, our money to join the army is not loyal enough to complete the task assigned by Chen Yingliang even if we sacrifice our lives.
The ideal of lodging and rest is very full, but the cruel and bloody reality is very skinny. Qian Canjun and his party walked eastward, and before they had time to see the city wall of Wutai County, they immediately encountered Turkic guerrilla sentinels. He Er and Third Brother Qin were familiar with the terrain and roads in this area, and they took Qian Canjun and fled to the forest in the north in time. Our Qian Canjun must have no chance to escape. At the same time, when they climbed to the high ground, Qian Canjun and others were dumbfounded to see that the inside of Wutai County was already filled with thick smoke, and there were corpses of civilians everywhere in the wilderness outside the city, which had obviously fallen into the hands of the Turks.
There was no other way, no way to go to the city to rest, and no way to turn back. With no other choice, Qian Canjun had no choice but to listen to the suggestion of the little bandit soldier He Er, and simply went to the north of Yanmen City on the mountain road. You can avoid the Turkic cavalry who are as ferocious as wolves, and maybe you can actually touch the Yanmen City and send Chen Yingliang's memorial into the city. The clothes were still on He Er and Qin Sange's backs. Although the amount of dry food was not much, it was still hopeful that they could last until they arrived at Yanmen City.
Gossip is far away, let’s get down to business, after talking for a long time, our Qian Canjun finally calmed down, stopped crying and shouting, wiped his tears and asked, "How far do we have to go before we can find a place where there are people to rest?"
The only one who can answer this question is the local brother Qin San. The temporarily recruited brother Qin Shan pointed at the mountain ridge in front of him with a shoulder knife, and introduced: "Master, don't worry, it's not far away. After crossing that mountain, you will reach the mountain ridge in front of you." The mountain road in my hometown of Tantou Village can be easier to walk there, and then we can rest and spend the night in Tantou Village and have a warm meal. Tantou Village is deep in the mountains, so there should be no Turks to plunder."
Looking at the towering mountain ridge in despair, our Qian Canjun wiped away tears, choked up and said, "Then let's go, He Er, help me."
In this way, with the support of the little bandit soldier He Er, our Qian Canjun started crying again, limping and slipping on the road, stopping to rest from time to time, and lamenting that being an official is too difficult He has to suffer so much for a pitiful salary, and he keeps complaining about his bad luck, but he just met such a vicious boss as Chen Yingliang, a ruthless superior, with a sad and painful appearance, and a man with a heart of stone. I will cry when I see it. Brother Qin San and He Er kept comforting in low voices, persuading Qian Canjun to think about the best, and think more about what kind of rich rewards he would get after sending the memorial to Yanmen City.
No matter how rich the rewards are, it has nothing to do with Qian joining the army who has no ambitions. The greatest wish of Qian joining the army is to return home alive. The current ideal is to find a place where there are people and rest. This is the support of this belief , our Qian Canjun finally managed to climb over the mountain ridge, and with the guidance of Third Brother Qin, he touched the small road in Tantou Village, which is relatively easy to walk. At the same time, the bandit soldier He Er also judged from the traces on the mountain road that there were not a large number of people walking on this mountain road in the near future, so Qian Canjun and his party carefully turned up the mountain road and began to march towards Tantou Village, the hometown of Third Brother Qin.
This small road is indeed easier than walking in the dense forest, and Qian Canjun and the others managed to speed up a bit. When the bandit soldier He Er turned his head inadvertently, he unexpectedly discovered that there were two people following him from the foot of the mountain. He Er, who had rich experience in mountain warfare, hurriedly called the police in a low voice, took Qian Canjun and hid it in the grass by the side of the road, and then carefully looked down the mountain. As a result, He Er was relieved that the two men at the foot of the mountain were both dressed in the Central Plains, not Turkic soldiers or Hu people in strange clothes. But He Er was still a little worried, and asked in a low voice to Third Brother Qin next to him: "You are familiar with the ground, take a closer look, are these two guys disguised as Turkic soldiers?"
Third brother Qin opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, and suddenly exclaimed: "Liang Xiaosi! Why is it Liang Xiaosi from our Tantou Village?"
"A person from your same village?" He Eryi was overjoyed when he heard that, and said happily, "It's great, with your fellow villager here, we can relax a lot now."
"It won't be easy, and there will be trouble." Brother Qin shook his head quickly, and said through gritted teeth: "This Liang Xiaosi and I are deadly enemies in the village. We have fought countless times since we were young. He peeked at my sister-in-law. I took a bath, sprinkled lime into the flour in my house, and threw stones into the latrine of my house. One year, the walnuts in my house grew well, but the tree was suddenly cut down at night. I haven’t found out who did it until now. But I doubt it must be the son of a bitch, because I'm the only one in the village who has a grudge against him!"
After hearing this, He Er, who came from a poor background, nodded his head. He felt that Liang Xiaosi at the foot of the mountain was very hateful, but Qian Junjun, who had eaten and seen him, didn't take it seriously. He waved and said, "What's the big deal? When I was a child, Are you naughty? Since we are from the same village as you, we don’t need to hide anymore, get up and go, and try to reach your hometown before dark.”
Feeling that Qian Canjun's words were reasonable, He Er and Qin Sange didn't care, so they left the grass and moved on again. As a result, Liang Xiaosi and Hou Junji at the foot of the mountain finally discovered the existence of Qian Canjun and his party , after being taken aback by the same thing, and after taking a closer look at Qian Canjun and the others, Liang Xiaosi also scolded angrily, "Qin Xiaosan! Why is this son of a bitch?"
Hou Junji was startled and asked Liang Xiaosi the reason for his anger, Liang Xiaosi said truthfully: "He and I are from the same village, but I and him are deadly enemies. This bastard sneaked into my sister and sprinkled it in the water tank of my house. I have urinated, I have thrown dung in front of my house, and a few years ago my wheat pile was burned, I always suspected that he did it! Since I was a child, I have fought countless times with him!"
Hou Junji, who was born as a hooligan, didn't have the kindness to join the army. Hearing that his guide had suffered such a loss, he immediately became sympathetic to the enemy, and waved his hand and said, "Okay, I'll catch up with him later. Just kill him and vent your anger! I am Tang Guogong's bodyguard, killing such a small grassroots person is like crushing an ant."
Liang Xiaosi, who deeply hated Third Brother Qin, was overjoyed when he heard it, and after expressing his thanks in a hurry, he hurried to chase Third Brother Qin and the others together with Hou Junji. Ji was really ready to kill, but when he managed to get closer, Hou Junji was immediately dumbfounded, because Hou Junji saw clearly that Qian Canjun and his party were all wearing sharp eyes. Broken knife, even if he and Liang Xiaosi had weapons, they would be two against three. If they really fought, only he would suffer.
At the same time, He Er also found out that Hou Junji and the others came with bad intentions, so he quickly pulled out his shoulder knife, and looked at Hou Junji and Liang Xiaosi vigilantly, while the third brother Qin was extremely jealous when he met Liang Xiaosi's enemy. , opened his mouth and cursed: "Son of a son of a bitch!"
"Who the hell are you scolding?" Liang Xiaosi was even more furious, and he drew his sword without saying a word. The third brother Qin also immediately drew his sword, and cursed even more. Liang Xiaosi couldn't bear it anymore and relied on Hou Junji's help , rushed forward with a loud roar, and slashed Qin Sange clumsily, but was kicked in the chest by He Erfei, who had learned a lot of martial arts from Ma Sanbao, and kicked him on all fours. Stepping forward, he stepped on Liang Xiaosi's knife-holding hand, put the knife on Liang Xiaosi's neck, and looked at Hou Junji coldly to express a threat.
"Family!" Hou Junji, who is currently relying on bragging and flattering, although his martial arts skills are low, he has never eaten pork, but he has seen pigs running. He immediately saw that He Er had some martial arts skills, but he couldn't tell how high his skills were. , but definitely stronger than himself! —So Hou Junji pulled out half of the shoulder knife and immediately inserted it back.
"Oh, what are you fighting for?" Qian Canjun, who was barely a good-natured person, said kindly, "Little brother lying on the ground, Brother Qin also told us a little bit about you and Brother Qin just now. We are all from the same village, so why care about those grievances in the past? Forget it all in the past, just forget about the past."
Hou Junji, who just boasted that he wanted to avenge the guide, immediately changed his face, nodded and said, "This brother is right, Brother Liang, don't worry about the trivial things you and Brother Qin have in the past. Well, the past, let him pass it all."
He Er's knife rested on his neck, of course Liang Xiaosi didn't dare to have the slightest objection, he could only quickly agree obediently, He Er snorted coldly, then withdrew the knife, and Qian Canjun over there bowed his hand to Hou Junji Asked: "Brother, dare to ask your surname Gao, where did you come from, and where did you go?"
"The next Hou Junji came from Wutai County. The Turks captured Wutai City and were going to Tantou Village to escape the flames of war." Hou Junji bowed his hand in return and asked back, "Brother, may I ask your name Gao?" , where are you going?"
"My name is Qian Xiangmin, I'm here..." Qian Canjun was not too stupid, so he changed his words in time and said, "I also went to Tantou Village in the deep mountains to escape the flames of war."
"Really? That's such a coincidence. Brother Qian, why don't we go the same way?" Hou Junji asked hypocritically.
Qian Canjun wanted to agree, but seeing Third Brother Qin and Xiaosi Liang who were still glaring at each other, Qian Canjun changed his mind, shook his head and said with a smile, "Forget it, your guide and I happen to be enemies. Maybe there will be conflicts together, so let's go separately. You are young and fast, please first, see you in Tantou Village."
Hearing Qian Canjun's words, Hou Junji was not polite. He took Liang Xiaosi and left first. Qian Canjun, who was already in his forties, led Qin Sange and He Er to follow, with a long distance between them. It was quickly opened again, and it was at this time that He Er reminded Qian Canjun: "Jianjun, the guy named Hou Junji just now didn't seem to be telling the truth. He said he escaped from the county seat, but the two of us I saw that the county town had been burned a few days ago, if he escaped from the city, he should have walked ahead of us long ago, why would he walk behind us?"
"Never mind him!" This was Qian Canjun's carefree reply, "Whatever he came from, as long as he's not a Turk."
At the same time, Liang Xiaosi also asked Hou Junji why he didn't help just now, but Hou Junji rolled his eyes and said angrily, "Help? Didn't you see that there are three of them and two of us? And , That kid named He Er just now obviously has practiced martial arts, and his martial arts might be better than mine, how can he fight them?"
"Then I'll call them for nothing?" Liang Xiaosi asked with a mournful face.
"What's the hurry?" Hou Junji said coldly, "We can't beat them head-on, but we can attack them from behind. As long as we kill that Huijiazi named He Er first, it's easy to kill your enemy."
After holding back his guide, Hou Junji pondered in his heart again, and said to himself, "Where did that Qian Xiangmin come from just now, and what did he do here? He said he was from Wutai County, but my accent is not the same. He can’t even recognize the local accent, and it’s obvious that he’s not from Wutai County, so why would he lie to me?”
In this way, the two groups, who had the same purpose but did not know each other's details, continued on the road. The young and strong Hou Junji and his party walked in front, and He Er and others, who were burdened with money to join the army, walked in front. The distance was always kept within one or two miles, and when it was getting dark, Hou Junji and Liang Xiaosi first turned around a mountain depression, then stopped suddenly and did not move for a long time. Qian Xiangmin and others felt strange and hurried When he caught up, he was also stunned like Hou Junji and the others.
The reason for staying here is that Qin Sange and Liang Xiaosi share their hometown, Tantou Village. Tantou Village, located in a basin, is now scorched everywhere, and all the houses have been razed to the ground. It had obviously been destroyed for a while, and then Qin Sange and Liang Xiaosi shouted almost at the same time, and both rushed to their hometown, Hou Junji quickly followed, Qian Xiangmin and He Er looked at each other, and then hurriedly followed.
Followed the two guides into the village, there was no one in the village, only a few corpses lying on the ground, Qin Sange and Liang Xiaosi went back to their respective homes, each looking for their own mothers, He Erze and Hou Junji respectively found one He squatted down to inspect the corpses, looking for various clues to analyze and judge the time of death of these corpses, and soon, He Er ran back to Qian Xiangmin's side, and said in a low voice: "Joining the army, the death time of these people should not be too long." If it lasted more than three days, it should have been done by the Turks.”
"Turk?" Qian Canjun's face changed a little, and he quickly looked around and asked in a low voice, "You must be Turk?"
"Of course it's the Turks." He Er replied in a low voice: "The Sui army in this area must have all gone to serve the king. Then they have time to rob houses in the mountains? Besides, our officers and soldiers came to collect food and take it away. That's it, why bother to massacre the whole village and even burn it down?"
He Er's words were a bit arbitrary, but it still scared Qian Canjun so that his face turned pale. He quickly looked left and right to look at the surrounding environment, for fear that the Turkic soldiers who would kill without batting an eye would suddenly rush out from that corner. Hearing Liang Xiaosi's cry first, Qian Canjun, He Er and Hou Junji followed the sound, and soon saw Liang Xiaosi kneeling in a yard, loudly in front of several burnt black corpses. Crying, Hou Junji hurried in to comfort him, Qian Canjun and He Er hurriedly searched for Third Brother Qin, but they found Third Brother Qin's home at the diagonally opposite door of Liang's house.
Of course, Third Brother Qin's home was burnt to ruins, but they didn't hear Third Brother Qin's cries, only saw Third Brother Qin rummaging through the ruins. Qian Xiangmin and He Er knew that he was looking for his relatives He didn't bother him, but helped him lift the burnt beams and rummaged through the ashes of the beams. After searching for a long time, Third Brother Qin raised his head and said puzzledly: " Strange, where are my brother and my sister-in-law? And my little nephew? Where did they go?"
"How many people are there in your family?" He Er asked.
"Both my parents have passed away, only my elder brother, my sister-in-law, and a little nephew." Third Brother Qin replied truthfully.
"There are two possibilities. One is that you were captured by the Turks, and the other is that you escaped with your little nephew." He Er, who had been a bandit, was very clear about this, and immediately pointed out: "Your brother and your sister-in-law are both They are young and strong, and they must run very fast when they find that the Turks are coming. Even if they are stopped by the Turks, they are usually arrested and used as hard labor. Must be alive."
Third Brother Qin was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly went to the village to check the corpses under the moonlight. Tantou Village is a small village, and Third Brother Qin didn't spend much time looking at all the corpses in the village, and then cheered: "There is no one from my family on the ground, My brother and they must have run away."
"Keep your voice down!" Qian Canjun rushed up quickly, covered Third Brother Qin's mouth, and shouted in a low voice: "Don't speak loudly, the Turkic may not have gone far, if the Turkic is attracted, we will die deal!"
The third brother Qin was startled, quickly shut his mouth, and then said with a puzzled face: "How did the Turks find our village? Our Tantou Village is far away from Wutai County? The Turks in Wutai County should find Why don't you come here?"
Hearing Third Brother Qin's words, he was taken aback by joining the army, who is not considered a living. Then he quickly grabbed Third Brother Qin and told him, "Quickly, take us to the mountain road leading to Yanmen City from this village. Let's go there." Take a look."