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"I thought you weren't coming."
"I don't understand why a talented man like you, who is famous throughout the south of the Yangtze River, would fall for a traitor like me."
"Like you? Look at you, a stinky and vulgar man, how could I like you? Stop talking nonsense, just return me 120,000 taels of silver and you can leave immediately."
Meng Ke obviously didn't expect that the well-mannered Qin Mu would suddenly burst into a mouthful of vulgar language. He was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter.
Qin Mu was too lazy to talk nonsense. After sending the broken carriage back to Nanjing, he carried Qiao'er on the horse and galloped forward. Meng Ke noticed that his movements were standard and his riding skills were not bad. He couldn't help but be a little surprised.
From Taiping Prefecture to the west, passing Wuhu, Tongling, and Chizhou, Qin Mu rode non-stop except for sleeping and eating. Even a strong man like Meng Ke was somewhat exhausted, but Qin Mu was still gritting his teeth and holding on, with no intention of stopping to rest.
After entering Dongliu County, Meng Ke could not help but ask, "Why are you rushing so fast and exhausting yourself?"
Qin Mu answered without even turning his head, "We don't have much time. Zhang Xianzhong, who was defeated at Danshui, will soon capture Huangzhou, Macheng and other places. His momentum will be greatly boosted. In May, he will cross the Yangtze River from Yadanzhou and attack Wuchang Prefecture. In August, he will go south to Yueyang, capture Changsha, sweep across Huguang, and march his troops to Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong and other places. We only have five months left."
These words almost petrified Meng Ke. He stared at Qin Mu, who was riding ahead of him, and was speechless for a long time. Zhang Xianzhong was now just a bandit who had fled to Danshui and had only a few thousand remnants under his command. Qin Mu was so sure about his future. Could it be that Qin Mu had the ability to predict the future? What was his intention in rushing so fast
Meng Ke pondered for a long time, as if he had realized something, but it was difficult to understand it thoroughly. He couldn't help but smile. Perhaps, what Qin Mu said was just his personal conjecture. Scholars just like to talk nonsense.
"Qiao'er, can you hold on?" Qin Mu looked at Qiao'er, who was exhausted in his arms, and was very worried. In fact, he was not in much better condition either, and it seemed as if all the bones in his body were about to fall apart.
"If Gongzi can hold on, Qiao'er can hold on too."
"Girl, this can easily be misunderstood!"
"What's the misunderstanding?"
"Aha, it's nothing. Just hold on a little longer. Let's go to Nanling ahead to rest." Qin Mu was trying to find joy in suffering, and he masturbated to distract himself from the pain in his body.
After running for another hour, we arrived at Nanling Mountain, southwest of Dongliu County. The mountain is not high, with dense trees growing on it. It looks lush and green from afar. Halfway up the mountain and looking to the north, we can see the Yangtze River rolling eastward, with vast waves and rising smoke.
Seeing the surging river, Qin Mu felt a surge of great power in his chest. He looked up and wailed, "My ambition is unfulfilled and people are still suffering. There are traces of tears everywhere in the mountains and rivers..."
Qin Mu's whistle started and stopped, because after a turn, a tree in the woods fell across the middle of the road. Qin Mu knew very well what this meant.
In this chaotic time, there were refugees everywhere and bandits were rampant. They had encountered four gangs of robbers along the way. Most of them were refugees who were forced to become bandits. There were seven or eight people at the least and more than a hundred at the most. Every time Meng Ke charged in, the bandits were frightened by his bravery and quickly retreated.
Qin Mu pulled the reins and was about to turn around when a burst of shouting came from the woods on both sides. The leaves and grass were shaking constantly, as if there were wolves fighting in the woods. Qin Mu held Qiao'er with one hand and drew his sword with the other. He looked around and couldn't help but groan inwardly. There were more than a hundred bandits rushing out of the woods, most of them holding sticks, and a few holding knives.
But from their fierce eyes and banditry, it can be seen that this gang of bandits is not like the "newbies" we met before. They have committed murder and robbery more than once.
What was even more terrible was that Meng Ke was dozens of feet behind at this time, and this group of bandits rushed out without even saying a word and just swarmed towards him.
Damn, why don't you just shout: I opened this mountain and planted this tree! It's really unethical to rush in like this.
Qin Mu turned his horse's head and slapped the horse's butt hard, hoping to rush back. Although he had a knife in his hand, it was just for show.
This body has not been well trained and he is exhausted from the journey. He does not think he is strong enough to fight a hundred people alone. If he does not run now, he is a fool.
But it was not so easy to run away. A group of bandits shouted arrogantly and surrounded him before his horse could speed up. A loud voice shouted at the back: "Pay attention, little guys, this horse is good, I want it, don't hurt it."
Qin Mu looked back and saw a guy with a mouth full of yellow teeth, carrying a big knife on his shoulder and grinning at him. Qin Mu now clapped his hands even more urgently.
"Don't worry, my king. Just look at me." A shirtless bandit on the right laughed slyly and raised the wooden spear in his hand. "Snap!" Qin Mu chopped with all his might and chopped the wooden spear crooked.
At this moment, a cold light flew towards him, and with a "whoosh" it flew past Qin Mu's body, scaring him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
“Ah… … ” Immediately afterwards, a shrill scream came from behind.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" The bandits around were stunned and cried out in surprise. At this time, several whistling sounds were heard in succession. The bandits closest to Qin Mu fell down, with half of the arrows left on their bodies still trembling.
At the bend ahead, Meng Ke rode his horse like a dragon and rushed out. He stood straight and shot one arrow after another, like a continuous stream of arrows.
Qin Mu took advantage of the moment when the bandits were in chaos, and rushed forward while spurring his horse, cursing: "Meng Ke, you want to kill me, don't you? Damn it, do you know how dangerous that arrow was? A large piece of my skin was scraped off."
Meng Ke laughed loudly, and the sound of his hooves was like thunder as he rushed over. Qin Mu hurriedly shouted, "Don't show off. These guys are habitual bandits and it's hard to get rid of them. Get out of here first."
Meng Ke pretended not to hear anything and did not even take off his hat. He put away his bow, drew his sword, and charged into the group of bandits with smooth movements.
"Damn it! They are all desperate criminals." Qin Mu cursed again.
Qin Mu had always wanted to find out more about Meng Ke. He was from Liaodong and had been a general under Yuan Chonghuan, but he did not know what position he had held or how many soldiers he had led. In the historical records that later generations had read, there was no mention of such a person as Meng Ke.
However, when Yuan Chonghuan was guarding Liaodong, the Ming army had always been on the defensive. In this kind of war relying on city defense, except for the main general, it was difficult for the middle and lower-level generals to have the opportunity to leave their names in history. Therefore, not leaving their names in history does not mean incompetence.
Meng Ke in front of him had a knife in his hand, filled with murderous intent. The veins on his hand holding the knife bulged. He suddenly swung it out in an instant, and the knife light turned into a phantom, sweeping out with a terrifying gust of wind. This sharp knife actually killed two people with one blow;
The moment the first head flew into the sky, the warhorse rushed past wildly, and the sword light was like a comet's tail, dragging across the neck of another bandit. The bandit didn't even have time to utter a scream, and blood gushed out of his throat like a fountain, and he fell out.
The bandits around were in chaos and fled.
At this time, a gangster who was hiding behind a tree and looked like a skinny monkey shouted, "Brothers, retreat to the woods quickly. Don't panic, don't panic. They can't do anything to us if we retreat to the woods. Quickly, pick up stones and smash them to death!"
"Second in command, listen to Second in command, smash it quickly..."
Not only Qin Mu was shocked, but Meng Ke's face also changed. These bandits were defeated under his charge on horseback, but if they were allowed to retreat into the woods and hundreds of people would beat them with stones, even if the Overlord was reborn, he would only have a head full of bruises.
"Hurry up!" Qin Mu shouted, and rushed back first, bending down as much as possible, pressing Qiao'er on the horse's back.
Stones came crashing down from all directions. Meng Ke rushed towards Qin Mu on his horse, and the light of his sword swirled around him, blocking one of them. The sword slammed on the stone, making a banging sound.
With a whoosh, a fist-sized stone flew past Qin Mu's head, knocking off his black hat. His long hair spread out and flew behind him. Qin Mu's scalp went numb with fear. This was definitely not as comfortable as charging in a hail of bullets. If you were not careful, it would smash your head open.
Qin Mu was hit on the calf right after that. Fortunately, the stone was not too big and hit the flesh on his leg without breaking any bones. Even so, it was enough to make him "grit his teeth".
Just as they were about to escape the range of the stone bullet attack, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the woods on the right side of the ridge. They were all shirtless and looked like bandits. What was even more terrible was that the six or seven bandits in front were riding tall war horses. These people were all big and strong, whistling and waving big swords. It was obvious at first glance that they were not easy to deal with.
The one in the front laughed and said, "Brothers, we are lucky today. We met a seventh-rank official."
"Hahaha, it would be better if he's a corrupt official."
"Damn it, are there any officials who are not corrupt these days?"
This group of bandits was obviously not from the same group as before. They were ten times more ferocious. They had already regarded Qin Mu and his two riders as their own food. They rushed over while laughing and cursing. The clanging of iron hooves and the yellow dust that was stirred up made it impossible to see the people clearly.
"There are so many bandits in this world!" Qin Mu suddenly felt angry that he had died before he could accomplish his mission.
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ps: A man had a pig and was very annoyed with it, so he wanted to throw it away. However, the pig knew the way home, so he tried to throw it away many times but failed. One day, the man drove away the pig and abandoned it. That night, he called his wife and asked, "Is the pig home?" His wife said, "It's home." The man was very angry and yelled, "Hurry up and let it answer the phone. I'm lost."
Hao Yuan is also lost. His girlfriend won't marry him unless he has a house. He feels that there is no home for him in this big world. His new book's performance is very slow. He even gets a toothache when he drinks cold water. He is lost... Well, see you later. Hao Yuan will first go to the border of the Milky Way to enjoy the sunshine and beach, and find a crab for a massage.
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