"Back to Your Highness, I didn't find anything obviously suspicious, but the whole of Xingyang was full of weirdness. Logically speaking, when I arrived in Xingyang, it should be a busy time for Xingyang, but... the whole of Xingyang was like an empty city. There were few pedestrians on the street, and the atmosphere was strange. It was difficult to see ordinary people, and the whole city seemed extremely quiet." Mang Zhong recalled the feeling Xingyang gave him after he went to Xingyang, and reported it truthfully.
"When you arrive in Xingyang, it should be almost sunset. According to the rule of people working at sunrise and resting at sunset, wouldn't it be wrong for people who have worked hard for a day to be quieter?" Yu Tuqi didn't understand. He was fine just now. The relaxed atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.
"It is at dusk, and the sun rises and sets and rests. So when I entered the city, I should have seen many people entering the city, but I didn't see even one, even the people collecting firewood. I didn't even see it, isn't that strange?" Mang Zhong frowned and replied in the face of Yu Tuqi's confusion.
Wei Tuqi was speechless, stunned for a moment and then nodded, finally understanding the curiosity in Mang Zhong's heart.
"Who did you see?" This time the cheetah looked at the mango and asked.
"Xingyang County Magistrate Zhang Da'an, I showed His Highness the token, and after he verified the authenticity, he lent the servant two hundred and ten horses and a carriage, a small Xingyang County without hesitation. , actually has two hundred war horses in reserve! Isn't it strange? It's not Zhe Chong Mansion. Even if it is a Xia Zhe Chong Mansion, it is not easy to free up two hundred war horses at once, and all of this is "Xingyang, it looks like it has been prepared for a long time." Mang Zhong's expression was solemn, just like the expression he had when he was waiting for the old war horse at the dock and staring at the river.
Bai Chun looked at Li Hong strangely again. Li Hong smiled at her and said, "What Mang Zhong said makes sense. It's rare to be so cautious when approaching Luoyang."
After finishing speaking, he looked at Bai Chun and explained patiently: "Xingyang has always been a place for transportation and turnover of grain. The grain is either sent directly to Luoyang by water, or directly to Chang'an by land after winter. , the siltation of the river here has always been the top priority of the Ministry of Industry. During the year, the river can be silted up anywhere, but the section from here to Luoyang has always been the focus of the Ministry of Industry, Yushitai, Sinong Temple, and Hubu. In the supervision area, if there is even a trace of siltation, people will be impeached in the court, so how can there be siltation at this time? And it was only three days before we arrived!"
"This... Your Highness, are you saying that someone is deliberately trying to block our waterway?" Bai Chun was startled, and suddenly looked around nervously.
"I'm 80% sure of this, so I asked Mangzhong to go to Xingyang to borrow the mount, just to let him investigate. Otherwise, if he randomly sends a soldier, Zhang Da'an will be in trouble, and he will rush over to pick him up. "Li Hong picked up a wooden branch again and stirred the flames.
Mang Zhong stared at the flames rising from the fire and said quietly: "When I was waiting for the horse at the dock today, I have been looking at the river. The water is so clear that you can see the bottom of the river, and it is completely satisfactory for staying there. The draft of several large grain ships. Of course, this is a dock, and siltation cannot reach the dock. But if according to what they said, there is a fleet of ships clearing the silt five miles ahead, then with today's current flow Speed, when we looked down at the river from the battleship, it was impossible for the water to be so clear, and the fish in the water were even able to look for food in a leisurely manner. "There must be something strange in it."
Unknown birdsong sounded in the mountains, and then there were roars of large animals, shaking the entire mountains as if they were fighting.
The flames of the fire were still crackling, shining on the faces of the five people. The two hundred personal guards were either living and cooking, or were sent out by Wei Tuqi and began to patrol around the camp.
"What should we do now?" Bai Chun grabbed Li Hong's arm and asked a little discouraged.
Now that we have come this far, we are about to arrive in Luoyang and return to Chang'an. Why did something like this happen
"Soldiers will block it, water will cover it, and it is obviously impossible to solve the problem without spending a single soldier like Yangzhou did. But now we are in the light, they are in the dark, and we don't even know who our enemy is. There is no way to be sure, so what we can do is to run into the mountains and fight with them to prevent them from using their strength in the mountains," Li Hong said calmly, looking at his feet.
Then he raised his head and looked at the stars dotted in the night sky. Now he didn't even have a carrier pigeon with him, which made it impossible for him to contact the outside world.
And... well, not to mention Hai Dongqing, I am afraid that he is currently eating and drinking in his mother's palace.
Therefore, it has to be said that this was an important oversight on his part, which suddenly put him in a passive situation. It became difficult to go to Luoyang to mobilize reinforcements or to contact places other than Xingyang.
But with his back at that time, he had no choice. Apart from ordering Mang Zhong to go to Xingyang to investigate the situation, there was nothing else he could do.
As for the Zheng family in Xingyang, Li Hong did not believe that they would help him. The five surnames and Qiwang who had been suppressed by him were now in panic. With the secret support of Lao Liu, King Cao and others, as well as some from above the court, they recommended Only the remaining officials can survive, and I'm afraid they already hate themselves to death.
"Then we can't sit still and wait for death, right?" Bai Chun held his cheeks in his hands and said unconvincedly as he looked at the fire.
In the bright eyes, the firelight flickered. Bai Chun, who had become quiet, still had a stunning appearance.
"Do you still remember what I said when we were in Yangzhou? It's better to be still than to move. Mang Zhong, Cheetah, when someone starts to attack us tonight, your mission is to go to Luoyang to rescue troops at all costs... "
"Your Highness..."
"If you don't want me to die, just do as I say." Li Hong's expression turned cold, he looked at the two of them and said with a snort.
"Yes, Your Highness." Mangzhong and Cheetah had no choice but to stand up and bow their heads to accept the order.
"Weitu Qi."
"The general is here." Yu Tuqi also stood up like a black iron tower and replied solemnly.
"When someone attacks tonight, immediately take 200 people and run along the mountains towards Dengfeng, luring the enemy to follow you into the mountains, and then engage in guerrilla warfare. I don't expect you to be able to kill many of them, but you must hold them back. , so that they can't get out of the mountain." Li Hong frowned and looked at the distance at the end of the mountain.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Yu Tuqi responded in a deep voice.
Then, along with Mang Zhong and Cheetah, they knelt on the ground with a thud, and the three of them said in unison: "Then what should your Highness do?"
"Movement is worse than silence. After receiving the reinforcements, go straight to Xingyang. I will wait for you there." Li Hong's plan was also a helpless move.
If he had known that this would happen, he should have allowed Bai Chun to follow Princess Dalai back to Chang'an. In this way, he could even lead the two hundred people to make a surprise attack on Xingyang County.
But now, one is taking Bai Chun with him, and the other is that he has lost the initiative and passively retreated to the mountains. He can no longer take the initiative.
Some suspicions had been discovered at the dock, but it was not certain whether it had been deliberately blocked.
At that time, if the Five Tooth Battleships were to turn around and land in another place, it would probably be too late to mobilize troops.
But God is not as good as man. The closer they get to Luoyang, not only them, but also themselves relax their vigilance, which leads to the current consequences.
The three of them didn't understand what Li Hong meant by this. Could it be that after he and others lured the enemy away, he could take Miss Bai and run to Xingyang County alone
Li Hong didn't say much about his thoughts. He took his token from Bai Chun and threw it to Mang Zhong and Cheetah. Then he took a token from Mang Zhong that belonged to Shangshu Ling.
No one was adding firewood to the fire. As the fire gradually dimmed, a few beast roars could still be heard vaguely in the deep mountains and dense forests.
The two hundred personal guards did not take the time to close their eyes and rest at this moment. Instead, they held horizontal knives in their hands and began to dig some small pits on the way here, hoping to slow down the enemy's horses.
In the camp, Bai Chun put on a pair of leather armor. This armor was made by Li Hong for her during the battle in Anxi. Although she had never worn it, she had always carried it with her. She didn't want to see her at this moment many years later. It actually came in handy.
After putting on the armor, her hair was tied into the helmet, which immediately revealed her tall figure. Most of her beautiful cheeks were also wrapped into the helmet, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes. It twinkled like a gem in the dark night.
The whole person looks less aloof and aloof than usual, and has more heroic spirit, making him look much brighter and more decisive.
Li Hong lay on the sleeping bed, nodded with a smile, and threw a horizontal knife that he had been playing with for a long time to Bai Chun: "Is this the same knife that was made for you back then? I'm afraid it's rusty. Come on."
With a crisp sound, Ruxi's blade was slowly pulled out of the scabbard by Li Hong. In the tent with only a little firelight, it exuded a cold and compelling light. The sharp blade moved with the blade. The light of your fire shines on the edge of the blade, making it look brilliant and beautiful.
With a bang, the bright horizontal sword was sheathed. Li Hong looked at it again with satisfaction, and then threw it to Bai Chun, who was a little awkward in his own dress.
After digging a few small pits and scattering some rocks, Mang Zhong, Cheetah and Wei Tuqi began to pick and choose among the two hundred soldiers. Each soldier was pulled back and forth, looked at, and looked at each other from time to time. He took two steps back and looked at the backs of the soldiers.
(End of chapter)