Plan to cut off the nine states

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Tang Weitian came over with an empty bag and shook it downwards, "The last meal, and then there won't be a grain of rice left."

There is a mountain pass between Ji and Bing prefectures, which is still in the hands of the government. Previously, the attitude was ambiguous, and it did not vote for any party, nor did it block the exchanges between all parties.

Xu Chu came with nearly a hundred soldiers and dozens of vehicles, and was let through after a slight bribe. But when he returned, only two people and one horse were left. He was stopped before he could get close to the pass. Official documents and a few jewelry from Yecheng were not easy to use. , the other party made it clear: "I let you go when the world was in chaos. Now that the court is about to clear out the rebels, we have to be more strict. The order just issued last night was that not even a mouse was allowed to go. You are not lucky." Okay, come one day earlier - find another way, I won't arrest you, it will be a mercy. "

The one who ran first was indeed advantageous. Xu Chu was trapped outside the pass and had no other choice. He had to follow the officer's instructions and find a small village. There were two families left in the village. The old man in one of the families was willing to lead the way. The price was Ten cents was so little that Xu Chu couldn't believe it.

When Tang Weitian left Yecheng, he took a bag of rice with him and wanted to buy more. The old man and his family shook their heads and claimed that there was no surplus food at home.

The old man only led a short distance, pointing to a mountain path hidden in the vegetation, and said: "Just keep walking along the road, and you can reach the other side in about a day. There are many forks in the mountain, so be careful."

The old man couldn't understand how to be careful, and he refused to continue to lead the way. No amount of money could be paid by Xu Chu, so the old man turned around and left.

Xu Chu and Tang Wentian had no choice but to go on the road. The mountain road was steep and they had to abandon their horses halfway and carry their luggage by themselves. They found a stone to rest on the leeward side at night. They could faintly hear the howling of wolves and tigers in the mountains. They were frightened and couldn't sleep well all night.

Before going to bed, Tang Weitian complained that the food was about to be exhausted. For him, this meant that he had fulfilled his duty and could eat the last bowl of rice in a down-to-earth manner. Anyway, he was always short of food at home, and starvation was the norm. He has long developed the habit of "waiting until tomorrow".

In the middle of the night, Tang Weitian was awakened by a fierce wolf howl. He rubbed his eyes and suddenly saw that Mr. Xu was not sleeping. He was sitting on his knees next to him, with a blanket under his knees and his upper body straight, as if he was in meditation.

Tang Weitian was startled, "Why don't you sleep, Master?"

"I'm not sleepy."

"It's okay. The sound sounds close, but it's actually far away. And the wolves in the mountains are smart and won't easily get close to the paths made by people."

Xu Chu laughed and said, "I'm not afraid of wolves. In fact... I'm a little scared. I'm afraid of tigers and wolves in the mountains. I'm afraid that there will be no food tomorrow. I'm afraid that it will be too late when I get to Yingcheng. I'm afraid that the troubled times will continue like this without an end. Day, and it all started because of me.”

Tang Weitian yawned, "Young master, you have thought too much. None of these things have anything to do with you. Go to sleep and leave early tomorrow. We have money and can always buy food. I have never seen anything like this in my life." How much money..."

Xu Chu was still sleepy, "I pride myself on caring about the world, but I can't even do a small thing well. When you were carrying rice bags in Yecheng, I was still laughing at you for doing so. I didn't expect that rice is already more expensive than money in the world. We have money but no rice. If we die here, it will be a big joke."

"Yeah." Tang Weitian fell down and wanted to sleep for a while.

Xu Chu had no intention of nagging, but once he spoke, he could no longer control himself and had to keep talking.

"Sooner or later, the world will be in chaos. The situation is such that it is not my fault, but I am the one who opens the lock with the key. I think that if I can open the lock, I can lock it - just like when I blow my breath and the mountains are roaring, I think that the mountain wind is because of me. I got up, thinking I could take back all the wind..."

"Feng..." Tang Weitian murmured.

"If the world has power, it must have a handle. Those who hold the handle can control the world, but where is the handle?"

"Cake? Yes, where is the cake?" Tang Weitian licked his lips.

"Mr. Fan asked me to read the books of sages. He believes that the secret of the world is hidden in the books, but I have already read those books..."

Tang Weitian sat up and said blankly: "There is a cake in the book? Why didn't you take it out earlier?"

"Go to sleep, there is no cake in the book. I am talking about the 'handle' of 'authority', not the 'cake' of 'flour cake'." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Oh." Tang Weitian was disappointed. He lay down again, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, and whispered: "It's so cold."

It was colder in the mountains than outside. Xu Chu's hands and feet were cold from the cold, but his heart was filled with fire, but the fire was burning chaotically and had no direction.

"Let's go on our way." Xu Chu got up, draped the blanket under him around his body, and picked up the cane he found on the roadside earlier.

"Huh? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"It's too cold. I'm afraid I'll freeze to death if I sleep. It's better to walk."

"There is no way." Tang Weitian stood up reluctantly, put on a blanket, packed the package, and carried it all on his shoulders.

"The human heart is the road. To find the road, you must first understand the human heart. The road over the mountain must go up. After reaching the top, you can go down again. But the human heart likes peace and dislikes danger, so when encountering steepness, turn around, but don't stray too far from the mountain trail."

Xu Chu spoke eloquently, and Tang Weitian responded. After he really set out on the road, he was the one who walked in front to identify the path and pulled the young master back from the wrong direction several times.

After a few times, Xu Chu said with a smile: "After reading people's hearts, seeing is believing."

Tang Weitian stepped out of the heat, feeling less sleepy, and said, "Young master, you think too much. Eat when you have food and go when you have a road. There is no need to worry."

"What if there is nothing to eat and no way to go?"

"Then...then I'll grab food and don't follow the road. Let me tell you, even if it's a thorn bush, I can get in and out."

Unconsciously, the two had reached the top of the mountain. The crescent moon was setting in the west, the sky was full of stars, and the mountain wind was getting more and more arrogant, swallowing up all the sounds in the mountain.

Xu Chu didn't have time to speak, so he went down the mountain first. After walking a distance, he felt that the mountain wind was a little weaker, and then he said: "The mountain wind is invisible, maybe the world's situation is also invisible, and the busyness is just in vain."

Tang Weitian tightened his belt, "Don't let it be in vain, I still hope that the young master will give me a full meal."

"Well, I will give you a full meal for the rest of your life."

"Haha, that's good." Tang Weitian felt even hungrier.

At dawn, the road became slower, and around noon, the two walked out of the mountain and found the main road.

Xu Chu looked back and sighed, "I never thought I could actually climb over this mountain."

Tang Weitian said, "If I hadn't found the way ahead, you would have lost your way."

"That's right, it's all your credit... You are the handle of this mountain!"

"Please, sir, don't keep saying 'cake', my saliva is running out."

"Sorry, I won't mention it." Xu Chu didn't say it, but he couldn't help thinking about it. He vaguely understood something, but he couldn't grasp it or figure it out.

In an abandoned village, the two finally saw a wisp of smoke. There was only an old woman left in that family. She refused to take money, but was willing to share some thin porridge. Tang Weitian wanted to eat it, but was stopped by Xu Chu, who left a lot of copper coins and asked for two radishes to take away.

Eating radishes raw made his stomach fire worse, and Tang Weitian kept grinding his teeth, "Sir, do you think human flesh can be eaten?"

"No." Xu Chu replied immediately.

"I heard that people often ate people in the early years."

"Although it is a chaotic world now, it has not reached that point yet."

"I think I am almost there, but I will not eat the young master, nor will I eat living people. There are so many dead people on the battlefield. Is it okay to eat one?"

"I don't allow you to have this thought. The goodness and evil of a person are often in a thought. If you have evil thoughts, even if you don't eat people, you will go astray."

"Yes, I don't want to." Tang Weitian glanced at the young master and couldn't help thinking that the rich boy's skin and tender flesh looked delicious. This thought scared him and he ran to the front in a hurry.

Tang Weitian was young and carried all the luggage on his back. He still walked much faster than Xu Chu. He disappeared in a flash, and Xu Chu couldn't call him back.

Xu Chu sighed and walked slowly. The soles of his feet were rubbed so hard that he felt like he was walking barefoot on gravel.

Near dusk, Tang Weitian ran back again. His small figure was carrying two large bundles, like a monster, waving his hands and shouting excitedly.

He actually had a cake in his hand, and while handing it over with his right hand, he put the cake into his mouth with his left hand.

Xu Chu was very surprised. He was really hungry, so he took the cake and ate it. He asked vaguely where the cake came from. Tang Weitian nodded, and was only busy eating the cake, so he didn't have time to answer.

Tang Weitian ate quickly, and took out two more cakes from his arms and gave one to Xu Chu.

The cake was too dry, so Xu Chu only had one. He turned behind Tang Weitian, took out the leather bag from his bag, and there was still some water left in it. He took a big sip and handed the leather bag over.

Tang Weitian held the cake in one hand and the leather bag in the other. His throat moved up and down, and he ate a cake in a moment.

"Where did the cakes come from? Is there a house in front?"

Tang Weitian continued to nod while eating. His arms were like a treasure bag, and he kept taking out cakes from it. It was not until the tenth cake that he let out a breath, feeling a little full. "This is the last one, do you want one, young master?"

Xu Chu shook his head. Tang Weitian was no longer modest and ate very fast, but he had no water, so it was a little difficult to swallow.

"There is a town ahead, with quite a few people, but the things are really expensive. I used half of my money to buy ten cakes, which I originally wanted to use as dry food for the next few days. Who would have thought... Oh, I'll buy some more later."

Xu Chu was overjoyed, "How far is the town from here? Is there any news about Mengjin and Yingcheng?"

"Not far, about five or six miles. News? I didn't ask."

Xu Chu was surprised, "Five or six miles back and forth, you ran around with a bag on your back?"

"What's that? When I'm really full, I'll run faster than this."

Xu Chu couldn't help but look at him a few more times. Tang Weitian was dark and thin, and he looked like an ordinary country boy.

The cakes filled his stomach, and Xu Chu had the strength to walk faster. Soon after nightfall, he finally arrived at the town. There was no inn in the town, so the two of them found a larger shop and paid to stay overnight, which was agreed.

Xu Chuan got to know some things from the shop owner. It turned out that he and Tang Weitian had taken the wrong road. Although they had entered Bingzhou, they were heading north and farther away from Yingcheng. However, they were able to meet people because of this.

"Yingcheng and Mengjin? I haven't heard about the news from there. I just know that there are fewer and fewer customers these days, and things are getting more and more expensive. Alas, business is tough. I don't know how long it can last."

The next morning, Xu Chuan went to the market to buy two donkeys, spending almost all the money on him.

Tang Weitian also bought a lot of cooked cakes and raw rice. It turned out that he bought too hastily yesterday, and the vendors raised the price. If he bought again today, it would be much cheaper, which made him very happy.

Xu Chuan rode a donkey for transportation, but Tang Weitian didn't like riding. He put his bag on the donkey's back and walked. After eating, he walked like an arrow. He often walked in front to explore the way. He came back to report when he had something to do, and he didn't feel tired at all.

After walking and resting for five days, Tang Weitian ran back and reported that he saw a city. Passersby said that was Yingcheng.

Flags were flying on the city walls, with the Chinese characters "Jin" and "Liang" on them. Xu Chu stood outside the city and said to Tang Weitian, "We may be a step too late."