Plan to cut off the nine states

Song Qizhu did not come out to see him off, so Dai Pohu led 20 soldiers to escort Xu Chu and Chang Yan, along with several vehicles. All the livestock in the camp had been eaten, so they could only rely on manpower to push them forward, and their luggage was piled on the vehicles. Yes, no one checked.

Stopping for a break at noon, Dai Pohu came over and handed over two stone-like buns, "At least it will satisfy the hunger."

There was some food hidden in the luggage, but Chang Yan still took it to avoid arousing the other party's suspicion.

Dai Pohu did not leave, turned to look at the soldiers sitting on the roadside, and whispered to Xu Chu: "How far can you run?"

"Huh?" Xu Chu was stunned, and Chang Yan, who was nibbling steamed buns, also stopped talking.

"I can let you go here, but you have to run faster and farther. If you are caught again, there is nothing I can do."

"But how do you explain..." Chang Yan took the steamed bun out of his mouth.

"The worst possible thing is to run away."

"Come with us." Chang Yan immediately invited.

Dai Pohu shook his head, "Song Qizhu treats me well. I can disobey his orders and escape temporarily and come back later, but I can't leave with Mr. Xu. That's... betrayal."

"You still care about... this?" Chang Yan didn't believe it.

Dai Pohu said with a smile: "I have my own judgment. What does Mr. Xu say?"

"Thank you." Of course Xu Chu didn't want to give up such an opportunity. He did want to see the Xi family, but it was not a life-threatening situation like this.

"Where to go?" Dai Pohu asked.

"Go north and pass through Xiangyang to Dongdu."

"Okay, there is a road going north through this forest, which can lead to Xiangyang. I will lead people to chase south later." Dai Pohu didn't ask any more questions, stood up and said to the soldiers sitting on the roadside. : "Everyone has worked hard for a long time. The Xi family camp is not far from here. We don't have to rush. Let's have a few sips of wine to relieve our fatigue."

"Where is the wine?" Several people asked at the same time, and Chang Yan couldn't help but look over.

Dai Pohu untied the gourd from his waist and shook it twice. "It's not much. Each person can take a sip. If there is any left, let's make a fist to decide who will drink."

"I thought it was water inside." The soldiers cheered, and they all gathered around Dai Pohu. Some people were worried: "What should we do with these two people?"

"Don't worry about it. Where can we run in the wilderness?" Dai Pohu was the leader of the army. Naturally, no one objected to what he said. Moreover, everyone was in a hurry to drink and had long forgotten about exchanging food.

"Is it that simple?" Chang Yan couldn't believe it, watching Dai Pohu and others walk behind the car.

"It seems, let's pack up and leave." Xu Chu whispered.

Half a box of jewelry would definitely not be able to be carried. Chang Yan grabbed two handfuls and stuffed them into his arms and the baggage with dry food. Xu Chu found the sword gifted by the King of Shu and took it with him. The two walked into the woods and looked back at first. , and soon he just walked around and ignored the things behind him.

The forest was not big, but it was not easy to walk. The two of them stumbled and walked for a long time. It was almost dusk before they found the road heading north.

Chang Yan still couldn't believe it. He stood on the road and looked back: "Is it really that simple?"

"I got it wrong again." Xu Chu said with emotion.

"Young master is right. When he let Dai Pohu go, everyone thought that he was too kind-hearted. But now, looking at it, it turns out that he actually had the foresight to see that he still had some loyalty left in his heart."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "You think too much of me. In fact, I was addicted to meditation at the time and just wanted the matter to end as soon as possible. No matter who the other party was, I would let them go. The few people you killed were also because I was too lazy. have a finger in the pie."

Chang Yan said: "That's just a mistake of Yin and Yang. The prince and the good man have their own destiny."

"Let's wait until we arrive in Dongdu successfully before we say this."

The two continued on their way, and Chang Yan said, "Young Master is going to join King Liang?"

"Um."

There was no one around on the road, and the two of them didn't dare to rest until their legs and feet were swollen from exhaustion. They stopped to rest, unpacked their luggage, put all their clothes on, found a leeward place to sleep for a while, and then got up and started on their way again.

No one caught up with him. Dai Pohu obviously kept his promise and led people to chase him in the opposite direction.

Chang Yan couldn't believe it no matter what, and kept speculating about why Dai Pohu let him go, "Could it be that he was interested in our luggage and jewelry? He knew we couldn't take them away... No, if he wanted to, he would just rob them. No need for tricks, he is originally a gangster..."

"I guess he was acting on orders." Xu Chu said suddenly.

"Hmm? On whose order?"

"Song takes bamboo."

"Haha, this idea of ​​the young master... is really strange. Song Qizhu is the leader of the army. He can kill us if he wants to, and let us go if he wants. Is there any need to beat around the bush? Even if there is such a thing, he will wear it when he lets us go. Hu should also say something, shouldn’t Song Tizhu be grateful at all?”

"Did you see Song Qizhu this morning?"

"No, I think he is too embarrassed to show up."

"I think he went looking for food elsewhere."

"Um?"

"This trip may take two or three days. He is afraid that the morale of the army will be unstable, so he claims to use me in exchange for food, and then let Dai Pohu release me midway..."

"Young Master always thinks too much of Song Qizhu. Have you ever been in contact with people like heroes before?"

"Tian Jiang." Xu Chu replied immediately.

"Tian Jiang... barely."

"reluctantly?"

"He is a bit of a loner. He has to do everything personally. He is a knight, but not 'heroic' enough."

"Tianjiang has many friends."

"It's different. Tian Jiang's friends can go through life and death together and cannot be assigned to other places. A hero has more friends and doesn't need to do everything himself. As soon as a letter arrives, someone will do things for him."

"Are you also a hero in Jiangdong?"

"Haha, I'm not a hero. I'm just one of the many friends of a hero. Among the seven clans, the only one who can bear this reputation is Meng Senglun, but he can't leave the circle of the seven clans and doesn't have many friends outside."

"Yeah. In your eyes, Song Quzhu is a hero?"

"I can tell at a glance."

"What's the difference between him and Tian Jiang?"

"Simple, Tian Jiang has a weird temper. I don't like to associate with him, but I believe every word he says. Song Quzhu is just the opposite. If it weren't for this incident, I would definitely be willing to make friends with him like the young master, but what he says, whether in private, Or openly, I don't believe a word of it. Young master, you should know that there are a lot of people around the hero, and you must weigh everything, make fewer enemies and more friends. It's really hard to keep your promise. "

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Hearing what you said, I'm not worried about the little princess, although Tian Jiang didn't make any promises to me."

"That's right, Tian Jiang will never give up halfway. Since he saved the little princess, he will save her to the end. It must be him who escorted the little princess from Yuyang to Xijing, and then chased the Golden Saint from Xijing... There are people in front. "

There was a sound of horse hooves on the dark road. Xu Chu took out the sword and Chang Yanzhi grabbed it, "Young master, hide, I'll block it for a while."

"Since it's coming from the opposite side, it shouldn't be chasing us."

"That makes sense." Chang Yanzhi hid the knife behind him and walked with Xu Chu along the roadside.

The knight arrived quickly, and did not expect to meet pedestrians on the roadside. He hurriedly reined in his horse and shouted, "Who is walking late at night?"

"People like you." Chang Yanzhi replied.

The knight was stunned, "I am a soldier from Xiangyang, and you two... don't look like soldiers."

Xu Chu said, "We are the subordinates of King Chu Song Quzhu, and we are going to Xiangyang to deliver a letter."

"Don't you even have a horse?"

"We have eaten all the food, and the military situation is urgent, so we have to walk on our own two legs." Xu Chu replied.

The knight hesitated, "Are you really the subordinates of Qianshou Song?"

"What's the benefit of pretending to be the subordinates of the King of Chu? And please be more respectful, the name 'Qianshou Song' is no longer used." Xu Chu said.

Seeing him defending Song Quzhu, the knight believed him a little more and jumped off his horse, "What a coincidence, I was going to deliver a letter to King Song Chu."

"Then we are really the same people, just going in opposite directions. Keep an eye on your horse. If you don't take care of it when you get there, it will be eaten alive."

"Is King Song Chu so short of food?" The knight said in surprise.

Chang Yan took a step forward, but was stopped by Xu Chu, who said that he was the one who spoke, "So he sent me to Xiangyang City to ask for some food."

"You came at a coincidence. I was ordered by Lord Leng, the lord of Xiangyang City, to invite King Song Chu back." The knight said happily.

"What happened?" Xu Chu remembered that Song Quzhu had said that he had led his troops to attack Xiangyang City, and the defenders would never ask him to go back unless there was something urgent.

"The Bingzhou Army sent an envoy to order Xiangyang to surrender, saying that they will send troops to the border in a few days."

"Bingzhou Army?"

"Yes, it's inexplicable. We have never offended Bingzhou people. Anyway, the situation is urgent and Xiangyang is short of soldiers, so we want to ask King Song Chu for help."

"What a coincidence, we are short of food and you are short of soldiers, so we can complement each other. I think it's better to give us the letter from Lord Leng, and we will go back to see King Chu. You go back and tell Xiangyang that the Chu army will arrive within three days."

"Ah?" The knight seemed quite surprised.

"You don't believe me?"

"Xiangyang is hundreds of miles away. It will take me several days to ride on horseback. You two can walk back to deliver the letter and then go to Xiangyang. Can you arrive in three days?"

Xu Chu was not familiar with the terrain and said the wrong thing as soon as he opened his mouth. He smiled and said, "This brother is really a real person. I said three days to stabilize the hearts of the soldiers and civilians in Xiangyang. Besides, we are following you. When you said to Xiangyang that you will arrive in three days, we were already halfway."

The knight suddenly realized and smiled, "I was stupid and forgot my own itinerary on the road. Can you really..."

"Why not? We have completed the mission."

The knight thought about it and felt that it made sense. Besides, he didn't know the specific location of the Chu army and had to ask around. So he took off the bag behind him without hesitation and handed it to Xu Chu, "The letter is inside. Do you have a token from King Chu of Song? Give me one so that I can explain it when I go back."

"Chu The king's sword is in my hand, you can take it away. "

Chang Yanzhi hesitated for a while before taking out the sword behind him and holding it to the knight with both hands. The knight was not on guard at all. He took the sword, looked at the scabbard in the moonlight, and weighed it twice. He immediately knew that it was a good sword, which was definitely not something that ordinary people could own. "That's it. See you in Xiangyang City. I'll treat you two to a drink."

"Uh, can you give us the horses? The sooner we see the King of Chu, the sooner we can send troops. Maybe we can catch up with you."

The knight was straightforward and handed over the reins. "Take it. I'll walk back to Xiangyang. This is a good horse. Try not to eat it if you can."

Xu Chu nodded repeatedly and rode on the horse with Chang Yanzhi. Just as they walked a short distance, they suddenly heard someone behind them shouting: "What are your names? Leave your names!"

"My name is Xu..." Xu Chu mumbled a few times, and rode faster until there was no sound behind him, then he slowed down.

"Sir, are you really going to see Song Quzhu?" Chang Yanzhi asked.

"Let me think about it." Xu Chu vaguely felt that this unexpected news would be of great help to him, "Let me think about it."