A brilliant plan usually goes wrong at the first step.

This is the case for Zhang Xing and Xiong Bonan.

The two top leaders of the gang were full of passion and decided to cross the river overnight to personally investigate the military intelligence strategy in the north of Hebei. However, they encountered a problem when they crossed the river - Hexiong Bonan was so skilled that he could almost fly under the water of the river.

It was different in the past. Zhang Xing, who lacked training in Qi skills after condensing the pill, was really unable to release Qi stably like an engine.

But King Xiongtian was not like Bai Yousi who carried Zhang Dalongtou, who was now the leader, across the river like a chicken.

Ever since, after the big leader fell into the water awkwardly twice and caused the ice floe to turn back, the two had no choice but to let a small boat be released from Sikou Pass, carrying the two of them plus the yellow gelding and King Xiongtian's mount, and honestly

I actually crossed the river.

Nothing happened this time, and after crossing the river, it was already dark, so the two of them changed horses honestly, with a little help from Zhenqi. In addition, they were galloping at night, and there was no one on the official road, so the speed was amazing.

Soon they saw the first big city on the way. In the twilight, the key parts of the city. From the city gate to the turrets, there were torches and braziers. The moat was well repaired. The ferry in the south of the city was almost brightly lit, and everything could be faintly seen.

I went to the guard patrol and heard the sound of the watch and the sound of the patrol's armor.

This is Ping County. The county seat is built along the river and is the gateway to the upper east of Qinghe County.

"It's the same as what the scout said." Xiong Bonan looked at it for a while and shook his head repeatedly. "Hebei has already started to be wary of us. This did not happen overnight. Cao Shancheng, the governor of Qinghe County, was by no means a good person.

Jin Scale was on the rampage for a while, but after bumping into Cao Shancheng, who was still a county magistrate, he couldn't make any progress. It seems that there is some explanation. I heard that Cao Shancheng before the chaos was just a man with a magical meridian that connected two meridians.

He is still almost a literary cultivator who has not learned how to kill people, and as a result, he has already condensed his elixir."

"How can we only allow the rebels to rise up in the wind?" Zhang Xing sneered, but his cognitive focus was different from that of Xiong Bonan. "However, I do feel that the problem with Qinghe County and even several counties in southwest Hebei is not Cao Shancheng, but Cao Shancheng.

In Cao Lin. Although Cao Lin was stubborn and was tied to death by the broken ship of the Wei Dynasty, he was still stronger than other Guanlong nobles.

Too many, they actually directly promoted a county magistrate from a humble background to become a county governor. If this person is not going to fail, even if he is only in the east, we, other rebels, and the careerists in the Wei Dynasty will all be defeated by him.

Stuck."

"But if a great master doesn't want to fall, how can others push him?" Xiong Bonan frowned.

"The world cannot help him. The Wei Dynasty is collapsing faster and faster. He can't stay in the black tower of Dongdu all the time. Others will also be unable to hold back. Now I can see that he really doesn't dare to leave.

Once the Black Tower of Dongdu leaves Dongdu, even the great master will suffer." Zhang Xing sneered. "I just don't know who will force him out at that time, and who will be the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole behind?

?”

Xiong Bonan listened carefully and waited until the other party finished speaking and stopped talking for a while before continuing to ask: "Do you want to go to Qinghe County to see the situation?"

"If you don't want to go, let's go to the plains." Zhang Xing shook his head again and again. "The geographical advantage of Douzigang is indispensable for us to enter Hebei. It is also an established strategy to explore from the east as much as possible. No matter how Qinghe is, it is not something we need to pay attention to in the short term.

.”

Xiong Bonan nodded, and the two of them immediately bypassed the heavily guarded city of Pingcheng and continued westward along the official road. They galloped all night, but they didn't see the second big city along the river until dawn.

Only then did we realize that they had passed through Gaotang County in Pingyuan County from the south at night and had arrived at the north side of Pingyuan City in Pingyuan County.

"Yes, after the fall of the Eastern Qi Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty carried out a special and excessive administrative geographical reshaping of the hometown of the Eastern Qi Dynasty. Many states and counties were separated from the actual geography. Often one state was divided into half and another one.

Half of the state was combined into a new place, and then a suitable county was selected. Then, after checking ancient books, I found out where this place was in the past, and I just took the opportunity to borrow a name."

For example, the county seat of Pingyuan County is now in Ande County, but Pingyuan County, from which Pingyuan County was named, was left on the southwest border of Pingyuan County.

Without further ado, the sky was just dawning, and the two of them were trying to feed their horses and grass outside the city. At the same time, they took a short rest and prepared to go to the east of the city to look for the rebel camp later, and then try to conduct reconnaissance.

, because according to intelligence, this first-class Hebei city is still in the hands of the government troops, and there should be a rebel camp about ten miles east of the city.

However, the two soon discovered that they were in the same embarrassing situation as when they crossed the river before. They were unable to find fodder for their mounts.

If we talk about Dianyi on the official road, small villages chose to relocate and

If you want to escape, it would be extreme if the fields were bare and there was nothing left. But if even the weeds on the roadside were bare and only the frost flowers were left on the ground in the early morning, that would be simply ridiculous.

The top leaders of the two gangs looked at each other, but they had no choice but to lead their horses around the city, observing the city while heading east, and looking for fodder along the way.

The weather was not very good, and there was a slight wind, but not from the south. It was obvious that the so-called Indian summer weather in October would not last long.

On the head of the plain city, the flags swayed gently in the morning breeze. The frost on the road disappeared and turned into dewdrops, which were evaporated by the sun again. A slight mist floated from the direction of the river and disappeared before reaching the city.

Then suddenly, the two people who had walked to the northeast of the city stopped because they suddenly saw that the northern gate of Pingyuan City, which was theoretically threatened by the rebels, actually opened. Then, although there was no scene of crowds of people, they did start to

A small number of civilians and able-bodied men went out.

The two looked at each other, it was hard to believe that they were on the front line.

Just when the two were hesitating whether to take the opportunity to enter the city, suddenly, a slightly obvious commotion came from a distance. The two looked far into the distance and saw with their own eyes, about seven or eight cars driving out of the city, including flatbeds and large trucks.

, there were also carriages with baggage, and twenty or thirty strong men as guards, forming a medium-sized convoy heading north.

As the motorcade set out, many ordinary people carrying packages and pushing wheelbarrows followed, about thirty or forty people following, making the queue even more obvious.

Zhang and Xiong each looked at each other and immediately gave up looking for the rebel camp and turned around.

He took off his hat from his horse, mounted his horse and headed north, and caught up with the convoy on the official road two-quarters of an hour later.

The convoy obviously belonged to a local wealthy family or even a noble family, and the convoy guards also showed their vigilance to the two of them in time - the convoy stopped, the civilians quickened their pace and walked to the front, while the guards stood ready.

It was obvious that if the two of them had not arrived so quickly, this group of people would not have formed a car formation on the official road.

Zhang Xing was thick-skinned and didn't care about the atmosphere at all. He stepped forward and handed over his hand: "Visitors come from far away. We are trapped and exhausted. Meeting each other on the road is fate. May I ask if there is anyone in the team who can help me?"

"No." The middle-aged man who should be the leader of the guard immediately refused coldly. The guards around him also grasped the weapons in their waists. It was obvious that there were two or three good practitioners among them.

"Then what do your horses eat?" Zhang Xing seemed not to notice the tension in the atmosphere and just continued to tease. "A few horse feeds, why is this? We just give you money."

The guards looked at each other, and the leader of the guard was even more impatient, but he was worried about something and did not dare to take action for a while.

At this moment, an old governor suddenly jumped out of a car and shouted from behind the guard: "No need to pay! If a hero just needs horse materials, I will give you two buckets of these two horses."

, the yellow one is a good dragon colt, and it doesn’t matter, the other ordinary horse has been running all night, and although it is not lacking, it is already tired, and it is time for the horse to drink and feed."

Zhang Xing was slightly startled, not caring about the waiters who were caught off guard before.

Someone in the guard took the opportunity to go to the car to get a long soldier and a two-hand crossbow. He was surprised and asked: "Is this yellow gelding a dragon colt?"

"I was born as a groom, and was raised by my master because of my ability as a horse. How come I don't recognize this dragon colt?" The old governor was still calm, and he couldn't help but the crowd came up to touch Zhang Xing's back.

Yellow gelding.

"But it's no wonder that the hero doesn't recognize it. This horse is not weirder than other dragon colts in appearance or awkward in temper. In fact, it has a docile personality and looks the same as any other horse. However, it is better at enduring hardships and hard work. It can endure hunger and carry heavy loads for long distances. It is also a horse."

The waiting dragon colt."

Zhang Xing shook his head and laughed for a moment.

Without him, if that's the case, Qin Bao's guy is really a half-empty guy, and he spent a lot of money in vain. However, it is also possible that the old boss in front of him just wants to get the team out of trouble, and he just made an excuse casually. How can there be so many dragons?

Ju? It's normal to suffer from hunger, travel far away with heavy loads, etc.

It's hard to meet a horse in your life, why should you give it a try?

After a while, two barrels of fodder were delivered, which even contained luxurious bean feed. Zhang Xiong and the others thanked them and went directly to get water from the ditch beside the road. They rolled up their sleeves and started stirring, while the convoy was winding up the steel crossbow and the long spear.

Under the cover of the soldiers, they took the opportunity to start. However, the two people below did not care at all. They just drank the horse calmly, fed the food, washed their hands, rested for a while, and then remounted the horse. They calmly carried the bucket along the official road.

catch up.

After catching up, they thanked them again and returned the bucket. It was obvious that everyone in the convoy was completely helpless, but the two of them continued to move forward with the other convoy, but

It was a pity that I had to dismount and follow him.

The people in the motorcade were on tenterhooks, obviously nervous, but they didn't dare to take the initiative.

At the same time, Zhang Xing and Xiong Bonan kept talking and holding hands - the official road was obviously in disrepair and was full of potholes. King Xiongtian helped push the cart seven or eight times along the way; while Zhang Xing just asked the guards,

The coachman, and the ordinary people who followed him, and the few members of his family, the harvests were good, and the taxes were high, but they mostly received blank looks, silly smiles, and perfunctory responses.

But some people spoke up. Zhang Xing even let a young man get on his horse, and then continued to lead him.

As time went by and the sun gradually rose higher, it might be because King Xiongtian was pushing the cart, or it might be because he kept talking. The people around him gradually relaxed and relaxed. Even the old governor came out again and sat on the cart.

I talked some nonsense with the two of them.

At this time, the two of them realized that this was Changle Feng's convoy. It was forced to stop in Pingyuan because of the war. Now that the war had eased, they just took the opportunity to prepare to go north. They planned to move to Pingyuan County Zhi'ande first, and the rest.

The common people were preparing to flee and came to escort Feng's motorcade.

"Feng family of Changle, the person in charge of Pingyuan now should be Feng Wulang, right?" Xiong Bonan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke from under his bamboo hat.

After hearing this, the people in the convoy were obviously stunned, and their attitudes became obviously strange, as if they were more vigilant, but also somewhat relaxed.

"Yes." The old governor responded hesitantly, and then asked more seriously, "Where is this good man from? How do you recognize our Wu Lang?"

"I am a native of Zhaojun. I spent a few years in Xindu in my early years." Xiong Bonan was still calm. "I have met your Wu Lang twice and even had wine."

"But the accents are not the same." The guard leader pointed out the flaw seriously. "Both of your accents are Dongdu Mandarin. Although you have some Hebei background, you both have a Henan tone."

"We are all over the world, and when we move around, our accents have long been mixed." Xiong Bonan spoke the truth first-rately, and seemed not to be prepared to explain more. "Why don't you speak Mandarin?"

But even so, it was obvious that as soon as these words came out, people inside and outside the team relaxed a lot.

After all, they are in the minority, or they have been eliminated long ago.

Now that I know that one of the big men is a native of Hebei and is from the same hometown as the team owner, I naturally feel more relaxed.

"Did the rebels take the initiative to invade the plain?" Seeing this, Zhang Xing knew he could ask some serious questions, so he spoke directly without any attempt to conceal the title. "Before we came, we said we were under siege!"

Zhang Xing and Xiong Bonan, who were wearing bamboo hats, looked at each other and made a decision.
To be continued...