Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 186

Zhang Wei frowned and said: "Yangping Pass is connected to Chencang Road in the north and Jinniu Road in the south. It is not impossible for Pang De to escape the pass and leave the city at night. Pound will take the credit for the crime."

"The last general takes orders." Yang Ren clasped his fists sonorously.

"If General Yang goes out to pursue the attack, who will guard these fortresses? Why don't I let my younger brother Bai chase after him? After all, he is the deputy general who guards the pass." Yang Song finally couldn't sit still.

Zhang Wei shook his head and nodded again: "If Yang Ren is not at Yangping Pass, General Yang Bai will be the general guarding the pass."

"Wei." Yang Bai cupped his fists to accept the order, and suddenly he felt a dove occupying the magpie's nest.

Zhang Wei and Yang Ren then led the cavalry to part ways. Yang Song pondered for a moment and was about to drive his horse back to Hanzhong. Yang Bo asked excitedly, "There is nothing important about Hanzhong. Brother, why don't you stay at Yangping Pass and wait for news?"

Yang Song quickly shook his head, "Brother Song tried his best to calculate, but Zhang Wei didn't follow the common sense at all. I must return to Hanzhong immediately. If there is anything unfavorable, I can find a way to deal with it in advance."

"Brother is more thoughtful. I hope that Song Jiang (Song Chen's pseudonym) will be on the road non-stop overnight. As long as he and Yang Ren are separated by two days, he will be safe and we will get rich." Yang Bai sighed.

Yang Song nodded, "You stay here to take care of yourself. Brother Song is a blessed and wise man. I think he can turn evil into good luck."

After the two brothers parted, Yang Song quickly returned to Hanzhong. The city was as normal as before. Although he and Song Chen had close contacts, they had always been cautious. The transportation of rice and grain was carried out in secret, and Yan Pu did not find any clues.

A few days later, Zhang Wei and Yang Ren returned to Hanzhong empty-handed, and neither Chen Cangdao nor Jin Niudao found Pang De.

"How is this possible? Pang De and the others went to heaven and earth?" Zhang Lu was furious when he heard the news, and said in his heart that you all ascended earlier than me?

Zhang Lu was furious with a dark face, and all the officials under the tent dared not speak. During this whole time, Gong Cao Yanpu came to the palace to see him, saying that he had found some clues in the past few days.

Chapter 397 Tiger's Mouth Takes Food

Seeing Yan Pu enter the house, Zhang Lu quickly waved and asked, "Zimao just came here, have you found anything unusual in the city these few days?"

Yan Pu looked around at Zhang Wei, Yang Song and others in the hall, then quickly stepped forward and bowed his hands to Zhang Lu, seeing Yang Song's heart pounding, worried that he had found something, but his face remained unchanged .

"My lord, after several days of low-level investigation, I found that there was a caravan from the Central Plains that was very suspicious. The leader was called Song Jiang. He had given alms to the poor many times in Hanzhong City. Song Jiang's entourage also called him timely, but he also disappeared a few days ago. , maybe these people are Pound's internal support." Yan Pu described.

After hearing this, Yang Song's heart fell to the ground. Fortunately, Song Jiang (Song Chen) was good at confusing outsiders and did not implicate his Yang family. As for the connotation of being kind and charitable, he understands better than anyone else.

Zhang Lu frowned: "The caravan in Zhongyuan? It must be Cao Cao's careful operation. It seems that Wei Gong has never forgotten Hanzhong. Which pass did Song Jiang's caravan come in from?"

When Zhang Lu was talking, he looked at Yang Ren, and he hurriedly replied: "It must not be through Yangping Pass, maybe it came from Baoxie Road..."

"Hmph, why do you have the face to argue in front of the court after being played with by Pound Piff? From now on, I will guard the ramp." The more Zhang Lu thought about it, the more angry he became.

"Wei." Yang Ren lowered his head and cupped his fists in response.

Yan Pu continued: "Pang De fled to Yangpingguan with a grain cart, but the humble officer did not find out the large transaction of the city's commercial banks, so besides Song Jiang, there are other internal support..."

"who is it?"

Yan Pu was interrupted by Zhang Lu before he finished speaking, and Yang Song's cold sweat directly soaked his underwear.

"Cheng Yin, who also came from Xiliang, is very suspicious. Someone saw him go to Pang De's camp to deliver wine in Shang Yuanye. Do you want to secretly send someone to investigate?" Yan Pu analyzed.

Zhang Lu brushed his beard and meditated, and Cheng Yin brought 8000 to [-] people to attach himself to him, saving one province would be able to gather a hundred carts of grain for Pang De.

Zhang Lu immediately reviewed the matter, and the businessman Song Jiang (Song Chen) led the way, and Cheng Yin provided wine and food to cooperate with Pang Rou and Pang De in fleeing.

"Brother, since Cheng Yin has two minds, do you want me to take measures?" Zhang Wei asked.

Zhang Lu waved his hand, with a gloomy expression on his face: "Cheng Yin still has seven or eight thousand arrogant soldiers. If he is directly forced to rebel, it may make people in Hanzhong panic, so we have to think of a perfect plan."

Yan Pu offered a plan and said: "The food that Cheng Yin funded Pang De should be the supplies you provided him. My lord can use the excuse of fire in the granary, rat plague and other reasons to reduce the supply. They can only accept the punishment and starve when the soldiers are hungry. Mutiny will lead to chaos, but the general (Zhang Wei) will attack with troops, and he will be able to get twice the result with half the effort."

"Wonderful, you can do what Zimao says." Zhang Lu was overjoyed.

"only."

The matter of Pound's escape had to be left alone. Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, Yang Song and others left one after another, but Zhang Lu finally called back the meritorious Cao Yanpu.

"My lord, do you have any orders?" Yan Pu asked, clasping his hands.

"Xiahouyuan pacified Longyou, and Hanzhong has become the meat of Duke Wei's lips. What if they raise troops to seize it?" Zhang Lu asked worriedly.

Yan Pu shook his head and replied: "Duke Wei now has two-thirds of the world, and my lord uses the power of a county in Hanzhong to contend against him, just like a mantis' arm is a chariot, unless he asks Yizhou Liu Bei for help..."

"Looking for help from Liu Bei? That's how Liu Zhang lost Yizhou. Even if he is attached to Liu Bei now, wouldn't Mr. Cao stop attacking Hanzhong? There will still be people dying here, so I would rather be Mr. Cao's servant than Liu Bei's guest... "There was disdain in Zhang Lu's eyes.

"What does my lord mean?"

"I plan to surrender to Duke Cao, what does Zimao think?"

Yan Pu nodded: "The general trend of the world is in Wei. Surrendering to Duke Cao is the best choice, but being too proactive is easy to be looked down upon. Hanzhong has enough troops and supplies to defend the mighty pass and dangerous rivers. Why don't you show some skills and then sell it for a price?"

"Zimao is such a clever plan." Zhang Lu's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he suddenly continued to ask: "Pang Rou and Pang De fled in a carriage. Logically speaking, they couldn't go fast. Why did Gongze (Zhang Wei) and them chase with cavalry? What’s the reason for not even catching up with anyone?”

"Uh... this is inconsistent with common sense..." Yan Pu shook his head when he heard it.

Seeing that his chief counselor couldn't think of it, Zhang Lu frowned and said inadvertently: "This timely rain will not send Pang De to the river, will it?"

"My lord, Chencang Road is going along the water valley of the Western Han Dynasty. It must be the merchant Song Jiang (Song Chen) who arranged the boat in advance. After leaving Yangping Pass, Pang Rou and Pang De were picked up by water, so Gongze's cavalry rushed It's empty, without external support, it will never disappear out of thin air." Yan Pu was as excited as if he had solved a difficult problem.

Zhang Lu nodded affirmatively, "As expected of you, this is the most reasonable."

Yan Pu's analysis is not wrong. Song Chen and Pang De did cooperate, and that was Deng Ai who was farming near Jiameng Pass.

At the same time that Song Chen set off to detour through Guanzhong, Lan Tian wrote to his disciple Deng Ai in Yizhou, asking him to arrange people to watch the wind on Jinniu Road at the end of the year and the beginning of the year to meet the people who escaped from Yangping Pass at any time.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the night labor army and the generals of Yangping Pass were all drunk.

Pang De asked people to untie the cargo compartment of the wine-drinking carriage, and then escorted the grain cart with Song Chen's entourage to sneak out of the customs.

The Xiliang soldiers who were able to escape from birth did not feel tired. They walked in the mountains by the light of the moon in the sky, and they did not dare to raise torches to reveal their whereabouts.

Marching slowly at night, Song Chen was not in a hurry. After all, apart from the time difference between them and Hanzhong, they also let Yang Baisheng strike east and west to draw Zhang Lu's attention to Chencang Road, so when they were tired halfway, they stopped by the roadside to rest and wait for dawn.

The next morning, it was just dawn.

Song Chen woke up Pang Rou and Pang De, and urged them to eat some dry food and set off.

Pang Rou asked wearily: "Anyway, since we have food, why don't we make a fire and have some hot food? Anyway, Zhang Lu won't come after us."

"Mr. often said that there are no absolutes in the world. We must consider all possibilities when marching and fighting. If something goes wrong with Yang Bai, don't we be in danger?" Song Chen insisted.

After hearing this, Pang De quickly stood up and pulled Pang Rou up, "General Song is right. Now that we have not crossed the Jiameng Pass, we will not take anything lightly."

"General Pang, please give me some horses. I want someone to support them in the rear, and I need to send someone to Jiameng Pass to find someone to support them."

The dozen or so idle horses last night were assigned by Pang De to the generals in Xiliang to ride them. At this time, Song Chen felt a little like "grabbing food from a tiger's mouth".

Pang Rou nodded affirmatively, "General Song is indeed very cautious, why don't we send out scouts, Xiliang soldiers are all skilled in riding, and your followers should go with the brigade."

Song Chen laughed loudly: "General Pang may not know what they used to do."

"What are you doing?" Pound and Pang Rou were full of doubts.

"They are from the fallen army like me, and they are also the most elite reconnaissance battalion in the fallen army." Song Chen was extremely proud when he said this.

Pang Rou and Pang De frowned and looked at each other, wondering what kind of troops the reconnaissance battalion was?Can it be better than our Xiliang soldiers' riding skills?

Chapter 398

Song Chen did not introduce the reconnaissance battalion in detail, but only told that it was the strongest unit in the army that fell into the formation. The Pang De brothers trusted Song Chen very much now, and allocated horses according to his request without further investigation.

Song Chen first arranged for the two horses to be broken, and then sent people to accompany the two horses to report to Jiameng Pass.

"I see that General Song looks confident. Could it be that Mr. Xuan Xiao also has arrangements in Jiameng Pass?" Pound looked puzzled.

Song Chen smiled mysteriously: "You will know soon."

Pang De ordered people to take dry food, and then drove the food and grass along the Jinniu Road. After walking for fifty miles in one day, he arranged for people to rest in a mountain depression as soon as night fell.

Pang Rou immediately arranged for the soldiers to take pots to cook, but was stopped by Song Chen again.

"What does General Song mean?" Pang Rou asked puzzled.

"Eat dry food first when you are hungry. Before my scouts come back, you must not bury the pot for cooking." Song Chen insisted.

"Why?" Pang Rou was very puzzled.

Song Chen frowned and explained: "If Zhang Lu sends troops to pursue him, he will definitely make moves within today. Let's wait for the news for now."

"If Zhang Lu really sent troops to chase after him, he should have abandoned the grain truck and fled alone. What does it have to do with our cooking fire?" Pang De was also very puzzled.

"My rule in the reconnaissance battalion is that if you want to avoid being discovered by the enemy, you must not leave traces, otherwise you will be in danger if you expose your whereabouts. As long as you light a fire and cook, you will definitely leave traces. If the opponent uses all their cavalry to pursue them, they may not be able to catch up. We, who didn't have enough horses at that time, who stayed to resist on foot?" Song Chen shook his head.

Pang Rou sighed speechlessly: "General Song is too careful, Zhang Lu may not be able to catch up, and if we are really worried about chasing troops, we should have abandoned the grain cart long ago and traveled at least ten miles a day when we traveled lightly. "

"Leaving the grain carts is leaving traces. At that time, chasing the army will be even more desperate. How can walking be compared to riding a horse? Once two people are caught alive and go back, we have no problem, and Yang Song will be exposed." Song Song Chen said worriedly.

Pang De was puzzled: "Why did General Song protect Yang Song? This man is insidious and cunning, and he regards money as his life. He is not a kind person."

"This man is still very useful, but you don't have to worry at all. If the situation is really urgent, I will let everyone abandon the grain truck." Song Chen continued to explain.

Pang De didn't know why Lantian kept Yangsong, but out of trust in Song Chen, he didn't ask any more questions, and then let the soldiers snuggle up and rest where they were, and used the mountain spring water they brought to feed their hunger with dry food.

This time I pretended to escape without preparing tents and quilts, so I could only sleep in the open among the mountains at night, with the cool wind whizzing past my ears, and it was not as warm as walking when I was quiet.

The night fell slowly, and the moon, which was rounder and brighter than that of Shangyuan night, rose. About an hour later, the sound of horseshoes sounded in the mountain road, and the scouts behind Song Chen came back.

They brought back very unexpected news. Sure enough, Zhang Lu sent cavalry to Jinniu Road to pursue them, and they were only thirty miles away.

After hearing this, Pang Rou's back felt cold, and he stammered, "If General Song hadn't been cautious, we would have been in trouble, but with the marching speed of the cavalry, we can catch up with us later tomorrow, should we continue our journey overnight?"

"Let's go. Fortunately, there was no fire just now." Pound immediately let the brigade continue to set off, and Song Chen changed people to continue monitoring at the back, allowing them to continue to maintain their intelligence advantage and provide support for the subsequent marching deployment.

More than a hundred people continued on their way without stopping, until the garrison rested at noon the next day, everyone was already very tired, and the information from later became more and more unfavorable, and the distance between the two sides from thirty miles was gradually narrowing.

Thirty miles

25 ri

twenty miles

When Pang De and others stopped, there was only a gap of ten miles left. They had to make a choice now. Not only were they going to discard the food, but they also had to abandon nearly fifty Xiliang soldiers. Exposure is no longer within the scope of everyone's consideration.

In a desperate situation, everyone wants to live. Xiliang soldiers want to ride horses into Yizhou. After discussing with several major generals, they decided to cast lots with small stones on the side of the road. Those who lose can only follow behind to survive. self-destruct.

Looking at the desperate eyes of the soldiers who failed to cast lots, Pang Rou asked Song Chen: "General Song is very resourceful, can you think of another way? You promised to take everyone away."

"That's right... It's true that I didn't think carefully. My husband once told me to keep the time gap longer. I really didn't expect Zhang Lu to be so good at using troops..." Song Chen blamed himself.

Pang De comforted: "The situation is already very good now, who would have thought that Zhang Lu would see through such a clever scheme..."

Da da da

Just as the Xiliang soldiers were casting lots to ask whether they would stay or not, there was a sudden sound of eager horseshoes in the valley ahead, and Song Chen's followers were the first to become vigilant.

Pang Rou and Pang De stood on the side of the road and watched, only to see a group of soldiers and horses appearing at the corner, and the riders in front were carrying a big banner with the word Deng.

Song Chen was as happy as seeing his relatives. He pointed to those soldiers and horses and said to Pang Rou and Pang De: "This is Deng Shizai, a disciple passed on by Mr. personally. Don't give up."

"Mr. Xuan Xiao is indeed a strange person." Pang Rou couldn't help but sigh.

Deng Ai's team soon arrived in front of him, and he got off his horse and respectfully saluted everyone, "You generals have worked hard all the way, Deng Ai was ordered by his teacher to come to meet him."

Pang De and others hurriedly clasped their fists in return, and Song Chen, as an intermediary, made an introduction to both parties.

"Zhang Lu's pursuers are already ten miles away. Do you think we should abandon the grain truck and hurry up?" Song Chen saw that Deng Ai had only a hundred riders to rescue him, and felt that the total force was not as strong as Yang Ren's pursuers, and Pang De's The Xiliang soldiers are completely exhausted now. If they were replaced by a hundred scouts, they could fight back.

Deng Ai observed the surrounding geographical conditions, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "It is not easy to transport these grains so far away, so naturally we need to take them all back. You escort the grain trucks and continue to move forward. I will stay here to buy time. Reinforcements will follow shortly."

"Shi Zai, according to the information given by the scouts, there are still four or five hundred pursuers behind. Is it too reluctant for you to have less than a hundred horses?" Song Chen kindly reminded.

Deng Ai said with a smile, "Don't worry, Colonel Song, I have my sense of proportion."

"Alright then." Song Chen didn't persuade much, and led the army with Pang De and Pang Rou to continue on their way.

When the Xiliang soldiers escorted the grain and grass carts to pass the corner, Song Chen found that Deng Ai seemed to be setting up a battlefield. He sent a small group of people to carry the flags and climb up the slope to the hillside beside the road.

"What is he doing?" Pang De asked very curiously when he saw Song Chen standing in the same place.

Song Chen shook his head, "It may be some way to retreat from the enemy, you two generals lead the army first, I want to stay and let the little general hold the line."

Pang De was also interested. He patted Pang Rou on the shoulder and said, "Brother, take them away first, and General Song and I will stay."

Chapter 399 The First Show of Deng Ai

"Zhang Lu's people should have seen you, why don't Ling Ming go first?" Song Chen said in his heart, why are you causing trouble? Record everything, so I can tell Lan Tian personally when I return to Jiaozhou.

"Don't worry, General Song, I will climb up the mountain with them to watch the wind, and Zhang Lu's people won't be able to find it." Pound heard Song Chen praise Mr. Xuanxiao for a few days, and he couldn't help watching his disciples use soldiers.

Seeing that Pound couldn't be stopped, Song Chen only had to lead his horse towards Deng Ai.

Seeing that the two generals had gone and returned, Deng Ai clasped his fists and asked very curiously, "Do you have any instructions from the two generals?"