Xuan Liang led forty soldiers to the northeast for half a day, and after about forty miles, they met the soldiers of the three clans who were pursuing them. Seeing that there were as many as 400 people on the other side, Xuan Liang didn't want to fight hard, so he led the soldiers to hide in the jungle and constantly cast cold arrows to harass them. As long as they were held back for two or three days, Lin Zhan and the others would have enough time to get out.

Xu was afraid of the bow and arrow in Xuan Liang's hand, and after being shot and killed more than a dozen people, the soldiers of the three clans always maintained a place where Xuan Liang and others were hiding in the jungle, and the two sides confronted each other like this until nightfall.

Xuan Liang was worried that the other party would take advantage of the night to break into the jungle and surround them, so he led the soldiers to sneak out of the jungle and lie in the grass in the night. Among the more than 400 soldiers of the three clans, there are more than 30 cavalrymen, Xuan Liang is very greedy, and he has long been thinking about how to capture their war horses. Even if you can't grab it, you have to shoot the warhorse, which will slow down the opponent's pursuit, and it will be easier for you to escape.

Sure enough, as Xuan Liang expected, the soldiers of the three clans were divided into four teams, and the three teams of infantry quietly drilled into the jungle under the cover of night. And the thirty or so cavalrymen stayed in place to monitor to prevent Xuan Liang and others from escaping. Xuan Liang saw that the three teams of soldiers had entered the jungle one after another, and suddenly led forty soldiers to attack more than thirty cavalrymen with bows and arrows. There was a burst of people shouting and neighing, Xuan Liang didn't have time to grab the horses, and the soldiers who had gotten into the jungle had already turned around and returned. Xuan Liang had no choice but to lead the soldiers to continue running to the northeast, that is, in the direction of the three clans' stations.

The soldiers of the three clans could no longer care about chasing Lin Zhan and the others, as well as the robbed war horses. They didn't want to let the other side sneak up on their station anymore, and they chased after them all the way. Xuan Liang led people into the jungle for a while, and then came to the open ground again, dodging and dodging, but he didn't confront the opponent head-on. At ten o'clock in the morning, Xuan Liang led people deep into the hinterland of the jungle and no longer entangled with the soldiers of the three clans. just secretly observed, not letting them chase after Lin Zhan and the others.

After three days and three nights, you can already see the stations of the three clans. Xuan Liang didn't expect that the thirty cavalrymen had already rushed back and were waiting for them on the way to the three clans' stations. Faced with cavalry in front and infantry in the rear, Xuan Liang could only continue to maneuver with them in the jungle. In the evening of the next day, unconsciously, Xuan Liang and forty soldiers came to the big river north of the three clans again.

Blocking the road to the Great River, followed by the soldiers of the three clans who were in hot pursuit, Xuan Liang had a headache. At present, there are only two ways in front of him, either to cross the river on a raft, or to turn back and confront the pursuers of the three tribes. Xuan Liang thought about it again and again, although after crossing the river, there must be unknown dangers in the road ahead, but it was still better than confronting the pursuers behind. As a last resort, Xuan Liang led people to hide in the jungle again, and began to cut down trees with the swords on his body and braided rafts. Before dawn, a raft large enough to hold forty-one of them was set. Without hesitation, he resolutely crossed the river on a raft. Since there is no way back, simply venture further north.

Seeing that Xuan Liang and the others had crossed the river, the pursuers of the three clans stood on the bank and looked at it, then turned around and gave up crossing the river to continue the pursuit. Xuan Liang and the forty soldiers finally got time to rest. I gathered together the little food I had brought with me when I set out, and barely ate half full. After resting in place for a day and a night, he began to go cautiously to the north.

On the north bank of the river is a large area of deep and shallow grassland that has been silted up by the river. It took a whole day for Xuan Liang to lead people into a jungle. The forty-one people, who were already hungry, didn't care about anything else, so they hunted some prey first and filled their stomachs. Due to the continuous use of cold arrows on the soldiers of the three clans along the way, there were originally more than ten arrows per person, but now there are few left. Xuan Liang asked people to count it, and there were only more than eighty left.

"Don't use the bow and arrows anymore, save the last remaining arrows for the most critical moments."

In order to save arrows, Xuan Liang ordered the soldiers to hunt with swords. When you have to use it as a last resort, you must also pick up the arrows, and do not leave any more arrows. Xuan Liang still remembered that the emperor once said that there are four seasons in the north, and it will snow in winter and the temperature will be very low. Therefore, Xuan Liang asked the soldiers to bring all the prey skins and furs with them, in case winter came, they had not fled back to the Mengyue River, so that they could be used to keep out the cold.

The north of the river was unexpectedly desolate, and a month later, Xuan Liang and the others did not find a single ethnic group. As we go deeper, the air becomes drier, the temperature drops, and the vegetation on the ground decreases significantly, making it difficult to see large areas of dense jungle. Fortunately, there were a lot of prey such as hares, pheasants, and wild boars, and they did not starve Xuan Liang and the forty soldiers. Xuan Liang has been thinking about how to return to Mengyue River. It is definitely not possible to return the same way, as for whether to choose to bypass from the west or from the east, Xuan Liang has not made a good idea for a while.

In the third month of the group walking and stopping on the north bank of the river, the temperature was getting lower and lower, and many soldiers could no longer stand the temperature here, so they put on the animal skins left behind to keep warm. The nights are the hardest, and the temperature varies too much between day and night. During the day, they sweat in the sun, but at night they can shiver from the cold. Xuan Liang knew that he couldn't go north anymore. After careful consideration, Xuan Liang chose to go east. Because Xuan Liang observed the vegetation on the ground, he guessed that there should be a jungle to the east. For those of them who grow in the southern tropics, they can't do without the jungle. Not only does it give them plenty of food, but it also provides them with shelter.

After only five days of eastward travel, Xuan Liang met the first ethnic group after crossing the river, this ethnic group was very small, and all the clansmen together were only one hundred and ten people. In the fields on the outskirts of the ethnic group, Xuan Liang accidentally found the "cotton" that the emperor had said many times. Although it was the first time for Xuan Liang to see it, because the emperor had painted the appearance of cotton to the clansmen, Xuan Liang still recognized it at a glance. There is also a kind of green green seedlings, which Xuan Liang doesn't recognize.

This small group was naturally a little frightened by the sudden appearance of Xuan Liang and more than forty others. Although there was a barrier in the language communication between the two sides, after several conversations, it was clear that the person who came did not have any malicious intent, but was just passing by. Xuan Liang thought about bringing back cotton seeds to the emperor, so he discussed with the leader of the clan. In the end, the two sides reached an agreement, and Xuan Liang and they exchanged their prey for their cotton seeds. As for the green seedlings that Xuan Liang didn't know, the people of the ethnic group also told Xuan Liang that it was "barley". In exchange for some flour made of barley, Xuan Liang felt that it was better than the millet they ate. So he also exchanged his prey for some barley seeds. After asking the locals where he could cross the river, Xuan Liang was ready to return to the Mengyue River.

It's just that before Xuan Liang could leave, the sky was filled with what the locals call "snowflakes", and the temperature dropped suddenly. Xuan Liang had to suspend his plan to go back, follow the example of the locals, and dig one by one to hide in the cold on the slopes of the rising sun. During the day, they put on animal skins and went out hunting, some of which were used for their own food, and some of which were exchanged for food with the local tribes.

After a long time, Xuan Liang knew that there were more than a dozen similar small ethnic groups in the vicinity, most of them survived by farming, and the ethnic groups lived in harmony with each other, and there were very few wars. Xu was afraid of the sharp weapons of Xuan Liang and others, and these ethnic groups did not drive them away, but were willing to take out the seeds of food and crops to exchange prey with Xuan Liang.