Xia Chen and Shang Wuchen traveled all the way south, and everywhere they went was dilapidated and depressed, and those who could escape had already fled, and those who couldn't have died of hunger or swords. The next day, at noon, I finally saw a few people in Yuding County, but all the shops seemed to have just been robbed and smashed, and naturally none of them were open for business.

Shang Wuchen was quite strange: "Chen'er, we haven't seen a single Xuan soldier along the way. ”

"Everything that can be robbed is robbed, and everything that can be killed is killed, what are you doing here!"

"But Chen'er, none of the corpses we saw were Xuanjun or Dayun soldiers, were they?"

Xia Chen pondered: "Don't say it, there is really no one dressed as a sergeant." She snorted with a narrowed eye: "It seems that the garrison of Qingzhou City did not resist at all, and fled when they heard the news!" ”

Shang Wuchen groaned: "We don't have much water, we have to find a family to buy some." Speaking of this, he hesitated slightly: "Are you sure you want to return to the court as a general?" Are you sure you're not throwing yourself into the net? ”

Xia Chen glanced at him: "Naturally, I can't just go back." ”

Shang Wuchen nodded: "I also think that we have to find out the situation first before making plans, and it's hard to say whether we can bypass the Xuan army along the way." ”

Xia Chen pointed forward: "There seems to be someone in this house." ”

The two stepped forward and knocked on the door for a while, but no one responded, Shang Wuchen said: "Strange, how can there be no one when there is cooking smoke?" ”

Xia Chen smiled slightly: "Who dares to open the door lightly at this time!" As he spoke, he raised his voice and said, "There seems to be no one in this house, but there should always be a well, and I am dying of thirst." Why don't we split the door? ”

Shang Wuchen looked at Xia Chen suspiciously, thinking that it would be easier to climb over the wall than to split the door!

Xia Chen knew what he was thinking, and winked at him: "Someone." ”

The answer was a gray-haired old woman. And she was blind, and she said in a trembling voice, "Who are you?" I don't have anything at home, just me, a blind old woman. ”

Xia Chen said: "Grandma, we are not bad people, we are just passing by and want to beg for a bowl of water to drink." ”

When the old woman heard this, she did not give way: "Then you wait here, and I will go and fetch water." "Then close the door again.

Xia Chen shrugged: "At this time, there are no so-called good people and bad people. ”

After drinking the water, Shang Wuchen said, "Grandma." I'll give you five taels of silver, can you let us fill the water bags? ”

The old woman fumbled with the silver ingot that Shang Wuchen stuffed in her hand, and her nervous expression eased a little: "My eyes are inconvenient. Come in and fetch your own water. ”

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Xia Chen dismissed the idea of buying food from the old woman, because she smelled a smell of pig food and wanted to come to the kitchen to cook bran porridge. A skinny girl with a cyan birthmark on her face, about ten years old, was poking her head out of the kitchen to look at them.

Xia Chen asked while filling water with Shang Wuchen: "Grandma, how many days has Xuanjun been gone?" ”

The old woman shook her head: "I don't know. Four or five days. There were two waves of people before and after. Fortunately, our family was poor, and they kicked open the door and scolded a few times before leaving. ”

Shang Wuchen frowned: "Two waves? ”

At this time, the little girl ran out and said, "It's two waves, and the first wave slapped me twice." ”

The old woman said with a panicked face: "Xiu'er, why did you come out!" ”

The little girl said, "Grandmother, Xiu'er has never seen such good-looking brothers and sisters, they must not be bad people." ”

The old woman finally reached for her granddaughter's arm, and as she pushed her, she said, "You let me into the house!" Is that good-looking and worthy of food? ”

Xia Chen and Shang Wuchen looked at each other and smiled bitterly, and then thanked the old woman and left. They continued to search for a few more families, but those who were left behind were either old or weak, or sick or disabled. Of course, there was no food, let alone horses.

In the end, the two decided to look for the empty courtyards of those big families, after all, nine out of ten deserters were in a hurry. It is impossible to take everything in the house with them, and the looters will only pick valuable items. After climbing through seven or eight walls, he finally found a donkey and a dilapidated carriage in the firewood room of the empty mansion, which was not half starved to death because there was some forage in the firewood house.

Xia Chen smiled: "It's not easy! Mr. Shang, you fetch some water for it, and I'll fix the carriage. ”

Shang Wuchen smiled bitterly: "The most useless thing I find now is silver. ”

It was already evening after setting up the donkey cart, and Xia Chen clapped his hands with satisfaction: "It's not bad!" ”

Shang Wuchen sat on the steps and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to repair the car, but now that the car is available, the dry food has been eaten." ”

"Do you regret coming with me?" Xia Chen asked with a smile.

"Nope." Shang Wuchen found that he was tired or bitter, but he didn't regret it at all, and even felt a trace of happiness inexplicably.

Xia Chen said: "You rest for a while, I'll go get some food." ”

"Shall I go with you?"

Xia Chen pointed to the donkey cart: "Just take care of our car, I'll be back soon." ”

"Okay." Shang Wuchen hesitated for a moment and nodded. He felt that the bones in his body were about to fall apart, and he had to nourish his spirit, otherwise he would be really sick and drag her down, and he also knew that Gu Xiachen's physique was different from ordinary people, and his ability to resist fatigue was very strong.

Xia Chen went out, took out the bow and arrow from the ring and looked around, at this time the birds should have returned to their nests, and some of the eaves should be able to dig out sparrows. In less than half an hour, he grabbed and shot more than 20 of them, and picked a few half-withered lotus leaves in a pond and returned to the house.

Shang Wuchen looked at the loot she brought back in surprise: "I find that no problem can bother you now." ”

Xia Chen beckoned: "Come and help, soon we will have something to eat." ”

There was some firewood in the firewood room, Shang Wuchen made a fire in the courtyard, Xia Chen quickly cleaned up the sparrows, sprinkled some salt, wrapped them in lotus leaves, dug a shallow pit and buried them, and then put a fire on the pit.

The two sat by the fire and chatted while adding firewood. Shang Wuchen asked, "Where are we going next?" ”

"Let's go to Qingzhou County first, I want to find out about the movements of the Xuan Army there."

Shang Wuchen nodded: "Before, you said that you wouldn't go directly to see the emperor, what are you going to do?" ”

Xia Chen smiled mysteriously: "I plan to let the emperor come to me." ”

Shang Wuchen looked at her suspiciously: "How is it possible!" ”

Night is falling. The wind blows the cold behind the back, and the fire warms the chest. Xia Chen carefully removed the fire and picked up the dust on it. A smell of aroma emerged from the pit.

Shang Wuchen swallowed his saliva: "It's so fragrant." ”

Xia Chen took out a jar of wine and two wine glasses from the ring: "Drink two glasses to ward off the cold." ”

At this time, the sparrows were very fat, and after the two of them were full of wine and food, Shang Wuchen sighed: "This is the best food I have ever eaten, and the best wine I have ever drunk." ”

Xia Chen was even more sad when he heard this: "When I was a child, I lived in my grandmother's house and lived in poverty, so I and a few children in the village used this to make tooth sacrifices. ”

Shang Wuchen stood up and walked over to her and sat down, raising his glass: "Come, drink." ”

Xia Chen was already a little drunk: "Life must be happy." Don't make this bottle empty to the moon. With that, he took a sip and drank the wine.

Shang Wuchen poured another cup for her: "Heroic! Listen to your words today, and temporarily rely on the spirit of a glass of wine. ”

Xia Chen ate and smiled and raised his glass and touched it on Shang Wuchen's cup: "There is wine today, drunk today, tomorrow is sad, tomorrow is worried." ”

Shang Wuchen drank the wine with a smile: "Chic!" If there is wine in life, you must be drunk. A drop of He once went to the Nine Springs. ”

Minghui was the head, and the two suddenly fell silent, leaning back together to look up at the moon in the sky.

Xia Chen took a sip of wine: "Wuchen, thank you." "If you think about it, if you don't have him with you. She really didn't know how she could cross that prop mountain alone to get Qingzhou. How to face the tragic death of my grandmother's family.

"If Chen'er wants to thank me, let me stay with you all the time, right?"

"Why do you want to stay with me?"

Shang Wuchen sighed: "My life has lost its way, there are always things to do with you, and besides, I have no friends now." ”

"He doesn't have any intentions, does he?"

"He's my brother."

Xia Chen chuckled and said, "You're so greedy!" What about Mo'er? ”

"She's just a playful child."

Xia Chen shook his head lightly: "You don't know her, if she is really a playful child, can she hide by the side of King Hai Lang for so long?" ”

"Even if you're right! But all the memories I have with you have had a big impact on me, and I will always remember them today. And I don't want to think back to that time, you ......"

"Are you afraid I'll die? Don't you believe me so much? ”

Shang Wuchen picked up the wine jar and took a big sip: "Ahem." Not unbelief, but ...... Instead of having that day, it is different to live and die with you. ”

Xia Chen didn't expect Shang Wuchen to say such a thing, and a trace of distress rose in his heart. At this time, she can best understand the feeling of being afraid of losing, and they can't afford to lose the people around them anymore. "Don't worry, I won't die, and I won't let you die!"

"In the future, can you call Wuchen and stop calling me Shang Gongzi?"

"Good!"

The bonfire turned to ashes, and the two did not stay here overnight, and walked in the direction of the county town overnight. Shang Wuchen insisted that he come to catch the car, and Xia Chen took a nap in the carriage for a while.

When she woke up, she lifted the curtains and pushed the window open, and a cold wind blew in her face, and she saw a dead branch and leaves. "The world is a big dream, and life is a few cool autumns!" She sighed in her heart and closed the window.

Straighten up your hair, put on your hat, and push the car door: "Dustless, you can rest in the car for a while to warm up." ”

Shang Wuchen's face was pale and blown by the cold wind, but his spirit was good, and he stopped the car with a smile: "I really can't do anything about this donkey." ”

Xia Chen laughed when he heard this: "I can't imagine it, I can't imagine that the dustless boy is ...... Ha ha. ”

Shang Wuchen also laughed and said, "Yes, I was stumped by a donkey." At this time, a gust of wind blew, and Shang Wuchen's smile froze on his face: "Chen'er, your hair!" ”

Xia Chen said clearly: "It's turned white again?" ”

"Hmm."

"It doesn't matter, even if the people of the Great Cloud Country know my physiognomy and characteristics, no one should be able to care about arresting me at this time."

Shang Wuchen shook his head: "That's not what I mean, don't you really care?" ”

Xia Chen smiled faintly: "I've been used to it for more than two years, it's nothing!" ”

"I'm used to it, too." Shang Wuchen smiled slightly.

When I arrived in Ningde County, I finally bought a horse, although it was not a good horse, it was not easy.

Xia Chen quipped: "I can't imagine that the value of this horse will skyrocket in a war!" In other words, this horse is only ten taels of silver, and we spent a hundred taels and built a donkey. ”

Shang Wuchen raised his eyebrows: "I don't feel sorry for the silver at all, but I am a little reluctant to give up the donkey." ”

"Poof! I don't think you have a good sense of humor, so I wouldn't have bought this horse if I knew that. ”

At noon on this day, when the two arrived at Qingzhou County, Xia Chen looked at the heavily guarded city in surprise: "Aren't these all soldiers of Dayun?" ”

Shang Wuchen was also a little puzzled: "Yes, did the Xuan army withdraw without capturing the county seat?" ”

Xia Chen glanced at the closed city gate: "It seems that it is still a little difficult for us to enter the city." When she raised her eyes to look at the city tower again, a familiar figure was leaning down to look down, and she hurriedly waved her hand and shouted: "Senior Brother Qingzhu!" ”

Qingzhu followed the prestige: "Who is under the city?" ”

Xia Chen lifted the veil: "I'm Chen'er." ”

Qingzhu's figure immediately disappeared on the city tower, and after a while, the city gate was opened, and he rode a horse to greet him: "Chen'er, where have you been in the past few years, I heard...... Walk! Let's talk about the advanced city. ”

Qingzhu took Xia Chen and the others to the county mansion and motioned to retreat left and right. "Chen'er, I heard that you were wanted by the imperial court, and I have been secretly inquiring, and I was relieved to know that you went to Xuanguo. How did you come back again! ”

Xia Chen sighed: "I should have come back a long time ago!" ”

Qingzhu was stunned: "Have you been to Zhaojia Village?" ”

"Hmmm! Senior Brother Qingzhu, please tell me what happened during this time. ”

Qingzhu sighed: "In the past year, the border has not been peaceful, and there has always been friction between Xuanguo and Dayun. Three months ago, Emperor Xuan sent two envoys, I don't know what they said to the emperor, the emperor transferred a large number of garrisons, not to mention, but also ordered the soldiers who stayed behind to leave the city unless they asked for his holy decree. ”

Xia Chen nodded: "And then?" ”

"About a month ago, Wu Shu, the commander of Xuanguo, led an army of 200,000 to attack Beiyan Pass, General Xue led his subordinates to retreat to Taizhou, and General Yue Shao held on for three days and nights and finally lost the city."

Xia Chen hurriedly asked, "What is the situation with Major General Yue?" ”

Qingzhu's eyebrows furrowed even deeper: "I heard that he ordered his soldiers to defend the city to the death even if there is only one soldier left, and he ...... And it did! ”

Xia Chen looked at Qingzhu in shock: "You mean Brother Yue, he died in battle?" ”

Qingzhu's eye circles were red: "Yes!" After General Yue Shao was worthy of being loyal and brave, he heard that the Xuan army wanted to capture him alive. Speaking of this, he choked up twice: "His army alone killed hundreds of enemy soldiers, and finally ...... In the end, he was stabbed several times......"

Qingzhu couldn't cry anymore when he said this, and Xia Chen couldn't help but burst into tears.

Shang Wuchen patted her on the shoulder and asked Qingzhu, "Where is Xuanjun now?" How could this Qingzhou County be safe and sound? ”

Qingzhu wiped away her tears: "The Xuanjun has gone straight to Taizhou and Yun, as for Qingzhou...... Only one of the few elite horsemen had ever arrived, but for some reason they quickly withdrew! ”

"One of the few elites?" Shang Wuchen was even more puzzled, from what he saw along the way, he always thought that a large number of Xuan troops came, and they were the kind of miscellaneous recruits who had no military discipline at all and were like bandits.

Qingzhu nodded: "That's right, I still remember that the banner of that team of elite riders is the word 'Ge'!" ”

Xia Chen woke up from his sadness when he heard this: "What did you say? (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for your support! Thank you for the Phantom Cang Cherish Summer Reward Sachet, Invincible Yang Zai, Phantom Cang Cherish Summer, and Black Sister-in-law Reward Peace Charm, Mo Mo Da~~~