The soldier brought in a young man, and Tong Yuan asked, "Why did you run away?" Don't you know about the ban of our army? ”

The man was not convinced, and defended: "What escape, I just went to visit my relatives." ”

The young man was a stout man, about seven feet five inches tall, and his face showed no fear.

Seeing this, Li Chang interrupted: "Xiao Qi, stop it, you don't know what is going on, come and accompany this Tong Shaojun."

Xiao Qi muttered in his mouth: "What copper Shaojun, iron Shaojun, is just a fugitive." ”

Several soldiers present in the convoy were angry, and the lieutenant commander hurriedly stopped him, apologized to Tong Yuan, and said: "Xiao Qi, he doesn't know what happened, his mother has already died of illness, and his father was killed by Tu Gehu three years ago, so he lacks discipline and doesn't understand right and wrong."

Xiao Qi said angrily: "There are Hu people in them, aren't they good people, don't you go to report to the officials but beg them here not to rob?"

The lieutenant still needs to continue his education, and Tong Yuan raised his hand to stop him. "You want to avenge your father, right?"

Xiao Qi said: "Of course, if you are with the Hu people, you will also be betrayed by them in the future." ”

Tong Yuan asked, "So you want to kill them all, do you have this ability?" ”

Xiao Qi didn't think about it, and replied: "Hmph! I know what you're trying to say, I can't kill them all, but I'll protect the village. ”

Tong Yuan smiled slightly: "You are actually a coward, I don't know how many people at the border have died in vain because of a fool like you."

"What did you say?"

Xiao Qi's tone was incredulously questioning.

Tong Yuan stared at him seriously and said, "You can't achieve revenge by shrinking here, you don't know why your father died, and your hostile behavior will cause trouble here." You are more hateful than a coward! ”

Xiao Qi was panicked for a while and didn't know how to answer, and after a while, he asked rhetorically: "Then you know why?" And how to get revenge? ”

Tong Yuan looked at his forehead and said loudly, "What should you do, I don't know." But of course we know how to behave! ”

"Gather the scattered and despised border armies, and use all the forces that can be fought for not to let them run to the enemy's side, so as to gain an advantage. The reason for the situation was that we did not have the strength to contain the enemy! Our army, to stabilize the villages, sweep away the thieves, and settle the displaced people, this is our behavior. Take responsibility for the things before and after, this is my way. ”

Li Chang and Xiao Qi are not only unable to understand, but also find it difficult to implement, in short, they are speechless.

Tong Yuan thought for a while, "However, Xiao Qi, you have committed a night ban, you have to go with us today." Give him to Hu Lang'er and let him teach this kid how to live. ”

Xiao Qi was surprised: "Ah, hand me over to the Hu people, aren't you afraid that I will take revenge?"

Tong Yuan briefly introduced: "Hu Lang'er, whose real name is Yu Polang, is a descendant of the Southern Xiongnu who belonged to Xiliang, and has been in the Dong family for many years. He's seen a lot of people like you, and you can't beat ten. ”

Tong Yuan and the others slept in the villagers' residences tonight, which was also the first time he could spend the night in the room in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. What he said just now is indeed Tong Yuan's heartfelt words, but he doesn't want to be easier and easier, these days he has realized the value of stability and peace in the future generations, and the troubled times are really hard, but he has to face the difficulties.

Twenty miles southeast of the village, there is a dock fort, which was built decades ago by a nearby family surnamed Xue. Wubao is the most common place where the landlords and heroes live in this era, often hoarding food, weapons and strong men, and controlling the subordinate tenants to cultivate the land on weekdays, and even the surrounding villages are also subordinate to Wubao, once they encounter a war, they will gather here to guard here. The convoy will go there tomorrow, and it will be clear tomorrow whether it is friend or foe.

The next day, when they arrived at the fort, they saw that it was a wooden and stone building, and out of the shadow of the valley there was a road winding out, and there was a verdant hill to the east. There seem to be a number of houses inside the fort, and in the middle of a clearing there is a towering watchtower.

The fort can accommodate about 100 people on weekdays, and it is estimated that there are more people hidden now. The total number of convoys is only more than 300 people, of course, there is no fear inside, but as soon as the Dong family's army comes out, the lord of the dock fort must express whether it is war or peace.

Sure enough, after a while, more than a dozen people came out of the fort, and there were three calf carts full of supplies, but the walls of the dock fort were still heavily guarded. Among the more than a dozen people, the leader was a white-haired old man, and the rest were all strong, but none of them were armed. Obviously, the Wubao Xue family has made two preparations.

After some greetings, I learned that this person is the patriarch of the Xue family here, there was originally abundant water here, but the situation was turbulent, thieves and Hu people from all sides entered the Kou from time to time, only twenty miles closer to the dock fort can be cultivated with peace of mind, and then to the north is the area under the control of the Hu people.

The three calf carts were loaded with grain, cloth and wine, all of which were dedicated to the Dong army.

Of course, Dong Bai's family is rich in money, and the army is now preparing to march and fight, plus in order to maintain a highly acute sense of smell and taste, the Jieling Department does not drink any alcohol, so the wine is not accepted. In the end, he only left a little bean material, dried meat, and some porcelain that was inconvenient to carry as a return gift.

Of course, Dong Bai and others did not show up during the whole process, and Tong Yuan and Zhang Lu basically took care of related matters. The most important information is whether there are troops stationed nearby, especially the news of the Xiliang Army. After learning that Dong Jun was not interested in food and property, the head of the Xue family was also relieved and knew everything.

Due to the deep mountains in this place, the situation was still seen and heard ten days ago, and there was no more new information. However, the situation of the nearby garrison is known.

Coincidentally, although this place belongs to the Sanfu region, Wang Yun and others have limited troops, and they only reorganize their troops in the counties. This place is under the jurisdiction of Heyang Township, Xiayang County, and because the location is too far, there is no garrison nearby. And Xiayang County is just at the northeastern end of Zuo Fengyi, and I haven't heard of the change of garrison recently, so it is very likely that the previous Xiliang Army is stationed here.

In addition, Xiayang County has an important port on the Yellow River - Longmenjin, which can cross the Yellow River from here and enter the Hedong region, and it will be difficult for the pursuers to catch up. However, Xiayang is still two hundred miles away from here, and it will pass through Jaeyang Township in the middle, where there is also the original Xiliang garrison, which has not been replaced at the moment.

There are two roads to choose from to get to Xiayang, one is to continue along the river to the east, which can lead to Longmenjin. Another mountain path from here to the south can lead directly to the county seat of Xiayang. Both roads are more than 60 miles away.

This news is exactly what the team needs most, and on the principle of two roads, there was also a discussion within the commander of the Xiliang New Army. Some people thought that they should seize Longmenjin in Xiayang, and then seize the county seat according to the situation, or they could cross the river into Hedong at any time and contact Niu Fu and others.

However, in the end, Tong Yuan persuaded everyone to take the mountain road to Xiayang County.

Because once you persuade or rebel against the defenders of Heyang and Xiayang, you can attack and retreat. Tong Yuan even felt that with this place as the foundation, he could not only deal with Li Dao, Guo Yan and others, but also not be completely coerced by them.

So, after explaining the plan to Dong Bai, the team didn't stop much, and tried to catch up as much as possible before dark.