The wilderness, which had been filled with screams of fighting and the clashing of weapons just now, suddenly fell silent. Among the Zhou people, except for two guards who were killed in battle, most of the rest were only slightly injured, and the guards who were still able to move began to clean up the battlefield.

Tai Ji looked up at the sky, and the snowflakes were still falling, and they had not slowed down for a moment because of the fierce fight that had taken place at the right time. And blood continued to seep out from under the lying corpse, staining the earth crimson.

This was the first time in Taiji's life that she had faced the killing at such a close distance, especially when she still had the blood of her clan on her face, and she could even feel that the blood was still warm. Tai Ji walked up to the guard, who had broken arms, and leaned down to take a closer look at his face. I saw that his body was still convulsive, but his eyes were already dilated, only the breath was out but not the intake, and finally the chest finally stopped rising and falling.

He was still so young, and he thought to himself that his mother must be at home day and night looking forward to his safe return. She reached out and closed the guard's eyes, then gently wiped the blood from her face, took the opportunity to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then turned to help the wounded guards bandage their wounds.

After looking around, the bears laughed and said, "These canine thieves! Usually when they encounter our main force, they run away completely, and it has been a long time since we have killed us so happily. ”

Zhou Chang sighed after hearing this, and said, "When the dog Rong people ride on horseback and release arrows, it is like being on flat ground. If we engage them in the field, even if we can win the battle, our own losses will be great. These dogs are really the great enemies of our Zhou people, and they must not have the heart of underestimating the enemy. ”

Zhou Kao and Mane Bear were beside Zhou Chang, and they all nodded yes. Zhou Kao presented Zhou Chang's saber and said, "Please take it back from your father." Zhou Chang didn't take it, and said to him, "You can keep this sword." This sword is called Karumo, and it was handed down by your grandfather, so you can't insult it. You know? "Zhou Kao is overjoyed, thank you Zhou Chang for not mentioning it.

While they were talking, no one noticed that Zhou Fa was walking around alone. It turned out that he also learned to clean up the battlefield guards, and went around to examine the corpses of the dogs. Suddenly, Zhou Fa took out a feather arrow from a corpse, raised it in his hand and shouted: "I shot this person to death!" ”

Zhou Fa tasted the fruits of victory for the first time, and when he was elated, he was completely defenseless. Suddenly, the corpse lying on the ground jumped up, holding Zhou Fa in one hand in front of him, holding a stone dagger against Zhou Fa's throat in the other, and kept screaming.

Only then did Zhou Chang and the others realize that something was wrong, but everyone was far away from Zhou Fa, and it was too late to rescue. I only heard Tai Ji shouting: "Stop hurting my child!" The Zhou guards immediately surrounded the dog Rong people, but everyone saw that the stone dagger was sharpened very sharply, and they only needed to poke it lightly in the neck, so no one could save the life of the second son, so they didn't dare to act rashly.

It turned out that after the dog Rong man was injured, he saw that it was difficult to escape, so he simply lay on the ground and pretended to be dead. It was also his life that should not have been killed, Zhou Fa came to him alone and was finally captured by him.

Zhou Chang saw that the dog Rong man's eyes were fierce and his face was hideous, he knew the truth of the trapped beast fighting, so he ordered the guards to retreat, and then walked in front of the dog Rong man, and suddenly said a few words to the dog Rong man in a language that no one could understand.

The dog Rong man was stunned, and he also said a lot. Although his voice was still high-pitched and excited, he could also hear a slight reduction in fear.

It turned out that Zhou Chang had been fighting against the Dog Rong people for many years, and he also deliberately learned some of the language of the Dog Rong people. I saw that the two of them kept talking, their voices were high and low, and the speed of speech was sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes it seemed like they were arguing, and sometimes it was like two vendors bargaining. In the middle, Zhou Chang paused for a while, as if thinking about something, and after a while resumed the conversation. The rest listened with bated breath and did not dare to make any move.

Eventually, after a brief silence, the dog Rong let go of Zhou Fa. Zhou Fafu felt that the strength that restrained him was gone, and immediately flew into Zhou Chang's arms. As soon as the guards saw that the second prince was out of danger, more than a dozen Changge branches instantly fell on the dog Rong man, and as long as Zhou Hou gave an order, there would be more than a dozen holes in his body. And the dog man raised his head, and his face suddenly showed disdain.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Zhou Chang waved his hand and said, "Let him go." Although the guards didn't know what they meant, Zhou Hou had always ordered like a mountain, and no one dared to disobey, so everyone got out of the way at the moment. The dog spat on the ground, limped on a horse, and galloped away without looking back.

Zhou Chang turned around and said to everyone: "This dog Rong said that he would let him ride a horse for five miles before releasing Zhou Fa, so naturally I can't agree." In the end, I told him that I was the Marquis of Zhou, and promised not to hurt his life as a prince, so I persuaded him to let him go. ”

Mane Bear said worriedly: "It's just that in this way, the dog Rong people know your whereabouts, and I am afraid that they will not let go of this great opportunity to capture Zhou Hou." This scout force has caught up with us, and the main force must not be far away, and they will definitely mobilize men and horses to chase after us. ”

Zhou Chang sighed and said: "Yes, if I am captured, Qi Zhou City will definitely be defeated." Although Zhou Fa was still frightened at this time, he also knew that he had caused a big disaster, and said tremblingly: "The child knows that he is wrong, please punish his father." ”

Who knew that Zhou Chang, who had always been stern, did not blame Zhou Fa, but said to him: "The first time you went into battle, you don't know how treacherous and cunning the enemy on the battlefield is, I don't blame you this time." But you must know that in order to survive, people can do everything, and you must keep this lesson in mind and not be careless in the future. Only then did Zhou Fa dare to raise his head and say to Zhou Chang: "The child must keep it in mind." ”

Zhou Chang then said: "We are going to Chaoge, and it is the fastest way to go east to Fengling and cross the river. However, if we continue to go east, it will take two days to reach the ferry, so that we are afraid that we will be overtaken by the main force of the dogs. ”

Mane Xiong said: "Lord Zhouhou, not far east of here is Chengyi, the guards in Chengyi are enough to ensure our safety, I think we can only go there for a while." ”

"No, there are too few guards in Chengyi, and even if you get there, you can only be trapped in the village. But once the Inurong people know that I am in Chengyi, they will inevitably surround the village, and then we will not be able to reach Chaoge in time. ”

Mane Bear said, "But the enemy is coming from the rear, and the road back to Qizhou must have been cut off, and if you want to go back to the city now, I am afraid that you will encounter the dog Rong on the road." ”

Both of them felt in a dilemma, and when they were in a dilemma, Zhou Kao proposed: "Can you go south to Weishui, find a ferry to cross the river, and then go east along Zhongnan Mountain?" ”

Zhou Chang said: "The ferry port on the Weishui River only has small boats that can carry people, and there are no big boats that can carry horse-drawn carriages across the river. These tributes to the Shang kings were collected over a long period of time and should never be discarded lightly. ”

At this time, Tai Ji suddenly said: "Since you can't go in the east, south, and west directions, why don't you go north to Xin Kingdom?" ”

The bears scratched their heads and said, "The Dog Rong people are coming from the north to the south, wouldn't it be more dangerous for us to go north?" ”

Zhou Chang thought for a while and said, "Although the north is dangerous, the dog Rong people would not expect us to go north. It's just that the country of Xin is in the middle of the mountains, and the road is far and difficult, so we have to walk for three days to arrive with these luggage at the earliest. For such a long time, I was worried that I would eventually be found by the dogs. ”

Tai Ji said unhurriedly: "What's so difficult about this? The husband can send a guard to hold your seal, and hurry to Xincheng to report the news, so that the city can send troops to answer it. Will my mother's family still ignore it? Besides, the pursuers are coming, and no matter where they go, it is better than sitting here and waiting to die. ”

Zhou Chang nodded and said, "What Madame said is very true, then we will leave immediately." ”

So the group set up the carriage and was about to head north. Zhou Kaohu said to Zhou Chang: "Father, why don't you send a carriage to continue eastward, leaving rut marks, so that the dog Rong people mistakenly think that we are still heading to Rui Kingdom." ”

Bearded Bear laughed and said, "The eldest prince is really clever, this will definitely lead the dog Rong people to chase eastward and discipline them to pounce." ”

Zhou Chang obeyed his words, abandoned the carriage and rode the horse with Zhou Kao, and then let the carriage speed eastward. The rest turned north, leaving two guards to clear the group's path north.

In the next two days, Zhou Chang kept hurrying and didn't dare to take a break. Because on this plain, once it is discovered by the Inujun, it will be difficult to fly. It was not until he could not see the road at night that Zhou Chang ordered to camp, but he was not allowed to make a fire to make food. They took cold dry food to satisfy their hunger, and when they were thirsty, they grabbed a ball of snow to nibble, and then they all slept wrapped in blankets.

Fortunately, the guards all have the experience of sleeping in the snow and nights, and Zhou Kao has been training with his father for many years, and he is also quite able to endure hardships, but Zhou Fa is the only one who secretly complains about hardship.

Early in the morning of the third day, as soon as the sky was bright, Zhou Chang led everyone on the road again. Some of the guards had stiff hands and feet and could barely ride horses. Zhou Fa was even more frostbitten on his hands and feet, and the chilblains were red and swollen, but fortunately, Tai Ji prepared some medicines of various kinds, and after applying a lot of chilblain medicine to Zhou Fa, he felt better.

The journey was uneventful, and by late evening the convoy had reached the northern mountains. It was only at this time that Zhou Chang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart - in the mountains, a small group of men and horses was easy to hide, and even if they encountered an enemy, as long as they were found early, they could avoid it in time.

Zhou Chang saw that the group was rushing for days, and they were already exhausted and unbearable, so he decided to let everyone rest first. He ordered a sheltered valley to be found, and a bonfire was raised in the valley. Sitting around the fire and eating steaming food, everyone felt warmth in their bodies.

At this time, the bears said to Zhou Chang: "There is not much dry food left with us when we set off. Originally, it was planned to go to Ruicheng to replenish supplies, but I didn't know that the sky did not fulfill people's wishes, and I met the dog Rong people on the way. ”

Zhou Chang said: "Don't worry, you can get to Xincheng in a day or two, and the rest of the dry food is enough to eat." ”

Zhou Fa listened to it on the sidelines, but he became worried, and he asked Mane Bear: "What if I run out of dry food?" ”

Mane Bear grinned and said, "Then we'll have to catch some voles to eat." Well, I haven't tasted voles in years since I followed Zhou Hou. In winter, voles are particularly fat and taste much better than chicken. ”

Zhou Fa had also seen voles, and he was stunned when he heard the bear's words, and compared the voles with the chicken he usually ate in his mind.

By this time it was completely dark, and some people were lying by the campfire, already asleep. Zhou Chang didn't feel sleepy at all, he knew that the danger had not been completely lifted, and the dog Rong people must still be searching everywhere. Zhou Chang has been constantly fighting with the dog Rong over the years, which has made the dog Rong people suffer a lot. Now they learned that Zhou Hou was only in the wilderness far away from Qizhou City, surrounded by the Dog Rong Rangers, with only twenty or so guards, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Dog Rong people.

If he misses and is captured, the Inurong people will definitely threaten the Zhou Shou to surrender the city. Even if he commits suicide, whether his wife and two sons are captured or killed, Xiqi City will fall into a leaderless chaos.

Thinking of this section, Zhou Chang called Zhou Kao and said, "You accompany me to go out for a walk." Zhou Kao followed his father and walked out of the valley together.

Zhou Chang saw that there was no one around, so he lowered his voice and said to Zhou Kao: "If we encounter the dog Rong people, you can't fight, immediately take Fa'er and ride a horse to return to Qizhou quietly from the trail, understand?" ”

Zhou Kao was immediately stunned, and said in a daze: "No, no, father, Kao'er will never leave you and your mother half a step." The act of escaping alone, Kao'er can't do it......"

Zhou Chang sighed and said, "The primary target of the Dog Rong people is me, no matter where I flee, they will definitely chase after me." If we go our separate ways, then you still have a silver lining. If our father and son are captured, Qi Zhou will die; But as long as you are alive, you can unite the people of Zhou. Kao'er, if your father is not there, you will have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of commanding the Zhou clan and revitalizing the Qi Zhou. Presenting a moment of courage to fight to the death is only a small righteousness, and being able to endure humiliation and burden is the avenue. ”

When Zhou Kao listened, his mind was in a mess, and he didn't know how to answer. Seeing this, Zhou Chang comforted him and said, "You don't need to worry too much, we are not far from Xin now, and we may not be caught up." What my father said was just the idea of planning ahead of the day. ”

Zhou Kao answered, and the two were about to return to the valley when they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. The two stopped to look, and it turned out that the two Zhou guards who were in charge of the broken queen rushed over.

The two guards came to Zhou Chang, dismounted and knelt down and said, "Lord Zhouhou, the two of us saw a large number of dog Rong people on the way, camped fifteen miles to the southwest, and came to pay a respect. ”

Zhou Chang hurriedly asked: "Have you seen how many people there are?" ”

One of the guards replied, "About two hundred people." ”

Zhou Chang asked the two guards to rest first, and said to Zhou Kao, "You go and ask Lord Huoshi to come here to discuss." ”

After a while, Zhou Kao and Mane Bear came to the outside of the valley, and Zhou Chang informed Mane Bear of the enemy's situation. Mane Bear grinned and said, "In order to deal with the twenty or so of us, we actually asked two teams of 100 people to go out together. ”

Zhou Chang smiled slightly: "Before, we had more than twenty people, but we annihilated a team of forty or fifty people. And rightfully so, they are so cautious. In your opinion, should we leave at once, bear? ”

The bears thought for a moment and said, "The Dog Rong people should not have discovered our whereabouts, otherwise they would not have camped in a place only ten miles away from us. I suspect that they must have pursued us eastward and did not find us, so they searched blindly. However, the enemy is too close to us, and it will be difficult for them to get out if they stumble into us. Besides, these two hundred men are by no means all the men and horses of the Inujun, and there is no guarantee that there are other enemies in the vicinity. I thought this was not a place to stay for a long time, so it was better to go to Xincheng as soon as possible. ”

Zhou Chang nodded and said, "That's what I mean, although it is very dangerous to walk on the mountain road at night, but this risk is worth taking." Bear, you tell us to go down and get everyone ready to go. ”

When the guards received the order, they all immediately went into action. Zhou Fa had already fallen asleep, but when he was woken up, he learned that he had to hurry again, and he was extremely reluctant. But when Tai Ji told him that the dog Rong people were nearby, Zhou Fa, who had palpitations, did not dare to delay and immediately got up.

Just as everyone was busy cleaning up, the guards in charge of guarding on the high ground suddenly shouted: "There are cavalry in the north!" ”

Zhou Chang and Mane Bear glanced at each other, and thought to themselves: Sure enough, there are other dog cavalry nearby? Zhou Chang hurriedly ordered people to extinguish the bonfire, and strictly ordered everyone not to make a sound in the valley. He and the bear climbed the high slope and looked north, and sure enough, they saw the light of a row of torches in the darkness, and it was the marching cavalry marching from north to south along the mountain road.

There are enemies in the north and south, how can this be good? Zhou Chang secretly complained in his heart. I saw this group of cavalry coming straight over, and it didn't take long to pass through the valley where the Zhou people were hiding. Zhou Chang could only pray in his heart at the moment, hoping that the ancestors of the Zhou clan would have spirits in heaven and bless everyone from being discovered.