At this time, the afternoon sun was shining on Yu Yan's face, shaking so much that he could barely open his eyes, and the road ahead was still endless. He said to his father: "Since the covenant has been decided, Chengtang should immediately send troops, so as not to delay the time and delay the warplane." ”

Yu Mengyan shook his head: "Since Cheng Tang started his army, he has successively destroyed the Ge clan, the Wei clan, the Gu clan and the Kunwu clan. He has always been a person who plans and then acts, in order to be perfect. But it was said that not long after Yi Yin went back to restore his life, Cheng Tang sent a messenger again, but it was Fei Houchang who came back. Fei Chang was originally Xia Chen, but he also surrendered to Chengtang at this moment, which shows that Xia Jian is really exhausted. ”

Yu Yan said: "I don't know why Fei Hou came?" ”

"That Fei Chang humbly offered a heavy gift, saying that Cheng Tang asked Lord Yu Sui to help build a hundred chariots. He also greeted him with a twist, saying that the green sandalwood of my Yu country is famous all over the world, and it is the best to use it to make cars. Lord Yu Sui was very happy, so he stayed in the Hou Mansion as a guest. ”

Yu Yan said with some disdain: "Building a chariot at this time is tantamount to sharpening a spear in battle. What's more, to build a hundred chariots, it is inevitable that doves and craftsmen will be used to mobilize the people. Isn't Chengtang afraid of revealing secrets? ”

Yu Mengyan stroked his short beard under his chin and said, "If my guess is correct, Chengtang is just using the name of building a car to test the sincerity of our Yu country's alliance." If Lord Yu Sui only agreed to form an alliance with Cheng Tang on the surface, but still colluded with Xia Wei behind the scenes and had other plans, it would be a great threat to Cheng Tang. ”

Yu Yan suddenly realized, and thought: It turns out that even if the covenant is concluded, Cheng Tang is still wary of Lord Yu Sui, and his meticulous mind is really leaky.

Yu Mengyan said again: "Fei Chang brought more than 100 Yu craftsmen to cut wood and nitrate in Shouyang Mountain to make chariots, and Lord Yu Sui couldn't help but let him go in and out. About a month later, Chengtang had already captured the town, and then he sent a message that he would send troops to Anyi in the near future. ”

"Lord Yu Sui is so honest with Fei Hou, Cheng Tang finally believes in us."

Yu Mengyan said: "Ten days later, Cheng Tang personally led 6,000 'mortal' people to quietly cross the river in Maojin. In the early morning of that day, the Yu people stationed in Yusaka Yandao saw the banner of Chengtang appear, and they all retreated to Yucheng. After the merchant army came out of the pass, they set up a position in the area of Narujo. ”

"Father, since Chengtang has already passed the pass, why don't you take Anyi directly, but line up in Narujo?"

"Chengtang's little force is not enough to capture the city of Anyi. He ordered Fei Chang to build a chariot, which also shows that Cheng Tang planned to rely on field battles to decide the winner from the beginning. When Fei Chang learned that the merchant army had arrived in Narujo, he immediately led people to join him in the chariot he had built. However, I don't know what Fei Chang was delayed by, he only built 70 cars, and failed to make up the number of 100, and it is said that Cheng Tang was furious about it. Although Fei Chang made great achievements in the Battle of Narujo, in the end, the merits were offset and he failed to receive any reward from Chengyu. ”

Yu Yan said: "Maybe it's because of the rush of time, it's not surprising that Fei Hou can only build so many cars despite his best efforts." ”

Yu Mengyan was noncommittal about this, and said: "When Xia Wei learned that Cheng Tang Chen Bing was singing, he was unprepared for this; However, he heard that the merchant army was only 6,000 men, and he thought that this was a good opportunity to annihilate Cheng Tang Yixue's former shame. So Xia Wei hurriedly ordered the defenders of Anyi to pour out, but what he didn't expect was that these Xia soldiers were wearing armor and marching twenty miles in one go, and they were already exhausted by the time they arrived at Mingtiao. And all this was already in Cheng Tang's calculations, and he didn't wait for Xia Jun to have a chance to breathe, and immediately launched a fierce attack. In front of the merchant army who were waiting for work, the Xia people had little power to fight back, and they were suddenly defeated. When the Battle of Naruto ended, the losses of the merchant army were actually very small, and there were no soldiers left to defend the city in Anyi, so Xia Wei could only abandon the city again. ”

Yu Yan thought silently for a while after hearing this, and said, "You mentioned before that Cheng Tang has always been cautious, and Ming Tiao only led 6,000 men and horses to go deep alone, which can be said to be very risky. There are two prerequisites for Chengtang to win: one is to form an alliance with our Yu State and pass through Yuban; The second is that Xia Wei must abandon the fortified city and fight with Cheng Tang in the suburbs. Father, assuming that Xia Wei didn't come out of the city at that time, wouldn't Cheng Tang's plan come to naught? ”

"Cheng Townken's danger is nothing more than a trick to lure the enemy, in order to obtain the greatest victory at the least cost. If Xia Wei doesn't fall for his plan, Cheng Tang can only continue to increase his troops, and then order the soldiers to join the ring to attack Anyi. It's just that in that case, the casualties of the merchant army will inevitably increase greatly. ”

"Then if Lord Yu Sui doesn't agree to form an alliance and refuses to borrow the Tao, what will Cheng Tang do about it?"

"If Yu Guo does not agree to form an alliance, Cheng Tang can only continue west to Fenglingdu, and then take a boat to Pusaka to land; Then they lined up in a dignified array, raised the banner of righteousness, and drummed to the east. When the merchant army advanced eastward, they had to capture Yucheng before they dared to go to Anyi. And if Yucheng can't be attacked for a long time, and Xia Ji's reinforcements arrive, the war will inevitably fall into a stalemate. All in all, if the merchant army landed from Kasaka, Xia Wei would have plenty of time to deal with it calmly, and it would not be so easy for Cheng Tang to win. ”

Yu Yan sighed: "It turns out that the strategy of using the salt road to attack Anyi was not a whim and a dangerous move, but the best choice made after careful consideration and careful consideration. Therefore, it is imperative for Chengtang to form an alliance with our country regardless of the cost. ”

Yu Mengyan said with a smile: "This strategy is of course bold and ingenious, but the process of implementing the strategy is the key to success or failure. Cheng Tang interlocked with each other through cutting and fighting, plotting and cutting soldiers, and introduced Xia Wei into the middle step by step, and this battle of Naruto can really be described as a model of using soldiers. Every time I think about it, I can't help but be amazed. You must also carefully appreciate the mysteries, and you will be of infinite use in the future. ”

Yu Yan recalled what his father said just now, and sighed secretly in his heart: Although we Yu people have never injured a single soldier of Xia Ren, it is no different from burying Xia Ji with our own hands.

He sat on horseback and was silent for a long time. When I looked up, I saw a very narrow mountain path hidden in the valley under the two high mountains in the distance, as if a crack had opened between the two gates. He turned his head, only to find that Yu Mengyan had already dozed off in the carriage.

Yu Yan said: "Father, unconsciously Yu Ban Yandao is close at hand. ”

"Ahh Yu Mengyan opened his eyes and said, "Yes, the mountains in this area used to be called Li Mountain. Legend has it that our ancestor Emperor Shun once cultivated the land here, and this place can also be said to be the land of Yuren's dragon. ”

Yu Yan looked at the Yusaka Salt Road in the distance, imagining the scene of the army of Chengtang hundreds of years ago coming towards Naruto; And now the craggy mountains on both sides are still standing, but Cheng Tang and Yi Yin, who are powerful people, have long been buried in the mountains and forests, which makes him sigh. He suddenly said, "Father, I have never heard anyone mention the truth about the Battle of Narujo. Does it mean that no one in the world knows about it except you? ”

Yu Mengyan said: "This matter is not very glorious for us Yu people, and we naturally won't publicize it everywhere. And in order to praise Cheng Tang's wisdom and martial arts, the merchant never mentioned the role of Yu Ren. As for the Xia people, they have always regarded the battle of Naruto as a great shame, and they are not even allowed to mention the word 'Narujo' in front of them, so how can they expose their shortcomings? But in today's world, there must be someone other than me who knows. I think that there may be records in the annals of merchants, and some people among the descendants of the Xia people may have heard of it. For example, Chongguo has always regarded us as enemies, maybe he just wants to avenge Xia Wei. ”

"If you want me to say, this Chonghou Tiger is also spineless. After he was a Xia man, he didn't go to the merchant to take revenge, but he came to find our bad luck. ”

Yu Mengyan smiled slightly: "He can't beat the businessman, so there's nothing he can do." What's more, the king of Shang has always been wary of the descendants of the Xia people, how dare Chonghu act rashly? ”

Soon, Yu Mengyan's carriage had arrived at the entrance of the pass. Yu Yan thought to himself: This road is so narrow, there are steep mountain walls on both sides, as long as our Yu people sent 2,000 people to defend this place, I am afraid it will be difficult to attack with only 6,000 dead soldiers in Chengtang. If rolling stones and skulls were set up on the tops of the mountains on both sides in advance, the merchant army would be crushed into powder in an instant. Back then, Chengtang sent Fei Hou to come, mostly to find out if our Yu people would set up an ambush here.

After entering the pass, Yu Mengyan said to the coachman again and again: "Go slowly, go slowly." "It turned out that the road had not been repaired for a long time, and the ground was overgrown with weeds and potholes, and the carriage was very bumpy.

Yu Yan said: "Father, I saw that there were many marks of burning axes and chisels on the mountain walls on both sides, and it seems that this pass was dug by manpower. ”

"You read that right. In fact, not only the Yuban Salt Road, but also many mountain roads in the Taihang Eight Mountains were opened up by people relying on the mountain. ”

"Since this pass existed at the time of the soup, it has existed for at least hundreds of years. I wonder who opened these mountain roads in the first place? ”

Yu Mengyan said: "How can it be hundreds of years? According to legend, this Yuban salt road was originally a diversion canal dug by Dayu when he controlled the water, in order to lead the stream in Shouyang Mountain to the south into the big river. Later, we Yu people continued to widen it, and it became the pass that can be used by cars and horses today. ”

At this time, the terrain in the pass was undulating from time to time, so the carriage traveled very slowly, and Yu Mengyan fell asleep in the carriage. Yu Yan didn't dare to disturb him, and only followed the carriage slowly. Until the end of the small harvest, he looked forward, and could vaguely see the end of the pass.

Yu Yan called softly twice, and Yu Mengyan opened his eyes and asked, "Where are you?" ”

Yu Yan replied: "The front should be the mouth of the wind spring, and out of the mouth of the wind spring, you will almost reach Maojindu." ”

Yu Mengyan looked ahead and said, "Why does it seem that someone has set up a checkpoint at the pass?" Who's guarding this place? ”

At this time, Yu Yan also saw that there were many red deer barricades blocking the pass, and there were many military tents outside the valley, and it was obvious that there were soldiers stationed here. He replied, "I don't know." I remember that when I went to Chaoge Nagong at the beginning of the year, I didn't see a camp here. ”

"Hmph, I think it's probably Rui Hou using some kind of brain."

Yu Yan said: "Wait for me to go over and ask what is going on." After saying that, he urged him to step forward and wanted to inform the other party for questioning. Before he could speak, someone in the camp had already shouted: "Listen, this is the realm of Rui Kingdom, you must not go further, otherwise you will blame the sword and arrow without eyes." ”

Yu Yan suppressed his anger and said loudly: "I am Yu Yan, the son of Yu Guo, and our group is going to Chaoge to participate in the enthronement ceremony of the king of Shang. During the reign of the Shang king, no one was allowed to block the way for the princes to come to the court. Could it be that you Rui Kingdom did not receive the order of the Great Shang? ”

I saw a person turn out from behind the deer, this person was wearing rhino armor, and it seemed that he should be a centurion in the Rui army. The man said, "I am ordered by the Marquis of Rui to guard the pass here. No one is allowed to pass without the permission of Rui Hou. Besides, there are so many of you, how do I know if you have other plans? ”

Yu Yan smiled secretly in his heart: If I really want to attack Rui Guo, how can I only bring this one person? He rode forward a few steps, just as he was about to explain. But the centurion shouted, "Be on guard! Alert! When the soldiers of Rui Guo heard the order, they all aimed their bows and arrows at Yu Yan.

Yu Yan had never been threatened like this in his life, and thought to himself: A little centurion, how dare he do this? He waved his right hand, and immediately a hundred tigers lined up in a phalanx behind him, and more than a hundred long axes were ready to split. As long as Yu Yan gave an order, these heavily armored soldiers would rush towards the enemy without stopping.

Yu Yan carefully inspected the Rui State soldiers on the opposite side, and saw that there were only dozens of armor soldiers in leather armor among them, and the rest of the soldiers did not even have armor. He thought: Although the enemy occupies a favorable position, as long as my tiger team rushes to the front of the enemy's formation, dealing with this group of Rui soldiers is not like chopping melons and vegetables. And the centurion of the Narui Kingdom had obviously never encountered such an opponent, and there was a panicked look on his face. The two sides are facing each other so tensely, and no one dares to act rashly.

At this time, I heard Yu Mengyan shouting from behind: "Yan'er, don't make a mistake." Yu Yan turned his head to look at his father, although he was unwilling, he could only slowly put down his right hand. The hundred axemen immediately retreated and returned to the ranks.

Seeing that the other party was retreating, the centurion of Narui also signaled his soldiers to put away their bows and arrows. Yu Mengyan got out of the carriage and stepped forward and said: "The widow is the king of Yu Kingdom, I bother you to report to Lord Ruihou, and say that I want to pass through here, and I hope that Lord Ruihou will make it convenient." The centurion saluted him and said, "Then please wait here for Lord Yu." ”

Yu Yan said angrily: "Father! This place is still dozens of miles away from Rui City, and even if they ride to report Rui Hou, it will be at least a day before they can return. You want us to wait here, I don't know when!"

Yu Mengyan said: "In addition to stipulating that countries shall not hinder the audience of the princes, the edict of the king of Shang also strictly prohibits private attacks between countries. We are now in the territory of Rui State, and if we make a move, it will only make people think that it is our Yu State that takes the initiative to provoke us, and we will be discouraged. ”

"You can't just keep waiting, can you? What if the date of the audience is missed and the king of Shang is to blame? ”

Yu Mengyan said: "Hmph, if it really delays our trip, I can only tell Lord Shang Shou truthfully, and see how Lord Shang Shou handles it." ”

Only then did Yu Yan understand: since Marquis Rui dared to openly disobey the king's order, then let the king of Shang punish him, and we didn't have to do it.

Yu Mengyan said again: "You send an order to go down and set up camp here; Ordered the kitchen to clean up the banquet, and we are here waiting for news from Rui Hou. ”

Yu Yan bowed and saluted, "Only, father." He was about to turn around, but Yu Mengyan stopped him again: "You go and invite Lord Zhou Hou and Lord Xin Jia to my tent for a banquet." ”

Yu Yan took the order and left, and soon came to Zhou Chang, Xin Jia and others, and told them the reason why the Rui soldiers in front of him blocked the road and could not pass. Then he said, "Now is the time for a snack, and my father has ordered me to come and invite you to come to his tent and taste the wine." ”

Xin Jia and the others were about to resign, but Yu Yan insisted on inviting him, so they had to go with him. When I entered the big tent of Marquis Yu, I saw Mrs. Di and Concubine Yue also waiting in the tent, and the two sides sat down as guests. Yu Mengyan said: "This place is not as good as in my Hou Mansion, everything can only be simplified because of ugliness, and I ask for your forgiveness." ”

Xin Jia said: "Lord Yuhou is too modest, as the saying goes, 'It's good to be at home for a thousand days, but it's difficult to go out for a while', this person is on the way, and there is no need to be demanding in everything." ”

When the servants presented the wine and food one after another, Xin Jia and the others were all surprised: not only were all kinds of utensils and wine utensils available during the banquet, but all kinds of dishes were also very delicate and delicious. No one thought that Yu Guo's chef would be able to concoct such a luxurious feast in this wilderness, and even Xin Jia had to secretly say "admiration" in his heart. But when it comes to "not getting tired of eating, not getting tired of being fine", in this world, except for Yu Hou, he really doesn't think about it as a second person.

However, due to the fact that everyone had their own agendas, the atmosphere of this banquet was much worse than before. Probably only Zhou Fa was still in a very happy mood, and he said to Zhou Kao with some pride: "I only dreamed of going to a banquet in Yuhou's Mansion this morning, and I didn't expect it to come true so soon." This was a sign sent down by Heaven in my dreams to make me unpredictable. ”

Zhou Kao thought about it after hearing this, in fact, he also had a dream last night, but it was inconvenient to say it to Zhou Fa in the dream. He dreamed that he was in a magnificent and magnificent palace, and saw a young girl with a light body and a graceful figure. Every time the weekly exam chart approached her, the girl disappeared, so he searched around the palace, but she always appeared out of reach.

In the end, Zhou Kao got lost in the palace, and he found that he could neither find the exit of the palace nor see the girl's shadow again. Zhou Kao was anxious, and suddenly woke up from his dream, but he couldn't recall the girl's appearance. But he was sure that he had never met this woman, and that she was definitely not someone he had ever known.

During the day of the weekly exam, I constantly recalled this strange dream, and I couldn't think of a reasonable explanation. In a trance, he heard Xin Jia say to Yu Mengyan: "In case Lord Ruihou is not in Rui City, and we can't wait for the order to let go, what should we do?" ”

Yu Mengyan said with a smile: "Lord Yi Shou doesn't need to worry, it's still very early before the date of King Shang's accession to the throne; Even if I really miss the trip, I will personally plead to the king of Shang, and you and Lord Zhou Hou can be a witness for me. ”

Xin Jia was silent after hearing this, feeling that Yu Mengyan's words seemed to be a little untrue. He looked outside the tent, and it was nearly dusk, and the light in the passage was dimming. Suddenly, there was a noisy sound from outside, and Yu Mengyan said, "Yan'er, go out and see what the situation is?" ”

Yu Yan went out for a while, and soon came back to report: "Father, it seems that Rui Hou has arrived here. ”

"So fast?" Yu Mengyan was quite surprised, and hurriedly got up and walked outside the tent. Xin Jia, Zhou Chang and the others all came out with him, only to see the Rui Guo soldiers in the camp opposite standing in two rows, obviously waiting for some important person.

After a short time, I saw dozens of followers walking towards the side of the pass, surrounded by a man on horseback. Ever since Yuefei heard the name of "Broad-mouthed Giant Catfish", she had always wanted to see with her own eyes what Rui Hou looked like, so she came to Yu Yan and asked, "Is that Rui Hou riding on a horse?" ”

Yu Yan said: "This person is Rui Hougang." Yue Fei stood on tiptoe and saw that Rui Gang had a rectangular face and a dark complexion; The lean cheeks are slightly sunken, and the wrinkles on the forehead are deep and dense; A pair of big bright eyes, no matter who you look at, it seems as if you are staring at each other.

Yuefei said with some disappointment: "I thought Rui Hou's appearance was so scary, it turned out that he was just an ordinary middle-aged man." His mouth is not very big, which shows that most of the rumors are not enough to believe. ”

Before Yu Yan could answer her, she heard Rui Gang's laughter coming from afar, and the voice was like a bell: "Isn't this Lord Yuhou?" It's been a long time, but adults have always been good, huh? ”

He didn't stop smiling, and the corners of his mouth almost reached the base of his ears, afraid that he would be able to shove his fist into his mouth; Ordinary people squint their eyes when they laugh, but when Rui Gang laughs, his eyes are even more protruding, as if they are about to fall. Yuefei frowned and thought: It turns out that this 'wide-mouthed giant catfish' is really worthy of its name.

Yu Mengyan waited for Rui Gang to come to the front, and then he arched his hand and said: "Lord Meng Ruihou cares, the widow has been safe and sound in the past few years, and there is no illness or disaster. ”

Na Rui Gang didn't get off the horse, and bowed on the horse's back and said: "I just received a report that my lord, you arrived at the mouth of the wind spring, I still can't believe it, I think how can it be such a coincidence, you and I will go to Maojindu on the same day." It's a coincidence that I was able to meet an adult here. ”

Yu Mengyan smiled and said casually: "That's thanks to Lord Ruihou, who sent someone to guard the Fengquan Mouth in advance, otherwise you and I will only be disappointed." But what is even more coincidental is that Lord Zhou Hou and Lord Xin Jia are also here, and we have been waiting for Lord Rui Hou for a long time. ”

Rui Gang's face changed slightly after hearing this, and he looked behind Yu Mengyan. Xin Jia and Zhou Chang stepped forward to salute him, and Rui Gang hurriedly dismounted and returned the salute, saying, "It turns out that Lord Zhouhou and Lord Yi Shou are also here. I wonder if the two adults and Yu Hou met by chance on the way, or made an appointment to accompany them in advance? ”

Yu Mengyan replied first: "It was I who invited the two adults to spend two days in Yucheng, and then go to Chaoge together. The widow is setting up a banquet in the tent at this time, and if Lord Rui Hou is free, he may wish to stay and drink a few jue of water and wine. ”

Rui Gang said in his heart: When did this treacherous and cunning Yu Hou find these two powerful helpers? If the Yu Hou and Xin Zhou families join forces, it will be even more difficult to deal with him in the future.

His original plan was to keep Yu Meng at the mouth of the Wind Spring, in order to provoke Yu Ren to cause trouble. But he didn't expect Xin Jia and the others to go the same way as Yu Hou, if they provoked Xin and Zhou to become hostile to him, it would be self-defeating.

Thinking of this, Rui Gang turned around and gave an order to his subordinates: "Come on, clear the road for your lords to pass." Rui Guoshi got the order and immediately moved the red deer and other things outside the pass. Rui Gang said at this time: "Ladies and gentlemen, Rui has something to do, so he must take the first step." In the future, it will be time for the song to meet. Leave! ”

Yu Mengyan watched Rui Gang get on his horse and leave, he was in a good mood, and said to Xin Jia and the others: "I didn't expect Lord Rui Hou to come so soon, but it ruined our interest in drinking and having fun. Come, let's go back to the tent and continue to drink. ”

Xin Jia said: "We are all full of wine and food, and while it is not dark yet, it is better to go to Maojindu to find a boat first." ”

How did Xin Jia know that this Yu Mengyan was a person who couldn't walk when he smelled the aroma of wine, if he couldn't drink to his heart's content, it would be worse than killing him. Yu Mengyan said: "The trivial matters of renting a boat are left to the juniors. We'll just have to drink here until they find the boat. You go to the ferry first, find at least fifty boats, and then come back to your life. ”

Xin Jia looked at Zhou Chang, and Zhou Chang couldn't think about it, so he had to say to Zhou Kao: "You go and invite Master Huo, and let him accompany you to the ferry to find a boat." ”