Xiou sent several waves of sentinels to reconnoitre, but no enemy was found. So Ouyang Zhenyu took the plan and turned the passive into the active, but instead transferred the troops to the border counties, looted on a large scale, and caught the Han army off guard.

Fortunately, the people of the northwest are fierce, and all the people are soldiers, and after several battles, they blocked the fierce trend of Xiou.

※※※※※

In the hall of nourishing the heart, all the generals gathered.

"Xiou's move is obviously to vent his anger, and when he can't find General Gao, he burns and plunders all the way to the border, doing all kinds of evil."

"The emperor should issue an edict ordering the army to return immediately to relieve the danger of the border pass."

"The last general thinks that it is necessary to mobilize the army immediately to reinforce the border."

"It takes a long time to mobilize the Xiang army, and the township soldiers should be recruited locally first, in case of emergency."

…………

The sound of disputes in the hall came and went, and the emperor looked up at the map silently for a long time alone, and suddenly asked: "Where did Xiou hit?" ”

"Yongjing County." The veteran replied as he raised his hand and pointed out the location on the map.

The emperor nodded, and then asked, "Where is the three-way army now?" ”

"According to the latest battle report, Gao Wei's troops retreated from the middle and were approaching the border pass. Zhang Lingbu made a detour to the west, and it is estimated that it will take another day or two to reach the border. ”

"What about Li Hongyi?"

The generals looked at each other when they heard this, and after a while, a person finally stood up and said frankly: "General Li has not heard any news since he divided his troops to the east. ”

"No news yet?" The emperor's heart tightened, and he thought for a moment, "Order Gao Weibu to lead troops to reinforce Yongjing, and Zhang Lingbu to speed up the march." Continue to search for Li Hongyi's ministry and be sure to contact him. ”

※※※※※

The vast desert, uninhabited, vast.

"How do I feel déjà vu here? Gee, it's not going to turn back to where you are. Li Hongyi was taken aback and hurriedly shouted, "Hurry up, map." ”

Li Honghui gave the march map to his brother, Li Yi carefully came to the front of him to study it, and then looked up at the endless desert as far as the eye could see, and found that there was not even a reference for mountains and rivers around, and his face immediately collapsed, "Alas, put it away, it doesn't seem to be useful." ”

Li Honghui held back a smile and put it away, he didn't expect his brother, who could get lost when he entered the palace, to see what clues could be seen from the map.

Xu Lei couldn't help but complain: "The general didn't get lost when he entered the grassland, why can't he find the north when he goes out." ”

"Yes, the route I took when I entered the grassland felt very familiar, as if I had walked it before." Li Hongyi touched his nose and explained embarrassedly, "But I don't have any impression of this road." Gao Shuai is too, can't he obediently return from the way he came? ”

"There is a local saying: you can't trip over a rock twice." Xu Lei rolled his eyes and said with hatred, "Do you still want to go back the same way?" It's stupid to be a person in Xiou! ”

Li Hongyi spread his hands, "Xiou is not stupid, now we are stupid." It's really digging a pit for yourself to jump, what the hell is this. Could it be that I used to fight and love to get lost? Impossible. ”

Li Honghui silently added in his heart that Shao An was a guide in the past, so of course it was impossible to get lost.

The crowd had been wandering around the desert for a day, and they were already sleepy. At this time, in the distance, a green lake suddenly loomed, and around the lake, there were faint tall and low pavilions. Li Hongyi and the others were taken aback, and were about to beat their horses and gallop forward, but they were stopped by the guide in their team.

"General, general, general...... That, that...... Direction...... North, North, North ......" The guide is a local, but unfortunately he is a stammerer, and he is trying to dissuade him with both hands.

"North North North North What North !" Li Hongyi got angry when he saw this unreliable guide and interrupted him rudely, "You still want to take us to the ditch?" ”

Li Honghui looked thoughtfully at the anxious guide and guessed: "What he means is that the farther north we go, the farther away we are from the border." ”

Hearing this, the guide nodded vigorously at Li Honghui.

"It doesn't matter what he does, he will find a water source first, and then he will die of thirst if he doesn't drink water." Li Hongyi waved his horsewhip and shouted to those behind him, "The army keeps up and marches at full speed!" ”

※※※※※

When Gao Wei led his troops to Yongjing County, he was devastated. According to the surviving local soldiers, they resisted to the death with Xi'ou for many days, but due to insufficient troops, they were finally defeated. However, the enemy did not occupy this place, and immediately after the battle, he shifted his position and approached in the direction of Jincheng.

"Jincheng is the first of the six counties in the northwest (1)." Gao Wei nodded to the map, "This is the gateway to the northwest of our country, and it must not be lost." The order was sent down, the march was accelerated, and it was necessary to rush to Jincheng before Xi'ou. ”

The herald received the order, and Gao Wei asked the generals around him: "Isn't there any news of Li Hongyi yet?" ”

"Nope."

"It stands to reason that no matter how much he grinds, after so many days, it should be here. Unless......" Gao Wei frowned deeply, and a thought flashed in his mind, shouldn't he get lost.

Gao Wei instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and after thinking about it carefully, it was possible. After all, this battle was the first time they had stepped into the territory of Xiou, and they were very unfamiliar with the grassland and desert terrain, and there was a high chance that they would not be able to find a road.

"Keep looking, send a team of people to the depths of the grassland to find it, and report it as soon as there is news." Gao Wei was secretly annoyed, Li Hongyi had never been lost before, could it be that he had lost his memory and couldn't even recognize the way?

However, when everyone was worried about Li Hongyi, he was still looking for a water source in the north of the desert.

From morning to afternoon, they walked through one sand dune after another, but the lake and pavilion were like the moon in the sky, and they could not reach it. Just when everyone was about to lose their grasp, in the blink of an eye, all the lake buildings disappeared without a trace.

Li Hongyi was stunned, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and asked the person next to him, "Hong Hui, Xu Lei, can you still see that lake?" ”

Xu Lei also had a surprised expression, "I thought I had a problem with my eyes, but it turned out to be really gone!" ”

"How is this possible?" Li Hongyi was surprised.

The soldiers who followed were also talking about it, why did it disappear when there was a lake?

Li Honghui thought for a while and said, "Could it be a mirage?" ”

Li Hongyi hurriedly asked, "What?" What sea and what building? ”

"Mirage! The book says that it was formed by the exhalation of the dragon. Li Honghui described, "It is like a castle in the sky, and the mirror is full of water." ”

"That is, it's all illusory?" Xu Lei suddenly realized, and asked randomly, "Then what should I do now, go back the same way?" ”

"So far, walk back?" Li Hongyi was the first to object, "I can't go back, the brothers haven't even drunk saliva, how can they go back?" ”

"But we don't know where it is. If you go any further, it will be more dangerous. ”

Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel, Li Honghui hurriedly said: "I think that even if I go back, I may not be able to find the way I came." Let's ask the guide where this is. ”

When the stammering guide was called, the man was visibly frightened by the mirage, and said, "God, God...... Apparitions...... It's a miracle. ”

Xu Lei pushed him, "Don't be a god, the general asks you, where is this?" ”

"Yes...... Aso ...... Asura ...... Sanse. It's God...... God's place ......"

"What is he talking about?" Li Hongyi said that he did not understand a single word.

"It's Sanse...... Sanseah......" the guide repeated over and over again.

"What's on the plug?" Li Honghui dismounted, approached the guide and listened to him a few more times before he reacted, "He said, this is the ...... The holy place of worship of ancestors in Xiou - Asura Sansai. ”

"Ancestral Holy Land?" Xu Lei was also taken aback. But it's right to think about it, there are mirages here, isn't it where the gods live.

When Li Hongyi heard this, he was happy, "Since it is a place of sacrifice, then there must be people living and water to drink." What are we waiting for, let's go to that stuff. ”

"No, I can't. Since it is a holy place, it will definitely be heavily guarded. Xu Lei continued to contradict him.

Li Honghui shook his head, "Not necessarily." It's a long way from the border, and Dongou won't guess that someone will come and attack Asura Sanse. I estimate that the defenders are at most 3,000. ”

"Hong Hui is right." Li Hongyi said, "We have come all the way to get here, but we don't come to run in vain." Hong Hui, you lead the team to investigate, if there are not many guards, we will take their stuff and stuff what holy land. ”

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(1) There were six famous counties in the ancient northwest of China, namely Jincheng (now Lanzhou City, Gansu Province), Weizhou (now Longxi County, Gansu Province), Tianshui (now Tianshui City, Gansu Province), Anding (now Jingtai County, Gansu Province), Beidi (now Ning County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province), and Shangjun (now southeast of Yulin, Shaanxi Province). They were roughly in present-day eastern Gansu, southern Ningxia, northern Shaanxi, and southwestern Inner Mongolia.