The moonlight is like water, scattered on the branches of grass and trees, reflecting fragments of silver white. A soldier pushed aside the branch that stood in front of him, but he startled the hare that came out of the shadows.

"Blind brute!" The soldier cursed, took up his short bow, tried to find the trail of the hare, hunted and beaten, and when he turned around, he found some of his companions behind him with a look of astonishment.

"What's wrong?" He turned his head back again in confusion, and this time, he was also stunned. It turned out that halfway up the mountain, the flames were soaring.

"Quick, go back and tell the boss!" Several soldiers immediately divided into two groups, one group stayed in place, and the other group ran away, and quickly reported the situation back to the general Guo Hutou, who was several miles away.

It is now the end of September, and the army of Zhao Ying has already left the south entrance of Fu Luo Road. According to the usual practice, Zhao Dangshi did not pull out the banner at the first time, but kept a low profile to prepare the army in Yangxian County. First, countless squads were scattered to sentry food, and secondly, scouts were also sent to detect the situation.

Without the previous speculation in the military meeting, Sun Xianzu, the general soldier of Lintao, and Liu Shaozong, the general soldier of Gansu, who were stationed in Hanzhong, were really indifferent to the arrival of the Zhao camp. Perhaps in their opinion, the Liukou in Hanzhong have blossomed everywhere, and they are invincible, and it doesn't matter if there is one more Zhao camp or one less Zhao Ying. With his meager strength, as long as he can defend Hanzhong to the death and not let his holy uncle suffer, he will be satisfied.

Zhao Dangshi tentatively attacked Yangxian twice, but Hanzhong had no support, so he completely let go of his courage and stationed his men and horses along Youshui and Xianshui. In order to make the plan to enter Sichuan again, Zhao Ying began to explore the road in full swing, not only to avoid the garrison of the official army and the rogue, so that the army can pass more smoothly, but also to ensure that the grain supply along the way is sufficient.

As one of the pioneers of the Zhao camp, Guo Hutou is currently stationed in the northwest of Chenggu County near the Baochuan Road crossing with 1,000 people, which is the most prominent part of the Zhao camp. Zhao Dangshi was still relatively confident in this person's ability, so Guo Hutou went deep alone, with the purpose of directing the attention of the Hanzhong officials and troops to the north, and at the same time investigating some of the rogue forces distributed in the north of Hanzhong Mansion.

Tonight, a team of night patrol soldiers in his division touched the area of Yuhuang Mountain in the north of Hanzhong, and accidentally bumped into the brightly lit scene outside the Jade Emperor Temple.

During this time, Guo Hutou was a little entangled in whether he wanted to change back to his real name Guo Ruke. The name given by his father was too weak in his opinion and did not fit his reckless and heroic character. However, with the improvement of his status and frequent contact with Confucian scholars, he began to feel that his title of "tiger head" was a bit indecent, but contradicted his current identity and military position.

In the dream, he seemed to see his long-deceased father wearing a green shirt, holding a book in one hand and the other behind him, shaking his head and walking towards him, muttering in his mouth, not knowing what he was muttering. But think about it, eight or nine are those who make people listen to their heads as big as a fight.

"Ruk, Ruk, listen well, don't look around!" Daddy's stern tone rang out. This voice, which once made Guo Hutou extremely frightened, has not been heard for more than ten years, Guo Hutou listened to it, felt very cordial, and even felt that his eyes began to heat slightly.

"Daddy......" He had red eyes, trying to catch Daddy's vain figure, but every time he reached out to touch it, Daddy's body would turn into a wisp of green smoke and float to the side.

"What a naughty boy!" Dad's tone became more and more harsh, but Guo Hutou felt more and more sad, "Take out the palm of your hand and see how I teach you!" ”

Guo Hutou stretched out his palm obediently as when he was young, and watched the ring ruler fall in a daze, but at the moment when the ruler and hand intersected, Dad's whole body suddenly became completely virtual, so that he scattered without a trace.

"Daddy!" Guo Hutou screamed, and a carp jumped up from the bed. Everywhere he looked, a soldier in front of the bed stared at him dumbfounded.

"Splash Cai! What are you doing in my account? Guo Hutou was thick-skinned and didn't care, patted his cheeks to clear his mind, and asked the soldier. Outside the tent, it was still dark at night.

The soldier had already reported it in front of him, and when he heard Guo Hutou muttering on the bed, he thought he had already woken up, and he didn't think it was all a dream. At this time, he said again: "General, there is an enemy situation in the Jade Emperor Mountain in the south!" ”

"How?" After a frightening dream, Guo Hutou lost his sleep, so he sat on the edge of the bed and began to dress.

"There are countless torches at the entrance of the Jade Emperor Temple, and there is a large group of people, no less than three or four hundred."

"What do they do?"

"I don't know, but I think there won't be anything good in the middle of the night, so I'm here to inform the total."

As a "newcomer" who led the army to act alone for the first time, the most basic requirement that Zhao Dangshi put forward to Guo Hutou was not to be negligent. If you think about it along this line, you can't let go of the slightest disturbance. In the middle of the night, a large number of people gathered outside the temple gate, and it was very strange to think about it. Guo Hutou didn't say much, and after the drape was complete, he ordered more than 300 people from the division and came out at night.

When they arrived at the northern foot of the Jade Emperor Mountain, there were already soldiers waiting there to respond, and when they saw Guo Hutou, they came up and said: "General, find out clearly, it is a nearby force besieging the temple, the number is more than 500, but the banner is unknown." ”

Guo Hutou touched his chin and thought for a while, and ordered the whole army: "Don't move for the time being, wait in the forest." The soldier followed his instructions and slowly spread out in the woods two miles from the temple, holding his breath for the surprise order that might be given at any moment.

After a short while, the firelight at the end of the Jade Emperor Temple suddenly dispersed and began to flow to the left and right. The forest was quiet, and by the breeze, the soldiers of the Zhao Battalion who were lurking could faintly hear the noisy calls coming from there.

Guo Hutou only felt that the situation was suspicious, and he was about to allocate some troops to go out to test the temptation, and he didn't want the soldiers shouting dozens of steps away from his left hand.

He was very annoyed and wanted to wait for someone to come and reprimand, but someone came first. As soon as I heard it, it turned out that several "enemy criminals" threw themselves into the net, broke into here, and were all taken.

The lights are clearly bright in the distance, why are there a few enemy soldiers suddenly coming here in the dark light and blind fire? Could it be that the actions of your own people have been exposed? Guo Hutou was very puzzled, on the one hand, he ordered the soldiers to be on standby, and on the other hand, he personally touched the left side to check the situation.

A total of eight people were captured, including five men, two women, and one wearing a curtain on his head, and he couldn't see his appearance clearly, but judging from his clothes, he was undoubtedly a woman.

Before he could ask, the alarm suddenly came in front of him, and when he turned his head, he saw that countless torches had converged into a fire dragon, which was rapidly moving towards his side.

Guo Hutou waved his hand, first guarded a few people behind, and then asked the herald to blow a bamboo whistle and ordered the whole army to prepare to meet the enemy.

Zhao Ying's three hundred or so people suddenly appeared like tigers out of the forest, which surprised the other side, and the long fire dragon stopped, first gathered into a group, and then spread out to the left and right.

"Where are the friends, please report Wan'er." The two were more than ten steps apart, and a man walked out of the dense crowd on the opposite side, shouting loudly.

Guo Hutou has been a mountain bandit for many years, and as soon as he heard this, he knew that the other side was not an official army, so he was half relieved, and he also walked out and responded loudly: "The north is here to do business." ”

"What kind of deal?" The other party is very good, almost blurting out.

"Pick the business of the young man." The literal translation of this sentence is "the sale of knife wound medicine", and when it is derived, it shows that he is in the business of knife heads.

The man on the other side turned around and said to his subordinates: "It's the Xiang family." It means that Guo Hutou is an insider. Then he shouted: "Even if you are a brother in the way, you don't have to break the plate." After speaking, he thrust the waist knife in his hand into the ground and took the initiative to take four or five steps forward.

Seeing the situation, Guo Hutou shouted "shoulder to shoulder". He also untied the knife, handed it to the left and right, and walked five or six steps on his own until he came face to face with the man.

"What do you call a brother?" The man on the other side arched his hand, very polite.

"Shunshui Wan, the name is like a gram." Guo Hutou is an old man, although he saw that the other party was kind, he still kept an eye on it, and pretended to be surnamed Liu.

"In Xiawu Dading." This man doesn't seem to have so many fancy intestines, listen to the tone, this is his real name, "Now do things for the little red wolf." ”

Hearing the words "little red wolf", Guo Hutou was shocked in his heart. The little red wolf is currently the strongest rogue in Hanzhong, and this man named Wu Dading added such a sentence obviously to raise his value in front of himself. It's just that he didn't expect that Guo Hutou was Zhao Ying's person, and the little red wolf had almost been wiped out by Zhao Ying's hands before.

Wu Dading observed that Guo Hu was surprised on his face, thinking that he was afraid, he was proud in his heart, and said again: "I don't know which line my brother eats?" ”

Guo Hutou remained silent and replied: "The south of the world, the north and the earth, the official grain and the imperial grain." "The person on the other side who is the little red wolf can't admit that he is from Zhao Ying. Therefore, when he said this, he showed the other side that his army was nothing more than a wanderer who was in its own vein, robbing his house and robbing his house.

According to common sense, people have always liked to put gold on their faces, and a little bit of relationship has to be bigger. Wu Dading didn't expect Guo Hutou to deliberately hide his origin, and really thought that he was just a nameless miscellaneous grass coward, so his expression relaxed a lot.

Guo Hutou noticed the subtle changes between his eyebrows, knew that he believed it for seven or eight points, and did not give him a chance to continue to ask, so he diverted the topic and said: "In the middle of the night, Brother Wu is not lying in the village, what are you doing with the stars and the moon?" ”

Wu Dading was obviously an old fritter, and replied with a smile: "I also want to ask my brother why he is here." ”

Guo Hu didn't smile at his scalp, pretending to be absent-minded and said: "I and my brothers are all lonely ghosts, we have eaten the last meal but not the next meal, and we just want to find a place to find some food, how can it be compared to the martial brother who has a big tree to be next to, and has no worries about food and clothing." ”

Wu Dading laughed dryly and said, "Then I'm afraid my brother came at the wrong time." ”

Guo Hutou pretended to be puzzled, leaned forward, and said, "What do you say?" The younger brother is not familiar with the place, and he still relies on the guidance of the martial brother. ”

Wu Daxiang took half a step back and said, "Brother, haven't you heard?" A few days ago, a big gang came from the north, called Zhao Ying, which was violent, and it was very meaningful to fight for territory with us. ”

"Zhao Ying?" Guo Hutou was amazing, and his acting was very realistic, and after a while, he clapped his hands, like a big realization, "Is that Zhao Dangshi who beheaded Cao Zongbing?" ”

Wu Dading didn't seem to see his flaws, he just frowned: "Brother is so well-informed, this surnamed Zhao is ruthless, a few days ago, he took advantage of the unpreparedness to break into the camp, and suddenly made trouble, I heard that Zhongdouxing and Fanshan Harrier were both planted." This guy absorbed the Chuang army, and his strength increased greatly, and he went north from Xi'an a few days ago and came to the north of Hanzhong Fu. ”

"I see," Guo Hutou thoughtfully .......

"Exactly, the little red wolf sent to the north to investigate, and the people reported that the Jade Emperor Temple found the thieves of the Zhao camp, and they came in the starry night...... "Wu Dading deliberately paused, observed Guo Hutou's reaction, saw that he was silent, and then said, "Our soldiers broke through the temple gate, and most of the Zhao Ying's soldiers in the Jade Emperor Temple were annihilated, but unfortunately a few ditch heads ......escaped for him."

"What does Brother Wu mean?"

"The Jade Emperor Temple is blocked by our soldiers on three sides, and the enemy canal has to go, so we can only take this road. If the brother bumps into Yu Lu, please make it convenient and hand over the person below. Wu Da said calmly.

Guo Hutou agreed loudly: "This is natural, I first came to your land, and I wanted to ask Brother Wu to take care of it, and Brother Wu's business is my business." At this point, he asked, "You just saw a suspicious person?" ”

Left and right, all full of blunt words: "I haven't seen it!" ”

Guo Hutou asked several times, but there was no result, so he had no choice but to spread his hands and said to Wu Dading: "I also saw the fire in the Jade Emperor Temple, so I brought my brothers over to peek at the reality. But Brother Wu, you also heard it, all the way to the touch, those Zhao Ying's thieves didn't hit me. ”

Wu Dading glanced at him twice, was silent for a moment, and Xu Yan: "Well, the forest is deep and the grass is thick, I'm afraid that those thieves have slipped away in search of a small path, so it's better to continue to pursue it." ”

Guo Hutou nodded and said: "If it is a help, Brother Wu only needs to give an order, and I am willing to do my best." ”

Wu Dading smiled and said, "It's not necessary. The terrain here is clear in the chest, so let a few of him escape in the middle of the night, and he can still be caught below. As he spoke, he arched his hand, "The matter is urgent, so say goodbye to my brother!" Finally, I didn't forget to add, "My cottage is fifteen miles west of the Jade Emperor Mountain, if my brother has any difficulties, just come to me." ”

Guo Hutou said with a smile: "Then thank you Brother Wu." I was going to meet those Zhao Ying's thieves on the way, and I must have tied them up and sent them to the front of the martial brothers. ”

After the two finished talking, they passed by, and Wu Dading led his troops through the forest. Guo Hutou waited for them to go far away, and then someone escorted the prisoners who were pressed in the grass to check.

Eight captives, five men and three women, Guo Hutou saw that two of the five men were dressed as Confucians, remembered Zhao Dangshi's policy of recruiting Confucians, waved his hand, and a soldier pulled out the cloth stuffed in the mouths of the two people.

As soon as the cloth group left, one of the Confucian students immediately scolded: "The thieves who can't kill can be killed endlessly, there is a kind of slaughter of your Grandpa Lu, if your Grandpa Lu blinks an eye, he will be reincarnated as your grandson in the next life!" ”

Guo Hutou wanted to open his mouth to ask them something, but the Confucian couldn't stop scolding. Guo Hu was annoyed, went up and slapped two big mouths, beating the Confucian student into a daze, and then shut up. After thinking about it, he still beckoned and asked the soldiers to re-gag the two of them.

Through the faint moonlight, Guo Hutou found that the costumes of the three women were extraordinary, and they were by no means comparable to ordinary folk girls in coarse linen skirts. Unexpectedly, as soon as the hand touched the curtain away, a big chaos protruded on the flanks.