(2-in-1)

On the official road north of Zhuozhou City, Xiao Sida and Yelushi led hundreds of Liao cavalry to flee in confusion, and they didn't even dare to stop for a bite at noon, because they were worried that the Great Zhou cavalry would chase them.

Dozens of miles away from the city, the rolling hills on the south bank of the Sanggan River in front of you are already in sight, and the arrow towers on the slopes leading to the crossing of the Sanggan River gorge between the mountain passes are already clearly discernible. As the smoothest and most ferriable section of the Sanggan River for hundreds of miles, it is not only the only place that can cross the river on a large scale within a hundred miles, but also a traffic hub connecting several border state capitals such as Xijin Province and Zhuozhou. Most of the soldiers and horses had to be transferred to the south through here to supply the soldiers and horses in the border cities. Therefore, on the cliffs on both sides of the ferry, there are not only arrow towers, watchtowers and other defense facilities. In addition, a small number of soldiers and horses were specially placed at both ends of the ferry to guard the river crossing boats and control the ferry. In order to facilitate the passage of the ferry from north to south, dozens of large and small ships are on standby at the ferry all year round to be ready to move personnel and materials at any time.

About to arrive at the ferry, Xiao Sida and Yelushi breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that the other party's pursuers would not be able to catch up with their people. Once you get on the boat and cross the Sanggan River, even if the other party chases you, you can only look at the river and sigh. The premise, of course, is that all the ships are sailed to the north shore or simply burned.

The ferry port was approaching, and everyone slowed down the pace of the Mercedes. Xiao Sida looked at the sun, but saw that there seemed to be a figure shaking on the arrow tower on the cliff covered by new greenery, and Xiao Sida knew that it must be the team of more than 100 people guarding the ferry.

The group rode slowly towards the cliff pass, a gentle downhill ramp that led to the Sangan River below the canyon. Below, a flat ground with a temporary storehouse for supplies and a house for the guards, horses, and boatmen. It's like a small village. According to the rules of the guards, the cliff entrance will be blocked by wooden horses on weekdays, and there will be personnel to guard it, and no one is allowed to enter the dock. But today it is a little strange that there is no rejection of horses at the cliff pass, and there are not even any figures in the fortifications on both sides.

"These bastards must be lazy, and I will punish them severely." Xiao Sida, who had just experienced a fiasco, was in an extremely bad mood, thinking that he was working hard in Zhuozhou City, but the defenders here were derelict in their duties, and his heart was naturally very unbalanced.

"General Xiao, there are some ...... Something is wrong. There seems to be traces of a fight here. You see, there are a lot of arrows stuck in the trunk of the tree next to it. There was also blood on the ground. Also, why are these plants and trees scattered next to them? It's like someone broke it, but it's not a sword cut down, but a large piece of it is broken, what's going on? Someone in the cavalry beside him reminded in a low voice.

Xiao Sida frowned at these traces, and was a little puzzled in his heart. There is indeed something strange on and around the ground, and it seems to have been deliberately cleaned up, which is indeed a little suspicious. He ordered the crowd to stop advancing, and a group of people stopped at the mouth of the cliff and listened. In addition to the sound of the surging water of the Sanggan River not far below, there is the sound of birds and beasts chirping in the mountains and forests and the sound of the wind passing through the trees.

"Maybe you don't have to be suspicious. It's been a good ride. If there are Great Zhou soldiers and horses here, how can there be no movement? ”

Jereshi's face was pale, he was depressed and depressed. He thought that Zhuozhou could survive for a while, so he chose to stay in Zhuozhou to participate in the defense of the city. But I didn't expect that Zhuozhou was lost in only half a day, so I was extremely worried. He knew the seriousness of the problem, and the entire Great Liao, I was afraid that only he and his father would be so worried. Because this is related to the safety of his Yelu clan. He had already thought that he would rush to Zhongjing to see his father immediately, and he didn't want to have any delay in explaining the situation here. Regarding the suspicion of Xiao Sida and others, he thinks it is completely unnecessary.

"What the prince said is reasonable, there is indeed no trace of the arrival of soldiers and horses along the way, maybe I am suspicious. Let's go! Xiao Sida nodded and said, he also felt that he was suspicious, this place is eighty miles away from Zhuozhou, it should be a safe place. If the Great Zhou army arrives, there will be traces on the road, and it will not be so peaceful here at all.

The cavalry rode forward, crossed the cliff and walked more than 100 steps, and suddenly opened up in front of them. Below the slope, a mighty river stretches in front of you. The river is surging and rushing to the east. Where the river is open, the water flow is slightly slower, and in the narrow places upstream and downstream, you can see the white waves rolling and the waves roaring.

Dozens of houses sit on the edge of a cliff on the shore, and a wide passage leads to the river, and the embankment is like an arm plunging into the river, encircling several calm deep-water docks. It is about five or six hundred paces wide. More than a dozen large ships were moored in the dock, and dozens of smaller boats were also floating on the water not far from the shore.

"Your Highness, I am afraid that for a while I will not be able to find all the boatmen to sail the boats to the north bank, and these boats will either be scuttled or burned, so as not to become a help for the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou to cross the river. What do you think, Your Highness? Xiao Sida asked in a deep voice.

Yelushi nodded and said, "Just burn it all." If they can salvage and repair the shipwreck, it will cheapen them. It would be better to find a boatman to sail to the north shore, which will be useful to us in the future. ”

Xiao Sida nodded and said, "Yes, let's do the camera." Let's go to the defenders here first, and ask him to gather the shipwrights. Hey? Why can't anyone see here? It shouldn't be. ”

Xiao Sida frowned and looked at the clusters of houses on the dock below. It stands to reason that this place should be very busy. The guards and horses had to patrol, the boatmen had to repair the ships, it was neither early nor late, and they could not have eaten or slept, and there was no one at all.

"Look, maybe they're all lazy. How can I revitalize and be strong? It's all a bunch of selfish people, and it's really hateful. And Jerod was angry.

As soon as the words ended, someone suddenly shouted, "No, what's floating by the water's edge?" It seemed to be a dozen corpses. ”

Everyone looked in the direction of the soldier's finger, and sure enough, in the shallow water on the bank of the river shaded by the low trees on the side of the inconspicuous dock, more than a dozen corpses were rippling on the shore. It must have been a corpse, not far away, only a few hundred steps. Moreover, the light black armor worn on the corpse was very obvious, and the heart guards on the armor were still shining with the undulations of the waves in the sunlight.

"Something is wrong! I'm afraid it's really wrong. Xiao Sida was shocked. Suddenly, his sense of smell of danger became extremely sensitive, and combined with some of the doubts and traces before, he instantly felt a great danger.

"Withdraw, the speed of retreat outside the cliff mouth, I am afraid of variables." Xiao Sida shouted loudly, and with a wave of waves in his hand, he pulled out his scimitar and grabbed it, and turned back on his horse.

Everyone tensed up and quickly turned their horses' heads. Jereshi frowned and was about to say a few words of disagreement, when suddenly he heard the sound of horses' hooves. Finely chopped and clear. The next moment, at the cliff mouth behind, several horses slowly galloped out of nowhere, and stood still in the middle of the road seventy or eighty paces away.

It was four horses, two men and two women. The two women are beautiful, wearing armor, and charming with a heroic spirit. A man next to him was burly and dignified. The three of them were surrounded by a young man riding a tall horse with five flowers. The man had a handsome face, a well-proportioned figure, a calm bearing, and a smile on his face.

The armor on the four people is all light armor of the Great Liao standard, and at first glance I thought it was the soldiers and horses of the Liao State. Xiao Sida and the others thought that they were defeated from Zhuozhou, so they shouted: "Which general commanded the soldiers and horses?" How is the battle in Zhuozhou? ”

The man on the horse laughed and said, "Look at what this general asked, the battle of Zhuozhou, he ran away first, but he came to ask how the battle of Zhuozhou was?" Isn't that nonsense? ”

The handsome young man and the two women beside him laughed. The young man said, "He's hoping for some miracle." People are like this sometimes, knowing that the outcome of the matter is irreversible, but still hoping for a miracle to happen. I don't know how many miracles can there be in the world? Sow cause and effect, how can you plant beans and get melons? ”

"What the husband said is very true." The two women looked at the young man with admiration and admiration, and were impressed by his rather insightful analysis.

Only then did Xiao Sida and the others realize that the four people in front of them were probably not Da Liao soldiers and horses, so they shouted: "Who are you?" ”

The young man on the five-flowered horse glanced at him, clasped his fists and said, "If I guessed correctly, this general should be the deputy envoy of the Southern Privy Council of Liaoguo, General Xiao Sida Xiao, who is stationed in Zhuozhou." ”

Xiao Sida instinctively wanted to deny it, but in front of so many subordinates and Yelushi, it was not good to do so. So he shouted coldly: "If I don't change my name, I don't change my surname, it is my deputy envoy of the Privy Council of Southern Liaoning, Xiao Sida." Who are you? How do you know this officer? ”

Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "That's good." Since it's General Xiao himself, I'm not mistaken. As for me...... I can't change my name or sit or change my surname, in Xia Lin Jue, a mere unknown person in Da Zhou, General Xiao will not know me. ”

"Lin Jue?" Xiao Sida obviously didn't know it, frowning and searching for the information in his head, but didn't find any information about this person named Lin Jue.

"What? Are you Lin Jue? Jelushi on the side cried out in surprise.

Others don't know Lin Jue, but Yelushi knows. One of Yelushi's responsibilities was to investigate the affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Central Dynasty, infiltrate the Great Zhou Dynasty and the opposition through detailed work to find out the news, and report it to his father as the basis for his decision. This Lin Jue used to be very important and extremely active in the Great Zhou court, how could he not know? People like Xiao Sida are just leading the army, they don't care about the officials and various movements in the Great Zhou court, but Yelushi will definitely care.

Moreover, Yelushi's sole responsibility for funding the rebellion of the Qingjiao was exterminated by this person named Lin Jue, and Yelushi paid even more attention to this Lin Jue. This person has been included in the list of people who must be co-opted or eliminated in the Great Zhou court, and he is in the forefront. However, the news I learned later was that this Lin Jue and his father-in-law, Guo Bing, the king of Liang, rebelled out of the capital and rebelled, which was good news for the Liao State. Yelushi hadn't been able to hear about Lin Jue for a long time. At this moment, what did Lin Jue do when he went to the crossing of the North Sanggan River in Zhuozhou?

The person who came was indeed Lin Jue. With him were Bai Bing and Gao Muqing, as well as Sun Dayong, the commander of the personal guard battalion. As for the reason why Lin Jue came all the way from Funiu Mountain to the territory of Liao, it is actually very simple. Because the war started, Lin Jue of course refused to sit in the well and watch the sky in Funiu Mountain, he wanted to come to watch the battle. Yes, Lin Jue's original intention was really 'observing'. Lin Jue knew that this war would be a great war between countries, and both sides would spare no effort to leave behind to a certain extent, and all secret weapons would be taken out. Lin Jue hoped that by infiltrating the battlefield of Liao, he would be able to observe the true strength of both sides and a variety of surprisingly new troops and tactics. This is not only good for yourself, but also good for the Falling Goose Army. Because Lin Jue knew in his heart that the opponent of the Luoyan Army in the future should probably be them.

Lin Jue's goal this time was actually to the north of Dading Mansion in Zhongjing, and he wanted to watch the battle between the Liao and Jurchens and collect their intelligence. For the details and cost of the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou, Lin Jue knows

There are too many ways to explore. However, when Lin Jue and others sneaked in from Datong Mansion in the west and came to the Zhuozhou area in mid-March, it coincided with the arrival of 80,000 cavalry in Zhuozhou City. Of course, Lin Jue refused to leave, so he took everyone to hide in the left to observe the development of the war. When the battle of the Great Zhou cavalry attacking Zhuozhou took place that night, Lin Jue and others watched the battle on a hilly hill in the west. The fiasco of the Great Zhou soldiers and horses made Lin Jue realize one thing, the Liao people had already been on guard, Guo Xu's wishful thinking was recognized before it began, and the Great Zhou soldiers and horses and the Liao soldiers and horses would enter the fight from the beginning, which was not a good thing for the Great Zhou soldiers and horses.

That night, the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty retreated in defeat without even attacking the city, and Lin Jue was deeply aware of the weakness of the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the poor quality of the soldiers. The news obtained before was that the 300,000 Great Zhou soldiers and horses were all selected elites, but it can be seen from the siege battle that night that this elite is nothing more than that.

And most importantly, after the plan was revealed early, the miscalculation of the Great Zhou raid plan and the Liao's intention to take precautions would make the Northern Expedition of the Great Zhou Imperial Court extremely difficult. Lin Jue thought about it again and again, but decided to stay and wait for an opportunity to help the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou. He believes that although Zhuozhou can be captured in the end, because the Liao people will most likely not abandon the defense of Xijin Mansion and reinforce Zhuozhou, so Zhuozhou will be lost. However, after crossing the Sanggan River, it entered the hinterland of the Liao people. In fact, the 300,000 Great Zhou soldiers and horses had no way out. Backed by the Sanggan River, the army penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Liao army, and once there was a slight mistake, it fell into a catastrophe from which it could never recover. Therefore, Lin Jue felt that it was necessary for him to provide some help to the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou, or he could spy on some information to provide to Yang Jun, who was leading the army.

No matter how many grievances there are with Guo Xu, Yang Jun and others, but between the Great Zhou and the Liao, Lin Jue will obviously choose to help the former. Internal strife and personal grievances are one thing, but righteousness and righteousness are another. Lin Jue never wanted to see the Great Zhou soldiers and horses defeated here, which would lead to disastrous consequences.

It was precisely because of the above considerations that Lin Jue and others stayed in Zhuozhou. When Yang Jun led the army to Zhuozhou and set up a siege posture, Lin Jue knew that Zhuozhou would inevitably be captured. However, Lin Jue found that Yang Jun did not bypass Zhuozhou to control the crossing of the Sanggan River while attacking the city, which was a big concern. If the opponent's dog jumps over the wall, destroys the ferry, and destroys the boat, then Yang Jun's army will be blocked south of the Sanggan River. If Lin Jue led the army, when the intention was exposed, Lin Jue would never cross the river to the north again, because the other party would definitely wait for him. But Yang Jun obviously won't stop there. In this case, instead of delaying the time to give the Liao people time to dispatch troops and horses, it is better to quickly cross the river to attack Xijin Mansion, at least so that the Liao people's preparation time will not be too calm.

So, Lin Jue decided to control the ferry as soon as possible. In the early hours of this morning, when the battle of Zhuozhou began. Lin Jue led more than a hundred accompanying guards to also launch a surprise attack on the ferry. The pro-guard battalion fought quickly, and did not give the other side any chance to fight back, and annihilated all the more than 400 Liao people guarding the southern ferry. Under the strong attack of firearms, although the opponent has the advantage in numbers, it is the opponent of the pro-guard battalion. It took less than an hour to get the entire ferry under control. All personnel, with the exception of those killed, were kept in several warehouses and guarded. This is also the reason why Xiao Sida and the others did not see any living people at the ferry.

However, because of the complicated terrain, some Liao soldiers chose to flee at the first time, and they tried to board the ship and escape, but were shot and killed by Sun Dayong and others on the boat. Many Liao soldiers desperately jumped into the river to try to escape, and Sun Dayong and others could not jump into the river to chase and kill, so they could only let them go. But some Liao soldiers apparently didn't realize that they didn't know how to water at all, and they died after jumping into the water. Some of the corpses drifted downstream. Others, due to the effect of underwater undercurrents, not only did not go downstream, but were photographed back to the shore shoals. Sun Dayong and the others were a little negligent and didn't realize this, this is the corpse that Xiao Sida and they found.

After controlling the ferry, Lin Jue sent people to inquire about the news of Zhuozhou. Soon after, it was learned that hundreds of horsemen had escaped from Zhuozhou and were heading straight for the ferry. Lin Jue ordered everyone to hide and wait for the arrival of this group of people. Lin Jue thought at first that it was just a part of the deserters, and this ferry was an extremely suitable place for ambush. It doesn't take much effort to come and destroy a wave. It wasn't until Lin Jue appeared and saw the outfits of Xiao Sida and the others that he knew that he had met the big guy.

Yelushi's surprised question made Lin Jue notice him. Only then did he find that Yelushi was dressed in a brocade robe, wearing a purple and gold crown, and was not dressed like an ordinary entourage. Isn't there a surprise?

"Oh? This brother, do you know me? Have we met? Lin Jue asked with a smile.

Yelushi said coldly: "We haven't met, but I have long admired you Lin Jue. You are the former three envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and now the Great Zhou Dynasty is in chaos, rebelling out of the imperial court, and raising the flag in Funiu Mountain to rebel Lin Jue, right? Your name is so loud. I have heard that Lin Jue is a young man with good looks and demeanor. I still won't believe it. I didn't expect it to be so. ”

Lin Jue laughed and said, "Brother Tai has won the award, I'm not as good as you say." The person you're talking about is me. This brother Tai is very lofty, richly dressed, and elegant, dare to ask Brother Taigao's surname? ”

Yelushi said in a deep voice: "Don't dare, I'm Yelushi ......"

"Don't tell them...... Xiao Sida hurriedly stopped him, but he was a step too late, and Yelushi still said his name.