Chapter 14: A Thousand Miles to the South

At the beginning of March, the snow and ice melt, the warm breeze is slow, and the green buds sprout.

There is an old man and a young man slowly descending the mountain on the path of Tianmen Peak, the young man is in a green shirt and cloth shoes, his head is tied in a bun, and there is still a cyan bamboo branch with a few green leaves, his face is handsome, his figure is slender, the young man is carrying a cyan bamboo basket on his back, and he is walking like flying.

Behind the young man was a white-haired old man, slightly hunchbacked, with a pestle and a green bamboo walking stick, full of energy, and his legs and feet followed the young man closely down the mountain.

On the bamboo tower of Tianmen Peak, the old Taoist in Tsing Yi held the green bamboo railing, quietly looked at the direction of the lower mountain, and said to himself: "The hidden dragon is in the abyss, and Tengbi will be nine days." ”

Three days ago, the head of the Bai family came to the bamboo tower of Tianmen Peak to inform Jiang Ge of the time and route of returning to the south and hurried down the mountain, Jiang Ge wanted to know if Bai Ling'er would accompany him, Jiang Ge left quickly before he had time to ask the head of the Bai family, and said before leaving: "Young Master Jiang will return south with peace of mind according to the established route, and everything will be arranged." ”

Jiang Ge was a little lost, but he remembered that he would see his father soon, so he was not so disappointed. In the next two days, Fu Bo packed up all kinds of items that might be used on the road, and Jiang Ge walked around Tianmen Peak very leisurely, stopping and stopping to take a look, Jiang Ge was reluctant to go south, and it would be difficult to go north again.

The night before leaving, the Taoist in Tsing Yi found Jiang Ge to sit at the stone table and chatted for a long time, and the Taoist asked the young man about his views on world affairs, his views on the Hu and Han people, and the views of his family and clan. The boy answered many questions seriously, but there were still many questions that he hesitated and did not dare to draw conclusions.

The Taoist asked: "Can the Han people and the Hu people be good and evil?" ”

The boy replied, "Yes." ”

The Taoist asked, "Can the Hu people be killed, can the Han people be killed?" How to discern it? ”

The teenager pondered.

The Taoist continued to ask: "How to choose the righteousness of the nation, the righteousness of the country, the righteousness of the family, and the righteousness of the people?" ”

The boy was silent.

The Taoist asked again: "In the current world, what should we do for the Han people, what should we do for a family, and what should we do for a country?" What should be done for the people, what should be done for the head of the patriarch's family, what should be done for the officials of a land, what should be done for the general of an army, and what should be done for the king of a country. ”

The boy was still pondering.

The Taoist finally said: "How can the fundamental road of human beings be asked from the heart, how to sort and distinguish between the righteousness of the family and the country, the hatred of the nation, the loyalty, the treachery, the good and the evil?" The book has its own sayings, how to do it, read more lines, think more, and have to ask your heart. If you are blinded and unclear, you will make the wrong decision. Born in troubled times, you should be promising, and do the right thing, worthy of your heart. ”

The young man got up, bowed solemnly and said: "The boy is not deeply involved in the world, he must travel thousands of miles, watch the hearts of the people in the north and south of the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, and think carefully before leaving." What the Heavenly Master taught, the boy remembers. ”

In addition to the conventional internal and external injury medicines, hemostasis and detoxification drugs, there is also a turquoise vial, there are three small green pills in the bottle, the color is round, the medicinal fragrance is rich and refreshing, and the bottle is written with three words of life-sustaining pills in a small seal.

Jiang Ge knew the preciousness of the Life-Extending Pill, when the Taoist rescued his dying self from Chang'an, he had eaten a Life-Extending Pill, if it weren't for this pill hanging on to his life, he would have probably seen the King of Hades by now. The Taoist said that a person who still has a breath can eat a life-sustaining pill to produce blood and flesh, and as long as the injured person is no longer harmed, he can save his life.

Looking at the bottles and cans and this bottle of life-sustaining pill Jiang Ge's heart was warm and touched, although the Taoist usually didn't talk much, he either went up the mountain to collect medicine or tinkered with various herbs in the pharmacy every day. Having saved himself and Faber, he didn't ask for anything in return. Just like the white-haired elders I saw in the Luoyang ancestral hall when I was a child, there was awe, but more kindness and trust.

Jiang Ge and Fu Bo set off in the early morning when the old Taoist said goodbye: "Tianmen Peak is secret and safe, and the ten miles under the mountain will not be harmed. The weather of the son has been revealed, recognize the heart, do the right way, the road can be expected, this parting, how cherished. ”

The young man was deeply puzzled and then turned around and strode away, his eyes were already flooding, and he hid the life-saving grace of the old Taoist deep in his heart and will never forget it.

Jiang Ge didn't see the beautiful girl dressed in white, nor did he see the middle-aged Confucian with a feather fan in his hand, although he was a little disappointed in his heart, Jiang Ge understood that they must not be far away, and escorting him back to the south must be in danger. I was grateful in my heart, and I just wanted to cross the river as soon as possible and let the Bai family's escort people complete the task as soon as possible.

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Ten miles in an ordinary courtyard.

The weather was a little warmer, but the chill was still there, and the Confucian priest with a black feather fan in his hand sat on a chair, gently shaking the fan with one hand, clenching his fist with the other, and rubbing his thumb back and forth on the side of his index finger.

There are two people standing respectfully in front of the Confucian scholars, and the man on the left is in his forties, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, a dark face, an ordinary appearance, and his hands are rough and calloused, and he looks like a person who has been doing manual work all year round.

On the right is a young man in his twenties, with a slender figure, a white brocade suit and a handsome appearance, and a snow-white Changxiao with a snow-white body obliquely inserted around his waist, with an extraordinary temperament, like the immortal who came out of the picture scroll, if he walked on the Jianghuai once, it would be ironclad to make those pretentious children of the family shame and ashamed, not to mention that the woman must not extricate herself from indulging in it when she saw this immortal-like figure, that is, those women who had already accepted their fate saw it, and the gradually aging hearts would also beat violently.

The rough man is called Bai Qiao, one of the Bai family's stewards, and Shilipu is one of the most important strongholds of the Bai family near Chang'an, and Bai Qiao is responsible for all matters.

The young man's name is Bai Yu, the adopted son of Bai Lou, the head of the Bai family, and the established future head of the Bai family.

"All arranged?" Bai Lou asked.

"Go home, everything is arranged, and Jiang Gongzi's route to the south will be guarded by our people along the way to ensure that Jiang Gongzi is safe and worry-free." Bai Qiao replied with his hand.

Bai Lou stroked the black feather fan in his hand a few times with his hand and glanced at Bai Yu and said: "The Bai family has always been like this, you are still young, and there are some things that you can't say to you, just ensure that the kid of the Jiang family has no worries about his life along the way, because my father knows that a few Bai Yuwei who grew up with you died in Chang'an because of that kid, how much will you have resentment in your heart." But in the Bai family, commitment is more important than anything else. Got it? ”

Bai Yu quickly knelt on his knees, clenched his fists with both hands, raised them above his head, and replied respectfully: "What my father taught is that the child understands that the interests of the family are important. After finishing speaking, a light of resentment quickly flashed in Bai Yu's eyes.

"Cross the river safely, Ling'er and I are waiting for you in Jinling. Rest early, leave tomorrow, and do your job. After Bai Lou finished speaking, he stood up and left alone.

Bai Qiao also left quickly after answering the "whoo".

Bai Yu was not in a hurry to leave, he bent down and gently patted the dust on his knees, took out the white jade Xiao from his waist, and gently stroked it with both hands, as if he was stroking the hair of the girl who was dressed in white and had two pear vortices, and the doting expression on his face seemed to be a little stupid.

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"Young master, according to the information provided by the head of the Bai family, now that the outside is full of heroes, the north is all occupied by the Hu people, and the entire Central Plains has fallen apart in less than a year, and those Hu people still occupy their own territory and claim to be kings and emperors, I am afraid it will not be easy for us to go back all the way." Fauber said, sitting on a stone by the stream, thumping his legs.

"It's so that you can't take the avenue, you can only shuttle between the mountains and wilderness, the map given by the head of the Bai family is very detailed, and the route I have carefully studied is indeed the safest, but it is the slowest, and half of the thousands of miles are walked, I don't think it's hard, but you walk down this way, and your body is afraid that you can't bear it." I'll have to figure it out. Jiang Ge took out the dry food from the bamboo basket and distributed it to the old man next to him, opened the map and studied it carefully.

"It turns out that all the Jingzhou land in Jiangbei has fallen, and only a few counties in Jiangnan are left, so we have to go to Shangluo County in Sizhou first, and then go south through the east of Weixing County to enter Shangyong County, and then continue to go south to find a way to cross the river in the north of Jianping County." Jiang Ge tore off a small piece of jerky and chewed it slowly, looked at the sky and then looked at Fu Bo, who was eating dry food, and continued: "In three days, we will go to Shangluo County, the entire Sizhou is full of Huns, and there must be a lot of Huns all the way to the south, and there will be other Hu people's forces." When the time comes, if you meet Hu Ren, don't panic, just pretend to be my slave and pretend to be deaf and dumb, and I will deal with the rest. If the Hu people attack Fubo and hide far away, as long as I don't meet a formed army, I should have no problem with some bandits. ”

"The old slave listens to the young master, this old bone can only do some miscellaneous things for the young master, if he is ten years younger, the old slave and I can still deal with two or three Hu slaves alone. The years are not forgiving, and it has become a drag on the young master. Fu Bo touched the dagger hidden in his waist, which was given to Fu Bo by the Taoist in Tsing Yi, saying that the dagger could save people's lives at a critical moment. The old man didn't really think about how many people he could kill with a dagger, if he encountered something that could not be done, he would definitely sacrifice himself to save people according to the young master's kind and simple character, this dagger could end himself, so that the young master could not be dragged down to escape and survive.

"To be honest, I don't trust the Bai family too much. Otherwise, the young master would not have suffered so much in Chang'an. Fu Bo frowned and said: "According to the agreement between the two families, the Bai family only guarantees that the young master will not die, how can he not die, the old slave is very clear." ”

"Everything is on your own, and the matter of giving your life to someone else's hands will never happen again. After resting for half an hour, strive to get out of the Jingzhao realm before nightfall. Jiang Ge drank a sip of water, lay on the ground, used his bag as a pillow, and began to close his eyes and recuperate. Fauber looked at the surrounding mountains and forests, leaned against the stones, and closed his eyes, but one hand held the dagger tightly.

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Wuchang County, Jingzhou.

On the river embankment, Jiang Shanyi and Jiang Shanzhong walked side by side, followed by dozens of shadow guards behind them.

The big river goes east, rolling and flowing, and it is magnificent.

Jiang Shanyi stopped, caged his sleeves, and looked into the distance of Jiangbei. whispered to himself: "Only this surging river can discourage those Hu people." ”

"Shanzhong, the homeless people in Jingzhou are wreaking, I heard that a person named Du Tao collected the homeless people in Changsha County, and the government was burned by him?"

"Yes, this person is a famous man in Shu County, the grandson of Du Zhi of Fu Jieling, and the son of Du Yi, the protector of Luoyang. Ren Liling County Commander is very much appreciated by Nanping County Taishou Ying Zhan, Changsha, Ancheng, Hengyang three counties of the rebels, Du Tao was elected by the refugees as the leader, now occupy the three counties to recruit the south to flee the homeless, intending to stand on their own. Jiang Shanzhong replied in detail.

"Assassin Shi Zhouyi is drunk all day long, and Jingzhou is not stable, has General Tao Kan's greeting been submitted?" Jiang Shanyi asked with a sigh.

"Yesterday, it was handed over to the Taofu gatehouse, and there is no reply yet, leaving a servant waiting over there, and it will be reported as soon as there is news." Jiang Shanzhong replied meticulously.

"At present, we are not moving the Jianghuai territory, there are many displaced people in Jingzhou, our Wuling is still stable, and the remaining counties are estimated to have answered questions, and there is a drunkard on the stall, this troubled world will only be more chaotic. Jingzhou is also General Tao, who is upright, upright, strict in governing the army, and orderly in his governance. Han Shi was born with a lot of promises, and General Tao has to be wooed over. With real power and ambition, our Jiang family will be more stable when it takes root in Jingzhou. As for Du Tao's side, he also has to get in touch, and give him some support appropriately, so that he doesn't expand to the Wuling realm. As soon as Jiang Shan finished speaking, he stopped talking, still looking at Jiangbei, the Bai family sent a message, Ge'er has been off for more than ten days. Jiang Shanzhong saw that the head of the family was thinking about it again, so he softly promised to take someone to arrange the affairs of the homeless people.

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Shangyong County, Shangyong County, ten miles away from the river.

The river is not wide, about ten zhang or so, the river is murmuring, and the moon is reflected on the calm surface of the river.

Fauber was paralyzed on the riverbank, lying on the edge of the river, drinking greedily from the river, and his whole face sank into the water.

Jiang Ge chose a large stone to sit on, bending over to wash his face and arms with the river water.

The bamboo basket he had carried before setting off was long gone, and Fauber's left leg was tied with a blood-stained strip of cloth. His white hair was disheveled, and his clothes were in tatters.

Jiang Ge, who was originally dressed as a scholar in a green shirt, was even more indecent at this time, his sleeves were long gone, and a strip of cyan cloth was wrapped around his left arm, and his clothes were disheveled.

With a bang, the whole face of Fuber sunk into the water was exposed, half of his hair was soaked by the river, and his already old face looked very terrifying in the moonlight.

"His damn Hu people are simply beasts, they kill the Han people when they see them, and the two-legged sheep of the dog day, this north still doesn't let people live. If Lao Tzu had any soldiers in his hands, he would have slaughtered them, and there would be no one left. Fauber spat hard into the water, pulling the wound on his leg with too much force. Ouch ouch kept screaming, and his mouth kept cursing and cursing those Hu ancestors for eighteen generations.

Jiang Ge slowly dismantled the strip of cloth on his arm that was full of blood, gently cleared it with river water, then took out the wound medicine and applied it, and tore off a strip of cloth on his chest with his right hand and tied it tightly on his arm. The whole movement was skilful and fast, and it was obviously not the first time I had done this. After tying his left arm, Jiang Ge was already sweating profusely, holding the water in both hands and splashing it on his face, and then slowly lying on the surface of the water and drinking the clear river water flowing through in small sips.

After soothing a little, Jiang Ge got up with difficulty, walked to Fu Bo, who was already lying on his back on the rocky beach and panting, took out a pain-relieving and soothing pill and fed it to the old man's mouth, and then held water in his hand and fed the old man to swallow the pill. Then he gently dismantled the red cloth strip on the old man's leg, looked at the flesh and blood turned out, slowly washed it with water, then sprinkled with medicinal powder, and tore a piece of cloth on his body and tied it tightly.

Maybe he was tired of scolding, maybe it was too painful, and the old man had fallen asleep when he changed the dressing as a teenager.

Looking at the sleeping old man, Jiang Ge held the old man's rough hand, and his heart was sour. A person who is much older than his father, the person who has accompanied him the most since he was a child, followed him and almost died in Chang'an, and it didn't take long for him to follow him over the mountains and mountains, and he was chased and killed by the Hu people. The knife wound on his leg was due to his own negligence, and he felt that the Hu child should be kind and simple, and there was no danger to him. As a result, the child seized the opportunity to stab himself in the back with a meat cleaver, if the old man hadn't found out, he would have run behind him and blocked the knife with his thigh, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Compassion is common to all, but it is the greatest threat when used against those with ill intentions. Along the way, although most of them are mountain and forest paths, but also encountered many deserted villages, the Hu people do not farm, the Central Plains and natural disasters, there is no food at all, the Hu people go around in groups to hunt and kill the Han people left in the north, regardless of old and young men and women, after grabbing and dragging back to the gathering place to divide and eat.

When Jiang Ge saw the Hu people cooking the Han people with his own eyes, a monstrous killing intent stained Jiang Ge's eyes red, watching those Hu people gnaw on the boiled Han people's bodies, his chest rolled violently, and he felt pain in a vicious breath. So Jiang Ge rushed into the crowd alone, killed nearly fifty people with his bare hands. The fleeing Hu people quickly went to find the nearby rangers, and from that night on, Jiang Ge and Fu Bo were chased and killed all the way. For more than half a month, wave after wave of Hu people rangers caught up with the two, and in the face of the entire established ranger team, Jiang Ge went from a five-person scout team to a hundred-man team he saw the day before yesterday.

When fleeing in a panic, Jiang Ge had forgotten the route of returning to the south formulated by the head of the Bai family, until he ran to the outside of Shangyong City, and saw the black Qinzi flag fluttering on the city wall, so he ran to the city like a gamble and shouted for help in awkward Qiang dialect, the guards on the city wall saw the dust in the distance, and there was a yellow Chinese character flag running quickly, and quickly reported to the city lord, when the Hun rangers were less than a mile away from Shangyong City, hundreds of Qiang people rushed out of the city to kill the hundred people who had been chasing and killing them for many days. When the two sides were fighting, Jiang Ge took Fu Bo to jump into the blocked river that ran through the city, sank to the bottom of the water, and quickly floated ten miles downstream.

Jiang Ge collected dry branches everywhere, piled up a firewood pile between several man-high boulders by the river, and carried the unconscious Fu Bo to lie down on the grass pile that had been laid down under the boulders with difficulty. Then light the fire with flint and try to warm yourself and the shivering Fauber.

After feeling more comfortable, Jiang Ge walked to the river, took some leaves and branches, surrounded a small puddle with stones by the river, dug the puddle to knee deep, placed a lot of grass, branches and leaves on the puddle, and left a palm-sized opening on the edge of the puddle.

Jiang Ge had a dream, and the person who drew the mountains and rivers in the dream appeared again.

There are dozens of dragons of different colors and sizes cruising back and forth in different places on the mountain and river map, some of them are lightning and thunder, some are auspicious clouds flowing, some are scorching sun, and some are majestic in heavy rain. There is a golden dragon in the southeast direction, and the warbler song and swallow dance around it are not lively. The black clouds over the north of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou were closed, with lightning and thunder, and there seemed to be some snakes rolling in the black clouds, but there was no dragon.

When Jiang Ge was about to look elsewhere, a red swimming dragon in the black clouds located in the north of Jingzhou cautiously probed out, vigilantly observing the surroundings, suddenly a lightning bolt exploded in the black clouds, and the little dragon quickly turned around and buried itself in the black clouds as if frightened.

Jiang Ge was about to carefully look for the little dragon when a smell of flesh pulled him back from his dream.

Jiang Ge, who opened his eyes in a daze, saw a golden fish the size of a palm and roasted on his face.

Jiang Ge smiled and reached for the wooden stick with the grilled fish.

Take a bite and sizzle.

The smell of fish is overflowing.