May 18, late afternoon.

On the mountain path of Bapanling, a galloping team appeared again. Although the main road has been blocked by the Ming army, there are many small roads between the mountains and mountains, and although the road is not easy to walk, it is still possible to pass such a lightly armed team.

An hour ago, the caravan led by Li Liang set off from the West Gate and set off along the Taizi River along the Weining Yingshan Road to Liaoyang, but when passing through a birch forest on the way, Yue Xiang led the remaining eighteen family members and Xiao Wan's quietly detached team into the woods, and then turned north and crossed the Bapanling Mountains again. The bluffing caravan led by Li Liang continued to march towards Liaoyang.

Of course, the destination for both of them was the same, and after arriving in Liaoyang, Li Liang would turn north and pass through Shenyang to Puhe City, where he would wait for Yue Xiang's team to join them. Because thirty miles east of Puhe City is the incense burner mountain, the birthplace of the Puhe River, Yue Xiang put all the last bets there.

The reason why we chose to act separately is really based on the principle of prudence. After going through so many things, it would be too stupid for Yue Xiang to still think that he was an inconspicuous guy who could act casually, and now only he knew the secret of the incense burner mountain, but many heavyweight fierce people also wanted to know.

Abahai may have seen through Xiaowan's identity, and now he can only assume that she has seen through it. She may not dare to tell Nurhachi about Xiaowan's identity, but it is entirely possible to tell Daishan. Try to keep a low profile and be careful.

His injuries weren't healed yet, but he couldn't wait that long, and now he was running against the clock. Crossing the Bapanling Ridge with light equipment can save several days of time than taking Liaoyang and Shenyang. Although he had to go through the last battlefield, he felt that Huang Taiji's troops should not stay here, and he probably needed to concentrate on dealing with internal challenges now.

At the same time, the area had no strategic value, the castle had been burned, and the place had become a scorched wasteland, and he would not have gained much by keeping his men and horses here. At the same time, he should know that the Ming army was already sending people to block the mountain pass, and it was clear that it would never pass through here.

The marching habit of the Ming army was that no matter where the battle was lost, as long as the main general felt that the troops were not enough to save face, he would choose to go around the next march. Huang Taiji must have understood this, Yue Xiang bet that he would move his troops back, and decided to take advantage of this psychological blind spot to break through this road of life and death again.

Now that the Zhengbai Banner and the Zhenglan Banner have secretly launched an armed firefight, it is inevitable that Huang Taiji will be punished when he goes back this time, and he should not divide his troops to wander here again to create an opportunity for Manggutai to retaliate against him. This trip seems dangerous, but in fact, the safety factor is quite high.

More than 20 horses walked through the mountains and forests, without stopping for a moment, and when they encountered a place that was difficult to walk, they dismounted and led them. This time, everyone was fully armed, not only swords, spears, bows and arrows, but even newly purchased arms.

Although he didn't have time to train, Yue Xiang felt that there was nothing difficult about these plays, the most important thing was to be bold and careful, and everyone present was bold. Besides, the purchase of arms is to be put aside for use at critical moments, and now is the critical moment. If the trip fails or something unexpected happens, this thing will be left at home and hidden at the bottom of the box, and it will eventually be given to the Jurchens as trophies, so it might as well be smashed.

After a difficult trek, after walking in the mountains for an hour, I finally managed to get out of the valley again, and I saw the ruined Goatyu Fort still standing on the bank of the Magendan River in the distance, but from a distance you could feel the desolate and dilapidated atmosphere.

When we got closer, I saw that the castle had been completely transformed after the fire, all the wooden structures on the city head had been charred, the earthen walls were scorched black by the smoke of the flames, and most of the buildings and some of the walls had collapsed. This was because the mechanism set up at the time of evacuation detonated a powder keg that could not be taken away. Yue Xiang and the others were silent, and rode their horses into the fort, only to see charred debris and broken bricks and tiles all over the ground, as well as charred corpses that could not distinguish their heads and faces, which were probably the corpses of the wounded. Yue Xiang only felt helpless about their death, and in that situation there was no one to risk taking them away.

However, a huge new tomb appeared on the edge of the city, and it seems that Huang Taiji is still keeping his word. At least his own people don't need to expose the corpses in the wilderness, and his ability at this stage is probably just that.

"Brothers, I, Yue Xiang, can't stand you......" Yue Xiang slowly poured the wine into the land in front of the grave, with a solemn expression, and then bowed ninety degrees and bowed deeply, and the eighteen family members behind him saluted together. I hope that the heroic spirits of the brothers will bless me Yue Xiang to find the hidden gold, and if my Yue Xiang has a comeback one day in the future, I will kill the Jurchen Tartars to avenge you. ”

"Boss, it's time for us to go......" Bi Mazi whispered beside him. He and Chen Wumin were originally Zou Chuxian's personal soldiers, but now they are following Yue Xiang, and after such a bloody battle, it is normal for them to have a firm comradeship with each other. What's more, an unruly warrior like Bi Mazi can't get used to the generals in the city at all, but Yue Xiang's courage and courage have convinced him, and he has made up his mind to follow Yue Xiang into the world.

There are also Ma Sandao and Li Shoucai, these two people have taken it as their mission to find Gao Huai's hidden gold all their lives, and Yue Xiang also felt that there might be a place where they were needed at that time, so he took them with them. The performance of these two people on the battlefield is also desperate, and it is impossible for a guy with a ghost in his heart to show such courage.

"Let's go, we must rush to Fushun Ferry before dark, and we will spend the night on the north bank of the Hunhe River tonight!"

The next journey was as Yue Xiang expected, the road was safe and sound, and there was no trace of Jianzhou's soldiers and horses. It's just that all the villages along the way can see are burned by the war, and all the villages have become uninhabited ruins. Running for dozens of miles to the north, I have not even seen a living person, but along the way, you can often see the corpses and bones of the dead road, almost all of which have been patronized by wild beasts.

Just after the Fushun War, the Eight Banners Army plundered Liaodong for the first time, allowing the whole world to see their bulldozer-like attack power, and all the villages they passed by were bulldozed without exception, Yue Xiang didn't know how many people could escape under such an attack. But at least here they have not seen a single survivor.

When passing by Magendan Fort and Dongzhou Fort, I found that the situation was similar to that of Goatyu Fort, the whole castle had become a ghost, hundreds of crows were quacking and flying in the sky, the wooden planks of the city gate were broken and fell into the doorway, dead bodies were piled up everywhere, hundreds of corpses hung on the city, the death was terrible, the corpse torso had been pecked by the crows, and the pungent smell of corpses could be smelled from far away. It seems that these Jurchens do not have the habit of cleaning the battlefield, but fortunately the weather is cold now, otherwise the plague will definitely be caused here.

Passing by Fushun Pass, the scene I saw was even more amazing, the entire wall had been completely demolished into a pile of ruins, and what remained at the gatehouse was a charred ruin. A large number of wood, stone and bricks were piled up at the pass, and the road had been cleared, and the Jianzhou Jurchens could freely enter and exit the south bank of the Hunhe River through this pass.

But now that the Jurchens have withdrawn their troops, they don't see the Ming army coming to repair, as if they have given up this strategic point and let the other party come and go at will, Yue Xiang shook his head, this is the spiritual outlook of the Ming army now. The enemy did not dare to fight when he came, and the enemy did not dare to pursue when he retreated, and there was really nothing to say about corruption to this extent.

When the sun was in the west, he came to the front of the city of Fushun, Yue Xiang looked at the city that had been washed away, and sighed in his heart, the disaster of the Ming Dynasty began with the fall of this city. Of course, the current court bigwigs will not believe it, in their minds, this Jianzhou barbarian is just robbing an insignificant city. Like the Mongols, they were just greedy for profit, and as long as they had enough to rob, they would be content to leave.

But the real purpose of the Jurchens was the land, and they also cultivated the fields. Although their cavalry is invincible, this does not mean that they are purebred nomads. But none of the ministers in the court wanted to think about it, and they saw the importance of partisanship above all else.

The party is fighting for the country, Yue Xiang's mood is indescribable, after all, he will not be happy to see his compatriots being slaughtered by any normal person. In the current imperial court, the Donglin Party and the Qichu and Zhejiang parties are constantly fighting, no one cares about the things on the front line, and no one has seriously studied what is the difference between the Jurchens and the Mongols, no wonder some people later said that the Ming Dynasty died on the party struggle, and how many famous ministers and good generals who could have made great achievements were later involved in this internal friction of inaction, and finally until the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Arriving at the Fushun ferry, Yue Xiang ordered the boats to be collected along the way, and the ferries and boatmen here had completely disappeared. Tossed until the sun was about to set, only to find the three small boats. Fortunately, the current is not urgent, Yue Xiang was trained to operate boats when he was in the army before, and Qinghe City is next to the Taizi River, and most of the people present are more familiar with water. Seven or eight people at a time is not a problem. By the time all the men and horses had crossed the river, it was already dark.

After finding a relatively flat place, the people tied up the horses and made a bonfire, and most of them sat on the ground and gasped for breath, and when they had enough to take out dry food and fresh water to satisfy their hunger. Today, the distance of galloping is probably more than 100 miles in a day, but fortunately, I brought more replacement horses and chose good horses, otherwise it would be absolutely difficult to support such a long distance.

Yue Xiang looked at the tired figures of his subordinates, and his heart throbbed.

These people, even if they are now on the verge of bankruptcy, are still willing to take risks with them. It's not that they don't have any other way out, and it can even be said that in the current situation, it is much better to choose any other path than to choose to follow him. Each of them has a good ability, they can get out of that kind of fight, they can recover their physical strength in only two or three days, and then complete such a long journey without falling behind, which shows how strong their skills are.

It can be said that such a warrior doesn't have to worry about finding food anywhere, and even goes out to the world by himself to make a difference, but he chooses to follow him. Although this was their choice, Yue Xiang was a little flattered, why did he let so many people work for him? These people have entrusted him with their lives and futures, what can they bring them?

Fame or fortune? He really couldn't think of it, because he didn't even know whether he would have himself in the future, and at the moment he brought them only danger and death, and an uncertain future.

After dinner, Yue Xiang arranged for the vigil and then ordered everyone to rest. The situation on the north bank of the river is probably better than that on the south bank, and the castle, the stronghold of the Ming army near here, has not been beaten much, and its strength is relatively intact. Puhesuo, Hoi An Fort, and Sancha Fort are all nearby, even if it is a good decoration, it can make people have a sustenance in their hearts.

Yue Xiang hugged Xiao Wan in his arms and covered her with a blanket. This time, she took the initiative to ask Ying, and at the same time, she also took her out with her considering that her special status might be helpful, after all, she had been by Gao Huai's side for a long time.

Because of fatigue, soon everyone fell into a deep sleep. In order to guard against wild beasts, the fire was not extinguished.

But this sleep is destined to be unstable, I don't know how long it took, the sudden outbreak of loud noise around Yue Xiang made Yue Xiang bounce up from the ground as if he had been electrocuted, Xiao Wan was caught off guard and was lifted aside from his arms, and before he could cry out in pain, he was grabbed by Yue Xiang and pulled behind him.

Everyone around them also jumped up at the first time, but when they saw the surrounding situation clearly, they were all stunned.

Hundreds of people who seemed to have emerged from the flat ground nearby had been beaten into a pot of porridge in the dark, and the flames brought out by the torches in the melee were scattered, swords and guns were flying, and the shouts of killing had already resounded. Yue Xiang's camp had been affected, and they were on the verge of a battle between the two armies, and his men began to draw their swords to drive away those who approached, and some had even already exchanged hands.

"What the hell is this...... Yue Xiang looked nervously left and right with his sword, and just after shouting, an arrow swept over his head, so frightened that he shrank his neck and swallowed back half of his words. it! Could it be that the Jurchens called? However, looking at it again made him stunned again.

Because through the reflection of the firelight, he could clearly see that the side of the battle was actually wearing the armor of the Ming army, which was really rare. The other side of the battle was dressed in a variety of clothes, not like the Eight Banners Army, but like ...... Brigand.