Early the next morning, Shi Wanqing led 2,600 people to cross the Hulu River from the ice. More than ten people fell into the river, but fortunately, they were all rescued by the soldiers around them, and there were no casualties.

Ordered the army to be stationed outside the county seat of Hengyu, Shi Wanqing took a few generals, and Pegasus went to Shenzhou to see Kang Deyu.

After entering the official office, Shi Wanqing sang a promise to Kang Deyu and Liang Qian.

After seeing Shi Wanqing, Liang Qian praised: "What a big man! No wonder Kang Tuanlian values it so much! ”

Kant said: "Shi Dian's direct power is infinite, and he is good at martial arts. What is even more rare is to lead the troops well, use their lives up and down, and be a usable talent. ”

After speaking, let Shi Wanqing sit down.

Kant said: "The Khitan general Xiao Hujian, with more than 1,000 cavalry, crossed the Lu River in the Battle of Quyang, and went all the way south. After passing through several counties, countless villages were damaged, and the surrounding states and counties were careful. Recently, all the townships and districts have ordered the elders to take archers and inspect the place. According to local reports, he has entered Shenzhou and entered the territory of Shulu County. This guy is very cunning, they are far away from the city, and they pick remote places, which is difficult to grasp. You can take the army to the other side of the river in Xindu, close to Zhaozhou. ”

Shi Wanqing said: "Could it be that the thief is going to Zhaozhou?" ”

Kant said: "To the north is Hejian Province, and to the south is the Hulu River, both of which are risky places. There was no army in Zhaozhou, and the thief just looked at the emptiness there. Taiwei Liu of Hejian Province sent 3,000 cavalry and had already entered Shenzhou. As long as you can block the thieves, you don't need to annihilate them, and you can drag them for a day or two, it's enough. Dingzhou and Hejian Fu each have two or three cavalry, as long as they catch up, they can't run away from this gang of thieves. ”

Shi Wanqing forked his hand: "The last general understands." Rest assured, there are more than 2,000 people in the end, as long as there are thieves, they will definitely not be able to run away! ”

Liang Qian nodded: "Okay, if you can think like this, we can rest assured." This group of Khitan thieves is dedicated to robbing remote villages, which is really unguardable. I have ordered the localities to gather in the village to protect themselves. All remote villages are gathered in one village, so that thieves have nothing to rob. In this way, the thief can no longer come and go like the wind as before. Moreover, the archers patrolled, and it was difficult for the thieves to escape the eyes of the government. ”

Shi Wanqing said: "Zhizhou is naturally the best to arrange it like this. As long as you catch the thieves, you can't run away from them! ”

Kang Deyu and Liang Qian nodded yes, praised Shi Wanqing a few words, explained the news of the Khitans they had obtained, and arranged local personnel to connect with him. ordered someone to cook wine and meat, let Shi Wanqing eat and drink enough, and went out of the city.

Shi Wanqing saw that it was still early, so he flew back to Hengshui County, recruited his soldiers and horses, and headed west.

Thirty miles away from Shulu County, the Khitan cavalry camped by the river.

Xiao Hujian sat down in the tent, brought a small pot of yellow rice to the soldiers, and said, "General, there is nothing in the past two days, so let's eat some." ”

Xiao Hujian looked at the yellow rice in the pot and said angrily: "How can you eat it without meat?" There's a pond nearby, and you guys go there to break the ice and catch a few fish, so you can have some wine. If there are deer or roe deer or the like, they will also fight two. ”

The soldiers had no choice but to agree, and a few people went out with bows and arrows. There are not many people in this area, and the area of the pond is very large, so there should be fish.

Xiao Hujian grabbed the wine jar, poured a bowl of wine, and drank most of the bowl in one gulp. Put down the wine bowl and said: "The Song people are treacherous, and the surrounding villages have fled early and gathered in a big village with a walled wall. For two days in a row, I didn't get any food and grass, so I can't go on like this. ”

Ah Wei said: "We have traveled hundreds of miles, and the Song people are not fools, so they are naturally on guard." General, it's good to find a way. ”

On the side, Han Jianu said: "What can you do?" This must be the case in the neighborhood. As long as the town is not attacked, the small village will inevitably dodge, and naturally it will not be able to grab anything. According to me, it's better to choose a town, fly in, and leave after grabbing. Our cavalry comes and goes freely, what can the Song people do? ”

Ah Wu shook his head: "Now there are archers in big villages and towns, and once they are entangled, they can't get out." ”

Han Jianu said: "What is an archer!" Thousands of cavalry behind us have been chasing for many days, and it is not that they can't even touch our shadows! What did the archers in the countryside do? As long as we attack quickly, retreat quickly, and walk away after grabbing grain and grass, what can the Song people do? ”

Xiao Hujian took a sip of wine, thought about it, and said in a deep voice: "Han Jianu has a point. We went deep into the Song Realm, and there was no food and grass, and the morale of the army below was fluctuating, so we were afraid that something would happen. At this time, hiding is not the way, you must dare to think and dare to do. ”

After speaking, he pondered for a while, and said, "Stay around here for a day or two, choose a big village or village from the neighborhood, and grab it once!" With food and grass, the brothers were able to eat and drink enough before they could think about the next step. ”

Han Jianu said: "That's exactly how it should be! How can the brethren go hungry? The pursuers were behind, and they had no strength to run. ”

Ah Wu nodded: "That's it." To the east of Shenzhou is Hebei Province, where there are tens of thousands of Song troops, and we can't go there. After grabbing the grain and grass, he could only go west to Zhaozhou. Zhaozhou has always been rich, as long as we get rid of the Song army's pursuers, we will be free. ”

While a few people were discussing, Xiao Hujian's personal soldiers returned. I caught a few fish, cleaned them up outside, and cooked them inside the house.

Xiao Hu said: "A few of you, go outside to catch a Song person and come back, and ask about the situation nearby." There are big villages, preferably towns, and we're going to grab them. After getting grain and grass, there will be a lot of calmness in the back. ”

The soldiers promised to leave two people in the tent to cook fish for Xiao Hujian, and the rest went to arrest people.

Chen Yu stood in the village and saw that most of the houses were burned and in a mess, but fortunately there were no dead people on the ground. Tan Qi brought a man in his forties and fifties over, and said with his hands crossed: "General, this is the elder of this township, named Zou Erlang, and the last general specially came to ask questions." ”

Chen Yu looked at Zou Erlang, who was white and fat, obviously a big family nearby, and said, "This village was attacked by the Khitans, how about the casualties?" ”

Zou Erlang said: "Back to the officials, the county unveiled the list and said that there were Khitan thieves looting. The villages fled early to the nearby village, where there was no population. The village is full of poor people, and there is no savings, and the Khitans can't grab anything. It's just that they burned down the houses, and they didn't know where the villagers lived. ”

Chen Yu said: "It's a blessing to escape with your life, and the house will be burned down and rebuilt." You said that the county unveiled the list and ordered all villages to take precautions, are they all nearby? ”

Zou Erlang said: "The official government list text, which one dares to disobey!" The small one is the elder of Hongo, who has recruited dozens of Ding Zhuang to patrol the neighborhood. ”

Chen Yu nodded and said, "In this way, you also know the whereabouts of the Khitans?" ”

Zou Erlang said: "Those Khitan thieves are very shrewd, and there are scouts a few miles away, so they can't be investigated carefully." But there were one or two thousand of them, and they couldn't hide their traces. After escaping from the village, he headed southwest. On the way, several more villages were robbed, and most of them were like this. The people in the village gathered in Dazhai, and the village could not grab anything. It only burned down the houses, but it didn't kill anyone. ”

Chen Yu clapped his hands: "As long as there are their whereabouts, it's fine." These days, we have been chasing after the Khitans, deceived by them, and have not been able to catch up. They haven't grabbed grain and grass for the past two days, and they can't go fast. You bring a few people to be guides, and there is a heavy reward for chasing the Khitans! ”