A few people were walking, when suddenly they smelled a smell of blood wafting from the grass in front of them with the morning breeze, which was disgusting. The people quietly dismounted, drew their swords, and left only one man to hold all the horses, and with a numb face in front of him, he walked forward and quietly approached to investigate.

After the numb face touched the grass, he looked at it, his face was blue, the muscles in the corners of his eyes trembled a few times, and he couldn't speak for a while. Yu Zhilong and a few people followed up and saw the scene in front of them, and they were speechless for a while.

More than a dozen corpses were discarded in the grass, and their clothes were obviously from nearby farmers, all of whom had been killed by sharp blades, and there were not many signs of struggle or struggle on their bodies.

When Yu Zhilong saw the scene in front of him, he knew that this was the usual method used by the Yuan army in long-distance attacks. In order to prevent the leakage of secrets by passers-by along the way, these passers-by are often escorted to accompany the army. When a well-disciplined unit arrives at its destination, it generally releases them, and those with poor discipline are often slaughtered on the spot. This practice is generally used when the enemy's land is marching, but after all, this is the jurisdiction of the current imperial court, and these are the subjects of the imperial court, not only are they not protected by the official army, but they are slaughtered like pigs and dogs!

Seeing these tragic situations, everyone couldn't help but think of their own life experience and experience, and felt that heaven was unfair, and the people were really cheap like dogs under the rule of the Yuan Court. I wanted to be a good citizen under the rule of the Taiping, but I ended up being a thief.

It seems that the purpose of the surprise attack on their scouts yesterday was not to prevent these corpses from being found, so as not to expose the traces of the march. Yu Zhilong had a preliminary idea.

Everyone gathered their feelings, and there was no time to bury these corpses, so they continued to search and move forward, and walked two more miles. Finally, traces of the activities of a large group of horsemen were discovered. Wu Side saw a large number of messy horseshoe prints and horse manure on the ground, and his heart sank suddenly.

Yu Zhilong and the others carefully observed the number of these horseshoe prints and horse manure, and then reached out to touch the cold, heat and dryness of the horse manure, and everyone looked at each other from the ground.

"Let's talk about it, I'll start first, the other side is a horse team, I estimate that there are about five or six hundred people." Wu Side started first.

"Judging from the cold, hot, dry and wet of the horse manure eggs, it should have been nearly an hour, and it will never exceed an hour." Huang Er continued.

"Look at the direction, they are likely to come from Zichuan, and they are in a hurry, and they don't take the main road, otherwise our scouts will definitely be able to find them." The pock-faced Ma Rulong added.

"Looking at the amount of horseshoe prints and horse manure, there are about more than 600 horses, but the number of them should not be that much." Yu Zhilong took a closer look at the depth of these horseshoe prints, and said, "You see, the depth of the horseshoe prints is different, it should be the weight of the horses, and they marched so fast, which means that it is very likely that there are two horses for one person." The estimated number is about three or four hundred. ”

"The only cavalry that could accompany the Mongols and the Semu were equipped with one man and two horses. Meng Lao Thief simply did not have the financial resources to do so. So many cavalry will never be from Yidu Road. Now the soldiers and horses of Lushan Jinan Mansion have not yet set off, so there is only a Tatar who may come from the northwest! Yu Zhilong judged.

"Well, I agree with Brother Yu's words!" Wu Side thought for a while and said, "They marched so quickly and secretly, which shows that the goal is very clear, there are only us here, and they are here to fight us!" ”

Everyone was speechless for a while, this team had not been in trouble for a long time, and had only fought with the local official army or the rebel army, and had not yet fought against a large number of authentic Mongol troops. In the past few decades, the Mongolian iron cavalry swept across the Central Plains, conquered various ethnic groups in Europe and Asia in the west, and invaded like fire along the way, slaughtering mountains and blood, slaughtering cities and exterminating tribes, which are innumerable. The image of the invincible Mongolian iron rider is still deeply imprinted in the hearts of the people of the Central Plains. If it weren't for the fact that the people couldn't survive because of the harsh taxes over the years, even if they couldn't get it in the world, how could they be willing to expose the uprising and make a living with this hanging head.

The heavy pressure in their hearts pressed the people speechless, everyone understands that they are fighting everywhere and wandering for a long time, once the power is great, the imperial court will definitely send heavy troops to encircle and suppress, and it is only a matter of time before they encounter the Mongolian iron cavalry.

"Brother Side, we should quickly inform Brother Zhao in the back, so that Leader Yu can prepare early. It is estimated that they have not yet encountered this group of officers and troops. Seeing that everyone was silent, Yu Zhilong immediately reminded.

"Not bad!" Wu Side straightened up and said, "There is no need to continue to search forward now, everyone hurry back and talk back to Leader Zhao, just in case, you have to divide people and report to the big boss at the same time!" ”

"That's right! That being the case, Ma Face, the two of us are the fastest, take a shortcut and report to the big boss, Brother Side, you first meet Brother Zhao, and if it is possible on the road, you will touch the details of this batch of officers and soldiers. God willing, it's still too late! ”

After Yu Zhilong finished speaking, he agreed with a numb face, got on the horse and galloped with Yu Zhilong, chose a shortcut, and went straight to the direction of Yuan's hometown. Wu Side and the others tidied up their saddle bridles and immediately returned along the way, striving to join Zhao Shi as soon as possible.

Now that the number and type of this Yuan army have been preliminarily judged, if Yu Hai is not fully prepared, facing such a large cavalry team can be completely defeated by it with only one charge. Without an intact defensive formation, the cavalry could drive at will, charging repeatedly, and the infantry would essentially be slaughtered. Thinking of the possible ending, everyone's hearts followed the fire.

Yu Zhilong quickly whipped his horse, and the numb-faced horse Rulong followed closely behind, seeing that the sky had arrived, Yu Da Dangjia should have led the team to set off at this time, although the Yuan army made a detour, but after all, nearly an hour had passed, and the other party was a man and two horses, faster than himself, so he could only beg the Yuan army to rest for a while!

What to do? What to do? Yu Zhilong's brain felt like it was about to explode.

Mao, Yuan's hometown.

After receiving a report from the Tanma in front that everything was normal, Yu Hai ordered the brigade that had already been assembled to set off in turn. All the baggage and seriously wounded were loaded on carts and arranged in the middle of the ranks.

"Dad, I took the front team and Uncle Liu to set off first." Yu Shichang rode out of the front team with a knife on his horse and said hello to Yu Hai.

"Shichang, you have to contact Zhao Baihu more along the way, and everything has to be up to Brother Liu." Brother Liu is Liu Zhengfeng, a thousand households in the front team, and this march is the head of the front team. Liu Zhengfeng is experienced, and Yu Hai puts his front team at the front, so he should be relieved.

"Daddy, don't worry, my brother won't be reckless!" A young girl with a shiny braid, a redwood, and a smile like a flower came out next to her, "But, Daddy, you can't let my brother carry wine on him!" Otherwise, it will definitely be a mistake! ”

"Nonsense! How could I be mistaken? Yu Shichang's face turned red all of a sudden, his body unconsciously turned back, and he moved a gourd hanging on the saddle behind him, glaring at this sister. Don't get in the way here, go take care of our mother and Aunt Liu! ”

The aunt of the Liu family is Liu Zhengfeng's daughter-in-law, since the incident, her body has been weak, and she is frightened, and she has had a fever recently.

As he was talking, Liu Zhengfeng followed, nodded at Yu Hai, and said: "Big boss, this time we are mostly hilly all the way, and the speed will not be too fast. You take the squadron and the baggage, and take care of it in the center, but you are the most worried. ”

"I'll lead the team myself, and your family will leave it to me. Lan'er, listen to your brother, go and take care of your mother and the aunt of the Liu family. Yu Lan said crisply, said goodbye to Yu Hai and Liu Zhengfeng, and turned around.

Yu Hai looked at the front team that was being pulled, and the movement of more than 1,000 people was not small. The streets were lined up in the order of march, and in addition to the combatants, the most important thing was the families of the soldiers and the baggage such as food. As a mobile rebel army, there were basically no heavy objects such as jars and jars, and the mules and horses in the team were mainly used to carry the old and young, the wounded and food. After more than a year of fighting, due to injuries, illness, and fatigue, the number of remaining mules and horses was no longer enough to use, and many large carts still needed to be pulled by people.

Yu Hai looked at the sky again, the sun had already revealed the horizon, and the fiery red morning glow sprinkled on the autumn fields, as if gilding the mountains with a layer of gold. The front team was leaving the village, Liu Zhengfeng and Yu Shichang rushed to the head of the team after greeting each other, and the follow-up people and horses drove in turn, and everything seemed to be in order.

"As long as you cross the Qingshui River and get rid of the old thief Meng, everything will be easy!" Yu Hai didn't consider Yu Zhilong's proposal, but more leaders thought that Yidu Road was densely populated, rich in products, easy to raise food on the spot, and most of them were locals. Therefore, as soon as several big leaders in Yu Hai were combined, they still broke through the encirclement and suppression, and operated in the Yidu Road area as much as possible.

The brigade marched all the way, men, horses and vehicles winding up and down the mountain road, and the length of the line stretched at least five miles long. Yuan's hometown is relatively remote, and there is no serious official road to follow. Clusters of trees grow on the hillside along the roadside, and the occasional hare and pheasant can be seen in the grass, and the chirping of startled chickadees in the forest.

The sun gradually rises into the sky, and the mountain breeze blows, bringing a warm breath. The procession had been marching for about two hours and had come to a place called Liugou.

The brigade moved forward, and the scouts on the front and right flanks were rewarded from time to time, and everything was normal, but the scouts on the left flank reported only once and there was no more news. Yu Hai saw that the faces of the marchers began to appear sluggish, and began to consider whether to find a place to rest first, and suddenly saw the sound of horses' hooves in front of him, and rushed over to the two horses in a hurry.

"Report, urgent military situation!" The two horses were close, and Yu Hai recognized that the current one was Yu Zhilong, and the one behind him was Ma Rulong.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" Ma Rulong shouted in the back.

"Report, urgent military situation!" Yu Zhilong's throat was thirsty as if it was about to smoke, and the two of them did not rest at all.

Galloping to Yu Hai's side, Yu Zhilong flew off the horse and reported the news to Yu Hai in a dumb voice.

"What!" When Yu Hai heard this news like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, he was a little stunned for a while.

"Big Boss, make a decision quickly!" Yu Zhilong knew that anyone would not wake up immediately when they heard this kind of news, so he continued, "Big Boss, now that we are completely exposed to the wild, there is no danger around us at all, it is estimated that Yuan Qi has arrived nearby, it is impossible for so many of us to hide without being discovered!" Whether it's going to go or fighting, you pay attention! ”

Yu Hai quickly came back to his senses, barely suppressed his thumping mood, thought about it, and said to the few guards around him: "You immediately send Liu, Ma, Wan, and Xiahou over to discuss the matter, order the rear team and the front team to move closer to the squadron, and tell Liu Zhengfeng to send people to investigate everywhere, and you must find this group of cavalry!" Be careful, don't leak this news! Just whisper to a few thousand households! Tell them, come over as soon as possible! ”

Some of the people around, including Yu Hai's guards, were also dumbfounded when they heard Yu Zhilong's report, and as soon as Yu Hai spoke, several of his own soldiers immediately agreed, and rode on their horses and galloped to various places to give orders.

Yu Zhilong felt sore all over, and after saying the warning at this time, he and Ma Rulong held on to the saddle and gasped. Ma Rulong's legs were even weaker and trembling, and he almost sat on the ground. The two horses were so tired that they were foaming at the mouth and panting.

When Yu Hai was waiting for the leaders to discuss the matter, Yu Zhilong untied the water bladder, drank half of the water with a grunt, and handed it to Ma Rulong, Ma Rulong's face was not much better, and he took the water bladder and drank the water completely.

Yu Zhilong looked at the surrounding terrain, now the mountain road is mainly in the east-west direction, they are in the middle of a slope and a half, surrounded by large and small hills, on the left is an undulating hill, there is grass on the slope, few trees, on the right is a shallow stream more than ten zhang away, there is a small stream in the ditch. The road is relatively close to the ditch at the bottom of the slope, and on the opposite side of the ravine is a slope, on which are barren hills, not high, with sparse shrubs growing on the slopes, and occasionally scattered with large and small rocks.

Yu Zhilong thought for a while, and said to Haidao: "Big leader, it is impossible for us to get rid of the official army here, there is a steep slope on the right side all the way forward here, if I am not mistaken, the official army must have bypassed the north of the road, where the slope is gentle and dense, and it is not easy to be found, and we found that the Tartars killed all the passers-by they met along the way!" If we go to Lubei to explore the horses and do not return, it is estimated that there will be more luck than lucky. If you want to escape, I suggest that you let the old man and the women and children cross the stream and retreat to the opposite slope first! ”

Yu Hai pondered for a moment, agreed, and immediately ordered a personal soldier to lead the old people, women and children in the squadron to retreat to the opposite side.

After receiving the order, Liu Zhengfeng immediately returned with his foot soldiers to move closer to the squadron. The rebel army had few horses, except for scouts, leaders, and a small number of personal soldiers and heralds, the rest were basically foot soldiers. After the order was conveyed to the various detachments, the originally calm ranks were like boiling water, and the sound of gathering, shouting, and children crying came and went.

After the old and weak people in the middle took action, the vanguard had already reached the bottom of the ditch, and the leaders of each team had not all arrived at this time, and the mutation happened!