On this day, Liu Xiu took care of the crops in the field, and then went to the mountains and forests to continue practicing martial arts.

Since meeting the two 'robbers' that day, Liu Xiu realized that his skills were still far behind, and he practiced diligently.

During this time, Liu Liang's family can say that everything is lacking, and the most important thing is firewood.

Because of Liu Xiu's martial arts practice, at the beginning, he could only cut down a small tree half a person thick every day, and then gradually he was able to cut down a big tree more than one person thick a day.

Naturally, he chopped down trees into firewood.

Seeing Liu Xiu carrying a lot of firewood home every day, Liu Liang was quite happy at first, but as Liu Xiu carried back a large pile of firewood day after day, there was so much firewood at home that there was no place to put it or put it.

Liu Liang deliberately found Liu Xiu and said meaningfully: "Ah Xiu, you are tired enough to work in the field every day, you don't need to chop so much wood every day, let yourself rest." ”

After Liu Xiu heard this, he just laughed and didn't speak, and after that, he really stopped carrying firewood to his home, and all the chopped firewood was stored near the cabin.

It had been nearly a month since Long Yuan left, and Liu Xiu's arm and foot strength had improved considerably, and now he could cut down a tree the thickness of a person with an axe in less than an hour.

Of course, after this hour, Liu Xiu's clothes were almost soaked with sweat.

On this day, after cutting down a tree, Liu Xiu was sitting on the stump resting, preparing to chop the fallen tree for a while, when there was a rustling faint footstep behind him.

Liu Xiu almost subconsciously reacted to get up from the stump, took advantage of the situation to hold the axe erected on the side, and looked back, only to see a man in tattered clothes and a beard walking towards him.

He looked closely, and it took him a while to recognize the person who came, this man who looked like a victim of the disaster, it was Long Yuan, who had been away for a month.

After Liu Xiu recognized him, he exclaimed in surprise and joy: "Uncle Zhong, you are back!" ”

Long Yuan, who was dusty and sloppy, first flicked the dust on his body, and then walked quickly to Liu Xiu's approach, bowed to the ground, and said, "Lord, my subordinates are back!" ”

Liu Xiu pulled him and said in a loud voice: "Sit down, sit down!" He asked Long Yuan to sit on the stump and asked, "Uncle Zhong, have you found Long Zhun and Long Xiao on this trip?" ”

Long Yuan shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Although I couldn't find the two of them, I found the mark they left for me in Lantian County, and I also left a mark for the two of them, as long as they see it, they will come here to find me." ”

Liu Xiu sighed, feeling a little disappointed.

First, he is very curious about Long Zhun and Long Xiao, and second, in order to achieve great things, there must be a group of trustworthy people around him, Long Zhun and Long Xiao are Long Yuan's brothers, so they can naturally be used for their own use.

It's a pity that Long Yuan went to Lantian County this time in vain, and failed to bring Long Zhun and Long Xiao back.

Liu Xiu suddenly remembered something and asked, "Uncle Zhong, have you heard that Wang Mang sent Lian Dan to lead an army of 100,000 to enter Yizhou to fight back against the Nanban?" ”

Long Yuan nodded and said, "My subordinates have heard a little. ”

Liu Xiu said: "In addition to the 100,000 army led by Lian Dan, Wang Mang also wants to form a 100,000 rebel army, my eldest brother plans to join the rebel army, and I want to go too!" ”

Long Yuan took a breath, frowned slightly, and said, "Lord, isn't participating in the righteous army tantamount to helping the reckless thief?" ”

Liu Xiu shook his head and told Long Yuan what happened, and then he said: "My eldest brother thinks that joining the rebel army this time is a good opportunity to make money, and I also think that this opportunity should not be missed. ”

"I see." Long Yuan nodded thoughtfully, if he wanted to overthrow Wang Mang's tyranny, he would definitely not be able to have no money in his hand, he said with a straight face: "The lord is going to Yizhou, and his subordinates should follow the lord and go together!" ”

Liu Xiu smiled, patted Long Yuan on the shoulder, and said, "My uncle and eldest brother are against me going, and we will have to go secretly then." As he spoke, he looked at Long Yuan and asked, "You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Let's go, let's cook! ”

Back at the cabin, Liu Xiu asked Long Yuan in detail about the trip.

Long story short.

Two days later, Liu Xuan said goodbye to his family, carried his bags, and took a group of his friends to Yizhou.

There are really a lot of people who followed Liu Xuan, in addition to Zhang Ping and Zhu Yun, who were inseparable from him, there were more than 20 people.

In their group, only Liu Xuan's equipment is relatively complete, I don't know where he got a set of leather helmets and leather armor, and a short sword hanging under his ribs, this is all Liu Xuan's expedition.

His equipment is the most complete in the team. Most of them didn't even have a decent weapon, let alone armor, either with a scythe at their waist or a hoe on their shoulders.

In fact, it is understandable, but as long as the family has a little money and can get by, who wants to go to Yizhou and fight with the Nanban?

Nanyang County is next to Yizhou, Caiyang County is closer to Yizhou, more than 50 miles west is Xiangyang, and then 50 miles west is Hanzhong County of Yizhou.

During Wang Mang's reign, the place names of the whole country were changed again, which was very chaotic, and Xiangyang was also changed to Xiangyang, but among the people, it was still customary to be commensurate with Xiangyang.

Xiangyang is one of the gathering places of the rebels, and the destination of Liu Jiu and others is to go to Xiangyang. It was only fifty miles away, and they could easily walk it in one day.

Liu Xuan and the others set off at more than half of the hour, that is, at more than four o'clock in the morning. At this time, it was still dark, and when it was about five o'clock in the morning, the sky was bright.

As he was walking forward, a young man quickly caught up with Liu Xuan in front of him and said, "Brother Bosheng, there have been two people following us all the time, could it be the eyeliner of the nearby bandits?" ”

There is a great drought in the world, the people are struggling to make a living, there are many people who fall into the grass, and there are incidents of killing people and stealing goods from time to time in various places.

Hearing that they might have encountered bandits, Liu Xuan and the others were not only not afraid, but also came to their senses. Zhu Yun grinned and said, "Hehe, this time it's fun, before we go to Yizhou, we can practice with the bandits first!" ”

These people who follow Liu Xuan are idle and idle ruffians on weekdays, and they have no other skills, fighting and brawling is a top trick, listening to Zhu Yun's words, everyone's eyes brightened, rolled up their arms, rolled up their sleeves, and looked at Liu Xuan with a brush, looking eager to try.

Liu Jiu snorted, and said to the woods on the side of the road in front of him, "Wait for us to ambush in the woods in front of us, see clearly who the people who are following us, and then decide whether to do it or not." ”

Everyone looked at Liu Xuan's horse, and when he finished speaking, everyone nodded in unison. The group led by Liu Xuan suddenly quickened their pace, and in a short time, they had already walked near the woods.

At Liu Xuan's signal, everyone immediately divided into two groups, one to the left and one to the right, and hid in the woods at an extremely fast speed.

The two people walking behind them also seemed to notice that Liu Xuan and his party had suddenly disappeared, and they both quickened their pace.

When the two of them walked to the front of the woods, suddenly, they heard a whistle in the forest, followed by a hula, Liu Jiu and the others all rushed out and surrounded the two of them.

Seeing the appearance of the two of them clearly, everyone was dumbfounded, and Liu Xuan exclaimed: "Ah Xiu? ”

Behind Liu Xiu and the others were Liu Xiu and Long Yuan. Liu Xiu glanced around at everyone, cleared his throat with some embarrassment, first bowed to his eldest brother, and then met Zhang Ping, Zhu Yun and others.

Liu Xiu quickly calmed down from the shock, and he knew Liu Xiu's purpose for following them without asking. He asked with a calm face, "Ah Xiu, did you sneak out?" ”

With his uncle's temper, it is impossible to let Ah Xiu join the rebel army. Even if he was going to join the rebel army, his uncle came from home and made a lot of trouble.

"Hmm." Sure enough, Liu Xiu nodded and whispered, "Big brother, I have left letters for my uncle, aunt and little sister!" ”

Liu Xuan pursed his lips and said, "Didn't I say it, you can't follow us to Yizhou, you have to stay and take care of your little sister!" ”

Liu Xiu Zhengse said: "Big brother, my little sister has an uncle and aunt to take care of, so she doesn't need me at all!" ”

Seeing that Liu Xuan was still refusing, he hurriedly said: "Big brother, I have run out now, and I have left a letter, and my uncle must have seen it, now go back, my uncle will definitely not spare me!" What's more, it is only natural that my brother and I will go to Yizhou to join the rebel army in battle. As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Zhang Ping and Zhu Yun, who were most familiar, and winked at the two of them.

Zhang Ping and Zhu Yun were both amused by Liu Xiu's appearance, and said to Liu Xiu: "Bosheng, we are going to Yizhou, there are officers and soldiers to fight in the big battle, we just need to fight, there is no danger, let Ah Xiu go, not to mention that with our brothers taking care of Ah Xiu, Bosheng has nothing to worry about." ”

"Yes, big brother, I'm not a child anymore, I'm already twenty years old, just let me go!" Liu Xiu looked at Liu Xiu expectantly.

Liu Xuan frowned, and refused in a deep voice: "No! You'll be right back for me! ”

Liu Xiu said with a sad face: "Big brother, it may not be safer at home than in Yizhou, have you forgotten what happened last time?" ”

He was reminding Liu Xuan that he almost died at the hands of two 'bandits' last time. Hearing this, Liu Xuan's face really changed, and his attitude became less resolute than just now.

He took a deep breath and said quietly, "Do you think war is child's play? It's really going to die! ”

"Big brother, I have the ability to protect myself!" Liu Xiu said urgently.

"Are you capable?" Liu Xuan was almost angry, even he didn't dare to say that he would be safe on the battlefield, let alone Ah Xiu?

"I don't care! I'm already out anyway, and I won't just go back if I kill me! In front of Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu has always been a very obedient and sensible little brother, and this time he is a rare trick.

Looking at Liu Xiu's determined look, Liu Xiu thought about it for a long time, and finally compromised, and said: "This time to join the rebel army, no matter what you are allowed to do, you have to listen to me, do you understand?" ”