Li Hongji looked up at the sky, it was not yet the hour, if he stayed on the snow for most of the night, it was indeed possible to freeze, he couldn't make up his mind for a while, and shook it at will, hoping to warm his legs and feet, not wanting to be careless, tripping over the corpse under his feet, falling heavily on the snow, and putting his right hand on the upper body of the corpse.

"Yes," Li Hongji pinched on the corpses, "Double Happiness, let's peel off some more padded jackets from these corpses, and then go to the forest to find a shelter from the wind." ”

"Second uncle, I understand." Li Guo helped Li Hongji up, and without waiting for him to speak again, he quickly peeled off seven or eight cotton jackets from the corpse, hugged them in his arms, followed Li Hongji to the depths of the forest, stopped in a mountain nest, first spread three or four cotton jackets on the snow, and the two sat on the cotton jackets, and ate some dry food in the snow.

Li Hongji took the remaining padded jacket, covered his body, lay down in his clothes, and saw that Li Guo was still counting the stars that could not be seen in the sky, so he smiled miserably, and said: "Double happiness, don't think about it too much, go to bed early, and you have to hurry tomorrow." ”

"Hmm." Li Guo also got into the cotton jacket in his kimono and lay down against Li Hongji, and after a long time, there was a uniform snoring sound.

…………………………………………

The farther west, the colder the weather becomes, although the sun hangs in the sky, it seems to be as cold as the moonlight, the snow on the ground has not yet melted, the wild is full of silver, a piece of white, endlessly, if you come to travel, you can see a rare trapezoidal snow scene.

In front is Haoweishui, beyond Haoweishui, it is the boundary of Lanzhou, which is already the edge of Shaanxi, as long as you pass Lanzhou, you don't have to worry about the government of Shaanxi.

Ho Mi is now completely covered in snow and the river is completely pedestrian-friendly, but there is still a small stone bridge over the river, which is to facilitate pedestrians to cross the river during ice-free periods.

Perhaps because of the sunshine, there are a lot of people on the official road today, and there are dozens of people queuing up in front of the small stone bridge.

"Second uncle, what's wrong with the front?" Li Guo stopped, stood at the end of the line, bent down and looked forward, but the line was too long, and he only saw officers and soldiers, but he couldn't see what they were checking.

"It seems to be checking the road guide," Li Hongji knew that he was in trouble, the Ming merchants and people went out, and they had to carry the road guide issued by the local government, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, this system existed in name only, but in case of major things, it was still necessary to check it, and the government checked the road guide, and the law has a basis, no one can object, he originally had a road guide, but the name marked on the road guide is "Li Hongji", of course it can't be used now, "Double happiness you and wait a while, I'll go to the front to see." ”

"Second uncle...... Li Guo was worried that Li Hongji would be arrested by officers and soldiers, "It's better for me to go!" ”

"Don't worry, I know it." Li Hongji walked slowly along the crowd, came to the middle of the line, and saw that someone was scolding, so he stepped forward and asked: "This road was not checked before, why do you want to check it today?" ”

"Who's to say it isn't?" A bald man scolded, "I heard that it is investigating Mongolian spies, this is not easy, let everyone say a word, if the Chinese language is not smooth, it is a Mongolian spy." ”

Li Hongji smiled secretly, so that the spies can be found? But it's not a way to find a way, if it's really a spy, who wouldn't have a legal identity? But it said: "Damn Mongolian spies! ”

At this time, Li Hongji saw that the officers and soldiers who were checking the passers-by took out some broken silver from a package and stuffed it into his pocket unceremoniously, "These silver should be used as military salaries!" ”

"Master Jun, this is the hope of the villain's whole family for a year, you can't ......"

"Don't be verbose, now that the Mongols have infiltrated and refuse to help the army, are you the Mongolian spies?" The officers and soldiers laughed, and patted the steel knife hanging on their waists, "If it weren't for our Qingshui Fort, the Mongols would have come in a long time ago, not to mention this bit of silver, even a small life could not be saved." ”

"Master Jun, the villain is willing to help, please ask the master of the army, leave half of the villain, the villain's whole family is still counting on this bit of silver to live...... Please, military master. ”

"I don't know what to live or die!" The officer and soldier were furious, flew up with a kick, hit the man's heart, kicked him to the ground, and then stepped on it before he relieved his hatred, and said to the people behind: "You can't get by?" Where's your guide? Take it out! ”

Li Hongji shook his head, the officers and soldiers were as fierce as tigers, but unfortunately, their bravery was not on the battlefield against the Mongols, but in the face of the people who raised him, because there was no way to guide him, he was about to turn back, and he was worried that the officers and soldiers would find out the clues, but he found that a carriage was coming from behind, the car was running fast, and the chariot was beating the horses while shouting: "The governor's special car, who dares to be in charge, miss the errand, be careful and can't afford to eat!" ”

Pedestrians dodged one after another, making way for the carriage, and the officers and men did not dare to step forward when they looked at the people who were driving the carriage, and allowed the carriage to rush by.

Li Hongji flashed forward, took the opportunity to retreat, pulled Li Guo, and hid behind a small hill, "Double happiness, we can't go now, we can only cross the bridge at night when the officers and soldiers withdraw!" ”

"That's all there is to it!" Li Guo sat down on the slope and took out the fried wheat in his arms, "Second uncle, let's eat first." ”

When the wheat was fried, some salt was put in it, and there was no need for side dishes when eating, so the two of them ate and drank enough on the snow on the hillside, and then fell asleep on the snow again.

It was already dark, and the earth seemed to be shrouded in a huge black net, because it was the end of the month, and there was no moonlight at all, only the snow on the side of the road, which reflected a little glimmer.

Li Hongji turned over and got up, and slowly approached the small stone bridge with Li Guo.

The whistling northwest wind covered up the faint sound of footsteps, and when he reached the vicinity of the small stone bridge, Li Hongji squatted down, lying on the snow, and saw by the faint light that the barricades on the small stone bridge were still there, and he was immediately taken aback: Could it be that the officers and soldiers also check the road guide at night? After a moment of thought, he grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, formed a ball, and threw it in front of the barricade.

With a "whoosh", the snow mass submerged into the snow, and soon disappeared in the whirring cold wind.

"Who?" A broken cry sounded from behind the barricade, and two vague figures appeared at the west end of the small stone bridge, and the frozen snow was trampled to a "creaking" sound.

Li Hongji and Li Guo crouched on the snow, not daring to move.

"Probably the snow on the branches of the trees is falling, how can there be pedestrians when the lights are so dark? Even ghosts won't patronize ......"

"Damn, it's a cold day, and I still have to guard here, and I can't even find a hot quilt...... Okay, okay, don't say any more, beware of the Mongol spies......"

Calm returned to the small stone bridge, except for the growing northwesterly winds and the faint cracking sound of the snow as it froze.

There was no way forward, so the two could only climb back along the same road.

"Second uncle, when I was queuing up during the day, I saw clearly that this is a small river, and the officers and soldiers set up checkpoints on the bridge, and we will pass over the river."

With the current temperature, the river is not only human, it is estimated that the war horses can pass, Li Hongji nodded, the two of them slowly walked north for more than two miles, and then went down to the river, Li Hongji explored the road in front, and the ice and snow on the river surface were really very strong.

"Double happiness, hurry up, just cross the river." Li Hongji had walked this road before, and he knew that there was a piece of farmland on the opposite bank, and beyond the farmland, there were two narrow hills, and the canyon sandwiched between the two hills was about more than ten miles, and he could avoid the checkpoints set up by the officers and soldiers.

Suddenly, Li Hongji made an "oops", followed by a series of cracking sounds, and finally a "poof", a big hole appeared in the ice, and Li Hongji fell into the water.

Fortunately, the river was not deep, not up to his neck, and Li Hongji's feet landed on the ground and lay on the ice floe.

"Second Uncle......" Li Guo knew that something was wrong, and he came over in the dark and wanted to pull Li Hongji up.

"I'm fine, don't come here!" Li Hongji said hurriedly, he seemed to have heard the sound of cracking from the ice break again, if Li Guo came over rashly, not only could he not save himself, but he would inevitably accompany himself for ice swimming.

"Did the second uncle fall overboard?" I can't see clearly in the dark, Li Guo estimated that Li Hongji fell into the water, such a cold day......

"Well, the ice is broken, the horse is skimming, someone must have chiseled ice for water or ice fishing, otherwise the ice will not suddenly become thinner!" Li Hongji was cold, but he still whispered: "Don't come here, I can go up by myself!" ”

The cotton jacket and cotton pants were filled with water, and they increased by 100 catties at once, and it was very difficult to come up by themselves, as long as they hit the ice, the fracture immediately shattered, and after tossing for nearly half an hour, Li Hongji's hands and feet were unconscious, and only then did he climb ashore with the assistance of Li Guo.

At this time, it is about midnight, and there is no store in front of the village, where can I find dry clothes? Li Hongji gritted his teeth, "Double happiness, let's cross the river in another place, cross the river and run for a while, and our bodies will be warmer." ”

Li Guo didn't agree at first, but there was really no better way, if he found a sheltered place to stop, his soaked clothes would soon freeze, so the two had to change places to discredit the river, this time Li Guo was exploring the way in front.

Step by step, he carefully moved his steps, testing the ice in front of him, but fortunately there was no more breakage, and they crossed the Haowei River safely.

Li Hongji repeatedly identified the path, and finally found which path in the valley, and the two ran wildly.

But the valley is inaccessible, the snow is very thick, Li Hongji's cotton jacket and pants are almost soaked, which is equivalent to carrying dozens of pounds of heavy objects, the journey of the two is not fast, to dawn, but after more than ten miles, it can be out of the canyon.

Although Li Guo was a little tired, he could still hold on, looking at Li Hongji's body, as if covered with a layer of mist, "Second uncle, we have already left the valley, let's find out, if there is anyone nearby, change your clothes first, and then talk about it, if you continue like this, you will definitely get sick." ”

Li Hongji's body was extremely heavy, fatigue and hunger and cold, he could barely speak, and could only nod his head mechanically.

After a long walk, there was a gentle slope in the middle of the valley, and there were several thatched huts on the north side, the roofs were covered with thick snow, and only gray-yellow mud walls could be seen.