Shangluo Mountain is hundreds of miles in circumference, the mountains are high and the valleys are deep, it is the peaceful years, and there are many robbers who occupy the mountains as kings in this mountain. Because of the rugged roads and complex terrain, there are fewer people going to the government, and it is easy to be ambushed by thieves. Therefore, the government is rare, or even at all, will take the initiative to go into the mountains to crusade against these thieves.

However, this time, He Dalong was still ready to lead his troops into the mountain. This is not because he completely believes the words of the guy named Wang Enyi, but because he really has to go. News came from the imperial court, saying that the governor Sun Baigu had just been imprisoned by the emperor because of his ineffective suppression of bandits. It is said that the reason why he was imprisoned was that he "let go of the thief Huang Zide". And He Dalong was on the way to King Qin, and he was not able to restrain his subordinates, and there was a mutiny in the army, so that he could not go to King Qin at all. When such a thing happened, He Dalong was naturally worried about whether the imperial court would hold him accountable. If you can catch one or two "thieves" at this time, then it should be enough to keep your wealth by attributing your merits.

It's just that what Wang Enyi said is really how to listen to it, how unreliable. There was an epidemic in the old camp of the thief army, and the people in charge and those who could fight fell ill one after another, and the soldiers also fell ill a lot. Now I can't fight or run. As long as he leads the troops to kill him, it will immediately be a great credit - how can there be such a cheap good thing in the world? And at this time, he has a lot less troops in his hands, and there are naturally fewer scouts to be sent, and when he enters the mountains, it is easy to be ambushed.

Therefore, even if he had to enter the mountain, He Dalong felt that he still needed to make more preparations. However, he still felt that he should take a risk, because he knew that after Huang Zide's last big defeat, the remaining troops must be very limited, as long as he was a little careful, even if there was an ambush, Huang Zide would not be able to eat him. It's just that the more soldiers, the better. He personally went to see Yu Zhengyan, the prefect of Luonan, hoping that Yu Zhengyan could temporarily transfer Luonan's 4,000 guards to him for command. However, Yu Zhengyan is not particularly enthusiastic about this, because although he is also eager to make meritorious contributions, after all, he does not have the pressure of guilt like He Dalong. Like He Dalong, he also felt that what Wang Enyi said was too pleasant, maybe it was the death of the rogue. If this battle is successful, he will naturally have merit, but if he loses, won't he make a sin for himself? It wasn't until later, when He Dalong showed full sincerity, that Yu Zhengyan agreed to lend him 3,000 men and horses.

However, the day before he was about to send troops, Yu Zhengyan repented again, because he heard that someone in the south had raised the banner of Huang Zide. Therefore, he had to leave these 3,000 troops behind to ensure that the city was foolproof.

He Dalong had no choice but to go to see Yu Zhengyan again, assuring him that Huang Zide had been seriously injured and had absolutely no strength to attack Luonan, so he even showed some sincerity to make Yu Zhengyan agree to transfer troops, but the number was reduced by half, and only 1,500 people remained. Coupled with the army that He Dalong himself gathered at this time, the total strength reached 4,000. Then He Dalong led them into the mountain.

……

"Dao Chief, you know how to tell hexagrams, right?" When the team rushing to reinforce was taking a break on the road, Liu Erhu, who came with him, suddenly asked.

"I understand a little." Xuan Yi replied with a smile.

"Then you calculate, can we grab the front of He Dalong?" Liu Erhu smiled, and his slightly upturned eyebrows were still a little unconvinced.

"Erhu, what kind of mess are you messing around!" Liu Jiexuan, who was sitting on the side drinking water, put down the kettle in his hand and scolded.

"This matter doesn't need to be counted, we will definitely be able to get ahead of He Dalong." Xuan Yi smiled.

"Why? He Dalong has a much closer path than we do. Dang Shouyi, who had been worried about this matter, hurriedly asked.

Xuan Yi smiled and said, "General Party, this is easy to figure out." Do you think, if you are He Dalong, and suddenly such a person comes to you and tells you that he knows where Mrs. and them are, and that they have an epidemic in the army, and they can't fight, and they can't leave, what would you think? ”

"Damn, how can there be such a good thing in the world? If I were He Dalong, my first reaction would be that this guy was a spy who wanted to trick me into the mountains! They definitely want to ambush me in the mountains. Before Dang Shouyi could figure it out, Liu Jiexuan spoke first.

"Then General Liu, if it were you, what would you do?" Xuan Yi asked again.

Xuan Yi knew that the question raised by Liu Erhu did have the meaning of taking the school examination, but it was also in line with his mind, and he just behaved in front of these people to determine his image as a wise man.

"I, I probably slaughtered Wang Enyi with one sword, and I won't go into the mountain at all." Liu Jiexuan said.

Xuan Yi smiled and said, "What General Liu said is also a good way. However, now He Dalong is guilty, and I am afraid that he is also anxious to take some credit. Just like that, he didn't move, but he was afraid that He Dalong would not be reconciled. He Dalong felt that our army was newly defeated, and there would not be too many people left, so he might still dare to enter the mountain. But he certainly didn't dare to take a few hundred family members into the mountain. Therefore, Poor Dao estimated that he would definitely go to the prefect of Luonan and borrow some soldiers and horses. If he could gather three or four thousand people, he would probably dare to enter the mountain. Of course, even so, when he enters the mountain, he must be very careful and very slow, so as not to fall into an ambush. So he's closer, but we're sure we'll get ahead of him. ”

"But, if he moves slowly like this, isn't he afraid that we will run away?" Dang Shouyi asked.

"Of course not. What Wang Ende said was either true or false. If that's true, they delay a little bit, and you won't be able to run away. If it's false, he's right to be careful. Xuan Yi replied.

"Isn't he worried about us coming?" Liu Erhu asked again.

"He's not worried, and maybe even wants to. He estimated that four or five thousand of us, and a few hundred of our families, would be enough to deal with the remnants of our defeated army. We're all here, and his credit is greater. Xuan Yi explained.

"Phew! He wants to be beautiful! Liu Erhu said.

"Okay, enough rest, let's go, let's go!" Liu Jiexuan stood up and said.

……

In fact, as Xuan Yi deduced, although the road they had to walk was nearly twice as long as He Dalong's, they still preemptively found Shang Xiuying's department.

Shang Xiuying had already been alerted before this, so she had also moved south at this time. happened to meet Xuan Yi and others head-on. Even at such a critical moment, Shang Xiuying did not leave behind those sick numbers, she had some stretchers made, put them on horses, and put those heavy soldiers on them, and other sick ones who were in better condition reluctantly followed with the support of others.

"Sister-in-law, you, are you sick too?" Liu Jiexuan was taken aback when he saw Shang Xiuying, Shang Xiuying had obviously lost a circle, but her face was abnormally red.

"It's a little feverish, but it's out of the way." Shang Xiuying replied, but the fatigue in her voice could not be concealed. This is actually normal, in the battle of Tongguan, she waved the banner of Huang Zide to cover Huang Zide's breakthrough. The officers and soldiers naturally regarded the old battalion she brought with them as their first target. Most of the old battalions were old, weak, sick and disabled, and their combat effectiveness was already limited, if it weren't for the fact that the officers and soldiers later found out that they were just bait, Shang Xiuying and they would definitely not have been able to escape from the encirclement. But even so, the old camp still suffered heavy losses. In the end, there were only about a hundred people left who broke through with Shang Xiuying, and most of them were injured. After that, they did not settle down, but hid everywhere, and the pressure of this is naturally not something that ordinary people can bear. Now that there is an epidemic in the camp again, Shang Xiuying is actually infected with the disease, although she is still holding on, but how long she can last, even she doesn't know.

"Dao Chief, Dao Chief, you go over to see your sister-in-law and other brothers." Liu Jiexuan hurriedly turned around and greeted Xuan Yi. Then he turned his head and introduced to Shang Xiuying: "This is Daoist Xuanyi, our savior. Daoist Xuan Yi was also proficient in medical skills, and when he heard that there was an epidemic in the camp, he followed him. ”

Xuan Yi stepped forward to salute Shang Xiuying, and then said, "Please Madame stretch out her hand." ”

Shang Xiuying knew that Xuan Yi was going to diagnose his pulse, so he said, "The clumsy man has helped him." I don't have anything, so I'd better go and see the others first. Michigan, please come with me. With that, she turned and showed him the way.

Liu Jiexuan walked over and said to Xuan Yi: "When you get here, you will listen to your sister-in-law." Sister-in-law is like this. Erhu and I went to arrange defense. ”

"Hmm." Xuan Yi nodded and followed......

Xuan Yi gave a few generals a pulse, then stood up and said to the party who was following him: "General party, I roughly know what is going on with this disease. I guess the rest of the soldiers should be similar. I'll start with a rough outline. The mule in the back carried some medicinal herbs on their backs, and the names were written on them, and you asked people to prepare the medicinal materials according to this list first, and then I showed them to the others, and if there was any difference, I would prescribe another prescription. ”

Then he said to Shang Xiuying, who was following him: "Madam, you also go and rest for a while, the medicine will be decocted for a while, everyone will drink it, and you have to hurry." ”

Shang Xiuying and Dang Shouyi hurriedly responded, Xuan Yi wrote a list first, and Dang Shouyi went to arrange to take the medicine and prepare the decoction. Shang Xiuying saw that the situation here had stabilized, so she found a place to sit and rest. Xuan Yi continued to work on each of the patient numbers and slightly modified the original list. Then hand it to the soldier who followed next to him. Soon in the makeshift resting place, a smell of medicine wafted up.

……

He Dalong led 4,000 men and horses to advance cautiously through the mountains. If there was any valley or forest ahead, he had to send scouts to make sure there was no enemy ambush before passing through. Finally, he led people to the position that Wang Ende said. Of course, there is no one here at this point, but there are still many traces of how they once stayed here.