Zhu Ling's defeat made Yuan Xi have the urge to scold his mother, and the loss of 50,000 horses was still secondary, mainly because it had a serious impact on the morale of the army. This side just vowed to remove the "tumor" of the imperial court, and the imperial court over there was a stone hammer, which smashed Yuan Xi's eyes a little golden.

Yuan Xi knew that the fault for the defeat in this battle was not all Zhu Ling, and at the moment, Zhu Ling's life and death were uncertain, even if he wanted to pursue it, he couldn't find the right master. But the impact of this incident was too serious, and it was difficult to convince the public without punishment, and Zhu Ling's family members who stayed in Yecheng were also thrown into prison. Although Yuan Xi privately explained that he could not embarrass Zhu Ling's family, except for a few insiders who knew about it, most people thought that Zhu Ling was finished this time, and even if he returned to Hebei alive, there would be no good fruit to eat.

At this time, Zhu Ling, who did not know that his family was already in prison, was trying to evade the search of the Han army and tried to return to Hebei to be ashamed.

Zhou Yu, Lu Su and many officials in Qingzhou were a little lacking in morality, and in order to catch Zhu Ling, they took out heavy rewards and induced those ordinary people who nested at home in the winter during the farming slack to go out in groups to search for Zhu Ling. There is a way that is a sake red face, and the wealth is moving, and if you catch the living Zhu Ling, you will be rewarded with a thousand times, and if you catch it to death, you will be rewarded with a hundred times. For example, if the money is always equal to a thousand dollars in the Hereafter, a thousand times that is a million. It can be said that as long as Zhu Ling is caught, let alone this life, there is no need to worry about the next life.

There will be brave men under the reward! Countless people who were moved by the heavy reward took action, ganged up and acted in groups, fortified layer by layer on Zhu Ling's return to Hebei, and intercepted him step by step.

Zhu Ling was bitter, he was alone after breaking out of the ambush circle of the Han army, in order to get rid of the pursuers behind him, Zhu Ling had to dismount and walk, and the unlucky war horse called Zhu Ling's injury fled in the opposite direction to Zhu Ling. lost the war horse that traveled on his behalf, and Zhu Ling's range of activities was also reduced, so in order not to let people recognize his identity, Zhu Ling kicked open the door of a family.

"Don't shout! Whoever shouts will kill whom! Zhu Ling said with a fierce look threatening to a young couple living here.

The young couple looked at the steel knife in Zhu Ling's hand, and wisely chose to obey, while secretly guessing the identity of the other party in their hearts. Zhu Ling didn't care about this, he was hungry, except for eating a little before attacking the Han army's water village, and then he didn't eat water.

"Go get some food." Zhu Ling instructed the young woman.

……

There is nothing delicious in the ordinary farmer's house, but for Zhu Ling, who is hungry, a pot of corn and a plate of pickles is already a rare delicacy. Hungry people eat everything deliciously! So for those who always say that they have no appetite, in fact, they don't need to take any medicine, and they will eat it after two days of starvation.

After filling his stomach and drinking half a jar of cold water, Zhu Ling wiped his mouth, pointed a knife at the young couple standing not far away, and said, "Take off your clothes." ”

Hearing Zhu Ling's order, the husband in the young couple looked depressed, but the wife looked angry, but before she could be angry at Zhu Ling, her husband preemptively persuaded her: "Lady, bear with it, your life is at stake." ”

"You!" When the wife heard this, she couldn't help but be angry and disappointed, and she raised her hand to beat her husband.

"What are you two arguing about? You, undress! Zhu Ling opened his mouth and shouted, pointing the knife in his hand at the young man.

"Huh!?" The young man was shocked, but his wife was not angry at this time, but gloated a little, and persuaded her husband: "Husband, bear with me, your life is at stake." ”

This man may be really a wreck, greedy for life and afraid of death, even if he doesn't want to, but under the threat of the steel knife, he still took off his coat and pants, and just when he was about to continue to take it off, Zhu Ling shouted: "Stop!" Get out of the way and stand up! ”

Dare to love Zhu Ling only wants a man's clothes, not a man. Seeing Zhu Ling change into his own clothes, and start cutting his beard with a knife, the young man's face turned red, and he lowered his head and didn't dare to see anyone.

"Take it, what you can say and what you can't say, you must know in your hearts." Zhu Ling took out a handful of copper coins from his arms and threw them on the table to warn the young couple.

It stands to reason that in order to avoid leaking the news, Zhu Ling should kill the couple and kill them, but Zhu Ling didn't do that. The first is that Zhu Ling himself is unwilling to kill innocents, and the second is that Zhu Ling is leaving a way back for himself. Zhu Ling didn't know whether he could escape back to Hebei smoothly, killing ordinary people at this time, if he was caught afterwards, he would definitely be liquidated, and let go of the couple, although he didn't dare to guarantee that he would be courteous, but he could have at least one less crime.

Zhu Ling did not approve of Yuan Xi's choice to send troops to the court at this time, but he was worried about the monarch, and since Zhu Ling was a courtier in Hebei, he naturally couldn't do the matter of turning his elbow outward. Since Yuan Xi is determined to send troops, then Zhu Ling must fulfill his duty as a courtier.

Now that the army is defeated, Zhu Ling knows that even if he flees back to Hebei this time, he will not have good fruits to eat, but he still has to go back, no matter what fate awaits him. Yuan Xi wants to kill him Liwei, Zhu Ling has no complaints, Yuan Xi wants him to make meritorious service, and Zhu Ling will also do his duty. But the premise of all this is that Zhu Ling returns to Hebei, but the key at present is whether Zhu Ling can return to Hebei.

The people of Qingzhou have been mobilized by the heavy reward issued by the government, and Zhu Ling's trip back to the north can be said to be full of thorns and traps, and countless people waiting to capture Zhu Ling alive and make a fortune are waiting for it. It's not that Zhu Ling can cut his beard and change his clothes and everything will be fine.

Zhu Ling soon realized that the idea of wanting to return to Hebei in disguise did not work, and within ten miles of leaving that family, Zhu Ling had already met three waves of "Dahan militia" with steel forks, hoes and other farm tools, and fishing nets with him. Although Zhu Ling changed his image, changed his clothes, and pretended that he was going to Donglai to visit relatives, the interrogation of those militiamen still made Zhu Ling sweat in his heart.

It's not the way to go! This way to the north, Zhu Ling can take away the excuse of relatives to fool people, but it is undeniable that there are always some bold and careful people in this world, in case he sees a flaw, or if someone with the idea of catching a mistake is useless and asks Zhu Ling to meet, it will be a big trouble for Zhu Ling.

The road to Hebei is far away, and Zhu Ling inevitably wants to find another way out under the uncertainty of the future, but in addition to the land route, the only thing that can make Zhu Ling return to Hebei is the sea and land. Find a boat and cross Laizhou Bay to Hebei. The road was straight, took the shortest, and was safer than taking the land route as long as you didn't run into Han patrol boats. But the problem is that Zhu Ling doesn't know water, and he always has resistance to returning to Hebei by boat, and he always feels unsteady. This is normal, for people who have never swum in their lives, there is a natural fear of the sea, if it is the reason, it is actually three words, security.

On land, with the knife in his hand and dismounting, Zhu Ling is fearless, but on the sea, there is water on all sides, and once he falls into the water, he can only be at the mercy of others, and Zhu Ling is instinctively unwilling to take that kind of risk. But now if you don't want to take the risk, you have to try it, the blockade of the Han army on the land route is too tight, and Zhu Ling asked himself that he might not have such good luck and be able to pass the test smoothly every time.

Zhu Ling changed his mind, and a fisherman who made a living from fishing was unlucky. Although Zhu Ling promised that as long as he was sent back to Hebei, he would let the fishermen come back, but the question was who would believe it? Would you believe the assurances of a robber who stormed his house with a knife? As soon as Zhu Ling escorted the male owner of the fisherman's family out to sea, the woman of the fisherman's family ran to the government to ask for help. As a result, the fishing boat that Zhu Ling was riding had not been out to sea for long before it was discovered by the Han warship that rushed to hear the news and approached.

This is the sea, and the fisherman who was held hostage by Zhu Ling took advantage of Zhu Ling's shock at the appearance of the Han warship to jump ship and escape, and there was only one landlubber Zhu Ling left on the small fishing boat, who could neither water nor boat.

What does it mean that there is no way to go to the sky and no door to enter the earth, this is what Zhu Ling feels right now. The warship of the Han army was still approaching, and Zhu Ling clenched the knife in his hand, whether he committed suicide or died in battle, this is a question. But soon Zhu Ling didn't need to think about this problem, because the boat capsized.

The Han army, who had clairvoyance, discovered Zhu Ling's movements from afar, and the water ghost who was proficient in water dived hundreds of meters with pig urine bubbles to the side of the fishing boat, and overturned the fishing boat while Zhu Ling was still thinking about how to end his life.

Zhu Ling, who fell into the water, was like a conch, sinking vigorously, not to mention suicide at this time, even if he wanted to surface, he couldn't do it. And after Zhu Ling drank enough in the water, the water ghosts of the Han army lifted Zhu Ling out of the water, and the Han warship was already close at this time, and someone took Zhu Ling, who had passed out, to the boat.

"Uh~" Zhu Ling didn't fall into the water for a long time, and he was rescued in time, so he poured a stomach of water, and woke up after being treated by the medical officer in the Han army. As soon as he woke up, Zhu Ling spat out a lot of water, spitting all over the deck.

"Zhu Ling, I've been missing it for a long time, how are you doing lately?" A slightly familiar voice sounded in his ears, Zhu Ling looked up, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, it was really not a bad match, he didn't expect it to fall into Sun Ce's hands in the end.

"Do you dare to fight me alone?" Zhu Ling stood up, wiped the corners of his mouth and asked Sun Cedao.

"Okay, how about we just swim? If you can win me, I'll let you go. Sun Ce replied fearlessly.

Sun Ce lacks morality, knowing that Zhu Ling's water nature is not good, he still wants to swim with Zhu Ling, what is this not bullying?

“…… Do you dare to compare anything else with me? Zhu Ling was a little weak when he said this, but he understood that this was not the time to save face.

"Lao Zhu, you are a prisoner now, should you come to me as a guest?" Sun Ce reminded Zhu Lingdao earnestly. Zhu Ling's face froze, and he didn't know what to say, while Sun Ce said with a happy face: "Old Zhu, don't worry, I won't treat you badly, for the sake of saving me a thousand times, I promise not to let you suffer." By the way, I will tell you an unfortunate news, according to reliable sources, your family members who stayed in Yecheng have sent Yuan Xi to prison, and they are waiting for you to go back to Huangquan together. ”

“…… I don't believe it. Zhu Ling gritted his teeth and said.

"Believe it or not, believe it or not, you can't go back now anyway." Sun Ce spread his hands and said indifferently.

Seeing this, Zhu Ling gritted his teeth and rushed to Sun Ce's side, but there were already people on the side who were always ready, and as soon as Zhu Ling moved, those people immediately followed suit, and caught Zhu Ling before Zhu Ling pounced in front of Sun Ce, and pulled him to the ground.

"Lao Zhu, don't struggle in vain, you are a smart person, you should understand that any struggle at this time is useless." Sun Ce said as he took out something from his arms, and quickly stuffed it into Zhu Ling's mouth before Zhu Ling was about to scold.

"I don't have a special hobby of being scolded, so I'd better keep your foul language and use it in front of the saint. But for the sake of you being a good man, I remind you that the temper of the saint is not good, and if you annoy him, your family will eat your hanging. ”

The thing that Sun Ce stuffed into Zhu Ling's mouth was called a muggle, and that thing was generally used by hunters to prevent animals from making noises or biting people when they caught animals, and it was also quite suitable for dealing with people. Zhu Ling couldn't open his mouth, so he could only stare at Sun Ce angrily. But eyes can't kill people, Sun Ce ignored Zhu Ling's angry eye attack, and happily ordered: "Go back and tell Gong Jin that we caught a big fish this time, worth a thousand yuan." ”

A heavy reward was offered, but in the end, Zhu Ling still asked the Han army to catch him, and this result inevitably disappointed some people. But Sun Ce was very happy and saved money. Moreover, taking Zhu Ling is equivalent to completely annihilating the East Route Army in Hebei, and it can be regarded as a successful end to the previous war.

But when Sun Ce returned to the water village, he saw Zhou Yu's brows locked, as if he was in trouble. As a good brother, Sun Ce naturally would not ignore it, and immediately stepped forward and asked with concern: "Gong Jin, what happened to make you frown?" ”

"Bo Fu, you're back so fast. By the way, congratulations on getting your wish. ”

"Haha, don't talk about small things." Sun Ce smiled and asked Zhou Yu, "Gong Jin, tell me why you frowned." ”

"Actually, it's not a big deal, you look at this." Hearing this, Zhou Yu handed Sun Ce a letter. Sun Ce took it and looked at it quickly, and then said to Zhou Yu with a smile: "Gongjin, this is a good thing." Since the Holy One said so, it is to allow you and me to act cheaply, why do you frown? ”

I frowned, worried that I had betrayed the trust of the Holy One. Bo Fu, that Zhu Ling was captured alive by you, what are you going to do with it? ”

"Does that need to be said? Send someone to escort it to Chang'an and wait for the saint to send it. ”

"I don't think it's right. Although Zhu Ling is one of the three major generals under Yuan Xi, Yuan Xi does not fully trust Zhu Ling, because the imperial court and Xianbei fought in Bingzhou because Zhu Ling's attitude towards the imperial court was somewhat ambiguous, which made Yuan Xi suspicious, even if Zhu Ling was conscientious after that, Yuan Xi still used and guarded against Zhu Ling, if it were not for the appearance of a general in Hebei who could replace Zhu Ling, Zhu Ling was likely to be idle by Yuan Xi. ”

“…… Gong Jin, you and my brother, why do you have to look ahead and backward when you speak, just say what you want to do. Sun Ce frowned and said to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then smiled, "Bo Fu is not strange, I mean to let Zhu Ling return to Hebei." ”

"What? Finally caught him and let him go? Sun Ce was stunned for a moment, and then asked a little unhappily.

"Yes, Bo Fu, don't you hear that you can only catch big fish by putting a long line? Now that the Holy Lord has the intention of recovering Hebei, and the order given to us is also to allow cheap action, then you and I naturally have to consider the overall situation. It is not a pity that Zhu Ling died alone, but if this person can be used to shake the hearts of the people in Hebei, how can he miss the opportunity? ”

"If you let Zhu Ling go back to Hebei, you can shake the hearts of the people in Hebei?" Sun Ce didn't believe it.

"Bo Fu, think about it, if Zhu Ling returns to Hebei, the result will be nothing more than two, either he will be together with his family in prison, and then the family will be punished for the defeat with him and lose his head. There is also a way for Yuan Xi to ignore his previous suspicions, let Zhu Ling make meritorious contributions, and continue to lead the army to fight against us. This possibility is not small, but if you think about it, why should a defeated army be afraid? ”

“…… Does what you said have anything to do with shaking the hearts of the people in Hebei? ”

"How can it be okay? Think about it, if Yuan Xi killed Zhu Ling's family, would those generals in Hebei worry that they would face the same fate as Zhu Ling, and once the hearts of these generals were shaken, would they be able to be distracted when fighting with the imperial court. Even if Zhu Ling was lucky enough to get the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, if he was defeated by the imperial court again, would it also hit the morale of Yuan Jun and make the impression of the imperial court invincible deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. ”

"But Zhu Ling, who was caught with great difficulty......" Sun Ce was still a little reluctant to let go of Zhu Ling, a big fish, although the Holy Lord Liu Xie had already allowed the two of them to act cheaply, but the crime of conniving with the enemy was not small, Sun Ce was a little worried that he and Zhou Yu could not afford it.

"Bo Fu, don't worry about the saint. Since the Holy One has sent a will to allow you and me to act cheaply, it means that no matter what decision we make, the Holy One will support it, and even if we are dissatisfied, we will only complain to you and me after the war is over. ”

“…… I'm not afraid of the saint complaining, I'm afraid that someone will take the opportunity to slander the saint and say that you and I are pampered and arrogant, and act arbitrarily. ”

"If Bo Fu is worried about this, then it is better for you and me to jointly ask the Holy Lord for sin and ask the Holy Lord to punish him."

"That Zhu Ling ......"

"Should it be put or should it be released." Zhou Yu insisted.

In terms of fighting and charging into battle, Zhou Yu is not as good as Sun Ce, but when it comes to strategizing, Sun Ce is not as good as Zhou Yu. Since Zhou Yu insisted, Sun Ce had to listen to him. And Zhu Ling learned that Sun Ce was going to let him go, and he would also send someone to send him back to Hebei by sea, he didn't believe it at first, even if he was admitted by Sun Ce himself, he still believed it, and this suspicion was not until Zhu Ling was sent to Hebei, seeing that the warships of the Han army gradually disappeared on the horizon, Zhu Ling had to believe that he had really returned to Hebei.

Zhu Ling, who was rescued from the great calamity, did not be happy for long. As soon as he walked outside Leling City, he was surrounded by Yuan Jun who had discovered his whereabouts.

"Zhu Ling, the general of the defeated army dares to come back alone." Leling County Shou shouted at Zhu Ling with a righteous face.