Li Yanzhao led ten people out of the camp and followed the map all the way to the south. In just half a day's effort, they have reached the Yellow River near Jincheng County.

Li Yanzhao sent Cao Jian and Liu Jiwu respectively, and each took two people to look for ferry bridges upstream and downstream respectively, and agreed that even if a suitable ferry port was not found, they must return on time. The two took the order and left, and Li Yanzhao led the rest of the people to find a forest to hide and rest.

Because now Chen An has gathered an army and recruited foreign races. Its exact intentions are not yet known. And its attitude towards Liangzhou is also unclear. Therefore, Li Yanzhao felt that this time he crossed the river to investigate, so as to act in concealment. Try not to bring unnecessary trouble to yourself, and to the Liangzhou behind it.

Nearly two hours later, when the sky was getting dark, Cao Jian, who was heading upstream to look for the ferry, came back. Inform Li Yanzhao that within a hundred miles upstream, there is no suitable ferry port that is convenient for concealment, and a bridge for his own people to pass.

Li Yanzhao listened to Cao Jian's report, nodded and let them go to rest. The upstream water is turbulent, and if there are no bridges, it is indeed difficult to cross the river. Now they are only waiting for Liu Jiwu and others who went downstream to report the situation.

However, seeing that it was already dark, Li Yanzhao began to feel faintly uneasy in his heart. Just when Li Yanzhao wanted to send someone to find the whereabouts of Liu Jiwu and his cadres, he saw a ride in the distance running straight to this side and coming back.

Seeing that there was only one ride that could come back, Li Yanzhao's heart tightened, and he hurriedly strode out of the forest, took out the order flag pinned behind him with his left hand and waved it at the comer, and at the same time pressed the handle of the ring knife on his waist with his right hand.

When the ride was closer, Li Yanzhao saw Niu Erzhuang's unique stout figure, so he put his mind at ease, and his right hand holding the knife released the handle, and his palms were covered with a layer of fine sweat.

stepped forward to meet Niu Erzhuang, and seeing that he was the only one riding, Li Yanzhao asked with some consternation: "What about Liu Jiwu and Qin Dayong?" Why didn't you come back? ”

Niu Erzhuang grabbed the water bladder on his waist, poured a few mouthfuls of water, and then tightly stuffed the cork of the water bladder before replying: "Shi Chang, and Qin Dayong, have already found the boat." They were watching the boatman over there, lest he go to tell the news. They ordered me to hurry back and ask the captain of the hundred men and the rest of his brothers to hurry and prepare to cross the river. ”

"Okay." When Li Yanzhao heard this, he quickly went into the forest and dragged up the people who were still half-lying between the trunks of the trees and were napping one by one, and ordered everyone to get on their horses quickly and hurry to the ferry to cross the river.

Everyone immediately got up from the ground, packed up their weapons and equipment, dry food and other things, got on their horses and galloped away with Niu Erzhuang.

The night was getting darker. Everyone galloped all the way, but in an hour's effort, Niu Erzhuang led everyone to drill through a dense forest, and then walked another hundred and eighty steps to the river beach. Then they dismounted, and saw a boat on the edge of the river leaning against the shore with a lone lamp. An old man in a hat could be vaguely seen on the boat, sitting on the bow of the boat, chatting happily with his two subordinates sitting cross-legged on the river beach.

Seeing that Li Yanzhao led the crowd to come, Liu Jiwu and Qin Dayong, who were sitting on the river beach, hurriedly stood up, Li Yanzhao walked closer, waved his hand to signal the two to be exempt, and then led the horse to the side of the boat and asked, "Is my husband willing to wait for me?" ”

The old man laughed: "What did the military master say, the little old man begged for a living on the river, and he ate this bowl of rice." Whether it is a homeless person, a soldier, or a bandit, the little old man has passed it. ”

When Li Yanzhao heard this, he pretended to be surprised and said: "In this way, the old man is alone on the ferry here, but he is not afraid of the bandits and the like and your disadvantage?" ”

The old man sighed and said, "The little old man has no longevity and is very old. It is not difficult to mix bowls of rice on this big river with the skill of rocking. Even the bandits who come and go from the south to the north, seeing that the little old man is alone, will not be embarrassed. Besides, they have been walking here for many years, and if the little old man is gone, they will have to travel another seventy or eighty miles downstream to cross the river, and then there will be ferrymen. There were quite a few ferrymen at the ferry port on the edge of Jincheng County, but the bandits and others would never dare to go here. ”

Li Yanzhao was also a little gloomy when he heard this, this old man was alone, and in this troubled world, it was also extremely difficult. Then he asked, "Old man, how much is the cost of this ship?" I might as well pay the fare now. ”

The old man thought for a while and said, "Little Lao'er crosses to the other side once, and counts ten dollars." If so many people still take horses across the river, I'm afraid they will have to cross five times. ”

Li Yanzhao didn't think about it, so he took out the money bag, took out five small hanging coins, and handed them to the old man. When he was on duty in the army during the Chinese New Year and was bored, Li Yanzhao found some strings and threaded the thousands of wen money in his money bag into a string of strings for easy access. At this time, he took out five strings and handed them to the old man.

The old man took the five strings of money with trembling hands, and then counted them roughly, put them into his bosom with a smile on his face, took a springboard from the cabin, and tightened the rope that the bow of the boat tied to the stake on the riverbank. After stabilizing a bit, the gangplank was placed on the bow of the boat.

Li Yanzhao divided his ten men into five groups. Previously, the two of them worked in pairs, and finally he and Zhang Xing and Cui Yang were three. When arranging the grouping, he also tried his best to divide the heavy Niu Erzhuang, Qin Dayong and several others in front, and himself, Zhang Xing, and Cui Yang were all lightweight, although the boat was small, but the weight of the three of them plus the military horse was by no means enough to capsize.

In addition to the weight problem, Li Yanzhao also ordered Liu Jiwu to go to the other side of the bank first. Even in the face of unexpected situations, he believes that the chief he has appointed will be able to calmly handle the council.

After Liu Jiwu and Qin Dayong led the horse to board the boat, the old man loosened the rope tied to the shore at the bow of the boat, and then rocked the oar, and the boat swayed towards the other side of the river.

It took about an hour to go back and forth, and Li Yanzhao, Zhang Xing, and Cui Yang finally set foot on the land on the other side of the river with the springboard put down by the old man.

Bidding farewell to the old man, Li Yanzhao led his dozen or so horsemen to set foot on the land he had walked on again. This couldn't help but make him sigh again and again. Thinking about half a year ago, I was still a homeless person with no clothes and no food, and I just wanted to escape from this land in a hurry. And now, he is already a hundred commanders in the Liangzhou army, and he set foot on this land again in order to carry out the reconnaissance mission. The mood is very different.

I walked along the river beach to the mountains and forests. This area is sparsely populated, and in this dark night, only the heavy breathing of the horses beside him can be heard, and the howls of wild beasts in the distance.

For the sake of safety, Li Yanzhao ordered his subordinates to inspect the fire folds and other items. Now they are far away from the territory of Liangzhou. Not only do you have to complete your own reconnaissance mission, but you also need to survive in this unfamiliar place. Li Yanzhao, who was afraid of an unexpected situation, even ordered his subordinates to bring enough dry food for five days when he set off. In order to avoid the army assembled by Chen An, everyone could only climb over the mountain beam and drill the ravine. I don't know when I might encounter Chen Anbu, Di Qiang, or Liu Zhao's sentry or beasts. Now all the actions of the people can only be cautious.

After all, Li Yanzhao was absolutely reluctant to use the cavalry he had worked so hard to train as non-combat attrition and lose it in this land that did not belong to them.

Don't worry about minor trimming. Li Yanzhao summoned Cao Jian, who was born in Orion, and told him about the general direction concept, and took out the simple map he had drawn. In this place, he did not dare to raise fire openly, so Li Yanzhao had to order his subordinates to search along the mountain at his feet for a long time before they found a cave. The people entered the cave and lit torches.

A torch illuminates the narrow cave beneath the eye. Li Yanzhao laid the map on a stone and repeatedly adjusted the direction of the map so that it was probably the same direction as he was in now. Then he took out the cloth bag from his bosom, broke off a small piece of black clay that he had made at that time, and circled the approximate location of his current position and the approximate location where he needed to go to the scout.

Cao Jian frowned and looked at the map carefully. Then he raised his head, patted his chest continuously, and said confidently: "Let me find the way if you are a hundred people." ”

Li Yanzhao was also relieved when he heard that Cao Jian was so confident in asking for a way. The group packed up the weapons and armor they were carrying, got out of the cave, and then followed Cao Jian's steps.

In order to try to be hidden, most of the time the people walked through the mountains and forests, and the horses did not play their due role. Fortunately, although the road was bumpy and difficult, it was still smooth. Everyone rushed for most of the night without stopping, and finally arrived at more than ten miles east of Taoshui at the end of the day (Cao Jian's estimate).

Approaching the battalion of the Qiang people recruited by Chen An. Li Yanzhao didn't dare to make a mistake, but ordered Han Wencan and Zhang Xingqian to go out to investigate. The rest of the people rested for a while.

Han Wencan and Zhang Xingfang had only walked for about a quarter of an hour, and Li Yanzhao, who was resting against the trunk of the tree, suddenly realized that it seemed to be not far away, and the darkness reflected two points of green light, faintly shining under his eyes. He couldn't help but bounce up instantly, and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He made a most terrifying guess. This speculation made his mood more and more panicked. In just a few breaths, two points of green light turned into four or eight points...... And even countless points. They were already faintly surrounded by these bits of green light. The horses tied to the side, also agitated by the gathering green light, began to raise their hooves and kick wildly, accompanied by a clattering sound.

Cao Jian saw the sweat in his hands, suddenly picked up his bow and arrows, and shouted to the people around him: "Quick, get up." We've met the wolves! ”

Just as everyone got up and grabbed their weapons, a terrifying howl sounded from the depths of the woods not far away.

"W-wh