After the Sui Dynasty's Tongji Canal was dug and the surrounding rivers were introduced into the canal, the upper and lower reaches of the Bianshui with abundant water flow in the past became a small and medium-sized river, especially the Bianshui River section in Liang County, the upstream water was introduced into the Tongji Canal in large quantities at the junction of Liang County and Xingyang County, and then there was no decent river into the river, and the Bianshui that could carry military rations before became a small river that was difficult to catch even big fish, the width was only three or four zhang, and the depth was eight or nine feet, and the water flow was slow, easy to cross and easy to swim, It's no longer a natural hazard barrier.

Of course, if there is really a camp on the south bank of Bianshui to intercept, then even if it is destined to be unable to stop Meng Rang's team from crossing the south, it can also bring some trouble to Meng Rang's team, but it is a pity, because the army of Qian County refused to accept Zhang Xutuo's invitation to send troops, from Yucheng County, Liang County to Pengcheng County, the 150-mile Bianshui River section, there is not a single soldier along the river fortification, and the Meng Rang team, which is being pursued and killed by the main force under Zhang Xutuo, can calmly cross the river and go south.

Thanks to the blessing of the Qianjun army, the Meng Rang team, which was huge and uneven, only took a little more than a day to cross the Bianshui in the northeast of Liang County, from deep into the hinterland of Liang County, and the main force of Liang County officials is basically concentrated in the northwest where there are many thieves and chaos, and the surrounding officers and soldiers of Qian County and Pengcheng are all holding high the banner of self-protection, they are only guarding their own territory, and they are unwilling to cross the county to find trouble, only Zhang Xutuo's team is still chasing after more than 100 miles away, so Meng Rang's team is not only in the hinterland of Liang County. There are also countless homeless and hungry people who are rushing to take the initiative to vote, and the strength of the team is growing stronger and stronger.

The good thing was not over, after crossing the Bianshui on the whole line, Meng Rang's team was surprised to find that the people in the villages in the eastern part of Liang County actually had quite a lot of food and rice—at least much stronger than Qi County, Lu County, and Jiyin County in the north, which had been almost paralyzed by thieves! Meng Rang's team, who was worried about the supply of money and food, was of course overjoyed, and did not care that Zhang Xutuo was approaching, so he took out a day to plunder, and robbed the village markets within dozens of miles in one day, and looted some of the winter wheat that the people of Liang County had just harvested from the ground, alleviating some of the military food crisis.

Drinking the thin wine brewed in the village from the hands of the people, eating enough ploughing cattle and beef to support a family, and holding in his arms the young folk girl whose husband and father had been killed, Meng Rang's command of Wang Xinxi, Cao Wei and Li Chou led by a group of thieves were of course elated, happy and happy, celebrating the harvest satisfaction, Meng Rang followed Li Chou, who was next to him when he got up, also mentioned yì: "King, Liangjun is good here, there are few officers and soldiers and useless, there is money and food in the village, and it is much stronger than the Qi County and Lu County that we used to eat. It's better to stay here for a few more days, grab more villages, and if we get the opportunity to break through another county seat, then we will have more fun! ”

"That's a good idea." Meng Rang first approved, and then shut the mouth of the girl who was crying in his arms, and then sighed and said: "It's a pity, if Zhang Xutuo's old dog didn't target us, even if you didn't say it, I would let the brothers play in Liangjun for a few days, but that old dog has already set his eyes on us, and his team is also chasing us, so we can't be free anymore, and we have to leave tomorrow." ”

Li Chou and other thieves will regret loudly, and also scolded the old opponent Zhang Xutuo for not having anything, cursing Zhang Xutuo for going out and falling on his heel and vomiting blood to death, Meng Rang, who hated Zhang Xutuo to the bone, did not participate in this useless scolding, but said loudly: "Brothers, you don't need to worry, Liang County has money and food, and the south of Qian County and Huaiyang County have more money and food, and these two counties are not under Zhang Xutuo's control, so as long as we go out of Liang County to the south, we can rest assured that we can be happy and bold!" ”

The thieves applauded, and then Meng Rang's most powerful general, Wang Xinxi, said: "King, the water has passed, and the grain and grass are temporarily enough to support a few days, so we should go there next, you should speak, right?" ”

"Go to Huaiyang." Meng Rang didn't even blink his eyelids, and said calmly: "Originally, the south of Qian County is the closest, and it is also the richest food, but the general guard Chen Yingliang there is too powerful, I heard that this little dog has not lost a battle since he made his debut, and many heroes of the righteous army are folded in his hands, although we are not afraid of him, but Zhang Xutuo's old dog is chasing too closely, we can't delay, just leave him a dog's life for the time being, ignore him, let's go to Huaiyang first, there are few officers and soldiers, and the money and food are okay." ”

Meng Rang's team was able to get out of the situation under the joint attack of famous Sui generals like Zhang Xutuo and Zhou Fashang, relying on the style of bullying the soft and fearing the hard, and it was not strange after listening to Meng Rang's words, they all nodded yes and applauded. And Meng Rang saw that the sky was already dark, and everyone's wine was almost done, so he was about to order everyone to disperse and let everyone go back to the tent to rest, but as soon as his mouth opened, a small minions rushed in outside the door of the tattered Chinese army's big tent, and said to Meng Rangji: "Your lord, our army's patrol minions met a few people outside the camp, and they claimed to be the subordinates of your fellow countryman, King Du Fuweidu, and wanted to ask to see you, saying that there was an urgent matter. ”

"Duvowe's men?" Meng Rang was stunned and said with some surprise: "I heard that kid didn't go to Xiapi to eat mixed rice?" Why did his people come to Liang County? ”

"My lord, just call them in and ask." Cao Weijian, who is more intelligent and can be regarded as a military advisor, said: "I heard that Du Fuwei almost hit Yongcheng in Qiaojun, and he has been active in Huaibei in the past few months, and he knows the situation here better than us. ”

As soon as Meng Rang heard that he was in the middle of his heart, he immediately ordered to summon him, so soon, our Yuan Tiangang Yuan Dashen Stick led four entourages and swaggered in front of Meng Rang, after meeting, Yuan Tiangang also saluted Meng Rang with a happy face and said: "King Meng, God bless, the gods take care of you, the students finally found you in time." Student Li Chunfeng, the deputy military division under the account of King Du Fuweidu, has seen King Meng! ”

"You're Du Fuwei's lieutenant?" Meng Rang looked at Yuan Tiangang, who was dressed in ordinary people's clothes but had a polite demeanor, and asked, "Du Fuwei sent you to me?" ”

"Exactly." Yuan Tiangang nodded, quickly took out a letter from his arms, held it in both hands and said, "King Meng, I will talk about the other words later, this is a gift brought to you by King Du's students, please take a look." ”

"Gifts?" Meng Rang was stunned again, and said with a smile: "Li Chunfeng, you King Du bullied me and didn't know anything, didn't you?" This is clearly an epistle, what kind of gift is it? ”

"King Meng, you will understand when you read it." Yuan Tiangang said respectfully: "This is not a letter from our king to you, but a letter from the tyrant lackey Zhang Xutuo to Chen Yingliang, the general guard of the county, or a letter from Zhang Xutuo related to King Meng. ”

When the robbers had done Qi County before the Zouping County Lord Bo Mengrang's face changed a little, he quickly pushed away the girl in his arms and left the table, came over to take the letter in person, and asked the soldiers to light it with more torches, and then opened the letter to take a closer look, and immediately found that this was indeed the handwritten letter of the old rival Zhang Xutuo, or the handwritten letter to the recently famous Chen Yingliang, stamped with Zhang Xutuo's seal of the ambassador of the twelve counties, the content is that Zhang Xutuo invited Chen Yingliang to send troops to the north, and cooperated with Zhang Xutuo to annihilate Meng Rang's team along the Bianshui fortification! -- That is, the letter that Mulan sent to Yongcheng and handed over to Chen Yingliang, the real Zhang Xutuo's handwriting, as if it were fake.

After carefully reading this letter, Meng Rang hurriedly asked Yuan Tiangang, "How did Zhang Xutuo's letter fall into your hands?" ”

"Our luck is good, King Meng, your luck is not wrong." Yuan Tiangang smiled and said: "Our King Du went west to Pengcheng to get food, six days ago, our forward sentry team met a few officers and soldiers on horseback on the official road from Pengcheng to Yongcheng, because they fell in love with their horses, they set up a small ambush, and as a result, they grabbed four horses, and found this letter on a corpse, Minions didn't dare to deal with it privately when they saw the big seal on the letter, and brought it back to our King Du, and we King Du felt that it was a matter of importance, and read it for the sake of the fellow villagers, and also read it for the sake of everyone who is a righteous teacher and a friendly army. Send me to Liangjun to find your team and give you this official document. ”

After that, Yuan Tiangang also saluted Meng Rang again and apologized: "King Meng forgives me, because Chen Yingliang's dog official blocked the official road of Qian County, I had to take the path on this side of Mangdang Mountain to enter Liang County, but I was delayed for more than a day, and I didn't know your specific location, and I couldn't deliver the letter to you in time, and I almost missed your major event of crossing the Bianshui in the south. ”

"Just have this heart!" Meng Rang laughed, patted Yuan Tiangang's shoulder, pulled Yuan Tiangang and walked to the seat, laughed and said: "Actually, it is enough for you to stop this letter, Chen Yingliang's dog officer did not send troops to the north, it should be because you stopped this letter, I still wonder why Chen Dog Officer did not send troops, it turned out to be your blessing!" Come on, serve the food and drinks again, I want to personally thank this Mr. Li Chunfeng! Also, go pick a beautiful girl and wait for Mr. Li to drink! ”

Laughing, Meng Rang introduced the content of the letter to his illiterate subordinates, and pointed out that the army did not encounter the official army blocking the southern crossing of Bianshui, basically because Du Fuwei's team happened to snatch Zhang Xutuo's handwritten letter, asking everyone to thank Yuan Tiangang, and by the way, he introduced his capable subordinates to Yuan Tiangang. completely regarded Yuan Tiangang as Du Fuwei's person.

The new wine and meat were soon sent, Meng Rang politely invited Yuan Tiangang to use wine and dishes, but because of the rush of time, the beef was not fully cooked and a little red, although Yuan Tiangang did not avoid raw meat, he saw that the meat color was not right, but he was a little afraid that it was human flesh, so he arched his hand and said: "King Meng, I will drink the wine, but I will thank you for the meat, if it is convenient, get me some vegetarian dishes, if it is inconvenient, I will eat some dry food." ”

"Mr. Li doesn't like to eat meat?" Meng let a flute.

"Definitely." Yuan Tiangang was afraid that it would be more troublesome when he was forced to eat human flesh next, so he simply arched his hand and said: "The student learned Zhou Yi Fangshu, and he believes in gods and Buddhas. ”

Meng Rang laughed, scolded a lot of things but didn't mind, just ordered the man to buy vegetarian dishes immediately, and then asked Yuan Tiangang: "Mr. Li, where are you King Du now?" How's it going? ”

"King Yumeng, our team of King Du is currently in the area of Dingtao Mountain in the south of Pengcheng, about a hundred miles away from Qian County." Yuan Tiangang replied respectfully: "Last time, our troops entered Qian County, because Miao Haichao was betrayed by the traitor, and accidentally suffered a defeat, and the loss was not small, and there were only more than 6,000 people left in the team at one time. Fortunately, the vitality is still there, and in the past few months, our King Du has continued to recruit homeless people to join the army, and the team has expanded to more than 13,000 people, and the situation is not bad. ”

"That's good." Meng Rang approving, "The team has doubled in four months, and Du Fuwei has some ability." By the way, what is the situation in the south of Pengcheng? Isn't it easy to find food to eat? ”

"The situation in the south of Pengcheng is similar to that in the north, where corrupt officials are rampant, and the people are all over the place." Yuan Tiangang had already prepared, and replied very casually: "But fortunately, the main force of the dog official Dong Chun is basically in the north, and the south is very empty, so our surroundings are quite peaceful, and it is quite easy to find food to eat." ”

"Mr. Li, there are so many homeless people all over the place, can you still find food to eat?" Cao Wei next to him asked in surprise.

"There is a Tongji Canal in the south of Pengcheng." Yuan Tiangang smiled and said: "The tyrant Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo three times, and a large amount of grain and grass in the south of the Yangtze River was transported north, and the Tongji Canal was taken, as long as we made a big deal on the canal, it would be enough for more than 10,000 of us to eat for ten days and half a month." Even if it is a small business, there is oil and water, those ships that transport freight people can grab a few at will, there are a lot of copper coins and grain, and sometimes you can grab a good woman, King Du He grabbed a sixteen-year-old little beauty a few days ago, what is called Wu Mei, and he directly accepted him as a mother-in-law. ”

"I see." Cao Wei nodded in disbelief, and said to Meng Rang: "King, if we have the opportunity, it is best to find a canal to trade, I heard that Zhai Rang of Wagang is specialized in robbing the canal, and he doesn't even rob the village, and he also feeds more than 20,000 people." ”

Meng Rang also nodded, and scolded: "Damn! If it weren't for Zhang Xutuo, the old dog, chasing too closely, Lao Tzu would really want to stay in this Liang County, and by the way, he would also make a few transactions on the Tongji Canal. ”

"King Meng, you don't stay in Liang County?" Yuan Tiangang took the opportunity to ask curiously, "Then where are you going to go?" Do you want to go directly south to the county? ”

"Go to Huaiyang first, and then talk about it depending on the situation."

Meng Rang's answer made Yuan Tiangang's eye muscles twitch slightly, but fortunately, the movement was very small, although there were quite a lot of torches lit in the big tent, others did not notice, and then Yuan Tiangang was not in a hurry to speak, just put down the chopsticks, sat cross-legged, took out three copper coins that had already been polished from his sleeves, put them in the palm of his hand, and then his left hand was on top and his right hand was down, closing his eyes and saying nothing. Seeing Yuan Tiangang's action, everyone at the banquet was inevitably stunned, and then the more rude Li Chou asked loudly: "Mr. Li, what are you doing here?" Hold the three coins in your hands, afraid that we will rob them? ”

"Shut up!" The well-informed Meng Rang opened his mouth to scold and shouted: "Mr. Li is divining and asking for hexagrams, don't disturb him!" ”

Of course, Yuan Tiangang, the great god stick that can be counted on the fingers of China's five thousand years, is of course divination and asking hexagrams, and after reciting it solemnly, Yuan Tiangang shook the three copper coins several times in the palm of his hand, threw them on the table in front of him, wrote down the yin and yang, and then picked up the copper coins, put them back in his palm, and recited silently with his eyes closed under his left hand and right hand again.

It takes a total of six times to ask for a hexagram with copper coins, which is not too short, so when Yuan Tiangang shook the copper coins six times, Meng Rang, Li Chou and others had already surrounded him curiously, and looked at the hexagram together - the result was, of course, absolutely incomprehensible. And when Yuan Tiangang saw the hexagram shaken out of the sixth copper coin, he immediately exclaimed, "Well hexagram! It's still a water wind well hexagram! How could it be a water wind well hexagram?! ”

"Mr. Li, what is the Shuifeng Jing hexagram?" Meng Rang, who didn't even understand Zhou Yi's fur, hurriedly asked, and then asked: "Also, Mr. Li, are you asking for my entry into Huaiyang?" ”

"Exactly." Yuan Tiangang nodded, and said to Meng Rang: "Don't blame the king, before the student worked for King Du, he made a living by selling hexagrams on the rivers and lakes, and developed a habit of always divining and asking for a hexagram when encountering major events, which can be regarded as a small benefit. When the students heard that the king had decided to go west to Huaiyang, they couldn't help but itch for a while, so they had the courage to take a hexagram for the king and predict the good fortune. ”

"Sir, is there such a miraculous ability?" Meng Rang was skeptical, and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Chunfeng, what about the good luck and evil you have taken?" ”

Yuan Tiangang didn't answer, and bit his lower lip with his upper teeth, his face showed embarrassment, and then he raised his head to look at the people around him, and finally fixed his eyes on Li Chou, who was full of curiosity, and suddenly asked: "General Li, you were poor when you were young, you herded sheep for others when you were young, and you also learned carpentry, but your skills are not perfect, and you can't learn delicate woodwork, so you usually pull a big saw with an axe, am I right?" ”

Before Yuan Tiangang's words fell, there was already an exclamation in the tattered Chinese army tent, Meng Rang and Cao Wei and others, who were familiar with Li Chou's past, were all dumbfounded, and Li Chou himself almost stared out of his eyes and yelled, "Mr. Li, how do you know?" ”

"Judging by your face, of course." Yuan Tiangang replied calmly, muttering in his heart: "Idiot! Put your trousers down, don't let me see the old wolf bite scar on your leg, don't show the calluses on your palm, and don't be so rude when you drink, like a carpenter who can do a lot of work, I can't see it. ”

Li Chou was dumbfounded, and after a while, he roared like thunder, "Sir, you are really a fairy!" It's so accurate! ”

"Mr. Chunfeng, can you really tell other people's past by their faces?" Cao Wei was a little unconvinced, and hurriedly said: "Then please Mr. Chunfeng take a look for me, what is my past experience?" ”

"General Cao's forgiveness, the student is going to say something that offends you." Yuan Tiangang bowed his hand to Cao Wei and said calmly: "Your eyebrows are long and your eyes are long, your face is red and your ears have no roots, this is a lonely and miserable appearance, your left eyebrow is higher than your right eyebrow, the left of the male and the right of the female should be the female, if the student expects it to be true, you should have lost your mother when you were young." ”

"Immortals!"

There was another thunderous sound in the big tent, Cao Wei himself roared so much that he almost tore his throat, Yuan Tiangang quietly glanced at Cao Wei's original seat, and also glanced at the woman who was held in Cao Wei's arms before, and smiled secretly: "Everyone else hugs young women, just you hug a woman who is obviously older than you, or a woman with big tits, isn't this a lack of maternal love since childhood?" ”