Yuan Tiangang never said who he was entrusted to dissuade Li Xu from crossing the river, nor did he follow his previous habit of staying in the Boling army as a guest for a few months. He only chatted with Li Xu for less than an hour, and then hurriedly got up to say goodbye. Before parting, perhaps to make up for some regrets, the old Taoist priest offered to help the Boling army recruit civilian ships.

"The Taoist is noble, and the younger generation is engraved in the five, and if he needs the service of the younger generation, although he says it. If the younger generation can do it, they must do their best! Xu Zi knew that Yuan Shen's stick had a great influence among the people, so he hurriedly hugged his fists respectfully and thanked him.

"There is no need to say kind words, I should say thank you to you!" Yuan Tiangang, who recovered from shock and disappointment, became a master of the world who did not touch half of the fireworks, and waved his hands, which was regarded as a return gift. "The general's mind is very human, and I am afraid that there will be a lot of wind and rain along the way. When General Wang insisted on preaching, he should not ignore the rules of the world. ”

After that, he shook off the dust and drifted away.

With the help of this "half-immortal", the progress of the move to raise civilian ships was indeed several times smoother. In less than three days, all fishing boats and cargo ships within 100 miles of the upstream and downstream gathered at the ferry. When the baggage battalion and the wounded soldiers who had fallen behind arrived, Li Xu gave an order, raised thousands of sails at the same time, and sent the army across the Yellow River within half a day.

The land on the south bank is already the junction of the Bohai Sea and Qi County, and although it still looks dilapidated and desolate, it has gradually gained some human atmosphere. The further south the army went, the more neat the villages it saw. Because of the banner of Li Xu's champion general, the people did not feel very panicked because of the passage of the officers and soldiers. Some well-informed owners and castle owners even remembered General Li's actions in Qi County back then, and they were deeply proud of such a great hero in the local area. He actually took the initiative to open the gate of the fort and carried out many cakes to the labor army.

These people did not have a lot of money in their homes, including some of the leading figures who had been elected to greet the generals, and their robes were patched. But their smiling faces are very honest, and there is no hint of hypocrisy.

"It's been more than two years, and they still remember me!" Looking at the honest faces in front of him, Li Xu felt a lot of emotion in his heart. The people will offer the cakes prepared for the New Year, just to repay the kindness of leading the troops here to suppress the bandits. And before he was taught by General Zhang, the reason why he used the sword was just to gain fame, and how could he think of contributing half of his strength to the people? What this person did may be in the blink of an eye, but the final result is a difference between cloud and mud.

Thinking that General Zhang has been dead for several months, his legacy continues to this day. Li Xu's respect for the old man in his heart is even deeper. If it weren't for the old general's words and deeds that day, he would be a fierce general at best, how could he be respected like today. Therefore, Wagang and his entourage must go. Even if you can't take revenge, you have to snatch back the head of General Zhang, so that the old man's body can be buried intact in the land of his hometown.

"General Li is here to avenge General Zhang!" A squire asked tentatively after saluting Xuzi.

"The younger generation will go to Licheng to pay tribute to the coffin of the old general, and then move west!" Li Xu made a gesture and announced loudly.

When he landed, there was thunder of joy in all directions. All the fathers and elders said that General Li was affectionate and righteous, and it was in vain to work with General Zhang. Someone immediately offered to donate a part of the baggage to the Boling army, so that the brothers would have more energy to kill the thieves. Li Xu didn't dare to accept it, and hurriedly excused himself on the grounds that the distance was long and the transportation was inconvenient. After the fathers and elders insisted repeatedly, they saw that Li Xu still refused to agree, so they had to give up. Before leaving, he asked with a blank look: "After the general avenged General Zhang, will he come back to stay there?" ”

"You old men don't know anything, General Li is a champion general, and he is not the county of our Qi County, he has the emperor's order, how can he go back!" Before Li Xu could think about how to answer, a local official who had been ordered to come to greet Shangguan reprimanded in a low voice.

"We, we just hope that General Li can return to Qi County as soon as possible. As for the imperial court, whoever you love will go! The reprimanded squire took a few steps back and muttered quietly.

"You!" The little official was so angry with his bold hometown father that his hands and feet were cold, and he couldn't speak for a long time. He has always had no choice but to deal with this kind of "short-sighted" but extremely senior local elders. Besides, deep down, he didn't expect Li Xu to return to Qi County and not leave after defeating the Wagang army. One has such a hero in the world, and he will definitely be able to keep the place safe in the troubled times. Second, the bastard of the Great Sui Imperial Court is so bad, the old general Zhang has been tossed to death by them, why should Li Xu make the mistake of the old general again?

"If I can successfully avenge General Zhang, I will definitely return to Qi County and kill Xu Yuanlang in the south, so as to save him from being frightened!" Li Xu could vaguely guess the thoughts of some people, and promised everyone with a smile.

Xu Yuanlang is a newcomer who has traveled from Pengcheng to Beihai and Donglai counties. Although he did not dare to fight the idea of Qi County for a while, it had already made the people and local officials panic. Li Xu heard the news from officials when he was staying in Yanci County. As the successor of the old general Zhang Xutuo, he believes that he has the obligation to continue to protect the old general's wishes.

"That's a good idea. General Li is such a good man! When the squires heard Li Xu's personal promise, they praised it gossipily.

At that moment, the army was echoed by the front and back, sent into Zhangqiu City to rest, and the next day was sent out of ten miles by the people, and set foot on the official road to Licheng. Although it is approaching the end of the year at this moment, there is no festive atmosphere near Licheng. First there are dots, then some slightly larger mansions, and when they get close to the city wall, almost every fort on both sides of the official road is hung with white linen, dancing in the wind, as if to pour out the sorrow in people's hearts to passers-by.

Seeing this scene, the four thousand elite horsemen who were still noisy before were not aware of their solemnity. Not only did the generals who had served under Zhang Xutuo burst into tears. Wang Xuba, Wang Junkuo, etc., who were very incomprehensible to Li Xu's move to lead the troops south, were shocked beyond words.

"General Zhang has been dead for more than two months!" Wang Xuba sighed and whispered.

"Two months and twenty-one days, the old general was killed in late autumn, and now it's almost the end of the year!" Guo Fang thought about it and replied with a sigh.

"If a person can let the people of his hometown do this after death, he will not die a loss!" Wang Suba reached his hand to his waist and stroked the hilt of his sword repeatedly. In those days, Zhang Xutuo was the common enemy of almost all the heroes of the green forest. And today, he just wants to pull out his sword to pay tribute to the old man who has died in battle.

While everyone was grieving, there was a sudden commotion in front of the team. Wang Xuba looked up and found that a large number of local officials had rushed out of the city and swarmed towards Li Xu's horse's head.

"General Li is really famous here, not only is he supported by the people, but even the county guards and general guards also respect him so much!" Wang Xuba looked so strange that he muttered to himself in his stomach. He could tell that the old man who was bowing to Li Xu was dressed in the uniform of a third-grade local magistrate, and among the procession that came to greet him, there were more than forty officials dressed in robes from the third rank to the fifth grade. Li Xu, the ambassador of the six counties, had no superior-subordinate relationship with the other party, but Qi County put such a solemn formation to greet him, and he didn't know what medicine was sold in the gourd?

Not only was Wang Xuba and the others confused, but at this moment, Li Xu, who was walking in front of the team, was also as confused as the second monk. The old lady Shou Pei Caozhi has already changed places, and now the new Taishou Wang Shouren and Tongshou Wu Qi of Qi County are his old acquaintances, and the three of them were used to it casually back then, but now they are singing the tune of officialdom, which is really awkward.

He didn't dare to hold it up in front of the old man, so he quickly jumped off the war horse and thanked him for a long time. Wang Shouren and Wu Qi didn't dare to accept his return salute, so they took half a step to the side and said in unison: "Lord Li killed me and waited, if I had known that my lord was tired of taking the wrong way, I should have gone to the Yellow River to pick it up." It's just that the news arrived in a hurry, and there was no time to prepare in a hurry. If you are sluggish, please don't blame the adults! ”

"Why do the two brothers see each other like this? It's been less than two years since you said goodbye, don't you recognize Li? On a cold day, Li Xu saw sweat on his head and protested with a red face.

"Your Majesty has given you the sword, the lower officials, how dare the lower officials and the adults again, and then call them brothers!" Wang Shouren is not a master who can let go, so he stammered and responded.

"Treasure knife, Shangcha?" Li Xu was even more confused when he heard this, and his eyes widened, as if flowers had grown on the other party's face.

"Master Li must have come in a hurry and missed the Qin Mission." Wu Qi is very smart, and after a little hesitation, he understands the reason. "Your Majesty once gave your Excellency the golden sword used by the Emperor, and ordered the officials of the entire Henan Province to listen to your lordship's dispatch. Besides, the Lord is now the ambassador of Henan Province to arrest him, and I am all subordinate to the Lord at the moment, so of course we should meet with the courtesy of the lower officials! ”

"What is this?" Li Xu was confused for a while. But soon, he figured out the crux of the matter. When he was in Hebei, he had heard rumors that the imperial court had ordered him to inspect Henan Province to arrest the ambassador, but the holy decree had not crossed the Yellow River for a long time, and he did not know the specific content at all. The county of Qi was located south of the Yellow River, and when the imperial court made appointments to itself, it was customary to send a letter to the relevant prefecture and county so that local officials could be prepared. Therefore, in his own eyes, he and Wang Shouren, Wu Qi and other guys are still peers who are not subordinate to each other, but in the eyes of the other party, the two sides are already superiors and subordinates to each other, and they have to take it seriously.

"Lord Qincha, who passed on the holy decree, I'm afraid he is still wandering in the Tiger Prison Right now!" Li Xu, who had figured out all the joints, shook his head with a wry smile, "Besides, I came to Licheng to worship General Zhang as an old minister. Brother Shouren, Brother Yulin doesn't have to be polite! ”

[Remember the URL . 三五Chinese网]