There is a road that is "a barren mountain road at night, and the owl is called steep and frightened".

In the middle of the night, in the east of Chuzhou City, there was suddenly a rapid march, and the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps drifted quickly like a ghost, and after a while, it fell silent again. Now that there is no war, the state soldiers on the city wall are already a little lax, and after hearing the sound, the leading commander took the torch and shook it casually, and when he saw that there was no one around, he didn't care.

Originally, thinking that Xu Kuangheng was injured, Li Yuan did not plan to take him with him. It's not that I'm afraid of the scar-headed Ma Liu's gang of outlaws, in Li Yuan's eyes, Ma Liu's gang is the name of the leader, and then they are ruthless, in the final analysis, they are seventy or eighty gangsters, and in the face of their own fully armed five hundred regular army, there is no need to think about the results at all.

Li Yuan hesitated, if it was really as he deduced, and He Jingzhu was also involved, then Xu Kuangheng would not be able to stay in Chuzhou if he made this troubled water. However, so far, Mr. Xu's conversation and style of acting are quite in line with Li Yuan's taste, and he even thought that it was just right for the job to be smashed, and it was not impossible to recruit him under his command......

Araki Ridge, the land is as its name suggests.

Ten miles east of Chuzhou City, a protruding hill bag far away from the official road, named because of the dense trees and inaccessible. Following Xu Kuangheng's guidance, Li Yuan led the army to Araki Ridge, and the marching speed was much slower. The mountain road is actually not very narrow, and the horizontal row of four people can still accommodate it, but the grass and trees grow too vigorously, and the weeds on the side of the road even grow half a person high, covering from time to time, and it is dark at this time, and it is really depressing to not open the sight.

The night march had to be more cautious, coupled with this strange and quiet atmosphere, from time to time there was a sound like a wolf howling, Li Yuan had to order a hundred people to open the way, as much as possible to expand the bright field of vision, and then escort the cavalry in the middle and move slowly, walking for a while without change.

I don't know how long I walked, Li Yuan looked down and saw that the grass and trees were gradually fading, and the mountain road was gradually opening up. Sure enough, the sergeant in front came to report and found a broken temple.

There is only such a mountain road that is neither wide nor narrow to walk, and the forbidden army of 500 people is already lightly armed, and it is still unable to go fast, and the cavalry cannot be used. This confirmed Li Yuan's conjecture even more, and the officials and soldiers who sent down from heaven to arrest Wang Jingguo that day must have had a rumor in advance.

Liu Jiangsheng and several generals were ordered to lead people to explore the surrounding area of the ruined temple, and Li Yuan ordered the whole army to camp on the spot.

At this moment, he and Xu Kuangheng were surrounding the altar eighty steps east of the temple, discussing tomorrow's battle.

"Yu Hou, Mr. Xu!" Liu Jiangsheng was smiling, and led these generals to come over together.

Li Yuan nodded, and then said solemnly: "Before the time of Shen tomorrow, I will order someone to put a bag of sand on this altar." According to Mr. Xu, Ma Liu will send people to this altar to inspect it. When the man sees that there is something to leave, he will definitely go down the mountain to report back, remember not to expose it at this time, and just let the person leave. When we arrived, we will wait for the six leaders of the horse to come, and then we will do it. ”

Liu Jiangsheng was puzzled: "Yu Hou, what if the owner also sent someone here?" If you see that this altar is wrong, won't you bump into each other? ”

Li Yuan smiled faintly: "No need to worry!" It would be better if the proprietor sent someone up! I don't have to go through such a big deal to catch them when the time comes! ”

At this time, Xu Kuangheng, who seemed to be a staff member in the army, took over the words unhurriedly and concluded: "What Yu Hou said is very true! Generals, if there is no one to go up the mountain before the end of the day, we will bait and fish, and lead Nama Liu; If someone goes up the mountain, they will be caught as soon as the time comes! ”

The generals nodded solemnly, and then listened to Li Yuan's order: "Then act according to the plan!" Before sunrise, you wait for the consulates, hide the horses, hide the footprints of the mountain road, be sure to assemble before noon, and Mr. Xu will lead you to the ambush place! From this moment on, Mr. Xu's order is equivalent to my military order, remember not to tamper with it, and those who violate the order will be killed! ”

Xu Kuangheng was stunned in his heart, he didn't think that after consulting with Li Yuan, he would gain such a great trust, and hurriedly said: "I have made up my mind to live up to my high expectations!" ”

Seeing Li Yuan's full and rigorous appearance, the generals did not dare to slack off, and replied in unison: "We will obey the order!" ”

"Jiang Sheng, you lead my personal soldiers under my tent, hide in the temple together, and stand by randomly!"

Liu Jiangsheng just surrendered his hand to obey the order, and then thought of something, and hurriedly asked, "Yu Hou, what about you?" ”

I saw the corners of Li Yuan's mouth slightly upturned, and he smiled mysteriously: "Me? Hehe, I'm going to go to the meeting alone! ”

......

The next day, the rooster crows on Araki Ridge, and it returns to the silence it deserves. With the gusts of autumn wind blowing by, hidden in the forest and grass, not only the sound of insects, but also hundreds of slight breathing sounds.

In this dilapidated mountain temple, the statue of the god with a corner missing is facing several broken walls, and it is mysteriously quiet. Since the Huangchao Uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty, together with the original mountain people here, they have long been engulfed in the flames of war. It was originally a place for the people to sacrifice and seek blessings, but now it has become the starting point of smuggling.

As Li Yuan expected, Shen Shi had never even fallen a bird before, let alone someone visited. Liu Jiangsheng in the temple seized the opportunity, gently put down a bag of sand on the altar, and then hid in the temple again and waited.

Tonight's plan, everyone was extremely opposed, thinking that Li Yuan, as the coach, should not be alone in danger. It's not that Li Yuan wants to take advantage of the limelight, but tonight's target, Scarhead Ma Liu, since he has been a bandit for many years and can maneuver among officials, he must be extremely vigilant. Before the time comes, he will send people up the mountain repeatedly, and if he doesn't see the owner's carriage and horses, he will definitely not dare to appear in person, then Li Yuan's plan will be completely in vain.

The sun goes down, the night falls, and the moon rises again.

Suddenly, a little fire appeared on Araki Ridge, and then they joined together, reflecting the starry sky with each other.

Before the small ruined temple, dozens of big men with swords in their hands stumbled up like black waves. I saw two small men with torches parting a path from the crowd and leading a cold man dressed in black to come with heavy steps. Immediately afterwards, everyone hurriedly stood on both sides, all bowing their heads to greet them, not daring to look directly.

I saw that this person was not very tall in life, with a black face, sideburns and beard on his face, and a terrible scar that spread from the front of his forehead to the back of his head, which looked very hideous. The so-called green forest robbers often call themselves the sons of grass, and they only respect the sky and are not afraid of people. This bandit leader Scarhead Ma Liu, who had long been famous for his ferocity and cunning in the Huai River area, had a lot of blood on his hands, and when he arrived in front of this altar at this time, he also bowed pretentiously.

Ma Liu indifferently picked up the bag of sand on the altar, put it in the broad palm and kept going up and down, and then walked to the side expressionlessly, and asked a young man in white who was not familiar with him, "Isn't it walking on the sand today?" ”

He pointed to the cart with a few sacks behind the young man, and said suspiciously: "Why is there only one cart this time?" Didn't the proprietor not believe me Ma Liu? ”

I saw that the young man's face did not change, and he grinned brightly and said: "Recently, the limelight has been tight, and I heard that there is another Marquis of Jinling in the city, and the owner said that it is better to be cautious!" ”

"Duyu Hou?" Ma Liu looked back at the group of big men behind him, and then smiled contemptuously at the young man: "Little brother Xu is head back here, you might as well take a look at my brothers, who hasn't mentioned the head of the official army in his hand?" What about a Duyu Marquis? Just those red masters who have been wandering around in Jinling all day long, it is estimated that they will be scared when they see the knife! ”

The big men laughed one after another: "Hahaha! ......”

The young man was very calm, arched his hand and said: "I heard that the Marquis of Duyu, but he has just returned from the victory of the Chu State, and even His Majesty praises his wisdom and bravery!" Sixth brother, it's better to be careful! ”

Ma Liu raised his fingers and picked at his ears rudely, and then shouted impatiently: "Hmph! I said, little brother, why do you talk so much? Your proprietor is a relative of the Emperor! Are you still afraid of a Duyu Marquis? Hurry up the delivery, don't miss the hour! ”

The young man smiled slightly, then let go and said, "Then please!" ”

"Noise!" Ma Liu muttered a few words, then beckoned a few of his subordinates to step forward to pull the cart, and when he was about to turn around, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the young man's exposed shoes out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly his heart was shocked, and he shouted: "Yuntou Wupi!" You are an officer! ”

I saw that the young man in white stopped, obviously stunned for a moment. When he turned around, there was an extra sword in his hand, and the young man smiled calmly: "You answered correctly." ”