Zhurou

Chapter 19
According to the original plan, going from Dengzhou to Jingzhao should turn northeast along the official road, then go northwest, passing through dozens of counties and towns.

But at this moment, he only traveled more than a hundred li to the east before stepping out of the boundary of Dengzhou, and the halfway station has already looked like this.

The anxious man sneaked into the post station and searched around, his tone changed, and said: "I'm afraid it's not a robber, nor a refugee, but... Di Bing came."

The team leader brought a few people in to have a look, and when he came out, his expression was not right, so he asked the anxious man, "Is there any resting place near the left?"

The other person turned pale, and said: "There are few people on this road, I should rest for a night before leaving, and I will have to run a hundred miles to the next station."

The team leader's face became even uglier, and he murmured softly, "It's so weird, it really looks like Di Ren."

Zhao Mingzhi couldn't help frowning when he heard several people say this.

When I was in the jurisdiction of Dengzhou, I was normal, and I didn't go far. Why did Di Bing appear all of a sudden?
Could it be scattered scouts?
It was getting late at this time, and in this desolate place halfway, it was too late to retreat.

Seeing this, she said: "There is no one here, it's really helpless, why don't we just rest there for one night."

This is also a helpless move.

After a long day of driving, they couldn't hold on if they didn't rest.

The team leader hesitated for a moment, picked up two chairs and came out, first asked Zhao Mingzhi and Yushuang to wait at the door, then led a few guards to cover the door, and fiddled with them for a long time before inviting them in.

As soon as he entered the door, Zhao Mingzhi caught a glimpse of a thick piece of incense ash on the ground in the hall.

Even so, a faint stench and bloody smell could still be smelled.

She saw that the tables, chairs and walls were full of signs of destruction, and she knew that something extremely tragic must have happened here, so she didn't ask any further questions, just gathered together with everyone, and simply ate the dry food she carried with her.

After dinner, Zhao Mingzhi and Yushuang went to the well behind to wash their hands.

While Yushuang was looking for a basin, she searched around and saw half a gourd scoop on the ground in a corner, so she went to pick it up, and just bent down, she glanced out of the corner of her eye, and saw insects and ants beside a few piles of firewood. gather.

Taking a closer look, the heart was beating wildly, almost jumping out of the chest cavity - this angle was close to the corner of the firewood, and half of the bloody palm could be seen, and behind the firewood, there were all kinds of corpses that had been hacked by knives. Unrecognizable, bloody.

The face of one of them has been destroyed, but its jaw is about to split open. Half of its head has been cut off from the right ear to the left lower jaw, leaving a pair of dry and bloodstained eyes facing the same nostril.

This scene was so horrifying, Zhao Mingzhi had excellent eyesight, and saw it clearly. Unprepared, he almost cried out, and managed to hold back, but was so frightened that his hand was unsteady. The gourd ladle was already in his hand. Suddenly, it fell to the ground with a "bang".

Seeing this, the guards who could follow in the main hall sensed that something was wrong, and quickly stepped forward to block the firewood with their bodies, and were so anxious that they were at a loss what to do, and turned to call the leader.

Everyone rushed out together, seeing the direction Zhao Mingzhi was looking at, they didn't know where.

And Yushuang, who went to the kitchen to look for pots, heard the movement, came out hurriedly, turned her head to look, but her whole body froze, after a few breaths, she turned around and covered her mouth, ran a few steps, found a corner and vomited .

The team leader got angry and scolded: "Who was so careless, didn't he say it carefully!"

Everyone was speechless.

In a hurry, how can I take care of so much.

Zhao Mingzhi forced himself to be calm, suppressed his fear, pretended to be a normal person, and tried his best to smile: "Nothing, I was not prepared for a while, and I was a little surprised."

But he didn't dare to stay here alone again, and after Yushuang finished vomiting, he picked up the gourd and washed it, and took a ladle of water for her to rinse her mouth.

Back in the hall, Zhao Mingzhi still didn't recover.

It was the one in a hurry who had no choice but to stand up and ask about tomorrow's itinerary.

After watching the team leader, a group of people turned to look at Zhao Mingzhi.

Zhao Mingzhi then asked, "How did you get there?"

He hurriedly said: "I was heading east, and there is a post station in Yongxing Town, which is another 180 miles, where I can change horses... But now, I don't know if Di Bing has left, how many people there are, and what the situation is. "

Zhao Mingzhi asked again: "If you don't go to the east, how else can you go?"

"Over there, we can only go back and wait for a few days to find out what's going on ahead..."

Seeing that he hesitated to speak, Zhao Mingzhi asked again: "Is there any other way? Why don't you just say it out and discuss it with everyone, and let's talk about it if it can be done."

The anxious foot hesitated for a moment, and still said: "Actually, the little one knows another road, which is near the left. That road can lead to the direction of Jingzhao without going east, but it is a bit difficult to walk - you have to cross the river twice, Xia It doesn’t matter if there is water in the daytime, but now the water is icy, and I used to build pontoon bridges, but I don’t know if I can cross the pontoon bridge this time.”

Zhao Mingzhi asked about the road conditions in detail, and discussed with the leader for a while.

Because I don't know if the Di people passing by the station will return or not, and which direction to go, I can only send people out the next day to investigate before making a decision.

Silent all night.

Now that Di Bing was around, everyone became more careful in their actions.

Early the next morning, the guards took off their uniforms and dressed up as servants of ordinary wealthy households.

Zhao Mingzhi's big cloak was low-key in color, but it looked smooth and smooth, and it was obviously of high value, so she also put it away, and she and Yushuang changed into coarse cotton padded jackets, and painted their faces with gamboge powder mixed with pot bottom ash.
After everyone finished packing, they saw that the pathfinder almost rolled into him.

There are indeed Di people, and not only are they not scattered Di soldiers, but elite soldiers. They don't know where they came from.

"The little horse is fast, and it was time to change horses. If we go forward, we will run into each other in less than an hour or two. There is no news ahead, and the little one can't find out all the information. I don't dare to inquire about these soldiers. What is the origin, but looking at their marching appearance, it seems that they are going to Dengzhou..."

As the man spoke, his lips turned purple and his complexion turned pale, he only asked tremblingly, "Should we retreat quickly?"

There are only a dozen of them, and against thousands of Diren cavalry, once they are discovered, they will be crushed directly before they even have time to ask for help.

Zhao Mingzhi naturally knew the pros and cons.

It's just that I don't know Di Bing's direction and purpose for the time being, I'm afraid he will be trapped just because of that retreat.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked the anxious man, "You just said that the trail leading to Jingzhao Mansion is not easy to find?"

He hurriedly said: "If you walk fast, you can dodge one or two."

There is no need to choose any more.

Everyone hurriedly packed their things, and when they were about to set off, Zhao Mingzhi woke up suddenly, and hurriedly asked the pathfinder, "Do you know that Di Bing is coming from the counties along the way?"

The guard was stunned, thought carefully, shook his head and said: "I really don't know, just look at the speed of the soldiers, and they are all strong and strong, they are really elite, they don't look like they have just fought in battle."

Zhao Mingzhi became more and more uneasy when he heard that, he turned his horse's head and said to the leader: "Why don't you send a few people out and inform the counties and towns along the way to make preparations first..."

When she said this, her heart jumped wildly, thinking of the book she read the day before, she said anxiously: "The Dengzhou Xiang army seems to be changing defenses in the past few days, and the defenders in the city have a few days to spare..."

And once Dengzhou is taken down, they will set up camp based on it, and kill Caizhou where the emperor Zhao Hong is, and the hasty march is only three or four days away!

(End of this chapter)