Han Xiang

Chapter 24 Absolutely Impossible

Seeing the surrounding situation, Zhang Liao already knew that something happened to the grain ship, but he didn't know who destroyed it. The biggest suspect should be Liu Bei, but if Xiao Pei sent troops, he would definitely not be able to hide it from Lu Bu's eyes and ears.

"Who set the fire?" Zhang Liao asked without guessing.

Long Xiang shook his head, "Last night the sky was cloudy and dark. I don't know who did it, but I guess I've been staring at it for a long time."

"How to say?"

"When they poured tung oil on the boat to burn it, the bottom of the grain boat was also destroyed. In the end, they couldn't fight the fire and pursue them at the same time. In the end, they won less than ten boats."

Zhang Liao frowned after hearing this, and said to himself, "It looks like it's been planned for a long time."

"Could it be Liu Bei? I have fought with him in this area before, and this person is very familiar with the terrain." Long Xiang deliberately threw out Liu Bei to confuse the public.

"Long Sima's deduction has some truth, but this matter still needs to be investigated." Zhang Liao was noncommittal, and then asked, "Did you see Guan Yu or Zhang Fei? How many of them were there? Where did they go in the end?"

"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't see it. The fire was shining in the dark night, and the people who came didn't report their names. It is estimated that there were hundreds or thousands of people, and all of them were cavalry. Because the last general had only forty cavalry, so I didn't do anything afterwards. Dare to pursue, only to see the direction of Huaiyin." Long Xiang pointed to the southeast.

Huaiyin?Zhang Liao was at a loss, thinking that Liu Bei might be able to avoid the scouts if he went around in a big circle, but hundreds of cavalry was an exaggeration, how many horses did Xiao Pei have in total?

"General Zhang, General Zhang." Seeing that Zhang Liao was silent, Long Xiang called out in a low voice.

Zhang Liao woke up from deep thought, "What's wrong?"

"Although the last general tried his best to snatch a few boats, but the boatmen were frightened last night and fled away in the chaos. Please ask General Zhang to take them and send them to Xiapi." Long Xiang pleaded with his fists clasped.

"Mr. Han is still waiting in Xiapi? Isn't Long Sima going?" Zhang Liao asked with squinted eyes.

Long Xiang shook his head and waved his hands: "The general has caused such a big disaster, so he must return to Shouchun immediately to plead guilty to the lord. As for the remaining few grain ships, the general will hand them over to General Zhang here, anyway, they will be sent to the next one." Hey, just ask Mr. Han to count it up, if you encounter bad guys along the way, I'm afraid only General Zhang can stop you."

"All right."

Zhang Liao nodded helplessly, looking at the distraught and tired soldiers on both sides of Surabaya, he really couldn't force Long Xiang to go to Xiapi with him, Long Xiang was Yuan Shu's soldier, Zhang Liao was not qualified to command.

After Long Xiang handed over the grain ship, he followed like a defeated rooster and headed southwest with the 'remnants'. The hundreds of boatmen who operated the ship were sent away by Tang Yu in advance, and they were waiting ten miles away.

Both Long Xiang and Tang Yu were unwilling to kill and silence, so they did ideological work for the boatmen in advance (both grace and power).

The boatmen will follow the guarded soldiers and secretly go to Hefei to live for a few years, and then take their family members to Hefei according to the situation, or return them to their hometown of Lujiang to reunite with their families.

On the way back to Shouchun, Tang Yu had a serious expression on his face, and when he was resting at night, he called Long Xiang aside.

"Yun Qi, let's get things done now. We might die if we go back to Shouchun. We might as well follow those boatmen and take a detour to Hefei." Because Tang Xi was alone, he made suggestions from his own point of view.

Long Xiang shook his head when he heard this, "If you defect now, don't you just call yourself out? And it will implicate General Qiao and Shouchun's family members. If the lord asks the crime back, my nephew will shoulder the responsibility. Uncle Xi only needs to restrain his subordinates. Just keep your mouth shut, don’t reveal the location of Hefei, otherwise all my efforts will be in vain.”

"Don't worry, Yun Qi, this is a big matter, what Uncle Xi saves, and the rest are loyal." Tang Yu patted his chest to assure, and then asked worriedly: "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Long Xiang nodded solemnly, he was not 100% sure, but at this time the commander must have confidence, otherwise the soldiers under his command would be affected.

Because the return trip was not in a hurry, besides sending a scout Pegasus to report the news, Long Xiang deliberately led the team for forty miles a day, and it took about ten days to arrive in Shouchun, while Zhang Liao escorted the only remaining eight grain ships. Arrived at the pier in Xiapi in the future.

At the same time that the grain ship Surabaya was attacked, Ji Ling's [-] troops approached Xiaopei, and Liu Bei sent Liu Yan to work in Xiapi, trying to lobby Lu Bu for help through Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and others.

Since Lu Bu received the first batch of dowry gifts, Han Yin has been pestering him with various names every day, and he hardly had time to meet other people until Zhang Liao sent someone to send back the news.

Seeing that Lu Bu's face changed drastically, Han Yin hurriedly asked, "General Lu, what's wrong with you?"

"The fleet from Huainan was attacked by gangsters in the lower reaches of Surabaya, causing more than [-] grain ships to be burned and sunk. In the end, only eight ships were saved." Lu Bu looked fierce.

"Ah?" Han Yin was so startled that the wine glass in his hand dropped, he swallowed and asked: "Then Long Sima and the others."

"The specific situation will be known when they arrive at Xiapi, but one thing is certain, someone is obstructing it." Lu Bu's eyes froze.

Han Yin suddenly felt like a thunderbolt, thinking that Long Xiang didn't do it on purpose, right?If this is the case, isn't this fellow's courage too great?

Lu Bu had no intention of having a banquet, so he stood up and cupped his hands, saying, "I'm going to the pier, sorry I can't accompany you any longer."

"Later, Marquis Wen, Han will also go to the pier to count." Han Yin stood up in a panic.

"Mr. Han, do as you please." After saying that, Lu Bu walked away in a huff, thinking that there are more than two hundred ships and eight ships left, what do you count?

Han Yin only had the carriage provided by the posthouse, which was far behind Lu Bu's red rabbit horse. When he arrived at the pier, Zhang Liao was nowhere to be seen. He asked the officers and soldiers on board the ship to find out that Long Xiang had not come to Pi. According to the scattered information obtained by Zhang Liao's subordinates, Han Yin Yin couldn't be sure if Long Xiang did it on purpose, or if there was some accident.

Han Yin looked at the scorched stern and thought to himself, is it really such a coincidence?
At this time, Lu Bu was in the Gaoshun barracks outside Xiapi City, summoned Zhang Liao, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian and other generals, and sent people into the city to invite Chen Gong, the military adviser.

"Is it really such a coincidence?" Lu Bu sat in the chair and patted the table, asking Han Yin the same question in his mind.

Zhang Liao clasped his fists and said, "When the final general meets Long Xiang, he is depressed and in a state of distress, and his subordinates are also in the same state, so it is unlikely that he is pretending."

Lu Bu leaned back, and said with a sneer, "The military rations of more than [-] hu is not something this kind of kid dares to mess around with. You all help analyze and analyze. If that Long Xiang is lying, who will be the mastermind behind the scenes? Long Xiang's words are true, but who are those hundreds of cavalrymen? They can't be really big-eared thieves, can they?"

"My lord, Xiaopei has less than a hundred horses, and Liu Bei doesn't have that many horses at all, unless he has secretly joined the generals of Mount Tai." Gao Shun took the lead in clasping his fists.

Cheng Lian then analyzed: "The last general thought it was unreliable. Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou in the past, and the generals headed by Zang Ba did not join him. On the contrary, the lord became the lord of Xuzhou, and Zang Ba wrote to the lord to express his favor. Not coming to the North."

"So Long Xiang is lying?" Lu Bu stroked his beard and frowned.

"Long Xiang's eyes are clear and his words don't evade, at least the general didn't see any flaws in the end, but is there a possibility." Zhang Liao hesitated to speak.

Lu Bu waved lightly, "Wen Yuan continue."

"Maybe it's Yuan Shu himself." Before Zhang Liao could finish his words, a sonorous voice suddenly came from outside the tent:
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

(End of this chapter)