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After the founding of the state of Chu, the Marquis of Chu went on several expeditions to the north, all of which lost troops and returned in vain. After all the tossing, the national strength of the Great Chu was immediately consumed. The strategic measures for Beihu could only be changed from offense to defense.

There is a saying that goes well, "If you don't kill a tiger, there will be future troubles." If you fail to pacify Beihu, Beihu finds an opportunity, but sends a small group of elite cavalry to harass the northern line of Dachu by surprise every year. They actually broke through the checkpoints, marched into the territory of Dachu, burned, killed and looted, and then before the reinforcements arrived, the Beihu cavalry had already returned to the grassland, drinking kumiss to celebrate.

Now Shuozhou is barren and barren, which is the reason.

The founder of the Great Chu, Chu Houxiong, had a great plan. Although he could not destroy the Beihu, after several plans, in order to prevent the wanton intrusion of the Beihu cavalry, he exhausted the power of the whole country and recruited hundreds of thousands of civilian troops, which cost a lot of manpower and material resources. A hundred miles to the north, an ancient Hanshui ferry was built.

There are countless dead bones buried here, some from Chu people and some from Hu people.

On both sides of the Hanshui Ancient Ferry, many large and small trees have grown, so that outside the desolate Yanmen Pass, there is a hope of vitality. It flows from west to east.

The Hanshui Ancient Ferry is about five miles wide and the water depth is six feet. It is the best barrier to guard against landlubbers and barbarians. There is only a large stone bridge about 100 meters wide on both sides of the Hanshui Ancient Ferry. If you want to invade Yanmen Pass, you can only pass through here. Otherwise, you have to sail across the Hanshui Ancient Ferry, but this is not the specialty of the barbarians. In addition, there is an outpost of the Beizhen Army in this area. , If there is any movement, preparations will be made at Yanmen Pass, and it will be difficult to reach the sky if you want to tackle the problem.

In addition to Yanmen Pass, if Hu people want to enter the territory of Great Chu, they can only enter from Yangguan in Mobei. However, in the northwest is Yongzhou, where the royal family of Great Chu lived. The soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, and Yangguan is not like Yanmenguan. Because Yangguan is located on the border of Yongzhou, and Yongzhou is a land rich in Chu, manpower and material resources are extremely rich, and it is ten times stronger than Shuozhou in Yanmenguan. The difficulty of Chu is much greater than that of Yanmen.

At this time, Xue Poye was riding a gray horse with Xiao Shitou, staring at the ancient ferry of the Han River in a daze. In Xue Poye's view, such a huge river excavated by hand, would not be possible in an era without machinery and equipment. , is simply a miracle.

Those who are familiar with Xue Poye must not recognize his appearance at this time, and Xiao Shitou is also completely different at this time.

The handsome Xue Poye, who often wears a strange smile on his face, looks like a dying patient at this time. His skin is burnt yellow, and his hair is messed up. He looks like a savage. The most peculiar thing is that his left eyelid It was deformed and twisted, and the chin was also twisted and turned upwards. No matter how ugly it looked, coupled with a linseed cloth, it was extremely desolate, and it was completely different from the previous Xue Poye.

The little stone doesn't look very clean, although it is not as yellow and thin as Xue Poye, but it looks like an extremely mentally handicapped imbecile, who has been playing with a very ordinary dagger in his hand, which seems to be covered with If it is covered with rust and dust, it is better to say that it is a piece of scrap iron than a dagger.

Two strange people, sitting on the thin gray horse, stayed quietly on the bank of Hanshui Ancient Ferry.

The golden lion is too conspicuous, so it has already returned to Hangzhou with the team, and this gray horse is the most inconspicuous horse in the team. For these two guys, it is very suitable.

"Little Shitou, after crossing the bridge, the danger ahead is extremely dangerous, are you really not afraid?" Xue Poye looked at the little Shitou in his arms and asked softly.

Xiao Shitou smiled and said: "Master, as long as I am with you, I am not afraid of anything, isn't it just bandits and barbarians, I can take care of them without Master's help." Xiao Shitou looked confident and ecstatic The vigor of the mind, the weird ecstasy step, and the ecstasy fingering that he just practiced are really enough to make him stinky.

Xue Poye laughed. The once silent and introverted little stone gradually opened his closed heart after he followed him, and he also began to build up the belief in life.

It's just that after following the master for a long time, he also acquired some of the master's bad habits, such as femininity, forbearance, and even... self-righteousness!

"Well, you and I, master and apprentice, let's see how fierce the wild wolf in the prairie is!" Xue Poye tightened the reins and yelled, and the gray horse immediately spread its hooves, rushed up the bridge, and headed straight to the opposite bank gallop past.

……

……

Anyone who is familiar with the ancient Hanshui Ferry knows that there are rows of tall trees on the south bank of the Hanshui Ancient Ferry, which stand tall and towering, which is quite different from the windy and sandy Yanmen Pass hundreds of miles away. very different.

The north bank of Hanshui Ancient Ferry was not only caused by horses and people sinking many years ago, but also because of the change of terrain. There are overgrown bushes here, and it is a huge swamp. Except for the clear roads that have already been explored, those things look normal. However, there are huge dangers hidden on the dark road.

Many people who go astray will sink into the mud, leaving no bones.

Xue Poye knows this kind of terrain, no matter how high your martial arts are, no matter how powerful your soldiers are, you still have to take one step at a time, move forward cautiously, lead the gray horse slowly along the long-traveled road, see There was a faint mist floating above the swamp, and I knew it was miasma.

There are a lot of poisonous insects in the swamp, and the smell is not very pleasant. Xue Poye frowned, took out two ribbons, and covered his nose with himself and the small stone. Thinking about the businessmen passing by, it was really a journey hardships.

The swamp was filled with mist. Although it was daytime, the distance was not far away. Looking ahead, the fog was thick, and it was impossible to determine the size of the swamp.

"This is really a natural barrier." Xue Poye thought to himself: "It will take a lot of time for this barbarian iron cavalry to pass this level, and some people will be lost."

Xiao Shitou was also curiously observing the surroundings of the swamp, and suddenly asked: "Master, didn't you say that there are bandits here at Hanshui Ancient Ferry? Why didn't we see them?"

Xue Poye was stunned, and cursed: "Little brat, do you really want to meet the bandits? Don't let the bandits cook it and eat it."

"Hee hee, we're not Tang Seng, what do they eat us for?" Xiao Shitou didn't take it seriously. Xue Poye told the story of Journey to the West, and he always liked it very much. I have tried it myself, but I can't test how strong my kung fu is. I have always regretted it. If I meet two bandits this time to test it, it will be a great thing.

Xue Poye smiled wryly and shook his head. The gray horse was slowly moving forward in the misty swamp. Along the way, he might even meet a few barbarian caravans who were about to enter the Central Plains. He often travels back and forth between the two places, understands some Chu dialect, and tells Xue Poye that the swamp is several tens of miles in size. People on the journey only need half a day, while novices need nearly a day. Even if they pass quickly and smoothly, it will take more than half a day.

Before entering the swamp, it is necessary to calculate the progress of the trip, and you must get out of the swamp before sunset. Once it gets dark, the miasma in the swamp will be more serious, and it can kill people with poison. They didn't dare to enter the swamp to rob, and because of this, some caravans with insufficient strength wanted to hide from the bandits at night, and they passed the swamp overnight, and nine out of ten died in the swamp.

When the Hu man was talking, he pointed casually and said, "Look there, aren't there still dead bones?"

After Xue Poye and Xiao Shitou were reminded by him, they realized that in the weeds and bushes in the swamp, there were really dead bones, but even the color of the dead bones was dark brown, obviously the poison of this miasma was extraordinary.

After receiving this news, the two of them accelerated their speed even more. Although their martial arts had already reached the level of Wu Dao warriors, they did not dare to take lightly against miasma, a naturally formed opponent, and only wanted to hurry up and leave. This place is full of traps.

However, when he met a boa constrictor as thick as a thigh on the way, Xiao Shitou finally begged his master to stop and let him practice his hands. After twists and turns, he cut the python into five pieces with the rusty dagger in his hand.

Xue Poye could only admire the little guy's natural bravery and bloodthirsty hidden deep in his bones.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, the two rode gray horses and followed the road pointed out by the barbarians. In the gray mist, they never saw the exit.

Xue Poye was quite anxious. He obviously felt that there were more and more miasma around him, and the pungent smell was getting stronger and stronger. If he couldn't get out of the swamp before dark, the consequences would be unimaginable.

As he was about to speed up, a scream suddenly came from his ear. The sound was very weak and seemed to be far away, but he could vaguely hear the great pain in the sound, coming from not far ahead.

"Master, is it a bandit?" After killing the python, Xiao Shitou was immersed in excitement all the time. He obviously also heard the faint scream, and couldn't help clenching his fists, appearing even more excited. In the excitement, Naturally, there is also tension.

Xue Poye frowned. It was getting dark and the miasma was coming. He didn't want to meet those bandits, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go around them and don't get entangled." There are many intricate roads in this swamp, and most of the roads are They were all explored by caravans in order to avoid bandits ambushing in the swamp, and almost every road that was found was marked to let others know that this road was passable.

"Then don't we care about it?" Xiao Shitou blinked his eyes, his voice was extremely shrill, and it seemed that he was tortured by the bandits: "Master, didn't you usually say that we should be chivalrous people? Then Someone must have been caught by the bandits, why don't we save them?"

Xue Poye was about to turn his horse's head to bypass other roads. Hearing what he said, he smiled wryly and said, "Little Shitou, if we can't get out of the swamp before dark, we will have to be rescued by others. The swamp is the old den of those bandits, even if we go there, we may not be their opponents here, don't tell them to catch them, the Beihu Grassland has not yet arrived, it will be here."

Xiao Shitou said solemnly: "I will remember what Master said. From now on, we must protect ourselves first. As for the safety of others, we can ignore it."

Xue Poye patted Xiao Shitou's head lightly, and said with a smile: "Haha, little guy, are you sarcastic master? It's true to keep yourself, and it doesn't mean that you don't care about other people's safety... In this way, let's go secretly Take a look, if we can save it, we will save it, if the bandits are too aggressive and we know we are invincible, then it is better to go early, but don't forget, we still have to go to the prairie."

Xiao Shitou giggled and said, "I knew, Master is still very chivalrous in his heart."

The two got off their horses, led the horses, and groped towards the direction of the sound. They looked like savages, and with ribbons around their noses, they looked very strange, but they really looked like they were lying in ambush in a swamp. The savages of the land.

Are there snakes and insects swimming in the bushes? The stench is disgusting.

The voice gradually became clear, and both of them could hear it. The voice was tinged with fear, as if they had encountered something extremely terrifying. The two looked at each other, and they were even more sure that the pedestrian must have been caught by the bandits. It's tormenting now.

Xue Poye knew that the gray horse was too big a target, so he tied the gray horse to a bush, and then quietly approached with a small stone.

The swamp is overgrown with shrubs, and miasma is floating here. It is a very secret place to lurk here. The two of them advanced more than 200 meters, and they saw a few figures flickering in front of them. They immediately hid themselves behind the bushes and moved forward intently. look.

There was a big quagmire in front of him, like a pond made of mud. On the edge of the quagmire, there were already three or four big men in fur clothes struggling and rolling on the ground, moaning in pain, and several weapons were scattered around.

And in the quagmire, at this time, there was a person slowly sinking down, the mud had already reached his chest, Xue Poye knew that this was the horror of the swamp, once he fell into it and no one rescued him, he could only wait for death.

Although he couldn't see what the guy in the quagmire looked like, his hoarse screams were clearly heard by the people around him, but this guy didn't seem to die immediately, because he was still holding his hand. There is a rope, and the other end of the rope extends straight to the shore. A guy who is not very tall but is very thickly dressed is holding the other end. It is really hard to see if he is saving people, because he is just casually Holding the other end, the forked hands stood on the shore, and did not pull the people in the mud out of the mud.

That guy was wearing a cowhide hat unique to the Hu people, covering most of his face, and beside him, there was a taller guy who was also dressed very thickly, and he also wore a cowhide hat on his head, but he It was sitting on a big tree stump, very leisurely.

"Master, two barbarians and bandits!" Xiao Shitou whispered.

Xue Poye nodded, and looked around carefully. There were really only these two bandits. These two bandits actually defeated five or six strong men, and their skills were really not simple.

"Hero... hero, spare your life... spare your life...!" Seeing his body slowly sinking into the quagmire, the big man inside begged for mercy, but he spoke authentic Chu dialect, and he seemed to be a merchant of Da Chu .

However, Xue Poye carefully observed the few people lying on the ground struggling and rolling, and they were naturally in the same group as the people in the quagmire. They were dressed strangely and wore yellow turbans on their heads, but they did not look like businessmen.

Xue Poye patted Xiao Shitou's shoulder lightly, and said in a low voice: "Things are a bit weird, don't act rashly."

The guy standing on the shore and pulling the other end of the rope said loudly: "I've said it several times, tell me where your boss is, and I'll let you go, hurry up, time is running out, after a while, you can going to drown."

As soon as this person spoke, Xue Poye immediately frowned. He felt that the voice was extremely familiar, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't remember who it was.

"Ying... hero... I really can't say, I... If I say... say... big brother will... kill me...!" The people in the quagmire begged tearfully.

He is totally a weakling!

The sitting guy finally said: "You don't have to be afraid, seven or eight of you ambushed the two of us and almost hurt us. We have to talk to your elder brother. If you tell where your elder brother is, we will let him go." You, otherwise, don’t blame us for not helping you, you see, you are about to sink.” This guy spoke in a choked voice, pretending to be rude, but as long as someone who is a little more careful can find out, this guy’s There were crisp vocal cords in the voice, it was a woman's voice, and it couldn't be covered up.

After Xue Poye heard this voice, his whole body shook, and he instantly recognized who this person was.

And Xiao Shitou also thought of who it was for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Master, it's... the Beihu woman I met on the road!"

The one sitting on the tree stump was indeed Sumayou, the wild beauty of Beihu, and the one standing on the shore holding the rope was naturally Sumayou’s companion Chinatai. I met here, these two people arrived at Yanmen Pass a few days earlier than me, could it be that they have not left the pass all this time, they just happened to leave the pass together today?

As soon as Xue Poye thought that it was Sumayou, Sumayou's big snow-white buttocks clearly appeared in Xue Poye's mind. The big snow-white buttocks twisted slightly, and the two petals of snow. Buttocks were full of elasticity, and his heart skipped a beat.

Knowing that these two people are Sumayou and Chinatai, Xue Poye quickly figured out the situation in front of him. The so-called "merchants" are actually real bandits, struggling on the ground and The big men who were trapped were all bandits who were ambushing in the Hanshui Gudu Swamp. They did not know how to attack the two of Su Mayo. But in turn, he was subdued by two Beihu women.

Su Mayou stood up and said angrily: "Chu people really don't like to do things. If you say it, it will be better to die then than to die now? Say it quickly, it will be dark, if you don't say it, the miasma will rise up. You die faster."

Among the bandits struggling and rolling on the ground, another person suddenly said: "I...I said...!"

Sumayou smiled and said, "There are still some sensible ones." Walking over, he stepped on the man's chest with his left foot in leather boots, and said, "Say it quickly, I'll let you go."

"This... there are four hills in this area, we are... we belong to the Chu Gang..., our elder brother is...!" A feathered arrow shot out from nowhere and hit the man's head. The man died instantly without making a sound.

"Girl, are you looking for me? Haha..., or I will tell you personally, my name is Su Shisanlang!" A voice sounded, hazy and gloomy, and in the voice, a group of people came out of the mist slowly. People.