Volume 3: Liaodong Storms Chapter 4: Escaping (Part 1)

  According to the request of Xue Chen, the deputy general of Longjing Pass, Zhu Yinglong and others got up at midnight, packed their things and rushed to the North Gate. At the agreed time, they quietly and quickly opened the North Gate and stepped into Mongolian territory.

  Tonight, the several hundred war horses in the Longjingguan army stable probably won't have the strength to stand up, because they've all been given laxatives. To be precise, it was "Sun Shouxing" who gave them the laxatives, but whether or not it was actually him is unknown. Anyway, from now on, the name Sun Shouxing will be wanted throughout the entire Ming dynasty. Incidentally, he and his companions might have some minor troubles, but that's okay. The imperial court wants to issue a warrant for their arrest as a group, so they can disperse and hide individually. In this era, there are no cameras or photographs on identity documents, so unless someone is an idiot or has very distinctive features, the chances of being caught are extremely low. Moreover, only a few of them have shown their faces outside, and they've slightly disguised themselves with fake identities. So even if a wanted notice is issued, it's impossible to catch anyone, which is why Zhu Yinglong isn't worried about this.

  "Your Highness, Xue Zhuang dared to release people so readily, I'm afraid there's an ambush on the road ahead?" After leaving the pass, Xiong Tingyi quietly reminded Zhu Yinglong in a low voice.

  "That makes sense. According to General Yī Xióng's view, where would he set up an ambush?" Zhu Yinglong also thought of this and asked with a frown.

  "In the end, I remembered that there was a mountain pass in front of us, and we had to turn east from there. There was a forest by the side of the road, and I guessed that if the enemy wanted to set an ambush, it would be there." Xiong Tingyi was familiar with the geographical environment of this area, which was a place for ambushes, and he knew it best.

  "We must pass through Jifengkou, only when we reach the Mongolian territory will we be safe." Zhu Yinglong took over and said.

  "General Lu, pass down the order, beware of traps!" Xiong Tingbi whispered to Lu Haotian beside him. Zhu Yinglong suddenly felt his face burning with shame. He was still a bit too tender after all. As an old general, his thoughts were much more meticulous than his own. It seemed that he had a lot to learn on this journey and must not forget himself just because he had a few hundred years of experience. The wisdom of the ancients was still being used by people in his time, which was the accumulation of thousands of years of wisdom. He was only standing at a higher starting point, but in fact, his starting point was still behind others.

  "Beware of the forest on the left, beware of hidden arrows!" The team turned left around the mountain pass, and Xiong Tingyi calmly gave another order. This was a matter of life and death, not a time for showing off. Zhu Yinglong obediently handed over the command of the team to Xiong Tingyi and followed his arrangements quietly.

  The team marched halfway into the range of the forest on the left side of the road, when an arrow suddenly broke through the air, and with a "puff" sound, one of the horses beside Zhu Yinglong fell to the ground with a loud crash. Fresh blood splattered onto Zhu Yinglong's eyes, and he felt a sudden heat in his eyes, seeing only a dark red blur. The intense smell of blood rushed into his nostrils. Whether it was in the previous time-space or this one, he had never seen blood before. He had originally steeled himself for a fierce battle, but hadn't expected that the first person to get stained with blood would be himself. He stood there, frozen in shock.

  "Form a phalanx!" Xiong Tingbi swiftly drew his waist knife and calmly shouted at the crowd.

  These fifty soldiers of the Hu Ben camp were carefully selected, although some had not yet been on the battlefield, but they showed a calm and composed attitude in the face of danger, quickly protecting important personnel such as Zhu Yinglong, each doing their job, and already showing the appearance of excellent soldiers.

  "What kind of hero is hiding in the woods, shooting hidden arrows to ambush us? Come out quietly!" After waiting for a long time, no one came out from the forest, and there was not even a slight movement. So Xiong Tingbi shouted at the woods.

  In the woods, there were over a hundred of Xue Jun's men lying in ambush, led by one of his subordinates, Bai Zong. They had been hiding since dusk and only saw Zhu Yinglong and others approaching cautiously at midnight. Not hearing any horse hooves behind them, Bai Zong realized that something must have happened to their superior, or else they would have taken care of these private salt smugglers by now. Since there was no sign of the expected reinforcements, he gritted his teeth and quietly gave an order to one of his archers to test the reaction of the other side. After shooting an arrow, which killed one of the opponent's horses, Bai Zong's men were met with a calm and composed response from the enemy, which made him feel chilled to the bone. He realized that even if they managed to defeat the enemy, he would likely lose many of his own men. Therefore, no matter how much Ren Xun was yelling at him, he did not dare to move any of his men.

  Since there was no movement in the forest, Xiong Tingyi didn't want to waste time here either. He let Lu Haotian be on guard while directing everyone to slowly move forward.

  They finally walked out of the ambush range of that forest, and this trip was considered to be surprisingly safe. As for why others would let them go so easily, they didn't even bother to analyze it.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief, the sky was about to brighten up, they were now estimated to be dozens of miles away from Longjing Pass, even if there were pursuers, they couldn't catch up. The crowd took a short rest, Zhu Yinglong also wiped clean the dried horse blood on his face, then continued to mount their horses and gallop eastward.

  Xifengkou: a mountain pass in the eastern part of the Yanshan Mountains, also known as Lulong Pass. The road connects the north and south. In the Han Dynasty, Songtingguan was established here, with a long history. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao fought against the Wuhuan people in Liaoxi, and during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Murong Chui of the Former Yan marched into the Central Plains, both passing through this pass. Later, it was renamed Xifengkou. According to legend, a man who had been stationed here for a long time did not return, his father searched everywhere and finally met him at the foot of the mountain, they hugged each other and laughed loudly until they died of joy, and were buried here, hence the name. Around the Ming Yongle period, it was mistakenly called Xifenghui. In the third year of the Ming Jingtai reign, a city was built and a pass was established, called Xifengkou Pass. Unfortunately, this originally was the northern border barrier of the Great Ming Dynasty, but now it has become the territory of the Houjin and Mongolian people. Xiong Tingbi and Zhu Yinglong stood under the pass, sighing endlessly.

  "Our dynasty once established the three guards of Duo Yan, Tai Ning and Fu Yu in Daning. Among them, Duo Yan Guard was the strongest, and the other two guards basically followed the lead of Duo Yan Guard. They bullied our weak army, often violating our Jifengkou pass, but were defeated by General Qi Jiguang, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town. Later, they intermarried with the Mongolian Khorchin tribe and gradually surrendered to the Mongolian Khorchin tribe. It turns out that the territory we are going to pass through next is the land ruled by Albatu, the leader of Duo Yan Guard who surrendered to the Khorchin tribe."

  "Isn't it the Khorchin Zaruud banner?" Zhu Yinglong asked strangely.

  "The king's question is not bad, going north from Jifengkou is the Khorchin Zaruud banner, and going east is the land of Duoyanwei Albatu as the leader, but they are now considered to be the Kharchin Mongols." Xiong Tingbi explained.

  "It turns out that's how it is. General Xiong, why didn't you explain more clearly? You've caused me to misunderstand." Zhu Yinglong said with some blame.

  Xiong Tingbi scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I haven't been to Guanwai for four or five years. At that time, I was excited and forgot."

  Xiong Hu saw his father, at such an old age, making a gesture of a child admitting their mistake, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. The people around them also followed suit, bursting into laughter. Zhu Yinglong also found Xiong Tingyue's action somewhat comical and couldn't help but laugh along, but this earned him a resentful glare from Xiong Hu!

  "Your Highness, I've heard that about ten miles northeast of here is the Xu Taifu City, built by King Xudacheng of Zhongshan, Xu Da. People from outside the pass often say it's a piece of jade in the Yanshan Mountains, with steep cliffs and a serene environment, making it a great place to visit. Shall we go take a look?" Lü Hao Tian chimed in.

  Zhu Yinglong was worried about the distant affairs, and was just about to say no, but when he glanced at the many longing eyes around him, he thought to himself: these people have followed me through life and death, and we've reached the end of the road together. If I can't even fulfill this small wish for them, then I'm not being a very good leader. Moreover, Xu Da and Xu Wangye had fought bravely in the north and south, especially against the Mongols, and had defeated their armies several times, earning them the reputation as war gods among the soldiers. These men were all military personnel, and naturally yearned to see the city built by such a legendary figure. So he agreed with a smile: "Alright, Lu Ying's proposal is good, I'd like to go take a look too! Let's all go together!" The surrounding area erupted in cheers, and Zhu Yinglong deeply felt that he had made a correct decision. To control an army, aside from controlling their thoughts, the hearts of men are also crucial. Only when the hearts of men are aligned can one achieve victory without fail.