Chapter Thirteen: The White Horse Causes Trouble

  At noon, the scorching sun heats up the ground, evaporating the rain from last night that had softened the ground, and drying it out again. Such road conditions are suitable for traveling, but such weather is not suitable for going on the road.

  It was such an inopportune time for traveling, yet a long procession of carriages was making its way along the official road between Qinghe and Zhenzhu.

  Oxen and mules pulled carts, laborers followed, cavalrymen escorted on horseback, stretching for several miles. On the rear of the vehicles at the front, middle and end of the convoy, eye-catching apricot yellow flags were inserted, some with a large "grain" character written on them, others with a striking "Yuan" character.

  It seems this is Yuan Shao's grain transport team.

  That's right, this team of 200 cavalrymen, 800 infantrymen and 2,000 laborers is the grain transport team of the Ji State Army. The officer in charge of the escort is Lieutenant General Lyu Xiang, and the civilian official who accompanied him was Guo Tu, a member of the staff of the Governor of Ji Province.

  Guo Tu originally followed Yuan Shao's army from Guangchuan to Jieqiao, but due to Yuan Shao rushing to the front line of Jieqiao, he couldn't wait for the rear logistics and supplies, so he ordered Guo Tu and Lü Xiang to jointly transport grain and grass along a slow southward route.

  Under the scorching sun, not to mention humans, even cows and mules are drenched in sweat, constantly stopping to drink water. If it weren't for the official road being close to the Clear River, with an abundant source of water, I'm afraid just providing water for the livestock would be overwhelming.

  The soldiers were all resentful, and the grain officer, Lü Xiang, also wanted to avoid the scorching sun at noon before continuing on their way. However, Guo Tu thought that if they rested now, they would miss the night's lodging and be unable to reach Dongwu City (now Hebei Province) before dark. For the safety of the grain and fodder, they had to enter Dongwu City before sunset.

  Lü Xiang, although a grain officer, was far inferior to Guo Tu in both position and status, so he naturally did not dare to disobey. Moreover, he felt that what Guo Tu said made sense, and had no choice but to order his soldiers to grit their teeth and hold on for a while longer.

  A distant hoofbeat came from afar, it was a scout sent by the grain transport team returning with news.

  "Report to Guo Congshi and Lü Shiming: Three miles ahead, there is an abandoned village. There are no ordinary villagers in the village, but there is a wandering knight."

  Lü Xiāng was about thirty years old, with a dark and thin face, but his muscles were solid. He wore a suit of cowhide armor, which gave him a somewhat dignified appearance. Of course, the price of this dignity was that his entire body was wrapped in scorching hot cowhide armor, making him sweat profusely and turn bright red. However, Lü Xiāng had always been strict with himself in the army, and with Guō Tú by his side, he endured the discomfort.

  After hearing the report from Ji Hou, Lü Xiang's gaze turned to a nearby carriage. At this time, the bamboo curtain of the carriage happened to be lifted, revealing a well-maintained face with a long eyebrow, fine eyes, hooked nose and long mustache, about 40 years old.

  Lü Xiang urged his horse forward and cupped his hands in greeting: "Magistrate Guo."

  Yes, the person in the car was indeed Guo Tu. This can be understood as to why he could persist in rushing on the road in such hot weather.

  Kuo T'u was about to say something when he suddenly fixed his gaze on Hsieh Hou and beckoned him over, saying calmly: "Is there anything more you wish to say?"

  That Zhi Hou indeed still had more to report, but Lü Xiang was almost being burned out of his wits, with sparks flying from his eyes, and he didn't even notice Zhi Hou's expression. After hearing the report, he whipped his horse and left, leaving Zhi Hou unable to continue.

  Kuo T'u sat in the sunshade cart, his head spinning and his eyes dazed, but his powers of observation were always extremely keen, and he immediately noticed this detail.

  Hou Zhi hastily dismounted and knelt on one knee, saying: "That wandering knight has a white horse that is extremely swift. Wu Chang Wang Liu wants to seize the horse and present it to Sima. However, that wandering knight is unusually tall and powerful, and also has a strong bow. Wang Liu is afraid of not being able to defeat him, so he wants to request Sima to send more men..."

  Guo Tu didn't even give Lu Hui a chance to respond, directly vetoing: "For now, the top priority is to hurry on our journey, we can't afford to branch out unnecessarily, no need to bother with that wandering knight." After scolding Hou into hastily retreating, he smiled at Lu Xiang and said, "What good horses have these sturdy soldiers seen? They're just impressed by a nice coat color and strong bones, then they call it 'divine steed'. Ha ha, if they were to see the lord's great Dawan horse, wouldn't they be shocked into thinking it's a heavenly horse!"

  Lü Xiang nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that among the fine horses in this world, probably only the Lord's Da Yan divine steed could be considered a true marvel. Hmm, it seemed that during his time in Luoyang, he had also seen Lü Bu's Red Hare, which was quite impressive as well.

  About half an hour later, the grain transport team had almost passed through the abandoned village. Guo Tu was leaning against the side of the carriage, his mind racing with thoughts of the Jieqiao battle and how to capitalize on this great victory to win the final victory in this decisive battle for dominance over the north.

  Just then, a voice suddenly came into his ears: "What a pity! I had not expected to take the horse. I have never seen such a tall and strong horse, with all white fur and no miscellaneous hair..."

  Another person said: "How can there be no miscellaneous hair? Doesn't the horse's forehead have a silver-colored hair? However, having this bunch of hair makes it even more colorful..."

  Kuo Tu's ears perked up, and he recognized the voice of the two Hou. He immediately knocked on the carriage wall to signal it to stop, then lifted the curtain and poked his head out, beckoning to the two Hou who were passing by: "You two come over and tell me what that horse looks like."

  Two soldiers hastily came over to pay their respects, and upon inquiry, they found that one of them was indeed the captain of the guard, Wang Liu. As soon as Wang Liu carefully described the appearance of the white horse, a look of surprise flashed across the faces of Guo Tu and Lü Xiang, who immediately ordered that the wandering knight be brought over.

  Two squad leaders, plus four guards, a total of six cavalrymen, charged into the village. Before long, one horse suddenly rushed out, and it was Squad Leader Wang Liu. His face was full of horror, half his face stained with blood, desperately urging his horse to gallop wildly. As soon as he rushed out of the village, he waved his arms and shouted loudly: "That wandering knight is so ruthless, he killed five of our brothers..."

  Before he could finish speaking, a blood-stained three-edged arrowhead protruded from his wide-open mouth...

  Almost at the same time as Wang Liu fell off his horse, a white shadow flew out of the village entrance and rushed towards the mountain slope in front. The speed was so fast that almost no one could see what the rider on the horse looked like.

  "It's the Emperor's Divine Steed!" Guo Tu and Lü Xiang shouted in unison. Although they didn't see clearly that distinctive silver mane, the two were more familiar with this divine steed bestowed by the imperial court to their lord than anyone else, and as soon as they saw its running posture, they could be sure.

  How did the lord's precious steed end up in this person's hands? There was no time to ponder this question, and judging from this person's reaction, there must be some unspeakable secret. The top priority now is to immediately capture him, retrieve the steed, and interrogate him about the reason.

  Lü Xiang shouted loudly, holding his bow and riding his horse in pursuit. More than thirty of his armored cavalrymen followed closely behind him, their horses' hooves kicking up a cloud of yellow dust as they chased after him relentlessly, refusing to let go.

  This "wandering knight-errant" being hunted down was naturally Ma Xian.

  He never thought that he would be hiding from the scorching sun in this broken village, waiting for the cool evening to set out on the road again, but unfortunately ran into Yuan Shao's grain transport team. Those two Hou who wanted to beat him up had already left, but somehow they turned back and brought a few accomplices, threatening him to take his horse to meet their general.

  Ma Huan was so alert, as soon as he heard it, he knew that the origin of this horse was suspicious. He robbed someone's precious horse and was recognized by his subordinates. What a good ending could there be? The outcome of leading the horse forward must be to fall into encirclement, at which time people will be on the cutting board, and I will be the fish meat... This is a surefire way to jump into the net! No need to say more, let's take our stuff and run away!

  A thrilling chase thus unfolded along the banks of the Clear River.