Chapter 15: North Latitude (5) They pulled and dragged the ox cart from the shallow water to the riverbank, rested for a while, and continued northward.

  At this time, it is already above the southwestern border of Changyi Jun's Cangzhou. From here, going north for thirty miles will enter Yingzhou.

  According to Zhang Xing's proposal, Li Chengzhong decided to head directly north to Hejian, where the Lulong Army had a stronghold in Yinzhou. Reaching Hejian basically meant safety.

  The crowd quickened their pace, marching for more than half a day. Just as they were about to leave the territory of Cangzhou, they saw from afar a large cavalry unit coming head-on from the north, with the sound of horse hooves shaking the fields, roughly estimated to be over 100 riders.

  The sharp-eyed Jiang Miao narrowed his eyes and took a closer look, suddenly changing color: "It's bad, it's the Bian army, the flag says 'Ge'!" Along the way to Youdu, all the large troops of the Bian army they encountered were infantry, which could be avoided by detouring from a distance. But now, facing a large cavalry enemy head-on like this was something that had never happened before, and now there was truly no way to hide.

  Moreover, when Jiang Miao mentioned the "Ge" character flag, everyone immediately thought of the commander of the Bian army who led the cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Lulong army under the city of Wei. Everyone's heart sank to the bottom of the valley.

  Are we going to die here? Everyone looked at each other with gloomy faces, no one knew what to do.

  Run away? On the vast plain, how can two legs outrun four legs? Fight? The enemy is coming with a hundred horses, how can we fight this battle? Surrender? Forget it, thinking of what that team of Bianjun did, killing the good and taking credit for it, everyone's neck was chilled.

  They wouldn't dare to bet that the Bian army would spare their lives, after all, one head is one military merit! Li Cheng's mind was racing with thoughts, but none of them were useful. In the end, he could only lament in his heart, "If we had cavalry too, it would be great, just scatter and run, who would easily give up their lives?" But now there was only a cow cart, and that old cow was even slower than everyone else... Hmm? Looking at the cow cart, Li Cheng suddenly had an idea. He shouted loudly: "Quickly, Zhou Kan Dao, you guys put on the Bian army uniforms we captured! Move fast, tie up the remaining people! Zhao Da, quickly untie the ropes used to bundle the goods and bind us!" As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood. Zhou Kan Dao led his brothers to rummage through the cow cart and took out the Bian army uniforms they had captured. Without even taking off their own clothes, they directly put on the Bian army uniforms, then frantically helped each other put on armor, helmets, and waist knives.

  At this moment, Li Chengzhong and Zhao Da also tied up the others. Since there were not many ropes, they only bound their hands. Li Chengzhong tied a living knot for everyone, with the rope head exposed inside. If they were discovered by the Bian army, they could immediately untie themselves and fight desperately.

  Li Chengzhong himself, with Zhou Fangdao's help, put on the Bian army uniform and had everyone change direction, pretending to head south. Then he instructed everyone not to speak and to follow his orders.

  Just then, the vanguard of the Bian army's cavalry arrived, and Li Chengzhong hastened forward two steps, making a bow with his fists.

  He had just finished the ceremony when he suddenly felt a chill run down his back, because he realized that he didn't know if what he was doing conformed to the rules of the Bian army. If this era was like later generations, the Bian army had its own military etiquette, and the Lulong army had its own military etiquette, then this move might expose him.

  He bent his waist and carefully glanced up with his peripheral vision, the palm of his clenched fist was already full of wet sweat.

  Then he heard a sentence "Free, stand up and speak", so he slightly let out a breath and stood up straight.

  The young cavalryman who spoke to Li Chengzhong was very young and didn't look at him much, but instead sized up the dozen or so "prisoners" tied behind Li Chengzhong, smiling and saying: "Not bad, they're all good material for soldiers."

  He nodded his head in approval, then lowered his head and said to Li Chengzhong in front of the horse: "Aren't you a soldier from Xiangzhou? Look at your armor, it should be from Huazhou." Whatever you say is what it is, Li Chengzhong couldn't tell the difference between soldiers from Xiangzhou and Huazhou either, he just hoped these people would leave quickly, so he nodded and said: "Yes.

  He heard that the cavalryman spoke with a northern accent, similar to the Yan Zhao accent from his side, but being cautious, he didn't dare speak much, and even this "yes" was answered vaguely.

  That young cavalry officer raised his head to size up the "prisoners" and said: "Are these people willing to be handed over to someone? Five guan per person, it's much more than what you'll get as a reward for taking them back..." Li Chengzhong's mouth was agape, suddenly unsure of what to do.

  That young cavalry general's gaze turned to Zhou Dangdao and others who were wearing Bianjun armor, his tone suddenly became more urgent: "Are these all your soldiers? Why don't you bring your soldiers to surrender to a certain family? What is your current status? Are you an accompanying Rong? As long as you agree, come and I'll treat you with courtesy. I'll give you a title! Don't worry, the battlefield is chaotic, your family's He Sima won't know about it..." Before the young cavalry general could finish speaking, a middle-aged general behind him who was fully dressed in Mingguang armor suddenly rebuked: "What nonsense are you spouting, Second Brother! This is truly absurd! What kind of logic is this to dig one's own corner? Since we've encountered each other, quickly pass on the military order and let's withdraw!" After speaking, he shook his reins and led his cavalry team past Li Chengzhong and others, heading south.

  Li Chengzhong took a glance and saw that this person was the commander of the Bian army who led the charge against the Lu Long army under the city of Wei, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

  That young cavalry commander let out a sigh and replied, "Understood, sir... Ah, yes... You'd better hurry back to Wei Prefecture quickly. If you encounter other troops along the way, have them hurry back as well."

  Those guys from He Dong have already arrived in Wei State, they're really like hungry dogs...” As he spoke, he turned his horse's head and chased after the cavalry team. Turning back, he shouted again: “Remember, once you arrive at Wei State, go to the Western City Barracks and report my name. I am Ge Jia Er Lang, and I'm currently building a new battalion!” From start to finish, Li Cheng Zhong only said one word "yes", while that young cavalry general was shouting loudly. After the Bian Jun army left, the whole group felt relieved, wiping away their cold sweat, feeling both frightened and amused.

  Li Chengzhong smiled and looked at Zhang Xingchong and others, saying: "I didn't expect you guys to be quite expensive, haha!" Everyone teased each other for a while, and then continued on their way. However, the Bian army uniforms were not dared to be taken off, just in case they encountered another emergency situation, so that they could use the same trick again.

  The truly reassuring news for everyone is that the Bian army's large-scale withdrawal to the south, regarding the Hedong army's tiger's mouth food, everyone cheered, with the existence of the Hedong army, at least no one has to worry about the Bian army continuing to attack the Lulong army's inner land.

  With this experience of impersonating the Bian army, Youdu continued to wear the Bian army's armor and openly marched north.

  Along the way, they encountered several troops of defeated soldiers returning south. They immediately stopped and pretended to rest and reorganize.

  Those soldiers didn't have the energy to come forward and join in the excitement. Some enthusiastic ones came up to greet them with a smile, while others simply passed by without even saying hello, hastily rushing southward.

  After traveling more than ten miles, they couldn't even see a single soldier from Bianjun, and it wasn't until then that You Dou finally felt at ease.

  Fifty miles north from here is Hejian, a major town in Yingzhou. Once we get there, it means we have entered the control range of Lulong Army.

  Along the way, we started to see farmland, wheat growing in the fields, rolling in the wind, looking very pleasant.

  Only the farmland is empty and uninhabited, it seems that this great war has already affected the hinterland of Lulong Army, and the people have fled to unknown destinations.

  Seeing a mansion in front of them, Li Chengzhong signaled Wang Dalang to go and investigate.

  Wang Dalarng walked around the village and returned to the entrance, shouting loudly at Youtu who was hiding on the edge of the field: "No one is here, come out!"

  They then entered the village and found a large courtyard to rest in.

  This large courtyard has three entrances, and it is clear that it is the residence of a wealthy family. Li Chengzhong took a brief look around before letting the brothers rest in the high building at the back of the third courtyard.

  The building is three stories high and is the tallest in the village. From the top floor, you can see the entire village without exception.

  Inside the building stood many bookshelves, but the shelves were empty, having been cleared out by the owner long ago.

  Li Chengzhong clinically glanced around, saw that the village was quiet and deserted, couldn't help but let out a sigh, turned around and instructed everyone to eat some flatbread and dried meat on the attic, rest for an hour, and set off again after avoiding the heat of noon.

  Of course, Li Chengzhong arranged for someone to stand guard by the window according to the rules of his former unit.

  At this highly elevated sentry post, safety was greatly increased, so the brothers all put their minds at ease and slept soundly.

  It was unknown how long had passed when Li Zhongzheng was woken up by Zhao Da and Zhong Si Lang who were on guard.

  Two men dragged Li Chengzhong to the north-facing window and pointed outside, saying tensely: "Brother, soldiers have arrived."

  Li Chengzhong gazed intently into the distance, and a group of soldiers came rushing over from between the fields outside the village. The leaders were on horseback, and someone at the back was carrying a flag, which was dragging diagonally on the ground, but it was impossible to make out what characters or numbers were on it.

  This group of soldiers, numbering around two or three hundred, swarmed into the village and dispersed, kicking open the doors of each household. They then emerged empty-handed, still cursing and swearing.

  Then the several cavalrymen led dozens of people directly to the large courtyard where Yu Dou was, and the rest of the soldiers dispersed in various places, some entering the houses of farmers, while others sat down against the wall.

  Those several riders dismounted and went directly into the big yard, fortunately they didn't come to the backyard, but rested in the first yard, before long, smoke from cooking rose up from the front yard.

  The commotion was so loud that even without Li Chengzhong speaking, the brothers of the Youdu clan had already woken up and were sneaking peeks out the window.

  Li Chengzhong saw that the soldiers didn't seem to be heading towards the backyard, and he slightly let out a breath of relief. He called over Zhang Xingchong, Zhou Kan Dao, and Jiang Miao, and they began discussing in hushed tones.

  These are troops from where? This is the first problem to be solved.

  Li Chengzhong raised the question, looked at the three of them, Zhou Maodao and Jiang Miao couldn't say anything, only Zhang Xingchou furrowed his brow and muttered a few words: "Their armor is in disarray, it doesn't seem like the Bian army, I don't know if they're our own people or the Chengde army."

  "This is a crucial issue, distinguishing between friend and foe will determine the next step. If it's one of our own people, nothing needs to be said, just go downstairs and meet up directly. But if it's Cheng Dejun's troops... then the second question arises."

  How long will these troops stay here? This is the second question.

  If they leave immediately, everyone only needs to wait on the high-rise building; if they want to spend the night in this village, then everyone is in danger, because this high-rise building is the tallest building in the entire village. Out of common sense, they must send someone to set up a sentry post on the building. At that time, where can everyone hide? After thinking for a moment, seeing Zhang Xingzhong, Zhou Kandao and Jiang Miao looking at himself, Li Chengzhong had no choice but to grit his teeth and call Wang Dalang over: "You go down and take a look, it's best to eavesdrop on the wall and get a sense of these people's bottom line."

  "This kind of gossiping was Wang Dalarng's favorite thing to do, he was both scared and excited, and then quietly went downstairs."