Chapter 7 Direction (Part 1)

  Shi Kang took the key and opened the door, saying to Yang Yingqi: "Get up! I know you're fine!"

  Yang Yingqi sat up and said vigilantly: "What are you going to do?"

  "Hum! Cao Xiaoge has dragged you into the water! He's already gone to report, if you can get up, follow me!"

  Yang Yingqi said: "Do you want to take me out of the city?"

  "Not bad!"

  Yang Yingqi didn't waste any more words, and at this time he wasn't afraid that Shi Kang was deceiving him. After all, although the 500 men on their side were armed, they hadn't been through battle before and weren't a match for the Song army of Xiong Prefecture. As for dealing with them, it wasn't necessary to deceive them at all. He followed Shi Kang out the door, but as soon as he stepped across the threshold, he suddenly said, "Wait." He went back inside, tied up the soldier who had been drugged and hidden him in a secluded corner, then locked the door from the outside, creating the illusion that the man was still inside.

  Shi Kang was very familiar with the terrain inside the city, and he led Yang Yingqi to the west side, saying: "Now that all four city gates are closed, this is the place where the defense is most lax. I have prepared ropes, we will descend from the city wall."

  Yang Yingqi asked: "Are you going too?"

  "Of course! Cao Xiaoge is gone this time and will never come back. My life was saved by him, I'll follow him through thick and thin."

  He took Yang Yingqi quietly up the city, this section of the city wall was very secluded, and there were some soldiers guarding not far away, but they were all dozing off. Yang Yingqi sighed in his heart: "Such soldiers! If the nomadic tribes in the north come to attack, where can we resist?"

  Two men slipped quietly down from the city wall. Yang Yingqi accidentally made a slight noise, but the sleeping guards didn't notice anything.

  Yang Yingqi stepped on the muddy ground under the city wall, let out a sigh of relief, but heard Shi Kang say: "Hurry up! We don't have horses, it's hard to say whether we can catch up or not!"

  Yang Yingqi didn't even have time to catch his breath before following Shi Kang in a nighttime escape, fleeing for over an hour before faintly hearing the sound of horse hooves. Shi Kang gripped his wooden sword tightly and soon saw a horse emerge from the darkness, it was the same horse Cao Guangyin rode during the day, but on its back was Di Yu.

  Shi Kang's face sank as he said: "Who are you? Where is Cao Dianzhi?"

  Yang Yingqi hastily said: "It's one of our own people." He then looked at Di Yu, seeking his opinion.

  Di Yu jumped off his horse and said: "He has been running back and forth, with a wound on his buttocks, so let me come."

  "Has he got nothing else to say?" Shi Kang exclaimed in surprise.

  "It should be nothing now. I'm resting now, don't say more, let's go."

  Shi Kang listened to what he said and found it consistent with the facts, so he felt at ease.

  Di Yu jumped off his horse and helped Yang Yingqi, who was so tired he could hardly stand, onto the horse's back. As they proceeded, Di Yu said to Shi Kang, "Cao Dingzhong has given up his own promising future for the sake of our 500 men's lives; this kindness we will never forget."

  "Actually I don't agree with what he's doing! But since he's made up his mind, I can only follow him all the way to the end!"

  Yang Yingqi said on horseback: "How are you brothers? Have you clashed with the Song army? Are the Khitans catching up?"

  Di Yu said: "Don't worry, it's not too late. Not long after nightfall, we had just rested for a while when Cao Ting rushed over to explain the situation to us. Because you didn't come with him, Ouyang initially didn't believe him, but after everyone thought about it, they felt that he had no need to deceive us, so they hastily turned back and hid in a small valley nearby."

  Yang Yingqi said: "How long can we hide? The governor of Xiongzhou is not a good person to get along with. Tomorrow, when he finds out that Cao Dingzhong and I have escaped, he will definitely be furious and attack us! With the main army in front and no retreat route behind, what should we do?"

  Di Yu said: "You've been running all the way and are exhausted, rest on horseback for a while first, we'll discuss it after gathering everyone."

  Yang Yingqi couldn't think of anything for the time being, so he just nodded and closed his eyes to meditate. After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the small valley where the 500-strong crowd was hiding. In the middle, several people were surrounding Cao Guangyin, who were actually Zhe Yanpeng, Yang Kaiyuan, and Alu Man, but Ouyang Shi was not there, as he had taken some men to keep watch.

  Yang Yingqi jumped off his horse and apologized: "Brother Cao, I've troubled you so much, it's really unbearable."

  Cao Guangyi shook his head and said, "It's me who owes you an apology. Not only can I not help with anything, but I've also put you in this difficult situation where you're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

  Yang Yingqi said: "This can't be blamed on Big Brother Cao, it can only be blamed on the heartless Magistrate. Do you have any other relatives, Big Brother Cao?"

  "There's nothing left. After Father passed away two years ago, I've been a lone wolf, there's nothing to think about anymore."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Since it's like this, why don't you just come with us?"

  Cao Guangyi hesitated and said: "Where are you going? Are you going to become bandits?"

  "We won't resort to banditry unless we have no other choice."

  "What do you want to go for?" Cao Guangyi asked.

  Yang Yingqi and Zhe Yancong exchanged a glance, saying: "Since the Central Plains cannot accommodate us, we will go to the border regions, herd horses and sheep, and live by following the water and grass."

  Cao Guangyi burst out laughing and said: "Beyond the border? Herding horses and sheep? Where are your horses? Where are your sheep? Following the water and grass to live? Those waters and grasses all have owners!"

  Yang Yingqi's scalp felt numb, and outside he had actually been there before, but that was in a "dream" by taking the train. The time and space difference is close to one thousand years, and the entire environment and terrain are probably already different, entering the grassland desert he is also blind!

  Di Yu, who was standing by, interjected: "Years ago, I traveled to the great desert and had dealings with Wugulai Khan of the Wugu tribe. Now he is the leader of the Wugu tribe and rebelled against Liao last year. Perhaps we can take refuge with him."

  Yang Yingqi said: "How far is Wugubu from here?"

  Di Yu said: "Wugu tribe is in the east of Da Xianbei Mountain and around Hulun Lake."

  Yang Yingqi and Zhe Yan Chong did not know these two places, after Di Yu briefly explained the location of Da Xianbei Mountain, Yang Yingqi only knew that this Da Xianbei Mountain was actually the Daxing'an Mountains in later generations! He couldn't help but take a cold breath and say: "So far! Can we get there?"

  Di Yu said, "The area outside the Great Wall is different from the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, there are towns every ten or so miles, county seats every hundred miles, and metropolitan cities every five hundred miles. There are ferry crossings on rivers and mountain passes that must be guarded, making it impossible to travel freely for thousands of miles. However, the area outside the Great Wall is vast and desolate, sometimes going hundreds of miles without seeing a single person. The Upper Capital Road of Liao (the vast region north of the Yin Mountains, west of the Greater Khingan Mountains, and east of the Altai Mountains) has never been peaceful. The Wugu tribe, the Dielie tribe, and the Zubu tribe are sometimes rebellious and sometimes submissive, while the Mongolian tribe does not care about the Liao people at all! It is difficult for the Liao Dynasty to exert control over every corner of the grasslands. I have a route in mind that can bypass the Liao Dynasty's strongholds, as long as we can sneak past the Wugu tribe and avoid conflict with the Zubu tribe, we should be able to reach the Wugu."

  Yang Yingqi was entranced. The tribes that Di Yu spoke of were all unfamiliar to him, the only one he knew being Mongolia!

  Yes! Mongolia is probably not yet prosperous, when he took the train to Hohhot in his "dream" and flipped through a book about Genghis Khan, but didn't remember many useful historical facts. Now it's likely that even Temujin's grandfather hasn't been born yet, let alone the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan's era! It will take until Temujin is born, Yang Yingqi is probably long dead by then.

  Now Yang Yingqi knew that the "Wugu tribe" mentioned by Di Yu was absolutely not a tribe they could rely on for a long time - because this tribe had never risen to power in the history of his dreams, otherwise he would have heard of its name.

  "If we really want to rely on something, let's rely on a powerful force with great prospects!" With this thought, he cast his gaze towards the northeast.