Retrograde

Chapter 13 Re Route

"Waterway?" Xu Jinghong was stunned when he heard this. He really didn't think about changing the path to Beijing.

Sun Zaiyuan nodded again: "It's the waterway! You didn't even think of this, so no matter how the Ren Fang family plans, they will not prepare well in advance. In this way, you can most effectively avoid the interception of the houses along the road and reach the beam safely!"

"Well, sir's idea is good." After thinking for a long time, Xu Jinghong couldn't help nodding and admitting. Although he is good at fighting, he also knows how amazing the strength of the Fang family he faces is. If one is not good, he will make his brothers fight for their lives. If you take the waterway, it is indeed a little safer than taking the official road by land.

However, after thinking about it, Xu Jinghong is still puzzled: "But I don't know how we should go through this waterway? There is no big river here in Lingzhou that allows us to go straight to the capital. Do we have to land and transship many times? In this way, its danger is not much less than on land.

"This subordinate has also thought that the lord can change his way to Shu and take a boat to the east at the mouth of the Dajiang River in Sichuan and Shu! There are two advantages to doing this. One is that the river flows through Daliang City, which is just convenient for the smooth arrival of the lord and others. On the other hand, our sudden change of route to Sichuan and Shu is bound to greatly outween the expectation of our enemies who want to intercept us halfway. When they found out our whereabouts, maybe the master's ship was already on the river. And on the surface of the water, if they want to trace the specific location of the lord's ship, I'm afraid that even the Fang family can't do their best.

"It's really a good idea!" After thinking carefully, Xu Jinghong couldn't help giving a high-five and praise: "And as long as we go down with the wind, we won't be much slower than rushing to the capital by land. Brothers can rest on the boat. It's really a good idea to count."

"So, has the lord decided to take the waterway?" Sun Zaiyuan saw that Xu Jinghong seemed to agree with his proposal, so he quickly asked. In fact, he was also a little nervous. After all, this is the first strategy he gave him after he sincerely threw himself into Xu Jinghong.

Under the burning eyes of the other party, Xu Jinghong nodded with a smile: "Of course, since walking from the waterway can not only reach the capital more safely, but also the journey is not slow, why didn't I choose him? It's just that Mr. Sun can't go the same road with us. Sun Zaiyuan will take his mother and wife's coffin back to his hometown in Qingzhou, Central Plains, which could not go down the Yangtze River.

"We father and son are just little people. Who cares? As long as the lord can arrive safely, Zaiyuan will come to see you after March.

"Good! Then do whatever you want! Tomorrow morning, you will help Lingdong, and we will change our way to Shu then and go from the waterway to Daliang!" Xu Jinghong finally made his own decision.

The next day, after sending Sun Zaiyuan out of the city and returned to his hometown, Xu Jinghong and others took the soldiers of the Lingzhou official office to the place where they hid the bodies of the horse thieves that day. After taking down the heads of these horse thieves who had done many evil things, they presented them to the imperial court for examination.

After that, in line with his faith, he found Liu Kaiyang and his party, who were still in Lingzhou, originally intended to invite them to change their way to Shu with him. He didn't want Liu Kaiyang to say that he didn't want to continue to go the same way with him when he met. Obviously, he was going to get rid of Xu Jinghong and others.

Although there is an official conclusion, knowing that the horse thief has been killed naturally can imagine who the murderer of the Fang family is. Thinking that Xu Jinghong is such an enemy of the Fang family, how can Liu Kaiyang go all the way with him again? Isn't this death? So after meeting, I immediately broke off this relationship with the other party.

Xu Jinghong also thought of this point. Since the other party did not want to walk with him, he did not force it, which made their brothers easier.

Another day later, Xu Jinghong and his brothers continued to set off. Although they saw that their direction was going northeast when they left the city, after half a day, they turned around and went north to Shu. Wang Liehai, who did not know Xu Jinghong's intention, was very strange, so he inquired.

After seeing that he had left Lingzhou and could no longer be explored by people, Xu Jinghong said the new idea of taking the waterway, which made everyone else agree.

"This idea is good. There has always been some estrangement between Shu and the Central Plains, which was left behind after the former Wu unified the Three Kingdoms. Now we go to Shu, not to mention that the Fang family did not expect it at all, but they thought that this hand was not so long, which could make those families in Shu work for him! In this way, our safety along the way is a little more guaranteed. Wang Liehai couldn't help praising: "Mr. Sun is indeed a resourceful man."

The other soldiers who only have martial arts skills and are not very good at strategy see that Xu and Wang think so. Naturally, there is no different opinion. Only Xiong Geng looked a little ugly after hearing that they would take a boat thousands of miles to the beam, and he didn't know what they were worried about.

No matter what they thought, they finally came to Shu after more than ten days.

Because Shu has a dangerous Shu road and is surrounded by mountains on three sides, it is very inconvenient to communicate with the outside world. The only smoothest channel is the waterway, which also makes the shipping industry in Shu very developed at this time. When Xu Jinghong came to a small county called Qingshen and said that he wanted to take a boat to the beam, many boat bosses came to do business.

It's just that Xu Jinghong did not plan to take the same boat with others this time. In addition, they had horses and needed a large enough ship, so after several twists and turns, he finally found a satisfactory ferry. After another period of supply preparation, Xu Jinghong and others were ready to take a boat to the east. It was already the end of May.

Because it was already midsummer and the weather was very hot, especially in the big basin of Shu, the sun could not be emitted at all, so the cool Xu Jinghong and his party did not get on the boat during the day, but did not come to the ship until sunset and ordered the boat boss to set off.

Just as the ship untied the cable and was about to leave the shore, a rough shout came from the distance: "Wait!" A thick figure also came into everyone's eyes, and beside him was a slender man in blue, who also rushed over quickly.

The boss of the ship untied the cable and replied politely, "This guest, our ship is wrapped by a big guest, so we can't let others take it. If you want to leave by boat, you'd better find another boat.

The two were stunned when they heard this, and then looked at the empty water by the river. The young man next to the big man smiled bitterly and said, "At this time, Chen is the only boat boss. Where can we go to find something else? It's convenient for you. Let's board the ship. We really have something urgent and can't be delayed. You see, there is still a lot of space on this ship to accommodate the two of us. There should be no problem. We can also give you twice the boat money.

"This..." Seeing the other party say this, especially the last sentence, the boat boss couldn't help but be a little moved. However, business should still be based on credit. Although he wanted to make this money, he did not dare to make his own decisions. He had to say to the two people, "Since you two also have difficulties, wait for me to go in and ask the owner of the ship. If they agree to let you sit in the same boat, they will come up. If not, there is nothing I can do!" After saying that, he turned his head and went into the cabin.

Xu Jinghong and his entourage were sitting in the cabin, and the dialogue outside was naturally clearly heard. Originally, they thought that the boatman would send it for him, so they didn't come out to talk. Now that the boat boss is going to speak for those two people, several soldiers look a little ugly. As soon as he came in, before he could speak, the old dog said with a straight face, "Ship boss, you are so ignorant! Since we have chartered this ship, naturally we can't allow others to come up. How can you make the decision?

"This..." As soon as the boat boss saw the appearance of the guests, he knew that it was not easy to talk. He had to sigh, stopped talking, and exited the cabin.

At this time, Xu Jinghong suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go and have a look. If it's an ordinary guest and on the way, it doesn't have anything to do to let them take a ride."

The boat boss just apologized to the two and refused them. Xu Jinghong had come out of it. After seeing the two people on the shore, Xu Jinghong couldn't help laughing: "Where does life not meet? Brother Zong, I didn't expect us to meet here again!" It turned out that these two people who were eager to board the boat were Zong Xiao and Tiezhu's master and servant who had two sides with Xu Jinghong.

"Is it Xu...brother?" Seeing that Xu Jinghong was dressed in ordinary cloth, he obviously wanted to hide his status as a sergeant, and Zong Xiao was only like his brother. Then he said, "The last time we met in Liangzhou, didn't you say you were going to Daliang? Why does it appear in this little green god now?

"It's a long story. I don't know where Brother Zong is so eager to go? If it's on the way, you can get on my boat, so that you can have a companion on this road. Xu Jinghong replied vaguely and quickly changed the topic.

"There is no smoother way!" Zong Xiao smiled and said, "I'm also going to Daliang. It's not only on the way, but also on the same road!"

"So, please get on board!" Xu Jinghong made a gesture of invitation, and the two also stepped on the resurfaced pedals and got on the boat. Seeing this, the boat boss was also overjoyed, and now he could get extra income.

The ship finally anchored after this episode and slowly moved forward on the gentle waterway. Xu Jing coaxed Zong Xiao to the cabin and talked and laughed with the mysterious young man.

The next morning, the speed of the ship moving forward became faster, and Xu Jinghong, who had been in the cabin for a day, also came out and began to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the deck. While looking at the scenery, Xu Jinghong and Zong Xiao chatted again, and this time they talked more deeply than yesterday.

"I heard Brother Zong say before that he wanted to take a walk in the southwest, but why did he leave in such a hurry?" Xu Jinghong asked curiously.

"To be honest, I came out this time without telling my father. Originally, I wanted to come out to learn more and see the magnificent rivers and mountains of the Song Dynasty. Unexpectedly, after only a few months, my father had found me and sent me a harsh letter, asking me to go home quickly. That's why I went back to the beam in such a hurry. Zong Xiao smiled awkwardly.

"So it is. It seems that Brother Zong has a father who loves you very much..." Xu Jinghong said with some inexplicable feelings flashing in his eyes.

"This is not the same, but the old man doesn't like my son to stay away from his control. But I don't know Brother Xu's parents..." It seemed that he felt something, and Zong Xiao only said half of his words.

"I, Xu Jinghong, only have a mother and no father. And my mother also passed away a few years ago..." Xu Jinghong's eyes were also a little gloomy, and then cheered up, "But I have a lot of brothers. They all have a life relationship with me, so I'm not alone!" With that, he looked at the soldiers beside him who were laughing at themselves.

"It seems that Brother Xu is much luckier than me. At least you still have so many brothers who can be trusted. And I..." At this point, Zong Xiao sighed again, but the following words also disappeared with this sigh.

Xu Jinghong didn't mean to listen to the news, so he stopped talking and looked at the towering cliffs on both sides. He also thought about what he should do after returning to the beam. Should he take the initiative to attack or temporarily lie dormant and wait for the opportunity.

The wind is smooth, and the speed of the boat on the water is still very fast. Two days later, the boat arrived at the Three Gorges, where the rapid flow of water was located. At this time, Xu Jinghong knew the power of nature and the danger on the waterway.

The ship was driven by the rapids and rushed forward like flying on the surface of the water. In the ship, it gave the impression that it was not the ship flying forward, but the cliff opposite it was pressing towards it. Xu Jinghong stood in the bow and enjoyed this exciting excitement, and also felt relaxed and happy.

Every time, I only felt a dark cliff pressing down on me, making people can't help closing their eyes. But when the turbulent waves hit his face and opened his eyes again, Xu Jinghong found that the ship had crossed the cliff. But before he came through his breath, another cliff appeared in front of him, and another thrilling began.

This feeling that seemed to hang between life and death made Xu Jinghong feel proud. The hostility of the Fang family and the difficulties of the capital had all disappeared at this time, and he couldn't help roaring. Because the Taoist mind method has been practiced, this roar actually continued to have a cup of tea, and even the apes on both sides of the river began to cry.

As soon as the long roar stopped, Xu Jinghong looked at the surrounding mountains that retreated quickly. He couldn't help thinking of the famous poem he had learned as a child in his previous life, and casually read it out: "In the colorful clouds of the White Emperor, thousands of miles of Jiangling returned in one day. The apes on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the canoe has crossed thousands of mountains.

"Good poem!" At this time, a voice sounded behind Xu Jinghong. It was Zong Xiao who heard the poem he read and couldn't help praising: "What a great spirit. It's really a famous sentence for thousands of years!" Compared with Brother Xu's poem, the poems written by the so-called literati in my court are not worth mentioning at all. I didn't expect that Brother Xu was still a great talent in literature and martial arts!"

Hearing the other party's praise, Xu Jinghong's face turned red. Although I am not illiterate, there is not much ink in my chest, and I can recite only the most famous poems. After coming to this era, he also wanted to plagiarize a few famous poems like some time-traveling predecessors to make himself famous, but he finally gave up the idea.

He knows his own ability, even if he writes down all the famous poems he remembers, it's just that. And once it is used up, there is nothing left. So in the end, he still chose such a road intertwined with sweat and blood, which is the way he can stick to.

However, in the face of Zong Xiao's misunderstanding, Xu Jinghong did not explain much. After all, there is no Qinglian priest in this era, so naturally no one will write this poem. If he didn't do it himself, it would take a lot of time to explain it, so he simply didn't explain it, just smiled. Then he changed the topic: "It seems that Brother Zong is the same as me. He is used to this wave?"

Zong Xiao smiled and said, "It's really strange that what a strong person Tiezhu is now vomited like this. And those brothers of Brother Xu are also ordinary. It seems that this matter on the water is really uncertain."

Xu Jinghong smiled, and he didn't expect that those brothers who had been counted on land would get seasick one by one. At first, it was okay because the water was very smooth, but after entering the rapid river the day before yesterday, these people couldn't stand it and vomited in the dark one after another. Now he finally guessed why Xiong Geng had such an embarrassed expression after hearing that everyone was going to walk from the waterway, because he was the first to spit.

"If the Fang family sends a team of people who are good at water warfare to lie in front of them at this time, I'm afraid that we will all become the corpses in the Three Gorges rapids." Xu Jinghong thought secretly, but he didn't think the Fang family could have such ability.

Along the way, eating and living together, the friendship between Xu Jinghong and Zong Xiao slowly deepened, and the conversation between the two was no longer as before, and it did not feel deep. Especially when the two were about to break up, Zong Xiao said a question he had always wanted to ask: "Brother Xu has been in the army for a long time and knows the situation between the enemy and us very well. I don't know what do you think of the future of the Song Dynasty? Can this peaceful world continue?"