Don't go back to hometown

King Cheng, who was ordered in danger, not only brought relief supplies, but also an imperial decree ordering Jiangnan Jiedu envoys to suspend their duties and surrender military power, and Shen Zhui to lead troops to search and rescue the Nine Kings.

After receiving the order, Shen Zhui dispatched troops to Huai'an immediately. Halfway through the journey, the boat was blocked by floating ice in the canal and diverted to land. When he arrived in Huai'an in the snow, the prefect of Huai'an was welcoming him outside the city.

"My lord, Commander."

Shen Zhui didn't get off the horse at all, and directly raised his hand to interrupt his intention of continuing to speak bureaucratically, and asked, "Honestly, how long has His Royal Highness King Yi been missing?"

The prefect of Huai'an bowed his head in fear: "Return to your lord, it has been... 36 days."

Shen Zhui frowned: "On the 36th... are you still alive?"

The magistrate of Huai'an was shocked. Although everyone knew that King Yi was in danger, only Mr. Shen dared to "speak out".

The magistrate glanced at the unsatisfactory Beijing official and the guard with a broken arm, and said tremblingly: "The prince is the son of the real dragon, he must—"

"Master Commander," the guard with his arms hanging suddenly said, "The prince's disappearance was not simply due to the blizzard, but because he met an assassin disguised as a bandit! Please rescue him as soon as possible."

Shen Zhui turned his gaze to him, and then to the Beijing official next to him, feeling familiar, "Who are you?"

The magistrate hurriedly introduced: "This prince's bodyguard Liang Chao, this is Mr. Liu, the servant of the household department who came with the prince to relieve the disaster. They were separated from the prince after the incident and were rescued a few days ago."

Shen Zhui nodded and looked at Liu Shilang: "Is what he said true?"

Liu Shilang was trapped for several days and contracted the wind and cold. At this moment, his face was pale, and he coughed twice before he opened his mouth: "Ahem... Back to my lord, I am not good at judging the case. I don't know whether it is a bandit or an assassin, but we and the lord are sure." Scattered due to a kill and lost contact during the blizzard."

Liang Chao was impatient and ignored the fact that the other party's official position was much higher than his own, and said bluntly: "Master Liu, if those people are really bandits, why didn't they rob the silver and supplies we escorted, but chased and killed the prince desperately?"

"This……"

Liu Shilang actually knew it in his heart, and it was precisely because he knew it that he didn't want to go into the muddy water.It was bad enough to be selected for disaster relief, but if he got involved in such disputes again, he would probably end up as an official.

So he faltered and said: "What the guard Liang said makes sense ahem..."

"Okay," Shen Zhui interrupted them, "If it's really an assassin, His Royal Highness King Yi may be in danger."

Liang Chao clenched his fists hanging by his side, gritted his teeth and blushed his eyes.If he hadn't been injured, he would have gone to search and rescue His Highness together with the others.

Shen Zhui took his expression into his eyes, and looked at the prefect of Huai'an: "Where is His Royal Highness Prince Cheng?"

"His Royal Highness went into the mountain in person, and went down to search and rescue His Royal Highness Yi Wang."

"Nonsense!" Shen Zhui's face changed suddenly, "The mountain is dangerous, His Royal Highness Cheng is neither familiar with the terrain nor experienced, how can we let him enter the mountain?"

It's snowing so hard, if you don't find King Yi, and then take King Cheng in, what's the deal? !

"This...His Royal Highness Cheng Wang and His Highness Yi Wang have a deep brotherhood, the official really... really can't persuade him."

Why doesn't the prefect of Huai'an understand that if the two princes fall into Huai'an under his rule, ten of his heads would not be enough to cut off!

The more he thought about it, the colder he broke out in a cold sweat, he added: "His Royal Highness will bring all the more than 200 imperial guards who accompanied him, and a group of bodyguards recruited by the governor as guides. It should... everything should go well."

Shen Zhui frowned: "Escort?"

"Yes……"

The magistrate of Huai'an glanced at the dark army behind Shen Zhui, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "Master Jiedushi... did not dare to send troops without an imperial order, so Lord Governor had no choice but to recruit civilian warriors. The group of bodyguards All of them are highly skilled in martial arts, have been traveling all year round, and are quite familiar with the terrain in this area, Liu Shilang and others were rescued by them."

A bodyguard with high martial arts skills?

Shen Zhui pondered for a moment, then said to the magistrate: "Send a few people who know the way and follow me into the mountain."

"Yes!"

……

The snow is still falling, and many trees in the mountains are crushed by the snow and broken by the mountain wind.

Under a concave cliff on the mountainside, a group of people huddled in this sheltered place to light a fire to keep warm, and set up a few temporary tents.

A guard in the iron armor of the imperial army picked up the copper pot on the fire and poured a bowl of hot water, and handed it to the man in fox fur next to the fire: "His Royal Highness King Cheng."

King Cheng is about to stand up, with a handsome appearance and a strong figure, but his expression is not as serious as the previous brothers, and he looks more friendly.

He held the hot water in his hand to keep warm, and asked, "How long have we been in the mountain?"

"It has been seven days since I returned to Your Highness."

King Cheng glanced at the wind and snow outside: "My ninth brother has been trapped for 36 days."

The guards didn't dare to answer these words, and instead said: "Your Highness, according to the agreement, we should return." The food and grass they can bring is limited, and the seven-day return journey is most suitable.

King Cheng was silent for a moment, and said: "Wait a minute, Bai Zhou and Xian Yu will take people to investigate the news, maybe there will be clues about the ninth brother."

The guard bowed his head in response to "Yes".

At first they were not optimistic about the group of folk warriors brought by Jiang Xianyu. When they heard that the governor had asked them to search and rescue His Royal Highness Yi Wang, the leader of the team was a 17-year-old boy. Guang, when did the imperial court get to this point of "downfall" and they needed to come forward.

Unexpectedly, the other party successfully rescued Liu Shilang and his party, and brought back a large amount of relief money and supplies.

But even so, King Cheng and some of the imperial guards still felt that they were just lucky and hit the right track.Just thinking of the strength of a large number of people, King Cheng did not stop them from "following" him into the mountain.

Unexpectedly, after entering the mountain, he was taught a lesson severely.

These Beijingers who claim to be more familiar with snow than Jiangnan people are not as good as the other party in knowing how to keep warm in the snow, identify directions, and find suitable shelters. King Cheng also almost caught a cold.

Only then did they realize that those who had lived in the imperial city for a long time were not as experienced and knowledgeable as others.

And the brothers Jiang Baizhou and Jiang Xianyu treated him more than respectfully but never flattered him, and even argued with him when they disagreed.

King Cheng didn't feel offended, but admired their true temperament and ability, and even called them a lot closer.

This time, Jiang Baizhou and Jiang Xianyu persuaded him to go back because he had some signs of contracting the wind and cold. King Cheng felt that he could still hold on and wanted to search and rescue King Yi as soon as possible. scout the news.

This trip lasted a day and a night, and it was time to come back.

King Cheng was thinking about it when he suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes.

"Your Highness! Mr. Jiang and the others are back!"

King Cheng greeted them immediately, he was relieved to see that they were safe and sound, and hurriedly ordered the guards to pour hot water for them.

"How? Any clues?"

Jiang Xianyu got off his horse, took a sip of hot water, exhaled a cloud of white air, and replied: "We found traces of fighting in the valley twenty miles to the northwest, and the knife marks on the trees are still fresh, which means that His Royal Highness Yiwang Most likely still alive, we're looking in the right direction."

King Cheng heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly frowned again: "This also means that there is indeed a group of people chasing and killing the ninth brother."

Jiang Xianyu nodded and looked at King Cheng: "But we don't have much food and grass left, so we can't just chase after him."

"But the ninth brother may not last long. If that group of people find him first, the consequences will be disastrous."

Jiang Xianyu: "So we plan to divide our troops into two groups. My eldest brother and I will lead people to continue the pursuit. The prince will take some people out of the mountain and send some supplies in."

"This..." Cheng Wang hesitated, "I will be with you and let Vice Commander Li go out of the mountain to replenish food and grass."

Jiang Xianyu glanced at Jiang Baizhou, Jiang Baizhou took a step forward, and said in King Cheng's ear, "Your Majesty, is this person trustworthy?"

King Cheng was startled, and subconsciously wanted to look back at Vice Commander Li, but Jiang Baizhou held his shoulder.

Deputy Commander Li is the deputy sent by his father to escort the relief supplies, but Cheng Wang is not sure whether the other party is trustworthy.

If something happened, all of them might be trapped in the mountains.

But the Jiang family brothers let him go out of the mountain...

"You believe me?"

Jiang Xianyu looked at Jiang Baizhou again, and said honestly: "We can only trust the prince."

When Jiang Baizhou arrived in Huai'an, he didn't agree with Jiang Xianyu's decision very much. Even after listening to his explanation, he still didn't want him to take risks.Especially when he learned that the Nine Kings were being chased and killed, he was in danger, and even tried to drive Jiang Xianyu back to Jinling three times and four times, so that he could take this muddy water by himself.

But Jiang Xianyu also didn't want him to take the risk alone, so the two brothers didn't leave, and both went into the mountain.

This time, they let some bodyguards follow King Cheng out of the mountain.On the one hand, it is true that King Cheng cannot be fully trusted; on the other hand, after knowing that this trip is not as simple as imagined, some bodyguards have already started to retreat, and Jiang Xianyu and Jiang Baizhou have no intention of forcing them to take risks for themselves, so it is better to let them do logistics .

At that time, if something unexpected happens, someone will be able to send a letter back to Yangzhou and Jinling.

After arranging these, Jiang Xianyu and Jiang Baizhou continued to go deep with some bodyguards and more than 120 guards left by King Cheng, and King Cheng turned around and went out of the mountain with the rest.

……

The snow gradually stopped, and the mountain wind was still blowing.

Jiang Xianyu and Jiang Baizhou wrapped their fur clothes tightly, because they didn't have to take another detour, and quickly returned to the valley where the traces of the fight were found.

Previously, they left three old bodyguards to continue their pursuit, and left an agreed mark on the tree to guide them forward.

After a while, Jiang Xianyu, who was walking in front, suddenly heard a slight click, and immediately pulled back the horse: "Wait!"

He hurriedly looked at the left and right sides, and the ground under his feet was covered with snow, but the trees here suddenly became sparse, and there was at least four or five feet away from the forest in front of him.

They have been walking in the direction indicated by the mark, but at this moment, they are at the place where the two forests are farthest apart.

He dismounted cautiously, lay down on the snow surface and listened, as if he could hear the gentle sound of water.

Jiang Baizhou also realized that something was wrong, and immediately ordered back: "Quiet."

Jiang Xianyu gently peeled away the snow in front of his eyes, revealing a thin layer of ice.

At this moment, the horse beside him moved its hooves uneasily, and Jiang Xianyu heard another click, and a slight crack appeared on the thin ice in front of him.

He immediately tensed up, turned his head to look at Jiang Baizhou: "Brother, tell everyone to dismount and back slowly, there is a river underneath."

Jiang Baizhou's complexion changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Get off the horse! Be sure to move slowly, and retreat from the end of the team. If necessary, you can give up the horse and supplies to ensure your own safety."

Both the bodyguards and the imperial guards were well-trained, and they slowly began to retreat.

When Jiang Xianyu and the bodyguards behind Jiang Baizhou retreated slowly, not only Jiang Xianyu, but Jiang Baizhou also heard the sound of breaking ice.

"Little Yu!"

Jiang Xianyu lay on the snow surface without moving, and smiled softly: "Brother, you step back first, the ice under your feet should not be broken yet."

"Little Yu!"

They walked side by side, but in order to observe more information, the two of them were not next to each other, and there was a distance of one or two feet between the two horses.

"Brother, please be gentle, don't scare my horse." Jiang Xianyu said softly, "Otherwise it will send me down with a stomp."

Jiang Baizhou didn't dare to say another word, he turned his head and gestured to the bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguard immediately understood and threw two ropes at him and Jiang Xianyu respectively.

Seeing that Jiang Xianyu touched the rope and tied it up to his waist, and tied a horse's leg with great effort, Jiang Baizhou heaved a sigh of relief, and tied himself and the horse beside him respectively.

Jiang Baizhou: "Three, two, one—"

As soon as the words fell, the bodyguard behind him suddenly pulled up the four ropes, Jiang Xianyu and Jiang Baizhou jumped on the ice at the same time, and the ice shattered instantly.

With a crash, the two horses fell into the ice cave one after the other, neighing continuously, while Jiang Baizhou and Jiang Xianyu retreated to the edge of the forest relying on the ropes around their waists for strength.

It took a lot of effort for the crowd to bring the two horses back to the shore, and then carefully explored. This is a section of river five feet wide and four to five feet deep. If Jiang Xianyu hadn't stopped early, most of them would have fallen into the river.

"Young Master, it's because we neglected our duty and failed to study the terrain thoroughly." The old bodyguard hurriedly confessed his guilt, feeling terrified in his heart.

Jiang Xianyu looked at the mark on the tree and said, "It's not your fault, it's because we forgot that there is a group of people in the mountain."

The old bodyguard followed his line of sight, his face changed suddenly, and he immediately stepped forward to touch the mark: "This...is too similar."

They used the special marks of the Escort Bureau, but if they were discovered by outsiders, they could imitate them after some research, because they were too careless.

Annoyed and blaming himself, Jiang Baizhou patted Jiang Xianyu on the head, "It's the elder brother who neglected his duty and failed to protect you."

Jiang Xianyu shrugged: "It's okay, I can swim."

Jiang Baizhou had no choice but to flick his forehead.

Jiang Xianyu patted his forehead and smiled at him, turned to look at the crowd, and immediately put on a serious expression: "It seems that the people who chased and killed the prince have noticed us, and they don't want us to find the prince."

After witnessing the young man's alert and decisive actions just now, no one despised him for being only 17 years old, and they all looked at him with conviction.

Jiang Xianyu: "This also proves that the prince is still alive, and even they don't know the whereabouts of the prince. So we must hurry up and find the prince before they do."

Everyone responded in unison: "Yes!"

Jiang Xianyu got on his horse and said, "Uncle Bian and Uncle Zheng, you follow me back to find the mark, the others follow, pay attention to vigilance!"

"Yes!"

But Jiang Xianyu suddenly stopped, blinked his eyes, and the voice that belonged to the young man was clear and open: "Keep a few more people, catch a few fish and bring them!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then laughed, the fear hidden in their hearts was swept away.