Xu Erlang led his men in pursuit.
He led his men to ambush him in the middle of the night, initially confident of victory, but unexpectedly, the King of Qin dispatched elite troops to protect a concubine. He was careless, but the enemy had already detected his presence and deliberately split his forces into two groups to lure him away, escaping with his men.
Xu Erlang and his men chased the carriage for five miles before realizing that it was empty and that he had been tricked!
He had no choice but to turn back hastily. Fortunately, it had been raining a lot these days, and the soil on the ground was not completely dry. He ordered his scouts to follow the hoofprints and they found the trail again.
However, the other party was cunning and went so far as to hide deep in the dense forest. He and his men had been pursuing them relentlessly, and their patience was wearing thin.
After missing his target once again, Xu Erlang's patience finally ran out. His face darkened as he said, "It seems I underestimated them. If this chase continues, they might actually escape." He gritted his teeth and said grimly, "Let's set the mountain on fire! I want to see where they run to this time!"
Upon hearing this, the subordinate was startled and said, "This area is all dense forest. If it catches fire, the fire will be quite large and may affect the nearby people."
Xu Erlang waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's only June, and it rained a few days ago. The fire won't spread so easily. Once this area catches fire, the thick smoke will force people out."
Seeing this, the subordinates dared not continue to persuade them and could only obey the order to arrange manpower to set fire to the fire upwind.
Xu Erlang remained where he was, full of self-satisfaction. When he saw the fire in the mountain gradually escalating and the thick smoke drifting downwind, he turned around, mounted his horse, and said, "Let's go! This time I'll see where they can escape to!"
The wind was strong today, and the fire spread very quickly. Because it had rained a few days ago, the burning trees were billowing thick smoke, which could be seen from a great distance.
Xu Erlang had excellent eyesight and could see a group of people fleeing out of the woods from afar. There were clearly two people on one of the horses. Although they were covered by black robes and their faces were not visible, their protruding bellies, which could not be concealed, clearly indicated that they were the concubines of the King of Qin.
"Quick! Chase after them!"
Xu Erlang's face lit up with excitement. He cracked his whip and spurred his horse to take the lead.
Seeing this, the others also sped up and chased after them.
Just as he was about to catch up, a tripwire suddenly appeared in front of him. Xu Erlang saw it, but because the distance was too close and the horse was too fast, he had no time to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as the horse crashed into it, tripped, and made a dull thud.
Xu Erlang reacted quickly; he protected his vitals and rolled to the ground. Just as he was about to get up, a sharp spearhead pressed against his neck.
The Qin King's guard, whom he had been chasing like a stray dog, looked down at him with his gun in hand and calmly ordered, "Tie them all up and send a message to the King that they have been captured."
As Xu Erlang listened to the other party's words, something flashed through his mind, and he suddenly realized that he had probably fallen into a trap: "You were prepared all along!"
After saying that, he immediately looked at "Shen Youying" who was still sitting on the horse. She jumped off the horse with a light and graceful figure. She did not have the timidity of a woman from the inner quarters, nor the clumsiness of a pregnant woman. She was clearly a martial arts expert.
The other person removed the mask covering their bangs and ripped off the soft padding stuffed in their abdomen. They looked at Xu Erlang, who was filled with disbelief, with a grin and said, "If you hadn't been acting well, you would have been lost after being chased by this idiot all the way."
If Cai Wenxuan were present at this moment, he would definitely recognize that this woman is "Zhou Liuer".
Zhou Liuer's identity was obviously fake. Her real name was Wen Rao, and she was a bodyguard under Xue Shen, whose skills were no less than those of a man.
Seeing Xu Erlang's dazed expression, Wen Rao snorted in displeasure and asked the other person, "Did his scout go back to deliver the message?"
"We only took action after we were sure the person had gone back to report."
At first, Xu Erlang didn't understand what riddle the two were playing, but he soon remembered that right after he set the mountain on fire, he was certain that he could capture the man quickly, so he sent the scout back to inform his father and brothers in advance.
If his father and brothers thought he had captured the person, they would certainly not send reinforcements, nor would they realize that the King of Qin had already seen through their plan.
His pupils contracted, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "The King of Qin is truly a master strategist!"
Wen Rao smiled and said, "Don't worry, you three will be reunited soon."
*
Meanwhile, Xue Shen had already left Xizhou City and was leading his troops to the border.
According to reports from the border, the remnants of the Northern Rong army were hiding in the area around Mount Tamu, and would occasionally come down the mountain to plunder the nearby villagers. This time, they went even further, slaughtering an entire village.
Most of the villagers living on the border between the Great Wei and Tibet were neither Northern Rong nor Tibetan. Some were descendants of criminals wanted by the imperial court, while others were descendants of intermarriages between the people of the Great Wei and the Tibetans. Because they were not welcomed by either side, they gradually gathered together and settled in this border area between the two countries, gradually forming a village.
They would also travel to and from Xizhou City to do some business, but the officials of the Great Wei would not easily pay attention to these people without household registration.
Therefore, the government did not pay attention to the frequent raids by the Northern Rong.
If the Northern Rong people hadn't been so ruthless this time, slaughtering the entire village, and if the people in the border region hadn't fled to nearby cities in droves, and if the local officials hadn't been so afraid of trouble and had to report it to their superiors, the news probably wouldn't have reached Xizhou.
Xue Shen led his troops toward the border, and along the way he saw many emaciated refugees fleeing the disaster.
Pang Lai rode alongside Xue Shen, frowning as he said, "The remnants of the Northern Rong army's rebellion is a lie, but these refugees don't seem to be fake."
They had seen too many refugees fleeing famine during their military campaigns, and their eyes could not be easily deceived.
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