Chu Qiao not only underestimated Zhao Chun'er's hatred towards her, but also underestimated Zhao Che's wisdom and the current status of her name Chu Qiao in the eyes of the entire Daxia clan. After the Haibutong document was released from the Zhenhuang Imperial Capital, the originally disintegrating Great Xia Empire suddenly showed unprecedented unity. The garrison lords in various places responded to the call of the empire and actively prepared for war. Impassioned speeches, inspiring mobilization meetings, and lively and spectacular parades of the people were carried out in full swing across Great Xia, as if they were not facing a solitary woman, but an army of millions. The morale of the Yanbei army, which had been low before, suddenly rose sharply. The soldiers sang war songs, listened to the sound of war drums, and, with the tearful farewells of the lords from all over the country, they walked out of the city gate in high spirits and headed into the boundless wilderness, beginning their arduous and dangerous hunt across thousands of miles.
The unaware civilians thought that the Yanbei Army was attacking, and everyone was in a panic. They had already packed up their valuables at home and were ready to flee with the rioters at any time.
Chu Qiao knew that it was not because she had such a great reputation that these Da Xia soldiers were so frightened. The reason was simply that when the imperial capital issued the order to defend the country, no one in the entire dynasty responded. Now, seeing that the Yanbei Army had no immediate plans to return to the east, the Zhao family had also gained a firm foothold in Yundu and their position was gradually consolidated. The garrisons of Daxia in various places had returned one after another and gathered under the command of Zhao Che in Zhenhuang City. The turmoil in the empire caused by Yan Xun's rebellion was gradually passing. These noble families certainly had to find a way out for themselves. Just a few days ago, several powerful families, including the Lingnan Mu family, the Huaxi Zhuge family, the Yinchuan Wei family, etc., all sent envoys with large quantities of food and supplies to Yundu and Zhenhuang. If they still didn't know how to find a loyal way out for themselves at this time, they would be either fools or idiots.
Therefore, the princes and generals who did not dare to lead their troops directly to Yanbei turned their spearheads towards this woman who had dared to escape from the seventh prince and the eighth princess, as if the Yanbei army would collapse if they killed her. Even the garrison lords in the southeastern part of the empire who had not received any notice joined in the fun and showed their loyalty, sending out a large number of soldiers to conduct a thorough investigation, as if they were determined to capture the person even if they had to dig three feet underground.
However, it was this show by the southeastern lords for the imperial capital that brought great trouble to Chu Qiao, because at this moment, she was in the southeast of the border between Xia and Tang.
The horse was so tired that it was foaming at the mouth. Chu Qiao stopped reluctantly and let the horse drink water and rest. She had no appetite, but in order to maintain her strength, she still ate a piece of dry food with cold water, which made her stomach feel uncomfortable.
Today is already the sixth day. In two more days, she will enter the territory of Bian Tang. But before that, she had to pass through the areas under the jurisdiction of two prefectures, and there was a large chaotic uninhabited area ahead. Then, it was Bian Tang’s first checkpoint in the north - Baizhi Pass.
For thousands of years, Baizhi Pass has served as an important barrier for the orthodox East Land to fight against the northern ethnic minorities. It has experienced countless major battles and its defenses are as strict as Yanbei Pass. Chu Qiao still hasn't come up with a perfect countermeasure.
While she was thinking about it, the sound of hooves suddenly sounded in the distance. Chu Qiao was startled, raised her head and looked far away, her face suddenly changed.
I saw dust flying in the distance and more than a hundred war horses galloping towards me. Fortunately, the southeast is not like the northwest, where the defenses are clear and the land is cleared to wait for me to fall into a trap. There are dense forests everywhere and undulating mountains and fields. Otherwise, I would have been exposed at such a close distance. Chu Qiao gritted her teeth, turned over, jumped onto the warhorse that had already stood up alertly, and drove the horse into a gallop.
They walked along the stream for more than three miles, making the enemy lose track of them. But just as they took a breath, the sound of deadly hooves sounded behind them again. Chu Qiao frowned, and decisively picked up two huge rocks, tied them with ropes and put them on the horse's back, then slapped the horse's butt hard, urging the warhorse to leave.
This horse has been with her for many years, and they have been through life and death together several times, so they have a deep relationship. The horse ran a few steps, then stopped, turned around, looked at her, and wagged its tail.
Chu Qiao picked up her bag and turned to walk deep into the forest. But just after she took a step, the horse followed her reluctantly, wanting to catch up. The girl frowned and threw her knife without looking back. With a "swish" sound, the knife passed along the horse's neck. The warhorse was frightened, neighed loudly, turned around and ran away!
Listening to the sound of horses' hooves getting farther and farther away behind her, Chu Qiao took a deep breath, carried her bag, and walked into the dense woods.
"The six seas of the king's land, education and peace of the country, the holy way of the king, benevolence and righteousness as the model, rise and fall of the decline ..."
On a morning in early summer, with birds singing and flowers blooming, on the green mountain path, the sound of reading aloud can be heard leisurely. From afar, I saw a young man dressed as a scholar riding on a mixed-hair green donkey, holding a slightly yellowed scroll in his hand and reciting with his head shaking.
It was really nice weather, with clear skies, chirping birds and fragrant flowers. It had just rained, and there was a pleasant smell in the air. Liang Shaoqing closed the book, slowly raised his head, slightly narrowed his black and white eyes, and a kind smile appeared on his young and handsome face. He stretched out his hand and spread out his palm, on which there were a few fine grains of rice. Seeing this, a tender yellow skylark quickly flapped its wings and landed on his palm, lowered its head and gently pecked at the grains of rice, while eating it secretly turned up its small green eyes to look at Liang Shaoqing's harmless face.
"God is merciful. Go away and don't fall into the hands of the bird catcher again."
The birds circled around him, but never left. The morning sun shone through the sparse leaves onto the young man's face, which was gentle and had a kind smile.
At this moment, there was a sound of fighting in the distance. The scholar was slightly startled, and listened for a while with his ears erect. The clear sound of fighting immediately reached his ears. Liang Shaoqing frowned and muttered secretly: "When you go out, don't mind your own business, safety comes first."
After saying this, the scholar nodded vigorously, as if to affirm the correctness of his idea. He reined in his horse, turned around and went back the way he came, trying to avoid this unexpected disaster. But after taking just two steps, he stopped again, thinking to himself, what if there is a strong man bullying the weak, and he, a man of great integrity, does not help him, wouldn't that be against the code of chivalry? Thinking of this, the scholar sat on the horse, thinking silently, looking very serious.
The sounds of fighting were still going on, but Liang Shaoqing was in a fierce struggle between himself and himself. He was afraid of causing trouble, but he also felt guilty if he ignored it. After hesitating for a long time, the young scholar suddenly gritted his teeth and thought that maybe it was just two groups of farmers fighting. As long as he went forward to persuade them, they would surely stop and make peace. Even if the situation was critical, he could run to the police and nothing would happen. So, with the attitude of waiting and watching for a while, the man gently patted the green donkey he was sitting on and said softly: "Xiaoqing, let's go and take a look quietly."
God does not favor good people. At this moment, the little skylark that had been hovering nearby waiting to eat rice became a little impatient. For some unknown reason, it rushed down and pecked the green donkey's eyelid with its beak. The green donkey named Xiaoqing was suddenly startled, let out a loud cry, raised its hooves and ran forward madly!
"Ah! Xiaoqing! Xiaoqing! What are you doing? You're going in the wrong direction! Be gentle!"
A strong wind blew past his ears with a whistling sound. Liang Shaoqing hugged the donkey's neck tightly and almost vomited his lungs. The lush forest flashed before his eyes. Liang Shaoqing never knew that his donkey could be so fast. But just as he was sighing in his heart, the donkey screamed and stopped immediately.
quiet! Deathly quiet!
There was the smell of pig iron in the air, as well as a faint fishy odor from a pig that had just been slaughtered. Liang Shaoqing slowly loosened his hand, then raised his head like a thief, opened his tightly closed eyes, and looked around with a look that was somewhat cautious, somewhat fearful, and somewhat curious.
Everyone stopped, and the soldiers covered in blood turned around to look at the uninvited guest. The girl who was surrounded by them also looked at him with strange eyes.
Two days of pursuit and more than ten non-stop battles have left these people physically and mentally exhausted. At this time, any disturbance is enough to make them frightened. A great achievement is right in front of them, and the key issue now is who can persevere to the end. Therefore, the appearance of this person who may be the enemy's reinforcement becomes particularly important.
"I... was just passing by."
Liang Shaoqing bared his white teeth, smiled at the bloody knives in the hands of the crowd, and explained with a trembling voice: "I... I traveled here, and my mount got scared. I'm sorry to bother you all... I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now, you guys continue."
Liang Shaoqing sat up tremblingly, turned around and wanted to leave this place of trouble quickly. At the last moment of turning his head, his eyes caught a glimpse of the girl surrounded by the crowd. His eyelids twitched suddenly, and an electric current quickly surged through his body. At that moment, he didn't have time to see the girl's appearance and clothes clearly. He only saw a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes as clear and moving as autumn water. She looked at him, watched him turn and leave, her eyes were like a stream of ice-cold spring, pouring down from the top of his head, chilling his bones.
"You little bastard, just surrender. If you keep going like this, even if you don't die at the hands of our brothers, you will die of excessive blood loss."
The soldier's leader said coldly. Chu Qiao slowly moved her heavy feet. The opponent was indeed an expert in tracking. She was a little careless and was entangled by the enemy. Although she had killed more than 30 enemies in the past two days, she had not eaten for two days and her physical strength was greatly overdrawn. She was no longer able to fight. All she had was courage.
Her hand slowly reached for the flying knife at her waist and she took a deep breath, like a leopard waiting for the opportunity, ready to fight someone at any time.
"It seems that you don't know how to drink the wine for the toast!" The man shouted coldly: "Brothers! Go! This is the only chance to get promoted and make a fortune. Kill them on the spot, regardless of life or death!"
With a sharp "swish" sound, the heavy sword came forward! However, at this moment, a loud shout suddenly came, and a man's clear voice shouted loudly: "Stop it!"
In a flash, everyone was shocked and turned their heads to look, but they were immediately dumbfounded!
The young scholar went and came back on his donkey. Although his face was pale, he said loudly and righteously: "You so many people gathered together to bully a little girl. This is outrageous!"