Xiaoqi

Chapter 391 Mutation

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

It has been drizzling for a long time, wrapped in the spring breeze, and falling obliquely.

In the afternoon, the rain was getting heavier and falling, making the road muddy and difficult to walk.

For the arid land in the north, spring rain is as expensive as oil, which is elusive and extremely rare.

However, for the Runan area located in the Jianghuai River, there is abundant rainfall in four seasons and there are many rivers and lakes.Obviously, the saying that spring rain is as expensive as oil is out of the question.

"Tattoo!"

In the heavy rain, on the post road to Runan, a group of more than a hundred horses rode forward in the rain, galloping with whips.

On both sides of the road, there are towering trees and green grass.

In the rain and fog, the clouds and mountains are shrouded in mist, lush and green, showing the image of misty rain.

This is a section of mountain post road with no village in the front and no shops in the back. There are no people in the area for dozens of miles. Pedestrians who are driving in the rain wear bamboo hats and coir raincoats, and walk quickly in the heavy rain and mud.

"I hid in the inn for most of the day. I thought the rain would stop in the afternoon, but I didn't expect that there would be heavy rain after the light rain. God is deliberately trying to make things difficult for us and tease us. What a damn bad luck!"

While galloping on horseback, the narrow coir raincoat and bamboo hat couldn't cover Huan Fei's majestic body at all, so the coarse cloth on his body was mostly soaked, and the wet clothes stuck to his body, and he still had to ride the horse on the road, which was extremely uncomfortable.Therefore, he swung his whip fiercely, steered the horse to gallop through the rain, and kept pace with Li Li who was at the front, full of chatter, cursing God's will for tricking people.

Running in the heavy rain, Li Li was in a peaceful state of mind, and he could clearly feel the freshness of all things in nature with every breath.This scene of leaping horses and whips in the rain made him feel an unspeakable freehand feeling in his heart for no reason, as if he had blended into the jungle and wilderness, feeling very cordial and comfortable physically and mentally.

For those who haven't personally experienced the dirty air of the afterlife.Determined not to understand Li Li's state of mind at this time, let alone this fresh and natural environment, how precious it is.

"Hehehe!" He heard it with a smile without saying a word.

Li Li turned his head to look at Huan Fei's narrow coir raincoat with a smile, and said with a smile: "As a general, you should keep a clear head at all times, and you must not be happy with things or complain about others, otherwise you will lose your ability to judge accurately. .Feihu, it seems that it is really necessary for you to go out for a tour this time; take this opportunity to polish your impetuous character. Increase your knowledge and experience, enough to benefit you for a lifetime!"

"Hey hey!" Huan Fei grinned when he saw the relaxed and freehand smile on Li Li's face, his rough face showed a different kind of honesty and simplicity.Wiping the rainwater from his temples casually, he said with a naive smile: "My lord's words are very true. The general is not afraid of the desert wind and sand. He is not afraid of the storm, but he can't stand this kind of moderate rain. My lord, please look at the condition on the general's body." Clothes. The arms, shoulders and lower body are all soaked. Only the chest is not completely soaked. The clothes stick to the body and bind the limbs, making it difficult for the general to gallop freely on the horse, which is really uncomfortable!"

"Hahaha!" Seeing Huan Fei's distressed expression, Li Li laughed loudly, pointed at Huan Fei and said with a laugh: "You are a Flying Tiger General who is fearless. , once this matter gets out, I'm afraid it will make the lieutenant generals laugh out loud!"

Then Li Li's tone paused, and his smile quickly faded.He said solemnly: "I Xiliang soldiers are not afraid of severe cold and wind and sand, but I am not used to the misty, rainy and humid climate in the south, and I am very bad at fighting near water. The iron cavalry has always been famous for being brave and good at fighting. It is invincible across the desert and grassland. However, when I came to the south, Huan Fei, the Xiliang tiger general, turned into a soft-legged shrimp! This is definitely a huge challenge for our army. The irony of this would have worried me greatly.

However, these are also extenuating things.Since ancient times, Xiliang has been a place of bitter cold, drought and little rain, often filled with wind and sand, the people are in poverty, and their livelihoods are very difficult.In addition, the terrain of Yongliang is quite high, there are no big rivers in the territory, and there is quite a shortage of water, especially in spring and autumn.This harsh environment has created heroic Xiliang soldiers who are good at fighting, and breeds the best war horses in the world, thus giving birth to the brave and invincible Xiliang cavalry.

However, there are advantages and disadvantages in everything, and the advantages and disadvantages always complement each other.The Xiliang iron cavalry is fearless in the north, west and northeast, and marches forward bravely, but it is extremely unsuitable for the Jiangnan region with a humid climate and a network of rivers.It is this difference in climate that created the long-term separatism of the princes, and thus formed the north-south pattern that has lasted for thousands of years.It goes back to the battle between Xuanyuan Huangdi and Manyou in ancient times, to the struggle for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period, and to the Chuhe Han Dynasty 400 years ago.

Today, the world is in chaos again, the Han Dynasty will fall, and the princes will separate their regimes.As the war gradually intensified, the princes conquered each other, and after the small princes occupying various places were annexed by the power of the big princes one after another, the north-south separatism was bound to be staged again.At that time, our Xiliang army will definitely participate in it, compete in the Central Plains, and capture the states and counties in the south of the Yangtze River.At that time, our army is not good at water warfare, and the disadvantages of not liking the southern climate will definitely appear.If we cannot overcome this objective regional difference and gradually get used to the humid and rainy climatic conditions along the river, our army will undoubtedly lose and have no chance of winning.

In view of this, since the summer of the previous year, our army has added a training subject, which is to practice diving in the river.My original intention is that even if not everyone in our army can learn water skills, they should soak in water for three months every year, so that they can learn some water skills more or less, so as not to be at a loss after falling into the water.Although this kind of training does not play a fundamental role, and still cannot adapt to the miasma-filled Jiangnan climate, at least it can make our soldiers no longer fear the river, and standing on the boat will not cause weakness in the limbs and falling into the water due to seasickness.As long as this goal is achieved, then our army's diving training is extremely effective.

This time around the Central Plains and Jingxiang, I brought you Huan Fei and Duan Yao with me, just to let you have a glimpse of the southern climate and topography, in case you need it. "

When Li Li was speaking, Li Ru, Duan Yan, Li Zhi, Ma Yunluo and others all gathered behind him, and they all heard the words clearly and unmistakably.

"My lord is wise and has a long-term perspective, and my subordinates admire him!" Li Ru's eyes lit up when he heard Li Li's words, and he said respectfully with an expression of admiration.

"Ah chirp!" As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ru sneezed.Then he shivered all over, leaned his body, and slid off the horse's back.

With quick eyes and quick hands, Li Li grabbed Li Ru's toppled arm, supported his body, and exclaimed in surprise, "Wenyou, what's wrong with you?"

"Subordinates,,, subordinates are incompetent, weak in body, and get wind and cold after a little rain, dragging down,,,,,," Li Ru with an extremely pale face.His lips were purple from the cold, his whole body was trembling, and he spoke intermittently in a low voice.However, before he finished speaking, he closed his eyes tightly.He fell on his horse and passed out.

"Huh? Hurry, hurry, bring the coir raincoat over here. Cover Wenyou. Lift him up and find a place to shelter from the rain as soon as possible!" Seeing Li Ru fainted on the horse's back, Li Li reined in the horse and stopped immediately. Fortunately, it didn't let him fall off the horse.

"My lord, what's wrong with Li Ru? Why did you suddenly faint?" Duan Yan quickly took off his coir raincoat and covered Li Ru, asking in a startled voice.

Holding Li Ru in front of him and helping him sit on the mount, Li Li took over Duan Yan's coir raincoat.Then he took off his coir raincoat and covered Li Ru tightly.Immediately, he raised his hand to touch Li Ru's hot forehead, startled in his heart, and lost his voice: "It's so hot! No, Wen You got caught in the rain and cold, and fell ill. Hurry up, hurry to the nearest small town, don't hesitate for a moment !"

While speaking, Li Li held Li Ru in his arms, lifted the reins with one hand, and steered the horse to run wildly.But Huan Fei, Duan Yan and others didn't say much when they saw this, they rode their horses and raised their whips, called the accompanying guards to follow, and galloped through the rain like lightning.

It rained heavily in spring for three days in a row.

After the rain, the sky cleared and the mountains and rivers were green.

On the banks of the stream, a quiet village is located at the foot of the mountain, with layered houses facing south and facing the river.

At the east end of the village, in a rather large house, there are dozens of sturdy guards standing in front of and behind the house, meticulously guarding the safety of the house.

At the door of the main room, Duan Wei helped Li Ru, who had just recovered from a serious illness, followed Li Li out of the door, and slowly came to the courtyard.

"Wenyou, today is sunny after the rain, and the sun is warm. I will ask Zhongming to help you out to bask in the sun, so that you don't have to lie on the couch for a long time, which is too boring. Hehehe!" He personally supported Li Ru and sat down in the courtyard , Li Li said with a smile.

While talking, Li Li casually took the tea that Ma Yunluo had already cooked, waved his hand to signal Duan Yan and Ma Yunluo to sit down, and then poured hot tea into the teacup in front of them.

"Thank you, my lord!" Duan Yan got up slightly, took the teacup with both hands, and said respectfully.

When Li Ru was about to get up to thank him, Li Li stretched out his hand to support him, and said with a smile, "Wenyou, don't be so polite. Why do you and I need to be polite. I wonder how Wenyou feels?"

Li Ru said gratefully: "Thank you, my lord, for your concern. Thanks to my lord and Miss Yunluo's careful care, my subordinate is fine and can leave at any time!"

Li Li shook his head slightly when he heard the words, and said solemnly: "Before I waited for days to run around and caused you to be seriously ill, I feel very sorry. If you have something good or bad this time, then my sin will be great. There is no redemption for me. In my Xiliang army, you, Yuan Zhong, and Wen He are the arms of Li Li. Military and political affairs are all handled by you, and the conquest of the Quartet also requires you to strategize, and you must not lose it! Therefore, I believe that Wen You will stay for now! Continue to recuperate here. After the illness is completely cured, return to Xiliang and sit in Chang'an to handle all the affairs of the court and the government affairs of the three assistants. In addition, I have ordered Li Zhi to choose 50 people from the accompanying soldiers to stay here to protect you safety, and escort you back to Chang'an. I don't know what Wenyou wants?"

"No, absolutely not!" Li Ru immediately waved his hand and refused, and said anxiously: "No, my lord! This time, my lord traveled to the Central Plains, and the reason why my subordinates followed me all the way is that my subordinates are familiar with the terrain and situation of the states and counties in the Central Plains." , can be consulted by the lord at any time. Also, the subordinates have a detailed knowledge of our army's secret operations bases in various places. Along the way, in case of emergencies, the subordinates can immediately mobilize special personnel to protect the safety of the lord. Now the subordinate If you return to Chang'an halfway, what about your safety, my lord? In case your lord is attacked, then,,,,,,."

"Hehehe!" Li Li laughed and waved his hand to interrupt Li Ruzhi, shook his head slightly, and said with a smile: "I have made up my mind on this matter, Wenyou doesn't need to say more. This time you are recovering from a serious illness, so it is not suitable to travel long distances in the short term , so as not to leave the root cause of the disease and hurt your vitality. So you stay here to recuperate, don't worry, until your body recovers, you can slowly return to Chang'an. Now my whole territory in Xiliang is on the right track, and everything in daily life is normal Continue in an orderly manner without further changes.

And I and a group of people traveled to various states. There were too many people and the target was too obvious, so it was easy for people to find their whereabouts.So even if Wen You returns with his own soldiers, don't worry about me, we will be careful. "

Seeing the lord Li Li's decisive words, Li Ru hesitated for a while, then thought about it and said: "Well, since the lord has made up his mind, this subordinate will not say any more. It's just that the subordinate has a suggestion, and I hope the lord Be sure to agree."

"Oh? Wenyou doesn't have to be scruples, but it's all right." Li Li looked at Li Ru in astonishment, and said with a smile.

"My lord, please recruit Yuan Zhong to accompany you, and recruit some strong men along the way, so as to be safe!" Li Ru looked at Li Li earnestly, and said respectfully.

"Hehehe!" Li Li laughed heartily when he heard the words, nodded his head and said, "Wen You's words coincided with mine, you and I are indeed brothers-in-law! Three days ago, when we first arrived here, I sent Li Zhi He and Huan Fei each took more than a dozen soldiers to the nearby Xiangting village to recruit warriors for emergencies. It is expected that they will be able to finish the matter this afternoon and return here with the recruited brave men!"

"Oh, if that's the case, the subordinates can rest assured!" Li Ru nodded with relief.

As Li Li said, that afternoon, Li Zhi and Huan Fei returned to the house with nearly a hundred burly young men recruited nearby.Moreover, they also bought seven carriages and some animal skins, mountain goods and other goods during their trip, together with the baggage and idle horses carried by Li Li and his party, it happened to be enough for seven carts of goods.

In this way, Li Li and his party's caravan can be regarded as a decent caravan, and it can be called a small caravan.After a little dressing up, Li Li, the young shopkeeper, is worthy of his name. He is no longer empty-handed as before, leading more than a hundred riders along the way to swagger through the market, which is extremely eye-catching.

In the evening, Chen Fang, the village official, brought a young man about 20 years old into the temporary residence of Li Li and his party.

This house is the largest in the whole village and has the best environment. It was originally the ancestral house of the old man Chen Fang.

Chapter 392

Three days ago, Li Li and his party went to the village to stay in the rain. No one in the village dared to take in these burly men who came from afar.Only the village official, Chen Fang, saw the attires of Li Li and the others, looked them over carefully, and then did not need to ask about the identities of Li Li and his party. Li Li and others lived there.

What's more, he also sent a piece of grain from his family to Li Li and others, and led Ma Yunluo to point out the vegetable field outside his yard and poultry in the backyard, specifically stating that he could take it at will.