This desert is not comparable to the vast sea of ​​a few hundred miles between Xixia and Song Dynasty. Since ancient times, Monan and Mobei have been regarded as the most serious desert in the Central Plains.

Yelu Dashi set out for the western expedition from Ketun City last year. In the previous few years, he used this area as a base to harass the Jin people. However, because of the inability to send troops effectively in this desert, and the gradual rise of the Mongol people, he turned to this place.

As for the Western Expedition, Nihan wanted to conquer it several times before, but he always stopped in front of this desert.

It is difficult to say whether the Mongol Hebul Khan's eventual rebellion against the Jin people, including Nianhan's unwillingness to hand over the Monan land promised to the Xixia people, was directly related to the Yelu Dashi and this desert.

But these are not what Yelu Yujian should be thinking about at this time. There is only one thing he should be thinking about...that is, how can he cross the desert without the guidance and supplies of the Xixia people? Even only north of Hengshan, and he is not allowed to enter the city.

, how should he control his troops from being dispersed? After leaving Hengshan, how should he successfully cross the river and head north when the pursuers are bound to have their nets ready?

To be fair, Yu Jian himself felt that, let alone Kedun City, he would be killed on the road if the Yellow River failed to cross.

However, if you don’t go to Kedun City and don’t look for Yelu Dashi, where can you go? Even if you want to look for Yunnei Jiedushi and Yelu Nuge, who is of the same clan, don’t you have to go to the north?

In a daze, the sunset had arrived. The Xixia people followed the agreement and left the mountain pass directly. Yelu Yujian also forcibly put away his thoughts and came down to gather his tribe.

However, at this moment, a piece of news like a bolt from the blue hit him on the head again.

"General..." The confidant guard who was responsible for counting the number of people came forward to report, and his lips started to tremble. "Ten people are missing! All the people from the Grand Master's slave are missing."

Seeing that Yeluyu was in a trance, he instinctively ran away to the Hengshan Pass, and his followers hurriedly followed him. However, after passing the Hengshan Pass, the confidants counted the number of people again, and found that there were about ten more people missing, and they probably did not follow him at all.

At this point, the morale of the Khitans has become increasingly low. It is conceivable that if Yelu Yujian does not boost their morale, this team will soon fall apart.

"General!"

Things happened faster than expected. The sun had not completely set yet. On the north side of the Hengshan Pass, facing the cold wind that was obviously much colder, someone took the initiative to question Yu Jian, and this time it was this team who took the lead.

A mid-level and high-level officer in the team. "Our family members are all in Hedong. I just followed you here because I was confused..."

Yelu Yujian stared at this person in the afterglow, but said nothing.

The man seemed to feel a little embarrassed, so he put down the sentence and continued: "But you are not to blame for this matter. I knew what Yelu Mawu's confidant said at the ferry that day in person, and it is only our fate that is to blame.

No good. This is the only way to go to Kedun City to find the Big Stone King. The desert is so far away and so wide in the middle, and the Xixia people don't give us a way to get there. Besides, nine out of ten Taishi slaves go directly to look for the girl.

The real people are high-density, so where do we get the chance to go northeast? I'm afraid we will be blocked by the Jurchens when we reach the Yellow River, right?"

This question got to the point. Yelu Yujian came to his senses. He had no excuse and could only avoid talking about it: "Saba, what do you mean? Can't you be more frank?"

"What I mean is that since we have reached this point, it is better to break up and let us find refuge with the Xixia people. Anyway, the Xixia people are worried about you, the general, but not us subordinates. We are cavalry."

Good guy, why don't the Xixia people allow me to be a kite and eat military food?" Saba said while looking around behind him.

Seeing Saba's signal, more than a dozen of his accomplices started making noise together. Slowly, seventy or eighty people responded gradually, and then stood behind Saba, directly confronting the people behind Yu Jian.

The light gradually dimmed, and both sides were worried that the situation would not be clear after dark, so the atmosphere gradually became uneasy. Some people actually started to draw swords and then insulted each other. The two sides directly faced each other hand-to-hand, and the atmosphere was tense and uneasy.

Seeing Yelu Yu standing between the two groups, he thought for a moment and suddenly let out a long sigh, but raised his hand to stop his confidant. Then, with his hands empty, he stepped forward and said directly to the man holding the knife, "In that case, you guys

Let’s go! We will also take half of the supplies brought from Pingrong Stronghold... But please remember that we have been together for many years and go directly north to Hongzhou City. Do not spy on our route or reveal our itinerary."

Sa Ba and other rebel soldiers originally just wanted to survive, but they were a little shocked when they heard this. But when things got to this point, since Yu Jian promised not to fight with each other, how could they stay? So several rebel leaders discussed for a while, and in the end they only wanted to take

After receiving a few supplies, he bowed respectfully to Yu Jian from afar, gathered a crowd of one hundred and eighty people, and headed due north.

Not only that, next, Yu Jikong sat still at the mountain pass and simply did not light a bonfire. He just let the other subordinates follow the example of Saba and others and flee. It was not until two or three o'clock in the middle of the night that a confidant came to tell him that only one of them was alive.

They have been riding twenty or thirty, and no one has escaped for a long time... I want to ask the general to decide whether they can light a bonfire and sleep for the time being, otherwise it is just the cold wind in the north of the mountain, and I am afraid they will all get sick from the cold.

Yu Jian seemed to have just come to life at this moment, and finally responded to the wind in the night: "Now that the matter has come to an end, how can we decide? Pu Da, don't light a bonfire, let everyone gather together, surround the horses outside, and surround people inside, just say I have something to do."

Discuss this with all your brothers and sisters."

Hearing the seriousness of what Yu Jian said, his confidants did not dare to neglect, and quickly gathered the remaining people together. After the people were surrounded, Yu Jian spoke again: "Until now, there are still so many brothers who have never left us.

Seeing this, I shed tears of gratitude, even though I was supposed to die, now I have to desperately find a place for you brothers to die... Moreover, we are indeed not at the end of the road."

These words were a bit abrupt. Even though the remaining people were all loyal to Yu Jian, there was also some commotion in the surrounding area.

"Brothers, I have been terrified since I crossed the Yellow River. It was not until the situation was unresolved that I relaxed my mind and figured out some things... You said that the five elders of Yeluma had long been disgusted with me because of the military power.

Extremely loyal to the Jurchens, how could he kindly send me across the river and persuade me to come to Xixia?"

There was a commotion all around, and Pu Da couldn't help but ask on the spot: "Did Yeluma Wu deceive us? The fourth prince doesn't want to kill us?"

"Yes and no." Yu Jian's voice was low, but gradually became stronger. "How did Yelu Ma Wuyi have the courage to frame me like this? Don't forget that in Hedong these years, our daily lives have been monitored. First of all,

Xiyin, and then Ba Lisu... If it was just Ma Wu who was trying to trick me, how could I hide it from Ba Lisu? How could the Taiyuan side allow me to cross the river in a grand manner under the banner of the Labor Army without asking or blocking me?"

I was surrounded by low-level officers, who didn't understand these things. When I heard this, I felt it made sense, but at the same time, I just felt like my mind was in a state of confusion, and I still couldn't figure out the pros and cons.

At this time, Yu Jian was really about to cut his heart out, but he did not hesitate and continued to answer frankly in the cold wind: "I can't think of the specific reason at the moment, but it can instruct Ba Lisu and Ma Wu.

, I think it’s just Wanyan Wushu who should have arrived in Taiyuan at this time, and Wanyan Wushu has done it many times, maybe he wants me to be a asking stone to Xixia or the living women asking for directions, maybe he just wants to force me away...

...It doesn’t matter at all, because he came from Yanjing and issued instructions on the way, but it is impossible to know everything about what is going on here, so he must not have thought that we have just received the specific information that King Dashi has established a foothold in the west of Xixia."

"So what if we know?" Pu Da was still puzzled, but he did not delay him from taking the initiative to speak to his general.

"If we know this information, we will have the capital to negotiate with the Song people, because if this is the case, we can also lead to the location of King Dashi from He Huang, the Song people." Yelu Yujian answered slowly, and there was no trace of emotion in his voice.

The state of panic for the past half day. "Whether Wanyan Wushu wants to test Xixia with me or not, we all insist that this is what he means, and he is basically preparing to lure Xixia to join the Yan'an war. By then, the Song Dynasty and Xixia will have a century-old blood feud."

, they have to believe it even if they don’t believe it; then we use Wushu’s ignorance of King Dashi’s founding as the key point, and tell the Song people that we can act as envoys for the Song people and go west out of Hehuang to Hamili to meet King Dashi and make an appointment with the Khitan army to the east.

Come, attack Xixia and even the Jin people! The Song people will definitely agree!"

The surrounding gradually became quiet, but several people were obviously breathing heavily. It was obvious that a few smart people realized that this move was indeed feasible logically and theoretically.

After all, in this desperate situation, even if there is only a glimmer of hope, it is worth gambling at this time!

However, there is still a problem.

"General, the battle between the Song and Jin Dynasties is fierce in the front, and there are Taishi slaves who have reported the secret. How can we easily cross the front line and find the Song people? How can we ensure that we find the Song people who know the situation properly? There are also Xixia people, we are here On the Hengshan side, if the Jurchens from Pingrong Village arrive and directly look for the Xixia people, then the Xixia people will not be able to withstand it and they will carry Jonah again, so what will happen to us?"

"It's a life-and-death gamble." Yu Jian said in a sonorous tone. "I remember that the Security Army's Kaolin Village is where the Western Army general Zhong Guo Hao is. I bet he was not captured by a living woman! I also bet he knows my identity. We know the overall situation of the country! Since we are small in number, we have abandoned our baggage and mounted our horses. While both the Xixia and Jurchens thought we were north of Hengshan, we quickly led our horses back along the original road, from the south of Hengshan to the west and south to Kaolan Village!"

Only then did everyone realize why Yu Jian had been sitting on the cold and windy mountain pass without moving, and why he had been unwilling to raise the fire and let everyone disperse. It turned out that he wanted to hide his whereabouts and turn back with a small force.

Moreover, only a small group of people will be accepted by the Song people's walled city!

In this way, since Yelu Yujian explained everything and had a glimmer of hope, and the last twenty or thirty people were reliable, they no longer delayed. They first drove away all the livestock carrying supplies, and then connected the remaining ones with ropes. The men and all the remaining horses then desperately walked back south through the mountain pass at night.

Perhaps it was God's will to stop this man, and the group turned around in the dark. On the way, only one person sprained his foot, but he was still able to ride carefully with him... They were able to cross the mountain pass successfully.

After crossing the mountain pass, the group still didn't dare to neglect or light a fire. They just mounted their horses and rode lightly along the mountain. I don't know how long it took, but before the sky became clear, they finally heard the loud sound of water ahead... Everyone Knowing that they had arrived at Hunzhou River, they dismounted and rested for a while, using some dry food and river water. After a while, the sky became slightly brighter, and they couldn't wait to find shallow water to cross the river.

It was only then that everyone took a breather, because the sky was already bright and there was another river blocking the pursuers. Next, all they had to do was gallop to Kaolan Village.

What's more, since they were so careful, there should be no traces of them exposed, so no matter who it was, they probably thought they were still north of Hengshan.

After everyone finished arranging, they all mounted their horses.

Only Yelu Yujian was about to raise his whip, but finally couldn't bear it any longer. He reined in his horse and turned around, facing the northeast and taking a look.

Pu Da, a close confidant next to him, came to his senses and asked everyone to swear an oath to avenge the traitors of today's Taishi slaves.

However, just as everyone pulled out the daggers, Yu Jian sighed and shook his head: "Today, there are twenty-three brothers who will never leave. Of course, I will never forget it. As for the Grand Master's slaves who were forced by the situation, I can't call them Resentment. Even if I pull away from the horse and Ma Wu just follows the orders, I can't even feel resentment."

At this time, Pu Da and others looked at each other, as if they were a little confused.

"Two people!" Yu Jian also pulled out a dagger. "One is Wanyan Wushu, who can easily throw me away like a pebble; the other is today's tall and famous Brother Yun, who wantonly humiliated me and treated me like a fool. We are just dirt... I see our bodies and minds, but we dare not forget each other at all! I swear today that one day, I will let today's brothers enjoy wealth and honor, and let these two regret treating me like nothing!"

After saying this, Yu Jian picked up the dagger and drew a bloody path on the palm of the other hand. Then, without waiting for the twenty-three followers to follow suit one by one, he said no more and only accelerated his horse to go southwest first.

The second day of October.

At noon, Yu Jian led 23 riders straight to the foot of the Kaolan Village, which was not tightly surrounded. He came to the door with his bare hands and announced his name under the bow and arrow of the divine arm. He also claimed that he was an old friend of Guo Hao's late father, Guo Cheng, and Guo Hao went to the city to question him.
Chapter completed!