Because the Ming Dynasty went to war with the Tatars, many frontier prefectures basically did not send troops to patrol the defense according to the imperial orders, and simply guarded the city and did not come out.

As for the people in the villages and towns outside the city, they either fled or hid in the city for protection. The official road was bleak. Later, Zhu Houzhao simply refused to follow the official road and took some small paths, so that he didn't know where he went.

Fortunately, Jiang Bin guided him, he worked in Weizhou Wei for many years, and he had locals under him, so he was relatively familiar with the terrain, so he did not make any mistakes. But even so, he still violated the strategy that Zhu Houzhao had just set and could not go anywhere, eat, drink and have fun. At the same time, the impression of the prosperous and prosperous Ming towns and villages in his mind completely collapsed because of this.

After walking for three days, Zhu Houzhao was in a mess. He wanted to find something for him to enjoy on the road, but every time he experienced it, he was disappointed.

After rushing for a long distance, Zhu Houzhao's body could not bear it anymore, his whole body was sore, and his bones were as if they had fallen apart. He felt very uncomfortable and finally he wanted to return to the army.

But Zhu Houzhao is by nature, so he was very unwilling to go out of the "cage" this time and turned back in disgrace.

"Jiang Bin, didn't this say this is the way to Weizhou? Why is the city still far away?" He rode a horse for another day. In front of a mountain pass dozens of feet high, Zhu Houzhao finally couldn't help but turn over and get off the horse, and collapsed weakly on the yellow grass next to the road, and said weakly.

Jiang Bin then dismounted, knelt in front of Zhu Houzhao, and said with a bitter face: "Young Master, we have walked less than 200 miles since we left the army. We took detours several times in the middle, and two times were dead ends, wasting time. It is expected that it will take about two to three days to arrive in Weizhou, and the villain is not very familiar with this side."

Zhu Houzhao looked behind him, and more than ten riders were behind him, and was still dozens of feet away from him. He immediately approached Jiang Bin and scolded him: "If you hadn't said you were familiar with the surrounding terrain, would I have come out to make a fuss? Until now, I can't even find the right path. I'm lost in this wilderness, and I have no way to go to the earth. If I starve to death, it would be sad... Wouldn't I be the most cowardly emperor in history?"

At this time, Zhu Houzhao still complained about his life and death, which made Jiang Bin really unacceptable. The little emperor in front of him was too willful. He said whatever he thought of, completely ignored time, occasion and identity. As the Lord of the Nine Five, he always joked about his life and death. This is something Jiang Bin could not imagine.

Soon after, more than ten riders came from behind, and the riders on the horses turned over and dismounted, and then the horses went to eat grass.

About half an hour later, Jiang Bin sent soldiers who had gone ahead to explore the way quickly rushed from the mountain pass.

When he got closer, the sentry snatched the horses and said nervously to Jiang Bin who stood up, "Mr. Jiang, I have investigated it. There is not even a village in the front ten miles ahead. The mountains and fields are extremely desolate. Fortunately, the road is still smooth and you can reach the Gushan River directly... Now that late autumn is approaching, Gushan River has become a stream, and you can easily walk over... After crossing the river, it is only more than 120 miles away from Weizhou. Are we going to travel together at night?"

Because Zhu Houzhao claimed to the people below that he was "Prince Zhu", he naturally would not be respected by the cavalrymen around him. These officers and soldiers affiliated with the Weizhou Guard were more willing to believe in Jiang Bin.

Everyone knows that Jiang Bin is now leaping on the dragon gate. This time he is returning to Weizhou to handle an office under the sage order and still holds the imperial decree of Huang Feng, so they are not convinced.

These people were escorting Jiang Bin and sent "Mr. Zhu" to Weizhou. They felt that the red-faced and white-toothed Master Zhu was probably a little eunuch beside the emperor, and even the respect was extremely limited. After all, they had many layers of relationships with the eunuch, and they felt that they could not get under the name of a eunuch no matter what.

Jiang Bin looked at Zhu Houzhao and asked, "Young Master, do you think we are going to rush forward or continue to rest?"

Zhu Houzhao touched her stomach with a bitter look on her face: "I am hungry, can I have no food at all? Isn't it going to be as good as eating the bark of a tree?"

A cavalryman said, "Please forgive me, Mr. Zhu, I can't find anything to fill my stomach in this mountainous land. Besides, it's the year of war, and there are many bandits in the area, and there are dangers at any time and anywhere, and it's not a good place to stay and find food. On the contrary, if we grit our teeth and arrive at Weizhou earlier, there will be no problem. There are a lot of food there. Brothers have come out for a long time, and I hope to see the wife and children at home sooner..."

"Is there still a thought about this now?"

Jiang Bin cursed, "I am transferring you to your side to do something. I always care about the women and children at home. How can I make progress?"

Zhu Houzhao pulled Jiang Bin and said generously: "Commander Jiang, don't be angry with them. It is human nature to miss your relatives at home for a long time. People have seven emotions and six desires, and no one can escape the vulgarity. Now my body is almost disbanded. Let's take a rest and then rush the road... By the way, I'm more than a hundred miles away, I'm afraid I can't get by before dawn, right?"

Jiang Bin's expression was full of embarrassment: "This... the mountain road is difficult to walk, and even if we continue to rush, it will take at least ten hours."

Zhu Houzhao seemed very disappointed: "Does it take that long? Forget it, keep going. If you don't hurry up, you will be starved to death on the road. I just don't know if there are jackals, tigers and leopards in secret at night? I really want to kill a beast to fill my hunger..."

...

...

Zhu Houzhao rushed to the streets at night, and the news soon reached Ma Jiu ten miles away.

Originally, Ma Jiu and others had set up a bonfire in a hidden cave and were preparing to have a hot meal. After all, except for Zhu Houzhao's journey overnight on the first day, Zhu Houzhao chose to stop and rest for the rest of the two nights. They thought they didn't need to rush tonight.

When he learned the news, Ma Jiu had to ask his subordinates to get up and set off again.

"Brother, when will we be able to pursue this? Who is that person? Is there such a big fight?" The person who spoke was Liu Ya, the little girl from Guangdong who once recognized Ma Jiu as her righteous brother, has become a big girl in recent years. Although she once followed the army before, she had no chance to go to the battlefield.

This time, Zhu Houzhao led the army to Datong Town in person. Liu Ya was a logistics and baggage personnel. Later, Shen Xi led troops out of the frontier. Liu Ya stayed in the pass as an intelligence officer. Previously, Xier sent Batumonk's children and grandchildren to Datong. Liu Ya received an order to rush to Zhangjiakou Fort to meet with Shen Xi, and followed Ma Jiu out to carry out the mission.

Although Ma Jiu was just a close companion next to Shen Xi at the beginning, he was considered an insignificant little person, but because of his repeated contributions to Shen Xi, he was promoted many times. He is now one of the few generals under Shen Xi, and he also has his own direct troops, and many people have dinner with him.

These people who were counting on Ma Jiu were basically the old subordinates of Chenxi, and most of them were brought out from Fujian and Guangdong, nearly half of them were old brothers from the Carriage and Horse Gang.

These people have little chance of going to the battlefield. After all, they are not from military households and have not received systematic military training, so they are basically incorporated into the intelligence system and have been working hard for many years and have been a leader with a certain identity.

The biggest advantage of these people is not how strong their ability to do things, but that they obey the command and are loyal. Chen Xi commands like an arm.

For example, Liu Ya has become the backbone of the intelligence organization affiliated with Ma Jiu. Everyone knows that she is the sister of Ma Jiu, the general under Chen Xi, and no one dares to offend her.

Of course, Ma Jiu's intelligence system is still far behind that of Yunliu. The intelligence system controlled by Yunliu takes into account all the intelligence on the battlefield. Ma Jiu is mainly responsible for investigating the intelligence in the rear and court. Only in wartime will some people be drawn to join Yunliu's command.

Ma Jiu said: "This is the object that the lord has ordered to be strictly protected. What are you doing when you ask about everything?"

Ma Jiu is usually very kind, but he is very strict with his subordinates when performing missions. Originally, the chariot and horse gang were a group of mobs, including even thieves, almost all kinds of thieves. Now he is integrated to serve the court. If Ma Jiu does not have murderous aura, he will not be able to intimidate these people at all.

Liu Ya said: "Your Majesty hasn't returned to Beijing yet, so lord asked us to come out to escort that little white face. It's really unwilling to... I've wanted to go back to see my sister-in-law and niece. I remember that my niece was just born when I went to war..."

For Liu Ya, she was not concerned about the marching and fighting. She was just a waste of life with Ma Jiu. She didn’t care about military merits. As long as she could get the money and go back to enrich her dowry. Because of her special status, coupled with the tomboy’s appearance and temper, no one dared to approach her, let alone propose marriage to her or whatever.

Ma Jiu did not listen to Liu Ya's complaint and ordered: "Follow it right afterwards, but don't alarm the other party. Find out the situation on the road. It will only take more than one hundred miles from here to Weizhou. We can rest well in two days at most!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao rode the horse and whipped it. At this time, he was very tired, but at least he had to hold on. He had to grit his teeth and carry it on the road he chose, no matter how rugged or difficult it was. Zhu Houzhao was still quite persevering in this regard, complaining endlessly and pulling his legs, and did not show the emperor's style to oppress others.

Until midnight, the moon was dark and the wind was high, and Zhu Houzhao was already very tired.

"Young Master, there is Gushanhe in front. Let's go and drink some water to rest?" Jiang Bin quickly whipped around the river before coming to report to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was already weak at this moment. When she waved her hand, she lost her strength to speak.

When the party arrived at the small river with a gentle flow, Zhu Houzhao turned over and dismounted, squatted down, picked up the river water and drank it in big mouthfuls. After the cold water was filled, Jiang Bin turned around and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, if you are really hungry, why not kill a car and fill your hunger?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned and asked, "Kill the horse, how can we get to Weizhou?"

Jiang Bin said: "It's okay, leave one or two people behind and let them walk back... You can leave some meat for them. You can go back to Weizhou after walking for a day or two. What does your Majesty think?"

Zhu Houzhao breathed a long sigh: "You, you, since there is such a good way, why keep me hungry? Hurry up!"

Jiang Bin did not explain that he needed to clean the horse's meat by the river, and went straight to tell the plan with the soldiers who were gathered together to drink water a few meters away.

Although this was not a good idea, the soldiers did not dare to complain too much to Jiang Bin in the end, because Jiang Bin said that whoever contributed the horse would not only add horses after returning to Weizhou, but also give 50 taels of official silver, which was a huge asset for ordinary soldiers.

"Sir Jiang, let's hurry up and hurry up. Maybe we will arrive in Weizhou tomorrow morning. Why do we kill horses at this time? Besides, horse meat is not delicious." Some soldiers complained.

Jiang Bin cursed: "What do you know? You can endure hardships. Mr. Zhu is a noble man. Can you get hungry and cold? Only after eating can you have the strength to rush on the road. Are you still afraid that I will depend on your debt?"

The soldiers have nothing to say now.

So a group of people made a fire by the river to cook. A team of nearly twenty people sat around the bonfire, which was very lively.

At this time, in a forest three miles away, Ma Jiu was checking the situation by the river with a telescope. Seeing the bright bonfire in the night, he couldn't help but frown.

Liu Ya widened her phoenix eyes and asked incomprehensible: "Are you crazy? It's a big night when you make a fire in the open area by the river. Isn't this telling the nearby thieves that someone stays here for a long time?"

Obviously, Liu Ya's experience in the martial arts world is much higher than that of Jiang Bin and others, mainly because Jiang Bin and others are hereditary military positions and are not responsible for such trivial matters of night patrols. If there were any bandits in the past, they would have seen the officers and soldiers hiding, and no one dared to be unable to get along with the officers and soldiers.

But in extraordinary times, the situation is very different from usual, the official road is in bleakness, and the life of the bandits is not easy, so we urgently need to replenish the granary that has already reached its bottom.

Ma Jiu looked cautious: "They were too hasty when they left the camp, and the team was seriously short of food, and there was no place to replenish the supply along the way. It was reasonable to kill horses and fill the hunger, but this was a certain danger. You can find out the surrounding situation clearly. If something changes, hurry up and help!"

Zhu Houzhao didn't realize how unsafe it was to make a fire in the wilderness.

Although Jiang Bin and other guards had this awareness, they were always not very vigilant. In their opinion, as an official army, they could run rampant, and there was nothing wrong with setting fires in the middle of the night.

With Zhu Houzhao's constant urging, after a long time, the horse meat was finally baked, and Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait to eat it.

For the military, horse meat has a strong smell of fishy smell and rough flesh. Coupled with the psychological discomfort caused by being with war horses on weekdays, it feels uncomfortable to swallow a bite of horse meat.

But for Zhu Houzhao, as long as he can fill his stomach, it is a good thing. He also thinks the horse meat is very chewy, and when roasting, it adds seasonings such as cumin, pepper powder and thirteen spices, which tastes very satisfying.

"Young Master, eat slowly and don't choke."

Jiang Bin left all the horse meat to Zhu Houzhao, and neither he nor his subordinates talked. But seeing that Zhu Houzhao was having fun eating, he couldn't help but worry, fearing that Zhu Houzhao would eat too quickly and would have problems when he was hungry for a long time.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand impatiently: "I understand, don't be nagging, just like a eunuch... Do you need some food for me to bring? It's so delicious!"

Hungry in his stomach, Zhu Houzhao ate fresh meat again, thinking that horse meat was the best delicacy in the world. At this time, he didn't know that a team of bandits rushed over several miles across the river saw the fire.

In this place where you don’t have to leave the village and don’t leave the shop, you finally found a passing team. The bandits who had been so hungry that they were regarded as a caravan from the gates, and they were eager to gain something from this passerby.

Zhu Houzhao was not aware of it, and even Jiang Bin and his soldiers did not notice the coming danger.

However, Ma Jiu got the news in advance. After all, within ten miles of Zhu Houzhao, there were at least a hundred scouts investigating the information.

"It would be strange if you don't attract bandits at night." Liu Ya's expression was full of disdain. In her opinion, this group of people wearing military uniforms had less experience in the world than her woman.

Ma Jiu hurriedly said: "Come people and be ready to go forward at any time. You cannot let the bandits approach the objects we protect."

An old brother from a carriage gang came next to him and asked, "Master Jiu, if we kill like this, we will not be misunderstood by the officers and soldiers in front of us as bandits, right?"

Ma Jiuwei said: "I'm not worried about misjudgment... But if the people in front see me, then the things we follow will be exposed. What should we do then?"

Although Shen Xi strictly ordered Ma Jiu not to disclose his hiding, the bandits attacked the emperor and his party at this time and were unable to comply with the orders. They could only give priority to protecting Zhu Houzhao's personal safety.

Ma Jiu looked around the brothers. No one was wearing the clothes of officers and soldiers. After all, they were coming to perform special tasks. Strictly speaking, they were not considered officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, but were "mercenaries" dispatched by Shen Xi, and were only responsible to Shen Xi.

"Brother, why don't you let me go, they won't know me." Liu Ya suggested.

Ma Jiu glanced at Liu Ya and was a little worried. After all, Liu Ya had never had any experience on the battlefield. She was just a maid given to Shen Xi by the local government in Guangzhou. She had only achieved her status today by chance. Liu Ya had not undergone combat training and was of average level in riding horses and bow shooting. In addition, she was thin and without the strength of Zhu Shan, it was difficult for people to look forward to it.

Ma Jiu said: "You may be able to fight a water battle, but now..."

Liu Ya said dissatisfiedly: "Brother, you look down on others! Why can't I do it? Look at me!"

Then Liu Ya jumped on the horse without waiting for Ma Jiu's order, and waved her hand straightforwardly, saying, "Brothers, there are bandits coming out to cause trouble now. As soon as the bandits appear, we will go out and let everyone see our skills. We are definitely not cowards!"

...

...
To be continued...