Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 364 What a coincidence, Boss, Old Nine
"not good!"

Li Chengqian was quick to react and reined in his horse immediately.

The mount stood up and neighed.

"Hey hey!"

Younger brother Li Zhi was nearly thrown out and held on to his brother's clothes tightly.

It was as if I had returned to a few years ago, holding onto someone's clothes tightly on a Pegasus galloping in Jiucheng Palace...

"Stop, stop!"

Cheng Xin gave urgent orders in a low voice, and the well-trained Turkic guards immediately turned their horses around and put the convoy in order.

The long royal convoy slowly stopped like a train.

"Why are there Ming troops here? Did Li Ming figure out our escape route?"

Li Zhi felt desperate.

He felt like Monkey King, unable to escape the clutches of the Great Ming God.

Li Chengqian stood in the stirrup and observed for a while, then immediately bent down.

"Now is not the time to talk about this. Something bad has happened! It seems they have discovered us!"

"Ah?!" Li Zhi was half-believing and half-doubting, and cautiously stuck half of his head upwards.

The two gate gods at the foot of the hill were pointing in their direction, and had obviously discovered the existence of this huge convoy.

Li Zhi's face turned pale, and he was so frightened that he was at a loss:

"What should I do?"

The scheming little brother is not suitable for this kind of close combat situation.

Li Chengqian's reaction was much faster, and he quickly analyzed:

“There are cliffs on both sides, and the only way to continue north is through that pass.

"Break in by force? No, there are only two of them on the surface, but there must be friendly troops lying in ambush in the mountains to support them.

"There's no point turning back. This is the only way to go forward. Besides, they've already seen us. Turning back would make us look suspicious..."

Li Zhi's mind was buzzing:
"What should I do?"

Li Chengqian made a prompt decision, his eyes full of determination:
"There has only been one road to Mount Hua since ancient times!"

Li Zhi's eyelids were twitching.

…………

"What are those people doing? Why did they stop? Are they intimidated by the pressure from the Ming soldiers? Hahaha, no way~"

The Ming army sergeant looked at the long line of convoys on the hillside, puzzled.

They were the troops that Emperor Li Ming ambushed when he passed by here on a boat and suddenly had the idea of ​​"ambushing a group of troops here".

The mission was not complicated. The scouts had to be on duty to prevent the Puzhou defenders in the south from suddenly leaving the city and heading north, turning the battlefield into a thousand-layer pancake with a layer of Ming troops and a layer of Tang troops.

In addition to the eye in the river here, Li Ming also dug many eyes along the way.

In team battles, vision is key.

"That team is probably some large clan fleeing the war, right?" muttered the soldier who was blocking the intersection with the sergeant.

During the war, when everything was in chaos, it was not uncommon for entire families to flee.

This scout team has been staying at this pass for several days and has encountered such situations several times.

And the fleets are huge.

After all, a large family that has been rooted in the local area for hundreds or thousands of years will have more than a few hundred or thousands of branches and leaves.

"Hey, this time the family is really big. I wonder which famous wealthy family in Shanxi they are."

The sergeant murmured without giving it much thought.

The huge convoy started slowly again and approached the pass where the Ming army was located in an orderly manner.

When the convoy gradually approached, the sergeant discovered that the convoy was escorted by a group of riders.

They were all excellent riders with rough faces, unlike the locals. Their waists were bulging, and it was obvious that they were hiding knife handles and bow bags.

The sergeant was not alarmed either.

As a big family, it is normal to hire a few servants and bodyguards to ensure safety.

This convoy before us, apart from being a little larger in size and having more luxurious vehicles, is no different in essence from other aristocratic families fleeing from war.

"but……"

The sergeant frowned, took a step forward and stood in the middle of the passage.

…………

"Damn it, how did they know there was something wrong with me? I was pretending to be calm..."

Li Zhi's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his hands holding the reins were slippery.

Chengxin gently squeezed the horse's belly and walked in front of Li Zhi to block his gaze from the opposite side.

Although he didn't say anything, the back of this sturdy man made people feel at ease for some reason.

The team slowly drove to the pass.

"stop!"

The Ming army sergeant stretched out his hand and stopped Cheng Xin.

The team slowly stopped. The Turkic "house servant" looked unfriendly. He subconsciously let go of the reins with his right hand and touched the bulge on his left waist.

The sergeant faced Chengxin, his eyes fixed on the men behind him.

The soldier beside him subconsciously took a half step back and looked into the depths of the dense forest on the cliff.

Sure enough, there were ambushes in the mountains... Li Zhi's breathing almost stopped.

Cheng Xin casually placed his right hand behind his back, made a "calm down" gesture, then dismounted, bowed solemnly, and said in a muffled voice:

"What can I do for you, sir?"

The powerful voice made even the battle-hardened sergeant's ears buzz.

"Do you know what's ahead?!" the sergeant asked the sturdy man in an unpleasant tone.

Chengxin didn't say anything at first, but just put his hand into his sleeves.

hidden weapon? !
The sergeant immediately became alert and drew his sword in a second.

I saw the other party took out from his sleeve——

A string of Kaiyuan Tongbao coins.

Ah this...

Chengxin held the copper coins in his hands, handed them out with both hands, and tried to put on a flattering smile on his stiff face:

"I don't know, please advise me, sir."

The corner of the sergeant's mouth twitched, he sheathed his sword, and pushed back the hand holding the copper coin with a dark face:

"That's not what I meant. Please don't misunderstand me. You'd better refrain from doing things that could easily cause me to misunderstand you in the future."

"Oh?" Chengxin was a little surprised. For the first time in his life, he put the copper coins he had given away back into his pocket.

The quality of the Ming army's soldiers is not exaggerated.

"There's a war zone ahead, why are you charging forward?"

The corporal pointed his finger at the front of the pass:

"Really? You local refugees are like headless flies. You rush wherever there is danger.

"Go back, the south is safer."

Chengxin said expressionlessly:
"We want to go over there, please let us go, sir."

The sergeant's temples twitched, and his military temper suddenly rose:

"Hey, do you not understand what I'm saying or what? It's dangerous ahead!

"Why are you rushing into a war zone with your children and relatives?

"No, no, no, it's useless to give me money. I suggest you take a detour..."

Li Zhi looked at the two adults passing a string of copper coins to each other, just like little kids receiving New Year's money, and he couldn't help but feel unhappy.

"Ahem." He coughed dryly, and put on the worried voice of a young man, with just the right amount of crying:

"Master, my mother is seriously ill. I have been running around for a long time and finally found a miracle doctor in Jinzhou.

"But the doctor is too old to travel far, so we set out from Puzhou with my mother. We have been on a bumpy road and are almost there. If we have to go back again, I am afraid...

"Please give me some favor, sir!"

He is indeed a natural born actor. His moving narration almost moved the soldier to tears.

But the sergeant was knowledgeable and experienced. He looked at Li Zhi and then at Cheng Xin.

"Is this your son?" Cheng Xin didn't say anything, but didn't shake her head either, which was considered as her agreement.

He dared not overstep his authority to become a father to this noble son.

The sergeant looked suspiciously at the boy beside Chengxin:

"How old is he? You look quite young, how come you have such a big son?"

"Eight years old." Chengxin made up a random guess.

The sergeant took a deep breath and pointed at Li Zhi's head:

"Is this guy eight years old?"

Something is wrong. Something is wrong with this group of people.

His vigilance immediately rose, and he carefully observed the team and discovered the second highlight -

Why does it take the whole family to take my mother to see a doctor?

The more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed, and he winked at the soldier beside him.

The soldier gestured towards the dense forest behind him.

Like a magic trick, several fully armed soldiers emerged from the dense forest.

Li Zhi's eyelids twitched.

He discovered that the Ming army's ambush soldiers were wearing a layer of camouflage made of branches and weeds on their armor helmets, and their faces were smeared with mud.

So Li Zhi knew that there were ambushes from the Ming Dynasty in the forest, but he had never been able to find any trace of them.

As expected of the Ming army, they are good at fighting mountain warfare!

Li Zhi felt a chill down his spine.

He didn't know how many elite Ming soldiers were lurking in the nearby forest, and how many crossbows were secretly aimed at him.

It would be unwise to have a direct conflict with the other party here...

"I have reason to suspect that you are spies. Please cooperate with the investigation."

The sergeant's tone became harsh, and he was obviously on alert.

Chengxin was still stubborn, pushing the coin while repeating:

"My wife is seriously ill, please let us pass for a while..."

The pushing and shoving between the two sides gradually escalated and the situation began to become intense.

"Cough cough!"

A heart-wrenching cough interrupted the confrontation that was about to get out of control.

In the front row of carriages, a graceful "woman" slowly walked down, coughing, and walked towards the Ming army with the help of the Turkic "servants".

The sergeant's eyes widened.

Every step of those small footsteps touched his heart.

"Ahem!" He shook his head quickly, as if trying to shake the three-inch golden lotus out of his head and became alert again.

"I pay my respects to you, Lord General... ahem!"

The "woman" bent over, lost her balance, and fell into the man's arms.

"Are you okay?" An expression finally appeared on Chengxin's tough face.

His young lady - that is, Brother Li Chengqian - smiled bitterly:
"My body is becoming more and more of a burden to you, my lord... ahem!"

Little brother Li Zhi covered his eyes, too embarrassed to look.

What a disgusting couple, my brother is still the same old woman, he is so unlucky...

"that……"

The sergeant didn't expect the situation to develop into what it is now, and he tried to interrupt.

But Li Chengqian didn't give him a chance and started coughing violently at the right time.

"Ahem, sorry...

"As you can see, I am afraid that I will not have much time left. If I can be cured in Jinzhou, that would be great. If not, my family will bid me farewell..."

Li Chengqian spoke in tears, blood was oozing from the corners of his mouth, and his face was as pale as paper.

"Because of my body, I have caused you all so much trouble..."

Like a broken beauty, I feel pity for her.

It doesn't look like acting at all.

The corporal felt his scalp tingling, turned his head away and waved awkwardly towards the pass:

"Go, go, go wherever you want. If you get into trouble, don't blame me."

The Ming army gave way.

Li Chengqian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled at Li Zhi.

Isn't this an easy pass?
The corner of Li Zhi's mouth twitched.

Every member of the Li family is an award-winning actor, this is true...

The huge convoy started moving slowly again.

"Thanks."

Chengxin expressed his thanks briefly and stuffed another string of money over.

The sergeant's mouth twitched, and he returned the money again and said.

"wait."

Then he tore off a page of paper, stamped it, and signed his name.

"Can you read?" Cheng Xin revealed his true feelings for the second time, this time it was surprise.

"..." The sergeant was too lazy to argue with him and said in a businesslike manner:
"This is a pass. If you run into the Ming army later, show this and they will let you pass."

You are a very nice person... Li Chengqian sat by the window of the carriage and nodded weakly to express his gratitude to the enthusiastic grassroots officers of the Ming army.

Elder Wu blushed and turned his head away awkwardly.

It would not matter if he did not turn, but when he turned, he found a cavalry unit swooping down from the top of the cliff not far away.

"Friendly? Have we spotted any enemies nearby?"

The sergeant stared for a while and suddenly realized something was wrong.

There were a lot of people on the other side, and they were coming aggressively and murderously, and it didn't seem like they were coming to give us a tip-off.

Instead, it seems like they are here to fight.

"That armor... is it from the Tang Army?"

The sergeant's eyes focused, and his casual attitude just now disappeared. He got into the state in a second, and gestured with his right hand towards the deep forest at the bottom of the cliff.

There was a rustling sound in the dense forest, and a fast horse was running backwards like a rabbit, seeking support without stopping.

"Your Majesty! Your Highness! Don't panic! I, Li Daliang, am here to protect you!"

A general leading the Tang army shouted in the direction of the convoy, his roar like thunder.

Li Chengqian and Li Zhi's expressions changed suddenly.

Damn, it’s Li Daliang!

Doesn’t that reckless man know how to consider the occasion?

Can't you see that I'm almost escaping death? !
"'Your Majesty'? 'Your Highness'? 'Your Majesty'?"

The sergeant repeated these unusual words over and over again, his eyes scanning the "seriously ill young woman" and "eight-year-old child" in front of him with questioning intent.

The two men were frantically making "hush" gestures towards the Tang army on the mountain.

Feeling the sergeant's gaze, they turned their heads mechanically and forced a smile:

"Sir, we don't know them."

…………

It’s about a hundred miles north of the pass where the accident happened.

In Jinzhou, on the banks of the Fen River.

The Ming army's headquarters was located here.

There are camps stretching for ten miles on the shore, and boats and ships filling the water, the momentum is truly extraordinary.

In the center of the military camp, inside the main tent of the central army.

Li Ming was sitting at the table pouring water. He was unaware that the cup was full. He looked at the two guests in front of him, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching.

After much thought, he finally asked the soul-searching question:
“So… this is the reason why you came here?
"Big brother? Ninth brother?"

(End of this chapter)