The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 15 The tree fell and the hozens scattered
Gather them by profit, disperse them by profit.

Upon learning that Wang Xingyu had withdrawn his troops and there was no hope of entering Chang'an, Li Maozhen finally ran away.

However, the imperial court offered a bounty on his head as the governor of Fengxiang, and he was afraid that the soldiers would riot, so he did not even take the turbulent army with him. The father and son hurried west in the middle of the night, surrounded by hundreds of their confidants. There was no doubt that they would deal with it after returning to Fengxiang. As long as the country was there, Li Maozhen was not discouraged. Who has not suffered setbacks in achieving great things? Even Li Keyong, who was at the peak of his career, was beaten by the imperial court and fled to the desert in a hurry.

Only when one can bend and stretch can one become a man.

After passing Liquan and Qianxian, it was already the evening of November 11 when they arrived at Wutingchuan. The road was not far, but Su Lai was cunning and worried about being attacked by other Jiedushi, so he did not take the main road. After wading through the stream and walking for another half a day, he arrived at Qiyang County. Li Maozhen, who was about to return to the forest, breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the ground to take out his dry food and chewed it slowly. But after eating a few bites, he heard a dog barking.

On the other side of the stream, an old female dog was swimming with her puppy in her mouth under the moonlight.

The soldiers who were sitting in groups eating felt inexplicably nervous, and the vigilant ones immediately took off their armor from their horses and put it on.

really.

The rumbling sound of trampling came from afar.

The cold night cast a dim light, and with the bright moonlight, everyone saw a black dot appear on the other side of the stream. Soon, the black dot turned into a line, and the huge jade plate made the line look glittering, and then it rode quickly into the stream like a dumpling.

He looked extremely panicked, as if there was an evil ghost behind him taking his life.

In order to cross the river, they even trampled on each other. From time to time, a knight was chopped off his horse and fell into the icy river, struggling and shouting, but what he responded with was a knife from his comrade.

"It's our army!" On the creek side, Li Congyan recognized this group of cavalry and said with gritted teeth.

"I'm afraid something has happened!" The soldiers stood up one after another.

"Could it be that a military uprising broke out in Yong County?"

"Forget it, I'm leaving." A soldier jumped on his horse, turned around and ran north.

"I'm sorry, Marshal!" General He Chao briefly bowed to Li Maozhen and rushed into the darkness.

"Speak up, whose subordinates are you?" Li Maozhen couldn't help but yell, his heart was in turmoil to the extreme.

No one on the other side of the river responded to him, but a soldier shouted, "Fengxiang has been occupied by the Shannan Army. Everyone, run for your lives!"

Li Maozhen's heart sank to the bottom, but he was rarely furious.

Li Congyan rode over and said in a low voice with a sad face: "Let's go quickly. If we are recognized, my father and I will be in danger."

Now it seems that plans cannot keep up with changes. If I don’t run away now, I’m afraid I will become the spoils of someone with ulterior motives.

This was something Li Congyan could not imagine, and Li Maozhen did not dare to take the risk either, after all, that was how he got his start. The previous Jiedushi, Li Changfu, rebelled, but his subordinates all became disloyal, so he had to flee in a panic, and as a result, his entire family was killed by the Yajun on the way. Li Maozhen, who was ordered to hunt down the Yajun, arrived, killed the Yajun to silence them, and took their heads back to claim credit, and only then did he become the Jiedushi of Fengxiang.

Is he going to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Li Changfu?
Is there a curse on the Fengxiang commandership? All the successive military governors have had bad endings!
"Quick, send someone to Yong County and have Li Jikan gather the defeated troops and march north to join the Changwu Army City in Jingzhou."

At this point, the only person Li Maozhen could think of and trust was his adopted son Li Jikan.

As for the other officers, they were nothing but rubbish and filthy rubbish who were there to add icing on the cake.

Soon, the confidant who had just been sent out came back, but there was no fear on his face: "The defeated soldiers on the other side of the river said that Li Jikan has established himself as a successor! I told you not to go back, or you will be branded as a patricide."

This bad news left Li Maozhen completely dumbfounded.

"Ji Kan is a rebellious son, with no sense of shame. He appears respectful but is not convinced in his heart. He actually betrayed me!"

With a sudden shout, Li Maozhen's fat body collapsed like noodles in a pot.

He knew that he could not go back to Fengxiang anymore. If he did not leave quickly, his identity would be exposed and he might be hacked to death by the defeated soldiers and sent to Chang'an. "Go north, go north immediately."

After recovering from the shock, Li Maozhen was more decisive than ever before, without the slightest hesitation: "Go to Changwu Military City!"

As long as he was given a city, he would be confident that he could make a comeback and destroy Ji Kan's rebellious son.

However, Li Maozhen's journey to the north was difficult. As soon as he left Wutingchuan, he encountered a group of defeated soldiers who attacked him without saying anything and tried to seize his horse. Those who were unlucky were pulled off their horses and chopped off their faces.

The cavalry was completely paralyzed, and Li Maozhen was furious, but he had no idea what to do. He didn't even dare to let the cavalrymen kill the fleeing soldiers. He was worried that the fleeing soldiers would jump out from some wild forest and rush to kill him.

"Don't want the horses anymore, leave them to them, take a detour, take a detour."

At the critical moment, Li Maozhen was very decisive.

As long as he is still alive, he will come back one day and kill everyone who tries to steal his things now!

Hundreds of horses and the treasures on them attracted the attention of the fleeing soldiers. Who would care about the "fat pig" who was fleeing in panic?

It was a blessing in disguise. When the sky was gray and light, Li Maozhen and his 100-plus men arrived at Macheng, the border of Bingzhou, and prepared to rest there. After collecting the troops of several border commanders, they went back to deal with Ji Kan's rebellious son.

As for the little boy Li Ye in Chang'an City and those ministers, they caused him to fall into such a state, which is extremely hateful!
One day, I will kill him with a hammer.

While thinking about regrouping, he walked towards Macheng.

But after walking only a few steps, the surprisingly quiet town aroused Li Maozhen's high alert.

It's so quiet.

Although decades of war had left nine out of ten houses empty, this small border town was not without the barking of dogs.

He suddenly remembered Wang Xingyu who had escaped early.

This is already the Bingzhou area, will that treacherous beast...

Thinking of this, Li Maozhen turned and left.

"Whoosh!"

Amid the rustling sound of the wind, a wave of arrows shot five steps away.

"I say, don't leave, the Marshal has been waiting here for a long time." A sudden laugh sounded, and figures emerged from the woods not far away. A group of capable men, holding rotten grass roots in their mouths, looked at Li Maozhen leisurely. Judging from their clothes, they were officers from Bining.

"Is that Li Maozhen?"

"There have been quite a few deserters from Fengxiang in the past two days. We captured a few Qi people last night and interrogated them, and found out that their old nest was occupied by the Shannan Army."

"Hahaha."

"The Marshal said Li Maozhen would go here, and we really caught him."

……

On November 16, the second year of Dashun, the wind was strong and the rocks were flying.

Macheng, less than 100 miles away from Bingzhou, was originally a small-scale military city that was unknown to the public. Soldiers only came to defend against the autumn every year. Usually, it was very deserted, with only a few minor officials. But recently, it was very noisy, and the empty city was surrounded by a large number of soldiers.

(End of this chapter)