The night was as dark as ink. Two dragon boats sailed out of a river downstream from the Han River. After more than two hours of sailing, they carefully moored on a small sandbar on the east coast. There were many such sandbars on the river. When the water surged, they did not fall under the water, forming shallows. If the ship was not careful, they would be stranded. When the rainy season passed, they would be exposed to the water or disappeared, so that people were too lazy to name them together.

After the boat got off the anchor, several people jumped off the boat and went to the shore with the river that was not at the base of their legs. They searched carefully twenty feet in the shore and arranged a warning before sending out the signal. The boat lowered the springboard, and two people came out of the boat and lined up on the sandbar.

"Your Majesty, let me go too, there are too few people!" Zhang Hao, deputy commander of the Imperial Navy, asked again.

"There are more people, and it is easier to be exposed. I think there are too many of these people." Zhao Bing waved his hand, "You are hiding nearby and come to pick you up immediately after receiving the signal."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Hao said reluctantly. This time, the little emperor insisted on going deep into the hinterland of Xiangyang to conduct a secret reconnaissance. Everyone tried their best to persuade him but he only brought a 30-person team to protect him, which was really reassuring.

"Retreat!" Zhao Bing got off the boat and immediately urged him to leave quickly. Zhang Hao sighed and ordered the cabin door to close and ordered the evacuation. The two dragon boats slowly left the shore under the urging of the oarsmen and drove into the middle of the river. A lantern rose from the mast and flashed a few times. Soon three dragon boats were renowned upstream, and then the formation went downstream and quickly merged into the dark rainy night.

"Now we have entered the enemy territory. I would like to emphasize again that we are the scouts of the Seventh Army. We must not disclose your identity under any circumstances. From now on, we are called Huang Wulang..." Niu Laifu, deputy commander of the Guards, reminded again. Although it was not the first time he was making a fuss with His Majesty, this time was different from the past, which made him feel deeply responsible and afraid of a mistake.

"Stop talking nonsense, everyone remembers it. Besides, it's annoying. Let's go!" Zhao Bing said impatiently, picking up his gun and urging him.

"Yes, fifth brother!" Niu Laifu stood at attention habitually, wanted to raise his hand to salute, and quickly put it down, turned his head and said, "Build a safety rope and cross the river!"

As the order was issued, two people immediately swam across the river with ropes on their backs, pulling a safety rope on the sandbank and on the shore. People held the ropes and went ashore one by one, and someone from behind quickly cleared the traces. After Zhao Bing got ashore, he was no different from everyone. His waist was soaked and his boots were filled with water, but no one cared about cleaning up. He immediately followed the team and walked forward. They wanted to escape the enemy's rangers before dawn, and through the dividing line between the two armies, and enter the mountains.

After more than an hour of continuous march, the group had already penetrated into the mountains. Xiangyang was surrounded by water on three sides and one side surrounded by mountains. There are two main land passages, which went west through Wanshan to Shiyan and Hanzhong; and south through Xianshan to Jingzhou. The surrounding mountains divided the open space outside Xiangyang City into two relatively narrow, closed and isolated spaces, but it also made the roads entering and leaving Xiangyang by land narrow, with only two roads entering the city, west and south.

The purpose of Zhao Bing's trip was to survey the pathway to attack Xiangyang City from the west. You must know that there is always a difference between the map and the actual situation. What you see on the map may be just a ridge, but maybe it is a steep cliff that cannot be passed at all. Some seasonal rivers in the mountains are not marked on the map and can usually pass through, but a light rain will gather into a river and are difficult to cross. So he saw it with his own eyes and it is really difficult to make up his mind.

At this time, the rain had stopped, but it was still hard to see the five fingers. He could not see the road clearly. He was worried that the enemy would find it and dared not raise the fire to light it. He could only rely on the familiar terrain to guide the way. The people behind him were staring at the blurred figures in front of him. If they were two or three steps apart, they would lose their direction. The road conditions were not clear at all. It was a pit and a slope, and only their feet knew it.

So along the way, going around, going up the mountain and downhill, walking downhill, and walking downhill, Zhao Bing, who has a strong sense of direction, was lost and had no idea where he was. The raincoat made of oil cloth was not breathable at all, it was stuffy and hot, and even wearing dry clothes, it was already wet. And marching in a tense state is even more prone to fatigue.

I don’t know how long I walked, but after crossing several ridges, Zhao Bing’s breathing became heavier, and he was gasping heavily. His face was covered with thorns and bloody mouths from branches, soaked by sweat. The backpack on his body was as if he was carrying a mountain. This made Zhao Bing a little depressed. It seemed that he had been the emperor for a long time. Although he was still exercising, he either took a car or rode a horse when going out. The intensity was no longer as strong as before, and his physical strength was greatly reduced.

"Fifth brother, give me the gun!" Peng Hu, the close inner guard, whispered from the side, reaching out to pick up his gun.

"This... OK!" Zhao Bing wanted to hold on, but his mind was still hesitating. His body had already surrendered. He let go of the gun belt with his hand and asked him to take the gun off his shoulder.

"Fifth brother, give me the backpack!" Another inner guard He Bao also took the initiative to share the burden for him.

"You are carrying a load bigger than me, so forget it!" Zhao Bing grabbed the strap this time and did not let go. In his backpack, there were only two clothes to change clothes and a pair of spare boots, as well as three-day supplies, emergency items and kettles. The gun was also a short-barrel and a self-defense multi-barrel pistol and dagger. The bullets were carried a base, and the grenades were not even held. The others were not only fully armed, but also had to carry more ammunition and supplies, sharing his bedding, tent and other debris, and the load was much more than the standard carrying weight.

"Fifth brother, is the road still long? If you get exhausted on the first day of the march, everyone will have to carry you away later. Wouldn't it be even heavier?" said the inner guard with a chuckling.

"What I said seems to make sense. I'm lazy now!" Zhao Bing smiled self-deprecatingly. Fortunately, it was dark and no one could see each other's expressions.

"Fifth brother is harder than us. He is busy with everything he wants and has no time to spare all day, but we can take a rotation rest, which is a hundred times harder than us!" He said, and took off Zhao Bing's backpack and carried it on his body.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Zhao Bing's backpack was taken away, and he felt relieved, but he felt ashamed that he had become a burden to others.

"Shut up, there is an enemy outpost in front of you. You must clear your steps and move quickly, and don't make any noise!" At this time, a command was heard in front of you, and Zhao Bing quickly shut up.

Everyone squatted down against the mountain wall in turn. The vanguard had already passed by first and was ready for battle. The people behind him pulled a distance under Niu Laifu's command to pass by. Zhao Bing looked forward, and then the lights of the enemy's outpost showed that this was a mountain pass, followed by a mountain village built against the mountain. They were about to pass through the outpost quietly with the cover of Shanying.

"Follow me!" Niu Laifu patted His Majesty's shoulder and whispered.

"Yes!" Zhao Bing also patted his hand lightly and responded that he was ready.

Niu Laifu made a battle preparation gesture, and the guards who served as cover aimed all the guns at the enemy sentry in the post. As long as they acted rashly, they would shoot him without hesitation. Zhao Bing stared at Niu Laifu's movements, keeping a distance of two steps from him. He was quick and he was slow, and he was slow and he was slow. He successfully broke through this section of the road. He didn't realize it, but heard everyone breathing a sigh of relief. Obviously, they were even more nervous than themselves.

After reunited by this mountain village, the group walked for about half an hour at the speed of a rapid march before slowing down. At this time, it was already dawn, and under the guidance of the guide, they entered a dense forest. Under Niu Laifu's command, a clearing space was opened deep in them and alerted them. At this time, Zhao Bing felt as if his body was disintegrated, and he sat aside for a while before he recovered.

"Fifth brother, where did these people come from? Not only are they physically strong, but they are also quick to move. They marching at night, as if they had eyes on their feet. We all tried our best to keep up." After setting up the campground, Niu Laifu sat next to His Majesty and pointed at a few people scattered around him and said.

Their reconnaissance team consisted of thirty-five people, most of which came from the guard camp, including four inner guards, fifteen guards, and two other military departments who accompanied the imperial front office. The others were all new. However, along the way, they not only served as guides, but also took turns to serve as avant-gardes, responsible for early warning and path exploration. After camping, two were separated as alerts.

Niu Laifu was very curious. As the elite soldiers of the military selected from the elite, their guard battalions not only have experienced actual combat, received rigorous training, but also proficient in the use of various tactics and weapons. They all have grades. In other words, there are no ordinary soldiers in the guard battalions, and any person who is placed in other troops will at least be the commander of the team.

Therefore, Xiang Ziao, the officers and soldiers of the guards, have never been convinced. This time, the guards went deep into the enemy's rear to reconnaissance and selected elites. But today, someone actually competed with them, so he was naturally a little dissatisfied, and he was even more curious about why such a group of mysterious people suddenly appeared around His Majesty.

"They have been here for a while, but you just haven't noticed it!" Zhao Bing said with a smile.

"Oh!" Niu Laifu heard himself and looked at the mysterious people scattered around and said in surprise, "Isn't that man a servant who came with the navy?"

"Haha, it seems that your eyesight is really good and you can still recognize it!" Zhao Bing said, "They are all from the Operations Corps of the Bureau of Affairs. They are ordered to come to protect the safety of the camp, be responsible for the vigilance of the periphery and clear the spies from the Mongols."

"You are so good at ignorance and ignorance, you are so good at it, so it makes us ashamed!" Niu Laifu naturally knew the existence of the Bureau of Affairs. Many of them had received training in the Bureau of Affairs on assassination prevention and secret investigation, but he did not expect that there were such powerful figures among them.

"We cannot afford to praise this. The Bureau of Affairs is responsible for all the idle affairs in the palace. Our little trick is to help you protect the safety of the camp." The man bowed his hands and said humbly.

"Okay, you don't have to be humble, but this makes me look like a waste around me." Zhao Bing interrupted the two of them with a smile, "The Operations Team of the Affairs Bureau is responsible for assassinating enemy generals and eliminating spies, just like an invincible sharp dagger in my hand. And your guard camp is responsible for protecting the safety of the palace city, like an unbreakable shield. Although it is a relationship between a spear and a shield, and my left and right hands, it must not hurt each other, but cooperate with each other and fight together."

The Song Dynasty and the Mongols and Yuan dynasties were mortal enemies, and everyone wanted to die sooner, and the other party's emperor was of course the best goal. As the supreme leader of a country, his life and death can be said to affect the fate of the country to a certain extent. Zheng Huchen certainly knew this truth and understood that his destiny was also closely related to the little emperor. The profession he was engaged in and did things contrary to the current Confucianism propaganda.

If the little emperor died, the confucian ministers in the court would definitely not let him go, the person who had their secrets, and would definitely try to get rid of him. Therefore, Zheng Huchen knew that the little emperor would live well so that he could live well. So when he learned that His Majesty was going to personally conquer Xiangyang, he immediately drew elite troops from the Operation Corps to protect him. This was not only to guard against the Mongolian Yuan, but also to guard against the insiders of the various armies of Jingxiang.

When the Operation Corps contingent arrived at the camp, they did not reveal their identities, but instead acted in various identities inside and outside the camp, secretly protecting the emperor and monitoring the people entering and leaving the camp. Of course, Zhao Bing also understood that the best assassin was also the best bodyguard, because they knew the loopholes in defense and how to use them. They could just check for omissions and eliminate hidden dangers around them.

"Sir, obey the order!" The two of them represented the most powerful force in the emperor's hands, and naturally they were dissatisfied with each other. His Majesty said this to warn them not to fight in the internal struggle, and they quickly polite.

"Where are we now? I was dizzy that night, and I couldn't tell the difference between the south, south, west and north!" Zhao Bing also stopped and responded to Liu Tong, the action team who served as the guide.

"Fifth brother, we walked in Zhongxian Mountain last night. In order to avoid the Mongol Yuan checkpoints and fortresses, we are here now." Liu Tong spread the map and pointed to the current location. "The convenient place in front is Hutou City, which seems not far from Pipa Mountain, but the defense here is very tight, and you still need to go around it. You should be able to get there after another night."

"Well, are there no other roads here?" Zhao Bing frowned. If he wanted to open up the road to west, he had to use a large army. It would definitely not work if he could go around like this.
Chapter completed!