Song Chen did not introduce the reconnaissance battalion in detail, but only told him that it was the strongest unit in the trapped army. The Pang De brothers now had great trust in Song Chen, and they assigned horses according to his requirements without going into details.

Song Chen first arranged for two horses to be cut off, and then sent two horses to Jiameng Pass to report the news.

"I see that General Song is very confident. Could it be that Mr. Xuan Owl also has arrangements in Jiameng Pass?" Pang De looked puzzled.

Song Chen smiled mysteriously: "You will know soon."

Pang De ordered the people to get dry food, and then drove the food and grass along the Golden Bull Road. It took a day to cover fifty miles. As night fell, he settled in a mountain col to rest.

Pang Rou immediately arranged for soldiers to get pots to cook rice, but Song Chen stopped him again.

"What does General Song mean?" Pang Rou asked puzzledly.

"When you are hungry, eat solid food first. Before my scouts come back, you must not bury the pot to make rice." Song Chen insisted.

"Why?" Pang Rou was very confused.

Song Chen frowned and explained: "If Zhang Lu sends troops to pursue him, he will definitely take action today. Let's wait for the news."

"If Zhang Lu really sent troops to chase him, he should have abandoned the grain truck and escaped alone. What does it have to do with us making a fire to cook?" Pang De was also very puzzled.

"My rule in the reconnaissance camp is that if you want to avoid being discovered by the enemy, you must not leave any traces. Otherwise, your whereabouts will be exposed and you will be in danger. As long as you make a fire and cook, you will definitely leave traces. If the opponent pursues it with all its cavalry, it may not be impossible to catch up.

We, there were not enough horses at that time, who would be left to resist on foot?" Song Chen shook his head.

Pang Rou sighed speechlessly: "General Song is too careful, Zhang Lu may not be able to catch up. Besides, if we were really worried about the pursuers, we should have abandoned the grain truck long ago and traveled lightly at least ten miles a day.

"

"Leaving grain carts means leaving traces. The pursuers will be even more desperate when the time comes. How can walking be better than horses? Once two people are captured alive and sent back, we will have no problem, but Yang Song will be exposed." Song

Chen said worriedly.

Pang De was puzzled: "Why did General Song protect Yang Song? This man is cunning and insidious. He regards wealth as his life. He is not a kind person."

"This man is of great use, but you don't have to worry at all. If the situation is really urgent, I will ask everyone to abandon the grain truck." Song Chen continued to explain.

Pang De didn't know the purpose of keeping Yangsong in Lantian, but out of trust in Song Chen, he didn't ask any more questions, and immediately let the soldiers cuddle up and rest where they were, and used the mountain spring water they got to eat dry food to satisfy their hunger.

This time, I did not prepare a tent or quilt for my disguised escape, so I had to sleep outdoors among the mountains at night, with the cool breeze blowing past my ears. It was not as warm as walking to stay still.

The night slowly fell, and the bright moon, which was rounder and brighter than the previous night, rose. About an hour later, the sound of horse hooves sounded in the mountain road, and Song Chenduan's scouts returned.

They brought back very unexpected news. As expected, Zhang Lu sent his cavalry to pursue Jinniu Road. There was only thirty miles left from them.

Pang Rou's vest felt cold after hearing this. He hesitated and said: "If General Song had not been cautious, we would have been in trouble. But with the marching speed of the cavalry, they can catch up with us later tomorrow. Should we continue on the road overnight?"

"Let's go, luckily we didn't light a fire just now." Pang De immediately asked the brigade to continue their journey, while Song Chen replaced others to continue monitoring behind, allowing them to continue to maintain their intelligence advantage and provide support for the marching deployment behind.

More than a hundred people continued on their way without stopping. When the garrison rested at noon the next day, everyone was already very tired. The intelligence coming from behind became more and more unfavorable. The thirty-mile distance gap between the two sides gradually narrowed.

thirty miles

Twenty-five miles

Twenty miles

When Pang De and others stopped, there was only a gap of ten miles. They had to make a choice now. At this time, they not only had to prepare to abandon the food, but also nearly fifty Xiliang soldiers. As for whether Yang Song in Hanzhong was exposed?

Exposure is no longer on everyone’s mind.

In the desperate situation, everyone wanted to survive, and the Xiliang soldiers all wanted to ride into Yizhou. After discussion, several major generals decided to use small stones on the roadside to cast lots. The loser had to follow and fend for himself.

self-destruct.

Seeing the despairing eyes of the soldiers who failed to cast lots, Pang Rou asked Song Chen: "General Song is very resourceful, can you think of another way? You promised to take everyone away."

"Yes...it is true that I didn't think carefully. My husband once asked me to keep the time difference longer. I didn't expect Zhang Lu to be so good at using troops..." Song Chen blamed himself.

Pang De consoled him: "The current situation is already very good. Who would have thought that Zhang Lu would see through such a clever plan..."

Da da da

Just when the Xiliang soldiers were casting lots to ask whether they would stay or stay, the sound of eager horse hooves suddenly came from the valley ahead, and Song Chen's followers were the first to become alert.

Pang Rou and Pang De stood on the side of the road and watched, and saw a group of soldiers and horses appearing at the corner, with the rider in front carrying a large flag with the word "Deng" written on it.

Song Chen was as happy as seeing his relatives. He pointed to the soldiers and horses and said to Pang Rou, Pang De said: "This is Deng Shizai, Mr.'s personal disciple. He has received the news and came to meet us. None of your Xiliang soldiers are here."

No need to abandon it.”

"Mr. Xuan Owl is really a strange person." Pang Rou couldn't help but sigh.

Deng Ai's team soon arrived in front of them. He turned over and dismounted and saluted everyone respectfully, "Generals, you have worked hard all the way. Deng Ai has been ordered to come to support you."

Pang De and others quickly returned the favor with fists clasped, and Song Chen, as the intermediary, introduced both parties.

"Zhang Lu's pursuers have arrived ten miles away. Do you think we should abandon the grain cart and hurry up?" Song Chen saw that Deng Ai only had a hundred cavalry to rescue him. He felt that the total force was not as good as Yang Ren's pursuers, and Pang De's

The Xiliang soldiers are completely depleted of men and horses. If they were replaced by a hundred scouts, they could fight back.

Deng Ai observed the surrounding geographical situation, thought for a moment and then said slowly: "It is not easy to transport this grain so far, so naturally it needs to be brought back all. You escort the grain truck and continue moving forward. I will stay here to fight for time.

Reinforcements from behind will arrive soon."

"Shi Zai, according to the information given by the scouts, there are still four to five hundred pursuers behind. Are you too reluctant to do so with less than a hundred cavalry?" Song Chen kindly reminded.

Deng Ai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Captain Song, I'm measured."

"Okay then." Song Chen didn't persuade him much, and led the army with Pang De and Pang Rou to continue on their way.

When the Xiliang soldiers were escorting the grain and grass carts around the corner, Song Chen noticed that Deng Ai seemed to be setting up a battlefield. He sent a small team of men carrying flags and climbing up the hillside beside the road.

"What is he doing?" Pang De asked curiously when he saw Song Chen standing still.

Song Chen shook his head, "It may be some way to retreat from the enemy. Two generals, you lead the army first. I want to stay and help the young general hold down the battle."
Chapter completed!