Chapter 23 Parting ways
Eight days later, they were several dozen miles east of Shouchun City.

In the gentle breeze and drizzle, Black Bear came to Yuan Shu's grave wearing clogs and holding an oil-paper umbrella.

When Yuan Shu was defeated, he was ready to give up his throne to Yuan Shao, and was going to Hebei with the imperial seal via Xia Pi and Qingzhou. Yuan Tan also sent troops from Qingzhou to support him.

The imperial seal is very important, and the remaining officials around Yuan Shu are also very important. After discussing heroes over green plum wine, Liu Bei's tiger was out of the cage and was ordered to kill them.

Yuan Shu had already reached the Sishuikou where the Sishui River merges into the Huaishui River. He was unable to defeat Liu Bei, so he retreated back to Shouchun.

When they were dozens of miles away from Shouchun, their food supplies ran out and their troops dispersed, so their followers buried him nearby.

No one cared about feng shui, and there were no valuable burial objects. They simply covered the ground and that was it.

The mound of graves before us, according to ritual standards, is just a high tomb for the funeral of a prince, and cannot be considered a mausoleum.

In other words, Yuan Shu was hastily buried with the rites of a prince or a noble. It may also be due to the influence of the Yuan family. In any case, this guy who proclaimed himself emperor actually managed to keep his body intact.

Unlike Zhang Jue or other unlucky ministers, his coffins were opened and his bodies were mutilated or even ground into dust and scattered into ashes after his death.

In fact, at this moment, we cannot conclude that the person lying in the grave in front of us is Yuan Shu. What if Yuan Shu's followers were worried that the court would open the coffin and mutilate the body, so they deliberately made a fake one and then secretly buried it nearby?
Thinking about it, Black Bear threw a piece of black mana into the grave.

With Yuan Shu's status, he shouldn't be able to refine even one single mana, right?

As a result, a card flew back to the hovercraft: 'Black servant, clumsy, good at driving, can be strengthened, can be combined.'

There is a special skill...

Could it be that the corpse of a special person can also be refined by a drop of magic power?
Black Bear's eyebrows twitched. Perhaps he was Yuan Shu's personal coachman, and was buried here after his death?
But looking at the loess grave mound again, other things must have been added to this mound, so there are weeds and bushes growing around it, but there are only a few clumps of grass on this mound.

Considering the situation at that time, it was concluded that this was Yuan Shu's tomb.

Even if not, considering this black servant with special skills, this trip is not in vain.

In order to prevent other people from being buried alive under the mound, the black bear cast another drop of black magic power, which spun around and bounced back.

Seeing that there was no gain, he turned and left.

A dozen steps away, a guard wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat was looking around without saying a word.

This place is very close to Shouchun, but there are few people living here. It is also too close to the Huai River, so there is a danger of being looted by passing pirates or grain transport soldiers.

Pirates only cross the border to seek money and food, but if the army crosses the border to plunder, they would never dare to leave anyone alive!
Under the system of staggered conscription, local people lacked the ability to protect themselves, and the garrison, which was mainly composed of outsiders, would never have the ideological awareness to sacrifice themselves to defend the villagers.

Next to the guard stood the Yin Gan horse that had been strengthened for the second time. This horse was more than half a foot taller than before and was close to the size of a military horse.

The second strengthening took a full ten points of black mana, which was outrageous.

But the effect is excellent. Even on such rainy days, the horse can walk without being melted by the sun.

As the black bear approached, the guard leader Xu Lin asked, "General Qu, is this really Yuan Shu's tomb?"

"Since Cao Cao didn't dig it, I think it must be true."

Seeing Xu Lin's confusion, Black Bear explained, "Yuan Shu was Cao Cao's friend when he was young. He would not have disturbed Yuan Shu's grave if it was not necessary. Moreover, when Yuan Shu just died, Yuan Shao was dominating Hebei and was in great power. How could Cao Cao dare to dig up Yuan Shu's grave?"

At that time, so many people in the court turned a deaf ear and did not send anyone to dig. There was no need to dig after defeating Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was just defeated, not dead.

Just treat this place as a fake and there is no need to fall for the tricks of Yuan Shu's followers.

When facing the two Yuans, the Xudu court had its own flexible law enforcement methods.

He became an emperor in troubled times, and after his death in battle, he escaped the punishment of having his coffin broken open and his body mutilated by the current dynasty. This is probably the only case of his kind.

The black bear didn't want to ride the horse, so he raised his hand and patted the horse's butt, and the horse disappeared. Xu Lin was not surprised and followed the black bear back to the Huai River.

Except for some soldiers and sailors on guard, everyone else on the river bank was cutting bamboo in the bamboo forest on the shore or casting nets to catch fish.

This drizzle did not hinder the bamboo felling. Men, women and children alike had new short coats made of coarse silk. Some people took good care of their silk clothes and wore their old clothes outside.

When we arrived at the river bank, across the wide and turbulent Huai River, we saw more than a hundred boats connected front and back on the north bank, and more than a thousand people making fire and cooking soup on the shore.

During this period, when they rested at night, they were more than ten miles apart from each other. The other side sailed upstream along the north bank and camped nearby on the north bank, while they were on the south bank, and there was little communication between them.

Even though we were separated by a distance and couldn't speak a word, we could still feel the distress of the North Shore.

They fled at the end of February. The grain was planted in the fields and they had very little food left. Only those people who had boats at the beginning could bring some food. If the poor people who joined later had food, how could they be willing to leave their homes so easily?
So they ran out of food a few days ago and had to barely survive by digging wild vegetables and catching fish, shrimps and crabs.

Even the efficiency of rowing decreased. Fortunately, they had arrived in Shouchun and could go down the Fei River to Hefei, the capital of Yangzhou.

You don't even need to go to Hefei, you can get food supplies by joining the army in Shouchun.

Even from a distance at this moment, I can still feel the joyful atmosphere of the North Shore.

Seven or eight sailors were chopping green bamboo on the shore, bundling the bamboo strips and transporting them to the cabin for storage.

The food and drink consumption for nearly two hundred people was not small, so they had to go ashore to cut wood and replenish fuel every two or three days. Fortunately, the two fleets were large in numbers and no one jumped out to obstruct them along the way.

Xuan Liang came over with a long bamboo strip with words written on it, and said to Black Bear, "Captain Qu, there are only seven stone and five dou of rice left."

Nothing was easy under the rule of the Xudu court, whether it was spending money to buy food or stealing food, it was very difficult.

When it comes to exploitation, the Xudu court is professional.

Xuan Liang had many concerns and said, "After crossing Shaobi and entering Yingshui, it may be difficult to replenish supplies."

"Yeah, we can't use the name of the White Goose Thief to do things anymore."

Black Bear took the long bamboo piece and examined the data on it. The amount of brocade and gold had not changed, but the amount of food was only enough to reach Xu Du.

If they couldn't get food supplies in Xudu, so many people on the ship would have to survive by fishing and digging wild vegetables.

Xuan Liang saw his face darken, and immediately said: "What I mean is to reduce the rations and encourage the men and women on the boat to fish."

"No, the recruited soldiers are weak and must be well fed to serve me. Their wives and children must also be well fed. As long as they are my men and have food, they cannot go hungry." Black Bear handed the long bamboo stick back and said, "I am not a stingy person. When you arrive in Xudu, you must follow my previous orders to meet Cao Hong and make friends with him. You can also see the work style of his servants and retainers by looking at Cao Hong's personality. Don't be afraid to spend money and buy food through these people."

"Yes, may I ask what will happen next, Commander Qu?"

Xuan Liang glanced around, stretched out his arms and gestured to lead the black bear to a remote place: "I thought that the commander was going to do something big in Xudu, but now he wants to buy a lot of food. This is puzzling to me."

His voice was trembling as he spoke: "Could it be that Commander Qu is going to abandon us?"

"I originally wanted to sail into the Yellow River, but I wanted to steer a huge ship like the Battleship, so I wanted you to return to Jiangdong to be my eyes and ears. Then we can work together inside and outside to seize a huge ship for my use."

Seeing Xuan Liang's agitation, Black Bear continued, "Before, I was willing to take you deep into the dangerous area. But after Xia Pi recruited soldiers and there were more children on the boat, I didn't want to take the risk with them. Otherwise, if the boat capsized or fell into Cao Cao's hands, no matter the old or young, they would all die."

"General Qu, if we go to Jiangdong, we would rather die in front of you. We only hope that you will remember our service and let us not suffer the hardship of Taishan corvée after death."

Xuan Liang lowered his head and said, "As for the children on the boat, I am not their parents, but I also know what Xu Lin and others are thinking. They would rather their children fall into danger than leave their commander."

"If the commander finds the boats too cumbersome, we are willing to raid the area between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers and wait for the commander's call."

He raised his head and looked eagerly: "If you want big ships, why don't you attack Jiangdong? You don't need big ships and navy? You can plunder Xudu, so you don't need craftsmen. If you don't have ships, how much supplies can you take away from Xudu? We are ordinary people, so we can be of some use to you. I hope you can understand this."

Seeing that Black Bear was still thinking, Xuan Liang said, "Xudu has plenty of supplies and ships. His navy is suffering. After following him, they live in the cabin all day long. How can they bring trouble to their families? Besides, Cao Cao has no navy, let alone those who are good at naval warfare. The Central Plains is vast, and we are willing to follow him at the risk of our lives. With his ability, why should we worry about Cao Cao?"

Xuan Liang had no intention of returning to Jiangdong to be a spy, which was somewhat beyond Hei Xiong's expectations.

After knowing each other for ten days or so, we have gotten to know each other's temperament and work style.

I am not a ruthless person who can do great things. Even if I am ruthless, I will only be cruel to my enemies and strangers. I cannot be cruel to people around me for the time being, especially when the other party has not made any mistakes or angered me.

Seeing Xuan Liang wanted to speak again, Black Bear waved his hand: "Let me think about it."

"Yes."

Xuan Liang temporarily took his leave, and Black Bear stood alone by the Huai River thinking about the future.

He looked towards the north bank, where river mist and smoke were intertwined in the drizzle. He squinted his eyes slightly, and in his mind there was a very important thread that was faintly tickling back and forth.

Gradually, as four geese came ashore from the water to graze within sight, he caught the line.

General Bai Goose is always there. As long as those people on the north bank join Liu Fu's army, the men and women from Pei nationality among them will definitely come forward to report to the authorities!
In other words, if he parted with them here, his whereabouts would be discovered by Liu Fu, the governor of Yangzhou, at least one day later, and then quickly reported to the court in Xudu.

The Huai River is the state boundary. To the south is Jiujiang County of Yangzhou, and to the northwest are Yingchuan County and Runan County.

Theoretically speaking, once exposed, there would be no way for him to reach Xu Du unimpeded, as he would be ambushed numerous times along the way.

The original body's father's family was also on the North Bank, and if he was exposed early, he would be able to clear their suspicion.

This is probably all we can do in the end.

Black Bear had made up his mind. He turned his head and looked at Xu Lin who was more than ten steps away. He said, "I'll go back to the boat. You go and call the three captains."

"Yes!"

Xu Lin walked away quickly, and Black Bear got off the embankment, boarded the black-sailed boat, came to the boat ladder, and climbed up.

Without a dock, it is very inconvenient to board the ship and load and unload supplies.

In the cabin, Black Bear changed into slippers made of dry linen. When Xuan Liang and four others entered the cabin, he had already spread out the map he had drawn during this period in front of him.

This map is distorted in scale and can only be used as a rough reference.

The four people knelt in front of Black Bear. Black Bear looked at the four people, who were obviously very nervous. He guessed that Xuan Liang had revealed his thoughts here.

Xuan Liang came to his senses and lowered his head, not daring to look at her.

Retracting his gaze, Black Bear said, "Going to Xudu is more likely to be dangerous than good."

The four men looked at each other and kowtowed together: "We are willing to follow our commander through fire and water."

"But I can't bear to see you die. If I leave you in Huainan, it will be difficult for you to escape with Cao Cao's methods."

Black Bear lowered his eyebrows and looked at the map: "There is only one way to go now. Set sail tonight and head for Yingshui. The only good news at the moment is that Yingshuikou is frequently hit by floods, and there are no counties within a hundred miles. If you go upstream from Yingshuikou for a hundred miles, you will find Shen County."

"If we set sail before sunset, the people on the north bank will be able to cross the Huai River tomorrow and report our whereabouts to the Shouchun garrison. The Shouchun garrison will not delay and will report to Hefei. Liu Fu is not a mediocre official. He will send his trusted confidants to Shouchun to verify and then report to Xudu by express horse. This round trip will take at least one day and one night. We set out one step ahead of the north bank, so there is a time difference of one day and two nights."

Black Bear smiled as he spoke: "It costs a lot to maintain the post station. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Guandong County Guoting Post Station has been abandoned."

The prefectures and counties have no money and no manpower to maintain the post stations, so it is normal to lay off postmen.

Maintaining a post station requires not only couriers and horses, but also patrol soldiers to maintain public order. Such a small team can easily be devoured by bandits.

Considering the predicament of the court in Xudu, the official documents between Liu Fu of Yangzhou and Xudu should have been delivered by water rather than by cavalry on the expensive and unsafe road.

If he took the water route, he would be ahead of the Yangzhou envoys, and the other party would not dare to sail at night, so he would definitely arrive in Xu Du before them.

But just in case.

Black Bear pointed at the Ying River and said, "From Shouchun to Xudu, it is about 800 miles by water, and about 700 miles by land. The post station can travel 600 miles at a time, but now there are no horses to change along the way, and we can't travel at night, so let's assume he travels 300 miles a day."

Xu Lin, who had served in the army in Xuzhou for many years, said, "General, we can only travel 200 miles at most. We can travel 300 miles in the first two days. On the third day, the horses will run out of steam and the soldiers will be tired, so the journey will be even shorter. We should also be on guard against the envoys from Yangzhou changing horses in the counties along the way, or asking the counties to forward official documents."

Zhang Ding frowned, his face showing a determined look: "What if we set up an ambush in Shen County and kill the messenger? I remember that there are two counties, Shen County and Ruyin County, downstream of Ying River, and the remaining towns are mostly in ruins."

Black Bear was a little tempted, but seeing that Zhang Ding was about to volunteer, he rejected the offer, "Don't bother with him. Even if the envoy from Yangzhou travels 350 miles a day, it would take two days and two nights to reach Xudu, but we need three days and four nights. Is it possible to travel 800 miles by water?"

Xuan Liang said, "If we sail during the day, it will be difficult. If we have a commander to lead the way at night, there will be no doubts."

Xu Lin also spoke up, "That's right. After the refugees from the north bank surrendered to Yangzhou, the officials of Yangzhou interrogated them and they were able to infer the speed of our boat. Since we traveled with the refugees from Xia Pi, we sailed during the day and stopped at night. There was nothing unusual. They didn't know that our commander had special abilities."

"In that case, let's set sail at night and go through the Yingshui River to the Langdang Canal. I will go to Xudu alone, and you will stay near the mouth of the Langdang Canal and wait for an opportunity to buy food and fodder. When I'm done, we will meet up and head straight to Hebei!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)