According to Zhuang Yanchao, Hao Yaoqi had two thousand cavalrymen. I don’t know how many of them were dispatched this time. Anyway, there are more than a thousand people.

From the time he had already arrived at Zhoujiayi and set fire to the station, he should have decided to dispatch a large army as soon as he received the second report, aiming at the emperor and rushed towards Zhoujiayi.

Thinking about it again, in fact, it was not because he underestimated Hao Yaoqi, but because he misread Hao Yaoqi.

Hao Yaoqi's troops are different from those in the core old camp of the King of Chuang. Although their combat effectiveness is not bad, their military discipline is not good, which is precisely determined by Hao Yaoqi's own personality.

He is fierce, casual, does not like to be restrained, has an impulsive personality, and often does not consider the consequences when doing things. This time, the same is true for the actions. It is best to have it, and you can survive without it.

"Mr. Prince Concubine, what do you mean is that Hao Yaoqi is blind...blind...blind?" Li Banghua asked in surprise.

He originally wanted to say that Hao Yaoqi was a blind cat who met a dead mouse, but he described the emperor as a dead mouse and was very disrespectful, so he changed his words temporarily.

After seeing the firelight above the rear, Zhou Shixian and Li Banghua and several others immediately discussed urgently beside the cart to see what to do next.

"According to his personality, he does nothing. This time, the thief entered Beijing, and without his share, Hao Yaoqi was most likely unwilling to accept it. Now that there is such a chance, how can he let it go?" Zhou Shixian analyzed, "If he really caught the emperor and the empress, Hao Yaoqi would naturally show his face. He could laugh at the generals who entered the city but let the empress go."

"No," Li Banghua nodded and said, "What's going on now?"

"It's about twenty miles away from the river. We'll set out now and we'll be able to reach the river at about dawn." Zhou Shixian pointed at the map with his hand, "After crossing the river, he will demolish the Shahe Bridge and let him make a big circle and cross the river from the second bridge in the middle. It's not that easy to catch up with us."

The river you want to cross is called Ziya River. It is a river from west to east that merges the Fuyang River and the Chantuo River. If they want to continue south, they can cross the river from here whether they go to Dezhou or Hengshui.

There are three bridges that can cross the river. The closest one to them is called Shahe Bridge, which is considered the east bridge. Thirty-five miles west of Shahe Bridge, there is a second bridge, which is considered the middle bridge. Fifty miles west of the Second Bridge, there is a single bridge, which is considered the west bridge.

Everyone thought that the prince consort's method of "destroying bridges across the river" was feasible, so they immediately cleaned up, got on the car and continued to move forward in the dark. Although it was inevitable that the emperor and the empress would work harder, there was no way. After all, the speed of the cavalry chasing can be faster than the speed of the convoy's journey.

Zhou Shixian's estimate was correct. By dawn, everyone had already heard the sound of the roaring river water in the distance ahead. When they walked closer, they couldn't help but screamed in their hearts.

The Shahe Bridge they originally planned to demolish after crossing the river has been washed away by the fierce and rushing river water!

I heard you want to tear me off? I'll tear myself off first.

At this moment, everyone knew that they were in danger, but they didn't understand why the water of Ziya River became so fierce.

Zhuang Yanchao was very alert and immediately found the old man who was watching the bridge on the river bank.

"Look at this day, it must be raining upstream," Lao Yi pointed at the lead clouds and said with a faint thunder in the sky, "The water suddenly rose, the rise was too strong, and the bridge could not protect it at all. This year's Spring News came early, and this wave of floods was very powerful. I'm afraid that even the water from the canal could be brought up..."

"Then we want to cross the river, what should we do?" Zhou Shixian interrupted and asked after he had no time to listen to his nagging.

"Then I can only try to pass the Second Bridge. After all, it is a stone bridge, and maybe I can carry it for a while." Lao Qi pointed to the west and said, "From thirty miles up here, you can arrive before noon."

There is no other way, and there is only this way. If you cannot arrive before the pursuers behind you, you will inevitably be wasted all your efforts and will probably be destroyed by the Ziya River.

So everyone in the entire convoy, including the emperor and the empress, took a breath and gritted their teeth to travel. Zhou Shixian didn't care whether to spend energy or not, so he simply kept the map open and always looked at the edge of his vision with vigilance.

Fortunately, the black flag representing the pursuers has not yet appeared behind him.

Thirty miles.

Twenty-five miles.

Twenty miles.

Fifteen miles.

Ten miles.

The pursuers are coming!

The black flag finally appeared in sight!

Six hundred people.

However, this wave of pursuers did not appear behind them, but appeared above the map, heading straight to Erdao Bridge from north to south.

Zhou Shixian understood that, indeed, Jiang was still old. Hao Yaoqi decided that they wanted to cross Ziya River, but was not sure where they would cross the river, so he divided into two groups, following them one by one to the East Bridge, that is, Shahe Bridge, and the other side went directly to Zhongqiao, which was the Second Bridge, intending to intercept their way.

Zhou Shixian thought to himself, isn’t this just a primary school arithmetic problem?

Ten miles from the Erdao Bridge,

The enemy is twenty miles away from Erdao Bridge,

It is known that the enemy is twice as fast as you.

Question: Who will arrive at Erdao Bridge first?

Answer: Arrival at the same time.

What a joke... Zhou Shixian's thoughts were so loud that he shouted and stopped the convoy.

Others took a break, and he called Rui Chang and Wei Donglai to his side and took out the map.

"Here, there is a small wood on both sides of the official road. The bandits who came down from the north will arrive soon," he pointed to a place about two miles from Erdao Bridge. "You Shenji Camp and Sanqian Camp each sent twenty cavalry to come here to ambush. Whether it is firing guns or shooting arrows, in any case, you must drag the bandits here for a while!"

Ruichang and Wei Donglai understood it, and the purpose of dragging it for a while was to allow the emperor and empress to safely cross the bridge. As for why the prince-in-law knew that there would be bandits coming down in the north, according to the old rules, Liu Xiang did not study, so there was no need to ask.

There is only one question, how long will it take?

"I fired a gun at the Second Bridge, and three consecutive sounds, and the ambush that blocked the enemy retreated and crossed the bridge."

After understanding, Ruichang and Wei Donglai discussed for a moment, they decided to lead the 20 cavalry of Yebubu's front team to cover the 20 cavalry of Wei Donglai's own musketeers.

"I'm afraid that Qi Danzi will not hear the son-in-law's gunshots, so I can just go by myself." Wei Donglai explained to Zhou Shixian.

"Finish!" Zhou Shixian gritted his teeth and said, "I asked Qi Shizi to set up gunpowder under the bridge. Once you cross the bridge, I will blow up the bridge immediately!"

After the dispatch was completed, forty horses immediately left the convoy and rushed forward with all their might. The convoy also restarted and rushed to Erdaoqiao at the fastest speed he could reach.

Come to the east, Hairigu, I'm dependent on you two.

Zhou Shixian walked in the middle of the convoy, protecting the emperor and empress's vehicles while looking at the map in his mind.

A second black flag finally appeared behind the convoy, chasing him quickly.

Number of people: one thousand people.

Chief: Hao Yaoqi.
Chapter completed!