Chapter 12 Chapter Nine Good Horse

The Tuojiang River in the cold winter is the dry season with the narrowest river surface of the year. Li Hanzhang found three wooden boats moored at the pier, two of which looked like small wooden boats used by local fishermen, and the other was larger, like it was usually used to carry people across the river.Li Hanzhang led the mule to the larger wooden boat, tied the reins to the ship's side, put his own harness in the cabin, untied the cables tied to the wooden stakes on the bank, lifted the iron anchor, and then sat on the boat. At the stern, I picked up the two oars fixed on the ship's side, and rowed towards the east bank of the Tuojiang River in the dark night.

Li Hanzhang has received almost all the skills training of a secret agent, but he has never learned how to row a boat.Although I usually take boats a lot, I just think it's fun to see those boatmen picking up the oars and shouting chant. How can I imagine that I have become a boatman myself tonight when I am desperate?Li Hanzhang recalled an old saying that people in Sichuan used to say—the three poor and the three rich will not grow old, so he couldn't help sighing: "A wise saying!" At first, Li Hanzhang swung the oars from side to side, turning a boat to the left and right. In addition, there was a mule standing on the other end of the boat, which made it even more difficult to grasp the center of gravity and direction. No matter how hard Li Hanzhang tried, the boat would not move. Ken moves forward.In the winter, Li Hanzhang was so tired that he was sweating all over, so he let the wooden boat leave the shore, and floated more than ten meters away by turning left and right.Standing on the deck, the mule didn't seem to have enjoyed this kind of "treatment". After staggering for a while, suddenly, he fell down on the deck with a "plop", and, trying his best to keep his head on the boat, kept A posture, motionless.

This is when it sees that I can't row the boat and cooperates with me.Li Hanzhang saw that the behavior of this mule was very consistent with the principles of mechanics, and he suddenly remembered what Master Chun said when he sent him this mule at Longquan Station: "This mule has a spirit, protect the Lord." After tossing and tossing for half an hour, Li Hanzhang finally figured out a way to row the wooden boat to the middle of the river with those two oars.At this time, another burst of gunshots suddenly sounded from the east bank of the Tuojiang River behind him! Li Hanzhang stopped rowing the oars and listened for a while.The mule, which had been laying its head on the deck, suddenly raised its head and looked at Li Hanzhang.Li Hanzhang smiled at his only companion at this time, and listened carefully to distinguish those gunshots.From the mixed gunshots, he judged that this was a battle involving at least 20 or 30 people. There were not only big belly boxes, carbines, 38 big caps, medium-sized rifles, but also submachine guns.

What happened again?Li Hanzhang was wondering, when he suddenly heard a loud voice from the direction where he had just fought with Gou Peide and Master Chun: "Comrades, stop the pursuit! The key criminals we want to capture must have crossed the Tuojiang River and headed east. Run away!" My whereabouts are exposed! In the quiet night, this loud voice was very clear.Hearing this, Li Hanzhang immediately realized that Gou Peide, who had escaped just now, had recruited regular troops from the Communist Army to come and arrest him.When he was in Chengdu, Li Hanzhang knew through those colorful slogans that several counties in the Neijiang area were all under the control of the Communist Army within a short period of 10 days from January 5th to 15th.Therefore, it is entirely possible that Gou Peide can use his identity to recruit regular troops of the Communist Army in a short period of time.

After Li Hanzhang analyzed the news in an instant, he immediately accelerated the speed of rowing.Seeing this, the mule obediently put its head on the deck and remained motionless until the wooden boat touched the shore, then it stood up from the deck with a "hoot" and waited for the master to untie the reins. After tying the rein on the mule, Li Hanzhang flew up and tightened the reins before he had time to think about it.When the mule was galloping along a small path by the bank of the Tuojiang River, Li Hanzhang tightened up the reins and freed his hands to load the two pistols on his body with bullets.After finishing all this, Li Hanzhang looked back at the city of Neijiang on the opposite bank: the bank was covered with torches, and in the light of the fire, countless people gathered on the bank, and the remaining two small wooden boats were also full of people. Soldiers in PLA uniforms were paddling across the river.

At this time, Li Hanzhang judged by his feeling that it was about three or four o'clock in the morning, that is to say, there were at least two or three hours before dawn. The mule has been running fast along the path along the bank of the Tuojiang River.At this moment, Li Hanzhang realized that the mule was running towards the southeast.Seeing that it was in the southeast direction, a place name popped up in Li Hanzhang's mind - Shengdeng Mountain! Liu Deng's troops have just taken control of Chongqing, Chengdu and other big cities, and they are rushing to the southwest. Like these counties in southern Sichuan with inconvenient transportation, they claim to have been "liberated", but they generally do not garrison large troops, let alone deep mountains. old forest.However, judging from the situation on the other side just now, there are not only Communist Party troops stationed in Neijiang, but these regular troops have already "bitten" themselves.Li Hanzhang has dealt with the communist army for many years, and he is well aware of their long-distance pursuit. Therefore, at present, he has to flee to a place with high mountains and dense forests, so as to get rid of the pursuers and escape.

Thinking of this, Li Hanzhang suddenly realized that he was still facing a new problem: If Gou Peide really recruited the Communist Army, then his "Small Trader Zhou Yaozu" certificate is already a piece of waste paper. Li Hanzhang was thinking about something while riding on the mule, while looking back to observe the situation.From a distance, he saw several clusters of lights moving towards the opposite bank on the Tuojiang River. Needless to say, it must be the Communist Army crossing the river by boat and chasing him.Li Hanzhang pulled out his whip and slammed it on the buttocks of the mule behind him.With the wind blowing on all four hooves, the mule galloped all the way towards Shengdeng Mountain.

How long have you been running non-stop?Li Hanzhang has almost no concept of time.He didn't dare to walk along the Chengyu official road, so he could only grope along the path.Shengdeng Mountain is located in Longchang County, which is adjacent to Neijiang County. The distance from Neijiang County to Longchang County is a hilly area. Although there are no high mountains and mountains that are too high or too dangerous, because the trails are extremely difficult to walk, Li Hanzhang soon found that his situation was getting more and more difficult, and the distance between him and the cavalry of the Communist Army was gradually shortening. At the nearest time, the distance was only two or three miles away.

Li Hanzhang was so anxious that he had to slap the mule's butt from time to time, hoping that it would run faster and faster.At dawn, Li Hanzhang suddenly saw a stone at the foot of Xiaotu Mountain in front of him, with the words "Liquan Temple" engraved on it.Without thinking about it, he suddenly pulled the rein and stopped the mule.This mule didn't eat much fodder at all last night, and ran for more than three hours continuously. At this time, it was breathing heavily from its nostrils, and white foam was dripping from the corners of its mouth... Li Hanzhang didn't have the energy to pay attention to the mule at the moment, because he realized that he had made a mistake that might prove fatal to him: he ran away at night, and was pursued by soldiers.

The place "Liquan Temple" should be due east of Neijiang County, due north of Rongchang County, and only a few dozen miles away from the mountain road of Rongchang County.According to his plan, he was going to Shengdeng Mountain near Longchang County in the southeast of Neijiang County.That mountain is high and densely forested, and the road is steep and steep. When he gets there, he is confident that he can easily get rid of the communist army and get away calmly! Now, however, he was further away from where he planned to go.The communist army has been "biting" him relentlessly, and even when he fled before, he ran on the top of the small dirt hill, and a dozen cavalrymen of the communist army ran on the road under the hill.He encountered situations like this three or four times.Fortunately, the mule's ears seem to be much more sensitive than human ears. Once it realizes that it is about to encounter the communist cavalry chasing them, it will not listen to Li Hanzhang's command, either stop suddenly and lie prone on the ground; A more dangerous and more difficult path, get rid of them.For the first time, the mule was galloping, and suddenly turned behind a small hill, and then immediately lay down on all fours, lying in a large grass, and threw Li Hanzhang, who was not prepared at all, to the ground.At first, Li Hanzhang thought that the mule was being whipped by him, and he protested in this way.As a result, as soon as he got up, he found that on the other side of the hill, the spears and bayonets on the backs of the communist army were up and down as the horses ran, flashing cold lights in the morning light.It was about to be caught up, so it hid itself for refuge!After Li Hanzhang understood what was going on, he quickly held his breath, leaned on the side of the mule, hugged its head, and gently stroked its sweaty ears, forehead, long cheeks and nose.It was at that time that Li Hanzhang discovered that the mule was sweating profusely, and his right buttocks had bloodstains drawn out by him with a horsewhip. The blood that flowed out stained the entire right rear leg red...

I went the wrong way, what should I do?Li Hanzhang was confused for a moment.Just as he was reining in the reins, the mule under his crotch kicked all four hooves and ran wildly again! Later, Li Hanzhang heard the sound of pulling the bolt of the gun, and then someone shouted: "Stop! If you continue to run away, you will shoot!" Li Hanzhang turned his head and saw two PLA cavalrymen running towards him.But Li Hanzhang could clearly see that the war horse they were riding, like this mule, was almost exhausted, not to mention running slowly, and even the horse's head could not be raised.Li Hanzhang estimated that the other dozen or so cavalry had been dragged down by this mule. The mule seemed to have regained its former vigor, running as fast as an arrow, and within a single cigarette, the two PLA soldiers were thrown down more than half a mile.They fired, and the bullets whistled, flying past Li Hanzhang's left and right.Li Hanzhang didn't fight back, even though he had a gun in his hand, even though he knew that if he turned around and pulled the trigger, a soldier would fall off his horse, but he just held the pistol in his hand and let the mule run wildly.He warned himself in his heart: I just want to escape for my life, and I can't let my hands be stained with blood. I don't know how long I ran, but finally, a densely forested dirt hill appeared in front of me. The mule ran up the hill. When he started to climb the hill, Li Hanzhang saw the mule jumping quickly over the bushes!He bent down and hugged the mule's neck and buried his face in the mule's mane.Gradually, he felt that the mule's running pace slowed down, its body was swinging from side to side, and it was breathing from its nostrils: the mule was covered with cuts and bruises.Li Hanzhang's trousers were also hung into strips of cloth by the dead branches of the shrubs. Finally ran up the hill. The two People's Liberation Army cavalrymen had long since been thrown away by the mule, but the mule was still running crookedly forward, and after running for a while, Li Hanzhang felt a little strange. But it still tried to keep its body stable so as not to let Li Hanzhang fall off its back. Finally, when passing a piece of dry grass taller than a person, the mule stopped and slowly lay down. Li Hanzhang got up from the mule and walked over.The mule raised his bloody head with the last of his strength, looked at Li Hanzhang with cloudy eyes, then stiffened his neck, stood upright in the grass, and slowly closed his eyes... Looking at the mule in front of him, Li Hanzhang thought of his Uncle Hei.So, he decided to let the mule lie in the wormwood for the time being, and go find water and eat something by himself first, and then find a place to bury the mule properly after his physical strength recovered. Hearing the sound of dripping water, Li Hanzhang got into a cave covered with withered grass. After eating dry food with the mountain spring water, he was cleaning the wound on his leg that was hung by dead branches. Suddenly, he heard someone talking outside the cave.Li Hanzhang put down his trouser legs, held his breath, listened carefully for a while, and immediately concluded that this was a local commoner who cooperated with the Communist Army to search the mountain.He then tucked the smaller revolver into his cuff and sat vigilantly, continuing to listen with his ears open. "Ge, I caught a man and made such a big commotion that my legs were broken. It was very cold. If it wasn't for this trip, I would be dozing off at home with my wife in my arms. Hey, there is one here. There is still a sound of dripping water, let's go in and drink water, after walking for a long time, my mouth is dry." "Yes, yes! If you want to find a person in such a big mountain, how is it different from finding a needle in a haystack? Let's go in, drink some water, and rest our feet." Hearing this, Li Hanzhang knew that these people were local people, and they were about to come to the cave where he was hiding.Before he could think of a way to deal with these two men, the two men stepped on the dry grass and walked into the cave. "Oh, the two brothers, you were also called to work as errands, right? Ge Laozi, that son of a bitch, made me suffer so much. After walking around for a long time, I was so thirsty that I tore my clothes and pants to pieces. How can I go back? Explain to the mother-in-law?" Li Hanzhang suggested that the two of them come in, and before the other party could speak, he stood up and made nonsense. "Brother is drinking water? It's just right, we are also coming in to drink water." Another shorter man picked up Li Hanzhang's words. "Listen to what my brother said just now, she must be very beautiful." From his tone, Li Hanzhang heard that this short man was the one who complained outside the cave just now and proposed to go into the cave to rest, so he pretended to be relaxed and joked with him . "That's right, Old Pumpkin's wife, she's so beautiful, there's nothing to say!" Another younger, taller man also joked about Old Pumpkin. "Brother, why are you carrying such a big backpack when you come out to go around the mountain?" Old Pumpkin obviously saw the backpack that Li Hanzhang hadn't had time to hide, and asked in surprise. "Well, my mother-in-law wants me to deliver some things to her uncle after finishing my errand. I work so hard to support my family, so I won't let him rest." Li Hanzhang has always believed that spies are professional liars in this world.Of course, walking all the way from the party headquarters to the military committee to the central government, and back to the party headquarters, he knew better that the real master liars in this world are definitely not spies, but those who form secret service agencies. "Haha, I didn't expect that my brother is also afraid of my wife's ears. There is nothing wrong with being afraid of my wife. I am afraid that a man who is afraid of my wife will have wine. Brother, listen to your accent, are you not a local?" The short man heard this. , not only had fun, but also became interested in Li Hanzhang's accent. "Well, if you barge in the door backwards, you have to put your tail between your legs. I'm not afraid of my brother's jokes, but I'm just afraid that my wife will be very angry." Li Hanzhang deliberately put on a cowardly look, and answered the short man's words. Fortunately, the two men didn't continue to ask which village Li Hanzhang was from, and which village his mother-in-law's uncle lived in. Otherwise, Li Hanzhang really couldn't deal with it anymore.Although he is familiar with the terrain in this area, he only saw it from the military map, and he still has a memory of the larger place names. How can he remember the names of the nearby villages? "Hey... I fell down and rolled my clothes into coir raincoats. Why are you going to meet people? This job, when will it end..." Seeing that the two of them didn't doubt themselves at all, Li Hanzhang calmly began to inquire Condition. "Hurry up, hurry up. I heard from an officer of the People's Liberation Army that the spy was very cunning. He rode a red horse into this mountain and disappeared without a trace. The troops are withdrawn." The words of the old pumpkin made Li Hanzhang's hanging heart half relieved. "Brother, I heard that the secret agent is riding a fire dragon horse. It runs very fast. When it encounters a ditch or a river, it can jump several feet away. Oh, the savior of the spirit horse. Only the nobles have this blessing. People in the Three Kingdoms Uncle Liu Huang is such a noble person." The short man's words made Li Hanzhang understand that the people patrolling the mountain didn't know that he was riding a mule, and they hadn't found the piece of wormwood where they hid the mule. It was already mid-afternoon when I met the two local men, Old Pumpkin.The three of them randomly set up the Longmen Formation for a while, and then walked out of the cave.Li Hanzhang broke up with the two men on the pretext of going to the mother-in-law's uncle's house to deliver clothes, and hurriedly found a ravine with deeper weeds nearby, threw down the tightly tied back straps, and rolled with his head in his arms. down. This is a ditch covered with floating soil. After Li Hanzhang rolled to the bottom of the ditch, he quickly found the back sling that he threw down just now.Fortunately, the bottom of the ditch is thick with withered grass, and the back strap has not been broken.He untied the hemp rope tied on the back strap, opened the strap, found the first-aid kit that he had always carried with him, lay down in the tall and dense withered grass, hid himself well, and then took out the small bag containing Yunnan Baiyao. In a gourd-shaped porcelain bottle, some powder was sprinkled on the wound on the leg, and a roll of bandage was found from the first aid kit, and it was bandaged urgently. After treating the wound, Li Hanzhang began to slowly observe his current environment.Looking up, he found that the ravine was one or two feet deep, and it was very safe to hide here.The people above, if they were not fleeing for their lives like him, generally would not take the risk of coming here to search. Hiding in the weeds at the bottom of the ditch, Li Hanzhang heard people talking on several occasions, not only the voices of the PLA reporting the situation to each other, but also the voices of local people reporting the situation to the PLA. It was finally getting dark, and the People's Liberation Army really did what the old pumpkin said. After searching for a whole day, there was no result, so they withdrew. Li Hanzhang hid for a while, around ten o'clock in the evening, heard that there was no movement around, and then began to think about how to climb out of this two-foot-deep ravine.When he rolled down from the top, he knew that it was impossible to climb up directly from here, so he directly chose to walk along the ravine in one direction.After walking for a while, the ravine really became shallower, and there were still a few stones to step on, so Li Hanzhang put his back on his back and climbed up using both hands and feet... Although the danger of the day was avoided, Li Hanzhang worried that the People's Liberation Army would not give up.So, he filled a military jug in his back all night, fumbled to pick some dried fruits, and hid back in the ravine where he climbed out after all the hard work.I hid in that ravine until the afternoon of the next day, making sure that there was no movement of anyone except the squirrels and birds in winter, so I climbed out of the ravine and went to the wormwood where the mules were hidden. Let's go, find a place to bury the "Fire Dragon Horse" in the legend of the local people. When Li Hanzhang found the mule, it was already stiff.Li Hanzhang tried it, but he couldn't drag it at all. He was a little annoyed, thinking that if he hadn't eaten anything for the past two days, how could he not be able to drag it?Since he couldn't drag it, Li Hanzhang decided to bury it on the spot.He spent a whole day moving stones from the mountain one by one, and then built them on the ground one by one, building a huge tomb for the mule.The top was about to be capped, Li Hanzhang stopped, looked at the mule covered in blood scabs again, then took a step back, and solemnly gave a military salute to the mule! He used the etiquette of burying a soldier to bury this animal that did not belong to him! After the top was capped, Li Hanzhang picked some pine branches and put them on the tomb.Sitting in front of the stone mule grave, Li Hanzhang was full of mules.What a strange animal a mule is, he thought!They are hybrid species, and once they are born, it means that this life is a tragedy: they cannot enjoy the happiness of other animals' copulation, they have no ability to reproduce offspring, and they can only be used by humans in this life.The reproduction of any species mostly relies on its own blood, its own vitality to bear fruit and pass on from generation to generation, but a mule made up of different species, no matter how hard it struggles and struggles, is doomed for its life. There is no result. Li Hanzhang looked at the decaying mountains and forests in winter, and felt a sense of sadness in his heart.