I became a saint by picking up corpses in Water Margin

Chapter 359 A strong man descended from the sky, the real and fake Yang Chang

Hu Sanniang led the cavalry to retreat, and joined up with Wu Song's main force in the second half of the night. They then rushed to Xigukou overnight, preparing to launch a direct attack the next day.

The next day, the Jin army arrived near Xigukou.

Wu Song ordered the entire army to rest and waited for two hours to confirm that Song Jiang had not followed before continuing to march westward.

The sun was scorching at noon and the ground outside the valley was hot, but inside the valley it was relatively cooler because of the mountains and trees.

Wu Song wanted to use the weather to break the deadlock, but Qin Ming's side was well prepared. They let the soldiers seek shade when the weather was hot, and then they would fight with all their strength when the Jin army arrived.

Both sides fought under the scorching sun, and neither had a temperature advantage over the other, but Qin Ming built fortifications, which gave him an advantage over Wu Song.

After an hour and a half of fierce fighting, the Jin army had suffered more than three thousand casualties, and they displayed unprecedented momentum, but they were unable to capture Qin Ming's camp gate. Wu Song had to retreat into the valley and think of another way.

There were enemies in front and behind, and a strong attack was ineffective. The food and fodder were only enough to last for a few days, and panic immediately spread among the army.

Hu Sanniang relied on her [Cihang] attribute and moved around the armies to encourage them, and was able to barely stop the low morale.

When she returned to the resting place for Wu Song and the others, she saw that everyone was dejected, so she continued to encourage them: "Everyone, cheer up. Don't give up until you are in dire straits. You have been in danger many times with the King of Jin before, but you survived it, didn't you?"

"I'm not saying this to discourage you, but Song Jiang has a large army blocking both ends of our territory. We are already in a desperate situation. In three days we will run out of food. Alas."

Sun Li sighed after he finished speaking, and Wu Song added: "It was my greed for merit and recklessness that trapped so many brothers in the valley. There is still a chance to escape. We can select a few agile people to escape by crossing the mountains and ridges. My sister-in-law will lead the way."

"I'm the leader? What about you?"

"I have failed the trust of King Jin. The other brothers are unwilling to surrender, so we must fight Song Jiang to the end, even if it means killing one more person."

"How can I be the only one? It's my fault that I insisted on replacing my third sister. Otherwise, with her throwing skills, she might be able to help everyone out of danger."

Hu Sanniang spoke righteously, and then she comforted everyone, saying: "Don't give up, today is May 24th, the King of Jin should be here soon, and he will come to save everyone."

"But we are trapped in Nangu. Even if the King of Jin has rushed back to Hedong, he may not be able to find this place."

Although Sun Li's words were negative, they were true. Hu Sanniang didn't know how to respond after hearing them, and the scene fell silent for a while.

She happened to look up at the mountains on both sides and thought it would be great if her husband could fly in.

At this moment, a dark shadow appeared in the sky, approaching from afar.

Huh? That bird is so big.
Wait, it's falling very quickly, what kind of raptor is this?
"Second brother, look!"

"Ok?"

When Wu Song heard Hu Sanniang's exclamation, he and everyone else looked up and discovered a dark shadow in the sky.

"What a huge eagle!"

"You don't know what it is, it's a sculpture!"

"Ready your bows and arrows! It's swooping down to hunt."

"Wait, there seems to be someone on the eagle's back!"

Everyone was shouting at the same time, causing the surrounding soldiers to become agitated. It was Hu Sanniang, who was in the Qi Refining Realm and had stronger five senses than others, who was the first to discover that there was someone on the eagle's back. At the same time, a bold idea came to her mind.

"Second brother, that seems to be an official?"

"What did you say? Everyone, put down your bows and arrows! The King of Jin is in heaven!"

"King Jin? Falling from the sky?"

"King Jin is known as the Bright Heavenly Lord. It is reasonable for him to be in heaven. Only he has such ability. We have finally waited for it!"

Although Yang Chang had eagle eyes and owl vision, his eyesight was not as good as the eagle under him. It was not until the eagle swooped down into his field of vision that he realized Wu Song and the others were at the bottom of the valley.

The eagle had a wingspan of nearly five meters, and it would easily hurt people if it dived directly to the bottom. So the moment it spotted its companion, it slowed down and then glided slowly.

Yes, the talent of [Controlling All Beasts] that this riding master has comprehended can actually work on the birds in the sky.

It was a coincidence that a few days ago, on the banks of the Sanggan River in southern Datong, Yang Chang and Lu Zhishen were attacked by this eagle. Unfortunately, this stupid eagle offended the wrong target and failed to hunt, but was captured by Yang instead.

It thought it was dead, but it didn't expect that this human could understand bird language, so it told its experience, hoping that Yang Chang would spare the eagle's life.

It turned out that the eagle's mate was out hunting and was caught in a trap set by humans near Datong. Later, she failed to tame him and was killed by hunters. The male eagle then took revenge on the surrounding humans.

Yang Chang was filled with awe when he heard this, and immediately thought of Hu Sanniang and others.

He was a little later than expected and he wished he could fly directly to Taiyuan.

At that moment, he suddenly thought of the Return of the Condor Heroes, so he set his sights on the male eagle and asked it to carry him back to Taiyuan.

Lu Zhishen rode south alone on horseback.

It was only two days' journey from Datong to Yanmen Pass, so most of the Jin soldiers in Yunzhong Prefecture were transferred to Hebei.

Yang Changhui first went to Daizhou to meet Yang Zhi and ordered him to send troops out of the pass to support Lu Zhishen, so his move was not indifferent.

How could the male eagle refuse Yang Chang's request in order to save his life? But he didn't think he had the ability to carry a person for nearly a thousand miles.

The raptor was not as cunning as humans and told them his difficulties immediately.

Although it is huge in size, twice as big as a normal adult of its species, it will not fly for too long with its prey when it is hunting or killing humans. Now it has to carry an adult human on a long journey, and it can easily die of exhaustion during the flight.

The male eagle cannot carry heavy objects, but Yang Chang can reduce his own weight.

This fellow broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, and his attribute [Flying General] was upgraded to [Wind-Running]. The agility of his whole body had a qualitative improvement, and he could use his true Qi to make himself as light as a swallow.

So, Yang Chang boarded a "private plane" and "abandoned" Lao Lu and flew into the sky.

The two men caused a huge stir in Shangjing and were delayed by rain on their way south. When they arrived at the area of ​​Dading Prefecture, Zhongjing of the former Liao Dynasty, they found that a large number of troops were gathering in the Yanjing area.

Yang Chang was worried that there would be trouble returning by the same route, so he gave up on returning through the Yanjing area and instead headed west across the prairie and then returned home from his own Yanmen Pass.

During this journey, he discovered that the Jin soldiers from Yunzhong Prefecture were entering Hebei in large numbers towards Feihu, which clearly showed that Nianhan was planning a big move.

Either they attack and pacify it themselves, or they go south again to attack Bianliang, and the former is more feasible.

Before the news of Wuqimai's death reached the court, Nianhan and others would not return to the court to fight for power. The Jin army would inevitably put pressure on Hedong, so Yang Chang was also worried about the safety of his homeland.

He should have flown directly to Pingding, but after much deliberation he decided to return to Yangqu first. After all, it was the heart of Hedong and there he would have a more comprehensive understanding of the intelligence.

After flying to Yangqu to meet Qiu Qiongying, Yang Chang learned that Song Jiang had stabbed him in the back and launched a surprise attack on Fengyue Pass in Luzhou. He blamed himself for not having enough troops stationed in Luzhou and asked the male eagle to work overtime and fly again.

Yes, when Yang Chang was at the Sanggan River, he made an agreement with the male eagle that he would let the eagle return to the grassland as long as it sent him back to Taiyuan.

This widowed big guy still has several baby birds to raise. Although there are no natural enemies near its nest, if he does not return for a long time, the baby birds will leave the nest to find food and may suffer the same fate as their mother.

However, the male eagle could not afford to offend Yang Chang and did not dare to refuse the request to fly.

In order to compensate it, Yang Chang promised that he would go to the grassland in the future, find out the murderer of the female eagle, and let the male eagle kill it himself to vent his hatred.

This guy's promise to an eagle is not just a lip service. If Yelu Yudu had not been accidentally exposed, Yang Chang would have sent troops to capture Yunzhong. As for finding the murderer of the female eagle, he already has some clues. The Liao oppression of the Jurchens led to Aguda's rebellion against the Liao. One of the important reasons was that the Liao Emperor Tianzuo was obsessed with the Saker Falcon.

Many Jurchens are good at catching and training eagles, so the person who killed the female eagle is most likely a Jurchen hunter. As long as the murderer is still alive and in the Yunzhong area, Yang Chang is confident that he can find the murderer. This is a story for later.

The male eagle was gliding downwards, and was still dozens of meters away from touching the ground. Yang Chang suddenly turned over and jumped down, leaving the soldiers below dumbfounded.

"Is that the King of Jin?"

"If he jumps down from such a high place, won't he be smashed to pieces?"

"Sister-in-law, Sanlang should be sure?"

"I don't know, but since you came here on an eagle, I think there should be no problem."

"This is incredible! The King of Jin is truly a god!"

Yang Chang fell like a leaf, and both the soldiers and generals were amazed. All their previous disappointment was swept away. Even people close to him, such as Wu Song and Hu Sanniang, felt relieved as he landed steadily on the ground.

"Dear brothers, dear friends, Yang Chang is back late, please forgive me!"

"What did King Jin say?"

"Sanlang, I'm glad you're back. I failed to live up to your trust."

"Brother, please don't be like this. Madam, don't cry either. The sky won't fall!"

"Um"

Everybody gathered around Yang Chang and reminisced excitedly about the past. Suddenly, a chirp sound came from the hillside, and everybody then remembered the big bird.

"Sir, that is..."

"I came across it on my way home, so I borrowed it to help me walk for a few days."

Yang Chang gave a simple response, immediately put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and whistled at the other party. The male eagle immediately spread its wings happily after hearing it.

This eagle is taller than a human when it stands, and it is even more massive when its wings are spread. The wind created by its flapping wings before it takes off causes sand and rocks to fly all over the hillside where it is.

Suddenly, the male eagle flew to the top of the mountain and circled in the air three times before it passed over the high mountain in the north.

The soldiers in the valley were shocked and impressed to see that Yang Chang could actually control the big bird, and they began to whisper to each other.

The Prince of Jin is truly the reincarnation of a god. It is impossible for an ordinary person to be like this. What kind of person did Song Jiang offend?
Of the brothers who were close to Yang Chang, only Wu Song had seen a giant beast in the wild. However, the white-browed tiger on Jingyang Ridge was not as visually stunning as the eagle, so he asked first, "Sanlang, what species is this bird?"

"It should be a golden eagle. It can often be seen in the northern grasslands and occasionally in Hebei. It is gone further south."

"No wonder I haven't seen it before. This golden eagle is really big. By the way, since Sanlang can fly on it, does that mean he has tamed it?"

"That's it."

Wu Song's question was also a question that everyone was curious about. After hearing this, Yang Chang immediately nodded in response and explained: "But ordinary golden eagles are not this big. It is very similar to the big beast on Jingyang Ridge. It is a rare creature that grows naturally."

"It's your luck to come across a rare creature. Since you've tamed it, you should be able to summon it again. If this creature is used in war, who in the world can resist it?"

"correct."

Sun Li picked up Wu Song's topic, rubbing his hands and happily adding: "Just like the situation right now, we were lured into the valley, both ends were heavily guarded, and there was no way out. Who would have thought that we could fly out?"

"Brother, Song Jiang is too vicious. Why don't you ride a bird over there and chop off his head directly?" Ruan Xiaoqi also excitedly stepped forward to offer advice.

Yang Chang spread his hands and responded to everyone with a bitter face, saying: "There are cubs in the golden eagle's nest. It is inconvenient for it to stay with me all the time. Maybe in the future when we fight in Yunzhong, we can call it to the army to help. There is no need to deal with Song Jiang now."

"Jinguanren"

Hu Sanniang wanted to call him the King of Jin, but she remembered that they were acting first and asking for permission later, so she changed her tone in time and reminded him seriously: "Qin Ming and others have blocked the retreat route to the west of the valley. Second brother led us to attack but failed today. Song Jiang will come from the east at any time. If you don't use the golden eagle to escape, how are you going to break the deadlock?"

"With my husband here, can't we just push it straight away?"

Yang Chang didn't care at all and added, "This place is close to Qin Ming. Find me a warhorse and a long-handled weapon. Let's go west to destroy Qin Ming first, solve the worries of the army, and then go east to settle accounts with Song Jiang!"

"Great! With King Jin leading us in battle, we will have a blast this time!"

"Yes, I have been hitting a wall these past two days. Fortunately, King Jin arrived in time and I was able to avenge my previous humiliation."

"Sanlang, we haven't fought side by side for a long time. Being a commander is indeed not an easy task. No wonder Liu Tang is unwilling to do so. It's easier to listen to your orders."

Yang Chang had never been defeated in all these years, and he dared to boast that he could destroy Qin Ming in one fell swoop. Everyone immediately ignited their fighting spirit and confidence, and gathered around him to agree with him. Hu Sanniang silently went to challenge the horses and weapons.

After a while, she brought a white horse with a helmet on the saddle and a large spear in her left hand.

"Sir, your jade lion and weapons are all left in Yangqu. These are all I found in a hurry. Sir, please try to see if the armor fits you and if the weapons are suitable for you."

"There's no need to put on armor. No one can hurt me."

Yang Chang's [Flying General] was upgraded to [Wind Walker]. His current agility allowed him to carry out dimensionality reduction attacks on the battlefield and he was completely impossible to be touched by outsiders, so he no longer needed armor.

He picked up the lance, mounted his white horse and said to Hu Sanniang, "There is no horse that I cannot ride, and no weapon that I cannot wield. Order the entire army to end their rest, target Qin Ming, and set out immediately!"

"it is good!"

Hu Sanniang nodded seriously, and Wu Song and others also mounted their horses.

The originally quiet valley area suddenly became restless.

Yang Chang, dressed in coarse cloth and holding a large spear, led his troops westward and arrived at the valley entrance in about half an hour.

As luck would have it, at the same time yesterday, Hu Sanniang led the cavalry to attack and had a fight with Suo Chao and Qin Ming. Today, Yang Chang came again "on time", which surprised the defenders.

Qin Ming and Suo Chao came to the gate of the village to defend against the enemy. When they saw Yang Chang appear in front of the enemy's formation, they froze in place for a moment.

How to fatten four?

If Yang Chang had not been cursed, he should not have died or woken up at this moment. Why did he suddenly appear here?

"General Qin, Chief Yang"

"I saw it, why are you panicking? It might be fake!"

"How?"

"If Yang Chang is really in Wu Song's army, why hasn't he shown up for so many days? This doesn't make sense at all. I guess someone is pretending to be Yang Chang, trying to bluff him and then get away with it. It's ridiculous."

Suo Chao thought that Qin Ming had a good reason, but he saw the 'fake' standing on his horse with a spear in hand, shouting at him: "Qin Ming, Suo Chao, do you still recognize Yang Chang? If you don't want to die, dismount and surrender, otherwise, hmph."

"General Qin, the voices are exactly the same."

"What are you afraid of? Since they want to cheat, they will naturally imitate their voices. I will expose their true colors."

Qin Ming glanced at Suo Chao, then took a step forward with his mace in hand, pointed at Yang Chang and said sternly: "Qin is face-blind, so everyone looks the same to him, but I can recognize my mace. Give me your head and try it!"

(End of this chapter)