Last night's battle had been too desperate and dangerous. Li Guo'er, who had never left Yellow Bamboo Ridge, had never seen such a scene and was clearly frightened.
Although she was usually mischievous and was particularly excited when she first saw Yang Fan brandishing his knife at the bridgehead, she was still far away at that time, and she was sitting in the car, so she didn't feel the tension of life and death.
Last night, when they broke out of the encirclement, blood had splashed on her face and the sword had struck her side. Only now did she know how terrifying death was. Thus, at this moment, she had a rare moment of peace and snuggled up to her father.
Li Xian, on the other hand, was much calmer. He was probably afraid of the process of waiting for the danger to arrive. When the danger finally arrived in front of him, he was actually not so afraid. He just sat there in a daze, somewhat absent-minded.
Yang Fan walked in front of the father and daughter and bowed slightly. "Your Highness, Princess, this subject's arrangements were not thorough and caused Your Highness and Princess to fall into danger. This is truly a sin."
"Oh! Officer Yang! "
Li Xian was like a clay figurine that had just come back to life. He slowly squeezed out a smile. "Don't say that. This journey has already been difficult for you. Everything you've done for this Prince, this Prince will remember in his heart. If … if we can return to Luoyang alive, Officer Yang's kindness, this Li Xian will definitely repay it one day! "
Yang Fan bowed. "This is what this subject should do. Your Highness, there is no need to be so polite." After saying this, Yang Fan looked at Li Guo'er and smiled. "Princess must have been frightened. The scenery here is not bad. If the Princess gets up and walks around, her mood will be better."
Li Guo'er looked at him with some surprise and slowly stood up. Yang Fan cupped his hands toward Li Xian. "Your Highness, please rest first. This subject will go and make arrangements for the rest of the journey."
"Good, good, good …" Li Xian nodded repeatedly. In his heart, Yang Fan was his only hope.
Yang Fan turned to leave. Li Guo'er tacitly followed behind him. The two of them, one in front and one behind, quickly left the crowd and arrived behind a clump of vegetation.
This side was a hillside. The slope was relatively steep, and the hillside was covered with all kinds of flowers and plants. Purple and yellow wildflowers swayed gently in the wind. Yang Fan walked to the front of the slope and stood still with his hands behind his back, looking at the mountains and rivers in the distance. The wind caressed his body and his clothes fluttered. Li Guo'er slowly walked to his side and looked at him strangely, "Why are you willing to take the initiative to talk to me?"
Yang Fan said, "There's a traitor among us!"
Li Guo'er was silent for a moment and said, "I know. Last night … when you were talking with Brigade Commander Huang and Brigade Commander Xu, I heard it."
Yang Fan was not surprised in the slightest. He just made a light sound and said, "It's very difficult for us to uncover this traitor! Maybe by the time we find out who he is, we'll all be dead. "
Li Guo 'er's eyes were filled with fear as she asked, "What should we do now?"
She tried to maintain her composure for a long time, but Yang Fan's words caused her to reveal a look of panic. Her cleverness was completely useless in this kind of situation. Her psychological quality was actually far from Yang Fan's, who had experienced many big scenes.
Yang Fan slowly turned his face to look at her, a strange expression on his face. Being stared at by him, Li Guo'er subconsciously reached out to touch her face. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Yang Fan said word by word, "I want to trouble Princess to … put on a show with me. What do you think?"
… …
The dead had already been buried in the earth, but the living had to continue walking on the ground.
Next to a few new graves, Yang Fan gathered everyone to discuss their next move. Li Xian naturally sat at the head of the table, and Li Guo'er leaned on his knees.
Everyone was sitting in the lush wild grass. The grass was dense and green, and unknown wildflowers were blooming beside them. If it weren't for everyone's solemn expressions and the blood that was still slowly seeping out of some people's bandaged wounds, this would undoubtedly be a romantic scene of an outing.
With a heavy expression, Yang Fan said, "Along the way, we've been frequently ambushed, ambushed, and assassinated. Even hiding in the yamen is not safe. Now that we're about to enter Duji Province, it's easy to imagine how much danger we'll encounter once we reach their territory. No matter what, we have to protect the Prince of Luling's safe return to Luoyang … "
Li Xian glanced at him gratefully. Yang Fan said, "But, if we continue like this, I'm afraid that even if we all die, we won't be able to guarantee His Highness's safe return to the capital. So … I've decided to take a risk! "
Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant by taking a risk.
Yang Fan said, "The reason why we're obstructed everywhere and constantly ambushed is because we're too big of a target. For a group like ours, consisting entirely of young and strong men, riding fine horses and carrying weapons, and not soldiers, almost everyone who sees us will have a deep impression of us. Our enemies can inquire about us at any time and determine where we're going, so it's difficult for us to move even an inch …"
Xu Liang interrupted, "Lieutenant, but there are so many of us. There's no way we can hide in this aspect. It's impossible for us not to ride horses, not to carry weapons, and not to …"
Before he could finish, Yang Fan interrupted him, saying, "So, I've decided to take a risk!"
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and then began to discuss in soft voices. Huang Xuchang grew impatient and said in a rough voice, "Lieutenant Yang, if you have any ideas, just say them. Among us, you're the most scheming one. What do you think we should do?"
Yang Fan said solemnly, "I plan to leave only two people behind to escort Your Highness back to Luoyang!"
When these words came out, everyone was shocked. Huang Xuchang was startled and cried out, "What? If only two people are left to protect Your Highness, then … where will the rest of us go? "
Yang Fan said, "What I mean is, since we're too big of a target, we might as well be the target to attract the enemy's attention. Meanwhile, Your Highness can disguise himself and quietly return north with two people accompanying you. This way, Your Highness's group will fade into the crowd. Even if you walk in front of an assassin, they might not necessarily recognize you! "
After everyone discussed, Xu Liang said, "I think this plan is feasible. At first glance, it seems much more dangerous to let Your Highness leave our protection, but in reality, it will be very difficult for them to recognize Your Highness among the tens of thousands of commoners. Your Highness will actually be safer. What does Your Highness think? "
Li Xian hesitated for a moment, glancing at his daughter. Li Guo'er's hand, which was resting on his knee, exerted a little more force and pressed down slightly. Li Xian slowly nodded and said, "Yes! This prince feels … Commandant Yang's words are very reasonable! "
Yang Fan said, "This Yang has already discussed this matter with Your Highness in private and obtained Your Highness's approval. However, the success or failure of escorting Your Highness back to the capital concerns the life and death of each and every one of us. Thus, this Yang is not willing to act arbitrarily and needs everyone's approval. "
When there was an order from above, as long as you carried it out, no one cared whether you agreed or not. Yang Fan's actions moved the hearts of the hundred cavalry and the imperial bodyguards of the Plum Blossom Guard.
Everyone whispered among themselves and expressed their agreement one after another. At this time, Li Guo 'er raised an objection. "Commandant Yang, it is impossible to guard against assassins and they use all sorts of identities. Sometimes, they are right next to us. If they don't make a move, we won't be able to confirm that they are enemies. If an assassin approaches us after Father leaves, then won't they know it's a trap when they see that there isn't a single person in our group that matches Father's age and appearance?"
Yang Fan smiled slightly and said, "I have already considered this point. Miss Gu is proficient in the art of disguise and knows how to use mouth tricks. I plan to have Miss Gu pretend to be Your Highness. Of course, it won't be easy to have a complete resemblance. However, Your Highness has made some changes to his appearance along the way. As long as Miss Gu's appearance is sixty to seventy percent similar, it will be enough to make the enemy believe that the person we are trying to protect is Your Highness.
That is why I said that we shouldn't think that we are safe just because Your Highness is not by our side. On the contrary, Your Highness is being secretly escorted back to Luoyang. Our mission is to do our best to attract the enemy's attention and make them think that Your Highness is still under our protection. They will blindly chase after us! "
At this point, Yang Fan solemnly looked at everyone and said in a low voice, "Since everyone has agreed, then Miss Gu, please immediately disguise yourself according to Your Highness' appearance. Afterwards, we will split into two groups. One group will protect the real Your Highness and disguise himself as a traveling merchant, a Daoist, or a commoner. You can disguise yourself as anything as long as you can successfully reach the capital. Meanwhile, the other group will protect the fake Your Highness and do our best to let the enemy find our tracks and attract their attention. "
Gu Zhuting immediately stood up. When she had broken out of the Liang residence, she hadn't forgotten to bring her bag that resembled a hundred treasures pouch. Li Guo 'er helped Li Xian up and the three of them parted the flowers and shrubs, ducking behind a clump of trees.
Huang Xuchang said, "Commandant Yang, who do you plan to send to protect Your Highness when he leaves?"
Yang Fan calmly replied, "Naturally, I will personally escort him. As for the other person, I'll have to choose one of you."
Huang Xuchang said, "If that's the case, I'll go!"
Gao Ying said, "Rather than you, why don't I go? With a woman accompanying him, it'll be easier to bluff our way through!"
Huang Xuchang said, "Nonsense. Those people have already figured out our background and know that there are both men and women in our group. Even if we have a woman by Your Highness' side, it won't necessarily dispel their suspicions."
Gao Ying said, "That's still less noticeable than having two strong men accompanying Your Highness."
Huang Xuchang said, "Hey! You also know that men are a bit stronger? The people escorting Your Highness naturally have to be stronger to ensure his safety. "
Once they succeeded in escorting Your Highness, it would be the same as protecting the future Son of Heaven. Once the Son of Heaven ascended to the throne, how could they not benefit from it? Everyone was risking their lives. Just what was their goal? No one was willing to fight for this job. Moreover, their lives and deaths were tied together with the Prince of Luling. Only by personally guarding the Prince of Luling would they feel more at ease.
Everyone had the same thought, so they all volunteered themselves. Xu Liang, Wei Yong, Zhang Xitong, Lan Yiqing, and the others were unwilling to fall behind, so they all volunteered themselves to Yang Fan.
Naturally, the real traitor was also eager to follow the real Prince of Luling!
… …
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