The journey was safe, the convoy was moving forward on the official road, only occasionally we could find traces left by the bloody raids of the barbarians. At this time, Fan Xian would get out of the car and inspect for a while, and then the intelligence officers of the two subordinate divisions would carefully collect various information.
It took only six days to stop and go like this, and they came to Qingzhou, the most remote and shortest state city in the entire Daqing Dynasty.
Qingzhou and Fan Xian's imagination are very different. Before coming here, he had carefully checked the information in the courtyard, and even asked the eldest prince about the specific situation on the western front. He thought that Qingzhou was just a relatively dilapidated border town, more like a heavily guarded military camp. But he didn't expect that when his group entered the city, they found that besides the sergeants walking back and forth in the entire city, the most people... were businessmen.
A businessman like Fan Xian walked hurriedly through the few remaining streets and alleys in Qingzhou, anxiously changing the exit documents, shouting for coolies, and carefully watching the goods he brought to the border. All of this made the whole Qingzhou less iron-blooded, and more rich in money, making it look extraordinarily chaotic.
Fan Xian originally thought that the imperial court's establishment of a prefecture here was mainly a symbolic meaning, and Qingzhou City must be very small and boring, but he really didn't expect that this place would feel a little like a small Suzhou. He sat on the shaft of the car, looked at the scene in front of him with a wry smile, not knowing what to say.
Speaking of which, the abnormal prosperity of Qingzhou was inseparable from Fan Xian. In the small city of Xiaozhou, more than half of the brave businessmen who were busy entering the grasslands came from the south of the Yangtze River. The Qing court has always strictly prohibited doing business with Hu people, but three years ago, Fan Xian advised His Majesty to loosen this rule secretly.
Salt, iron and food are of course strictly prohibited from being sold to barbarians, but what are you afraid of selling luxury goods such as jewelry, perfume, and spirits to barbarians? On the one hand, it can bring non-bandit income to Qing's domestic treasury, because in the Hu tribe, the princes and nobles who control more than 90% of the wealth welcome these things very much, and on the other hand, it can conveniently send nails to the grassland.
Fan Xian had taken a fancy to this back then, but he didn't come to Qingzhou in person, and he really didn't know that a single idea of his own made Qingzhou City develop so rapidly in just a few years, which was beyond his imagination.
It seems that the barbarian's precious stones, good horses, and blankets can be earned by using some small things that are not particularly valuable. Such a large profit really excited the merchants of the Qing Kingdom to the extreme, and they were willing to risk the constant war between the two sides. The danger of going deep into the grassland to trade.
Marx's words were really good. Fan Xian thought about it, and he made up his mind. Since there are so many colleagues covering him, he should still go to the grassland.
The frontier troops stationed in Qingzhou were extremely strict on the inspection of these merchants. Even though those merchants stuffed money into the officers' pockets vigorously, they still did not speed up the inspection. Fan Xian and his party waited for a long time at the gate of the city, but it was difficult to move forward.
The autumn grassland sun hung in the sky, scorching white. Although it didn't bring too much heat to the merchants and soldiers in the city, this brightness made people feel irritable.
After all, Qingzhou is too special. This is a strange state city composed of soldiers and merchants. When the soldiers become irritable, their attitude towards those merchants is much worse. Although the merchants are equally irritable, they still Only with his head down and a smile on his face.
To this day, the soldiers of the Western Day Camp still cannot understand why the imperial court agreed to allow these profit-seeking and fat bastards to pass through Qingzhou and enter the grasslands to curry favor with those sworn enemies of the barbarians. Yifa cursed maliciously in his heart, hoping that these shameless guys who earn money and don't care about their lives would die on the grassland, under the arrows of those barbarians, and never come back again.
Outside the inspection yamen, there were several Overwatch Council officials in black official uniforms, sitting beside the officers, supervising the inspection of goods in parallel. Fan Xian gave Mu Fenger a wink, and Mu Fenger immediately understood what your lord meant, and began to prepare to contact these colleagues in secret.
After arranging everything, Fan Xian continued to wait in the convoy impatiently, jumped off the shaft, patted the dust under his buttocks, and led a subordinate dressed as a servant to Qingzhou.
He tore off his collar, raised his head and squinted at the blazing white sun shrunk into a small circle in the sky, and felt extremely irritable in his heart.
At this moment, the gate of Qingzhou city not far behind him was suddenly opened, and a series of rapid and neat sound of horseshoes sounded at the gate, alarming the long queue of merchants waiting for inspection.
Everyone looked at the city gate curiously, not knowing which troops returned to the camp. The troops returning to the city at this time should have gone hunting rabbits on the grassland after not returning overnight.
Hitting a rabbit is a border slang term, which has the same meaning as the so-called "beating grass valley" of the barbarians. Qingguo and Xihu have assassinated each other year after year, relying on this sweeping and anti-sweeping to maintain their blood feud. It's just that although the Qing army is strong, the troops who dare to go out to fight in the middle of the night still appear to be full of courage.
Fan Xian also heard the urgent sound of horseshoes, and turned his gaze from the sky to the city gate.
I don't know if the sun in the sky was too hot, leaving a white mark on his retina. When he looked at the dust-faced cavalry at the city gate, especially the general at the front of the cavalry At that time, he seemed to see a sun.
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…
The general who led the cavalry to bravely attack the grassland at night was not tall, and looked a little thin against the armor, but Fan Xian felt that the opponent's body was glowing.
Especially her... those eyes under her eyebrows, which are like the blue daisies from distant mountains.
Those eyes are still so bright, bright without a trace of variegation, just like jade, reflecting the sun. But her eyebrows were furrowed, and she seemed to be more thoughtful than many years ago. The armor on her body was stained with blood, and the horse under her was very tired. It seemed that she had experienced a real fight last night.
As if stung by those clean eyes, Fan Xian closed his eyes and lowered his head, hoping that the other party didn't notice him, but some strange feelings surged in his heart. This scene seems to prove that time is not just an absolute one-way movement.
Five years ago, Fan Xian came to Kyoto from Danzhou, and outside the city gate, he saw this little girl with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like jade stones. It's just that the little girl who called her master back then was wearing a light-colored skirt and a playful white buckskin hat, but today's girl is wearing a dusty military uniform with an awe-inspiring look.
Time has changed a lot of people, changed a lot of people, it seems that only their names remain the same.
Fan Xian lowered his head deeply, using his subordinate's body to cover his figure. Ye Linger, who was riding on the horse, was obviously a little tired, and didn't notice that there were old acquaintances among the businessmen on the street. And when the merchants found out that the leader of the cavalry was Ye Linger, they looked away.
These businessmen who have been in Qingzhou for many years are already used to this scene. Since Miss Ye's family leads the army out of the city, no matter it is night or day, she will kill some barbarians to return to the city.
It has been two years since the rebellion in Kyoto, His Majesty the Emperor was grateful for the loyalty of the Ye family, and issued a decree to take away the title of Princess Ye Linger.
In the old territory of the Dingzhou Army, all the soldiers and civilians are still used to calling the girl who came home Miss Ye, and no one is used to calling her Princess. But Ye Linger has been stubbornly calling herself a princess, but a year ago, she took a knife and forced Li Hongcheng to send her to Qingzhou.
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…
Fan Xian looked at the thin back that was about to drift away, and remained silent. Ye Linger's life in Dingzhou and Qingzhou for the past two years, he knew very well, and he understood why Ye Linger insisted on calling herself a princess, why Ye Linger knows how to wear armor.
Perhaps only on the grassland, only when she wields a sword, will she forget those unpleasant pasts. The grassland environment and iron-blooded career are indeed the best way to make a person stronger.
The daughter of the envoy of the Privy Council, the daughter of the person in charge of the soldiers and horses of the Qing Kingdom, would actually fight the enemy head-on at the most dangerous border. This probably never happened before in history. But precisely because of this drama, what Ye Linger gains now is no longer just sympathetic eyes and gossip, but respect and fear.
Fan Xian was not worried about Ye Linger's safety, because that kid Li Hongcheng would definitely not let Ye Linger fall into death. People on both sides of the border had a natural awe for the Ye family, and Ye Linger The cavalry led by them must also be the elite of the Qing army's elite.
Ye Linger has the strength of the seventh rank, which is enough to protect herself, and the most important thing is that this path of forgetting was chosen by Ye Linger herself, and Fan Xian respects this very much.
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After very hard work in exchange for the exit documents, the Qingzhou military grabbed his ears, reprimanded him, and was infinitely intimidated by the dangers of those barbarians on the grassland. With a helpless face, Mu Feng'er finally managed to do it. Completed the formalities.
The goods were collected in Qingzhou Siya, and when they went out of the city and entered the grassland, they were picked up by the road in their hands.
This kind of thing is quite rampant no matter which border it is, and even some military officers will join some small groups. It's just that the Dingzhou General's Mansion turned a blind eye to this matter and turned a blind eye. Qingzhou is lonely on the edge of the grassland, and life is miserable. If there is no outside water, how can any officer be willing to stay here for a long time.
At night, Fan Xian and his party took a rest in a big shop. The whole big room was full of smelly feet, and it was extremely cold at night. Fan Xian relied on his "privilege" to sleep next to the wall. Although this place was the coldest, But it is also the quietest.
Mu Feng'er lay next to him, pleading guilty again and again softly. Fan Xian smiled and said nothing. In the eyes of everyone, he was a noble man, but few people knew what kind of hardships he had suffered in the past two lifetimes. When it comes to suffering, everyone will underestimate him.
As the night deepened, a few slight movements came from outside the window of Datong Shop. Mu Feng'er, who had not slept all this time, immediately woke up and was about to notify Mrs. Fan. Unexpectedly, when she turned her face, she saw Fan Xian's bright and calm eyes. Eyes, glowing in the night.
like a wolf.
The two got up quietly and met with officials from all over the Overwatch Council. It was the smart man who secretly sent the knife to the capital. In a dark corner of the courtyard, Fan Xian lowered his voice and asked the official, "How many knives are there?"
"Just this one." The official replied very quickly: "I originally searched for three and came back, but after I took one, I found that the other two were missing the next day."
Fan Xian felt a chill in his heart, and asked, "Is it possible?"
The official knew what he meant, shook his head and said, "It's not from the Western University. These trophies are inconspicuous and piled up in the warehouse. No one noticed them. As for the two knives... they should have been stolen, but Who stole it, I don't know."
"You didn't watch that night?" Fan Xian stared into the official's eyes.
The official raised his head and replied in a low voice: "I've been staring at it all night, but I didn't find anything..." He paused and said, "If anyone can steal the knife in front of me, he must be a master."
For some reason, Fan Xian believed in the confident judgment of this subordinate, smiled, and asked, "How tall is it?"
"It's as high as the ninth grade." The subordinate replied very cutely.
After a few conversations with Liao Liao, Fan Xian found that he liked this unknown official very much, but he didn't know where this liking came from. He glanced at the official curiously, didn't say anything, and thought to himself, all the disciples of the ninth rank in the world are powerful figures with names and surnames. How could there be a ninth rank in this remote Qingzhou
Although I like it, I like it, but Fan Xian's eyes under the lowered lids turned cold, his fingers bent slightly, and he was ready to strike and kill the official in front of him at any time.
"The last question, why do you care so much about this knife?"
The knife that was broken in the carriage was very ordinary in style. If Fan Xian hadn't been very familiar with the material used for the blade, he definitely wouldn't have noticed the danger hidden in it.
The four officials didn't feel Fan Xian's hidden killing intent, and said respectfully, "My lord, my officer...is a member of the Qi Nian team."
The official knelt down on one knee and presented a thing with both hands. Fan Xian took the object and stroked it slowly in the palm of his hand, his heart felt empty. Yes, this was his most loyal subordinate token, but he really didn't know anything about the existence of this official.
But he confirmed the identity of the other party, no longer doubted anything, and nodded.
The official stood up and said in a low voice: "My subordinates were personally selected by Mr. Wang to join the team, but they have never stood up. The subordinates have been in Sansanfang a few years ago, and were transferred to Qingzhou by the department at the beginning of this year. Looking at this The knife feels a bit weird, because this knife embryo should be B-type steel produced by Bing Dafang... In the past years, the weapons produced in the warehouse may have been lost on the battlefield, but this kind of knife has not been equipped with the military. I feel that the situation is urgent, so please inform your lord immediately."
Fan Xian nodded and took a deep breath, knowing that his good luck was still continuing, but he didn't know who the ninth-rank master who stole the two knives was. He secretly inferred that if that person was his enemy, the court would have already been full of remarks attacking him for treason. Since the court is quiet, it means that the person who stole the knife also wanted to cover up for himself.
"So you were chosen by Lao Wang himself." In the darkness, Fan Xian smiled, but he couldn't see that his smile was twisted, "No wonder the words are so...interesting."
Fan Xian said again: "About the name Songzhi Xianling, have you found any results?"
The official stood up and said earnestly: "The barbarian king's account has indeed had a few more outsiders in the past two years, but without Songzhi Xianling, the subordinates have no clue."
"Yeah." Fan Xian said, "I've asked the Second Office to look up the name, you wait here, and once there is news, send someone into the grassland to inform me."
"My lord is going to the grassland?"
"I'm going to find the person who stole the knife." Fan Xian's voice was very cold, but he softened his voice immediately, patted the official's shoulder, and said, "This time you did a good job. After investigating this case, you can go back Jing help me."
"Thank you for your promotion..." The official was overjoyed, knelt down to obey, lowered his voice, but couldn't suppress his joy: "I haven't seen Mr. Wang for two years, and I don't know if he is doing well now."
Regarding Wang Qinian's whereabouts, Fan Xian never made it clear to the officials in the court. Everyone, including Yan Bingyun, thought that the old boss Wang was going to carry out the secret mission of Mr. Tisi, and no one suspected anything. , and don't know anything.
Hearing this sentence, Fan Xian was speechless, thinking in his heart, Wang Qinian, this old bastard, has already left, but he is still helping him, why does I not want him
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(The opening ceremony of the Paralympics last night was very good. If you have friends who haven’t watched it, it’s best to watch the replay, otherwise it’s a pity...
Another: Yesterday I watched Zhang Xiaohua's No. 1 chaos in history. I have been raising it for several months, and I watched it all at once. Just happened to be surnamed Liu? The speech is too biased, the reasoning is too biased...
The writing after September slipped my hand, it was so smooth and the speed was too fast, I was a little surprised and surprised, I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Finally, a friendly recommendation: "Miracle of Creation" 10102, to be honest, I haven't had time to read this book yet. ) (, if you want to know what happens next, please log in, there are more chapters, support the author, support the genuine version!)