Ten days later, Li Zhongqian and Li Xuanzhen arrived in Shazhou.
Beirong issued a border prohibition order, and the guards were extremely tight, and the caravans and pedestrians in the past had to be carefully checked.
Li Xuanzhen was well prepared, and made arrangements in advance when he set off from Liangzhou. Using a previously captured name, Princess Qingchang, he made a detailed work, forged the place, disguised as a Beirong spy, and used the name of "presenting a birthday gift for Princess Yiqing". After being searched by the Beirong defenders, he successfully sneaked through the pass, and swaggered into the Beirong post all the way, taking the most convenient expressway and asking for the best and fastest horses.
During this period, there were occasional guards who doubted their identities, and those who were caught were furious. The northwest wind blows.
Samadang is farther than Shaoye, Kangguo, Shiguo and other places. It is rich in products and merchants converge. It is just on the northern Silk Road leading to Persia. Countless caravans pass through here, and the silk, porcelain, tea and other materials in the Central Plains are passed by. A steady stream of shipments to the West, the location is critical. Beirong has expanded rapidly in recent years. Wakhan Khan has coveted all the fertile land in the north and south of Congling for a long time. Before that, he sent a team to expedition.
Beirong has a strict internal hierarchy, and most of the sergeants are from civilians, and they are afraid of being sent to Samadang to die.
The defender was already suspicious, and seeing the arrogant attitude of the personal soldiers, did not dare to offend him, and immediately let him go.
Xiao Zuo told Li Xuanzhen and others that after Princess Yiqing and her relatives, they married the old Khan and his son one after another. Later, their branch surrendered to Beirong, and Princess Yiqing fell into the hands of Beirong nobles. The teacher of Haidu Aling.
The Chinese language of Haidu Aling was taught by Princess Yiqing. The reason why he knew the customs of the Central Plains and the courts of various countries like the back of the hand was thanks to Princess Yiqing's generous teaching.
A group of people wears the moon and covers the stars and travels day and night. The weather is getting colder and colder, and the surrounding fields are vast. After walking for a few days, there is no shadow of the oasis. Horse bones, camel bones, and even human bones can be seen everywhere.
Occasionally after passing through the city built on the oasis, they sneaked into the city to inquire about news from the commoners, but found nothing. The common people were all disheveled and numb, and dared not talk to strangers.
They were afraid of asking too many questions and causing suspicion, so they had no choice but to do so.
Li Xuanzhen's face was heavy.
The further he went to the northwest, he found that the life of the common people was more difficult than he had imagined.
Shazhou and Guazhou are now lost to Beirong. Along the way, the people they saw, whether they were Hu people or Han people, were forced to braid their hair like the Beirong people, speak nonsense, and perform nonsense rituals. Northern Rong is distinguished between nobles and inferiors, and the people at the bottom are like livestock, and their situation is miserable.
Whenever a Beirong soldier passed by, the common people had to avoid the road and bow respectfully without looking directly at them. Anyone who dares to speak loudly or look up at the Beirong soldiers will be regarded as disrespectful.
Afraid of revealing her identity, Li Xuanzhen encountered Beirong soldiers oppressing the people along the way.
Once, they saw Beirong soldiers driving a group of ragged, white-haired, scrawny old men out of the city. Many men and women wept and chased after them. Tears rained down, wailing and saying goodbye to the old man. They were chased away by Beirong soldiers. went back.
The old people were in tears, looked back at their relatives in the city, wiped their tears and walked away.
The cries in front of the city gate were loud.
Li Xuanzhen clenched her fists tightly and asked Xiao Zuo, "What crime did they commit? Where did they go?"
Xiao Zuo replied in a low voice: "Beirong people advocate force, the noble and the strong, the weak and the weak, and every winter, the old men of all tribes who are over 60 years old and unable to farm and hunt are ordered to move out of the city... so as not to waste food. Whoever dares not obey, must follow the It is stipulated that the tax to be paid is five taels of gold per mouth, ten sheep, or one horse, three stone grains, and twenty felts…”
For ordinary people, in the cold winter, every household has no surplus food, and they have to pay heavy taxes to please the Beirong people. Where can they go to collect five taels of gold in exchange for the elderly
Most of the elderly do not want to implicate their families, so they can only be driven to places where the climate is bitter and cold to die.
The difference at the gate of the city is the eternal formula of life and death.
When the original crowd heard this, they were all filled with righteous indignation.
In the world, there are still such things that are devoid of conscience!
Li Zhongqian's eyes indicated that the personal soldiers should be calm and calm, they are here to find people, it is best not to make troubles.
He just wanted to save Mingyue Slave, and the lives of others had nothing to do with him.
Leaving Shazhou, crossing five beacon, passing through the vast desert that is 800 miles away, and getting closer and closer to Iowa.
On this day, everyone rested under a mound of dirt eroded by the north wind. Li Xuanzhen sent a few personal soldiers and asked them to go to Gaochang, Qiuci and other places.
Li Zhongqian asked cautiously, "Why did you send them to Gaochang?"
Li Xuanzhen drew a few lines on the sand with his finger: "This is Yizhou, here is Gaochang, Yanqi, and Qiuci, this area is the North Silk Road. In the past, the dynasty was stable, and the prefectures and counties were set up in various places, and troops were stationed. At that time, the Shangdao Road Along the way, it was peaceful and stable, and the people were prosperous. Later, the Central Plains were in chaos, the Western Regions fell, and the trade routes were blocked. Today, most of these places are surrendered to the Northern Rong."
"The customs of Beirong are savage, suppressing various tribes with iron and blood, and condoning soldiers looting caravans. These small countries may be loyal to Beirong because of the situation, but there are always people who still love the Central Plains Dynasty. After all, most of the princes and nobles are famous families in the Hexi area. after."
"Since we are going to Beirong Yating to save people, it is better to send people to these places to find out the truth and see if we can persuade them to cooperate with us, and fight Beirong together in the future."
Li Zhongqian nodded and understood Li Xuanzhen's plan.
They went deep into the Western Regions, isolated and helpless, and they had to try to find a few helpers first.
As a result, if they are discovered by Beirong people in the future, they can flee to these places first. Second, with the help of these people, it is more likely to return to the Central Plains safely. Thirdly, it is natural to plan for the world and to recover the homeland for the imperial court.
Li Zhongqian didn't care about the third point. After rescuing Li Yaoying, he would immediately take her back to the Central Plains.
"There's one more place I might have to visit myself."
Li Xuanzhen pointed to the northernmost point.
"There is a Buddhist country here, so that the forces of Beirong cannot continue to deepen. Beirong Khan was defeated by the monarch of the Buddhist country, and the countries in the Western Regions must have their own thoughts."
Li Zhongqian's thick eyebrows were lightly twisted: "Buddha country?"
Li Xuanzhen pursed his peeling lips and said, "Wang Ting worships Buddha, their monarch is a high-ranking monk. About eleven years ago, he led his troops to defeat the Northern Rong Khan and became famous in the Western Regions."
Two years ago, Li Xuanzhen, Li De and their staff discussed the possibility of recovering the Western Regions.
At that time, they all believed that if the Central Plains wanted to regain the Western Regions, it was equivalent to taking food from the fierce tiger, the growing Beirong.
In addition, there is a wealthy country in the north of the Western Regions that should not be underestimated. Their monarch is well-known and loved by the people. With a single order, the whole country can follow him to the battlefield.
Li Xuanzhen sighed: "Eleven years ago, the Beirong Khan was in his prime. He was invincible and invincible. He was defeated by the Buddha. …Fortunately, he is an eminent monk, dedicated to guarding the Buddhist kingdom, and there is no sign of outward expansion.”
"Haidu Aling has many tricks, I don't know if we can rescue Mingyue slave successfully. I will send someone along Gaochang to inquire about the news. If necessary, I will personally go to the Buddhist country to show my identity to the Buddha and ask him to do it. Help, there are many conflicts between Buddha and Beirong, if I lure each other with a covenant, he may form an alliance with us."
"After arriving in Illinois, if things change, we will each find a way out. If we can escape Beirong safely, we will meet in the Buddhist country."
Li Zhongqian has led troops to fight in these years, and he has his own calculations in mind. Although he doesn't know much about the Western Regions, he can see the current situation with a little thought.
Li Xuanzhen was very quiet along the way, and he could endure not to kill Li Xuanzhen for the time being until Mingyue Slave was safe.
After rescuing Mingyue Slave, he will do it again.
…
When Li Zhongqian and the others passed through the 800-mile desert and went all the way to Izhou, Yaoying was heading south.
In order to avoid the little prince Beirong and his party, they drove for several days.
The sky is cold and frozen, frozen for thousands of miles, and as far as the eye can see, a bright white, snow-capped peaks in the sky are continuous, the mountain tops are covered by clouds and fog, and occasionally a jagged outline is revealed, which is beautiful and magnificent.
The goshawks of Tanmaraka have been following them, serving as scouts and patrolling for them.
No matter if it is sunny or snowy, Yaoying can often see a glimpse of it soaring high in the sky.
On this day, she watched the goshawk swooping down and landed on Sultan Gu's shoulders. Thinking of what she had been thinking about these days, she called Qi Nian and asked him if Hushang sold letter eagles.
Qi Nian thought for a while, then shook his head: "There are many Hu merchants who sell eagles, but I have never heard of those who sell letter eagles. The princess also wants to keep eagles? The servant can help the princess to inquire."
Yaoying shook her head and dismissed this thought.
The tame and loyal letter eagles can be encountered but not sought after. The eagles in Tammaraga and Haidualing are all domesticated from young eagles, and the letter eagles need to be familiar with the environment before they can be used. Even if she can buy letter eagles , it won't be of much use for a while.
She stared eagerly at the goshawk, which stood on Sultangu's shoulders and glanced at her with sharp eyes.
Yaoying chuckled and took out the jerky.
The goshawk glanced at her.
Yaoying turned her face away without looking at it, and turned her palm up.
After a while, there was a slight tingling in the palm, and the goshawk took the jerky from her hand.
One person and one eagle were playing around when the team suddenly stopped. Yuanjue, who was at the forefront, turned around and ran back, "It's a bandit!"
Everyone was shocked and hurriedly alerted. The guards pulled out their long knives, set up a battle formation, and protected Li Yaoying in the middle. Qi Nian and others quickly climbed into the cart.
Sultan Gu turned back, the blue eyes under the mask were calm, and made a gesture towards Yuanjue.
Yuanjue should have led the people back to Yaoying's side and motioned them to avoid the hills beside them.
Everyone retreated to the hill, Yaoying looked into the distance, and sure enough, a group of men and horses with clubs, knives and guns galloped towards them, menacing and flickering.
These bandits are cunning, they know how to use the terrain to block their tracks and hide the sound of horses' hooves, and they all wear white cloaks on their shoulders. In the muddy snow, it is difficult for the goshawk to detect them.
The bandits hooted and approached, and in the blink of an eye they were already in front of them.
Xie Qing drew his sword and kicked the horse's belly. Just as he was about to step forward, Wang Ting's personal soldier raised his hand to stop her, looked at Sultan Gu, and held his breath.
Yaoying followed his line of sight.
Sultan Gu asked everyone to retreat, but he stepped forward and rode his horse to a place with a higher terrain, calm and condensed.
Yaoying felt nervous for a while, and said to herself, "He doesn't want to kill all the bandits alone, right?"
Yuanjue beat the horse and followed behind Sultan Gu, holding a long bow with horns and a few iron arrows.
Sultan took off the black cloak he wore outside, picked up his longbow, drew the strings and arrows, bent the bow fully, and stretched his arms.
In an instant, all the aura of the rugged snow track gathered on him.
When the bandits at the head saw Sultan Gu, they continued to move forward with a grinning smile. Ordinary people are considered experts if they can shoot a hundred or ten steps. What is the use of arrows when they are so far away? It's just a way to scare people!
Sultan Gu focused on the arrow, the tip of the arrow pointed into the distance, motionless.
Seeing that the robbers were getting closer, he still did not fire arrows.
Xie Chong and Xie Peng couldn't hold back a bit. If they didn't set up a defensive position, when those people attacked, they would have no way out!
Yao Ying shook her head at several people, motioning them to wait.
The bandit's arrogant laughter came from the wind. At this moment, only a few soft clicks of the bowstring were heard, and iron arrows flew out in response, like a long rainbow piercing the sun, piercing the wind and snow, and heading straight for the bandits.
The distance was too far, and the Hu Ren at the head was not in a hurry. He raised his sword and raised the long sword, but he heard the whistling sound already in his ears, and the iron arrow was as fast as thunder and lightning, and an arrow pierced his chest!
The leader of the Hu people was stunned for a while, his face was hideous, his eyes almost popped out of his sockets, he cursed angrily, stretched out his hand to smash the iron arrow, but found that the arrow seemed to be ordinary, but it was actually very powerful, two hundred paces away. , actually penetrated his armor directly!
A few barbarians next to him saw his injury clearly and looked horrified.
The leader gritted his teeth and said, "Continue to rush!"
He beat the horse and went forward.
Sudan Gulima Snow Hill, looking down at the bandits in the distance, as if looking down at ants, bowed again, swish a few times, the second, third, and fourth arrows shot out one after another, like chasing the wind .
With a few loud bangs, the headed Hu fell off the back of the horse, his mouth wide open, his eyes still wide open, and his chest was full of iron arrows.
Every arrow shot on him without any bias, with great momentum and a kind of ethereal calmness.
Seeing the leader's death, the others were horrified, and they dared not move the horse forward, not even the leader's corpse, so they immediately turned the horse's head and fled.
Sultan did not continue to shoot arrows.
Xie Chong and the others were amazed and whispered, "The regent's archery skills are really powerful."
The bandits had already fled, and they dared not come again after thinking about it. The crowd descended the hill and continued on their way.
Xie Chong and the others did not dare to take it lightly, and when they heard the sound of horse hooves approaching, they quickly drew their knives to be alert.
Yuanjue smiled and reassured them: "Don't worry, the bandits in Gaochang's generation are either displaced people or hired by nobles. Most of them are not vicious people, just a gang of rabble. The regent killed their leader. , the others will naturally disperse. This way to Gaochang, no one will stop the road."
Xie Chong didn't believe it, so he remained vigilant, but as Yuanjue said, the next trip was safe and sound, and no bandits dared to block the road and loot.
Two days later, they arrived in Gaochang safely.
The author has something to say: The update time should be fixed at ten o'clock in the evening, otherwise it will not be on time.