Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu led Shangguan Dun to catch up with Zhang Yuelu. At this time, Zhang Yuelu chose a fairly good place and was preparing to set up camp. When he saw Qi Xuansu coming back, he explained a few words to Lingquanzi and motioned to Qi Xuansu to go aside and talk.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu walked aside, while Shangguan Dun stood far away with discernment and did not follow them rashly.

Qi Xuansu roughly narrated the conversation between the two. Zhang Yuelu did not care about the expenditure of 500 Taiping money. They did not have to pay this money out of their own pockets. Tiangang Hall would have a special fund for foreign affairs.

What Zhang Yuelu cares about is Shangguan Dun's identity: "In your words, can Lao Yue be reliable?"

Qi Xuansu said: "Such people are of course unreliable, but as long as they are given money, they will dare to do anything. If it were anyone else, they might not dare to provoke this group of vicious monsters. Of course, we cannot count on him, as the deputy hall leader said , we just let him be a guide.”

Zhang Yuelu pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "There is no other choice in a short time, so this is the only choice."

Qi Xuansu waved to Shangguan Dun.

Shangguan Dun hurried over and wanted to salute Zhang Yuelu again.

"No need to be polite." Zhang Yuelu waved his hand and took out two large tickets from Xumi Treasures, "This is the deposit."

Shangguan Dun glanced at the bead-like Xumi object on Zhang Yuelu's wrist with some envy, but did not reach out to take the two official tickets, and whispered: "Master Mage, only big cities like Loulan have money banks, can I give you cash?" "

Zhang Yuelu put away the two big tickets, took out two small bags of worry-free money, and threw them to Shangguan Dun.

One yuan of worry-free money is equal to ten yuan of peace money, and two hundred peace money is equal to twenty worry-free money. The biggest advantage of worry-free money is that it is more convenient to carry cash and can be used to deal with situations where official tickets cannot be used, such as now.

Shangguan suddenly caught the money bag. On each money bag were the words "Shi Yuan Wuyou" and two small characters "Tiangang" next to it. He was shocked, but he didn't open the money bag immediately to take a look. He glanced at the golden worry-free money, but held two money bags in his hands and looked at Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu said: "Remember, you are taking Tiangang Hall's money."

"The villain remembers, the villain remembers." Shangguan Dun said repeatedly. Of course he understood the implication of Zhang Yuelu's words. Tiangang Hall's money is not so easy to get. Although Tiangang Hall will not do anything like burning down bridges, if it fools the rebels, Tiangang Hall will He is not a Bodhisattva without anger either.

Zhang Yuelu said to Qi Xuansu again: "Give him a horse."

Qi Xuansu responded.

Although Tiangangtang does not have one person and two horses, it also brings spare horses for carrying some supplies. It is not difficult to find one horse.

Qi Xuansu found his subordinate Cao Liyou and asked him to prepare a tent and a horse for Shangguan Dun.

Since leaving Yujing, Qi Xuansu has been capable of doing things, and coupled with his status as "the deputy hall master's confidant", even if his subordinates are not convinced, they will not show it on the surface.

After Qi Xuansu finished explaining, he took out a large handful of grass from the side of the saddle, took out a bag of beans from the saddle bag, mixed them in, and began to feed the horse.

There was nothing we could do about it, it was snowing, it was desert, and there was no grass along the way, so we had to prepare solid pasture in advance. Fortunately, there was a corresponding reserve in Bishan Temple, and they replenished it there.

After feeding the horse, Qi Xuansu started to eat dinner, which was still stone-like cold hard dry food and cold water. Qi Xuansu, who has been walking in the rivers and lakes for many years, is used to it, but many Taoist priests living in Yujing are not used to eating and sleeping in the open air, and most of them take "Xingjun Pills" to satisfy their hunger.

While Qi Xuansu was eating, he glanced at Zhang Yuelu again and found that the girl was sitting alone in the distance, sipping a drink. Because she had Xumiwu, she didn't know how much wine she had brought, but it was certain that she had not brought any. These are cold, hard dry foods.

Zhang Yuelu seemed to realize something, and suddenly turned his head to look at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu quickly looked away and concentrated on eating.

After resting for the night, we continued on the road the next day.

Because of Shangguan Dun as a guide, Zhang Yuelu saved a lot of time in confirming the route. Three days later, a city full of exotic style appeared in everyone's sight.

This is the destination of Qi Xuansu and his party. Wugoshanli was once one of the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions. Later, the Daxuan court established Xizhou. Most of the small kingdoms among the thirty-six kingdoms were included under the rule of the imperial court and became prefectures. county. The rest of the small countries outside the jurisdiction of Xizhou no longer called themselves countries and became small city-states. They regarded the Daxuan court as their suzerain and paid tribute and became ministers.

The Daxuan imperial court established the Administrative Envoy Department in all states in the world, but only established the Xizhou Protectorate in Xizhou, which was both a local government office and a camp for the Western Army. The Xizhou Protectorate was stationed in Loulan, holding military and political power, and was equivalent to the governor of a state. In addition, the commander-in-chief of military affairs of a state is controlled by the governor of Xiliang and directly under the cabinet, so his status is very special.

Since Emperor Gaozu deposed the Governor's Office and the Supervisor of Ceremonies, the cabinet has become the highest authority in the true sense, similar to the Taoist Jinque discussion, and the chief minister is respectfully called "Xiang".

However, in order to prevent the civil servants from becoming dominant, Emperor Gaozu abolished the so-called rule that non-Hanlin officials were not allowed to join the cabinet, followed the ancient system, and restored the tradition that military attachés could also join the cabinet as prime minister. In addition, Taoist sects attacked Confucian sects, so today's In the cabinet, there is no obvious distinction between civil and military officials. Many cabinet ministers have served as generals or prime ministers.

It is worth mentioning that Wugoshanli is neither under the jurisdiction of the Western Prefecture Protectorate nor the Western Region Taoist Prefecture.

So when a group of people entered the city, they immediately attracted the hostile eyes of the guards.

There was a language barrier between the two parties. At this time, Shangguan Dun's role became apparent. He had been here for many years and was proficient in various languages. He could not only serve as a guide, but also as a translator.

Zhang Yuelu had no intention of concealing her identity, so she took out her ultimatum and asked Shangguan Dun to tell the guards that she wanted to see the local city lord.

Although this place was not under the jurisdiction of Daomen, the city gate guards were intimidated by the reputation of Daomen and hurriedly went to inform their superiors.

Not long after, a general came and warmly entertained the group, but had no intention of letting them into the city. He also informed Zhang Yuelu that the city lord would be arriving soon.

Zhang Yuelu did not refuse, but waited calmly.

About half an hour later, the city lord arrived belatedly. To Qi Xuansu's surprise, he turned out to be an extremely young woman.

This woman has brown hair, a high nose, deep eyes, and a tall figure. Although she is about the same height as Zhang Yuelu, there is a big difference in figure. Zhang Yuelu looks a bit delicate standing next to her.

Unsurprisingly, the city lord’s surname is Ai, and according to her self-introduction, her Chinese name is Ai Ai.

After Ai Li met Zhang Yuelu, she said in proficient Daxuan Mandarin: "I sincerely invite Master Mage to come to my mansion as a guest, but Master Mage has too many entourages..."

It is hard to imagine that Ai Li's words still have a slight accent in the Imperial Capital, like a rich lady born in the Imperial Capital, rather than the owner of this remote Western Region city.

Zhang Yuelu said: "Deacon Qi and the guide will follow me into the city. The rest of the people will follow the command of Chief Lingquan and stay put."

Lingquanzi nodded and whispered: "Deputy Hall Master, be careful."

Qi Xuansu did not speak, but touched the handles of the dagger and gun at his waist. He looked at Shangguan Dun again and found that the old man was very calm.

The three of them followed Ellie into the city and headed to the city lord's mansion.

Along the way, it can be seen that the city is still quite lively and prosperous. Although it is not as good as Loulan, the largest city in Xizhou, and it cannot be compared with Yujing, it is similar to many ordinary prefectures and counties in the Central Plains.

The city lord's residence is located in the inner city. It was once the royal palace of Wugo Mountain Li Kingdom, so it occupies a large area and is quite luxuriously decorated. But now it belongs to the Ai family. It is not only the government office where the city lord handles various matters, but also the residence of the entire family.

Under the guidance of Ellie, the group entered the inner city unimpeded and arrived at the city lord's mansion.

Ellie warmly entertained the three of them in the huge living room decorated with stained glass. A gorgeous maid served good tea from the Central Plains, and even used a celadon teacup very considerately. This was not something that could be prepared in a hurry. Coupled with Ellie's proficiency in Mandarin, it can be seen that the Ai family has been greatly assimilated, and the blending of East and West is perfectly reflected in this family.

Ellie was well versed in the etiquette of the Central Plains. As a host, she did not pick up the teacup. Zhang Yuelu had no intention of drinking tea and said straight to the point: "I came to see the city lord this time because I actually have something to ask for."

Ali said: "The mage comes from a powerful Taoist sect, and I am just an insignificant little city lord. How can the mage need my help?"

Zhang Yuelu winked at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu responded: "After all, this is not the territory of the Taoist sect. As a guest, it is reasonable to need the help of the local master. To be honest, we are looking for a group of monsters."

"Monster?" A look of surprise appeared on Ellie's face, making it difficult to tell whether it was true or false.

"Don't the city lord know?" Qi Xuansu, who was very good at controlling his expression under Qiniang's guidance, also showed surprise, "A group of foreign monsters entered the Western Regions, attacked caravans, plundered property, and killed people. Thirteen Taoist priests died. The real people were very angry and ordered to eradicate this group of lawless demons. "

This is why Zhang Yuelu asked Qi Xuansu to speak. She had long discovered that Qi Xuansu was very good at pretending, which was exactly what she was not good at.

The surprise on Ellie's face turned into shock: "There is such an appalling thing!"

Qi Xuansu said seriously: "That's why we need the city lord's full help."

Ellie was silent for a moment and said: "Although I am a city lord, I am also a businessman, so I still want to take the liberty to ask, what can I get in return?"

Zhang Yuelu spoke again: "You can gain the friendship of the Taoist sect and become a friend of the Taoist sect."