turmoil

At the end of the first year of Xinglong, the Marquis of Dingbian went to northern Xinjiang, and all the [-] troops in the northwest were under his command.Three months later, he sent envoys to tentatively negotiate with the countries in the Western Regions to discuss the opening of trade channels.

This commercial road, known as the "Ancient Silk Road" in the history books of later generations, was not easy to come into being, because at that time, Huihe had already signed an alliance with Beile.If you want to communicate with the countries in the Western Regions, you can't get around the sphere of influence of Huihe.

Marquis Dingbian himself was a military general, so he didn't know much about business and trade. Fortunately, there was Zhuo Jiusi, who learned from others, by his side. new covenant.

This move benefited Dayin a lot, but made Beile very dissatisfied.At this time, Beile Khan had died of illness, and it was Tumen's son who had fought against Yang Fan back then who took over the Beile Eight Departments.The young and vigorous Beile Khan is far tougher than his old and aging father. As soon as he took office, he hastened his troops and handed over the letter of credence to Huihe. Get out, or at your peril.

The newly enthroned Beile Khan came aggressively, but King Huihe was an old fox who had become a spirit. While thinking of Beilexu as a snake, he flirted with the people of the Central Plains. wall grass.

This ability to please everyone is really admirable to Dingbianhou.

The signing of the trade covenant seems to have opened a hole in the iron wall, and the real gold and silver from outside the region flowed into the Central Plains, rendering the Hexi Corridor full of yellow dust like pearls and jade.At the same time, the increasingly empty treasury was gradually filled, and the bulging purse finally blocked the mouths of the court princes.

This was a hit-and-miss deal, and not only the Great Yin benefited from it, but also Huihe—the silk and porcelain from the Central Plains were transported to Hexi, attracting caravans from various countries in the Western Regions.A seemingly ordinary piece of silk and satin is worthless in the eyes of the aristocratic family in Beijing, but when it is transported to the Hexi trade road, it can command no less than a hundred times the price.More and more Hu merchants from the Western Regions poured into the Hexi Commercial Road, filling the financial holes in the Central Plains with their rich pockets.

The prosperity of this cooperation has lasted for four years. The handsome and handsome young military lord in the past has also been smoothed by the desert wind and sand. Something solid emerges like a rock.

It’s March at this time, and when it’s in the south of the Yangtze River, it should be full of flowers, flowers, willows and greenery, like brocades, but there are no small bridges, flowing water, and bridges painted with smoke and willows in the Western Regions, only the endless yellow sand Gobi.On this day, Yang Fan came back from patrolling the camp, took off his helmet before entering the tent, brushed his hair habitually, and the gravel fell, he asked casually, "How long has Jiusi been?"

The soldiers standing in front of the commander's tent were stunned for a moment, and then realized that Dingbianhou was talking to himself: "It has been half a month since I reported to the commander in chief."

Yang Fan frowned: "Is there still no news?"

The soldiers thought about it for a moment, then shook their heads: "No... It's strange to say that General Zhuo usually sends a letter every ten days, so why hasn't there been any news this time?"

Yang Fan thought for a while: "Order a Qingqi, I'm going to go west."

The soldier was taken aback: "Now, now?"

Yang Fan didn't intend to explain, and said concisely: "Now!"

Although the Marquis of Dingbian concluded an alliance with Huihe, he was not stupid enough to really believe in this "ally".Every March and April, when the glaciers are thawing and the snow is melting, Yang Fan will send people to pretend to be caravans and sneak into the territory of Huihe in the name of "commercial exchanges" to listen to the movements of the countries in the Western Regions.This was an idle writing to prepare for a rainy day, but it is particularly important at this special juncture, because the informants in the territory of Huihe sent back information-the old king of Huihe was seriously ill, and the princes under him showed their own magical powers. The situation of walking on thin ice caused a stir.

In the Western Regions, I am afraid that the sky will change.

Marquis Dingbian judged very accurately that Zhuo Jiusi and his party were indeed in trouble. He was trapped in the city of Gaochang at this time—it was an oasis deep in the desert, next to the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain. Moisturizing the land, over time, a bright pearl was bred in the depths of the barren desert.

Since the rise of Beile, the Uyghurs who were originally entrenched in the Fengmei Grassland retreated again and again, and finally with Gaochang as the core, they barely maintained half of the crumbling country.They were feuds with Bei Le, but in order to survive, they were forced to make an alliance with them.This was an expedient measure, but it provided a gap for Yang Fan to make a long-distance attack and a short-term attack.

But now, the situation has changed.

The late Beile Khan may not be as brave and good at fighting as the Tumen prince, but he is far more discerning than him. He married his daughter into Huihe early in the morning and became the most beloved concubine of the king of Huihe.The Beile princess was also very upbeat, and gave birth to a son in the second year of her marriage to Huihe. The baby boy who croaked to the ground consolidated the status of the new princess, and also put great pressure on the Huihe son born to the main concubine.

Now, even Dayin, who is far away in the hinterland of the Central Plains, feels the shadow and malice from Beile.

The second prince, who has a Beile background, has a natural sense of closeness to his mother's family, and has a deep abhorrence of Zhongyuan.When King Huihe was in good health, he was still able to suppress this ambition and malice.But when King Huihe was seriously ill and his old wrist could no longer hold power, the second prince, who had endured for many years, began to move.

Gaochang City is not as neat and orderly as the capital city in the hinterland of the Central Plains, but it can faintly see the shadow of the capital city of the Central Plains.The streets are paved with stone bricks, and the houses on both sides are made of loess.The wind blew by, and the sand and dust blinded the eyes, but the locals had become accustomed to it, spreading out tents on both sides of the street, and yelling with different accents to sell chickens and dogs from all over the world.

According to later generations, this is the commercial area of ​​Gaochang, and merchants from south to north settled in this area.Looking around, you can see not only silk, tea bricks, porcelain, and sugar cubes from the Central Plains, but also Persian blankets, gemstones from Dashi, and spices from body poison...these are all kinds of things, which are eye-opening.

At the end of the street stands a tall building with a round dome full of exotic style. It is a temple, and what is enshrined in it is not a god or Buddha, but a Mani believed by the local people.There is no doubt that it is the center of the city. The buildings surrounding the Mani Temple are all tall and majestic, and the closer to the commercial area, the more cramped and messy. The loess is exposed to the scorching sun, and the air is filled with the smell of horse manure and sweat.

There was a narrow alleyway between the small houses, and a figure stumbled in. His footsteps were slightly staggering, and one hand was firmly on his shoulder. Even so, the blood was still dripping down, leaving behind A line of directional traces.

The man looked down, cursed secretly, tore off the strip of cloth from the hem of his clothes, and wrapped it tightly around the wound on his shoulder.

At this moment, footsteps came from the end of the alleyway, and the movement was very chaotic, showing that there were not a few people coming.The man frowned, although he was dizzy, he still gritted his teeth and fled deep into the alley.

The terrain in this area is intricate, and it is easy to get lost if there is no local to guide the way.The man turned around a few times like a headless chicken, only to realize that he had stumbled into a dead end in desperation.The sound of chasing footsteps was getting closer and closer, and it was too late to back out. The man turned his heart and touched the scabbard around his waist with his right hand.

Suddenly, there was a creak behind him, and the lifeless door suddenly opened.The door was dark, and no one spoke, but the man felt for no reason that the door was opened for himself, and after careful consideration, he still dodged and hid in.

The moment the door panels closed, the pursuers appeared at the corner of the narrow alley. They were five or six men dressed as merchants. The outline was deep and rough. At first glance, they were no different from Hu merchants from the Western Regions, but they spoke with a strange accent.

If a man can recognize it here, this is the unique tone of Beile people when they learn Uyghur.

"Where is the person?" The leader of the Beile people frowned, "I clearly saw him hiding here, why did he disappear?"

His companion looked around: "The bloodstains disappeared after this point, maybe you read it wrong, he didn't run into this alley at all."

"Impossible!" The leader of Beile said firmly, "I saw with my own eyes... this is a dead end, and he has no wings, so he must be hiding!"

As he spoke, he turned every corner where people could hide, but after finding nothing, he couldn't help turning his eyes to the houses on both sides of the narrow alley.

The companion hastily grabbed him, and whispered in Beile dialect: "Are you crazy? This is Gaochang, not Beile's royal court! The old boy Tu Midu is very close to the people from the Central Plains. It will be difficult."

The leader of the Beile people dismissed it: "Tu Midu is seriously ill, and he will not live long. An old lion who is about to die of illness is worth your care?"

The companion said seriously: "Even if there is only one breath left, you are still a lion in Gaochang. Don't be deceived by the illusion of old age... Let's go back and inform Prince Teller before making a decision."

"Tumidu" is the name of the old Huihe king. 30 years ago, he was the overlord of the Western Regions dominating the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. He was called "Gaochang Lion" by the Beile people in awe.However, he is old, his minions are beginning to decay, and he is not even seen by the young Beile warriors.

However, the persuasion of his companions worked after all, and the leader of the Beile people hesitated again and again, but still reluctantly withdrew, and before leaving, he did not forget to spit on the ground bitterly.

"If I catch you," he thought cruelly and maliciously, "I'll skin you alive!"

The footsteps of the Beile people soon faded away, and the only sound was the whimpering of the wind in the empty narrow alley.The man in black who was hiding behind the door heaved a sigh of relief, and his tense shoulders loosened, almost unable to hold on.

A hand protruded from the slanted thorn, and helped him just right: "Are you all right?"

The man in black turned his head, and there was a messy and fluffy beard growing under the bridge of his nose. If he took off the beard and removed the tawny camouflage on his face, Zhuo Jiusi's handsome and gentle face could be revealed.

However, right now, he couldn't judge whether the person who came was an enemy or a friend, let alone the other party's intention to rescue him, so he was very cautious: "Thank you for the rescue, may I ask your Excellency..."

The person who helped Lieutenant Zhuo was a young man, he was only in his twenties. Although he was dressed as a local, his accent was pure from the Central Plains: "They are all Central Plains citizens, so there is no need to say such polite words. ... Who are the people chasing you? How did you mess with them?"

It is a joyful thing to meet an old friend in a foreign land, but when the origin of this "old friend" is a mystery and the intention is unknown, Zhuo Jiusi is still subconsciously alert: "You..."

Before the words fell, he felt his world spinning for a while, and he fell straight down.

The young man quickly supported him, lowered his head and looked at him, his expression suddenly changed.He quickly untied the cloth strips on Zhuo Jiusi's shoulders, and tore open the skirt, only to see a half-inch long arrow embedded in the ripped flesh, the metal part glowing with a strange faint blue.

The man restrained his casual smile, and said in a deep voice: "You have been hit by a hidden weapon, and the poison is quenched on it."

Without his reminding, Zhuo Jiusi also knew that he was poisoned, the poison took place very quickly, and half of his body was already paralyzed in just a few breaths.The man half-supported and half-carried him up, hurried across the atrium, and when he walked to the corridor, he stretched his neck and shouted: "The surname is Wang, the copycat is ready, and he is here for business."

There was clanging in the room, and a moment later, the window was half-opened, revealing a young woman's face: "What business are you here for? My mother has been in a bad mood for the past two days. If you don't talk about business, you won't see any customers!"

She pretended to fall on the window, but the man became anxious, and hurriedly said: "No kidding, it's really big business! This kid has been hit by a hidden poison weapon, and the arrow looks like it was written by a Beile man!"

The woman became interested for a while, and poked her head out again: "People from Beile? The climate in Beile is bitter and cold, and poisons that can survive in that land are rare... Hurry up and get people in, so that my mother can open her eyes! "

Young man: "..."

Those who knew it was treating diseases and saving lives, but those who didn't know it thought it was a bumpkin visiting a western scenery.

The woman's surname is Wang, and her single name is Xuan. She was born in an aristocratic family of Xinglin.A few years ago, the aristocratic family annexed the land intensified. Those who grow on the mountains, those who run on the ground, and those who swim in the water were all dragged into their plates by the gentry. To live at the entrance of the road, he opened a small medical clinic in Gaochang city to live.

The man's name was Ding Ru'an, and he claimed to be Wang Xuan's cousin. Because of his open-minded, warm and hospitable personality, he got along well with the neighbors in the neighborhood.

Of course, the so-called "cousin" is just a cover to fool outsiders, and the person involved knows the truth in his heart, and they are actually at odds with each other.

Ding Ru'an dragged the unconscious Zhuo Jiusi into the room and put him on the Maitreya couch by the window.This is a woman's boudoir, but it is simpler and clearer than the monk's temple. If there is any difference, it is that a row of knives are hung on the north wall, arranged in order from large to small, which is large enough to serve as a butcher's chopping stick The broad-backed machete is small, no more than the size of an adult's palm, and the blade is so sharp that it almost breaks a hair.

Wang Xuan took out a pair of gloves from the wooden box, and put them on slowly—it was a pair of gloves as thin as onion wings, and the texture of the woman's skin could almost be seen through the material.She opened Zhuo Jiusi's skirt, and used a small blade to pull at the flesh that was stuck with the hidden arrow. She sighed and expressed interest on her delicate and beautiful face: "It's really a hidden weapon of the Beile people... Interesting, really interesting!"

She sighed with emotion, and at the same time put her hands on Lieutenant Zhuo's bare shoulders, as if it was not a rough guy who was easy to show, but a stunning beauty with half-dressed clothes.

Ding Ru'an forcibly suppressed the urge to support the forehead: "Sister, can you touch someone later? The arrow is pierced deep, and it seems to have hurt the blood. If you don't want to get it out, he won't need this arm... ..."

Before the words fell, there was only a soft "chi" sound, and thin blood arrows sprayed out.Without changing expression, Wang Xuan threw the drawn arrow into the basin, and covered the wound with the medicine powder and gauze prepared earlier.

"What did you say?" Wang Xuan looked up and asked seriously, "I didn't hear it just now."

Ding Ru'an: "..."

Before you make a move, at least say yes