Wait a minute, heroine

Summer turns to autumn, and as time enters August, the weather gradually becomes a little cooler, and the number of caravans traveling on the official road has doubled compared to the hot summer.

On the vast plain in the northwest of Yunzhou, there are golden ears of rice on both sides. A straight official road leads to the far northwest. The breeze brings golden waves in the rice fields, and also blows the bells on the camels' necks.

Ding Ling Ling~~Ding Ling Ling~~

The caravan, which was pulling several carts of silk and satin, was moving quickly on the official road, followed by more than a dozen escorts, and behind it were several carriages. From time to time, the curtains of the carriages were raised, revealing the faces of the women in the carriages, and whispers came from the carriages. Come:

"Is Wuguan just ahead? I often see it on the map. This is my first time here. Did Miss Fan go here the last time she entered the pass?"

"Yes, now that the two countries are doing trade, the caravans all leave from Liangzhou and Yanzhou. There are too many mountains in Yazhou. That's where I went when I came here alone last time..."

"Chi chi chi..."

"What are you talking about? You've eaten two boxes of dried meat, and you're so fat..."

"grumble……"

…

In the carriage at the back, Ye Jingtang was still wrapped in bandages, sitting cross-legged on a small couch. After meditating for a while, he took a break midway, raised the curtains, and looked at the wilderness he had seen once.

Because the Queen Mother's situation was urgent, the court did not dare to delay. On the morning after the chaos at Yutan Villa, Dongfang Liren prepared his vehicle and set off directly to the northwest pass, thousands of miles away.

The waterways of the Wei Dynasty extend in all directions, except for Liangzhou and Shazhou. There is only one channel that is difficult to travel upstream. For this reason, few merchants use the waterway. This also leads to the fact that most of the bottom Jianghu forces in other states are boat gangs, while Liangzhou is If the caravan and Night Terror Hall want to return to their hometown, they have to go overland with the caravan just like when they came here.

He and the Queen Mother's departure obviously could not be disclosed to the public, so the team disguised itself as a caravan. The goods they brought seemed to be quite large, but they were all silk and basically weightless in order to maintain speed.

The caravan has a lot of people. In the front are She Long and Shang Jianli who are pretending to be bodyguards. The old bodyguard Yang Chao is at the front to lead the way because he is familiar with the route. In the middle are several chief arresters of the black yamen. At the back is Fan. The manpower of Qinghe Belt, clan elder Jiang Laojiu of Dongming Tribe and others.

Sanniang didn't have time to mobilize people to prepare in one night, so she waited in Yun'an for Song Chi and others to arrive; Ning'er wanted to ventilate the leader of Pingtian and accompany Sanniang in the capital, and then meet up in Honghe Town. Get out together.

As for the real person Xuanji, because the empress's physical condition is not stable yet, she cannot leave without permission, and it will probably take some time before she comes to help.

Dongfang Liren was accompanying him as an imperial envoy. After all, when encountering forces such as the King of Liang or the Northern Liang court, Ye Jingtang's identity might not be able to suppress them, and Dongfang Liren would have to come forward to communicate when necessary.

The caravan set out from Yun'an, and five days had passed in the blink of an eye. After passing Wuguan, there were no longer any smooth official roads or town supplies. What greeted the team was more than two hundred miles of wilderness, and then they arrived at Liangzhou, where the road would cross It becomes harder and harder to move forward, and the speed of progress will slow down.

After Ye Jingtang looked out the window for a few times, he then turned to look at the other side of the carriage, his eyes showing a bit of sadness.

The Queen Mother, who had put on the clothes of a noble lady, was lying flat on the small couch in the carriage, but there was no sign of waking up; while the round and round Hongyu was sitting on her knees next to her. She was tired from taking care of two patients at the same time for too long. fell asleep.

Every other hour in the past few days, Fan Qinghe would come over to check her body. The Queen Mother's body was more stable than expected, but the toxins in her body had not disappeared. She only lived on a few mouthfuls of porridge every day, and her condition was gradually visible to the naked eye. I'm losing weight, and I don't know how long I can hold on.

If this state continues, the Queen Mother may be gone before she even leaves Liangzhou.

In the past few days, Ye Jingtang has been recuperating his injuries without leaving home through bathing in fire and nourishing medicine. The external injuries have basically healed, and the internal injuries have also healed a lot. I am afraid that in another ten days, he will be able to completely recover as before. Seeing that the Queen Mother is not there It's getting slightly better, but it's still getting worse. How happy I feel.

After Ye Jingtang stared at the couch for a long time, the motorcade arrived at Wuguan Town.

He was afraid that the temporarily disguised escorts in the team were inexperienced and did not bring enough supplies, so they would not be able to leave the wilderness, so he picked up the saber and got up and walked out of the carriage.

Gulu gulu——

"steamed stuffed bun……"

“Authentic Liangzhou roasted leg of lamb, this shop disappears after passing this village…”

Wuguan Town is the last big town in the northwest of Yunzhou. The people here are all caravans traveling between the two continents. Because the folk customs in Liangzhou are too tough, people without skills dare not leave. For this reason, the town is waiting for people to be hired. There are also many warriors and guides.

Ye Jingtang got off the carriage and happened to see Da Benben dressed as a young man in white getting out of the carriage with Fan Qinghe, a beautiful girl from another country.

The birds flapped their wings anxiously and looked at the barbecue stalls in the distance. They seemed to be craving for the taste of their hometown.

Seeing Ye Jing come out of the hall, Dongfang Liren, who was originally calm and calm, looked slightly frightened. He quickly came over, held his arm, frowned and said:

"Why did you come out?"

"After sitting in the carriage for so many days, my whole body is sore. Come out for a walk."

Ye Jingtang chuckled, then led Dongfang Liren to the front of the caravan and ordered:

"Lao Yang, please keep a closer look and prepare enough water. You can't see a river after crossing Wuguan. I almost died of thirst last time I came here..."

"Don't worry, Young Master, I'll load a truck full of water this time..."

"What's the use of loading a car? Buy more water bags and prepare enough for three days per person..."

"Okay..."

Dongfang Liren was originally holding Ye Jingtang's arm, but she was very tall and dressed like a young lady, which attracted a lot of strange looks from passers-by. For this reason, she quickly stopped her hand and stood up straight, pretending to be the owner of a merchant's house. He looked around at the street scene.

When Fan Qinghe met Ye Jingtang, Ye Jingtang was already a big figure in the imperial court. He didn't know much about Ye Jingtang's past. Seeing Ye Jingtang walking around in front of and behind the caravan, he checked the preparations for the no-man's land quite familiarly. , came to him and said curiously:

"Young Master Ye used to be a escort?"

"Haha, I was a bodyguard until April. I traveled all over Liangzhou. It's a pity that my adoptive father didn't allow me to go outside the customs..."

After checking for a while, Ye Jingtang went to a stall on the street, ordered a few roasted lamb legs, and asked:

"Beiliang is far away. News in Honghe Town is not available, and there are not many rumors that can be heard. How is the situation in the world over there? Are there any powerful people?"

Dongfang Liren pulled the bird that wanted to pounce on the stove and interjected:

"The population in the territory of Beiliang is not less than that of the Wei Dynasty, and there are naturally more experts. However, there is only one 'number one in the world'. Fengguan City was recognized as invincible in both the Northern and Southern Dynasties. At the end of the previous dynasty, Beiliang wanted to dig out Fengguan City. He came from Beiliang, but ended up going to Fengguancheng to the Tiannan Sea, making it clear that he would no longer interfere with the common affairs of the two dynasties..."

Fan Qinghe, as the ‘Beiliang Pirate Saint’, knew far more about the Beiliang Jianghu than Dongfang Liren, so he continued:

"In fact, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the rulers of the Jianghu were all the 'Ten Great Masters'. This saying originated from the Liang Dynasty; Fengguan City is a special case because it is too outrageous and cannot be ranked with the people below, so it will be in the same category. , just like the founding emperor of Wu more than a thousand years ago.

"As long as Fengguan City is put aside, the quotas in the Northern and Southern Dynasties are exactly the same. They are all ten great masters. There has not been much change since ancient times."

Ye Jingtang nodded and asked curiously: "Which of the ten great masters of Beiliang is more powerful than the Great Wei?"

Fan Qinghe shook his head: "It's hard to say. The name of Beiliang is different from that of the Wei Dynasty. The great master is called the great master. The last six are in the same category as Wu Kui, and the first four and the second sage are in the same category, and they are called ' The Four Saints of Beiliang are not the same concept as the Thieving Saints and the Medical Saints. The number one in the world is with the Wei Dynasty, but apart from Fengguan City, Beiliang should be stronger."

As the prince of the Wei Dynasty, Dongfang Liren naturally did not like this and retorted:

"I don't think Beiliang can compare with the Great Wei. The state counselor Lu Taiqing has been guarding the northern border all year round. None of the Four Saints of Beiliang dared to step into the Great Wei, especially the Zuo Xian King Li Kai, who is not capable of speaking loudly and arrogantly. As a result, the Imperial Master invited him to go to Yashan to discuss Taoism, but after waiting for several years, he did not come..."

Fan Qinghe shook his head and said: "Hey, you can't say that. King Zuo Xian may not be able to defeat Lu Taiqing, but he can still deal with the people below him easily. Our King Gouchen of the Xihai tribes is also ranked as a grand master, and he just prepared When the various ministries were being integrated, King Zuo Xian came over and was so surprised that King Gouchen expressed his loyalty to Beiliang on the spot. From then on, he never thought about integrating the ministries again..."

Ye Jingtang listened carefully to the exchange between the two women and secretly took down all kinds of useful information, while Niaoniao was eagerly waiting for the roasted leg of lamb.

But the three of them chatted for a while, and before the leg of lamb was roasted, they heard a voice coming from behind the motorcade:

"cough……"

"Too...oooooooo..."

"Shh..."

? !

The three of them talked for a while, then showed ecstasy in their eyes and hurriedly ran to the carriage...

——

Earlier, in the carriage.

“Liangzhou authentic roasted leg of lamb…”

"Wonton dumplings..."

…

The shouts of street vendors are transmitted into the carriage together with the appetizing aroma.

Hongyu, who was sleeping soundly on the edge of the couch, sniffed subconsciously, while the Queen Mother, who was lying flat on the pillow, swallowed and quietly opened her apricot eyes, which were almost turning green.

Something happened at Yutan Villa a few days ago. What the Queen Mother planned was to wake up after leaving the capital, then say a few words to Ye Jingtang, and let Ye Jingtang take her around Liangzhou to see the beautiful women. Various places mentioned in The Secret History of the Queen, such as the wilderness where the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince camped together, the river bend where they lived in seclusion together, etc.

According to the Empress Dowager's assumption, in such a hurry, Ye Jingtang should be riding a fast horse, carrying her on his back, and galloping out of the pass.

But unfortunately, when she set off, she discovered that there were more than 20 people accompanying her, and Li Ren was also following her.

If she wakes up after leaving the capital, she will definitely not be able to bully Ye Jingtang and let him take her to those places. She might turn around and go back.

For this reason, the Queen Mother wanted to walk a few more days, so that even if she had to go back when she woke up, she could still see the scenery of Yunzhou on the way.

Along the way, Ye Jingtang's ever-concerned gaze was intoxicating, but it was quite hard on the body.

Night Terror Hall was sitting in the carriage. She was afraid that she would have to wake up after eating too much, so she drank two mouthfuls of porridge every day to resist. She almost starved to death in the past few days.

At this time, they had reached Wuguan, and beyond that they reached the wasteland. It was very difficult to walk. Therefore, the Queen Mother woke up now, reported to everyone that they were safe, and then tried to see if they could continue to Liangzhou.

According to the Queen Mother's idea, there must be a sense of ritual when waking up, which is probably - Ye Jingtang came back, she moved her fingers, and then Ye Jingtang hurriedly came over and squatted in front of her, she slowly opened her eyes and said something sickly 'Night Terror Hall... How long have I been asleep? I’m fine, you don’t have to worry...’.

But the roasted lamb leg outside is so delicious!

The Queen Mother had been hungry for four or five days and wanted to suppress her appetite, but her body had become more anxious than a bird. She wanted to rush out and take a bite of the roasted leg of lamb.

After waiting for a while, Ye Tingtang came in. The Queen Mother couldn't hold it in any longer, so she turned to look at the small case next to her.

There were some pastries on the small table, prepared for Hongyu and Ye Jingtang. She didn't like eating these sweets at all before, but now she saw that her eyes were greener.

Suo Suo~

The Queen Mother's throat moved, and then she quietly raised her hand, took a small piece of pastry from the tray and put it into her mouth. She wanted to chew it slowly, but it turned out that it was obviously wrong to eat while lying down.

As soon as the pastry entered her mouth, the crumbs fell into her throat. The irritated Queen Mother coughed:

"cough--"

Hongyu, who was lying in front of her, was suddenly awakened. She quickly raised her head and found that the Queen Mother puffed out her cheeks and covered her mouth. She looked at her with fear in her eyes and said anxiously and happily:

"Too...oooo..."

The Queen Mother quickly covered Silly Hongyu's mouth and at the same time devoured the cake, wanting to swallow the cake and destroy the corpse.

As a result, almost the next moment, several "whoosh-" sounds were heard outside, the car curtain was opened, and the faces of Ye Jingtang, Dongfang Liren, Fan Qinghe, Meng Jiao and others appeared outside the car. , all stared at her.

"..."

The Queen Mother blinked her big eyes, reacted quickly and looked confused, looking around:

"Bakunomiya...cough..."

Ye Jingtang's eyes were full of surprise, and he quickly jumped into the carriage, helped the Queen Mother up, who had a mouth full of cakes and could not speak clearly, and picked up the water glass from the side:

"Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry, eat slowly, I know you are very hungry..."

Dongfang Liren also came up and caressed the Queen Mother's back:

"Be careful of choking. Hongyu, hurry up and prepare some porridge..."

The Queen Mother was sandwiched between the two of them and asked about their welfare. Seeing several concerned looks, she felt a little embarrassed.

But after hearing the porridge being prepared, driven by a strong appetite, the Queen Mother's first words were still:

"Ahem...what's out there? It smells so good..."

Fan Qinghe came to the front and said seriously: "The Queen Mother has just woken up from a serious illness and cannot eat heavy oil or salt. She will drink porridge for a few days to nourish her stomach. You all go out and don't crowd around here."

Upon seeing this, Ye Jingtang quickly stood up and exited the carriage, and said to the outside very considerately:

"Pull the carriage outside the town, don't let the smell of oil smoke spread..."

? !

The Queen Mother didn't even let her take a sip after seeing this. She felt a little aggrieved in her eyes, but there was nothing she could do. Fan Qinghe had to hold her down and lean against the carriage obediently, waiting to continue drinking porridge...

——

On the other side, in the middle of Liangzhou.

At noon of the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the sun was still blazing on the vast Gobi desert in Huanggutan.

The scene at the end of the field of vision was distorted by the rising heat wave. As far as the eye could see, except for a white skeleton hanging on the roadside with its right hand pointing northwest, it was difficult to see any living thing.

White bones are a unique road sign in Liangzhou. They are usually the corpses of horse bandits who robbed the road. Some were hanged or impaled on wooden sticks. Big gangs that are a little more particular will hang a piece of dried human skin with some on it. The colorful rope looks like a colorful flag fluttering in the wind from a distance.

Hoof-clack, hoof-clack...

"drive--"

Under the scorching sun, six fast horses galloped from the sky. Because there were no roads in the Gobi Desert, it was impossible to tell where they came from. However, in an instant, they arrived at the road sign of Bones.

The person driving the horse at the front was Cao Aning, who was wearing a bamboo hat and dressed as a swordsman from the northwest. He raised his hand to indicate his right hand, which was hanging by a rope:

"Usually you can find towns and villages by walking ten miles along the road signs. Head Hu's family of the Black Flag Gang should be there now..."

Behind Cao Aning are Lu Jieyun's eldest disciple Xu Tianying and second disciple Tang Yudan; and the three following him are followers who have followed Cao Aning for ten years.

The news of Lu Jieyun's death has spread in the world, and Xu Tianying, as his direct disciple, used to be the second-in-command in Yanzhou. When his master died, he naturally became the new overlord of Yanzhou. Bagui is one less. This name naturally became his.

This sounds like good news, but in fact, it is nothing more than a reminder to people in the world.

Because in history, after the death of the old Wukui, few warriors who obtained the title of Bakui by "succession" could survive for more than three years. They would always be reviled while alive, and after death, the Bakui would be removed from the title and become a joke in the world. Not a good job.

For this reason, Xu Tianying and others did not even return to Yanzhou. At the same time, they offended King Yan and the imperial court and did not dare to return. They rushed here as soon as they left Yun'an.

Standing under the bone road sign at this time, looking at the barbaric scene that was completely different from other states in the Wei Dynasty, Tang Yudan even asked a little childishly:

"Liangzhou Jianghu is so blatantly skinning and removing bones and hanging them on the roadside. Are you really not afraid of the government looking for trouble?"

These words come from the mouth of Jianghu people, which is a bit funny, but Tang Yudan is not to blame.

Because in other states, no matter how ferocious the devil is in the world, he kills and sets fire secretly. He cannot be like Liang Zhou and blatantly hang evidence of his crime on his doorstep as a road sign, for fear that the government will not find his hiding place.

Cao Aning gently clamped the horse's belly and led the five people towards the northwest. He chuckled on the way:

"The combined total of Liangzhou and sandbanks accounts for one-third of the territory of the Wei Dynasty, but the population is less than half of Jiangzhou. Usually there are hundreds of miles of no-man's land away from the towns, and horse bandits come and go like the wind. Where did the imperial court come from? How many people are in charge?

“Normally, various areas are assigned to local caravans, and the government tacitly allows them to collect passing money and do some gray business, while the caravans are responsible for maintaining security in the territory. Some caravan bosses even hold the title of county lieutenant in the county government... …”

Xu Tianying commented on this: "Driving tigers and devouring wolves and using barbarians to control barbarians is no different from raising poisonous insects. No wonder Liangzhou is so poor, but there are so many masters that it is not inferior to Yanzhou in Tiannan."

"That's true. Liu Qiansheng, Jiang Zahu, and Ye Jingtang were all Gu kings killed by Liangzhou. Without exception, they were not from good backgrounds. They were even born in the ditch. They were either orphans or had a blood feud.

"While we were still learning skills and laying the foundation, people were already running around and carrying dozens of lives. Their alertness and ruthlessness are unmatched by people from other places. It is said that the King of Hell, Ye Da, can't even sleep until now." It’s about keeping the sword close to your body and keeping one eye open..."

Tang Yudan came out of the capital alive and was convinced of Cao Aning's words. After listening for a while, he asked again:

"This Black Flag Gang has no reputation outside the country, but it seems to be very powerful in Liangzhou. Who is behind it?"

"The Black Flag Gang is not an ordinary gangster force. It has connections from Prince Liang's family behind it. It is not as strong as the Hongshan Gang, but in this three-acre area of ​​Liangzhou, even the Hongshan Gang has to show courtesy. The Hu Yanjing we are looking for is The leader of the Black Flag Gang has had many dealings with me before, and he can get me on the line... Hey, here he is..."

While Cao Aning was talking, a cavalry consisting of dozens of people appeared on the horizon of the Gobi Desert.

At the front of the cavalry was a man wearing an open-chest T-shirt, holding a cleaver in his hand. He had a muscular body and a tall horse. He looked murderous, just like the leader of the horse bandits who came to rob the road.

Upon seeing this, Cao Aning got off his horse, held his hands in the distance and said:

"My Excellency, Cao Aning, came here specifically to join your gang..."

The galloping cavalry quickly approached.

The leader, Hu Yanjing, was quite irritable. He drew his sword in front of the six people and pointed into the distance:

"Get away from me as far as you can! This is a serious gang, don't make me angry. For the sake of our past friendship, I will let you run for half an hour before notifying the government. From now on, we will clear up our grudges. …”

"Hey!"

Cao Aning quickly raised his hand, ran quickly to the horse, took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve, and whispered:

"I came here this time because I wanted to defect to Prince Liang. Behind me are Xu Tianying and Tang Yudan, both of whom are direct descendants of Yanzhou Jieyun Palace. There are also some masters from Jieyun Palace behind me, and it doesn't even add up. A small force; and I know a lot of secrets about the capital, which will be of great use to Prince Liang, so I would like to ask Gang Leader Hu to pass on a message..."

Hu Yanjing took the banknote and looked at it, then got off his horse and asked his subordinates to step back, and asked:

"Do you want to join King Liang and help him rebel?"

"Hey! What you are saying is that the Dongfang family, which the King of Liang is a serious member of, I am trying to bring order out of chaos..."

"Pooh!"

Hu Yanjing didn't look good at all. After spitting on the ground, he raised his hand and nodded:

"Don't think that I don't know. You are a hidden stake set by the Empress. You deliberately circulate among the kings and encourage them to rebel..."

Cao Aning was stunned: "Are you kidding me? I am a die-hard loyalist to the Wei Dynasty, but I am loyal to the late emperor. How can I be a member of the empress?"

Hu Yanjing snorted coldly: "Do you think King Liang is blind and knows nothing about the outside world? You first encouraged King Wu to rebel, and then induced King Yan to assassinate him. Now King Wu is gone, and King Yan has suffered After the Wuwu disaster, the king of Liang was left with a dilemma. Now you have come to defect to the king of Liang. What? Are you going to give the king of Liang the reputation of secretly hiding the dragon's robe and jade seal, and let the court take the blame?

"Let me tell you, Prince Liang is very loyal to the Empress. He just wants to be an honest prince and guard the border for the Empress. He has no intention of treason. If I hadn't had a personal relationship with you, I might not be able to catch you guys. Now I will send you to the government. Get out of here!"

Cao Aning opened his mouth, but had nothing to say. He could only say:

"I'm so talented. It's just a bridge. They can't succeed. No wonder I'm a pawn. King Liang doesn't want me to wait, and I won't force him to wait. Gang Leader Hu has some connections outside the customs. Can you help to connect him? I Once you have some skills, someone will be willing to take you in. As long as you find a place to stay, you will definitely remember Gang Leader Hu as a great favor."

Now that Hu Yanjing came out to meet the guests, it was definitely not as simple as chasing someone away. He looked back again, and then took out a letter from his sleeve:

"Follow what the letter says, go find a contact person outside the customs, and someone will naturally lead you to meet that noble person."

Cao Aning took the envelope, opened it, looked at it, and then bowed his hand:

"Thank you. When we find our home, we will definitely pay a large sum of money to thank Gang Leader Hu..."

"Get out of here. You've provoked a peeing coquettish guy and you're running into my gang openly. Do you have any discernment?"

"Sorry, sorry, I'll take my leave..."

…

————

Thank you to [Black Tongue Candy] [ykkkk] boss for the reward!

Thank you all for your tips, monthly votes, and recommendation votes or2!

I recommend a book called "Asian Girl Rescue Plan". If you are interested, you can read it ~