On the road from Jindu to the north of Xinjiang, the terrain gradually flattened, and the climate gradually became cold in late autumn and winter. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The territory of Jindu to the north is vast and flat, the landform is changeable, there are lofty mountains and mountains as the barrier, there are big rivers and mountains as the backbone, and further north, it is the loess desert, continuous, not a single inch of grass grows.

The border conditions in northern Xinjiang are harsh, and the Dongjiang army led by Prince Zhuo Rui is guarded, and the checkpoints set up are based on Chengguan to communicate with the nation-states outside northern Xinjiang. There are many nomadic countries outside the border fortress, among which Beirong is the most powerful, covering a vast area, deep into the hinterland of the northern desert, occupying an oasis, and standing on its own as king.

Because of its separation from a desert, although Daliang has resisted the invasion of Beirong many times in history, it has been difficult to calm the turmoil on the border.

There are many counties in northern Xinjiang, and the folk customs are rough, with the most prosperous in the middle of Jin, the west of Jin, and the north of Jin, covering a vast area. The west of Jin is rich in iron ore, the north of Jin is developed in commerce and trade, and the center of Jin is the most central, it is the jurisdiction of the Jinzhou government, the salt road railway has passed since then, the court documents first reached Jinzhong, and a large number of powerful and wealthy families gathered here.

Jin north and then to the north, is the Jiangdong army to guard the Lianggu City, Lianggu outside the three checkpoints, is the only way to the territory of the Liang outside the country, the caravan to the court issued by the documents as evidence to enter and exit, although the Lianggu City is in the border of the Liang, but because of the access to commerce, the goods from the south to the north, but very prosperous.

Because of the assassination of the prince, the imperial court issued a ban, and the Jiangdong Army was ordered to close the checkpoint passage of Lianggu City, and some of the caravans were left abroad, and the caravans in the territory could not get out.

As the weather became colder and colder, some people froze to death outside the city and were not allowed to enter, so they had to go to Beirong.

A small boy with a bag and quiver on his back galloped on his horse, and the cold wind almost made him cry.

This is the official road between the mountains and fields, and a hundred miles further on, it is Jinju, and if he wants to enter Jinju City, he must carry his identity documents. He stopped his horse, fished out the map of mountains and rivers from the bag hanging on the horse, opened it, and compared the directions.

If you don't take an official road and bypass Jinju, it will take half a month to reach northern Jinzhou.

And he has not much food, and if he hunts and sleeps in the mountains, the weather is too cold and very inconvenient. The money and jewelry he had taken from his home had already been spent on the road.

He suddenly struck the quiver with his elbow, and a feathered arrow jumped out and was caught by him in his mouth, and the iron bow on his back was removed by him with one hand, and he turned around, stretched the bow and pulled the string, and a feathered arrow was already buckled on the string.

The action is done in one go, and it is very neat.

The end of the arrow was facing the forest, and he said coldly: "Follow me again, and I'm welcome." ”

After a while, the forest was still silent, as if there was no human figure.

The boy raised his eyebrows, shot an arrow, and the feathered arrow went into the jungle, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He put down his bow, looked puzzled for a while, put the bow back on his back, touched his head a little helplessly, and then beat his horse and continued to walk.

After a while, a man walked out of the woods, walking slowly, and he raised his hand, holding a feathered arrow between his two fingers, and took it with one hand.

The tail of the feather arrow is engraved with the word - Joe.

Qiao Guogong took An Ning with peace and stopped all the way, and also purchased a lot of goods along the way, like a very ordinary caravan. An Ning wore men's clothes all the way, and everyone called her Qiao Gongzi.

It was as if a caravan lord was traveling with his grandson on a business trip without attracting anyone's attention.

They don't camp in the wilderness, they all live in inns in the cities along the way, and they will take the whole inn as soon as they stay, and if anyone else lives in the inn, they will find another place.

Although it makes people feel too cautious, considering that some caravans have very valuable goods, no one thinks it is inappropriate, but there are many thieves and thieves.

The convoy was full of elite private soldiers brought out by Qiao Guogong himself, and it was very common for them to kill a handful of people when they made a move. But after Qiao Guogong had a ban, most of the thieves were caught and stripped of their clothes and hung on the door beam for a night, and the innkeeper could always find a person who was half frozen to death in the door hall the next day.

In addition to the elites in the team, Qiao Guogong also had several personal guards around him, named Qiao Da, Qiao San, and Qiao Liu. Originally, there were a total of six people, and the remaining three were sent to other places by Qiao Guogong.

The longer he stayed with his grandfather, An Ning realized that Qiao Guogong's Mansion was just a very good-looking mansion for his grandfather, and when he lived to his age and life, the court, the court and the opposition, and the family house were too small.

The world is big, there are no wonders, the mountains and rivers are far away, and the birds can fly.

In addition to the general affairs of Qiao Guogong's mansion, Qiao Loufeng has already buried industries, houses, and people in various parts of Daliang, and he likes to buy food, cloth and ironware, and he almost intervenes in both black and white businesses.

No one knows how big a net Qiao Loufeng has spread, even if the beam is extinguished, it is enough to keep Qiao's mansion safe and sound in the troubled times.

He often held An Ning to his chest while riding a horse, and told her the story of his youth: "Once the military salary was not approved, and the food was robbed by bandits halfway and not sent to the front line, my brother, that is, your grandfather, and hundreds of brothers were hungry in the mountains for more than half a month, and there was no medicine, and your grandfather died of illness at that time......

Qiao Guogong's expression was calm, as if he mentioned it at this moment, he would never be moved again: "There is no food, in the cold winter of Layue, we killed the horse, and finally managed to get reinforcements, and only a few people survived." ”

The tragedy and cruelty of wartime seem to come to the face with that memory, making An Ning shudder.

"At that time, my grandfather remembered the saying - it is better to ask for others than for yourself."

From the day he established his military exploits, Qiao Loufeng divided each part of the silver awarded to him by the imperial court into two halves, half sent home, and half was thrifty, buying land, buying houses, and shops, expanding his secret industry, and even buying people, so that a group of people could be loyal to him, listen to his orders, and go to the soup and fire.

When the court could not give him food, weapons, and medicine, he was self-sufficient, and he wanted to ensure that his brothers, when they fought with the enemy in front, would have a bowl of hot water to drink, medicine to save their lives, and clothes to wear......

He wants to protect his brothers and follow him from birth to death, without worries.

An Ning leaned on his grandfather's chest and heard the old man who was over half a hundred years old say softly: "An Ning, you must always remember this sentence, don't wait for others to come to save you, come and pull you...... You have to learn to rely on yourself. ”

Counting on someone else's life is tantamount to putting life and death in someone else's hands.

"No matter what situation you are in, you have to keep a hand, you can attack, you can retreat, and you must not let others know the vitality left by this step." This left move can make people put to death and come back to life, turning things around.

An Ning asked softly, "Have you ever taught Brother Mobai these words?" ”

Qiao Loufeng sighed: "I didn't have time. He lowered his head and stroked An Ning's head: "It's not too late to teach you." (To be continued.) )