On this day, passing through a town, different from the withering and scattered towns that I had passed through before, this small town called Xicheng showed a different kind of liveliness and prosperity. "How far is it from Xijing?" After receiving Shen Rong's request to take a break here, Xia Ci asked his personal guard. "It's less than two hundred miles. If we continue on our journey, we can walk faster and arrive tomorrow morning. Yan Zhen, the guard beside him, replied seriously. Xia Ci nodded and continued: "It's so lively here, I think it's the reason why it's so close to Xijing?" It can't be anything special, right? If there is no abnormality, we will rest here for the night today and leave tomorrow morning. Yan Zhen was slightly stunned and said, "Lord Wang, there are many people in our team, and the goal is too big. It's not far from Xijing now, so it's better to get to Xijing earlier to ensure the safety of Princess Ziyan and you. Xia Ci said: "I know that you have been dealing with the infestation of Sijon spies many times lately, and it is very difficult. It's just that before entering Xijing, we don't deal with them, do you think Xijing's garrison Wang Yuanming is a vegetarian? I'm afraid that they will wait for us to go over and join the people of Xijon inside and outside! Don't forget the details of Wang Yuanming that you found before. Yan Zhen nodded when he heard this, and said, "What the prince said is true." The subordinates will do it. ”

Wang Yuanming, the garrison of Xijing, was single-handedly pulled out by Zheng Shengquan, the original general of Zhenxi. Because of his bravery and good fighting, he made many military exploits in the northwest, and was transferred to Xijing to serve as the garrison of Xijing. He is Zheng Shengquan's personal guard, and he has always looked forward to Zheng Shengquan. The previous Zheng Shengquan was demoted for his crimes, and he personally wrote to intercede for his old boss, and submitted a petition to publicize Zheng Shengquan's military exploits in the northwest and his prestige in the army, and united with several other influential figures in the army to put pressure on the emperor. Although the emperor was very angry, he had already taken down Zheng Shengquan, which was enough to deter the whole army; First, there are not enough people in the army to take responsibility. Yes, he did not express anything about their actions. Instead, he issued an order to appease the morale of the army, and all soldiers who were loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty and made contributions to the country were rewarded. to show the emperor's generosity. And to the subordinates of the meaning of leniency. This time, Xia Ci was demoted to Xijing, and the emperor naturally had a plan. If Xia Ci can subdue Wang Mingyuan, let him change his mind, focus on the emperor, and contribute to the country. Nature is the best. If this Wang Mingyuan is obsessed and still secretly colludes with Zheng Shengquan to disturb the morale of the army, it will be decided by Xia Ci at his own discretion.

And Xia Ci traveled all the way, and the more he went west, the more he found that the people's livelihood here was withering, which showed the severity of the harassment of Xirong here. He sent people to investigate along the way, and found that every time Xirong's iron cavalry came to harass, it was when the soldiers here changed their defenses and were weak. Once so, it can be said to be a coincidence. Every time this happens, it can't be said to be a coincidence. Even the local people knew that the army was about to change their guards, and they had to move immediately, otherwise they would be invaded by Xirong. This, if you say that there is no cat in it, he will not believe it. And the information he received also showed clues that the defenders on this side seemed to have reached some agreement with Xirong's side. As long as they do not hinder Xirong's harassment, they can get cattle, sheep, female slaves, etc., sent by Xirong, so that they can repay their merits to the imperial court. How much loot was gained from the battle with Sijon. This made Xia Ci extremely angry. It turns out that Wang Mingyuan's military exploits came from this, and Zheng Shengquan is really the same as Zheng Shengquan. And this western town, unlike the prosperity of other places, caught his attention here. Maybe there will be a stronghold of the Sijon people. Otherwise, every time Xijon intrudes, why does he treat this side preferentially? Moreover, it is not far from Xijing, if you choose to trade on both sides, this side is indeed very good, and the geographical location is preferred. So, he decided to set it up here first. Therefore, when Shen Rong accidentally proposed to rest here, Xia Ci nodded happily and agreed.

"Princess, what does the prince of the Xia Dynasty mean? Knowing that this place is about to enter Xijing, there will be spies from Xirong, and they still want to stay here. Wouldn't he have the same connection with the Great Khan of Xirong as the Great General of Zhenxi? "The guards around Princess Ziyan were very angry after knowing Xia Ci's decision, he felt that Xia Ci was simply ignoring Ziyan's safety, and only knew that he would blindly pamper his princess." It's all the princess who gets in the way. She mingled with the shepherds on the road all the way, maybe King Chen deliberately let her go out in the wind. This time, it was she who proposed to stay here, and her subordinates felt that this princess was very suspicious. Otherwise, the subordinates solved this trouble? "He finally said what he had been thinking about for a long time." Don't act rashly without my orders. That princess didn't know my identity at all, how could she deliberately reveal my whereabouts? Don't make too much trouble. Hearing his words, Ziyan refused sharply. Now that King Chen is of great use to us, besides, he is still my savior, how can you dispose of his princess at will? If you act rashly, it will only ruin my great affairs. When the guard heard Ziyan say this, he had to nod helplessly. Secretly, he still wants to convince the princess, then he must find evidence that the princess is unfavorable to the princess. Therefore, he carried the purple smoke on his back and sent additional people to pay close attention to Shen Rong's every move.

Receiving the approval of the summer, Shen Rong was very happy. She walked with the multilingual servant woman with the green stripe to the busiest streets of Westtown. Behind her, there are guards secretly sent by Xia Ci to escort her. The people in the northwest are fierce and welcoming, and this is a place where ethnic minorities live, and the atmosphere is far more open than the inland of the Great Xia Dynasty. The goods in the markets are also far different from those in the interior, with the most common livestock such as cattle and sheep, as well as elaborate felt blankets, wool-woven scarves, and exotic silks. The colors are gorgeous, the patterns are novel, and in terms of fun and chic, they are no worse than those in the hinterland. Shen Rong wandered around with relish, and from time to time asked the servant woman to translate for her, and to buy her favorite items from the enthusiastic vendors. She not only bought a lot of novelty clothes, but also bought a lot of local specialties and fruits, such as honeydew melons, grapes and so on. I only walked around until my feet were sore, and the green veins and the accompanying people couldn't hold it in their hands, so I was still ready to go back. In the same way, while Shen Rong was curious about the customs of the people in the northwest, those merchants were also full of curiosity about this beautiful and noble-looking Han woman. From time to time, people point fingers at them, and even talk to each other. Shen Rong ignored these things, but Greenvein felt uncomfortable. kept urging Shen Rong to go back quickly: "Princess, let's go back quickly!" You see, there are not many Han people on this street. The foreigners looked weird and scary. Shen Rong didn't think about it and said, "What's this?" I have read the geographical records of Bactria and found that the northwest was originally inhabited by a mixture of various ethnic groups, and although those foreigners were not Han Chinese, they were actually the people of Bactria . I'm going to stay here for a long time. Naturally, you need to know more about the customs and folklore here. If even these ordinary people are afraid of it, then I might as well go back to Beijing as soon as possible. Greenvein listened to what she said, so he didn't say more, and accompanied her around.

They spun around. was about to go back, when a girl suddenly ran out of the street corner, rushed over in a hurry, and hit her head in Shen Rong's arms. "Who? Why don't you look at the road? Green Stripe was afraid that she would bump into Shen Rong, so she couldn't help but step forward and scold. The girl looked panicked. Seeing someone scolding, he quickly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. It's just that she said a word, and Shen Rong and Green Stripe couldn't understand a word. The servant woman hurriedly said to Shen Rong: "Princess Qiyu, this girl is from Xirong, and she speaks the language of Xirong. Shen Rong looked at the girl who was kneeling on the ground with tears on her face, and said, "What did she say?" Tell me one sentence at a time. The servant woman said, "She said that she did not want to be a military slave, and hoped that the nobles would take her in." Shen Rongqi said: "What is a military slave?" When was there also slaves in the army? ”

The servant woman shook her head, puzzled, and then asked the girl in Sijon: "What do you mean by a slave?" There don't seem to be military slaves in the army of the Xia Dynasty? How did you get here? Don't you know that this is the territory of the Xia Dynasty? The girl cried and said a great deal of things. The speed of speech is urgent and fast. Shen Rong and the others couldn't hear her words clearly, and they couldn't understand them, but the servant woman looked more and more annoyed when she heard it, and shook her head again and again. After the girl finished speaking, she said to Shen Rong angrily: "The Xirong people are cruel to people from other countries, and they are so cruel to their own people!" The girl's father went out to fight with the leader of their tribe, and when he lost the battle, her father was seriously wounded, and the leader did not say that her father was ineffective in fighting and was too merciful to the enemy. This led to failure, so she had to be used as a slave and sent to the Xia Dynasty. As a prisoner of war slave girl. The more Shen Rong listened, the more curious she became, and said, "When did the Xirong people talk so well." Will you take the initiative to send slaves to us? It's unheard of. They were still talking, but suddenly they heard someone shouting: "She's over there, go over there, catch her!" A group of sergeants rushed straight at them. The girl had a panicked look on her face, hugged Shen Rong's calf, and sobbed in a low voice. Shen Rong saw this. I know that those people are coming for this girl. In a hurry, I remembered the instructions that Xia Ci had given to her before leaving. Take out an iron whistle and blow it vigorously. Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded on the ground, and the crowd on the street was suddenly chaotic. All the people were scurrying around like headless flies, including the sergeant, who had changed their previous arrogant attitude, and fled through the streets in fear like lost dogs. "The Xijon people are coming, everyone flee!" In the midst of a cry, Shen Rong finally knew the meaning of the iron whistle in her hand. "The Xijon people are coming, everyone flee!" It turned out that this whistle was a signal for the Sijon to raid. No wonder everyone panicked. She couldn't help but be angry and funny. This summer, is there a trick like him? also said that she blew this whistle when she was in danger, but it turned out that she was a fox on the street? It's just that now that the streets are in chaos, how is she going to go back?

Hearing Shen Rong blow the whistle, the girl's face changed suddenly. Looking at Shen Rong's smiling expression, she was very surprised. Shen Rong looked into her eyes and said firmly: "If you believe me, follow me." The girl didn't know whether she understood Shen Rong's words, or understood the meaning in Shen Rong's eyes, nodded at Shen Rong, and obediently stood behind Shen Rong. Princess, please follow me! A moment after Shen Rong blew the whistle, Yan Zhen, the personal guard given by the summer, appeared beside her.

Shen Rong and his party followed Yan Zhen, turned left and right all the way, and quickly returned to their station. Seeing Shen Rong come back with an embarrassed face and bring back an alien girl, Xia Ci was a little surprised and a little strange: "Why did the princess go out shopping and buy someone back?" Are there not enough people to serve us here? Then don't be in such a hurry, when you get to Xijing, you can pick someone. Now we have to travel light. Shen Rong was about to say something, when suddenly, someone rushed over and stabbed the trembling girl with a sword: "Are you a spy sent by the Great Khan?" I'll kill you first! The cold light of the blade of the sword pressed against the girl's neck, and the girl was about to splatter blood on the spot. When did Shen Rong see this kind of posture, she screamed in fright and fainted. Suddenly fell into the arms of the summer ci. But when he heard the sound of the gong, Yan Qing's knife caught the sword: "Presumptuous, the prince and the princess are here, how can they dance the sword and play the sword at will?" Then I heard the sound of swords clashing. After I don't know how long, she felt a warm big hand pat her head: "Rong'er, don't be afraid." There was no killing. Only then did she realize that she didn't know when, she had hidden in Xia Ci's arms. And at this moment, he comforted her, as if he was comforting the frightened cat at home. couldn't help but be ashamed and unconvinced: "I'm not afraid, I'm that they are suddenly unaccustomed to this." As he spoke, he struggled to get up from his arms. Xia Ci smiled evilly and said, "The ground is full of blood, are you sure you want to see it?" Hearing this, Shen Rong hurriedly closed her eyes again and said, "I haven't seen blood!" I'm afraid! Xia Ci smiled, patted her on the head, and said, "A child who tells the truth is a good child." Well, they're all gone. You can tell me now what's going on, right? You've made a lot of noise when you're shopping! Shen Rong breathed a sigh of relief, drank the convulsive tea that Xia Ci handed her casually, and then told Xia Ci about the girl's origin. In the end, he said, "That girl is actually quite pitiful." Even though she's from Sijon, you'd better not embarrass her! Xia Ci took a deep look at her and said: "The Xirong people came to our Great Xia Dynasty to burn, kill, and plunder, and did all kinds of evil, she is a Xirong person, you don't hate her?" Shen Rong shook her head and said, "She's just an ordinary person in Xirong, and it's not something she wants to do evil." Why should I hate her? Her father had already been badly injured by the war, and she was a poor victim. Xia Ci nodded when he heard this, and said, "I didn't expect Rong'er that you have lived in the boudoir for a long time, and you still have such open-mindedness, which is not simple." Shen Rong said: "I have been studying with my father since I was a child, and I still know some about right and wrong, good and evil in this world. Since ancient times, the rise and fall have alternated, and it is the people of Li who suffer. Like the war at this pass, the root cause is the result of the ambition of the lord of Nasilon and the wolf, who is unwilling to live in a corner. Xia Ci listened to her seriously, and did not interrupt her, but listened to her continue to say: "The prince is coming to guard the northwest now, and I will definitely do my best to help the prince." I hope that peace can be brought to peace here as soon as possible, and the people of both countries will not suffer from war again. But the lord of the kingdom of Sijon was so hateful that he did not care at all about the life or death of his own people. It's better to change its lord. I couldn't help but sigh secretly, how could I say that the beautiful daughter-in-law was about to say her goal? (To be continued.) )

PS: Encourage me, everyone!