Zhang Fu approached Zhu Qizhen and said in a low voice: "This matter is quite strange," seeing that the emperor's face was solemn, he motioned for him to continue, and said: "The cavalry of the Tartars come and go like the wind, and they can avoid the many border guards of my Ming Dynasty, so they must be well aware of my Ming military deployment." ”

"That makes sense," Zhu Qizhen bowed slightly, "This is my Ming Dynasty's high-level secret, and I will definitely find out thoroughly when I go back." ”

"Also," Zhang Fu continued, "The territory outside the Saiwai is vast and barren, and the Tartars live in pursuit of water and grass, and have no fixed place to live. This matter also needs to be investigated. ”

"What Lao Aiqing said is reasonable." Zhu Qizhen gradually calmed down, and the anger on his face faded a lot.

"Your Majesty," Zhang Fuyan was still unfinished, "after you return to Beijing, you still have to treat the members of the Tartar delegation with courtesy, and you must not be rash and lock them up or kill them." ”

"Why?" Zhu Qizhen raised his eyebrows, "They despise me so much and tease Yu I, do I still want to treat them like guests?" ”

"Your Majesty ......" Zhang Fu sighed, "Killing a few envoys has nothing to do with the overall situation, and it also superficializes the contradictions in the secret, which outweighs the losses." The emperor, who can endure the anger of the moment and wait for the big move in the future, is to destroy Wu and the Tang Emperor to break the Turkic way! Now the military forces of the imperial court are mainly deployed in the southwest Luchuan, and it is really beyond their power to provoke the border at this time! ”

Zhu Qizhen's face flushed, his fists clenched, and he exhaled silently for a long time, and his sharp eyes became dazed.

Zhang Fu saw his expression change, and his nervous mood finally eased. For a young man with strong blood, forbearance is the most uncomfortable, if he can pass this hurdle, how can the entire empire survive a catastrophe!

The carriage Yang Muyun was riding in was driving on the winding mountain road, and his mood fluctuated with the bumps of the carriage. It was getting dark, the rain was still falling, and he reached out of the car window to feel the cold rain pouring his anxious mood. Maybe by this time tomorrow, he has already crossed the pass of the Great Wall and is in the grassland outside the Saiwai. The arrow wound on his shoulder was still tingling, but he didn't find it as unbearable as his previous injuries.

The ordnance materials smuggled away by Yuan Qi'er not only failed to be recovered, but he was imprisoned, and in addition to being melancholy, he was also deeply shocked by Yuan Qi'er's careful arrangement and the bravery of the Mongolian cavalry. Although Yuan Qi'er is a woman, her mind is changeable and decisive, that is, many men are ashamed of it, in this battle of wit, Yang Muyun feels that she has been leading away, and wants to disrupt her layout, but she is always half a beat slow.

He sighed and leaned against the window to look out the mountains in the distance, dotted with lights. Is it Starlight? He looked up at the dark sky, which was dull. It's someone, Yang Muyun's eyes lit up, he didn't expect that there were people in this mountain......

......

A fast horse crossed the blue-gray mountain path and came to the front of Ashi Timur and Yuan Qi'er, and with a pull of the horse's reins, the horse under his crotch neighed lightly, and stopped the galloping four hooves.

"What's up ahead?" Yuan Qi'er asked.

"Second prince, county lord." The knight on the horse bowed and saluted: "There is no trace of the Ming army on the road ahead, but there is a village in the open valley ahead. ”

"Oh," Yuan Qi'er raised her eyebrows, "what a big village is it, and how many people are there?" ”

"My subordinates roughly counted the lights on, and there were 134 households in total." The knight said.

"One hundred and thirty-four households, that is, there are five or six hundred people in this village." Yuan Qi'er glanced at Ah Lost Timur.

"It's only five or six hundred," Timur snorted softly, "I'll take a thousand men around me and arrest them all first." ”

"Second brother," Yuan Qi'er rolled her eyes, "This time, I will lead the team over, you can just take care of these carts and camels." ”

"Are you afraid I'm going to kill them all?" Ayu Timur sneered.

"Second brother," Yuan Qi'er said with a somewhat complicated expression: "As a woman, I, Qiqike, rarely have the opportunity to lead troops, can you give me a chance this time?" ”

Seeing a hint of pleading in her eyes, Timur's heart softened, "If you like it, then you can go, let Nachar follow you, he has been ......in battle for a long time."

"Second brother," Yuan Qi'er smiled, "I've been away all year round, when have I ever been worried?" ”

Lost Timur closed his mouth, and he suddenly realized that his concern for his sister seemed so superfluous.

......

"Are you going out?" Yang Muyun saw that Zi Su had changed into men's clothes and quipped.

"Yuan Gongzi invited Shi Ling'er to accompany him to explore the way in front," Zi Su's beautiful eyes glanced at his husband, "Shi Ling'er asked me if I would ...... go"

"You promised him, didn't you?" Yang Muyun said with a smile.

"Isn't it enough to have Sister Chen with you?" Shisu smiled at his gaze, "I'm clumsy, and I'm not good at waiting." ”

Chen Siyu couldn't help but blush when he heard it next to him, and he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

"Don't forget, you are my wife," Yang Muyun seemed to remind her, "I don't accompany my husband, but I run around with other men." He said this, but there was no trace of annoyance on his face.

"If you really thought I was your wife, you wouldn't even touch me......" Seeing Chen Siyu present, it was inappropriate to say this after all, and her pretty face turned red. I changed my clothes and jumped out of the car.

Seeing her graceful and slender figure disappear into the rain, Yang Muyun just smiled slightly, not angry at all.

"You...... Don't you really care at all? Chen Siyu asked strangely.

"Of course I care," Yang Muyun said lightly: "I'm her husband after all......" glanced at Chen Siyu, "But I care more about whether she is happy or not, she and the national teacher are just friends, you can't tie her firmly to me because of unwarranted speculation!" ”

"The relationship between the husband and wife is a little different," Chen Siyu said in his heart, "What does Zisu mean when he says that Mu Yun doesn't touch her?" Her beautiful eyes glanced at him, and when she saw that he looked calm, she felt that this was a private matter between husband and wife after all, and it was really difficult to say what she asked.

The night has completely covered the land, and the rain has gradually stopped, except for the occasional thin rain on people's faces, which makes people feel itchy. A cavalry marched along the mountain trail for about half an hour, only to feel that Huo Ran was cheerful, and a large mountain valley appeared in front of everyone. In the valley, lights are dotted among them, like swarms of flying fireflies.

"County Lord, do you need your subordinates to bring people into the village now?" The commander of the Thousand Commanders, who was standing beside Yuan Qi'er, asked.

"Don't act rashly yet," Yuan Qi'er muttered for a moment and said, "You can just take someone to fence the village, remember, don't alarm the villagers." Yuan Qi'er admonished.

"Yes, my subordinates understand." The commander put his finger to his lips and whistled, and the cavalry behind him divided into two groups and marched forward against the edge of the mountain.

"National teacher, Mrs. Yang," Yuan Qi'er smiled at Shakya Gyaltsen and Zisu, "Let's go into the village now to find out, how about it?" ”

"Please go first," Shakya Gyaltsen said, "the deity and Lady Shisu are behind you." ”

......

It is a very ordinary mountain village, and the village is surrounded by cultivated fields. The rain has stopped, and everything is extraordinarily quiet, so that people can clearly hear the sound of insects in the fields.

The three of them rode on horseback and walked on the field, feeling this different style.

There was no starlight in the dark night sky, so the lights in the mountain village were unusually bright.

The horse walked quietly, and suddenly there was a "bang" sound, and the horse was startled, and the "sigh rhythm" raised its front hooves.

Yuan Qi'er was startled, and her gaze swept forward. I only heard a clear child's cry of "wow", and a small black shadow jumped up from the field and ran towards the village.

"Who?" Yuan Qi'er jumped off the horse, chased after him and stopped in front of the little black shadow.

The black shadow cried even louder, and simply sat on the ground.

"It's a child," Yuan Qi'er was surprised in her heart, "why are there children playing in the fields at night?" The voice just now...... Could it be a firecracker? But now it's not a New Year's holiday, how can there be children setting off firecrackers outside the village? Just as he was thinking, he saw a large black figure running over with a lantern.

"Brother, so you're here." Carrying the lantern was a boy of eleven or twelve, who was happy when he saw the little black shadow sitting on the ground, and hurriedly ran up

Go and lift him up.

It was a seven or eight-year-old child, and I saw him sobbing and pointing at Yuan Qi'er and saying, "He...... He bullied me. ”

"You...... Who are you? The older boy also saw Yuan Qi'er and his party, he had never seen anyone, and he was scared, so he took a few steps back.

"Little brother, don't be afraid!" Yuan Qi'er beckoned to him, then took out a few pieces of snacks from her arms and handed them to the child.

The boy shook his head and didn't reach for it, still looking scared on his face. The younger child who was crying just now hid behind him, and he didn't even dare to show his head.

"Little brother, I'm not a bad person." Yuan Qi'er smiled at him, "I'm a merchant passing through here, and I arrived here because the trip was delayed due to rain, can you take me to meet the adults of your family?" ”

The boy tilted his head to look at her carefully, then looked behind her, and Shisu and Shakya Gyaltsen dismounted and walked over. Zisu looked extremely handsome when she changed into men's clothes, and the boy couldn't help but look at her a few more times, but Shakya Gyaltsen was dressed quite strangely, which made the boy look surprised.

"Is he with you, too?" The boy pointed to Shakya Gyaltsen and asked, "What a strange dress he is wearing." ”

"Oh," Yuan Qi'er glanced at Shakya Gyaltsen and explained, "He came from a far away place, so he wears different clothes from us, but I can guarantee that he is also a good person, and we are all good people," she smiled and took the boy's little hand and put the snack in his hand, "Now, you can lead us to meet your adults, right?" ”

The boy looked at her, then at the snack in his hand, lowered his head and sniffed, and grinned, "Come with me!" As he spoke, he carried a lantern in one hand and picked up his younger brother in the other, and ran towards the village in a hurry......

"What day is it and why are you setting off firecrackers outside?" Yuan Qi'er asked while leading the horse behind.

"Today is the day of great joy for Aunt Cuiyun and Uncle Xiwang, and the whole village has come to celebrate them," the boy said as he walked, "The scene was lively, firecrackers were being set off everywhere, and my brother and I wanted to release it, but my mother didn't let me, so I stole half of it, and my brother and I secretly ran outside to release it, who knew that I met you......"

As he was talking, he saw the lantern flickering in front of him, and several adult figures ran towards him.

"It's my father, and my second uncle." The boy rejoiced. Waving his little hand, he shouted from afar: "Dad, second uncle, we are here ......"

The adults came to them in an instant.

"Stinky boy, where did you go?" A middle-aged man was first overjoyed when he saw the child, and then said angrily: "You don't say a word when you come out, but your mother is in a hurry." ”

"Dad, don't be angry," the boy pretended to be pitiful, "I put a few firecrackers outside with my brother, and we didn't run ......far."

"I'll settle accounts with you when I go back," the middle-aged man said viciously, and when he saw Yuan Qi'er and his party behind the child, he couldn't help but take a step back and said in surprise: "Who are you?" ”

"Big brother, don't be afraid," Yuan Qi'er stepped forward and bowed, "We are doing business abroad, but unfortunately it rained heavily and the road was muddy and difficult to walk, so we came here, and I asked my eldest brother to make it convenient." As he spoke, he took out a handful of copper coins and shoved them into his hand.

"No, no," the middle-aged man refused, "since you are passing by us, come with me to see our patriarch, and let the patriarch settle you." ”

Yuan Qi'er and the three of them followed them to the village, only to see that the lights in the village were bright, and the sound of firecrackers was the same as that of the New Year.

"I heard that there are people in the village who have a happy event, right?" Yuan Qi'er asked.

"But it's not," the middle-aged man said with a happy face: "The son of our patriarch's family, Xiwang, is holding a happy event today, and the whole village comes to his house to celebrate, can it not be lively?" ”

"Oh," Yuan Qi'er smiled: "That's really a coincidence, I don't know what it's called here, your patriarch has a big name?" ”

"You say our village," the middle-aged man said: "Our village is called Liuyinggou, most of the people in the village are surnamed Liu, our patriarch is called Liu Daquan, his son is called Liu Xiwang, and my name is Liu Ershun." The family surnamed Li, who married our patriarch, moved from outside more than ten years ago, and his daughter's name is Li Cuiyun. That girl gave birth, not to mention how watery......" The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he almost danced with his hands.

"Is it your custom here to do happy things in the evening?" Yuan Qi'er asked again.