At the junction of Haoguo and the Northland Grassland is a large river, the water of which is formed by the melting of ice and snow on the top of the mountain in the far north, and gathers little by little, forming a winding river at the foot of the mountain. This river is called Liujing River, because the river water is often accompanied by ice on the mountain, and was named by the current Emperor Hao.

The river is very cold, with the coldness of ice and snow, which makes people shiver. At the same time, the river water is also very clear, so clear that you can see the bottom of the mountain rocks that have been smoothed out of the edges and corners, it does not have a trace of turbidity, like the sky in the north, clean and cheerful.

White clouds, this is the middle of June, although it is not the hottest day of the year, but it has long been like a steamer in Haoguo. On the other hand, the Northland Grassland is not so sultry at all, but the sun is a little scorching, shining on people, and after a long time, you will feel a slight tingle.

The wind is howling, and the cheerful prairie wind comes from the east, galloping on the endless grassland. There are many flowers on the grassland, such as Gesang flower, Ma Lanhua, and wolf poison flower...... Their vitality is tenacious, and the manic steppe winds cannot destroy their fragile bodies. The flowers on the grassland are also very monotonous, and only these can withstand the strong winds to survive, although there are also a few that survive in the lush pastures or under the protection of stones of different shapes.

Rao is so, their lives are short, the horses will appear at any time, and the stones do not know when they will disappear. Xu knew that his time was short, so he tried his best to open up, and the white miserable color was particularly prominent on the cyan grassland.

The wind was very strong this year, and Rao had shelter, and these fragile flowers were still blown apart. However, in recent days, there has been no threat of herding horses.

Since Anamzar began his plan to unite the grasslands, there are many missing horses on the huge grasslands. The people of all tribes have shrunk into a group, and the range of grazing has been much less, and some have even gone into hiding. Especially a few days ago, even the Heshute tribe was defeated by Anamzar, and its khan died in the night attack.

I have to say that Anamzar's action did deter the rest of the tribes in the grassland, afraid of the strength of the former, more than a dozen tribes surrendered within a few days, except for the remaining few, but they are all unranked tribes, for Anamzar, those tribes are dispensable, so they don't care.

As a result, after months of chaos, the grassland returned to calm again, but this time the calm was not really calm. After integrating most of the grassland, Anamzar ordered the cattle and sheep of all tribes to be slaughtered, and then left behind the supplies that could not be taken away, and disappeared into the grassland after a night.

This is peace, but peace without people.

At this time, it was the beginning of the day, the sky was overshadowed, and the east was white, gradually bringing light.

On the empty grassland, there were two people wrapped in thick clothes, and they went all the way forward against the whistling wind. Under their feet was a thick grass, and in front of them was the great river that came from the top of the mountain, and beyond them was a gray-white city.

It is the border city of Haoguo, the first pass that divides the north and Hao, Shanhaiguan.

The man walking in front glanced at the city in the distance, and his face showed a touch of comfort. The two of them were the current khan of the Heshute tribe who escaped from the Heshute tribe that night, Luogu Danor, and his only retinue, Xiang'emur.

When the Heshute tribe came out of the mountains, they settled not far from the mountains. It's nostalgia. The mountain was far away from Shanhaiguan, so the two of them walked for more than ten days before they arrived. Along the way, there were no horses, all on foot, during which the two did not know how many pairs of leather boots they had broken, but fortunately there were supplies left by other tribes when they left along the way.

"Adu, work harder, we're about to arrive." Xiang Emur took a sip of ice water, raised his head and pointed not far away with a smile, and said.

Adu is the younger brother. Although he was granted the position of Khan of the Heshute Department by Pundakor, he still called it that.

"Oh." The Luo Gu Dan Erer behind him answered, and was about to take a step, when he suddenly saw a certain white in the grass in front of him. He crouched down, brushed aside the lush grass, and saw the source of white in the depths.

It was a freshly blooming white wildflower, he couldn't name it, but he thought it was as beautiful as the white of Alanazar in their tribe.

"Adu, don't look at it." Xiang Ermur shouted, so frightened that Luo Gu Dan Erer subconsciously twitched.

A strong grassland wind swept in, and when it landed, the wildflowers, which had no lush pasture protection, were instantly blown away in front of Luogu Danor, and the white miserable petals rolled away with the wind, and disappeared in only a moment.

Luo Gu Dan Erer looked at the dilapidated flower branches in front of him, sighed, and stood up helplessly. These are not the flowers of the grassland, they are indeed fragile and cannot withstand the ravages of strong winds.

He shook his head, wrapped his beard tightly, and glanced at the pass in the distance, more than ten days, so that the face of this grassland boy who was only sixteen years old had a little more vicissitudes, and his eyebrows and eyes were full of heroism. He pressed down the felt hat on his head and said, "Let's go, Aha." ”

In front, there is Shanhaiguan; In front, there is Nan Haoguo; In front of them is the place where they have been driving for more than ten days.

……

In the summer of the sixth year of Haoli, this is the time of the year when the sun is at its peak. Sixty years ago, the Empress Dowager Haoguo was born in this world, and sixty years later, this woman ushered in the most important birthday in her life.

In the past 60 years, she has witnessed the prosperity of Haoguo from prosperity to decline, and then from decline to prosperity.

The Empress Dowager Haoguo is birthday banquet is not only a birthday banquet, but also an opportunity to promote the national prestige. For more than ten years, Haoguo has been in the development stage, and today's Haoguo is the strongest time in the past ten years. Haoguo can be strong today, not only because of the ministers in the court, but also because of the soldiers who guard the frontier all year round.

The Queen Mother's birthday banquet, the soldiers could not participate, for this reason, Emperor Hao specially sent condolences, tasting wine, rare fruits...... Transported to the border, it is mainly transported to two places, one is the Zhenzhou Pass in the west, and the other is the Shanhaiguan near the grassland.

On this day, the convoy full of royal condolences rushed to the entrance of Shanhaiguan and entered the customs amid the cheers of the soldiers.

The general soldier of Shanhaiguan is surnamed Lin, and he returned to his hometown a few months ago, but now it is not a few generals under him who are in charge, but a guerrilla general under him, whose surname is Zhang and his name is Neke.

Zhang Neike has stayed in Biansai all the year round, and for more than ten years, he has made countless military exploits, and naturally became the person in charge of Shanhaiguan today. Moreover, his father is a general in Jingshi, and he is from a family of generals, so he is naturally much more majestic than the other generals around him.

"General Zhang." The official in charge of transporting the condolences stepped forward with his fists clenched and said to Zhang Neike, who came to greet him.

This official is from the Ministry of War and is another squire of the Ministry of War. In the same way, he is also a member of the army, so when he receives this errand, he will inevitably feel a little excited. Especially when I saw this God of War general galloping through the northern frontier.

"Lord Xin." Zhang Neike walked out of the general's mansion quickly, hurried all the way here, jumped off the horse, and returned the salute with his fists in return.

He had already received the news of the condolences, and the whole of the Guannai were also looking at the royal condolences, which were imperial wines, and countless rare fruits, which they had never seen. In addition to being born in Jiangmen, he tasted it a few times at home. But after so many years, he has been plugging on the sidelines, and he has long forgotten what it tastes like, so after learning the news, he was also very excited.

Xin Shilang waved his hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to put down the condolences, then turned around, looked at Zhang Neike, and smiled: "General Lao Zhang came out to greet him, and he really can't afford it." ”

"Lord Xin has come all the way to our barren land, and Zhang should come out to greet him." Zhang Neike arched his hand and smiled heartily. He looked at Xin Youwei's face, which was full of tiredness, this journey of a thousand miles was not easy, and it was with royal condolences, the hardships can be imagined. He sighed, and then said, "Lord Xin is not far away, it is better to rest in the pass for a few days, and when you recover, it is not too late to go back." ”

Xin Youwei glanced around, there were people who came and went carrying condolences, including soldiers, thousands of households, hundreds of households, and even generals. Their identities are different, but their faces are full of joy. The arrival of the royal condolences let them know that His Majesty the Emperor who was far away in the capital had not forgotten their existence, and it was a great honor for Rao to remember them on the birthday of the Queen Mother. Although it was not any gold or silver jewelry. They don't know that those useless objects, good wine and food, are the key.

The soldiers of the border fortress have no big ambitions, just so that the emperor can remember them, and the people of Haoguo can remember them. Such a thought, simple to the extreme.

Looking at these people, Xin Youwei smiled with satisfaction, although he was thousands of miles away, he was happy to see the princes like this.

"You Wei also wants to stay here for a few days, I have been in the Beijing division for a long time, but I miss the days in the army." Xin Youwei sighed, his slightly wrinkled face full of regret. He continued: "It's a pity that the military department is busy, and after sending these things, I have to go back, and I really can't stay for a few more days. ”

Indeed, Xin Youwei really couldn't stay longer. Recently, the Ministry of War is making a big plan, and they need to deal with the movement from the north and west. He also wanted to stay and miss his former life, but it was a pity that he ...... He smiled: "Xin came here for two things, one is to send His Majesty's condolences, and the other is for the personnel changes in Shanhaiguan. ”

After listening to Xin Youwei's words, Zhang Neke's face did not change, the position of the general army of Shanhaiguan has been lacking for a long time, the country cannot be without an army for a day, and the customs cannot be without a general army for a day. Although he is now in charge of Shanhaiguan, he is always in a bad name, and if he is not right, he will not be good.