At Kuizhou Wharf, a merchant ship has just dropped sail and anchored. Wine is abundant here, and sailors are invited to go ashore to drink. After Kuizhou, it is the Three Gorges, the river flows slowly downstream, after this gentle river, the cliffs on both sides, the river flow will suddenly accelerate, like thousands of rushing fierce horses rushing out of the shackles of the mountains of Shu in one fell swoop, flowing thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River.

"Mrs. Zhao, take a rest in Kuizhou, the Ming Dynasty has raised its sails and passed through the Three Gorges to the Song Realm."

"If you don't stop, you can go back to Guizhou before sunset," said Sima Zhangding apologetically, "but the sailors on the ship will normally stop at Kuizhou for one night, drink some Zhuangxing wine, and cross the Three Gorges early tomorrow morning." He was ordered to go to Ezhou to assist Zhao De in his errands, and escorted General Zhao's family to the south by the way, and they were very familiar with each other for a month.

"It's okay," Li Ruoxue said with a smile, "When I was young, I read the words of the bamboo branches, 'The mountains on both sides of the strait are like snow blooming, and the spring wine of every house is full of silver cups.'" ''The east of the bridge and the west of the bridge are good willows, and people come and go to sing. I was very fascinated by the scenery and people of Kuizhou. Thank you, General Zhang. She stood up and blessed herself.

Zhang Ding hurriedly turned sideways and said, "Mrs. Zhao doesn't want to see outside." He paused and pointed to both sides of the river: "It's a pity that the flowering season has passed." If it was two months earlier, the mountains would be full of white flowers, so good-looking. Although Kuizhou is a remote place, it is much richer than the ordinary state capital. Whether the goods in Shu are sold down the river to the southeast, or the goods of the Song Kingdom go up the Shuojiang River, those who take this waterway must settle down here to rest. ”

He briefly introduced several scenic spots in Kuizhou, then retired, and took the marching document to the road Cao Post Station to report.

Li Ruoxue took her two children to relax on the dock, she grew up in the north, and it was the first time she had sat on a boat for so long, but everywhere she went, the scenery and people were different, and she was not depressed. The wharf was bustling with people, hurried merchants, hawkers along the streets, and mercenaries carrying parcels. Suddenly smelling a fragrant fragrance, Li Ruoxue turned her head, a girl in a white linen skirt was walking in the crowd with a bundle of white flowers in her hand, and when she saw Li Ruoxue looking over, she asked with a smile: "Madam, do you want to buy flowers?" ”

Li Ruoxue loves all kinds of flowers and plants, and when she sees that these flowers are white and fragrant, she likes them in her heart. As she picked it out, she asked, "I haven't seen this flower before, what's its name?" She chose a bouquet of buds that were still in it, and prepared to keep them in the cabin with clean water, which had some fragrance.

"Madame is from Guanzhong, right?" The girl who sold flowers blinked her eyes and said, "This is a gardenia, which is inserted in a bottle at home, and the fragrance does not disperse for a long time. Have you ever heard, 'There are flowers that can be broken straight and must be broken, don't wait for no flowers to break the branches'. There was pride in her eyes, and there was a hint of simplicity in her poetry.

Li Ruoxue likes her conversational temperament, and said with a smile: "This flower really doesn't exist in my hometown." The girl took out two bamboo folding fans from the fine white burlap bag she was carrying: "It's hot, do you want to buy a fan?" "The folding fan is made of bamboo branches, and the fan bones are speckled with purple, snow-white, and red.

When Li Ruoxue saw it, she unfolded the fan and made it small, delicate, and she liked it, and asked, "Did you make it yourself?" What kind of bamboo is used for this? The girl was also willing to talk to her more, and said with a smile: "This bamboo branch is also not available in Guanzhong, this is Xiangfei bamboo." In her mind, Guanzhong is the most prosperous and wealthy place in the world, which is not in Guanzhong, which is enough to be proud.

"Xiangfei bamboo?" Li Ruoxue's eyes darkened slightly, "It turns out that this is Xiangfei Bamboo." She returned the fan to the girl, did not buy it, and paid for a bunch of gardenias.

"A-Niang," Zhao Zhuo held a gardenia branch in his hand and asked tenderly, "What is Xiangfei bamboo?" ”

"Xiangfei bamboo," Li Ruoxue bowed her head and replied, "The legend is that Da Shun's wife misses her husband and tears into the spotted bamboo." Her voice gradually lowered, "Spotted bamboo branches, spotted bamboo branches, tear stains are a little bit of lovesickness." Chu Ke wants to listen to Yaoqin's grievances, and Xiaoxiang ...... late at night when the moon is bright"

In the post station of Cao on the road, Zhang Ding handed over the papers, and when waiting for the seal for customs defense, Zhang Ding sat in the aisle of the post station, picked up a copy of today's military newspaper casually, and before he could read it, an officer with a stern face walked in front of him, holding the customs clearance document in his hand, and asked: "Zhang Sima?" ”

Zhang Ding was stunned for a moment, closed the military newspaper, stood up and said, "It's Zhang Ding, what's the matter?" ”

The officer shook the clearance document and whispered, "Please follow me." Zhang Ding was puzzled, and followed him into a room, and there was no one else left and right, and the military official said: "There is something wrong in the east, and Mrs. Zhao can't let me go." He paused for a moment, and then said, "Sima Zhang is in a hurry about military affairs, I can give you a separate customs clearance document, and General Zhao's family will be taken care of by him." Wait for the decision above. His voice was flat, as if he were talking about such a trivial matter.

"Who is the honorable driver?" Zhang Ding's face sank, and he asked: "When I set off from Chang'an, one of my duties was to escort General Zhao's family to Ezhou safely. Forgive me for being stupid, if there is no military order from the military government, I will not hand over General Zhao's family to you. He looked at the officer with a wary look on his face.

"This is a military order from the Department of Military Intelligence." The officer handed over a piece of paper.

Zhang Ding took it and saw that it was the order of the Military Intelligence Department to let Zhao Xingde's family go to Kuizhou and hand it over to someone to take care of him. Zhang Ding read it twice, carefully read the imprint, returned the general's order to the officer, his face was even more gloomy, and he shouted: "General Zhao is the long history of my marching department, take care of his dependents, and don't need to fake the military intelligence department." Without the government decree of the five governments, I will never agree. He placed his left hand on the hilt of the horizontal knife. There is a senior from the marching division who is stationed in Kuizhou. Although the marching Sima was in the general's mansion, he took turns to be the commander of the army and the staff of military affairs. If the Military Intelligence Department wanted to use strength, he would take General Zhao's family to live in the Kuizhou military camp.

Zhang Ding's reaction was expected by the officers of the Military Intelligence Department.

"Since Sima Zhang stayed in Kuizhou to take care of it, there is no need to do it again. The safety of General Zhao's family is very important, and during this time, he will take care of it in Kuizhou. By the way, in Xia Lin Xiu, the coming day is long, if necessary, Zhang Sima can go to the seventh room of the post station to find me. The Qu Mi Chun and Zhu Ye Qing wines here are good, and you have a chance to drink them together? He smiled slightly, put the general's order away, and turned around politely and pointed to a room inside, "If Sima Zhang wants to report to General Zhang, the pigeon house is over there." He paused and reminded, "By the way, General Zhang hasn't read today's military report, right?" He bowed, turned and walked out.

"Hiding the head and revealing the tail, yin and yang weird."

Zhang Ding walked out of the door and walked towards the pigeon house according to Lin Xiu's instructions. The Military Intelligence Department dared to order the detention of the family members of the officers of the Military Intelligence Department, and the matter was so serious that it must be reported to General Zhang Shanfu in a timely manner. If the Military Intelligence Department does not have a strong reason, this matter cannot be stopped. He sneered while unfolding today's military newspaper, and as soon as his eyes swept over the title, Zhang Ding stopped and muttered: "General Zhao actually deployed the southeast camp, it's only been a few months, is the Kwantung Imperial Court crazy?" ”

............

In the blue sky, the scorching sun was scorching, and a caravan of more than 200 camels meandered between the golden sand dunes.

The camels were laden with tea leaves and the finest silks, as well as some kimphatic toys such as river-made jewelry. Nowadays, most of the porcelain and silk are transported by sea, however, the sea is unpredictable, and the tea leaves have a fishy smell that is difficult to swallow once they pass by sea. Therefore, the trade route to the west through the Sand Sea was still the only way for the most extravagant oriental goods. The sea of sand, like the sea, will devour the lives of countless people every year, but several times, or even dozens of times the profits, still attract countless people to join this silk tea road that runs through the east and west of the mainland.

Liu Zhiyuan was wrapped in a robe, his head and face were wrapped in a wide white bandana, and where it was exposed, white sweat crystals and yellow sand grains condensed together.

"Owner, the front is to Ma Shiha." The camel driver licked the corners of his mouth. Mashha was the last stop before Baghdad. When the caravan entered Baghdad, it was like home. Li Yong, the great proprietor, was a relative of the Ghaznavid dynasty, and the caravans received more preferential treatment there than in the river.

Mashaha Village is a common stop for caravans, if it is a normal situation, the children at the head of the village climb on the trees, you can see the caravan's whereabouts from a distance, and then run over in twos and threes to ask for candy to play, at this time, there will be many people in the village to come out to welcome the distinguished guests from afar. The caravan would replenish the village of Mashha with some food and water to recover from the fatigue of crossing the sea of sand before entering Baghdad. However, at this time, Ma Shiha was unusually silent, except for the whirring wind, it was as silent as a tomb.

Liu Zhiyuan frowned, and said in a low voice: "Old Yu, there is a problem with Mashiha Village in front. "The smell of blood, and the smell of rotting corpses." Old Yu said in a low voice, he and Liu Zhijian glanced at each other, and both of them nodded. Liu Zhiyuan raised his right hand, and the camel driver shouted loudly to stop the camel. Seventeen or eighteen retired sergeants-turned-escorts galloped out of the ranks, armed with bows and arrows, and guarded the front of the entire caravan.

"I'll take a look." Liu Zhiyuan commanded, "Be careful. ”

He hurried forward and approached the village slowly with two guards. The deeper the sand sea, the more legends about demons and robbers there are. The more this trade route goes, the more nervous people become. Lao Yutou looked at the village without blinking, for fear that a group of demons and monsters would suddenly rush out of it. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Liu Zhiyuan and the three of them to gallop back.

"All dead." Liu Zhiyuan's face was even more ugly than before he entered, and he subconsciously looked around, "Tu Village, who dares to do such a thing in the suburbs of Baghdad?" ”