Guo Shao did not go out of the country on this western tour, but only patrolled along the northwest of the Great Zhou Dynasty, ending at Lingzhou (Yinchuan Plain). Prior to this, Wei Renpu and others had sent officials to Lingzhou to arrange for a welcome driver, as well as to liaise with the northwest departments.

At this time, Wei Renpu bid farewell to Guo Shao, left the brigade in advance, and personally went to Lingzhou to preside over the affairs.

The emperor's honor guard and soldiers then slowly continued to go north, and the commander of the Jingnan Army, Zhi Deran, accompanied a team of people with him, accompanied Guo Shao all the way, and the personal relationship became more and more familiar with each other.

Within two days, the Qinzhou Xiongwu Festival made Wang Jing and his son rush to the army, and asked them to play the face saint.

Guo Shao immediately met with him in the big tent of the Chinese army.

Wang Jing is seventy-two years old, and when Guo Shao saw him, he saw him faltering, and his physical strength was obviously not as good as when they met five years ago. There are also a lot of gray-black age spots on his face, his cheeks are sunken in, and his eyes are a little cloudy.

"The old man is handsome and exempt." Guo Shao took the lead in exempting him from the big gift, and said, "Come on, give him a seat, and give Wang Laojieshuai a softer cushion." ”

"The old minister thanked the emperor." Wang Jing hugged his fists and said, "Ting Xun, quickly knock to see Your Majesty, Your Majesty will treat our Wang family with kindness." ”

A young man in military uniform and armor hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting long life. Guo Shao told him to be even, and praised him again: "The tiger father has no dogs." ”

In the battle of Qin Feng more than five years ago, Guo Shao not only fought side by side with Wang Jing, but also met his eldest son, who had gray hair at that time.

And today, Wang Jing rushed to face the saint, but he brought not the eldest son, but the younger son. Guo Shao had a thought in his heart, the old man really still likes his younger son.

Wang Jing's family is also a warlord in the northwest, and Qinzhou is almost the westernmost part of the Great Zhou territory, so Wang Jing also has a dispatch called "Deploy in the west". However, Wang Jing is a relatively reliable warlord, because he and Guo Shao have fought together and established a friendship; When Guo Shao destroyed the Shu Kingdom, Wang Jing also contributed the most in the North Road, and his department was very hardworking.

In addition, Wang Jing is old again, so Guo Shao's tone is very good and polite: "Wang Lao is handsome and long-lived, so you don't have to come all the way in person." ”

Wang Jing sighed: "Tokyo is too far away, and the official family has finally come to the northwest...... The age is not forgiving, this time, it may be the last time the old minister will see the official's family. ”

When Guo Shao heard this, his heart suddenly felt sour.

His voice was also a little out of shape: "Wang Jieshuai takes care of his body......"

When the surrounding civil and military heard the emperor's voice, their expressions were also gloomy.

Wang Jing showed a smile and said, "Birth, old age, sickness and death, no one is inevitable." There is a banquet in the world, and the old minister has the opportunity to come early to say goodbye to the official family......"

His smile was complicated, a little sad and a little helpless. He said: "It's just a little regrettable that the old minister has been running around all his life, and he hasn't made a name for himself." Now the official family wants to make great achievements, but the old minister can't keep up. ”

When Guo Shao heard this, his heart became more and more sad. Suddenly sad, defenseless, he didn't dare to speak out...... Guo Shao felt that he was a martial artist in vain, and sometimes his heart was really hard.

Wang Jing said and turned his head to look at his youngest son.

Guo Shao looked at his eyes and understood what Wang Jing meant, in fact, the biggest purpose of Wang Jing's trip was to entrust his descendants to the emperor and let Guo Shao take care of them in the future.

In front of everyone, Guo Shao is the emperor, and he feels that what he holds is actually public power, and he can't care too much about his personal feelings. He didn't know what to say, but said: "I will always remember the merits of Marshal Wang for the country." ”

After he finished saying this, he turned his gaze to Wang Tingxun and asked what martial arts Wang Ting had trained and what military books he had read, and he asked in detail. That Wang Tingxun answered like a fluent and spoke clearly, and asked Guo Shao to nod frequently.

Wang Jing didn't say it explicitly, and Guo Shao didn't mention it. But it's all in the gossip.

Wang Jing's old face also showed a look of relief.

After speaking, Guo Shao smiled again: "I want to go to Lingzhou on this trip, and let Wang Tingxun follow me all the way." ”

Wang Jing said happily: "Being able to lead a horse and carry a whip for the official family is a blessing from the court training, and I can also follow the official family to see and learn." Wang Tingxun knelt on the ground again and kowtowed in gratitude.

Guo Shao hurriedly called him up.

…… Wang Tingxun drove north, and not long after, some people asked for orders to drive with him.

Fengxiang Army, Changyi Army, Tongyuan Army, Zhangwu Army, and Baoda Army Wuzhen Jiedu envoys came to Xingying with their guards to meet and ask for orders to be the emperor's escort on his western tour.

These people are all Jiezhen in the northwest, and they are the military preparations deployed by the Great Zhou in depth near the national border, compared to the Jiedu envoys in the hinterland, who have been cut by most of their power and exhausted by the elite, these Jiezhen are people with some real strength, and their power in their respective territories is relatively independent.

Guo Shaozhun accompanied them, getting along day and night along the way, and gradually became familiar with each other. Guo Shao is a relatively easy person to get along with at this time, because he doesn't care about the details of etiquette that many ancients cared about, and he is easier to talk; In addition, he has also been in the army for more than ten years, and he can talk about the affairs of the horses and horses very well with the generals.

The monarchs and ministers got along very happily, and the journey was not so boring.

At this time, the system and rules were not very detailed, and the establishment of personal relations between the generals and Guo Shao could increase trust...... It's like relatives who move around a lot are completely different from relatives who don't move around a lot.

……

Before the Western Tour had even started, Wei Renpu and Lu Duosun had already arranged for many envoys to find local guides in Shuofang and try to contact the tribes. Including the Uighurs of Ganzhou, the Achai tribes, the Tubo Tusi Ma tribes, and the western Dangxiang tribes; There is also the Cao family of the Guiyi Army, as well as the Western Regions.

Of course, the Li family, the most powerful party in this region, will not be left behind.

It was not easy for the Privy Council's envoy to go to Xiazhou, except for the pastures in the middle of Xiazhou and the pastures in the north, there were many ravines along the road, and it was very easy to get lost.

Fortunately, the government system in various parts of the Dingyan Army (Xiazhou) was relatively perfect, and the envoy and his party were quickly received and escorted to the center of the Dingyan Army in Xiazhou...... The Zhou Dynasty never appointed officials to the Xiazhou region, and these officials and officials were all appointed by themselves; It is no wonder that some people in the court talked about Xiazhou, saying that "although it is not called a country, it has been its king for a long time."

The envoy was worried that recording what he had seen and heard would cause the Dingyan army to be suspicious, so he saw what he saw along the way and remembered it in his heart. When Lu Duosun got the map of the west and went back, he was reused, and the messengers understood it, so they were very attentive when they did their errands.

At first glance, they look rough and poor, the houses are very low, all of them are mud houses, some of them are like earth holes, and some of them cover the roofs with animal fur, and they look like patches of torn clothes; There are only a small number of tiled-roof houses, and I heard the accompanying party members say that the kind of people who live in tiled houses have identities and cannot afford to provoke them.

However, as long as we pay close attention, the party members in the Xiazhou area are relatively well-off, with few luxury goods, but there is no shortage of livestock, grain, iron tools, salt, and other living expenses, which is much more solid than in some places in the interior where there are disasters.

Some of the party members have hair, some have the same hair as the mainlanders, and the clothes are shorter and narrower, although they look obviously different from the customs of the Central Plains people, but they are not different to the point of being very different, and the styles and farm tools such as the collar can find traces of the Central Plains...... According to the book, after the party was Sanmiao, it was a long time to interact with the Han people, and the customs were still influenced by the Han family.

The envoy also had a feeling that these people were obviously not as deferential as the people of the Central Plains, and there were almost no etiquette, and they were more wild and aggressive.

However, the man who led the messenger was named Chiling, but he was a cheerful and kind person. He speaks Chinese and is very talkative, chatting endlessly along the way. The envoy sometimes felt noisy, but he also learned a lot about the customs and taboos of the party members from his mouth, which was very beneficial.

Of course, most of the time it is nonsense, and the messenger can only make a look of great interest, so as not to be unfamiliar with the place here.

Chi Ling was talking about the legend of the mountain, and the messenger was not interested, and then he said what woman...... The messenger said in his heart: Lao Tzu came to Xiazhou, not for the sake of barbarian women.

“…… Her hair was black, her clothes were like the sunset, and her skin was like satin. Hey, if the envoy talks about her with the people of Xiazhou, he will definitely be able to talk about it. Chi Ling's face turned red and said excitedly.

The last sentence aroused the interest of the envoy, and he pondered in his heart that sometimes it was not good to be able to find a topic with the party members. Immediately, he asked, "I'm really sorry, I didn't hear you clearly, who are you talking about?" ”

Chi Ling was a little unhappy all of a sudden, but he was indeed a hearty person, and he quickly said with relief: "Maybe my accent is not easy to understand?" ”

The messenger laughed a little.

Chi Ling said: "Haven't you heard of the daughter of the king (the envoy of the Dingyan Festival, Li Yiyin, the king of Xiping)?" ”

The messenger said in his heart: Lao Tzu came to Xiazhou for the first time, where did he know?

The envoy said: "It's lonely and unheard, let the Chiling brothers laugh." ”

Chi Ling was a little disappointed and said: "People like immortals, people in the Central Plains have never heard of it?" ”

Messenger: "......"

Chi Ling said: "Then you wait more on the Xiazhou Ranch, if you take a look, you will understand what I said." Alas, I'm stupid and can't tell. ”

The messenger said in his heart:, you are stupid and can still speak, what if you are not stupid?

The envoy said: "I have official business in Xiazhou, and when I arrived in Xiazhou, I also bothered the Chiling brothers to report to the Dingyan Military Government and let the King of Xiping receive me." If this happens, I will be grateful. ”

Chi Ling smiled: "The people of the Central Plains are rigid. ”

Then the messenger heard a singing on the hillside, and when he looked up, he saw a flock of sheep running down on the hillside, but he did not see the singing son. The messenger couldn't understand the lyrics, but from the melodic sound, he heard that it was like a love song, and there was a feeling of affection.

The messenger was a little touched, but remembered the ballad of My Fair Lady in the Book of Songs. Thinking of the mission with an uncertain future, a sense of homesickness welled up in my heart.