Chapter 467: Pity the Hero

Although the Tartars were expelled from the Central Plains, because the Mongol and Yuan dynasties were still powerful in the early Ming Dynasty, it was difficult to stop the Mongol cavalry who came and went like the wind by relying on the border guards alone. Despite such a defensive line, the Great Wall was built in sections after all, and it would collapse under the wind and sun over time, so there were still people from the south of the Central Plains who were looted to the north from time to time.

The young men who were able to escape from the vast prairie had always been men with strong physiques and martial arts, and after being examined and interrogated by various health stations, they were generally rarely sent back to the place of household registration, but stayed to register as military households. In the past, when Zhang Qian and Zheng He were ordered to select military households to serve as the guards of the imperial horse guards, they were to select the strong men of the world's guards and the young men who were brought back from the north. Therefore, when the three people present heard this sentence, they would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let go of one, and they were all shocked.

The more Zhang Yue thought about it at this time, the more strange he felt, and immediately asked, "Who ordered this?" ”

"How do I know who gave the order! All I know is that we worked hard to run back from there, and we had to avoid the pursuit of those Tartars along the way, and we had to deal with other situations, but as soon as we entered the Central Plains, the heads of two people were hung in Zhangjiakou Fort as Mengyuan spies, the reason is that we can all speak fluent Tartar dialect, but we can't speak Chinese well! ”

Xu was too excited, Xu was too long to say too much Chinese, and the sturdy man's voice was not only intermittent, but also a little trembling. He jerked open his tattered padded jacket, revealing the scars on his body. Some of these scars are bright red, some are dark red, some are layered, and I don't know how many times I have been injured.

"Those Tartars never treated us as human beings, and if they resisted the slightest time, they would use whips, and we were not allowed to speak Chinese, and those who escaped were all put to death, and even if they were lucky enough to escape, they would still be slaves in the hands of other tribes. The way we fled back was all the territory of the Tartars, and everyone said that they were wandering herdsmen, and they did not dare to say that they were Han Chinese, and they worked all the way to change food, and even fought with the horse thieves twice, so it was easy to escape. So after the two of them defected to the guard and were killed, none of us dared to find the Shangguan Mansion again, but the entire Xuanfu was under martial law, and it took my boss's strength to finally get here. ”

Zhou Bailing saw that Zhang Yue and Yu Qian were silent in thought, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. There is a rule on how to deal with the man who ran back in this captivity, the problem is that he is not a border official, and there is no right to dispose of this matter, plus this escort task is important, if this is really a Tartar, then it will be a great disaster to bring it! So, he turned his heart sideways, and was about to signal the left and right soldiers to take the people out and dispose of them, but Zhang Yue was not afraid to take the lead.

"Where are you originally from? What is your name? Someone was taken captive with you."

Although the sturdy man had never seen the world, when he had just been carried all the way, he found that there were many heavily guarded soldiers here, and he couldn't help despairing, so he simply let it go. At this time, seeing that these people who seemed to be big people on the other side were still talking kindly, he gave birth to the last glimmer of hope. Hearing someone's question, he licked his lips and became respectful.

"The small one was originally a farmer in Fengshui Village, Yongning County, named Niu Kang, and was taken away by the Tatars in the eleventh year of Yongle. That time, the people of our village were either killed or taken captive, and the village was also burned by a fire. The other people who were taken captive either couldn't survive or were sold to the Tartars, and the people who fled back with the little ones this time were not the same ...... as they were at the beginning."

found that this man named Niu Kang became more and more fluent in Chinese, and he also described the geography of his hometown in great detail, and Zhou Bailing, who was also from the North, gradually believed that this guy really ran back from Hulan and lost temperature, and his murderous intent at first gradually faded. But when he thought that he had a heavy responsibility in this line and couldn't accommodate a person with unknown details, he hesitated a little, but Yu Qian, who had only listened to him all the time, opened his mouth at this time.

"Leave the man for the time being, since he has come back from the north, he must be familiar with the situation there, and it will be useful when the time comes. It's really not easy to run back from there, and it can't chill the strong men who have come all the way back. ”

"Brother Tingyi is right." Zhang Yue also thought about cherishing his talents, and said at the moment, "My entourage happened to be idle all the way, so let them help watch him." In addition, I also asked Lord Zhou to send someone to inquire about who issued such a killing order that violated the laws of the imperial court. The few companions he lost were immediately sent to find them by the states and counties. The big war is imminent, although it is necessary to guard against Meng Yuan's spies, but you can't waste food because of choking. Since they have been on the steppe for two months, they should be more familiar than anyone else. ”

Niu Dare was only eighteen years old when he was captive, but now he is nearly thirty years old, and no matter how honest a person stays in that kind of hell on earth for nine years, he will become more active, not to mention that he has already learned arithmetic and recognized two words, and this escape back is also his decision. Seeing the two big men on the other side pleading for him, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed. But before he could thank him, he felt his left and right arms being grabbed.

"According to Lord Xiao Zhang's words, go to Wenzhou County as soon as possible to find a few other people! As for Niu Kang, whether you are a Tartar or a Han, we can't delay things because of you, we can only tie you up temporarily! Lord Xiao Zhang, please let a few of your entourage watch him carefully, don't untie the rope, and wait until you get to Xuanfu! ”

Whether it is Xiang Long, Liu Bao or Lian Sheng, Lianhu is going to Xuanfu for the first time, so he is talking about Peng Shisanqi in the tent at this time. It wasn't until Lian Sheng caught a glimpse of Zhang Yue entering the tent and hurriedly reminded him that a group of people stood up, and then saw the ragged man behind Zhang Yue. Inexplicably, they listened to the explanation of the accompanying soldiers, and then they understood what was going on, and Lian Sheng immediately complained: "Lord Zhou is too, this kind of troublesome matter is actually handed over to you to deal with the young master!" ”

"Human life is at stake, and military intelligence is also at stake, what trouble are you afraid of!" Zhang Yue glanced at Niu Dang's dead knot with his hands tied behind his back, and saw that he was depressed, so he said, "Old Peng, you are about the same size as him, look at any thick cotton jacket and other clothes he can wear, find another pair of shoes, and change them for him." Loosen the tie now, and then talk about it in the evening, and the person will be handed over to you to take care of. ”

Peng Shisan pointed to his nose, and when he saw Zhang Yue's unquestionable expression, he suddenly realized that this master had always been so temperamental, so he had to sigh resignedly, and then led the person aside to change clothes. That night, there was a lot of snoring in the tent, and Niu Da dared to change into new clothes and eat half full, but he didn't sleep well all night because he was worried in his heart.

Early the next morning, a large group of people set out on their way. Faced with such a tail that Zhang Yue came out, Lu Feng was very interested, and after asking about the situation, he raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "Lao Zhou is such a big idea, we have such an important task, he said to stay and leave people behind." That's it, anyway, he's in charge of the guards, as long as our family gets to the ground smoothly...... Having said that, this Xuanfu is really bold, he dares to kill people casually, don't be a eunuch fox fake tiger, right? ”

Zhang Yue didn't bother to pay attention to what the hell Lu Feng would do because of this, but thoughtfully glanced at Niu Dang, who was caught between several riders. Changed into a cotton jacket and cotton shoes, washed his face and shaved his beard, this person looked a lot more energetic, with broad shoulders and a thick body, and he was a big man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist. Although it is unknown how the martial arts are, since they can escape from such a large circle from such a distance, it should always be good.

After noon, someone from Baoan Prefecture finally came to answer, but the leader of the team was a hundred households of the security guards, and the men under his command were all kinds of guns, knives, players, archers, and gunners. Because he was a military attaché, he naturally avoided Zhang Yue and Yu Qian, and it was not easy to flatter Lu Feng, so he vigorously scolded Zhou Bailing, even if this Jingying Qianhu ignored him, he was not discouraged.

"Lord Zhou's escort has been really hard this way, and we must have a good rest when we get to Baozhou. If you have any preferences, you should tell the lowly position, and the lowly position can also be arranged by the lowly job in the evening. He spied a glance at Zhou Bailing's face as he spoke, and then whispered, "If your lord is tired of those doorways in the Central Plains, our guard still has good goods in the north...... Commander Li said, the lord is both a Shangguan and a Qincha, and we should flatter well. ”

Zhou Bailing didn't believe these nonsense at all, it was just a false and wrongful snake. Sure enough, after the hundred households chattered and talked a lot of nonsense, they gradually turned to the topic, but it was two words: private goods. Baoan Prefecture is less than 100 miles away from Mengyuan, as long as it is a southern product, it is extremely marketable, not to mention ironware, so every time the imperial court sends officials on business, almost everyone is indispensable to carry private goods, and when they arrive at the land, they will be taken off by local officers, and they must make a sum of money on both sides, which is almost an open practice.

Zhou Bailing is naturally proficient in this matter, but this time it is not as good as before, Zhang Yue reminded him that this matter is very important, and he has to tell his subordinates to be more restrained, even if he is really entrained, he is not allowed to bring iron weapons. At this time, he understood the meaning of the hundred households, so he naturally made perfunctory remarks about the scene, but the other party still did not give up. It wasn't until Zhou Bailing said that he would have a hundred pieces of cotton cloth that the other party was satisfied.

"My lord, don't blame our Baoding guards for being shallow-eyed, they really don't have much interest here, so they have to find a few ways. Let's just say that the guys who ran back from Hulan suddenly lost temperature in the first place, if it weren't for the martial law on the Xuanfu side, people might not have come to our territory, and Commander Li was planning to kill people. It is said that the prince of Xuanfu is really powerful, and he forced Xing'an Bo to give a killing order, and the little marquis of Baoding didn't even dare to snort......"

Because Zhou Bailing sent someone to say the matter as it was, Zhang Yue couldn't help frowning. It is naturally necessary to beware of Meng Yuan's spies when the war is imminent, but it is not a good sign that the officials on the Xuanfu side are noisy. The eldest brother-in-law, Meng Jun, just went to Xuanfu to practice, and it is normal to say nothing, but Xing'an Bo Xu Heng is the chief military officer of Xuanfu, and he can't suppress a eunuch?