The mission left the capital of Luo'an somewhat coldly, went to Xiliang, and after leaving the city, it went all the way to the northwest.

The long street of mansions in Beijing was quickly replaced by the green mountains and green waters along the way, and compared to the dazzling array of the capital, Chu Huan felt that he preferred this natural scenery of clear water and white clouds.

The progress of the mission was not slow, and the route had been agreed upon before departure, and the route was naturally passed through official roads along the way.

Although the people in the capital are enjoying the prosperity and peace, and there are people in the court shouting every day that it is now the prosperous era of Great Qin, many officials know in their hearts that the prosperity of the capital and the chaos outside the capital are definitely two worlds.

The emperor is in the palace, all he hears is singing praises of virtue, but Xue Huai'an is not, Xue Huai'an is not very familiar with the current situation of Daqin, but he also knows a lot, knowing that this road may not be very peaceful, he often hears people say that now in all parts of Daqin, there are thieves in the deep forests, there are bandits in the mountains, and the local bandits are inexhaustible, but they are getting more and more intense.

Although there is a shortcut to the northwest, but he has to trek through mountains and rivers, Xue Huaian is only worried about encountering those bandits on the way, so he has decided in advance to go all the way.

Although it may not be absolutely safe to walk on official roads, it is naturally much safer than taking shortcuts through mountains and rivers.

Of course, this envoy is not a secret matter, although it will not be a big fanfare, but Xue Huaian still sent people to notify the local government in advance along the way and prepare to greet him.

Xuanyuan Shengcai and the three hundred elite guards are all high-spirited, although these guards are all strictly trained and have the responsibility of guarding the palace, but the palace is the core of the empire, such as the assassination of the Temple of Light, it can be said that it is very rare, and not every guard has the opportunity to guard.

It's like a person who has a treasure, and he always can't help but want to show it off, these guards are known as the most elite sergeants of the empire, and they have always been proud to be a member of the guards in their hearts, but their skills are useless, and deep down, they are always a little unwilling.

This time the envoy Xiliang, Xue Huai'an and several officials of the Ministry of Rites who came with him were nervous, but Xuanyuan Shao and other guards were very excited, the more difficult the mission, the more opportunities for these soldiers to show their skills, and these soldiers all knew that if they just stayed in the palace, it was really difficult to get the opportunity to be promoted, but if the trip went smoothly and the mission was completed, it would be a great achievement, compared to the guards who stayed in Beijing, there was a lot more capital, There are also more opportunities for promotion.

Chu Huan only knew that Xuanyuan Shengcai was skilled in archery, but this time, he knew that Xuanyuan Shengcai was worthy of being a member of the Xuanyuan family, although there were only three hundred guards cavalry, but Xuanyuan Shengcai was assigned in an orderly manner, and ten cavalrymen were selected as scouts to explore the road in front, and the other two hundred and ninety-four cavalry were divided into four teams, front and back, left and right, the front team and the two wings were surrounded by fifty cavalry, and the remaining more than one hundred and forty cavalrymen were in the rear team, surrounding several carriages, and the two wings were very close to the convoy. The front team and the back team are separated by a short distance, and each team has a captain, so it is much easier to command.

Xuanyuan Shengcai is teams shuttle back and forth, inspecting the formation, but it is also very rigorous, Chu Huan faintly feels that if this Xuanyuan Shengcai can have more experience on the battlefield, he may not be able to become a well-planned general.

The team, of course, the most special is the carriage protected by Chu Baihu and several people, the carriage is all black color, tightly sealed, the carriage door is also wooden, closed from the inside, all the way, no one knows what is inside, the coachman is in front, Chu Baihu rode a horse and followed the carriage, and the other two gods dressed in strong clothes and hats are one left and one right guarding the side of the carriage, they always maintain absolute vigilance, that is, the guards and soldiers who are traveling with them, that can not be approached, slightly close, The god guard held the hilt of the sword, and the eyes under the hat shot a cold light.

After five or six days of traveling like this, they gradually got far away from the capital, and the journey was smooth and tight, and the local government along the way sent people to pass the word in advance, and the local government also prepared food and lodging early, but the mission did not delay on the road, and everything was simple.

Out of Hongguan, it has completely walked out of the hinterland of the pass, along the Fenshui all the way to the north, many places seem to be barren, from time to time to see the people in rags miserable.

It's just that the legation has iron-clad and cold guards soldiers, full of murderous aura, and when the people see it, they don't wait to approach it, and they hide from afar.

Xuanyuan Sheng urged the horse to Chu Huan's side, and said with some surprise: "Lord Chu, why did you get out of Hongguan, but there are more homeless people?" ”

Chu Huan knew that Xuanyuan Shengcai had been in Beijing in recent years, and he didn't know the lives of the people outside Beijing, so he smiled faintly and said: "This is not out of Xigu Pass yet, General Xuanyuan has left Xigu Pass, and when he reaches the northwest, he will see ten times more displaced people." ”

"Why don't they stay at home and farm for a living?" Xuanyuan Sheng was puzzled: "It's really miserable to go out to beg." ”

After he left Hongguan, he had seen several times that the homeless people were begging, some old and some young, the old were even over sixty years old, and the young were only about ten years old.

Chu Huan smiled lightly and said, "If you can, who wouldn't want that?" He didn't explain much, after all, he is also a court official now, and there are people from the court on the left and right, so it is inconvenient to say some things.

Although he has not been in Beijing for a long time, he also understands that His Majesty the Emperor is of course to blame for the fact that the empire has become what it is today, and he understands how erosive the empire's finances are, and the amount of money the emperor has spent on cultivation is already appalling, and the red and silver books, the rot hidden behind them is even more sensational.

The emperor cultivates, the prince competes for the prince, the party fights, the gangs are formed, the officials are full of private pockets, all of this needs to be supported by silver, the empire from top to bottom, there are fewer and fewer officials who work for the people, almost everyone wants to climb up, everyone wants to accumulate wealth, Beijing officials and local officials are also desperately peeling skin and sucking blood from the common people, with such a court and official government, how can the common people live a good life.

Chu Huan had to admit that His Majesty the Emperor still had the iron-blooded power of the past, and there was still a vague remnant of the domineering spirit of the year when he was fighting for hegemony in the world, but in him, it was more of that kind of extreme. At that time, he relied on that radical temperament and indomitable belief to calm the world and end the war, but this temperament was used in cultivation, and he was also desperate, which can be said to be a disaster for the country and the people.

Chu Huan didn't know how to evaluate this emperor.

Sometimes he felt that the emperor was very cunning and cunning, but sometimes he felt that His Majesty the emperor was extreme and stupid in some things.

Chu Huan didn't understand, he finally fought down thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, but the emperor seemed to just treat the country as a toy, he spent nearly twenty years laying down the country, and spent more than ten years governing the country, originally like this, he would definitely be able to leave a name in history, but the energy and hard work of the previous decades, he could completely ignore it just because of the ethereal cultivation, it is difficult to fight the country, and it is even more difficult to defend the country, but it is much easier to spoil it.

This time, the mission secretly assigned by the emperor was to find out the military transportation line of the Jingulan Desert, as well as to understand the scale of the Qingluo royal city and the political situation of Xiliang, Chu Huan knew that His Majesty the Emperor was by no means a whim, if nothing else, His Majesty the Emperor was already planning to wage war against the people of Xiliang.

Chu Huan knew in his heart that with the current national strength of the empire, it was already good to be able to stabilize the country and block external troubles, and it was undoubtedly a fool's dream to cross the Jingulan Desert to launch a large-scale military war against Xiliang, even if His Majesty the Emperor woke up in time and worked hard to govern the country, it would definitely not be able to prepare for a war against Xiliang in ten or eight years.

The Emperor is now in his sixties, is he really confident that he will have enough time for him to exert himself and let him start another large-scale war?

Chu Huan felt that the emperor's thoughts made him really a little unable to guess, maybe the emperor's thoughts were not something ordinary people could guess.

This time, Chu Huan only hoped that he could bring back Princess Xiliang smoothly and return to the capital safely, he still had a lot to do, and he never wanted to leave his life outside Yanmen Pass.

At dusk, the sunset had already lowered the horizon, Xue Huai'an frowned, turned his head to Xuanyuan Shengcai and asked, "General Xuanyuan, have we arrived in Gushan County?" Why haven't the people sent out have returned yet? ”

Xuanyuan Sheng urged the horse over, looked ahead, and saw a black shadow not far away, obviously a mountain, pointing to the mountain and saying: "Lord Xue, according to the map show, there is Gushan, Gushan County is not far from Gushan, according to the distance, let's speed up, we should be able to reach Gushan County within an hour." ”

As soon as the words fell, the sound of horses' hooves was heard, Xuanyuan Sheng looked up, but saw a few fast horses galloping towards him, there was still some distance away, those people restrained the horses, and the first one had already turned over and dismounted, knelt on the ground, and arched his hand: "The next official is the county of Gushan County, and on the order of Mao Zhi County, he came to greet the mission!" ”

Xue Huai'an frowned and said, "Where are you Maozhi County?" ”

"Mao Zhi County is personally arranging a banquet." The county man hurriedly replied: "Lord Zhixian was going to come to greet him in person, but he had just recovered from a serious illness two days ago, so he couldn't come out to greet him. ”

At the end of the day, Xue Huai'an and his family were not as good as other martial artists, they were a little tired and tired, and they didn't care so much, and said: "In this case, you lead the way in front!" ”

The county man agreed, then turned over and got on the horse, turned the horse's head, and led the way in front, Chu Huan urged the horse to get closer, and suddenly asked: "The people we sent over, have you seen them?" ”

The county man hurriedly said: "Several soldiers are resting in the county seat now. He led the two officials and led the mission forward, the sky was getting dark, and after walking for a few miles, Xue Huai'an couldn't help but ask: "How far is it?" ”

The county man hurriedly said: "Lord Huiyu, along the official road, there is still a section of the road, but there is a fork in the road, if you turn into it from the fork, the road is a lot closer, but the fork is not as good as the official road!" ”

Xue Huai'an looked up at the sky, hungry, and said, "Since the road is closer, let's go from the fork in the road!" ”

Chu Huan frowned slightly, Xuanyuan Shengcai had already asked the county Cheng, "Is the fork road very poor?" ”

"It's not bad." The county replied: "But you have to pass through a bamboo forest, there are five or six miles of land, it's okay to walk during the day, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the bamboo forest, but it's a little dark at night." ”