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The spring sun is shining, and even the northwest is feeling the warmth of the spring breeze, the trees are growing new leaves, and there are many unknown wildflowers blooming in the mountains. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 In the valley, a small river flows slowly, and the water is quite abundant, not only the melting snow of the distant mountains, but also the moisture of the spring rain.

The warm sun shines in the valley, the river sparkles, and the occasional small fish swim in the water, adding life to the otherwise desolate and bleak northwest. Everything is so bright, so harmonious, it is completely a pleasing picture.

It's a pity that there are always some discordant factors that break this beautiful scene. The little fish in the river were frightened by something, and suddenly they scattered and swam to the bottom. Immediately after that, the waterfall-like stream suddenly became a little turbid, mixed with blood red.

Blood, that's right! It's blood!

On the river beach, a group of people are fighting, and the weapons they use are not the whistle sticks that are popular in the Central Plains, but swords. It is no wonder that although the Northern Song Dynasty court was very strict about weapons, it was only in the Central Plains. In the northwestern border region, wars are frequent, and the frequency of weapon use is relatively high. Coupled with the fierce customs of the people, how can weapons be banned casually?

Not only that, but in the northwest, the situation is already chaotic. In addition to the Western Xia and Tibetan tribes, there were many bandits. Among them, Longyou is the most serious, but the territory of the Great Song Dynasty east of Longshan is not absent.

Looking at the chaotic fighting, and then looking at the costumes of both sides, it really looks like bandits robbing a caravan.

The valley here is from the Huanqing Road, Qinfeng Road, and even the trade route of Tubo to all parts of northern Shaanxi. Or even the main road to the east of the river. Although it is a relatively remote trail, its importance cannot be underestimated......

Although there is an official road direct. There are inevitably some detours after connecting market towns and cities, and many times the mountain paths are shortcuts. Some businessmen also want to avoid taxes in this way, and the more checkpoints they pass along the way, the more taxes they will pay. In order to avoid being exploited layer by layer, it is also common for merchants to avoid mountain paths. Of course, there is also a lot of smuggling of materials. I want to avoid the eyes and ears of the government in this way.

Over time, the valley became an unnoticed traffic artery!

Mountain trails are shortcuts that save a lot of time and money, but they are naturally much weaker in terms of safety and are often targeted by bandits.

The pros and cons of things always complement each other, which is the best embodiment of the two sides of everything!

It seems that such a caravan has been attacked by bandits today, so that there is some turmoil in the calm valley again. Not to mention some chaos, the harmonious scenery is also destroyed.

For caravans in general. Being robbed by bandits will undoubtedly have unimaginable consequences. Especially in the Northwest, it can mean bankruptcy. Therefore, merchants do not dare to take it lightly, and often invite some people, especially samurai who are proficient in martial arts, to accompany them. Although it has strengthened the strength of the caravan, many times, it is still a drop in the bucket and cannot resist the bandits......

Today, however, this caravan is an exception, and their guards seem to be very strong. It's just that there was no one-sided slaughter and looting. One of the scholar-like figures, holding a long sword, struggled with the bandits, and his swordsmanship was elegant and agile. Constantly wandering back and forth in the battle circle, the bandits couldn't help him at all for a while.

On the contrary, it was the scholar who swung his long sword constantly, and injured several bandits in a row for a while, which was very powerful. It's just that the strength of the other caravan guards seems to be very average, and there seems to be some irresistible trends, so all in all, it is still the bandits who have the upper hand.

In addition, the number of bandits is obviously slightly superior, and there are dozens of people who cannot be found. The caravan's guards were relatively small, and even if there were masters like the young scholar swordsman, they were still a little powerless, obviously not opponents, and soon some of them were injured. Blood was constantly pouring out, and the river was even dyed red as a result, and the scene was somewhat tragic, and the situation was critical......

"Young proprietor, hurry up and take people away...... "A caravan servant shouted loudly, as if he couldn't resist it, so he asked their key people to leave as soon as possible. As for the young proprietor in his mouth, he seems to be a scholar with smart swordsmanship.

"Want to go? No one wants to leave today, the best treasures of the Western Regions, the rare rubies, wouldn't it be a pity to let them go? The leader of the bandits over there sat on his horse and laughed loudly. The reason why the bandits in the northwest have been able to form a climate is partly because the area itself is relatively chaotic. In addition, the mountainous terrain in the northwest is complex, which is conducive to the hiding of bandits.

Just imagine, even if the government has the intention to arrest them, when the officers and soldiers come, they will casually drill into the mountains, who can find them. One more point, which is also a crucial aspect, is that the bandits have horses, they are cavalry, and they are very mobile!

This is precisely why the horses of Hehuang and Tubo are smuggled into the market, in addition to the Northern Song Dynasty border army secretly buying, bandits from all over the northwest are also their frequent customers. Once they have horses, bandits will be upgraded to horse bandits, and their strength and destructive power will undoubtedly rise several notches.

This gang of bandits is obviously not strong, and what they are waiting for today seems to be another big fish, so they have already moved to kill and want to take all the treasures for themselves.

It's just that I didn't expect to encounter such fierce resistance, especially the leading scholar, whose swordsmanship is really good, and he couldn't help him for a while. The bandit leader was also a little anxious, and hurriedly sent several capable men to besiege him.

There is a way that two fists are invincible to four hands, even if the scholar is superb in swordsmanship, how can he resist the siege of several murderous bandits? So he quickly fell behind, but fortunately, his swordsmanship was good, at least he could barely protect himself.

When one of the stewards of the caravan saw this, he couldn't help but be very anxious, and shouted for the young proprietor to escape. Cargo is valuable, and there is no room for error, but what could be more important than life?

It's just that the scholar seems to be completely unaware of it, and the long sword in his hand dances faster and faster, putting on a posture of desperately fighting the bandits.

Seeing this, the leader of the bandits couldn't help but sneer: "Little doll, what kind of hero? Are you alone, and you still want to fight the crowd with one? Are you kidding? ”

That's true. In terms of the strength of the scholar swordsman, there is no problem with self-preservation. If the opponent is only one or two people. It may not be difficult to win. It's just that the number of people on the other side is really too much, and the robbers will naturally not talk to you about fighting alone, fairness and justice, so the scholar's situation is getting worse and worse.

When an old man at the head of the caravan saw this situation, he was very anxious and lamented repeatedly: "The eldest prince died on the way to the trade back then. Now if the young boy has three long and two short...... But how do you explain it to the old proprietor? ”

Clearly, this is a loyal servant.

Just as he was in a hurry, there was a sudden rumbling sound of horses' hooves in the distance, and the momentum was extraordinary. The leader of the bandits was also shocked, and when he saw clearly that it was the banner of the official army, he was immediately frightened. Hidden in the mountains on weekdays, they can be arrogant and say that the government can't do anything about themselves......

But if they meet head-on, where can they dare to have the slightest support? How can a rabble be an opponent of the official army? Lost the shelter of the mountains. When they are really exposed to the officers and soldiers, they will naturally be very afraid. If it's infantry, it's fine. They could have escaped with the advantage of their horses, and they could even be arrogant, but now they were presented with a cavalry team.

It only takes one glance to know that this cavalry is well-equipped and powerful, and it is obviously not an idle person. Face them? What will be the consequences? Therefore, all of them were terrified, and hurriedly turned their horses' heads, and scrambled to escape. Otherwise, they will soon be trampled into a pulp by the horses. It is said that some time ago, such a scene happened under the castle of Gyeongju, but most of the dead and wounded were Western Xia soldiers, and they did not want to repeat such a mistake......

Is it just that they can run away? How can their inferior horses compare with the Tibetan horses ridden by the cavalry? So it will soon catch up. And surrounded by clusters.

Some irrational people immediately resisted, and died in an instant from the butcher's knife. With this precedent and other lessons, the other bandits were much quieter in an instant. Their leader trembled and terrified...... He was surprised, why did he suddenly become an officer and soldier? How can officers and soldiers in such a poor and remote country come as soon as they say? It doesn't look like this cavalry looks like a garrison in an ordinary state capital?

Who are they? Just as the leader was in doubt, they were kicked to the ground, and then an officer and knight stepped forward to tie them up......

At this time, the doubts in the heart of the thief leader became even stronger, who are they? Where did this army come from?

Needless to say, this powerful cavalry is Lin Zhao's department, and it is the guard that guards Lin Zhao and Liang Yi's peace talks to Suizhou. Because Liang Yi's identity is special, and peace talks are a special task, Lin Zhao and Liu Changzuo don't want to take the official road in a high-profile way, so that everyone knows about it. That would not be a good thing for the face of the Song Dynasty and Western Xia, and besides, if you casually leak your whereabouts, there may be unnecessary trouble......

No one expected the rest of the matter, and it was best to deal with some things in a low-key manner. Therefore, they did not swagger along the official road, but took the shortcut path. In this way, we can also rush to Suizhou as soon as possible, and peace talks and transactions may be able to be earlier. To be honest, Lin Zhao remembered the folding core too much in his heart, and it was fake if he wasn't in a hurry. Although he is calm and calm on the surface, he is actually quite urgent inside.

As for security, they naturally don't have to worry about it, no matter how rampant the bandits are, can they be more powerful than the elite of the Western Army of 3,000 people? Presumably, there are no ignorant bastards who do anything out of the ordinary. All the way forward, touring the mountains and rivers and enjoying the scenery, it is quite comfortable. It's a pity that this comfort was interrupted at this time......

They were walking on the road well, and suddenly a scout came to report that there were people in front of them who were fighting and fighting. Lin Zhao couldn't help but be a little surprised, because there was such an important person as escorting Liang Yiburi, so he needed to be extra careful, and the slightest disturbance needed to be strictly guarded against and be careful.

Two teams fighting? Who are they? Will it cause any trouble to himself and Liang Yibu in the prisoner car? Lin Zhao subconsciously thought of a lot. Now is a critical moment, it is inevitable to think a lot about things when encountering things, and even some imaginations, and the sentence of being careful to sail a ship for ten thousand years is always true.

As soon as he received the news, Lin Zhao put his three thousand soldiers on alert, and at the same time sent a large number of scouts to investigate. But I didn't expect it to be just a false alarm, and the scouts only found out after a detailed investigation that it was just an ordinary thing for bandits to rob a caravan.

Lin Zhaohe's Liu Changzuo breathed a sigh of relief at this time, as long as he didn't come for himself. Although it was none of their business, they did not hang it high. In particular, if these bandits that affect normal passage can be cleaned up by the way, it can also be regarded as benefiting the local merchants in the north and northwest.

Therefore, hundreds of cavalry were ordered to come to the rescue of the caravan, and the strong cavalry of the Western Army attacked, which was definitely handy. How can a few small bandits be opponents? They were killed in an instant, and the whole army was wiped out in the end!

After the battle, an old man in the caravan with blood-stained clothes hurriedly came and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you General for coming to the rescue, I can't be grateful?" ”

"Who are you?" Lin Zhao asked in a deep voice.

"We are the merchants of Xizhou......"

After a simple conversation, Lin Zhao understood. It turned out that this was a group of businessmen from Xizhou. Frequently going back and forth to the Tibetan Tea Horse Road, buying some supplies from the West, and then transporting them to the East to sell, engaging in the business that many merchants in the northwest are doing, this is not special.

This time, however, they were lucky enough to buy some jade from a merchant from the Western Regions in Hehuang Tubo. It also contains treasures such as rubies, which can be said to be invaluable.

It was originally a good thing, but when he was in Tibet, he leaked the news and was worried about by those who cared about it. It is for this reason that they are targeted by bandits on the way. Although they had been cautious and had dodged a few times, this time they were not so lucky, just in time to be intercepted by the bandits. Seeing that they were about to be unable to resist, but they didn't want to suddenly have a large number of cavalry to rescue them, it can be said that they helped them a lot, and they were really extremely lucky.

Therefore, the whole caravan is grateful to Dade, and this will come to thank you!

"If you don't do it, it is the duty of officers and soldiers to arrest bandits......

"Thanks to all the soldiers, otherwise the consequences today would be unimaginable......" The old man of the caravan was obviously apprehensive, and his thanks were very sincere.

Lin Zhao shook his head and said, "Your guards are not bad, such as that son's swordsmanship......" As he spoke, his eyes fell far away on the scholar who had good swordsmanship just now, obviously, Lin Zhao was a little curious.

The old man of the caravan hurriedly explained: "That's our young proprietor Li Donglin, who is bandaging his wounds, and will personally come to thank you later!" ”