Yunzhou, that is, the famous Datong in the future. As early as when Princess Gu'an and Li Lusu divorced and then retreated here, the Son of Heaven gave a thousand husbands and a thousand silk horses for repair. However, a thousand horses of silk may be a great fortune when rewarding ministers, but it is only a drop in the bucket when it can be used to build a city. After Yunzhou became a transit center for the tea trade between the Xi people, the Khitan and even the Turks, Princess Gu'an gradually had more money, but in order not to arouse the suspicion of the imperial court, all she could do was to expand and strengthen her princess's mansion again and again, and then include many fugitives who had migrated here, and recruit guards again and again.

Therefore, when Du Shiyi and his party followed Nan Sheng, who led the way, to the city of Yunzhou, looking at the low city, although it was not as decadent as when he passed by here in the north, it was only better than nothing. However, after entering the city of Yunzhou from that empty city gate, he saw the vitality beneath the surface of decay. The square is not as neat as that of Luoyang, Chang'an, and the streets are not smooth at all, but the faces of the people who come and go are not only worried, but also excited. Especially as they went all the way deeper, they met five or six people who were carefully examined, and many of them seemed to be civilians at a glance, he clearly understood this.

Although she was only a woman, Princess Gu'an governed this ruined city of Yunzhou very well, even far better than those court officials who were men

The so-called princess's mansion is surrounded by rammed earth walls about one and a half feet high, and guards with swords patrol in front of the door. Even though Nan Sheng stepped forward to explain the identities of everyone, the guards led by him ordered people to go in to report it, and on the other hand, they still dutifully checked the place. But just as he was staring at the bright red seal on that side upside down, someone inside had already rushed out.

"Du Langjun, it's really you"

Although Du Shiyi is married, the door has been completed, and he should no longer be called Lang Jun, but Zhang Yaoyi is excited, and he still can't help but use the old name. If she hadn't realized that there were other people around, she couldn't wait to hold Du Shiyi's hand tightly to express her agitated feelings. Fortunately, she finally held back, and she didn't salute in a bearded dress, but arched her hand like a man, and then said in a deep voice: "Please Du Langjun come with me, your lord is recuperating, you can't see too many guests at once, the rest of you can rest in the guest room first?" ”

Whether it is Wang Han or Cui Hao, they are all frustrated people in the officialdom, and they followed Du Shiyi to Yunzhou to help with righteousness, and secondly, to relieve their boredom, it doesn't matter if they want to go with Princess Gu'an. Since the two of them don't care about this, such as Chen Baoer and Luo Ying, they will not be reckless. Therefore, when they entered the princess's mansion, they and the accompanying guards were arranged, and Zhang Yao took Du Shiyi all the way in. Seeing that the guards along the way were extremely strict, Du Shiyi couldn't help but raise her eyebrows thoughtfully, suddenly realized something, and immediately asked in a low voice: "Did my sister really encounter a robbery?" ”

"Yes." Zhang Yao didn't need to look up to feel Du Shiyi's sudden shock. Even she trembled uncontrollably at the thought of the arrows that broke through the air. She smiled bitterly, and then said in a lower voice than Du Shiyi, "Originally, it was arranged haode, but who knew that a group of horse thieves of about sixty or seventy people suddenly roared, if it weren't for Mr. Wang Lingran and Mr. Wang blocking it at the last moment, your lord would not only be slightly injured." As a result, Mr. Wang was seriously injured and is still not out of danger. ”

When Du Shiyi recommended the frustrated Wang Lingran to Princess Gu'an to go to Yunzhou together, he didn't expect that the arrogant talent would really be able to survive in a border place like Yunzhou. However, Wang Lingran not only stayed for several years, but after returning to Beijing with Princess Gu'an, he even preferred to pay another fee to the Ministry of Officials for exemption from election, rather than bother to become an official through the collective election, and followed Princess Gu'an back to Yunzhou. Hearing that he had saved Princess Gu'an now, Du Shiyi couldn't help but be happy and afraid, but his mood immediately became heavy

"When I visited my sister, I went to see him. By the way, what about the imperial doctor of the Imperial Doctor's Department? ”

"The imperial doctor has been greatly rewarded by your lord, and he has been doing his best to treat Mr. Wang these days. He is good at trauma and hopes to make Mr. Wang recover as soon as possible. ”

Knowing that the imperial doctor was still there, Du Shiyi's heart was a little calmer, and when he came to the tall and sturdy dormitory that was not so much magnificent, he saw Zhang Yao stop and knew that Princess Gu'an must have something to say to herself, so he immediately collected his heart and raised his feet inside. When he turned the screen and saw the girl in the window covered with a sheepskin blanket and a face that could not hide her paleness, he couldn't help but let out a low cry.

"Sister?"

Princess Gu'an opened her eyes a little tiredly, nodded lightly and said, "Sit down." If it weren't for this mistake, I would have greeted you at the door in person, instead of waiting for you here with such a listless appearance.

"What is my sister's injury?"

"It doesn't matter, it's just that I was hit by an arrow and bled a little, and I broke a few places of flesh, and it was fine. Don't say these mothers-in-law's words, let me ask you, what is your official position here? ”

"The history of the governor of Yunzhou, the governor of the capital."

"Bixia is generous" Princess Gu'an sneered, then propped up the long couch under her and sat up straight, "What are the subordinate officials?" How many soldiers are there? ”

"There is only one subordinate official, Guo Quan, who has joined the army in Shuozhou. But Shuozhou is also a critical place, because more than 40 years ago, when the city of Yunzhou was broken, the residents of it all moved to Shuozhou, and he would have to be busy with this matter for a while, and he couldn't get out, and it was estimated that he would arrive in a few days. As for the soldiers...... There are only 100 Jinwuwei soldiers accompanying me, and it is not clear whether there is anyone's eyeliner or not. However, Bixia has promised me to give Fuyunzhou five years, and all the escapees to Yunzhou will not be investigated. In addition, how to govern, how to recruit troops, and how to settle the fields are up to me. ”

That is, you do the things, and you are responsible for them. It can be said that you are alone in Yunzhou. Princess Gu'an hit the nail on the head to expose this, and seeing that Du Shiyi was silent, it was a tacit acquiescence, but she was not discouraged, and after thinking about it, she said truthfully, "In the entire Yunzhou, except for those small groups of Turkic herdsmen who have invaded the border and graze, most of them live in this Yunzhou City, plus my guards, there are about 300 households in total, nearly 2,000 people. ”

This number may sound pitiful, but compared to the population of Yunzhou during the Zhenguan period, and compared to the situation when all the soldiers and civilians were evacuated to Shuozhou after being broken by Mosi, this is already considerable. Compared with the population of more than 20,000 in Shuozhou, this is extremely insignificant.

Du Shiyi pondered for a long time, and then asked, "Sister, do you know where those horse thieves came from before?"

"I heard when I first married Xi that there are two kinds of horse thieves." Princess Gu'an didn't answer directly, seeing Du Shiyi stretching out her hand and pulling the sheepskin blanket on her body up again, she replied with a soft smile, but her face soon showed the strength and sharpness that women rarely have, "One is that they are forced to be helpless without a livelihood, so they can only form groups of horse thieves and make a living by looting." Since it is to make a living from this, it is naturally as cunning as the wolves on the grassland to deal with. And another ......"

She paused, and there was a little more coldness in her voice that anyone could hear: "The other is that the leaders of various tribes, even the Turkic, Xi, and Khitan, when it is inconvenient, send soldiers and horses in the name of horse thieves, these people have the reputation of horse thieves, but they come and go like the wind, they are the elite of the elite, the brave of the brave, and they are also real outlaws, because these people know very well that if they are killed or captured, they will be regarded as real horse thieves, and there is no place to bury them."

As soon as these words came out, Du Shiyi understood. No matter what kind of horse thief was robbed and killed by Princess Gu'an this time, it would be difficult to deal with. On the contrary, the possibility of this group of horse thieves being Tang people is low, even if they occupy the mountains as kings, but compared to those southern places that often rebel, Hedong and Hebei are one of the most important areas for the Tang Dynasty, but anyone who does something to assassinate the princess must be prepared to be uprooted. Therefore, he asked Princess Gu'an some more about the situation, and then helped the person to lie down, because he smiled and said: "Sister, rest first, I am already here, you are not alone, although Bixia only gave me a subordinate official, but I also brought a few helpers." What's more, there are still people in Yunzhou City who admire Sister, and there are also guards who are loyal to Sister"

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you." Princess Gu'an took out an object from under the pillow, but it was a black sheath dagger with a cold light, she solemnly handed it over to Du Shiyi, and then said, "This is my token, you can hold the order to the inner and outer nineteen Lang, when you go to see Mr. Wang, xiexie him for me." He said, "When I can go down to the ground, I will go and give thanks myself."

agreed to this, and when she walked to the screen, Du Shiyi glanced back at the girl on the couch, but saw that Princess Gu'an had her eyes closed, as if she was really asleep. He quietly went out of the door, and when he saw Zhang Yao standing there dutifully, he asked, "That shepherd Nan Sheng took us into the city before, and said that his nephew Nan Ba is now guarding the princess's mansion?" ”

"Yes." Zhang Yao nodded, and then explained, "This time, the princess recruited more than twenty young people to spy everywhere to prevent someone from sneaking up on Yunzhou. Because the danger is not small, anyone who goes can leave a son and nephew in the princess's mansion as a guard, and your lord will promise them that he will let the most haode guards in martial arts teach them and give them a future in the future. I still have some impressions of this Nanba, about sixteen or seventeen years old, born tall and mighty, riding and shooting, and good at using guns, saying that he saved a stranger when he was a child and was taught. ”

Du Shiyi couldn't help but ask, "Is it a gun?" Not a lance? ”

Zhang Yao is not a maid in the inner house, so he said with great certainty: "That's right, it's a gun with a soft pole, not a horse lance with a hard pole." ”

After a little calculation in his heart, Du Shiyi said: "In this way, you take me to see Wang Lingran first, and then summon my sister's most trusted subordinates, I want to see them." Then, bring that Nanba as well. ”

Although Zhang Yao had already mentioned that Wang Lingran was seriously injured, when Du Shiyi entered the room full of medicinal incense and saw Wang Lingran's weak appearance, he was still shocked. The young man, who had been arrogant and conceited and had repeatedly hit the wall, was now lying there in a fit of rage, not even noticing that he had come to the edge of the bed. He snorted a few times but didn't get half a response, then suddenly turned his head to look at the imperial doctor on the side.

"Mr. Wang was seriously injured, and most of the time he was unconscious, and now he is hanging on ginseng soup." The imperial doctor saw that Du Shiyi's eyes suddenly turned sharp, although he was here to treat Princess Gu'an, not someone else, he still couldn't help but explain, "He was hit by three arrows, and when he fell off the horse, he broke several times, I have tried my best, I may not be able to wake him up, but it is not a medicine stone that can work."

"Wang Zhongqing is a scholar and the first, he is brilliant, he has not yet shown his talents, and there will be a place for him to show his ambitions in the future, please ask Imperial Doctor Liu to save him back"

When Du Shiyi turned around and walked out of the room, Wang Lingran, who was lying on the couch without moving, seemed to tremble slightly.