The rain of the fourteenth stanza came and went like the wind. After Lan Feng and Wu Ming woke everyone up, they were so dignified, but it was raining heavily in the second half of the night, listening to the noisy rain outside, the rumbling thunder, Wu Ming clenched the letter in his hand tightly, and the entire nail had been embedded in the flesh, but he didn't realize it.

Thinking of the contents of the note, his heart was even more chaotic, and his whole heart fluctuated with the rumbling thunder.

If the content on the note is true, then what is the purpose of Liao Qing's doing this, and why did he do it? Does he also want to take the opportunity to be independent?

As soon as this thought arose in his mind, he was vetoed by Wu Ming shaking his head, Liao Qing is not a fool, if he stands on his own now, with the current geographical location of Qingting, he will definitely become the target of public criticism immediately, even if Li Tie has now become the actual ruler of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the civil strife continues, but he will definitely not tolerate the five provinces of China and the West to stand on their own.

After all, the historical and political status of the five central and western provinces is far from being comparable to that of the Southern Jiaotong Province of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Nanjiao Province is only a nominal province in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was run by the Pa family in successive dynasties, except for maintaining a nominal subordinate status, in other aspects, there is no actual difference from the independent kingdom.

However, the five provinces of the Eastern Han Dynasty were different, and the five provinces were vast, and their area was equivalent to that of the now independent Nanban Empire. And it has always been the Eastern Han Dynasty who personally appointed the governor and the governor of the provinces, even if there was occasional **, in the eyes of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was just the disobedience of the people outside the country and the suffering of ringworm.

Other ethnic groups in the local area, although they have been in trouble for a long time, have long since tacitly acknowledged themselves as members of the Eastern Han Dynasty after so many years of subtle influence.

If Liao Qingzhen wants to be self-reliant, he must first be hated by the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he will definitely not be popular with the people.

Another reason is that in the southwest of the Qingting steppe, there is another great empire, the Persian Empire, and the entire Qingting Province, in the southeast, almost half of the territory borders Persia.

The two sides are bounded by the Yunda Snow Mountain, the southwest is the territory of the Persian Empire, and the northeast is the Qingting Province of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is precisely because the border between the two sides is a natural danger of its own. Therefore, Persia and the Eastern Han Dynasty have had agreements on non-aggression against each other.

If the Eastern Han people really want to conquer Persia in the south, they must cross the Daya Snow Mountain to attack, and similarly, if the Persians really want to directly attack the Eastern Han Dynasty, they must also cross this moat. Therefore, invisibly, this seemingly fragile piece of paper agreement, with the help of Daya Snow Mountain, has been tacitly maintained by both parties to this day.

Of course, the two empires were not willing to be blocked by a mountain range, and the Eastern Han Dynasty frequently dispatched troops from Shazhou, through Xiliang, attacked Nanping, and desperately expanded to the west, in order to open up a smooth road to Persia in the south and North Mongolia in the north. Open up another battlefield for your own territorial expansion.

The Persians, on the other hand, were simpler and more direct, repeatedly marching eastward, aiming directly at the Eastern Han Dynasty and Nanjiao Province, hoping to open up their own way north from the south.

According to the agreement between the two countries, the Persians naturally violated the non-aggression pact between the two countries. But the Eastern Han Dynasty was naturally happy to see both sides fighting and losing. Naturally, the Persians would not be questioned on this basis. During the first Persian invasion, the Nanban Pa family sent an envoy to Kyoto to ask for help. However, it was pushed and prevaricated by the Eastern Han government for various reasons. In the end, 2,000 navy troops were sent to "help" under false pretenses, but when they went to the area of Gulf Province, they "suddenly encountered strong winds, and most of the ships were damaged, so they had no choice but to enter the port of Pingdao for temporary refuge."

When the contemporary head of the Pa family received this excuse, he tore Wen Jiàn to pieces, and it is said that even the pigeon that delivered the letter was steamed by him.

Since then, every time the Persians have gone east, the Pa family has never asked for help from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

This may be another reason for the independence of the Pa family in Nanjiao.

Although Persia and the Eastern Han Dynasty had a non-aggression pact, once Xiaoqing became independent, this treaty was naturally abolished, and the Persians would never mind crossing the snow-capped mountains in order to swallow him. The belligerent Persian Emperor Philireth was certainly able to do it.

After all, once successful, you can use the Qingting Grassland as a base, and then sweep north and east, and the so-called "Daya Snow Mountain" danger may also become a historical term.

……

Outside the cave, thunderstorms and occasional lightning swept through the night, and it was also a flash in a hurry. Then thunder rumbled. Wu Ming sat at the entrance of the cave, trying to look into the dark night sky, hoping to find something in it, but he was disappointed, after that lightning, the whole night became dark again, deep and depressing.

At the entrance of the cave, the bonfire had been lit again. It became the only source of light in the endless darkness. A gust of mountain wind blew, carrying a few raindrops, poured on the fire and "sizzled". also reflected Wu Ming's face uncertainly.

He took a deep breath, forget it, if you can't guess, don't guess, since you can't figure it out, take care of the light around you, because this day, it will eventually light up.

Thinking about it, drowsiness gradually hit, and his two eyelids began to fight gradually, so he hugged Chixiao and fell asleep.

……

With the march map, everyone was naturally happy, and everyone discussed and decided, so they continued westward to Tidal City to the west of Jiyu Forest, and the idea was to sneak into the other city, in order to get some important news, purchase some daily necessities, and then make a decision.

The rain came and went quickly, and when everyone was ready to go on the road again in the morning, the rain had stopped.

Countless drops of water hung on the branches of the tree, flashing and flashing. It's like a sparkling pearl.

Although it is already on the edge of the Jiyu Forest, there are still many towering giant trees everywhere. The fallen leaves on the ground were piled up in a thick layer. The bottom had long since rotted, and as soon as one stepped on it, some black and turbid water gushed out from the soles of his shoes, mixed with some dead branches and leaves. It gives people a greasy feeling.

Despite this, Wu Ming and the others still chose to pass through this forest, in this reckless primeval forest, there was no road to choose from, compared to the barren mountains overgrown with bushes, this was already a better place to march.

More than a hundred soldiers of the Guards Battalion marched silently in this primeval forest, and the soldiers stepped on the water-soaked rotten leaves, making a strange sound of "flutter, flutter", forming a strange ensemble.

Wu Ming was holding Chixiao in his left hand, and he was still holding the note tightly in his right hand, as if only in this way could he grasp something.

Last night, after waking everyone up, Wu Ming read the content of the letter for the first time, and then he pinched it in the palm of his hand and never showed it to the second person.

He took a deep breath and threw his right hand into the air, and the letter paper in his palm suddenly turned into a butterfly and fluttered to the ground. Then he slammed on it. The muddy water splashed everywhere, and even some confetti was squirted out far away. He lifted his right foot, and black water rushed up, and many scraps of paper had been hidden under the deep foot.

These must be known to everyone, so let's rot in the bottom of my heart.

Tian Hong ran up at this time and asked quietly, "My lord, what is written on the paper?" ”

The loot that was searched from Cao Lie this time, in addition to the detailed march map, there was also this piece of letterhead, Wu Ming didn't plan to hide it from everyone at the beginning, but when he read the content inside, he didn't tell everyone the specific content inside, and he didn't show it to everyone. It's just a matter of being alone and sullen. Although everyone was puzzled, they had to bury their doubts in their hearts.

After all, this Tian Hong is outspoken and fast-talking, and has a good relationship with Wu Ming, seeing that Wu Ming destroyed this note, his heart was itching, so he ran over to ask.

Wu Ming smiled faintly: "It's nothing, it's just what Liao Qing told Cao Lie to be careful." ”

"In this way, this Liao Qing's temper is really weird, it's good to say something to your face, and it was written into this letter, it seems that it is rumored that these two people are brothers who have died in life, and it is really so." Tian Hong scratched his head and found a normal reason for this lame excuse.

Although Wu Ming's heart was gloomy, he had to smile with him, and there was no interface.

At the front of the team, Lan Feng's voice came from asking: "My lord, there is a single-plank bridge here." We had to go to another hill and had to cross it over this single-plank bridge. Otherwise, you may have to take a long detour. ”

Wu Ming heard the shout, ran to the front of the team in a few steps, and the scene in front of him suddenly came into view, but he also gasped.

By this time, they had already walked out of the forest, but the outer part of the forest was not as far away as it was, and it was connected to another mountain or two. Between the two mountains. There is a canyon about two feet wide. The Creator is truly a miracle, and this canyon is like a sharp sword cutting through two mountains. Between the two mountains, the cliff is steep, and the clouds and mist below it are deep and tumbling. Occasionally, one or two unknown mountain birds hovered in the clouds, and their chirping sounded in the ears. The echo is reverent, making it even more unclear about the exact height of the canyon.

Wu Ming stood on the edge of the cliff, put his hand on the pergola and looked around, feeling a little dizzy, turned his head and asked Lan Feng, "Can you only pass through here?" Is it possible to get around? ”

If you pass from this single-plank bridge, everyone will naturally not have much of a problem, but Wu Ming is worried about Tao Yu and He Yi, if you really want to pass from here, you are feeling a little dizzy now, and they and Hu Yong are really a little difficult.

Lan Feng shook his head and said, "My lord doesn't know, although this map is detailed, it only identifies some important mountains, rivers, and cities, and such a canyon is definitely impossible to show on the map." So we didn't make much other preparations, and if we really had to get around it now, then the road this morning would be in vain, and we had to walk along this canyon to the bottom of the mountain. Bypass it again, and we'll have a farther way to Tidal City. More likely to be exposed. ”

Wu Ming looked down at the single-plank bridge, which was still relatively new, and next to it, a section of decaying old trees was thrown aside at random, and the fracture at one end was disordered, obviously naturally disconnected. The other end of the fracture was neat, apparently cut down, and there were brown dirt marks on it. At first glance, you can see that it is the original single-plank bridge.

He was ruthless and said, "Let's go in order." As for the mother, let's find a few people who are better at light body kung fu, in pairs, carrying a 'sliding rod', it should be no problem in the past, everyone remember not to look down, just practice light body kung fu as usual. ”