In the south-central part of Lingnan, in the county seat of Yao County under Dongyao Mountain, a small-scale war is underway.

Huo Yi stood on Dongyao Mountain and carefully observed with a telescope, he couldn't wait to put on his wings and fly down to join the war. Next to him was Hua Ji'an, who had just arrived from southern Hunan, and this time Hua Ji'an and Huo Yi led troops south from the south to complete Liu Yu's military deployment.

"Brother Hua, look at them, no, without me, I can't work hard in one of them, such a small county town, I have been fighting for a long time without results, isn't it to lose the old face of the master?"

Yao County is the southern boundary of Xu Yuanfang's territory, four hundred miles away from Kangsheng, originally Huo Yi was just passing by, just because of the lack of food, can only find each "soft persimmon" pinch.

Hua Ji'an looked at the situation below and said: "It will be noon in half an hour, if you can't take the city again, you can't attack in turns like this, you have to fight from several directions." The time limit arranged by the king was urgent, and we could not afford to delay on the road. ”

Huo Yi nodded and said, "That's it." If I can't fight it in another half an hour, I will go into battle in person. ”

Huo Yi and Hua Ji'an led 3,000 soldiers, for Huo Yi, who often defeated the enemy with less than 1,000 numbers, 3,000 soldiers and horses was already a very large number, and a small Yao County, the defenders were only a few hundred, which was a war with a very large difference in strength. And the imperial army suddenly appeared outside Yao County, Xu Yuanfang has not received the news for the time being, even if he knows the way, he does not dare to send troops to help easily.

The siege of Yao County lasted less than an hour before and after, and Huo Yi was eager to go to the battlefield, and the city gate below had been breached. The defenders hurriedly surrendered. The vanguard army has entered the city. Soldiers enter the city. It is not to occupy the city, but to go in and loot the grain, and the granaries in the city will be looted.

"That one is too picky, let us lead the troops south, walk for more than ten days, but only give us four days of rations, doesn't this force us to suffer hardship?" Huo Yi said indignantly, "Brother Hua." We have to hurry, I heard that Lao Zhang is also coming south from the north, and they seem to be going to kill from the north, so we can't fall behind them. ”

…………

On June 25, after two days of traveling, Liu Yu and the Yue people finally bypassed the mountains and arrived in the Lanping area, where the Miao people lived.

Along the way, Liu Yu saw the hardships of the Miao people's life, although the Miao people were powerful in Lingnan, they were forced by the local forces. They had to retreat to the mountains of the south, where the land was barren. All the way. There are no decent roads either, many of them are mountain roads, and there are also many steep places. Fortunately, the journey is not far, Liu Yuxin said that if he walked for ten days and eight days, let alone Qu Ning, even he might not be able to stand it.

Bypassing a hilly place in the westernmost part of Yueling, Liu Yu learned that the "Lanping" in front of him was what the Miao people called "Lanping". At dusk, the sky is gloomy, the mountain is shrouded in mist, there is a large open land in front of you, and Lanping is a basin, which is also a rare fertile land in the southwest of Yueling. Farmland, villages, and cottages form a white-green picture, and the barrenness of the mountain land contrasts sharply with the fertile soil of the blue flats. When they arrived here, the Yue people had a little more envy and expectation in their eyes, because such a beautiful home was what they longed for.

On the evening of the 25th, the Yue people were placed in the Miao village on the outskirts of Lanping, which was said to be resettlement, but in fact it was to set up camp in a slightly empty place. Although the conditions were a little harder, after two consecutive days of eating and sleeping in the open, arriving in Lanping also made Liu Yu feel a little quiet and peaceful.

"More than ten miles to the south, is the big village of Lanping Miao people, I went to it once when I was young, there are really good places, and the village is connected to the village." When He Lu came over to discuss things with Liu Yu, he described the scene of the Miao village he had seen before.

Liu Yue didn't have the heart to listen, and when he arrived at Miao Village in Tiannan, Liu Yue was more concerned about whether his goal could be achieved. When he came here, he was a stranger far away, unfamiliar with the place, and he didn't feel confident to do things.

He Lu saw that Liu Yue was a little careless, so he said: "Tomorrow we will go to Miao Dazhai, although the Miao people are also hospitable, but don't let them know that you are Han, Han people are a taboo in Lanping, if they find out your identity, we ...... It can be dangerous. ”

Liu Yu nodded in understanding.

Before he came, Liu Yu had already learned that the Miao people had driven away the Han people who had lived in Lanping for a long time through years of war, and the price of the Miao people to enjoy this paradise alone was also very large, so that the vitality of the Miao people had not recovered over the years.

"There are some rules, talk to you about the person in charge, lest something go wrong tomorrow."

He Lu roughly said some of the etiquette of the Yue people, including the taboos of the Miao people, and Liu Yu wrote them down one by one. Looking back, Liu Yu still had to inform the soldiers under him of these. Accent is a big problem, so He Lu also suggested that Liu Yue should speak as little as possible so as not to show flaws.

"The Bai, Wa and An tribes, have you been in contact?" After the most embarrassing, Liu Yu asked.

"Several other tribes, for the time being, have come over to the northwest of Lanping, and they have already sent people over according to the requirements of the Fu family, and there should be news tomorrow."

Liu Yu nodded, now everything is ready, only Dongfeng is owed. Liu Yu guessed that the other tribes who were invited over would not be willing to be joined by the Miao, and since the Yue people had a common position with them, the matter would be discussed very smoothly.

Sending He Lu away, Liu Yu was preparing to sleep well so that he could have the energy to deal with the big scene the next day. As soon as the tent was erected, I heard that the Miao people had sent a steward to receive the Yue people. As Huang Yue's temporary appointment, Liu Yu also wants to meet.

There were quite a few Miao people who came to receive them, about twenty or thirty people, all of them men, and the current one was a middle-aged man who was close to forty years old, looking very strong, and he didn't even have a beard on his face. The first thing Liu Yu saw when he saw this person was the black yarn on his arm, and in the Miao people's line, he was the only one wrapped in the black yarn, plus the black yarn worn by the previous envoys, Liu Yue guessed that it should be a person with weight among the Miao people who died, and wearing the black yarn is the "privilege" of some powerful people, and ordinary Miao people should not be qualified to wear it.

The person who came reported his identity in the Central Plains, his name is Nongyi, and he is the Galu of the Nanmiao tribe, that is, the person in charge of the sacrificial drum, which is roughly similar to the priests and mages in the clan, and his status is lofty, and he is also an elder in the Nanmiao tribe who participates in politics.

Liu Yu heard that the Miao people were communicating in Chinese in public, and his heart was a little calm, so that at least he could not easily be recognized when he spoke. Because of the complexity of the Lingnan language family, it is indeed more convenient to communicate in Chinese in public.

He Lu and the others didn't think anything when they heard that the person who came was Nan Miao's identity, so they just said a few perfunctory words. Liu Yu on the side immediately sensed that something was wrong. Although the Lanping area is the location of the Miao village, but the main owner here is the middle Miao, and the Miao people are divided into the North Miao, the Middle Miao and the South Miao, for the North Miao and the South Miao, they come over and are also guests, the Miao is the Miao people in the most powerful force, the host does not come to receive, which itself has a problem.

Nong Yi and the Yue people's daqiu greeted each other one by one, and Liu Yu also bowed like a model.

Nong Yi felt a little surprised when he saw Liu Yu, a young Daqiu, and in his opinion, the Daqiu of the Yue tribe should be an elder.

Liu Yu was stared at by Nong Yi, and said with a slight smile on his face: "Nong Yi is here, there should be something to say, right?" ”

Nong Yi was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, he did not immediately say the purpose of this trip, but asked the entourage behind to present the gifts he brought over, the gifts were mostly silverware, which could be regarded as very valuable.

The Yue Daqiu didn't expect the Miao people to come to greet them, and they also gave gifts by the way, and their eyes were shining. They probably imagined these silver objects as silver ingots, which could be exchanged with the Han people for supplies. Liu Yu knew that these silverware were "bribes", and Nong Yi should have a purpose when he came over.

Nong Yi and Daqiu sat down in a bamboo building, the two sides sat down, and Nong Yi also made clear the purpose of coming here.

"I hope that the Yue people will support our Nanmiao elders and become Miao Dali elders."

In the Miao people, Li Lao means the patriarch, and Dali Lao is the great patriarch, in charge of the politics, military and economy of the entire Miao people. The Daqiu people looked at each other, some of them didn't understand why the Miao people elected the new Dali elders, and when it had something to do with their Yue people, and then these people all looked at Liu Yu, because they had discussed it before, and Liu Yu was in charge of diplomatic affairs.

Liu Yu's heart was open, he understood that the "Miao people" in Nongyi's mouth should be the "big Miao people" after merging the Yue people, the Bai people and other ethnic groups. If it is a large Miao people, it has something to do with the Yue people.

Miao people in the election of the elderly, the people of the village elected the old, the old of the village elected the old, and then by the three Miao of the old and Ga Luo to elect the old. It seems to be very democratic, but in fact, in the Miao people, the elder and the elder of Dali are basically hereditary, and the inheritance system of the Yue people is similar, and whoever has the hard fist has the final say, which is why the Dali elder of the Miao people before was taken by the elder of the middle Miao, because the middle Miao is powerful.

Liu Yu asked tentatively: "Is it that the aristocratic Dali has just passed away?" ”

Nong Yi showed an indifferent look of embarrassment on his face, nodded slightly, and said, "Although it has not been announced to the public, it is not a secret, and you should receive the news tomorrow." The old Dali passed away more than ten days ago. Now the Miao people are preparing for the funeral of the old Dali. ”

Liu Yu secretly thought in his heart, this matter is by no means simple, as soon as he wants to join the Dali elders, he will die, and the death will not be announced to the public for the time being, it is likely to be an unnatural death, that is, he was killed. This also solved a mystery in Liu Yu's heart, that is, why Liu Liniang was in a hurry to leave at that time. Ten days ago, it was also the time for Liu Yu and Liu Liniang to reunite. A couple of things happen to the front and back feet.

Liu Yu and several Daqiu of the Yue nationality expressed regret and condolences, and then Nong Yi withdrew the topic to the election of the elder of Dali. And the other Daqiu looked at Liu Yu at the same time, at this time even Nong Yi was a little unclear, he originally thought that the Yue people should be a plate of scattered sand after the drastic changes, even if they were integrated, they should elect a prestigious Da Qiu, but now look, these old guys all listen to a young man, and this young man gives Nong Yi the impression that it is very unreliable. (To be continued......)