The sky was overcast, Nan Yan Lie of the Southern Xinjiang Royal Mansion sat in the study, looking at the topographic map of the distribution of horse thieves in the northwest, constantly sketching on it, and finally marked a key point and handed it to Uncle Xiao on the opposite side: "Tell the other party that you must force him in this corner, if the people we send defect in the middle, send them down together!" ”

"Yes!" Nan Li looked at the topographic map in front of him, his face changed darkly, this kind of complex topographic map, even if he went in, he didn't dare to come out with confidence, let alone His Royal Highness the Prince, who was pampered and pampered. “

When the prince Nan Xuanye set off, the ministers who came out of the palace were just some people who were close to some princelings, Nan Xuanye said a few polite words to them and quickly dispersed, people went to the tea cold, the leftovers were cold tea, looking at the ice and snow outside the restaurant, there was no one with a cold heart!

At this time, the prince Nanxuan looked at the silver and white on the ground outside the restaurant, the cold wind blew the windows of the top floor of the restaurant, and the pedestrians on the road hurried to their homes, and every household closed their doors and hid together for the winter, which is the normal life of the people, and it is really a crime to go out in the winter, not to mention going to the northwest where the climate is more cold, and the north will drill into the neck, and blow a breath of cold air will be immediately frozen into ice fog!

Song Shijie, the secretary of the military department, rushed to the restaurant where the prince Nan Xuanye was temporarily located at this time, although it was a place where the nobles of the capital often gathered, but it was the first time that top nobles such as the prince Nan Xuanye chose to be here, and it was a place surrounded by heavy guards.

The crown prince Nan Xuan stood by the window at night, and Song Shijie, the secretary of the military department, came to the restaurant with his eldest son Song Chengxuan, and after saluting, he immediately took out an envelope from his pocket.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, this is a letter from the queen mother, she can't bear to come out to see you, her body is a little cold, in fact, the queen mother is heartbroken for you, she doesn't want to see you suffer, she can't bear this fact, she can only endure the pain to write a letter by hand, this is the cotton clothes she personally made with Shen Shen! You take it with you on the road! ”

Prince Nan Xuanye turned around slightly, looked at the package handed over by S Song Shijie in front of him, there were shallow tears flashing in his eyes, and he reached out to take the package handed over by Song Shijie, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and put it tightly in his heart, he lowered his eyes and opened the package, which was a white fox fur mink windbreaker.

"This is the queen mother has been sewing it for two months with her own hands, with this windbreaker she gave you, you will definitely come back safely!" Song Shijie, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said in a deep voice.

Prince Nan Xuan shook off his burden at night, directly put the white cloak on his body, and looked back at Song Shijie in front of him: "The crown princess Yanran will trouble her father-in-law to take care of it, Xiao Wang is gone, I don't know how long it will take to come back, maybe a few days or maybe a month, this time I can't eat, my father patted me 10,000 soldiers and horses, this time the road is slippery on a snowy day, and the northwest side is an area with complex terrain, so it is inevitable that there will be many situations!" ”

Song Shijie's face was very unnatural, he naturally knew that the terrain this time was really unexpectedly complicated, if someone secretly poisoned Prince Nan Xuanye, it would be really convenient at the right time and place, if Prince Nan Xuanye had an accident, he would bear the brunt in time Song Shijie, he would naturally not look good on his face.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, this mission has a cold climate, complex terrain, the enemy is cunning, and there are many people who intend to do you wrong, so it's better for you to be more careful! The old minister is really worried, His Royal Highness the Prince, you must take care! Looking at the indifferent prince Nan Xuanye in front of him, Song Shijie was really bitter in his heart.

"Father-in-law, don't worry, Xiao Wang will have an idea! The climate here is very cold, and you don't have to return your body, so go back first! I can send Xiao Wang! ”

Song Shijie, the secretary of the military department, looked at the goose feathers and heavy snow outside the window, although he was worried in his heart, he still nodded, and respectfully retreated, Song Chengxuan, who had been standing silently on the side at this time, took a step forward and came to Nan Xuanye: "His Royal Highness the Prince, I am here!" ”

"You have a lot of emotions towards me recently, and there seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction, now Xiao Wang and I are leaving, there must be a long time, we can't see each other, you pour bitter water, listen to your ears!"

After the crown prince Nan Xuanye finished speaking, he looked at Song Chengxuan, whose expression was a little unnatural, paused, sat on the cushion on the side by himself, and looked at Song Chengxuan in front of him.

"My sister said, if you don't marry, she likes you for more than ten years, saying that she is stupid and looks down on her, but I know that feelings are never forced, you can marry her, I am very grateful, but I am 10,000 unwilling to see my sister injured, now I see such a situation, your situation is not too good, Nan Yanlie, the king of southern Xinjiang, is pressing you step by step, in front of the big right and wrong, I will never hold your hind legs, you can rest assured, I will definitely protect the prince's mansion of the East Palace for you, and also help you protect the safety of the queen mother, so that you have no worries!"

"Actually, I really want to go to the northwest with you to quell the rebel horse thieves together, but the court won't let me out now, all I can do is let you have no worries!"

"Thank you!" Prince Nan Xuanye patted Song Chengxuan's shoulder, and a thousand words turned into one sentence, his expression was still faint, his eyes were as calm as water, without a trace of waves, and he looked at the ice and snow outside and dealt with it indifferently, as if he was just going out to play.

"Actually, I really want to ask you about Xia Yinbing, but I know that this is your private matter, I shouldn't ask, just see that your mental state has been poor, and I have always been worried about your safety, you must take care of yourself, don't be reckless, rest in time, you must protect yourself, you are going, there are many difficulties and obstacles, I am really worried about you!"

After Song Chengxuan finished speaking, the expression on his face was very uncomfortable, he had been avoiding going to see Prince Nan Xuanye, but thinking of what happened to this good brother during this time, his heart began to soften again, he just couldn't get used to seeing any bad things in front of Nan Xuanye, he was able to see no one in the situation of Prince Nan Xuanye, and when everything was fine, neither of them would see anyone, and he should not go out to quell the rebel horse thieves when Prince Nan Xuanye was in bad health, which really made him beat the drum in his heart, Even looking at the prince Nan Xuanye's eyes in front of him, there was a trace of pity. Although Song Chengxuan is very deep.

"Let you see the joke, Xiao Wang, I will get better soon, let you worry, when Xiao Wang and I return victoriously from quelling the rebellion and horse thieves, you must remember to set up a banquet to entertain me, and wait for Xiao Wang's good news, okay, you go back, take good care of your sister, just to help me!" Let's go! ”

"Your Highness, it's time to go, otherwise we won't be able to make it to the next station before dark!" Cheng Yu said worriedly, he was very anxious now, and he had to leave quickly.

"Then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be careful! Song Chengxuan is waiting for your victory in the capital! Song Chengxuan wiped his face, looked at the prince Nan Xuanye in front of him, and said respectfully.

Prince Nanxuan's eyes were starry, he looked at Song Chengxuan in front of him, patted him on the shoulder, turned around to open the door, and walked into the wind and snow against the cold on his face.

At this time, Nan Xuanye put on the hat on his head, walked towards the wind and snow, took the horse from the guard, stepped on the horse, and flicked the whip fiercely and ran into the distance.

Cheng Yu followed, at this time the snowflakes in the air were getting bigger and bigger, Song Chengxuan stood on the top floor of the restaurant, watching the two figures that gradually turned into points of light in the distance gradually disappear from view, and his heart became nervous, the weather is getting more and more severe, and the situation in the capital is changing faster and faster, many things are too late to be clear, there is no time to prepare, and things happen unexpectedly under everyone's noses.

The snow was vast, and the prince Nan Xuanye and Cheng rode horses to meet the 10,000 soldiers who had been waiting outside the city for a long time, and the general who led the team was Yuan Muyun, the guard general of the capital.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not snowing much now, the road is not yet freezing, we must go to the next station immediately, arrive at the post station before dark, although we have purchased enough food and water in advance, cotton clothes and weapons, medicine, but there are too many variables on the road, the only thing we can do is to race against time and rush back before the end of the month, otherwise the colder the day, the greater the life challenge we face!"

"According to the news obtained by the spies from the horse thieves in the northwest, the terrain of the northwest frontier is complex, with many mountain peaks and cliffs, steep rivers, and sheep intestine trails all over, in addition to the horse thieves who have created murder crimes everywhere, the strength we can unite is the horse gang there, the people of the horse gang walk the ancient tea horse road all the year round, they walk out of the closed mountain village, and take the camellia they purchased themselves out The way to walk is the ancient road, some places are narrow and difficult, and it is very likely to encounter mudslides, landslides, avalanches and other dangers, It can be said that every step is walking on the tip of the knife, and if you are not careful, you will give an account of your own life, but these are just hell and the hardships of the road, those horse thieves are all over the place all year round, they are not only the people of the Great Zhou who participate in it, but also the people of the Huns, Turks and other countries, they gather together, the number is huge, killing people without blinking, poisoning is invisible, the hell we see is almost the same as their power! ”

"This time, we put our lives on our hearts! This time, the three directors of the Western Frontier sent by the Imperial Court all died on the way to take office, so our imperial court officials would rather be punished than come to the Northwest Frontier, their greatest wish is to be able to save their lives. Over the years, the number of these unmanaged horse thieves has formed a tribal collection, and now the number has reached 20,000, so our crowd is not dominant in terms of number and elite, we can only outwit! ”

Prince Nan Xuanye looked at the topographic map unfolded by Cheng Yu in front of him, his eyes sank slightly, his hands clenched unconsciously, and he glanced at the guards of the capital in front of him.

"Is there a place to rest at this time?" Nan Xuanye looked at the guard on the side and explained: "Let's spend a little time arranging the marching route and combat methods, sharpening the knife and not chopping wood!" ”

"There's a simple empty room not far away, it's empty, we can stay inside and take shelter from the snow, but these brothers have to wait outside for a while." Guard General Yuan Muyun said. “

"Okay, then let's finish the discussion quickly, let's come with Xiao Wang!" After the prince Nan Xuanye finished speaking, he walked towards the dilapidated house in the distance that could barely hide from the rain and snow.

It was snowing heavily outside, it was snowing lightly, and the biting north wind was pouring in from the door to the room, Cheng Yu felt sorry for the prince Nan Xuanye's body, and took the initiative to stand at the door to form a human wall to block some of the wind and snow, and some other guards also took the initiative to surround them when they saw this, these people are all bloody men, looking at the pale face in front of them, the spirit is not very good, and the prince of Da Zhou went to the northwest to pacify the horse thieves with these rough men, they were a little distressed and moved, and more importantly, they had more perseverance in their hearts.

The dignified princes came to supervise the battle in person, and when they advanced and retreated with them, what else was there to complain about, the big guy didn't say anything, just roll up his sleeves and do it together.

Prince Nan Xuanye opened the map drawn on parchment, looked at the more than a dozen peaks and cliffs in the northwest frontier, and the endless desert loess around him, his eyes became deeper and deeper, and he pointed to the back of the loess desert, looking at the more than a dozen cliff peaks outside the desert, and twisted his eyebrows slightly.

"The den of these horse thieves is hidden behind these dozen peaks, passing through the cliff peaks of the outlaw mountain, the crescent river, the ancient tea horse road, and finally through the Loess Desert, the oasis at the end of the desert is the den of these horse thieves, they hide deeply, as soon as the officers and soldiers of the previous years came, they hid, the news leaked quickly, they quickly hid, the three caves of the cunning rabbit were also hidden in batches, they couldn't find it, they were cunning, so it was very tricky to deal with, if it didn't happen this time, they killed the three officials from the capital, shocked the capital, I am afraid it is still a hidden danger on the ancient tea horse road, and it will not attract the attention of the official. ”

"His Royal Highness the Prince, every pass here is very dangerous, not to mention anything else, just these dozen peaks, seven hundred meters above sea level, and it snows very much in winter, the snow on the mountain is continuous, the mountain has long been covered with a thick layer of ice, all of us have to abandon the horses, climb the mountain with bare hands, they are all wild mountains, the road up the mountain has long been covered with a thick layer of ice, very dangerous, if you are not careful, you will fall from it, and if you fall down, you will die! Before we meet the enemy, our own people may die on the cliff! ”

Prince Nan Xuanye looked at the person in front of him, his eyes sank, his hands were tightly clenched, his face was very gloomy, not to mention the Crescent River, these peaks were enough for them to drink a pot! It's still a bitterly cold winter, and it's snowing all over the sky!

"Is this our going to die? It's winter now, I'm afraid those bandits don't dare to run around now, we are dangerous, aren't they as dangerous? We didn't dare to climb these cliffs of death, and neither did they, and the Crescent River, which had a layer of pancakes on it, and if we walked over, we would probably fall into the river and freeze to death, stuck in it! ”

"The Ancient Tea Horse Road is a cliff path that winds for hundreds of miles. Tightly clinging to the sheep farm path carved out of the mountain, with cliffs on one side and cliffs on the other, these dangers are not a joke at every step, do we have to go now? It's okay to wait until the end of the year, when the time comes, these horse thieves will also be active, and we will go up the mountain to annihilate them! Cheng Yu withstood the cold on his back, shook his teeth and said, he was going to cry! What kind of broken idea is this, Song Shijie is going to kill the prince of their family!

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, we'll go back now, no matter what they think, your life is the most important, and other things are nothing compared to your life, we won't go, let's go back now!"

Cheng Yu almost wanted to come in and pull the body in front of him was still a little weak, and the crown prince Nan Xuan, who had not fully recovered, left at night, he really couldn't stand it, compared to the emperor's position and life, of course, life is important!

But the truth is far from being as simple as Cheng Yu thought, he is just a subordinate, naturally he can't make decisions for Nan Xuanye in front of him, he is not afraid of death, he is afraid that the prince Nan Xuanye will die, this kind of thing is too tragic, he really can't stand it, he hasn't walked out yet, just looking at the map in front of him, Cheng Yu feels that his heart is about to jump out!

"What nonsense! It's all out, and now it's going back, is it a coward who everyone laughs at? Even if you die in battle, it's better than being called a coward and a coward! Prince Nan Xuanye looked at Cheng Yu, who was about to cry in front of him, and said calmly.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, this is not the time to be reckless, your body has not yet recovered its safety, and now it is freezing and snowy outside, and the conditions here are so bad and dangerous, we don't have to fight others, we ourselves are very likely to be killed, frozen to death, drowned outside, Cheng Yu please think twice!"

"His Royal Highness the Prince, what Cheng Yu said is not unreasonable, we have no objection to going to death now, as long as you explain it clearly to the emperor, I believe the emperor will understand the hardships here, and we will really suffer if we go now! Think again! The guard general Yuan Muyun also began to persuade the prince in front of him, Nan Xuanye.

At this time, Prince Nan Xuanye looked at the two people in front of him who pleaded, closed his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, Prince Nan Xuanye carefully looked at the sheepskin map in front of him again, in addition to the marked cliff group, the Crescent River, the Ancient Tea Horse Road, the Loess Desert, and the last oasis, these dangerous locations are connected to the shape of a crescent moon, which is also the reason why these horse thieves chose to settle here, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and have the confidence to take it without snowing, and now it is snowing here again, and it is frozenIn addition to these trails, there is no other way into the mountain at all, and it can be said that there are as many meals as miserable.

Nan Xuanye looked at the map above, and after careful study, there was really no other way, would you give up? How is it possible, he would rather be on his hands, would rather die on it than do what he trusts the turtle, regret, complain, and dodge, these are simply impossible for Nan Xuanye!

The hard cliffs, the rocks of the peaks, have been covered with snow at this time, very slippery, very cold, it is impossible to go up the frozen peaks, what should I do? Nan Xuanye also made a difficulty, without prior preparation, it is easy to get out of trouble, and the most obvious point is that this father-in-law Song Shijie is a pig? Come to the Northwest Frontier in the big winter to pacify the horse thieves!