(20) The road to the border pass
Viewed from the air, the army and the horse team marched along the distant and winding road, like a long flower snake, about to climb over the rugged Yan Mountain.
The snow on the top of Yanshan Mountain does not melt all year round, like a crooked white jade crown on the old man's head, but fortunately, the army does not need to cross the snow line, only need to go around it along its steep outline.
It was already noon, and the Shen Mo army, which had left the garrison and left the pass, dragged the sparse Dirong horse team, although the march was slow, but because of the emperor's urgent edict, they could not stop and rest casually.
In the carriage sat Rong Di's envoys - it is better to say that it is the envoys than the Rongdi royal family, except for the Rong Di king Helian Shuo, who must stay in the tribe to stabilize the people, the two most important royal families are crowded in this narrow carriage.
Helian Su untied the fur and fleece that she was wrapping around her body, and put on a plain soft undergarment that Helian Xing bought from someone I don't know where she had been—I heard that it was the dress of a rich woman from the Li Dynasty, and she was wearing a cashmere cloak outside, which looked very unaccustomed.
She rolled up her sleeve and stuck it at her elbow, thought about it and pulled it down, and after a while, unconsciously pulled her sleeve up to her elbow again, and so on.
Actually, she couldn't tell if it was because she was not used to it or because she was uneasy, she wanted to go down for a walk, or ride a horseback for a walk, but as a captive—or a trophy? In short, you can't just walk around.
I heard that there are many rules in the Central Plains, women can't go out if they have nothing to do, they can't run and jump for no reason, they can't show their arms and feet at will, they can't speak loudly, they can't talk to men at will, in short, this is not okay, that is not good, all of them are not good!
It's really annoying.
She bit her fingers, because she had been told of Dijon's situation, and she was afraid of affecting the clansmen, so she could only hold back her temper and sulk by herself.
Helian Xing sat beside Helian Su, the carriage was very small, and the strong man with the tiger's back was embedded in the car, sitting upright, his legs could not be straightened, and there was no room for movement, as if the carriage was stuffed with huge and rough Dijon ornaments.
Helian Xing's only eyes that could move freely were focused on his niece, and King Rongdi loved his daughter and his people so much that he had to give up one of them to fulfill the other, and he couldn't bear it...... In fact, after all, he proposed this crooked idea, and he should naturally solve the rest.
The marriage between the two countries, who can match the princess of a country, is often the prince and grandson, or the children of high-ranking officials, but now Helian Xing doesn't know what suitable princes or high-ranking officials are on the Li family's side, Di Rong has been fighting with the Central Plains for so many years, and he knows the three generations of the Shen family among the high-ranking Central Plains officials, let alone the prince....
He began to comfort himself that Helian was willing to stay in the carriage after he agreed to take her jujube foal, and that he could study slowly in the carriage as he went to the Imperial City of the Li Clan.
Why don't you try this General Shen first?
Helian Xing touched the autograph letter hidden in Helian Shuo's underwear, looked at Helian Su and sighed long.
Helian Su glanced at him:
"Uncle, why are you sighing?"
Helian Xing didn't want to blame her for her blunt and rude tone, but he was just struggling with how to make this girl understand his next words.
He stealthily lifted the curtain and looked outside, and after making sure that the soldiers were far away and could not hear their whispered conversation, he scratched his knees and considered the words:
"Well, eldest niece and daughter, although I know that you have always had some opinions about me, but now we are not going to enter the Li Imperial City with the army...... Dear, I think I have to follow that Shen along the way...... Mo has a lot of dealings, do you think you should test it......" He raised his thumbs with his hands on his knees, bent and touched.
"Oh." Helian Su frowned, a trace of confusion flashed in his blue eyes, and then he understood, and the tone of his answer was clear and sarcastic: "Try it." ”
Greedy for life and afraid of death, she didn't dare to explore Shen Mo's truth, and asked me to go, she said in her heart, if it weren't for the protection of the Rongdi warriors, I wouldn't have bothered to take care of you.
She slammed the window.
The soldier next to him quickly leaned over with a frown:
"What do you want to do?" This soldier hated the Rong Di marauders and had a bad attitude, but he always abided by the strict rules of the Shen family's army. He asked alongside the carriage with a grim face.
Helian Su bit his lip and stopped Helian Xing, who was about to open his mouth to scold Helian Xing, trying not to lose his temper at the soldier: "Please help me ask Shen ...... General Shen's carriage is too small, can I ride with it? Also, I want to discuss something with him. ”
"Got it, I'll report to the general, and you stay in the carriage for a while." The soldier replied coldly.
The soldier ran a few steps forward and turned back uneasily, whispered a few words to the soldier behind him, and let the other party walk beside the carriage of Helian Su and the others for him, and then ran quickly towards the front of the group.
Several people walked in front of the team on horses, one of them was wearing a black tasseled helmet on his head, and a heart shield on his chest.
But this person is tall, his eyes are bright, ignoring the stubble on his face that has not been shaved for a long time, and his appearance looks quite heroic.
This is Shen Mo.
The march was far away, and it was still very early to see the emperor, and of course the group of people were still wearing slightly tattered armor with varying degrees of wear.
Before breakfast, he wiped the dirt on his face with water and hurried back with a stubbled beard - anyway, no one disliked anyone.
Xu Ban, the deputy general beside Shen Mo, took out the dried naan from his baggage and handed it to him.
"How about the Rong Di envoys in the back?" Shen Mo asked, his eyes were looking straight ahead, his left hand was pulling the reins, and his right hand was holding the noodle naan and stuffing it into his mouth, because the march was non-stop, and the meals were on horseback.
After eating the dry food cleanly and pouring a few more mouthfuls of water, he said, "Look at the distance ahead, if nothing else, we should be able to go around the top of the mountain and rest on the back of the mountain today." ”
"Back to the general, everything is normal, it's just that the guards just came to report...... The princess complained about the small carriage and wanted to ask if you could get out of the carriage and ride with you. ”
He paused again, a little amused: "She said that there are some things she wants to discuss with the general. ”
There are many chariots and grain carts in the army, but there is no carriage, the carriage that Helian Su is riding is temporarily half rented and half borrowed from the merchant travelers, there are not so many gorgeous decorations and exquisite organs, but it is just comfortable, after all, the salary of the Shen family army is really not much, in order to make a good face for a country, Shen Mo has tried his best.
"I forgot that the equestrian skills of the Rong Di clan are all good," Xu Ban rode slightly closer to Shen Mo and said in a low voice: "The garrison soldiers noticed that there seemed to be a secret letter in Na Helian Xing's hand. Then he lifted his horse and took another half step, as if he had just rushed to the front carelessly, and he said in a loud voice: "The princess of Rongdi is not a good person. ”
"The carriage is just to save face," Shen Mo understood the other party's hint, and his face was not shocked, "Pass the word, as long as you pay attention, let her go." ”