On the twenty-sixth day of October in the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan (735 AD), the Turkish Khan Sulu of the Western Turks attacked Beiting and the four towns of Anxi, and was defeated by Beiting Duhugai Jiayun in February of the following year. On the seventh day of the eighth month, the Sulu Khan sent his minister Hulu Dagan to ask for surrender. In mid-August, Tang Xuanzong sent an envoy to pass on the surrender certificate, and appointed five Yulin Army soldiers to escort the envoy and the certificate.

Within a few days, the task was successfully completed, and the six-member squad returned to the DPRK.

When the group of people walked to the vicinity of Shanzhou on Longyou Road (Note 1), one of the soldiers of the Lin Army said to the envoy minister next to him, "My lord, Shanzhou is not far ahead. When I arrived at the post station, I had a good rest, and the adults were tired of rushing these days. ”

The envoy minister said, "Captain Qin has also worked hard with all the soldiers in the past few days. Finally, we arrived in Shanzhou, and tonight the junior official set up a drink at the post station to treat you. ”

The Yulin Army soldier who spoke hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Excellency, no." If you don't return to the court for a day, your safety comes first. Don't dare to be careless. ”

The envoy minister hurriedly said, "Captain Qin, we have been acting cautiously and tense our nerves in the past few days. When we arrived at the post station today, it was naturally safe, and we really had to relax and relax today. ”

At this time, a soldier of the Yulin Army next to him stepped forward to report, "Captain, we seem to be being followed by someone." ”

Lord Lieutenant sneered contemptuously, "This man has been following us for several days, and is he finally getting closer?" ”

The envoy exclaimed, "How many days have you been following us? ”

Captain Qin replied, "He followed us seven days ago. If Zhang Fan can find out today, it means that he has obviously pulled in the distance. ”

"How's that for good? What is his purpose in tracking us? The envoy said anxiously.

"Don't worry, my lord, I will wait for Yu Lin Wei to be transferred to protect your lord, which shows how important it is for your lord and what you have in your hands. We will wait for the death to protect the adults. After speaking, he instructed the two Yulin soldiers beside him, "We can only wait and see what happens now, Zhang Fan, Wang Sai!" ”

"Here!"

"Here!"

Captain Qin then instructed, "You two quietly walk to the rear and find out what they are doing. Be careful. ”

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The two of them followed the group to a small dirt bag and slowly circled back from the flanks.

The envoy minister was worried, "So what do we do now?" ”

Captain Qin said calmly, "Don't worry, let's go to Shanzhou Post Station first." As long as we get to the station, we are half safe. Then discuss the next step. After a pause, Captain Qin immediately ordered, "Without further ado, let's rush to Shanzhou City immediately." ”

The four of them immediately rushed to Shanzhou City.

Each city has a post station, which is a place for the imperial court to provide people who transmit official documents and military information or officials to eat and lodging and change horses on the way. So as long as they arrive at the post station, their safety can be at least guaranteed to a certain extent.

There is only one post station in Shanzhou City, which is in the commercial center of the city. When the four of them came to the gate of the post station, Captain Qin felt that there was something wrong here, and he always felt that something was not quite right. The two Yu Lin Wei and the envoy minister were about to step towards the post station, but Captain Qin hurriedly stopped them.

"That's not right here." Captain Qin said cautiously.

The two Yu Lin Wei next to him immediately tightened up and hurriedly sandwiched the envoy minister between the two, putting on the tightest defensive posture.

On the first floor of the post station are several square tables for eating, directly opposite is the counter of the shopkeeper to settle accounts, and there is a staircase next to it to the second floor. On the second floor are the guest rooms where these officials live. Just as Captain Qin stepped into the gate of the post station, a large net was suddenly cast above the store. Just between the lightning and flint, Captain Qin pushed out with both palms, and directly pushed the two Yu Lin Wei and the envoy minister out of the gate of the post station. The net cast from above caught him alone, and he shouted, "Hurry up and escort the envoy minister out of here, and I will stop you here." ”

When the two men received the order, they immediately got up from the ground, picked up the messenger, and ran to the back of the stable.

Captain Qin was covered by a large net at the door, and at this time, several black-clothed people came from different parts of the house. One of them walked down from the upper floor and said sharply, "Don't let them run, you chase after them." ”

The two closest to the door immediately got up and chased after them. Captain Qin sneered at this time and said, "Just because of this broken net, you want to trap me?" It's too underestimated. After speaking, he shook hard, and suddenly the big net was torn open. The two black-clothed men who had just run to Captain Qin's side were caught off guard, and were directly pushed back by Captain Qin. Then he pulled out the knife at his waist and guarded the gate.

It seems that they have been ambushed, but why did this group of people attack them, and who are these people? The questions in his head swirled in Captain Qin's mind, but this was not the time to think about them. At this moment, he can only hold this door to buy more time for the envoy minister to escape.

Seeing several black-clothed men slowly approaching him, Captain Qin shouted, "Who are you?" Dare to hit the idea of the court officials so boldly, are you not afraid of being wanted and hunted down by the court? ”

One of them suddenly laughed and said, "Hahaha, Qin Hui'an, it's really extraordinary." It's all like this, and you can still maintain this bearing. ”

Captain Qin was taken aback, how did this group of people know about themselves? So they know all they have? Who the hell are these people? How can anyone who has the ability to gain insight into the Imperial Court's Praetorian Guard, Yulin Guard?

The man continued, "Captain Qin Hui'an, if you are interested, hand over the Jianghu Order, we won't embarrass you, how about leaving you alive?" ”

Jianghu Order? Legend has it that people in the martial arts will be proud of themselves when they get this order, and they will be invincible in the world, but how can this Jianghu order, which has been missing for many years, suddenly appear? This group of people still threatens to do it to themselves? Are they mistaken? Although Qin Hui'an is not a martial artist, he still knows a thing or two about the famous Jianghu order on the rivers and lakes.

Qin Hui'an shouted, "Presumptuous." The officials of the imperial court, the Janissary Yulin Army, you dare to move, you have no king's law, and you are deliberately looking for death? Besides, we don't know what Jianghu Ling is and what it looks like, so how can we start handing it over to you? Besides, it's useless to give us this thing, so you who know each other should obediently tie your hands and arrest it. ”

Another man in black drew his sword and shouted, "Don't talk nonsense with him, kill him first." After speaking, he jumped several feet high and went straight to Qin Hui'an.

Qin Hui'an saw that the person who came was magnificent, and he didn't dare to slack off, when this person was about to jump, Qin Hui'an stretched out a kick and kicked him directly, and several people in black immediately swarmed behind.

Five of the six black-clothed men rushed forward, and one of them had already been kicked away by Qin Hui'an. The man in black who didn't move seemed to be their leader, and he didn't make a rash move at the moment, just stood quietly at the farthest distance to observe. It is really surprising that a person at the level of a mere captain has such ability. But no matter how tough it is, it's just a dying struggle.

Qin Hui'an is a person with real skills, and those who can enter the Yulin Army have some strength. And those who can mix to the captain level in the Yulin Army are extraordinary.

The other four men in black rushed in front of Qin Hui'an, and Qin Hui'an defeated four with one enemy, and knocked the four down with just a few moves. The black-clothed man led by him didn't want a small Yulin Army soldier to have such kung fu, and he was also surprised. He immediately drew his sword, and a swift arrow leaped out.

Qin Hui'an took the saber in his hand and took the man's sword. It seems that he is not an ordinary person, and he is not equal to the people on earth. Although Qin Hui'an is a member of the imperial court and is not too clear about the affairs of the rivers and lakes, he still knows a thing or two about the kung fu routines of the four major schools of the rivers and lakes. This person is one of the four major sects of Lingyun Pavilion's "Chongyun Sword Technique", this sword technique has thirteen styles, each style has three moves, and there are a total of one hundred and eight variations in the thirty-six moves.

Although Qin Hui'an can catch every move, on the surface, it seems that the two are equal, but in fact, Qin Hui'an has already riveted all his strength, and it is unknown how much skill the black-clothed man on the other side has used. If you continue to compete for a long time, you will inevitably have the upper hand.

Just then, suddenly two things flew in from outside the house, interrupting their struggle. Qin Hui looked at it steadily, and it was actually two heads. He exclaimed loudly, "Zhang Fan! Wang Sai! ”

These two are the two people who were followed by people before entering Shanzhou and secretly ordered to investigate the enemy's situation. They are also a good hand of Yu Linwei, and they were cut off by someone.

Qin was not allowed to think about it, and a man in black rushed in outside the door. The black-clothed man who was fighting with Qin Hui'an in the house, "Everything is done?" ”

The black-clothed man who had just entered the house said, "These two rabbit cubs are very thieves, worthy of Yu Linwei, and it took a little trouble to get it." What about your side? After speaking, he looked at Qin Hui'an, who was hiding on the side.

"It's okay on my side, he'll send it back right away." The man in black replied.

Qin Hui'an thought that it was not right, the envoy minister had already been escorted away by the remaining two Yulin guards. Hearing the sound of them getting on their horses, the reason why I stayed here was to buy them as much time as possible to escape. This man said things were coming soon? Is there any ambush on the way?

Sure enough, in this moment. One person came in with the other two heads of Yu Linwei, Qin Hui'an couldn't believe his eyes, this person turned out to be the envoy minister.

I saw the envoy minister carrying two heads and slowly walking in with the document box containing the request for surrender of the Turquoise Khan of Sulu, "Haven't you done it here?" ”

The man in black who was the first to fight with Qin Hui'an answered, "It's almost over here, but I didn't expect a little lieutenant to be so good at martial arts." After saying that, he approached Qin Hui'an with his saber, and the man in black who came in after taking Zhang Fan and Wang Sai's heads also pulled out his saber and forced Qin Hui'an from the other side.

This is very bad, at this time, Qin Hui'an only knows that the envoy minister betrayed himself and the imperial court, and now he is teaming up with thieves to seize important military information. At present, he has to kill people and kill people, and his life is in danger.

The two black-clothed men slowly approached Qin Hui'an, while the envoy minister slowly took a few steps back in the opposite direction. It was as if he wasn't involved in the fight, just watching the series end.

The two black-clothed men were about to make a move, and the envoy minister just retreated to one of the black-clothed men who had just been beaten by Qin Hui An Zhenfei. At this moment, the man in black suddenly jumped up from the ground and hit the envoy minister with one palm, while taking the small box in the envoy's minister's hand with the other hand. The envoy minister was hit by this palm and retreated several feet. The man in black who had snatched the box immediately rushed to one of the windows, and one jumped out. All the actions were done in one go, and in a moment they escaped from everyone's sight.

The envoy immediately shouted, "Don't chase it yet!" ”

The two men in black also looked at each other, staring at Qin Hui'an in front of them.

The envoy shouted again, "The contents of the box are the most important thing, go quickly!" ”

The two men in black quickly chased after them. The envoy took two breaths and cursed, "Damn, it's really bad to be put on the table." He was about to get up and catch up, when Qin Hui'an blocked the way of the envoy minister with a knife.

The envoy minister was shocked and said, "I have spared your dog's life, and you still don't know how to get out of the way?" ”

Qin Hui'an said solemnly, "Who are you?" How could such a thing be done? Tell me what your purpose is? ”

The envoy sneered, "Do you think you can stop me? ”

"If you can't stop it, you have to block it, and if you lose your military intelligence, it's also a capital offense for us. Look at the moves! After speaking, Qin Hui'an slashed with a knife.

The envoy minister only turned sideways to gently dodge Qin Hui'an's attack, and while dodging sideways, he gently pushed out a palm. Qin Hui'an was directly pushed into the air for several feet, hitting the side wall, and blood immediately broke out of his mouth. This person is by no means an envoy minister, his martial arts are too strong, and with this light palm, his internal strength is so deep. Qin Hui'an intuitively felt that the qi and blood in his whole body were surging at this time, as if the blood in his whole body was about to explode with a force, and he knew that he had suffered a very serious internal injury.

The envoy minister glanced at him contemptuously, "Cut, don't measure yourself." And he walked out of the station.

At this time, there were four black-clothed people on the ground who had fainted, and Qin Hui'an, who had been injured internally. If such an important thing is lost, how can it face the imperial court? I can't lose the face of my ancestors, and I must get this important thing back. A strong belief supported Qin Hui'an. He staggered out of the post station to the window where the man in black had just snatched the box and flew out. He crouched down and investigated the situation using the tracking he had learned in the troops. The footprints left by this person are very deep and wide, indicating that this person's internal strength is not weak, and he uses light skills. While the footprints are still clear, you have to catch up with them quickly.

So Qin Hui'an took out the military horses that were ready at any time from the back of the horse stall, and galloped away along the clearly visible footprints.

……………………

(Note 1: The territorial division of the Sui Dynasty was dominated by prefectures, and later changed to prefectures into counties, but in fact there was no change. There was also a history of division and branch inspection, and there seems to be no specific establishment. During the Zhenguan period of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, it was divided into ten provinces, such as Guannei, Henan, Hedong, Hebei, Shannan, Longyou, Huainan, Jiangnan, Jiannan, and Lingnan. In the twenty-first year of Xuanzong's first year, he analyzed it again, and then formed fifteen ways, each of which was interviewed by an envoy to prosecute the illegality. Interviews make each a place of governance, and thus a metropolis of each way.

1. Guannei Road (Zhichang'an, now Xi'an City). It has jurisdiction over the three provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, with the Yellow River in the east, the Wusheling Mountains in the west, the Qinling Mountains in the south, and Lake Baikal in the north.

2. Henan Province (Zhibianzhou, now Kaifeng City). It governs the two provinces of Henan and Shandong, east to the seashore, west to Tongguan, north from the Yellow River (Tang Dynasty Yellow River), south to Huaishui.

3. Hedong Road (Zhipuzhou, now Yongji County). It has jurisdiction over a part of present-day Shanxi Province, Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia.

4. Hebei Province (Zhiwei Prefecture, now Daimyo). It governs the east of the present-day Taihang Mountain, and goes northeast to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River.

5. Shannan East Road (Zhixiangzhou, now Xiangyang City).

6. Shannan West Road (Zhiliang Prefecture, now Hanzhong City), the above two provinces govern the Jianghan River Basin, starting from the Jialing River in the west, reaching the east side of Tongbai Mountain in the east, reaching the Qinling Mountains in the north, and reaching the Da Lou Mountain, Wushan Mountain and Dongting Lake in the south.

7. Longyou Road (Zhishanzhou, now Ledu County, Qinghai). It has jurisdiction over the west of Longshan and Jialing River, and goes straight to Central Asia.

8. Huainan Road (Zhiyangzhou, now Yangzhou City). It has jurisdiction over the area between the Yangtze River and the Huai River.

9. Jiangnan East Road (governing Suzhou, now Suzhou City).

10. Jiangnan West Road (Zhihongzhou, now Nanchang City).

11. Qianzhong Road (Zhiqianzhou, now Pengshui County, Chongqing). The above three provinces govern the vast area between the Yangtze River and the Five Mountains.

12. Lingnan Road (Guangzhou, now Guangzhou). It has jurisdiction over the area south of Wuling.

13. Jiannan Province (Zhiyiju, now CD City). It has jurisdiction over the west of South Mountain Road and the south of Longyou Road, and goes straight to the south of Yunnan.

14. Gyeonggi Province (Chang'an, now Xi'an). It has jurisdiction over the surrounding areas of present-day Xi'an City.

15. Dugi Province (Zhidong Capital, now Luoyang City). It has jurisdiction over the surrounding areas of Luoyang. 〉