It turned out that this man was not alone, but had four companions.

Look at their clothes, they are still merchants of the Ming Dynasty.

The knife he brought with him was a Mongolian sword.

However, the people in this area are dressed up in a mess. Even if you are really a Ming businessman, you think that Mongolian knives are easy to use, and it is not surprising to bring Mongolian knives for self-defense.

As soon as Hadir saw the man, he became nervous, and suddenly grabbed Zhu Bai's hand with his backhand.

His fingers were cold, but his palms were sweating.

Zhu Bai glanced at Hadir: What is the origin of this person, which makes Hadir so nervous.

The man didn't seem to see the sword in Zhang Yu's hand, and walked to the bonfire and sat down calmly, looking at the barbecue and rubbing his hands: "Hahaha, I'm really lucky today." I met you and hit a wild thing. ”

Hadir also noticed Zhu Bai's inquiring gaze at this time, and explained: "The rules of the desert, meeting is fate, water and food must be shared. ”

Zhang Yu also smiled, sat down and said, "That's right, it's fate, let's eat together." ”

Everyone sat down.

Hadir dragged Jubber to another campfire.

Zhu Bai asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?" ”

Hadir smiled and said, "I'm afraid of life." Especially at night. ”

No, he lied. How can a person like him who messes around in the inn all day long be afraid of life?!

Zhu Bai pursed his lips slightly and didn't ask any more.

Over there, Zhang Yu and the people who came were already chatting.

The person who came said, "My surname is Qi, and my name is Zino." I want to go to Hami to buy something. ”

Zhang Yu: "Oh. That's a few days away. ”

Zino asked again, "Where are you going, so many of you?" ”

Zhang Yu: "I'll take my little nephew out to see it." I didn't say where I had to go, I felt tired, so I went back. ”

Zino smiled: "Happy, I also want to be able to wander freely among the mountains and rivers one day." ”

Zhang Yu: "People, it's all a matter of thought, let go, and be free." ”

Zionona untied the wine from his waist, took a sip and handed it to Zhang Yu, who also took a sip, but did not pass it down, but handed it back to him.

The roe deer meat on the fire was almost roasted, and the oil dripped down and splashed sparks in the fire.

The two guards took the two roe deer down and placed them on a makeshift shelf made of tree branches next to them.

Zino seemed interested, staring intently at the guards.

The guard drew the dagger from his waist and cut the roe deer into large pieces, and the man next to him took it and passed it on.

Zino stared at the dagger in the guard's hand twice, seemed to suddenly lose interest again, turned his head away, and began to concentrate on eating meat and continuing to talk to Zhang Yu.

Zhu Bai smiled: It's okay, it's okay. Before I came out, I asked them to replace all the weapons from the standard equipment of the Ming army to ordinary civilian ones.

Otherwise, it will be revealing again.

Eat and drink enough, everyone lies on the ground.

Mao Xiang and Zhang Yu leaned against the stone, one left and one right, protecting Zhu Bai in the middle.

Fugui lay at Zhu Bai's feet.

There are also guards on duty in three shifts at night.

Zino and the others seemed to be relieved, and no one was guarded, just leaning against the tree and holding the knife and sleeping.

Zhu Bai felt that someone was watching him in the dark, and when he opened his eyes, he met the Zino.

Zino looked at him with interest like a wolf pondering a lamb.

Zhu Bai's heart skipped a beat, and he woke up in an instant, but he pretended to be confused and looked at Zino.

Zino closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

Zhu Bai couldn't sleep anymore.

He bet on a piece of melon, and this guy was definitely the person he imagined to be.

In the morning, Zhu Bai was awakened by Fugui and opened his eyes to find that the sun had risen.

Everyone is tidying up, and it's time to eat naan for breakfast.

Jubber turned his head to look and saw no Zino and them.

Fugui said: "They left before the young master woke up. He also said goodbye. ”

Ju Bai jumped up and grabbed Hadir and asked, "Do you know Zino, who is he?" ”

Hadir hesitated for a moment and said, "He is Wang Baobao." ”

Zhang Yu and Mao Xiang gasped:, we all walked through the ghost gate last night without knowing it.

Zhang Yu muttered, "I guessed they might be Mongolian rangers, but I didn't expect it to be Wang Baobao." ”

Zhu Bai sighed: "Sure enough, it's him." Isn't Zino the Mongolian word for wolf? ”

Yesterday they were still saying "the wolf is coming", but they met the "wolf" in the evening.

Hadir: "Let's go." It's better not to meet them again. ”

Zhang Yu asked: "Didn't Wang Baobao rob past merchants?" ”

Otherwise, why is Hadir so nervous? After all, their current status is also ordinary businessmen.

Hadir hesitated for a moment and said, "It depends." If he has no money or food, he will rob Han merchants. ”

Just like wolves, they roam everywhere, harmless to humans and animals when they are not hungry, and eat whatever they catch when they are hungry.

Zhu Bai: They began to hurry again.

Stop at a small oasis in between. There are the most camel thorns and red willows in the desert, and only the small lake is covered with grass.

Not far from this Haizi is a tall mound that is square and square, which is completely different from other Yadan terrain on the Gobi.

At first glance, it is a remnant of artificial masonry that has been abandoned.

Zhu Bai pointed to the mound and asked, "What is that?" ”

Zhang Yu said: "According to the location, it should be the Sui and Tang Yumen Passes." The Yumen Pass of the Western Han Dynasty will go about 600 miles further into the northwest hinterland. ”

Zhu Bai suddenly realized: By the way, I'll just say, the small square city that was identified as the ruins of Yumen Pass in later generations should not be here.

An inexplicable sadness swelled up in his heart, and he muttered: "The spring breeze does not pass the Yumen Pass." ”

From the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, to the eastward migration of the Sui Dynasty, and then to the occupation of the entire Hexi Corridor by the Western Xia Dynasty in the early Song Dynasty, after generations of people have been guarding the Yumen Pass for 1,140 years, now only one foundation is left, and it is desolate like this.

In the future, even this foundation will disappear due to the erosion of wind and sand, the cover of wild grass, and the gouging of wild beasts.

Hadir said: "If the Song Dynasty had not abandoned this Yumen Pass, would it not have been driven south by the Mongols, and it would not have destroyed the country in the end." ”

Zhang Yu shook his head: "There were no cavalry in the Northern Song Dynasty that could fight against the Mongols, and the Northern Song Dynasty was not only an enemy of the Mongols at that time. The Jin Dynasty, Western Xia, and Liao took turns to invade. ”

Hadir looked at Juber: "Is it just because of this?" To tell the truth, there are many enemies around the Ming Dynasty. ”

"This is an important reason, but it is not the only reason, and the change of dynasty is a complex process over many years. I think the reasons for this can be summarized in six points, the first is what my uncle just said, there are many foreign enemies, and they are good at riding and shooting. The second was the bureaucratic corruption, disorderly governance, and the complete concentration of power in the imperial court, especially in the Southern Song Dynasty. If there is a problem in the decision-making of the imperial court, it can lead to a devastating blow to the country. The so-called military intelligence is urgent, so there is a saying that 'the foreign monarch will not be subject to the order'. Officers and men guarding border passes must have a certain amount of authority in order to deal with unexpected situations. When the military news reached the imperial court, the king convened a meeting of the ministers to make a decision and then issue a holy decree, and the enemy broke through the defense line and hit the hinterland. Not to mention the enemies of the Song Dynasty, they were still cavalrymen who were good at running. A few hundred miles a day, a few days to destroy the country. ”