Late one night twelve days after the Battle of the Seven Stars ended.

In front of the gate of the outer hall of the Li Fan Yuan, which was outside the Desheng Gate of the heavily guarded Beijing City, the official sedan chair of Lang Guiqing, the right attendant of the Li Fan Yuan, and the horse team of Jiang Linzhao, the commander of the Nine Gates, hurriedly arrived.

Gui Qing got off the sedan chair, and together with Jiang Linzhao, hurriedly walked into the gate of the outer hall, walked through the corridor, and entered the living room.

Before he could sit down, Gui Qing immediately ordered the commander of the garrison on duty at night and said, "Hurry up and invite King Turhut Buyan Khan, there is something important to discuss!" ”

The commander of the garrison responded, and hurried to the Khan.

After a while, the king of Khan entered the meeting room, and the captain of the guard, Bayinqing, stood guard outside the door.

Gui Qing and Jiang Linzhao immediately got up, stepped forward to salute, and said softly: "See King Buyan Khan!" ”

The Khan King replied, "Hello Lord Gui! Hello Mr. Jiang! …… I don't know if Lord Gui and Lord Jiang are here late at night, what advice do they have? ”

Gui Qing hurriedly took out a "military report" from his body and presented it to King Khan, his mood was extremely heavy! Said worriedly:

"This is a six-hundred-mile urgent military report from the Turpan Military Government...... The Kokand army captured the cities of Korla and Yanqi. Twelve days ago, your wife, Jinhua Hatun, the acting leader of the Turghut tribe, led the tribe to fight bravely against the Kokand army thief Kou in the seven star passes of Yanqi Hora Mountain, and suffered heavy casualties! …… Fortunately, the Xu Xueli Power Department of the Urumqi Nanshan People's League rushed to the aid to repel the thieves and temporarily save the lives of all the fallen people......"

The Khan stood up abruptly, his eyes wide and he carefully read every word in the military newspaper.

Gui Qing continued: "The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces has issued an edict: King Zhunturhut Khan will set off for Xinjiang on a certain day to deal with the aftermath of the tribe...... There is another thing to inform the Khan: the British Minister Ali seems to be operating in secret, deliberately setting up obstacles, in order to prevent the Khan from returning to Xinjiang smoothly in the short term...... Please also be careful on the way home, don't be careless! ”

The Khan King pondered for a moment and said, "Since it has reached this point, it is not advisable to stay in the capital for a long time. We will leave Beijing before dawn, and let's talk about other things when we get to Zhangjiakou! ”

Jiang Linzhao said: "I have already sent additional personnel around the outer hall to prevent idle people from approaching. Preparing for the journey in Beijing can be done secretly, and bulk items are best purchased in Zhangjiakou. On the way out of Beijing, I will arrange for the clearance. ”

Gui Qing said: "The British are bribing the people inside our Imperial Court, and they want to know the specific movements of the Khan King and his return to Xinjiang through them. Through these bribed people, news was also released: The Turkut tribe in Xinjiang is buying Russian arms; Secretly communicating with the Russians and plotting against them! The British have ill intentions and have to guard against it! The departure from Beijing must be done in secret......"

Hearing this, the Khan King nodded, but felt a little relieved, and said with a smile: "That's right! ”

Seeing the smile on King Khan's face, Gui Qing was stunned! Very puzzled, he hurriedly asked:

"The British are vicious and sinister! The Khan King is in danger, why doesn't he think so, and laugh calmly? ”

"The more they take the trouble to pay attention to my journey, the more it shows that the power of the Turghat tribe has not yet been destroyed," said the Khan. Since they are still worried about this force, it means that Kokand and the British have been wounded to the bone and dare not underestimate our existence anymore...... With the Turghut blocking the Middle Tianshan Mountains as a barrier, it will not be possible for it to directly attack Ili and Urumqi with impunity, and this will be of considerable effect on all the actions they launch in Xinjiang in the future...... Isn't it okay for me to make these thieves bothered and sleepy in Beijing? Although it cannot win its ambition, as long as it can shock its heart and divide its strength, it is a kind of response to the war situation in Xinjiang. You say don't you? ”

Gui Qing and Jiang Linzhao suddenly realized! They all admired the graceful posture of the Khan King Yushu in the wind. But think about it carefully: although King Khan is far-sighted and bold, he also has his own clear judgment on the war situation in Xinjiang; However, at present, the conspiracy and means played by these British obviously pose a serious threat to the safety of the Khan himself, and we cannot afford to guard against it!

Gui Qing said eagerly: "King Khan looks at the overall situation, is not chaotic in the face of danger, and indeed has the demeanor of a general, and is a complete pillar of the court!" But the British are treacherous and vicious, and they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, so they should be more careful everywhere! ”

King Khan nodded and said, "Thank you two for your care. Let's start preparing now and leave before dawn. ”

Jiang Linzhao hurriedly said: "Then I'll go and arrange the road clearance now!" ”

Gui Qing also nodded yes.

King Khan arched his hand and said, "Thank you two adults for visiting late at night and taking care of you everywhere!" The incident happened suddenly, and I asked the two adults to say hello to the emperor and the queen mother on my behalf! ”

Gui Qing and Jiang Linzhao bowed and said, "I am willing to work for the Khan King!" ……”

After midnight. In the room where the Khan King stayed, the Khan, the Khan Banner's internal affairs chief, Mingzhuer, and the captain of the guard, Bayinqing, were all sleepy and were discussing the route back to Xinjiang.

According to the intention of the Khan King to return to Xinjiang nearby, Mingzhu comprehensively analyzed the situation in various places along the current frontier and introduced:

"The recent activities of the People's Army have become more intense than they were three months ago, and the passage back to Xinjiang from Shaanxi and Gansu across the Hexi Corridor has been completely closed. The 'big grassland' passage on the North Road from Zhangjiakou to Uriya Sutai to Kobdo is safe but takes a long time. If you want to return to the tribe as soon as possible, you can only go out of Beijing to Zhangjiakou, from Zhangjiakou to the Great Wall or from the Great Wall of Killing Tiger, 600 miles to naturalization. Then go more than 1,000 miles from naturalization, pass Baotou and Wuyuan, and go to the foot of Yin Mountain and the mouth of the Yellow River.

Then he crossed the Wolf Mountain, crossed the Gobi Desert to Ejina, and from Ejina he turned to Hami or Balikun to enter Xinjiang. This road is more than 8,000 miles. Moreover, among the more than 8,000 miles of distance, only the more than 2,000 miles from Beijing City to Dengkou at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, there are post stations and military platforms set up by the imperial court that can operate normally and can be used. For the next 6,000 miles, the post stations, military platforms, or Karen in the middle were basically paralyzed, and there was no hope for ......."

Although the time taken by Mingzhuer is relatively short, it is still a long road back to Xinjiang, which is very dangerous; But the fear for the safety of the tribe and the longing for his relatives made the Khan make up his mind and decide to follow this route back to Xinjiang......

Dawn. King Khan's 100-strong party left the city of Beijing in a hurry from Jiandemen.

Under the dilapidated Jiandemen Arrow Tower, Gui Qing and Jiang Linzhao, who had just sent off the Khan King's team, looked at the back of the Khan King's team in the distance, still frowning. Both of them were still a little nervous in their hearts - on this long journey home, could they escape the conspiracy of the Kokand and the British and return to Xinjiang smoothly?

At noon, the Khan's team arrived at the Xuanhua Post in Xuanhua Mansion.

As soon as he finished eating, Mingzhuer asked Bayinqing to go with him to purchase the items needed for the trip.

Bayinqing was puzzled and asked Mingzhuer: "Didn't you go to Zhangjiakou to procure?" I haven't seen the 'Great Realm Gate' yet, why did I start acting here? ”

"In fact, we are going to go west from this Xuanhua Mansion, through Huai'an to Datong and Shuoping, from killing the tiger to the Great Wall, to naturalizing through Baotou to the Hetao. To go north to Zhangjiakou out of the Great Wall, is to take Uriya Sutai to Kobdo, that is the way we go into Beijing, now to shorten the itinerary to take a new route. ”

Bayinqing was confused, he had never heard of this new route that Mingzhuer said. He frowned and asked:

"Then we have been going around the Great Wall, when will we be able to get out of the Great Wall?"

"Follow this post road, you can go to the mouth of the tiger tomorrow night, and you can go out of the Great Wall. Now the road we are walking is on the inner side of the Great Wall, that is, south of the Great Wall. However, the Great Wall that is now spoken of is the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty; If we take the Great Wall of the Qin and Han dynasties as an example, the thousands of miles we have traveled are within the Great Wall, and we can't get out of the Great Wall...... In the current season, the scenery is good, pay attention to it! Mingzhu said patiently.

Bayinqing's eyes widened! Said loudly: "How can you have the heart to see the scenery? I'm dying. I can't wait to be home tonight! …… I really can't figure it out? China, which is so big as ours, could not stop the attack of a small Kokand country, and lost half of Xinjiang. It's frustrating! ”

Looking at Bayinqing's impatient and angry appearance, Mingzhu understood very well in her heart; I can't explain such an intricate problem in a few sentences, so I don't want to say more.

The team changed horses, loaded the purchased supplies, and immediately set off for the killing tiger mouth in the direction of Shuoping Mansion......

The Khan's team went out of the Great Wall from the mouth of the tiger, passed through more than 20 military stations such as naturalization, Baotou, and Wuyuan, and came to Dengkou County. The five-day trek has covered more than 1,000 kilometers.

This mouth is located at the foot of the westernmost branch of Yinshan Mountain, the Wolf Mountain, and on the shore of the Yellow River. The Dengkou Post Station is the largest post station on the western edge of the Hetao area, and it is also the last place that can be replenished before the route to Ejina on the way back to Xinjiang this time, crossing the Alxa Gobi Desert.

Guo Chang, the general of the Dengkou Station, was very enthusiastic about the arrival of King Khan and his entourage, and treated each other with wine. But I heard that King Khan and his entourage did not go south to Helan Mountain and take the Hexi Corridor back to Xinjiang; is not ready to go north to Uriya Sutai to transfer to Kobdo back to Xinjiang; Instead, he had to walk through the mountains and mountains through the Gobi Desert to Ejina, and then turn to Hami to enter Xinjiang, which was very shocking! He said to the king with great anxiety:

"Although this route was the main grain route during the war against Xinjiang during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, it has been abandoned for many years; Most of the military stations set up in the middle are unattended and unusable. Supplies on the way were difficult...... In addition, the most fatal thing is that the people's troops in Gansu and Ningxia are now roaming around, and the officials and troops in various places are avoiding them. Now on the other side of the Yellow River, the Yikezhao League is full of their men and horses; If you meet these people, it will definitely be a lot of bad luck......

"A few days ago, there was also an inexplicable monk who was also inquiring about your whereabouts. I didn't care too much about it at the time, and I couldn't figure out his identity, so I sent him away...... I still advise the Khan to go north to Uriya Sutai and walk from the imperial court's post line. It's safer that way! ”

Guo Chang's suggestion was to make the Khan consider going north from the official road of Dengkou to cross the Dayin Mountain, to the post line of Uriya Sutai, and then return to Xinjiang through Kobdo. Although this route is detoured, it takes two thousand miles more and takes a long time, but the journey is safe.

King Khan felt unable to explain to Guo Chang the urgency of the current situation and the concern in his heart; Declined his kindness, but decided to follow the original route. He was asked to assist in the procurement of horses and provisions. Guo Chang agreed.

In order to cope with the imminent departure of a thousand miles over the mountains and across the Gobi Desert, the Khan ordered a short rest for a day.

King Khan instructed Mingzhuer and Bayinqing to return the stagecoach at the Dengkou Post and immediately go to the nearby Urad Sangong Banner to buy the famous horses of the Hetao region, which is famous throughout the country. In addition to purchasing 100 Hetao horses, more than a dozen camels were also purchased. Before arriving in Ejina, all the necessary supplies such as cooked food, raw food, and forage had to be procured here.

After a full day's rest. Horses, camels, and supplies for the road were all prepared, which also relieved the fatigue of the past few days.

The Khan's procession continued from the Dengkou Post Station and began to march to Ejina, more than 1,000 kilometers to the west......

The team climbed over the strange Wolf Mountain, and then marched dozens of kilometers west, and came to a lama temple at the foot of Tukemu Mountain.

On the plaque with gold characters on a blue background hanging high in this ancient lama temple, the three Chinese characters of "Miaohua Temple" are still faintly recognizable, while the Mongolian, Tibetan and Manchu writings on both sides have been blurred.

Although the scale of the ancient temple is not large, it also looks solemn and magnificent! The pavilions and pavilions are carved and painted, which is very dazzling in this Gobi desert!

The door of the temple was closed, and the sound of lamas chanting came from inside the temple......

Seeing that everyone had exhausted a lot of physical strength and was already a little tired, Mingzhu suggested to the king of Khan that he rest under a few big elm trees in front of the temple.

The Khan also felt that he should be relieved under this rare tree; If you are lucky, you can also enter the temple to worship the Buddha and Bodhisattva.

The people came under the tree and began to dismount and walk.

Bayinqing and a few cavalry guards curiously observed this ancient temple in the desert and found that the three big elms in the center of the door were full of prayer flags. Feeling that these were the three sacred trees, I couldn't help but close my eyes and pray......

As soon as Mingzhu took out the water bag and drank a sip of water, he suddenly felt movement behind him...... When I looked back, I noticed that there was dust in the distance.

Mingzhuer hurriedly beckoned Bayinqing to check on a high place.

Bayinqing held up the binoculars and looked at it, and said suspiciously: "It seems that a team of centaurs is chasing another team of centaurs......

Mingzhu took the binoculars and looked at it.

The team of men and horses running in front had dozens of horses, desperately urging the horses to gallop, as if they were fleeing for their lives; The team behind had hundreds of horsemen, in hot pursuit. The dust raised obscured the sky, and the noisy shouts gradually came.

Bayinqing immediately ordered the guards to mount their horses and line up on guard!

This team of the Khan King, who was like an arrow, originally didn't want to cause trouble in this completely unfamiliar place, so they tried to avoid disputes and delay the trip; But the team of people and horses fleeing in front of them saw a cavalry formation in front of the temple, as if they saw a life-saving straw and found the hope of survival, and ran straight towards the ancient temple.

When the distance was closer, the leader in the official uniform seemed to recognize the team in front of him as the cavalry guard of a certain Mongolian tribal prince, and regarded the Khan's team as the last savior. Without hesitation, he took these dozens of men and horses, fled to the team of the Khan King in front of the temple, and rolled off the saddle in embarrassment......

This official-like man led everyone to his knees and cried out loudly to the king of the Khan:

"The villain is Lu Rong, the history of the Yadian of Dengkou County. Ordered by the county lord, he was in charge of the reclamation of grain by foreign peasants and workers in the west of Dengkou City...... Yesterday, dozens of bandits broke into the agricultural area to loot money and grain, but were repelled by us; I never thought that today's brigade of bandits would come to seek revenge and vow to kill us all! A dozen or so have been slaughtered by them, and I and the only forty who have fled here. Please help! ……”

These dozens of people all knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "Lord Wang, help!" ……”

Before the reason for the coming and going was understood, hundreds of pursuers behind were already in front of them.

The team that came after saw that the cavalry of the King of Khan was carrying sabers and foreign guns, and they were very strong and fearless! Knowing that this was not an ordinary team, he didn't dare to step forward directly. Relying on his own large number of people, he set up a good formation, and surrounded the Khan King's team in front of the temple with three layers inside and three layers outside...... But don't dare to act rashly!

Suddenly, the pursuers made way of a passage, and a burly, leader-like figure came out of the passage. This man rode up to the Khan's guards, hung the green dragon sword in his hand on the horse's back, and asked:

"May I ask who is lining up here?"

"The Khan of the Mongolian tribe of Turghut in Xinjiang passed through here on his way back to Xinjiang. Who are you? Dare to be so disrespectful to the Khan! Bayinqing shouted.

"I am Li Jian, the 'Marshal of the Yellow River Self-Defense Corps'. That's it for today, to catch the enemy who wounded my brother! This has nothing to do with you, please get out of here quickly! lest you hurt the peace...... "The man said in a loud voice.

"Who are they hurting you?" Bayinqing asked.

"They killed and wounded my rebel brothers!"

"Why was your brother killed?"

"My brothers borrowed money and food from them temporarily, and did not want to harm their lives; But instead of borrowing it, they wounded many of my brothers, both of whom died at their hands. If you don't avenge this revenge, you swear not to be a man! ”

"You are calling the government the 'Self-Defense Corps.' But when you go and rob the people's homes, you can't let them defend themselves; became a bandit to rob money, and even beat a rake, saying that people hurt people and killed people. How can there be such a truth in the world? …… So how many of them did you kill today? Still not satisfied? Bayinqing said loudly indignantly.

Li Jian began to get angry and roared, "It seems that you have to wade into this nest of troubled waters today, right? I warn you, don't be nosy, be careful that I'm not kind to you! ”

Not to be outdone, Bayinqing shouted: "Then let's try it!" ”

As he spoke, he subconsciously moved his neck......

King Khan had been observing the menacing Li Jian in front of him, and felt that although this person's eyes were fierce and his face was full of anger, there was a heroic aura of conscience and anti-violence between his eyebrows.

He judged that this person was by no means a black-hearted, hopeless bandit and grass coward, but a manufacturable material that could be used by the country! If such a person can contribute to the country, it will be a blessing for the nation! In the future, he will appear on the battlefield to recover his homeland in Xinjiang and charge into battle! It's not impossible.