West of Yunling, Shazhou.

This narrow and narrow area from north to south is home to hundreds of thousands of Shazhou people, and the terrain is quite complex, with mountains, rivers, lakes, forests and valleys intertwined, and it is difficult for outsiders to distinguish the direction of the road.

Not to mention that the people of Shazhou have unique customs and habits, as well as very close and fixed ethnic ties, it is undoubtedly a fool's dream for outsiders to want to lurk here.

Lu Shen took dozens of expert guards carefully selected by Qin Zilong to pass through the northern part of Yunling, met the long-awaited Luo Jiujiu at the western foothills, and then marched towards the interior of Shazhou.

Luo Jiujiu was still alone, and unlike the previous two meetings, in addition to the long sword hanging from her waist, she also had a long whip in her hand.

She looked back at Lu Shen's guards and asked with some curiosity, "What are those people mentioning?" ”

Lu Shen said: "It is very rude to come to the door empty-handed, this is a gift for your family." ”

Luo Jiujiu let out an "oh", but she didn't care too much, after all, the Yalong Department is a big tribe of more than 100,000 people, and she is not so shallow-eyed.

I saw her eyes wandering, and she said quietly: "What about that senior whose martial arts are unfathomable?" ”

From childhood to adulthood, Luo Jiujiu's martial arts talent has always been praised, which is why she dared to go to the capital of Qi to assassinate Hou Yu.

That night, she bumped into the ordinary-looking Wei Chigui in Moyuan, and for the first time in her life, she had a feeling that she couldn't resist at all, it was an absolute strength gap, and no skill or courage could erase it.

Qi Guojing and his party, Luo Jiujiu was the most impressed except for Lu Shen, who was late to return.

In her mind, Lu Shen accepted the invitation of the leaders of various departments in Shazhou this time, not only out of trust in her, but also because a master like Wei Chigui would definitely accompany her, but at this moment, she looked at the dozens of guards one by one, and did not find Wei Chigui's figure, so it was naturally difficult to hide her curiosity.

Lu Shen replied frankly: "Senior Wei Chi is not here. ”

"Absent?"

Luo Jiujiu was slightly surprised.

Lu Shen briefly talked about the Qingfeng Street assassination case, and then said: "Leng Jian Yin Qianjue is the strongest swordsman in the world, he killed me by someone entrusted by someone, and he stayed away immediately if he missed, it is said that this matter should end here, after all, I have no grievances with him, but it is difficult to guarantee what quirks this kind of master will have." In order to avoid similar things from happening again, Senior Wei Chi left me early to talk to the number one swordsman in the world. ”

Luo Jiujiu bowed his head and said, "I see." ”

Lu Shen said with a smile: "So I told you that day, whether I came to Shazhou this time is safe or not depends on Miss Luo's protection." ”

"Okay, this girl allows you to eat soft rice once."

Luo Jiujiu patted his chest and agreed with a smile.

From Yunling to the outermost area controlled by the Yalong Ministry, the road was nearly thirty miles away, and everyone set out in the morning, and it was close to noon when they reached the first village.

Fortunately, the scenery in this area of Shazhou is beautiful and unique, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful, which is by no means the poor mountains and rivers imagined by outsiders, and it is not boring to hurry.

Luo Jiujiu beckoned everyone to rest for a while in the outermost North Cottage, and after using up the dry food and water, he continued to hurry, and walked for about 20 miles, passing through three villages, and finally arrived at Heishui Village, which has nearly 20,000 people.

The deeper you go into Shazhou, the more people are populated, and the Heishui Village is more lively.

Although it is named after the village, what appears in front of Lu Shen and his soldiers is a wooden city with a defensive system, and it is by no means the kind of small village that can be seen at a glance.

Lu Shen secretly estimated that the scale of this Black Water Village was close to the upper-class county seat of Daqi.

Walking all the way into the village, Luo Jiujiu's whole person became more and more relaxed, and greeted the clansmen on the side of the road from time to time.

The clansmen looked at Lu Shen and his party with some curiosity and vigilance, but because Luo Jiujiu was present, no one stepped forward to make hostile and provocative moves.

In the open space behind an old locust tree, Lu Shen finally saw the head of the Yalong Department in Shazhou.

Luo Yaozong looked to be in his early forties, and his first impression was that he was thick on the outside and thin on the inside, on the surface he was the kind of warrior with a strong body, but in fact, his bearing was calm and not to be underestimated.

As for the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy standing next to him, his eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to Luo Jiujiu, and it should be her younger brother Luo Hengshan.

Luo Jiujiu stepped forward and introduced: "Abba, this is Lu Shen, the Marquis of Shanyang of Qi Kingdom. Lu Hou, this is my father and brother. ”

Lu Shen had just taken a step forward, but Luo Yaozong spoke first: "Contemptible Luo Yaozong, I have seen the Marquis of Daqi Mountain. ”

This posture was a little low, and it was completely different from Lu Shen's prediction.

But after all, he is a person who has seen the world, and he replied unhurriedly at the moment: "Junior Lu Shen, I have seen the leader of Luoda." ”

The young man Luo Hengshan looked at Lu Shen with curiosity, this Qi man looked good, he was very tall, handsome, and he had a temperament that he couldn't say and was faintly envious.

Luo Jiujiu secretly tasted what his father and Lu Shen called each other, and looked at Lu Shen's eyes quite brightly.

Luo Yaozong smiled slightly, and said unhurriedly: "Lu Hou came from afar, Luo Mou missed the welcome, and the village husband in the mountains and villages was rude, please ask Haihan." ”

To be honest, the scene in Lu Shen's imagination is definitely not so harmonious, let alone so civilized.

Although he knew that the Shazhou Seventh Department had been closely associated with Daqi in the past hundred years, and it could be seen from Luo Jiujiu that they were deeply influenced by Daqi, and in many ways they were no different from the Qi people, but now that he was on the border of Shazhou, a figure similar to Tusi on the opposite side was a chapter, which still made him feel a little strange after all.

In the flash of his mind, Lu Shen said without humility or arrogance: "The big leader is serious, I just hope that I don't see the juniors as evil guests." This time I came in a hurry, and only prepared some meager gifts, so that the big leader could accept them with a smile. ”

"Lu Hou is gracious, but Luo is disrespectful."

Luo Yaozong responded, and said to Luo Jiujiu: "Jiujiu, you first take Lu Hou's subordinates to settle down and talk to Lu Hou for your father." ”

Luo Jiujiu sensibly responded and slipped away from Luo Hengshan.

Lu Shen followed Luo Yaozong to the main hall of the big house in front, and after inviting tea, he said calmly: "When I met Miss Luo in the capital, I heard her talk about the customs of Shazhou, and the younger generation couldn't help but yearn for it. It happened that His Majesty wanted to send an envoy to Shazhou to make friends, and the younger generation took the initiative to take over this task. Now I can see with my own eyes that what Miss Fang Luo said is true, Shazhou is indeed an outstanding person. ”

Luo Yaozong knew very well the intention of his words.

Luo Jiujiu fell into the hands of Lu Shen in the capital of Qi State, and he did not treat her harshly, but helped her take revenge on Hou Yu. Although this involves the power struggle of the Qi State itself, as Luo Jiujiu's father, he must accept this favor.

Thinking of this, Luo Yaozong said calmly: "The little woman is reckless, thanks to Lu Hou's help, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable, Luo is very grateful for Lu Hou's kindness." Some time ago, she learned from the little girl that Lu Hou had arrived in Chengzhou, so Luo asked her to invite Lu Hou to come to Shazhou to talk about it, so that she could express her gratitude. ”

These words can be regarded as a clear explanation for Lu Shen.

Because of Lu Shen's previous help to Luo Jiujiu, Luo Yaozong will lower his posture today and treat Lu Shen with a super high standard, but this is only limited to the personal relationship between the two.

Lu Shen can enjoy the treatment of a VIP in the Yalong Department, which does not mean that Luo Yaozong will cooperate with him to promote the friendship between Shazhou and Qi State.

Lu Shen quickly came back to his senses, and looked at Luo Yaozong with a little more admiration and curiosity in his eyes, if Fang Cai's speech outside was still suspected of being a vassal and pretending to be elegant, at this moment, even the hints of this kind of words were perfect, it was difficult to imagine whether he was from Shazhou or Qi.

As if guessing Lu Shen's doubts, Luo Yaozong took a sip of the tea bowl and said with a look of reminiscence of the past: "Lu Hou's coming to Shazhou this time reminds me of thirty years ago, when I was a hairy boy, I also lived in Heluo City for a few years. In fact, it's not just me, there are some people in all seven parts who have had this experience. At that time, Qi and Shazhou were as close as one, and Shazhou would select some eleven or twelve-year-old children every year to go to Heluocheng to study, and then return to Shazhou when they were seventeen or eighteen years old. ”

He looked at Lu Shen's eyes and said with emotion: "It's just that I didn't expect that I would be the last batch of Shazhou people to go to Heluo City." ”

Lu Shen suddenly brightened, no wonder Luo Yaozong gave him the feeling that he was a real Qi person, it turned out that he spent his entire youth in Heluo.

The doubts in my heart were finally solved, and a very real problem followed.

Why was Luo Yaozong the last group of Shazhou people to go to Heluo?

The answer is self-explanatory.

Nineteen years ago, 8,000 native soldiers were betrayed by the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty and buried in Yanziling, a northern suburb of Heluo, which caused the relationship between the two sides to change from intimacy to hatred.

Lu Shen said calmly: "Great Chief, the junior came this time in the hope of repairing the relationship between Shazhou and Daqi. ”

Luo Yaozong put down the tea bowl and said with his head bowed: "Lu Hou personally came to Shazhou to see that he is full of sincerity, but this matter is far more difficult than you and I imagined, I believe that the little girl told you about the internal situation in Shazhou." To tell the truth, even if Luo had the intention to promote this matter, the leaders of the other six departments would not agree. The matter of Shazhou has never been decided by someone alone, even if only one leader opposes it, it is difficult to move forward. ”

Lu Shen had already been mentally prepared for this, and said calmly: "The big leader said this very much, but the juniors feel that things are man-made, and they have to work hard to know the result. ”

"It is worthy of being the leader of the Great Qi border army that moves the north and south of the great river."

Luo Yaozong praised it, and suddenly changed his words and said: "Lu Hou is young and well-known to the world, I seem to have heard that you are not married yet?" ”

The jump in this topic was too big, Lu Shen thought about it for a while, and said truthfully: "It is true that I am not married, but before the younger generation left Beijing this time, I specially issued a marriage decree to His Majesty, and the ceremony will be completed after a while." ”

"In other words, Lu Hou is still alone right now?"

Luo Yaozong deliberately ignored the word holy decree he said, and then said: "If you want to achieve the purpose of Lu Hou's trip in a short time, Luo has a way, but I don't know if Lu Hou has the courage." ”

Lu Shen was slightly stunned.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became strange.

(End of chapter)