There is a grassland in the western Sichuan Plateau, called Muya Grassland, where the yak department lives.

In late July, the grasslands are full of Gesang flowers, and a ray of sunlight shines on the snow-capped mountain tops in the distance, dyeing the snow-capped mountains golden.

The sight of this "golden mountain of sunshine" was so splendid that Deji Medo was accustomed to it, and walked towards the river with a bucket without looking up at it.

She struggled to carry the water back to the bunker and feed the livestock, and her little daughter was awake and followed behind her with a battered wooden spoon to help scoop the water.

Deji Medo then asked his daughter, "Is your brother better?" ”

"I'm much better, I'm sleeping soundly."

Deji Medo then clasped his hands together and murmured, "The white yak god bless my little son." ”

"A-Niang, is it really a white yak?"

"Yes, the embodiment of the white yak deity." "The first leader of our tribe was the son of the White Yak God. ”

"I know, Joraj."

The little girl raised her hand happily, then tilted her head and asked, "Can A-Niang tell me the story of Ru Laijie?" ”

"When the seventh generation of Zampu in Tibet, the traitor Loondazi killed Zampu and released the princess. The princess wandered in the steppe, and after falling asleep, she dreamed of having sex with a handsome man in a white robe, she was pregnant, and before she was full-term, she was chased by a traitor, and gave birth to a wriggling clot of blood, and she could not bear to throw away the blood clot, and at this moment, a white yak came and dropped its yak horns. ”

"And then?"

"The princess put the blood clot in the horn of the yak and fed it with milk, and later a boy was born from the horn and named it 'Ru Lai Jie', which means born from the horn of the ox. When Joraj grew up, he got rid of the traitor Loondazi and quelled the civil strife. ”

"And then?"

"Ru Laijie is the most powerful virtuous minister in Tibet, who taught the world how to burn wood and charcoal, smelt iron, divert water to burn fields, build bridges and pave roads, and the most important cultivation method of two oxen pulling bars."

"That's amazing, can I meet him?"

"Silly boy." Deji Medo touched his daughter's head and said, "Ru Laijie lived in the years of the eighth generation of Zampu, and now he is the thirty-sixth generation of Zampu, think about it, how long ago was that?" ”

"Once upon a time, were we the descendants of Joraj?"

Deji Medo said very reverently: "The white yak is the manifestation of the Yala Chambord Sacred Mountain, one of the nine sacred mountains of creation, and we are all descendants of the sacred mountain. ”

"The white yak will bless Adi's ......"

After feeding the livestock, the mother and daughter went back to the house to eat tsampa noodles.

Deji Medo's husband's name is Luo Chai, who is not at home today, and a few days ago he took some items to the White Dog Department in the northeast to do a trade.

Now that the Tibetans and the Tang were still at war, these trades were not allowed. But recently, their youngest son has fallen ill, and his skin is covered with red spots, and he has tried everything he can, but it has not been good. The husband and wife discussed, and wanted to take advantage of the current business difficulties to sell the two horses in the family and exchange them for tea to give to the archmage, so that they could treat their son's illness.

They knew that the relationship between the White Dog Department and the Tang people had always been good, so Luo Chai quietly passed over.

On that day, Deji Medo wiped the rice cake on his youngest son's face and boiled the barley grits into a paste for him to drink.

"Is anyone there?!" Suddenly there was a call outside.

"The chief is here."

Deji Medo hurriedly wiped his hands on his apron and went out, only to see the leader Zhujie Gongbu leading many people to stand outside.

"Why didn't Luo Chai come out?" Zhujie Gongpo asked, "There is something good to look for him." ”

He ...... He went hunting. ”

"Let him come back quickly, there are ministers passing by our tribe looking for him."

Zhujie Gongpo was holding a booklet in his hand and was flipping through it.

This is called the "Red Book", which is the result of the reform of the military system of this generation of Tubo kings.

He reformed the official system, rectified the finances, verified the military of Tubo, expanded the size of the army, and issued "card tickets" to all adult males to recruit troops and horses to fight with the Tang army at any time. In the face of a prosperous Tang Dynasty, the ruler belt Zhudan was unwilling to live under others, and successively won over Xiao Boluguo and Nanzhao, and fought with the Tang army several times, winning and losing each other.

Today, the situation in Tibet is similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, under the high-pressure governance of the virtuous monarch, the national power is strong, and at the same time, the crisis brought about by the reckless military force is faintly beginning to appear.

Luo Chai...... Got it! Zhu Jie Gong preached: "Recruit Luo Chai to be the minister's guide." ”

"What?"

Deji Medo was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Leader, Luo Chai is already crippled!" He fell and injured his hand in Qianjie City. ”

Qianjie City is already very close to here, two years ago, the commander of the Tang Army, Guo Xuji, led his army to attack Qianjie City. The prime minister of Tubo mobilized troops to meet the attack and was defeated by the Tang army, if it were not for the chaos of Nanzhao and the death of Guo Xu, perhaps the Tang army had already attacked the territory of the yak department.

"After so long, the injury should be healed." Zhujie Gongpreach said: "Everyone in the tribe has discussed, Luo Chai has been to Nanzhao before, and he should be his guide." ”

"But he only went once, and our child was sick......"

"Wait for Luo to chase back, let him set off immediately!"

Deji Medo also wanted to plead, hoping that her man would not have to leave again. Zhujie Gongpo refused to listen to her, waved his hand, settled the matter, turned around and left.

~~

There are many large tents on the grass covered with Gesang flowers.

Two Tibetan ministers were talking in the tent.

"Looking at the meaning of Ge Luofeng's letter, it is obvious that he does not want to be a vassal to Tubo."

"His ambition has always been obvious, he wants to establish a country on his own, and the king wants to make him the king's brother, but I'm afraid he may not be willing to accept it."

"If you don't want to be the royal brother of Tubo, marriage is always fine."

"There's something wrong too, look at this. The news from Chang'an was sent to me after thousands of miles, and the plan to send someone to pick up Feng Jiayi failed, and Feng Jiayi died in Chang'an. ”

"The princess?"

"Ge Luofeng has three sons, in addition to Feng Jiayi, there are Duo Chuan and Ah Si. The king ordered the princess to continue south and marry the priest. ”

"But according to my guess, Ge Luofeng will definitely pass the throne to his grandson."

The Tibetan minister with a higher official position was named Lun Ruozan, he touched his beard and thought, "It's okay, when the Tang army attacks Taihe City, Ge Luofeng will negotiate conditions with us." ”

Lun Ruozan was born in the Gar clan, a large Tibetan clan, although he was young, his power was not low, and all he was thinking about at this time was how to make the princess the queen of Nanzhao.

"The Tang army will definitely attack Ge Luofeng......"

Suddenly, someone rushed to the tent and said, "Two ministers, it's not good, the princess has run out." ”

~~

"What are you doing?"

The little girl lying on the ground heard a cold question, opened her eyes, and saw a heroic and beautiful girl standing there looking at herself, and her eyes couldn't help but light up, and said, "Sister, you are so beautiful." ”

After a sigh of emotion, she remembered to answer the question.

"I'm waiting for the white yak."

"Why?"

"The white yak is the embodiment of the gods, and my grandfather who can bless me will not leave me, and I don't want him to be recruited......"

Although the girl standing there looked beautiful, her expression was very cold, and her tone became more and more cold, and she said, "What you should do is to be more independent, instead of begging your grandfather to guard you all the time." ”

"But ......"

"No, but, if Tibet is stronger, the men must obey the conscription."

The little girl was stunned, feeling the coldness, and couldn't help crying.

"Crying?" Instead of comforting her, the stern girl said, "Go to a place where there is no one and cry, the soldiers and horses will arrive soon, don't lie here and get in the way." ”

"Woo woo woo ......"

The little girl wiped away from her tears.

The woman with a grim expression turned over and climbed the hill not far away, looking at the situation of the yak tribe recruiting troops.

Gradually, she made a decision in her heart.

Soon, several people rode up.

Lun Ruozan turned over and dismounted, stepped forward to salute first, and called, "Princess." ”

"I'm not leaving." Nalan Zhen said, "I will obey my father's order and marry Nanzhao, you can rest assured in this matter." ”

"I thought the princess wouldn't agree."

Nalan Zhen turned her head to look, only to see that there was no one else around Lun Ruozan, it was a rare opportunity to talk, so she asked, "Can I trust you?" ”

Lun Ruozan was stunned for a moment, lowered his head, and didn't dare to look at those cold and beautiful eyes.

"I'd rather die than betray the princess."

"Okay." Nalan Zhen said: "I was reluctant to leave my father's side at that time because I sensed that some of the nine ministers wanted to rebel. ”

"Princess, are you going to let my guard down and find another chance to escape?"

"You don't believe me, if I want to escape, I will flee."

Lun Ruozan lowered his voice and said: "Wang Xiongcai is strategic, who dares to have different intentions?" Presumably, Tang Jun carefully spread the rumors that separated the king and the nine ministers, and the princess should not be fooled, so it is better to mention this matter less in the future. ”

Nalan Zhen said: "Qinghai is using troops, Nanzhao is also using soldiers, and the troops around my father are empty." In this way, I promise to follow you to Nanzhao, and you write a letter to your grandfather, so that he can keep an eye on the nine ministers. ”

"The princess really won't run away anymore?"

"It's all here." Nalan Zhen said lightly: "There is no way back. ”

After a few words, the other knights also arrived, the two stopped talking, and Nalan Zhen pulled the reins and went straight back to the tent.

Lun Ruozan looked at her back, and his eyes did not take his eyes off for a long time.

~~

The setting sun slowly sinks above the snow-capped mountains, and the people on the grassland are still busy.

Suddenly, a horse came running back, and the knight on the horse had an arrow feather stuck in his body.

"Boss, look!"

When Zhujie Gongpo heard the call, he hurriedly ran out, recognized that this was a tribesman who had gone out to buy salt with his son, and hurriedly stepped forward to push away the others and asked, "Where is my son?" ”

"Chief, we met Luo Chai, who led the way for the Tang people's caravan and wanted to ...... Trying to kill us. ”

"Where's my son?!"

"Dead ...... He's dead. ”

Zhujie Gongpo couldn't believe it, but the scene in front of him didn't allow him to believe it.

He stood there with a calm face and digested the news, and suddenly ran home and took out a single knife, and went straight to Luo Chai's house.

Soon, there were roars, begs for mercy, persuasion, and cries on the grassland...... The chaos had not been long in coming, and Djuje Gompo had ordered Deji Medo to be tied up with one of her sons and daughters, and to be killed as sacrifices to his son.

"The leader slows down, he hasn't found Luo Chasie yet."

"Yes, if you kill it now, Luo Chai will have no scruples......"

The people of the tribe were deliberating, and suddenly a group of knights arrived, but it was Lun Ruozan and his personal companions.

A relative drove him forward and asked what had happened, but Lun Ruozan listened and said, "Let them hand over these sinners to us." ”

"Chancellor, her husband killed my son!"

"They are also the people of Tibet, the property of the king." Lun Ruozan said, "Who allowed you to dispose of it?!" ”

Zhujie Gongbu was extremely dissatisfied with this, but in desperation, he had no choice but to hand him over.

Lun Ruozan's face was calm, and he took Deji Medo and her children back to the camp.

He thought about it for a while, and personally went to Nalan Zhen's tent to explain what had happened.

"Princess, I remember that your handmaid died of illness on the way here, thinking that if you need someone to serve you......"

"This is the internal affairs of the Yak Ministry, and you shouldn't interfere." Nalan Zhen said through the curtain: "The leader of the yak tribe has a dead son, and you don't even give him a chance to take revenge." Just for the sake of your pathetic kindness, can't you even tell which is more important? ”

Lun Ruozan was stunned, a little embarrassed, and asked, "Then ...... I'll send people back again? ”

"Where is the majesty of the king?" Nalan Zhen said, "Let's leave as soon as possible." ”

"......"

The next day, the Tibetan envoy prepared to continue south.

Zhujie Gongpo watched the procession go away, and was helpless about Deji Meduo being taken away, but fortunately, he knew that the road to Nanzhao was dangerous, and it was impossible for these women and children to arrive alive.

For him, the most important thing at the moment is to find Luo Chai and avenge his son.

~~

From the yak department to the east, around the towering snow-capped mountains, through the dangerous road, you can faintly hear the sound of rushing water.

It is the Dadu River, the mountain is high, the cliff is dangerous, the river is deep, and the water is urgent.

"Chief, there!"

The body fell below the cliff.

Several of the tribesmen finally climbed down with ropes and brought the corpse up, and Zhujie Gongbu looked at it, avoided it for a moment, and then stared at the corpse with wide eyes.

The cliff was not low, the corpse had been broken, and there were three arrows stuck in his chest.

Zhujie Gongpo mourned in his heart, leaned down, and pulled out the arrow from his son's back with his own hands. The arrow tugged at his son's flesh, and blood poured out. But as a father, he can't burst into tears at this time.

Several others were shot along with his son, but all the arrows had been removed, and only his son's body had fallen under the cliff with arrows remaining.

The arrows are heavy, and the arrows are sharpened to the extreme.

Did the guards carried by the Tang Shang who Luo Chai helped lead the way actually have such sharp weapons?

"Cross the river and go over and have a look."

There is no bridge on the Dadu River, so you can only cross the river by boat to the place where the water is gentle.

Zhujie Gongpo originally just wanted to follow Luo Chai's traces, however, after he crossed the Dadu River and walked for a while, he found that the footprints in the river valley were messy, and all the grass and trees blocking the road had been split.

"No, why did the business traveler go this way?"

Doubts arose in his heart, and when he looked closely at the traces left by that group, he became more and more surprised.

Looking at this sign, there were thousands of people walking by, and at least a thousand people, and if you count the dung left by the horses, it is even more difficult to tell how many people there are.

What is this like a caravan?

~~

In the middle of the river valley, the procession is marching in an endless stream.

Because there was a narrow road ahead, only one person was allowed to pass, and the speed slowed down again.

Xue Bai also stopped, scratched his legs, and rested against the stone wall for a while.

There were a few shouts in the distance, and when I looked up, I could see the branches and leaves in the canopy shaking a few times.

From his point of view, the movement was very small, but in fact there was another confrontation over there.

After a while, Li Sheng squeezed up from the rear, nodded and smiled as he passed by Xue Bai, and ran towards Wang Zhonghei.

Ge Shuhan wanted to persuade Xue Bai to go to Longyou when he was in Chang'an, and once after drinking, he sent Li Sheng to escort Xue Bai, and the two chatted for a while, mentioning that Li Sheng shot the enemy general at the head of the city with an arrow and won the title of "ten thousand enemies".

He really didn't say big words, and on this march, there were almost no arrows.

Of course, if the enemy is standing outside the firing range, there is no way to do it.

At this time, Li Sheng rushed to Wang Zhonghe, gave a military salute and said: "I met the Tubo tribesmen and shot four people, but two of them were too far away to catch up. ”

"Fleeing north?"

"Yes."

"Keep exploring."

They walked on the territory of Tibet, and there were a lot of people and horses, so it was of course impossible to completely block the movement. But they are going to attack Nanzhao, as long as the news does not spread to the south.

Generally speaking, there will never be any people who see the Tang Army and will think of running to Nanzhao to report the news.

As for the Tibetan siege, under such a terrain, it is difficult for the Tibetans to mobilize troops to encircle them in a short period of time...... Unless there is a chance that a Tibetan soldier and horse are in front of it.

What really worries Wang Zhongsi is the attrition on the road, as well as the baggage.

Seeing that the team would not be able to pass this narrow road for a while, he summoned his staff and guides.

As he waited, Wang Zhongji shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

Ever since he entered the mountains of western Sichuan, he always felt uncomfortable, dizzy and sick to his stomach.

There were many people with the same symptoms as him, and everyone thought that they would be hit by miasma before they set off, and their morale plummeted, but Xue Bai said that this was called "altitude sickness", and it would gradually get better. If it's good or not, I can only grit my teeth and go on, but the morale is a little more stable.

"Jie Shuai."

Wang Zhongsi turned around and saw that everyone had arrived, except for the Tibetan guide who had been subdued, who was resting on the other side, so he said: "Now we have not crossed the Dadu River, even if we are discovered by the Tibetans, they can't help us, but once we cross the river, the situation will be different, do you think it is appropriate to cross the river?" ”

"The timing of crossing the river is very critical, if we cross the river too late, the Tibetans may discover us, if it is too early, marching on the west bank of the Dadu River is far less safe than on the east bank."

It was Yan Wu who spoke first.

He did not have any "altitude sickness", he still remained sober, and said: "In my opinion, it is better to see the reaction of the Tubo people than to decide where to cross the river......

This time to the south, the Tang army had to cross many rivers, among which there were two largest, one was the Dadu River, and the other was the Jinsha River.

In this section of the western Sichuan Plateau, the Dadu River first flows from north to south, passes through Shimian County, then turns to the east, and flows all the way to the east into the Luojiang River.

As far as Xue Bai knew, it was at the bend of this river that there was a suitable place to cross the river...... He remembered that it was there that Shi Dakai failed to cross the river and went to ruin.

"Let's cross the river here." Xue Bai then took out the map and tapped it with his finger, but he couldn't say the name of the place.

Gao Shi couldn't help but be curious and asked, "Why?" ”

"It's easy to cross the river."

"How did Xue Lang know?"

"I saw it in the right minister's mansion and flipped through the files."

"There is still this kind of Wen calf in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion?"

Under the curtain of Wang Zhonghe, Xue Bai's advice is different, often giving a result directly and explaining the reason, but it can always be fulfilled. This point surprised the officers and men in the army, and they were shocked.

Yan Wu was not convinced by others, but only Xue Bai, who originally had an analysis of crossing the river and a stomach, so he had to give up at this time and said, "I seconded Xue Lang." ”

Wang Zhongsi asked the Shu County guide in the army, "How far are we from here?" ”

He pointed to the bend in the Dadu River on the map.

The guide shook his head and said, "The villain walked through the tea horse road, but the road taken by the handsome man is very human, and the villain is not easy to estimate, for fear of missing the military plane." ”

Wang Zhongsi said: "Summoning the Tibetan guide." ”

After a while, a Tibetan man in his thirties was brought over, this person's left hand was cut off in half, it was Luo Chai, his face was full of sorrow at this time, and his eyes were full of worry.

"I've seen the general." Luo Chai has a strong accent, but he still speaks Chinese and people can understand it.

Wang Zhongsi pointed to the map again and asked, "Is it possible to cross the river here?" ”

Luo Chai didn't answer immediately, his eyes flashed a few times, and then he finally nodded and said, "That's the best place to cross the river, but you have to have a boat." ”

"Is there a boat nearby?"

"The Netren tribe on the south shore may have a few ships, I'm not sure."

"How far are we to get there?"

"Two hundred miles."

"Okay, let's continue to lead the way."

Luo Chai was reluctant.

He wanted to put forward the conditions, but he calmed down and showed his value first, and then said: "We said okay, I will lead the way for you, and you give me tea and medicine." ”

"Not bad." Wang Zhongsi said, "You take us here to cross the river, and I will talk and talk." ”

"My tribe, my wife, and my children are on the other side, and you promised me to go back first, but I went and killed the son of my chief." Luo chased: "Now I'm worried about my family, I can't lead the way for you with peace of mind......

"Brutal!"

Guan Chongsi immediately scolded and strode forward, wanting to teach Luo Chai a lesson, but Wang Zhongsi stopped him.

"Jie Shuai." Guan Chongsi whispered: "The road is nothing more than going down the river, this barbarian has a different heart, he can't keep it, and if he lets it go, it's better to kill it." ”

"You don't have to." Wang Zhongsi snorted and chased after Luo: "Ask you again, do you really want to lead the way?" ”

"I'm doing all this for my son, and I'm not worried about him now, and I'm never going any further."

"Okay, you tell my guide the specific route and take what you want back."

"Really?"

"Go now, I'll kill you one step later."

Seeing this situation, many of the generals were puzzled, and asked Wang Zhonghei: "The general is not worried that he will go through the wind and lead the Tubo tribe to chase after him?" ”

"I've got my own measure."

Wang Zhongsi glanced at Li Sheng and didn't explain much.

Even Xue Bai didn't understand this matter until he chatted with Li Sheng for a few words.

"I've already found out that the people from the yak department are following behind, and the festival commander deliberately let Luo chase him."

"That's good, I'm still soft-hearted as a handsome."

"Ci is not in charge of the army, and the marshal is never soft-hearted." Li Sheng said, "The yak department has already discovered us anyway, so it is better to deliberately disclose the news to let them know where we crossed the river and let them prepare the boat for ......."

(End of chapter)