Located on the western border of Biyu City, Tongtian Pass has not been built for a long time, and the city walls are tall and majestic, like a crouching dog, staring at outsiders not to approach.

Looking at the checkpoint from afar, Shangguan Ru understood why he rarely received news from the Western Regions in the Dragon Court, the Tongtian Pass was heavily guarded, and he was not allowed to enter or exit, completely closing a portal to the Western Regions, and the same was true for the Qianqi Pass in the east.

It has been nearly two months since the old Khan King was killed, and the impact is still coming in waves, groups of refugees passed by Shangguan Ru, and walked silently towards the Guannei, the Western Regions is also a place of chaos, but it is safer than the North Court, from the fire pit into the swamp, no one can be happy.

Shangguan Ru rode a flaming horse day and night, leaving the large army far behind, and came to Tongtian Pass alone, drinking wine with thirst and chewing two mouthfuls of dried meat when hungry along the way, except for letting the mount rest, he hardly stopped.

She finally understood a truth: the legendary bandits always eat and drink boldly, in fact, that is the evidence of the hard life in Pingli, that is, she, after suffering so much, the strongest ** at this moment is also the table full of chickens, ducks and fish in front of her.

She licked her chapped lips and began to miss the empty sac of hard work, raised her hand and gently stroked the neck of the flame colt, and whispered, "Good girl, there will be something delicious." ”

The Flame Pony snorted happily, as if he hadn't run enough.

It was the Beiting cavalry who guarded the pass, and they did not strictly inspect the people entering the pass, but they deliberately stopped Shangguan Ru, circled around the flame horse a few times, and praised in Beiting in unison: "It's really a good horse, which part of the brother is it?

Shangguan Ru was wearing grassland men's clothes, his face was full of muddy water, except that he was relatively thin, he barely looked like a woman, and he also replied in Beiting dialect: "Naihang, give me Tongtian, and this horse will not be sold." ”

The soldiers laughed and did not force it, "Naihang is out of the horse, but it's a pity that the king is dead, otherwise he will get your horse even if he kneels." ”

Shangguan Ru led the horse into the pass for a while, and some soldiers looked at the flame horse from afar.

Tongtian Pass is a small city, at this time has been completely turned into a military camp, civilians are not allowed to stay, those who enter the pass must always go forward, through the south gate out.

Outside of Nancheng has become a chaotic mixed settlement, where refugees always stay for a few days, overcoming their fear of a foreign land, asking about the whereabouts of others, looking for fellow travelers, and some even with optimistic hope that Beiting will soon elect a new Khan king, and they will be able to return to the steppe after turning around, so they stay in Tongtianguan day by day, becoming permanent residents of the temporary village.

In this kind of place, there is no wine and meat as Shangguan Ru expected, and most of the refugees retain the grassland traditions, bring their own tents and food, and only have a few simple shops, selling dried meat that has been stored for an unknown period of time.

Shangguan Ru was so disappointed that he bought half a bag of bad wine and a bunch of fresh forage, to which a large number of beans and apples were added, thinking that he could endure it, but he couldn't lose the flame horse.

Shangguan Ru drank wine to quench his thirst, and while watching the flame horse feast on large pieces, he felt more and more that this wine was dull and tasteless.

"Childe, do you want to sell horses?"

"Not for sale. Shangguan Ru said without looking back.

"Don't sell it for ten taels of silver?"

The man deliberately emphasized "ten", and Shangguan Ru's heart moved, and he looked back at this horse buyer who didn't know how high or low.

The man in his thirties has a sad face, as if he feels that he still suffers a big loss when he buys a horse for ten taels of silver.

"You want to buy a horse?"

"No, my master wants to buy a horse, I'll look around, just your horse looks strong, why don't you go with me to see the master, he may be able to pay a higher price, ten taels, son, in fact, it's a lot." ”

The man rounded around the village and stopped in front of a tent on the outskirts, and Shangguan refused to let the flaming foal out of his sight, until the "master" beckoned from the tent and she was relieved to hand over the reins.

"Xu Xiaoyi, you have a beard. Shangguan Ru recognized the true face of the "master".

Xu Xiaoyi touched his beard and said with a smile: "It's rare that the tenth prince still recognizes me, this is a genuine beard, if you look at it again in two years, it will definitely be more lush than now." ”

"Hehe, eating and talking, I choose the former now, let me see the enthusiasm and ability of your 'master'. ”

Xu Xiaoyi laughed loudly, and after a while, he made a table full of wine and food like a trick, not the common beef and mutton and cheese on the grassland, but a delicate stir-fry, which is quite the flavor of the old store in Biyucheng.

Shangguan Ru picked up a piece of greasy braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, closed his eyes and tasted it slowly, "Nancheng Elder Li, you really have the ability, it will take at least three or four days for this dish to be delivered here from Biyu City, why is the heat so suitable?"

"Elder Li is in the backyard, and he has been busy for the tenth prince for a while. ”

"You know I'm coming?" Shangguan Ru was heartened.

"Hey, the tenth prince is too bold, riding such a conspicuous horse, as soon as I arrived at the city gate, someone reported to me, I wondered that there would be no one else except the tenth prince. ”

Shangguan Ru didn't eat much, although it was the taste of his hometown, he only ate a few bites of everything, and then just drank wine, Xu Xiaoyi was almost dumbfounded, and praised sincerely: "The amount of wine of the ten princes is not comparable to that of a hundred dragon kings." ”

"I'm full. Shangguan Ru found it difficult to look like a lady once she put on men's clothes, but she still tried her best to be as upright as possible, "The Dragon King asked me to come, it's great to meet you, tell me about the situation in the past few months." ”

"The situation is complicated, and there are a lot of things, what does the tenth prince want to know?"

"Look at it and start with the important ones. ”

Xu Xiaoyi lowered his head and thought for a while, "The most important thing is that a prince named Duotun of Beiting, who seized the power of the army, now commands 70,000 cavalry, occupies Tongtian Pass, and is said to be preparing to attack the grassland to quell the rebellion." ”

"Rebellion?"

"The theory here is that the kings of the Northern Court conspired to kill the old Khan, and Dotun wanted to avenge his father. ”

"Hmm. ”

"The next thing is complicated, Duo Dun was originally a hostage to ensure the safety of the Dragon King, and should stay in Shule Fu [***], the right general Shang Liao and the prince of Shu Le - I don't know what they think - let Duo Dun go, it is said that there is a deal in between, and now these two are in Tongtianguan, it seems that they want to follow Duo Dun to pacify the grassland. ”

"Where's Castle Wings?"

"Jinpeng Fort still occupies the Qianqi Pass in the east, and the news I got is that he is also eye-to-eyeing with Dotun, and it is likely that an agreement has been reached in secret, in short, half of the Western Regions are currying favor with Dotun and betting on him, if the Dragon King does not come back soon, the situation is a little not good. ”

"What about the Five Kingdoms of the Loose Sea?"

"Fortunately, Prime Minister Zhong Heng and General Zuo Duguxian are still loyal to the Dragon King on the surface, but they have recently dispatched troops and exchanged letters, and they have made a lot of moves. ”

Shangguan Ru smiled, "You don't seem to be very satisfied with everyone. ”

"Isn't it? The Dragon King has only been gone for a few months, and everyone has begun to make their own little calculations, and rumors have spread as if the Dragon King will never return. ”

"What do you say about the Dragon King?"

Xu Xiaoyi slapped it on the table, looking very angry, "It is said that the Dragon King participated in the rebellion and was killed on the spot, some people say that he fled everywhere and never dared to return to the Western Regions, and some people say that ...... The Dragon King is charmed by a princess of the North Court and is willing to be a lackey. ”

Shangguan Ru laughed, "You can rest assured, the Dragon King didn't die or escape, well, I don't know if he was fascinated, anyway, he will soon lead an army back to the Western Regions." ”

"Huh. Xu Xiaoyi excitedly waved his fist in the air, and the carefully maintained old Cheng was swept away, "I knew that the Dragon King would never come back empty-handed." ”

Immediately, his expression darkened again, "But the Dragon King has to be careful of this person, many rumors have come from him, and he seems to want to establish the Dragon King as an enemy." 70,000 cavalry, plus Jinpeng Fort and Shulefu [***], at least 100,000 people, how many can the Dragon King bring back?"

Shangguan Ru shook his head, "I don't know, I only have one task, to meet two people, the first is Prince Shule, he is in Tongtian Pass, saving a lot of trouble." ”

Shangguan Ru didn't say the second name, Xu Xiaoyi understood, "I'll arrange it." ”

Shangguan Ru took a comfortable bath, washed off the dust of his body, and carried the wine jug even in the bath tub, and suddenly felt funny, why did the Dragon King believe in himself, and why did he run for him willingly?

Some things can never be thought through, Shangguan Ru drank a sip of fragrant wine, the whole person was immersed in water, rivers and lakes, she thought, she was wandering the rivers and lakes, and the Dragon King gave her a chance to realize her dream when she was a child.

Prince Shule frowned slightly, the woman in front of him was beautiful and refined, but it did not meet the needs of the moment, as the prince of the dead country, he only valued strength, "You are the messenger of the Dragon King?"

"That's right. ”

The prince turned to Xu Xiaoyi, as if he didn't believe it, Xu Xiaoyi stepped forward and said, "It's definitely right, I can guarantee it." Of course he dared to vouch, but the real reason couldn't be said, "The head of Shangguan Sect leads the country of Xiangji and is the right-hand man of the Dragon King. ”

The prince's brows immediately stretched, "It turns out that Your Excellency is the world's well-known female soldier sect leader, disrespectful and disrespectful, what did the Dragon King bring?"

Xu Xiaoyi withdrew with interest, his duty was to gather intelligence, and he knew which occasions should not be left.

"It's very simple, the Dragon King said that the Shule Kingdom is too big, it is better to divide it into several parts, I don't know which piece His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes?"

The prince's face turned red, "What do you mean, what does the Dragon King mean? No matter how powerful the Shule Kingdom is, it can compare to the North Court and the Central Plains......?

The crown prince suddenly woke up, "The Dragon King is worried that I will give in to Prince Dotun and eventually lead to the destruction of the country?" Please rest assured that the Dragon King has its own bottom line, and the army of Dotun will soon leave the Western Regions, and his goal is Beiting, which is enough for him to be busy for a while." ”

"The Western Regions is Dotun's rear, he won't let go easily, the Dragon King wants you to think about it, whoever becomes Dotun's helper in the Western Regions will become the King of Shule. ”

The crown prince frowned again, he was not without suspicions, but he always felt that things would develop in a favorable direction, and the reminder brought by Shangguan Ru finally made the suspicion become certain, "Shang Liao, the right general Shang Liao!"

Gu Shenwei didn't think so much, he guessed that Duo Dun would choose between the crown prince and Shang Liao, and Shangguan Ru actually made his own judgment.

"Do me a favor, I want to see Prince Dotun as soon as possible. Shangguan Ru said that the Dragon King was not around, and she came up with a bold plan on her own.

Navigating the world requires bold planning.

(To be continued)