(The "Once Upon a Time in the Great Qin" series is a prequel story, with a chapter attached at the end of each volume. Similarly, the stories between each chapter of "The Past in the Great Qin" are coherent. Friends who like it can pick it up and read it.

.)

Preface:

"Where is this?"

"Yumen Pass."

"But I see that this place is plain and unremarkable. It doesn't look like the legendary place at all."

"Because it's the people who are extraordinary, not the pass itself."

"People? What people?"

"Jiang Xiaoshu."

"A strange name."

"His person is much stranger than his name."

"What kind of person is this?"

"A person who has never appeared in the past and may never appear again in the future."

"Can you tell me something?"

"This is a very long story, and it starts from the Yumen Pass in front of you..."

…………

Late at night in the early winter of Zi, dark clouds covered the moon, and outside the Yumen Pass of Daqin, it was already snowing and the wind was blowing.

The strong wind in the cold and bitter land of the northwest is the sharpest knife, piercing the heart of everyone here.

Big snowflakes swept across this desolate and desolate land, and the ground turned a strange and unspeakable dark brown. Is it the true color of the wasteland? Or is it soaked in the sea of ​​blood? Or is this the portal to the Asura Hell?

It seems that God was also affected by the murderous and bloody atmosphere here, and had no choice but to rain down heavy snow to disperse the remaining grievances and evil spirits here.

"嘘嘚...嘚嘚...嘘嘚..." The sound of horse hooves comes from the horizon. The sound of horse hooves is very strange. There is only one syllable at each time, as if it is the sound of a horse's hoofs, but the sound is so loud that it doesn't sound like anything.

Only one horse can deliver it.

Could it be that there is such a team of horses in this world, so well-trained that even the sound of the hoofbeats is meticulous and in perfect harmony? Or maybe a giant ten-foot-tall war horse came from outside the pass and wanted to trample through the northwest gate of the Great Qin Empire in one fell swoop?

What kind of team is this?

"嘘嘚...嘚嘚...嘚嘚..." The sound of hoofbeats is approaching...

…………

Yumen Pass in Liangzhou is an important border pass between the Qin Dynasty and the nomadic nation "Wild Wolf" outside the Great Wall. It is located in the northwest of the Qin Dynasty's influence. It is surrounded by towering mountains and cliffs on both sides. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is like a sharp sword inserted into the barbarians outside the Great Wall.

In the territory, it is said to be a battleground for military strategists. Ever since Tuoba Zhi, the leader of Desolate Wolf, declared war on the Qin Empire two years ago, the war has been going on here, as if it will never end. Every year, there are countless warriors of Desolate Wolf and Da Qin.

The elites were trapped under this city, so the place was eerie all year round, with gusts of cold wind.

A poet once wrote a poem for Yumen Pass, saying, "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass." It is very appropriate.

It is not war time, but the faces of all the soldiers gathered in the observation tower are ashen and filled with sorrow.

"Here, are those barbarians bringing troops to invade again?" Tonight's patrol soldier Wang Xiaoan asked his superiors tremblingly. He was the first person to notice the sound of horse hooves and report it.

"I'm afraid it won't stop. Although the sound of hoofbeats is not as loud as when thousands of horses galloped during the war, it is majestic, menacing, and so strangely neat. Its sound is as powerful as that of a thousand cavalry charging." A person next to him replied.

When he arrived, he commanded his personal guard Zhao Gang.

"Do you want to ask for help from the pass?" Lao Li asked the commander. Lao Li was a veteran of Yumen Pass, a veteran with blind left eye and scars on his face. He hoarse and continued to speak:

"I, Li Ding, have stayed at Yumen Pass for twenty years. I have experienced more than ten big battles. I have killed as many barbarians as I can count on my hands. This is not the first time I have heard the hoofbeats of thousands of troops, but I have never heard such strange sounds.

The strange sound of hooves."

"Yes, yes, are you afraid it's some kind of monster?" Many people nearby agreed.

"I have long heard that there are many monsters in their barbarian race. What I heard today is that it is indeed the case. What is rushing towards the pass is probably an evil beast with a body over a hundred feet." The believers in ghosts and gods each spoke.

"I see, we'd better head inside the pass to avoid its sharp edge..." The two groups of timid and cowardly people fought.

"What? Retreat to the pass? Your kid is receiving military pay from Great Qin. Even if you die today, you will have to die at Yumen Pass. If you shrink from the battle, I will be the first to chop off your head!" The grumpy man geared up and seemed to be going.

Give a slap in the face to your comrades who don't live up to expectations...

Suddenly, everyone started arguing...

"That's it." Commander Meng Garbian finally spoke, interrupting everyone's discussion:

"Li Ding, Wang Xiaoan, you two go to wait and see and report the situation at any time; Zhao Gang, go get my token and paper and pen, we will ask for help from the pass; the rest of the people, summon the generals of their respective battalions and prepare to fight!"

"Yes!" Everyone followed the order and left.

After everyone left, the garrison looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds covering the moon. The sky was like a pair of huge black hands, slowly pressing towards the lonely Yumen Pass in the wasteland.

"I heard the sound of horse hooves like this mentioned by Jiang Shangshu of the Ministry of War. Could it be that that person came in person? But how is this possible?" Meng garrison murmured to himself, closing his eyes and thinking...

"嘘嘚...嘚嘚...嘚嘚..." The sound of horse hooves had reached not far from the city.

"Who is coming?" Meng garrison shouted.

The sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped.

The crossbowmen on guard in the city were at war with each other, and every defender's nerves were tense. Seeing a disagreement, a bloody battle was about to break out!

The Meng garrison at the same time looked at the uninvited guests at the bottom of the city - it turned out that this was a horse team, with only more than thirty people in total. The leader was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, extremely majestic and tall, with a square face and piercing eyes.

, eyes are firm, looking around, the light shines brightly, but there is a hint of fatigue between the eyebrows and eyes, and the facial features are deep, which is completely different from the people in the Central Plains; wearing a crown made of wolf head, with two gems inlaid in the position of the wolf's eyes, the evil wolf

A wolf kiss protruded from his forehead. The place where the fangs should have been on the right side was empty, leaving a bloody hole, like the third eye of a bad wolf, intending to choose people to devour. The upper fangs on the left side were exposed in the night.

It emits a cold light; he is wearing a black cloak and a blood-red cape; the war horse under his crotch is pure black, but its four hooves are as white as snow. This horse is mighty and majestic, wearing golden armor. After stopping, it stands proudly at the bottom of the city, snorting continuously.

Never hit one.

Next to the man was a beautiful foreign woman riding a silver-armored horse, who she thought was his wife. Behind him were dozens of people wearing mysterious clothes, with their faces covered in iron armor, and astride iron-armored horses. They stood quietly on the spot.

"Looking at his aura, his wolf crown, and the divine horse 'Black Cloud Treading Snow' on his crotch, it turns out that the wolf lord Tuoba Zhi is here in person. The person beside him must be his wife Nalan Linglong, and the soldiers behind him are naturally

It's the Wolf Lord's personal guard, the Iron Wolf Cavalry. I've always heard that the Iron Wolf Cavalry is well-trained and is the best cavalry in the world. When I saw it today, it was indeed extraordinary. So what do they want when they come here late at night? Hey, that's not right.

, they didn’t bring weapons, this..." The Meng garrison thought for a while and asked:

"Tuo Bazhi, why did you break into my Yumen Pass late at night?"

The beautiful woman Nalan Linglong turned to talk to Tuoba Zhi for a few words, then turned to the city and said:

"Your Excellency, you are the general guarding the border at Yumen Pass?"

"This barbarian queen actually speaks the Central Plains dialect? No wonder they didn't bring nine translators with them on this trip." The Meng garrison was slightly surprised and replied: "That's right."

"General Meng, we are visiting Yumen Pass this time to enter the pass to seek peace.

"Seek peace?"

"Yes, I wonder if General Meng has received a message from the customs to let us enter the customs and go to Beijing."

"I have never heard of the information about letting you enter the customs..." "Report! News inside the customs." Meng Shubian was interrupted mid-sentence. He turned around and saw that it was Zhao Gang who he had sent to deliver a letter to the customs asking for help.

"Why are you back?" Meng Gongbian frowned slightly. You must know that it takes a day to return from Yumen Pass to Dunhuang, the nearest city, but within an hour of burning incense, Zhao Gang ran back.

"Report, report to General Meng, it's not me who has arrived...Dunhuang, Dunhuang," Zhao Gang ran all the way from the commander's residence and said out of breath: "It's the father-in-law from Dauchi who came from Dunhuang. They and his party

They bumped into me and knew that I was the messenger, so they asked me to lead them to the Commander's Mansion at Yumen Pass. They said they would have important news to pass on to you, and they are now waiting for you to arrive at the Commander's Mansion."

"King Tuoba Zhi, please wait a moment, I will return soon." Meng garrison handed over to the Wolf Lord and others below the city, secretly told the soldiers on the top of the city not to relax their guard, and hurried all the way to the commander's residence.

"By God's blessing, the emperor issued an edict, and the commander of Yumen Pass sent the Meng garrison to obey orders." After the eunuch returned from the Meng garrison, he took out the imperial edict and read aloud:

"The wild wolf barbarian Lord Tuoba Zhi is here to seek peace with me, the Qin Dynasty. I express my gratitude to Heaven and think that the people of both countries have suffered from the war. Furthermore, the barbarian Lord is sincere and takes the initiative to plead guilty. I hereby allow Tuoba Zhi and his wife to

, When confidants enter the capital, the guards at the passes along the way will all let them pass without any mistakes. I appreciate this."

"I accept the decree." The Meng garrison knelt down to receive the imperial decree, then ran back to the city wall, ordered the defenders to open the city gate, and let Tuo Bazhi and his party enter.

After the pass was opened, Tuoba Zhi pulled the reins, and the group entered the pass in a mighty manner. When passing the "Yumen Pass" plaque, the wolf master seemed to be unwilling to look up at the plaque, and couldn't help but think about it.

He paid for the price he paid to take off this plaque - the heads of a hundred thousand wild wolf warriors and more than two years of war, but the people gained nothing and were displaced... Tuoba Zhi couldn't help but gritted his teeth and fisted

Holding tightly, Queen Nalan next to her noticed his move, reached over and patted his big hand to express relief.

"嘘嘚...嘚嘚...嘘嘚..." The heart-stopping sound of hoofbeats gradually became distant and headed towards the pass.

"Huh", the Meng garrison let out a long sigh of relief. This time the Wolf Lord entered the pass on a snowy night. He was thinking not to seek merit, but to seek no fault. He finally dealt with the matter, but he turned to thinking secretly:

"But if you want to sue for peace, just send a minister's envoy. If it is to express sincerity, Tuoba Zhilai is okay, but if you even bring the queen and risk your life, is it really true?

Just let the queen serve as the ninth translator? This is really strange..."

The soldiers in the distance began to discuss: "We finally sued for peace. We brothers can finally live in peace for a few years..."

The ground in front of Yumen Pass is still a strange dark brown, the sky and the earth are as black as ink, and the heavy snow is still falling...

…………

(Why did Tuoba Zhi, the leader of the Wild Wolf, take the initiative to start a war but then go to Beijing to seek peace? And why did he bring his weak wife with him? What is so special about his wife Nalan Linglong? If you want to know the funeral, please read "Snow Will End"
Chapter completed!