Chapter 281: Driving the tiger and swallowing the wolf?
Shashasha~~
At dusk, an autumn rain quietly fell on the Gobi Desert.
Although the rainfall is so light that there is no need to hold an umbrella and carry a hat, it is like mist blowing on the face, but it still gives travelers walking on the Gobi Desert a sense of dew after a long drought.
In a small town more than three hundred miles away from Langxuan City, two horses stood at the entrance of the town. Sitting immediately on them were Cao Aning and Xu Tianying, who had just been repatriated.
Although Cao Aning was beaten twice and suffered internal injuries, and he has not fully recovered until now, he is lucky to be able to come back from the Palace of Hell alive. For this reason, he still sighs that if he survives a disaster, he will be blessed later.
Just saying:
"I used to say that the King of Hell, Ye Da, is very powerful and unpredictable. You still didn't believe it. Do you believe it now? If it weren't for my blessing, how would you have the chance to become a bad person in the court and get the chance to make meritorious service..."
Since Xu Tianying met Cao Aning, he has never encountered a good thing. When he heard that Cao Aning was still bragging about himself, he responded:
"If you don't come to Yanshan to report the news that the empress has a hidden illness, Prince Yan and the master will continue to hide it. If the master doesn't take risks, I will still be the young master of Jieyun Palace. When master a hundred years later, I will become the legitimate Yan."
The leader of the state, clean and innocent without any stain. Now, thanks to you, I have become a treason and traitor without doing anything. I have to risk my life and lurk in the enemy's country, trying to find a way to clear my guilt..."
Cao Aning sighed: "Life is full of ups and downs, they are all the same. I grew up with the deposed emperor, and I was raised as a close confidant of the emperor since I was a child. As long as nothing happens, I will be nine thousand years old and be in charge of the empire alone among ten thousand people."
Under the one above me, even the kings have to look at my face to act.
"The result is great. The eldest princess rebelled without saying a word. My master went too far and tried to confront the new king, but he couldn't do it. As a result, I, the apprentice, will either die for the country or be purged by the empress. There is no way out.
…”
When Xu Tianying heard this, his heart moved and he tilted his head and said:
"You not only defeated the two princes, but also defeated the deposed emperor?"
?
Cao Aning frowned: "What you said is inappropriate. When the deposed emperor was in power, before I took power, I was just the leader of the secret guard. When the deposed emperor lost the throne, it was purely his own fault. I didn't contribute half of it."
"So it means he was killed?"
Xu Tianying said thoughtfully: "Whoever you give will suffer the consequences, but you are still fine. You are considered to be gifted. When you get to Prince Zuo Xian's Mansion, you don't need to use yourself as a hidden target. Just help Prince Zuo Xian sincerely.
Maybe he can accomplish great feats again and again..."
…
While the two were talking nonsense, a team from far away rushed towards them.
There are six people in the team, all of whom are warriors dressed in martial arts. The leader is Du Tanqing, the spy chief under King Zuo Xian.
Cao Aning saw this and bowed his hands from afar:
"Old Du."
Du Tanqing stopped the team, drove his horse to the front of the two men, and said with approval:
"Hu Yanjing Feige sent a letter to deliver the news, praising you for doing things well, but beating him until he couldn't get off the ground for a day was a bit too real. But in my opinion, this is a good thing. Since you are going to do a cruel trick, you should be merciless.
If we really fight, we will not leave any flaws. We should be so rigorous in handling things in the future."
Cao Aning knew that Ye Dayan, the King of Hell, could not be gentle, and at the moment he felt a little ashamed and apologetic:
"Thank you, Mr. Du. We have always been pragmatic in doing things. According to Mr. Du, I will be a disciple of Prince Zuoxian's Mansion from now on?"
Du Tanqing nodded: "Things are going well, I will not go back on my promise. However, the prince has many masters, and if you want to become a close minister, you still have to climb up from the bottom. Something happened recently, and you are good at martial arts. Please accompany me.
."
Seeing this, Cao Aning quickly waved to the followers in the town to follow him. He drove his horse in front of Du Tanqing and asked:
"Why do you need Mr. Du to take action personally?"
Du Tanqing already said something last time, and he didn't hide it now:
"Hu Yanjing said last time that he met the descendants of the Qinchi tribe. The palace attaches great importance to this matter. Naturally, the remaining remnants of the northwest royal court must be eradicated."
When Cao Aning heard this, his heart moved: "Mr. Du has found the whereabouts of the descendants of the Qinchi tribe?"
"The people trained in the various tribes in Xihai have provided some clues, and they should be close to ten."
Cao Aning nodded slightly, feeling that this news was very important, and as a spy, he should send it out immediately.
But it was always the Night King of Hell who was looking for him, and he didn’t know how to find the Night King of Hell. This kind of urgent information was really difficult to handle, so he could only ask:
"Our trip is to destroy the remnants of the Northwest Royal Court?"
Du Tanqing stroked his beard gently, and a hint of deep understanding flashed through his eyes:
"If we want to drive the tiger away and devour the wolf, we will have people to help us fight the battle. We just went to see how the battle was going, and at most we took action to end it."
?
Cao Aning didn't know why, but he was frightened when he heard the words "driving a tiger to devour a wolf, borrowing a knife to kill someone", but as a newbie, he didn't have much say, so he didn't ask any questions at the moment...
——
On the other side, Taniguchi Town.
At dusk, two fast horses galloped from the Gobi Desert and entered the border town where dragons and snakes were mixed.
Ye Jingtang was wearing a black robe and a bamboo hat on his head, with a Chilong knife hanging on his waist and a dragon-screaming gun hanging on the side of his horse. After entering the town, he looked around.
Fan Qinghe was wearing a red and white dress with a belt hanging around his waist. There were many bottles and cans on it. He did not carry any weapons and was riding a big horse by his side.
The two of them said goodbye to Master Xuanji the night before. They set out from Langxuan City and spent two days flying to the vicinity of Huanglaoguan.
Huanglaoguan is adjacent to a mountain range. The one in the Wei Dynasty is called Hongshan, and the pass is called Huangming Mountain. It is rumored that it was a place for ancient hermits to practice immortality. It is very high in altitude and has a snow-capped peak. On the west side is thousands of miles of yellow sand, and on the east side is Huanglao Pass.
It is the grassland and the Gobi Desert.
Because the terrain is relatively steep and inconvenient for horse-drawn carriages, and there is a thousand-mile desert after the mountains, normal caravans will not go here at all; but also because this place is difficult to control in both the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it has become a golden trade route for smuggling business.
, the largest of which is the Hongshan Gang.
After thinking about Huangming Mountain, the only way is to take a long way through Duolan Valley. Although the location is very remote, smuggling caravans and people who dare not see the light of their identities have to go here. It is profitable, so it is still
There is a small town that serves as a supply point.
There are only about twenty houses in Taniguchi Town, and there is very little traffic. Even at noon, there are not many passers-by.
Ye Jingtang was on the road for two consecutive days. No one had anything to do but he was sleepy and exhausted. When he arrived in the town, he found a small inn to stay.
Fan Qinghe has been running around all year round, and has become a habit of eating and sleeping in the open. He does not feel any discomfort after running long distances. After arriving at the inn, he asked the innkeeper for clues:
"Boy, about two months ago, a small caravan of six people passed by here. Two cars were loaded with medicinal materials. Do you have any impressions?"
To cross Huangming Mountain, you need to climb mountains and ridges and then cross thousands of miles of desert. The risk is extremely high along the way in no-man's land. The only people who can go from here are either a large caravan with dozens of people, or a tyrannical warrior who practices lightly. Six people pull two
A car would probably not make it out of the desert, so anyone who has been to the town will definitely have an impression on the people in the town.
The waiter saw that Fan Qinghe was a woman. Although she was veiled, she looked good-looking and kind. She only wanted a tip of one tael of silver and responded:
"With six people pulling two carts of medicinal materials, it would be impossible to cross Huangming Mountain without hauling supplies. Not to mention the past two months, we haven't seen it in the past two years."
"never seen it……"
When Fan Qinghe heard this reply, he couldn't help but frown secretly. He asked a few more questions before he and Ye Jingtang went to the room behind the inn and thought:
"I have many acquaintances in various tribes in the West Sea. I inquired all the way and confirmed that the small caravan that left Xuanhao tribe came this way and did not turn back. Could it be that it entered Liangzhou directly from Huanglaoguan?"
Ye Jingtang ordered two bowls of chopped green onion noodles and placed them on the table. He took out the bird that had been eating and sleeping all the way out of the package, shook it up to eat, and responded:
"From Langxuan City, you can go directly to Heishiguan. It is unlikely that you will come here. I estimate that the caravan did not enter the pass or pass Huangming Mountain, but went to a nearby place within a few hundred miles.
somewhere."
Fan Qinghe sat down in front of the table and lifted the veil from his face:
"There is no man's land nearby. There is only this small town. I have never heard of other tribes taking root..."
"To refine a strange poison like Dragon Miasma, it is likely to be hidden in the barren mountains. The amount of two carts of medicinal materials is not small. To consume them all would require a medical workshop. There cannot be no traces of life in the surrounding area. Later.
Let the birds patrol the mountains. As long as there are people settled within a few hundred miles, you can have a clear view from the sky. Just go and look for them one by one."
"grumble……"
Ye Jingtang saw that Birdie didn't want to go to work, so he gave him a poached egg as a snack.
Fan Qinghe took the time to travel and look for clues in the past two days. He basically didn't stop, and he hadn't had a good chat with Ye Jingtang. At this time, he was eating noodles and seeing that both of them were idle, she thought for a while and asked:
"Night Terror Hall, don't you have any ideas in your mind?"
"Um?"
Ye Jingtang just picked up the chopsticks. Hearing this, he raised his eyes and looked at the flowery King Dong Ming opposite, and said doubtfully:
"what idea?"
"It's about the Northwest Royal Court."
Fan Qinghe picked up the bowl, sat on the side, and said seriously:
"Grandma Gui said, you must be a descendant of the Qinchi tribe, but I can't be sure whether it is a direct line or a collateral line. The strong ones in the Qinchi tribe are respected, and as long as they are capable, they are eligible to inherit, so you can be regarded as a descendant of the Tianlang King.
The legitimate heir..."
To be honest, Ye Jingtang had never considered this. He shook his head and smiled:
"I'm just a wanderer in the world. I prefer to travel around the world with my sword. I can't do anything like becoming a king. Besides, status is achieved based on ability. I think King Tianlang, even if he comes from the world, can still rely on a sword in his hand.
I'm really not interested in obtaining the position of King Tianlang by relying on my bloodline and background."
In fact, Fan Qinghe had already seen that Ye Jingtang did not value fame and wealth, but was just a little lustful, so he followed the temptation and said:
"This is not called seeking, but getting back what you deserve. Since you don't have King Tianlang, you naturally don't understand the goodness of King Tianlang. King Tianlang is not an ordinary vassal king, but a serious monarch of a country, and
The monarchs of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were equal, with three thousand beauties sitting in three palaces and six courtyards..."
?
When Ye Jingtang heard this, he became more serious:
"Does Miss Fan think that I am a person who is greedy for beauty?"
Isn't it?
Fan Qinghe felt so, but he couldn't say it clearly, so he said tactfully:
"It's not greed. Don't you like Prince Jing? Prince Jing is the empress's younger sister. Even if you become the best in the world, you will still be the consort if you marry Prince Jing. Taking concubines depends on Prince Jing's wishes. And becoming Tianlang
The king is different. If you marry a bunch of concubines, Prince Jing won’t be able to say anything about you..."
Night Terror Hall is a bit funny:
"I'm really not interested in royal power, but if I find out my life and death, even if I don't remember it, the grudges related to me will be settled, and the kindness will also be repaid. Miss Fan doesn't have to worry about me because she grew up in Dawei
, just regard things before birth as external matters that have nothing to do with me."
When Fan Qinghe heard this, he sighed secretly and said no more...
———
At the same time, between the mountains a hundred miles away.
It is about to enter late autumn, and the cool autumn wind carries the raindrops and pours it into the basin between the mountains. The basin is covered with knee-deep yellow weeds. In the center is some fields, surrounded by an unknown unknown village isolated from the world.
Only seven or eight households.
In the small courtyard at the entrance of the village, Jiang Zahu, dressed in a green robe, stretched his hands out of the eaves, caught a few drops of rainwater, and called out:
"Girl, it's raining. Go ask your grandpa to put on some more clothes. Don't worry about everything and get cold."
"I know, Dad."
In the room behind, a fat girl aged seven or eight reluctantly put down her toys and trotted out the door with an umbrella.
In the kitchen, the daughter-in-law who was washing the dishes waited for her daughter to go out, then wiped her hands and came over and asked:
"In a few months, the mountains will be closed due to heavy snow. You won't go out before spring, right?"
"Yan Feng is out there. There are not many trustworthy people in the gang. If something happens, he may have to go out a few times."
"Well, you live here and you have no place to spend the money you earn, so why bother with all this? From my perspective, you might as well give the position of gang leader to Huatou Buddha..."
"Zhan Zhongdao is not good at martial arts and has a reckless personality. He can't control the Liangzhou world even if he sits in the leading position. Liu Qiansheng has many crimes, but when he dominated Liangzhou, both gangs and horse bandits did abide by some rules; I put Liu Qiansheng
If you pull it down, you can only fill the gap yourself..."
"You're saying this again. I think you just can't let go of your reputation and status as the overlord of the world. I shouldn't have asked dad to cure you back then. When your martial arts skills were ruined and you were completely useless, you shamelessly followed me, saying, 'I'll always be with you.'
"Stay with me and never be separated for the rest of your life." But after he was cured, he ran out every once in a while..."
Jiang Zahu listened to the chatter, but the words brought back memories of the past.
When he was more than ten years old, he was expelled from the Hongshan Gang. He left the customs alone and came to various tribes in the West Sea. Together with Shi Yanfeng, he became an escort traveling from north to south.
The trade center of the tribes in the West Sea was Langxuan City, so he hung out there. Once he took on a business and was hired as a coachman to drive to Huangming Mountain. His boss was a little girl.
At that time, his martial arts skills were completely useless, and he didn't know that the girl's father was a miracle doctor. Because he had a blood feud, he didn't talk much during the escort, and he had no intention of marrying and having children.
But the girls from various tribes in the West Sea have always been aggressive. When they found that he was good-looking and could read and write like a weak scholar, they were very kind to him. They surrounded him all day long to get close to him, and they found out about his life experience as soon as they went back and forth.
Then he was pulled down into the mountains and met one of the most important people in his life. From that day on, his experiences began to take a turn for the worse. He jumped out of the valley and onto the top of the mountain and never fell again.
Jiang Zahu received the favor and naturally remembered it. He never left this valley after he came to this valley. Even if he finally avenged his father's murder, became the leader of the military, and took charge of the Hongshan Gang, he would always go out if he had something to do.
Then he came back here. From the beginning to the end, he was the homeless little ranger who was taken in by a girl. He never changed, and this valley was the only negative feeling in his heart.
Seeing his wife nagging about the past again, Jiang Zahu responded:
"It seems that you forced me to come here, and you beat me if I didn't come..."
"I did it for your own good! Besides, 'Stay with me forever, and we will never be separated for the rest of our lives'. You said it yourself, right?"
"Why don't you pay a visit? You have to say a few words..."
"Scene talk?!"
"Hey, I'm already in my forties or fifties. What should I do if a girl hears these things..."