"Ling'er, you have to wake up quickly. Didn't you say you wanted to protect me? How can I do it without you as a great bodyguard?"
"Ling'er, I have a lot of interesting things to tell you. Do you want to hear it? Ling'er, the world before was beyond your imagination. There were cars, airplanes, TVs, and mobile phones. ,,,,”
As I talked, I couldn't help but sing a song I once sang to Fang Ling, "Girl, I Love You."
With long hair and dark eyes, I seem to have seen you somewhere. The Gesang flowers on the mountain are blooming so beautifully. I want to pick one and give it to you personally.,,,,,, dear girl, I love you. , let me walk into your world and be with you. My dear girl, I love you and will give everything to you for the rest of my life. I am also willing.
Unknowingly, I seemed to feel that my eyes were already moist.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Wen Zhang's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, the guests have arrived,"
I came back to my senses and said: "Wen Zhang, ask the guests to wait in the next room, and call Mr. Fang here."
After a while, Fang Chenyi walked in: "Young Master,"
"Well," I said, "Mr. Fang, you take care of Ling'er while I go meet the guests."
In the next room, I saw the Lu brothers, whom I had not seen for more than half a year.
"Your Majesty, Lu Wende and Lu Wenhuan, meet your Majesty,"
"Pingsheng, I am traveling privately in private, you can just call me Mr. Huyan,"
"Yes, sir,"
After Lu Wende and Lu Wenhuan stood up, they saluted Yuan Ji next to me, and then looked a little nervous and said, "Sir, why are you here in Xiangyang?"
"I was just passing by, I was going to the central county in the north,"
"What," Lu Wende and Lu Wenhuan exclaimed at the same time, "Young Master, you must not do this."
I smiled and said calmly: "Two Mr. Lu, I have already decided on this matter and will not change it. I know that you and the Mongols have contacts with each other, so I want to ask you how to pass the Song-Mongolia border in the safest way."
Of course, the continued exchanges between Lu Wende and the Mongols were carried out under my instructions.
Lu Wende was afraid of me from the bottom of his heart. Even if he had good intentions, he did not dare to persuade me. He thought for a while and said, "Sir, it is relatively safe to go north from Yunxi County via Manchuang Pass."
"Yunxi County, map,"
Lu Wende opened the map he brought with him, pointed to the northwest of Xiangyang and said: "Sir, look at it, going out from the northwest of Xiangyang City is the Wudang Mountains, to the north of Wudang Mountain is Yunxian County, and to the northwest of Yunxian County is Yunxian County. Xi County, this Yunxi County is currently also the dividing line between our country and Mongolia. Because the south of Yunxi is blocked by the Wudang Mountains, which is not conducive to the movement of the army, so there are no large troops stationed on both sides in the Yunxi area. My subordinates have had conflicts with the Mongols. It was agreed that in order to facilitate the trading in Xiangyang Market, Yunxi will be set as a traffic hub. As long as there is a special voucher issued by Xiangyang Prefecture, the Mongolian garrison will let them pass."
Speaking of this, Lu Wende glanced at me secretly, fearing that I would be angry.
I had no expression: "Well, continue,"
Lu Wende continued: "Master, in the name of doing business, you can easily pass through Yunxi County. After that, further north is Manchuan Pass. Manchuang Pass is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with Cuiwei Longshan in the east and towering Longshan in the north. Falcon Ridge, with the majestic Yun Ridge to the southwest, is sparsely populated. The Mongols have troops stationed in the Longshan and Yun Ridge areas, but the Falcon Ridge to the north has no defenders and can be passed through. After passing Manchuan Pass, it is the actual area controlled by the Mongols. Well, go straight north from Manchuan and you can reach the central county. Based on my understanding of the Mongols, they are quite polite to business people. As long as you deal with them carefully, you should be fine."
"Then in what capacity are we?"
"Sir, let's take the medicine merchants in Xiangyang City. By the way, sir, is there anyone in your group who has good medical skills?"
"have,"
"That's no problem. The Mongolians still prefer the Chinese medicinal materials of our dynasty. I will prepare some medicinal materials that are urgently needed in northern Mongolia for the young master for emergencies." Lu Wende paused and continued, "Young Master, in Manchuan There is a guerrilla group sent by my subordinates in the Guan area, do you want them to follow you?"
"No, this matter is only known to the two of you,"
"Yes, sir,"
Yuan Ji said: "Mr. Lu is right. I have walked this road. Except for a few areas, most of them can go around the mountains. There should be no big safety issues."
"That's good. Let's rest here for one night and set off tomorrow morning. Mr. Lu, are you still on good terms with the Mongols?"
"Sir, my subordinates have always maintained good relations with them in accordance with your instructions," Lu Wende said as he took out a pamphlet. "Sir, please see, here are the bribes accepted by my subordinates,"
I didn't even stretch out my hand: "I won't watch. After the war breaks out, these bribes will be used as military expenses for your Xiangyang Military Region. Lu Wende, regarding the market, what are the recent trends of the Mongols?"
"My lord, I just have something to report. Yesterday afternoon, the Mongols sent a messenger. They used the southerners' lack of faith as an excuse to ask for a city wall to be built to protect their goods in the Lumen Shanqiang. I am planning to report this matter to the court. , please let me decide,”
I thought about it and said, "Lu Wende, if they want to build an earth wall, let them build it."
Lu Wenhuan said hurriedly: "Sir, the Mongols building earthen walls will be detrimental to Xiangyang."
"It doesn't matter, Lu Wenhuan, since I have decided on the idea of defeating the decisive battle with the Mongols in Xiangyang, then I have to give the Mongols some hope. Lu Wende, just promise them, but you have to ask for some betrothal gifts. If you want to do it, to greed,"
"My subordinates understand,"
I then said to Lu Wenhuan: "General Wenhuan, you can rest assured that the earthen wall cannot block my imperial weapon. The walls of Xiangyang City are strong and can be defended for three or five years without any problem. Since the Mongols are here After investing a lot of money, we will naturally accumulate heavy troops. At that time, our army will encircle us from the outside, and the Mongolian army will inevitably continue to reinforce us. Our army can encircle the points for reinforcements and implement the strategy of encirclement and counter-encirclement. This tactic will make the Mongolian cavalry more vulnerable in field battles. If the power cannot be exerted, the battle situation can enter into the positional warfare that our dynasty is good at, thereby wiping out its effective forces outside Xiangyang City."
"Young Master is brilliant,"
"Then again, although our country has firearms and cities, the final decision of victory or defeat depends on the perseverance and tenacity of the soldiers on both sides. You must shape the military spirit of our Xiangyang Military Region before the war breaks out. The brave will win when we meet in the bottom lane. , Mongolians are brave, you are braver than them,"
"Yes, sir, I will obey your orders,"
"Lu Wende, although you have made countless military exploits, you are more or less unshirkable responsible for Liu Zong's rebellion in Sichuan, and the Lumen Mountain harvest field almost brought Xiangyang to a disadvantage. These two crimes can completely make the court You will be punished with death, so the future battle in Xiangyang is your only chance to atone for your crimes, so take advantage of it,"
Lu Wende suddenly broke out in a cold sweat when he heard me tell him about his bad deeds: "Young Master, don't worry, my subordinates will definitely follow the Young Master's will."
"Then it's best, Wen Huan, you are a prudent person. You should review the affairs of the Xiangfan Military Region more. In the face of a powerful enemy, you must put national affairs first in everything. Mobilize the local people and unite all anti-Mongolian forces to deal with it together. Mongolia, if our army can win a great victory in the Battle of Xiangyang, the military power between Song and Mongolia will very likely be reversed. At that time, I will erect a monument in Xiangyang City as evidence and write a letter to General Lu Wende and General Lu Wenhuan to defeat Mongolia in This is a reward,"
"Yes, Young Master," the Lu brothers said excitedly, "I will definitely live up to Young Master's high expectations and swear to live and die with Xiangyang."
There is such a stone tablet, which is an achievement that will be remembered for generations.
After dinner, Shen Mo and Lin Ying came to the inn.
After conveying my instructions, Shen Mo and Lin Ying immediately left Lin'an. The two of them ran all the way, day and night, resting when they were tired, and continuing on the road after resting. They spent seven or eight hours on the horse in a day. Fortunately, Lin Ying's martial arts skills were not weak. Although she was very tired, she finally arrived in Xiangyang at the scheduled time.
Early the next morning, a group of ten of us headed north in the name of "Zhang's Medicinal Materials Store" in Xiangyang. Zhang Quanyi, who speaks with a northern accent, became the young owner of the store, Yuan Ji was the shopkeeper, and Fang Ling's identity was Zhang Quanyi. Yi's sister, Lin Ying, acted as a maid, and I and others pretended to be servants of the shop. The Taoist priests wore common clothes and no longer dressed as Taoist priests.
The journey from Xiangyang City to Wudang Mountain is about 350 miles. At noon the next day after leaving Xiangyang, we arrived at Wudang Mountain. For Zhang Quanyi, Wudang Mountain was the most impressive place besides his hometown. , Zhang Quanyi and Zhang Yun'an traveled to almost every peak of Wudang Mountain in search of medicine. Zhang Quanyi was filled with emotion when he revisited his hometown, but his master was missing, which made him quite sad. sad.
There are many peaks in Wudang Mountain and the scenery is gorgeous, but everyone also wanted to enjoy it. Under the leadership of Zhang Quanyi, they passed quickly.
At the border of Yun County, Yuan Ji asked a group of secretly guarded guards to stay there.
As Lu Wende said, with the help of the road signs in Xiangyang Prefecture, we passed through Yunxi County easily. The soldiers on either side simply looked at our vouchers and gave the order to let us pass.
From the west of Yunxi to the north is Manchuanguan Pass. Like Wudang Mountain, the Manchuanguan Pass area is also full of high mountains. Of course, its scenery is far inferior. Yuan Ji, who is quite familiar with this place, took us around After a whole day on the mountain trail, we passed Manchuang Pass and arrived at today's border of Shaanxi Province.
Two days later, we sold our horses and hiked through the famous Qinling Mountains. With the help of Yuan Ji, Fang Chenyi, and the three masters of Taoism, I, who had the lowest martial arts skills, and Fang Ling, who was unconscious, both moved faster. The speed passed through the mountainous area and did not slow down because of hiking.
After crossing the Qinling Mountains, we saw that the terrain was much flatter. At the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, we successively bought about ten more good horses to travel with us.
Judging from the initial situation in the villages along the road, Mongolian Kublai Khan was not as brutal and random in the areas under his rule as he was when he first occupied it, and the lives of the people were basically peaceful.
Yuan Ji was quite familiar with the roads north of the Qinling Mountains, and he led us to walk on country roads as much as possible. The journey went surprisingly smoothly. A few days later, we finally arrived at the hot spring village at the southernmost tip of Central County.