Harue Kagetsu

The yellow sand is long, and the camel road is vast.

A Xianbei army of about 1,000 people in full armor set out from Yan County, the capital of Beiyan State, half a month ago, stayed overnight in Xiaoxing, and headed westward.

To the west, adjacent to the Yan State of the Xianbei people, is the Xiliang established by the Huns Liu Jian a few years ago during the civil strife in the Northern Xia.

From the day the army set off, Gao Huan followed him all the way.

This army looked as if it was going to deliver luggage to the defenders of the Xianbei people in Yanmen County, but from the day it set off, a very ordinary-looking carriage among dozens of luggage carriages was the The target that Gao Huan wanted to approach.

If what Murong Zhe said was true, and the eldest princess was indeed in Murong Ti's hands, then what better place to hide people than the heavily guarded palace?

After he sneaked into Yan County, he dressed up as a Xianbei person. With his proficient Xianbei language and lavish shots, he soon became acquainted with several imperial palace guards who often came to the casino. They called each other brothers and sisters. information. After a day of drinking, I finally heard some news from Neiwei's mouth, saying that this army going west from Yan County, called transporting baggage, was actually a pretense. The real purpose is to send the people in the carriage to Xiliang to be handed over to Emperor Liu Jian of Xiliang.

In the carriage, it is said that it is for the mother and son, but the identity is mysterious. Who is it, and what is the purpose of Murong Wei's move, they don't know.

In the bones of Xianbei people, they admire the strong and the weak. Murong replaced Murong Xi as emperor in the past. In the past few years, the territory of the Xianbei people has continued to expand, suppressing the northern neighbors built by the Hu people next to the Xiliang state. In addition, they also knew that there was always one less battle with Li Mu, the real strong enemy in their eyes.

The people of the family had great expectations for the invasion of Chang'an that the emperor finally launched not long ago.

Unexpectedly, this battle of the Central Plains, which almost poured all the strength of the country, started in Tongguan and ended in Shangjinkou. Even if it finally took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime flood, it did not win and ended in a crushing defeat.

The failure is not only reflected in the invincibility of the war, the continuous retreat, and finally the southern part of the Yellow River with Luoyang as the center also surrendered. What's more, Murong, the emperor of Beiyan, lost his prestige in this battle.

When the inner guard mentioned Murong Ti, his tone was a little disrespectful. He talked about how he had changed his tough attitude towards the Huns. This trip was just to cover and send people over, which seemed to have something to do with Xiliang. Seeking, complaining more and more, he began to cherish the memory of Murongxi's mighty and invincible when he was alive. The implication is that if Murongxi was still alive, this battle might not have been lost so tragically.

The speaker was unintentional, and the listener was intentional. Gao Huan immediately thought of the eldest princess, mother and son, and followed him, wanting to find out. It's just that the carriage was always firmly sandwiched between the soldiers and the carriage, not to mention approaching. After so many days, I had never even seen the people in the carriage.

Seeing that Xiliang was getting closer and closer, and in a few days, he would arrive at Yanmen County, where the two countries border, and he was anxious. On that day, it happened that there was a lot of wind and sand, and the team could not move forward. They camped in a sheltered area. At night, they no longer hesitated, and decided to go deep into the tiger's den and explore the barracks at night. He ordered a few entourages to wait nearby, put on the Xianbei military uniform, waited for an opportunity to sneak in, and headed towards the center of the camp.

The barracks were on guard everywhere, and every other section of the road, night patrol guards passed by. Gao Huan dodged all the way, using the cover of the night and the tent, dodged the sentry all the way, and gradually approached the center of the camp.

The guards there became more and more formidable, almost every step of the way. Around one of the tents, there were several guards standing, not leaving an inch.

A soldier was probably tired, yawned, looked back at the tent behind him, spoke Xianbei, and whispered with a companion next to him: "It's just a Han woman, plus a child, what can happen, every day? Let's keep watch like this..."

Before the words of complaint were finished, in the shadow behind him, a person quickly walked over, raised his hand and slapped it loudly, and slapped the soldier in the face with a loud slap.

The soldier covered his face and raised his head. Seeing that it was the leader on duty tonight, he hurriedly covered his face and lowered his head, not daring to say a word.

The leader shouted angrily: "Do you know who the woman is? Don't dare to be lazy when you think it's coming soon! That person is very important! Before departure, His Majesty had something to say. Including me, I will also apologize with death!"

The guards should be horrified. The team leader taught a few words before turning around and leaving.

Gao Huan was hidden in the dark, he could hear clearly, he couldn't restrain himself, and he was excited.

If it was said that he was not so sure at first, then just now, because of that conversation, the fire of hope in his heart suddenly started to burn.

A Han woman with a special status, plus a child, in all likelihood, it should be an aunt, mother and son.

He wished he could immediately rush in to see what happened, but the guards around the tent were so tight that he couldn't find a chance to get closer, so he could only keep sneaking around, staring straight ahead, hoping to see it with his own eyes. people come out.

As if feeling something. Just as he was holding his breath and waiting, he saw that the tent door was suddenly opened, and a person came out from the inside.

The moonlight reflected a slender figure of a woman, as thin as bamboo, but her back was straight.

Although there was still some distance, Gao Huan still recognized it at a glance.

That woman was none other than his own aunt, the eldest princess, who had been missing for several years and thought she had long since passed away!

Xiao Yongjia seemed to be sleepless in the middle of the night. He walked out of the tent, stood at the entrance of the tent, raised his head, and stared at the bright moon in the night sky in a trance.

When a few soldiers nearby saw this, as if they were facing a big enemy, they immediately came and stood in front of her.

A soldier who can speak Chinese spoke and ordered her to go in immediately.

Xiao Yongjia looked calm, glanced coldly at the soldiers surrounding him, slowly looked around the pitch-black wilderness, then turned around, bent over and entered, disappearing behind the tent door.

Although it was only a short glance, it was enough for Gao Huan.

His whole body was boiling with blood, and he was so depressed that it almost jumped out of the atrium of his throat, slowly backed away, then turned around, and quickly evacuated towards the outskirts of the camp.

When he was about to leave, suddenly, out of nowhere, from the shadows beside him, two night-watching soldiers came running to urinate.

"Password!"

When the soldier saw him, he immediately asked in Xianbei language.

Gao Huan didn't have time to dodge, he paused, and quickly glanced around.

It's close to the border camp, and there are no people nearby.

In his mind, he immediately estimated **** the two Xianbei soldiers who suddenly encountered them in the shortest time without disturbing people, and then left quickly.

He lowered his head, as if he hadn't heard it, and continued to move forward. With one hand, he secretly clenched the short blade hidden in his sleeve.

"Stop! Correct the password!"

The soldier stopped, with a wary expression on his face, and asked again.

A murderous intent flashed across Gao Huan's eyes. Just when he was about to draw his sword, suddenly, a voice of the password came from behind him.

Someone caught up and walked quickly to Gao Huan's side.

Gao Huan felt that his hand holding the blade was secretly suppressed by the other party. The man laughed with him again, and continued to explain to the soldier on the opposite side in Xianbei language: "He is a newcomer, and he only wants to fight to make money and seek his wife, and he doesn't want to be matched with me to drive the car. He is sullen and stupid. I just woke up, and it was convenient to come out together, but I didn't remember the password for a while!"

Although this voice sounded very low and old, at the moment when it entered his ears, Gao Huan had a sense of deja vu.

He was very surprised. I really can't think of it, at this moment, in the enemy camp, how could someone suddenly appear to help him like this.

But the other party is a friend rather than an enemy, this is completely confirmed.

He immediately let go of his hand on the dagger, followed the tone of the man beside him, scolded a few foul words in Xianbei language, and then muttered: "I knew earlier that the soldier is here to pull carts and sell coolies, and that day he forcibly tied me. , even if you fight for this life, I won't come..."

After the defeat in Luoyang, Beiyan replenished soldiers and recruited soldiers everywhere. When the patrolling soldier heard his complaint, his doubts disappeared, he said nothing and returned the account, and left.

When the two left, Gao Huan immediately looked at the person beside him. Under the moonlight, there stood a Xianbei low-ranking veteran dressed in a similar fashion to himself. He was hunched over his back, his figure was old, and half of his face was covered by messy beards, so he couldn't see his original appearance at all.

However, just as he met the other party's eyes that were shining like night light under the moonlight, his chest suddenly jumped again.

That subtle familiarity struck him again.

In his mind, a person popped out.

He was so excited that he almost didn't jump up, and when he was about to blurt out, the man quickly glanced around, shook his head, said "Come with me" in a low voice, turned and led him away.

Gao Huan's heart was pounding, and he was very excited. He immediately followed the man, quickly sneaked out of the camp, and came to a remote dark place.

"Uncle! How could it be you!"

Gao Huan wanted to kneel before the man in front of him.

"Rokuro get up!"

The man straightened his back, no longer deliberately lowered his voice, and immediately stretched out his hand to support Gao Huan.

The Xianbei veteran standing in front of Gao Huan was none other than Gao Qiao, who had been disappearing for the past few years.

"Uncle! How did you become like this..."

For a while, Gao Huan was simply unable to equate the man in front of him with messy beards and hair, a weathered face, and the appearance of a sad veteran with his uncle Gao Qiao.

He stared fixedly, his eyes warmed, and his voice choked up.

Gao Qiao smiled slightly and patted his arm lightly.

"Everything is fine, uncle, don't worry."

It was just this smile and one sentence that made Gao Huan in an instant, as if he had captured some of his uncle's old spirits again.

He finally felt a little more at ease, knowing that this was not a good time to talk about old things in detail, so he settled down and briefly explained his journey.

"Uncle, I just saw it clearly! That person is my aunt!"

Gao Qiao said: "I also know. Your aunt and you... Adi, are indeed here."

He paused and closed his eyes, as if he was calming down his emotions, and quickly opened his eyes.

"In the past few years, the people I sent and I have searched the north and south of the country, and only learned of this clue not long ago."

"Uncle, you know, what is Murong's intention to send Auntie and Adi to Xiliang?" Gao Huan asked impatiently.

"I heard that Murong Zhe is now locked up in Chang'an?"

"Yes! Uncle and Brother A had a dispute over whether to storm Chang'an that day. She pretended to be Amei, imitated her uncle's handwriting, and passed on her uncle's life. I learned of my aunt's whereabouts, and that's why she was temporarily allowed to live to this day."

Gao Qiao nodded: "That's it. The Hun Emperor Liu Jian is very fond of Murong Tzu's younger sister. He proposed to Murong Zhe before, but Murong Zhe refused. Murong Tie was defeated and was unwilling to give up. Chang'an, only then did you send your aunt to Xiliang to Liu Jian."

"I see! I want to exchange my aunt for Murong Zhe! It's just because of the shamelessness of the Hu people. I'm afraid that even if my brother-in-law is sent back to Murong Zhe, they will not easily put my aunt and brother back at the same time!"

Gao Qiao glanced at the direction of the distant barracks and withdrew his gaze.

"Liulang, you don't have to stay here any longer, go back quickly, and tell your brother-in-law that Murong Tei colluded with the Xi Liang Xiongnu to attack Chang'an, and let him prepare in advance. Then tell him how to prepare for the war, and don't have to think about other things. Yes. The matter of your aunt and your brother, leave it to your uncle. Uncle will definitely save his mother and son!"

Gao Qiao's expression was not shocked, his tone was calm, and he didn't exert any force, let alone any swearing.

But it was such a seemingly ordinary sentence, which came out of his mouth, and when Gao Huan heard it, it was like a reassurance pill, and he felt at ease.

He nodded: "My nephew follows suit! My nephew is going back now. Uncle, you have to be careful! My nephew is looking forward to seeing my uncle and aunt, as well as my brother-in-law back soon!"

After he finished speaking, he bowed respectfully to Gao Qiao, turned to leave, and suddenly heard Gao Qiao say, "Wait a minute."

Gao Huan stopped and turned his head. Seeing him take a few steps forward, he took out a folded parchment from his arms, handed it over, and said, "In the past few years, my uncle has traveled all over the north in search of your aunt, and the footprints have also left the border, and I will record the gaps one after another. Drawing. Although this is a sketch, it marks the location of the important gates and grain depots in Beiyan. You can take it back and give it to your brother-in-law for his reference."

Gao Huan was overwhelmed with surprise. He came back to his senses and hurriedly took it with both hands. He carefully hid it in his arms and said respectfully, "My nephew on behalf of brother-in-law, thank you uncle for your diligence!"

Gao Qiao stared at him, nodding slightly: "I haven't seen you for a few years, Liu Lang, you are so capable. Uncle is relieved and relieved. The matter is urgent and should not be delayed. Come back soon."

Gao Huan no longer stayed, bid farewell to Gao Qiao, turned around and hurried away, rushing out for a while, recalling the scene where he and his uncle met again after a long absence, and remembered that his aunt and his son were in a foreign land and became hostages, and his uncle was suffering. Searching hard, with wind and frost on the temples, I only hope that God will have mercy on me, and my uncle can successfully rescue my aunt, mother and son, so that the family can be reunited from now on and never be separated again.

He subconsciously turned his head again.

Behind him, the place where he was talking to his uncle just now was empty and no one was there.

He touched the map in his arms and was filled with emotion. When he turned back, his eyes suddenly became certain.

Just in front of him, in the thick night, on the low hill by the ancient road, there was a figure standing.

It's not very far, but it's not close either. I saw the figure facing the direction of the barracks, as if looking at it, motionless and dignified like a mountain.

The moonlight shone from the middle of the mountain, vaguely showing a face full of beards.

Gao Huan's first reaction was that that person was his uncle.

But the thought just passed by in a flash.

Uncle must have sneaked back to the camp, secretly guarding Auntie's side, how could he appear here again?

What's more, although the night was dark and it was difficult to see clearly, it was obvious that this rough silhouette could never be Uncle.

Gao Huan stopped abruptly and pressed his hand on the hilt of the knife again. With a sudden flash in front of his eyes, in a blink of an eye, the figure suddenly disappeared into the night.

Gao Huan quickly chased after him, hurried up the hill, and looked around.

Under the moonlit night, the four fields are empty, and the yellow sand is like snow.

Empty, where can people be seen?

He hesitated, suspecting that he had misunderstood and shook his head. He touched the map in his arms again, and hurried back to report the news, so he didn't stop, jumped off the post, and hurried away.

…

Chang'an.

After the eldest brother left that day, he should still be waiting for the reply from the court. Luoshen heard that the Guangling Army stationed in Shangluo had not yet evacuated.

But for Chang'an, with the return of Li Mu, the threat of this army seems to have ceased to exist.

These days, the streets and alleys of Chang'an City gradually began to spread in the Kanglong Road. When the people chasing after were thanking Li Mu, the white tiger appeared in the post. People think of the scene where the white tiger passed through the barracks, rushed under the city gate, and finally crouched beside Mrs. Li Mu. Various mysterious and mysterious sayings spread like wildfire. all over the city.

Li Mu accompanied Luoshen for a few days, and he was busy again a few days ago. He left the city and only returned today.

Although Luoyang has returned, most of Hebei is still in the hands of Murong Ti.

His northern expedition has not yet been completed. There must be a battle with Beiyan.

Luo Shen knew that he was busy preparing for the battle. When he came back during the day, he met with Jiang Tao, Sun Fangzhi and others to discuss matters. He waited patiently for him until the evening, when he finally came back, very happy. The two eat together.

After the meal, Li Mu sent Luoshen back to his room.

Luoshen remembered that Gao Huan went to Beiyan territory to inquire about his mother's whereabouts. Counting the days, it's been a few days. I don't know how he's inquiring about the news now. I'm worried about it, and I can't help asking him.

Li Mu embraced her and comforted her, saying that there should be news of Gao Huan soon.

Luoshen leaned on his shoulder, thinking of Murong Zhe who was still locked up, he couldn't help being slightly ecstatic.

Murong Zhe's tone was extremely tight. No matter what the interrogation had been before, apart from revealing the news of the whereabouts of the eldest princess that day, she never said any more.

Luoshen knew that Li Mu should have saved a little preparation in exchange for Murong Zhe and the eldest princess' mother and son, and kept her alive.

It was also a coincidence that just as she was thinking of Murong Zhe, the voice of a servant girl came from outside: "Li Langjun, the prison code just came to report, saying that the Xianbei woman asked to see the Great Sima, and said that if there is an important matter, she must report to her face to face. ."

Although it felt abnormal, Luoshen's first reaction was that Murong Zhe might have let go and looked at Li Mu immediately.

Li Mu's expression was indifferent, his eyes moved slightly, as if he remembered something, he reached out to hold Luoshen's hand, and said softly: "Let's go. Let's go and see."