Looking back

As soon as the spring snow melted, Hua Zheng and Yang Kang set off.Accompanied by a thousand warriors from the Oirat tribe, their journey was to the far west, under the command of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan.It was a brutal deal, the tribe gained peace, prestige and wealth at the expense of young and strong warriors.

This is tradition and destiny, as well as honor and pride.In Du Fu's poems, the scene of "parents, mothers and wives walking to see each other off, holding clothes and crying" does not exist. The people who went to the expedition were not sad or unwilling, but more passionate and yearning.

For agricultural peoples, service means barren fields, and for nomadic and hunting peoples, war means spoils of war.It is precisely because of this that the farming people in the Central Plains have nothing to do with the nomadic people. It is also because of this that no matter the Khitan Jurchen or Mongolia, as long as they go to the Central Plains, accept farming and gain wealth, they will no longer be invincible.Thinking of this, Yang Kang couldn't help but think of the turbulent political situation of the Jin Dynasty, the short-sighted and incompetent new ruler, the veteran who worried about the country, the passionate people who had nowhere to serve the country, and Wanyan Honglie, who was the pillar of the country in the past and is now being excluded.

The young soldiers of Oirat headed west all the way, from the North Sea where Suwu used to herd sheep, walked all the way through the vast Hulunbeier grassland, climbed over the Daqing Mountain, and continued westward to the legendary Langjuxu Mountain where Huo Qubing was ordered to conquer the Huns. To the south is Helan Mountain on the border between Mongolia and Xixia.

To the east of Helan Mountain is the Yellow River Hetao, which blocks the south of the Yangtze River. To the west of the mountain is the vast desert. To the north is the Gobi Desert, and to the south is the prosperous Xixia Kingdom.People once left a poem "Helan Mountain is like clouds under the mountains". The mountains here are continuous and the passes are dangerous. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.It is here that Yue Wumu once wrote in Manjianghong, "Driving a long car to break through the gap in Helan Mountain".For thousands of years, the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Dangxiang, Jurchen, and many other ethnic groups have multiplied and lived in this land, conquering and making decisions.

The blood soaked the yellow sand, and the epic whispered in the wind.The repeated scramble for land, the continuous migration of refugees, harassment and expulsion, extermination and harmony/combination are the main themes that will never disappear in the vast land.

They left the team at the foot of Helan Mountain and went to Xixia alone.Genghis Khan promulgated a custom to set up post stations all over the territory of Mongolia and its subordinate countries, and each station assigned [-] households to be responsible for supplying manpower and livestock, which is called Zamu in Mongolian.The first priority of these post stations is to ensure that the military and political messengers of Genghis Khan and the kings communicate quickly, and they also provide paid rest and accommodation for business travelers and necessary guards.

On the way, Huazheng sent a messenger to Aolun Sumu, the capital of the Wanggu tribe, to deliver a letter to her third sister, Ala Haibeji.The courier changed to a fast horse all the way, followed the post station all the way, and ten days later, he found Huazheng who was walking slowly, and brought back the pass token that Borjijin royal family can only hold.

The token was shiny yellow and made of gold and ivory, with a wolf engraved on it.

Many Mongolian tribes use wolves as their family totems, and in ancient Mongolian, "Boer Tiechena" means gray wolf, and the sound of Boerzhijin has the same origin as it.But the Borjijin clan regarded Boduanchaer as their ancestor, and the clans and tribes from Boduanchaer were probably called "Niron" (gold), which is what later generations called the Golden Family.Therefore, this golden token cast with a wolf can only be held by Genghis Khan's relatives, supervised by the third princess Ala Haibeji and distributed, and can pass unimpeded in all levels of post stations and embassy barracks in the empire.

Hua Zheng often jokes that Yang Kang has become her exclusive human-shaped physiotherapy instrument, and her speed is slowed down by her, but because she holds the token and gallops along the post station, she can change the carriage to the most vigorous and energetic every time she arrives. On the contrary, the journey was shortened by more than half than expected.

The two soon entered Xixia.The Xixia Kingdom, which had just been sent to the capital half a year ago and sent out the princess and relatives, has now become a vassal of Mongolia, so there is no difficulty in entering the country.After bypassing the capital city and heading south for a few hundred li, they arrived at a county town, where Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo and his wife took refuge temporarily.

There is a small Taoist temple there, the incense is not strong, there are a few acres of land and a few private houses, the owner of the temple was once a registered disciple of Quanzhen, and was entrusted by Qiu Chuji to settle Yang Tiexin and his wife next to the Taoist temple.He and Huazheng got off their horses at the gate of the Daoist Hall, and after asking to see the temple master, the Taoist priest, who was on the same level as Yang Kang, was very cautious when talking about it in detail, talking about sightseeing, sightseeing, self-cultivation, and self-cultivation until he saw the token of the iron gun, and then sent someone to lead the way.

Yang Kang's mood was uncertain, and he had been looking forward to seeing Bao Xiruo for a long time, but it meant seeing Yang Tiexin at the same time, and how to get along with this man who had only met a few times but wanted to be his father was really difficult.

The little Taoist priest who led the way led them to walk hundreds of feet along the mountain road, pointed to a private house within sight, and left.Afraid that the sound of horseshoes would startle the hermit, the two got off their horses and walked slowly. After walking about three hundred steps, they arrived in front of the house. He touched the chickens pecking on the ground, while Yang Tiexin was chopping firewood beside the thatched hut. It was a scene of a peaceful farmhouse and peaceful years.

When they heard the sound of horseshoes, they saw that it was Yang Kang and Hua Zheng, and they were overjoyed immediately. They dropped their work and came up to them.

Several people asked each other about their situation after they parted. Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo fled to Xixia smoothly all the way without experiencing too many twists and turns, but Yang Kang's delay in coming made them quite worried.Yang Tiexin said, "I comforted your mother by saying that you were delayed because you were afraid of luring that Jin... to the west, but your mother is always worried about whether you will be in danger."

Yang Kang saw that Bao Xiruo had become more haggard, and apologized, "I made mother worry."

Yang Tiexin continued, "Last month I heard that the Mongol soldiers came to the central capital, the Jin Kingdom was defeated, and the capital has been moved to Kaifeng. I knew they were too busy to take care of themselves and would not come to hunt us again. You will definitely come to meet us soon, my son."

Yang Kang murmured, "My child has been outside the Great Wall all this time, and I don't know the situation in the Central Plains, and I have never been to the territory of the Jin Dynasty when I came to Xixia." After speaking, he couldn't help but glanced at Huazheng. He hasn't heard the news for more than a month, and it would be impossible without her deliberately concealing it.

Yang Tiexin's old face became radiant, and he said vigorously, "Now the imperial court has finally made great efforts to govern and signed a contract with Mongolia, and finally wants to avenge the shame of Jingkang and kill those golden dogs. We are ready to go, and we are waiting for you When we come back, we will go back to our hometown in Lin’an together, and join the army to serve our country, so we can’t waste all our martial arts.”

Yang Kang broke out in cold sweat after hearing this, and there was still a little anger in his chest, but at this moment, he heard Hua Zheng laughing.It was a very inappropriate laugh, and there was always a sneer in anyone who laughed when other people were passionate.

Yang Kang knew that Huazheng didn't like Yang Tiexin. According to the standards at the time, Yang Tiexin was a man of loyalty, but in her opinion, it was the most unacceptable. Forcibly staying with Qiu Chuji to make friends, killing officers and soldiers caused a catastrophe, and for the sake of brotherhood, he left his wife to rescue Li Ping.

He once thought that Huazheng's words were out of drunkenness, to remind him that she doesn't like people who treat their brothers like siblings and women like clothes, and leave their wives aside for the sake of loyalty, so when they heard it, they immediately surrendered and expressed their stance: "Responsibility comes first." First, loyalty comes second." At that time, it was just a joke.But at this time, he heard that Yang Tiexin wanted to serve his country regardless of Bao Xiruo who accompanied him in exile. You know, he was still a key criminal who killed officers and soldiers and fled in the Southern Song Dynasty!

Hearing Huazheng laugh, Yang Tiexin was naturally a little unhappy, "What is Miss Huazheng laughing at? Do you think I am too old and weak to serve the country?"

He only met Hua Zheng once that night, so naturally he didn't know her real identity.Yang Kang changed the topic, "Father, you are still a wanted criminal in the Southern Song Dynasty, so you can't go back and take risks."

Yang Tiexin snorted, "At that time, treacherous courtiers were in power, willing to run dogs for the Jin people and persecute Zhongliang. Now that we want to restore the country's prestige and start a war with the Jin country, how dare we wrong the patriots again!"

"But those officers, soldiers and yamen servants who were killed were only following orders after all, and their families also needed an explanation. It is impossible for my father to overturn the case. Moreover, Niujia Village is already in ruins. If you let your mother go back to her hometown, there are no folks there. I can take care of you. You have owed your mother most of your life for the sake of brotherly loyalty, do you want to continue to owe it?"

Yang Tiexin was stunned after hearing this, "Then, in this life, I will not be able to return to my hometown or serve my country?"

Yang Kang shook his head, killing officers and soldiers is a crime, even if it is a soldier who oppresses the good people, even if it is a traitor who is a minion.No court will pardon this crime unless the country changes hands.

Bao Xiruo smiled and said, "Brother Tie, don't be sad. We're getting old, so it's good to just farm and weave here, and live a peaceful life for the rest of our lives?"

Yang Tiexin looked at Bao Xiwei, nodded after a while, "Okay, I will never let you suffer again."

Yang Kang breathed a sigh of relief, and hit the railroad while it was hot, "But this place is not safe after all. Although the Xixia Kingdom surrendered to Mongolia at this time, they also hated the Kingdom of Jin for breaking the alliance that day and refused to send troops to rescue them. However, there are still people in the court who are inclined to renew the alliance with the Kingdom of Jin to defend Mongolia. , and perhaps there will be war soon.”

Bao Xiruo asked softly, "If it doesn't work here, where can we go? To Dali?"

Yang Kang looked back at Huazheng, and found that she was rolling her eyes, as if she hadn't vomited enough of the "Why do you want to run there no matter whether you've seen it or not"?So I had to say to myself, "We can go to the Wanggu tribe. The Wanggu tribe was ordered by the Jin Dynasty to guard and build the city in the Yinshan Heishui area. Later, it became a family with Mongolia. There were few wars, and no one dared to go there to search for criminals. Moreover, there are many businessmen coming and going there, and there are people who speak various languages, so you won’t be suspected if you go there.”

Huazheng also interjected, "Where my sister married, she will take care of you, and it's easy to make a living." Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo had already foreseen the fate of living in a foreign land for a lifetime, and they saw a place to live. , and it was not too far away, so I accepted it without objection.

Without further ado, the family began to pack their luggage and prepare to go on the road that night. After Yang Kang helped Huazheng recuperate, she smiled slightly and said, "It's so strange, I thought it would be like many people said, that the two of them will be poor and lowly couples. "

"You underestimate her too much. She often lives in that dilapidated house, and she doesn't like to order people around in many things."

Huazheng curled her lips, "Then I thought I would lose my virginity because of remarriage, so I wouldn't be able to get along."

"Isn't it enough to commit suicide once? As long as there are no others pointing fingers, they can go through their own hurdles." Yang Kang said with a smile, "This is the first time you see your in-laws, why are you worried about this and that? By the way, should you Let them know?"

Hua Zheng shook her head, "No! If they ask, do you want to get engaged first, I said, oh no, I'm already engaged. With whom? With your brothers' children. How embarrassing!"

Yang Kang hugged her, "Okay, okay, let's not talk about it, we will talk about it when Guo Jing comes back." Then he was worried, "You said he will return to Mongolia soon, right? Are you sure?"

"Before the Western Expedition, he will definitely come back." Huazheng counted with his fingers, "After the Western Expedition returns, he will have a falling out with Genghis Khan. Anyway, we will be together during this period."

Yang Kang continued to hold her hand, and thought deeply, they have been separated from Guo Jing and Huang Rong for a year. During this year, I don't know if they went up the mountain to see Yideng and got the translation of Jiuyin General Outline, and I don't know if the Jiangnan Six Monsters Buried under Ouyang Feng's men.

For him, it took him several years to arrange to rescue Bao Xiruo and let her spend her twilight years in peace, and now it's done.That was the only thing he could predict and the only thing he was determined to change after he came to this world.

Once wanted to treat this world as a game, roam the world and enjoy freedom, is it still possible now?

The author has something to say: In the last chapter of farming, the storm always breeds in the calm, make a fist!