The huge caravan marched on the desolate land of the Northern Desert. The deep traces left by the wheels after walking made the bandits who were spying in the dark jealous many times.
But without exception, these bandits did not actually take action, and even the mountains did not dare to send people to collect the "regular tolls" in the past.
Nothing else. In front of the long caravan, hundreds of armed and armored officers and soldiers were intimidating to anyone who wanted to ask for money.
Ten miles north of Xiongguan, Jia Lian was saying goodbye to the Xue family.
Since leaving Wutuocheng, Jia Lian and others have been traveling with the Xue family.
This was what Princess Zhaoyang meant. That day the Xue brothers and sisters accompanied her to the market, and Princess Zhaoyang showed her unique love for Xue Baoqin. And Xue Baoqin may also have a lively and outgoing personality. After a brief period of fear of strangers, he was quickly bribed by Princess Zhaoyang. So on the return trip, the title of Princess Zhaoyang had changed from a timid "Her Royal Highness" to a crisp and affectionate one. "Sister Qingran".
Under such circumstances, when Xue Baoqin tentatively asked Jia Lian and others if they would join them, Princess Zhaoyang, the elder sister, readily agreed.
Princess Zhaoyang even told Jia Lian that she was just embarrassed to refuse the request to fuck her sister. After all, she was not familiar with the other sisters in the palace. This was the first time she liked a little sister so much.
For this reason, Jia Lian didn't say much, and he couldn't waste more than a few days.
"Second brother Lian..."
Beside the carriage, Xue Baoqin looked at Jia Lian in front of him with a sense of reluctance.
In the past ten days, because the Xue family's caravan was carrying heavy goods, the journey was slow. Baoqin had a lot of time to talk to Princess Zhaoyang and Jia Lian along the way.
From the mouths of Jia and Lian, Bao Qin not only learned about the current situation of his cousin Baochai and others, but also learned many things about Beijing and even interesting stories about the palace.
She even discovered that Sister Princess and Second Cousin Lian were both such good people.
A gentle and elegant person with peerless elegance. A person who is suave, charming, and outstanding, makes her feel like a spring breeze when she gets along with him, and can easily make her cheeks turn red.
These two people both came from the capital... Never before has Baoqin had such a strong yearning for Kyoto, the most prosperous city in the world, and the place where she will end up in the future. She even has a desire to follow her immediately. Jia and Lian's impulse to go to the capital!
For this reason, Baoqin was reluctant to separate in his heart.
Jia Lian saw the little girl's thoughts and said with a smile: "Take good care of your father. If we are destined, we will see you again in the future.
Also, your princess sister asked me to tell you that she likes the gifts and poems you gave her very much. If you come to the capital in the future, you must remember to find her. As for saying goodbye, I have said it before, so I won’t say it in person again, otherwise she might not be able to let go of you, little girl. "
Xue Baoqin looked slightly embarrassed. The gift she gave to Princess Zhaoyang was okay, but those few poem manuscripts were specially requested by Princess Zhaoyang because she knew that she could write poems at a young age.
She was originally embarrassed to show it to Princess Zhaoyang. Could it be that Sister Qingran also showed it to Brother Lian?
Not caring about being shy, seeing that Jia Lian had said a few words to his brother, he mounted his horse and was about to leave. Baoqin hurriedly called out: "Second brother Lian, if you come to Jinling in the future, you must come to our house as a guest..."
After the little girl shouted the words, she noticed that there seemed to be eyes sweeping around her. Fang felt that something might be wrong, so she stopped talking.
Jia Lian turned around, nodded to her with a smile, and then rode away.
After Jia Lian left, the two Xue brothers and sisters returned to their father's carriage and reported the situation to the second master of the Xue family.
Seeing that their children all seemed melancholy, the second master of the Xue family sighed: "You don't have to think too much. If people like your second brother Lian return to Beijing safely this time, they will definitely be green dragons flying in the sky. It is not something that ordinary people like us can speculate on.
It is a great opportunity for us to be protected by him this time. You should cherish the friendship with him during this period. This may also be of great help to you in the future. "
After hearing his father's words, Xue Biao's delicate eyes revealed a hint of high spiritedness and unyieldingness, which eventually turned into calmness.
He knew what his father said was right. If he were his cousin Xue Pan, he might still have the courage to follow in Jia Lian's footsteps. It's a pity that he is just an ordinary member of the Xue family.
Although the family is said to have many talents, it is still a low-end businessman. The difference between him and a powerful person like Jia Lian, a man of great dynasty, cannot be measured in miles.
Perhaps, my previous idea of inheriting my father's legacy was too narrow-minded, and I should try to study hard to gain fame. If he could succeed, he might be qualified to truly interact with someone like Brother Lian.
Baoqin was a woman, and she had different ideas from her brother. She immediately asked her father: "Dad, what do you mean by returning to the capital safely? Didn't the second brother Lian and the princess escape from the desert? Could it be that the second brother Lian will still return to the capital safely?" What danger could there be?"
The second master of the Xue family smiled and touched Baoqin's head without saying anything.
In the view of the second master of the Xue family, the border is now in turmoil, and Jia Lian has an imperial mandate and shoulders heavy responsibilities. Who knows what he will experience next. Many of the stories about Jia Lian that had been spread all over the world were frightening to him.
Being in a position like that, encountering a crisis is all too common.
But there is one thing that the second master of the Xue family can be sure of, that is, as long as Jia Lian survives, he will definitely become a very important figure in the country in the future! This is also the reason why he has encouraged his children to get along well with Jia Lian these days.
…
Wu Shiwei personally led his troops to greet him.
Because Princess Zhaoyang's life and death were unknown before, the escort delegation, including all of Princess Zhaoyang's attendants, did not dare to leave their posts without permission. Instead, adhering to the principle of proximity, they camped and waited in Ganning Pass.
Now that Princess Zhaoyang has taken her back, she will naturally stay in the simple palace prepared by Wu Shiwei.
Jia Lian, on the other hand, was dragged to his reception banquet by Wu Shiwei and others.
Needless to say, there were all kinds of compliments and compliments during the banquet. What Jia Lian was most concerned about was the situation in Oala and the court's attitude towards Oala.
Jia Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the imperial court and Wala, after fighting each other for several months, decided to make peace with each other. Now that Wala's envoy "Song Yewang" was still in Ganning Pass.
It turns out that after the Zhanghetan Incident, the Wei court had two voices: war or appeasement. Of course, most of them are peacemakers. After all, the Tatar conspiracy to unite with the Spanish is still being implemented. If they fall out with Oara at this time, it will be detrimental to the overall situation.
And when the news of Princess Zhaoyang's safe return to the Han Dynasty spread back to the capital, even the voices of those who advocated war became quieter, and the imperial court finally came to a unified opinion.
As for the Wala side, although they were angry that Wei had killed their most capable prince, they still had to consider the stakes.
Compared with the Wei Dynasty, what the Oara people fear most is the Tatars. After all, losing to the Wei people is nothing. The Wei people probably don't look down on the desolate Mobei, which is thousands of miles away.
But Tatar is different. Once Tatar is given an opportunity to take advantage of it, Oara is at risk of being completely annexed by Tatar!
Therefore, the envoys re-sent by King Wala fought with the envoys of Wei for a long time at Ganning Pass. Finally, after learning that the Wei State was fully prepared to attack Wala and avenge the princess of Wei, they did not No longer holding on to the death of his own prince.
Today, the negotiation process between the two countries has almost returned to the level before the Zhanghetan Incident.
This is good news for Jia Lian.
Although he also longs for military exploits, especially if he can pacify Wala in one fell swoop, those feats may allow him to successfully restore the glory of his ancestors!
But Jia Lian knew very well that the time had not yet come.
His current foundation is too shallow. Even if such a war occurs, the chance that he can take charge is too low. This was not the time when, under the prince's tent, he could reap benefits by relying on his status as the grandson of Duke Rongguo.
The elders were too embarrassed to compete with the juniors for trivial military exploits, so they just gave in.
When it comes to military exploits that are enough to grant him the title of Duke or Marquis, who would let him? Who is eligible?
The Jia family has just become relatives of the emperor, and Jia Lian himself has just inherited the title. There is still a lot to do to lay a solid foundation.
Jia Lian had calculated in his mind that what was most beneficial to him at the moment was to rely on his contribution to protecting Princess Zhaoyang to return to the capital, gain some benefits, and secretly consolidate his status and strength.
In a few years, when the border situation changes and he has more capital, then the Wei Dynasty will fight again to destroy Oara...
By then, even if he still can't take charge of the commander's seal, he should be able to lead an army alone.
And if the battle with Wala breaks out now, and if it succeeds, but he can't get enough benefits from it, wouldn't it be a waste of Princess Zhaoyang's efforts and a desperate death in the desert?
"General Jia!"
The strong man carried a wine jar and walked straight to Jia Lian.
Jia Lian looked up, smiled and said, "General Zhu Shen..."
"No, Lao Zhu is no longer a general now! That day, I ignored the imperial envoy's orders and privately led troops to chase the enemy. However, I was ambushed, resulting in heavy casualties among my officers!
If His Majesty hadn't thought that I still had some merit in battle, he would have chopped off my head long ago.
No, now Lao Zhu has been demoted to a mere deputy commander. "
General Zhu's voice was rough with obvious depression. Obviously, being demoted from a general to an army commander, and still a deputy, was a big blow to him.
But when Jia Lian looked at the people around him, he knew in his heart that the Gan Ning Guan generals had already formed a circle. Although Zhu Dahe was demoted to deputy commander, it was obvious that Wu Shiwei and others did not regard him as a deputy commander.
Otherwise, today's reception banquet is not something that a deputy commander is qualified to attend.
"General Zhu does not need to be discouraged. With the general's bravery, the court and the generals have witnessed it. It will only take time for the general to be reinstated or even promoted to a higher level.
I would also like to say sorry to the general. That day, the general sent people to rescue the princess. Since I was responsible for protecting the princess and I didn't have enough troops, I only sent a few cavalry to rescue the general. It was Jia Lian who couldn't help the general. "
Zhu Dahe laughed and said, "I've already found out about General Jia's brilliant plan and his military tactics.
Again, there are few people that I, Mr. Zhu, admire, and you are definitely one of them!
As for the apology, there is no need to say it again. I knew something was wrong when I was ambushed that day, so it was just a casual attempt to send someone for help. Unexpectedly, General Jia actually sent people to rescue me. If it hadn't been for the cover of the cavalry sent by General Jia, I wouldn't have been able to escape from the siege so easily that day.
There’s nothing else to say. This is a big favor that Lao Zhu owes you. If you need me, Lao Zhu, for anything in the future, just ask. "
As Zhu Dahe spoke, he signaled to Jia Lian, then he took a few big sips of Tanzihai in his arms. After drinking, he handed the jar to Jia Lian and asked him to drink too.
Jia Lian smiled softly.
This Zhu Dahe is a bit interesting. He said that it would not be easy to get out of trouble, which means that even if he doesn't send anyone to rescue him, it is still possible for him to get out of trouble.
Fortunately, the people he sent back to ask for help that day said it was so critical. It seemed that if he had not ignored it that day, Zhu Dahe would have been dead.
Without delving into the details, Jia Lian raised the wine jar and deliberately avoided the place where Zhu Dahe had touched him. He raised his head and took a big sip. Then he found Wu Shiwei and excused himself from the table.
