Hu Yanming cupped his hands and said, "Then please wait a moment, King Qin, while the foreign ministers return to the city to make arrangements, and we will set off immediately."
"Okay." Ying Zheng nodded.
Hu Yanming led the troops and horses back to the city, slightly faster than when they came.
"Hehe, with Hu Yanming guiding us, I think we won't be able to stop us again when we encounter a town." Thorin said with a smile.
"Yes, but he said that King Qiang is waiting for us at the Jiayuguan Pass you mentioned." Ying Zheng looked to the northwest and said, "I wonder what kind of person this King Qiang is."
Thorin said: "King Xiqiang, he is very kind, loyal, courageous, and quite smart. Come to think of it, my second brother is really very similar to his father."
Indeed, Qiang Su is such a person. Although the contact time is not very long, Ying Zheng has a thorough understanding of Qiang Su, including Solin.
"Do you need to prepare anything? After all, when two monarchs meet, they must not lose etiquette." Ying Zheng asked.
Thorin looked at the large and small vehicles behind him, scratched his head, and said, "Brother Wang, those silks, satins, and porcelain you brought with you, just a few of them, will be enough for the Qiang people to miss for half a year."
Although it is a joke, the real situation is not much different. In the lives of Rongdi people, apart from cattle and sheep, there seems to be nothing else to show off.
Not long after, Hu Yanming once again led his troops to Ying Zheng. This time, his team seemed to have increased in number, and there was also a lot of baggage behind him.
Hu Yanming cupped his hands and said, "I wonder if King Qin wants to travel quickly or slowly?"
"If we travel normally, how long will it take to reach Jiayuguan?" Ying Zheng asked.
"If we walk, it will take about seven days." Hu Yanming said, "But if we ride on horseback, it will only take two days."
Ying Zheng thought for a while and said, "Okay, you ride on horseback in front, and I and my men will follow behind."
"Then the foreign minister will go ahead." Hu Yanming said with cupped hands, turned the horse's head, and galloped away. His men and horses also followed behind with their horses and whips raised.
Ying Zheng smiled and said loudly: "Listen, our soldiers, follow the few people on foot to catch up with the front team, and the others will escort the baggage. Let's compete to see who is faster on foot or on a carriage. "
Thorin: "..."
If we talk about comparing speed, a horse pulling a cart may not be as fast as a person running at full strength, but over time, the difference in endurance will show up, and a person will definitely not be able to outrun the horse.
But Ying Zheng's intention is clearly to catch up with Hu Yanming ahead? !
Even if this "our army" is powerful, it can't outrun the war horses, not to mention that there is a dragster like Ying Zheng.
While Thorin was thinking about it, he saw that Ying Zheng had already taken the lead and ran out, followed by three thousand "our troops" dressed as merchants who also accelerated with all their strength.
Thorin smiled bitterly and shook his head, looking at the Meng brothers.
Meng Tian also looked helpless: "We can just follow on horseback. The important thing is to protect the property."
It seems that in Meng Tian's eyes, King Qin's goods are not valuable.
"Well, they will naturally stop when they are tired from running." Thorin muttered and urged his horse to follow.
What is surprising is that although the "our army" led by Ying Zheng is not faster than the cavalry, it is not overtaken by the cavalry and always maintains a similar distance.
They ran like this for half a day, until the sun set, and the cavalry led by Meng Tian failed to catch up with "our army" led by Ying Zheng.
Thorin wondered, this is strange, even if "our army" is strong, it can't carry King Qin and run away.
While I was thinking about it, I saw the team in front stopped. It turned out that they had arrived outside another small city.
Hu Yanming was already waiting here. When he saw that Ying Zheng was following on foot, he couldn't help but be shocked. He quickly stepped forward to greet him and asked, "Could it be that King Qin ran all the way here?"
Ying Zheng raised his hand to signal the team to stop, then took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed down his rapidly beating heart rate.
Look at "our army" at the back, too.
One by one, they were out of breath, and many soldiers fell to the ground, unable to recover for a long time.
Although "our army" is in good physical condition, it won't run all afternoon without doing anything.
.
Ying Zheng took a deep breath and then said, "Yes, I ran all the way, but I still can't outrun your horse."
"This, this..." The shocked Hu Yanming's lips trembled and he was speechless.
Soon, Ying Zheng came to his senses and said with a smile: "It really makes my whole body feel happy and relaxed when I go for a run now and then."
Only then did Hu Yanming come back to his senses, his eyes widened and he said, "Everyone in the Qin Dynasty has such ability, they are truly gods!"
"Haha, it's a joke." Ying Zheng didn't want Hu Yanming to dwell on this, so he looked at the small city in the distance and asked, "Is there another city ahead?"
"Yes." Hu Yanming also looked in the direction of the small town and said, "This small town is called Yemi City. It has a small population. To the north from here is Longshou Mountain, and over Longshou Mountain is the Huns. ’s territory.”
At this moment, Ying Zheng's heart and soul seemed to be touched by something.
"Longshou Mountain?" Ying Zheng asked, "You mean the mountain here is called Longshou Mountain?"
"Yes, it is said that when viewed from a high place, the shape of the mountain looks like a dragon's head. There are also legends that there is really a giant dragon buried in this mountain, and it is the origin of a dragon vein." Hu Yanming said.
This casual legend had a huge impact on Ying Zheng's heart, because he clearly remembered that Ji Fa had told him that there were three dragon veins in China, and the middle and southern two had been repaired, leaving only Go down to the edge of the grassland in the north.
If it looks like this, is Longshou Mountain the origin of the dragon vein in the north?
At this moment, Meng Tian, Meng Yi, and Solin came over with a carriage team.
"Your Majesty, are you okay?" Meng Tian asked with concern.
"Haha, what can happen?" Ying Zheng looked at the staggering soldiers with a smile and said, "They are very tired now, and it is getting late. Let's hurry up and camp."
Hu Yanming said from the side: "I wonder if King Qin wants to repair here, or go to the city to rest?"
Ying Zheng waved his hand and said: "No need, I am here. You can also go and settle the troops. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning, we will be on our way."
"Okay, then King Qin should rest early." After Hu Yanming said that, he turned and returned to his camp.
But he shook his head and muttered something. He seemed to be still thinking about Ying Zheng leading his army to run just now.
Thorin also became curious, pulled Ying Zheng aside and started asking questions.
Ying Zheng explained to Solin, then took out a porcelain bottle from his arms, poured out a few Linggu Pills, and stuffed them into Solin's hand.
Early on the next morning, the two teams marched towards Jiayuguan, one behind the other.
Ying Zheng and his "our army" didn't just run endlessly. When they got tired, they would mount their horses, and when they had a rest, they would continue running.
After running around like this for another day, we finally saw Jiayuguan, which is located between two valleys.
Ying Zheng ordered his team to camp ten miles away from the pass, and then sent Meng Yi to follow Hu Yanming to present his credentials.
Taking advantage of this time, Ying Zheng changed out of his sweaty clothes, took a shower, and then put on his royal robe.
After everything was sorted, Meng Yi came back, and there was a tall and upright young man beside him.
It’s Qiang Su!
"Brother Wang!" Qiang Yu ran forward and held Ying Zheng's arm.
"Haha, good brother." Seeing Qiang Yu, Ying Zheng was also in a good mood.
Thorin also came over: "Second brother!"
Qiang Yu lightly hammered Thorin's chest: "Good brother, you really brought Brother Wang here."
"Well, hehe." Thorin laughed innocently again.
"Did you encounter any danger on the road?" Qiang Yu asked.
"With me here, what danger can there be?" Thorin said with his lips curled.
"Okay, stop bragging now, sit down and then
explain. Ying Zheng took the two brothers into the tent.
Although the three brothers separated only a short time ago, they seemed to have not seen each other for several years and were extremely cordial.
After chatting for a while, Qiang Yu finally remembered the political affairs and said, "My brother came to greet Brother Wang this time on the order of my father. After I returned to Xiqiang, I told him everything about Longxi. , my father praised Brother Wang very much, saying that Brother Wang, you have a broad mind.
Kuo not only spared his brother and the 30,000 tribesmen, but also accepted the Yiqu tribe. "
"My father admires magnanimous and courageous people most in his life, and then he insisted on meeting Brother Wang. It happened that Thorin sent a letter, saying that he would accompany Brother Wang to the Western Regions that day."
"When my father learned about this, he came to Jiayuguan in advance to wait. Now he is looking forward to it."
"Oh?" Ying Zheng asked with a hint of surprise, "The King of Xiqiang came all the way to Jiayuguan just to see you?"
"Yes." Qiang He nodded and said, "If Brother Wang is ready, then follow me into the pass."
"Then wait a moment, I will make some arrangements." After saying that, Ying Zheng stood up and left the camp.
Thorin and Qiang Yu also walked out.
When he visited the Qiang King for the first time, he naturally could not bring all the soldiers into the pass, so Ying Zheng only took the Meng family brothers, Zhang Yong and more than a dozen people, riding horses to the gate of Jiayuguan.
The Jiayuguan Pass that appeared in front of everyone was not as tall as the Chinese passes, and it did not seem to be very strong.
One side is against the southern mountain wall, and the other side is connected to the edge of the Gobi. The entire wall is in ruins in many places.
Perhaps because the competition was fierce, the successive owners did not want to spend a lot of money to repair it.
Looking at Jiayuguan, which was not doing much trouble, Ying Zheng couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Such an important strategic location would definitely not look like this if it were placed in our own hands.
The Qiang army guarding the gate quickly opened the city gate when they saw that their young patriarch had returned.
As soon as they entered the city gate, they saw a group of Qiang warriors wearing Qiang costumes coming from the opposite side.
The leader was tall, with thick eyebrows and square lips, and looked quite similar to Qiang Yu.
"Hahaha..." The leader started laughing from afar, "Is the person who came with my son the Lord of Qin?"
"Father." Qiang You took a few steps forward and introduced, "This is my sworn brother, King Qin Yingzheng."
Qiang Yu turned to Ying Zheng and said, "Brother Wang, this is my brother's father."
Ying Zheng smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Ying Zheng has heard about the name of the Western Qiang King for a long time, and when we meet him today, he is indeed very heroic."
"Since King Qin is here in person, then..." King Qiang suddenly showed a cold look in his eyes and shouted suddenly, "Here comes someone!"
With a roar, the Qiang warriors surrounded Ying Zheng and others.
Qiang Yu was stunned and quickly stepped forward to block Ying Zheng: "Father, what do you mean?"
Thorin was also frightened, and quickly protected Ying Zheng's side, saying anxiously: "Yes, uncle, why are you doing this?"
King Qiang said in a deep and expressionless voice: "Bring him here!"
At this time, I saw two Qiang warriors escorting a middle-aged man out from the side.
King Qiang pointed at the detained man with his left hand and said angrily: "This man is an elder of our clan, but he has done little in daily life and has even instigated civil strife."
The two warriors who were guarding the man kicked his legs hard, and the man fell to his knees with a thud.
"However, just a few days ago, he heard that I was going to welcome the King of Qin here, and he even proposed a plan to me, saying that he would take this opportunity to kidnap the King of Qin and demand territory and money from Great Qin."
"Bah! I have lived an upright life, how could I do such a villainous thing?"
"What's more, the King of Qin is so benevolent and righteous that he not only allowed Qiang Yu and thirty thousand warriors to return, but also allowed the entire Yiqu clan to return to Qin. Such a wise king, it's too late for us to make good friends, how can we ruin this friendship!"
Only then did Ying Zheng and his party understand what was going on. The right hand that had been pressed on the handle of the knife slowly moved again.
Put it down.
"This person's words and deeds have ruined the reputation of our Xiqiang people and brought shame to this king." King Qiang said sternly, "Today, I will use this person's blood to prove the determination of Xiqiang and Great Qin to have a good relationship!"
When the kneeling man heard this, he was trembling with fear: "Chief, don't, don't kill me."
The next moment, King Qiang had drawn his sword and walked towards him.
Looking at the elder lying on the ground, his soul was gone and he couldn't move.
puff! !
In another moment, the bright steel knife had already pierced into the man's chest.
