The Jinsha River is still called Lushui today and has a rather vicious reputation.
But its water surface is actually very calm, with shallow waves, as if smiling. At the same time, there is an unfathomable mystery hidden under this calmness.
Mountains surround both sides of the bank, and the sky and the earth are silent, making people as small as ants.
Several Tibetans were walking by the river. The leader was named Paga. "Paga" means "pig shit" in Tubo. The custom of having a nickname to make a living can be found everywhere.
Paga was the personal slave of Tibetan Prime Minister Yixiang Yele. Although he was born in a humble background, he had a very flexible mind since he was a child. He was willing to learn and think, and could even speak a few words in Chinese. Therefore, he was praised by Yixiang Yele. .
He was ordered to greet Princess Nalanzhen. He was originally waiting at the Longkai Ferry upstream, but the day before yesterday he heard a knight saying that he saw smoke rising from the other side in the distance, so he came to take a look. When I arrived, I saw the flag of Lun Ruozan standing on the other side.
"Let me tell you, the princess has really arrived." Paga murmured to himself, "It's so slow. The Prime Minister came south from Daoba Road and has been waiting in Nanzhao for a month."
He waved his hands towards the figure on the north bank and kept shouting.
But after a long time, there was no response from the other party, which made people feel confused.
"Why didn't they say hello?"
"It's too far away, can't you hear me clearly?"
"Put down the boat and wait until we cross the river."
Paga then took five people in a small boat and rowed to the other side of the Jinsha River. The boat was swaying and it took half an hour to row to reach the north bank. It was also washed two or three miles downstream by the river. Paga got off the shore first, leaving two people responsible. Rowing the boat back upstream, he walked there first.
Not long after, a group of Tibetan soldiers from the front came over and asked, "Who are you? What do you do?"
"We are the Prime Minister's personal soldiers, here to welcome the princess."
When Paga responded, he quickly glanced at the group of people and saw that the three people standing in front were not wearing armor or holding weapons.
Normally slaves would just observe this place when they were ordered to do things, but Paga was different. He also noticed that the three people in front were clearly weak from hunger, but they were able to lead the team and ask questions.
As for those standing behind the three people holding knives, there were six tall men. Although they were also wearing Tubo clothes, judging from their appearance, two of them should be Qiang people.
Although since the Warring States Period, the Fa Qiang among the Western Qiang tribes have moved to the plateau to breed with the Tubo people. Today, Tubo also includes many Qiang tribes, but the appearance of the Tubo people and the Qiang people is still slightly different. The Qiang people have tall noses and narrow faces. Will be more like Han people.
This difference could only be seen by Paga after careful observation.
Of course, there were Qiang people and even people from the Western Regions in the team escorting the Tubo princess. This was a matter of course and not worth doubting.
Paga couldn't tell what was strange. After answering, he stood there respectfully waiting for a response. However, the soldier who had just asked the question did not answer. Instead, he looked at the Qiang man behind him with pleading eyes.
"Is there a boat?" the Qiang man asked simply, speaking Tubo fluently.
Paga speculated that this Qiang man was the leader of the group and preferred to stand at the back.
"The boat is crossing at Longkai, and the Prime Minister has arranged for more than a hundred boatmen to ferry it. Although it is a bit far from here, the villain is ordered to lead the way."
"After crossing the river, where are we going?"
"Of course I'm going to Langqiong to see the Prime Minister." Paga said with a smile.
The Qiang man touched his chin, looked at the Jinsha River and thought for a while, then said: "The army is going south all the way. The terrain is dangerous and full of miasma. The soldiers are injured and sick. They can no longer march upstream. You let those More than a hundred boatmen rowed the boats over."
Paga asked: "But this section of the road on the south bank is not suitable for the march of the army, and the prime minister has made arrangements. Nanzhao officials are already waiting on the other bank."
"Just go ahead and make arrangements, there's a lot of nonsense." The Qiang man suddenly got angry.
"It's not that the villain refuses to make arrangements, it's that the villain can't mobilize the ships." Paga smiled more and more flatteringly, and said: "The general also knows that the ships on this river belong to the Nanzhao people. It's not us who want to mobilize the ships." Just tune it.”
The Qiang man was silent when he heard this.
Paga glanced at him again, saw his hesitation, and asked: "If the general can't make the decision, maybe you can take me to see the princess or the minister?"
Just when he said this sentence, Paga thought strangely. Although he was a slave, he came on behalf of the Prime Minister. Why should Lun Ruozan come to meet him in person? How could he be so negligent?
"The little Paga is the person who carries the ink next to the Prime Minister." Paga reminded him, "May I ask the general's name?"
The Qiang man was amused by his name and announced his own name, saying: "Li Fei Yuan Li."
"General Li Fei Yuanli is so polite. This is the prime minister's token."
Li Fei Yuanli looked at the token delivered by Pakya, then casually threw a token from the Tibetan army and said: "Lun Ruozan is ill and it's inconvenient to see you. You can use this token to move the ship over." that is."
Paga took the token and asked, "Does the minister need someone to bring a message to the prime minister?"
"I told you, he's sick."
"yes."
Paga was suspicious, but he was just a small person, and he couldn't take care of these things, in case he offended the princess or the minister of protection.
As long as nothing goes wrong, he just needs to follow orders.
~~
Li Feiyuanli watched Paga cross the river again, and then escorted the three Tibetan prisoners back to Wang Zhongsi.
It is true that he is a Qiang, but he is also a soldier of the Tang Army. He was a scout on the Helong battlefield, specifically to inquire about the Tibetan military situation, so he can speak Tubo very well. During this southern expedition, many veterans like him were transferred to the army.
"Jie Shuai, let's deal with it and ask him to bring the ships."
Wang Zhongsi did not breathe a sigh of relief because of this. He asked Li Fei about the details of the conversation between Yuan Li and Paga, but his expression became more solemn.
He ordered the army to speed up blowing leather bags and building bamboo rafts, trying to get more soldiers to the other side as soon as possible. In this way, if any flaws were discovered, they could quickly attack Taihe City.
At night, no bonfire was lit in the camp. Wang Zhongsi could not sleep all night long thinking about the battle in Nanzhao. He personally arranged patrols and continued to supervise military affairs after dawn.
During lunch, he held up the dried meat and chewed it, squinting tiredly for a while.
Not long after, the sound of footsteps came, and he woke up immediately, but heard someone say outside the tent: "It's not an urgent matter, I'll talk to Commander-in-Chief later."
Wang Zhongsi opened his eyes and walked outside the tent. Soldiers were chatting. When he was about to ask what happened, Li Fei Yuanli hurried over.
Li Feiyuanli's expression was much more hasty than yesterday. He walked up to Wang Zhongsi and whispered: "Commander Jies, a Tibetan official has arrived. He calls himself Gongjiezan and promises to see Lunruozan. He can't stop him. He’s about to break into camp.”
"how many people?"
"He has brought fifty people with him. If he is stopped, he will take action."
"Has he seen the Tibetan princess?"
"This is an official under the Tubo Prime Minister. I'm afraid I won't be able to fool him."
Wang Zhongsi ordered: "Send the order and the whole army will be ready to cross the river at any time."
He would not spend more time dealing with these Tubo people, and would rather solve the problem as a general. After traveling through mountains and rivers all the way, he had already prepared for the enemy to detect his whereabouts. Once detected, he would attack Taihe City with lightning speed.
If a Tibetan official insists on breaking in today, then he will kill Ji Qi.
"Let them in."
~~
Pakja followed Gunjezan into the camp.
He looked back and glanced across the rows of blades, feeling increasingly uneasy. I felt that if the leader of this camp commanded them, these sword-wielding soldiers would be able to chop them into pieces.
After meeting Li Fei Yuanli yesterday, he went back to see Gong Jiezan, a Tibetan official who was communicating with Nanzhao. He described the incident in detail, saying that he did not see the princess or the escorting ministers, and conveyed their request to transfer the ship to the north coast. .
After Gongjiezan heard about it, he thought it was suspicious. Although I don’t know what happened specifically, maybe Lun Ruozan lost the princess, maybe the situation in the Tubo court changed and Lun Ruozan refused to see the Prime Minister, maybe it was for other reasons, but something was definitely wrong.
Then this scene happened.
"Lun Ruozan! I came to pick you up in person, why don't you come out to greet me?" Gong Jiezan shouted with a smile after finally entering the camp.
But when he glanced around, two rows of tall soldiers in front were looking at him with vigilant eyes, filled with murderous intent.
Gongjiezan's smile couldn't help but stiffen. He turned back to look at Paga, only to see that Paga had a guilty look on his face, and he obviously felt the danger.
"what happened?"
"I don't know." Paga whispered: "I have a stomachache and want to go out and solve it."
Gongjie praised that this slave was frightened.
He narrowed his eyes and once again observed the soldiers guarding the surroundings. Forced by the chilling atmosphere, he also wanted to turn around and retreat. Fortunately, Li Fei Yuanli came over.
"I've met the minister. Lun Ruozan is ill. Can I take the minister to see the princess first?"
Only then did Gongjiezan relax, thinking that he might have been too suspicious just now, and responded with a smile: "Of course I would like to meet the princess first."
But the strange thing is that Li Fei Yuanli did not lead them deeper into the camp, but turned to a large tent on the left.
"Why is the princess here?"
"She personally visited the wounded and sick soldiers."
Gongjiezan smiled and said, "She's always like this."
Paga followed behind, his eyes moving wildly as he glanced around.
He didn't enter the camp yesterday, and he felt inexplicably uneasy ever since he entered the camp today. If this matter could be decided by him, he would not insist on coming to see the princess and the minister of defense when they made it clear that they did not want to see anyone. Because if there is nothing wrong with offending someone for nothing, what if there is really something wrong with him and his mouth is silenced?
"please."
The curtain was opened, and Gongjiezan entered first. There was a piece of cloth separating the tent, and the princess seemed to be sitting behind the curtain.
"Greetings to the princess, Gongjezan of Rukun has come to greet the princess."
"What's the matter with you?"
The woman behind the curtain spoke Tubo, but Gongjiezan knew as soon as he heard that she was not a princess, so he asked tentatively: "Is the princess okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Gong Jiezan was surprised, walked forward, and stretched out his hand to lift the curtain.
There were two women behind the curtain, a young one and an old one, looking at him in panic and astonishment. They looked very flustered. They were not Princess Nalanzhen.
"Who are you? Where is the princess?"
Sure enough, Gongjiezan recognized the princess.
Li Fei Yuanli held the handle of the knife, ready to draw the knife and chop off the head of the Tibetan official.
Suddenly, someone outside the tent shouted.
"Gongjiezan, you are so brave!"
Gongjiezan turned around and saw a young girl walking towards here surrounded by guards. His eyes lit up and he said happily: "Greetings to the princess, Gongjiezan is here to greet you."
"Who asked you to come?!" Nalanzhen scolded, "Go and bring the boat. Just the boatman, don't bother me with any officials or soldiers."
"Why?"
"There's no reason, just go and do it."
Gong Jiezan was stunned and looked at Nalanzhen again.
Although she came here covered in dust, the wind and frost did not damage her beauty. She was wearing a floor-length dress, which was not suitable for walking. Maybe she changed it specially to see him. Her hair was black and shiny, Wearing a headdress made of red coral beads and a flower belt around her waist, under a pair of slender eyebrows, her bright eyes flashed as if she could speak, as if she had thousands of words to say, but her tone was so cold, Like the snow on the top of the mountain that has never melted for thousands of years, she never had a good look towards him.
What are those eyes saying?
Gongjiezan couldn't help but think of a past incident a few years ago.
After Zanpu began to worship Buddhism, one year, he and Lun Ruozan were studying Buddhism together. Nalanzhen happened to be passing by, playing and laughing on the side, which attracted their attention frequently and fell in love with her appearance. So Zanpu ordered her to use Ghee is stained with black ash and smeared on the face to cover the appearance.
Later, every time Gongjiezan saw Nalanzhen, she always had her face painted, and her skin became fairer and smoother, unlike other Tubo women whose cheeks were roughened and dulled by the cold wind.
"please."
Li Fei Yuanli urged, interrupting Gong Jiezan's contemplation.
"Yes, I will arrange the ship right away."
Gongjiezan had no choice but to resign, and at the same time found a young and handsome man standing next to Nalanzhen, and this man was observing him.
The moment the two looked at each other, Gongjiezan felt the other's calmness and confidence, which made him feel a little inexplicably aggrieved.
After leaving the camp, Paga asked in a low voice: "Minister, can you send a boat?"
"The princess gave her orders, what else?"
"Would you like to ask the Prime Minister?"
Gongjiezan scolded: "Bitch slave, you only have eyes for your master, right?!"
"The villain dare not."
Paga originally had a lot to say, but when the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back because of the words "slut".
Today he clearly saw that the moment Gong Jiezan opened the curtain, Li Fei Yuanli pulled out the knife an inch, obviously intending to kill Gong Jiezan.
In addition, the young and handsome man next to the princess actually has one hand on the princess's waist. It is not obvious because it is covered by the cloak, but it can be seen through their small movements.
Paga knew that if he told Gongjiezan about these things, Gongjiezan would definitely become angry, and there was no telling who he would vent his anger on.
~~
Tang army camp.
Nalanzhen turned her head to look at Xue Bai and sneered, "Are you satisfied? You used my identity to defraud the ship and crossed the Lu River."
"We can still cross the river without you."
"I don't believe it. How else can you cross the river?"
Nalanzhen thought she was very smart, and believed that men were all about saving face. If she wanted to find out something from a man, she had to belittle him, and he would say it just to save face.
But Xue Bai seemed to have seen through her trick, and shook his head with disdain, saying: "It's useless for you to lie."
"You can't help it at all, right?" Nalanzhen sneered, "It's all luck that you got here."
"Well, it doesn't matter if I tell you, it's just two words for us to cross the river."
"What two words."
"boast."
After Xue Bai finished speaking, he smiled there and went to see Wang Zhongsi.
"What's so funny?" Na Lanzhen was very puzzled. She turned around and shouted: "Hey, tell me clearly, what does bragging mean?"
"Xue Lang told a joke with a double entendre, but if you say it in Tubo, it won't have the same flavor."
The one who spoke was Li Fei Yuanli who was standing nearby. He just laughed when he heard the bragging about crossing the river.
Nalanzhen snorted coldly.
Seeing her arrogant expression, Li Fei Yuanli waved at her casually and asked the soldiers to escort her to the riverside.
Leather bags are still being made in full swing by the river, and the wind carries the smell of blood.
Na Lanzhen felt like vomiting when she smelled it, but she heard Li Fei Yuanli say a very cruel word in her ears.
"Princess Tubo, right? Look clearly, if you dare to play tricks again, we will hollow out your internal organs like this, sew up all the holes that need to be sewed, and cross the river with a bulging belly."
Nalanzhen could see such a scene in her peripheral vision, and she was so frightened that her bones stood upright. Even if he still wanted to say a few harsh words, his lips were trembling, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
After a while, someone asked from a distance: "What are you doing?"
"Xue Lang." Li Fei Yuanli hurriedly greeted Xue Bai and said with respect: "That Fan girl is disrespectful to you, I will scare her..."
Nalanzhen knew in her heart that what she just did was not just a scare, they actually did it.
She looked at Xue Bai again, and saw a gentle smile on his face, and he was a little shy because of the praise, as if the spring breeze had brought people out of fear.
However, she was very sober and warned herself not to be deceived by Xue Bai's appearance. He was the most vicious one in the Tang army.
The most venomous snakes are often the most beautiful and cannot be bitten again.
~~
The third day of October.
The Jinsha River was still flowing eastward, and the boat arrived at the south bank. Xue Bai helped Nalanzhen get off the boat.
Gongjiezan had been waiting on the shore for a long time. He came forward and said, "This place is deserted and we didn't set up a shelter first. We can only continue our journey to the northwest camp to rest at the expense of the princess."
Nalanzhen said: "A lot of soldiers have been injured and fallen behind along the way. We haven't all arrived yet. Lun Ruozan and Shang Dongzan are also sick, so let them stay here to slowly cross the river and gather the soldiers." , let’s go to see the Prime Minister first.”
Gongjiezan was also impatient to wait for the soldiers and horses to be assembled, and responded: "That's fine, it's more comfortable to travel lightly and simply. Then I will leave some more people to help..."
"There is no need to leave extra manpower, they will make arrangements for themselves." Nalanzhen said, "Let's go."
More than sixty soldiers surrounded her and walked northwest. There was one more group than the previous escort, and the largest number was Li Fei Yuanli's group.
Gongjiezan wanted to walk to Nalanzhen, but was immediately blocked by others. He had to lead the way, and he became more and more confused.
Although he saw the princess, he never saw Lun Ruozan and Shang Dongzan. We also failed to get a full picture of the team that escorted the princess south and reinforced the prime minister.
Who is directing? What is the strength of the troops? Is there enough food? The team seemed intent on keeping him from exploring these questions.
Gongjiezan looked back and saw that a group of Qiang soldiers were the first to cross the river. After landing, they were walking to higher ground in an orderly manner, not knowing what to do.
"Minister, which way are we going?"
The sound of voices interrupted Gong Jiezan's observation. He turned around and saw the handsome man beside Na Lanzhen. He didn't like the other person, so he responded proudly, pointed to the road ahead, and asked: "Over there. I haven't asked yet, who are you?"
"I am a slave bought by the princess in Xilucheng." Xue Bai said, "My name is Li Qian."
His Tubo language is not bad, but it is very written. Many of his vocabulary words were learned from the national documents handed to the Tang Dynasty by Tubo. He has no life style and his accent is wrong.
Gongjie praised: "I think you look like a Han?"
Xue Bai said: "My ancestors dug the Lingguan Road during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and stayed in Qiongdu."
Gongjiezan was very concerned about Nalanzhen's safety, and pleaded with concern: "Princess, how can you allow such a strange and cheap slave to follow you?"
Nalanzhen could clearly feel that the Tang soldiers behind her were going to kill her at any time. She was unavoidably disgusted with Gong Jiezan's constant attentiveness but without a single word of use. She simply scolded: "It's not his turn yet." You care."
"I'm doing this for your own good!"
Gong Jiezan became excited, tried his best to get closer to Nalanzhen, and said, "Please banish this Han slave."
"Shut up, you."
"Princess! Don't forget that you came to Nanzhao to get married!" Gongjie praised: "If your reputation is ruined because of a cheap slave, can you live up to Zanpu's high expectations?!"
As he spoke, he pointed hard at his heart.
"In order to conquer the great cause of Nanzhao, I can deceive my heart, but can you deceive the people of the world?!"
Nalanzhen was very upset, but she turned her eyes and caught a glimpse of Xue Bai's mouth slightly raised because he seemed to find it funny. She couldn't help being annoyed and scolded: "Why are you laughing?!"
Immediately a dagger was pressed against her waist.
"Princess," Li Fei Yuanli said, "Minister Gongjiezan spoke too loudly, please tell him to stay away."
"Um……"
The team passed through a rugged valley and finally were able to ride horses.
More than sixty cavalry Tang troops still surrounded Na Lanzhen. They ran for a whole afternoon and arrived at a small camp before dark.
At night, Nalanzhen still couldn't get rid of the control of Tang Jun. It was Tang Jun who was guarding outside her tent, and serving her inside was Deji Meiduo from the Yak Tribe.
After settling in, Gong Jiezan's voice soon sounded outside the tent.
"Princess, I boiled hot water and brought it for you to wash up."
Dejimedo immediately went out to get it and took Gongjiezan away.
Nalanzhen watched this scene, and when she returned to the tent, she smiled and said, "It seems that I can't count on Gongjiezan?"
"Princess, please give up."
"What about you?" Na Lanzhen asked softly, "What do you want?"
Dejimedo said calmly: "My husband and daughter did not come this time."
Nalan Zhensui stopped talking. Dejimeduo's family was kept as hostages by the Tang army. It was obviously impossible to help him. Then how to convey the news that the Tang army was planning to attack Taihe City?
What if I had risked my life yesterday to shout out to Gongjiezan to warn Nanzhao? No, Gongjiezan will only be killed in the Tang army camp.
Did you shout it when crossing the river today? Do you hope that one person will escape and report the news? But how could a person like him risk his life to save a small foreign country? Xue Bai had already seen through himself.
Nalan Zhen sighed, knowing that it was too late.
Now that the Tang army has crossed the Jinsha River, without arousing the alert of the Tibetan and Nanzhao forces on the south bank, within a few days, magical troops will descend from the sky at the gate of Taihe City.
Thinking about this, Nalanzhen felt that everything was because of herself. If it weren't for herself, the Tang army would not have successfully passed through Xilucheng, crossed the Jinsha River, and hidden the Prime Minister of Tibet...
~~
That night, Xue Bai was also calculating the progress of Wang Zhongsi's march.
There should be no one who could rush to Taihe City to report the news before the Tang army.
This trip, until we crossed the Jinsha River, was not as smooth as expected. It would have been better if we had not met Na Lanzhen. In that way, they would not be blocked at the Dadu River. By collecting intelligence in advance, they could persuade Abdu from Menghuo City to help pass through Xilu City, and then cross the Jinsha River with a leather bag, and they would not encounter Nalan waiting here. The loyal Tubo minister.
"Crossing Lu in October, going deep into the barren land" should be a journey that can be summed up in eight words.
Unfortunately, I met more people helplessly...
(End of chapter)
