Sun Ding did not answer directly, but asked: "Do you know why no local officials answered just now?"
Fang Zhenru told Sun Ding what he had just thought. After listening, Sun Ding shook his head. Fang Zhenru was a little surprised and asked, "Mr. Sun, do you think I am wrong?"
Sun Dingdao: "Of course what you are saying makes sense. The local government does not want to resettle so many overseas Chinese. After the sea ban, the court's attitude towards overseas Chinese also changed. Some people even said that they would no longer be citizens of the Ming Dynasty after going overseas. Words. Local governments don’t have that much energy and financial resources to resettle overseas Chinese, so it’s normal for these people to be unpopular. But you missed the most important point.”
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Fang Zhenru was a little surprised.
Sun Ding said: "Sir, can I ask you a question? If you have to make a life-or-death choice between tens of thousands of overseas Chinese and the people of Pingxiang Prefecture, Siming Prefecture, Nanning Prefecture and other prefectures, which one would you choose? Bao Fangfang To survive, you have to give up the other side, or make a choice between the people of Guangxi and the overseas Chinese, what would you choose?"
Fang Zhenru was stunned, "This?" After thinking for a moment, he said: "If I can only choose one, although I am reluctant to give up, I can only put the protection of the country and the people first, and choose Guangxi."
Sun Ding nodded and said: "That's it. Officials and adults make the same choice. Your Majesty is not at the border, so you may not be able to see through the minds of the border officials and military officers. Gao Heng gathered people in the north of Annan and seized the city, which is equivalent to conquering Annan. All the people's firepower has been attracted. If Gao Heng can stand firm, he will become a buffer zone between Guangxi and Annan, and the border defense pressure will suddenly be reduced. Without him, Zhennanguan will have to face the enemy directly as before. If You, would you be willing?"
"Ah!" Fang Zhenru suddenly realized that this was the case and why he hadn't thought of it.
Indeed, Gao Heng and the others have set up a barrier for Guangxi. With this barrier, Guangxi does not have to face the enemy directly, and can arrange its main energy in the north to deal with Li Zicheng's possible move south from Huguang, and even support the direction of Guangdong. The existence of Heng has given Guangxi a great boost. This is the main reason why local officials are unwilling to let the expats come back.
"Hey! As the saying goes, if you give up, you will get something. I have lived for almost sixty years, and I still can't understand the truth." Fang Zhenru looked up to the sky and sighed.
Sun Ding said: "My lord, there is no need to be heartbroken. It's better to do this. Now that we know who Gao Heng is, our lord can send someone to contact him and then we can support him with some materials, money and food. Although it cannot be said to be the best of both worlds, this is the safest way at present."
Fang Zhenru nodded and said: "That makes sense. If we can't bring people back, we will provide some supplies. In short, we can't just watch."
"Boss, this journey has gone smoothly. The Annan people may have been scared to hide when they saw our large cavalry team." Just when Fang Zhenru wanted to get in touch with Gao Heng, he was stopped by Gao Heng. Lu Tao and others who were sent out to hunt for treasures have arrived to the north of Lang Son Palace. They encountered basically no obstacles along the way. They flew out the flag of the Survival Brigade and did not enter the city. They walked around the city, even if there were Annan people. After discovering them, there was nothing we could do.
The Qihuo Brigade is now very famous in Lang Son Province. Everyone knows that they have captured the crown prince. Even the court is afraid of them and does not dare to act rashly. Now they also have cavalry, and their strength cannot be underestimated. The people around Lang Son Palace are The number of soldiers in the small county was very limited. These military households formed the four town soldiers with little combat effectiveness and did not dare to go out of the city to cause trouble with the cavalry.
Lu Tao and the others were very quick with their troops, and they had to fight quickly even if no one was looking for trouble. They quickly arrived at the designated location. Lu Tao picked up the map in his hand and looked at it, and then asked the guide around him. What came into view were several small paths. Lu Tao scratched his head and said, "It should be here, but there is a fork in the road. Which one should we take?"
The guide also looked confused. Although he was familiar with this area, it was impossible for him to have been to every mountain top and every dense forest. For example, he had never been here before. He could lead Lu Tao's men here based on the map. It has been very difficult.
Lu Tao and the soldiers looked around blankly. He thought, otherwise they should use a stupid method, divide the troops into several groups, and explore every trail. However, this is a bit dangerous. If the troops are divided on the enemy's territory, it will be difficult to reunite if they encounter the enemy, and they will be easily defeated. Moreover, they are not familiar with the terrain here. If there is any danger, they will not be able to rescue them in time.
When he was in trouble, Jin Yiwei's intuition told Lu Tao that there were others besides them nearby.
All the muscles in his body tensed up. He tried his best to calm his mind and listened carefully to the movement in the woods ahead, but his hand had already touched the crossbow arrow hanging on the right side of the saddle.
With a whoosh, Lu Tao had quick eyes and quick hands. He drew out his crossbow and relied on his instinctive reaction to shoot an arrow at the top of the big tree dozens of steps ahead. What was unexpected was that a black shadow slid from the tree like an ape. He got off the ground, rolled on the ground, and quickly ran towards the depths of the jungle.
"The cavalry is coming with me, everyone else is on the defensive, the gun company, on alert!" Lu Tao roared, leading more than a hundred cavalry on horseback and galloping towards the black figure.
"Drive! Ha!" More than a hundred cavalry were divided into several teams and used their speed to outflank in all directions. Suddenly, Lu Tao shouted: "Stop!"
"Hush! Hurry!" Everyone pulled the reins and stopped the running horses abruptly. Lu Tao's eyesight was very good, and he obviously noticed something wrong in the jungle. Lu Tao turned around and said, "Don't move, don't go forward. There are traps on the ground. Look, the vegetation in some places is different from other places. It’s young grass, the soil here has been disturbed.”
The cavalry had obviously never encountered such a situation before, and they were all a little panicked. Lu Tao was unable to advance or retreat for a while. If he rushed over forcefully, some cavalry would definitely fall into the trap. These cavalry are the treasures of the survival brigade, and they are the cavalry of the survival brigade. Losing one seed will make everyone feel sad for a long time. If it is on the battlefield, that's it. It cannot be lost in this deep mountain and old forest.
Lu Tao's mind suddenly changed, yes, deep mountains and old forests, why are there so many agencies arranged in this deep mountains and old forests, why do people want to spy when his own team comes, there must be monsters when things go wrong, don't you think so. Lu Tao could only gamble on his luck. He took out the Li Emperor's token Gao Heng gave him from his arms, raised it above his head and said: "Have you seen this? No matter who you are, we have no ill intentions. I was asked to come here to pick up something."
The guide immediately translated Lu Tao's words. Lu Tao's arms were a little sore as he held up the key. Just when the soldiers were at a loss, there was a crash in the woods, and an old man and a young man walked out of it. The old man was dressed as a monk, and the young man was wearing tattered black clothes. Lu Tao immediately judged that it should be the black man just now. film.
The old man clasped his hands together and said, "General, can you let the old monk see the token in your hand?" It was very strange that a monk suddenly appeared in the wilderness.
Lu Tao handed over the token in his hand, and the old monk's expression immediately became extremely excited. He repeatedly stroked the key and murmured: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The general has finally arrived."
Immediately, the old monk's expression changed and he said to Lu Tao: "The noble man is holding the token, and he must be here to unseal the treasure."
Lu Tao was stunned. It seemed that he had made the right bet. This man was the legendary gatekeeper. "Exactly." He cupped his fists and said. The old monk winked at the young man behind him and said, "Let Li Xiang take you there."
Lu Tao turned over and dismounted and said, "I wonder who the master is?" The old monk smiled and said, "Just a monk."
He didn't want to tell, and Lu Tao didn't want to ask any more questions. He sent a team of people to follow the boy and immediately go up the mountain to search. If they found it, they would send a signal. "The soldiers followed the order and quickly went up the mountain. After struggling for nearly an hour, a whistle finally came. "Boss, we found it. "
Lu Tao clapped his hands and said: "That's great, damn it. There is indeed nothing wrong with this map. Emperor Li's people didn't lie to us." He waved his hand, and the cavalry were on alert. The fire gun soldiers who followed him carried their match rope guns. , followed Lu Tao all the way up the mountain, and what came into view was an inconspicuous cave. Originally, the location of this mountain was very remote, and it was difficult for ordinary people to find it. The location of this cave is even more hidden. It is useless to have a map. The map is flat and cannot show the terrain at all. This young man must lead the way.
Lu Tao came to the entrance of the cave. There were soldiers holding torches to light up the front. Lu Tao saw that the cave had obviously been artificially transformed. It was divided into several secret rooms. There was an open space in the middle, let's call it the lobby, which enshrined the statues of all dynasties. It seems that this is the memorial tablet of Emperor Le. It seems that this is one of the locations of the treasure of Emperor Le.
Lu Tao ordered his soldiers to check various secret rooms. He inspected the secret rooms with his hands behind his back. Each secret room was basically filled with large and small wooden boxes. The boxes looked very old. They had obviously been placed here for a long time. He used a dagger to He picked one out and looked at it with a torch. The golden light almost dazzled his eyes. The box was actually filled with gold bars.
"Boss, silver!" "Boss, there are jewels here!" Exclaims came one after another, and Lu Tao discovered that there were at least thirty wooden boxes here, all of which were filled with silver ingots, gold bars and various jewels. The dazzling array of items is dizzying. Lu Tao roughly estimated that the value of these things is at least two to three hundred thousand taels.
The young man came to Lu Tao and said, "Master said that if you see a token, you will give all the things in the cave to the person who holds the token. Now, these things belong to you." The guide translated his words to Lu Tao After hearing this, Lu Tao nodded and ordered the soldiers to immediately re-close all the boxes and carry them out.
The soldiers sorted out more than 30 large boxes, and it took a lot of effort. Hundreds of people worked together to carry the property from the middle of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, and then loaded it on the mule cart. Everyone worked all night and finally arrived at the mountain. Put everything in order when it gets dark.
The old monk stood beside the convoy and watched them loading until the end. The old monk kept his original vow and did not ask them why. Although these people were obviously not from Annan, the old monk still suppressed his inner curiosity. In other words, after so many years, he has seen through the world of mortals, and as a gatekeeper, he has fulfilled his responsibility.
Lu Tao knew that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, so he walked up to the old monk and said, "Master, let's say goodbye."
"Wait a minute." After such a long time, the old monk finally spoke.
Lu Tao asked: "Master, is there anything else you can do?"
"Can you take Li Xiang away? He is an orphan picked up by the old monk accidentally. He has no father or mother. He has lived with the old monk for eighteen years. The old monk has trained him for eighteen years. The old monk has completed his mission. , but he cannot be left idle, you can use him, so please take him away." The old monk clasped his hands and said.
"Master, this." Lu Tao hesitated, as this was beyond the scope of his mission.
"No, master, I won't leave." Li Xiang heard the monk say this and immediately knelt at his feet and shouted.
The monk touched his hair and said: "Let's go. You don't belong here. There is a wider world outside. My mission has been completed. I can go to see the late emperor. The secrets here will rot in my stomach forever." ." After saying that, the old monk suddenly took out a pill from his arms and stuffed it into his mouth. Before Lu Tao could stop him, the old monk swallowed it. Immediately, he fell to the ground in pain, clutching his stomach.
Lu Tao hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Come and help, he has taken poison."
Several soldiers gathered around and wanted to help, but the old monk reluctantly waved his hands and whispered to Lu Tao in Chinese that he was not very proficient in: "It's useless, this is a poison, I don't have time, I am the late emperor's bodyguard, the Zheng family Usurping the throne and forcing the late emperor to death, several guards and I were entrusted by the late emperor to escape and guard treasure caves in various places. The late emperor once said that once the treasure is unsealed, it will be the end of our lives. We live in There is a danger in the world that Zheng will discover Li Huang's great cause. But Li Xiang doesn't know these things, so take him away, he is strong and a good young man." Then he tilted his head and died.
Lu Tao closed his eyes, nodded and said, "I understand, rest in peace."
"Master!" Li Xiang threw himself on the old monk and cried bitterly.
Lu Tao said to his soldiers: "Bury him generously, seal the treasure cave, and we will evacuate immediately."
He patted Li Xiang on the shoulder, "Your master finally entrusted you to me, follow me."
Li Xiang shook his head and Lu Tao said: "These are your master's last words. Don't you listen?" Li Xiang kowtowed to the old monk's body a few times, reluctantly got up and followed Lu Tao. .
Two days later, the convoy returned to Tuo County. The Annan Army along the way found that the mule carts of the army that passed them a few days ago were filled with boxes. They wanted to go up and check, but they did not have the courage. You can only watch them pass through your own defense zone.
