Zhu Youjian beside the fire raised his head and looked up at Sirius in the southeast.
In winter in Beijing, people can also see the brightest star in the night sky.
But princes and princesses are not included in the category of "people".
Often, before the rising stars have passed over the palace walls of the Forbidden City, people with golden branches and jade leaves are asked to sleep on their couches.
Coming to the grassland outside the Great Wall, Zhu Youjian knew for the first time that Sirius was so dazzling.
The unique blue-white star halo is really wonderful.
Although the prairie in winter is bleak and cold, for the prince who has been imprisoned like a prisoner for more than ten years, it is still full of the charm of a new world.
Of course, what attracted Zhu Youjian was not only the vast starry sky above his head, but also the masculine atmosphere of the military camp outside the Great Wall.
He also yearns for all activities that can still demonstrate human beings' ability to survive in this world of ice and snow.
Such as fishing and hunting.
The guide who accompanied us was a herdsman from a small Mongolian tribe who had submitted to Daning Town, and he spoke Chinese fluently.
While Master Zheng was busy discussing official matters with Man Gui and others, Zhu Youjian was learning riding and shooting from Zhang Fengyi. He also asked the Mongolians about the grassland scenery and interesting things with great interest. He would also reward the little servants around him.
Give the guide some trinkets as a reward.
The flattered Mongolian guide kept talking, and because he was a clever man, he picked out tricks that the young man liked, such as dogs pulling sledges and cutting ice for fishing.
Tonight, after seeing Sirius, which was brighter than the previous few days, Zhu Youjian asked his first companion Wang Chengen to call the guide.
"You said that the brighter Sirius is, the clearer the weather will be in the next few days, right?"
"As far as your Highness is concerned, yes."
"Is there a big river nearby?"
"Uh..." The Mongolian guide did not see Wang Chengen desperately winking at him and replied honestly, "Your Highness, there is a river of stone tablets thirty miles to the north."
"So close!" Zhu Youjian became excited and turned to Wang Cheng'en and said, "Wang Banban, let's not rush back to Daning City tomorrow and go fishing in the river."
Wang Chengen just wanted to help his forehead.
After splitting up with Mrs. Zheng, Wang Chengen became the person solely responsible for the safety of His Highness King Xin. Although in addition to the Jinyi Guards, Ma Xianglin gave twenty Sichuan Barbarian servants to escort him, and Man Gui also added ten Xuanzanzhen to bring
Although he was a veteran, Wang Chengen was still very nervous when he came outside the Great Wall for the first time.
"Your Highness, what's the matter? I saw the river outside Daning City. We can still fish when we return to Daning."
Zhu Youjian said: "There is also Huang Zunsu in the city. They were born in Jinshi and are very old-fashioned. Let's go to the big river in the north to play. Wang Chengen, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of wolves or Tatars?"
Wang Chengen said honestly: "I am afraid that Madam Zheng will blame me and ignore the safety of His Highness. Madam Zheng has told me to rest on the road for one night at most."
Zhu Youjian disagreed.
He clearly remembered that the reason why Master Zheng was so determined to get rid of Ke Yinyue was not only to repay the old debt of his biological mother who was bullied by him, the fifth prince, but also because he could not tolerate a shallow and vulgar wet nurse who gave birth to a child.
The thoughts that influenced the words and deeds of the eldest son of the emperor.
This is exactly what Zhu Youjian likes about Master Zheng.
She unabashedly showed that she regarded the princes as future eagles and hoped that they would soar into the sky, so she tried every means to take them out of the gorgeous and extravagant cage and travel in the vast territory.
In this case, how could Master Zheng control his most favored disciple like a wet nurse controls a child? Wouldn't that make Yinyue her most hated guest?
The recognition of the master's style and the temporary separation from the master suddenly made the young prince's mood to try to give orders and explore the snowfield suddenly intense.
Even if Wang Chengen invited Zhang Fengyi to persuade him, it would be of no use.
"Mrs. Ma, you and your daughter can go back to Daning City tomorrow. Just tell General Ma that I will be at Shibei River one day later than you at most. Don't say anything else, I'm going to bed."
How dare Zhang Fengyi leave first by herself?
My husband said that the Zhenglan Banner that fought against the Tatars in Luanhe was also ordered in this month. Although this place is between the two major military gathering areas of the Ming and Mongolia, there are still banner troops to go if the Tatars get hungry.
What about grabbing the water source in the west that happens to pass by the north?
But she didn't have the identity of Zheng Haizhu, so she couldn't disobey King Xin, so she had to agree with Wang Chengen that early tomorrow morning, she would send people to Chahar and Daning City respectively to ask Ma Xianglin to send more guards, and also ask the people from the west section of the Shibei River to
Zheng Haizhu learned in time that King Xin had also reached the border of Chahar.
…
The next day, it was indeed a sunny day with the sun shining brightly.
In order to please the prince of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongolian guide and his assistants had already dismantled the hemp rope overnight and turned it into a cross-shaped fishing net with detailed warp and latitude.
"Your Highness, please take a look. If any fish enters the net, hold the rope in the middle and pull it, and the net will tighten."
The young man became more and more anxious as he watched the expert's demonstration. In addition, his riding skills had improved a lot in the past half month. How could he accommodate the speed of the baggage and ceremonial guards?
Zhu Youjian simply took off the prince's brocade robe, put on the kahudan commonly worn by Mongolians, wrapped himself in a windproof and warm fur coat, led a group of brocade guards, and rode north.
Zhang Fengyi quickly followed with the Sichuan army servants.
The anxious Wang Chengen and a group of small firemen were left behind, leading a group of luxurious but slow-moving carts behind them.
When the sun moved due south, the Xibe River, also known as the Shibei River among the Mongolians, stood in front of us.
When the Mongolian guide saw Zhang Fengyi's stern face and alert look, he was afraid that General Ma's brave wife would blame him for being too flattering and causing the young prince to change his route to play. He pointed to the white river surface and said flatteringly: "My lord, look at this.
, many herdsmen on both sides of the strait have set up tents. They are most afraid of the Tatars. If the sentries from the east of these tribes came to report that there were Tatars, they would have disappeared long ago."
Zhang Fengyi raised her eyes and saw herds of cattle and sheep within her field of vision. They seemed to be digging through the snow and gnawing at grass roots under the sunny sun. On the ice in the middle of the river, there were not only herdsmen cutting ice for fishing, but also children.
Playing with the ice sledge and laughing like silver bells is indeed a peaceful and peaceful scene.
Over there, Zhu Youjian had ordered several Jinyi guards to dig holes in the ice with embroidered spring knives. He also called out to Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi's daughter Ma Tongchuan: "A Tong, come and see the big fish."
Zhu Youjian lost his mother when he was five years old, and his sixth sister Zhu Huiyan also lost her mother at about the same time. The two brothers and sisters, who have the same father but suffer from the same illness, have a very close relationship. When Zhu Youjian saw Ma Tongchuan this time, he remembered his childhood.
Seeing the scene, he regarded her as a little sister, and soon became familiar with this little girl.
Ma Tongchuan didn't even understand the difference between king and minister. She only regarded Zhu Youjian as a big brother who could take her to play. She had become more and more attached to him in the past half month. When she heard the call, she immediately ran over to watch the fun.
Once Zhang Fengyi's tight strings relaxed a little, her expression became gentle and kind.
She taught Zhu Youjian how to ride and shoot, and after observing the young prince's behavior and temperament for a while, she already had a good impression of the future son-in-law in her heart. She was even more satisfied when she saw that the young prince was also very kind to A Tong.
Zhang Fengyi took off the quiver from the horse, buckled it on the belt around her waist, picked up the bow, and walked towards the ice cave.
The Mongolian guide quickly sank the net bag into the ice cave and told the Han people who had no ice fishing experience: "As soon as the cave is lighted, the fish will come to breathe, and you can catch them accurately."
Everyone leaned forward and stared at the hole. After a while, they heard the guide say "there is fish". At the same time, he tightened the ropes of the net and pulled it hard. Sure enough, the bottom of the fishing net that was pulled up was more than a foot long.
The long carp is flapping.
The guide reached out and caught the carp and threw it on the ice.
The carp's plump body couldn't help twisting, and its beautiful scales shone like gold in the sun. Zhu Youjian and Ma Tongchuan surrounded it and excitedly used their hands to test the fish's head and fins, which was quite interesting.
The guide and a few assistants picked up a few more fish one after another.
But the weather was cold, and the live fish struggled for a while before being frozen like lumps, which was not very fun.
Zhu Youjian was a young man after all. After he understood what it was like to cut ice for fishing, his curiosity turned to the herdsman children playing with ice sledges not far away.
"I want to try that." Zhu Youjian said to the Mongolian guide.
"Mom, I want to play too." Ma Tong's milky voice also sounded.
Zhang Fengyi was still suspicious of being a sentinel during the Fushun Defense War. She thought about it, called the leader of the Jinyi Guards, and went with the guide to take a look at the situation of the herdsmen first.
After some investigation, we found that they are indeed honest and honest herdsmen. From adults to children, they even saw the knife in the waist of the Jin Yiwei and the bow and arrow on Zhang Fengyi's back.
After giving them food, they returned to the ice and taught Zhu Youjian and others how to play with the ice sledge.
Ma Tongchuan was small and light, and could skate very quickly. This female general took the lead and slid forward, her excited laughter extremely loud.
Not to be outdone, Zhu Youjian chased Ma Tongchuan away.
The Jinyi guards were chasing behind nervously.
But how can one run on the ice? Adults are too tall to sit on the sledges played by Mongolian dolls. So like Zhang Fengyi, they had to return to the river, get on their horses, and run along the river bank, staring at Xin who was playing crazy.
His Royal Highness.
Suddenly, there was a "bang".
The thunderous sound was obviously caused by a firearm.
A hundred steps ahead of Ma Tongchuan, a cloud of ice powder rose from the river surface.
Immediately afterwards, there were several more gunshots.
After Ma Tongchuan was stunned for a short time, he was so frightened that he burst into tears.
The child in extreme panic completely forgot how to stop the sledge. Her sledge continued to move forward until it slid to the river surface that was blasted away by the firearm.
Zhang Fengyi felt her heart in her chest rising to her throat, and her Tianling Gai felt a sharp pain, but she reacted earlier than the Jinyi guards.
She could see clearly that the person firing the firearm was the knight running out of the woods on the side of the river bank ahead.
There were at least twenty people, shouting and laughing.
Zhang Fengyi was furious and eager to save her daughter. When she saw the knight in front leveling the slender barrel of the gun again, Zhang Fengyi drew the arrow, nocked the bow, drew the bow, and released the arrow without saying a word.
In an instant, a sharp arrow whizzed away, only to hear a scream, and hit the musketeer rider in the shoulder.
At the same time, Zhu Youjian rushed to Ma Tongchuan like an arrow, rolled down in a hurry, and grabbed the little girl who was about to fall into the ice hole.
Not far to the west, He Zhuo also heard several gunshots and noisy voices.
Behind her, the expression of Duke Alexei's captain of the bodyguard changed drastically.
Just now, the female envoy from the Ming Dynasty heard the report from the sergeant that the prince from the Ming Dynasty had temporarily changed his route and might appear by the river. The female envoy immediately asked the Duke and the Queen of Mongolia to send fast horses along the river to look for the trespassers.
Cossacks.
At that time, Duke Alexei felt that it was too much to make a fuss, and was angry that the Ming people seemed to regard the Cossacks hired by the Tsar as dangerous beasts. But after all, he wanted the Ming Dynasty to open up mutual trade, so Duke Alexei still asked the captain of the guard to follow him.
The female officers under the female envoy set out.
Unexpectedly, I actually caught a Cossack setting off a musket in a densely populated area by the river.
Listening to the scolding and shouting, it was obvious that the Cossacks were not hunting, but had a conflict with others.