Hengkong Makino showed a bitter smile and said: "The current Nanzhao can be said to be a mess between us and your country. It is also like the weeds that grow again in the spring breeze. After they subside for a while, they will revive again and never come back again."
Stop."
Looking at Long Ying, he continued: "The situation is complicated, especially the countries outside the Great Wall. The various tribes are sandwiched between our two powerful neighbors, each acting for their own short-term interests, and each holding its own territory for hegemony.
As it continues to expand, the chaos of the situation can be imagined. As for the mountainous situation and political and economic environment of Nanzhao, Lord Xixun has been on many missions and is more knowledgeable than me. He can explain it to you."
Everyone's eyes moved to Xixun. The senior foreign minister of Tibet coughed dryly, cleared his throat, and said calmly: "The matter must start from the early Tang Dynasty of your country. Let's talk about its mountain and river situation first. The Lancang River rushes from the plateau.
Down, directly to the Yunnan region in the southwest of your country. South of the junction between our territory and your country, and east of the Lancang River, is the Xi'er River, one of the two largest lakes in Yunnan, also known as the Erhai Lake. The other large lake is Dianchi Lake.
, not under the Erhai Lake in size, but located in the southeast of Erhai Lake, thousands of miles apart. Erhai Lake District and Dianchi Lake District form the two major economic regions of the so-called Nanzhao District. The geographical environment between Erhai Lake and Dianchi Lake is complex and the transportation is inconvenient. In this environment, people gather
There are countless ethnic groups, no matter how hard you try to remember them, it is impossible to remember so many ethnic names."
Long Ying, Wan Renyu and Feng Guoting exchanged glances and began to feel how impossible it was to find a "dream image" in this vast area.
Wan Renyu said: "How did the name Nanzhao come from?"
Xixun said: "'Zhao' means king. Nanzhao is just a general term for the Zhao people in the south. It generally refers to the six Wuman tribes living in the Erhai area, namely Mengxu Zhao, Yueji Zhao, Langqiong Zhao, and Wensui.
Zhao, Shi Langzhao and Mengshe Zhao. Among the six imperial edicts, Mengxu Zhao and Yuexi Zhao are the most powerful. Mengshe Zhao is located in the south of all the imperial edicts, and is the only tribe that has never had any different intentions towards your country until today.
"
Long Ying said: "My mother! It's just that the intricate relationships between these six tribes have given people a headache, but Lord Xixun seems to have so many treasures, which makes people admire him."
Feng Guoting asked humbly: "Besides the Wuman tribe, is there any Baiman tribe?"
Xixun replied in his usual leisurely and contented manner: "Wuman and Baiman are two major ethnic groups in the Erhai and Dianchi areas. They are both Cuan people, and they are divided into east and west Cuan. The east Cuan is called Wuman, and the west Cuan is called Bai.
Man and Wuman live in the Erhai District, while Baiman live scattered around Dianchi Lake. To tell whether they are Wuman or Baiman, just look at the clothes of their women. Wuman women all wear black clothes with long clothes that touch the floor;
Women like to wear white clothes, which are no longer than the knees and expose a jade leg. They are very easy to recognize."
Long Ying asked with great interest: "Is this the origin of the names Baiman and Wuman?"
Hengkong Makino smiled and said: "I'm afraid no one knows this." He then said to everyone: "My brother, when he heard the word 'woman', he immediately became energetic and no longer worried about having a headache."
Everyone smiled.
Xixun said: "Except for women's clothing, Wuman and Baiman are different in many aspects. From a cultural perspective, Baiman is more influenced by your country. They use your Chinese characters and their language is similar, just like your country."
With the regional dialect of the country, as long as you spend some time, it is easy to speak catchy, and you know how to cultivate fields and raise silkworms. The Wuman people mainly live in livestock, do not know how to farm and weave, and have no cloth. They use cow and sheep skins to make clothes."
Wan Renyu said: "I'm sure that on the battlefield, Bai Manfei is no match for Wuman."
Hengkong Makino nodded and said: "That is indeed the case."
Then he sighed: "Everyone is in high spirits, and the conversation is lively, but you have to leave tomorrow and insist on keeping Lord Ying. I will blame Mexiunafu to death. Master Xixun had better keep the story short."
Long Ying said with a smile: "Don't worry, Sir Da Lun, Mei Xiunaf has decided to accompany my little brother on a journey, so besides tonight, there will be at least ten more nights."
Hengkong Makino said in astonishment: "Why don't I know?"
Long Ying said: "This was a decision she made just before I arrived. It was not an easy decision for her to put the child down for a few days."
Hengkong Muye said to Lin Zhuang: "You personally select five hundred elite soldiers to accompany me on the road to ensure that my daughter comes back safe and sound. On the way, you can explain our 'Operation Elite' in detail to my three brothers in Hengkong Muye."
Wan Renyu asked in surprise: "What elite soldier operation?"
Hengkong Makino said: "It's just a temporary term for a military plan. I wanted to say it tonight, but now it saves me the trouble."
He gestured to Xixun and asked him to continue speaking.
Xixun said: "The biggest thing that Baiman and Wuman have in common is that they both believe in ghost religion. The great shaman and chief priest of ghost religion are called ghost masters. Each tribe has its own great ghost master. Originally he was only responsible for the sacrificial rituals, but nine years ago , but unexpected changes occurred.”
Hengkong Makino said solemnly: "This change is directly related to the former king's conquest of Nanzhao."
Xixun said: "Let's leave this aspect aside for the time being. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the country has become very powerful. Yaozhou and Rongzhou have been established successively to govern thirty-two Jizhou. At this time, the six imperial edicts of Erhai Lake have all surrendered to your country. By the time our power in Tubo fell into the hands of Lu Dongzan, we were pursuing an expansion strategy and constantly encroaching on the Jifu prefectures and vassals established in your western border. By the third year of Longshuo, the reign of Emperor Gaozong of your country, we had destroyed Tuyuhun and there was no longer a barrier between us and your country. , then taking advantage of the victory, he sent his troops southward, expanded to the Sichuan and Yunnan areas, and extended his power directly into the Erhai area. Except for the Mengshe imperial edict, the other five edicts all surrendered to me, Tubo, which is tantamount to betraying your country."
Hengkong Makino smiled bitterly and said: "But we didn't have good results. The plateau is sparsely populated, and Qiangtang is an uninhabited area, which is not suitable for farming. Therefore, we eat whatever we conquer, which overwhelms the conquered area and changes over time. , when we failed in the four towns of Anxi and chaos broke out in the country, the tribes in Erhai District took the opportunity to resist and defected to the Zhou Dynasty. Regardless of which side they went to, they just wanted to gain backers and support. They did not really have the heart to surrender to the Six Imperial Edicts of Erhai District. For me, the first priority is to unify the six imperial edicts, then develop towards Dianchi Lake, and finally establish a powerful country that encompasses the entire Yunnan, including Erhai Lake and Dianchi Lake."
Xixun said: "The empress of your country had an accurate assessment of the situation. In the fourth year of Chui Gong, she restored the governor's palace of Yaozhou and increased the garrison strength. The tribes of Sichuan and Qinghai in Tubo were originally surrendered to me, but they could not bear the frequent conquests. and heavy demands, many of them returned to your country. The empress took the opportunity to send envoys to the Erhai area to actively consolidate, and ordered all the tribes in Erhai to return to the Zhou Dynasty one after another. This is the current situation. "
Wan Renyu let out a long breath and said, "It's not easy to understand. I really didn't expect that the situation in Nanzhao is so complicated."
Hengkong Makino continued: "Just when we have no time to take care of ourselves and your country is still beyond our reach, the most powerful of the six imperial edicts, the Mengxunzhao and the Yuejizhao, have undergone an unprecedented change, that is, the two major tribes At the same time, they work together to select a common ghost master. This person is named Zong Mi Zhi. Not only does he have martial arts skills that surpass the Six Zhaos, but he also has the ability to communicate with ghosts and gods. Whether it is the master of Meng Xizhao, Yang Zhao, or the master of Yue Jizhao. Bo Chong, both regarded him as their teacher. Therefore, although Zong Mi Zhi was the high priest of the two tribes, in fact his status was higher than that of the two tribe leaders and he had decisive influence. This man was extremely ambitious and pioneered the union of the two tribes. We sent out troops and successively attacked many strongholds within our borders, forcing the late king to lead the expedition himself."
Not sure if he recalled the past, Hengkong Makino sighed deeply and said: "We drove down from the plateau with overwhelming force and great momentum. The leaders of the two clans were frightened out of their wits. Only the Zongmi intelligence group retreated. As a strategy, he also advocated a head-on battle, claiming that he had been inspired by the gods and that this battle would be won or defeated. The enemy would return without success, and the enemy leader would be punished by ghosts and gods, and his life would not be saved. Of course we didn't understand it at the time, but we don't understand it now. It’s crystal clear. Fuck his eighteenth generation ancestor, Zong Mizhi must be from Dajiang Lian.”
Xixun said: "This battle has established Zong Mi Zhi's status as a god. If the situation is allowed to develop according to the current situation, it will only be a matter of time before the Liuzhao surrenders to him."
Long Ying smiled and said: "Then it depends on whether we can kill him and destroy his pretense of pretending to be a ghost."
Hengkong Makino said happily: "I have to rely on my brothers to help me out of my bad breath. There is still a few hours before dawn, so let's take a rest. Tomorrow I will give you a ride and accompany you for half a day."
I send you off thousands of miles away, but you must say goodbye in the end.
Sixteen days later, when they finally reached the mountain road on the lower plateau, Longying and Mei Xiunafu reluctantly parted ways, and the guide appointed by Lin Zhuang led the three of them to continue their journey.
Long Ying was not worried about Mexiunafu, because she had her heart set on her, and everything would be fine if she had a son, but she had repeatedly warned him that he must go to the plateau as soon as possible to pick up their mother and son back to the Middle Earth.
After arriving at the west bank of the Jinsha River, the guide returned to the plateau on his own. The three of them camped on a high ground, watching the turbulent currents of the Jinsha River. On the other side is Shigu Town, known as the "First Bend of the Yangtze River". The taste of the country is indescribable.
Both Long Ying and Feng Guoting revisited old places and were deeply touched. Long Ying was even more obsessed with thinking about the Tiger Leaping Gorge not far away.
Wan Renyu asked Feng Guoting, "Have you still had that strange dream?"
Feng Guoting said dejectedly: "I don't even have half a dream. I seem to have suddenly lost the ability to create dreams. Some of them are also fragmented and cannot be sorted out."
Wan Renyu didn't know how to comfort him and was speechless.
Feng Guoting sighed: "Are we talking nonsense? In such a vast and complex terrain, looking for a dream valley, will we ultimately get nothing and be in vain? A dream is a dream and has nothing to do with the real world. .”
Wan Renyu finally found words to comfort him, saying: "Your dream is not an ordinary dream. I have never had the same dream several nights in a row."
Feng Guoting said: "Perhaps I have thoughts during the day and dreams at night. Because I was inspired by the sky stone, my head still refused to rest at night. The dreams were just random thoughts in the head after the body fell asleep. His grandma's! I'm in pain I have to want to commit suicide. Alas! I just want to say that for Ying'er, I will never seek death, because it is the most precious thing she left to me. Seeing it, she seems to be still alive."