The huge caravan marched on the desolate land of the Northern Desert. The deep traces left by the wheels after walking made the bandits who were watching in secret greedy for many times.
But without exception, these bandits did not actually take action, and even the mountains did not dare to send people to collect the "regular tolls" in the past.
Nothing else. In front of the long caravan, hundreds of armed and armored officers and soldiers were intimidating to all those who wanted to ask for money.
Ten miles north of Xiongguan, Jia Lian was saying goodbye to the Xue family.
Since leaving Wutuocheng, Jia Lian and others have been traveling with the Xue family.
This is what Princess Zhaoyang meant. That day the Xue family brothers and sisters accompanied her to the market, and Princess Zhaoyang showed her unique love for Xue Baoqin. Xue Baoqin may also have a lively and outgoing personality. After a brief period of fear of strangers, she was quickly attracted to Xue Baoqin.
Princess Zhaoyang bribed her, so much so that when she returned, her address to Princess Zhaoyang had changed from the timid "Her Royal Highness" to the crisp and affectionate "Sister Qingran".
Under such circumstances, when Xue Baoqin tentatively asked Jia Lian and others if they would join them, Princess Zhaoyang, the elder sister, readily agreed.
Princess Zhaoyang even told Jia Lian that she was just embarrassed to refuse the request to fuck her sister. After all, she was not familiar with other sisters in the palace and this was the first time she liked a little sister so much.
For this reason, Jia Lian didn't say much, and it didn't take more than a few days.
"Second brother Lian..."
Beside the carriage, Xue Baoqin looked at Jia Lian in front of him with a sense of reluctance.
In the past ten days, because the Xue family's caravan was carrying heavy goods, the journey was slow. Baoqin had a lot of time to talk to Princess Zhaoyang and Jia Lian along the way.
From Jia Lian and his wife, Bao Qin not only learned about the current situation of his cousin Baochai and others, but also learned many things about Beijing and even interesting stories about the palace.
She even discovered that Sister Princess and Second Cousin Lian were both such good people.
A person who is gentle, elegant, and unparalleled in elegance. A person who is suave, romantic, and outstanding. She feels like a spring breeze when she gets along with him, and can easily make her cheeks turn red.
Both of these two people came from the capital... Never before had Baoqin had such a strong yearning for Kyoto, the most prosperous city in the world, and where she would end up in the future. She even had the urge to follow her immediately.
Jia and Lian's impulse to go to the capital!
For this reason, Baoqin was unwilling to give up the separation in his heart.
Jia Lian saw the little girl's thoughts and said with a smile: "Take good care of your father. If we are destined, we will see you again in the future.
Also, your princess sister asked me to tell you that she likes the gifts and poems you gave her very much. If you come to the capital in the future, you must remember to find her. As for saying goodbye, I have said it before, so I won’t do it in person anymore.
Tell me, otherwise she might not be able to let go of you, little girl."
Xue Baoqin looked slightly embarrassed. The gift she gave to Princess Zhaoyang was okay, but those few poem manuscripts were specially requested by Princess Zhaoyang because she knew she could write poems at a young age.
She was originally embarrassed to show it to Princess Zhaoyang. Could it be that Sister Qingran also showed it to Brother Lian?
Not caring about being shy, seeing that Jia Lian had said a few words to his brother, he mounted his horse and was about to leave. Baoqin hurriedly called out: "Second brother Lian, if you come to Jinling in the future, you must come to our house as a guest..."
After the little girl shouted the words, she noticed that there seemed to be eyes sweeping around her. She felt that something might be wrong and stopped talking.
Jia Lian turned around, nodded to her with a smile, and then rode away.
After Jia Lian left, the two Xue brothers and sisters returned to their father's carriage and reported the situation to the second master of the Xue family.
When the second master of the Xue family saw that his children seemed to be melancholy, he sighed: "You don't have to think too much. If people like your second brother Lian return to Beijing safely this time, they will definitely be green dragons flying in the sky.
It is not something that ordinary people like us can speculate on.
It is a great opportunity for us to be protected by him this time. You should cherish the friendship with him during this period, which may also be of great help to you in the future."
After hearing his father's words, Xue Biao's delicate eyes revealed a hint of high spirits and unyieldingness, which eventually turned into calmness.
He knew what his father said was right. If he were his cousin Xue Pan, he might have the courage to follow in Jia Lian's footsteps. Unfortunately, he was just an ordinary member of the Xue family.
Although his family has a great reputation, he is still a junior merchant. The difference between him and a powerful person like Jia Lian, a prominent figure in the country, cannot be measured in a few miles.
Perhaps, my previous idea of inheriting my father's legacy was too narrow-minded, and I should try to study hard to gain fame. If I can succeed, I may have the qualifications to truly interact with people like Brother Lian.
Baoqin was a woman, and she had different ideas from her brother. She immediately asked her father: "Dad, what do you mean by returning to the capital safely? Didn't the second brother Lian and the princess both escape from the desert? Could it be that the second brother Lian is still going to return to the capital safely?"
What danger could there be?"
The second master of the Xue family smiled and touched Bao Qin's head without saying anything.
From the perspective of the second master of the Xue family, now that the border is in turmoil, and Jia Lian has the emperor's mandate and shoulders heavy responsibilities, who knows what he will experience next. Many of the stories about Jia Lian that have been spread all over the world also sound to him.
Terrified.
In a position like that, it's very common to encounter a crisis.
But there is one thing that the second master of the Xue family can be sure of, that is, as long as Jia Lian survives, he will definitely become a very important figure in the country in the future! This is also the reason why he has encouraged his children to get along well with Jia Lian these days.
…
Wu Shiwei personally led his troops to greet him.
Because Princess Zhaoyang's life and death were unknown before, the escort delegation, including all of Princess Zhaoyang's attendants, did not dare to leave their posts without permission. Instead, adhering to the principle of being near, they camped at Ganning Pass and waited.
Now that Princess Zhaoyang has taken her back, she will naturally stay in the simple palace prepared by Wu Shiwei.
Jia Lian, on the other hand, was dragged to his reception banquet by Wu Shiwei and others.
Needless to say, there were all kinds of compliments and compliments during the banquet. What Jia Lian was most concerned about was the situation in Oala and the court's attitude towards Oala.
Jia Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the imperial court and Wala, after fighting each other for several months, decided to make peace with each other. Now that Wala's envoy "Song Yewang" was still in Ganning Pass.
It turns out that after the Zhanghetan Incident, the Wei court also had two opinions on whether to fight against Oara or to appease them. Of course, most of them advocated peace. After all, the Tatar conspiracy to unite with the Spanish was still in progress.
Falling out will be detrimental to the general situation.
And when the news of Princess Zhaoyang's safe return to the Han Dynasty spread back to the capital, even the voices of those who advocated war were muted, and the imperial court finally came to a unified opinion.
As for the Wala side, although they were angry that Wei had killed their most powerful prince, they still had to consider the interests.
Compared with the Wei Dynasty, what the Oara people fear the most is the Tatars. After all, losing to the Wei people is nothing, and the Wei people probably don't look down on the thousands of miles of Gobi, a desolate desert in the north.
But Tatar is different. Once Tatar is given an opportunity to take advantage of it, Oara is at risk of being completely annexed by Tatar!
Therefore, the envoys re-sent by King Wala fought with the envoys of Wei for a long time at Ganning Pass. Finally, after they found out that the Wei State was fully prepared to attack Wala and avenge the princess of Wei, they did not
No longer clinging to the death of his own prince.
Today, the negotiation process between the two countries has almost returned to the level before the Zhanghetan Incident.
This is good news for Jia Lian.
Although he also longs for military exploits, especially if he can pacify Wala in one fell swoop, those feats may allow him to successfully restore the glory of his ancestors!
But Jia Lian knew very well that the time had not yet come.
His foundation is still too shallow now. Even if such a war occurs, the chance that he can take charge is too low. This is not the time when he was under the prince's tent and relied on his status as the grandson of Rongguo Gong to reap benefits everywhere.
The big guys were too embarrassed to compete with the juniors for trivial military exploits, so they just gave in.
When it comes to military exploits that can lead to the title of Duke or Marquis, who will let it go? Who is qualified to let it go?
The Jia family has just become relatives of the emperor, and Jia Lian has just inherited the title. There are still many things to do to lay a solid foundation.
Jia Lian had calculated in his mind that what was most beneficial to him at the moment was to rely on his contribution to protecting Princess Zhaoyang to return to the capital, gain some benefits, and secretly consolidate his status and strength.
In a few years, when the situation on the border changes and he has more capital, the Wei Dynasty will start another battle to destroy Oala...
By then, even if he still can't hold the command, he should be able to lead an army alone.
And if the battle with Wala broke out now, and if it succeeded, but he couldn't get enough benefits from it, wouldn't it be a waste of Princess Zhaoyang's efforts and a desperate death in the desert?
"General Jia!"
The strong man carried a wine jar and walked straight to Jia Lian.
Jia Lian looked up, smiled and said, "General Zhu Shen..."
"No, Lao Zhu is no longer a general now! That day I ignored the imperial envoy's orders and privately led troops to chase the enemy. However, I was ambushed, resulting in heavy casualties among my officers!
If His Majesty hadn't thought that I still had some merit in the war, he would have chopped off my head long ago.
No, now Lao Zhu has been demoted to a mere deputy commander."
General Zhu's voice was rough and obviously depressed. Obviously, being demoted from a general to an army commander, and still a deputy, had a great impact on him.
But Jia Lian looked at the people around him and knew in his heart that the Gan-Ningguan generals had already formed a circle. Although Zhu Dahe was demoted to deputy commander, it was obvious that Wu Shiwei and others did not regard him as a deputy commander.
Otherwise, today's reception banquet is not something that a deputy commander is qualified to attend.
"General Zhu need not be discouraged. With the general's bravery, it is obvious to the court and all the generals that it will only take time for the general to be reinstated or even promoted to a higher level.
But I also want to say sorry to the general. The general sent people to rescue him that day. Because I was responsible for protecting the princess and I didn't have enough troops, I only sent a few cavalry to rescue the general. It was Jia Lian who couldn't help the general."
Zhu Dahe laughed and said, "If so, I've already found out about General Jia's uncanny plan that day and how he used his troops like a god.
Again, there are few people that I, Mr. Zhu, admire, and you are definitely one of them!
As for the apology, there is no need to say it anymore. I knew something was wrong when I was ambushed that day, so I just sent someone to ask for help. I didn’t expect General Jia to actually send someone to rescue me. If General Jia hadn’t sent someone,
The cavalry provided cover, and it was not that easy for me to escape from the encirclement that day.
There’s nothing else to say. This is just a big favor that Lao Zhu owes you. If you need me, Lao Zhu, for anything in the future, just ask.”
As Zhu Dahe said this, he signaled to Jia Lian, then he took a few big sips of Tanzihai in his arms. After drinking, he handed the jar to Jia Lian and asked him to drink too.
Jia Lian smiled softly.
This Zhu Dahe is a bit interesting. He said that it would not be easy to get out of trouble, which means that even if he doesn't send anyone to rescue him, it is still possible for him to get out of trouble.
Fortunately, the person he sent back to ask for help that day said it was so critical. It seemed that if he had not ignored it that day, Zhu Dahe would have been dead.
Without delving into the details, Jia Lian raised the wine jar and deliberately avoided the place where Zhu Dahe had touched him. He raised his head and took a big sip. Then he found Wu Shiwei and excused himself from the table.