The wind was blowing, the sun was setting in the west, and the dusk in June suddenly seemed extraordinarily quiet.
A stream flowed tinklingly, and many nocturnal birds and animals carefully licked the water and glanced sideways from time to time.
Taking advantage of the transition between black and white, more and more animals were moving, and a large group of animals gathered beside the small stream.
Suddenly, a sharp arrow shot through the air and hit a pheasant.
"Creak--" After the pheasant was hit by the arrow, it used up its last remaining strength to make a sound of life.
Whoop whoosh!
A large number of animals received the signal and began to flee. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Boo hoo hoo——
Dozens of arrows flew in powerfully, followed closely behind, as if they had eyes, and fixed a dozen pheasants, ducks, and even an elk.
Then, a large group of soldiers in shabby clothes ran over, hurriedly grabbed the prey, and left impatiently.
Although the forest was complex, overgrown with weeds, and almost opaque to the light, they moved as fast as they could, carrying bows on their backs as if they had eyes on their heads.
After walking for nearly half an hour and going around and around, a group of people arrived at a canyon, where a wooden village stood.
An alluvial plain in the mountains created hundreds of acres of arable land, which naturally became a settlement.
"Gujiguji——"
The leading hunter shouted something, and it seemed that the slogan was correct, and the door was opened.
Immediately, a group of people returned to the village with their prey, and what greeted them was a young man with a tired look on his face.
He has delicate and fair skin, is tall, wears a long robe, is elegant, and does not look like a warrior at all.
But it's so strange, he is the hereditary commander-in-chief who controls the entire Yunnan Guards - Mu Tianbo.
"Huaiqing, you are back!"
Mu Tianbo's eyes were filled with joy and he couldn't wait to come out to greet him.
The leading man immediately knelt down on one knee and said: "My lord, I have found out the route clearly. We can set off tomorrow, and there are no pursuing troops nearby."
Huaiqing lowered his head and said in a deep voice.
"These are also prey hunted by men of lower rank. To honor you is to replenish the health of your wife and son."
"Where can we get so many?"
Seeing dozens of prey, Mu Tianbo shook his head. Although he was a little weak and not very knowledgeable in military affairs, he understood the importance of winning people's hearts:
"It's enough to keep two. You can divide the rest."
"Thank you, Lord!"
All the family members had tears in their eyes, looking inexplicably excited.
These hereditary servants are the most important trump card of the Mu family. They are now able to leave Kunming and leave Chuxiong Mansion. These people are indispensable.
At this time, after escaping along the way, there were only less than three hundred of these loyal servants left, and half of them were injured.
And you must know that before this, there were more than 2,000 well-trained servants.
Sighing, Mu Tianbo turned his head and couldn't bear to look at it anymore.
Right in the middle of the village, his family lived in a thatched house that was simple and even worse than the houses of his own servants.
With earthen walls, wooden doors, thatched roofs, uneven and slippery floors, and three to five rooms, it is already the best in the entire wooden village.
"Mother!"
Back at the thatched house, Mu Tianbo bowed to his mother Chen, who was seriously ill, and pretended to be happy:
"Mother, the scouts are back and have found the route. We can leave tomorrow."
"Really?" Mrs. Chen finally showed a trace of hesitation on her face: "As a big family, although we are frustrated living here, we are still peaceful. The consequences of going out are unknown."
The wives and concubines on the side had hesitant faces and hesitated to speak. They obviously understood that they had nothing to say on this matter.
Several of the children were even younger, and the nanny was holding them without knowing what to do.
Although he is only twenty-six years old, Mu Tianbo is the Duke of Guizhou after all. Although he is weak at heart, he is still decisive:
"Deputy Envoy Yang said that Chuxiong cannot defend Chuxiong for too long. The Western thieves are hot on their heels. We must escape to the imperial court as soon as possible."
"I can only wrong my mother."
"As long as my son makes a decision."
Mrs. Chen nodded and said, "Although it is rough and difficult, survival is the most important thing."
"Brother, where are we going?"
On the side, the sister dressed in elegant clothes was asking softly.
Fifteen-year-old Mu Han's soft little face was full of exhaustion. These days of escaping had reduced her oval face a bit.
Mu Tianbo said distressedly: "Let's take a detour and go to Guizhou."
Mu Han nodded, with a hint of longing on his face: "It would be great if I could leave Yunnan."
Mu Tianbo originally wanted to escape to Dali, or Yongchang Mansion further south, but Wu Zhaoyuan did not suggest it.
He bluntly said that the Western thieves were unstoppable, and no matter how far they hid, they would not be able to recapture Kunming on their own.
In this case, it is better to place hope on the court.
As for the Mu family, their goals are smaller and they are closely related, so it would be best for them to flee to Guizhou and seek help from the imperial court based on their identity.
In this way, Mu Tianbo and others left Chuxiong Mansion before the Western Thieves arrived.
The next day, the group set out again.
Although the prestige of Mu Mansion has been continuously declining over the years, the accumulation of more than two hundred years cannot be underestimated, and countless toasts have been covered up along the way.
After a long detour, we didn’t arrive in Guizhou until the end of July.
At this time, he happened to encounter He Tengjiao who was sharpening his knife.
"The Duke has suffered."
Seeing the group of people in such a mess, especially the Duke of Guizhou, who had been pampered for many years and was on the verge of collapse, He Tengjiao hurriedly helped him and welcomed him into the official office.
Although he knew it was an act, He Tengjiao still felt irritated that Yunnan was so corrupt.
Mu Tianbo was in such a miserable state that he didn't care at all. Instead, he trembled and said with a cry:
"Governor, save Yunnan!"
So, Mu Tianbo recounted: "The Taiban Prefecture in Yunnan has fallen, and many chieftains are attached to the Western Bandits. The land controlled by the imperial court is no more than a dozen counties. If we don't act fast, I'm afraid it will destroy the foundation of the Ming Dynasty for three hundred years..."
Hearing this complaint, He Tengjiao had mixed feelings and his heart was in a turmoil. He really didn't want to pay attention to him.
He is from Guizhou and knows Yunnan very well.
Yunnan, like Guizhou, is governed by both chieftains and officials, and most of the people under the government's rule are soldiers and immigrants who migrated during the Hongwu period.
In this case, facing threats all the time, the government should pay more attention to military strength, and the army should be relatively strong.
After all, when surrounded by a group of chieftains, anyone who was weak would have been bullied to death, and the obedient people would become stronger.
This prince inherited the title at the age of ten and grew up surrounded by women's makeup. How can he have the aura of Prince Mu's palace?
"Don't worry, my lord, I came here on the emperor's order to wipe out the bandits from the west. Now we are reorganizing our troops and building up a large army. We will be able to enter Yunnan soon."
"This is really great."
Mu Tianbo showed joy: "The Western bandits were defeated in Sichuan Province. The imperial court must have learned something!"