Sure enough, the news that Nong Zhigao led his army out of Sichuan was spread by them and was completely false. After Zhang Fangping scolded the five people, he then asked his subordinates to take four of them to Yizhou and eliminate the rumors state by state and county by county.
.And ordered the judge to go to Dali with the delegation to inquire about the real news about Nong Zhigao.
In order to prevent these people from playing tricks, Zhang Fangping detained their relatives and released them only after the task was completed.
During the few days that Chen Ke and the others were waiting in Ya'an, Zhang Fangping took the time to prepare five hundred elite guards, five hundred civilians, and two thousand Dali horses... among which one thousand sat people, five hundred pulled carts, and five hundred
The horses were ready, and the carts contained enough food, fodder, and weapons for them to go back and forth. Mr. Zhang’s reputation as a capable official was well-deserved.
"This judge has good connections with the upper echelons of Dali. More importantly, he is very familiar with the tribes along the way, so he can help you reach Dali smoothly." On the day of departure, he personally sent the delegation south, and earnestly told him on the way: "
It is said that things are not going well in Dali, but the specific situation will not be known until we get it. I will continue to cooperate with you at the border. There is only so much I can do, and the rest can only rely on you to adapt to the situation."
"An Daogong has done enough." Wang Gui and Chen Ke said sincerely, clasping their fists: "We are so lucky to be able to get your help before leaving the country!"
"What are you talking about?" Zhang Fangping said sternly: "This time it was just a false alarm, which caused a commotion in Shu. If Nong Zhigao really heard about it, the people of Shu would be frightened, and maybe he would actually come.
Then we will be in great trouble." He said, clasping his fists and saluting, "On behalf of the people of Sichuan, I leave it to you all!"
"You will definitely live up to your mission!" The two of them returned the greeting with solemn expressions.
The sergeant brought the wine, and each of the soldiers on the expedition took a bowl. Zhang Fangping raised the wine bowl high and said loudly: "God bless the Song Dynasty! God bless you and others!"
"God bless the Song Dynasty!" The soldiers drank the wine in one gulp. They smashed the wine bowls beside the rolling Dadu River, turned around and stepped onto the iron cable crossing bridge.
Before going onto the bridge, Chen Ke saw Song Duanping leading a familiar figure over: "Zhong Fang, look who's coming!"
"Xiao Yuer!" Chen Ke got off his horse in surprise and said happily: "You are here after all!"
"Tan Yue, please call the young monk Xuanyu, or call me master." Xuanyu was wearing a blue monk's robe and a bamboo hat on his head. He was holding a Zen staff in his hand and wearing wooden clogs at his feet. He stood by the surging river with a calm face, quite charming.
"Xiao Yu'er is my daughter's name," Chuchen said.
"Hahaha..." Chen Ke laughed loudly and said, "You are already a father, why are you still a monk?"
"Amitabha." Xuanyu clasped his hands together and said seriously: "Return to the secular world and fulfill the human path, and return to my Buddha after all."
"It's not easy," Chen Ke praised: "It only took two years to create a daughter."
"A son and a daughter." Xuan Yu said calmly.
"Okay, okay, you are awesome!" Chen Ke gave a thumbs up and said, "I thought you would be a nanny at home, so I called you when I went to Dali this time to teach you to come out and get some air."
"The prosperity of Buddhism in Dali is even greater than that in the Central Plains." Xuan Yu said: "The young monk is here to seek advice."
"Okay, let's hit the road." The reunion of old friends made Chen Ke's mood suddenly brighten, and he set foot on the "foreign" land with high morale.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After crossing the river, the first severe test the mission encountered was how to reach Dali. They could either take the Tea Horse Road, passing through Jianchang Prefecture and Shanju Prefecture to reach Dali, or they could take the Shu Shendu Road, passing through Jianchang Prefecture and Huichuan Prefecture.
Fu, Nongdongfu to Dali. The latter road is much closer, but because business travel is not popular and the road condition is not good, it will not save much time.
After some discussion, for the sake of safety, we decided to take the Tea Horse Road, and then take the Shushen Poison Road when we return... Chen Ke and the others also have a secret mission, which is to find out the mountains and terrain of Dali in case of emergencies.
need.
But after getting on the road, I discovered that the so-called easy walking is also relative. In addition to long distances and wind and rain, we also have to pass through many sparsely populated grasslands, dense forests, and vast plains. We have to wade through roaring waves.
Rivers, majestic snow peaks, and steep rock walls to climb.
The men and horses must cling to the rock wall before they dare to pass through the three-foot-wide roads dug on the cliff. If they are not careful, they will fall off the cliff. If the two teams meet and have no way to advance or retreat, they will have to negotiate a price.
The horse is thrown under the overhanging rock and the opponent's horse is allowed to pass.
You also have to be careful of falling rocks above your head. Chen Ke and others were attacked by falling rocks several times. More than a dozen soldiers were killed on the spot and dozens of others were injured.
In addition to the natural dangers, there were also poisonous insect bites when passing through the dense forest, and swarms of mosquitoes were overwhelming. Although Chen Ke had prepared sufficient miasma removal and mosquito repellent, many people still fell ill and did not leave the forest.
In addition to poisonous insects, there are also threats from humans. If the Tibetan people really want money rather than their lives, the mission can still rob it with so many guards. It is useless to declare your home. After crossing the Dadu River, in theory
It is the boundary of Dali country, but in fact it is a three-nothing zone. The barbarians who are entrenched here only recognize money and not people. The caravans that often take this route must be arranged on time every year in order to go safely. Now I meet them.
In the team, the copycats naturally started to rob them: 'Have you paid the toll?!'
According to Wang Gui's idea, it is natural to spend money to eliminate the disaster, and then let the judge help negotiate the price, and spend some money to get there. Chen Ke disagreed, saying that this would only attract more robbers, and if they were dealt with one by one,
If we can't get to Dali, we won't even have our underpants left. What's more, if we go on a mission on behalf of the imperial court and succumb to predators, how can we be respected by the people of Dali?
But Wang Gui had a fine tradition of Song Dynasty officials spending money to buy peace, and he insisted on doing so. He was an envoy, and Chen Ke had to give him face.
But unfortunately, Chen Ke had the say. After sending away a group of barbarians with money and food, those people were not satisfied. Instead, they called their friends and rushed to tell each other: "You have encountered a fat sheep, hurry up and grab it."
ah!'
So in the next few days, robbers came almost every day, and their appetites grew bigger every time. Some even wanted them to leave all their supplies and weapons behind and go on the road empty-handed.
Wang Gui was completely dumbfounded. How could this happen? Isn't it too ungentlemanly? Then he had to ask Chen Ke for help.
Chen Ke didn't say a word. He waved his hand towards the guards who had been humiliated for the past few days and had long suffered from internal injuries, and shot out a row of crossbow arrows. Amidst the screams, the ragged barbarians fell to the ground.
.
"You really dare to take action?" Wang Gui said in a trembling voice as he looked at Man Fan who was screaming on the ground.
"Excellent weapons should not be just decorations." Chen Ke said lightly. Before he finished speaking, an official in a white robe raised his spear, slapped his horse and went out to kill him. It was Wang Shao.
Xuanyu and Song Duanping hurriedly followed up. The three of them rushed into the chaotic barbarian formation and captured a leader wearing a fur hat and cape. They were unharmed, as if they were in an uninhabited land.
"If you don't want to die, tell your people to get out of here. We will let you go back when we get to Dali." Chen Ke looked at him and said.
Judge Ren asked for a blah-blah-blah translation, but the man looked unruly and wanted to say a few harsh words.
There was only a flash of cold light, and one of his ears left his head.
Chen Ke held the bloody sword and said coldly: "This is not a discussion, this is an order."
The man on the other end was stunned. He had rarely seen such a ruthless Han man.
Judge Ren was also shocked. Most of the Song Dynasty officials he had seen were pretentious and timid, just like the envoy Wang. He never expected that this tall deputy envoy would be a downright ruthless character!
The communication became smoother, and the man's subordinates withdrew, leaving only a few servants to take care of him and follow the envoy on the road.
"Isn't this too reckless?" After setting out on the road, Wang Gui still asked worriedly: "What if I incur revenge?"
"Does the prince know why the merchant gangs along the way still carry weapons after paying the protection fee? Just to protect the goods at all times!" Chen Ke said with a serious face: "The wolf cannot be fed enough, you have to let go first
He knows that you will fight to the death, and they will weigh the consequences."
In the next two days, two more waves of attacks were repelled. The Song army's crossbows were still lethal at a distance of a hundred steps, but the bows and arrows in the hands of the barbarians only had a range of less than thirty steps.
The crossbow advanced seventy steps, and naturally there were no casualties. The barbarians were just resisting robbery, and they were not trying to fight desperately. It was very dangerous to see that they could not take advantage, and the number of tribes that wanted to take advantage of them suddenly decreased.
This is also due to Wang Shao, a violent scholar who is well versed in the art of war. Under his command, the army marched to the stronghold, and formed offensive and defensive formations in a systematic and orderly manner. It was much better than the military attache who led the team. It was because of him
Only with the existence of such talented people, Chen Ke had the confidence to do it through force.
In this way, we marched during the day and went to the stronghold at night. We could only march fifty or sixty miles a day at most. We were on the road for more than twenty days. The hardships we experienced were too numerous to describe and made Wang Gui's intestines turn green with regret.
On this day, Wang Gui suddenly came to a dangerous pass. He looked up for a long time and said, "Do you have to pay the toll now?"
Chen Ke looked at him with a look that said, "You're out of your mind." He said, "This is the border of Dali."
Before he finished speaking, troops appeared all over the mountains and plains on both sides of the hillside, and an apricot-yellow flag was erected with the word "Dali" written on it.
"It's a bluff." Everyone in the envoy was nervous, but Wang Shao laughed and said: "It's a bluff. If they want to fight us, there is no need to expose it."
"Raise our flag too!" Chen Ke waved his hand, and a fiery red flag was slowly raised, with a line of big characters written on it:
‘The Emperor of the Song Dynasty ordered an envoy to Dali’! (To be continued)
