Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Landlord, offer a gift?" Wang Pu couldn't help laughing out of anger: "When did this land become yours, and you still say that you are not bandits?"

"Our tribe has lived here for three or four generations, so this land is ours!" the girl replied confidently.

"Can it be yours for three or four generations?" Wang Pu sneered: "My family has lived in the local area for more than ten generations. Let me tell you, this land belongs to the emperor of Tang Dynasty. Only he can send officials to set up cards to collect money. , Anyone else doing this is a bandit.”

"Hmph, that's why I said you people down here won't understand!" The girl sneered, "It's obviously my own, but you insist that it belongs to some kind of 'emperor' you've never seen before, and you still have to kneel down and kowtow, isn't it cheap! "

"You—!" Wang Pu was furious, and he drew his sword to kill, but Acton held down his hand: "This woman just wants to provoke you to kill her, if you do it, you will be playing her tricks! "

Wang Pu snorted coldly and put the knife back into its sheath. At this moment, a deep roar came from a distance, echoing among the rocks.Both Wang Pu and Acton stood up, watching the darkness outside vigilantly.

"It's a snow leopard!" the girl said: "This beast smells blood, it can smell it five or six miles away, throw the corpse out! Otherwise, they will keep circling here until they eat our meat!"

As if to confirm the girl's words, another roar sounded, and the distance was much closer than the last time, which meant that there were at least two snow leopards.Wang Puqiang suppressed the fear in his heart and asked, "Akton, you grew up in the mountains and forests, can we handle this kind of beast?"

"If it's daytime, or on the plains, it's not a big problem!" Acton shook his head: "But here, it's another matter! Before their minions cut our throats, we can't find them at all; Bows, crossbows and swords are useless at all!"

"You can throw the corpse out!" The girl's voice: "It's safe!"

"They used to be your companions!" Wang Pu stared at the girl angrily.

"It's not anymore, the dead can't be the partner of the living!" The girl smiled: "Besides, if it was me who died, they would do the same!"

Acton walked up to the corpse, stripped it naked, and then threw the corpse out soundlessly. With two muffled bangs, the corpse disappeared into the endless darkness.

"Now we are safe!" the girl said: Snow leopards will never leave their bodies until they have gnawed their bones clean. No matter humans or animals, it is very difficult to get enough food! "

It was getting brighter, and the sun slid across the ridgeline, illuminating the road at the bottom of the valley. Acton tied the girl's hands and said in a low voice, "Don't do stupid things, and you can survive!"

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"Finally we can see the sun!" Wang Wenzuo let out a long breath. The canyon in front of him was in darkness for most of the day. On the beard, it becomes hoarfrost.The snow on the top of the mountain was melted by the sun, trickled down, and flowed down to form small pools, which were frozen by the cold at the bottom of the valley and crushed by horseshoes.A few weeds squeezed out from the crevices of the rocks, and a little moss could be seen from time to time, but there was no grass, let alone trees, and the cold ruled everything here.

The road was steep and narrow, spiraling up and over the ridge. At the narrowest point, people had to dismount and lead their horses. Yiji Lianbode followed Wang Wenzuo with a horn bow in his hand, looking around vigilantly.

All the soldiers felt nervous, especially the Mohe people. Many of them expressed that they felt that some kind of beast that was good at stealth was following them. This should be true, but there should be no one in nature who dares to attack More than 300 heavily armed samurai beasts - unless it is really hungry.However, Wang Wenzuo was still very vigilant, and even wore a lock curtain under the fur.

The end of the canyon is a huge gray rock, after which, the road will widen and gradually descend, and finally enter the wide Songpan grassland.Wang Wenzuo told the soldiers that they would rest and eat there. "The rest of the journey will be easy!" He said loudly: "After arriving in Songzhou, everyone will be rewarded with a piece of Shu brocade!"

The soldiers were so happy that they would have cheered loudly if they hadn't each had a piece of wood in his mouth.The strong sunshine of the plateau shone on everyone, and quickly dispelled the biting cold in the mountain gorge, and then made people feel hot and sweaty. The soldiers began to take off their coats and hats, and some even had their upper body naked, eating jerky Drinking water, as if it is in summer.

When Wang Pu and Acton returned with the captives, Wang Wenzuo was sitting under the gray rock, studying the crude map in his hand.Wang Pu briefly recounted what happened last night, and finally said bitterly: "That woman is simply a beast, she just wore her own skin for nothing!"

"I didn't see from your words that she was a beast!" Wang Wenzuo put down the map: "Only a fool would despise these Qiang Hus. They are actually as brave, as strong, and as intelligent as us, but in a different environment! They were born in the mountains and fields, they had no rulers, no kings, and they thought they were their own kings!"

"But she threw the corpse of her companion a few minutes ago to the snow leopard!" Wang Pu replied indignantly.

"I remember you said that you were in a mountain depression at that time, so there should be no place to bury the corpse?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"Yes, the ground is full of stones, no one can dig a grave!"

"That's it. You can't dig the grave, you don't have enough firewood to cremate the corpse, and it's impossible to march with the corpse on your back. It's just a matter of time before the two corpses become the rations of wild beasts, right?"

"Yes, but shouldn't we try our best to protect Pao Ze's body?" Wang Pu asked.

"That's right, but we are warriors and soldiers, and we have our responsibilities to stick to, that girl is not!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "For her, surviving is more important than anything else, even soldiers, in the siege The embarrassment is extremely extreme, and it may also be filled with human flesh!"

Wang Pu opened his mouth and found that he was speechless. He had heard all kinds of legends about cannibals from his brothers. During the Baekje Restoration War, too many tragic things happened. Those who survived tried their best to bury it deep in their hearts, and only in the middle of the night would they emerge from the nightmare.

"Bring that girl here!" Wang Wenzuo whispered.

After a while, the girl was brought over, and she looked at Wang Wenzuo warily, like a frightened little animal.Wang Wenzuo smiled: "I know your rules, as long as you answer my question honestly, I will set you free!"

"Hmph!" The girl sneered: "Who knows if what you said is true or not, the people at the bottom of the mountain are the most dishonest!"

"You should be able to see that I am not an ordinary person from the mountain!" Wang Wenzuo said, "Maybe I will lie, but there is no need to lie to a small person like you!"

The girl looked at Wang Wenzuo, and finally nodded: "I am Tuyan Mangjiebo from the Bailan Department. I am ordered by the leader to monitor the roads and see if there are any business travelers passing by!"

"A business traveler passing by?" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "It seems that you are the bandits and bandits that businessmen call!"

"We are not bandits!" The girl retorted, "Those merchants are thieves. They pass through our land but refuse to give gifts to their masters!"

"Hehehe!" Wang Wenzuo was not irritated. He asked Yiji Lianbode beside him, "Have you heard similar words among the people of Ezo?"

"That's not true! The Ainu people said that we stole the mountains, rivers and wild animals, which belonged to everyone, but we took them for ourselves."

"Well! This is much better!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If I were to referee, the truth should be on the side of the Ezo people!"

"Well, you can judge like this!" Yiji Lianbode's answer aroused Wang Wenzuo's laughter. A few minutes later, Wang Wenzuo said to the girl: "Since you have answered my question, then abide by the previous promise and let you go." Let’s go. But not now, we have to talk about it later, besides, I have a letter for your leader, you bring it to him for me!”

A horn echoed in the mountains, and Tuyan Mangjiebo heard the familiar barking of hunting dogs, which made her turn her head subconsciously. There was only a vast mountain, and no one was following her. Let go by yourself?

"Tu Yanmang Jiebo, is that you?"

"It's me!" the girl answered, and a gray hound came running towards her, its tail raised high behind it like a banner.Several Qiang people followed the hounds and ran over. One of the leaders asked the girl in surprise, "I finally found you. Why are you here? Where are Kangba and Akan?"

"They're all dead! Killed by the people at the bottom of the mountain!" The girl replied: "I was caught by the people at the bottom of the mountain, and I almost died!"

"You were caught by the people at the bottom of the mountain? Then how did you escape?" The Qiang people looked at the girl in surprise and suspicion. From her appearance, she really didn't look like she had escaped. Not only was there clothes all over her body, Moreover, there are weapons for body protection at the waist, and even a package on the back.

"I didn't escape, they let me go!" Tuyanmang Jiebo replied.

"Release?" The leading Qiang showed a look of fear, and he immediately said to the others: "Quick, go and see if anyone is following you?"

"Yes!" Everyone responded, and scattered to check if there was any follow-up. The leader of the Qiang people said solemnly: "Tu Yanmang Jiebo, tell me everything from beginning to end!"

A few minutes later, all the Qiang people who scattered to look for the stalker came back, and none of them got anything. After listening to the girl's story, the leader asked suspiciously: "So, that person at the bottom of the mountain just let you go so easily?" After leaving, I even gave you a gift, just asking you to bring a letter back?"

"Yes!" The girl took out a thick envelope from her bosom, and opened the package again: "This is a gift, he said it was a reward for bringing me a letter!"

"This is Shu silk!" A Qiang exclaimed, "One horse is worth several horses!"

The Qiang people let out a deep exclamation. Of course they knew what Shu silk meant. In the market in Songzhou, merchants from the Tang Dynasty brought a lot of goods, including grain, tea, medicine, etc., but the most expensive and most popular The most important thing is Shu silk. Even the most powerful chief will be overjoyed if he can get three or four hundred pieces of Shu silk from the officials of the Tang Dynasty at a time, and this kind of reward needs to be exchanged with the blood of thousands of warriors.

"Tu Yan Mang Jie Bo, the Tang man who released you is probably a big shot!" the leader of the Qiang people said with a serious expression.

"Then do I want to take this letter back?"

"Of course? What is written in the letter is up to the elders and chiefs to decide, but you must bring it with you, otherwise you may kill many people! This kind of thing must not be sloppy!"

Seemingly infected by her companion's emotions, the Qiang girl nodded solemnly.

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Songzhou.

"Minggong, in fact, you don't need to bother at all!" Yiji Lianbode said with a smile: "As long as you reveal your identity, the chiefs of the Qianghu tribe will definitely come to Songzhou!"

"Yes, I think they will bring a bunch of special products to bribe me!" Wang Wenzuo lifted his chin and asked the shaving master to soften his beard with a hot towel to prepare for the next shave: "But I'm not here to get rich! "

"What do you mean?" Ijilian Bode asked a little puzzled.

"Ijilian Bode, you should be very clear, I am very rich!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Maybe I am not the richest person in the Tang Dynasty, but I should not be far away from this title. Of course, the emperor and queen must be Eliminate it. So instead of receiving presents, I am planning to give presents!"

"A gift?" Igilein Bod asked puzzled.

"Yes, give gifts! The words of that Qiang girl gave me some inspiration! She said that the merchants passed through their land but refused to give them any gifts. It's not good. Don't you think what she said made sense?"

"Excuse me, the gift is given out voluntarily. What the girl said should be taxes, and only taxes must be paid!" Igillian Bode replied with a serious expression: "The crux of the problem is not that Gifts, but who has the power to collect taxes? Only the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, or the servants appointed by the emperor, this kind of thing can not be sloppy!"

Wang Wenzuo nodded in satisfaction. Yiji Lianbode and Fujiwara joined him relatively late, but their status has risen rapidly, second only to Cui Hongdu, Shen Faseng, and Heizhichangzhi. , ranking above Shoukun Oishi, Monobe Renkuma and others, a very important reason is that these two people understand the real rules of power operation. In a more modern evaluation, they are "understanding politics".Yes, these Qianghu tribes living in the mountains robbed caravans and forcibly demanded "gifts" from them. There are also similar thieves in the mountains on both sides of the road.

The update is relatively late these days, mainly because the new home has not been tossed, and various things have not been on track.

I saw a book friend in the discussion area and asked me to recommend a few history books.If he is not talking about historical web articles, I personally recommend "Zuo Zhuan", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Hu San Sheng Zhu", "Historical Records", "Han Shu", "Three Kingdoms", and Western History recommends "Peloponnesian War History, Kovalev's History of Ancient Rome.I think it is a good choice whether it is to engage in key administration or improve the level of writing.