The Sword of Smiling and Proud

Chapter 85
Shen Lian took Guan Yuan along the grazing path on the desert to the meeting place mentioned in the spy letter.

In this vast desert, everyone may think that it is a terrain where cattle and sheep can be seen in the wind and grass, and the horses can run casually, but in fact there are many trails.Mongolian herders usually migrate back and forth between streams and depressions on the grasslands. After all, cattle and horses can't just eat grass, they have to drink water.

Over the years, there have been small roads on the grassland. There are really many people walking, and roads are naturally formed.

However, considering Shen Bing's defeat and his search for Guan Yuan, three or four months had passed, and the time agreed with the secret agent had long been missed. It is estimated that he was in danger, but even if there was only a glimmer of hope, Shen Lian had to try.

Otherwise, if you don't save yourself and pass it back, who would want to do such a dangerous task in the future.

The Ming version of "Saving Private Ryan".

"Then who is the spy and what does he look like?" Guan Yuan asked on horseback.

"The spy's name is Ma Debiao. He is from Yinzhou outside the pass. He is 5 feet long, has a friendly face, and has a short beard. He rarely practiced sumo. He joined Jinyiwei during the reign of the first emperor Hongzhi. He is also in his 40s this year. He has been spying on the military situation at the border." Shen Lian said The details of the spies were all revealed, "At the beginning of the year, the little prince of the Tatar tribe had a change, and was assigned by my father to sneak into the desert to spy on the military situation."

"What information did he get?"

"I don't know, he said in the letter that there is a major discovery that needs support."

"He couldn't be a traitor, is he telling you to go to die?" Guan Yuan was skeptical.

"No, all the spies who go out, the whole family will be taken to the capital, and the monks can't escape the temple if they run away."

"That's not necessarily the case. It's not uncommon to abandon your wife and children."

Shen Lian was silent for a long time, and said, "Now we are secretly searching for help. My father's death is known to all my colleagues in Jinyiwei. If he dares to become a thief, I will chase him to the ends of the earth and kill him. But before that, we Choose to believe in Pao Ze."

Guan Yuan didn't say much after hearing the words.

The agreed meeting place is in the Chahar tribe of the Tatars, near the current Neimengu Fourth Prince Banner, and going south is Huhehot.

The two of them changed horses back and forth and moved forward without resting their horses. It took several days before they arrived nearby.

The Chahar tribe was the Guards of Genghis Khan back then. The word Chahar in Mongolian means "Palace Guard". There are many warriors in the tribe.

Now it is a bit lonely. The current overlord on the grassland is the Tatar Batumengke, named Dayan Khan, who commands the entire Tatar.

It is said to be the little prince of Tatar, but it is not the name of a person, but the name of the leader of Tatar by the people of the Ming Dynasty. Batu Mengke is already the second little prince.

Shen Lian and Guan Yuan were careful not to let the Mongolians who were grazing nearby find out.

The Mongols are all soldiers. Even if they are grazing, if they find an invading enemy, just let him run back to report the news, and they will bring a large number of cavalry.

They hid during the day and searched at night. They searched the agreed mound several times, but they didn't see any trace of the spies.

Shen Lian led Guan Yuan to find a few water sources near the mound, and put stones on the Jinyiwei code, but no spies came to join them.

After waiting for a few days, they knew that Ma Debiao was probably dead or captured by the Mongols.

"What should I do? Are you still looking for it?"

That night, Guan Yuan and Shen Lian leaned against a big rock to hide from the wind, and they did not dare to start a fire, for fear that the herdsmen would spot the fire.

Shen Lian lowered his head and took out some cold dry food and water from the bag, and ate them alive.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Guan Yuan knew that he was still unwilling and didn't urge him.

"Okay, then look for it again. What do you eat, don't eat alone, give me a taste."

"Naipizi, do you want it?"

Guan Yuan was a little surprised, what kind of tiger and wolf words are you talking about.

When I took it over, it turned out that it was fermented and compacted cow cheese.Smelling a sour smell, Guan Yuan repeatedly refused.

He took out the dry food he had prepared earlier, Shanxi Taigu cakes, which are still delicious, easy to store, sweet in taste, and replenish energy very quickly.

The two quickly finished their dry food and sat on the ground to rest.

Looking at the moon and stars in the desert, the two also chatted for a while.

"Why are you so familiar with things in Mongolia? You can also speak Mongolian, and horsemanship is also good." Guan Yuan was a little puzzled.

"It's been a hundred years since I founded the Ming Dynasty. If I, Jinyiwei, want to make contributions, there are very few opportunities. I don't want to earn my qualifications in the capital. I don't want to follow the steps, and I don't know how to flatter. Naturally, the only way is to come to the frontier to make contributions."

Shen Lian said very calmly, "My father won the position of a thousand households by relying on his martial arts. Naturally, I am not far behind. Since I started working in Jinyiwei, I have been dealing with Mongolians in Xuanhua Mansion all year round."

"Why don't you go to the Taibai Sword Sect to practice martial arts? I think your saber technique is just a common one, not very powerful."

"My father originally wanted me to live my life in peace and stability, but I was unwilling to be mediocre. I had already grown up when I insisted on entering Jinyiwei, and I missed the best time to practice martial arts."

After finishing speaking, he took out a short gun from his waist. Under the moonlight, it was as black as a fire stick.

"Now that times have changed, even if you have amazing martial arts skills, you can't go as fast as a firearm. This short blunderbuss was given to me by my colleagues for self-defense. When it is ignited, it shoots countless iron sand projectiles in an instant. If you spray it on someone, you will definitely not be able to avoid it."

Seeing the primitive firearm, Guan Yuan pouted.

He came from later generations, so of course he didn't like this simple short-fire gun.

If it is a modern firearm, it can be said that the gun is fast within seven steps, and the gun is accurate and fast within seven steps.

The firecrackers of hundreds of years ago are still far behind. If the enemy is close, he still trusts his martial arts more.

But Guan Yuan didn't want to argue with him, and Shen Lian hadn't seen any modern weapons before, so he just said,

"Take good care of it, and don't be dumb when you want to use it later."

After chatting for a while, the two became sleepy, curled up together, and fell asleep under the blanket.

During this period of getting along, the two of them relied on each other, and they shared weal and woe.It's rare for a Jinyiwei and a quack to get along so harmoniously.

They searched the grassland for a few more days. Although they didn't find the spy, they found that something was wrong.

In the past few days, the Chahar Department has been mobilizing frequently, back and forth on the grassland, and many horsemen deliver letters.Several groups of herdsmen were also driven away and were not allowed to graze nearby.

A group of people came from the west and set up a camp just beside the stream under this small mound. There were several big tents inside, which were richly decorated and very strong. They didn't look like ordinary shepherds.

Guan Yuan and Shen Lian looked at each other, knowing that things had changed, but they were alone and could not stay for long, so they planned to leave the grassland and return to Xuanhua.

(End of this chapter)