The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 404 People Are Helpless Sometimes

According to Qing Gele, the Tatars suddenly searched the mountains on a large scale this time in order to cooperate with the envoys to go south to negotiate with the imperial capital.

The purpose is naturally to capture the prince and princess in order to increase bargaining chips.

Although it has been raining, there are still a steady stream of Tatars driving into the mountains today.It can be seen that they really put in a lot of effort this time.

Originally, Jia Min wanted to stay in the mountains for a while longer, hoping to find Wei Ruolan and Lichun.At least the corpses of Li Xia and others should be found and buried hastily.

However, after hearing what Qing Gele said, he didn't dare to delay any longer.

Now the prince is gone.Chang'an became the opponent's most important target.If you are still wandering in the mountains, it is extremely dangerous.

Before the enemy's encirclement closed, Jia Min and Qing Gele got out of the mountain.When we were in the mountains, we encountered two groups of enemies. Fortunately, each group only had a few people, and Jia Min eliminated them all.

After leaving the mountain, I ran into two groups of reinforcements coming to the mountain head-on on the road.Qing Gele came forward and pretended to go back to send the wounded, and got in the way.

The reason for doing the opposite is to come to North Wendula, which is also a helpless move.

One is that the prince and the others retreated from South Wendura, and they will soon be discovered by the enemy.If he followed, he would be caught in the siege and interception.

Second, Chang An's injuries made him unfit to stay in the mountains.

Not to mention the inconvenience of movement, it is also prone to infection.Urgently need a stable, clean environment to recuperate.

"Lidong has already died in battle. I buried him and marked her. When I have a chance, I will bring her back."

Jia Min still decided to tell Chang'an about Lidong.

Tell her now that with the basis of today's tragic battles, Chang'an is easier to accept.

To save her from having illusions, hoping that she is still alive.There will be more disappointments in the future.

"We didn't see Lichun, and neither did Wei Ruolan. However, she is with Wei Ruolan, so I think it should be fine. Wei Ruolan is very good, and it is not so easy for the enemy to catch them."

Chang An paused for a while, then began to eat again.

"Lichun and the others have been with me since childhood. They are similar to my sisters. I didn't expect..."

"Chang'an, sometimes people are very helpless. There are things you don't want to do, but you have to do them. Some situations you don't want to face, but you have to face them. Not only you, but also me in many cases. so."

"I understand, Chief Min. Where is our target this time?"

"Let's go to Qinggle's house."

"Yes, go to my house. My mother is a shaman, and she is a very nice person. My house is very remote, and few outsiders go there. Once you get there, you will be safe."

Chang An didn't say anything, since Chief Min wanted to do this, she didn't have to doubt anything.

After tidying up, they tied Chang'an to Jia Min, and they set out on the road again.

Without a horse, you can only walk.According to the itinerary, if it goes well, it will take a day and a night to reach Qing Gele's house.Their time is still tight.

In the middle of the night, I arrived at an Obo.There is a thatched shed here, and finally there is a place that can shelter from the wind and rain.

There was some dry wood in the house, a fire was lit, and the clothes were baked.

There's cheese and fried yellow rice for passers-by, and a brick of tea.Qing Gele made tea, and Jia Min roasted the bacon on the fire. After they ate, Chang An fell asleep in a daze.

Originally, he planned to continue on his way, but Jia Min couldn't bear to wake Chang'an up, so he decided to stay here for one night and wait until he woke up tomorrow morning before starting his journey.

Although it was raining at night, it was unlikely that anyone would come here at this time, Jia Min still didn't dare to neglect, took turns sleeping with Qing Gele, and spent the night.

Get up the next day and continue on your way.This time, he walked swaggeringly on the road.

Because they were heading towards the hinterland of the North Wendura Grassland, Jia Ming estimated that the Tatars would not be particularly wary of them.

Sure enough, they encountered two groups of tribal armed forces on the road, but they ignored them.

When it was almost noon, I met a family of migrating herdsmen. Seeing that Jia Min was carrying Chang'an on his back, the hostess asked Chang'an to be put on their ox cart for a while.They didn't separate until it was dark and they reached a small fork in the road.

Before leaving, the family gave them a large piece of dried beef.For a moment, Jia Min was very moved.

The folk customs of North Wendura are still very simple.

In fact, no matter where they go, the vast majority of ordinary people are relatively kind and honest.

Although there are wars, many times the common people are just passive followers.If they have their own choice, I believe that most of the time, there will be no war.

War is an extension of politics, and politics is basically the game of the rulers.Including the South Vendura war he himself launched last year, in fact, he couldn't break away from this pattern.

Along the way, Chang An didn't talk much, and Jia Min understood her feelings, so he tried to talk to her as little as possible.

For Chang An, she now needs time to slowly accept the reality in front of her.

No matter what happens, the living will always live.After all, this psychological hurdle still needs to be overcome by herself.

In fact, there are many Han Chinese in North Vendura.

The earliest of these Han people have lived here for several generations.Almost integrated with the local residents.

Whether it is in living habits or customs, there is not much difference.

It can be said that they have become part of the local residents.

In addition, there are artisans and some merchants who come here.Because they have brought technology and business opportunities to the local area, they are still relatively popular here.

Some of these artisans and merchants came voluntarily.Some were looted during the war.

The other Han people are slaves plundered by the war.

Some of them were civilians and some were prisoners of war.

During the walk, Jia Min saw several groups of Han slaves.

Looking at these people, Jia Min couldn't help feeling a lot.

A war changed the fate of many people.

From princesses like Chang'an, to dignitaries and bureaucrats like Baoyu, Jia Rong, Jia Huan, Sun Yuanfei, and Li Chengbin, down to servants like Mingyan, Lixia, Liqiu, and Lidong.

There are also people like Wang Xin, Niu Jizong, Liu Fang, Chen Ruiwen, and Ma Shangde whose whereabouts are still unknown.

Even myself, from a proud person, turned into a white person overnight.

Now, regardless of life and death, he rescued the daughter of the top decision maker who launched this war.

The drama of this incident is simply more exciting than traveling to this world.

Three days later, I finally arrived at Qinggle's home.

The so-called home is nothing more than a yurt, located by the Luoyan Lake. 'Luoyan Lake', as the name suggests, is the place where wild geese stop and land.

Every year, the wild geese returning to the south in autumn and the wild geese going north in spring will stay here for a while, rest temporarily, and continue their long journey after replenishing food.

When I passed by the lake just now, I saw many wild geese in the lake.

Qing Gele was still outside, so he shouted.Jia Min and Chang An waited outside for a while, and Qing Gele and her mother came out.

This is a 46-year-old woman with the most common appearance on the South Vendura grasslands, but her vision is much more energetic.

"Come in, my honored guest."

"Auntie, I'm bothering you."

"You are welcome, they are all in distress. It is also necessary to take care of each other."

"Auntie, did Qing Gele tell you our real identities?"

While on the road, Jia Min told Qing Gele that when he returned home to see his mother, he wanted to tell him the true identities of himself and Chang An.

Taking them in is an extremely dangerous move. If the Tatars find out, it will bring disaster to Qing Gele's family.

It would be very unfair to Qing Gele's mother if he concealed it at this time.If Qing Gele's mother disagreed, he would take Chang'an with him and think of other ways.

"I told you everything, isn't it Princess Chang'an and Bu Kuidus? Now, I think you are just ordinary people, friends of my son. He brought his friends to the house, can I drive you out?" ?”

"Then thank you, auntie."

"But you can't live here."

If you can't live here, where do you go?

"I'm a shaman. People from my family often come to worship God, ask questions, seek medical treatment and buy medicine. After a long time, people will find out. You go live in the lake."

"In the lake?"

"Go live on the island in the middle of the lake, and go with Qing Gele. He is a deserter now, and he can't stay at home. You and Qing Gele pack up your things, and the girl stays here. I'll take care of her injuries."

After the old aunt finished speaking, she went back to the house first.

Chang An looked at Jia Min, hesitated for a moment, and entered the room.

Jia Min followed Qing Gele to pack some food, cooking utensils and other daily necessities, and went to the lake.

There was a canoe by the lake, two people boarded the canoe, and Qing Gele rowed towards the center of the lake.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the island in the middle of the lake.

The island is shaded by trees and the scenery is beautiful.There are many big trees with thick arms, and the vegetation is very lush.

After a while, they came to a thatched cottage.

"It used to be a lama's practice place, but no one lives there now. Although it's a little rough, it's okay for people to live in."

Opening the door and entering, one sees that these are three adobe houses. Although they are not big, they are complete with pots, stoves, tables and chairs.There is a room in the middle where you can cook.

There is one room on each side, exactly one room for Chang'an, and one room for Jia Min and Qing Gele.

"Officer Min, you wait here, I'll go back and get some more things, and bring Chang'an with me."

"Qingler, wait."

Jia Min took out 20 taels of silver from his rucksack.He still had a few gold leaves in his hand, but considering that Qing Gele was just an ordinary person, he took out the gold leaves all at once, and was afraid of causing trouble, so he took out some small pieces of silver to avoid being too ostentatious.

"Officer Min, this is not acceptable. Why do you need to spend money when you arrive at my house?"

"Qingele, don't be so wordy, I'm afraid I'll be staying for a long time in the future, food and drink will always cost money."

Jia Min handed the silver to Qing Gele, but he was not polite, took it away and left.

Jia Min looked at the house for a while, and then began to tidy up.

First, we pulled out the weeds in front of the door. After cleaning up, I made a broom out of the grass and started tidying up Chang'an's house.After that was the kitchen, and finally his and Qinggle's room to the west.

After tidying up, I went to the firewood shed outside to bring back some dry firewood, stuffed it into the stove pit and lit it.

This is a kang, and if the kang is heated, people can live on it. Otherwise, people living on it will catch cold and get sick easily.

(End of this chapter)