Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

Di Qing's thoughts were racing, but he couldn't guess who would be around him who had been to Shambhala.Zhong Shiheng didn't give a shit, and said the answer directly, "That person is called Zhao Ming!" Di Qing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of someone, and asked anxiously, "It's Zhao Ming, the vassal who once guarded the Mapu village?" The low self-esteem and disabled person came to his mind.When Dashun City was first built, it was this person who was in charge of surveying the terrain. Zhong Shiheng nodded and said: "Yes, you remember him too? I have inquired many times and found that he has indeed gone to look for Shambhala, and he seems to have gone in. But this person has a strange personality, Han Xiao once tried to approach him to ask , On the contrary, I almost got into a fight with him... I was just afraid that he would be wary of you when he saw you and whispered to me, so I dragged you to this place where no one is around. I think you can ask Zhao Ming, maybe it will be effective. "

Di Qing thought to himself that Zhao Ming could fight with Han Xiao, which shows that Zhao Ming is not easy to get along with.Puzzled and asked: "I don't know Zhao Ming well. I have been fighting all the time, and he has been quietly building the city. By the way, why did he become what he is now?" Zhong Shiheng sighed softly and said, "This person is actually very miserable. He was once in prison, and it was Mr. Fan who released him..." "What crime did he commit?" Di Qing asked in surprise. Zhong Shiheng said: "I heard that when he was in Mapuzhai, he was looked down upon by the Song people because of his lameness, and his wife was robbed by the Song army, so he went to fight with his enemies in a fit of anger. The knife on his face is It was cut in that fight."

Di Qing thought of Zhao Ming's slightly lame foot, and couldn't help but think of his elder brother Di Yun. Over the years, Di Qing has only communicated with his eldest brother by letter.According to the elder brother's letter, he is doing well now and has two sons.But Di Yun's foot couldn't be cured after all, and Di Qing always felt a little regretful about this matter. Hearing that Zhao Ming was so miserable, Di Qing was also a little sympathetic, and said after a while: "How can you be sure that he has been to Shambhala?" Zhong Shiheng whispered a few words in Di Qing's ear, Di Qing's face was cloudy, and he said after a long time: "Okay, I understand. I'll deal with this matter, old Zhong, thank you very much. By the way, the rest How is the training of the Five Soldiers going?"

Zhong Shiheng said with a sad face, "Training five warriors for you is a very expensive business right now. The rest... I will do my best. Well, be careful yourself." After saying that, he turned and left. Di Qing looked at Zhong Shiheng's slightly thinner figure, and suddenly said: "Old Zhong..." Zhong Shiheng stopped, looked back and said, "What's the matter?" "It's cold, remember to add more clothes." Di Qing said sincerely, "You are indispensable in the Northwest!" Zhong Shiheng showed a smile on his face, looked at Di Qing for a long time before saying: "Okay, I understand. You too, be careful when you are desperate, you are indispensable in the Northwest!"

There was concern in the eyes of both of them.After a while, Zhong Shiheng nodded and left slowly.Di Qing stood in thought for a long time, then quietly walked towards the place where Zhao Ming lived. It was dark, and there were no lights in Zhao Ming's tent.Di Qing waited by a big tree for a while, then heard the sound of footsteps, turned around and saw Zhao Ming limping over. Zhao Ming didn't see Di Qing, he just walked to the wooden bench in front of the tent and sat down, took out the steamed buns from his pocket and ate them slowly.Looking from Di Qing's direction, Zhao Ming felt unspeakably lonely.Thinking of Zhong Shiheng, he told him, "I heard that this person broke his leg after going to Shambhala. I am very taboo for others to mention the word Shambhala..."

Di Qing looked at the lonely figure with a sense of loss. After Zhao Ming finished eating the steamed buns, he fumbled and took out a bracelet from his bosom, and stared blankly. For some reason, there were tears in his eyes... The cold moonlight shone on the dark green bracelet with a bleak light, which made Zhao Ming's face full of sadness. Di Qing stared at Zhao Ming silently for a long time, finally resisted the thought of asking, turned and left. At dawn, when Di Qing got up, a soldier entered the room and said, "General Di, Master Fan invites you to come over." Di Qing went straight to Fan Zhongyan's camp, saw bloodshot eyes in his eyes, and was still looking at the dossier. Knowing that Fan Zhongyan hadn't slept all night, he whispered: "Fan Gong, you haven't slept all night, so hard? You What do you want me to do?" He knew that Fan Zhongyan was busy with Northwest political affairs, and often worked all night long, so he was a little worried about Fan Zhongyan's health.

Fan Zhongyan stretched his waist and said with a smile, "Compared to you, I am nothing. You just fought a fierce battle yesterday, and I had no choice but to call you here so early." He and Di Qing were not polite, and said straight to the point: "I read in detail the military documents you collected from Qing Duo Ke, and I think Yuan Hao has indeed made a lot of preparations, and it is imperative to send troops, and Xia Jun's goal this time is obvious, that is to attack Jingyuan Road! Di Qing, what do you think?" Di Qing pondered for a while, and said: "Although Yuan Hao is cruel, he does things with perseverance. He attacked the Security Army at the beginning as a test, and last year's attack on the Zhenrong Army may also be a test. His goal is to take all the land in Longyou and Guanzhong. In the Battle of Sanchuankou, he encroached on a large area of ​​land in Yanzhou. This time he is going to attack Jingyuan Road, which is nothing more than oppressing our space in the northwest and preparing for his future advances in Guanzhong! We must withstand his blow !"

Fan Zhongyan nodded appreciatively, and thought to himself, "Zhong Shiheng's recommendation is excellent. Di Qing is courageous and resourceful. What's rare is that his thinking is clear and he has an excellent view of the overall situation. Judging from the battles in Baibao City, Yeshi City, and Jintang City, He has his own ups and downs in his chest, and I will do my best to support him and show his talent to the fullest, that is the blessing of the world." Thinking of this, Fan Zhongyan said: "Di Qing, your analysis is very good, and the views of me and Zhong Shiheng are similar. Although Xia's army is fierce, they are not good at attacking cities, so they have always hoped to pull us to fight in the plains. We should deal with it carefully, and there should be no serious problems. At present, there are transfer envoys Pang Jida, Zhong Shiheng, Zhou Mei and others standing guard on Yanyan Road. Xia Jun has no chance. I am defending on Huanqing Road, with your help, Di Qing, and your vigor. Zhengsheng, the Xia army has no chance to take advantage of it for a while. Farther away, such as Xizhou and Hezhou, Liu Hu and the Tubo generals are currently defending in an alliance. Yuan Hao will not take the initiative to fight the Tubo people. Therefore, no matter how Yuan Hao sends troops, I will The only worry is Jingyuan Road."

Fan Zhongyan frowned, thinking in his heart, Han Qi, who was guarding Jingyuan Road, was arrogant, and Yin Zhu was talking on paper. Judging from the last battle in Baibao City, Ren Fu was also a little arrogant and impetuous. If he confronts Yuan Hao next time, I'm afraid... he knows that Yin Zhu and Han Qi will not listen to his advice, and the Northwest Army is in a rage right now, and they can't tell the court about it, so they are worried. Di Qing knew that after the disastrous defeat in the First Battle of Sanchuankou, the imperial court subdivided the Yongxing Army and Qinfeng Roads into four roads: Fuyan, Huanqing, Jingyuan, and Qinfeng.The intention of the imperial court is that whoever owns the territory is the master, and whoever owns the territory is responsible.Seeing that Fan Zhongyan was in a dilemma, Di Qing understood his intentions and asked, "Fan Gong, since we know Yuan Hao's intentions, we must warn Han Gong. Fan Gong asked me, do you want me to tell Han Gong the news in person?" ?”

Fan Zhongyan sighed softly, and said slowly: "Di Qing, I already knew that you are not a person who acts on your own will. You are good at war, so it is best for you to talk about it. Of course, I also have a letter , you take this letter and set off immediately to see Han Qi, hand the letter to him, and euphemistically repeat what you said today, and do my duty." But you thought in your heart, "Di Qing is a calm person, and Han Qi has no holiday with him. , as long as Di Qing tells Han Qi about the matter, I think Han Qi will always be on guard against Yuan Hao. As for my letter, I wonder if Han Qi will read it?"

Di Qing immediately received the order, changed his mind slightly, and said, "Fan Gong, I am going this time. Besides bringing some ten soldiers to follow, I also want to bring one person to follow." Fan Zhongyan asked, "Who is it?" Di Qing said: "I want to take Zhao Ming there." Fan Zhongyan was a little surprised, wondering why Di Qing took Zhao Ming all the way, but he didn't ask any more questions, he just said: "Okay. The construction of Dashun City is almost done, and Zhao Ming can also rest for a few days. You take him, Go early and come back early." Di Qing left the camp and ordered Han Xiao and Ge Bing to take some soldiers to follow him to Jingyuan Road. Just like Yuan Hao's eight divisions, Di Qing's ten soldiers also performed their own functions.Death anger is mostly used for deadly battles, courage is used for fierce battles, bandits are used for skillful battles, and entrapment is mostly used for rushing battles. Standby is also related to war, but it is used to deploy war.Han Xiao's standby part is all clever and nimble people who are good at digging up information. When Han and Ge heard Di Qing's transfer order, they quickly got ready.When Zhao Ming came limping, he couldn't hide the astonishment in his eyes, as if he didn't understand why Di Qing brought him along. He and Di Qing hadn't had much contact at first. Di Qing arched his hands and said, "Brother Zhao... I'm sorry." Zhao Ming bowed back and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't dare. If General Di likes it, just call me Old Zhao." Han Xiao met him and felt that although Zhao Ming's tone was indifferent, he was being polite to Di Qing.You must know that when Han Xiao asked Zhao Ming Xiangbala with such a smiley face, he was almost beaten by Zhao Ming, which shows that Zhao Ming's temper is not good. Di Qing nodded and said, "Okay, let's go." Han Xiao left first, followed by Ge Bing. They all knew that what Di Qing needed was not protection, but to get all kinds of information and make the correct decision as possible. Han Xiao and Ge Bing were in charge of the news and the military situation, just to ensure that Di Qing would not go astray and meet Han Qi as soon as possible. The news Fan Zhongyan gave was that Han Qi was in Weizhou, but that was ten days ago. When Fan Zhongyan was expanding Dashun City and actively defending Huanqing and Yanyan from the enemy, Han Qi had only one goal. That's offense! Although Han Qi is a literati, he advocates offense even more than generals. During these days, Han Qi kept recruiting troops. Even Di Qing knew that Han Qi hadn't given up his idea of ​​attacking Xixia. How could such a Han Qi stay in Weizhou? Di Qing started from Dashun City and headed all the way to Weizhou in the southwest.Sure enough, Ge Bing had already received the news from Han Xiao that Han Qi was not in Weizhou, and was inquiring about where he went. Di Qing smiled wryly, thinking that the work of sending messages was not so easy.Along the way, Di Qing and Zhao Ming walked together.Zhao Ming seemed to be full of thoughts, kept his head down, and remained silent. At this time, the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming like a brocade, and the entire frontier has recovered.Along the way, looking at the green hills like halberds and the great river like a belt, Di Qing thought in his heart that such a beautiful scenery would soon be destroyed by war and smoke.How can I ask, so as not to make Zhao Ming feel disgusted? Although Di Qing is brave, he is as careful as a hair.He knew that Zhao Ming's leg seemed to be injured after returning from Shambhala, and all of Zhao Ming's subsequent misfortunes were related to the injured leg.Seeing that Zhao Ming was full of loneliness last night, Di Qing couldn't bear to bring up the past and uncover Zhao Ming's scars again. Unexpectedly, Zhao Ming suddenly said: "General Di, do you have something to do with me?" This was the first sentence Zhao Ming said on the road. Di Qing was slightly astonished, not expecting Zhao Ming to see his intentions, got off the horse and said: "After running around for so long, let's take a rest." Zhao Ming hesitated, followed by dismounting, limping.Seeing Di Qing looking at his legs, Zhao Ming lowered his head and said, "I can't walk very well, which has delayed Master Di's schedule." Di Qing sighed and said, "Seeing you, I thought of my elder brother. My elder brother is also lame, but in my whole life, he is the only one who takes care of me, and he has never dragged me down." There was a flash of warmth in Zhao Ming's eyes, and his dark expression was restored in an instant.He turned his head to look at the distant mountains, and said in a low voice, "General Di, did you come to me to ask about Shambhala?" Di Qing was slightly shocked, he didn't expect Zhao Ming to be so perceptive, and he said after a long time: "I've been looking for Shambhala, if you know something, I don't know... can you tell me something?" Di Qing was full of apprehension, and didn't have much hope. He thought to himself that Zhong Shiheng said that Zhao Ming didn't want to mention the past, so it would be difficult for Zhao Ming to speak up.Zhao Ming nodded and said, "Okay." Di Qing was pleasantly surprised, seeing Zhao Ming's expression was indifferent, he could only say: "Then thank you." Zhao Ming smiled shyly and said, "But I said, it may not be helpful to you." Di Qing's heart sank, and he saw Zhao Ming's eyes flashed too much, and said slowly: "General Di may not know that I was born in In Tibet, I can be regarded as half a Tibetan. My mother is Tibetan, and my father is from the Central Plains." Zhao Ming's ugly face showed a rare sense of nostalgia. Although Di Qing wanted to know about Shambhala, Zhao Ming was just listening quietly. "Actually, there have been many myths circulating in Tibet, and Shambhala is one of them, but no one has ever found it. Or... the people who found it have never returned!" Zhao Ming finally got to the point. For some reason, he mentioned When he reached Shambhala, his body trembled slightly, and there was horror in his eyes. When Di Qing heard this and saw Zhao Ming's expression, he felt vaguely uneasy. "In that year, I got married. The woman looks like a juicy woman. Anyone who sees me will praise me enviously and say that I am lucky. I think so too. I live a carefree life. I shouldn't expect anything extravagantly. But one day... a businessman came from the family, and he said his surname was Li, and his experience was Li. This surname...is rather weird...that person is even more weird, saying he is a businessman, but I always feel that he is very strong, even Like a sledgehammer." Di Qing heard that Zhao Ming said some nonsense suddenly, knowing that it was probably related to Shambhala, so he listened patiently.He had never known anyone with the surname Li, so it was a bit strange to hear Zhao Ming describe a person like this. How can a person be like a hammer? Zhao Ming continued: "The man made a big move and gave the family Wanshitong an ingot of gold, and asked him to help find ten young men to do things, and each of them would give two taels of silver a day. Two taels of silver was enough for me at that time. After serving for a month, the brothers in the clan all stepped forward enthusiastically. I was 'lucky' selected." When Di Qing saw Zhao Ming say the word "lucky", his eyes were full of regret, and he already knew that these two taels of silver were not so easy to earn. "We started from Tibet and went straight to Shazhou..." When Zhao Ming said this, he noticed that Di Qing's face changed slightly, and couldn't help but ask, "General Di, what's wrong with you?" Di Qing shook his head, somewhat excited in surprise.It is Shazhou, and Shambhala is in Shazhou!But why when Zhao Ming mentioned this matter, apart from terror, there was also deep sadness in his eyes? Zhao Ming stopped asking, and continued: "At first, many people were unwilling to leave the tribe, but the man surnamed Li paid two taels of silver every day and never broke his promise. For the money, we all persevered. Shazhou was originally It belonged to the rebel army, and was later occupied by the Cao family." Di Qing heard Zhong Shiheng talk about Guiyi Army, and Zhao Ming also mentioned Cao's in particular. Thinking of Cao's map of Shambhala, everything seems to be connected. Shazhou is barren, and the past is like the dust and sand in the desert. I don't know how many sad blood and tears are hidden. As far as Di Qing knew, Shazhou was repeatedly contested by the Han people and the Tubo people, and was later occupied by Yuan Hao.How long has this land been so long? Di Qing wondered, if Shambhala was really in Shazhou and Yeli Wangrong died because of Shambhala, why did Yuan Hao send Yeli Yuqi to guard Shazhou? All kinds of mysteries are entangled, and Zhao Ming has continued to say: "We entered Shazhou and headed towards Sanwei Mountain. Soon, we arrived at Dunhuang!" Di Qing was slightly shocked, and murmured: "Dunhuang? Is Shambhala in Dunhuang?" Dun - Daye; Huang - Sheng also. Dunhuang is magnificent and grand, with a long history. I don’t know how many brilliance, blood and tears and legends have been left here in the past dynasties of the Central Plains. "Is Shambhala in Dunhuang? Maybe?" Zhao Ming murmured. Di Qing was a little confused again, not understanding what Zhao Ming meant. "When we arrived in Dunhuang, we entered the chaotic mountains, which seemed to be close to Sanwei Mountain." Zhao Ming looked a little dazed, "The mountains are vast, and the businessman with the surname Li is very familiar with them. He took us across the mountains, and soon We arrived at the side of a cliff. I remember passing the east of the cliff. It should be a desert. On the top of the cliff, there was a waterfall rushing down. It was very magnificent. We came to a bush. One of the caves." Di Qing's heart was pounding, and he wanted to ask Zhao Mingruo if he could find that place again.It can be seen that Zhao Ming's expression was in a trance, and he temporarily suppressed this idea. "We saw that the cave was dark, and we were a little scared. We didn't want to... the merchant named Li should go in first and ordered us to follow. We saw him so bold, and thought that there should be no danger in the cave, so we all followed. At the same time, we were also thinking, The businessman named Li brought us here, what exactly is it for?" Di Qing was puzzled and said, "At that time, did you know... where you were going?" Zhao Ming shook his head, "I didn't know it at the time, but I found out later. But even if I knew it, it's not really clear." Zhao Ming was in a trance, and what he said didn't make sense, so Di Qing could only smile wryly.But he was afraid that Zhao Ming wouldn't say anything, so he didn't ask. "We walked along the cave for a short time, and the front suddenly opened up. It turned out that we entered a large grotto. Opposite the grotto, there was another cave. The grotto should be formed naturally, with cracks at the top, and sunlight came in. The grotto doesn't look dark either. We just entered the grotto, and someone said, 'You're late.'” Zhao Ming's voice became a little sharp, and Di Qing's heart skipped a beat, thinking about the situation back then, when someone suddenly spoke, it was indeed shocking. "The businessman surnamed Li was not surprised, but said, 'It's better to be late than never.' Then I saw a man standing in the cave opposite, wearing black clothes and trousers, and a black scarf covering his face. A pair of shining eyes. The man said, "I didn't expect you to bring some helpers." The businessman surnamed Li said, "They are not my helpers, why do I need helpers?" The man looked at us, the light in his eyes was like a poisonous snake , After a long time, he said, 'I have done what I should do. Have you ever done what you want to do?'" When Di Qing heard this, he already had a rough outline in his mind.The businessman surnamed Li obviously joined forces with the person in the cave to do something, so they agreed to meet there. If the cave is related to the secrets of Shambhala, what the two of them are going to do is of course related to preparing to enter Shambhala ?But why did the businessman named Li bring Zhao Ming and others there? Zhao Ming had fallen into memory, and as if he was dreaming, he said in a low voice: "The businessman surnamed Li said, 'I searched for a long time, but I didn't find Wulong's whereabouts.'" Di Qing was startled, and lost his voice: "Five Dragons?" Zhao Ming was slightly startled, and when he came back to his senses, seeing Di Qing's strange expression, he asked, "Master Di, what's wrong with you?" Di Qing shook his head and said, "It's nothing. You...continue talking." He thought to himself, "Why does the businessman with the surname Li look for Wulong? It seems that Wulong does have a lot to do with Shambhala!" Zhao Ming looked at Di Qing for a while, and said again: "The masked man sneered, 'If you don't have Wulong, what are you doing here? Without Wulong, it's useless to enter Shambhala!'" Now Di Qing heard every word Zhao Ming said, like thunder rolling, and said in a hoarse voice: "Why?" Zhao Ming shook his head, "I don't know what they are talking about, but I finally understand that this is Shambhala..." The corner of his mouth revealed a mocking expression, "Everyone says that Shambhala is beautiful and a fairyland on earth. I didn't expect to be in this kind of place. I thought the masked man was joking, but seeing the masked man's extremely cautious look, it didn't feel like a joke. The businessman surnamed Li said, "But we have to try." He walked over and whispered a few words in the masked man's ear. The masked man looked at us and said after a while, "No matter what, I've been waiting for all these years and I will try." He shouted to us, "Here It is the entrance of Shambhala. You have all heard of Shambhala, right? As long as you can enter, everyone can realize their wishes.' He took out a money bag from his arms, shook it, and a dozen or so coins fell out of it. He said, "This is what I took from Shambhala. Each of you can choose one. After entering Shambhala, there are many treasures for you to take!" The gems were all the size of pigeon eggs, and we... My eyes were straight, I never thought that such a good thing would happen.” Di Qing frowned and said: "This person lured you with a lot of money for no reason, don't ask, there must be danger inside!" Zhao Ming smiled shyly and sighed, "General Di, you are right. But when we saw those jewels, why did we think so much? I heard that there are more jewels in the cave, and many people's eyes turned green." , Without waiting for orders, they rushed to the cave one after another. The merchants surnamed Li had prepared torches long ago, and gave each of us one, saying, 'Whoever finds the entrance of Shambhala first, can share half of the wealth.'" Di Qing was puzzled, "Isn't that cave the entrance to Shambhala? Could it be that...there is another cave inside?" Zhao Ming nodded and said: "That's right. The cave extends in all directions, as if it runs through the entire mountain. If you enter suddenly, you may get lost in it. But there are traces of artificial carvings inside, and there are arrows carved on the side of the stone wall to guide the direction. We Partner, followed the arrow and walked for several miles." Di Qing thought in amazement, "The mountain opening project is so huge, and it is near Shazhou. Only the Cao family who returned to the rebel army could do it." Zhao Ming continued: "After walking this far, we were all a little afraid in our hearts. We wanted to go back. We didn't want someone in front of us to shout, 'Gems, there are gems on this rock wall.' When we looked up, we saw the rock above us. There are a few precious stones studded there. The precious stones are as red as blood, although there are only a few of them, they are dazzling under the light of the fire. Everyone screamed like madmen." But Di Qing kept thinking about a question, what kind of evil intentions did the businessman surnamed Li bring these ten Tibetans here? "The businessman surnamed Li has been following us, seeing this, he said, 'Rare and strange, there are still a lot of gems ahead.' Now, before he can urge them, those people have already rushed over. I just married my wife, which is not considered Greedy, hesitated for a while, thinking to myself that if I can get the gems on the stone wall, this life will be enough. Just in this moment, I was a few steps behind them..." Zhao Ming's face showed madness, sternness and horror. He was originally ugly, so he looked like a ghost.When Di Qing saw this, his heart trembled, he already knew something terrible would happen. "At that time, the madness in the corridor was indescribable. When I was hesitating, my feet suddenly softened and I fell into a crack in the stone beside the corridor. The fire in front of me suddenly turned and went out suddenly, and the corridor was plunged into endless darkness. "Zhao Ming's cheeks twitched, panting violently, and said: "Then... there was a sharp whistling sound in the tunnel. Then I heard the brothers in the clan in front screaming, 'Don't grab me, don't grab me! I!'" Don't catch me! Zhao Ming yelled these words almost with all his strength, the voice was like ghosts crying and wolves howling, ghosts sobbing, full of deep despair. Although it was a bright day and the spring breeze was warm, Di Qing could not help feeling a bone-chilling chill when he saw Zhao Ming's distorted face. Don't you want to catch me?What does it mean? At the end of the tunnel, what's so strange, is there a prehistoric monster, an octopus with eight claws, that catches all these people in a short time?Or in that tunnel, there are endless ghosts of unjust death, who come to catch the living and reincarnate? The world is desolate and bewildered, full of horror.