Chapter 190 The Great Exorcism
After Murong Jing asked some tentative questions, Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan who were present naturally understood.
The couple who brought A Jiang back to Daliang were once members of an organization called "Da Fu" just like Cheng Hu and Dong Dalong.
Their trip was not only to send Ajiang back to Uzbekistan, but also to prove that she was Zhu Ertai's daughter. So where did Li Maocai and Long Xiu find Ajiang in the first place became a crucial point.
"At that time... it seemed like there was a time when a leader of Uzi wanted to negotiate with the leader of our Dafu. As a result, our leader took Li Maocai with him. When he came back, Li Maocai was holding a baby in his arms." Cheng Hu touched his head and said while recalling with effort.
"Did he say where this child came from?" Murong Jing asked.
Cheng Hu frowned, thought for a long time, and shook his head. "No, everyone was fighting during that time, and I didn't have time to ask. Later, he and Long Xiu ran away with the child, and we never saw each other again."
While he was speaking, Zhu Lan was observing his expression and didn't feel like he was lying.
"Where is the base of the Great Purification?" Murong Jing asked again.
"We are all guerrilla fighters. Our base may be here today and there tomorrow. Who can tell for sure? Besides, Dalong and I have been away from Dafu for many years—"
"I'm asking about the base where Li Maocai took the child back."
"Oh, oh, then I know!" Cheng Hu hurriedly stood up, asked someone to get a map and spread it on the table, pointed to a place and said it was here.
Zhu Lan also went forward to check. The place Cheng Hu pointed to was a desert area between Daliang and Wuzi.
Murong Jing nodded. Choosing this place as a base was indeed in line with the style of Dafu.
"Pack up and leave with us tomorrow." Murong Jing said to Cheng Hu and Dong Dalong.
"Ah?" Cheng Hu looked embarrassed.
"I'm not negotiating with you."
Cheng Hu and Dong Dalong looked at each other, and neither dared to say the word "no".
After Murong Jing arranged these things, everyone prepared to rest.
Cheng Hu had already had people vacate several clean and spacious rooms for them to live in, and Ding Xiaoqiu and Mr. Xie naturally went from being hostages living in the woodshed to being treated as guests of honor.
…
"Ah Jing, what exactly is this 'great purification' that you just mentioned?"
In the room, Zhu Qingyan asked Murong Jing curiously. Zhu Lan, who was sitting beside her, also wanted to know the answer.
She found that even though she had traveled through time and read a lot of books, she still knew too little about this dynasty.
It is true that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. The ancients were right.
Murong Jing told them that the "Da Fu" were a group of bandits roaming between the borders of Wuzi and Daliang. They were not bound by the laws of either side and committed many crimes, such as burning, killing, looting, and frequently harassing villages and towns on the border.
However, this group of people had no fixed place to stay, their bases were vague, and they all fought on horseback, so they moved very quickly. Even if they were to send troops to encircle and suppress them, they could only destroy one of their branches, and it was difficult to find their main force.
Zhu Qingyan was a little surprised when he heard this. "But how come there are people from the Central Plains like Li Maocai and Cheng Hu among this kind of foreign forces?"
“Strictly speaking, the Great Purification is not a foreign force, but is composed of both the Hu people and the Central Plains people. No matter where you come from, you can join and are no longer bound by any restrictions.
Of course, once the members of the Great Purification are caught by the Wuzi or Daliang troops, they will be beheaded and displayed to the public, so Cheng Hu and the others were so scared when I pointed out their identities just now. "
Zhu Lan understood that the so-called "great purification" was somewhat similar to the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty in history, who roamed around the border between the two countries and caused chaos.
Murong Jing continued, "We now need to take Cheng Hu and Dong Dalong to the Northern Frontier Camp first, and then take the soldiers to the base where Li Maocai and A Jiang stayed. Maybe there are some clues to prove A Jiang's identity."
…
The next morning, Murong Jing and others were ready to go, but they encountered a new problem.
The carriage they came in was burned, but there were many horses in the village but no carriages.
Murong Jing opened the map. "Starting from here, even if the speed of a horse is slow, it is still faster than a carriage. We can reach Niujia Village in Yunzhou tonight and reach the Northern Frontier Camp tomorrow."
The horse riding lasted less than two days in total, and everyone felt it was acceptable, so Cheng Hu asked people to bring all the good horses.
Murong Jing took A Jiang with him, and Ding Xiaoqiu asked Master Xie if he could ride a horse, after all, he was afraid that he was too old to handle it.
Master Xie raised his eyebrows, "What are you talking about! Don't you know that old age is not bad?"
Just kidding, he never missed a single day of the Eight Section Brocade that Gu Chaoyang taught him.
Although my hair didn't grow out, my body did become a lot lighter.
The group set out on the road to Niujia Village. The atmosphere along the way was quite relaxed, but because everyone's riding skills varied, the team did not move very fast, only slightly faster than a horse-drawn carriage.
When Cheng Hu rode past Ding Xiaoqiu, he said with a smile, "Boy, keep your feet firmly on the stirrups and don't put all your weight on the saddle. Otherwise, when you get off the horse, you'll know what a broken butt is. Hahaha!"
Like Zhu Qingyan, Zhu Lan did not have much experience in horse riding, so they took this as an opportunity to learn and practice their riding skills.
As the sun was setting, we finally saw a few scattered earthen houses appearing under the sand dunes in the distance. Thick smoke rose from the roofs, contrasting with the red sunset in the sky.
Zhu Lan immediately thought of the poem "A lone smoke rises straight in the desert, a round sun sets over the long river."
When I got closer, I saw a stone tablet standing on the side of the road with the words "Niujia Village" written on it.
Murong Jing turned around and said to everyone, "Let's go in and stay overnight. We will be able to reach the Northern Frontier Camp tomorrow. Go!"
Eager to return home, she squeezed her legs against the horse's belly and ran towards the village first.
When Zhu Lan and others entered the village, Murong Jing had already found Niu Shan, the village chief of Niujia Village, and said that they were passing by and wanted to stay overnight.
Seeing that they had extraordinary temperament, Niu Shan knew they were distinguished guests and did not dare to neglect them. He quickly arranged for them to stay in the village and invited them to his home for dinner in the evening.
It seemed that no outsiders had come to Niujia Village for some time. The villagers were very welcoming. Niu Shan even called his two sons, Niu Xiaochun and Niu Xiaodong, to come out.
Both of them looked to be young men in their twenties, with honest and simple smiles on their faces.
Niu Shan seemed very happy to have guests. He drank several cups of wine and ate two plates of peanuts. When he saw Murong Jing and the others off, he suddenly said drunkenly:
"Our area is not peaceful. If you hear any noise at night, hide well and don't come out!"
Zhu Lan wanted to ask a few more questions, but Niu Shan had already fallen drunk to the ground.
Niu Xiaochun went to help his father and comforted them:
"It's okay. My dad is drunk. You guys can sleep well tonight. There hasn't been any trouble in the village in a few years. It's not a coincidence that you guys are the ones who got into it."
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