The north wind was howling and the weather was freezing cold.

The boundless wilderness was covered with snow half a foot thick. As far as the eye could see, it was a bleak white. On the horizon stood towering mountains with peaks covered in snow. The sun rose in the east and the mountains were majestic.

When Yao Ying saw the huge white eagle soaring overhead for the third time, she sighed and wrapped herself tightly in the felt.

"Haidu A Ling is here."

Xie Qing raised her head and saw a large snow-white falcon along her line of sight.

The sky is high and the clouds are light. The eagle stretches its agile body in the clouds, and its wings seem to be coated with a layer of faint golden light, fierce and majestic.

"Is that an eagle raised by the Beirong people?"

Yao Ying nodded, her voice hoarse: "I saw it five days ago, it appeared again yesterday, and it has been following us today... It is reporting to Haidu Aling."

Soon after leaving the Yelu tribe, they were chased by Haidu Aling's men who were lying in ambush nearby. As expected, Helan had been secretly occupied by the Northern Rong, and the road to the Central Plains had been completely cut off. In front of them was Haidu Aling, and behind them were the Northern Rong people. They could neither advance nor retreat, and could only hide carefully.

After wandering in the desolate snowfield for an unknown amount of time, the falcon suddenly appeared.

Yao Ying coughed a few times and signaled Xie Qing and other personal soldiers to find a sheltered place to rest.

"I heard from merchants in the West Market that in the cold winter, the journey from Liangzhou to Guazhou is difficult, and the caravan would not choose to set out at this time. Haidu Aling must have blocked all the roads in Helan, and we may be the only ones heading east. This falcon only needs to patrol a few times and report back, and Haidu Aling will be able to find out which direction we are in."

The bodyguards looked at each other, at a loss as to what to do.

Unlike the complex terrain of the Central Plains, this place was an endless desert, and they could not find a place to hide. There might be caves in the mountains for them to hide in, but the weather was cold, they had already eaten all the food, and they were not familiar with the terrain. The Northern Rong soldiers were always chasing them, and the tribes they occasionally met knew that they were Han people at a glance and would not provide help.

They must break through the blockade as soon as possible and return to the Central Plains, otherwise no matter where they hide, they will be found by Haidu Aling sooner or later.

One of them stared at the falcon with his hand on his forehead and said, "Maybe it's just an ordinary eagle."

Yao Ying shook her head: "This eagle has been following us for several days. It always appears at dawn and disappears at dusk. It never goes hunting and always follows us."

"Princess, let me see if I can knock it down!"

Lu Heng, the most skilled archer among the personal soldiers, shouted loudly, bent his bow, put an arrow on it, and shot several arrows in succession.

The eagle in the sky let out a few arrogant cries, and suddenly dived down. Its huge pair of wings covered a gloomy black shadow, revealing a kind of arrogance that looked down on everything.

Lu Hengda cursed a few times and took out a few remaining quivers filled with gunpowder: "These things can scare the Yelu people to kneel down, can they scare this eagle away?"

Yao Yingchao's personal soldiers waved their hands.

The Yelu people were ignorant and had never seen fireworks. She also deliberately cursed the eldest prince in foreign language at the old Khan's funeral, and the Yelu people who believed in the god of fire were frightened out of their wits.

The eagle will not be scared away.

When Haidu Aling was eleven years old, he climbed to the top of a mountain, killed a mighty female eagle, found a chick in the eagle's nest, raised it with his own hands, and tamed it.

The eagle later followed him from east to west and from north to south. The northern Rong people called it Abu and regarded it as the god of all eagles.

Haidu Aling once proudly declared that Abu was the fastest and highest-flying bird in the world, and no one could kill Abu except his master.

Many people have tried to kill the Condor, but all have failed.

This divine eagle eventually died at the hands of its owner, Haidu Aling, simply because it lost a competition and was no longer the fastest eagle in the world.

Yao Ying drank up the remaining water in the water bag and looked towards the east: "The eagle has discovered us. Haidu Aling only needs to send people to explore in different directions and they will catch up soon."

Whenever she saw the white falcon again and again, she could be sure that Haidu Aling had returned.

This shows that he failed to launch a full-scale sneak attack as he wished, and failed to successfully provoke a war between Wei, Western Shu, and Southern Chu, otherwise he would not have returned so quickly.

Yaoying felt heavy in her heart.

This also means that the defeated Haidu Aling will come to hunt her down with great rage and all his personal followers from this eastern expedition.

Xie Qing found a dry place and spread out a felt blanket: "Princess, take a rest first."

Yao Ying hummed, sat down with legs crossed, leaned on Xie Qing's shoulder, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

After days of running, she has become accustomed to taking a nap with her eyes closed in the snow at any time and anywhere.

They rested for only a quarter of an hour, took a nap while shivering in the cold wind, climbed back on their horses, and continued heading east.

Even though he knew Haidu Aling would chase him soon, he still ran away.

The closer we are, the greater the hope.

Maybe they can escape?

That day, the white falcon followed them all day long and disappeared again in the evening.

In order to get rid of the white falcon, they traveled all night long. The snowy road was rugged and difficult to travel on at night. Several horses fell to the ground due to exhaustion, and a few were suddenly frightened and threw their bodyguards off their horses.

The guards said: "We are not familiar with the terrain, we can't risk walking at night!"

Xie Qing had no choice but to ask everyone to stop and rest.

The bodyguards had not eaten for several days, so they grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into their mouths. Afraid of being seen by Yao Ying, they turned their backs to her.

Yao Ying touched the animal skin bag around her waist. Xie Qing hadn't eaten anything in the past few days, so all the dry food that could fill her stomach was given to her.

The people were hungry and freezing, and so were the horses. After days of trekking, several horses had died in the past few days, so the personal soldiers had to share one horse.

Her beloved horse, Wusun Ma, could hardly hold on any longer.

That was the horse Li Zhongqian gave her.

Yao Ying untied the animal skin bag and handed it to Xie Qing: "Give it to them."

Xie Qing refused to answer.

Yao Ying's tone became heavier, and she said, "They have been working hard these days, so they need to eat something to maintain their strength. I left some snacks. Ah Qing, if anything happens to you, I can't walk far by myself."

Xie Qing took the animal skin bag and distributed it to other soldiers.

The bodyguards said no, they could handle it.

Xie Qing said expressionlessly: "Eat it. If you don't eat it, the princess won't eat it either."

The bodyguards had no choice but to accept it.

Xie Qing returned to Yao Ying empty-handed.

Yao Ying leaned on his shoulder and handed him a dry and hard cookie: "Ah Qing, I saved this for you."

Xie Qing said nothing, took the biscuit, put it in his mouth, and chewed it in silence.

Yaoying looked up at the dark night sky and asked softly, "Ah Qing, do you think Xie Liang and the others are still alive?"

Xie Liang was one of the first group of personal soldiers sent out to deliver the letter.

Xie Qing said in a deep voice: "From the perspective of these Tianbei Rong's pursuers, they are more ferocious than safe."

Yao Ying curled her lips: "You really don't know how to comfort people."

Xie Liang and his men may have been killed by the Northern Rong people. They came to the Yelu tribe thousands of miles away to protect her, and risked their lives to carry out her orders. They were just her personal soldiers when they were alive, and after their death, the people of the Central Plains will not know about their deeds.

Yao Ying was shivering from the cold and curled up into a ball.

Xie Qing lowered his head and tightened the blanket for her, looking at her with his dark eyes: "Princess, even if Xie Liang and the others died, they died for loyalty and righteousness, and they died without regrets."

Yaoying recalled when Xie Liang first came to her side. He was an honest young man, but when he looked up at her, his face turned red and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

When the Yelu tribe arranged an escape plan, Xie Liang accepted the order without asking a single question.

Yao Ying asked him if he was afraid of death.

He scratched his head: "Afraid."

Then why do you still obey my orders?

Xie Liang continued to scratch his head: "Because you are the seventh princess! When I was chosen by the King of Qin, I swore an oath to the heavens, the earth and my ancestors!"

He could not fully understand the righteousness of his country and family. He only knew that he had to protect the princess and obey her orders. If the princess asked him to do the right thing, he should try his best to complete the instructions.

No matter how dangerous the order is.

His loyalty is so simple, yet so profound.

Yaoying was very cold and hungry, her whole body was stiff and sore, and her bones felt like they had been run over and put together haphazardly, with pain radiating from within.

She wanted to live, wanted to return to the Central Plains, and wanted to take these personal soldiers who had shared her joys and sorrows with her back with her.

Yao Ying clenched her fingers tightly and fell into a deep sleep with a strong desire to survive.

When she woke up, it was already daybreak. It might still be a sunny day. The red sun had not yet risen, but the strong wind had swept away all the clouds, leaving the sky a deep blue.

Someone shouted in surprise, suppressing his voice: "The eagle didn't catch up with us!"

Everyone was delighted. Xie Qing picked up Yaoying and put her on the horse.

Yao Ying breathed a sigh of relief. After running a short distance, she looked back at the soldiers behind her and found that Lu Heng was gone.

She stopped her horse and counted the number of people.

Not only Lu Heng was missing, a total of four people were missing.

Yao Ying looked at Xie Qing.

Xie Qing pulled the reins and slowed down. "Princess, this is the only way."

Yao Ying was silent for a while and closed her eyes.

In order to get rid of the pursuit and the eagle's tracking, splitting up the troops to divert attention is indeed the best way. The eagle can quickly find their traces, but the eagle cannot identify their identities.

Lu Heng might not be able to really lure Bai Hu away, but he could buy her some time.

Just for this little bit of time, they are determined to do it.

Yaoying closed her eyes, holding back the tears that were about to burst out, and whipped the horse to continue galloping.

She couldn't let Lu Heng and the others sacrifice in vain.

They continued to run eastward.

Suddenly, the Wusun horse let out a loud neigh, and its front hooves fell limply, crashing into the snow.

"Princess!"

Xie Qing and his personal soldiers were horrified, they stopped their horses and rushed forward.

Yaoying fell to the ground and rolled several times. Fortunately, Wusunma managed to hold on for a while before finally falling down. The snow on the ground was very thick, so she was not injured, only some scratches.

Xie Qing helped her stand up. She felt dizzy and swayed for several times before she could stand steadily.

Wusunma is still struggling fiercely, constantly making desperate cries.

The guards stood in front of Yao Ying and said, "The horse is frightened!"

Yao Ying's eyes were red. She pushed the guards away and choked up, "No, it's too tired."

She knelt in front of Wusunma and stretched out her hand tremblingly.

This was the horse her brother had given her. It had been her beloved horse for many years. It was gentle and tough, very human-like, and loved to eat sweet apples. It had never lost its temper with her.

When the octopus saw its owner, it gradually calmed down, looked at her with its black, moist eyes, panting, and tried to raise its head and rubbed her palm as it usually did when it asked her for food.

Yao Ying rummaged through the animal skin bag with trembling hands. The black horse loves to eat sweet fruits. It loves to eat sweet fruits!

The animal-skin bag was empty.

The Wusun Horse stared at Yaoying motionlessly. Without waiting for the fruit it loved to eat, its eyes were still gentle. It wagged its tail at her for the last time and died.

Yaoying finally shed the tears she had been holding back for many days.

I'm sorry, I'm not a good master and I couldn't let you eat your favorite fruit.

Xie Qing silently picked up Yao Ying and rode with her.

In the afternoon they lost two more horses.

Horse meat could fill their stomachs, but the bodyguards refused to slaughter their beloved horses. When the last horse fell, they could only walk across the wilderness.

Yao Ying was hungry and her body was getting weaker day by day. Xie Qing handed the long sword to others and carried her forward.

A few days later, they finally saw the familiar mountain range stretching across the river on the horizon.

The guards rushed up the hillside. "As long as we see those steamed bun-shaped mountains, it means we are almost to Liangzhou! We can climb over those mountains in just one day! We have escaped!"

Yao Ying lay on Xie Qing's back and raised her head in a daze.

Can she go home now?

Can I reunite with my brother now?

She was trembling all over. Before she could say anything, a few sharp cries were heard from the clouds, and a huge snow-white falcon swooped down from the top of the clouds.

Yao Ying's face turned pale.

As the white falcon's wings flew through the air, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard behind them.

Yaoying turned around.

Dust rolled up over the vast plains. In the horizon, a red sun slowly set. The sky was as red as blood. Hundreds of strong knights in black armor galloped on their horses, like a black torrent, rushing towards Yao Ying and his party with a mighty momentum that swallowed everything.

The guards were stunned.

A team of several hundred people rushed towards them at lightning speed.

The man at the front of the team had thick arms, was tall and strong, wore a wide felt hat, a black brocade robe, and held a huge longbow in his hand. His light golden eyes flashed with an almost bestial coldness in the twilight.

He stopped not far from Yaoying, with the corner of his lips raised.

"Seventh Princess, I didn't expect you to last so many days."

Yaoying closed her eyes and shuddered slightly.

She recalled the legend of the Beirong people, who said that their way of taming eagles was to boil them in water.

Haidu Aling is an expert at training eagles.

He had found her a long time ago, and had been following her nearby, watching her starve and suffer, and then he appeared at the moment when she thought she could return home, ruthlessly crushing her hope of returning home.

How could she not collapse when she saw hope one moment and fell into the darkest despair the next?

Haidu Aling was taming her.

She had nowhere to run.

Xie Qing put Yao Ying down, took his own sword, drew it out of its sheath, and stood in front of Yao Ying.

The other guards also drew their swords silently.

Haidu Aling had a playful smile on his face and did not move, as if he did not take Xie Qing and the others seriously at all.

Xie Qing stood in front of Yao Ying, holding his knife in his hand, his face calm.

It was as if he was not facing an invincible army.

There were only a few of them, and they were exhausted and dizzy with hunger.

The enemy's troops are strong and energetic.

They are like an egg hitting a rock, and they are doomed to fail.

But so what?

Xie Qing recited his original oath word by word: "I am willing to follow Qi Niang and protect her, even if it means death."

Not the seventh princess of the Li family, not the seventh daughter of Jingnan.

It’s just his little Qi Niang.

He turned around and looked at Yao Ying.

"Qiniang, do you recognize me?"

Yao Ying had tears in her eyes and smiled faintly: "Ah Qing, I recognized you a long time ago."

Xie Qing nodded, still expressionless: "A gentleman will die for his confidant. Although I, Xie Qingniang, am a woman, I can also uphold the aspirations of my ancestors and die to protect Qiniang. Xie Qingniang has no regrets in her death."

No regrets.

She faced the powerful Northern Rong army and raised her long sword.

The other guards were stunned for a moment, then they all showed an expression of "as expected", looked at each other, and laughed: "In ancient times, there was Hua Mulan, and now there is Xie Qingniang. We can fight side by side with you, and after we die, we can also brag to our brothers in the underworld."

"What a shame I didn't take advantage of you before..."

"Do you dare to fight her? With her physique, she can kill you with just one slap!"

They panted weakly, held their breath, stood in front of Li Yaoying, and refused to retreat.

In the twilight, their tall figures were firm and majestic, just like the rolling mountains behind Yao Ying.

These ordinary people have protected her until now just because of a promise.

They regarded her as an object of loyalty and were willing to sacrifice their lives for her.

She also wanted to repay their loyalty.

Yao Ying stood behind Xie Qing and the others, wiping her eyes with a smile.

Haidu Aling narrowed his eyes, raised the huge longbow, stretched out his arms, and filled the longbow with power.

Yao Ying knew that the battle was over as soon as it began.

They didn't even have a chance to struggle.

She wiped away her tears and placed her pale hands on Xie Qing's shoulders.

Xie Qing turned around.

"Ah Qing, we need to live and live well."

She looked at Haidu Aling riding on horseback in the distance with a firm gaze.

"As long as we can survive, we will definitely return to the Central Plains one day."

Xie Qing realized what Yao Ying was going to do, grabbed her hand and yelled, "No!"

Yao Ying looked at the others and said, "Stop her."

The bodyguards looked at each other.

Yao Ying shook off Xie Qing's hand and brushed her hair: "I am your princess. Now I order you to stop Xie Qing. Do you want to disobey me?"

The guards' faces were filled with shock. After struggling for a while, tears welled up in their eyes and they clasped their fists in response.

Xie Qing's eyes were red with anger, and he rushed forward with a roar: "No! Qi Niang, come back!"

The bodyguards stood in front of her and held her tightly.

Xie Qing drew her sword and slashed wildly. The guards were helpless and snatched the sword from her hand. They threw her to the ground and held down her arms and legs to prevent her from moving.

Yao Ying smiled at Xie Qing and said softly, "Ah Qing, I'm fine."

Haidu Aling is still young now, not the emperor who will conquer countless countries in the future. He has his weaknesses and enemies that he fears.

She always found a way to escape.

As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

Yao Ying walked out slowly from behind the guards, stood in front of everyone, and faced Haidu Aling.

"I'll go with you."

The cold wind blew her disheveled dress and long hair. Even though she looked haggard after days of running around, she was still noble and beautiful, like a flower blooming in the snow on the mountain top.

Haidu Aling raised his eyebrows and raised his arm. The white falcon landed on his arm and bit his finger.

The corners of his mouth curled up.

The process of taming this Han princess was so smooth, even more enjoyable than the feeling of conquest I had when I first tamed her.

…

Yao Ying became Haidu Aling's trophy.

Seemingly pleased with her obedience, he agreed to spare the lives of Xie Qing and the others.

Before being sent to the carriage, Yaoying looked back at the mountains standing in the twilight, with layers of rocks and magnificent mountains and rivers.

She will come back, she will cross the towering mountains and return to her hometown.

…

Although he had just launched a surprise attack on Wei Dynasty and made enemies with Wei Dynasty, Haidu Aling was still not afraid of Wei Dynasty at all. After capturing Yao Ying only a day's journey away from Liangzhou, he calmly led his troops back.

Yao Ying was imprisoned in a carriage with an iron frame and guarded by Haidu Aling's personal soldiers.

She finally had some fresh food.

In the afternoon, the Beirong soldiers sent a Hu maid to Yao Ying.

Yao Ying looked at him in surprise: "Why are you here?"

Tali wiped her eyes and said, "I remember the princess's instructions. After you left, I also took advantage of the chaos to escape. Soon, the Yelu tribe was annexed by the Northern Rong. The eldest prince and the elders of the tribe all died... I had just found a place to settle down when the men in the tribe were killed by the Northern Rong. We women became their slaves."

Helan had been occupied by the Northern Rong, and all the tribes were forced to submit, with the men killed and the women enslaved.

Tali lowered her voice and said, "Princess, I heard from them that the Khan of the Northern Rong attacked the royal court in the Western Regions and was defeated. He summoned Prince Aling back. Prince Aling wants to take us back to the Western Regions."

Yao Ying sighed softly.

Not long ago, she talked to Tali about the Quicksand River and Tali's homeland. At that time, she thought she would never go to that distant foreign land in her lifetime.

It turns out that the desolate Yelu tribe is not far from their homeland. The Western Regions thousands of miles away are truly far away.

That night, Yao Ying was taken to Haidu Aling's tent.

"How could the Seventh Princess know my identity?"

The man who grew up among wolves was sturdy and strong. He stood beside the long table like a majestic mountain. He held a knife in his hand and was slowly cutting open a wild deer that was not yet dead.

The smell of blood hit my nose.

Yao Ying stood in front of the long table and said calmly, "I heard my brother mention Prince Beirong."

"Oh?" Haidu Aling didn't even raise his head, and swiftly peeled off the deer's skin with his long knife. "I did fight with Li Zhongqian, he was very brave."

He changed the subject, "However, Li Zhongqian was seriously injured and has been in a coma. The person guarding Liangzhou is your crown prince. As far as I know, there is a grudge between you and the crown prince. If it weren't for the plot of the Eastern Palace, you wouldn't be in this situation today."

Haidu Aling raised his head, and his light yellow eyes looked like a pair of crystal clear glass in the candlelight.

"Your father exchanged you for Yeluhaju's loyalty, the prince asked you to marry his beloved woman, and the ministers stood by and watched your brother die when he was injured. Why did you inform them?"

Yao Ying still said calmly: "Because I am from the Great Wei."

Haidu A Ling raised his eyebrows: "I can avenge the Seventh Princess. After I kill the Crown Prince, I can support Li Zhongqian to ascend the throne."

Yao Ying sneered: "Don't worry, Prince."

After marrying in place of her, there were all kinds of grievances and hatreds between her and Li De and Li Xuanzhen. After she was freed, she would sort out the entanglement with Li De and his son.

She would never cooperate with someone as ambitious as Haidu Aling.

Haidu Aling was treacherous, cold-blooded and cruel. When he was young, he killed the mother wolf that raised him, just to use the wolf skin to obtain the qualification to be adopted by the tribe. Wakhan Khan treated him as his own son, let his younger brother adopt him, and gave him a noble family background, but he thought his adoptive father was cowardly and useless. Now he and Wakhan are still as close as father and son, but in the future he will kill Wakhan, slaughter Wakhan's sons and grandsons, kill all Wakhan's heirs, and then become the new leader of the Northern Rong.

How could such a cruel and ruthless person sincerely help her to avenge herself?

If she agreed, not only the Wei Dynasty, but the entire Central Plains would eventually fall into the hands of Haidu Aling, and she and her brother would also be ruthlessly killed by Haidu Aling.

Haidu A Ling laughed: "Seventh Princess, don't you believe in my sincerity?"

Yao Ying looked directly at Haidu Aling and said, "If the revenge you said for me means stepping on the corpses of tens of millions of innocent people, there is nothing to talk about between us."

Haidu Aling slowly cut open the deer's belly and said, "Yeluhazhu only took one look at you and was obsessed with marrying you...Seventh Princess, you messed up my plan. The one who was supposed to get married was Princess Fukang."

After Princess Fukang got married, he could, firstly, take the opportunity to kill the crown prince and disrupt the Wei Dynasty. Secondly, he could use the identity of Zhu's daughter to confuse people's hearts. In addition, with the hidden stakes planted in Southern Chu and Shu, the Central Plains would definitely be in chaos, and then the Northern Rong would be able to destroy the Wei Dynasty without any effort.

Unfortunately, Haidu Aling had planned everything, but he never expected that Yeluhazhu would become lustful and fall in love with a delicate Han princess. In order to marry the princess, he even offered Liangzhou as a bargaining chip.

He was puzzled until he saw the Seventh Princess in gorgeous clothes at the palace banquet that night, and then he understood why Yeluhaju was moved.

Such beauty should belong to him.

It was her incomparable beauty that made him lose his vigilance and look down on this woman.

Haidu Aling clicked his tongue a few times, "I only sent a few letters, promising Princess Fukang that I would help her restore her country, and she was willing to marry the Yelu tribe. And her aunt... Princess Yiqing, who married the Turks, I promised to help her restore her country, and she helped me make plans and sent loyal servants to the Central Plains to contact the old ministers loyal to the Zhu family, and persuaded Western Shu and Southern Chu to attack your Great Wei..."

Yaoying slowly widened her eyes.

Haidu Aling smiled and said, "Seventh Princess, Princess Fukang is a princess, Princess Yiqing is a princess, and you are also a princess. Why are you different from them?"

Yaoying said nothing, her hands trembling slightly in her sleeves.

So that's it! So that's it!

Haidu Aling shouldn't have led his troops to attack the Central Plains so early, and Zhu Luyun shouldn't have colluded with the Hu people for no apparent reason. She never understood why so many things had changed. It turned out that the beginning of the change was Princess Yiqing!

No wonder Haidu Aling knew the Central Plains countries so thoroughly, no wonder he was in the north but could always know the movements of Nanchu, no wonder Princess Yiqing would send a loyal servant back to the Central Plains for help, no wonder Nanchu would actually get involved with Haidu Aling, all of this was Haidu Aling's conspiracy!

Princess Yiqing joined forces with him and sent spies back to the Central Plains to spy on military intelligence, find helpers for her, and disrupt the courts of various countries. The loyal servant who appeared beside Zhu Luyun and encouraged her to marry the Yelu tribe was just one of them!

The princess who had married the Turks many years ago wanted to restore the Zhu dynasty, so she formed an alliance with Haidu Aling and almost let the northern Rong people invade directly.

Yao Ying's body swayed and she almost couldn't stand steadily.

She didn't know that there was a Princess Yiqing behind her. She only reminded Li Xuanzhen, Du Sinan and others in the letter to beware of Nanchu. She didn't know if they could find out Princess Yiqing's spies.

Haidu A Ling chuckled: "Seventh Princess, look, if it weren't for the help of you Han princesses, how could I have successfully plundered the Central Plains and obtained such a beauty as the princess?"

Yao Ying calmed down her thoughts and raised her eyes. "Han people are human beings, and you Beirong people are also human beings. Some people are good, and some are bad. I am not Princess Yiqing, and I will not cooperate with the prince."

She paused and straightened her back.

"Not everyone will be coerced by the prince's temptations. There are many people like me."

"This time the prince attacked Wei, but Southern Chu, which was separated from Wei by a blood feud, was not the same as the prince's. They knew that the prince's ambition was not just to seize Guanzhong. The people of Southern Chu and Western Shu were deceived by the prince for a while, but once they knew the truth, they would never make peace with someone like the prince!"

"The Central Plains has been unified. The Wei Kingdom will soon put an end to the war. Southern Chu and Western Shu will submit to the Wei Kingdom. The country is unified, and the ruler and his subjects are of one mind. Although the Northern Rong are strong, the Wei Kingdom is not without strong generals!"

Haidu A Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and raised the corners of his lips, "I admire the princess's broad mind."

Yao Ying said coldly: "I also admire the prince's broad mind."

Haidu A Ling was stunned for a moment: "Princess, do you admire me?"

Yao Ying smiled and said, "The prince is not the biological son of Wakhan Khan. In order to repay the Khan's kindness in raising him, he led the troops and fought bloody battles. How much land did the prince seize for the Khan this time?"

Haidu Aling's face stiffened slightly.

Yao Ying sensed his anger and thought to herself: As expected, Haidu Aling is very jealous of his identity. After all, he is not Wakhan's biological son.

Haidu Aling seemed speechless. He stopped what he was doing and signaled Yaoying that she could leave.

Yaoying turned around and left.

Haidu A Ling's face was gloomy. He called the counselor and grabbed a cloth to wipe the deer blood off the knife. "Did you hear what the Seventh Princess just said?"

The counselor nodded.

"She is such a weak woman, but she has such a broad mind. Are all the people in the Central Plains like this? Is now really not a good time to attack the Central Plains?"

The counselor thought for a moment and tried to say something that Haidu Aling could understand: "Although the Wei Kingdom was established not long ago, it is deeply loved by the people. As the saying goes, things that have been together for a long time will eventually be divided, and things that have been divided for a long time will eventually be together. Southern Chu is only in a corner. It looks prosperous on the outside, but it has long been rotten on the inside. It is no match for the Wei Kingdom. Looking at the Central Plains, no other force can stop the Wei Kingdom from unifying the north and the south."

Haidu Aling frowned and thought.

He is not Wakhan's biological son. What can he get in return for all his hard-earned military achievements?

If he continued to stay and attack the Central Plains, even if he captured Guanzhong, Wakhan would not give it to him, because Wakhan only had his own son in his heart.

He must first gain a firm foothold within the Northern Rong.

The Central Plains will be his sooner or later, there is no need to rush.

The Crown Prince does not seem to care about the Seventh Princess as the legend says. The Second Prince and the Seventh Princess depend on each other for survival. He keeps the Seventh Princess because she will be useful to him in the future.

Haidu Aling made up his mind and ordered his advisers: "Starting tomorrow, order all tribes to abandon their baggage and join my uncle as soon as possible. You stay behind to tame the river ridge, and don't let the people sent by other princes take away my achievements!"

The counselor agreed.

…

The next day, the speed of the marching team suddenly increased.

In order to speed up the journey, the team simply abandoned the carts. Yao Ying was taken on horseback by several strong and skilled Hu women, and followed the team to gallop westward.

They passed through Ganzhou, Suzhou, Guazhou, Shazhou, and the vast plains at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, and arrived at the 800-li Quicksand.

According to records, the Moheyan Desert is 800 li long and was called the Sand River in ancient times. There are no flying birds, no running beasts, and no water or grass. At night, monsters light fires that shine like stars; at daytime, strong winds blow sand and it scatters like rain.

Yao Ying was taken care of by the Hu woman every day, and she did not suffer much on the way through the desert. She was only worried that Xie Qing and the others would suffer.

They were imprisoned with the other prisoners and marched at the end of the column.

Whenever the team stopped to rest, Yao Ying would look for opportunities to talk to the captives, hoping that they would help pass on a message to Xie Qing. However, the Hu women guarded them too strictly, and the captives could not speak Chinese, so she tried several times but to no avail.

Cross the Babai Lisha River and head north to reach Yizhou.

There was chaos in the previous dynasty, and Yizhou was occupied by miscellaneous Hu people. It was once dependent on different forces such as Western Turks and Tubo. Now Yizhou is under the rule of Beirong, and the Beirong headquarters is located in Yizhou.

The closer they got to Yizhou, the more letters from Wakhan Khan were delivered by Northern Rong scouts. Haidu Aling was busy dealing with Wakhan Khan and was nowhere to be seen every day.

Tali told Yao Ying that Wakhan Khan had been besieging the royal court for the past six months and was defeated by the Buddhists again not long ago. He was so angry that he suddenly fell ill and had to retreat to Tucheng. That was why Haidu Aling was in a hurry to return to Yizhou.

Yaoying breathed a sigh of relief.

…

The Western Regions are vast with a harsh climate, and are dotted with oases of varying sizes, each capable of supporting a limited population.

Such geographical environment made it difficult for the Western Regions to produce a strong dynasty with powerful military force. They simply could not afford to raise a large number of troops, so when the Northern Rong invaded, the various tribes were like scattered sand and unable to resist.

When the Northern Rong conquered the Western Regions, they were so powerful that the Northern Rong Khan believed that he could conquer the entire Western Regions in just a few months.

The Northern Rong were invincible; wherever their cavalry went, all city-states and tribes, big and small, surrendered.

Wakhan Khan was very proud of himself and decided to take advantage of the situation to capture the legendary holy city and make the Buddhist disciple his prisoner.

Everyone believed that Wakhan Khan would successfully capture the holy city and capture the Buddhists.

However, in that battle, Wakhan Khan, who had powerful cavalry, lost.

The 30,000 men were defeated against the 2,000 men of the Buddhists, and not only were they badly defeated, but they also lost their weapons and armor. The arrogant Wakhan Khan fell off his horse and was nearly trampled to death by his own mount.

That battle in which the outnumbered defeated the larger force made the 13-year-old Buddhist Tanmarajiva famous in the Western Regions and enjoyed unprecedented prestige.

At the same time, it left a deep mark in the heart of Wakhan Khan.

This proud Khan was eager to get out of the shadow of failure and boost morale, but for some reason, ever since that defeat, the Northern Rong Army always made mistakes whenever it faced the Royal Court Army, especially the Central Army loyal to the Buddha.

After being defeated by Tanmaraj's central army again, Wakhan Khan began to doubt whether Tanmaraj really had magical powers.

This became a thorn in the side of Wakhan Khan, and from then on, he always subconsciously avoided confronting the royal court.

The northern route of the Western Regions therefore enjoyed peace for ten years.

In those two battles, Haidu Aling followed Wakhan Khan closely.

Wakhan Khan's concern was also Haidu Aling's concern.

Both generations of Khans were defeated by Tanmarajiva, and both began to have doubts about the Holy City and did not dare to launch an attack on it lightly.

When Tanmarajiva was alive, neither Wakhan Khan nor Haidu Aling could capture the holy city.

Until Tanmarajya died, Haidu Aling laughed several times and said to his subordinates: "Without the Buddha, is the Holy City still a Holy City?"

He immediately counted the troops and led them to encircle the holy city.

Soon, the royal court was destroyed.

…

Yao Ying recalled the struggle between the Northern Rong and the royal court, and was certain that both Wakhan Khan and Haidu Aling were afraid of Tanmarajiva.

This time, Wakhan Khan mustered up his courage and sent the tribes affiliated with him to attack the royal court. He only surrounded the outside and not only failed to capture the holy city as he wished, but also became sick with anger. When the news spread, the Northern Rong cavalry would only believe the rumor more: whoever dared to attack the holy city would be punished by God.

Haidu Aling, like his uncle, was wary of Tanmaragha. After the defeat of the Northern Rong, he was busy with military affairs and forgot about her for the time being. This gave her a good opportunity to escape.

However, before Yao Ying could find the opportunity, one day, several Hu women suddenly escorted her to Haidu Aling's tent.

A long pole was erected in the open space in front of the tent, and a wounded man was tied to the pole. Blood was flowing down the corners of his robe, leaving a pool of blood on the sand.

Yaoying's eyes fell on the man's face.