On the vast land of northern Jinbei, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and there is no end in sight.

The official road leading from Zhenqiang Fort to Zhenhe Fort is still repaired by the Wanli Dynasty, it has not been renovated for decades, it has long been broken, and it is very difficult to walk on it. Because of the lack of water, the big trees planted on both sides are half-dead and wilting.

On the official road, five or six knights in armor, riding high-headed horses, surrounded by a rather old-looking carriage, were slowly moving forward. The horses' hooves trampled and the wheels crushed, exposing puffs of smoke and dust on the ground.

This is exactly Dong Ce and his party.

After the old man finished speaking, he hung two equally old official lamps in front of the dilapidated carriage, one of which read 'The second place in the first class of Jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen', and the other on which was written 'Shanxi Punishment and Patrol the Northern Hebei Military Garrison according to the Inspector's Division', as soon as these two official lamps came out, Dong Ce knew that this old man was definitely not a fake.

The soldiers of northern Hebei are prepared for Lord Liu, but the supreme master in this radius of a hundred miles is that Hou Jiawei, and he only has the share of bowing down to obey orders in front of him, even if he is angry, he does not dare to take a breath, and for Dong Ce, these military households, it is as far away as being in the clouds.

Although he didn't know what this soldier was looking for him, Dong Ce naturally didn't dare to make any excuses, so he immediately agreed.

For Dong Ce's encounter, Xu Ruyu was also surprised and inexplicable, and at the same time he was extremely envious in his heart. However, he doesn't know much about Liu Ruozai, so this help is limited.

With a worried heart, Dong Ce embarked on the road to Zhenhe Fort.

It was quiet all the way, the old man got into the carriage and hid in the carriage and never showed his face again, and the coachman was even more wooden and condensed like a stone, let alone talking, and the expression on his face did not change. They didn't speak, and Dong Ce naturally didn't dare to speak, and they all had a stomach full of worries in their hearts.

Dong Ce saw some ways.

The coachman was a middle-aged man, with a big beard, sitting upright, and no matter how the carriage swayed, his body remained motionless. A pair of eyes were half-squinted, and occasionally opened, there was a flash of fine light, the temples on both sides bulged high, and the muscles and bones of the large hand holding the horsewhip in one hand were exposed. Obviously, this ordinary-looking coachman is an extremely powerful master.

When I first arrived in Shen, that is, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, I could see Zhenhe Fort from a distance.

The place where the northern Hebei military reserve road was stationed was originally the victory fort. Desheng Fort is the most critical city in the geographical location of the entire Hebei North Patrol Road, the fort is four minutes in three miles, three feet high and eight feet. The general of the Beidong Road was stationed here, with 2,960 officers and men and 1,191 horses and mules. The victory fort is strong, the terrain is also extremely dangerous, the outside of the town of Qiang, the internal Hongci, the blow to each other, the beacon fire is transmitted, the two forts are attached, the arrow can be reached, the history has been besieged many times, but also safe and sound.

It's a pity that it has been besieged many times in history and has lost the location of its garrison - the victory fort is three miles east of the border wall and three miles north of the border wall, which is too close to the side wall, and the civil officials are not as good as you like these big soldiers, the golden body, deep into the enemy territory, what if there is a business pool?

So it was moved to Zhenhebao by the garrison of the Hebei North Branch Patrol Road - it is safe enough here, 20 miles to Zhenlu in the east, 40 miles to the wall in the north, 40 miles to Yungang in the south, and 20 miles to Polu in the west. There is not even a mile of side walls, only eight inland fire piers.

However, this Zhenhe Fort is also a heroic city, and the Zhenhe Fort is built on a hill, with high buildings and a very favorable terrain. The most important thing is that the city wall here is exceptionally high, although the city is smaller, only two miles and eight minutes of circumference, but the city wall is more than four zhang high, more than two zhang thick.

This is also rare in the seventy-two castles of Datong Town, you know, the city wall of Datong Town is only four feet and two feet high.

The hills are not high, the slope is gentle, and the roots of the castle are about five or six meters above the ground. Outside the south gate, a deep ditch surrounds, about two zhang wide, there is no water inside, I think it was left by taking soil when the city was built.

There are not many residents here, and the fertile fields outside have long been abandoned, and there are few pedestrians on the road. Looking around, I only saw the soldiers guarding the town, which was much worse than the prosperity of Zhenqiang Fort.

In fact, Zhenhe Fort is a pure military fort, and there are only 358 soldiers stationed in it, and there are few households except for the families of these more than 300 soldiers.

Zhenhe Fort is not divided into sides, and the duty of these more than 300 soldiers is only one - to guard the city and guard the soldiers stationed here. The lives of civil officials are much more precious than these men who are despised and killed.

Behind the ditch were already garrisoned by soldiers, and two small forts were built there—they were just wooden fences enclosing a circle of more than ten meters, and a few adobe houses were built in them. Between the two forts is the official road leading to Zhenhe Fort, and there is a suspension bridge above the earthen ditch, but the iron chain has been tightened and hung at this time. More than a dozen Ming soldiers stood guard across the ditch.

Seeing this group of people and horses from afar, although the number is small, everyone is wearing armor, excellent war horses, and sharp weapons. The instability of the place in these years immediately aroused their hostility and vigilance. A captain who led the team was about to scold, and when he raised his eyes, he saw the old carriage and the two official lights on the carriage. He didn't know how to read, even if he couldn't see it from such a distance, but the appearance of the carriage was extremely familiar, and he immediately swallowed back the words in his mouth, jumped to his feet and shouted: "Put the suspension bridge, put the suspension bridge." ”

The drawbridge fell with a bang, splashing smoke and dust all over the place, and the carriage stopped and went straight past.

Dong Ce and others naturally followed.

The carriage crossed the drawbridge, and the more than 20 soldiers guarding it knelt down in the dust, and they didn't care that the smoke and dust in the sky stuck to the sweaty body was a face of mud, and their heads were tightly attached to the ground, not daring to raise their heads, let alone make a sound.

And the carriage swaggered past them without stopping.

This scene gave Dong Ce a great shock, he had been observing these soldiers just now, the clothes and weapons of these soldiers were much stronger than those in other places, and it was obvious that they were also an elite army in the north of Datong Town. The two who took the lead seem to be also official positions such as the head of the team, and they also have the general flag or the title of a hundred households on their bodies.

And these more than 20 elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, the chief flag officer and the hundred household officials, just knelt down in the dust, and they didn't dare to raise their heads. And the object of their prostration was only an old carriage, and the old servant in the carriage who did not even have any grade.

This is the first time that Dong Ce has come into contact with civil officials since he came to this era, and it also made him deeply, intuitively, and shockingly aware of how high the status of civil officials is in this era! How strong is the power in your hands! The distinction between civil and military is so distinct, and it is judged like mud!

Dong Ce and the others had a little bad feeling in their hearts, Ya was reluctant to pass through these kneeling soldiers, but there was no way, so they had to rush forward.

waited until he reached the front of the city gate, Dong Ce looked back, only to see those soldiers standing up.

Entering the gate of Zhenhe Fort, there is a street, running from north to south. The structure of Zhenhe Fort is very simple, but it is just an east-west street and a north-south street. At the intersection of the main street is the Hyobi Road Mansion.

As soon as they entered the city gate, the guards of the city gate bowed down one after another, and when they went up to the street, the soldiers on both sides of the street also knelt down.

In this way, he knelt from the gate of the city to the central position of the Soldier Residence of the Soldier.

On both sides of the street, hundreds of soldiers bowed in solemn respect. They held spears in their right hands and pressed their left hands on their waist swords, and none of them spoke, but a murderous aura erupted of their own.

Dong Ce could see at a glance that these soldiers were really combatable soldiers, and they could be called elite.

At this moment, Zhenhe Fort was extremely quiet, and only the sound of rolling wheels and the sound of horses' hooves of Liaodong Liangju under the crotch of Dong Ce and others could be heard.

Dong Ce's heart was already awe-inspiring, and he had an indescribable awe of the man who had not yet met the soldier--he could really be a very capable person who could rectify the border army that had always been known as untamed.

The mansion was not luxurious, and even had some old age, and the masonry had turned black. Two plainly dressed servants stood at the door, and when they saw the carriage marching, they hurried over.

The old servant got out of the car, smiled slightly, and said politely to Dong Ce: "Master Dong, please!" ”

"I'm tired." Dong Ce was even more polite to him, smiled slightly, took a deep breath, straightened his clothes and armor, and strode into the mansion.

The house is also surprisingly simple, and there are even cobwebs between the pillars, which at first glance have not been taken care of for a long time.

The old servant smiled and said: "My lord does not have so many family slaves, and there are only more than ten people in the house, all of whom live in Sanjin, and the outside has been empty." ”

I don't know why, his shelf in front of the soldiers outside is huge, and the pomp is full, but in front of Dong Ce, it is politely tight.

When he arrived at the back house, as expected, the old servant did not let him enter the hall, but led him out of the study, and said with a smile: "You wait, I'll pass it on." ”

Dong Ce just nodded silently, and he was a little confused in his heart.

He now has some understanding of these rules of the Ming Dynasty, and for civil officials, generally speaking, only when they receive people who are very close to them are they in the study. This place is considered by them to be a very sacred place.