Chapter 1 Three Questions (One)

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  Shanhai Pass was formerly known as Yū Guān, also written as Yú Guān, and also named Lín Hǔ Guān. In the 14th year of the Hongwu reign (1381 AD) of the Ming dynasty, Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan, was ordered to repair the Yongping and Jie Ling passes, among others, and established Shanhai Pass, which got its name because it is situated at the foot of a mountain and borders the sea.

  Shanhai Pass has a history of over 245 years since its establishment in 1381, and it has been an important military town since ancient times.

  Zhu Yinglong and others left Ningyuan City to meet with Xiong Hu and others, and set off on their journey back to the Central Plains. They spent the night at Shanhai Pass, beside the lake known as the "Bright Pearl Beyond the Frontier", Yansai Lake.

  Break open the hard ice on the lake, scoop a mouthful of clear water to drink, cool and sweet. On the lakeside, I chose a flat place to set up my tent, lit a fire to cook, busy but happy.

  All along, Xiong Hu has been deliberately avoiding Zhu Yinglong. It's all because of that one kiss. Zhu Yinglong is also at a loss, not knowing how to face this troublesome matter. However, this kind of thing absolutely cannot be dragged on. If he pretends like nothing happened, things will only get worse. Moreover, he must take the initiative to speak up first.

  "Lina, shall we take a walk by the lake?" Zhu Yinglong made up his mind that dragging out emotional matters would harm both parties, so he walked to Xiong Hu's side and asked softly.

  Xiong Hu stood up and followed him, the two of them lightly treading on the tender shoots of grass that had just emerged from the snow. With a soft crunching sound, Zhu Yinglong took a deep breath and said: "Li Niang, about what happened that afternoon..."

  Xiong Hu said hastily: "Your Highness, Li Niang understands that it was a misunderstanding and she won't take it to heart."

  Zhu Yinglong was taken aback, knowing that Xiong Hu had misunderstood, and quickly turned around to grab Xiong Hu's arm, saying: "Liniang, listen to me, I didn't mean it that way."

  Xiong Hu was not equal to Zhu Yinglong, stretched out his hand and parted Zhu Yinglong's hands, and said in a tone devoid of any emotion: "Your Highness, please restrain yourself, Liniang is not that kind of frivolous woman!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked away.

  "Ling Niang, listen to my explanation..." No matter how Zhu Yinglong called out, Xiong Hu still walked away without looking back, leaving Zhu Yinglong standing by the lake in a daze. He really didn't expect Xiong Hu to be so strong-willed. He had simply been lost in thought and hadn't noticed her confession, leading her to mistakenly believe that he had no feelings for her, which was equivalent to rejecting her outright. The hurt this caused her was immense.

  Zhu Yinglong returned to the camp in a daze, not saying a word, and got drunk. This was the second time he had gotten drunk in his life. The first time was on New Year's Eve when he first arrived at Kaifeng, thinking of his parents in another space and feeling suffocated with unresolvable emotions, which led him to get drunk.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness..." Zhu Yinglong opened his blurry drunken eyes amidst a series of soft calls, and a strong beam of sunlight shone on his cheek, forcing him to close his eyes again. Dizzy and disoriented, he couldn't see who was calling him, so he asked directly: "What time is it?"

  "It's almost noon!"

  "What's going on? It's already noon?" Zhu Yinglong sat up with a start and said, only to discover that the person standing beside him was actually Lu Haotian.

  After hastily washing up, he ordered them to set off immediately. He had already delayed for half a day and if they couldn't enter Shanhai Pass before nightfall, they would have to camp out in the wilderness again. There were women in their group who loved cleanliness and would feel extremely uncomfortable if they didn't bathe for an extended period. Even he himself was longing for a hot shower to wash away the smell of wine and sweat on his body.

  Shanhai Pass stands tall on the Great Wall, overlooking the four fields. The city wall is about 4 kilometers long and is a small town. The entire city is connected to the Great Wall, with the city as the pass. The city is 14 meters high and 7 meters thick. There are four main city gates in the whole city, and there are many defensive buildings, making it a relatively complete defensive system, known as the "First Pass under Heaven". With the majestic and powerful arrow tower as the main body, assisted by the Jingbian Tower, Linmen Tower, Muying Tower, Weiyuantang, and other Great Wall buildings. The eastern starting point of the Ming Great Wall, Laolongtou, where the Great Wall meets the sea, with green seas and golden sands, the sky opens to the sea, and the momentum is majestic. The famous pass is towering, the Angle Mountain Great Wall winds its way, the beacon tower is steep, and the scenery is like a painting. It has been known as "the screen of the capital and the throat of Liaodong".

  Standing at the foot of Shanhai Pass, Zhu Yinglong's heart was surging with excitement, and he couldn't help but feel tiny under the towering city walls that stretched for dozens of meters. The flags on the pass fluttered in the wind, and the guns stood like a forest, presenting a breathtaking scene of the world's number one pass.

  The weather here is completely different from Ningyuan, the guards are lax and scattered, seeing silver forgets their duties, Zhu Yinglong and others entered the Shanhaiguan city in batches so quickly.

  Shen Creek had entered the pass earlier and booked a room at Yue Lai Lou in the city. Due to Xiong Hu's matter, Zhu Ying Long was sulky all the way, and Xiong Ting Yi also vaguely knew a thread of it. This kind of emotional affair between children was not suitable for him to intervene, and he didn't have the ability to intervene either. On one side was the high-and-mighty Prince Wang, on the other side was his own daughter. Every time she mentioned it, her daughter would always avoid the subject, and it wasn't good to ask Prince Wang about it either. Being a father was really difficult!

  "Your Highness, dinner is ready." Lu Haotian pushed open the door and walked into Zhu Yinglong's room, softly speaking in Zhu Yinglong's ear as he sat at the table deep in thought after his bath.

  Zhu Yinglong's silk robes remained still, but in reality he had already sensed Lü Haotian entering. He was just pondering a question about his future plans. From Sun Shouxin and Yuan Chonghuan, Zhu Yinglong knew that the situation of "ascending to a high place and calling out" with followers gathering around was something that only occurred in fictional stories. He had been too naive and idealistic. Originally, he had planned to return from Liaodong and then head to Jiangnan, but now he wondered if it was really necessary for him to go to Jiangnan? This question was currently puzzling him, which is why he didn't respond to Lü Haotian's words.

  "Your Highness, the wine and dishes are ready, you..." Lu Haotian reminded Zhu Yinglong once again.

  Zhu Ying Long suddenly lifted his head, as if he had already made up his mind. His eyes shot out a resolute light: "Let's go, I'm so hungry that my front and back hearts are stuck together."

  Lu Haotian looked at Zhu Yinglong's back in a daze, unable to understand why the King was acting so strangely today. He didn't think much of it and followed him out.

  Shanhai Pass did not encounter war, everything in the city was as usual, but it was quite bustling. Yue Lao Dian is a hundred-year-old shop, and at night, it can be full of guests, lively and extraordinary. Zhu Yinglong, Xiong Tingyi, and Lu Haotian sat at one table, drinking wine while listening to the nonsense chat of people in the guest hall talking about everything under the sun.

  Although these wine guests had a lot of dirty words in their mouths, they sounded real and vented their emotions with the help of wine. They also heard many strange stories from all over the world. Among them, there were some people who were similar to Zhu Yinglong's current status, who were merchants from the Central Plains outside the pass. From their mouths, Zhu Yinglong got a shocking message: one of Nurhaci's eight sons, Huang Taiji's concubine, was kidnapped on her way home to visit her relatives and had gone missing. In connection with Dorgon's sudden appearance in the Kharchin tribe of Mongolia, the identity of the kidnapper was almost called out. Unfortunately, this incident occurred during the Ningyuan War, and everyone's attention was drawn to the Ningyuan War. The city of Ningyuan was besieged, and although Zhu Yinglong entered the city of Ningyuan, this message did not enter the city of Ningyuan. Moreover, such an incident would have been blocked by the Later Jin dynasty. It was a merchant who had a good understanding of the situation and a rich imagination, and he could describe the process of the kidnapping in vivid detail, which was comparable to that of a storyteller.