Yueqiang Kingdom is not close to the ancient river channel.
After boarding the ancient river channel, you still have to walk for a while before you can see the Yueqiang Kingdom.
According to the Western Region businessmen like Big Beard, who have been doing business in the desert all year round, it is said that after the ancient river channels dried up, the snow water melted and flowed down from the snow-capped mountains, and finally merged into the underground river, where the well water of Yueqiang Kingdom was drawn.
On a tributary of an underground river.
The old people in the desert all believe in a legend that there is also an endless ocean under the endless desert, where the melted snow from the snow-capped mountains for thousands of years flows into the underground river, but no one has ever found it.
Where the source of the river is, there is another rich world where gods protect desert animals.
But just when the camel team was about to enter the city, they encountered a problem. The Yueqiang Kingdom actually closed the city and prevented people from entering. Jin An concentrated on waiting in the team. About a quarter of an hour later, a bearded man went to negotiate with the soldiers guarding the city.
, walked back with a heavy face, and came back with very bad news.
"A lot of big things have happened in the desert recently. Many devils have appeared in the desert. Many countries in the desert have begun to issue decrees to close the city at night and prohibit people from entering and exiting. We can only spend the night outside the city tonight."
"Fortunately, I bribed the soldiers guarding the city with a grain of gold to allow us to rest under the city gate for one night, where our safety can be guaranteed."
Hearing that there were many more devils in the desert, the camel team suddenly started talking, and the panic quickly spread.
If the bearded man hadn't brought good news, it is estimated that many people in the camel team who were tired, sleepy, hungry, thirsty and exhausted after traveling for three consecutive days would have suffered a nervous breakdown.
Although I can't enter the city, I can rest under the city gate, which is good news for the worst possible outcome.
There are torches shining on the city gate, fires burning under the city gate, and vigilant soldiers on the city wall, all of which can bring a great sense of psychological security.
Although I didn't sleep well that night, I still managed to catch up on some sleep and regain some strength.
the next day.
The first ray of the sun rises from the eastern horizon in the morning, reflecting the sky red, reflecting the rippled desert and a few poplar trees with knotted dragons, and an earthen fortress surrounded by irregular earth walls that are 10 feet high.
, covered with the red sun and morning glow, the city gate slowly opened.
Jin'an, who had not slept all night, was surprised to find that outside the city of Yueqiang Kingdom, there was a circle of white crystal powder scattered, shining brightly under the rising morning glow.
Before he had time to take a closer look at what those white crystalline powders were, his thoughts were interrupted by Big Beard's urging shout. Big Beard called everyone to wake up, pack up tents, blankets, and camels, and prepare to enter the city.
Yueqiang Kingdom was the second Western Region city that Jin An had seen in the desert. He still showed great interest in these loess cities with towers and castles. When queuing up to enter the city, he found that there were more than 100 people guarding the city gates.
Soldiers and a shaman were responsible for checking whether there were any devils in the camel team.
Taoist priests and shamans appear in the same place, which is really an exotic atmosphere.
Big Beard was in charge of negotiating with the people from the Yueqiang Kingdom. Jin An and Uncle Kremu walked together. Uncle Kremu seemed to have noticed Jin An's interest in shamans, so he lowered his voice and explained: "Then
He is the 'Hekmati' shaman, which means wise man. He is somewhat famous in the desert for exorcising devils..."
"It should be that the desert has been uneasy recently, so the Yueqiang Kingdom invited Hekometi Shaman to protect the Yueqiang Kingdom's royal family."
"Unexpectedly, the Yueqiang royal family did not selfishly let Hekmati Shaman personally protect the royal family. Instead, they used Hekmati Shaman, who was somewhat famous in the desert, to guard the city gate. This Yueqiang royal family is considered to be rare.
A wise ruler who cares about the safety of his people."
Keremu had high regard for the Yueqiang royal family.
There was even a bit of envy in his tone.
It seems that the people of his country are not as happy as the people of Yueqiang Kingdom.
"Uncle Kremu, why is there an animal paw on the shaman's neck? Is that a bear scratch or a tiger claw mummy?" Jin An noticed the dry paw hanging on the shaman's chest and asked in surprise.
Uncle Keremu smiled and replied: "That's a bear scratch. Shamans believe that bear scratch is a psychic weapon that can ward off evil spirits and summon souls."
Jin An nodded thoughtfully and thought to himself, this is like the soul-calling bell and peach wood sword weapon commonly used by Taoist priests in their rituals.
At this time, the bearded man had already finished the negotiation and came back. He informed everyone that everyone would have to pay a salt tax, a water tax, and a city entry tax. There were three taxes in total, and he asked each caravan to prepare the money in advance based on the headcount.
bag.
Uncle Kremu frowned and said, "I only had to pay water tax and city tax before. Why do I have to pay an additional salt tax this time?"
Uncle Daremu expressed his dissatisfaction by muttering about excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes in a voice that ordinary people could not hear.
The bearded man smiled bitterly and said: "The desert has not been peaceful recently, so the salt tax has been paid there."
He raised his hand and spread a circle of snow-white crystal powder outside the city. It was actually all white salt.
Jin An was stunned for a moment.
Good guy, he really didn't think about salt at first.
Because salt is very expensive in this era, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people smuggling private salt at the risk of beheading at the market entrance.
Because the profit is high.
So he didn't think about salt at first.
However, when I think about the plateau area, there is no shortage of stagnant salt lakes. On the shores of the salt lakes are deposited snowflakes and white salt accumulated over thousands of years. Moreover, the climate in the plateau area is also very conducive to salt drying. In addition, the desert is vast and sparsely populated, so there is a demand for salt.
The amount was not as high as that of Kangding Kingdom... So Yueqiang Kingdom was so extravagant and wasted salt, and he was quickly relieved.
However, he was a little curious. Could it be that in the deserts of the Western Regions, salt could also be used to ward off evil spirits?
Faced with the Jin'an question, both Big Beard and Uncle Kremu laughed. Uncle Kremu answered with a smile: "The salt in the desert is just like the glutinous rice in Kangding. It can be used to drive away devils and prevent them from entering."
city."
Tsk tsk, Jin An was once again amazed at all the strange and strange things he learned during his trip to the Western Regions.
Another episode happened when we were passing through the city gate. When entering the city gate, everyone must follow the shaman's request to take off their shoes and walk in barefoot on the salt. It is said that the devil is afraid of salt. If there is a devil mixed in,
In the camel caravan, the devil can show his true colors.
Anyway, it was a matter of following the Romans, and Jin An had a sense of novelty, so he would do whatever others said.
When it was Jin'an's turn, looking at Jin'an who was wearing a Taoist robe and a Taoist crown, and it was said that he was dressed differently from the people from the Western Regions, those Yueqiang soldiers with high nose bridges and deep eye sockets couldn't help but look at Jin'an a few more times.
After talking to Yili for a while, the shaman named Hekmati also spoke to Yili of Jin An, and Jin An was confused.
At this time, the importance of learning more foreign languages is profoundly reflected.
In the end, the bearded Uncle Keremu and the others rescued Jin'an. They chatted with the Yueqiang soldiers and shamans for a long time, and the eyes of those Yueqiang soldiers looking at Jin'an changed obviously.
There is some seriousness and respect.
There are also some doubts.
After successfully passing the city gate, Jin An asked Uncle Kremu curiously what happened just now. Uncle Kremu replied that because the desert was not peaceful recently, the soldiers would ask everyone who entered the city.
Have you encountered anything in the desert recently? The bearded man talked about the strange corpses and corpses he encountered the night before yesterday. He also mentioned that you, Taoist Jin'an, resolved the crisis for the camel team, so the soldiers and shaman saw you, Taoist Jin'an.
I am always surprised and curious.
"Taoist Master Jin'an, you should be lucky. We are in the Yueqiang Kingdom now. We only use salt to drive away devils and let us step on the salt and walk there. In some places, white cows are believed to be gods and they will force outsiders to drink cow urine and eat
Cow dung drives away devils." Uncle Kremu Guang joked to Jin An in a wicked way.
Well.
Jin An looked at the other party with a strange expression: "Uncle Keremu, you have never experienced drinking cow urine or eating cow dung to drive away evil spirits, right?"
Uncle Keremu changed his color when he heard this and said: "We won't go to that kind of place even if we are asked to go. Although we are businessmen, everything is about money, but if you make money, you have to spend your life.
No businessman would be content with his own fate, letting his wife take away all the property and remarry, or letting his daughter change her surname."
"That place is very poor. In addition to its large population, it is unprofitable. Only slave traders whose consciences have been eaten by vultures will go there and sell those dark-skinned Kunlun slaves to Persia, the Western Regions, and the northern grassland tribes.
Sold to Kangding Country."
While walking around, the camel caravan had completely entered Yueqiang City. As the day dawned, some people from the Western Regions with three-dimensional facial features and deep eye sockets appeared one after another on the road. Those people were just curious to take a look at the camel caravan entering the city so early.
, and soon passed by.
The pace of life of people in the Western Regions is much slower than that of the people in Kangding. Many shops along the road have not yet opened, such as pubs, restaurants, naan bakeries, roast mutton restaurants, etc. are still closed. These people in the Western Regions sleep until nine in the morning.
You may not be able to get up from bed, just like it doesn't get dark until eight or nine o'clock in the highland desert.
Big Beard and the others have been doing business in the desert all year round and have a familiar inn in Yueqiang Country. This saves Jin An a lot of trouble. Jin An only needs to follow them throughout the process and finally check in easily.
There were so many people in the camel team that one inn would definitely not be able to accommodate them. Jin An followed Big Beard and stayed in a medium-sized inn, renting out two courtyards to accommodate everyone.
This inn is run by a family of four. The innkeeper's name is Kuturuk, and his wife's name is Nuer. They also have a daughter and a hard-working son-in-law. All four of them can speak more or less Chinese.
The daughter and son-in-law also gave birth to two fat boys, a four or five-year-old brother, who was playing in the lobby with his younger brother who was not yet weaned.
This is a happy family of three generations.
Materials were scarce in the desert, and there wasn't much to eat. After everyone had a meal with naan bread and goat's milk, they were so sleepy that they went back to their rooms and fell asleep.
The two courtyards under the bearded man are Datongpu. A dozen or so people are crowded into one courtyard. The snoring and the smell of sweaty feet can drive people away. Jin An likes peace and quiet, so he did not live in Datongpu, but stayed alone.
He had a courtyard, and he was the only one living in the large courtyard, and there was also a goat.
Finally, the boss's diligent son-in-law led Jin An to stay in the yard.
In fact, it was a courtyard, which was just a simple mud house, plus a shed built with dead branches in the yard, which could barely be used for sunshade but not rainproof. Materials were scarce in the desert, so everything was made do.
Before leaving, the innkeeper's son-in-law kindly reminded him: "Taoist priest, your goat is very strong, so be careful that some thieves will target it."
"I grew up in the desert, and this is the first time in my life that I have seen such a strong goat. Your goat's horns are very, very valuable in the eyes of some people."
He made two special remarks in a row, which attracted Jin'an's attention.
This really attracted Jin An's attention: "Thank you for reminding me."
Although he has rarely slept since he started practicing, even Jin An felt a little tired this time, and he fell asleep after returning to the guest room.
evening.
As soon as the bearded man walked outside the courtyard where Jin An lived, Jin An had already pushed open the courtyard door. The bearded man who was about to raise his hand to knock on the door was startled: "Taoist Master Jin An, you haven't rested, why don't you catch up on your sleep?"
Jin An smiled and said, "I've already slept."
Then he looked at the bearded man curiously and asked, "What's the matter? Is there something wrong?"
"I just want to see if you, Taoist Jin An, have woken up. If you do, I would like to invite Taoist Jin An to have dinner with us."
"OK."
Jin An followed the bearded man to the yard next door. Good guy, there were a lot of people crowded in the yard, and there was a whole roasted camel on the fire.
He also saw Uncle Kremu and several leaders of another caravan.
Looking at this posture, does the bearded man have something to talk to them about?
"Even the Yueqiang Kingdom is on alert, saying that a lot of big things have happened in the desert recently. Big Beard, have you heard anything?"