Looking up, the sky is filled with flowing clouds.
There was no wind in the air, so what everyone felt was a hair-shrinking dry cold. According to Ni Xin, this kind of cold was the most tormenting, and even the most determined warriors in the grassland would hide under thick felt clothes.
Down, huddled together.
There are only two roads from Hexi to Shule Town.
The first one starts from Shazhou, leaves Yangguan in the west, crosses the Puchang Sea, and goes all the way to Shule. The second one starts from Guazhou, leaves Yumen Pass in the north, and rushes along Yiwu Road to Anxi. (Note 1)
Li Kuo chose the latter.
It's not that they have reached Yumen Pass and have no choice. In fact, if he wants, he can bypass the foot of the snow mountain and wade through the underworld water and sweet spring water to Yangguan City.
The boy did this just because of Zhang Ziqian's suggestion that night.
In Zhang Ziqian's opinion, the danger of taking the southern route is much greater than that of the northern route. There are sand nests everywhere that eat people, and if you are not careful, you will be swallowed up to the bone.
Wouldn't it be normal if thousands of troops "disappeared" in the vast Puchang Sea?
Of course, Yiwu Road is not easy to walk either. The dirt road, which was shaped into a ripple shape by the caravans, is full of gravel, and there are countless earth fences not far from the dirt road.
But there is no quicksand there after all! On the flat road, even if everyone encounters "sand bandits", they can protect themselves with swords.
"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother...you go faster. Don't take the official road or pass the city gate when marching. It's best, it's best to take a detour through the desert!"
"..."
"Do you know what is written on that piece of paper? It is the commander's handwriting ordering me to kill you. If I had been cruel, I'm afraid you would have lost your head by now!"
"Don't trust others so easily in the future. Remember, the only person you can trust in this life is yourself... He asked me to give this to you. You can open it again when you get to Shule!"
Li Kuo closed his eyes tightly and let out a long breath.
That night he and Zhang Ziqian talked about a lot of things, and they also understood a lot. Things that he could not understand at all at first suddenly became clear to him after Zhang Lao gave some advice. It turned out that those things in the court were just a layer of window paper, which could be easily solved with a poke.
break!
Li Linfu and Yang Zhao were just passers-by in the political arena of the Tang Dynasty. What really determined the fate of the people in the world was power. Without their rights, they were nothing.
Good birds choose trees to roost in. If the big trees in the court are moved, these birds will naturally choose trees that are more beneficial to themselves. For these high-ranking officials in the court, the actual benefits are far more than any moral virtues.
importance.
The young man received His Majesty's decree and rushed to Shule, Anxi. Many brothers who had lived and died together chose to leave. Sun Cheng, Wang Erbao, Chen Chen... maybe because of their family, maybe because of themselves.
As for Lin Feng's group of veterans who have been trapped in Tubo for more than ten years, the reason is more of nostalgia. Their roots are in Longyou, and they are really unwilling to travel thousands of miles to come to Anxi to seek life.
The young man fully respects their emotions and leaves it entirely up to them. Whether they leave or stay, they are all their brothers. This road is not easy to walk, and leaving may be the best choice if you are not completely sure.
"Aren't there a lot of caravans walking this ancient road? Why can't we see a single camel after we've been traveling for several days?" Zhang Yanji shrank his neck and asked in confusion.
"Although there are many caravans, it is impossible for one to take ten steps or one to take one hundred steps!" Ni Xin came closer and glanced at Zhang Yanji with contempt. Ni Xin shook his head and said: "Besides, most caravans choose to set off from Chang'an during the handover of summer and autumn. In this way They can arrive in Anxi just before winter. After selling their goods, they will stay in Anxi. After escaping a cold winter, they will return to Chang'an in the next spring!"
In the past few days, Ni Xin's mood has gradually improved. As long as the questions are not excessive, she will answer them patiently, except of course the questions raised by Zhang Yanji!
"So that's it." Zhang Yanji nodded and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you, Big Pie Face, to know a lot. It seems that Brother Kuo'er was right to ask you to be our guide!"
"Hey, big pie face, do you like Brother Kuo'er? I can see that you are interested in him. In fact, Brother Kuo'er treats people very well. Although he has already married Sister A Tian, he can still marry another equal wife. Well. If you really like him, you might as well marry him earlier to avoid getting lovesick!"
The journey was extremely lonely. Mr. Zhang Xiaolang finally got a chance to relieve his boredom, so how could he let it go so easily? As for whether Miss Ni Xin was happy and willing, it was not his need to consider.
"If you say that again, I will pluck out two of your eyeballs!" Ni Xin gave a whip to the horse whip and walked away.
"Hey, brother Kuo'er, tell me about her, I'm just joking, can you be so serious?" Zhang Yanji shrugged, unable to understand Ni Xin's behavior.
"You, you should keep your mouth shut from now on. Otherwise, if she really fights for your life, I won't be able to save you!" Li Kuo shook his head helplessly. This Zhang Yanji would definitely cause trouble for him.
Even if Ni Xin was really interested in him, after he said this, he would definitely not show the slightest hint of admiration again.
"I, I'm so bored right now!" Zhang Xiaolangjun pursed his lips and complained loudly: "Look at this vast Gobi desert, which is filled with all kinds of earthen fences. There is no life at all. If I don't find one, Are you going to make fun of the topic and not be suffocated to death?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yanji suddenly came up with an idea: "Brother Kuo'er, why don't we sing together? This can always dispel loneliness!"
"this..."
"Hey, that's it, I'll start!"
"The golden belts tied around the robes, the horse's head rushed through the snow in Lintao. The flag was rolled up and the Chan Yu was robbed at night, and the Hu soldiers were hacked indiscriminately for lack of precious swords."
Most of the people in this Shule army came from Chang'an. Although they may not be able to compose poems or rhymes, they can still recite one or two poems. As soon as Zhang Xiaolangjun started, they all picked up.
"The beacon fire on the battlefield is connected with the moon, and the clouds and mountains on the seaside embrace Jicheng. Although the young man is not a pen-writing official, he still wants to be crowned with a long tassel when discussing his merits."
They were Tang people who were good at martial arts and good at riding and shooting. They were men who ate a lot of meat and drank a lot of wine! Looking at the world, is there any barbarian regime that can rival the Tang Dynasty?
"I'll play a song too!" Xianyu Yucheng felt a stream of air rising from his chest and lungs, rushing straight to the top of his head, and suddenly he was full of heroic energy.
"In the daytime, we climb mountains to watch the beacon fire, and at dusk, we drink horses by the river. Pedestrians fight against the wind and sand, and the princess plays the pipa with many resentments. We camp for thousands of miles without a city wall, and rain and snow fall on the desert. Hu Yan flies away night after night with a cry, and Hu Er's tears fall. Hearing the truth The jade gate is still covered, so you should throw your life away..."
Nearly three thousand people sang in unison. This song passed through the Gobi, floated past Yiwu, and landed in Shule, where everyone is obsessed with dreams.