The baby Gai Jun rescued was not given away after all. His grandmother fell in love with him at first sight and decided to keep him as an adopted grandson. Because he found the baby in Baishui, the old man named the baby "Baishui".
Also, Gai Jun informed his parents of Abai's decision to marry Gai Yin, and the couple agreed, only saying they would wait a few years.
These are trivial matters compared to the big thing that happened recently.
Huangfu Gui, Han Zhushi died of illness in Gucheng, a suburb of Luoyang, Kyoto, at the age of seventy-one.
This news hit the hearts of the people of Liangzhou like a bolt from the blue, so much so that they felt like losing their parents, regardless of whether they were Han or Hu.
In the world-famous Liangzhou Sanming Dynasty, Huangfu Gui died, Zhang Huan was imprisoned by the party, and Duan Jiong and Quyi were left as eunuchs. Their great reputation was ruined in one day. How can people not sigh with emotion?
It can be said that there are no more famous generals on the Han border.
Uncle Gai Chong and his father Gai Xun decided to go to Anding County to attend the funeral. Gai Jun expected this and he was ready to accompany him. Gai Ma Zhao was the first to stand up and object. This was also expected by him, so he
I had pinned all my hopes on my father early in the morning, but my father still refused to let go when he saw that he was done talking. He suddenly said, "It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books."
My father, Gai Xun, was very happy to hear this and immediately agreed. He just said: "Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles. You can't do either one in favor of the other."
Traveling in the Han Dynasty was a big event. You can't just leave if you want to. You must hold a "chuan" in your hand. "Zhuan" is a talisman letter, also called a passing letter. It is a pedestrian's identity certificate and pass book. It is made of silk and is written in
Passenger’s name, age, items carried, etc.
The next day, Gai Xun and Gai Chong received the news from the county that they had passed the customs. They said goodbye to their mother who had difficulty with her legs and feet and prepared to set off.
There is also a saying that before setting off, you must worship the God of Travel, that is, the god who protects travelers. In the complex system of folk gods in the Han Dynasty, the God of Travel occupies a very important position. Probably in the prehistoric era, there were tribal leaders who provided guidance and protection for travelers.
Later, it was revered as a walking god by people. Nowadays, its name cannot be found. Because of this, it shows that the walking god has a long history.
Xingshen is also called the ‘ancestral god’. Sacrifice to the Xingshen is also called ‘ancestral way’.
The ancestral ritual is very complicated. First, select a few good and auspicious days, and then divine the auspicious omen. Once the recent travel day encounters bad weather, such as windy, rainy, etc., you have to choose again. This is why you choose it at the beginning.
The reason for setting "several" auspicious dates is that before traveling, the horses and carriages must be clean and dust-free, and the dirt must be removed by sprinkling water. In this way, the journey will be auspicious.
After the ancestral ceremony was completed, Gai Jun came to his mother and bowed goodbye, saying, "Mom, please be at ease. I will leave early and come back early."
Gai Ma Zhao deliberately said with a straight face: "We need to travel by carriage, and we must not act willfully."
"No." Gai Jun agreed immediately and decided to take a car when setting off and then ride on horseback when he was far away, so that his mother could feel at ease.
Gai Ma Zhao sighed, knowing her son better than her mother, how could she not know what her son was thinking, so she said: "You must be careful."
"No." Gai Jun responded with a much more solemn tone this time. His son traveled thousands of miles and his mother was worried. This is an eternal truth.
"Brother." Seeing that parting was imminent, Gai Liao hugged his brother's waist and burst into tears, crying until he was out of breath.
Gai Jun let her hug him for a while, then he said at a loss of whether to laugh or cry: "Brother will be back soon, why are you crying?"
"How long will it be soon?" Gai Liao raised his head and asked with tears in his eyes.
"About twenty days."
"Really?"
"Really." In fact, Gai Jun lied. Although Dunhuang and Anding counties are in the same Liangzhou, they are thousands of miles apart. It is hard to say whether they can reach Anding County in twenty days, let alone go back and forth.
At three o'clock, Gai Chong, Gai Xun brothers, Gai Jun, Gai Yin and two servants, a total of six people, finally set off.
Gai Jun was quite unfamiliar with Huangfu Gui's life experience. He didn't know that such a person existed in his previous life. In this life, he only knew that he was famous, but he didn't know the details. After his father explained it, he couldn't help but secretly admire him.
, directly denounced his relatives, recommended talents, asked for self-imprisonment, and was not granted the title of marquis. Which thing is not worth talking about? One thing that surprised him the most was that he once led an army to attack a rebellion, and a riot suddenly broke out in the army.
The epidemic killed three or four out of ten people. The camp was not in chaos and there was not a single deserter. Seeing this, the opponent dared to resist and asked to surrender. You must know that in the cold weapon era, a loss of more than 10% may cause the morale of the army to collapse at any time.
"The famous generals of ancient times were nothing more than this." Gai Jun deeply agreed with his father's evaluation.
The group passed through Ming'an County without stopping, passed Mingshui, and entered Jiuquan County directly.
"This is the Qilian Mountains where the Huns lamented, "The loss of our Qilian Mountains has deprived our animals of their ability to feed." It's so beautiful." Gai Jun rode his horse to look at the endless snow-capped mountains in the distance. His heart was shocked beyond measure, and his whole body began to tremble involuntarily.
Gai Yin was also dumbfounded.
Gai Xun chuckled, thinking that when he first saw the Qilian Mountains, he had the same reaction as his son now. No one can be indifferent to the majestic Qilian Mountains.
The group arrived at Qianqi County in the evening and spent the night before continuing the journey the next day.
Gai Jun originally thought that Jiuquan County and his hometown of Dunhuang are close to each other, and the population should be about the same. Unexpectedly, when he arrived in Lufu County, the seat of Jiuquan County, he found that there were many cities here and was extremely prosperous. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised. His father Gai Xun explained: Don't look at this plain.
It is not big, but has abundant water resources, a pleasant climate, and fertile land. There are more than 50,000 Han residents nearby. It is the most densely populated place in the four counties of Hexi and the granary of the four counties in Hexi.
Along the way, Gai Jun found that he admired his father's knowledge more and more, almost to the point of worship. There were various local allusions and sources of the city at his fingertips. Not to mention, he also knew the military affairs well, where to ambush and where to guard strictly.
, marching route, troop strength and population, all told in detail, which gave him a lot of knowledge. This is a valuable asset that no amount of money can buy.
Exiting Jiuquan is the boundary of Zhangye County.
On this day, Gai Jun suddenly remembered a very famous but somewhat sour saying.
"No matter how weak the water is, I will only take one ladle to drink."
On the banks of the weak water in June, the peach trees are red and willows are green, the wheat seedlings are green, and the pear blossoms are flying white. It feels like you are in the south.
Everything about Zhangye County is good, but there are too few Han people. Not counting the two vassal states, Zhangye ranks third from the bottom among the ten counties in Liangzhou, with a population of only more than 30,000. Even Dunhuang County is ahead of it. Gai Jun can't figure it out. Obviously the land here is
Fertile, no worse than Jiuquan Plain, why are there so few people? What’s worse is that there are more Qiang and Hu people than Han people in the territory. In my father’s words: “Once there is a change, disaster will happen.” These eight words are the words that countless Han people have spent their lives on.
What was summarized was not visible to the imperial court.
After seeing the Qilian Mountains, which "make my six animals live without rest", I will naturally not let go of the Yanzhi Mountains, which "make my married woman colorless".
Uncle Gai Chong also became interested. Accompanied by his younger brother Gai Xun and two domestic servants, he slowly climbed up the rugged mountain road while admiring spruce trees, ancient cypresses and brilliant wild flowers. When the four of them were still halfway up the mountain, Gai Chong
Jun, Gai Yin has climbed to the top in one breath.
Looking up, there is a sea of red and blue, competing in full bloom, competing for beauty and beauty.
This kind of red and blue flower, the Huns often used its flowers to dye their clothes, and the fresh ones were used as rouge, so it is also called Rouge Mountain. Therefore, when the Huns lost Yanzhi Mountain, they would lament: "My married woman has no color."
Gai Jun had been standing on the top of the mountain for half an hour, but he still hadn't seen his uncle. When his father came to meet him, he asked Gai Yin to go down the mountain to pick him up. After a while, he returned with a servant. It turned out that Gai Chong was not feeling well and had gone back first. He
I didn't pay much attention, thinking I was tired, so I visited a few more scenic spots, hunted three or two wild pheasants, and returned home happily.
Unexpectedly, my uncle couldn't get out of bed the next day. The doctor who was called in said he had contracted a cold.
Recently, he was afraid that he would be unable to walk, and Gai Jun did not want to stay in the city, so he took Gai Yin out for a wander.