Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The Guide Messenger

The old man was over fifty years old, but he was still agile, walking like flying, with a strong body and an extraordinary look. He was full of beards and had an extraordinary bearing. He seemed to be a man of insight. No wonder the people respected him and regarded him as a leader. No need to introduce, I know that the old man is An Tian. His clothes and turban are indigo blue, and there is a bit of tension in his serious expression that Longying and others can't understand. This kind of emotion should have nothing to do with An Tian's life of indifference to the world. An Tian finally came to the crowd, looked the three of them up and down with sharp eyes full of air, and then, unexpectedly by the three of them, said in Chinese with correct accent: "Say your names!"

Long Ying suppressed the surprise in his heart and reported the names one by one on behalf of the three. What they didn't expect, An Tian cheered earth-shatteringly, raised his palms to the sky, and said excitedly: "Thank God, they finally came." Then he gave some instructions to the kid next to him, but the kid went away after receiving some orders. The three of you looked at me, not knowing how to respond. An Tian suddenly stepped forward, first hugging Long Ying, and then hugging Wan Renyu and Feng Guoting. After the hug ceremony, Antin announced a few words in public, and more than a hundred people present all cheered and shouted, and the atmosphere was warm.

Bada explained to the three in a low voice: "An Tian said that you are my friends." Then he said excitedly: "You have made me very face, and we will be friends and brothers in the future. Ha!" An Tian's expression changed, he became joyful and serene, and said kindly: "Three gentlemen, please come with me." The three of them and Bada followed behind him, leading the horse up to the top of the hill. Outside a huge square tent, several young women came up to take care of the horses for them. An Tian entered the account by himself and gestured for them to go in.

Long Ying and others first untied the saddle and load for the horse, Wan Renyu got two silks without any hassle, and under Bada's instructions, the three of them went into the square tent. The square tent is very spacious.It is about ten and a half feet square, supported by eight columns and four beams, and looks very solid.The floor is covered with thick carpet with beautiful patterns, which is a masterpiece of skillful craftsmen. Wan Renyu respectfully presented two bolts of silk to An Tian. After An Tian took it, he praised it and shouted loudly that it seemed to be some two names. Then two women like colorful clouds came into the tent, each of them Picked up a bolt of silk.I went happily.

The eyes of the three of them brightened. Looking at their expressions, they should be two of An Tian's wives. They are by no means the shriveled old women they imagined, but surprisingly beautiful women. Do not squint.As if the three of them didn't exist, only Xiang An Tian spoke a dialect they didn't understand. An Tian said with a pleasant face: "When I was young, I did everything except trafficking in women. I was more ruthless than anyone else in business. I was also an excellent fighter. No one can surpass me in riding skills. I don't know how many mothers When my son saw me, he fell into his arms and hugged me, and it took nearly ten years to settle down. Ha!"

Long Ying's heart moved, and he asked, "Is there still trafficking in women?" He glanced at Bada beside him by the way.This guy showed reverence and admiration in his eyes, obviously feeling very proud of what Antin said back then. An Tian's eyes glanced over the guarded look, and said: "I won't talk about this aspect today." He touched the carpet and said: "These carpets were bought from Khotan in the southwest corner of the Dashahai. When it comes to felt making , no one can compare with the people of Khotan." He said again, "Let's drink tea first."

The three of them thought that he would loudly summon his wife to come in with tea for them to drink, but they didn't know that An Tian personally took the tools for making tea from a corner, and lit a fire in the center to cook the tea. While thanking a certain god he believed in, although the three of them were full of questions, they were also intimidated by his focused demeanor and waited patiently for the right opportunity. Bada didn't have the slightest intention of helping, just staring blankly like them. When Antin poured the goat's milk into the tea, it was finally done.The large porcelain bowl containing goat milk tea is quite exquisite, and it should be something from the middle earth.

The goat milk tea was passed among the five people, and after each of them took two sips, Wan Renyu couldn't help but asked, "Does Antin know the situation on the southern plateau?" An Tian patted his chest and said: "I am a friend of the Tubo people, of course I know their situation. The Tubo people are extraordinary people. I have been to their plateau, it is really weird, it is difficult to breathe there, and I walked more than ten times in a hurry Ha! But I'm not the most qualified to tell you about them, but don't worry, I've sent for the most qualified, and he'll be here soon."

Night fell on the world outside the tent, and the weather suddenly turned cold. Although the three were puzzled, they had figured out the way they talked, and knew that persistent questioning would offend them. Feng Guoting asked instead: "Does Antin know the situation in the surrounding countries?" An Tian said leisurely: "Ever since you were men and became emperors, a long, long time ago, the nobles built two major passes in the north and south to the east of us. Since then, the situation around Dashahai has gradually stabilized, unlike before. A country is built today, and it will be destroyed tomorrow.”

He refers to "a long, long time ago, when men ruled the country", referring to Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty who set up Yumen Pass and Yang Pass in this throat area. To this day, it still plays an important role in the military. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang four counties, and Dunhuang was located within the two passes. Wan Renyu said: "How to get to Qiuci?" An Tian said: "It is very easy to go to Qiuci at this time, because the river has not disappeared, as long as you find the Kongque River at the northern end of our Shenhai, go up the Hebei, and then follow the river to the west, you will find Yanqi and the Gaochang Kingdom in the northeast. Pass Yanqi without entering, and walk along the river, which is the largest river, the Tarim River. From Yanqi to Kucha in the west, it can be reached in eight days by horse.”

Long Ying praised: "An Tian is well-informed and knows the roads far and near like the palm of his hand. I don't know where is the country that gives people a sudden ride?" An Tiandao: "The people of Tuqishi are further to the northwest. The tooth tent of Suoge, the king of Tuqishi, is in the broken leaves in the northwest of Kucha. It is six or seven hundred miles away from Kucha, but Suoge's little tooth Gongyue City is located in the north of Qiuci, nearly half of the distance." Wan Renyu smiled wryly and said: "A few casual words from An Tian are better than me asking around for more than ten days." Antin opened the chatterbox, chatting very excitedly. After taking a sip of tea, he said slowly: "Rivers are the best way, but you must distinguish the main stream from the tributaries. The southwest corner of our Shenhai is where the Qiemo River flows. Going southwest, crossing the Great Sand Sea, it is a large and small oasis like a string of pearls, and it is also the location of Putao City, Dianhe City and Qiemo City. From this point westward, after crossing two large rivers, it is located in the Khotan River The capital of the people of Khotan is Khotan City. Khotan is the most prosperous place in the south of the Great Sand Sea, where business travelers from all over the world gather, where dragons and snakes mix, and we men can find everything that we men like.” Immediately, Longying's eyes lit up, and he said, "There is such an interesting city in the Western Regions." An Tianyu said earnestly: "For outsiders like you, the biggest disaster is not horse thieves, but getting lost. In the past twenty years alone, there are countless camel caravans with more than a hundred people who have disappeared suddenly. It didn't appear again. In fact, it is not difficult to find the way. As long as you know the distribution of rivers in this large and small desert-covered land, you can feel like returning home. How could you not know how to open the account and find your own woman's body. Haha !" The three hurriedly asked for advice humbly. An Tiandao: "First of all, let's talk about the source. The main source is from the glacier on the snow mountain. It pours down from the southeast foot of the Telimukan Li Peak in the Karakorum Mountains. After reaching the foot of the mountain, it divides into three rivers and flows into the Great Sand Sea. These three rivers are the three main sources of the Tarim River across the northern border of the Dasha Sea. The Khotan River runs through the Dasha River from south to north when the water flow is sufficient. The Tarim Sea flows into the Tarim River. The Tarim River winds along the northern edge of the Great Sand Sea from west to east, then turns to the southeast, passes through the eastern part of the Great Sand Sea, and finally flows into our Divine Sea. The Kongque River is only about The name of the section of the river from Kucha to our place still belongs to the Tarim River." Feng Guoting was most interested in the Khotan River running through the "Sea of ​​Death", and asked for details. An Tiandao: "The Khotan River comes from two water sources, so it is full of power and becomes the only river that can overcome the Great Sand Sea. The two sources are the Karakash River and the Yulong Kashi River. The former comes from the north of the Karakoram Mountains, and the latter comes from the When the Kunlun Mountains reached the plains, they merged into a stream, which was originally called the Khotan River, crossed the Great Sand Sea, and then joined the Aksu River and the Yarkant River to form the Tarim River, the largest river here.” Long Ying listened with gusto, and for a moment forgot that he came here to find out the way to the plateau, and was about to ask more about the situation in various countries, when the sound of hooves approached from far away, and then stopped abruptly.Then footsteps sounded, and a person rushed in with the tent uncovered, knelt down in front of Long Ying, and said excitedly in Tubo language: "Thank God, I finally look forward to the arrival of Lord Ying." Long Ying took a look, and lost his voice: "Lin Zhuang!" Lin Zhuang was one of the masters who came to Middle Earth with Hengkong Muye back then.Longying met Hengkong Muye for the first time and competed with him. Since he was unarmed, Hengkong Muye ordered his subordinates to borrow their spears, and the borrower was Lin Zhuang. After Lin Zhuang sat down, he wept and said in Tubo language: "It was the prince who sent me here to wait for the Eagle. Master Ying received the news that he was in trouble, so he would throw everything away and come to help him." An Tian stroked his beard and said with satisfaction: "The prince is our friend. My two young wives are the birthday presents that the prince gave me. So after Lin Zhuang came, I have been paying attention to you." The three of Long Ying heard that Hengkong Muye was still safe and sound, they were relieved, and understood why Bada and others changed their attitudes drastically when they knew they were Hengkong Muye's brothers. Feng Guoting asked on behalf of Long Ying: "Is Meixiu Nafu by the prince's side?" Lin Zhuang said: "Meixiu Nafu and we protected the prince, we broke out under the siege of the enemy, although everyone was injured, but they were still able to escape into the mountains, but many people were killed." After speaking, he shed tears again. Hearing this, Long Ying was determined, but when he thought that the group of wives and concubines who came with Hengkong Muye might be in danger, he felt pity in his heart.He still remembered that after the banquet, the moving scene of the girls and Meixiu Nafu singing and dancing together on the promenade along the river outside the Shangyang Palace made him even more depressed. Wan Renyu said: "What happened?" Lin Zhuang said: "We still don't know until today. After returning to China, we went to Nanzhao with the king. During one of the marches, the king was assassinated and killed. The prince and we were in another place at that time. We had to retreat when we heard the bad news. The border will return the body of the great king to the capital." Long Ying said: "Is it someone sent by Nanzhao to attack your great king?" Lin Zhuang said: "Nanzhao doesn't have such a master. The assassin didn't know how to pretend to be our soldier, and suddenly launched a attack. He killed more than ten escort masters and queens in a row, and escaped successfully. The prince said that the assassin must have a mole assistant, Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to get so close to the king." Feng Guoting said: "Your king passed away, shouldn't the prince succeed you?" Lin Zhuang said: "The prince is just the king's cousin and nephew. The king has a son Chide Zuzan, who has just turned half a year old, so he inherits the throne. His grandmother, who is not the Chima class of the Lu clan, is in charge of the government, but the one who really talks about it is It was Zhi Qingli, the biological mother of Chide Zuzan, this woman once proposed to the prince, but was rejected by the prince, and she has held a grudge ever since." Wan Renyu frowned and said, "Such a reason shouldn't be enough to make Zhi Qingli fight against the prince." Lin Zhuang said: "Because Your Majesty thinks highly of the prince the most, treats the prince as his own, and hopes to let the prince be his heir, but because of Zhi Qingli's strong opposition and many ministers agreeing, it has not been implemented." The three of them understood that this was a battle for the throne. Long Ying said: "Isn't the prince a hero that your people admire?" Lin Zhuang said proudly: "To this day, there are still many people who support the prince in China. After we returned to the capital, we didn't have the heart to guard against it. So when Zhi Qingli launched, we didn't receive any rumors beforehand. We were caught off guard and couldn't resist The enemy's repeated onslaughts forced him to break through and flee, if we confronted each other head-on, who would we be afraid of?" Feng Guoting was puzzled and said: "Isn't the prince the commander in charge of the military? Who can Zhi Qingli call to deal with you?" Lin Zhuang explained: "Besides the prince, there is another great commander. In terms of reputation and martial arts, he is second only to the prince. This person is called Qin Mei Chenri. He was born in a famous big family and helped the former king Du Songmangbojie to fight against Gar The Lunqin Mausoleum of the family made great contributions and was promoted to the position of commander-in-chief. When we went to Nanzhao, the military power in the capital fell into his hands. It was with his strong support that Chide Zuzan succeeded to the throne in his infancy. .” Long Ying said: "There must be an affair between Qin Wu Chenri and Zhi Qingli. After cleaning up the prince, Qin Wu will show a hideous face. Force the orphan and widow to give up the throne." Everyone nodded in agreement.The situation in Tubo is clearly a big conspiracy to seize the throne, planned by Qin Mei alone, including the assassination of Du Songmang Bojie. Wan Renyu said: "Qin did not collude with outsiders, otherwise how could such a terrifying master come. Not only was he able to successfully assassinate the noble king under strict protection, but he was able to escape safely afterwards, so that you have no evidence at all?" Lin Zhuang said angrily: "That's true. We also found out later. A group of masters from Tianzhu came to the commander-in-chief's mansion. One of them is Wu Su, who is said to be the number one master of the Tianzhu Jieri Dynasty. He is proficient in yoga and secret cultivation. , and his martial arts skills have reached perfection. When we were in deep war in Nanzhao, Qinmai once received Turkic envoys." Feng Guoting said: "When Qin Wu led his troops to attack your commander's mansion, did you encounter any masters from Tianzhu or Turks?" Lin Zhuang said: "It is true that we have fought against a large number of people of unknown origin, and we have suffered heavy casualties. I belong to the prince's personal army, with a number of five thousand people, and the commander's mansion is located on a dangerous mountain. The scale, still can not withstand the opponent's attack, and finally escaped through the tunnel, less than 500 people." Everyone can imagine how tragic the battle was at that time. Lin Zhuang said: "After escaping from the capital, the prince knew that Lord Ying would definitely come to help us, so he sent me and another person to wait for Lord Ying, here and Qinghai, respectively, on the two paths that must be passed to climb the plateau." Wan Renyu asked: "How to get to your place from here?" Lin Zhuang said: "From the north to our place, there are two routes. The first route is to cross the Kumtag Desert in the south of the grassland, cross the Altun Mountains, first go to Qinghai, and then go west over mountains and mountains. The other route is to climb Up to the Kunlun Mountains near Khotan, but that route is very difficult." Feng Guoting couldn't help but asked, "Is crossing the desert easier than climbing a mountain?" Lin Zhuang said: "There are two oases in Kumtag. As long as you know the location, it's not difficult to get there. When we came back from the Middle Earth, we used this route to return to the country." Long Ying said decisively: "We will set off before dawn tomorrow morning." An Tian praised: "Sure enough, he is Hengkong Muye's brother, and he has no hesitation. The prince said that Lord Ying is the most terrifying warrior in the world, and one person is better than thousands of troops. It is An Tian who can share the same account with you. It’s an honor, and it’s also an honor for my family.” Wan Renyu said: "Is there any new-faced people here recently?" An Tian looked at Bada, who had been unable to interrupt, and motioned for him to speak. Bada was no longer the expression he used to talk freely, and respectfully said: "There are indeed a lot of people passing by, but now is the season when roads are booming, there is nothing unusual about it. But it is a fact that there are fewer Han businessmen." Antin explained: "It is heard that the Tuqishi people are going to war with your country. It is understandable that many Han people take a wait-and-see attitude." Feng Guoting understood that Wan Renyu was spying on the enemy, so he changed the subject and asked, "Are there other races besides nobles on this grassland?" An Tian signaled Bada to speak again, apparently because Bada made great contributions in receiving them, which made him feel comforted. Bada replied: "This grassland is very large and can accommodate many people. Besides our family, there are more than 20 other ethnic groups, but we are the most powerful. When encountering troubles, we will point the arrows outward in unison. .” Long Ying and others exchanged glances, feeling uneasy, because since there are other nomads, not all of them are under the control of Antin, and it is easy to leak the news of their arrival on the grassland. There was a sound of giggling, and a sweet woman's voice spoke to An Tian outside the tent. After An Tian muttered a few words, Hengkong Muye gave An Tian two young wives, holding a piece of cloth into the tent, and placed it in the tent. In front of An Tian, ​​he exited the tent without looking sideways. Looking at the tent door, An Tian proudly said: "When they first entered my tent, they were still virgins. It is my greatest achievement to make them live happily all these years." He gestured to Bada again. Bada quickly moved forward to pick up the cloth and placed it in front of Longying. An Tian said: "This is white cotton cloth woven by my wife. It is tough, thick and soft. The clothes made of it are most suitable for wearing in the desert. Besides, it can be used as a sleeping mat for other purposes. If it is torn into strips, it can also be used as a wick. This piece of white cotton is our gift in return." He asked Bada again, "What's your gift in return?" Bada hurriedly said, "I promise to send a bag of salt to everyone." An Tian nodded in satisfaction. The three of them were not willing to accept such a gift, and they knew that they could not refuse it. They had to pretend to be happy, and wait until they were far away from the grasslands before trying to find a way to deal with it. An Tian said, "May God bless you all," and ended the conversation. The three of Long Ying were still not sleepy, they went back to An Tian with Lin Zhuang to greet them in another big tent, inquired about the terrain and population of Tubo, and the details of the route to the plateau, and slept for a while before dawn. Before dawn the next day, the four of them embarked on the journey to the plateau. Before setting off, Feng Guoting repeats his old trick, borrowing dye, and dyes Xueer's feet black to reduce their chances of being recognized. Reluctantly leaving the grassland, led by Lin Zhuang, they returned to the semi-desert area that bored them a long time ago, resisted the urge to turn back to Puchanghai with a strong will, and headed towards Kumtag. Longying and the others have lost interest in looking around, because no matter which direction they look, they see roughly the same things, that is, yellow sand, rocks, rocks, and yellow sand.There is no change in space, and time stops, without the slightest vitality. This is a world that has nothing to do with life. It is extremely hot and cold, and the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter can appear in one day. However, according to Lin Zhuang, compared to the desert, this area can be regarded as a paradise on earth. They rushed for five days day and night, and the daunting Kumtag was already in sight, and they thought it was very close, but they still had to walk for two more nights before reaching the edge of the desert.After the sun rose, they camped and rested, and erected a tent to block the sun, so as not to burn the horses with heat and poison. Everyone stood on a protruding rock and looked into the depths of the desert. As Lin Zhuang said, it is much more monotonous than the semi-desert area. The raised sand dunes and swirling sand patterns extend to an infinite distance. Lin Zhuang said: "The ghosts in the desert will come out to harm people at noon." Longying smiled and said, "Can you see them?" Lin Zhuang's face showed horror, and he said: "If you can see them, you don't have to be afraid, because they are invisible and invisible, so they are irresistible." Wan Renyu has never been a person who does not believe in evil, said: "Since you can't see or touch them, how do you know they exist?" Lin Zhuang said deeply: "The power of ghosts is reflected in the people attacked by them, like a fever that occurs regularly, the victim is weak and weak, not only exhausted, but also completely lost fighting spirit, as if going crazy , the tongue is uncontrollable, unable to speak, or running madly into the depths of the desert. That is the most serious situation, and death is certain." Feng Guoting smiled wryly and said: "The danger of the desert is indeed beyond our imagination. According to my guess, it has nothing to do with ghosts, but a terrible symptom of the desert." Lin Zhuang said: "Tomorrow night we must lead the horses, otherwise they will never reach the oasis." Longying smiled and said: "After arriving here, you are the only master, and we are all followers." Lin Zhuang hurriedly gave way, feeling very embarrassed.