Above the Gobi, a group of men and horses were sneaking under the sun.
This Gobi desert is called Male Desert, and it is the largest Gobi desert north of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
There is a record in "Shangshu Wucheng": "The king came from Shang, and when he came to Feng, he practiced martial arts and studied literature. He reined up his horse in the south of the Gobi and herded cattle among the peach trees to show that the world was not convinced."
What this means is that after King Wu of the Western Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he put the horses to graze on the grasslands south of the Gobi and put the cattle into the peach forest to forage. The cattle and horses were the source of power for the ancient chariots. This means that It will no longer be used for combat in the future.
According to Liu Bo, they were chased by Daqian cavalry and fled into the Male Desert, but because they were busy evading the enemy's pursuit, they failed to remember the direction.
But Yang Qingyuan found clues from Uncle Liu's words.
Zhenhu City is located in the Gobi Desert, which inevitably involves water issues.
To support the water supply of a town's population cannot be solved by just a few wells.
And according to Liu Bo's memories, there was an oasis near Zhenhu City.
An oasis is a fertile soil in the vast Gobi desert, and it must be located in a place with constant fresh water resources all year round.
As long as we follow the Fengyu River Ancient Road on the map and search all the way, an oasis as big as Zhenhu City will not escape the eyes of Yang Qingyuan and others.
Yang Qingyuan, Liu Wangshu, and Ye Jianhan, who are highly skilled in martial arts, have long been immune to the cold and heat.
In particular, Yang Qingyuan, who has an innate body, has reached the stage of fasting, so even if he doesn't eat or drink for half a month, it won't be a big deal.
But others couldn't do what Yang Qingyuan did, and could only replenish water sources along the way.
After traveling for three days, Yang Qingyuan and his party arrived at a large settlement in the Gobi to replenish food and water.
This town is called Ziwen Town and is an important node on the Silk Road.
During the Chu-Han War, the Xiongnu Maodun Chanyu took the opportunity to expand his power, controlled the Gobi grassland, and established a powerful Xiongnu empire that controlled millions of people.
In the early years of the former Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu Maodun Chanyu conquered the Western Regions, established child servant captains, and levied heavy taxes from various countries. The Xiongnu also used the Western Regions as a military stronghold and economic backing, often invading the territory of the former Han Dynasty, harassing and plundering Residents of the Central Plains.
In the early Han Dynasty, it was unable to compete with it.
After two generations of civil rulers, Wen and Jing, in the former Han Dynasty, the former Han Dynasty accumulated an extremely strong family fortune.
After that, Emperor Wu came to the throne and started an all-out war against the Xiongnu.
He learned from the Xiongnu's mouth that the Dayue clan who moved westward wanted to avenge the Huns, but because there was no one to help him, Emperor Wu decided to communicate with the Western Regions, hoping to unite with the Dayue clan to attack the Xiongnu from a pinch, "cutting off the right side of the Xiongnu" arm".
After careful consideration, Emperor Wu sent Zhang Ziwen as an envoy to the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions to conduct trade and jointly attack the Xiongnu.
Zhang Ziwen forcibly opened up a "Silk Road" in the vast Gobi desert and vast grasslands.
This allowed the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions and the Former Han Dynasty to exchange goods and supplies, and at the same time weakened the control of the Xiongnu Empire over the Western Regions.
After defeating the Xiongnu Empire, the Former Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Protectorate in the west of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
The Protectorate of the Western Regions, the Protectorate of the Western Regions, oversees the countries east of Dayuan and south of Wusun. Each country is "self-translated as chief, domain chief, king, prisoner, official, dalu, baichang, qianchang, captain, qiqu, dang
Households, generals, ministers, princes, and kings all wear Han seals and ribbons." With such great prestige, he is worthy of being the lord of the eastern part of the Western Region.
In the Han Dynasty, the prestige of the Protectorate of the Western Regions was recorded.
During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Qiuci and Loulan in the Western Regions united with the Xiongnu to kill Han envoys and plunder property.
Emperor Han sent Fu Jiezi to question him.
However, due to financial and military problems, Fu Jiezi did not lead any troops, only a team of envoys, more than a hundred people.
When Fu Jiezi arrived in Loulan, he lured the King of Loulan to a banquet with his wealth and killed him directly on the banquet.
During the banquet, everyone in Loulan was shocked, but Fu Jiezi remained calm and composed.
"The king is guilty of the Han Dynasty. The emperor sent me to kill the king. The prince will be held hostage by the Han before he is appointed. The Han army is about to arrive. Don't dare to move. If you move, you will destroy the country!"
One sentence: "The Han troops have just arrived. Don't dare to move. If you move, you will destroy the country!"!
All the Loulan princes present were frightened, and no one dared to make any move.
This was the majesty that Wei Changping and Huo Qiaoqi displayed back then.
Even though Fu Jiezi was alone, with only two followers following him outside the palace, no one dared to offend him. The Loulan soldiers, the guards, the princes and ministers all knelt down to apologize.
Fu Jiezi immediately announced the crime of King Loulan in public, made Prince Loulan the king, and rewarded the princes and ministers who obeyed the Han Dynasty.
Since then, the rebellious Loulan has joined again.
There is Han in Weitian, and there is light in Jian.
The power of the Han Dynasty was carried forward in the West.
Only from the history books can we get a glimpse of the power of the Han Dynasty in the past.
South Vietnam killed the Han envoys and slaughtered them into nine counties; King Wan killed the Han envoys and headed Beique in the county; North Korea killed the Han envoys and killed them immediately.
It is a pity that later generations were weak, and after Emperor Xuan of the former Han Dynasty, they gradually lost their actual control over the Western Regions Protectorate area.
It was not until the 14th year of Zhenguan, the reign of Emperor Taizong of the former Tang Dynasty, that the Anxi Protectorate was reestablished and the Western Regions were again under control.
Although the Zhou Dynasty is powerful today, it does not have the power of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
"Guests! Are you from the east?" asked the innkeeper who received Yang Qingyuan and his party.
Big customers like Yang Qingyuan are rarely encountered.
A caravan of hundreds of people, with food, drink and accommodation, is enough to cover his entire inn!
Yang Qingyuan wanted to find out the way out of Zhenhu City, so he started talking with the innkeeper.
"Exactly, we came from the capital, and went to the countries in the Western Regions to do some small business to make a living!"
"Hahaha, you are joking. My family has lived in Ziwen Town for generations. This caravan of hundreds of people is still a small business. That little guy really doesn't know what a big business is!?"
On this ancient Silk Road, there were many caravans going back and forth, and a caravan of a hundred people was definitely a large one!
"Ah hahaha, the boss can talk, no wonder the business is so big!"
"Where, sir, what you are doing is big business. Coming from a place as far away as the capital city of God, only a big trading house dares to do this kind of business!"
The innkeeper's eyes were full of smiles, and everyone carried the sedan chair. He was naturally happy to be recognized by such a big businessman.
“Are all gods far away?!”
Yang Qingyuan's question left the store owner a little confused.
"What the young master said, isn't it far away?!"
"Hahaha, not far, not far! It's only 9,900 miles from the capital of God to Anxi!"
The shop owner was stunned by Yang Qingyuan's words. He said that Anxi is thousands of miles away. Even he, a person who has never read a book, knew how could it be only nine thousand nine hundred miles away?
This sentence was not spoken by Yang Qingyuan, but was engraved on an old Tang stone tablet outside Kaiyuan Gate, the west gate of the sacred capital. It was written by Yu Shinan, a great calligrapher of the Old Tang Dynasty.
Although it has experienced thousands of years of wind and rain, the inscriptions carved on it are still clearly visible.
He wrote: "Go west to Anxi for nine thousand and nine hundred miles to show that the Rong people do not travel ten thousand miles."
Emperor Wu of the former Han Dynasty completed the actual control of the Western Regions, and Emperor Xuan established the Western Regions Protectorate in the Western Regions.
However, with the disputes in the Central Plains, the control over the Western Regions gradually weakened. It was not until Emperor Taizong Wen of the late Tang Dynasty ascended the throne that the Tang army successively attacked Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuci and other countries, established the Anxi Protectorate, and established the Four Towns of Anxi.
To regain control of the Western Regions.
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, General Zuo Xiaowei and Duke Su Dingfang of Xing destroyed the Western Turks and expanded the control of the Tang Empire to the Aral Sea. Almost all of Central Asia was encompassed by the Tang Dynasty.
Pei Xingjian, a disciple of Duke Xing and General of the Right Guards, carried out a false plan to attack Guo in the name of helping Persia recover, and raided the Ashinadu branch of the Turkic rebel party entrenched near Suiye City.
In order to cut off the connection between the remaining Western Turks and Tibet, the Tang Dynasty extended its tentacles deep into Central Asia and established Suiye City as the westernmost military town of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Suiye became one of the four towns in Anxi.
Due to the existence of Suiye City, the Tang Dynasty was able to firmly control the vast territory of the Western Region.
Hence the stone tablet erected by Yu Shinan.
According to the ancient view of the army, no matter how far the march is, it cannot exceed ten thousand miles.
And Anxi is "only" 9,900 miles away from Chang'an.
In other words, Anxi is not far from Chang'an.
Such courage is the reason why Tang Dynasty had it.
Zhao Zhao had the Tang Dynasty, and God provided for all nations.
…
Yang Qingyuan chatted with the store owner for a while, creating the image of a well-traveled and well-informed businessman.
"I didn't expect that the young master, at such a young age, would have already been to so many places and experienced so many things. It really makes me ashamed. He has lived as young as a dog!"
I have to say that the owner of this store is indeed very eloquent. Although there is a certain amount of envy in his words, there is also a certain amount of praise.
"Boss, you're welcome! Although I have traveled extensively in the Central Plains, I am still very unfamiliar with the Western Region. Unlike you, who grew up here. You have been able to see all the Gobi scenery since you were a child."
When the boss saw the look of envy on Yang Qingyuan's face, he was slightly proud of himself. Although he disliked the bitter cold in the Gobi, when others praise your hometown, you will be proud of it no matter how bad your hometown is.
"Young master, when you come to do business this time, you can also see the beautiful scenery of this Gobi grassland!"
"Then I'll lend you the good advice from the shop owner!"
Yang Qingyuan felt that the conversation was almost over, and began to ask questions secretly.
"By the way, boss, I was traveling along the way and saw towns above the oasis. Are there people living on this oasis?!"
The shop owner asked the waiter to pour a glass of water for the two of him, and then replied.
"Young master comes from a prosperous place in the Central Plains. Naturally, he doesn't know how precious the oasis is in this Gobi. You know, in this Gobi, the wind, sand and dust make the land barren, making it impossible to cultivate and even drink water.
Look everywhere. This oasis is like a pearl in the desert sea of Gobi, how could anyone give up?!"
The shop owner took a sip of water and then continued.
"Oasis not only has abundant water resources, but can also grow food, so it has always been a resource that is competed for in the Gobi."
"It turns out that in the past, my grandfather was doing business in the Western Regions, and there were many records about oasis towns."
"Oh?! Your ancestor has also been to the Western Regions!?" The shop owner believed it.
Who is Yang Qingyuan? There are so many books in the mobile Tongwen library, and after casually mixing together the deeds of several ancient people, a self-made big businessman who travels to the divine capital of the Western Regions emerges on the page.
After hearing the deeds of Yang Qingyuan's "grandfather", the store owner couldn't help but sigh.
"I didn't expect that your ancestor would have such great achievements. The young master is exactly the cool figure of your ancestor! He has such an industry at such a young age!"
"Hahaha, the store owner is overly praised, it's just a small profit."
Although it seems like small talk, Yang Qingyuan has actually obtained useful information.
Almost all towns in this Gobi desert are built on oases, and Zhenhu City should not be an exception.
And such large-scale oasis towns are extremely famous in the Gobi.
The reason why Zhenhu City has disappeared now may not be that it disappeared and was buried in the sand. It is more likely that the name was changed, which is why there is no news about Zhenhu City.
"By the way, boss, I see there aren't many customers in your store?! What? There have been fewer caravans recently?!"
The shop owner nodded, "Your Majesty, you have good eyesight. This must start from years ago. Originally, even if the caravans on the ancient Silk Road could not be said to be an endless stream, they still came and went from time to time. But starting from 2000 years ago, the 30th anniversary of the Western Regions
The Six Kingdoms were in turmoil, and they often clashed with the Shence Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Within half a year, there were twenty-two battles, large and small, which caused the caravans from the Western Regions to flee back from the Western Regions. Business was indeed good during that period!
"
"After that, the number of caravans going to the Western Regions gradually decreased! Sometimes it took ten days and a half to wait for a caravan to stay."
Yang Qingyuan knew about this matter.
The Shence Army is suppressing the Western Regions, but recently several major countries among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions seem to have been incited by others, and they have had conflicts with the Shence Army from time to time. It does not seem like there is no instigation behind this.
Yang Qingyuan's first suspect is the Qinglong Society and Luo Wang.
Nothing else, this style is so familiar!
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Every time Luo Wang does something, he always likes to use the power of foreign countries to contain Da Zhou.
In the granary case, Da Qian’s changes happened.
In the Yuezhou case, Baiyue's rebellion.
It also includes Jin’s attack on Tumu Fortress.
Listening to the shop owner's words, Yang Qingyuan's eyes flashed with an inexplicable color.
Afterwards, they chatted for a while and turned the topic back to the oasis towns in the Gobi.
"By the way, boss, our ancestors once passed through a city on their way to the Western Regions. There were a lot of goods in it that were sold well in the capital. I want to ask you something. If this city is on our trade route, Above, I would like to take a look. Firstly, I can earn money; secondly, it is also a way to commemorate the relics of my family ancestors!"
After hearing this, the shop owner was really deeply moved, "Young Master, just ask. Whatever I know, I will tell you everything."
"I wonder if the boss has ever heard of Zhenhu City?"
"Oh?! Your ancestor has also been to Zhenhu City?!" A look of surprise appeared on the shop owner's face, "The time when your ancestor traveled to the Western Regions was indeed very long! This Zhenhu City was as early as the fifties It disappeared years ago!”
"Disappear?! How could such a town disappear?!"
Yang Qingyuan asked.
The shop owner didn't hide anything, "Young master, I don't know. In the Gobi desert, it's very common for one or two oases to be buried by the wind and sand. I've also heard about this from the elderly at home. It's rumored that these five Ten years ago, there was a sandstorm near Zhenhu City that had never been seen in a thousand years. It lasted for ten days and ten nights."
"When the sandstorm stopped, all the original oases were buried, and the landscape changed drastically. It was not until thirty-five years ago that the traveling caravans of merchants redrawn the map of the area. Zhenhu City has long since disappeared."
"So that's it!"
Yang Qingyuan nodded, looking like he suddenly understood, but he began to have doubts in his heart.
The statement of the owner of this store is contradictory to the statement of Liu Bo, a former veteran of Tiance Army.
According to the shop owner, this town, Hucheng, was destroyed by a huge sandstorm and completely buried.
But Uncle Liu was rescued by people from Zhenhu City about forty years ago.
What happened to the ten years in between!?
"That sandstorm is big, I'm not bragging. Even if you go to the northwest of the Gobi now, you won't be able to find the ruins of Zhenhu City. They are all buried underneath!"
When Yang Qingyuan heard this, his eyes lit up, "Northwest?!" It seemed that he had received definite news again!
There was another conversation, but no more specific information about Zhenhu City could be obtained from the shop owner.
"Thank you boss for chatting with me!"
The shop owner smiled kindly and said, "What kind of language are you talking about, Master?! You are a customer in the shop! Besides, chatting with you has also gained me a lot of knowledge."
Yang Qingyuan pretended to look out the window.
"I think it's getting late. Boss, prepare some more food and wine for my brothers in the caravan."
As he spoke, Yang Qingyuan took out a small cloth bag from his arms, took out a golden bean, and threw it to the shop owner.
The aura of local tyrants is clearly revealed.
Dali Temple is rich, very rich. It has shares in the newly renovated water transportation platform. It has sufficient funds to go out and run errands.
The owner of this shop also looked greedy for money, "Well done! Sir, the hand-grilled mutton, pot-roasted minced meat, and clear mutton soup in our shop all have a unique flavor!"
Yang Qingyuan interrupted the shop owner who wanted to introduce him and took out two more golden beans.
"That's what you just did! Bring the good wine and meat!"
"Okay! I'll go to the kitchen to help you in person!" After taking the golden beans, the boss ran all the way to the kitchen.
Yang Qingyuan also went upstairs immediately, but Liu Wangshu on the side stopped Yang Qingyuan.
"Brother Yang, why have you been chatting with the owner of this shop for a long time!?"
Yang Qingyuan smiled slightly. Liu Wangshu's talent in martial arts was outstanding, but it didn't mean that her talent was only above martial arts.
"Oh? Wangshu saw it!?"
"I'm afraid the owner of this shop has an unusual background!" Liu Wangshu followed Yang Qingyuan into the room and sat down, and then said.
"Drink, of course it's not ordinary," Yang Qingyuan's laughter contained a hint of ridicule, "There were twenty-two battles between the Western Region Divine Strategy Army and the Thirty-six Kingdoms. This kind of military aircraft can only be used by important personnel from the Ministry of War.
The cabinet minister knew the details, but today he said it from the mouth of a shop owner. If he really got this information from a passing caravan, then compared with this shop owner, my Dazhou intelligence agency is simply useless
waste!"
"What are you going to do, Brother Yang?!"
"Since someone wants to tell us the direction and location of Zhenhu City, of course I accept it without mercy! Although I don't know what this person hiding in the dark wants to do? But since I have already made my move, I am not afraid of them.
Conspiracy! It’s nothing more than soldiers coming to cover up the water and the earth!”
Just when Yang Qingyuan and Liu Wangshu were talking via voice transmission.
A small bird with sharp eyes was staring at what was going on in the inn.