The dry wind blew by, taking away the little water vapor above Jiaohe City, and the air became more and more muggy. Guo Xiaoke personally came over to invite a dinner party. Qin Huaidao was full of concerns and declined politely. Pointing to the map, he asked: "Guo Governor, from now on, go south to
How many days will it take for Syzygium japonica?”
"What, go south to Pu Tao? It's impossible. You'll never survive." Guo Xiaoke's face changed and he quickly persuaded him. Seeing Qin Huaidao's face was determined and he didn't want to make a joke, he was shocked and quickly explained: "You have to go through it to go south from here.
The Great Sand Sea, where the Gobi desert is endless, is like a vast sea, and the locals call it the Sea of Death."
"Is there no other way to go?" Qin Huaidao asked reluctantly.
Guo Xiaoke didn't understand why Qin Huaidao insisted on going south. He thought about it and said: "There are two options. One is to return to Shazhou Dunhuang by the original route and follow the mountains to the west. There are grasslands, lakes and tribes there where you can get supplies. Detour to
Rose apple…”
"This route is too far and time waits for no one." Qin Huaidao interrupted.
"Then we can only go southwest from here, climb the Tianshan Mountains to Yanqi, Quli, follow the Kongque River east to Puchanghai, and then go south along the Qiemo River. At least there will be water along the way and tribes can supply supplies." Guo Xiaoke put his hand on the
An arc is drawn on the map.
In terms of geographical location, Putao is directly south of Jiaohe City. It can be seen on the map that there is almost a straight line going down. If you walk on the sandbank, you will go back, and then turn around. If you walk on Yanqi, you will go forward, and then turn around. Going back is the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
, relatively safe, but too far away, relatively close to the front, but the Turkic territory is full of dangers.
The Turks and the Tang State were in a hostile state and were incompatible with each other. Once exposed, they would face endless pursuit.
Qin Huaidao looked at the map carefully and compared it with the maps of later generations. He found that Yanqi was the southern Xinjiang area, and Quli was the Korla area that was famous for its fragrant pears in later generations. The terrain of southern Xinjiang was flat, the land was relatively fertile, and with the Kongque River, it was suitable for human habitation. He asked
: "Yanqi, how many Turks can fight in the Quli area?"
"It's too far here. I just know it, but I haven't been there. I'm not sure about the strength of the troops. I heard that there are no less than 50,000 cavalry. I don't know if it's true or not, but I guess it's more. This land is suitable for life. There are definitely people. And there are such
The mountain range ahead is steep and guarded by thirty thousand troops, making it difficult to climb over."
Qin Huaidao nodded in agreement. Jiaohe was controlled by the Tang Dynasty. It was impossible for the Turks not to send troops to guard the surrounding area. After some weighing, he found that the only option was to go south directly from Jiaohe City, cross the Great Sand Sea, climb over a mountain range to Puchang Sea, and then follow the Qiemo Henan
The closest route is to Pu Tao. It is deserted along the way, so there is no need to worry about being attacked.
As long as you are well prepared, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.
Qin Huaidao gradually made a decision in his heart, and his eyes fell on the location of Pu Tao. To the east of Pu Tao was Qitun. The first tribe coming from Shazhou could go directly to Qitun to wait for the others to meet and avoid being exposed.
"Prince, have you decided?" Guo Xiaoke saw that Qin Huaidao had moved his mind, and he was shocked. He immediately felt a little admiration. No wonder he could win the battle. This is something ordinary people dare not do and cannot do.
"How are you preparing for the interpretation?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"There is no shortage of interpreters, but they are afraid of death and dare not go deep into the Turkic hinterland." Guo Xiaoke said truthfully.
"First one hundred guan for settling in, and then another 100 guan when you return."
"That's enough. In fact, a bunch of people are rushing to get 20 guan. Life in Jiaohe City is not easy. Human life is like grass and is worthless. If it weren't for the fact that the Anxi Governor's Mansion hadn't paid salaries for a month and was short of silver, I would have paid this small amount of money.
Yes, it’s really...Oh, I won’t say it anymore.” A wry smile flashed across Guo Xiaoke’s face.
"What's the matter with the lack of military pay?" Qin Huaidao asked in surprise.
"The lower officials don't know. The imperial court suddenly stopped paying, and the food has not been shipped for a month. The brothers are all resting on their laurels. If this continues, the morale of the army may be unstable." Guo Xiaoke explained.
"That shouldn't be the case. The imperial court should not be short of food and money."
"I heard that something happened in the west, and the court's resources were tilted towards the west. I don't know whether it is true or not."
"To the west...Tubo?" Qin Huaidao asked in surprise.
"Didn't the prince hear about it?" Guo Xiaoke asked rhetorically. Seeing that Qin Huaidao didn't want to lie, he explained: "I heard that the caravan traveling to and from Suzhou said that there was a commotion in the west, saying that they wanted to establish the Tubo Kingdom, and that most of the Tubo Protectorate was attacked.
, the information is blocked, and I don’t know whether it is true or false.”
"Tubo wants to become self-reliant?" Qin Huaidao said incredulously. It has been torn apart by himself and the forces of all parties are balanced. How can it suddenly become self-reliant? Who has this influence?
After thinking about it, Qin Huaidao suppressed the matter. The top priority was to save people, and warned: "Captain Guo, the interpreter should be familiar with the terrain going south to avoid making mistakes. If the money is not enough, you can add more, but the information cannot be revealed."
"Don't worry about the news. I will definitely keep it secret. I have enough money. I will choose another one. Since the prince is busy, I will ask someone to send food over." Guo Xiaoke hurried away.
Not long after, someone brought a large amount of food.
After eating and drinking enough, the team moved forward in a hurry. They were very tired, so they took a shower and lay down.
Qin Huaidao was looking at the map in his room and thinking about the problem. It was difficult to go south, but there would be Turkic tribes at Qitun or Putao, which would require a fierce battle. Returning to the sandbank and heading west along the mountains could avoid the Turkic tribes and delay exposure.
Time, but what if the person is in Qitun? Wouldn’t he miss it?
"No, we have to check each tribe."
"Come here." Qin Huaidao made a decision and shouted.
A member of the village guard guarding the door hurriedly entered the house, clasping his fists and saying, "Young Master?"
"Go and see if Li Jingren is back and ask him to come see me."
"Here!"
After waiting for a while, Li Jingren hurried in and said as he entered: "Sister-in-law, I haven't heard any news about leaving Jiaohe City and heading west. Brothers are still investigating."
"Perhaps we really didn't take the northern route and went south from Shazhou. After all, the northern route is an area controlled by the Tang Dynasty and is easily exposed. It makes sense to go south." Qin Huaidao said casually, motioned for Li Jingren to come closer, pointed at the map and continued: "
Set out early tomorrow morning, arrange for a hundred people to transport the caravan's supplies back to Chang'an, suspend this trade route, and talk about it later, and you will stay on the sandbank with another hundred people."
"No problem, what's the specific purpose of leaving the sandbank?" Li Jingren's eyes fell on the location of the sandbank on the map.
"Two things. The first thing is to disperse the people and look for Li Derjian, Luo Zhang, Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang, Fang Yiai, Su Dingfang and others who have come to join us. Let them take the southern route to join forces at Qitun."
"Seven Tun?" Li Jingren's eyes fell on the location of Seven Tun, and he agreed: "No problem, I heard that there are seven tribes gathered here, and there is a small Tun. The Tang Dynasty caravan and the seven tribes trade goods in the village.
Hence the name. I heard that the volume of transactions every day is quite large, and I also thought about whether to open up this trade route."
"Seven tribes, how many people there are, please tell me specifically."
Li Jingren recalled it carefully and said with a wry smile: "I know very little. I heard that each tribe has tens of thousands of people, that is, thousands of households, living by the water. Daily necessities, salt, tea and other supplies are very popular.
I’ve been there, but I don’t know if it’s true or not. Do you want to go find out? There are caravans in Jiaohe City who might know.”
"It's okay to inquire, but don't expose our whereabouts. There are thousands of households. Each household has thousands of soldiers. The seven tribes have tens of thousands of soldiers. Their strength cannot be underestimated." Qin Huaidao said seriously, his eyes falling on him again.
I frowned and thought about the location of Qitun on the map.
After waiting for a while, Li Jingren interrupted: "Then... what's the second thing?"
Qin Huaidao woke up from his thoughts and continued: "Xueyan will arrange for people to bring carrier pigeons to deliver the news. The leader may be your brother or someone in your family. When you arrive at the sandbank, you must wait for them and don't leave.
If you go the wrong way, it's up to you to decide what to do, and make sure the news is clear."
"Carrying pigeons deliver messages?" Li Jingren thought for a moment and said, "There are a lot of people there. It's too far away from Chang'an and it's easy for carrier pigeons to get into trouble. It's best to arrange for people to hold the carrier pigeons at intervals along the way and pass them on layer by layer to ensure nothing goes wrong. I
Don’t worry, you know what to do.”
Qin Huaidao nodded, took out "Mencius" and explained the code method.
Li Jingren didn't expect that he could convey messages in this way. It was the only way to avoid leaking secrets. Even if the carrier pigeon was shot, he was not afraid, so he was overjoyed.
After some warning, Li Jingren left in a hurry.
Qin Huaidao came outside the hospital.
The bright moon was in the sky, the night breeze was blowing, and it was a little cooler, but it could not dispel Qin Huaidao's irritable mood. He thought to himself: "He'er, you must hold on and wait for me!"