Bailongtan is the only way to go to Qianni City, the capital of Shanshan Kingdom. It can be called a desert or Gobi. According to the definition of desert, Bailongtan should become a desertified Gobi.
The camel thorns were blown around by the cold wind, flying up and down the mountain ridge like a rubber ball. This is the characteristic of this plant. It shakes off its seeds as it rolls. As long as it encounters rain, it will take root and sprout immediately, no matter what.
No matter how dry and desolate the place is, as long as it takes root, it will never come out again, because the roots of camel thorn are very deep. It is said that the longest camel thorn root is more than ten meters long, and it penetrates through the desert into the moist soil below.
In addition to camel thorns, Populus euphratica trees are also a scenery in the Gobi. Even if the trunk of the tall Populus euphratica is completely dry, as long as there is a bit of bark attached to it, it can grow into lush branches. Even if it is blown by the strong wind, it will lie on the ground.
It is still alive and well. Until the entire tree body is dried by hot and cold winds and turns into the hardest wood, if there is a little moisture, it is still possible to survive.
In the desert Gobi, these two things are the most magical. Some people who have never seen them find it incredible. Especially in the Populus euphratica forest, many poplar trees grow in strange ways due to the wind. The wind blows through the hollows of the poplar trees.
The whimpering sound sounded like a woman's cry.
Su Ren huddled in the hollow of a poplar tree, wrapping his whole body tightly in fur. The night in the Gobi was very cold, it snowed a little yesterday, and the temperature did not rise again at noon today. The tongue man
They say that this is a precursor to the coming winter in the Western Regions. Only snow means that the cold for half a year has arrived. It is best not to go out at night, otherwise you will freeze to death without knowing it.
However, Su Ren had to go out, and the money to build Yumen Pass had not yet been secured. Although the caravan sent to Qianni City in advance made some money, it was a pity that it was not as much as expected. Not to mention building the city, even building a city wall was not enough. Moreover,
News came out from Qianni City that the business was not going well. The main reason was that the situation was getting worse and worse. King Shanshan had only a few days left to live, and he had appointed his youngest son, the child of that woman, as the crown prince.
, it has not been a hundred days till today. The reason for this, Su Ren knows very well.
The wind blew over the top of his head, making a whining cry in the sky above the Populus euphratica forest. The surrounding desert was so quiet that it made people feel hairy. As soon as Su Ren closed his eyes, he felt like he heard the howling of wolves, and even if he wanted to sleep, he could not sleep soundly.
This time Su Ren entered Shanshan Kingdom secretly, and there were not many available people around him. Apart from Huang Shisan and Man Niu, he only had that guard.
Huang Shisan slept soundly, snoring so loudly that he could hear it clearly from several meters away. Su Ren grabbed a piece of wood next to him, threw it with all his strength, and hit the Populus euphratica where Huang Shisan was huddled hard.
There was a snapping sound on the tree. The sound was very loud. Huang Shisan woke up with a start, picked up the big ax in his arms and stared at the surroundings. Su Ren quickly closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Huang Shisan didn't find anyone, so he roared angrily: "That kid is torturing grandpa, if you have the ability, come out!"
Su Ren still ignored him, Manniu glared at Huang Shisan: "I'll sleep with you, we have to go on the road tomorrow."
Huang Shisan stamped his feet fiercely: "If you dare to disturb grandpa's dream again, grandpa's ax will not recognize anyone!"
After being scolded by Huang Shisan, Su Ren didn't dare to admit it, so he could only endure it. The tree hole was still too small, and it was difficult to turn over. Fortunately, there was no wind inside to keep it warm. After such a toss, Su Ren couldn't sleep anymore.
, turned over and started to do it, took the kettle and drank water.
Snowflakes began to float in the sky again, sparsely appearing in the light of the fire and falling to the ground. The already cold ground could not melt the snowflakes, so they would stop after falling a little. After a short time, the places where the firelight could shine were already white.
A vast expanse.
The winter in the Western Region is really cold. If the white bear skin is not so warm, even wearing ten or a hundred pieces of clothing will be of no use. Just look at the people sleeping in the manger in the distance. They are all shivering from the cold.
Even horses rely on people to keep warm, let alone people.
The wind stopped, and the snow fell heavier and heavier. It was only an inch away. The shopkeepers of the trading company had already stood up, calling for help to sweep the snow off the goods, and then covered the goods to prevent them from being stained by the snow and getting wet.
Hundreds of people were working together, and the whole camp immediately became noisy. Su Ren sat in a tree hole and admired the scenery in front of him, sighing in his heart.
Merchants make real money, but they also earn hard-earned money. On a cold day, with snow still falling, they get up and work in the middle of the night. Those who only envy the money made by merchants must have never seen it.
"Go and help, and also do some exercise. It's too cold to sleep well, and you'll get frostbite." Su Ren pointed at Huang Shisan opposite: "Call him too, and you'll know how to sleep!"
Man Niu nodded and ordered the eight guards to go over and help. He put his foot on the poplar tree where Huang Shisan was sleeping. Huang Shisan was about to have a seizure immediately, but saw that Su Ren had woken up, and it was Man Niu who was kicking the tree, with a look on his face.
Impatient: "What's wrong? Are you still not letting me sleep?"
Man Niu said coldly: "Sir, I asked you to go over and help!"
Huang Shisan turned to look at the bustling camp and frowned: "Am I going too?"
The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and the hazelnut snow at the beginning had turned into heavy snow. The guide rushed over and said to Su Ren: "Sir, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk tomorrow. Bailongtan is already difficult to walk. Let's go there."
There are also big cars, and now it’s snowing again, so I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a few days.”
Su Ren waved his hand: "Don't tell me, just go to Lao Wang and do whatever he says!"
The guide nodded quickly and turned around to find Shopkeeper Wang. This trip was the last group of merchants in Su Ren's caravan to go to Shanshan Kingdom. Divide the merchants into four teams and send out a group every half month. This can ensure that every
Merchants can all make money, and it can also make the people of Shanshan less resistant to Han products. This is the first time such a large-scale caravan has come to the Western Regions. Although the Han products are good, they cannot be flooded, otherwise everyone will make money.
Not enough money.
The work of clearing the snow and covering the carriages went very quickly. In order to prevent all the carriages from being buried in the heavy snow the next day, the merchants spontaneously organized a night watch team. Their task was to clean the carriages every half hour.
Jiuxue and Su Ren felt very good about this. At the same time, he was also a little worried. If the snow continued, would he be trapped here?
The next morning, Su Ren slept very deeply. He slept too late last night and no one called him in the morning. When Su Ren woke up, the sky was still gloomy and the snow continued to fall. The snow clearing team changed.
As two people, they not only had to clear the snow from the carriage, but also from the camp. The leaves of the poplar trees had long been gone and they could not provide any help to the caravan.
Su Ren stretched out and came out of the tree hole wrapped in fur. The cold wind became even colder, blowing on his face like a knife. The surrounding area was completely white, and even the branches of the poplar trees were covered with snow. The wind calmed down.
It was a lot, and the earthy smell of yesterday was no longer in the air. Huang Shisan handed a bowl of hot porridge to Su Ren. Su Ren took a sip: "Where are Shopkeeper Wang and the others? Find the guide again. If we are trapped here, we can
Very bad."
Huang Shisan agreed and went to find someone. Time was running out and Lao Wang came to Su Ren with a few shopkeepers and guides. The tent had already been set up, but unfortunately there was not much difference between staying inside and staying outside. From the snow clearing team
Judging from the traces that were cleaned up, it was only the snow that fell one foot thick last night. The fact that the snow piled up around the brazier did not melt, already shows how cold the weather was.
Several shopkeepers, including Lao Wang, all put their hands into their sleeves like the guide from the Western Regions, their lower lips trembling from the cold. Lao Wang wanted to take out his hands to salute Su Ren, but Su Ren quickly stopped him: "Between us
I don’t need to be polite like this, how’s the situation?”
Lao Wang sighed: "It's not very good. Although there is no loss of manpower, more than a dozen horses pulling the cart have been frozen to death. If in a few days, the villain is worried that these carts will not be used."
"So serious? Aren't horses very cold-resistant?"
The old king said: "These horses are not Xiongnu horses or Qiang horses. They are just ordinary horses. They have never been in such weather. However, the mules and oxen are not bad. The best ones were obtained from the Qiang people when we were in Jincheng."
Camels, these guys are doing pretty well."
Su Ren frowned: "How long will it snow?"
The guide quickly said: "Generally speaking, it only lasts three or two days. This time the heavy snow came suddenly. If nothing happens, it should clear up in the afternoon. We can continue on our way just after the snow freezes."
Su Ren breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "There is nothing we can do about this kind of thing. It will be better to use camels to take this route in the future. We can only stay here in this weather, but we must send out no less scouts.
This kind of weather can stop us, but it won't be difficult for people from the Western Regions. It's better to be on guard. There is already a problem in Shanshan Country, and people probably know our whereabouts. If there is any movement, it is important to save our lives. I won't say that.
Say more."
Lao Wang nodded: "Don't worry, sir, we all understand."
While he was talking, the leader of the guard, Hawking, suddenly broke in. He turned into a snowman and shook his body. The snowflakes fell on the ground to form a white circle: "Brother."
When Lao Wang saw that Su Ren and Huo Jin had something to say, he left quickly. Su Ren did not stay and waved for them to go down. Speaking of which, the leader of the caravan this time was Lao Wang, but everyone knew that the real leader was still Su Ren.
If you look at some of the guards, you can see that the focus of protection is definitely not the dozens of large vehicles they pull.
As soon as Lao Wang and others walked out of the tent, Huo Jin immediately came to Su Ren: "Brother, there is a situation! I found traces of a large group of people passing by in the north. The direction is Shanshan Kingdom. It seems that they passed by last night. There were a lot of people. It was hard.
A path has been trodden, and it is full of horse hoof marks."
Su Ren asked: "Oh! Are they Huns?"
Hawking shook his head: "It's hard to say, I've already sent someone to look at it."
Su Ren nodded and said: "Very good. It seems that if we don't stay here for a while, it won't be possible. We will release the scouts thirty miles away and send a signal immediately if there is any situation." (To be continued)