On the grasslands of Hezhou, an army was flying towards the Western Regions.
This army seems to be extremely elite.
Everyone rode a strong and handsome white horse, carried a strong bow on his back, and carried a sword at his waist. None of them carried a spear or anything like that. There were nearly 3,000 people in total, but there were more than 4,000 horses. They galloped like a torrent,
Unstoppable, they were even more at home on this endless grassland. The whole army dispersed, and under the leadership of the leader, they seemed to be rushing from the horizon.
Of course, they can't run like this all the time. Even if they ride the best BMW, they can't stand such long-distance running. What war horses are good at is charging, not such long-distance running.
"Captain Gongsun!!"
Someone shouted from behind.
Gongsun Zan, who was galloping on his horse, did not hear the shouts. He felt the cold wind in front of him and couldn't help shouting loudly. It had been a long time since he could gallop so freely. This feeling was really addictive.
, he really didn’t notice that his subordinates were shouting his name loudly from behind. He waved his right hand and shouted, but the distance between him and his subordinates was lengthened little by little.
After driving for a long time, Gongsun Zan finally felt that the horses were a little overwhelmed, so he waved his right hand to signal the soldiers to stop, and quickly reined in the horse. The horse raised its front hooves high and neighed loudly. Gongsun Zan leaned back and couldn't say anything.
He laughed so happily that he turned around and looked at his subordinates. His smile suddenly froze. Behind him, there was no one, only a piece of grassland connected to the sky.
Could it be that all these idiots have escaped? They don’t want to go to the battlefield???
Gongsun Zan hurried back and ran wildly again. When he climbed over a high slope, he felt relieved. None of those idiots ran away. They were already sitting on the ground. Some went to feed the horses, and some were preparing.
While they were eating, they were chatting about something. Gongsun Zan rode his horse and walked to them calmly. He got off the horse and another soldier came forward to take the horse's rope.
"Captain Gongsun, where did you go just now?"
"I?"
"Yes, our horses were a little overwhelmed, so we called you, and you waved your right hand to ask us to stop. As soon as we stopped, you ran away. We thought you were going to abandon us and go fight on your own.
..." Sai Tali, the military lord under Gongsun Zan, said sadly, and the soldiers behind him couldn't help but nod.
"Ahem, I'm going to the front to check the enemy's situation..." Gongsun Zan said with some solemnity. Everyone suddenly realized and felt grateful in their hearts. The captain was really good. He knew our combat power and went to check the enemy's situation.
What a good captain. They nodded, but Si Tali asked with some doubts: "But, captain, we haven't left Hezhou yet, how can there be enemies here?"
"Asshole! Can we relax our vigilance just because we are still in the territory of the Han Dynasty? From the moment we set off, we must act cautiously, so that we can be invincible. Do you understand?!"
"I know, thank you Captain for your teaching..." Si Tali nodded and said.
Another boy jumped out from the side. Strangely enough, his appearance was exactly the same as that of Sita Li. His name was Sita Mu, and he was Sita Li's twin brother. The two of them looked exactly the same. He and Sita Li
They were both military princes, but Gongsun Zan could recognize them at a glance. Sitamu looked at Gongsun Zan and said, "Colonel, I just checked, no one is left behind, no one is missing."
"Well, very good..." Gongsun Zan nodded.
Sitali is the younger brother, hot-tempered, loves to talk and laugh, and has an extremely friendly relationship with the other soldiers. Gongsun Zan often treats him as a junior, while Sitamu is the elder brother, with a cold temperament, completely opposite to his younger brother. What surprised Gongsun Zan was that among the Donghao people, there was someone who was not timid like him. He had very good military talents. On weekdays, Gongsun Zan let him take care of all military matters.
It is said that these two brothers were not killed by the Goguryeo people because they were twins. After they were caught, they were given to the nobles of the country as playthings for people to appreciate. Later, everyone got used to it. Throwing them out, they were later rescued by the Han army as young men and became soldiers of the heroic camp, as of today.
Gongsun Zan also sat down, and the two brothers sat on both sides.
"Captain Gongsun, how is your investigation going? Are there any enemy troops around?" Cita Li asked quickly, with a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Alas, there are no enemies..."
"When can we arrive in the Western Region?"
"Probably the day after tomorrow..."
"Aren't we going to Liangzhou?"
"Not going."
"I heard that we might fight with the Kushans this time. I think we might as well go to Liangzhou and find General Sun and ask them to give us thousands of scouts to lead the way, so that we can find the enemy... ."
"Get out!" Gongsun Zan yelled, and Sita Li lowered his head and walked away in a hurry. Sitamu looked at his brother helplessly, shook his head, looked at Gongsun Zan, and asked: "Captain, although he is naughty, But it makes sense. When we first arrived in the Western Regions, we didn’t even know the terrain of the Western Regions. If we had to go out to the Western Regions to search for business travelers, how could we find them?"
"you mean?"
"Why not, send someone to Liangzhou, contact the county government, and find a guide who is familiar with the Western Regions and outside the Great Wall. You don't need too many, one or two will be enough. If they are from Kushan, that would be even better!" Sitamu said, Gongsun Zan After hearing this, he nodded and said: "Then... let you go... I will wait for you at the Hongliu River... don't delay too long..."
"good!"
On the same day, Sitamu led three people to leave here, changed the road, and rushed to Liangzhou.
Gongsun Zan rushed to the Hongliu River. There was no county seat here, there was no Hongliu River, and there was no river. Why was it called the Hongliu River? Gongsun Zan was also puzzled. When the army arrived here, they rested for two more days. Just now When Sitamu returned, he brought two people with him. One of the two people was from the Central Plains, which could be seen from his appearance, while the other had a somewhat dark appearance with a unique appearance and strange hair color. It seemed that he was from the Central Plains. They are Kushan people.
Sitamu took them to meet Gongsun Zan.
The man from the Central Plains bowed his hands and said, "Chen Yao, a native of Anhan, Ba County, pays homage to Colonel Gongsun."
Gongsun Zan was stunned. This man was actually from Yizhou, not Liangzhou? However, since this man dared to come, he must be familiar with the terrain. Fortunately, there was also a Kushan man. Gongsun Zan turned his head and looked at the Kushan man. , the man also bowed his hands and said: "Mireyi pays homage to the general!"
Gongsun Zan was stunned and asked: "You are very skilled in elegant words..."
"I have been traveling back and forth between the Western Regions and Liangzhou since I was a child...Thank you very much for the compliment, Captain."
"Oh? You are a businessman?"
"My father is a businessman and I am a student who came to Liangzhou to study. I heard that the general needs a guide who is familiar with the Western Regions, so I came here..."
"Wait a minute, you're not a Kushan?"
"I am from Kangju..."
"That's okay, that's okay..." Gongsun Zan nodded. Both of them can ride horses. Chen Yao from Yizhou is indeed a merchant. He has been to Guishang many times before. This time, he was unable to participate due to illness.
He entrusted his goods to others, but he didn't expect that he still couldn't wait. In desperation, he had no choice but to come to Liangzhou in person to inquire about the news. When he learned that Gongsun Zan was going to search for merchants, he naturally recommended himself quickly and just followed him.
Come.
The group of people walked into the Western Region. It was still an endless grassland, which seemed no different from Hezhou. The curiosity in everyone's hearts gradually disappeared. The two guides walked beside Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan said: "Chen Jun, then
Just take us along and follow the specific route taken by the merchants. We will definitely gain something by asking the local people along the way."
As a result, Chen Yao led the way, while Mireyi was responsible for communicating with the local people.
Although we didn't gain much from moving forward like this, we also learned a lot. For example, the local people told us that they could see a large number of business travelers coming and going every year, and they would also conduct transactions with them. However, this
Zhi Shanglv left a few months ago and never returned.
After walking for a long time, he still couldn't get out of the grassland. At this time, Gongsun Zan just felt the difference between this place and Hezhou. This place was really too big. He had walked for nearly half a month. This journey, if it were in the Central Plains, would be long.
He has already crossed several states and counties, and now, according to what Mireyi said, he has just entered the gate of the Western Region and is lingering at the door!!!
After some time, they walked out of the grassland. Before they had time to be happy, they were frightened by the sight in front of them. What was this? A large expanse of wilderness, but not a single blade of grass grew. The ground was full of rocks, and there was a faint trace of grass.
Seeing a few touches of green, horses must always be careful when walking here. Fortunately, Chen Yao is leading the way. He has been here several times and is very experienced.
In some places, you can only walk with your horse. According to Chen Yao, this place is called the Gobi. The Gobi stretches thousands of miles across this land. There are no people living in it, and there are no livestock, cattle or sheep. It is a completely barren land.
This was the first time Gongsun Zan and his Dongyi soldiers saw such a scene. Especially those Dongyi soldiers were stunned. They had never thought that there was such a strange place under the world!
Seeing Gongsun Zan and the soldiers complaining, Chen Yao and Mireyi smiled and said nothing, which was quite mysterious.
They had just arrived at the county seat after injuring many horses and almost running out of food.
After replenishing supplies here, when Xingqing left the Gobi, Mireyi came up to him and said: "General Gongsun, next, we have to look for camels... Horses can't go down the next section of the road.
....”
"Why?"
"desert."
Gongsun Zan didn't know what desert was, but he still obeyed Mireyi's words and bought a lot of camels from the local area. These camels were full of supplies, and the horses could not be ridden, but could only be led.
As he walked, he walked across this road. Gradually, the green became less and less, and the crowds became sparse. Finally, Gongsun Zan found that the ground under his feet had turned golden, and the golden sand grains were shining.
.
Seeing these for the first time, the soldiers of Dongyao were very happy. They even threw themselves into the sand to feel the strange scenery outside the Great Wall. However, they soon became unhappy. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the soldiers could not bear it.
, but there was no river in sight. They had not eaten fish for a long time. If Mireyi had not led them, they would not have known where they were heading.
Everything looks golden and identical.
There are often strong winds blowing here. This wind cannot make them feel cool. This wind is blazing, and the rolled up golden sand makes this place even more terrifying. Mireyi said that if you don't pay attention, you may be blown away by this.
Buried by grains of sand, you can't sleep at night. You have to move more, otherwise you will be buried alive. The soldiers of Dongyi almost cried. What a terrifying place this is. We have to go back to Dongyi!!
Within a month, they had gained something.
They found six or seven wheels, a dead camel, and a Han sword with a twisted blade.