Li Siye smiled knowingly. He knew this story. Li Linfu himself had little knowledge and had made some jokes about writing. His brother-in-law, Taichang Shaoqing Jiang Du, had a son. Li Linfu wrote a letter to celebrate. In order to show off, Jiang Du specially
He opened the letter for the guests to see, but as soon as he opened it, he was dumbfounded. He hurriedly tried to close the letter, but a few sharp-eyed guests had already seen the contents of the letter clearly. Li Linfu's letter clearly said:
"I heard about the celebration of deer deer..."
All the guests couldn't help laughing. The prime minister actually wrote a typo and wrote "Zhang" for "Zhangyu" instead of "Zhang" for "Zhang". In the era of Kaiyuan, when the level of civility and governance was quite high, he was naturally ridiculed by officials and literati. Now it's not just
In officialdom and even among the people, it has become a source of jokes.
The caravan walked out of the Devil's City and continued to move forward. Halfway through, heavy snow began to fall, the north wind roared, and the whole world was covered in white. Everyone gathered the camel caravan together and continued to move forward despite the wind and snow. Faced with this,
This scene will naturally remind people of the two lines of Cen Shen's poem: "The north wind blows the ground and the grass is broken, and the sky is full of snow in August."
Everyone's faces and beards were covered in white. Although Li Siye was wearing a thick jacket inside, he was wearing cold iron armor outside. Being blown by the wind and snow, he was chilled from the inside out.
The old guide Suotong encouraged everyone: "A hundred miles further, we will reach Gaochang City. We can rest in the city."
However, the snow was getting heavier and heavier on the road, and the visibility was also very low. Everyone lost their way. They came to an abandoned fortress on a hill and rested for half an hour. When they set off on the road again, not only the experienced Dashi elders could not touch
After clearing the direction, even Sotong was completely blinded.
We use astronomy to identify the direction. There are no sun, moon and stars in the sky. We use geography to identify the mountains and rivers on the surface of the earth. They are all covered by snowflakes. This makes us completely lose our sense of direction when we go on the road in such a snowy day. Suotong discussed it with the elder and decided to wait for the snow.
Stop completely before walking.
Li Siye was anxious to catch up with the Protector's team and asked quickly: "Don't you have a compass in your caravan?"
Elder Dashi shook his head: "No, we are frequent visitors on this road. We usually follow the terrain or distinguish between the sun and the moon. Who would have ever imagined that we would encounter such a situation."
"I do, I brought a simple compass."
Li Siye took out his simple compass from his backpack. The elder was overjoyed when he saw it and quickly called everyone to set off and continue moving forward in the wind and snow.
Not long after they set out on the road, two armored figures appeared in front of them, their bodies covered with snow and their faces covered with frost. The caravan leader Suotong came forward to ask for directions: "May I ask these two military masters, how far ahead are they?
How far is Gaochang City?”
"There are still more than sixty miles!" The leading officer pulled the reins of the horse, and the horse's legs kept stamping its hooves. The horse exhaled white breath. The officer raised his voice and asked loudly: "Have you seen any of them on the way?
An officer! He is tall and tall. He is Li Suzheng who is going to Anxi to take up his post."
Li Siye heard the voice was familiar and heard them asking about him, so he quickly rode forward and shouted: "Tian Zhen! Fujimu!"
The two were overjoyed when they heard this and hurried forward to meet Li Siye.
"Oh my god, I finally found you! Team Lu Qian was saying that you had pulled your things along the way and went back to look for them. We escorted the supplies to Qiuci Town and quickly came out to look for you. The desert is really dangerous and you are trekking alone.
, I’m afraid you won’t be able to find me!”
Li Siye smiled, nodded and said: "I was indeed going back to look for something. I met bandits on the way here. Fortunately, I picked them all up. Then I met the Dashi caravan and came to chase the Protector's team."
"The Protector has returned to Anxi Protector's Mansion. The wind and snow are too heavy here. Let's talk about it when we get back!"
Li Siye did not tell them about Lu Qian's matter. This was his personal hatred and he needed to resolve it himself.
Tian Zhen and Teng Mu guided the team, and soon they arrived at the foot of Gaochang City, but the heavy snow also stopped.
Entering Gaochang City, the city is in full swing. The soldiers and civilians of Gaochang are clearing away the snow. The streets in the city are not as neatly planned as those in Central Plains cities such as Chang'an. Except for the main street, which is straight and smooth, the rest of the streets and lanes are all twists and turns.
The houses also have exotic characteristics. Most of them are flat-roofed houses made of sand and stone. Those who can build tiled houses with hard roofs are mostly wealthy families who admire the culture of the Central Plains. The dome church of the Daqin Sect stands among many buildings.
People from Gaochang stood on their roofs to clear away the snow. When they saw the food caravan, they shouted welcome in the local language, and the caravan members also hugged their chests and saluted.
The food caravan has its own public residence in Gaochang City, which is an Arab-style dome building and courtyard. The elders kindly invited Li Siye and the others to go in and rest. Li Siye refused and decided to go with the two of them to the official post in the city to rest for the night.
On the road again.
Brother and sister Suo Tong, Suo Yuanlang and Suo Yuanyu were reluctant to leave and sent the three of them out a street away.
"Li Shuzheng, my Suo family has a surname from Guazhou. If you pass by Guazhou in the future, you must come to my home as a guest. Suo Tong will treat you three as distinguished guests."
Li Siye replied loudly: "Okay, I will definitely go when the time comes."
He led the horse and turned back three times with one step. Suo Yuanyu's cold red face had dimples on her face, and she waved her narrow sleeves to him.
"Li Lang, you must come when the time comes."
A crisp sound came from the snowy streets, making the white snow on the roofs and the cold air purer. Li Siye smiled, waved his hand, and turned around to leave.
Tian Zhen shook the beard at the corner of his lips, narrowed his eyes and said playfully: "This little lady seems to have taken a liking to you."
"How do you know he is a woman?"
Tian Zhen snorted and said: "I have traveled all over the country, how can I not tell the difference between male and female?"
Li Siye did not answer the call, and he would not consider the marriage issue for the time being until he had established a foothold in Anxi.
The three of them arrived at the Gaochang Post Station, and the postmaster arranged for them a room upstairs. The ground was covered with straw mats and sheep felts. They then stored their luggage and went for a stroll around the streets of Gaochang City to learn about the local customs and customs of Gaochang.
.
There are few pedestrians on the street, and many people are wearing Hanfu. The flags hanging inside and outside the wine shops are also Chinese characters. There are orchids in the wine shops selling wine, and the Sanlejiang sold in the wine shops is cheaper than in the Central Plains.
Li Siye and the others went in and sold two measures of wine, cut some yak meat, and drank until dark before going back to rest.
In the early morning of the next day, the three of them rode on horseback and took their camels on the road. In the afternoon, they arrived at Yanqi Town, one of the four towns in Anxi. This city has been expanded several times and is much larger than Gaochang. There are many Tang-style buildings in the city, and the residence of the envoy of Yanqi Town is in
In the north of the city, the three of them rested for a day at the official post in the city, and then hit the road again. After two days of long journey, they finally arrived at the Anxi Protectorate in Qiuci.
The location of the Anxi Protectorate in Qiuci City is the same as that of the Central Plains. It occupies the north of the city and faces south. The architectural style combines the styles of the Central Plains and the Western Regions. The palace hall and surrounding buildings are all in the Xieshan style with double eaves, while the other departments are
According to local conditions, the flat-topped round arch style of anvil stone buildings from the Western Regions was adopted, and there were even a few houses with a combination of Chinese and Western styles, with bucket arch tile ridges built on the edges of the rock roofs.
Li Siye came to the gate of the mansion and immediately asked to enter the mansion to see Lai Yao. The guard immediately went in to inform him. He waited outside the door for half an hour before he was allowed to enter.
As soon as he entered the mansion, he saw Lu Qian, the captain of the rear guard of Laiyao. Moreover, this man had been promoted and became the commander of the guards' guards. When he saw Li Siye came to the mansion safe and sound, his face changed.
A look of astonishment suddenly appeared on his face. Maybe he never thought that Li Siye could escape and survive.
Lu Qian lowered his head and saw the five heads hanging on Li Siye's mount. They had been blown by the cold wind day and night and had already formed into icy heads. There were long icicles hanging under the blue and purple chin.