In late November, they arrived at Wuwei City, which was very close to Lanzhou. In the city was the tongue relic pagoda of Master Kumarajiva Tripitaka. It is said that the master translator passed down his last words to his disciples before his death, if I
The translated scriptures will be passed down to future generations without any errors, and after passing away and being burned, the tongue will not be burned to death.
After his death, he was cremated in the thatched cottage. His body turned into ashes, but his tongue did not melt. It turned out that he had really vowed to become a Buddha. His disciples enshrined his tongue relics in the pagoda, which is where they are today.
Everyone bowed in front of the pagoda. Li Siye watched for a while and then went up to pay homage to Master Tripitaka.
Dai Wang took the initiative to step forward and say goodbye: "General Li, I have arrived home and I came here to say goodbye to you."
Li Siye reached out and groped around his waist, and took off the silver bag from his belt. There were forty-eight taels of silver in it, and he handed it all to Dai Wang.
Dai Wang quickly took two steps back and crossed his arms: "General Li, you must not do this. Dai Wang will not receive salary for his merits, and he does not dare to accept the general's favor."
But Li Siye waved his hand and said: "This is not a salary or a favor, it is just a little compensation from our Shule Army to you. When you were awarded the title of Yunqi Lieutenant, you rescued someone in an injustice and killed someone. It is really unfair to deprive you of the title."
Should. Come and take it."
He put the bag into Dai Wang's hand and suddenly felt something, so he warned: "No matter what happens in life, you can give up hope, but you can never give up on yourself."
Dai Wang crossed his hands gratefully again: "Thank you, General."
Dai Liulang slowly stepped back from the stone steps, crossed his arms again, then led the horse and walked toward the west of the city with a wooden stick.
They continued to move forward and entered Lanzhou City. The envoys rested in the city for two days and seemed to be deliberately adjusting the date of their arrival in Beijing. It seemed that this ethnic minority regime also attached great importance to superstitions such as time and date.
…
Dai Wang rode his horse slowly on the dirt road back home. It seemed that the closer he got to his hometown, the more shy and cramped he felt. This is the so-called shyness near hometown.
When he first left home, his brother had just gotten married and given birth to a daughter. Now the eldest daughter must be married. Time flies. He has changed from a young boy to a man who has gone through many vicissitudes of life. The appearance of his brother and sister-in-law cannot be guessed, but it can also be imagined.
He, his wife, and their children were standing on the farm in the village, working hard.
His home is in a village outside Changsong County, backed by Wushaoling and hidden outside the green mountains and forests. The scenery is beautiful and colorful. He remembers that this place was like this when he left home, and nothing changed when he came back. People in the village were afraid
Most probably no longer recognize him.
On the dirt road into the village, a shepherd boy holding a cow passed by him. He raised his head and gave him a wary look: "Where are these guests coming from?"
Dai Wang smiled implicitly and said, "I am from this village."
"Since you are from the village, why have I never seen you?"
"I went out to serve as a soldier in my early years, and now I am repatriated to the countryside. If so, do you know Dai Ada? I am Dai Liulang, Dai Ada's brother."
The shepherd boy's eyes widened, as if he was startled: "Are you Da Da's brother?"
Dai Wang frowned suspiciously: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing," the shepherd boy led the cattle and walked quickly for two steps, looking back with a complicated expression.
Dai Liulang didn't think about it, and limped into Wuling Village with his horse. After many years, he returned to his hometown. There was no change in the village. Large and small clay courtyards were scattered on both sides of the ditch.
A farmer came back from the fields with a hoe and looked back at this stranger.
He stood in front of the courtyard gate of his home. If he hadn't remembered the position firmly, he would have been a little afraid to recognize it. He remembered that when he left home, it was still a fence gate, but now the courtyard wall and gate are built with rammed earth.
It means that the life of brother and sister-in-law is getting better and better, but the courtyard door is closed in broad daylight, is the family still busy in the field at noon?
A farmer wearing a bamboo hat passed by the door of Dai's house. He deliberately made a big circle and saw Dai Liulang standing outside the door. He wanted to leave quickly, but he looked familiar from behind and couldn't help but ask: "
Who are you……"
Dai Wang turned around and looked at the familiar farmer. After thinking deeply, he said, "Are you Liu Sanlang?"
"Dai Liulang!"
When childhood friends met, there was not much joy. Liu Sanlang's face was slightly frightened and he murmured: "Why are you back? Alas... It's better not to enter this house."
Dai Wang's face darkened and he asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"
"If you, you, want to come in, just take a look for yourself." Liu Sanlang dropped these words and ran away as if running away.
He stretched out his palm and touched the door panel, his fingers trembled slightly, and the door turned with a dry squeaking sound, which actually made people's skin feel cold in this clear day.
The withered grass in the yard must have been lying down for some time. The doors and windows were sealed tightly with wooden boards nailed on them, and the thatch on the roof collapsed along with the soil.
Click!
Dai Wang knocked open the door panel with his shoulder and stumbled into the house. Dust fell on the futou. He slapped the dry dust in his mouth and suddenly raised his head to look. His eyes were cracked and frozen on his face.
There were three corpses hanging from the rafters in front of him. They were already rotting and smelly. There were dense maggots attached to the trunks, which were shriveled and stiff due to the winter. There were also shriveled insect eggs falling from their feet.
Dai Liulang rushed forward and hugged the body with both hands. He raised his head, his cheeks cramped ferociously, and let out a heart-rending roar: "Ah!"
…
Fumeng Lingzha's Jiedu led the team to march on the road to Lanzhou. Of course, it had been renamed Jincheng County at this time, and its geographical location was far less important than Dunhuang, Jiuquan, and Zhangye, let alone what is now the center of Hexi Province.
Wuwei.
After the team left Lanzhou, they headed south along the Huizhong Road. This road was once part of the Chi Road built by Qin Shihuang, and it is still an important journey for business travelers heading west.
Not far ahead was the road across the valley. Li Siye set up a pergola and looked into the distance. The road winded forward among the pale yellow mountains. Everywhere he looked was beautiful scenery. He was about to ride his horse forward when Jiedushi in front of him
The team paused for a moment, and five or six Hu merchants leading camels rushed over shouting, but were stopped by the team.
Kang Huaishun, the governor of Jiedu, stepped forward and scolded: "Where are you merchants from? You are shouting and running wildly on this Qianlong merchant road."
"Master Jun! It turns out to be Master Jun!" Several Hu merchants stopped in surprise and bowed down quickly: "Master Jun, help me quickly, there are thieves ahead!"
Fumeng Lingcha frowned and ordered Bai Xiaode behind him: "Xiaode, please bring a team of soldiers over to take a look."
Bai Xiaode crossed his hands on his chest: "Here!"
"follow me!"
The guard of the Jiedushi is a hundred-man brigade, which is not only the escort of the Jiedushi, but also a guard of honor. In addition to wearing armor during war, it also patrols in peacetime. When entering the capital, they wear silk armor and carry a sharp sword with them.
Angled bow.
Bai Xiaode gave an order, and more than fifty riders came out of the team and rushed down the road at high speed.
From a distance, they could see a dozen men with sacks covering their heads, leaving only two eyes exposed. They were waving long and short swords and robbing the packhorses of two travelers. They were holding the reins in their hands and making threats.
The thieves heard the sound of horse hooves approaching, looked back and quickly gave up on robbing property. The bandit leader brandished his knife and shouted: "The officers and soldiers are coming! Rahu!"
Bai Xiaode took off his horn bow from his horse, buckled the string and raised his hand to shoot, hitting a running thief. The other gangsters quickly helped him up and got into the dense forest beside the road. When Bai Xiaode and others arrived on horseback, this
The bandit gang has climbed over a small ridge in the dense forest and seems to be very familiar with the terrain here.
"Don't chase me! Go back."
Bai Xiaode rushed back with his troops and reported to his husband Meng Lingcha: "There is indeed a small group of bandits. When we arrived, they had already fled deep into the mountains and forests."
Fumeng Lingcha nodded, stroked his beard and said with emotion: "This place is less than 800 miles away from the capital, and bandits are already rampant. In the so-called prosperous age of Tianbao, the house is not closed at night, and the luggage is not picked up on the road."