The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 165: Good at planning and welcoming guests from thousands of miles away

More than 300 miles west of Liangzhou is Xiedan County. This was originally the intersection of the Qinghai Road and the main road of the Silk Road. If it is summer, there will be an endless stream of caravans coming over the Qilian Mountains. It is now October, and there are no traces of people on the snow-covered mountain roads, and the once noisy and bustling small city has become quiet.

Anjia's motorcade rested overnight at the largest restaurant in the city and left the city early in the morning. Liuli was curled up in the car, feeling a little sleepy, when she heard a light tap on the car window, "Liuli, come out quickly!" Pei Xingjian's voice was filled with surprise that could not be concealed.

Liuli perked up and quickly gathered her cloak. When the cart pulled over, she lowered her head and got out. Before she could jump out of the car, her waist tightened and Pei Xingjian put his arms around her and put her on the horse.

Liuli was startled, "You..."

Pei Xingjian turned around and pointed to the side and back, "Look!"

Liuli looked up in the direction of his finger and was stunned: behind the city of Dandan in the distance were towering mountains. The rising sun had risen, and the snow-capped peaks were reflected by the sunlight. The fantastic and magnificent light, set against the clear gray-blue sky in winter, is so magnificent that it is indescribable.

Liuli took a long time to breathe out, "Is this the Qilian Mountains?"

Pei Xingjian turned his horse's head, looked at the majestic mountains in the distance and nodded, "Exactly. I have only read the poem 'Stars and flags reflect Shule, Qilian rises in the cloud array' before. Only today did I know that the Qilian Mountains are actually like this." What an upright and beautiful scenery!”

 The cloud array ascends to Qilian? She had never heard of it, but she knew that the Tianshan Mountains that "the generals shot at with three arrows fixed the Tianshan Mountains, and the strong men marched into Hanguan with long songs" were referring to the Qilian Mountains. After looking up for a long time, Liuli felt her hands were itchy and couldn't help but sigh, "It would be great if I could draw it."

Pei Xingjian said with a smile in his voice, "Today is not easy. If there is a chance in the future, we will stay in Xiedan for a few days so that you can paint enough. Speaking of which, I have seen many of the flowers, birds and figures you painted, but the landscapes are also visible. Very few, just a few strokes on that pair of clips. I really want to see what the scenery of the Tianshan Mountains will look like if you paint it."

While they were talking, Ayan and Xiaotan also came out and admired the Qilian Mountains behind them. Even Agu looked back for a long time and suddenly said, "Speaking of the Qilian Mountains, Agu has heard a few words, 'Destroy my Qilian Mountains. , It makes my six animals unable to eat, I lose my Yanzhi Mountain, and my women lose their color!"

Pei Xingjian laughed and said, "Agu really does not lose his military qualities!"

Liuli thought for a moment, "These two sentences sound familiar..."

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "It's a song composed by the Huns. From spring to autumn in the second year of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing led his troops to fight in Hexi. They defeated the Xiongnu at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. He captured alive the Shanyu and more than a hundred royal family members and generals. He killed 40,000 enemies and surrendered. The enemy was 40,000, and since Hexi returned to the Han Dynasty, the Huns made this song to lament that Huo Qubing was only nineteen years old this year!

Liuli was fascinated and said softly, "If the Xiongnu is not destroyed, why should we take care of our family? Huo Qubing can be regarded as the best general throughout the ages."

Pei Xingjian smiled and shook his head, "A famous general is certainly a famous general, but he may not be number one."

Liuli looked back at him in surprise. Pei Xingjian stared at the distant mountains, his eyebrows slightly raised, "The art of war has it that the first step is to attack the enemy with strategy, the second is to attack friends, and the second is to attack the army. Therefore, the one who conquers the enemy without fighting is the strategist. The first; the second is to attack friends, just like Banchao in the Han Dynasty, when our king Xuance swept away the territory without spending a single soldier from the court, led the people back, and eliminated the troubles that would last for a hundred years in one fell swoop, although it is not as good as the achievements of the champion Hou Ma who defeated the Huns. Biao Bing, in terms of military skills, is superior to him!"

Liuli looked at the rare flying look between his brows, which made his whole face look heroic, and had an indescribable resemblance to the mountains in the distance. She couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Pei Xingjian lowered his head and smiled, "Why?" ? But you think my words are too bookish?"

Liuli came back to her senses, shook her head and smiled, "How can you be a scholar? After traveling five thousand miles, it might be the time for you to show off your talents. I'll wait and see how you conspire to make friends, okay?" "

Pei Xingjian's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he smiled softly, "Okay! Hug her tighter!" He hugged her arm with a slight force, turned the horse's head, and said to Agu in a loud voice, "Let's go after the convoy in front!" As soon as he knocked, the horse immediately started galloping. Liuli hurriedly put her arms around his waist. It was clear that the wind was blowing against her face, but she felt that only his clear and warm breath was left on her nose.

 In the next few days, because the weather was fine and the wind had subsided, Liuli spent half of the day outside the car, walking side by side with Pei Xingjian, whispering. Although Pei Xingjian set foot on the northwest fortress for the first time, he had a book in mind and was willing to consult Shilang, Lao Kang and others, so the scenery and allusions along the way were treasured by everyone.

More than half a day's walk from Jiedan City, you can see Yanzhi Mountain, which is sung in Xiongnu folk songs. Its name comes from the abundant red and blue flowers on the mountain, which can be used to make rouge. At the foot of Qilian Mountain, there are The best horse farm in the northwest; therefore, the Huns lamented that women have no color and the animals cannot eat. The northern foot of Yanzhi Mountain is the famous Ganzhou. When the city was founded, it was based on the ambition of "breaking the arms of the Huns and opening the armpits of the Han". It is also known as Zhangye. Although the prosperity is slightly less than that of Liangzhou , but it also has its own vitality.

Just after passing Ganzhou, the scenery is quite different. Suzhou and Juyan passed by on the road are of course not as densely populated and prosperous as before. The scenery on the roadside has also turned into a large desert Gobi. Occasionally, you can still see distant places. The undulating mountains reveal the wonderful silhouettes of the Great Wall and beacon towers.

The northwest wind blowing in the wilderness became stronger and stronger day by day. The people in the convoy gradually put on thick fur coats, but the number of camel convoys gradually increased on the road.

When Liuli asked, she found out that it turned out that all the way from Dunhuang to Gaochang was a vast expanse of wasteland. Winter, when there is little wind, was actually the most suitable season. However, the more than a thousand miles from Liangzhou to Dunhuang and beyond were freezing cold. It was not easy to walk, and there were very few caravans with families like the An family in several big cities along the Silk Road, who could change their carriages and horses at any time to speed up. The camel caravan was already slower and had to set off earlier, so it left Liangzhou. There was almost no one on the way back. On the contrary, the closer we got to Dunhuang, the more caravans we encountered. However, Anjuro did not dare to be cautious. He led the caravan hurriedly and slowly, and finally arrived at Dunhuang City before November.

Ever since he fought in Suzhou, Pei Xingjian refused to let Liuli get out of the carriage because of the cold outside. He just heard the word "Dunhuang", how could Liuli stay? Pei Xingjian couldn't help but lift the curtain and peek forward. Pei Xingjian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to ask her to dress more tightly, and reached out to pick her up from the front of the carriage and onto the horse's back.

Dunhuang in the distance does not seem to have many regulations. The north and south city walls are only more than two miles long, but the city walls are more than two feet high. The majestic turrets at the corners of the city walls are even more than four or five feet high. At a glance, it looks more like A huge earth-yellow bunker, it has no imaginable charm of a Chinese or Western domain city.

Liuli squinted her eyes, trying her best to find something familiar, but the more she looked, the stranger it became. Finally, she couldn't help but turn around and ask Pei Xingjian, "Is there a Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang City?"

Pei Xingjian was startled and then said, "Are you talking about that strange mountain where the sound of sand can be heard for dozens of miles?"

Liuli nodded hurriedly, and Pei Xingjian laughed, "Of course there are mountains, but how big is this city? How can the sand mountain be in the city? I remember it seems to be twenty or thirty miles away."

Liuli suddenly felt a little disappointed. From this point of view, the city in front of her was not actually the same city as the Dunhuang she had been to...

Pei Xingjian naturally felt that her mood had become depressed, but he thought she was frustrated because she could not see Mingsha Mountain, so he hurriedly whispered, "Shiro told me that the caravan had to clean up the goods in Dunhuang, replace the camel team, and... I'm afraid it will take me two days to burn incense in the temple. If you're not tired, why don't I accompany you to Mingsha Mountain tomorrow?"

Liuli sighed softly, so what if she saw it? At this time, Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring were no longer the same as those she had seen and painted before, "Forget it, it's too far."

Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's okay. I've been traveling hard lately, and I finally have a free day. You'd better rest more." Although Liuli never complained, she was very interested in seeing the scenery, but her hands and feet were getting worse day by day. The sun was freezing. If the weather got colder, we wouldn't even be able to ride in the carriage for the next thousand miles... He couldn't help but tighten his arms around Liuli.

Liuli turned around and glanced at him with confusion, "What did you remember?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "I'm wondering which restaurant in Dunhuang is good. I see that you haven't eaten much on the way. You must eat more good food in these two days."

Liuli sighed, "As long as it's not mutton, it will be fine in any way."

Pei Xingjian couldn't help but laugh, "When you said that, I also found that I was really tired of eating."

The two chatted and laughed casually, and they arrived at the gate of Dunhuang City. The sun had set to the west, but the camel team waiting to enter the city was still lined up. Pei Xingjian frowned slightly, "The gate is crowded, you go back to the car and rest first." ”

Anjuro, who was at the front of the motorcade, was waiting a little impatiently at this moment, but he saw a bay-red horse running from the city gate. The rider smiled from a distance, "Ten cousins, you are here!"

Anjuro also smiled and greeted him, "Sixteenth brother, I haven't seen you for a year, but you have become more powerful."

An Jukuro was only eighteen or nineteen years old. He was tall but still young in appearance. He was reluctant to shave off the beard on his chin. Hearing this, he narrowed his eyes with a smile and said, "How can I compare with my tenth cousin? How can I compare with my tenth cousin?" Brother, I can now stand alone. My father teaches me a lesson every day!”

The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, and Anjuro pointed to the long queue beside him and asked, "What's going on today? I don't think it's a festival. Is it possible that the merchants here are also strictly inspected like Liangzhou?"

An Shiliu Lang took the horse a few steps closer and lowered his voice, "It's not that he is a merchant, but he is someone from Xizhou who sent people here to welcome some Tang Dynasty official who was newly sent by the imperial court. In the past few days, everyone from the east gate The caravans entering the city will ask more questions, and there are many caravans coming today, so the questions are slower than usual. "

Anjuro couldn't help but look back. Pei Xingjian was putting Liuli on the carriage again, and he was lowering his head to give some instructions. He couldn't help but smile and said to Shiliu Lang, "There are people from the Tang Dynasty in our caravan this time. Just wait a moment. I'll go and ask and I'll come back." After that, he rode his horse to Pei Xingjian's side and told the story in a low voice. .

　　That Quduhu of Xizhou actually sent people thousands of miles away to welcome the guests? Pei Xingjian looked at the tall city gate and frowned.

Well, I received the news about the exam schedule today. I will take the exam at ten o'clock in the morning on the 30th. It is estimated that the teacher will educate me again at noon... It seems that the extra exam on the 30th will be ruined. Alas, it will definitely happen on November 1st. JiaDi, thank you all for the pink!

 (End of this chapter)