Chapter 267 [Visitors from the west while resting]
Yellow land. ravine. yellow earth. ravine.
From morning to night, the scenery on both sides changed monotonously for several days. Occasionally rest in a small town for a rest, and when you set off westward with the morning sun behind your back, the road will be this wonderful and monotonous scenery again.
The speed of the team is not fast, not only because most of the caravans are ordinary people, but also because the camels are full of goods on their backs, which makes the camels who usually travel at a leisurely pace more leisurely and slow .
Fang Chang and Sang Ziping were also in the caravan. Like other members, they did not ride on the camels, but held the reins and walked the camels.
After passing several rivers, there are several high mountains.
Looking around, there is a country road nearby, on which there is a shepherd boy holding a piccolo, riding on the Mugui old cow. In the farmland, the crops are dancing with the wind, and the villages are scattered on the ground. It is evening, and every household is smoking.
This is the last scenery in Guanzhong before entering the Western Regions.
Xi Guotou told Fang Chang and Sang Ziping that after crossing the mountain ridge in front of them, they crossed the Daoxiong Pass at a pass, and after leaving the pass, they came to the Western Regions.
There are troops stationed at the pass. At any time, there are two factions of soldiers standing outside the pass, guarding with spears in their hands, and changing shifts every few hours. The chaos in the world does not seem to have affected the northwest border, and the soldiers are still doing their best. In this peaceful scene, they perform their usual routines as the sun rises and sets.
This small caravan went straight through this grand pass and slept outside.
After all, although this pass is majestic and precipitous, the space inside is very narrow. The supply for soldiers is already a bit full, and there is no more space to accommodate various commercial facilities. Therefore, in the pass city, there is no inn at all, and there is no extra space. A house for them to live in.
The camels had enough tents on them, and the people in the caravan found an open and flat place, so they worked together to take them down and simply set them up on the flat ground.
Each person also has their own bedding and the like, which are simply laid out in the tent to create a comfortable living environment. In early autumn, the Western Regions are already a bit cold at night, which is completely different from the scorching heat at noon. Even the grass outside will be covered with dewdrops in the morning.
At this time, the bodyguards hired by the team could not rest like ordinary people.
They have to take turns on their own to guard the small bell used for alarm.
If there is something to do at night, all you need to do is make a sound from the bell. The masters in the caravan have already agreed on a time to be on duty at night. Fang Chang and Sang Ziping have also been on duty twice, but they encountered each other in the Guanzhong territory before, and nothing worth mentioning happened at night.
A few days later, the climate changed again.
The dry air began to feel a little more humid, and the vegetation on the ground became more vigorous: "It seems that the precipitation here is good? But no one cultivates here."
Xi Guotou next to him smiled and said, "It's too risky outside. The risk of cultivating land outside is too great. Even if you open more than ten or twenty mu of land, often the sandstorm passes or the rain is not suitable, or It's the looters who wandered everywhere in the Western Regions, and they often turned into nothing."
"Xi Guotou, where is the front?" Fang Chang asked.
He kept walking, Xi Tong explained, and then he continued to tell Fang Chang:
"There are three major swamps in the world, the largest of which is Yunmengze in Jianghan, then here, and finally Jinze in the northwest. I don't know when the three major swamps were formed, but they look very different."
"In Yunmengze, it is said that it is a good place. It is called the 'Land of Fish and Rice'. Although it is rice, rice and fish, the rich products in Daze make the people there live carefree. I once had a good friend. That’s where you do business.”
"Dijinze in the northwest is farther north than ours, and its area is relatively small. There are few people there, and there are not even many wild animals and birds. Finally, Zhuyeze, as I just said, has a complicated situation inside, so you must be careful when passing by. The situation inside."
Not long after, Fang Chang saw Zhuye Ze.
The heat of the sun at noon steamed the swamp with mist. I don’t know what is mixed with this mist. Inhaling too much will cause great harm to the body. The road looks like it has been around for many years. Although it is small, it has been trampled evenly. Even though there is water next to it, it is still too dry to walk on, and there is no vegetation in the middle of the road.
Outside the customs, there is no official road that allows fast and convenient transportation that is unique to the Central Plains.
That is social welfare that can only be supported by a unified dynasty.
The small road here has forks popping up from time to time, and the fork road bypasses a large piece of reed, and I don't know where it extends. Fortunately, the caravan has been running this route all year round, and they are already familiar with it. The choice of route is very reliable, and it looks very convincing.
"It's getting late, let's go up Sanli Road, and there is a shelter over there. Every time we pass by, we will camp there. Work hard, everyone, get there early, so we can eat and rest early .By the way, you can also unload the cargo on the ground, so that the camels and pack horses can rest."
"good!"
Everyone responded in unison, quickened their pace instantly, and pulled the camels on the other end of the rein, forcing them to speed up.
Three miles were walked lightly and quickly.
The caravan stopped, went in one by one, let the camels lie down outside, and led the pack horses inside. The bodyguards and a few Jianghu people in the team ran to the outside to guard the surrounding situation. After all, the desert is vast, and any risk can happen.
Not only sand bandits cutting the trails, but even wolves are very difficult to deal with.
Fang Chang and Sang Ziping belonged to the guard group, so they guarded the outer circle together with the bodyguards.
Then the caravan guys unpacked the luggage carried by the camels and pack horses, took out the raw materials for the tent, swung a big wooden stick as a hammer, and wedged it into the soil.
Some fellows took off the pot, collected firewood in the open space, lit a large bonfire, put the pot on it, and boiled hot water for everyone to use. Then they opened the rice bags on the camels' backs, put the corn and rice into the pot, and simmered over high heat.
According to their responsibilities, some fellows set up a fire alone, and then put the vegetables they found around them into the pot and stir-fried them with vegetable oil.
At this time, suddenly a horse approached from far to near from the west.
Thank you for the reward from Li Ren.
(end of this chapter)