The old demon of Montenegro wants to practice Taoism

Early the next morning, the first "person" to wake up was the governor.Sensing that his breathing was getting heavier, both Shanyangze and Guo Qian could not help but pretend to be asleep, but they were afraid that they would not be pretending, so...Guo Qian buried his face in Shanyangze's arms, and then Shanyang Ze buried his face in Guo Qian's shoulder and neck.

So when the Lord Du woke up completely, he saw two people hugging each other and sleeping in a ball. Of course, the Lord Governor couldn't say such a highly generalized word "Xiu Fen Kuai", but his psychology at that time could completely use these three words. It can be summed up in one word, and: So you two still know how to avoid taboos, why now...you can see it after dying twice, whatever.

The governor sat up and straightened his clothes, and took some water to freshen up.Only then did Shan Yangze pretend to be woken up, yawned, stretched his waist and sat up holding Guo Qian, saying: "I didn't fall asleep at the beginning last night, the carriage was jolting, it was quite noisy, but it was shaking I didn’t know why I was sleepy, but I still slept soundly this time.”

Guo Qian always followed Shan Yangze's words to outsiders, nodded and said: "It's just that the shoulders are a little sore."

"May I squeeze it for you?" Although Shan Yangze didn't know if his shoulder would hurt as a ghost, he still put his hand on it.

The governor glared at them, turned his head and waited for a while, then took out a few files from the hidden compartments on both sides of the carriage, and said, "Let's have a look. I came out again only two days after I came back to the capital. Let's discuss how to get on the road first." discuss."

Shan Yangze packed up the bedclothes he used to sleep last night, and set up a small table, and the governor put the files on it and spread them out.

A facsimile version of the first map found in the Qianling Mausoleum, which shows the location of Gaochang's capital city and the route from Chang'an City.

The second is the current map, the territory map of the Ming Dynasty.

The third one is Xuanzang's journey to the West, which is described in "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" written by his disciple Bian Ji, according to Master Xuanzang's dictation.

Shan Yangze looked at the map, then looked at the governor and said, "With these three maps alone, I'm afraid I can't find the place? Why don't you go find a guide when you arrive?" These three maps are as close as possible. The painting is too big, but calculating the scale, it is more than one to one million. That is to say, the distance of one centimeter on the picture is about twenty miles. Both Guo Qian and Guo Qian had to lose their vests.

The governor tapped his finger on the table and said, "This is natural." He pointed to the map and said, "Jinyiwei has spies who have been on the Silk Road all year round. When the time comes, we will find an experienced one. What I want to talk about is another thing. After the ancient city of Gaochang was merged into the Tang Dynasty in the 14th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Huozhou. Although this place has been destroyed in the war, "the Governor pointed to the map of the Ming Dynasty: "But Now is the place not to lose the Bali Kingdom."

What?Although I have no impression of this strange-sounding name, but... going abroad?

The Governor frowned, and said: "Your Majesty called the Minister of the Ministry of War to discuss the matter, and I listened behind. Although the other side was owned by the four previous Khans, but the recent regime change has caused some chaos. The Minister of the Ministry of War said that now it is the King Khan of Turpan controlled it, and in the eighth year of Chenghua, he sent troops to capture Hami." The Governor pointed to the map again, and said, "It can be regarded as the only way we must pass on this trip."

This is really not a good time, no, Shan Yangze asked: "Isn't this the Silk Road? There are many merchants coming and going, so we mix in and walk together, and sneak out when we get to the place."

The Governor said with a wry smile: "The Silk Road has gradually declined after the Anshi Rebellion. Many cities have turned into deserts and Gobi deserts, with few people. The road is full of small countries in the Western Regions, heavily armed. The merchants who take the Silk Road now are probably even from the Tang Dynasty. Not at all. Besides, His Majesty actually prohibits private trade. Xuanzang’s exit was a smuggled immigration, and we couldn’t actually leave the customs, and there were a group of enemies who didn’t know who they were behind. We probably left Chang’an City. It’s time to disguise yourself.”

Shan Yangze picked up the three maps, studied them carefully for a while, and said, "Let's talk about the route first. The last stop under Daming's jurisdiction is Shazhou, and then two routes to the capital of Gaochang. Going northwest to the capital city of Gaochang, the farther way is Hami, through..." Shan Yangze looked at the map again, and said: "Must be disabled? Go to the capital city of Gaochang." What kind of name is this, it sounds unlucky.

The governor nodded, "You can only smuggle people around the Yumen Pass. If you go a long way, you have to pass through two cities that are not under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty." After speaking, the governor added, "Although the Ming Dynasty prohibits private trade, the countries along the route do All very welcome."

Guo Qian has been looking at the map of Xuanzang’s Journey to the West. He said: “Master Xuanzang took a relatively long road, and it must be more suitable for smuggling.” After he finished speaking, he shook his head and said: “He is a monk. The investigation will be too strict." Guo Qian looked at the map of the Ming Dynasty in Shanyangze's hand and compared it: "Gaochang Capital City has been abandoned, if we rush there, we will definitely be suspected, we have to find another A reasonable capital is."

Governor nodded and said: "Forget it, let's go to Chang'an City first."

So in the next few days, several people studied the map separately, as well as various dossiers prepared by the Governor, and travel notes written by some people. After several days of discussion, they felt that the most difficult thing was probably to find abandoned objects in the desert. the ancient city.The nomads occupying this area now, they don't come to places without grass, so if they are hostile or not, it won't be a big problem as long as they are careful.

But Shan Yangze still had a vague worry in his heart, no one said, when did Qianling happen?Nearly 11 years have passed since the 700th year of Chenghua. The ancient city of Gaochang has experienced four Gaochang kings.

The carriage did not stop all the way, and finally returned to Chang'an City on the ninth day.After getting out of the carriage, the Governor shook his already aching shoulders, and said, "Master Xuanzang set off from Chang'an and arrived in Gaochang for four months. I don't know how long it will take us this time."

The few people didn't dare to delay, they hurried to Jinyiwei's liaison office and found a Jinyiwei who had been spying on various inside information of the Western Regions on the Silk Road all year round. The governor said: "We plan to pretend to be businessmen and go to the ancient city of Gaochang."

The man the governor was looking for was Jia Wu, who was in his early forties, but he didn't seem too embarrassed after hearing the governor's words: "I've been to this place twice."

Not only the governor, but even Shan Yangze's eyes lit up.

The first sentence is good news, but the second sentence is not very pleasant, "This place is not easy to walk, and there are mostly deserts on both sides. Although there are businessmen coming and going, most of them are vicious people who smuggled out of Yumen Pass, and ambushed. The gangsters who wait for the black to eat the black. A serious businessman would rather take a long detour than go here."

But since the governor opened his mouth, he must go no matter what, Jia Wu said again: "The most suitable time to walk this section of road is from August to December, and it is already October, so hurry up."

At present, the governor took Jia Wu and left two orders for Jin Yiwei. One was to strictly search the caravans going to the Western Regions, and immediately seize any suspicious ones. The second was to search for travelers with five-year-old children on the road. .After giving the order, several people got into the carriage again and headed west.

On the way, Jia Wu took out a hand-drawn map and told them how to get there.

As Shan Yangze said, the road before reaching Shazhou is the same, and there is nothing unusual. Basically, you can drive quickly along the main road. Although there are occasional Gobi deserts, there are post stations set up by the imperial court along the way, which is quite convenient.

The real trouble is the road from Shazhou to Gaochang.As the name suggests, Shazhou is surrounded by sand. After leaving Shazhou and going northwest for about 150 miles, you will reach Yumen Pass. When you leave Yumen Pass and then go to Gaochang, there will be only the Gobi desert along the way for [-] miles. up.

When Jia Wu said this, he said again: "If you go to Hami, you will be ruined. Although the distance is [-] li, but you are walking at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, it is much easier to travel."

Governor frowned, Shan Yangze wanted to take a shortcut, so he asked, "What about the time?"

Jia Wu looked at the governor's obviously unhappy face, bowed his head and said: "There is no way to go to the desert, and there are no supplies on the way. It depends on the sun and stars and the compass in your hand to point the direction. You can't drive at night. The weather is cool now. Many, if it is not hot at noon, you can take a short walk. If you can walk for five hours a day, you can arrive within ten days. But if it catches up with strong winds, it is not certain, and it is also possible to be buried in sand and lose your life. some."

"If you take the Hami Bican Line, it will take about seventeen or eight days on the road, but half of the road is under the control of Turpan Khan, and the small cities along the way will be subject to interrogation, which may take two or three days." Jia Wu said. After that, he looked at the governor again, and added carefully: "We are familiar with this road, so there will be no major problems."

The governor thought for a while and said, "Cut a shortcut."

Jia Wu wanted to say something more, but seeing the governor's expressionless face, he couldn't say anything.

When no one was around, the governor explained to Shan Yangze, "The ancient city of Gaochang has gone through several wars, and the ruins in the center of the city are still there. I asked someone to prepare a shovel and some gunpowder. If you take these things on the road, you will definitely not accept interrogation."

Shan Yangze nodded, and the governor said again: "And I suddenly remembered something, the destination of our trip... I'm afraid it has been exposed."

Shan Yangze was startled, and thought that only three people knew about it, "Could it be?"

The governor nodded, "Don't say it, it was leaked from the palace."

"We set off two days later than they did."

"So you have to take a shortcut."

After galloping all the way again, the four of them arrived at the last supply city of this trip, Shazhou.The people arranged by the governor have already prepared things and waited.Twelve camels, shovels, gunpowder, etc. are covered with silk to hide people's eyes and ears.There are also four big, five, and three thick, who seem to be businessmen who often walk on the Silk Road.

Several people changed their clothes, and a group of eight people led the camel and set foot on the vast yellow sand.

From Shazhou, about [-] to [-] miles away is Yumenguan. This is the last stop in the actual control area of ​​the Ming Dynasty. After leaving Yumenguan, let alone the governor of the West Factory, even the identity of the emperor is not easy to use. up.

Although Shanyangze and the others set off in October, they traveled much faster because they traveled in a carriage for the first half of the journey. On this road, they also met the last batch of merchants who took the Silk Road.

Shan Yangze looked at their camel goods, and compared with his own outfit, he had to say what Jin Yiwei was dressed like, and the arrangements were very thoughtful.The camel was wounded, and there were patches on the leather bag for carrying the goods. Although the three of them looked white and tender, they did not look like businessmen who had traveled the Silk Road, but their faces were covered with earthen cloth to keep out the wind and sand. not coming out.

Jia Wu led the way, followed by Governor Shan Yangze and Guo Qian. In the middle were four camels specially used to carry goods, and at the end were four Jinyi guards. This way of walking, one could see that Jia Wu was leading the way. Shan Yangze and the three of them are in charge, and the bodyguards are behind them.

A few people set off in the morning, rested for a while at noon, and finally arrived at a small village less than ten miles away from Yumen Pass when the sun was about to set. It was said to be a village, but it was actually three or five inns with a dozen households. formed a residential area.

Jia Wu got off the camel and said, "There is another village in the north where the families of the soldiers stationed at Yumen Pass live. The conditions are much better than here, but it may be inconvenient to go there with the things we brought."

Jia Wu originally thought that the governor was going to spy on the enemy, but after seeing the salute on the back of the camel, he knew that he was going to Gaochang to dig something, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions, and followed the instructions of the governor to smuggle here The place of exit.

Shan Yangze led the camel, seeing that the people around him seemed to be harboring malicious intentions, he couldn't help but hastened two steps and walked to Guo Qian's side.

Jia Wu tightened his clothes, fastened the buckle on the camel, and said, "It's not safe here, let's be careful."