The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 525 Volume Are there any beautiful women in Shanshan?

The sun was blazing.

Cao Cao and his entourage had already left Yangguan and headed west, seen off by Wei Kang, the governor of Liangzhou.

"General! Please look!"

The Han army's guide pointed to the south.

Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others looked over.

The sand dunes in the distance are grayish white, and when exposed to the sun, they glow with silver light, like the scales of a white dragon!
"That's the White Dragon Pile!"

"This section of the road is also the most difficult to walk. Once we pass this section, we will reach the territory of Shanshan!"

The guide pulled up the scarf around his neck to cover his mouth and nose.

"In fact, to go to the Western Region, you should take the road to the north!"

"The road to the north is much easier to travel than the road to the south! But this time we are going to Khotan, so we are going to the south!"

To the west of Dunhuang County, there are two world-famous passes.

Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass.

Among them, Yumen Pass is in the north. After passing through Yumen Pass, it passes through Cheshi, Yanqi, Qiuci, and Shule. This is the northern road.

Yangguan is in the south. Going out of Yangguan through Shanshan, Yutian and Shache is the southern route.

Cao Cao was suddenly puzzled after hearing this: "Since the northern route is easier to travel, why have most Han people taken the southern route since ancient times?"

Guo Jia's Adam's apple trembled up and down, and after forcing himself to drool, he smiled and explained to Cao Cao: "Why didn't you make more preparations before you came?"

"I went to visit Zhang Yan, the former chief historian of the Western Regions, and he told me in detail all he had seen and heard in the Western Regions."

Guo Jia pointed to the north and said, "During the pre-Han period, when the Han and Xiongnu were at war, the countries in the Western Regions were actually wavering."

"Later, the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu, but did not completely drive out the Xiongnu's power in the Western Regions. The Xiongnu continued to occupy the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, controlling the states of Qiuci and Jingjue, and cutting off the road to the north."

"So even though the road to the south is difficult to travel, for safety reasons, Han envoys and merchants will take the southern route more often!"

"In the Later Han Dynasty, when Ban Dingyuan pacified the Western Regions, he also realized that the southern route was difficult to travel, so he set up the Western Regions Protectorate in Qiuci to control the northern route... But after Ban Dingyuan passed away, the Western Regions countries were dissatisfied with his successor and repeatedly rebelled. Although they finally surrendered, the Wusun in the northeast no longer obeyed the Western Regions Protectorate. For safety, merchants still took the southern route."

That's it!

Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun and others nodded frequently.

Guo Jia pointed forward again——

"That is the 'Youze' recorded in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'. People in the Western Regions also call it the 'Puchang Sea'."

"As long as we can reach Youze, we will have walked out of the White Dragon Pile!"

The guide at the side praised repeatedly: "That's right! I didn't expect the Han envoy to be so knowledgeable!"

Cao Cao was also pleased and said: "Fortunately Feng Xiao came with us, otherwise I would not know many customs of the Western Regions."

Guo Jia signaled to Cao Cao not to be polite, but his expression was a little solemn.

"There's a reason why this Bailongdui is called a Jedi. I hope you will be careful!"

"If we encounter a sandstorm, our entire army could be wiped out. We must be extremely alert!"

"it is good!"

Cao Cao knew that Guo Jia was not a serious person on normal days.

But once it gets serious, it really is a matter of life and death!

Especially Cao Cao's trip, there were so many people!

In total, there were more than 10,000 people who followed Cao Cao to the Western Regions, and they were all Cao Cao's die-hard fans!

Supplying fresh water to these 10,000 people is definitely an extremely severe test!

"Fortunately, the emperor prepared fried noodles and maltose."

Cao Cao turned his head and looked at the nearly one thousand camels behind him, and he felt a little more confident.

"set off!"

Those who start from scratch always have a hard time.

But Cao Cao believed that as long as this battle could recapture the Western Regions and restore the Han Dynasty's control over the northern route of the Western Regions, it would not be so difficult for Han people to travel to the Western Regions in the future!
Thinking of this, Cao Cao, who was originally a little worried, suddenly laughed.

"Fengxiao! Do you think that when the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period were enfeoffed by the Zhou Emperor, they also had a hard time moving forward like we are today?"

Others had not yet reacted to Cao Cao's crazy mood change, but Guo Jia was always able to understand Cao Cao's thoughts and laughed immediately: "That's right!"

“During the Spring and Autumn Period, the most beautiful place was the Central Plains.”

"The roads in Bingzhou are blocked, Jizhou is often flooded, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou are all full of miasma, and are wild and desolate... But what about today?"

Cao Cao shook his head in admiration: "Although I know the emperor's ambitions, I will never know his intentions until I go outside the Nine Provinces!"

The world... is very big!

Which of Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, and even Shu in those days was not a wild place?

Thousands of years ago, who would have thought that the prosperity of these places would be comparable to that of the Central Plains?
Although the Western Regions seem desolate, who can guarantee that thousands of years later, it will not be a strategic point in the world and a pearl of the trade route?
Seeing Cao Cao's high spirits, Guo Jia also exclaimed: "Mingsong, you really made the right decision to come to the Western Regions!"

Most people who are far away from their hometown will probably feel sad and sigh secretly, thinking that there will be no old friends on the road ahead.

But Cao Cao was a different kind of person.

Come! See! Conquer!

If such people really stayed in the Han area and read the books of sages, it would be a real waste of God's gifts!

"The journey of the sun and the moon can be traced out of it."

"The stars are as brilliant as if they came from within."

"I am so lucky, I will sing to express my aspirations!" Cao Cao's sudden shout boosted the morale of the team. The soldiers behind him were no longer afraid of the unknown land, and instead took firm steps towards the Western Regions!

……

But luck obviously did not favor Cao Cao.

Seven days after entering the Bailongdui area, a sandstorm that covered the sky and the sun came from the north.

Cao Cao's army had no choice but to follow the guide to seek refuge behind a sand dune. Following the guide's advice, they had the soldiers tie their own legs and feet and those of the soldiers next to them with belts, forming a "iron chain boat connection."

A sandstorm came, and it was impossible to distinguish between day and night.

Every time I breathe, I can feel fine sand entering my nasal cavity. After a while, it becomes a burning pain and I even start to bleed from my nose.

Only Guo Jia acted as if nothing had happened. Instead, he followed the guide and started to learn the language of the Western Regions to facilitate future communication.

The sandstorm blew for three days and three nights.

By the fourth day, everyone's faces and clothes were covered with a layer of fine yellow sand.

Xiahou Dun made a report to Cao Cao later.

"Hundreds of people are missing. They must have accidentally dropped their belts when they went out to relieve themselves, or they ran too far and lost their way."

There was a sandstorm, and even if we were only five steps away from our comrades, we probably wouldn't be able to notice anything in the silence and darkness, let alone walk a few hundred steps.

"Dozens of camels are missing, and many of them are camels carrying fresh water. I'm afraid we'll have to use them sparingly over the next few days!"

If such a loss happened outside, it would be huge.

But if you put it in the white dragon pile, it is indeed lucky enough.

Cao Cao stretched out his tongue, which had a surface as smooth as gravel, and licked his lips...

"Hurry up!"

"promise!"

Now everyone is just in the middle of Bailongdui, with no village in front and no shop behind, and there is no way to turn back.

Right now, if you want to survive, you can only rely on your own legs to walk out of this desperate place!
……

We walked forward for several more days.

Even though Xiahou Dun had strictly controlled the daily distribution of drinking water, and senior officials including Cao Cao and Guo Jia had taken the lead in saving water, just like ordinary soldiers, they still ran out of water when they were about to leave.

Cao Cao now didn't even dare to lick his lips, for fear of losing more water in his body.

"How many days are left before I can go out?"

"It will take at least two days!"

The guide looked at the team behind him with concern.

Barry is only half of 90.

In these last two days, I'm afraid that Cao Cao's team will have to reduce its members!
“Can we get there in one day?”

The guide shook his head.

"Unless we march quickly! But if we run wildly at this time, we will only die faster!"

Cao Cao looked around.

It was so vast that even the limits of heaven and earth seemed to disappear in the distance.

Cao Cao once had such an experience.

It was on that day when we crossed the Bohai Sea from Qingzhou and Penglai and headed to Liaodong.

When the ship reaches the center of the ocean, it is impossible to tell left from right, or even up from down.

But this scene did not make Cao Cao panic at all. Instead, he started chatting with the guide about other things.

"Are there any beautiful women in Shanshan?"

The guide looked at Cao Cao with admiration, obviously not expecting that this great Han general who conquered the west would still have such a refined mood at this time.

"Of course! The Shanshan girl is the most beautiful! Especially her slim waist, which is simply amazing!"

"Do you have grapes and watermelons?"

"Yes! They all are! The fruits and vegetables in the Western Regions are all the best! They are so many times sweeter and juicier than those in the Central Plains!"

When Cao Cao heard this, he immediately shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Did you hear that?"

"Not far ahead is the Shanshan Kingdom!"

"There is not only a huge lake, but also beautiful women from the Western Regions and sweet fruits!"

"Listen carefully! The grapes from the Western Region are a speciality! If you put them in your mouth and bite them, they will explode directly!"

"If we go another thirty miles, we will reach Shanshan and eat grapes!"

The guide looked confused at this moment.

Thirty miles?
How could it be so close? Didn’t I just tell Cao Cao that it would take another day and night to get there?

But when the soldiers in the rear heard what Cao Cao said, they were immediately immersed in it!

They saw a huge pool of water appearing in front of them. They could jump in and swim freely, gulping down big gulps of water and soaking every inch of their skin in the cool water!
And those grapes, when you put them in your mouth and take a bite, they instantly explode in your mouth, filling your mouth with sweet and sour juice!

There was also a beauty from Shanshan, wearing a bellyband-like garment, revealing her slender waist, and she was constantly swaying in front of him...

hiss!
"The whole army marches!"

It seemed as if blood would come out of Cao Cao's throat at the next moment, but he still shouted this sentence very forcefully, penetrating the minds of all the soldiers!

March quickly!
Many soldiers drooled from their mouths, but their legs gradually increased in pace.

Fight for grapes!
(End of this chapter)