For the next few days, we walked along the staccato at the foot of the Heavenly Mountain, and we didn't encounter any more obstacles.

One day, on the banks of a long river called Qishui, we abandoned the inherent trade route to the east, and instead followed the sheep farm trail on the bank to the depths of the Heavenly Mountain.

On the way, we walked through a lot of wooden plank roads hanging in the mountainside, and listened to my grandfather say that this was the grain and grass horse road left by Zhuge Kongming, the military advisor of the Shu Han Dynasty.

Heading south along this boardwalk, you can go straight to the rich Nishikawa.

Because of the passage of time, many places on the plank road have long been rotten, and it is very dangerous to walk on it.

On the evening of the second day, our caravan descended the plank road and after rounding a mountain beam, the view suddenly widened.

I didn't expect that in the hinterland of Tianzhi Mountain, surrounded by peaks, there would be such a flat plateau.

"Young master! Qishan Racecourse has arrived!! ”

Qin Chong pointed to the green grass and wildflowers in front of him, and cheered loudly to me.

Following the direction of Qin Chong's finger, in the distance between the mountains and snow peaks and the grassland, more than a dozen herdsmen on horses were holding horse poles, driving hundreds of divine horses from Wusun and Dawan to the paddock at the edge of the forest.

"Nuge!" "Mutanier!" "Mandonla!" There was a commotion on our side, and the crowd was filled with shouts one after another.

I know all three of them, and they are the three stewards of my grandfather's dispatch to Qishan Racecourse.

Among them, Qiang Nuge and Mandongla were the men accepted by his grandfather ten years ago, and Mutanir was his grandfather's old subordinate when he was in the royal city, just like several senior brothers in the caravan.

"Sir!" "Master!"

There was also a cheerful shout from among the shepherds on the opposite side, and three of the shepherds' mounts had left the herd of horses in the pen and were galloping towards this side.

With their black robes, their unkempt hair in their shawls, and their red-sauce complexion, I couldn't tell who was among the three of them.

"Sir! Captain! During these days, I sent people to the Qishui River every day to listen to the news, looking forward to the stars and the moon, and finally I have come to look forward to you! ”

The three of them turned over and dismounted and came to me, and I could recognize that the person who was talking to my grandfather should be Brother Nuge.

The guys stepped forward one after another and gave the three partners who had lived and died together one after another passionate hugs.

"Not really! Two years have passed in the blink of an eye! Ha ha! Nuge, Mandonla, Mutaniel! The old man misses you too! Grandpa hugged Mangdong and laughed.

"Young master, I haven't seen you for two years and become an adult! When we left "Qingfengze" with the young master of Chang'an, you were still a child! ”

Mutaniel's face was already red with happiness, and he was reluctant to let go of my hand.

As soon as I heard the words "Young Master of Chang'an", my tears couldn't stop flowing.

Along the way, I've tasted the hardships along the way.

And my third brother in Chang'an, when he left Qingfengze, was only an eight or nine-year-old child!

Although they took the sea route from the south of the Guishan Kingdom back then, it was much more comfortable than the land route, and after arriving at Luoyi Academy, they were accompanied by their second brother Wu Wei.

I didn't feel much when my second brother left home, but when my third brother Chang'an just left Qingfengze, I think he was going crazy.

At that time, I couldn't understand why my grandfather was so ruthless and sent his two young grandchildren to such a distant Middle Earth.

The departure of the two younger brothers is an unforgettable blow to the mother, although she has never shown her longing for her beloved son on the outside.

But in those days, she seemed to have aged a lot all of a sudden, and she doted on me to an extent that she could not be more than she could.

When she doesn't see me for a moment, she will go crazy and order the maids and men to look for me everywhere, until I appear next to her, and my mother can slowly relax.

"Young master, what's wrong with you?"

Seeing me crying, Mu Taniel asked in surprise, and Qin Chong also hurriedly came over with concern.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, hehe, I miss my second brother Wuwei and third brother Chang'an a little bit!" I quickly wiped away my tears and smiled perfunctorily.

"Chang'an, this little baby is really not simple! I didn't hear him cry all the way south, and everything he saw was new and happy! Hehe! It takes a long time to take the sea route to Jiankang, but you can indeed see all kinds of strange things along the way! ”

Mutaniel learned that I was sad because I missed my two younger brothers, and quickly changed the subject.

"Chang'an has not changed much in recent years, except for growing taller. It's still chubby, and it's a happy appearance. Wu Wei has changed a lot, he is taller than the young master, and his appearance and temperament are a bit like Bai Xuan's painters in the Mogao Grottoes! ”

Qin Chong on the side followed and introduced the current situation of Chang'an and Wuwei's second brothers.

After listening to the two of them's consolation, my somewhat sad heart suddenly relaxed.

Originally, I was worried that the two brothers would suffer outside and be homesick all day long. Now that I know that their days in Luoyang and Jiankang are quite moist, I am relieved.

The residence of Qishan Racecourse is built on the mountain, and it is all made of logs, and the roof is paved with white quartz fragments that can be found everywhere in the area.

It is somewhat similar to some Qiang cottages seen on the way.

On the grass next to the hut, a group of babies were kicking a balloon made of sheepskin.

Seeing us guests from outside the mountain, these children gave up playing football and gathered around, curious about every object we brought.

Several Han and Qiang women, who are quite good-looking, have already begun to slaughter chickens and sheep on the venue to prepare dinner for us.

Needless to say, these women are the relatives of these horse farm guys, and there will definitely be a temporary daughter-in-law of the three of them in the middle.

Between these barren mountains and mountains, except for a dozen of them, it is difficult to even see a ghost.

If you don't find a woman by your side, life will be too boring.

After dinner, the men of the horse farm had already lit two roaring bonfires in the altar of the field.

The 100 or so people of our caravan and the families of the horse farm all sat around the fire, drinking slightly sour mare's milk wine, and enjoying some improvised mountain and wild dances performed by the local Tuqiang men and their relatives, enjoying this rare leisure time.

I couldn't help but take out the tambourine I carried with me, and beat it wantonly to the rhythm of their dance, and let it go back to the night I was with the Kujia sisters in the old city of Loulan.

Qin Chong seems to have begun to miss his little sister of the Ku family, and has been absent-mindedly staring at the fire in a daze all night, and Lotte is as stubborn as two people on weekdays.

Time flies so fast on the road! In the blink of an eye, it was August of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it had been two months since I left the Kujia Inn by the Peacock River.

Even the Tanabata Festival, which used to play with cousins every year, has passed more than 20 days.

Chinese poems have clouds: The river is clear and shallow, how many times is it different? Yingying is in the water, and the pulse is silent.

I wonder if Yamika is doing well in that distant place? Is Kuzhna doing well? And my sister Gurandot, my cousin Langor, and my beloved mother and grandmother, you're all okay!

In the midst of the reverie, Nuge, Mutaniel, and Mandonla each carried a bucket of mare's milk wine, and came over one by one to toast.

"Old folks! Let's live here! There is wine and meat in the meal! Ha ha! ”

Being able to drink heartily is the greatest pleasure in my grandfather's life, and he and Mandonla each made a bowl of it, laughing and laughing.

"Master Wei, we all dream of returning to the team! In this ravine, the mountain is covered by heavy snow for half a year, and the rest of the days are accompanied by savages, tigers and wolves, and the nearest market is also 7 days away from here! ”

Mutanier sighed as he poured his grandfather's wine.

"But now that we have wives and children here, it's hard to go back! Don't talk about it, drink and drink! Ha ha! ”

Uncle Nu Ge Su and Grandpa each touched a bowl, and they laughed and laughed at their fate.

After more than two years of herding in the mountains and forests, these three people already have a bit of a savage atmosphere.

"Brother, you have to come up with an idea, what should the three of them do about this?"

Grandpa looked at the grandfather who had been silent next to him, and anxiously asked for his opinion.

"Yes, sir, there were only about 20 Wusun horses we sent here three years ago, and now they have grown to more than 200! Slaves, they are indispensable! ”

Uncle Su put down the wine bowl in his hand and frankly expressed his opinion.

The three of Mutaniel had already carried the wine barrel and went to drink with the other old guys, this mass, even if Ma Chao was alive back then, it was nothing more than that.

"Well, we'll pass by here again next spring, and they're willing to stay, and I'll pay double the wages. If they return home with their wives and children, they will be given a sum of money to settle down in their respective hometowns or in the royal city of Khotan! In the future, this is the method for all the men in charge of Qishan Racecourse. If the old man doesn't want to do it, I'll invite outsiders, and if I can't invite outsiders, I'll close this racecourse. ”

Grandpa took a sip of milk wine and replied thoughtfully.

"That's a great idea!" Grandpa chimed in.

"Don't worry, sir, there will be guys who are willing to stay. There will be brave men under the reward! Besides, the road to commerce is no more comfortable than putting a horse here. Uncle Su said with confidence.

"Grandpa, there are open and flat grasslands on both sides of the official road in Hexi, why don't you build a horse farm there? Just like the Kunlun Ranch in my hometown! I asked, puzzled.

"Young master, have you ever heard of horse thieves?" Uncle Su asked with a smile.

"Horse thieves? First time I heard about it. I guess it's similar to the gang of thieves we met earlier. I guessed playing with the tambourine.

"Yes, build a horse farm in the places you mentioned, don't say ten guys, even if all of us are pressed into it, those thieves will steal all your horses!"

Grandpa replied that he was already a little drunk.

"Jincheng, you have to remember that this Qishan Horse Farm is not used to make money, it is for the convenience of replacing leg strength. Our more than 100 camels and horses have come all the way from Khotan, and when we reach the Tianzhi Mountain, we are already at the end of the crossbow. Tomorrow, I will leave all of them here to recuperate, and replace them with a group of strong horses and go south, and we will arrive in Jiankang in a few days. Hehe! ”

Grandpa has always loved prancing horses and whips, and thinking that the next journey will be all galloping horses, the old man replied with bright eyes.

"Young master, after the mountain of heaven, there are carriage and horse shops everywhere along the way, and after crossing the big river, it is the fertile Guanzhong and Huaishui, the land of fish and rice in Jiangdong, and our supply of people and animals is no longer a problem! Riding a horse on the road for hundreds of miles a day, that's called a comfort! When we come back next spring, our mounts will be turned into four-wheeled carriages and horses, and when we arrive here, we will change into our own camels, which are already fat and strong. In this way, not only the whole process of foot strength is guaranteed, but also can save a lot of expenses on the way, and the income from selling horses can completely protect all the expenses of Qishan Horse Farm, such a business can be called the best of all three, only the master can think of it! ”

Uncle Su gave me a detailed introduction to the original intention of the establishment of Qishan Racecourse, and it turned out that the business in the world can still do this, which is really eye-opening for me.

For the next two days, each guy was responsible for taming two fast horses and taking them on the road.

The Qishan Racecourse, which was originally as silent as a fairyland, suddenly became noisy, and the neighing of the uncontrollable horses resounded throughout the mountains.

They are all veterans of horse taming, and it didn't take much effort, and the horse taming indicators under the names of all the guys have been exceeded.

Even I, a layman who tamed horses, also had two Dawan Wuqing under the guidance and support of my grandfather, Qin Chong and others.

On the third day, when he went on the road, all the precious jade skins on the camel's back were moved to the horse's back.

There are two fast horses managed per capita, one for foot strength and one for carrying goods, and they can also be used alternately on the way.

Compared with the previous grizzled camel caravan, I don't know how many times brighter.

The ideal sword battle in the world and the merchants of the four seas should be such a formation.