"Young master! Ahead is Yangguan! ”

Qin Chong patted his horse and came to him, pointing to the city wall of Yangguan and shouting happily to me.

After a fierce battle with the Gobi wolf last night, I am really impressed by Qin Chong now.

"Is there a place to take a bath?"

I shook the fine sand all over my body and asked tiredly, the wound on my leg still aching.

"Not here! But when you get to the Thousand Buddha Cave on the sandbank, there will be a place to take a bath! There is a Mingsha Mountain there, and there is a spring pond under the mountain, which is shaped like a crescent moon, and the merchants in the past call it the Crescent Spring! The water is cool and pure, making it a great place to take a bath! ”

The original handsome and stubborn young man was gone, and Qin Chong regained his unkempt and dirty appearance as a homeless person.

But this kid's spirit is okay, riding on a horse and shaking a soft whip, with a nonchalant virtue.

"There is such a good place in the desert of yellow sand! Qin Chong, you must take me over to see and see! ”

When it came to the sweet spring pool and bathing, my whole body suddenly became itchy and unbearable, and I pinched my fingers and counted that I hadn't bathed and changed clothes for nearly a month.

"Golden City! About this Yangguan, this Dunhuang County! How much do you know? ”

Grandpa rode on a horse and put his hand on the pergola and pointed to the Yangguan City Tower in front of him and asked, while talking, the guys were driving the camel team to pass by in an orderly manner on the sand road on the side.

The sun was already more than one person high, and the beach outside Yangguan was full of caravan camels and horses from all over Mobei and the Western Regions, waiting for inspection and customs clearance.

At this rate, it is estimated that it will probably be our turn in the afternoon.

"Of course this grandson knows! During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the hussar general Huo Qubing led the army to defeat the Xiongnu, recovered the whole territory of Hexi, and set up four counties of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang here! Dunhuang is the meaning of grandeur, which means that our Celestial Dynasty and the Han Kingdom were invincible and invincible in the world! ”

I don't know how many times I have read and heard about the war between the four counties of Hexi and the war between the Han and the Xiongnu from my grandfather, the old gentleman, the merchants in the past, and the Han books of the academy.

Of course, grandpa's question can't be asked to me.

"The young master is an all-rounder in civil and military affairs!" Uncle Su on the side smiled approvingly.

"Among the Hurong people of the generation of Yanzhi Mountain in Hexi, there is still such a ballad, I will sing it with you!"

Uncle Su cleared his throat and sang in a high-pitched voice with his desolate and rich voice of the Western Regions.

"Losing my Qilian Mountain will make my six animals restless; The loss of my self and the support of the mountains make my wife colorless ...... ”

Through the sad ancient songs, I can vaguely see the bleak scene of the Huns helping the old and the young after the defeat and driving the cattle and sheep away from Hexi.

"Hey, once upon a time, these Hu Rong from the north met the tiger and wolf division of our Han family, just like a lost dog! Now, this world has been completely reversed, and even a wild tribe like Qiang Di dares to bully us, sad! What a hate! ”

Speaking of this, Grandpa's eyes were full of resentment and helplessness.

"This Hexi has been the land of our Han family's Longxing since Qin, Jincheng, do you know how many owners of this land have changed since the time when the Great Jin Dynasty moved south to Jiangnan?"

"Grandpa, this grandson has never heard of it." I replied a little uneasily.

"First of all, the descendants of Zhang Liang, the assassin of Liangzhou at the end of the Jin Dynasty, established themselves as kings, which is called Qianliang. 50 years ago, Fu Hong, a native of Di, occupied Guanzhong, captured Chang'an, and established the name Qin, which is called the former Qin. 20 years ago, the former Qin Heavenly King Fu Jian waved his army westward and took the four counties of Hexi into his own pocket. 5 years ago, the Qiang people Yao Chang Weibei rebelled, captured and killed Fu Jian and established himself as the king, and the country name was also Qin, which is called Hou Qin, and this Hexi land fell into the hands of the Qiang people, and now the main thing in this Yangguan must be a new person! Hehe. ”

Grandpa took a sip of the water in his skin and said with a wry smile.

Nearly a Jiazi has been walking on this trade road, and my grandfather knows everything about the replacement of the kingdom of Hexi and the changes in the world's human feelings, and he is like a few treasures.

But there are also benefits to the frequent changes in this kingdom! After all these years of integration and coexistence, the officials and people in Hexi have long had you and me, and I have you, and it is difficult to distinguish each other, hehe. Now whether it is on the street of Chang'an City or the land in the four counties of Hexi, it is difficult to distinguish who is the Han people, who is the Di people, and who is the Qiang people! In this way, the chaos in the world at the end of the Jin Dynasty will be the wanton killing of our Han people, and now we can't see it. ”

At this point, Grandpa breathed a sigh of relief, and I was already a little drowsy from listening.

At this time, the news of a blockage came from the front, and the caravan stopped walking and rested on the spot.

My grandfather had already gone to the gate to inquire about the situation of the guard, but he had not yet returned.

Qin Chong sat on the sand, took refuge in his mount's belly and fell asleep.

A guy had set up a tent and asked Grandpa to go in and rest to avoid the sun.

"What about this Yangguan? What else is the origin of the allusion? The young master will tell us a little bit about it. ”

After sitting down in the tent, Uncle Su continued what he had just said.

"There have always been two trade routes to the Western Regions through Dunhuang, one north and one south."

The inside of the tent was much cooler than the outside, and this trip with the team was a learning journey for me, and it was inevitable for my grandfather and Uncle Su to guide me to take the exam.

So I spread out a piece of sand under my feet and drew a sketch of the two trade routes on it.

"The north road out of Yumen Pass through Qiuzi, Wusun, Shule to rest, south road through Yangguan, through Shanshan, Khotan, south over the green mountains, you can reach Guishan, Sasanian, Tianzhu countries. Uncle Su, I don't know if what I said is right or not. ”

After the drawing, I looked up and humbly asked Uncle Su for advice.

These two business routes, their predecessors have gone through dozens of times.

"Master, our young master is a material that can be made! Hehe! Uncle Su happily congratulated his grandfather on the side.

"These are the basic skills of businessmen, and the checkpoints, post stations, mountains and rivers along the way must be well understood. When I come back next year, I will take you on a trip to the north and buy a batch of good horses from Dawan Wusun to bring back! ”

Grandpa stroked his long gray beard and said with a pleased smile, after so many tests along the way, his old man has already made up his mind to train me to be his successor.

At this time, my grandfather and two other guys who had gone to Guancheng with him came back with bad news.

The main affairs and garrisons of the previous dynasty have all changed, and the new guys don't know any of them, and their attitude is also very arrogant and domineering.

Not only will all the previous customs clearance documents be invalidated and re-apply, but the tax on the goods passing through the customs will also be increased by 10%.

"According to Lao Tzu's temper, he wielded a knife and slaughtered these dog things!" Grandpa threw the knife on the ground and shouted angrily.

"Brother Wei Chi, don't be angry! Harmony and anger make money! What can be solved with money on this business road is not a thing! ”

Grandpa stood up and laughed, picking up the Pu knife and inserting it into the scabbard on his grandfather's waist.

"You rest for a while, and I will go over with Lao Su and Jincheng again, and let him see the virtues of these debt-seeking Yamas on the way!"

"The old man also knows that it's not worth it to deal with the evil slaves of these officials, but he just can't swallow this breath! There is also a tax increase of 10%, isn't this a goose plucking! ”

Grandpa sat heavily on the ground, his eyes wide with anger and his hair standing on end, which scared the guys next to him enough.

As his grandfather said, his grandfather Chi Biao is more honest in everything, does not know tactfulness, is not suitable for business, and can only be the head of the army who leads the troops to fight.

But along the way, the two of them relaxed one by one, and they cooperated very tacitly.

"Jincheng, you go and clean up for yourself a little and change into clean clothes! Lao Su, you go and invite one of the Jade Buddhas we brought! ”

Grandpa didn't pay any attention to Grandpa, he turned to me and Uncle Su and instructed.

Being an official is nothing more than money and fame, and Han people and Qiang people are no exception.

These officials deliberately made things difficult, that is, they wanted to extort a little money from the merchants along the way to get a little oil and water.

As long as filial piety arrives, there is no checkpoint in the world that cannot be passed, which is also called convenience with others and convenience for oneself.

After a while, with Qin Chong's assistance, the messy hair stained with yellow sand was recombed, and the outer robe was replaced with the autumn coat that Kuzhina cut for me.

Not to mention that this craft is really good, the size and length are just right.

The person relied on clothes and horses to support the saddle, and after the whole body was changed, the whole person immediately opened up, and even the original decadent mood suddenly improved.

Grandpa and Uncle Su didn't change their clothes, but just tidied up their hair a little.

On the bodies of these old rivers and lakes, they already have a kind of momentum that is not angry but mighty, and Mount Tai is overwhelming and indestructible, and they don't need any foreign objects to embellish them at all.

The soldiers guarding the pass led us through the crowded doorway of the gate, then climbed the bluestone steps, and then turned a battlement platform with shooting ports on all sides, and then came to the place where the head of Yangguan handled official business.

The principal's surname is Wang, his appearance is elegant, his clothes are wide-sleeved, and it can be seen at a glance that he is a civil official born as a scholar.

The layout of the entire government office is also very much the atmosphere of my family's Qingfeng Ze Academy, and the simple notes and books are displayed everywhere.

When we arrived at the government office, this Lord Wang was intently splashing ink there.