After the caravan left the Peacock River Inn, it walked on the oasis of Shanshan Country for ten days, and in front of us was a vast and infinite desert Gobi.

Standing on the edge of the desert, you can vaguely see a rolling wall moat coming from the east, like a giant dragon plunged into the embrace of Shanshan Oasis.

"Jincheng, after this desert, we will go out of the Western Regions and enter the border of Dunhuang County in Middle Earth!"

The guys were busy making the final preparations for entering the desert, and Grandpa pointed to me with the horsewhip in his hand and sighed to me.

"Grandpa, what is the purpose of such a long trench in the sea of sand? Who is doing it? ”

The scenery in front of us is desolate and majestic, unlike any of the other states we have encountered along the way.

This earthen wall is called the long trench, and the rammed earth platform between the long trench is called Fengsui, which is built by the kings of the Qin and Han dynasties to prevent the Hun cavalry from going south! In the past, there were garrisons on both sides of this long trench, hey! Ever since I walked on this trade road decades ago, I have never seen our Han family's military horses again! ”

Grandpa sighed to the sky.

"O eldest grandson! Remember, if you go all the way east along this moat, you can go straight to Yangguan, and we will be safe when we get there! It takes more than 20 days on the way, and there is no place for any water source, so before setting off in Shanshan, you must bring enough water and food on the way. ”

While talking, Qin Chong and the others had already driven a carriage full of water bladders to slowly pass us.

To ensure supplies, each member of the caravan carried four or five water bladder food bags.

All mounts are also equipped with simple wheels, which can increase capacity by a third.

The soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first, and they can cross this desert in the right season, as long as they have enough water, grain and grass, they can be worry-free.

A few hours after entering the desert, I had begun to understand the power of the black dragon's wrath.

It was still mid-summer in mid-July, and the winds in the north had not yet arrived, and the desert was already raging with strong winds and yellow sand.

I couldn't tell the direction, the visibility was less than 100 feet, and even the sun above the dome was a dull color.

"Young master! How does it feel? Qin Chong shouted loudly in my ear.

I walked with Qin Chong's carriage, and his whole body was wrapped like a sausage, leaving only two eyes exposed, and so did I.

"It's a little better than the Huanglong Sand Sea in the south, it's not hot here!" I yelled just as loudly.

"Young master! This is the biggest outlet in the Northland! Every spring and autumn are the most windy and sandy, and I have seen a hurricane blow a huge camel into the sky! ”

"The black dragon is angry, and the big stone flies!" I laughed.

Compared with the scorching hell of Huanglong Shahai, this side is already a paradise of birds and flowers.

But as soon as I said a few words, my mouth was full of sand, and I couldn't stop coughing.

I hurriedly signaled Qin Chong not to say that he was alive, and if he continued to talk like this, he would be choked to death by the sand in his mouth if he was not killed by heat.

"Young master! Don't be left behind! ”

Qin Chong patted me on the shoulder, and finally gave me a word, and helped the other guys push the carriage.

Their carriage got stuck in a sandstone, and it took them a long time to pull it out.

Looking at the dim sand curtain on all sides, the vaguely visible figure of the camel caravoy, my heart was shocked.

In the hot and calm Huanglong sand sea in the south, you can still distinguish the direction by the figure under the sun and the direction of the sand dunes.

And in such a dark day, if you get separated from the caravan, there is no chance of survival.

Compared to the heat, death is the most terrible.

It is no wonder that the caravans passing through Qingfengze always talk about this period of sand and sea, and there is a reason why the tiger has changed.

Fortunately, there is a long trench connected to this thing, otherwise there is no way for an experienced person like a grandfather to get out of such a yellow sand and angry sea.

How did the soldiers of the Han family who opened up the territory build this long trench? I couldn't help but be filled with admiration and curiosity.

Perhaps hundreds of years ago, it was also an oasis of lush greenery and gurgling water.

After dozens of generations of reclamation, it has become what it is today, just like Loulan, which is degrading.

After walking in the sea of sand like the roar of the black dragon for about ten days, the heavens and the earth seemed to fall silent all of a sudden.

The wind has subsided, and the Gobi Desert is unfolding in front of you.

The sun was setting in the west, and the sunset stained most of the dome red.

Far beyond the horizon, there seemed to be a wisp of dark brown smoke swirling between heaven and earth.

The moats from the east on the wasteland are unusually tall and majestic, which reminds people of the eventful years of the westerly wind during the Han Dynasty.

It's so quiet, like the world before Pangu opened the world, and the world has never been to this place before.

The wheezing of livestock, the clatter of falling sand, and even the sound of people's heartbeats can be heard clearly.

I really suspect that I have the special ability of the wind ear, or that I have something wrong with my head, and I have hallucinations and auditory hallucinations about everything in the world.

The caravan was encamped on the spot, and the men were busy moving all the items from the hunchbacks and wagons, shaking off the sand.

Then they took off all their clothes, pulled out the hairpins on their heads, and shook vigorously.

Sand! Everywhere in the pervasive sand!

Now I don't dare to speak, and my mouth is full of sand that makes my skin shiver when I bite it.

I have been squeezing in my stomach, perhaps because I have eaten too much sand.

With Qin Chong's help, I also cleaned up naked and disheveled like all the guys.

After putting on the shirt and tying up the bun, the whole person is much more relaxed, just like falling off the fat of the body, which is extremely happy.

It's a pity that there is still a pool of clear water, otherwise jumping into it to bathe is a great thing.

At dinner time, my grandfather asked me to go and eat together.

For the first time since we entered the northern desert, we ate a cooked hot meal and drank boiled water.

"Jin Cheng, can you still afford it?" Grandpa asked with concern, and personally poured me a bowl of grape wine brought by Loulan.

"I'm okay, everything will be fine after a night's sleep!"

I sat down next to my grandfather, took the clay bowl and took a few sips.

Looking at my aging grandfather and grandfather, I felt a little heartache.

I was at the age of being raised at home, but I slept in the desert of the Northland, eating stinky naan and salted meat, and drinking bitter water that had long since changed its taste, what was this for?

"That's good! I'm really worried that you won't be able to go down, and if you go any further, it's a smooth road, hehe! Grandpa said with a smile, took the wine that Uncle Su had poured for him and took a sip.

"There are two hardest livelihoods in this world, one is us businessmen who wander the world, and the other is those monks who seek Buddhahood as ascetics!"

"If it's so hard, why do you have to do it? We are not short of these coins! I asked, puzzled.

"Young master, the merchant's picture is nothing more than the word righteousness and profit! It is precisely because of us who have traveled thousands of miles to transport the silk produced in the East to the Western Regions, that the people of Middle-earth can have no worries about food and clothing, which is a great righteousness! As for profits, don't let me talk about it, hehe! Now in the entire Western Regions, who can compare to your Yi family's wealth! ”

Uncle Suder Su smiled kindly.

"Jin Cheng, what your Uncle Su said is right! We Han people have a good saying, the home of a merchant is like a boat sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat! Don't look at your family's current money and wealth, three generations will decay if they don't do business! If you meet another child of a loser in the middle, you will be reduced to abject poverty within a generation! So O Golden City! Not only do you have to be prepared to take the lead, but you also have to make this business a little bigger! Be stronger! ”

My grandfather, Captain Chi Biao, was like commanding the army and horses to arrange the troops, and he taught me Huhu.

"Grandson understands! Grandson understands! I replied with a whisper.

Among the elders, I am the most afraid of my grandfather, and if he says a few wrong words, he will come up to serve me.

"In fact, the foundation of our Jincheng Yi family's business in the past dynasties lies in the inheritance of family style, and it has nothing to do with wealth!"

Grandpa interjected quietly, and we immediately listened.

"Since the opening of the Great Han Dynasty, the wealth earned by my ancestors is still less? But when the troubled times are gone, it is useless! What can make the Yi family go through ups and downs is not gold and silver wealth at all, but the family style of this merchant family that has been passed down from generation to generation by the ancestors, hard work, righteousness and profit, and the world! ”

Grandpa coughed a few times and laughed, tilted his head and drained the bowl of wine.

"As long as this kind of family style does not fall, and the descendants of the Yi clan have not died, there will always be a time of peace in the world, hehe. No matter who sits on the country, we are indispensable businessmen who are all over the world! Jincheng, don't blame grandpa for being ruthless and taking you out on such a difficult business route. Since the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of our family have set such a rule, the eldest son and eldest grandson must be in business! After reaching the age of eighteen, he had to go out with the caravan and leave home for training, and after five years, he led the team alone. Jincheng, what your grandfather said is right, it depends on you whether the family style of our Yi family can continue in the future! On the way, you not only have to learn to endure hardships, but also think more and see more, and learn more from your predecessors how to survive on this trade road. ”

"Grandson understands!"

The mission and legacy of the family! Suddenly, I felt an invisible pressure coming over me.

Originally, the original intention of Mao Sui to come to Middle-earth with the team this time was to increase his knowledge on the way, so as to prepare for going to Rome to find Yamika in the future.

"Master, Captain, you are serious! The young master is still a child, why is he under so much pressure! There is no trick in the business, as long as you can eat all kinds of hard work, Jincheng is no worse than anyone else in this regard! ”

Uncle Suder Su patted me on the shoulder and laughed.

"Young master, you just have to play and have fun on this trip, and my Uncle Su will take care of everything!"

"Beautiful jade still needs to be carved a thousand times, and it is not even human! Lao Su, don't get used to him like this! ”

Grandpa said happily that his greatest pleasure was that people complimented his grandchildren as manufacturable materials.

"Jincheng's performance so far is acceptable, able to endure hardships, responsible, and cooperative! Haha, there is no soft bag trained by the old man! ”

My grandfather, who rarely praises people, opened Chrysostom and praised me repeatedly.

How could I afford such a compliment, I quickly got up and bowed deeply to him.

After coming out of Grandpa's tent, it was already deep in the night.

A crescent moon hung high in the dome, and a few long howls of wild wolves faintly came from the distant horizon.

The ground temperature was close to freezing, and I shivered a few times.

I hurriedly wrapped up my jacket and got into Qin Chong's tent, this guy had already slept and didn't know where his home was.