The final destination of our trip was Chang'an, as well as Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Except for replenishment and necessary rest, there is generally no such thing as a long stop anywhere.

Whether it is a pass fortress, a bustling market, or a rural village, this is the case.

Therefore, in Guzang City, an important town in the north and a former Wuwei county, we only stayed for a day and hurried on the road.

It was late autumn, the vegetation was beginning to wither, and the water of the river had almost receded by half compared to the spring and summer seasons.

Qin Chong told me that the farther north I went, the shallower the river would become, and that I could ride a horse and wade across the river.

Because the big river ferry 500 miles away from the city is the busiest time of the year for business.

A caravan of two hundred camels and horses like mine would have to take at least four or five days to cross the river completely.

Far from going north to wade in the land of the river loop connected to the grassland by yourself, saving time and energy.

But this road is a dangerous road, there are many Hurong horse thieves and rogues who go south to rob the Mobei grassland, and the general weak business travelers dare not pass through it at all.

My caravan is a fast horse, there is not too much baggage, and the guys and leaders are all experienced masters like grandfather and grandfather.

Even I, a newcomer from a practicing family, can deal with four or five thieves with my bare hands.

Therefore, my caravan has passed through this Hurong hometown for decades, and it has always been dangerous and dangerous.

After waking up early and leaving Guzang City, we galloped along the rolling Qin and Han moats in the south towards the Hetao in the northeast.

I heard that there might be an opportunity to practice on the way, and I was immediately interested.

Take out the mulberry bow and arrow pot in the skin bag behind his back, and hang the short sword of the Hu knife on his waist, a posture of the "champion Hou" who went deep and took the Huns directly.

"Young master, don't be afraid if you encounter a horse thief on the road, I'll protect you!"

Qin Chong also hadn't caused trouble for a while, walking, eating, sleeping, and walking to eat and sleep.

Life is so boring and monotonous on the way that people are completely depleted.

There may be a fight in the past few days when I go north to the grassland Hetao, which makes all the guys, including Qin Chong, feel uplifted.

When this guy spoke, his eyes flashed with a strange brilliance, the kind of bloodthirsty sword aura that only the eyes of the soldiers who went out on the expedition.

"Take care of yourself! Is the hairy thief more powerful than the blue wolf? ”

Hearing Qin Chong say to protect me made me very faceless.

A dignified seven-foot man, he can't even protect himself, so don't mix in this road in the future.

"Of course it's the blue wolf! Young Lord! You're even better! Ha ha! Qin Chong reacted, hugged his hands and apologized.

The area of this piece of Monan grassland in Hexi is really too large, and the Kunlun Ranch on the bank of the Khotanese River in his hometown is simply a private backyard compared to the vast grassland like the sea in front of him.

Since the second day of going north, there have been figures on the surrounding grasslands that have begun to peep on horseback.

"Young master, these are horse thieves, from now on we have to be careful to prevent their sneak attack!" Qin Chong pointed at these ghostly Hu Rong on the left and right and solemnly admonished.

My grandfather even added a guard to my side in case of accidents.

Although they have had the experience of fighting with evil wolves, these bandits on the grassland are a hundred times more cunning and dangerous than the blue wolves.

If you are not careful, you will be attacked by their cold arrows, as well as the rods and ropes in their hands, whether it is a horse or a catcher, once they shoot, they are often invincible.

Maybe it's because of our strong soldiers and large number of men, or because we know the flag of my family's "Qingfengze" caravan.

These scattered horse thieves only followed us as if they were leaving, and never dared to provoke us.

When the caravan departs, they also depart, and when the caravan stops for the night, they will also stop to bury the pot and make food.

Grandpa has long warned us that when walking on the rivers and lakes, the word "forbearance" is the first thing in everything, and we must not be rash.

Therefore, if the enemy does not move, I will not move, and each other will be safe and sound along the way.

After three days of overnight stay in the vast desert steppe, our horse team finally arrived on the west bank of the river.

The great river of yellow water, which rushes all the way from the high mountains and valleys in the southwest, suddenly becomes much soothing and gentler in the desert south of the Ma Pingchuan.

I have never seen such a lush pasture, and the tender green pasture grass is everywhere, reaching the waist depth of a person.

With such a fertile land, I can't understand why these Hu people in the north don't graze their cattle and sheep well, and go south to rob at every turn.

At noon we took a short break on the banks of the big river.

A corn rice ball with two pieces of bacon is settled, and a lunch on the way has been settled.

The horses were fed some oats and sorghum on the spot, and they were left to nibble on their own.

After the hasty Chinese meal, the whole horse team lined up in a "Pin" formation along the vast grassland on the left side of the bank, galloping all the way north.

Qin Chong told me that there was a shallow water crossing the river ahead.

After crossing the river, there will be a Qin-Han Chi Road leading directly to Chang'an, and both sides of the Chi Road are densely populated cities and villages.

Therefore, the thieves of the Northland have always been bounded by the great river, and once their prey has crossed the great river, they will no longer harass and pursue.

Therefore, this is the most dangerous time since Guzang City, and those horse thieves who follow us will launch a surprise attack on us at any time.

As we spoke, the horse thieves who had been scattered had slowly gathered in front of us, blocking our way.

There were dozens of them, and the unsheathed scimitar glowed blue in the sunlight.

My grandfather rearranged our horse team, and all the horses were cared for by a few old and infirm men, who walked along the banks of the river and crossed the river at every opportunity.

The rest of the young men and horses were all on the perimeter, ready to meet the incoming enemy.

"Brothers! Out of the knife! Grandpa roared, drew the long knife behind his back, and stepped out of the queue like a battle-hardened general.

With his roar, we all drew our scimitars and swords, raised our hands into the air.

"Kill!" "Kill! Kill! "There was an earth-shattering shout of slaughter in the horse team, and at that moment my blood was almost boiling, and the heroic spirit in my heart gushed out.

Those horse thieves who bullied the weak and feared the hard had seen such a formation, thinking that the "Champion Hou" and "Flying General" of the year were back, so they scattered before they fought.

Sun Tzu Youyun: A soldier who surrenders without a fight, and a good person who is good.

The grass robbers on the road and the merchants on the road are all here for profit, unlike the struggle between countries, which have to be fought to the death.

In the words of my grandfather, all the problems that can be solved by silver and goods will never resort to force, that is, to destroy wealth and eliminate disasters.

And for these Hudi horse thieves in front of them, who kill people and oversell goods, not only want to buy road money, but also harm people's lives.

You can only show strength but not weakness, and if you really dare to commit it, then fight with your life.

Mighty and unyielding, sacrificing life for righteousness!

It seems that crossing the river south to Chang'an from the convenient road of the north is really not something that ordinary caravans can take.

Today, if we are a group of old and weak people or ordinary businessmen, we will definitely have a catastrophe where our money is scattered and our life and death are uncertain.

In the past, when I was in "Qingfengze", I often heard the sighs of passing merchants, it was difficult to do business!

Leaving behind their families and businesses to walk through thousands of rivers and mountains, jackals, tigers and leopards, frost, snow and rain, scorching heat and cold, not to mention the food and lodging, as well as the extortion of officials, the extortion of road thieves, and the changes of the market.

People in the world only see merchants like us Qingfengze, who have thousands of wealth, good fields, beautiful houses, and fine clothes and food, how can they know all the hardships!

Today's dangers have made me understand that this kind of long-distance trading across rivers and rivers is really not something that ordinary people with little strength can do.

The kind of story that is widely spread on the trade route of a young man from Rouran Kingdom who came to Chang'an alone and brought back ten camels of silk safely and came to the bitter end is just a myth that is unique in ten thousand.

If you want to travel a long way, you have to be a big merchant like grandpa!

There is enough strength to hire a hundred and ten fierce and loyal teenagers as partners, and it is best to have a peerless master like my grandfather who can take the head of the enemy from it as a leading escort, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong on the way.

By the time all the horse thieves had screamed and disappeared into the depths of the steppe desert, they looked back to see that the caravan had safely reached the other side of the river.

Then we sheathed our swords and crossed the icy river end to end.

A gust of cold wind from the north blew, and I couldn't help but shiver a few times, only to realize that the clothes on my body had already been completely soaked from the inside out.

There is the reason for the lapping of the river, but more often it is due to the sweat that flowed when the passion was high just now.

After all the horses came to the east bank of the river, for the sake of safety, after a short rest, they galloped away in the direction of Chang'an in the southeast without stopping.

Before the sun went down that day, we finally escaped the meadows of the river beach and entered the corn farmland.

The number of populated villages has gradually increased, and on the boundless fields, there is a fiery red and golden color, and the autumn grain in the north is ripe!

At this time, a wide horse road extending to the south appeared in front of it, with rammed earth as the side of masonry and stone, and countless towering ancient trees growing on both sides of the road like a forest.

In the mist of the sunset, we can faintly see the majestic moat from the east piercing into the river like a dragon.

After the long trench, there is the rich 800-mile Weishui Pass, and then we can be completely freed from the entanglement of the Hudi horse thieves.

The customs clearance document issued by Wang Qingyuan, the head of Yangguan, was indeed effective, and after a little inspection by the military advisor at the Changqian checkpoint, he very respectfully put our horse team into the pass.

Of course, for the sake of the long term, the necessary filial piety must be there.

Small pieces such as jade buckles and pendants are ordinary stones in the eyes of those of us from the jade capital, but these soldiers are ecstatic as if they have received a treasure.

After entering the customs, the old shopkeeper who was picking up customers on the side of the road had already recognized Grandpa and them, so he happily led the way in front and led our horse team into his inn.