In the next few days, Gulanduo led us to pick more than a dozen dried jujube and apricot fruits in the sparse forest around the pasture for use on the way.

Uncle Su told me that there is agricultural cultivation in the territory of Shupantuo country, and some can be prepared there for forage, wheat, naan, and biscuits for camels, horses, and yaks.

In addition, it is already early spring in February, and if it were not located in the alpine ice field, it would have been the season of recovery of all things and the fragrance of birds and flowers.

Therefore, there are some sheltered low-lying places along the way, where snow and ice melt can be reached, and there will also be some green grass trees that can be eaten by livestock.

In this way, all the provisions for the next leg of the trip will be settled.

The winter grassland between the icebergs of the plateau in Puli Country seems to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon, and the drinking water and plants are rich in the aura of heaven and earth.

After a few days of grazing, all the camels and horses had regained their strength and flesh from the time they set out from Khotan, although there was no replenishment of concentrate and some withered and decayed pastures.

The journey from Puli to Shupantuo is full of sunny and good weather, and the strong reflection of the plateau makes people unable to open their eyes.

Looking at the Gobi Mountains full of rocks, the Buddha country in the clouds that Uncle Su said was behind the 10,000-year-old ice peak that soared straight into the sky.

Our caravan, on the other hand, seemed to be walking up an endless staircase, breathing more and more difficult, and its legs seemed to burst with each step as if they were tied to two large stones.

The little sister Gulanduo, who had been laughing and laughing all the way, was completely silent, and her originally fair and beautiful face had also turned into a purple sauce color after so many days of exposure.

I finally understood why Princess Puli, who was originally red and colorless, became a peerless beauty after entering Middle-earth, and the root of this is the black red on this green plateau.

The sun's rays are so poisonous, the original soft and silky early spring warm sun, but here it has become a terrifying sword aura, a little look up at it and feel a sharp pain in his eyes, looking around like a blind man.

After a day of exposure to the sun, the exposed skin is as red and purple as boiled cowhide, which is similar to walking in the blazing desert.

"Little sister, how is it? Do you want to take a break? ”

Although I had a splitting headache from taking care of myself, I still came to Gulando's side and asked with concern.

"The daughter-in-law of Uncle Rong Ge gave it to me, and it is said to cure the headache on this ice field, brother, you can also try it."

Gulando, hoarse and breathless, grabbed my arm and shoved a piece of red root into my mouth.

I chewed a few bites according to the method that Gulando, like beef tendons, with a slight hint of sweetness in the bitterness.

Half an hour later, the drug attacked, and the originally painful head suddenly relaxed a lot, it was really a miracle medicine!

Qin Chong and the others have been walking on this trade road for many years, and although they are panting like oxen, they seem to have adapted to such an environment, and they do not have the same headache symptoms as our brothers and sisters.

Grandpa and Uncle Su followed behind the Rongmu guide like Pingchuan, following the camel caravan and the cattle carrying supplies, becoming the only remaining life on the dead ice field for thousands of years.

The old grandfather can still be like this, but how can the grandchildren who are young and strong be depressed and decadent!

I untied the brocade belt around my waist and wrapped it around my head, using my sword as a pestle, and together with Qin Chong and Sha Mihan, I drove the scattered camels around me.

These "desert boats" are not good at walking in the alpine terrain, so the original weight of their bodies is now distributed among the horses themselves.

All of the entourage, including me and Gurandot, were now able to lead their respective mounts around the caravan and climb the snow-capped ridges in the distance.

These days, I am most afraid of camping at night, for fear that I will never wake up after falling asleep.

So I gave Qin Chong, Liu Zhen'er, and Sha Mihan a task, that is, to come and wake me up in the middle of the night.

But these guys are also tired from a long day, and they will sleep until dawn when they get into the tent, and they can't count on it.

The guy in charge of the vigil is already hard enough, how dare he trouble people because of such a worrying triviality.

It's still the little sister Gulanduo who works, every night since leaving Puli Country, she sleeps with her clothes next to me, and every time she can't hear my snoring, she will wake me up with "brother, brother", what a caring good girl.

After three days of walking on the rocky ice field, we finally came to the territory of the kingdom of Shupantuo.

It is called the Buddha Kingdom, but it is actually a tribe with less than 1,000 subjects.

On the slope and peak of a stone mountain, there are dense castles full of earth and stone structures, which are very similar to the checkpoints around the Han long trench, which should be the royal city of this small country.

In the foothills of the rocky mountains, a large river rushes through, and the river water is as black as thick ink.

The mountains along the river are full of fields, and the spring is getting warmer, and the seeds sown last autumn are now a little green.

What's even more surprising is that the inhabitants here do not look like the blond-haired and blue-eyed Tocharians at all, nor do they look like the Yueshi Hu people with noses like eagle rafters, but they are clearly the appearance of the long-lost Guanzhong Hanmin.

Even the tone of the local aborigines is obviously a bit of Middle-earth Yayan.

"Grandpa, these are all descendants of Hermes-Epitek, right? Like you and Grandpa Lu Yu did back then, you fled from Middle-earth and came to Green Ridge? ”

After climbing over the ridge of the ice field, Gulando and I finally overcame the discomfort of breathing on the plateau, and the whole person was completely alive again.

The caravan had set up tents on the river beach below the castle hill, and it seemed that they were going to rest here for a few days.

The men on duty were busy burying the pot and cooking, exchanging silk cloth for wheat flour and fresh meat from the natives, and preparing our first hot meal since leaving the country of Puli.

Grandpa, Uncle Su and the guide Rong Mu sat on the big stone on the side of the mountain, happily pulling the homely routine.

Looking at the natives who came to see the excitement, all of them were friendly and familiar faces, and I asked my grandfather curiously.

"Yes, they are all descendants of our Han family. Hehe, there's a long time to go from here! Grandpa sneered.

"What kind of past, grandpa, tell me about it!"

Gulando begged affectionately, and she was taking a wooden comb and standing behind her grandfather, combing his messy gray hair.

"Young master, miss! This past story has to start from the early years of the Han Dynasty. ”

Uncle Su was worried that his grandfather was too tired, so he took over the conversation.

At this time, the milk tea of the man on duty had been boiled, and a bowl was brought to each of us, and the milky fragrance came to our noses, making people tired at all.

"At that time, there was a princess of the Han family who was married to a prince of Persia, and when the procession passed by here, he encountered a gang of bandits. In order to ensure the safety of the princess, the envoy temporarily placed her on the top of this stone mountain, and sent guards to guard her closely in case of accidents. ”

Uncle Su took a sip of milk tea, pointed to the Stone Mountain Castle in front of him and continued.

"Soon after, the plague subsided, and when the messenger went to the top of the mountain to welcome the princess down the mountain, he found that she was pregnant!"

"Then who is the father of this little baby in the womb? It can't be this messenger, right? ”

Gu Landuo was fascinated by this, and forgot about combing her grandfather's hair, and only after her grandfather pulled her back, did the girl come back to her senses.

"It's not! Later, the maid beside the princess said that during the days when the princess was trapped on the top of the mountain, every day a son of the sun riding a golden horse came to have a tryst with her, and the child in the princess's womb was a Han and Ritian seed! ”

"Then what about later, this princess of the Han family can't go to marry the Persian prince with a big belly, right?"

I couldn't wait to know the end of the story, and I drank the milk tea in the bowl.

"That's nature!" Uncle Su laughed.

"Naturally, Persia can't go, and returning to Chang'an will bring shame to my mother's family. In a dilemma, the faithful messenger made a bold decision to set up camp on the spot, build a palace, and support the princess as queen.

The accompanying guards also reclaimed the wasteland on both sides of the Mo River at the foot of the mountain and settled down. The next year, the princess gave birth to a beautiful boy, who was the first king of the kingdom of Shupantuo. The envoys and the sergeants of the guard also married the local natives and wild women one after another, and since then they have branched out, and these natives are the descendants of the sergeants of that year. Hey, life is too short! More than 500 years have passed since this past in the blink of an eye! ”

Uncle Su pointed to the Shupantuo people who were laughing with my caravan guys, and let out a long sigh.

"Where there are Han people, there is no shortage of agricultural mulberry! In the entire green mountain area, five grains and mulberry hemp are planted in this piece, all thanks to the remnants of these Han families. God bless the Han family! Hehe! ”

After Uncle Su's story was told, Gu Landuo finally combed his grandfather's bun, and the old man wrapped his turban in satisfaction and stood up.

At this time, Qin Chong, Sha Mihan, and Liu Zhen'er had already returned from grazing, and they were shouting non-stop "young master and young master".

Isn't it that these guys who can't stand loneliness have discovered anything new?

Gu Landuo and I ran forward to take a look, but saw a young eagle on Qin Chong's horse, which had not yet grown its wings, standing pitifully there, flapping its wings helplessly.

"Young master, there are many eagle nests on the cliffs in the river valley below, and we have brought one of them to the nest, this is the trophy! Ha ha! Qin Chong showed off to us with both hands on his waist.

"Miss, this eaglet is for you! It's good to play on the road, and it's good to be a companion! ”

Gurandot hid behind me, a little afraid of this little creature who was completely bare, and Shamihan was interested in teasing her.

"Can you feed it? You people are really evildoers, how can you dig out the eagle's nest casually! Look how pitiful it is now! ”

Only then did Gulando come forward, the heart of the girl's family was soft, and she couldn't bear to see the young eagle separated from its parents, and taught Shamihan and the others a hard lesson.

Then he hurried to the man on duty, and asked for some fresh meat and wheat, and fed the young eagles.