Shi Hongyi led a caravan from Shazhou along an oasis formed by an underground spring south of Lop Nur to the city of Yochang in Anxi. The towering Altun Mountains are covered with glaciers that have not melted for thousands of years, and the snow melts in the mountains in the summer, forming rivers that flow into the desert Gobi.

The first military tuntian area of the Tang Dynasty in Khotan was centered on the city of Yochang, and dammed these rivers to build cities and fortified cities.

As the caravan traveled through the vast Gobi Desert, the closer it got to the Altun Mountains, the temperature difference between day and night became greater. At noon, the temperature was nearly 50 degrees, but at night the ground temperature dropped to only about 10 degrees, and the caravan was wearing sheepskin coats.

The northwest wind blows all day and night, and it is said that the air on the plateau is thin, the air pressure is low, and the air pressure in the basin is high.

I don't know what the dog P principle is.

The caravan stayed overnight at a post station in a desert oasis, and after a full day's walk, they climbed over a dirt hill and a meandering river appeared in front of them. The man and the guide who led the team rode on horseback, pointed to the green river valley and said to Shi Hongyi: "Lord Commander, there is the Milan River in front, and you will be able to reach Yochang City in less than two hundred miles." ”

Shi Hongyi moved his body on the hunchback, looked ahead, sat back on the soft collapse on the camel's back, and then scolded in his mouth: "Dog * Riha, this ghost place is windy every day, and I don't know how those people survived!" ”

The guide on horseback replied with a smile: "This man, there is no unbearable sin, as long as there is water, he can survive, just like the weeds on the Gobi Desert." The water on this snowy mountain nourishes people, and the skin is watery and elastic. As he spoke, he put his hand under his nose and sniffed it.

Shi Hongyi also smiled on the hunchback: "Lao Gao, you have hooked up with other girls here!" ”

A group of people were giggling and talking, maybe only in this way could they feel a little warmer.

The Tang Army was more like a civilization envoy from Middle-earth, slowly bringing law and order here.

Since the arrival of the Tang army, the number of horse thieves on the trade route on the southern edge of the desert has decreased a lot, and there is no trace of horse bandits in the Tuntian area east of the Jimo River anyway.

In summer, the waters of the Milan River are still shallow, with a pale blue jewel glow, clear and cold.

"I heard that on both sides of Khotan City is the Bianyu River on one side and the Wuyu River on the other, and the river beach is full of crystal and beautiful jade?" When resting by the river and cooking on the fire, Shi Hongyi asked the guide Lao Gao.

Lao Gao is called Gao Congde, with a high nose and deep eyes, and curly hair, but he has always claimed that he is a descendant of the Tang Anxi Army who was originally stranded in the Western Regions.

"This is true, there is a lot of jade in this river valley, and there are a lot of placer gold mines next to the rivers in the mountains." Gao Congde said.

"Looks like there's a lot of good stuff here." Shi Hongyi said, "No wonder the imperial court has to start tuntian in this area. ”

……

Since the passage from Youzhou to the south was blocked by the newly built Guancheng of the Tang army, in the summer of the 11th year of the Republic, the Khitan launched a large-scale attack on Bashang and Yunbei in the northern grasslands.

Li Qi didn't want to have a tough battle with Yelu Deguang at present, but he was forced to have no choice but to lead the army to fight again.

Seeing that the Tang Dynasty army was gathering, the Khitan army suddenly retreated before the big war.

This made the gathered Tang generals and soldiers surging, and they petitioned to crusade against the Khitan.

Li Qi understood very well the thoughts of these generals to gain the fame of a wife and a cute son, but he still refused their request without hesitation.

The current Datang does not have much upper hand over the Khitan, and a big war will inevitably lead to heavy losses.

Although it is said that he will be a success, he still does not want to see his soldiers die, because it is not worth it.

At least the sacrifice is a bit too great for now, and it's not worth it.

At present, the Tang Dynasty has achieved the goal of stabilizing the northern border, and it still controls the barrier of Yanyun, so it is not necessary to spend a huge price to destroy the Khitan State.

Over time, it will be easier to solve this problem in the future.

Compared to the army, the caravan was actually ahead of them. The Mobei grassland, where the Tang army has not yet set foot, has become an area that their camel caravans visit every summer, and the territory of the Khitans is also forbidden to caravan, and even the distant city of Luo (Lhasa) has become a place for them to adventure.

The farther the road, the greater the profit in it.

The obsessive pursuit of money gives them endless motivation.

These merchants were actually more adventurous than the military.

Now, Li Qi pointed out a new direction for them: go to the sea, Goryeo, Ryukyu, Cochin, Champong, Luzon, on the distant sea, there are countless riches waiting to be discovered and explored. In addition to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there are also large areas of wild land full of wealth in this world.

The problem is that the Tang people themselves still have the fear of the sea with the agrarian people, and apart from the gradual resumption of some maritime trade with the south and Goryeo and Silla, there has been no progress in maritime exploration and trade at all.

It seems that the development of the sea still needs the army to open the way.

Before the development of transportation, no matter how much land the north obtained, it was meaningless, and without the material support of the Central Plains, the Tang people would not be able to adapt and survive in such a harsh and harsh environment in a short period of time. Therefore, after a long period of indecision, the imperial court temporarily stopped the motion to open up the Mobei grassland.

As for the warm and humid climate in the south, the climatic conditions there are actually more suitable for the survival and development of the farming people, and in some places rice can ripen three crops a year, and it is not an exaggeration to call it paradise.

But to the south, the ocean is the first obstacle that needs to be overcome.

In the imperial study, Li Qi and several important ministers discussed the upgrading of the shipbuilding superintendent to the shipbuilding bureau and the establishment of the post of shipping master.

"Your Majesty's meaning, this vigorous development of the sailors is not aimed at the south, but to open up the sea?" Yuan Xingqin, who already had a somewhat gray mane, opened his eyes wide.

Li Qi nodded and said: "This is natural, this is something that can be done by land in the pacification of the south, I spent so much money to build a shipyard, and what should you do to form a sailor?" I heard that in Quanzhou and Xingping (Guangzhou), there are many maritime merchants from Dashi and Persia, and these people can come, why can't we go? There are countless islands in the South Seas, the land is fertile, and the primeval rainforests that cover the sky and the sun are dense, and when the time comes, you can't get any kind of wood, so you don't have to build a big ship now, and you can't even make up the whole keel. ”

Lu Yan's eyes lit up after hearing this: "If those places are really as Your Majesty said, they are full of fertile soil, and Weichen is willing to be in front of Your Majesty and be responsible for relocating people to Tuntian!" ”

After hearing this, Li Qi smiled and said: "There's no need to be too anxious, we have to wait for the completion of the water master's training." ”

……