Bailong Beach is the only way to Qiannicheng, the capital of Shanshan Kingdom, which can be called a desert or a Gobi. According to the definition of a desert, Bailongtan should become a desertified Gobi.

The camel's thorns were blown by the cold wind, and they flew up and down the mountain beams like leather balls. This is the characteristic of this plant, rolling all the way to shake off its seeds, as soon as it encounters rain, it will take root and sprout immediately, no matter how arid and desolate the place is, as long as it takes root, it will never come out again, because the roots of camel thorns are very deep, it is said that the longest camel thorn root is more than ten meters, and it penetrates through the desert until it plunges into the moist soil below.

In addition to camel thorns, poplar trees are also a sight to behold in the Gobi. Even if the trunk of the tall poplar has dried up, as long as there is a little bark attached to him, he can grow his branches and leaves, even if it is blown by the wind, he still lives well on the ground. Until the whole body of the tree is dried by the hot and cold winds and becomes the hardest wood, if there is a little moisture, there is still a possibility of survival.

In the desert Gobi, these two things are the most magical, and some people who have never seen them find it incredible. In particular, because of the wind, many poplar trees grow strangely. The wind blew through the hollows of the poplar trees and whined, sounding like a woman's cry.

Su Ren shrank in the hollow of a poplar tree, and wrapped the fur of his whole body tightly. The night on the Gobi was very cold, and it snowed a little yesterday, and the temperature did not rise again at noon today. The tongue man said that this is a precursor to the arrival of winter in the Western Regions, only snow means that the cold has come for half a year, and it is best not to go out at night, otherwise you will not know if you will freeze to death.

However, Su Ren had to go out, the money for the construction of Yumen Pass had not yet been settled, and although the caravan sent to Qianni City in advance made some money, it was a pity that it was not as much as imagined, let alone building a city, even if it was not enough to build a city wall. And the news from Qiannicheng that business is not going well is secondary, mainly because the situation is getting worse and worse, King Shanshan has no more days to live, and he has set up his youngest son as the crown prince, that is, the child born by that woman, and it has not been a hundred days until today. What is the reason for this, Su Ren knows very well.

The wind blew overhead, whining in the sky above the poplar forest, and the silence of the surrounding desert made people's hearts tremble. Su Ren closed his eyes as if he heard a wolf howling, and he couldn't sleep well if he wanted to. This time, Su Ren secretly entered Shanshanguo, and there were not many people around him who could use it, except for Huang Shisan and Manniu, there was only that guard.

Huang Shisan slept soundly, snoring loudly, and could hear it clearly from a distance of several meters. Su Ren grabbed a piece of wood next to him, threw it hard, and smashed it heavily on the poplar tree that Huang Shisan was shrinking on, making a snapping sound. It's loud. Huang Thirteen woke up with a spirit, and the big axe in his arms was picked up and stared around. Su Ren hurriedly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Huang Shisan didn't find anyone, and roared angrily: "That kid tosses grandpa, he has the ability to come out!" ”

Su Ren still ignored it, and the brute bull glared at Huang Shisan: "Sleep on you, you have to hurry tomorrow." ”

Huang Shisan stomped his feet fiercely: "If you dare to disturb grandpa's dream, grandpa's axe doesn't recognize people!" ”

was scolded twice by Huang Shisan, and Su Ren didn't dare to admit it, so he could only endure it. The hole in the tree is still too small, and it is difficult to turn over, but fortunately, there is no wind in it to warm it up. After such a toss, Su Ren couldn't sleep even more, turned over and got up, and took the kettle to drink.

Snowflakes rose in the sky again, and suddenly appeared in the firelight and fell to the ground. The already cold ground can't melt the snowflakes, so a little bit of it will stop. There was not much time, and the place where the fire could reach was already white.

The winter in the Western Regions is really cold, if it weren't for the warmth of the white bear skin, even if it was useless to wear ten hundred pieces of clothing, just look at the people sleeping in the manger in the distance. They were shivering from the cold, and even the horses kept people warm, let alone people.

The wind stopped, and the snow fell heavier and heavier, and it looked like an inch later. The shopkeepers of the trading houses had risen and shouted for help to sweep the snow off the goods, and then cover them so that they would not be soiled and damp by the snow. Hundreds of people were busy working together, and the whole camp immediately became noisy. Su Ren sat in the tree hole and enjoyed the scenery in front of him, sighing in his heart.

The businessmen make money, but they also earn hard-earned money. It was a cold day, it was still snowing, and I got up in the middle of the night to work. Those who only envy the merchants to make money must not have seen it.

"Go to help, also move, the weather is too cold to sleep, and you will get frostbite." Su Ren pointed to Huang Thirteen opposite: "Call him too, you will know to sleep!" ”

The bull nodded and ordered the eight guards to come over and help. With a foot on the poplar where Huang Shisan was sleeping, Huang Shisan was about to have a seizure immediately, but he saw that Su Ren had already woken up, and it was a brute bull who was kicking the tree, and he looked impatient: "What's the matter?" Still don't let people sleep? ”

Manniu said coldly: "Mr. asked you to go over and help!" ”

Huang Shisan turned his head to look at the hot camp and frowned: "I'll go too?" ”

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and what started as hazelnut snow has turned into goose feather snow. The guide ran over and said to Su Ren: "Sir, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk tomorrow, this Bailong Beach is already difficult to walk, we still have a big car, and now it's snowing again, I'm afraid I'll have to wait a few days." ”

Su Ren waved his hand: "Don't tell me, go find Lao Wang, he will do whatever he says!" ”

The guide nodded hurriedly, turned around and went to the king's shopkeeper again. This trip was the last group of merchants in Su Ren's caravan to go to Shanshanguo. Divide the merchants into four teams and send a batch every half a month, which can not only ensure that every merchant can make money, but also make the people of Shanshan Kingdom less resistant to the goods of the Han people. It was the first time for such a large-scale caravan to come to the Western Regions, and although the goods of the Han people were good, they could not be flooded, otherwise no one would have made money.

The work of clearing the snow and covering the wagons was carried out quickly. In order to prevent all the cars from being buried by heavy snow the next day, the merchants spontaneously organized a night duty team, and their task was to be responsible for clearing the snow from the carriages every half hour, which Su Ren felt very good. At the same time, he was also a little worried in his heart, if this snow kept stopping, would he be trapped here?

The next morning, Su Ren slept very deeply. He slept too late last night, and no one called him in the morning, and when Su Ren woke up, the sky was still gloomy, and the snow continued to fall. The snow clearing team became two, and they had to clear not only the snow from the wagons, but also the snow from the camp. The leaves of the poplar trees were long gone, and they could not help the caravan.

Su Ren stretched his waist and came out of the hole in the tree wrapped in a fur coat, and the cold wind became even colder, blowing on his face like a knife. It was snow-white all around, and even the branches of the poplar trees were covered with snow. The wind is much lighter, and the air is devoid of yesterday's earthy smell. Huang Shisan handed a bowl of hot porridge to Su Ren. Su Ren took a sip: "What about the king's shopkeeper?" Get the guide again, if you get stuck here, it's a big problem. ”

Huang Shisan promised to find someone. There was not much time, and Lao Wang came to Su Ren with a few shopkeepers and guides. The tent has been erected, but unfortunately there is not much difference between staying inside and staying outside, and judging from the traces cleared by the snow ploughing team, it was only a foot thick that fell heavily last night. The fact that the snow on the brazier does not melt is an indication of how cold the weather is.

Several shopkeepers, including Lao Wang Quan, like the guide in the Western Regions, stuffed their hands into their sleeves, and their frozen lower lips kept trembling. Lao Wang wanted to take out his hand and salute Su Ren, but Su Ren hurriedly stopped: "This kind of politeness between us is avoided, how is the situation?" ”

Lao Wang sighed: "It's not too good, although there is no loss of manpower, more than a dozen horses pulling the cart have been frozen to death, if the villain is worried that these carts will not be used in a few days." ”

"So serious? Horses are not very hardy horses? ”

Lao Wang said: "These horses are not Xiongnu horses or Qiang horses, just ordinary horses, never in such weather, but mules and cattle are not bad, the best is the camels we got from the Qiang people when we were in Jincheng, these guys are alive and well." ”

Su Ren frowned: "How long will it take for this snow?" ”

The guide hurriedly said: "Generally speaking, it is only three or two days, this time the heavy snow came suddenly, if there is no accident, it should be able to clear in the afternoon, just wait for the snow to freeze and we can continue to hurry." ”

Su Ren breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "There is no way to do this kind of thing, it is better to use camels to take this line in the future, we can only continue to stay here in this weather, but the scouts sent out must not be less, this kind of weather can stop us, but there is no difficulty for the people of the Western Regions, it is better to guard against it, there is already a problem in Shanshanguo, and our whereabouts are estimated to know, if there is any movement, it is important to save your life, I won't say much." ”

Lao Wang nodded: "Don't worry, sir, we all understand." ”

As he was talking, Hawking, the leader of the guards, suddenly broke in, and the whole person became a snowman, shaking his body, and the snowflakes fell to the ground to form a white circle: "Big brother." ”

Lao Wang saw that Su Ren and Hawking had something to say, and hurriedly said goodbye. Su Ren didn't stay, and waved them down. Speaking of which, the leader of the caravan this time is Lao Wang, but everyone knows that the real leader is still Su Ren, and it can be seen from the focus of taking some guards and protection that it is definitely not the dozens of big cars they pulled.

As soon as Lao Wang and the others walked out of the tent, Hawking immediately came to Su Ren: "Big brother, there is a situation!" In the north, a large group of people and horses were found to pass by, and the direction was Shanshanguo, which seemed to have passed last night, and there were quite a few people, and they stepped out of a road, all of which were horseshoe prints. ”

Su Ren asked, "Oh! Is it the Huns? ”

Hawking shook his head: "It's hard to say, I've already sent someone to see it." ”

Su Ren nodded and said: "Very good, it seems that we won't stay here for a while, release the scout for thirty miles, and send a signal immediately if there is any situation." ”