Since the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Yiwu Road from Guazhou to the northwest to Yizhou has become the fifth passage in the Western Regions, and the Yiwu Road has avoided Dunhuang City, so the Yumen Pass has also moved five hundred miles to the east and become a lonely city. Now the Yumen Pass passes Jiuquan in the east, reaches Dunhuang in the west, connects Guazhou in the south, goes to Yizhou in the northwest, the mountain is close to the river, the situation is dangerous, there are beacons at the top of the mountain, the junction, the estuary to pass. Last time, Yang Chong passed through the pass with the team of the Long Wind Wheel Company, and he had no mood and time to look at this Xiongguan at all.

Now it's different, Yang Chong is also an envoy, and when he learned that there was really a press farm called Shuangtabao, next to the Hulu River a hundred miles away, it was a resting place for merchants, and it was also half of the post house of the government, so Yang Chong decided to stay for a day. Shi Daqian couldn't cry or laugh, but the poisonous dragon guest and Duhu Yanshou also wanted to see, so Shi Daqian had to agree; Shi Daqian relied on Li Zixiong's letter, borrowed fifty cavalry from the border army, and commanded the team to go to the fork in the road and come to the Shuangta Fort.

The gourd river was called Wating water in ancient times, the riverbed is meandering, the width is very different, and the shape resembles the "gourd" to get the name. The river is more than a foot wide, and there are several pontoon bridges made of trees on the river surface, which can be crossed by chariots and horses; After crossing the Hulu River, you will reach the avenue after walking another sixty or seventy miles, and the distance is much closer. The Twin Towers Fort was born from this, at the beginning it was a pure garrison, and gradually became the current situation, the Yumen Pass garrison was 5,000 people, and there were no more than 50 soldiers in the Twin Towers Fort, and a tun commander was in charge.

As soon as Yang Chong and the others arrived, the fort was crowded, because the twin towers were too small, and the square city was only twenty meters long on each side, and the whole fort was only twenty-four rooms. Unless they were carrying valuables or had a special status, most merchants set up tents on the flat ground outside the fort for the night; Today, before Yang Chong, there were already two groups of distinguished guests in the fort, and they could only be given eight rooms to Yang Chong, and fifty border soldiers could only camp outside the fort.

Yang Chong immediately decided that except for the poisonous dragon guest, everyone else camped outside the fort for the night, and a trace of dissatisfaction flashed on Duhu Yanshou's face, but he still didn't say anything after all; Tun Chang Zhang Ju showed a grateful look on his face, the border army was dispatched, whether it was to escort businessmen or travel for the government, most of them had another income, but this time because of Li Zixiong's letter, it was purely drudgery, if Yang Chong made any special treatment, this soldier really couldn't bring it.

The distinguished guests in the fort were Changsun Xian, the younger brother of Changsun Sheng, and Pei Yi, the Pei family of Hedong, who heard that an envoy from the imperial court had arrived, so they naturally came to visit; When Yang Chong heard the Pei family, he sighed in his heart, it's not that the enemies don't get together. The eldest grandson is in his fifties, very well maintained, and he can't see any traces of running around in the desert, and when he saw Yang Chong, he smiled indifferently: "Lord Yang, I have heard about your mission for a long time, but I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence, we are also going to Kangguo." When I go, I have to go with us, and with the protection of the officers and soldiers, I will feel much more at ease on the road. ”

Although the Great Sui advocates judging the level by official position, but the people still look at people by the level of the gate valve, Yang Chong does not want to cause trouble, and reluctantly agrees: "I have this idea, everyone is not lonely all the way, and it is much safer." ”

Pei Yi was also in his twenties, with a medium build, luxurious brocade clothes, and when he walked into the tent, he heard Yang Chong speak, and applauded: "That's good, that's good." ”

The eldest grandson said bluntly: "Our two families have more than a dozen merchants, a total of more than 300 men and warriors, and we were still a little worried, but when I saw General Shi Daqian, I didn't have any worries, Lord Yang, you have the final say." ”

Yang Chong smiled and said, "I am a mouthful, after departure, all actions will be arranged by General Shi." ”

Shi Daqian and Duhu Yanshou secretly praised in their hearts, Yang Chong don't look young, he just has a good attitude, and when he sees the people of the Pei family, he has no abnormal expression at all, and he has a future. Shi Daqian also knew that the situation was very strange, more than 300 people were on the road to make a move, and Yang Chonghe himself didn't even have a chance to escape. Shi Daqian said with a smile: "Lord Yang, don't be deceived by them, the eldest grandson family and the Pei family are rampant in the Western Regions. ”

Yang Chong immediately realized that Pei Yi was Pei Ju's clan, and his relationship with Pei Zhen was still relatively far away; Shi Daqian knew that he and Yang Chong could not afford to offend Changsun Xian and Pei Yi, so they would definitely be together tomorrow, and immediately began to inquire about the situation of the accompanying merchants. The merchants shouted in one by one, and then went out after asking, and when the whole situation was clear, Shi Daqian asked each merchant to send a total of 200 people to form an escort team, which was commanded by himself.

Yang Chong took advantage of the fact that it was not dark, and walked around the press with Changsun Xian and others, although it was not an official trading day, there were still merchants of various ethnic groups trading, Yang Chong secretly counted, more than two hundred bunks. Seeing the poisonous dragon guest and others disperse, Yang Chong asked a few Hu merchants along the way about the price, and said to the eldest grandson: "Knowing the good and the bad, talking about the distance and the near, distinguishing the high and the low, being a businessman is simple and simple, and complex is complicated." ”

This is the famous words of Shen Wansan, a big businessman in the Ming Dynasty, especially circulated in the cultural relics industry dominated by Taobao, Yang Chongshun said, the eldest grandson Xian was surprised, there are not many years of business rolling, it is impossible to have such a profound experience. The eldest grandson remembered that Yang Chong was from the South China Sea, and said tentatively: "Lord Yang is worthy of being a merchant family, this remark is incisive and penetrates into the bones. ”

Yang Chong heard the intention of the eldest grandson, and said: "The family was originally a maritime businessman, but unfortunately I have no interest in it, so the family business withered." ”

The eldest grandson smiled disapprovingly: "Lord Yang has entered the official career now, and that little business is nothing. ”

The two looked at each other, clapped their palms and laughed, making everyone on the side baffled.

The next day, the brigade crossed the Hulu River and walked more than 200 miles before seeing an endless wasteland. There are many rocky mountains in the wasteland, some towering into the sky, and some are only twenty or thirty meters high, all of which have the same characteristics. There are hardly any trees to be seen on the mountain, and the rocks are intertwined with canine teeth because of the wind erosion for many years, and they look like most of the remnants of the mound and eroded columns. The convoy walked slowly in the desert, and did not meet a caravan head-on, looking so lonely and small.

Suddenly, there was a sound of slapping in the distance, one after another, and in a short time, more than 2,000 horsemen gathered from all sides, some riding camels and some riding horses, all covered with mixed clothes, wielding long knives in their hands, and carrying bows and arrows; A large flag fluttered in the wind, and a huge wolf's head was embroidered on it, and someone in the caravan had already exclaimed: "Red Gold Turks." ”

The shouts drew nearer and closer, and in front of the rolling torrent, the caravan seemed to be a herd of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, waiting for a knife to fall; The sun is like fire, and life seems fragile to the point of insignificance. Shi Daqian commanded the caravan to quickly occupy the nearest hillside, ordered Shan Fu and the others to restrain the team, stretched out their bows, and carried a long knife by themselves, shouting to meet them down the hillside; Shi Daqian met the enemy general who rushed to the front, his hand raised his knife and fell, a white light flashed, and he cut down the opponent's camel.

Shi Daqian immediately broke into the enemy formation, and when the enemy was stunned, he rushed left and right, and killed more than 30 people in the blink of an eye. It was the first time Yang Chong had seen such a real scene, and although he had repeatedly praised Shi Daqian for his undue bravery, his legs were still trembling and he was unstable on his feet. Shi Daqian beheaded two more enemy generals before he turned back and fought his way out of the encirclement, and more than 50 horsemen chased after him; The escort team rained arrows, and the other party lost most of them, leaving more than a dozen people to retreat in a hurry.

Shi Daqian returned to the position, took the water bladder handed by the person next to him, took a few sips of water and said, "Change a horse, and I'll rush again later." ”

In less than half a burnt of incense, the enemy cavalry roared again, and the five hundred people who rushed to the front were brave and neat, and they knew that it was the army at a glance, and Shan Fu smiled at the border army under the command of Zhang Ju: "Brothers, get ready, don't fall into your name." ”

The fifty horsemen of the border army have all changed into armor, from the horse armor to the helmet mask of the person are integrated, only the eyes and the hands holding the horse lance are exposed, Zhang Ju nodded, the fifty horsemen moved to the flank, and the members of the escort team quickly entered the sniper position, with capable movements and calm bearing. Pei Yi patted Yang Chong's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, all the subordinates are veterans of a hundred battles in the government army, and there is no problem with one being ten." ”

Sure enough, almost every arrow shot by these veterans was sure to hit, and the opponent's accuracy was much worse because of the upward shot, and when the cavalry in front rushed through five hundred paces, there were only more than two hundred people left; Zhang Ju led fifty horsemen to kill like a whirlwind, everyone was bright and bright, the two sides were short-handed, and the Chijin Turkic side was not even a light cavalry, and after falling more than 100 people, they dispersed. But the Turkic army behind was ready, and in the urging of the trumpet, the camel bells rang loudly, the warriors on horseback split to the sides, and four hundred camels formed a defensive formation.

Zhang Ju saw that the enemy was ready to defend against the enemy, and knew that the Chijin Turks still had a huge advantage in numbers, so he led fifty horsemen to slowly retreat up the hillside. Yang Chong saw that Shi Daqian took a deep breath, and was about to ask, when Shan Fu suddenly shouted, "They retreated." ”

Yang Chong raised his eyes and saw that the enemy cavalry suddenly roared away, quickly divided into small groups, and disappeared into the desert; Everyone was pleasantly surprised, full of questions. Directly in the north, there was a trumpet like a rain shower, and a cavalry appeared in the sky, a point, gradually magnified into a line, and a team galloped in.