(a)

The day after entering the gravel desert, vegetation for horses to eat became scarce, there was no water source, and people and animals had to rely on the drinking water they carried.

On the third day, there was no vegetation and no water source. The march slowed down.

On the fourth day, there was no vegetation and no water source. A large number of war horses fell behind, and some of them died. Humans and animals strictly limit the amount of water they drink.

On the fifth day, there was still no vegetation and no water source. A large number of horses fell. The march is no longer about speed.

On the sixth day, the whole army faced a severe thirst. There were soldiers who collapsed because of lack of water. You send three squads out of the direction of the march and look around for water, but find nothing.

On the seventh day, the water they carried was on the verge of being cut off, less than 30% of the horses remained, several wounded soldiers died, the soldiers had chapped lips, the march was difficult, and there was hardly any conversation on the way. The number of squads that went out to find water increased to seven, and you took the lead in drinking only three sips of water for the whole day.

The eighth day of extreme thirst. The whole army was divided into 20 squads and began to search for water. Only 50 miles were traveled in a day. You don't get a drop of water, you feel like a fire is burning in your throat, your lips are crusted, your voice is hoarse, and you have difficulty speaking. But at noon on this day, a small team came with good news, they found a large hot spring dozens of miles away, the water quality is good, the water is abundant, near the water source, they also hunted some meat.

Encouraged by this news, on the afternoon of the ninth day, the whole team trekked hard to reach the place where the hot springs were located.

Because of the thirst for many days, the soldiers and horses rushed to the hot springs from all directions, and no one expected danger to come from underground.

(b)

A commander named Liu Desheng led 10 people to approach the hot spring from the northeast, and at a distance of 100 steps from the hot spring, the originally hard gravel ground suddenly became soft, and then, the ground fluctuated, and just when they found out that something was wrong and wanted to escape, a large piece of gravel ground collapsed, revealing yellow quicksand, and they even fell into the quicksand under the ground.

The horses neighed and struggled in fright, and as a result, the man and the horse quickly sank in the quicksand. By the time you bring someone to the rescue, the 10 men and 10 horses have been submerged in quicksand up to the horses' necks. The horses were constantly struggling because they were having trouble breathing, and the more they struggled, the more they sag. Although Liu Desheng and the other three successfully left the horses, they were also stuck in the quicksand and could not move. Under the weight of the armor of the whole body, it gradually sank in the quicksand, and it was already deep to the waist.

You hear the news and rush to the quicksand area. You now understand why the other armies that entered the Danba Desert mysteriously disappeared. It wasn't the Nether God who devoured them, it was these hidden quicksand areas in the Danba Desert that devoured them! You immediately command the Han army to try to rescue them.

But the power of quicksand is so amazing that even five or six horses cannot pull a man out of the sand. Later, it was painfully realized that the force needed to pull these people out of the quicksand might not be more than flesh and blood could bear. They will be torn apart before being pulled up.

At sunset, before you could think of a better way to help, another unexpected thing happened: the ground near the hot springs began to shake, and there was a loud rumbling sound underground, as if 10,000 devils were passing underground. Then, with a loud explosion, a stream of boiling groundwater broke through the surface of the quicksand and sprayed into the sky 20 meters high before falling one after another. High temperature geyser!

Subsequently, in various parts of the quicksand area, hot water jets were constantly spewing out from the ground and rising into the sky. Boiling water and steam up to 100 degrees Celsius poured and surrounded the 10 people. In the midst of the white mist, the screams of people and the neighing of horses were incessant. The voice is poignant and frightening. Liu Desheng hissed in the mist: "Release the arrow!" Shoot the arrows! Kill us with arrows! ”

You watch as the boiling water of the hot spring expands and rushes in the direction of the 10 people. You close your eyes. You turn your head and order: "Raise your bow!" Shoot the arrows! As the bowstring hummed, the screams faded away. All that was left was the sound of rushing water.

In the violent eruption of the geyser, the whole army stood in silence, silently watching the corpses of the 10 men and 10 horses, in the steaming boiling spring, boiled raw and pink color, and then, gradually submerged into the quicksand, disappeared from this world.

When the moon appeared in the sky, the ferocious eruption of the geyser's steaming finally stopped.

You ordered the whole army to bypass the direction of the quicksand, and cautiously tried to fetch water.

That night, in the desert, your army finally got a good night's rest. When the campfire is lit and the smell of barbecue begins to waft, you know that your amazing adventure is on the verge of success.

You didn't bring any of your attendants. I rode a horse to a place about two miles away from the hot springs.

You sit alone in the middle of thousands of sand dunes, under a bright moon. You sat there alone for half the night.

(c)

Day 10. A tragic and bloody day. You killed all the remaining horses. When the neighing of the horses resounded in the dunes, many of the soldiers shed tears. You took advantage of the hot springs and the scorching sun to make horse meat into dry food that was easy to carry. Water bladders were made out of horse leather.

Day 11. You hike into the quicksand desert.

On the thirteenth day, all the dry food and water were gone. You left behind the corpses of more than 20 soldiers and continued on foot.

On the fifteenth day, almost every hour, a man in the ranks fell and lay down.

On the sixteenth day, the boundless yellow sand ground finally changed. The rubble on the ground began to increase again. This means that you are almost on the verge of the quicksand desert. Hope reignited in the hearts of the soldiers.

On the seventeenth day, you climbed over the last gravel hill mixed with sand and dust, and what appeared in front of you was the endless green Rongxian grassland and the green mountains and green waters in the distance.

You have 552 people left.

(iv)

You've made it! You have defeated the Danba Desert, which no one has defeated since ancient times! The New Han Army led by you became the first army in history to walk out of the Danba Desert!

However, standing on a hill overlooking the vast grasslands beneath your feet. There is no joy in your heart.

Your heart is filled with sorrow when you think of every brother who fell on the way to the thousands of miles. They will never see such a vibrant green! They were left behind, not even a minimum of respectful burials.

You don't feel like you've had any success at all.

You feel exhausted, both physically and mentally.