Chapter 17: The Great Desert in Distress
Eight hundred miles of Mohe Yan moraine, the flat sand is vast, the yellow waves are rolling, there are no flying birds on the top, there are no beasts below, there is no water grass on the ground, at a glance, the sky is blue and the yellow ground is a reckless everywhere, and it is not clear to distinguish the southeast and northwest.
As soon as he entered Mohe Yanmo, Du He felt that the power of heaven and earth was endless. After only ten miles into it, he found that he could not distinguish between east and west, and that there was no living creature in this desert, not even grass and trees, as rumored.
An Ryoma and Chemiri led the way at the very front of the team.
At this moment, Du He also had to be glad that he had two excellent guides, if they didn't lead the way, facing the ghost place, he was afraid that he would really be lost in this vast desert as Hou Junji thought.
It's just that it's a little too hot, and although it's mid-November, the climate in the desert is still quite harsh. It is as if it is baking in a furnace, which is unbearable.
Even Du He, who has internal strength, is faintly uncomfortable, let alone other people.
Du He glanced left and right, and saw that all the soldiers and horses around him were sweating, showing fatigue, and Fang Yiai directly hit a shirtless, using his cloak as a parasol, blocking his head.
Du Ho quickly came to the front of the team and said, "Two, shouldn't you take a break, it's too hot to march." "He is the commander of the flying horses, whether this is to rest or not, just a word, an order. However, out of respect for the two leaders of Anlongma and Chemiri, I still asked.
Chemili nodded and said: "General don't worry, I have followed Daddy no less than five times on this Mohe Yan moraine, and I know that there is a sand slope in front, and the sand slope is facing away from the sun, so you can take a cool rest, let's go there, and now we will stop and rest under the sun, and it will also consume physical strength!" ”
Du He also felt justified and readily agreed.
After walking for another two miles, I found a sand slope where I could rest in the shade, and the army stopped at the bottom of the sand slope to rest.
An Longma and Chemili came to Duhe, looking like they wanted to say something.
Du He smiled and asked them to sit down, and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it!" ”
Chemiri was in Ai Ai, and she didn't know how to speak.
An Longma was also a little embarrassed, but gritted his teeth and said, "Master Pony, in fact, Chemili wants the Lord to listen to her command when he passes through this Mohe Yanmoi...... Me, we don't mean anything else, we just keep going like this, and it's not going well. ”
"No problem!" Du He didn't think about it.
"Ah......" Seeing that Du He agreed so happily, An Longma and Chemili were a little stunned.
"Is there any problem......" As soon as the words came out, Du He also knew the answer, and said with a smile: "You are the guide, it is natural to listen to your orders, I am not such a pedantic person, I am just a little curious, I don't know how the situation is not good?" ”
Duhe's open-mindedness relieved both of them, there was no effective law in the place where the two of them lived, and the general took military power very seriously, and could whip others at every turn, and some moody ones were even more violent, so they were a little worried that Duhe would be like them.
Chemili said, "It's my fault, I thought the army was walking, just like our caravan. I just took a turn and realized that the situation was very different. Our caravans go fast, the army goes slowly, we use camels, and the camels can go without water or food for ten days, but the army uses horses, but not with horses. It takes too much water and forage. Although we brought a lot of drinking water with the army, we continued to consume it at this rate, and we did not have enough water before we reached Mustang Spring. ”
Du He also exclaimed: "This is amazing! "Seven thousand people were cut off from water, and what a terrible thing it was.
After a pause, he continued: "Is there any way to solve it?" ”
Chemili smiled confidently: "The climate of the desert, the days are long and the nights are short, and the best time to travel is evening and dawn. This time is not very cold and not very hot, you can walk faster, and it can also reduce the loss of water in the body. Water in the desert is more precious than gold to us merchants, and even more so to the army. As soon as we get to Mustang Springs, it's not a problem. ”
Duhe knew that Wild Horse Springs was the only oasis in Moheyan's moraine, and the only place where water was recharged. It is only three hundred miles away from Yiwu, and as long as you get there, it is equivalent to breaking through this Moheyan moraine.
He listened to what Chemiri said with reason, and knew that these were the valuable experiences of their merchants who had crossed Mohe Yan Moraine many times, and it was the key to their survival, so he did as she said the precautions.
Even so, even with a veteran Chemilli leading the way, the march was still difficult.
Thousands of years of violent winds have been piled up into undulating, winding and endless sand dunes, and those sand dunes and the Gobi have undulated and outlined the graceful curves of the wind. They may seem disorganized, but they are very harmoniously connected to each other. But at this moment no one has the leisure to enjoy such a view, because every step taken here is so difficult, and each step takes three or four times the usual physical strength.
Although they had avoided the hottest and coldest times as much as possible, they still had to endure the bad weather.
And that's not even the scariest of all.
The most terrible thing is that the temperature difference between day and night is too large, the deadly heat during the day, and the cold and biting at night, which is the most likely to cause diseases.
This penetrated into Mohe Yanqi for only five days, and someone thought that he was sick.
Fortunately, they had prepared in advance and brought a lot of wind and cold medicine, and there were no casualties among the Chengren soldiers.
It has been seven days since the army entered Moheyan, and this area is even more uninhabited, and there is still no end in sight to the continuous desert. I could hear nothing but the whirring wind, my own wheezing, and my footsteps; What I see is always a red yellow sand moraine, a dry bone buried in the dust, and then a sand moraine, still dry bones, and the maddening red yellow is connected to the blue sky, and there is not a single grass, not even an ant!
Du He also knew the ruthlessness of Hou Junji's move, looking at this big desert, he only felt that the heaven and the earth were connected, and there was no sound, and more than 7,000 of them were like a drop in the ocean in this desert. Although he is strong in martial arts, he can't help but feel a sense of trembling when he is in this realm, and suddenly feels that the universe is infinite, and he is small and abnormal. If someone doesn't lead the way, I am afraid that I will be unable to resist the power of nature.
Looking at the tired soldiers who were all tired and tired of this harsh climate, Du He, Luo Tong, Fang Yiai and other generals had already been inspired back and forth, sharing weal and woe with the soldiers, and trekking together with hardships. All the officers and soldiers of the Tang Army also understood that there was no turning back when they opened their bows, they could only grit their teeth and go west, all the way to the west.
There was not a single wind in the desert, and it seemed even more lifeless, and the blazing scream passed through the cloudless sky, and fell hotly on the dry sand dunes, and every crevice in the sand seemed to spew hot air from its nostrils. Du He's feet were wearing thick shoes, but he still felt that the soles of his feet were hot.
Now that it was empty, they shouldn't have been in a hurry at this time, but they couldn't find a place to shade them along the way, and they could only keep walking.
Suddenly, an oasis appeared not far from them, and Liu Renliang shouted, "Water! There is water! ”
He screamed wildly, rode his horse and whipped up, and rushed to the right, and more than a dozen soldiers also rushed over with the shout!
Du He looked out, sure enough, on the right side found not far away from the green trees, a big lake in front of him, the south end of the lake is a big waterfall again, the practice is like falling from the sky, flying beads splash jade, the flowers and trees around the lake are uneven, the miscellaneous flowers are red and white, reflected in the turquoise lake water, strange and inexplicable. In the distance is a vast grassy plain, stretching out endlessly, connecting with the sky, and hundreds of white sheep are running and grazing on the meadow.
What an oasis, is this the Wild Horse Springs?
He thought so in his heart, but his expression changed dramatically, yesterday he heard Chemiri say that there were still three days away from Mustang Springs, and now he has only traveled for one day!
Don't...... A burst of horror appeared in Du He's eyes, and four words appeared in his mind.
Sure enough, I heard Chemiri shout in shock: "Come back, come back." That's a fake, an illusion. ”
Unmoved, they continued to gallop.
Du Hexin shouted: "Not good! ”
He saw that all the people who ran away except for Liu Renliang were not characters in the Flying Cavalry Army, they were all people brought by Jiang Xingben. It must be because there is not much water left, and they set the amount of water for each person, so that some frail people can't support it, and when they see the mirage, they think that there is really water, and thus lose their minds.
was about to let people chase after him, but he saw Liu Renliang and them fall off the horse one after another, and the whole person actually fell into it little by little.
Such a terrifying sight made all the soldiers cry out in amazement, and they ran down the steep hill to rescue them.
Du Holey snorted, "Stop me...... And you, those who are stuck in the sand, do not move, the more you move, the faster you sink, and if you do not move, there will be no trouble. Listen to me, yes! ”
He has not personally experienced the horror of quicksand, but he has seen a lot of it in the movie. Although the film cannot avoid the element of exaggeration, it is certain that some of the principles are still correct. In the face of this force of nature, even if all 7,000 people were put on board, it would be useless.
He was already very prestigious in the army, and the leadership demeanor he showed in sharing weal and woe with the soldiers in the past seven days was even more impressive to everyone. He drank this and planned to go to the rescue but everyone stopped. Those who kept sinking also stopped back and forth, and when they saw that it worked, they didn't dare to move one by one.
A cold sweat broke out on Du He's forehead, but fortunately, his quality was excellent in his heart, although he was not in a panic, he saw that there were many ropes on the car transporting grain. It was the rope that was used to tie the rice, but because the rice was eaten, the rope was empty.
Looking at the rope, Du He had an idea, and shouted: "The archer binds the rope with arrow feathers, shoots it, and uses the rope to pull up the brothers who are stuck in the quicksand." ”
(To be continued)