The next day, He Meng, accompanied by Xiong Lin, visited King Hami. A Western-style palace appeared in front of him, and He Meng and Xiong Lin dismounted in front of the palace, looking at it with great interest. Xiong Lin said: "King Hami believes in Islam and is a devout believer. King Hami had dealings with the Russians before, and since we were stationed in Hami, we have not noticed any unusual behavior. He Meng asked, "What is King Hami's attitude towards us?" ”

Xiong Lin said: "He once expressed his surrender to the Chinese Empire to me, but I don't know what I think in my heart!" He Meng said: "The implementation of the national policy of this western expedition is the most important thing, and the Russians are fanning the flames here, and it is inevitable that they will not be active." We must not only adopt a policy of gentleness and preach national autonomy, but also completely defeat the Russians militarily and make them lose their illusions, which is an important part of our westward expedition. The killings can only last for a while, but not for long. But we can't blindly accommodate and resolutely suppress the rioters! ”

At this time, in the secret room of the king of Hami, a Russian messenger dressed in disguise was talking like a river: "Dear king Hami, the great Russian Empire has controlled the whole of Xinjiang. Don't look at the nascent Chinese Empire, which was strong for a while, but it was simply inconsiderate to have the audacity to make enemies of the entire West. Now that a powerful coalition has entered Central Asia, we will soon launch a powerful offensive against the Chinese Empire. ”

King Hami stroked his eight-character nonsense and asked, "May I ask what benefits I can get from defeating the Chinese Empire?" "Tsar Bixia asked me to bring an edict to permanently crown you as the king of Hami, and it will remain unchanged for thousands of generations." King Hami's face did not show joy and asked, "What do you need me to do?" The Russian messenger said: "Give us information, provide detailed information on the troops of the Chinese Empire." King Hami's eyes rolled around and said, "Life and death are a matter of life." You let me think about it! ”

After the Russian messenger went down, one of his subordinates said: "The Chinese Empire is now extremely strong, and now hundreds of thousands of tigers and wolves are here. When Zuo Zongtang led his troops into Xinjiang, he didn't have such momentum, so you have to think twice, your lord. The Russians painted bread to satisfy hunger, without any sincerity, and we cannot be a funeral offering. King Hami sneered: "I don't know what the Russians are thinking, they are using me, and the situation is unstable at the moment. I also don't want to offend the Russians. ”

"Report to the king, He Meng, the commander of the Chinese Empire's Western Expedition, is here to visit!" A subordinate came in in panic to report. When King Hami heard this, he stood up and exclaimed, "Is it difficult that the arrival of the Russian messenger was discovered by them?" "My lord, the Russian messenger has been here for two days. If they had been discovered, they would have sent troops to arrest them, and this commander would have come to visit you. "How many people are coming?" "Returning to the king, there are a few people from the other party, including the local garrison Commander Xiong. And a few guards! ”

King Hami's eyes rolled wildly and said, "Arrest that Russian messenger immediately?" "Weishenme arrested the Russian courier?" Subordinates are confused. "In case the other party knows about the situation. What if you deliberately come to temptation? The Han people are very cunning, we cannot be caught, but may Allah bless us and let us turn evil into good fortune. "King Hami wisely chose Mingzhe to protect himself. After all, the mighty Chinese Empire is close at hand, and the Russians are far away.

King Hami led his subordinates and family members to the door to greet He Meng and his party. "Honorable General, in the name of Allah, I sincerely welcome your distinguished guests to the Humble House. This king swears to Allah that he will always submit to the Chinese Empire. There are no two hearts," King Hami swore to himself. Lead his subordinates and family members to kneel on the ground. He Meng personally helped King Hami up and said: "You are all Chinese subjects, sharing the happy land, sharing the world of freedom and equality, is the purpose of the Chinese Empire. ”

He Meng continued: "The president specifically mentioned the loyalty of the seventh Hui king, and he still admires the integrity of rejecting the rebellion of Aguba and following the reunification of the country. The president has great respect for national autonomy, the title of King Hami and the right to jurisdiction over the Hami region, which is a certificate given to you by the central government with the president's personal signature. King Hami held the certificate in his hand, and after listening to the interpreter's explanation, he said excitedly: "Thank you for the president's kindness, Allah will always bless him!" ”

Then He Meng ordered the gifts to be offered, and King Hami did not hesitate to exchange courtesies, and handed over the Russian messenger to He Meng. He Meng immediately handed over the Russian courier to Xiong Lin, and asked Xiong Lin to interrogate the Russian courier to obtain the true situation. He Meng once again affirmed King Hami's sincerity. Subsequently, the guests and hosts had a friendly exchange, and King Hami entertained He Meng with the highest standard.

In an interrogation room of the Independent Cavalry Division, the Russian courier was tied to a wooden cross, and his upper body was beaten open, but the guy refused to speak. The two shirtless men next to him were panting tiredly with leather whips in their hands. Xiong Lin sat behind the table and waved his hand, and one of his subordinates picked up a bucket and walked up to the Russian messenger, and a bucket of water fell over his head.

The Russian messenger woke up and chirped for a while, still refusing to explain. The translator muttered a few words in Xiong Lin's ear, and with a wave of Xiong Lin's hand, his subordinates brought in a pot of red charcoal, and a few handfuls of burning red soldering irons were placed in the charcoal fire. As soon as the charcoal brazier was brought in, a frightened expression appeared on the face of the Russian messenger. A shirtless man with thick black hair on his chest picked up a red-hot soldering iron, walked up to the Russian messenger with a hideous face, and tore his shirt abruptly.

The terrified Russian messenger collapsed before the soldering iron was attached to the flesh, and immediately explained the purpose of the trip and the situation of the Russian army. After listening to Xiong Lin's report, He Meng said to himself: "A Polish cavalry division has entered Dihua, which shows that the Russian army has increased its troops in Dihua. Is it credible that the Russian army is going to launch a military operation recently? "Commander, it should be credible. The fact that the Russian courier did not know what military action was, speaks for itself. ”

He Meng pondered for a while and said: "In response to all changes, the troops continue to advance towards Turpan, and your department continues to increase reconnaissance efforts and pay close attention to the movements of the Russian army." The next day, the army continued to march, and the road from Hami to Turpan became even more difficult. The army walked for 10 days to reach Turpan, but He Meng did not expect that the military operation of the Russian army would launch a crazy attack in a place he did not expect.

Turpan Basin, 200 meters below sea level at its lowest point. Now in July, the earth is baked by the scorching sun, like a huge steamer. During the hottest part of the day, the surface temperature can reach 70 degrees, and to put it bluntly, eggs can be baked on sand. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., people are largely shut to escape the heat.

Turpan is not only an important place on the ancient Silk Road, but also famous for its grapes and qanats. Speaking of grapes in Turpan, I have to say that the grape ditch located at the foot of the Flame Mountain. The Flame Mountain is a major difficulty that the Tang monk went through to learn the scriptures in the West, and in the mythical story of Journey to the West, crossing the Flame Mountain is a strong stroke. Sun Wukong's battle against the Bull Demon King was thrilling, and it took great scheming and twists and turns to obtain the fan of the Iron Fan Princess, extinguish the raging flames of the Flame Mountain, and Tang Seng and his party were able to pass safely.

The real Flaming Mountain is a volcano-like color, and from a distance, the red sand is scorching and there is no grass. However, in the canyon of the Flame Mountain, the grape ditch has a unique cave and beautiful scenery, which forms a sharp contrast with the outside of the ditch. As soon as you enter the ditch, you will be covered with green and green, and the dense grape fields will be all over the mountains and valleys, and the streams, canals, and spring drops will be beautiful, adding infinite poetry and painting to the valley. In addition, the ditch is also abundant, mulberry, peach, apricot, apple, pomegranate, pear, fig, walnut, watermelon, melon. Due to the long hours of sunshine and the large temperature difference between day and night, the grapes and other fruits produced here are very sweet and refreshing.

The grape ditch is about 8 kilometers long from north to south and about half a kilometer wide. Speaking of the water in the grape ditch, we have to mention the qanats. The qanats are artificially dug underground river projects, which are gradually formed according to the unique climatic and hydrological characteristics of the local area. The qanats use the Borg Mountains in the north and the Krawucheng Mountains in the west to provide a large amount of water for the qanats, and dig underground channels in all directions to continuously bring melted snow water to the oasis.

The qanats are divided into shafts, which are convenient for excavation, soil lifting and ventilation. The culvert, the open channel and the waterlogging dam are composed of four parts. Due to the low-lying terrain of Turpan, the water flows naturally to the central part of the basin. As a result, the deeper the shaft is at the high point, the deepest can reach 90 meters, and the low point is only a few meters. Culverts are generally a few kilometers long, and the longest can reach tens of kilometers. The karez that extends in all directions, and the Great Wall of China and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, are known as the three major projects of ancient Shijie.

When the troops arrived in Turpan, the scorching heat forced them all to take refuge in Grape Valley, and 200,000 people poured into Grape Valley, which was immediately overcrowded. But their arrival has also brought a lot of money to the local people. Every year, the grapes and other melons and fruits that are abundant in the grape ditch are transported out of the country in very small quantities, and even if they can be shipped out, they are basically raisins and dried fruits.

It is the season when grapes and melons are ripe, and for the first time in history, 200,000 people have been consumed. He Meng wanted to stay in Turpan for a few days, and the next step was to use troops against Dihua, and he had to grasp the dynamics of the enemy army. On the day that He Meng led his troops to Turpan, an enemy cavalry unit quietly passed through the south of Turpan, aiming at Hami.

(To be continued......)

PS: Fighting with nature on the way to the west, and facing murderous enemies, there are also times when Baimi is negligent.