[Vol. 1] Section 157: Zhang Qian the Explorer 3

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What's next?

Run away? Distress? Or is it a feast of death?

Countless choices filled Zhang Qian's heart, often keeping him awake at night when he lived in an enemy country. Zhang Qian wanted to escape, but because the Huns were closely watched, he really didn't dare to act rashly, so as not to attract death.

Zhang Qian understands that his life, from the moment he stepped out of Chang'an, no longer belongs to him. If he dies, he will be able to win the reputation of a loyal minister, but what the emperor needs most now is not only a loyal minister with a reputation, but a loyal minister who dares to challenge the unknown and live up to his mission.

Zhang Qian understands better that if Zhang Qian dies, there will probably be no Zhang Qian in the country. He can change his clothes, speak Hu, and even marry Hu's wife, but the only thing that can't be changed is his heart, and the only thing that can't be lost is the envoys given to him by the imperial court.

Zhang Qian made up his mind to save his life and waited for the opportunity to escape, even if he waited for the last three years and five years!

Zhang Qian put aside all his worries and devoted himself to his new life.

Although he was a high-ranking prisoner of the Xiongnu, Zhang Qian never humiliated, he treated others with courtesy, magnanimity and boldness, and influenced the Huns' perception of the Han people around him.

He learned Hu and practiced his riding and archery skills. The weather in the north is bad, the wind and the sun are commonplace, the day is hot like summer, and the night is cold and unbearable, and the Huns migrate with the water and grass, this winter is here, and next spring is there.

These ordinary lives in the eyes of the Huns cannot but be said to be a test for Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian did not choose to back down, on the contrary, he regarded it as a rare experience.

If he can't survive in the Xiongnu, then why should he face the vast Gobi Beach in the Western Regions?

"Why can you hold on so quietly?"

"Because I still have a mission on my shoulders."

A year has passed, and the Huns have not relaxed their guard on him at all, and he is also happy with his noble son.

Three years have passed, and the Huns have not relaxed their guard on him, and Zhang Qian has become proficient in the Xiongnu language and customs.

Five years later, the Huns still guarded him, and Zhang Qian honed his excellent physique and riding and archery skills.

Ten years have passed, the Huns have relaxed their guards on him a little, and Zhang Qian has figured out the various passes of the Huns.

In the sixth year of Yuanguang (129 BC), on the battlefield of Han and Hungary, Wei Qing attacked Longcheng and emerged for the first time.

In the first year of Yuanshuo (128 BC), the Xiongnu sent 20,000 troops to attack Yuyang and Yanmen.

Here's your chance.

Zhang Qian immediately called his father and wife and explained his idea, although his wife was a Huns, it may have been the eyeliner that the military ministers deliberately placed beside him, but more than ten years of getting along with each other have made them fall in love with each other, and now that he is leaving, he naturally wants to say goodbye to her.

Zhang's wife sighed, this day has finally come, and I don't know if we can see each other again.

Her eyes were full of reluctance, and tears fell involuntarily, but she still firmly supported her husband's approach.

"Let's go, I will take care of the children, and I will take care of the cattle and sheep."

"Thank you!"

Late at night, Zhang Qian said his final goodbye to his wife, and then disappeared into the night with Gan's father, and her wife couldn't go out to see each other in order not to be discovered, so she could only cry secretly in the tent.

Zhang Qian and Gan's father did not flee to their hometown, but traveled westward along the water and grass, because they had stayed in the Xiongnu for decades, were proficient in the Xiongnu language, and were familiar with the Xiongnu customs, so they could quickly get mixed up when they encountered an interrogation.

A few days later, the two of them had arrived at the Xiongnu border, and after several turnarounds, they arrived at the settlement of the Da Yue clan that he knew, Ili.

However, what Zhang Qian didn't expect was that for ten years, this place had long been a matter of things.

Local residents told him that although this place was Ili, it was not the Otsuki clan, which had migrated to the far southwest a few years earlier, and was now called Wusun.

Wusun is a vassal state of the Xiongnu, and there is no blood feud with the Xiongnu, back then, it was Wusun and the Xiongnu who joined forces to drive away the Dayue clan.

In this way, Wusun Kingdom cannot stay for a long time, and must continue to search for the Otsuki clan.

Under the guidance of the locals, Zhang Qian traveled south through the Tianshan Mountains and walked straight along the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains to a lush plateau.

Seeing that the top of the mountain is so verdant, and the foot of the mountain is mostly planted with green onions, Zhang Qian knows that this is the "Green Ridge" (Pamir Plateau) that he has heard of for a long time.

Pamir means the roof of the world. In ancient times, it was called Buzhou Mountain, and in the Han Dynasty, it was called Green Mountain. According to legend, Buzhou Mountain is the pillar of heaven and earth, and the fire god co-workers and Zhuan Xuan compete for the throne, and angrily touch Buzhou Mountain, causing the pillar to break, the sky tilts to the northwest, and the earth sinks to the southeast, so that there is today's land of China.

Zhang Qian crossed the green mountains and entered a rich country again.

The name of this country is Dawan, and it belongs to the sedentary people, they have a city outline, and they cultivate the fields. Dawan is rich in grapes, and after Zhang Qian tasted it, he could never forget its taste, which had never been seen in Dahan. What is even more admirable is that Dawan produces a kind of horse, which sweats like blood, and is an extremely rare good horse.

Zhang Qian thought to himself, if he could introduce the bloody BMW into the Central Plains, he would definitely be able to build an iron-blooded cavalry.

Zhang Qian met the king of Dawan in the name of the envoy of the Han court, the king of Dawan had long heard that there was a very rich country in the far east, but it was difficult to trek to figure it out, and now he saw the envoy from the Han Dynasty, and he was naturally overjoyed.

King Dawan not only warmly entertained Zhang Qian, but when he learned that Zhang Qian was going to Dayue's clan, he sent a guide to follow.

With Dawan Guide, the road was much smoother.

At this time, Zhang Qian learned that from Dawan to Dayueshi, he had to pass through Kangju Country on the way. Kangju was a small country, and it was a vassal to the Xiongnu and Yue, respectively.

Hearing this, Zhang Qian was very excited, and now it can at least show that the Da Yue clan is still relatively strong.

Zhang Qian and his entourage passed through Kangju and finally arrived at the country of his dreams.

Ten years, he has waited for ten years for this mission, and now, the important task is about to be completed, and he is naturally full of emotion.

In the Dayue Clan, Zhang Qian met the King of the Dayue Clan.

As the envoy of the Han court, the king of the Dayue clan naturally did not dare to slack off. However, when Zhang Qian explained his intentions, the king of the Yue clan was

is noncommittal, but it just means that Zhang Qian has just arrived, and he will stay for the time being, and the matter of the joint army can be discussed in the long run.

If he called someone else, he might just throw his hands and leave, but Zhang Qian didn't, he really lived in the Dayue Clan.

I've been waiting for ten years, are you afraid to keep waiting? If I don't complete my mission, I Zhang Qian will not give up.

Everyone knows that the Dayue clan and the Xiongnu have a blood feud, each generation of kings must always remember in their hearts, it is because of the Xiongnu, they left their homeland, thousands of miles of trekking, after thousands of mountains and rivers, they finally came to the land under their feet, surrendered to the local indigenous people, and had today's rich and strong.

Since having this land, the Da Yue clan has nothing to do with the Xiongnu. The two countries are thousands of miles apart, and even if they want to fight, how?

The king of the Great Moon Clan is not a stupid person, of course he hopes that one day he can take revenge, but with the current situation of the Great Yue Clan, he has just obtained the land of the former Great Xia Kingdom, and it is the least cost-effective to rashly go thousands of miles away to fight. However, the envoys of the Han court could not be offended, I heard that this country is very rich, and there are countless treasures. The friendship between the two countries will inevitably bring many benefits.

Based on the above ideas, the Dayue clan served Zhang Qian well. The matter of the alliance is not to say yes or no.

Zhang Qian's will was really strong, and in order to wait for a promise from the Dayue clan, he stayed here for more than a year.

A year later, Zhang Qian finally gave up after lobbying countless times to no avail.

In the second year of Yuan Shuo (127 BC), he embarked on the journey home and prepared to return to China to restore his life.

Even he didn't know if the journey back would be as difficult as it had been.