readsfreenovel Chapter 265 Arrival at Dunhuang
Chapter 265 Arrival at Dunhuang
Last time I introduced the personnel configuration and some of the personnel backgrounds of the trip to the Western Regions. This time we will start with the main text. Let’s stop chatting and read on.
The convoy stopped and started frequently, but was not in a hurry. Every time they stopped to rest, Li Yi would pick up his guitar and sing for everyone to liven up the atmosphere. After half a month, everyone became familiar with each other and started talking more.
As the core figure, Li Yi naturally has to understand everyone's personality, abilities, interests and hobbies. His purpose is to better arrange the tasks to be faced and solve the problems in the simplest way possible.
After another ten days of walking, the caravan finally arrived at Yumen Pass, the most important pass on the Wei border, located in the northwest of Jiuquan. This Yumen Pass was not the previous dynasty's pass west of Dunhuang City. During the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty lost actual control over the Western Regions.
The new Yumen Pass in front of us was rebuilt by the Northern Wei Dynasty to resist the invasion of the Qiang and Di tribes. The name Yumen Pass also shows that the Northern Wei Dynasty wanted to recover the Western Regions and open up the Hexi Corridor.
Beyond Yumen Pass is Guazhou, an important town in the northwest border area, and beyond Guazhou is the territory of the northwest grassland ethnic groups. Dunhuang is now a relatively neutral area, to put it bluntly, it is a free trade zone for grassland people and Central Plains people, and it is also a place where Qiang, Di and Central Plains people live together.
That night, Li Yi stood on the top of Guazhou City, looking at Dunhuang 200 miles away. Although it was just a small dot of light, it was just like what he and Yuan Jun said when they were discussing politics on the ship:
"Dunhuang, the most important city on the Silk Road, is like a pearl outside the Great Wall, waiting for a wise ruler. If we can capture Dunhuang, pacify the Gaoche, open up the Silk Road, and then attract the Western Regions to trade and collect tariffs, there is no need to worry about the country not becoming rich."
Liu Ruyun and Yuan Ziyi walked up to him and looked into the distance with him. Ziyi asked, "Is that the first stop of our trip to the Western Region?"
Liu Ruyun said: "The Three Peoples gather here, and it is a mixed bag. Dunhuang outside the Great Wall is a place of right and wrong."
Li Yi smiled and said, "What I saw was a beacon on the Silk Road, with camel caravans passing through, traffic jams, a transit point for communication between the East and the West, and the most famous city in the Western Regions."
Ziyi said, "I heard from the commander of Guazhou that the defenders of Dunhuang number as many as 30,000. The city is high and the crossbows are strong. Liu Xun's 10,000 imperial guards will definitely not be able to take it. The people of Zhenbei Army are waiting to see him and Jun Ge make a fool of themselves."
Li Yi asked in confusion: "Who among the Zhenbei Army dares to speak like that? And you heard about it, but you didn't teach them a lesson on the spot?"
Ziyi snorted softly, "After returning from the Northern Territory, I realized one thing. If you want them to shut up, you have to speak with strength. After the battle between you and Liu Long, every soldier in the Zhenbei Army looked respectful to you. It's the same with Jun Ge. If you want them to shut up, you have to fight this battle beautifully! Tell me, what are your plans? What can we do to help you?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "Tomorrow, let's change into merchant clothes and go to Dunhuang City to check it out first."
The next day, Li Yi and his team arrived outside Dunhuang. Yuan Ziyi and Liu Ruyun did not take a car, but came on horseback. A large market came into view, with a dazzling array of everything, and it felt like there was no end to it. Before this, they had already decided on nicknames. After all, the surname Yuan was too loud and it was inevitable that people would associate it with something, so Li Yi determined the character background and nicknames for everyone in advance:
They were a caravan that came from Southern Liang to Dunhuang to purchase goods. Li Yi was naturally the leader of the caravan and was called Young Master.
Yuan Ziyi and Liu Ruyun are the guards of the caravan. Yuan Ziyi calls her Xiao Ziyi or Xiao Daxia, and Liu Ruyun is Aunt Yun.
Zhou Bo was the caravan's steward; Zhang Biao was a servant; Wei Lue, Wei Zhen and Yu Jiu were stable boys.
Yuehua, Baozhu and Faluo are the female relatives.
The great warrior Xiao Ziyi looked at the two-meter-high city wall at the far end of the market and laughed, "Even a wall this low can be easily climbed by a Huajin warrior. How can they still say that Dunhuang City is high and strong?"
Liu Ruyun smiled and said, "Master Xiao, that's not the city wall of Dunhuang, it's a low wall. The real city wall is much further inside."
"Ah? Isn't that a city wall? There are so many people setting up stalls outside this wall to sell goods, how can it not be a city wall?"
Baozhu Faluo and others got off the car. Yuehua, Wei Lue and Aitaji were all amazed when they saw the prosperous Dunhuang market in front of them.
Baozhu Falu said: "I haven't been to Dunhuang for many years, and it's still so lively here!"
Li Yi asked, "Has Aunt Baozhu been here before?"
Baozhu Faluo took Wei Lue's hand and looked towards the gate of Dunhuang City and said, "Yes, it happened more than ten years ago. A lot has changed. I guess we can't find the familiar vendors anymore."
Aitaji asked: "Mother, is there anyone familiar here?"
Baozhu Falui looked at Aitaji and handed his son's hand to Aitaji and said, "Please help me take care of the child. I will go see if I can find those old friends."
Wei Lue didn't understand what his mother meant. He could take care of himself, so why did he let his sister-in-law take care of him? But he didn't say anything. He took Aitaji's hand and followed his mother forward. Yuehua followed Li Yi. She had never been here before and was afraid that she would get lost. She held Amina with one hand and pulled Li Yi's sleeve with the other. Yu Jiu and Wei Zhen followed on both sides, and Steward Zhou and Zhang Biao walked at the end. It was obviously a defensive formation.
After walking a few steps, a group of children sitting outside the market suddenly rushed over excitedly, holding various stones in their hands and chasing each other. Li Yi hurriedly shouted: "Watch your wallets! These kids are thieves!"
Liu Ruyun didn't want these dirty children to dirty her clothes, so she pointed her right hand like a sword and slashed it at the ground. With a swish, a line of ice condensed on the ground and the children stopped immediately.
Baozhu Faluo shouted something in Di language, and the children all ran back to sit outside the market. She turned her head and looked at Li Yi in surprise and asked, "Sir, how do you know these children are thieves? Have they been here before?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "No, no, this is my first time here too, but there are so many people coming and going at the entrance of this market, and these kids didn't come forward, but they rushed over when we came. Something must be wrong when things are out of the ordinary, and it's definitely not a good thing."
Baozhu Faluo smiled and said, "These kids are called Sahanakamula, which means money-scattering boys. They are usually accompanied by a few adults. They are thieves who prey on outsiders and strangers. This time, you have discovered them, but they didn't get any benefits. They may come to cause trouble again later."
Upon hearing this, Hero Xiao said angrily, "What? You dare to come and cause trouble? It's good enough that we don't cause trouble for them. I'll..."
Liu Ruyun stretched out her hand to interrupt her speech, because at this time Li Yi had already walked up to a middle-aged man who was drinking at the wine stall. He saluted and said, "Big brother, I wonder if you can understand the Central Plains dialect?"
The middle-aged man looked up at Li Yi and started to talk a lot. Li Yi couldn't understand anything. He took out a silver ingot, shook it in front of the middle-aged man and said with a smile: "Can you speak the Central Plains dialect?"
"Yes! Of course I can. This young man is very generous. He looks like a wealthy man from the Central Plains. What do you think? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Ziyi watched Li Yi stuff the silver into the middle-aged man's pocket and whispered something. The middle-aged man was surprised at first, then smiled and stood up to salute Li Yi. Li Yi returned the salute and returned to the team. The middle-aged man whistled at the children, and a few older children ran up to the middle-aged man and said something incoherently, and then the older children ran away.
Baozhu Faluo asked, "Sir, how did you know that person was the leader of this group of kids?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "It's very simple. When Auntie Yun drew ice marks on the ground just now, all the children were scared. Only the older children did not panic. Instead, they looked towards the wine stand. He was the only one sitting there drinking, so it was not difficult to judge."
Xiao Ziyi interrupted, "Since you've found the leader, why are you still giving him money? Wouldn't it be better to just beat him up and let him know how powerful we are?"
Liu Ruyun shook his head and said, "Master Xiao, as the saying goes, a powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Here, they are the local snakes. They do this to save themselves from a lot of trouble."
Xiao Ziyi snorted coldly: "Forget it, this little thing is not worth fussing about. Let's go."
Liu Ruyun stretched out her hand to stop her and said, "Where are you going? Do you know what we are here for? Do you know the way?"
Zi Yi said disdainfully: "Although I don't know what we are here for, I know I'm hungry now and I want to buy something to eat!" After that, she walked in. Liu Ruyun shook her head and said: "I will accompany her to stroll around. This place is different from the Central Plains. There are many new things. She has finally come out, and if I don't let her take a look, she will not be able to stay." Li Yi gave Butler Zhou a look, and the latter immediately understood, and followed after the two walked away.
Yuehua said: "Brother, this Xiao Ziyi seems very unreliable, where did you find the helper?"
Li Yi said helplessly: "It's Aunt Yun's relationship. I'm looking for Aunt Yun. She's a gift! There's nothing I can do. Just bear with it. Ignore them. Let's go our own way. Aunt Baozhu, didn't you say you wanted to meet an old friend? Why don't we go look for them together?"
Baozhu Falu nodded and said, "I wonder if those old friends are still here. Let's give it a try."
So Baozhu Faluo led the way, and the group followed her into Dunhuang City. Dunhuang City was divided into inner and outer cities. The outer city was also called the Sheep and Horse City. In addition to the sheds for storing cattle, sheep and horses, there were tents and shops set up by various vendors.
Baozhu Faluo walked for a long time but didn't find anyone he knew, so he asked, "Sir, are we going to stay here for a few days?"
Li Yi nodded and said, "Well, I also want to walk around and see the local customs and culture, and visit the Buddhist temple. After all, many monks entered the Central Plains from here."
Baozhu Falu nodded and said, "If that's the case, let's go to the inner city and find a place to stay."
Li Yi asked: "Why do you want to settle in the inner city? Isn't the outer city safe?"
Baozhu Falu nodded and said, "Yes, in the outer city at night, sometimes there will be thieves committing crimes, and even worse, there may be large groups of people fighting. But in the inner city, there is no problem. Although the hotel is more expensive, the environment is much better. We have a noble person here, so let's stay in the inner city."
Li Yi smiled and said, "Aunt Baozhu, just don't say anything. Just treat her as a child."
Baozhu Faluo smiled faintly, stretched out his hand and took Wei Lue's other hand and walked towards the inner city. The inner city of Dunhuang is divided into the sub-city and the Luocheng. The sub-city is where the army, government offices and government offices are located. It is naturally the core of Dunhuang and is located in the southwest of the inner city. The Luocheng is the so-called native inhabitants of Dunhuang, from all ethnic groups and tribes, so the architectural styles here can be said to be varied.
When they arrived at the gate of the inner city, the guards stopped the convoy and asked for benefits. Li Yi smiled and offered the toll. The group entered the inner city smoothly, found a three-story inn to settle the carriages and horses, and then began to wander around the inner city.
As Li Yi walked, he asked Baozhu Faluo about the situation of Dunhuang City. In his impression, the labels of Dunhuang were Mogao Grottoes, murals of flying fairies, and Crescent Moon Lake. Apart from these, he knew nothing about this place. Baozhu Faluo told him what he knew.
The city of Dunhuang was originally built by Emperor Wu of Qin for the Western Expedition. However, with the decline, revival and fall of the Qin Dynasty, the city of Dunhuang changed hands several times. The Qin people, Di people, Qiang people, Xiongnu people and Xianbei people have all been the masters of this place. As for who is the current lord of Dunhuang, Baozhu Faluo is not sure. But since the Central Plains forces withdrew from the Western Regions, the rules of Dunhuang City have basically not changed, that is, no fighting in the inner city and no judgment in the outer city.
What does this mean? Private fighting is absolutely not allowed in the inner city of Dunhuang. Except for the people of the Dunhuang lord, anyone who dares to act arrogantly will not have a good end. To put it bluntly, the business in the inner city is managed by the Dunhuang lord. But it is different in the outer city. As long as you do not do anything out of line and do not make it too chaotic and disturb the passing merchants, the Dunhuang lord will turn a blind eye.