The setting sun reflects on the continuous sand dunes, reflecting large swathes of eye-catching light.
This caravan of hundreds of people has trekked in the desert for several days, heading east along the Jiaohe River to the original Shache territory. Because the red general flag of the Anxi Protectorate was hung and the guards were fully armed, the journey was uneventful, and they were not harassed by the rampant desert horse thieves in the Jiaohe area.
Shan Chao sat on the camel, squinted his eyes, looked down at the distant terrain from the top of the sand dune, and then blew a long, sharp whistle.
Not far away, the camel caravan stopped slowly, and the lieutenant stepped forward and clasped his fists: "General?"
"The whole army set up camp." Shan Chao turned the camel and said, "Prepare to spend the night."
The guards quickly set up tents in the shade of the rocky mountain, and made a fire to cook. The cooking smoke rises straight in the completely windless desert, and the setting sun in the distance is golden red, rendering the large expanse of sandy land into a vast ocean of golden water, forming an extremely spectacular scene.
Shan Chao sat on the sand dune, took a big sip from the jug, and ate half of a mustache sandwiched with mutton.
"General," someone behind him said with a smile.
Shan Chao turned his head and glanced at Princess Sadali, who was wrapped in a bright gold-woven cloak, with a smile in his eyes: "I thought the general didn't drink at all."
"..."
Shan Chao turned his head and said simply: "Water drips into ice in the desert at night, and spirits can keep out the cold."
After hearing all the information from the side, it was Princess Shadali who stepped forward, picked up a rock from a few steps away and sat down.
"The general seems to be very familiar with the desert?"
"..."
"I see that the general is very proficient in finding water sources and identifying directions along the way, and he is also used to eating food. Could it be that he has lived in the desert before?"
Shan Chao was indifferent, and it took a while before he said "um".
Sha Dali seemed to be prepared for this kind of casual indifference, and changed the subject with a smile: "The assassin captured by the general in the commander's tent that day, my father has already interrogated him, and he was indeed killed by Tubo Qiguli's tent." A scholar, originally planned to assassinate my father in the territory of Tang Ting, to prevent Khotan Kingdom from making good relations with Tang Dynasty..."
She glanced at Shan Chao out of the corner of her eyes: "Fortunately, this trick did not succeed. Speaking of which, I haven't thanked the general yet. It was your help that saved my father's life."
The mutton in the hubing is still bearable when it is just out of the pan, but it is very fishy when it cools down. But Shan Chao didn't seem to care about the taste, and soon the wind and clouds swept away, patted the residue on his hands, and said, "You're welcome."
Before Sadali could finish her words, Shan Chao stood up and was about to walk down the sand dune.
"Hey!" Sardari said loudly, "General!"
Shan Chao paused.
"I've heard people say, why don't you escort me and Abba to Beijing?"
This question was straightforward and without warning, Shan Chao didn't seem to know how to speak, and he didn't speak for a long time.
Not far away, the lieutenant came from the camp carrying a bowl of rice porridge. He looked up and saw the situation here, and subconsciously stopped: "General..."
"Princess thinks too much." Shan Chao turned his head and stared at Sadali's bright black jewel-like eyes, and said calmly: "It's not that the last general is unwilling to escort His Highness, but—"
His voice stopped abruptly, and his gaze passed over Princess Sadari, as if he saw something, his pupils narrowed slightly.
Sha Dali went in without knowing it, and looked back, and saw a cloud of dust and smoke rising in the distance behind the continuous sand dunes and rocky beaches, as if there was a gust of wind blowing here rapidly.
"Take the princess down! Close the camp and prepare for battle!" Shan Chao rushed down the sand dune and shouted sharply: "The horse thief is here!"
Horse thief
Before Shadali could react, the lieutenant dropped the porridge bowl with a bang, rushed over like the wind, grabbed her and ran to the camp. No matter what they were doing in the tent, by the boiler, or in groups of three or four who gathered for dinner, they jumped up at the same time as if they were loaded with springs. Camels surrounded the camp.
King Khotan got out of the tent and walked quickly to Shan Chao's horse: "General, the current situation—"
"Tell your people back."
The king of Khotan asked anxiously: "Does the general need help? Although there are not many Khotan children, they are also proficient in equestrian bows and arrows. If you need..."
With a clang, the long sword was unsheathed, and a cold light lay in front of King Yutian, and the blade of the sword shone brightly, reflecting his drastically changed expression.
"Everyone who is not my cavalry will go back to the camp!" Shan Chao said coldly: "No matter what noise you hear, you can't come out, and those who violate it will be at your own risk! - Go!"
Sadari screamed, "Abba!"
The king of Khotan backed away tremblingly, but still managed to remain calm, and was soon rushed forward by the Khotan guards and sent him back to the tent.
The sound of Mercedes-Benz approached from far away, and soon the ground shook slightly, and even a few drops of wine splashed out of the silver cup on the table.
While trembling, the maids held Princess Sadali's hand tightly, all of them pale as snow. Sha Dali straightened her back forcibly, and just wanted to comfort them, when she suddenly heard a faint "clang!" from outside the thick sheepskin felt, and then someone screamed, and the heavy object fell off the horse!
"Ah!" The maid exclaimed in shock: "Killed, killed!"
Sadari covered the maid's mouth: "Shut up!"
The ground trembled, the shouts of killing continued, and the fierce battle kicked off in an instant. Princess Sadali's heart was pounding, trying to calm herself down, but her whole body was trembling uncontrollably, even her lips were trembling, all she could hear was the frightening sound of weapons colliding with screams , Constantly coming from all directions.
The sheepskin tent is like an isolated island surrounded by turbulent waves. It is unknown where the next wave will come from, and it may be overturned by a wave stronger than the previous wave at any time.
Sadari suddenly remembered something, staggered up and rushed to the side of the bed, opened the dressing box with trembling hands, and took out the short knife inlaid with gemstones from the bottom, holding it tightly in her hand. The cold metal touch seemed to give her a little courage, but just as she turned her head, she heard the sound of people approaching suddenly, and then the tent door was opened, and a horse thief in full leather armor rushed in!
"Ah!"
The maid got up and fled in panic, and the scene immediately became a mess. The horse thief's machete was still dripping with blood. After looking around murderously, his eyes locked on Princess Sadali with the knife in his hand, and he rushed over in one stride!
Sadali was frightened, she knew that she should resist, and at the worst, she should run away, but when facing the bloody blade, it seemed that all her thinking ability was taken away instantly, and she couldn't even move.
The maid screamed in horror: "Princess!"
Whoosh!
The horse thief had already rushed in front of Shadali, and the moment his footsteps landed, a dazzling cold light like a meteor flew into the tent, instantly piercing through the back of the horse thief!
There was a splash of blood, and Shadali watched the tip of an arrow emerge from the horse thief's chest, then swayed and fell powerlessly.
"Ah!"
"Princess, princess!"
There were screams in the tent, the maid stumbled and rushed over, and the overturned tables and desks were all over the floor. Sha Dali almost froze, her horrified eyes left the bloody corpse under her feet, and turned to the outside of the tent—I saw a horse in the distance, Shan Chao retracted the posture at the moment when he shot the arrow, and turned around indifferently .
Amidst the rain of swords and arrows and the screams of killing, he was like a patron saint, indestructible and invincible.
The horse thief's attack was quickly suppressed by well-trained soldiers, and then they were forced to retreat, retreating to the depths of the desert.
But Shan Chao did not follow the words of the poor, but ordered the whole army to pursue and strangle all the horse thieves. He knew that everything in the desert was inseparable from the principle of the weak and the strong, and he had to kill all the horse thieves who dared to attack. Only in this way can we deter other young people who are ready to move along the way and make them know how to be afraid.
The battlefield quickly moved into the distance, and only the corpses of horse thieves and overturned horses were left in the camp, and thick blood came out.
Sha Dali plucked up her courage, leaned out from the tent, and looked into the distance.
"Princess, princess..." The maid came after her tremblingly, but she didn't dare to leave the tent, she hid in the door and whispered: "Come back quickly, princess, General Shan said, no, you can't go out..."
"The horse thief has been beaten away!" Shadali yelled in a low voice, "Don't make any noise to alarm Dad, shhh!"
The maid didn't dare to make a sound, Shadali rolled her eyes, and finally a sudden desire turned into courage, making her hold the knife handle tightly.
After Sha Dali ran to the tent, she saw a war horse tied there, so she went up and cut off the reins, climbed on the horse skillfully, and shouted: "Drive!"
From the camp to the outside, the fight snaked all the way to the depths of the desert, and the corpses of horse thieves who were separated or killed by arrows could be seen from time to time along the way. Shadali's horse was galloping like lightning, and after about half a meal, she finally reined in and stopped on the side of a rocky mountain in the desert.
I saw blood everywhere not far away, dyeing the entire yellow sand into blood red. The cavalry formed a circle in the open space. In addition to the disembowelled horses and scattered corpses, there were five or six wooden pillars erected in the crowd.
A horse thief is tied behind each wooden post.
Shan Chao held his long sword and got off his horse.
Sadali realized something, her pupils dilated rapidly, and she covered her mouth!
The horse thieves also knew what their fate was going to be. Some struggled and twisted desperately, some roared hysterically, and some screamed with the most vicious and obscene curses; A trace of fluctuation, as if separated by a cold and stiff mask, unable to see any emotions in the heart.
He raised his sword and dropped it, click!
The head of the first horse thief soared into the sky and then fell to the ground. His mouth opened and closed a few times before his expression froze.
The second horse thief screamed loudly, but soon the same head fell to the ground, and blood spattered from his severed cavity.
Immediately after the third, fourth... By the last one, the horse thief was so frightened that he peed on his crotch, and saw Shan Chao violently slashing across with his hand, the snow flashed by, and he actually cut the man from his left neck to his right thigh. Completely split in half!
"-what!"
There was a scream, and the cavalry turned their heads one after another, only to see Shadali squatting down on the edge of the rock not far away, her whole body trembling.
Shan Chao flicked the blade, and the blood splashed on the sand, drawing an arc that was more than ten feet long.
Immediately, he put his sword back into its sheath, stepped forward through the crowd, and stood in front of Shadali.
"Princess," Shan Chao said coldly.
It took Shadali a while to gradually stop her trembling, and she barely raised her head, trying not to look at the corpses lying all over the place not far away: "...you, why...why do you want him..."
Shan Chao's figure was against the light, and his standing posture was tall and straight, like an unsheathed sharp knife standing on the vast expanse of yellow sand. After a long time, he replied in a deep and slow voice: "That man cut down my soldier."
Sha Dali was taken aback, only to see him turn around and say: "Retreat the troops. Escort the princess back to the camp."
Sha Dali took two steps forward impulsively, but before she had time to say anything, the cavalry had already drawn up their horses and lined up, ready to go back.
The black horse impatiently pawed its hooves and waited beside the wooden post. Shan Chao walked towards his steed, but stopped halfway - he seemed to have caught a glimpse of something, and turned his pace to walk towards a rock not far away.
Sha Dali stared at him helplessly, and saw that he came to the rock, half-kneeled down, and there was a cluster of small white flowers with single petals and green stamens in the cracks between the rocks.
Sha Dali was stunned. Shan Chao picked a few flowers and touched them in his bosom, as if he wanted to find something to hold them. But obviously there would be no room for flowers in this thin armor, so his movements stopped, hesitating for a moment.
In such an instant, Princess Shadali didn't know where the idea came from, she walked over by a ghost, and untied a glass bottle of spices from her waist: "... here."
Shan Chao stared at it for a moment, then took the bottle: "Thank you."
He uncorked the bottle, poured out the expensive spices inside without mercy, carefully stuffed the flowers in with calloused and blood-stained fingers, capped the bottle and put it in his arms.
Princess Sadali hesitated for a long time, and couldn't help asking: "What kind of flower is this?"
"Yuexia Yan." Shan Chao said, "It only blooms in the desert, and generally grows in Mobei. After drying, the fragrance will last, and drinking tea can calm the nerves."
Sadari was slightly stunned.
"I don't want to go back to Beijing because of myself, and it has nothing to do with His Royal Highness or you."
Shan Chao stood up, Sha Dali hurriedly stopped him: "—Hey!"
"..."
"Do you want to give this flower... to your sweetheart?"
This time Shan Chao was silent for a long time, so long that Sha Dali thought that she would not get any more answers. Just when she was about to give up, she suddenly heard him smile briefly, with a hint of self-deprecating in his voice: "No, I won't give it away. I will keep it for myself."