In his previous life, Qin Mubai was an avid travel enthusiast, traveling around famous mountains and rivers in search of historical sites and wonders, which was a major hobby in his life. Once upon a time, he also longed for the distant desert grasslands and the rough Gobi plateau, and organized driving trips with travel companions more than once. I have been to the plateau of Tibet and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
He once thought that being able to leave his footprints in the Potala Palace and ask for a string of Lama Buddha beads would be considered as fulfilling his wish. Only now did he understand that the desert and Gobi a thousand years ago were the real test. That scenery was exactly what he had dreamed of.
Thousands of miles of Gobi, the vast expanse; the long smoke and sunset, the mountains and rivers are magnificent! Thousands of troops and horses galloped forward, rolling up hundreds of feet of yellow sand. Horses trampling on mountains and rivers, fighting in battle, are indescribably desolate and majestic!
There were many business travelers coming and going along the way, their camel bells jingling, laden with goods and fatigue. The wind and sand carved their faces, and the bloody setting sun reflected their figures on the ancient ruins. No matter how skilled the painter was, he could not paint such a perfect picture.
This is the existing scene on the Silk Road.
Ever since we crossed the Wei River and left Jingzhou, this feeling of desolation and majesty has become more and more obvious. The desert is sparsely populated for thousands of miles, and more than ten thousand soldiers and horses walking in its arms seem so small.
Huoyunma's ancestral home is in the Western Regions. When he came to this dry and sandy place, he felt as if he had returned to his hometown and became even more excited. His legs became stronger and he ran tirelessly all day long.
Qin Mubai finally understood why Li Shimin worked so hard to establish the Central Governor's Office in Lanzhou, establish the Tang Dynasty Economic Strategy Hetao, and a military stronghold to dominate the Western Regions in the future. The city of Lanzhou is 1,400 miles away from Chang'an. Along the way, there is mostly Gobi Desert. When people are short of water, horses are short of food. In the era of cold weapons, the supply of the army is an important factor restricting the combat effectiveness of the army. Otherwise, Huo Qubing would not have become a myth in the history of war when he went deep into the desert to collect food despite being attacked by enemies thousands of miles away.
During this trip, Qin Mubai brought 10,000 horsemen, and the popularity of horses even exceeded 100%. However, the average marching speed was less than a hundred miles a day. The reason is that the subsequent supply team is traveling too slowly. However, the army could not leave the more than 10,000 civilians and more than 8,000 carts of food and grass behind and move forward hungry. Being hungry is a trivial matter, but if you really have no choice, you can still kill the horse for meat. But if the army runs out of water, chaos will surely break out.
Three or five days after entering the desert, Qin Mubai no longer felt that there was anything romantic about this desert with long smoke and sunset. Instead, it was an arduous march. It's dry and windy during the day and the dust is fierce, and it's cold and dripping water can turn into ice at night. What's even more unbearable is that after night falls, when facing the endless black sky and earth, I miss my hometown and family in my heart.
Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not cross Yumen Pass.
A song that captures the feelings of these soldiers. When we arrive at the frontier, we will face ruthless war again. The poor bones by the Wuding River are like those in a spring boudoir's dream. How many people's worries are carried by these more than 10,000 soldiers? Like Qin Mubai, they can only bury these deep in their hearts, straighten their spines, pick up swords and guns, and go to the bloody battlefield to write their own chapter.
The constant wind at the frontier has witnessed the joys and sorrows of many passionate men. Here, the only thing they can enjoy is the unique thing here - iron-blooded romance!
After seventeen days of marching, Qin Mubai lost weight and became darker. The gorgeous robes and armor have been washed into half-worn condition by the raging yellow sand and the dry and cold west wind.
However, people are more energetic. War horses, spears, ancient tall towers under the setting sun, and elongated figures together. The tumbling flags and flags were flapping, and Qin Shubao rode a war horse to meet him personally.
A father welcomes his son, which is rare in ancient times.
All the officers and men of the three armies dismounted. Qin Mubai strode forward and bowed on one knee, saying loudly: "The last general, Qin Mubai, pays homage to the general!"
Thousands of people gathered together - "Meet the General"!
The sound of uniform armor shook the clouds.
"rise!"
Qin Shubao grabbed his son's wrist with one hand and patted his shoulder armor.
Qin Mubai stood up and smiled at his father: "Father, handsome father, I'm here!"
"good!"
Qin Shubao glanced at Qin Mubai for a few times, then looked at the ten thousand tigers and wolves behind him, and laughed loudly: "From now on, Lanzhou is home! All soldiers, follow me into the city!"
"promise-"
No politeness, no small talk. Qin Shubao grabbed Qin Mubai's wrist with one hand, laughed loudly, and strode Liuyun forward.
His shirt and gray beard flew together. He, a man destined to belong to the battlefield, finally had a son to fight alongside him. The joy in his heart at this time can be clearly seen from his old and unrestrained laughter.
The soldiers of the three armies reorganized their formations and entered the city one by one.
Frontier fortresses are different from inland states and counties in that soldiers and horses are all stationed in cities. Previously, brothers Xue Wanche and Xue Wanche arrived with tens of thousands of troops. Qin Shubao transferred one of his troops to garrison in Shancheng, the choke point facing Dafeichuan; on the other hand, he went to garrison in Liangzhou, a stronghold of military strategists. The three military towns each formed an unbreakable iron triangle, which made the Datang Hetao territory secure and impregnable!
After entering the city, more than 10,000 soldiers and horses were stationed in various military camps in the city in units of Zhechong Mansion. In the land of Lanzhou, wars continue frequently. The local people are used to it, but with the arrows above their heads like rain, they still have fun as usual. But when Master Wang arrived, it was as festive as a festival.
At this time, the people in the city spontaneously organized several troops to welcome the new soldiers. They carried tea and water, carried supplies, and gave chickens and ducks to reward the soldiers. The hot tea, rice and baths were a real help in times of need for the ascetic-like soldiers who had been marching for more than half a month!
The place of frontier fortress is a place where soldiers and civilians live in harmony, and it lives up to its name.
After Qin Mubai entered the city, he was "caught" by his father on the west tower. The father and son neither greeted each other nor had any idle chatter. Qin Shubao held the sword in one hand and pointed to the boundless land of yellow sand in front of him with one hand, and shouted: "Sanlang, look!"
"The child only sees a vast expanse." Qin Mubai replied.
Qin Shubao laughed loudly: "Wrong!"
"What did the handsome father see?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but asked curiously.
"Great rivers and mountains!" Qin Shubao stared into the distance, his gray beard was blown high, and the look on his face was worthy of the word "affectionate".
After a while, he said in his unique strong and powerful voice: "This is where we, the warriors, gallop!"
Qin Mubai suddenly trembled.
My father's words seemed to have magic power.
It was so easy, it made his blood boil!
"After all, the same blood as my father's flows in my veins! We all belong to this river and this battlefield!"
Qin Shubao has always been stingy with words, and he is not a talented poet. But every word he said was like the blood of the God of War rushing in his veins, full of passion and heroism!
On the thousands-mile Gobi Silk Road, Lanzhou is like a pearl, standing alone and proudly. Lanzhou's army and Lanzhou's folk customs are just like Qin Shubao's feelings and personality. Simple, vigorous, powerful and domineering!
Less than an hour after arriving here, Qin Mubai fell in love with it. Although it does not have the wealth and prosperity of Chang'an, nor the refinement and elegance of Xiangyang. But he felt that this place always gave him an inexplicable sense of intimacy, and it could also stimulate the blood and passion buried deep in his heart.
It’s as if I was born to belong here!
In the evening, Qin Shubao held a banquet in the Chinese military camp in the city to greet the newly arrived soldiers.
A blazing bonfire, a big iron pot for cooking mutton; a rough earthen porcelain bowl, and amber old wine Sanle pulp. Everyone raised their hands to their shoulders and drank in the excitement, drinking "Fuck!"
Then there was only a gurgling sound, everyone turned their bowls upside down, and then laughed loudly!
There is no need to be polite when cutting meat with a silver knife, tearing and chewing; sit on the ground and watch the local people dance the Huxuan branch dance, with colorful hair petals flying together with simple songs, accompanied by soaring horns and rumbling military drums.
This is the frontier!
In the words of Yu Wen Hongtai - "This place is so damn enjoyable! Meat needs to be eaten in large chunks; wine needs to be drunk from large bowls! When we go into battle, we will just attack people with a gang, and with one strike everyone will be torn apart." , soaked in blood, come back and have a big piece of meat and a big bowl of wine!”
For the first time, Qin Mubai felt that his literary talent was not as good as Yuwen Hongtai. These words of his are simply the best portrayal of the style in front of him. There is nothing more appropriate than this.
When the wine was half drunk, many soldiers stood up and danced with the people. Whether it's Han dance or Hu dance, they are intertwined and they are not the same scenery.
This is more charming than the graceful dance performed by those coquettish maikos in the palace.
When the meat is gone and the wine is dried, the feast seems to be over.
At this time, someone played the flute. The melodious sound of the flute came lightly in the quiet night sky, reaching far away, like the sound of a fairy from heaven.
The tune is nameless, but it has a sense of sadness and desolation. It aroused the homesickness of many soldiers, and coupled with the stimulating effect of alcohol, many passionate men who would rather shed blood than cry secretly wiped away tears.
"They don't understand our romance!" Qin Mubai smiled. He enjoyed this feeling. It's fun and romantic to spend time with such a person day and night!
"Father, do you have a pipa?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Yes!" Qin Shubao smiled, "How can Lanzhou be wilted without the pipa?"
After a while, a sonorous and melodious song called "The Overlord Takes Off His Armor" was played.
The soldiers and civilians of Lanzhou, who were already intoxicated, heard the pipa playing and their strings were startled, and they were silent for nine days!
Qin Mubai felt that this was the most brilliant, immersive and emotional performance he had ever played in his two lifetimes!
In front of me, there seemed to be thousands of troops and horses coming from a dream. The night wind whizzed by, the yellow sand rolled and the soldiers collided, blood and passion flew together. After the hustle and bustle settled down, the romantic feelings of the iron-blooded man were transferred to the night wind and sent to his hometown thousands of miles away to share his thoughts with his relatives.
"Good wind, good music, good pipa!" It was just a song, someone praised loudly.
Qin Mubai was almost drunk, he laughed loudly and said: "Good Lanzhou, good man, great rivers and mountains!"
Qin Shubao stroked his gray beard, nodded and chuckled, and waved his hand: "You brat, you still have such a drinking capacity, the person who insulted me - come on, carry him away! Everyone, go on! Bring all the good wine and meat, Anyone who is not drunk today is not allowed to drink alcohol or meat for half a month - this is a military order!"
"promise-"