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The desert in September is not as hot as one might imagine. The sand is slightly hot during the day, and if you step on it barefoot, you will feel warm.
Looking around, the undulating sand dunes are like a woman's breasts, with incomparably graceful curves, undulating like waves, and the surface is so delicate and smooth.
Yan Yingyuan led two thousand troops and set out from Suzhou, traveling north along the Zhangye River. After reaching the Juyan Lake, he headed west into the vast desert. They had been walking for eight days.
Thousands of camels formed a long column and traveled through the desert. There were no flags or armor, and their backs were loaded with things. They looked like a huge caravan.
Song Xiaoran crossed her legs and looked at the white clouds floating in the sky. She was in a very good mood and hummed a tune from her hometown, something like "Look at the flowers under the moonlight, the flowers are not as beautiful as my face, Miss, be careful! We have to cross the Huaxi Bridge ahead..."
If you don't see it with your own eyes, you will never believe that a person can be so leisurely and relaxed in the vast desert.
Qin Shan, sitting on the camel's back, moved his numb buttocks, regretting it so much that his intestines turned green. When they were at Juyan Lake, Song Xiaoran asked him to make a sand sled, but he thought it was troublesome.
Now look at others, lying on the sand sled, crossing their legs, humming tunes, how comfortable they are.
"Xiao Ran, let's get serious, eighteen touches!"
Song Xiaoran laughed and said, "What are you touching? Hold it in for now. Once you cross the desert, you can get as many women as you want."
Qin Shan rubbed his buttocks and said with resentment and intimidation: "Don't show off. I heard that there is a kind of snake in the desert. Its body color is exactly the same as the sand. It hides in the sand and bites people. Its poison is extremely poisonous. There is no medicine to cure the bite. Those who are bitten will die without a doubt."
"Miss. Be careful! We have to cross the Huaxi Bridge ahead..." Song Xiaoran ignored him and started humming a little tune, which made Qin Shan feel very bored.
Yan Yingyuan in front was not so relaxed. The guide Ye Luoqi told him that even if everything went well, it would take at least ten days to get out of this vast desert.
Each of the 2,000 Qin soldiers brought two camels. They were supposed to bring three, but they couldn't find that many camels in a hurry when they set out. In addition, there were 300 war horses.
What Yan Yingyuan is most worried about now is whether these 300 war horses can survive. War horses are different from camels. They cannot survive without water for a day. The water they bring now is good enough to ensure that people can drink it. If there is no water source ahead, then these 300 war horses will eventually become food for the army.
But these 300 war horses are the hope of the army after successfully crossing the desert. They all rely on their rapid attack to obtain more war horses for the army. Only in this way can they achieve something in the vast desert grassland.
Looking through a telescope, the entire desert presents a spectacular scene of huge waves in the ocean, vast and boundless, with no trace of green.
The sun was setting gradually, looking as red as blood. Yan Yingyuan hurriedly discussed with Ye Luoqi to find a place sheltered from the wind to camp.
Dusk in the desert comes very quickly, and the cold wind gradually rises, which is different from the warmth during the day. Once night falls, the temperature rises sharply, and water turns to ice.
Everyone put on thick cotton clothes and covered themselves with blankets, but still felt the cold.
There was no one to start a fire in this damn place, so except for those on guard duty, everyone huddled together to keep each other warm. The cold wind at night blew across the sand dunes, making waves that sometimes sounded like rushing waves in the sea, and sometimes like the howling of countless ghosts, which was extremely creepy.
The most difficult night passed, the sun rose again, gradually dispelling the cold, and everyone shook off the sand on their bodies. They first checked their weapons and food, which were the guarantee of life.
After eating some dry food, the two thousand men and horses started another long day's journey. By noon, there was no wind at all, a halo of light emanated from the sun's periphery, and the vast sea of sand was dead silent. Even the vultures that often circled in the sky were nowhere to be seen.
Ye Luoqi hurriedly went to Yan Yingyuan and said, "General Yan, something terrible has happened."
Yan Yingyuan had thick arms, a pair of vertical eyebrows, and thin, curved eyes. His face was as red as a date, and he had a lot of Guan Yu's demeanor. But at this moment, he couldn't calm down and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
"Sandstorm, look at this scene, I'm afraid a sandstorm is coming soon, quickly find a place to hide..." Ye Luoqi was anxious. He was used to traveling in the desert and was very familiar with the changes in the desert.
Yan Yingyuan's heart tightened, and he shouted quickly: "Quick, find a place to shelter from the wind, the sandstorm is coming, everyone, quickly... quickly, go to the left, to the hill on the left..."
Everyone panicked at Yan Yingyuan's roar. The last time they were about to attack Shazhou, they encountered a sandstorm. The scene was shocking, but it was not in the desert after all. It is said that sandstorms in the desert are a hundred times more dangerous. Sometimes the strong wind will roll up the entire huge sand dune and bury people alive in an instant...
Half a mile to the left, there are some exposed rocks that look like sand towers from a distance. We drove our camels to avoid them in a hurry. But at this time, there was no wind at all. You had no idea where the sandstorm would come from. You shouted and I shouted, and the camels followed suit...
"General Yan, hide on the south side of the hill. Northwest winds are common in this season. Have everyone gather the camels in a circle and tie them up tightly..."
Ye Luoqi shouted loudly. At this moment, he was the commander of two thousand troops.
Ye Luoqi's estimation was absolutely correct, and this sandstorm came faster and was more severe than everyone expected.
In a blink of an eye, I saw a grayish color pressing down in the western sky. One side was grayish yellow, and the other side was azure blue. The grayish yellow color was expanding rapidly, constantly swallowing up the azure blue sky. After a while, the entire sky was covered by the grayish color.
A dull sound came from afar, which was hard to describe. It was like thunder, or the roar of a raging wave, or the howling of hundreds of beasts. The sky was getting darker and darker, and the wind was getting stronger and stronger, whistling in my ears, and the gray color was getting closer and closer;
But in the vast desert, a sand wall dozens of feet high rolled up, pressing down like a mountain. The sunlight was blocked, and the sky was dark. The wind was howling, and sand and stones were dancing wildly in the dark sky, forming a horrifying scene that shocked the world and made ghosts weep.
"Everyone, hold together and lie down..."
Yan Yingyuan's shouting was torn into pieces by the strong wind and could not be heard at all. Everyone held their heads and buried themselves in the sand. Countless sand and stones flew towards them and hit their bodies, causing great pain.
The sharp wind was whistling and roaring, the sky was filled with yellow sand like heavy dark clouds, and the ground was covered with flying sand and rocks, rising to the sky. It was no longer possible to tell where the sky was and where the earth was.
Some were hit by the rocks brought by the hurricane, their bones shattered and blood gushed out of their mouths. The 300 war horses wailed under the sweep of sand and stones, broke free from their reins, and ran away at full speed. Some of them ran not far before being knocked down by the whistling rocks...
It seemed like a century had passed before the sound of the wind gradually died down, yellow sand fell all over the sky, and the sky gradually brightened. Yan Yingyuan and the others were almost all buried under the sand. They couldn't wait to arch their bodies, shake off the sand covering them, and stand up.
However, some people will never be able to stand up again.
Many people were hit by stones carried by the strong wind. After counting, eleven people were killed and nearly a hundred were injured to varying degrees. Three hundred war horses had disappeared, either running far away or buried under the sand. Fortunately, the camels were still there.
Yan Yingyuan felt a chill in his heart. This was like a major battle, but no matter what, there was no way back. After the military doctor treated them, they got back on their camels and continued their long journey.
After another 12 days of hard walking, they tried to save as much water as possible, but it was almost gone. Everyone's lips were cracked and they were exhausted. Even Song Xiaoran, who was the most prepared, was silent.
As they were walking that day, Ye Luoqi suddenly shouted, "General Yan, look, look."
Yan Yingyuan looked up and saw nothing but yellow sand. Ye Luoqi pointed to the sky and said, "General Yan, look at the sky. Do you see it?"
Seeing that there were about ten little birds, Yan Yingyuan knew that Ye Luoqi would not make random calls, so he asked, "What's so special about these ten little birds?"
"General Yan, we call this kind of bird a sand bird. It is small and can't fly far. It is absolutely impossible for it to fly into the depths of the desert. General Yan, seeing them here means that we are close to the edge of the desert. It's not far, definitely not far."
Yan Yingyuan was overjoyed when he heard this. The soldiers who were originally weak also straightened their backs and worked. Yan Yingyuan drank a sip of water and said loudly: "Soldiers, did you hear that? We have reached the edge of the desert. Everyone should be alert and work harder to get out. Now the whole western desert is very short of troops. As long as we get out, we can wipe out the Junggar's lair. This is an unprecedented feat!"
In fact, no one needed Yan Yingyuan's encouragement, as everyone was already impatient. No one wanted to stay in this damn desert for another minute.
Led by Ye Luoqi, they walked for another half a day before the soldiers in front suddenly cheered.
Song Xiaoran quickly stood on the camel's back and looked around. He saw a green ridge in the distance to the west. After looking at the yellow sand for a long time, this green ridge was so beautiful that Song Xiaoran wanted to rush over immediately and kiss it. His comrades around him were already shouting:
“We’re here, we’re finally here!”
"Dzungarian women, the man is coming!"
"Hahaha... ... ... .
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ps: Happy New Year everyone, I wish you all good health and all the best. In the new year and the new month, please support me with the guaranteed monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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