Tang Dynasty good doctor

Chapter 445 Calabash River

Looking at the snow in front of him, Wang Ping'an said, "Soon, we will reach Yumen Pass. Once you leave Yumen Pass, it will be my fief!"

Su Dingfang followed his horse, and said: "Master Hou, the general has been here before, and you can see the mountains if you go further. There is a big river between the mountain roads, named Hulu River, and Yumen Pass was built on the side of the river. Along the river, there are more than one hundred beacon towers."

He used his horsewhip to guide his face, and said: "Our location is not very good now. Twenty miles to the southwest is Guazhou, and fifty miles to the northwest is the Hulu River. Today we are going to Guazhou to rest and recuperate. , or spend the night in the snow, and go to Yumen Pass tomorrow?"

Wang Pingan looked to the south, but he couldn't see any city. The winter sky was gray and the visibility was not high. He said, "We're going to Guazhou. I'm afraid the governor there will complain again. I'll listen to you all along the way." I complained, I don’t want to listen anymore, I’d better deal with it overnight in the snow, anyway, it’s fifty miles away, and I’ll be there tomorrow.”

But Su Dingfang said: "Fifty miles is the distance to the Hulu River, not to Yumen Pass. Yumen Pass is built at the pass of the mountain, and there is still a distance of [-] miles, and the road is difficult, at least the day after tomorrow. "

Wang Pingan said, the location of Yumen Pass in the Tang Dynasty is different from the modern one. Of course, he doesn’t know the specific location in the modern one, but since it is an important pass, the surrounding terrain must be dangerous and the road is difficult to walk. There is no doubt about it. of.

After thinking about it, he said: "Forget it, let's deal with it in the snow for a night, and there is no rush."

Su Ding stopped talking for convenience, and passed on the order to go on for a while, and he is still camping in the snow today.

Turkic people have walked thousands of miles all the way, and if they are tired, they will be exhausted long ago, but as long as people have hope, no matter how hard or tired they are, they can sustain it. Everyone knows that after passing the Yumen Pass, it is a broken willow The county is a place where they can recuperate.Therefore, no matter how tired they were, no one complained, no matter men, women, old or weak, they were all struggling to move forward.

It was difficult to travel in the snow. After traveling for about twenty miles, the sky turned dark. Wang Pingan ordered camp. The Turkic people set up tents, searched for branches and firewood, and cooked porridge. They were reluctant to kill horses. They ate it all, and they could only drink porridge every day. Just adding a pinch of salt to a pot of porridge would be a supreme delicacy for them!
The Turkic people sat around the fire, drinking porridge, talking about the good life in the future, and everything will be safe when they arrive in Zheliu County. Next year, Ping'an Khan will buy some cattle and sheep to graze for everyone. Well, it won't take two years for the Zheliu Department to develop, and everyone will no longer have to suffer from hunger, and in Ping'an Khan's fief, you can live with peace of mind, and no one will come to Ping'an Khan's fief to drive them away let's go!

These days, everyone has to talk about this topic before going to bed. It seems that if you don't talk about it, you won't be able to sleep at night.

Wang Pingan was sitting in the tent, and there was also a bowl of porridge in front of him, but it was filled with dried meat. He didn't drink the porridge, but checked the map. Di Renjie and Su Dingfang were beside him, drinking the porridge slowly.

Putting down the map, Wang Pingan frowned and said, "From the map, Shazhou is very close to Yumen Pass, and my fief of Zheliu County is just between the two places. Logically speaking, there can't be so many robbers! "

Di Renjie put down the bowl and said: "This little brother knows something. I read some books before I came here. The book said that Zheliu County was a good place in the past. It was quite prosperous because it was on the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. It is because it is too prosperous, so whenever there is a war, there must be a battle here."

Wang Pingan hummed, and said: "Looking at the location, it is indeed a battleground for military strategists. As long as you gain a firm foothold here, you can attack Shazhou and Yumen Pass."

Su Dingfang drank all the porridge, smacked his lips, and said: "In the former Sui Dynasty, we fought endlessly. Later, in our Tang Dynasty, the Gaochang king came to the court and said he wanted to be a minister, but when he returned to Gaochang, he hooked up with the Turkic people again. How can a good girl marry a second husband if she professes a courtier to the Turks? Of course the emperor refuses, so he sent troops to destroy Gaochang."

Wang Ping'an said: "You led the troops to destroy it?"

Su Dingfang shook his head hurriedly, and said: "That's not true, Hou Junji led the troops to kill him. At that time he was still majestic, if he had been his general honestly, wouldn't he be a prince for generations, who would have imagined that he would conspire against him later. "

Di Renjie was not interested in Hou Junji's past. He said: "After Gaochang was destroyed, many people fled to Zheliu County. They had nothing to eat or drink, so naturally they had to rely on robbery for a living. There are few things, but later the Zheliu people organized and defeated the Gaochang robbers, and discovered their treasures, tasted the sweetness, and found that being a robber is better than farming, so why don't they just continue to do this business, and the more they work, the more they work? Great, they have made everyone in the Western Regions afraid of them!"

Wang Pingan shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, you read it from the book, and Brother Su heard it from others, it may not be true, there is peace in life, but no one is willing to put their head on the waistband of their trousers and pretend to be a robber. Even if we can live a better life, it may not mean that the whole county will become robbers."

Su Dingfang smiled and said: "Master Hou, it's not that it's all right, but the people there, you can't tell who is a robber and who is a good person, and the county magistrate will die one by one, and they can't collect taxes. Suppression, the more the suppression, the bigger the rebellion, and the officials in Yumenguan and Shazhou no longer want to pay attention to this place, and after a long time, it will become a den of robbers!"

Di Renjie said: "Brother, don't worry. No matter how chaotic Zheliu County is, we can handle it. If tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers pass by, we can defeat those robbers no matter what."

Su Dingfang snorted, and said: "That's not necessarily true. You don't know how to use troops. If you can defeat these bandits by relying on a large number of people, then there are still fewer guards at Yumen Pass? Are there fewer soldiers in Shazhou? It's not that you want to win." If you can win, you have to fight before you win, and before you fight, don’t you have to find someone? Do you know who the people there are robbers? You can’t kill them all!”

Wang Pingan waved his hand and said: "Forget it, don't talk about it. There must be a way for a car to reach the mountain, and a boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge. Don't think about it now, and talk about it later."

One night passed like this, and before dawn the next day, the Turkic people all got up and packed their tents, they were anxious to break willows, and no one could sleep anymore.

Wang Ping'an also got up, but he didn't wash up. After a while, he didn't have the conditions to take care of his appearance. He already looked a little unkempt, but he became more energetic, and gradually gained the majesty of a superior, which was very different from when he was in Chang'an. .

The two little girls made some food and sent it to Wang Ping'an. These days, Ding Danruo and Ke Lianwu are also haggard. They haven't bathed for many days, and they are wearing Turkic leather clothes, almost like Turkic girls. up.

Wang Pingan looked at the two of them, and said: "It's been a hard time these days, it will be fine when you get to the fief, and everything will be safe."

The two little girls said that it wasn't hard work, but that the young master was really hard these days. Wang Pingan didn't comfort them, but they did comfort Wang Pingan.

Pack up your luggage and start on the road again. This section of the road is more difficult to walk. It is not too smooth. A large group of people marched. No matter how hard they rushed, they did not arrive before dark. When the moon was on the branches, they came to the gourd. riverside.

The Hulu River is the modern Shule River. It has a history of thousands of years and has been diverted, so its geographical location is different from the modern one.Master Xuanzang once came to this river when he was traveling west. He said that the river is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.After the impenetrable depths, he cut wood to build a bridge, filled grass with sand, and drove the horses across... So, sometimes the things in the book are really unbelievable and inconsistent!
Wang Pingan led the team to the river, and saw that the river had been frozen long ago, and on the other side of the river, there seemed to be countless beacon towers and long side walls, but the side walls were low, presumably the guards here didn't care Guard the city walls, but are good at field combat and are an attacking army!

Su Dingfang urged his horse to come to him, and said, "Master Hou, should we camp on this side of the river, or across the river?"

Wang Pingan looked at the countless beacon towers on the opposite bank, and asked, "Can we pass this side wall tonight? I want to spend the night on the other side of the wall."

Su Dingfang shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy. With so many of us, we have to go through the city gate to cross this side wall. It would take half a day, and it's already dark now."

Wang Ping'an said: "That's right. Even if we pass by, it will be late at night. It's not good to be in a mess, and if we set up camp again, it will be dawn before the camp is done."

He got down from his horse and said, "Just set up camp here, don't cross the river."

Su Dingfang sent the order down, and the Turkic people set up camp along the river.Su Dingfang sent someone over again to inform the guards on the side wall that their generals should come to see Wang Ping'an.

Not long after, the guard of the side wall came over, he was a school lieutenant, and he was in charge of a dozen or so beacon towers around him.The school lieutenant saluted Wang Ping'an and called himself an officer of Linhe Twelve Fengs.

Wang Pingan saw that this man was in his thirties, with rough skin, big hands and feet, and very strong, but his face was sad, as if someone owed him a large sum of money.

Because he was going to pass through this person's pass tomorrow, Wang Pingan was afraid that Captain Linhe would procrastinate and delay his affairs, so he ordered someone to give Captain Linhe a bag of golden melon seeds.

I thought the expression on Captain Linhe's face would look better if he took the golden melon seeds, but it would be better if he didn't take them. As soon as the golden melon seeds fell into the bag, the expression on Captain Linhe's face became more bitter, much worse than owed money , It feels like a mourning concubine.

The crowd accompanied Wang Pingan to the river and looked at the frozen river.Wang Ping'an said: "General, is it possible that you have something on your mind, why is your face full of sadness?"

Lieutenant Linhe hurriedly said: "Master Wang misunderstood, the general is born like this, not because he has any worries in his heart. When you come, Master Wang, the general is happy. Once you reward the money, the general will be happier , the happier the general is, the more... the appearance on his face will be like this!" As he spoke, he pointed to his own face, which was still full of distress.

Wang Pingan said oh, it turned out that he was born with this appearance.Pointing to the river, he said, "The river is completely frozen. There are about a hundred thousand of my people. It should be safe to cross the river. Are you sure about this?"

Lieutenant Linhe let out a snort, shook his head and said, "The general can't be sure about this. Wang Hou Ye Mingjian, you see that the river is really frozen, but there is still water below. We are guarding here. Sometimes we want to eat fish, so we will I know how to fish through the ice, and sometimes I can catch dozens of catties with a single net!"

He pointed to a narrower part of the Hulu River, and said: "A few years ago, a large army passed by. I remember it was [-] armored cavalry. They crossed the river from there. Halfway there, the ice collapsed and fell down. Hundreds of soldiers, eight dead, this will be remembered clearly at the end of the day!"

Wang Pingan was silent for a while, then turned his head and said to Su Dingfang and the others: "Fortunately, we didn't cross the river at night. If the ice really collapsed, it would be difficult to save people."

Su Dingfang smiled and said: "No, Master Hou is too worried. Cavalry crossing the river is different from us crossing the river. The horses are trampled on the ice, and it is difficult to think about it. But we people, dragging It’s procrastinating, although there are many people, but the strength is weak, as long as they don’t go on the ice together, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

But Di Renjie said: "Be careful, our people are old and young, if they really fall into the icy water, even if they are rescued, they may survive!"

Wang Pingan hummed, and said: "Be careful!" He patted Colonel Linhe on the shoulder, and said softly: "Tomorrow we have to cross this side wall, and then I have to ask you to take care of it. Please help us. The journey is too far, and I can't afford it. By the way, how many soldiers do you have under your command?"

Captain Linhe said: "There are eleven people in one peak fire tower, and the last general is in charge of twelve. Because there is a city gate in my place, there are more people, thirty-one."

Wang Pingan nodded and said: "Guarding the border, thank you for your hard work. Come here, take two hundred guan and send it to the city gate. It's a little wine money I gave to the brothers. It's cold to drink some wine to keep the brothers warm." Body. I’ll ask you to distribute it on your behalf.” The last sentence was said by Colonel Chong Linhe.

Lieutenant Linhe was overjoyed, this Lord Marquis is really generous in his actions, the reward of golden melon seeds is not counted, and there is cash reward.He kept saying thanks.Wang Ping'an's guards carried two hundred guan, led by Captain Linhe, and carried them into the beacon tower.

Lieutenant Linhe and his soldiers couldn't close their mouths when they saw the basket full of golden copper coins.When Lieutenant Linhe told the story, the soldiers were overjoyed at first, and then complained. Since the prince is so generous, he should say more soldiers, say five hundred, then the reward would be more .

After hearing what his subordinates said, Lieutenant Linhe also regretted a little. He never thought that Wang Ping'an would be so generous, and it was too late to regret.

The Turkic people set up their tents, cooked porridge and ate, and then went to sleep, leaving only [-]% of the former sentinels.

There was nothing in the first half of the night, but in the second half of the night, the city gate on the side wall opened a small gap, and a fast horse galloped out, ran up the river, and ran crazily towards the Turkic camp!
Immediately, the knight lashed his horse and yelled in Turkic, as if he was very anxious.

The distance was too far, and the sentries couldn't hear what the man was calling. One sentry rushed back to the camp, and the others went up to meet him!

A sentry shouted in Turkic: "Hey, who are you?"

The horse galloped very fast, and the man had already reached the middle of the Calabash River. He shouted, "My name is Ashina Qiboer. I want to see my mentor, and my mentor is Wang Ping'an!"

(End of this chapter)