Cao Cao called me to rob a tomb

Chapter 428 Betrayed! (4000)

"Camel grave?"

Neither in the historical documents known to Wu Liang, nor in the map annotations of later generations, such a place name has ever appeared.

"The desert to the west of the city is called Camel Grave. Not only the merchants who come and go can't pass through the desert, but also the strong and drought-resistant wild camels can't survive in that desert. People often live in that desert. Pieces of wild camel carcasses were found on the fringes, hence the name."

Apuqiu patiently explained to Wu Liang, "The black dragon storm you mentioned can only be found in that desert. Whenever the black dragon storm strikes, you can see the desert in the desert when you stand in the city. The rising dust covered the sky like a dog eclipsing the sun, and even the sun in Jiani City was much darker than usual. The old people said that it was the black dragon trapped in the sand sea that was complaining about grievances, so Then there is the saying of black dragon storm."

"I see……"

Wu Liang nodded slightly, and then asked, "Is there any pattern for the appearance of this black dragon storm?"

Apuqiu shook his head and said: "This... probably not. Sometimes it will come every few days, and sometimes there will be no movement after several months. The residents of Jianni City have long been accustomed to this. Anyway, the black dragon storm never There is nothing to be afraid of if it has not spread to Jiani City, but a thick layer of sand will be left on the roofs and yards of every household after each time, and this is what the residents of Jiani City criticize the most."

"Hmm...Thank you, Mr. Apuqiu, for clarifying my doubts."

Wu Liang nodded slightly.

At this moment, he can basically confirm that the tomb of the sun discovered by Fang Qiong is in the "Camel Tomb", and he has already started planning in his mind to enter the desert to find the tomb of the sun.

According to Fang Qiong's previous statement, she discovered the tomb of the sun after the black dragon storm appeared, which means that there may be a certain relationship between the sun tomb and the black dragon storm, which may be a key clue.

In addition, Fang Qiong, a weak woman, escaped from Jiani City and entered the desert on foot. In that extremely harsh environment, even if she was exhausted and dying, she might not be able to go far.

With such an analysis, it is undoubtedly possible to further narrow the scope of the search...

So Wu Liang thought.

To achieve twice the result with half the effort, the safest and safest way is to simulate Fang Qiong's previous situation and wait for a black dragon storm, and immediately take people into the desert to search after the black dragon storm is over, and temporarily set the search range at 100 Within miles, there is no need to venture too deep into the desert.

The question now is, when will the next black dragon storm come?
If there is one in a few days, then the first exploration work can be started as soon as possible, but if, as Apuqiu said, one cannot wait for a few months, it is not the same thing that they are always waiting.

"Your Excellency, you are welcome."

Apqiu seems to have reached a consensus with Wu Liang on Fang Qiong's matter. Not only did he not mention it again, but the nervousness on his face also subsided a lot. He smiled and said, "Your Excellency, settle down first. No matter what the servants do, my residence is next door, why don't I go back and see how the banquet is being prepared, don't neglect your Excellency because of this, and just ask those servants to bring you over after you have cleaned up."

"Good, I have Mr. Appchuo, I will take him out."

Wu Liang nodded, walked out of the earthen hut with Apuqiu, and watched him take the three young men who had gone out of the city to welcome them out of the courtyard.

It was also at this time that Wu Liang suddenly had a trace of uneasiness in his heart.

When I was talking about Fang Qiong with Apqiu just now, besides the backbone of the Huan army, these three young people were also in the house.

to be frank.

If Wu Liang had known that Fang Qiong still had the identity of a famous "witch" in Jiani City, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, even Apuqiu would definitely not be able to meet Fang Qiong.

However, things have already happened, and Wu Liang can only adjust accordingly.

Although he had only a brief contact with Apuqiu, he felt that Apuqiu was relatively reliable in his speech and demeanor. At least he had Awang as a base. Wu Liang felt that Apuqiu was looking at Awang's face. , should not do anything to betray him, after all, it can be regarded as the category of deceiving teachers and destroying ancestors.

But for these three young people, Wu Liang didn't have much confidence.

It's a pity that he was attracted by the things Apqiu said at the time, and didn't notice these three young people.

Now he can only hope that since Apuqiu didn't deliberately avoid these three young people at that time, he should also have a lot of trust in the character of these three young apprentices, and there shouldn't be too many problems.

The main thing is.

Jiani City is an isolated city.

They have come here after untold hardships, and both the status of the members and the supplies urgently need to be repaired and replenished. If they leave Jiani City at this moment, they will have no choice at all, and the situation is very serious. Danger.

Also.

As the ancient city of Loulan that shocked future generations, Wu Liang has not yet had time to conduct a thorough investigation of this ancient city. If he is forced to flee because of this incident, he may not be able to enter the city again for a long time. Very guilty, how could Wu Liang give up so easily?

"They come, the security."

Thinking of this, Wu Liang tried his best to throw his worries out of his mind, and chose to continue taking risks to stay here.

But this kind of thing can't bear to think about it, especially for a cautious and suspicious person like Wu Liang, once suspicion arises in his heart, how can he not think about it?
"Yang Wanli!"

On the way back to the courtyard, Wu Liang suddenly called Yang Wanli aside.

"Sir, what's the matter?"

Yang Wanli saw Wu Liang's uneasiness, and quickly lowered his voice and asked suspiciously.

"You immediately take someone out to buy a batch of charcoal, kerosene, and smaller copper and iron cans. If you can't find copper or iron cans, clay cans can also be used instead. Remember that the mouth of the can must be small, and the charcoal must be small. Grind them all into powder, I have great use!"

Wu Liang said seriously.

"promise!"

Although Yang Wanli didn't know what the use of these ordinary things Wu Liang wanted, he didn't dare to ask any further questions, and hurriedly took a few soldiers of the Huan army out to do so.

……

More than half an hour later.

Yang Wanli and others have already retrieved the charcoal powder, kerosene, and copper and iron cans that Wu Liang needed. Such common materials can be easily purchased in the prosperous city of Jianni.

Wu Liang then only brought Dian Wei into the room where the accompanying supplies were stored.

After messing around like this for a long while, Wu Liang and Dian Wei, who were all in black, came out from the inside, asked someone to fetch some water from the well in the courtyard and washed them briefly, and then went to the next door to Apuqiu's house for a banquet. .

It is worth mentioning that there is no shortage of water in Jiani City at this moment.

Although there is no rain in this place all year round, Jiani City is built next to the Kongque River, a tributary of the Tarim River. Therefore, if you drill a well from the ground, you only need to drill a well to a depth of three or four meters, and you can enjoy the Kongque River passing through the ground. The sweet fresh water that seeps in is enough to meet the water needs of local residents.

Apuqiu is also very hospitable.

Not only prepared cantaloupe, a local specialty, for Wu Liang and others, but also slaughtered two sheep, and made roasted whole lamb that was charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

As for the wine, it is a wine that is rarely seen in the Central Plains at this time. As soon as it is opened, it smells fragrant and makes people intoxicated.

This made the backbone of the Huan army who came with Wu Liang so greedy, they swallowed hard when they saw these delicacies, and their eyes were a little straight.

"Everyone, please enjoy it to your heart's content."

After Apuqiu ordered his servants to put all the things together, he made a gesture of invitation with a smile, and added, "I have ordered someone to take some of these food and drink and send them to the next door, and I will not neglect you. people."

"Thank you Mr. Apuqiu for your hospitality."

Wu Liang wasn't worried about what Apqiu had done to take over the soldiers next door.

Because he had already given an order before he came, ordering the soldiers next door to stand guard, not only not to eat the food sent by Apuqiu lightly, but also not to drink the wine sent by Apuqiu, everything will be discussed after he returns.

And he and the backbone of the Huan army will definitely return within half an hour. If there is a delay, the soldiers of the Huan army will take action...

Apuqiu took out another piece of sheepskin from his bosom, brought it to Wu Liang, and said, "There is also the map you want. This map not only shows the surrounding situation of Xenni City, but also includes the situation of the entire Shanshan Kingdom. Please." Your Excellency has a look."

"It's work."

Wu Liang spread out the sheepskin and took a rough look.

Similar to what he knew before, the Kongque River, a tributary of the Tarim River, is immediately north of the city of Jiani.

To the southeast of Jiani City is the extremely vast Lop Nur, which is connected to the Kongque River. However, at this time, Lop Nur was not called Lop Nur, but followed the name in "Shan Hai Jing", called "泑泽".

"泑泽" is much larger than Wu Liang imagined. Looking at the scale on the map, it is not enough to add up to dozens of mud cities. It is estimated that it must be at least a few thousand square kilometers.

And unlike the Lop Nur of later generations, the "泑泽" at this moment is still a vast ocean, not a dry salt marsh.

In fact, this is understandable.

As far as Wu Liang knows, in 1931, Lop Nur measured a water area of ​​1900 square kilometers.

In 1941, when people measured Lop Nur again, its area did not decrease but increased, and it reached 3006 square kilometers that could not be imagined by later generations.

In this way, it was not until 1972 that Lop Nur completely dried up and turned into a dead salt marsh with no grass growing.

How did the once prosperous Loulan ancient country completely disappear in the Tang Dynasty? Although Wu Liang has not yet found out the reason.

However, Wu Liang understood how Lop Nur in later generations completely dried up in just a few decades.

After the founding of the New China, there was a wave of land reclamation. Countless young people called upon them to form a corps to go to the northwest to carry out the construction movement. For a time, the population along the Tarim River surged. The river needs water. In just a few decades, more than 130 reservoirs have been built in the Tarim River Basin, greedily sucking up this source of life.

Under such circumstances, the watershed area of ​​the Tarim River began to shrink rapidly. In 1960, there was no flow in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Lop Nur quickly dried up. In 1972, it finally disappeared completely and became a no-man's land where there was no grass...

On the map, to the west of Jiani City is the "Camel Tomb" that Apuqiu and Wu Liang mentioned during the day.

The map shows that there is only such a desert around Jiani City.

Therefore, even if he didn't ask Apuqiu, Wu Liang had no other choice. Fang Qiong could only enter this desert, and the tomb of the sun she had reached could only be in this desert.

After briefly looking at the map, Wu Liang put it away happily.

When he looked up at Apuqiu again, his face was already full of smiles, and he asked with a smile: "Mr. Apuqiu, why didn't you see those three apprentices who went out of the city with you during the day? They were also tied up. Don't be too busy, I still want to thank them in person at the banquet tonight."

"Don't worry too much, Your Excellency. They are my apprentices during the day, but they are other people's children, fathers, and husbands at night. Therefore, they have already gone back early to accompany their families."

Apchu said with a smile.

"Mr. Apuqiu is an upright and generous man, so he must have been very particular about accepting disciples, right?"

Wu Liang asked tentatively again.

"It's natural. These three people are all the successors I have carefully selected. Although their families are not very good, they are all good children who are willing to give and give. The most important thing for a doctor is character. Those who are benevolent learn medicine It can save lives and heal the wounded, but those with bad conduct who study medicine will only harm others and themselves.”

Apuqiu showed pride, and said proudly, "Uncle Awang taught me this way, and I also taught them the same way."

"Mr. Apuqiu's integrity, I admire you!"

Hearing these words, Wu Liang immediately felt relieved to those three people, and bowed his hands.

"Your Excellency is awsome, I offer a toast to Your Excellency."

Apqiu smiled modestly, and took the initiative to persuade him with a wine glass.

……

this night.

After confirming that there was no problem with the food and drink provided by Apqiu, everyone in the Huan army ate and drank to their satisfaction.

After being full of food and drink, they finally found a place to shelter from the wind and rain. The tiredness of the journey quickly swept them away. Except for a few soldiers who stayed outside to guard, the rest of them died just after Xuzheng. Into dreamland.

Silent all night.

On the next day, Wu Liang was still dreaming sweetly when he was suddenly awakened by a hasty knock on the door.

"Early in the morning, who is it?"

Wu Liang rubbed his sleeping swollen eyes and asked angrily.

"My lord, we are surrounded by the guards of Jiani City!"

Dian Wei's rare anxious voice came from outside the house.

"What did you say?!"

Wu Liang woke up instantly, got up quickly and ran to open the door.

Inside the courtyard, all the soldiers of the Tuan army had gathered, each of them looked as if they were facing a big enemy, while the soldiers were steadfastly guarding the gate of the courtyard, refusing to allow anyone outside the courtyard to come in for half a step.

"What's going on?"

Wu Liang asked.

"My lord, they are here to capture the witch and her accomplices."

Yang Wanli gritted his teeth and cursed, "After all, we were betrayed!"

(End of this chapter)