Datang Longya

Chapter 183 Desert Asceticism
In Leng Feng's memory, there were quite a few Tang Dynasty sergeants who wore loincloths and looked like sumo wrestlers in the Northwest.

This is the desert east of Gaochang, which is called the "Sea of ​​Death" by merchants and herdsmen.

In fact, the name "Sea of ​​Death" is found in almost every desert. For human beings, the desert is an unconquerable Jedi. The opening of the old Silk Road has turned the daunting desert into a "cornucopia". sand".

Countless money-hungry businessmen resolutely crossed the desert, bringing silk and other items from the Chinese land to the Western Regions, and then exchanged them for spices, gold and silver, etc., earning money at both ends.

But the Silk Road is the same as the Maritime Merchant, and the scythe of death is also hidden under the huge interests. There are many merchant camel bones on the Silk Road, turning the Silk Road into the "Road of Bones".

It is a human instinct to take off your clothes in hot weather, not to mention that iron armor absorbs heat. Under the sun, the armor is like a soldering iron, so many soldiers ignored the chief's dissuasion and took off their armor, leaving only a loincloth .

Li Xiaogong wiped the sweat off his face, and complained to Li Jing: "I already knew that the desert is hot, but I didn't expect that autumn is almost over, this damn desert is still so hot!"

Li Xiaogong didn't take off his armor, although taking off his clothes in the scorching sun can cool him down for a while, but his skin should be uncomfortable after the sun blazes.

Li Jing was also sweating profusely. At this time, as a marshal, he was only treated with a rag and cloak to protect him from the sun.

"The desert is like this. Don't look at it as hot as a stove now. At night, it will be as cold as an icehouse. The alternation of ice and fire is the most tormenting."

Li Jing drew out his long sword, and knocked aside a scorpion that was about to be stepped on by the horse's hoof.

Li Xiaogong touched the big wooden box on the carriage, fortunately, the temperature was not high.

As one of the marshals, Li Xiaogong naturally had a rag and cloak to shade the sun, but he was not at ease with the packaging of the Earth-Level Thunder, he just put his cloak on the carriage, and even the cloaks of the lieutenants who had cloaks were requisitioned by him.

Li Jing calculated the time and tore off the cloak and gave it to Li Xiaogong. The only cloak that was not confiscated had to be enjoyed by the two marshals in turn.

Li Xiaogong hurriedly put the cloak on his body, and immediately had the psychological illusion of "cooling off": "Mr. Wei, is this map accurate? How long will it take us to cross this damn desert?"

Li Jing shook the map in his hand and said: "This map is written by Duke Xing, and he said that the real desert must be smaller than the one in the map. If we look at it according to the map, it will take us five days to cross it." The desert. But if we follow what Gong Guogong said, maybe we can go out in the next moment."

Li Xiaogong snorted and said: "This worldly expert is full of such virtues, and his words are always illusory. Thanks to you still trusting his map so much, if he makes a mistake, the actual scope of the desert is larger than the one in the map. , we all have to explain here.”

There is another sentence that Li Xiaogong didn't say, no matter how much water they carry, it will only be enough for three days. If they haven't walked out of the desert within three days, the first problem will be the lack of morale.

Li Jing rolled up the blueprint and said to Li Xiaogong: "Stop talking, you won't know if you talk too much!"

Only then did Li Xiaogong realize that his mouth was dry and bitter, and hurriedly took out the water bag.Don't dare to drink too much, just a small sip to moisturize your mouth and throat.

Seeing the setting sun, Li Jing refused the cloak that Li Xiaogong sent over. This damned guy waited all afternoon, and only thought of sending the cloak when it was not hot at this time!
Looking at the terrain, Li Jing pointed to the west and said, "Go further, let's camp there."

After walking to the place designated by Li Jing, the soldiers immediately untied the ropes on the carriage and began to set up camp.

At first, I didn’t know why the Generalissimo forced the quartermaster to ask for sheepskin tents instead of cowhide tents. Now I know, this damn desert is hot to death during the day and freezing to death at night.So at night, the soldiers hugged their quilts together to keep warm, regardless of their appearance or appearance.

The next day, as soon as Choushi arrived, Li Jing ordered to continue marching. Although it was still very cold, walking against the cold was much better than walking under the scorching sun. If it wasn’t for the soldiers, they still couldn’t change their habit of moving during the day and sleeping at night. Li Jing I even want to rest during the day and march at night.

From the warmth when the sun just rose to the sweaty face, in less than two hours, the faint water vapor in the air was distorted by the heat.

In this case, it is particularly prone to mirage.

"Lake! Great lake!" shouted a dry-lipped soldier, pointing north.

Li Xiaogong looked to the north, there was indeed a large light blue lake, and even the churning water could be vaguely seen.

But Li Jing just took a look and said: "That's fake, there is no lake above the ground! Everyone obeys orders, no matter what you see, you are not allowed to leave the team! Continue to move west!"

Li Jing's prestige was unmatched, and the soldiers immediately suppressed the desire to drink in their hearts, and stopped their legs that wanted to advance north.

Li Xiaogong shook the water bag with only a little bit of water, and couldn't help frowning, he talked the most during the journey, and talking too much wasted water.

Li Jing handed the half of his water bag to Li Xiaogong and said: "Don't blame me for insisting on going to the desert. If we go around the north, we have to risk being attacked by Western Turks and Gaochang. Moreover, the capital of Gaochang relies on The desert, as long as we cross the desert, we can go straight into the hinterland of Gaochang, and even capture Qu Wentai alive!"

Although Li Xiaogong was very thirsty, he only drank half a sip after opening Li Jing's water bag. Hearing Li Jing's words, Li Xiaogong said with emotion: "I still understand the reason why soldiers are expensive and fast, but we just crossed the desert. Fighting, this is the worst policy!"

Li Jing shook his head: "If the map is correct, we are still some distance away from the capital of Gaochang, which is enough for us to rest, and..."

Before Li Jing finished speaking, the scouts rushed over to report: "Marshal! The front is no longer a desert, but a Gobi. We even found a source of water in a Gobi desert!"

For those who walk out of the desert, water is definitely more important than gold, silver and jewelry, even Li Jing, a wise commander, is no exception!

Li Jing swallowed back the words he hadn't finished speaking, mounted the horse that was about to be slaughtered to reduce water consumption, waved the whip and shouted: "The whole army obeys the order! Go!"

"Ah..." The soldiers who had been wilting like Jingshuang persimmons all cheered when they won the victory, their legs filled with lead became flexible again, and they followed Li Jing and ran out of the desert.

For a moment, if you want to hear what happened next, let's see the breakdown in the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)