Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1249 All the way east

"Sir, spare me! Spare me!" Lu Shisi was terrified and was forced to the ground, his face buried in the scorching sand, his body trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind.

"I'm just a scavenger! I'm starving, I'm just looking for something to eat! Please have mercy! I'll give you everything! Money and food, I'll give you everything!" He begged incoherently, but his hands instinctively pressed the large bundle in his arms tightly under his body.

Lin Hao stepped forward slowly, kicking away a copper coin that had rolled to his feet with the tip of his boot—the inscription on the coin was blurry, but the words "Jianzhong" were faintly visible.

This is the "Jianzhong Tongbao" coin minted by Guo Xin, specifically used to distribute military pay. However, it had lost contact with the central government for 25 years. At this time, it was not the eleventh year of Jianzhong, but actually the sixth year of Zhenyuan, which is 790 AD.

"Get up!" Lin Hao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power.

Lu Shisi looked up in surprise and doubt, his face covered in blood and sand, tears streaming down his face, his eyes filled with fear and a humble attempt to please.

"Is the money yours?" Lin Hao pointed to the leather bag in Guo Yuanzheng's hand.

"No, no, no! It belongs to the general! It belongs to the general!" Lu Shisi shook his head like a rattle drum.

"I'm asking where you found it just now?" Lin Hao squatted down and looked him in the eye.

Lu Shisi flinched and pointed to the bandit's corpse beside him: "He..., the one he's lying on!"

"And you?" Lin Hao's gaze fell on the bundle he was clutching tightly. "Judging from your attire, you're a Tang soldier? Which military garrison are you from? What's in your bundle?"

Lu Shisi's pupils contracted sharply, his body tensed instantly, like a startled hedgehog, he clutched the bundle even tighter, his voice trembling with tears:

"N-nothing...just some tattered clothes...sir, please have mercy and let me go...!"

Guo Yuanzheng stepped forward like a ghost and said, "I am Guo Yuanzheng, from the Ninth Cavalry Unit of the Xuange Battalion of the Wuwei Army of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

"By order of General Guo, the Grand Protector of Anxi, you are escorting Military Commander Lin back to Chang'an to seek reinforcements. Who exactly are you?" With that, Tang Hengdao placed his sword directly against Lu Shisi's shoulder.

"Wuwei Army? Commander Guo?" Lu Shisi grasped at a piece of driftwood, grief and indignation overwhelming his fear. Instinctively, he straightened his back and shouted hoarsely:

"Xuanwei Army! Xuanwei Army of Liniu City! Lu Shisi!"

"Xuanwei Army?" Guo Yuanzheng's eyes widened, and Tang Hengdao unconsciously lowered from Lu Shisi's shoulder, muttering:

"Xuanwei Army was captured by the Tubo in the first year of the Zhide era, and it has been 34 years since then. You~!"

"Yes! It fell 34 years ago!" Lu Shisi wailed, digging his fingers into the burlap bundle as he spoke.
"Captain and brothers, push me, the lowest soldier, off the city wall, shove this bundle into my hands, and tell me to go home for you all!"

He pounded the sand, tears streaming down his face: "I hid like a mouse for 34 years, 34 years!"

"Inside the bundle are letters the brothers wrote home before the fall of Li Niu City! I have to send them back, send them back!"

The roar that tears through the Gobi Desert is an obsession that has not been extinguished for 34 years.

Lin Hao remained silent, though he had long known what had happened to them, he still could not calm down.

As the wind and sand swept past the rusted "Jianzhong Tongbao" coins, Lin Hao stood up and said, "Captain Guo, pack up the money, food, and water, and get ready to leave!"

"Yes!" Guo Yuanzheng pulled up Lu Shisi, who had collapsed from crying.

Lu Shisi stared blankly at the guards as he stuffed the copper coin water pouch into the military supply packhorse. He subconsciously looked eastward; that was Chang'an, his nightmare and his return journey of 34 years.

"Go!" Lin Hao mounted his horse, pointed his whip in the direction of Xizhou, and said, "Take care!"

Lu Shisi froze upon hearing this, then lunged at Lin Hao's horse as if electrocuted, his withered hand gripping the stirrup, a terrifying light flashing in his eyes:
"My lord, Lord Lin! You just said... you're going to Xizhou... and then back to Chang'an? On General Guo's orders... to return to Chang'an?!"

"Yes!" Lin Hao looked down at him.

"Take me with you! Please take me with you!" Lu Shisi cried out hoarsely, his forehead slamming heavily against the scorching sand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Sand mixed with blood covered his graying hair as he cried out in a sob:

"I'll serve you like a slave! I only ask... I only ask to go back to Chang'an with you! To... to deliver the brothers' letters home! 34 years... 34 years, my lord!"

He raised his face, streaked with tears and blood, his eyes filled with a desperate, frantic plea, "No travel permit...no official seal...I...I can't go back! Sir! Please! This...this is the brothers' last wish!"

He trembled, almost as if he were about to untie the bundle he considered his life's proof.

Lin Hao looked down at the old soldier, who was as humble as dust yet as stubborn as steel. His gaze swept over the bundle in the soldier's arms and then looked towards the dead end in the east, where the wind and sand were blowing.

After a brief moment of deliberation, he said in a deep voice, "Following me is very likely to be a life-or-death situation. Do you still want to come along?"

An incredulous light flashed in Lu Shisi's eyes, as if a drowning person had grabbed the mooring rope of a giant ship!
He stopped kowtowing, struggled to straighten his hunched body, and with all his might straightened his chest, roaring hoarsely but with unparalleled clarity:
"Lu Shisi, scout of Xuanwei Army! I am willing to follow Lord Lin! Even if I am shattered to pieces, I will have no regrets, only asking to deliver the brothers' letters home to Chang'an!"

Guo Yuanzheng silently handed over a water bag. Lu Shisi wiped his face haphazardly, tied the bundle tighter to his chest, and staggered but determinedly climbed onto a spare horse.

At this moment, his hunched back seemed to straighten a little, and his cloudy gaze was fixed on Lin Hao's back, as if locking onto the only way home he had finally seen after 34 years of wandering.

The caravan set off, the heavy hooves of horses pounding the blood-stained sand, carrying military funds, scattered copper coins, and letters from home spanning 34 years, heading towards Xizhou, towards the faint hope of Chang'an.

The journey to the Western Continent was arduous and long. Soon they ran out of water and food and had to set up camp to rest.

Fortunately, Lin Hao had a spatial device, which allowed him to secretly replenish everyone's supplies at night.

The next morning, after walking for most of the day, the group found a solitary inn in the middle of the desert.

"My lord, there is a post station ahead!" Guo Yuanzheng said in a hoarse voice.

Beneath the wind-eroded rock pillars ahead, a rammed earth inn stands alone in the desert, its tattered wine flag fluttering in the hot wind – “Sand Sea Inn”.

The team needed rest, Lin Hao knew that while men could endure it, warhorses would surely collapse from dehydration. So he cracked his whip and said:

"Proceed to the post station! Water the horses and rest, but remain vigilant!"

"Yes, sir!" Ten white-haired veterans responded in unison, drawing their swords a few inches from their sheaths, forming a tight formation to protect the packhorses as they slowly approached.

The shopkeeper greeted us early, his face beaming with a fawning smile: "Honorable guest, you must be tired! Our shop has some newly brewed sweet wine and freshly slaughtered fat sheep! It'll help you relax and fill your stomach!"

Hearing this, Lu Shisi couldn't help but lick his lips, then looked at Lin Hao, his meaning self-evident. Having been hungry for so long, the thought of wine and meat made him restless.

In fact, it wasn't just him; the other veterans were the same. However, Lin Hao ignored them and instead glanced at the dimly lit hall, where several merchants were talking in hushed tones, their eyes wary.

In the corner, several bald men with curved knives at their waists scanned the visitors with hostile eyes, lingering especially on the heavy crates of the packhorses.

Lin Hao reached into his pocket, actually taking out some silver from his spatial storage, intending to let everyone rest. As for the plot that followed, it didn't matter anymore; with him there, everything would change.

"Twelve men, water the horses, and prepare plenty of fodder." Lin Hao took out a few large pieces of silver and casually tossed them to the shop assistant, speaking calmly.
"Plenty of food and drink, but this is all the money you have!"

A flash of silver light, and several gazes instantly fixed on Lin Hao's hand. The shopkeeper beamed with joy: "Enough! Plenty! Please come in, esteemed guest!"

The guards obeyed orders. Two of them, armed with knives, guarded the packhorses in the courtyard, while the rest followed Lin Hao and Guo Yuanzheng inside and sat at two separate tables, their knives never leaving their hands.

However, when the box was unloaded, the heavy wooden box clattered to the ground, and the distinctive clinking sound of copper coins came from inside!

In an instant, all sounds in the inn vanished, the air froze solid, the merchants stopped eating, and the bald man squinted.

At this moment, greedy, calculating, and wary eyes were fixed on the wooden crate, but when their gazes swept over the veterans, their half-drawn swords, and their cold, stern faces, their eyes instantly cleared.

Guo Yuanzheng snorted coldly, and used his thumb to push the hilt of the knife open by half an inch, the cold light dazzling.

Although Lu Shisi was also nervous at this moment, he seemed to have regained his spirit after returning to the Tang Dynasty army. So he straightened his back again and his eyes gradually became fierce when he looked at those dishonest guys.

One of the bald men instinctively reached for the hilt of his knife, but was stopped by a sinister look from the leader. In the end, he just spat and turned his head away.

No one dared to move. No one was foolish enough to confront the fully armed Tang soldiers. They didn't have the guts, even though they looked old.

The wine and meat were served quickly, and Lu Shisi grabbed a flatbread and wolfed it down, choking and rolling his eyes, but he still couldn't stop.

The veterans ate in silence, their chewing sounds filled with vigilance. Lin Hao slowly tore at the meat, his gaze constantly fixed on any unusual activity in the hall.

After feeding the horses and letting them rest for half an hour, Lin Hao instructed everyone to refill their water bags. Then he stood up and said:

"set off!"

The group quickly reassembled, the wooden crates were re-tied and secured, and under the watchful eyes of countless people, the group rode away from the post station and disappeared into the scorching sands.

They had traveled less than three miles when the sound of hooves thundered behind them, and two plumes of dust followed closely.

"Lin Sima! He's got a tail!" Guo Yuanzheng shouted.

Lin Hao turned around, drew his sword with one hand, and the guards, without waiting for Lin Hao's orders, instantly reined in their horses, turned around, formed a defensive formation like an iron wall, and then drew their swords, pointing them in the direction they came from, protecting Lin Hao and his packhorse in the core.

The pursuers were revealed, and the larger group was the same bald men from the post station and their accomplices, about a dozen riders, holding curved swords and with fierce eyes, but they reined in their horses a hundred paces away, hesitating and weighing their options.

The other group consisted of only seven or eight riders, and it was the traveling merchants at that table.

The merchant leader charged straight to within twenty paces, abruptly reined in his horse, landed on his back, clasped his hands in greeting, and spoke in a loud, urgent voice:

"Sir, please wait! We have absolutely no ill intentions!"

He gestured to his companions to place several bulging water sacs and a large bundle of thick flatbread wrapped in oil paper on the sand.

The leader's gaze swept over Lin Hao and the others, their Tang army uniforms still relatively neat, especially Guo Yuanzheng's old armor from the Wuwei Army's Xuange Battalion. A complex emotion flickered in his eyes.
"We are merchants from the Tang Dynasty, and we haven't seen our soldiers for over a decade!"

Actually, this statement is somewhat inappropriate. Although Tibet cut off the Tang Dynasty's access to the Four Garrisons of Anxi, Guo Xin and Yang Xigu still led a large army to garrison the area.

As long as this merchant traveled this trade route, it was impossible for him not to have seen soldiers from the Tang Dynasty. Lin Hao felt that what he really meant was that he hadn't seen soldiers sent from the Tang Dynasty to the Four Garrisons of Anxi for more than ten years!

The leader stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Hao's face, and asked expectantly:
"May I ask, sir, is it the troops from the Tang Dynasty who have returned from Chang'an?" The merchant's words confirmed Lin Hao's guess.

The guards' cold, hard faces twitched slightly. Kucha stood alone, and they were like broken spears left behind by their homeland in the wind and sand.

Lin Hao sat upright on his horse and slowly shook his head.

The light in the leader's eyes visibly dimmed, yet he still pressed on, unwilling to give up: "Then... does the general have any news from Chang'an?"

Lin Hao remained silent and shook his head. Of course he knew about Chang'an's situation, but given Chang'an's current state, the other party would probably be even more disappointed if they knew.
The leader stepped back regretfully, letting out a long sigh, "This road is getting harder and harder to travel!"

This was inevitable. In the past, the Anxi Protectorate maintained order, allowing merchants from the Tang Dynasty to travel safely.

Now that the four towns of Anxi have fallen one after another, the Tibetans do not understand the benefits of maintaining order. They treat merchants like fat sheep, so how easy is it to do business now?

"Take care!" The merchant then turned around, mounted his horse, bowed, and prepared to ride away.

Lin Hao returned the greeting and then said loudly:
"We are heading to Chang'an this time. Rest assured, everyone, the camel bells on the road to Anxi will ring out again one day!"

"The banners of my Great Tang Dynasty will surely shine once more upon the Tianshan Mountains!"

The sound echoed across the vast Gobi Desert. The leader's body trembled, and he stared intently at Lin Hao, a spark suddenly flashing in his dim eyes!
He said nothing more, but bowed deeply once more to Lin Hao and this lone army, then mounted his horse and resolutely led the caravan into the sandstorm.

Meanwhile, the bald-headed sand bandits in the distance did not witness the caravan clashing with Lin Hao's cavalry. Instead, Guo Yuanzheng and his men, under the weight of Lin Hao's imposing presence and the sharpness of his blades, were forced to retreat unwillingly.

Lu Shisi stared blankly at the water and grain on the sand, then looked at Lin Hao's straight back, and unconsciously tightened his grip on the bundle.

"Put it away!" Lin Hao ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Guo Yuanzheng replied.

Lu Shisi awkwardly dismounted, carefully put away the water and food, and the team took a short rest. Lin Hao's gaze swept across the misty western desert.

"Keep going!"

The horses galloped again, carrying military funds, copper coins, letters home spanning forty years, and a vow that ignited a glimmer of hope, crushing the scorching yellow sand, resolutely heading west.

The sand and sand post station behind them was completely hidden in the wind and sand.

They hadn't gone far when they encountered a sandstorm. Guo Yuanzheng's horse in the short film died in the sandstorm.

With Lin Hao looking after it this time, there was no need to worry. After the sandstorm subsided, without losing a single soldier, the horse was still lively and energetic.

The bandits who had been following them relentlessly had also disappeared, so the group continued on their journey.

That evening, as everyone rested by the campfire, Lin Hao and the others listened once again to Lu Shisi recounting the past of the Xuanwei Army.

The next morning, everyone got up early and hurried on their way before the sun became too strong.

Around noon, the bandits who had been temporarily held back by the sandstorm the day before finally caught up.

The hoofprints were quickly erased by the wind and sand. Before they had traveled ten miles, dust rose again behind them, and the sound of hooves was as rapid as a sudden downpour.