Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1253 Interesting Stories of Returning East
"This~!" Everyone looked at the falcon on Lin Hao's shoulder in astonishment. This ability to make words come true made them look at Lin Hao with a sense of worship.

"With it as our spy, like having eyes in the sky, our return to Chang'an should be much smoother!" Lin Hao said with a smile.

However, he didn't explain much, maintaining a certain degree of mystery would help them submit to him.

Lin Hao then released the falcon to scout out Puchang City, which is now Shanshan County.

(The city of Shanshan in the Tang Dynasty was a county under the jurisdiction of Xizhou in the south, but it was located within Ruoqiang County. The protagonist's location was called Puchang County in the Tang Dynasty, which is the location of modern Shanshan County. It was established during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The two are not in the same geographical location and are easy to confuse.)
With the falcon's eyes in the sky, surveying Puchang City was like divine assistance, and they immediately discovered that there were about three hundred-man cavalry units stationed inside.

Lin Hao originally only wanted to test the effectiveness of Falcon as a scout in exploring cities, and had no intention of attacking Puchang City.

However, during the investigation, they discovered that in addition to more than 500 cavalrymen, there were also many Han Chinese slaves they had enslaved, and among them were more than 100 Tang soldiers in disheveled clothes.

Lin Hao originally had no intention of wasting time here. He planned to ride back to Chang'an as fast as he could and then lead his men back to fight.

But after seeing the miserable state of these soldiers and the people of the Tang Dynasty through the falcon, Lin Hao quietly revised his plan.

Although he didn't want to waste time here, Lin Hao still decided to kill the five hundred-man squads and rescue these Tang Dynasty people.

Although it is difficult, as long as they are rescued, we will immediately have hundreds of elite veterans.

After figuring out the situation inside, Lin Hao told Guo Yuanzheng and Lu Wenbin about the situation in Puchang City.

Lord Sima, if what you say is true, I guess these people are soldiers who were captured after the Beiting Protectorate was captured!
"Please, Lord Sima, rescue them!" Lu Wenbin pleaded with Lin Hao.

Guo Yuanzheng, who was standing to the side, originally wanted to persuade Lin Hao to take a detour, but after hearing Lu Wenbin's words, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Don't worry, if we hadn't encountered them, it would have been fine, but now that I know their situation, I certainly won't stand idly by!"

"The same old rules apply: a surprise attack at night, aim to wound but not kill in combat, and take as many prisoners as possible!"

As soon as Lin Hao finished speaking, everyone's eyes lit up with fervor. Besides the desire to rescue their comrades, they also knew that the reason they were able to regain their youth was entirely due to Lin Hao, who had transferred it from these prisoners. Naturally, they were extremely eager.

Next, just like in the previous battle of the small town, Lin Hao once again led more than twenty men to a sheltered spot. After resupplying and resting, they prepared to take Puchang City in the same manner.

As night fell, with Lin Hao leading the way and observing the eagles in the sky, they quickly arrived outside Puchang City.

After a bloody battle, the result was a one-sided massacre. Because the Tibetans outnumbered the Tibetans, their resistance was much fiercer than that in the smaller town.

Fortunately, with Lin Hao leading the charge, although some serious injuries were still inevitable in the battle, no one was killed.

After absorbing the lives of these Tibetan soldiers, he quickly healed their wounds before going to see the rescued Tang soldiers and captured civilians.

After wandering around the city, they came to a dirty and narrow alleyway and saw a group of Tang Dynasty commoners dressed in rags, as well as Tang Dynasty soldiers whose faces were weathered and whose bodies had become thin and weak due to long-term fatigue and torment.

Although they had endured many hardships, when they saw Lin Hao, these soldiers dressed as Tang soldiers still stood tall and straight.

"General! Have the troops of our Great Tang returned?" An elderly man who looked like the leader stepped forward and asked with some trepidation, looking at the few cavalrymen behind Lin Hao.

With the fall of the Beiting Protectorate, many soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty were taken prisoner and suffered endless torment. They desperately hoped that the Tang Dynasty could lead its troops back to victory.

"I am Lin Hao, the acting military commander under the command of the Grand Protector of Kucha!"

Lin Hao remained silent for a while before briefly recounting his journey to Chang'an and his request for aid from the Tang Dynasty.

"You've all suffered!" Looking at his comrades, Lin Hao finally said:
"The Tibetans have now been wiped out, but this is not a place to stay for long. You all have two choices now!"

"Either come with me to Chang'an, or I'll provide you with supplies and take these people to Xizhou to seek refuge with Protector-General Yang!"

"We'll follow Lord Lin to Chang'an!"

"Let's go to Xizhou..."

Although Lin Hao had captured Puchang City, he couldn't stay there for too long. Firstly, he needed to guard against retaliation from the Tubo, and secondly, returning to Chang'an was his top priority.

After a period of rest, Lin Hao handed over all the supplies and ordinary horses to the soldiers and civilians who were preparing to go to Xizhou.

Afterwards, he took more than two hundred soldiers who were willing to follow him back to Chang'an, and incidentally restored their youth.

Amidst gasps of amazement, Lin Hao used the same method to gather these soldiers, bringing his cavalry force to two hundred and forty men.

Lin Hao felt that this number of people was enough to go to Chang'an. If he brought more people, it would be difficult to understand the Tang people who had been rescued.

On their way back east, the territory was mostly Tibetan. Even if Lin Hao rescued them, these Tang Dynasty people had nowhere to go.

It would be better to stay here and wait for Lin Hao to return with his army to rescue them, so that they can be easily settled on the spot.

Another point is that bringing more troops could easily be misinterpreted as an attempt to lead an army back to Chang'an. After all, there's a saying that makes a lot of sense: it's much easier to conquer Chang'an than to pass the imperial examination.

Lin Hao then led his two hundred-plus cavalrymen through Yizhou (Hami), Guazhou, Yumenguan, Suzhou, Ganzhou, Liangzhou, Lanzhou, and Weizhou—land that originally belonged to the Tang Dynasty but was now occupied by the Tubo—before finally entering Fengxiang Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty and returning to Chang'an.

During this period, Lin Hao used his mental imprint multiple times to descend upon Jieyugas's military camp to gather the latest information.

Fortunately, influenced by Lin Hao's dream, Jieyugas did not continue to wage war, but instead turned his attention to the Uyghurs.

However, Lin Hao did not believe that he would give up his plan to attack Beiting, as the conflict between the Uyghurs and the Tibetans was a very real one.

A little bit of illusory psychological suggestion might make Jieyujias temporarily postpone the attack, but it cannot completely stop the attack. Moreover, even if they don't attack Tibet, Tibet will deal with them in the future.

Even from Lin Hao's perspective, he didn't want to see the Uyghurs and Tibetans coexist peacefully. Only when they fought could he find an opportunity for Guo Xin and Yang Xigu. Lin Hao's main goal was to delay the Uyghurs' attack on Tibetans and prevent it from affecting the situation in Xizhou.

This will allow Guo Xin and Yang Xigu to hold out until I return to the Western Regions from Chang'an.

With the falcon's guidance, Lin Hao's cavalry easily evaded the Tibetan patrol cavalry.

Then, bypassing the edge of Lop Nur, we arrived at Guazhou, and then along the foot of the Qilian Mountains, passing through Suzhou and Ganzhou, before finally reaching Liangzhou.

While in Liangzhou, Lin Hao ordered his cavalry to hide outside the city, while he himself infiltrated the city.

Besides resupplying their living supplies, they also went in to gather intelligence on the military situation in Liangzhou, so as to prepare for the subsequent attack on Liangzhou.

While gathering information, they inadvertently discovered that the Tibetan nobles had invited a monk named Fajie to give sermons to them.

If you're not familiar with the name "Fajie," then use a name that's familiar to most Chinese people, and you'll instantly know who he is.

The prototype of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West is actually this monk, who at this time was still called Fajie.

Yes, the story of Journey to the West is true, but the people who went to obtain the scriptures were not from the same era.

For example, Tang Sanzang is an honorific title for the eminent Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang. In the first year of the Zhenguan era (627 AD), Xuanzang set off from Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) and, after many hardships, went to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

Over a period of seventeen years, he traveled 50,000 li (approximately 25,000 kilometers), visiting famous temples throughout India, studying Buddhism, and bringing back a large number of Buddhist scriptures. The deeds of Master Xuanzang are recorded in detail in the "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions".

According to the Anxi County Gazetteer, Zhang Shu, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, once passed through Guazhou and left behind some relics.

The prototype of Sun Wukong was a man whose secular name was Che Fengchao. He was from Yunyang County, Jingzhao Prefecture (northwest of present-day Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province). His ancestors were nobles of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei people in the Northern Wei Dynasty. He was intelligent and fond of Chinese classics.

In the ninth year of the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (750), Jibin (Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan) sent a special envoy to Chang'an to express its willingness to submit.

In 750, Jibin sent a special envoy to Chang'an to express its willingness to submit to the Tang Dynasty. In 751, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang dispatched Zhang Taoguang, an imperial envoy, and more than 40 people to escort the Jibin envoy back to the Western Regions.

Che Fengchao, as the Left Guard General of Jingzhou Simen Prefecture, accompanied the mission, which had studied Buddhism for 753 years, and arrived in Gandhara (around Peshawar), the eastern capital of Kipin.

In 757, Che Fengchao was unable to return to the Central Plains with the group due to a serious illness, so he stayed in Gandhara to recuperate. During his illness, he vowed to become a monk after he recovered. Later, he became a disciple of the local Tripitaka Master Shari Vimalakirti and became a monk with the Dharma name Dharmadhatu, which translates to Dharmadhatu in Chinese.

This Tripitaka Master has absolutely no relation to Tang Sanzang. The Tripitaka Master whom Che Fengchao worshipped in Jibin was the local eminent monk Shariputra, while Tang Sanzang is an honorific title for Xuanzang.

It was only because Che Fengchao's experience was very similar to that of Tang Sanzang that this Sanzang replaced that Sanzang when he was written into Journey to the West.

After completing his studies, Che Fengchao returned to China. After translating Buddhist scriptures for several years, Che Fengchao longed for his homeland and asked his master to allow him to return to Tang China. Shariputra gifted him Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures and other sacred objects such as Buddha relics.

He returned via the same route he had taken, stopping in places such as Shule, Khotan, and Kucha along the way. At the Lotus Temple in Kucha, he worked with other monks to translate Buddhist scriptures such as the "Ten Stages Sutra," the "Ten Powers Sutra," and the "Dedication Wheel Sutra," which he had brought back from India.

Che Fengchao lived in Kucha for more than 30 years before returning to Chang'an in the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), which is this year.

Of course, just as Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong have real-life counterparts, Zhu Bajie naturally also has a real-life counterpart.

Zhu Shixing, who lived during the second year of the Jiaping era (250 AD) at the end of the Han Dynasty, is estimated to be the historical prototype of Zhu Bajie. He was the first Han Chinese monk in Chinese history, and his Buddhist name was Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Shixing embarked on a solo journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures during the Three Kingdoms period, several centuries earlier than Tang Sanzang. He became a monk at the White Horse Temple and later, in order to obtain the complete "Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra," he set off from Luoyang, traveled through the southern route of the Western Regions to Khotan, and after obtaining the scriptures, he was unable to return to the Central Plains for various reasons, eventually dying in the borderlands.

However, Zhu Shixing was a real historical monk who differed greatly from the image of Zhu Bajie in "Journey to the West". It is likely that Wu Cheng'en referenced previous works when creating "Journey to the West" and modified the identity of Zhu Bajie.

Getting back to the main point, when Lin Hao heard that a Tibetan nobleman had invited a monk with the Dharma name Fajie to give a sermon, Lin Hao immediately realized that this Fajie was the monk who would be given the name Wukong by Emperor Dezong in the future.

After all, Lin Hao had lived in Kucha for so many years under the identity he used, so he must have heard of such a person.

Thinking that Emperor Dezong of Tang was a devout Buddhist, he thought that if he returned to Chang'an and had this senior brother help persuade the emperor, he might be able to gain more.

So Lin Hao used his illusion skill to go directly to Che Fengchao's door. After a conversation, Lin Hao learned that the other party was also eager to return to Chang'an.

After quickly packing up, he politely bid farewell to the Tibetan nobles. Although they were disappointed, the Tibetan nobles did not dare to be negligent and all respectfully saw their senior brother off as he left the country.

Lin Hao then led the Dharma Realm to the cavalry force and quickly set off towards Lanzhou and Weizhou.

Finally, after eight days, they entered Fengxiang Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty. When they arrived at the pass, they saw more than two hundred cavalrymen approaching the city, which immediately made the soldiers and civilians in the city nervous.

Lin Hao then presented the seals of Guo Xin and Yang Xigu, indicating that he had returned from the Western Regions to Chang'an to request reinforcements from the Tang Dynasty.

However, nowadays, all the local warlords, whether friend or foe, use the same armor, making it impossible to determine their affiliation from their appearance.

Moreover, they didn't really believe that Lin Hao's cavalry force of about two hundred men could cross the territory controlled by the Tibetans, so Lin Hao told them to inform the local officials.

Not long after, the local military governor, Li Sheng, arrived at the city wall. After verifying Lin Hao's seal, he allowed Lin Hao to enter the city alone.

During the Tang Dynasty, Fengxiang Prefecture was an important political and military center. Li Sheng, as the military governor, was responsible for the administrative and military affairs of the region.
Having met the military governor of Fengxiang Prefecture, Lin Hao explained his mission and the current situation in the Western Regions in detail.

In order not to waste too much time, Lin Hao also used his skills to guide the process.

After gaining Li Sheng's trust, Lin Hao's cavalry force of over two hundred men finally entered Fengxiang Prefecture.

After a day of rest, Lin Hao had Li Sheng send a message to Chang'an, and also ordered him to send a team to escort his group to Chang'an.

There was no other way. If they were to head straight for Chang'an, not to mention that the military outposts along the way would not easily let them go to Chang'an.

Even if they arrived in Chang'an, it wouldn't necessarily be easy to meet Emperor Dezong; ultimately, someone would still need to act as an intermediary.