Chinese New Year

Chapter 1433 Public Sentiment
While Tuoba Sigong was traversing the desert, more than 10,000 people, mainly composed of Silver Spear Central Camp, Banshun Barbarians, and Liao soldiers, were advancing along another route.

Starting from the western border of Dunhuang Yuanquan County (now east of Guazhou County) and the southwest bank of the Daze River, one travels more than 200 li northwest, passing through many grasslands, and then enters the Great Desert, where one must travel about 500 li before finally arriving at Yiwu.

The so-called Great Marsh, also known as the Dark Marsh, was a marshland formed by the alluvial plain of the Shule River, stretching more than 200 miles from east to west. The surrounding area was rich in aquatic plants, but it has since dried up.

The vast desert we are about to cross is the same desert that Tuoba Sigong crossed before. It stretches from Yiwu (Hami) in the west to Guazhou in the east, encompassing various terrains such as desert, Gobi, Yardang landforms, and oases. Historically known as the "Eight Hundred Li of Vast Sea," it was called the "Great Desert." During the Tang Dynasty, it was called the "Moheyan Desert." In later times, it included the Kumtag Desert, the Hashun Gobi, and other areas.

Tuoba Sigong traveled through Yumen Pass, a journey of 700 li, including more than 500 li of desert.

The Silver Spear Army then traversed the Great Swamp—the location of the Tang Dynasty's Jade Gate Pass, belonging to Jinchang County, Guazhou—a journey of nine hundred li, also requiring them to cross nearly five hundred li of vast desert, passing through the later-famous Xingxing Gorge.

Besides these two routes, there is actually an even more difficult route that is almost entirely in the desert. We did not arrange a team for this trip, nor did we dare to take it, because the mortality rate is really high. Apart from desperate desert bandits or smugglers, no one is willing to take this route.

On the first day of the seventh month, the army arrived at a newly built fortress and rested for a while.

This fort is garrisoned by two hundred soldiers of the Wuji Colonel's battalion, which means it is clearly within the territory of Gaochang Commandery, 240 li west of Yiwu.

The fort was named "Rouyuan Garrison" by the emperor. In addition to the soldiers of the Wuji Colonel, there were more than 400 powerful families from Jiangdong, totaling nearly 2,000 people, who were exiled there. The families were mainly surnamed Gao (from Piling) and Fan (from Wujun).

In addition to the soldiers of the Wuji Colonel's camp, the Yiwu garrison in the west of Rouyuan also had two hundred registered Hu families and three hundred wealthy Jiangdong families surnamed Shi (from Danyang) and Chen (from Kuaiji).

These four families were actually lower-class noble clans in Jiangdong, but they fought bravely for Sima Jin's rule, which led to their current predicament. Who can they blame?
They are currently taking advantage of the setting sun and the slightly cooler weather to work in the fields, digging wells and canals.

Soldiers from the Silver Spear Army passed by not far away, watching all of this with curiosity.

What's the point of digging around in this godforsaken place? Are they digging houses to live in? Is it too hot above ground?

The Gao and Fan families, standing beside the well, stared blankly at the passing army.

They were truly expressionless, their eyes were blank, as if those Central Plains warriors with swords and bows were nothing more than grass, trees, and sand, and had nothing to do with them.

They just kept digging wells and digging, digging and digging, and after six years, there would be a second six years, a third six years...

The sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the silence.

Surrounded by dozens of personal guards, Yang Qin headed straight for a well canal.

The term "well-canal" refers to a structure where the surface is a well and the underground is a canal.

When the water in the canal is surging and the terrain has a large drop, there is even a sound of rushing water.

The fierce guards rushed to the well and drove away the Fan family members.

The Fan family members' expressions finally changed, but they dared not speak out and silently retreated.

The soldiers used wooden buckets to draw a bucket of water from the gushing underground canal. Yang Qin took a ladle and drank several mouthfuls. After a while, he sighed with satisfaction, "It tastes much better than the bitter water on the road."

The guards also lined up and went forward one by one to drink water.

Yang Qin wiped his sweat and looked into the distance.

To the south, there are only undulating mountains, but they are neither high nor large. To the east and west, there are endless deserts and wastelands.

In populated areas, things are a bit better; there are grasslands, forests, farmland, houses, and fortified villages. In uninhabited areas, there's absolutely nothing. Occasionally, you might see some weeds growing in the desert, but they look weak and listless, as if they're about to wither away.

To the north lie the majestic snow-capped Tianshan Mountains, and the terrain gradually slopes down to the south. As the saying goes, water flows downhill, and when the snow melts in spring, the meltwater flows to lower-lying areas such as Yiwu and Rouyuanshu.

The well canal is an underground river that collects the meltwater and sends it flowing down the riverbed to provide drinking water for people and livestock along the way, and even to irrigate farmland and orchards.

It's tough enough, but with the environment like this, what else can we do?

If we allow the meltwater from the mountains to flow freely on the ground, the riverbeds will likely dry up in no time, resulting in a complete waste.

Wells and canals are very suitable for Gaochang because their terrain (high at the outer edge and low in the middle) is a perfect fit—the lowest point in mainland China is the Ayding Lake depression in Turpan, which is more than 150 meters below sea level.

"Leave them some things they don't need," Yang Qin instructed, then had his personal guards bring his horse over to wash and feed it.

The guards did as instructed.

They had little wealth and were reluctant to take any food, so they brought some farm tools, knives, shields, and even bows and arrows, saying, "Here you go."

There were traces of blood on the weapon, and several cuts on the blade. Judging from its design, it didn't seem to be from the Central Plains. I wonder where they got it from.

When the Fan family saw the equipment, their faces relaxed. They thanked them and accepted it, and then brought some fruits from a nearby house.

Upon seeing this, Yang Qin smashed a melon with his fist, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Sweet!"

After finishing the melons in a few bites, he exclaimed, "King Zhao is blessed; he will have more melons than he can eat in the future."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Fan clan sighed inwardly.

After eating melons for six years, they now crave water shield soup and perch sashimi even more.

How can the sandstorms of Gaochang compare to the magnificent scenery of Zhenze? "Does the Fan family still live together as a clan? How are they doing?" Yang Qin asked after finishing his second melon.

"The Fan clan members all live in close proximity, planting one crop of millet and wheat each year. Life is indeed austere, but when it comes to communal meals and sacrifices, no matter how far apart they live, they will gather together. The clan runs a private school, teaching the children the principles of loyalty, integrity, propriety, and righteousness. All the men are required to study literature and martial arts, practicing without ceasing. If there are orphans, widows, or disabled individuals, the clan will provide them with care and support. If there are outstanding individuals, the clan will do its utmost to cultivate them. There is no need for the general to worry about this," a burly man of about thirty replied.

The words were quite impolite, and there was a hint of resentment in them. Yang Qin could tell, so he just laughed heartily.

After laughing, he had someone bring over several suits of iron armor and dozens of leather armor sets, which he then threw directly to the Fan family members, saying, "You have backbone and ambition, just my type! These armors were obtained on the road, so I'm giving them to you."

After that, he turned around and left.

The Fan clan members stared blankly at Yang Qin's departing figure.

This is the kind of military man from the Great Liang Dynasty—overbearing yet somewhat arrogant. Even if you're subservient, he'll still look down on you; it's truly astounding.

******
Heading west from Rouyuan Garrison, one enters once again into an endless wilderness.

Gaochang is like this: the population is small and concentrated in a few places. Between two towns, there is often no one around, just sand and more sand. Occasionally, you can see herds of dirty cattle and sheep, munching on something in the sand dunes.

To be honest, the environment is better than the deep desert I crossed before. At least I can see some semi-dried riverbeds and lakes that are hard to tell whether they are saltwater or freshwater from time to time.

The journey between Rouyuan and Yiwu, a distance of 240 li, took them six full days, and they finally arrived on the Qixi Festival.

Three days later, the Black Spear Left Battalion and five thousand able-bodied men from Liangzhou also marched from the direction of Rouyuan Garrison and camped north of Yiwu City.

On the eleventh day, King Shao Xu of Zhao led five thousand men north from Yumen Pass across the vast desert and arrived in Yiwu.

More than 20,000 people from three groups gathered here, creating a spectacular scene of shouts and neighing horses.

Yang Qin knew that although Yiwu, a small place, had a certain amount of supplies stored up, it couldn't withstand the long-term consumption of so many troops—and there were more troops coming from Yumenguan and Yuanquan. If they didn't leave soon, the number of troops gathering here would only increase.

Therefore, on the eleventh day, the Left and Right Valiant Cavalry Guards, who had been resting for ten days, and a part of the Hezhou Light Cavalry took the lead in heading west.

One hundred and forty li west of Yiwu, there is another fortified town called "Anmin Garrison," which houses more than two hundred households of Hu people—most of whom are descendants of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom, as well as a group of six hundred families from the Lei clan of Nanchang and the Hua clan of Piling.

Anmin Garrison has a river and nine springs within its territory, with good water and grass for grazing horses and sheep, so the environment is actually quite good.

In fact, within 140 li west of Yiwu, the population gradually increases and forests appear one after another, creating a completely different world from the desolate landscape to the east and south.

Overall, the population increases and the environment improves as you move north and west from Dunhuang, with a vast desert stretching for hundreds of miles in between.

After leaving Anmin Garrison, we continued westward for three days through the desert, which the locals called "Ghostly Desert".

After passing the Ghostly Desert, the route is winding and complex, with hills, grasslands, sand dunes, springs, and saltwater marshes, stretching for over 700 li—the entire journey from Yiwu to Gaochang is about 900 li.

It took nearly half a month for the nearly two thousand cavalrymen to travel 900 li, and they finally arrived in Gaochang on July 28.

Tuoba Sigong was almost dumbfounded.

Before even engaging the enemy, they had already marched for two and a half months, and the morale of the entire army had been severely dampened.

If we then breach the enemy's city, it would be unreasonable not to allow our men to indulge themselves.

In fact, even Tuoba Sigong himself was very angry. The journey of three or four thousand miles was so long that he was dizzy from being exposed to the scorching sun. He ate a mouthful of sand, and when he urinated in the morning, it was so yellow!

I'm very angry and need to vent.

Let's just ignore the imperial territory and bear with it.

Next, heading southwest from Gaochang, he heard of a country called "Weixu," which was a vassal state of Yanqi. In fact, Tuoba Sigong was quite puzzled, as Yanqi was already a small country, yet it had a vassal state under it. How strange!

But never mind, Wei Xu did not surrender, and Yan Qi did not send envoys to pay tribute. This time, we must seize it.

Over the next few days, until the end of early August, a steady stream of people came from the direction of Yiwu, increasing from two thousand to eight thousand, then to ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand...

On the tenth day of the eighth month, the banner of the Gaochang expeditionary force was steadily hung above the former Gaochang royal palace.

Tuoba Sigong, acting as the vanguard, led his troops to garrison in Jiahe County.

Meanwhile, the envoy of the Later Cheshi Kingdom crossed the snow-capped mountains and arrived in Gaochang, reporting that the "Great Liang Royal Army" was advancing rapidly across the grasslands. In just over a month of fighting, they had successively defeated several Xiongnu tribes and fought a battle with Yujiulü's Rouran tribe. The Royal Army said it was a "great victory," while the Rouran said it was a "minor setback."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qin cursed under his breath.

This group set off a month later than them, but arrived a month earlier and achieved results.

Jealousy can completely change a person!

On August 12, he ordered Zhao Wei to be the vanguard commander, with Dong Le as his deputy, to lead 6,000 infantrymen of the Black Spear Left Battalion, 800 cavalrymen of the Left and Right Vanguard Cavalry, 3,000 barbarian soldiers of the Banshun, and 5,000 light cavalry from Liangzhou, carrying provisions and heading straight for Weixu.

On this same day, King Shao Xu of Zhao, accompanied by elders from the Yu, Qu, and Xu clans, arrived at the Gaochang Royal Palace, which had been closed for many years, and stood quietly watching.

(End of this chapter)