Start with a photographic memory and build a memory palace

Chapter 188 Yellow Sand Plateau

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Between Gaochang and Datang.

Separated by a vast desert of nearly 2,000 miles.

There is no water or grass on this land, the cold wind cuts like a knife, and the hot wind burns like fire, just like a natural barrier.

It was precisely because of this natural geographical advantage that Gaochang King Ju Wentai dared to challenge the Tang Dynasty.

In his opinion, if the Tang Dynasty sent a large army, it would be difficult to transport food; if it sent less than 30,000 troops, there would be nothing to worry about.

Gaochang Kingdom only needs to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and hold on to the capital. As long as they hold on for 20 days, the Tang troops will automatically retreat due to lack of food and grass.
This is the strategy of winning without fighting, and it is also the source of his confidence.

Among the 500 elite Turkic cavalrymen that Ashina Simo equipped for Wu Wen, the leader He Li was a man familiar with the terrain and routes of the Western Regions.

Under the leadership of He Li, Wu Wen and others easily crossed the desert and arrived in Gaochang.

Eighty miles west of Gaochang Royal City,

There is a small town called Tusha City.

This city was originally built by slowly expanding from a post station for caravans to rest, so it is not very big, and the city wall is only one person high, which can barely block the yellow sand and wind.

Wu Wen was wearing a long robe and a gauze covering his face at this moment, both to conceal his identity and to cope with the harsh local environment and climate.

He rode a horse and led the Turkic cavalry, who also concealed their identities, into Tusha City.

Such a well-organized team attracted the attention of everyone in the city as soon as they entered the city.

However, Wu Wen ignored these gazes and went straight to an inn.

A group of people were blocking the entrance to the inn. The innkeeper didn't dare to show up, for fear that they were the bandits who were roaming the area.

So he sent a man out to find out the truth.

Under the shopkeeper's mandatory order, a waiter immediately ran out to greet them and said to the leader Wu Wen with an apologetic look on his face:

"Sir, our store is small, I'm afraid we can't accommodate so many people like you!"

Wu Wen did not reply. He Li behind him answered for him: "We know this naturally. Only my son is staying at the inn. The others are camping nearby. You just need to bring some water and food."

Hearing this, the waiter finally felt relieved and immediately and enthusiastically led the horse and invited Wu Wen into the store.

After entering the inn, Wu Wen, under the guidance of the waiter, went directly to a guest room on the second floor.

He took off his veil, shook off the dust, and said to the waiter, "Just give me a pot of water."

"Good boy!"

The waiter heard this, turned around and left, and soon came back with a pot of water.

"Sir, please enjoy your meal."

Just as he was about to leave, Wu Wen called out to him.

"Sir, what do you need?" the waiter asked respectfully.

"Let me ask you, what is the place ten miles to the west?" Wu Wen asked indifferently.

"Sir, I can see that this is your first time here. Anyone who has been here knows that the Huangshayuan is ten miles away." The waiter replied with a smile.

"Tell me about this yellow sand plateau!" said Wu Wen.

When the waiter heard that Wu Wen wanted to ask about Huangshayuan, he immediately began to introduce it enthusiastically.

This yellow sand plateau is a unique geographical environment in Gaochang.

The top surface is flat and wide, but it looks like the earth has split open, with cracks and gullies all over it.

Once you step into it, it's like entering a maze, with crisscrossing connections. You can neither see the road ahead nor find the way back.

Therefore, this place has always been untouched and few people would set foot in it.

After listening to the waiter's story, Wu Wen waved his hand and asked him to leave.

The reason why he asked this question was because his target was this yellow sand plateau.

According to the information he obtained, the underground space was right beneath the yellow sand plateau.

However, because he did not ask enough details at the beginning and the people he asked did not answer clearly enough, Wu Wen only knew that the location was under the Huangshayuan and the entrance was in the southeast corner of the Huangshayuan, but he was not sure where it was exactly.

Therefore, if Wu Wen wants to enter, he still needs to search based on the known information.

Rest overnight.

The next morning.

Taking advantage of the cool temperature, Wu Wen led the cavalry to Huangshayuan.

Arrived at the yellow sand plateau.

He rode up the nearest sand dune.

At first glance, just as the innkeeper described last night, Huangshayuan is a place with a flat top, but it is fragmented and full of criss-crossing gullies.

He looked towards the southeast. Although he knew the approximate location of the entrance, this place was too big.

So he rode down the sand dune and led everyone to the southeast corner.

Climb to a high point again and look around.

The entrance cannot be found by visual observation alone.

"Spread out and search for the entrance!"

Following Wu Wen's order, five hundred cavalrymen dispersed and began to search for the entrance.

After waiting for a long time, until the sun was high in the sky, none of the five hundred people found the entrance.

However, based on their respective exploration findings, they compiled a topographic map.

Wu Wen held the topographic map in his hands, looked at it carefully, compared it with the surrounding environment, and conducted an in-depth analysis.

The formation of desert gullies is mainly due to three reasons: crustal movement, wind erosion and water erosion.

From the overall situation, the reason why Huangshayuan is in this state is mainly due to the movement of the earth's crust.

After years of wind and sand erosion and water erosion, it has become what it is today.

As the saying goes: The inner meaning of the earth is manifested in its shape!
Since there is a peculiar underground space under this harsh yellow sand plateau, it can definitely be seen from the external terrain.

Therefore, Wu Wen used Feng Shui to analyze it.

The flow of wind is affected by the terrain and will form places where it gathers, which are called "wind gathering places".

Water is also guided by the terrain and gathers in specific places, which are called "water gathering places". The points where Feng Shui gathers are Feng Shui treasure caves.

He stood on a high place and looked around according to the topographic map in his hand.

Simulate the flow of wind and the direction of water in your mind, and imagine how they flow into the yellow sand plateau.

The crisscrossing gullies on the yellow sand plateau are like natural tracks, guiding the winding flow of wind and water.

However, the result was beyond Wu Wen's expectations.

Because there is actually more than one place where feng shui converges here.

Just like the undercurrents in the winding waters, the whirlpools of Feng Shui are scattered in every corner, large and small.

They influence and connect with each other, but are also separate from each other.

Wu Wen couldn't figure out what kind of feng shui situation this place was.

First come to the nearest Feng Shui gathering place.

Seeing this, the accompanying cavalry also followed.

When we arrived at the location, we saw a platform rising from the ground, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.

Wu Wen stood on the platform. There were several cracks winding around him, with no bottom in sight.

"You guys, go down and take a look!"

Without waiting for Wu Wen's order, He Li ordered several Turkic cavalrymen to explore along the crack.

"Yes!" Several people responded and entered the crack.

Soon, one of them came up and reported: "My Lord, there is indeed an entrance below, but it is too deep and we don't know where it leads to."

Hearing this, Wu Wen walked forward, looked down at the crack under his feet, then took a light leap and jumped in.

He Li and others followed closely behind.

The crack was very narrow at first, only enough for one person to pass through, but the further you go down, the wider the passage becomes.

You can even see some traces of human excavation, which are recessed footholds carved out of the rocks to facilitate vertical walking.

After walking down for several hundred meters in a winding manner, the sky was no longer visible through the crack above our heads, and we had penetrated deep into the mountain.

In the darkness, He Li and others took out fire sticks to provide illumination.

Going further ahead, there is a tunnel leading deeper into the mountain.

Just then, one of the people who had gone down to explore the way returned and met Wu Wen.

He immediately said, "My Lord, I found it. The underground space is ahead."

"Lead the way!" Wu Wen ordered.

The man walked in front, and Wu Wen followed closely behind.

After walking a few hundred meters, they knew they were going deep underground.

Enter a huge underground space.

Wu Wen looked back and saw that the passage they came from was a crack in the wall of the mountain behind him.

Wu Wen reached out and took out the steel mace from his waist, and began to strike the rock wall beside him rhythmically.

Only the sound of "clang clang clang" was heard.

Wu Wen had a clear understanding of the situation nearby.

This is a huge underground crack space, extending from front to back and from depth to beyond his detection range.

As the people behind him arrived one after another, Wu Wen identified a direction and led them forward.

"Clang clang clang!"

Walk and tap along the way.

Wu Wen was not afraid of disturbing the people who came here. If they really showed up, they could lead him the way.

After walking about a hundred steps, Wu Wen suddenly stopped because he found a cave in front of him when he explored.

"My lord, what's wrong?" He Li, who was standing behind him and saw him stop, asked in confusion.

"Let someone go to the front and take a look." Wu Wen said.

After hearing this, He Li nodded and asked someone to go forward to scout the way.

Not long after, the man came running back in a hurry, and said excitedly: "My Lord, there is a cave ahead, and the cave is full of gold, silver and treasures!"

Hearing this, Wu Wen frowned slightly. His purpose of coming here was not to look for treasure.

He took people to check it out. When they arrived at the cave, under the light of the fire, they saw that the entire huge cave was filled with all kinds of exquisite gemstones and artifacts piled everywhere, and there was a small hill made of gold sand in the middle.

Seeing so much wealth, everyone's eyes became red and they looked greedy.

"Humph~"

Wu Wen suddenly snorted coldly. The sound was like a cold wind that blew through everyone's mind, instantly making their hair stand on end. They were terrified and their greedy desires disappeared immediately.

Wu Wen picked up a golden scepter nearby. Judging from the carved patterns on it, he could tell that this should be a treasure hiding place of Gaochang Kingdom.

He threw it aside and said, "Come back and get it when you have time later!"

Having said that, Wu Wen took the lead and left.

Everyone looked at the wealth in front of them, intimidated by Wu Wen's majesty, and did not dare to have any other thoughts, so they followed Wu Wen and left.

Continuing forward, after walking a few hundred steps, Wu Wen suddenly stopped again.

This time, he did not discover any cave, but looked down at the place where the steel mace in his hand had just hit.

I saw a thin layer of mycelium on the rock wall, like gauze, covering it.

Wu Wen looked down and saw that the raised hyphae were as thin as optical fibers. Looking from the top to the inside, he could see a little bit of fluorescence flashing faintly.

He stretched out the steel mace in his hand and gently moved one of the fluorescent hyphae.

The mycelium was like the sensitive tentacles of some living creature. Once it came into contact with external force, it would immediately shrink, revealing an instinctive avoidance reaction.

But after a moment, it stretched out curiously again, as if trying to find out what that brief contact had just been made of.

……

(End of this chapter)