Start with a photographic memory and build a memory palace

Chapter 208 Loulan
……

Hou Junji issued the order.

The army was then started like a huge machine, with men and horses surging in a huge momentum.

This large-scale mobilization of troops and horses made the people of Gaochang panic. As people of a fallen country, they now lived in the shadow of the Tang army all the time, as if they would be massacred at any time.

In a tavern in the city, Cheng Chumo was enjoying delicious food and drinking with his subordinates.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly hurried in and whispered in his ear.

After listening to the soldier's report, the smile on Cheng Chumo's face suddenly disappeared. He put down the wine bowl in his hand and stood up seriously.

Seeing this, the subordinates around him immediately stopped drinking and eating, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Go back to camp!" Cheng Chumo growled.

Everyone realized that an emergency had occurred, and immediately followed Cheng Chumo with serious expressions, quickly leaving the tavern and returning to the military camp.

After returning to the military camp, Cheng Chumo asked the deputy general with a serious expression: "Have you found out the news?"

"Yes!" The deputy general nodded solemnly.

"This is troublesome!" Cheng Chumo sighed in his heart.

The chief steward wanted to send out a large army to surround and kill a group of Turks. Others might not know where these people came from, but how could Cheng Chumo not know?

However, what Cheng Chumo was worried about was not whether Wu Wen would be in danger under the siege of the army, but that Wu Wen would counterattack and kill the general manager Hou Junji.

Maybe other people have only heard some rumors and know that Wu Wen is very powerful, but they have no idea how powerful he is.

However, Cheng Chumo, who had once followed Wu Wen in battle, knew best how powerful he was.

"The identity of Marquis Dingxiang cannot be exposed, and nothing can happen to the chief steward, so I must stop what happens next!" Cheng Chumo made up his mind secretly.

Thinking of this, he immediately led a team of followers to find Wu Wen as quickly as possible.
-
The sun sets over the western mountains, and the setting sun is like blood.

Under a sand dune in the desert, Wu Wenzhen planned to stop and rest with everyone else and continue their journey tomorrow.

Just then, they had just set up a tent when they suddenly saw a group of cavalry galloping towards them in the distance.

Seeing this, no one showed any panic on their faces.

Now, with a Marquis like Wu Wen who is as god-like as a devil, they will not feel nervous or afraid even if they encounter any enemy again.

So, everyone just picked up their weapons, walked forward and stood in a row.

This team of cavalry was none other than Cheng Chumo who arrived at high speed.

When He Li saw that the leader was Cheng Chumo, he raised his hand and signaled everyone to put down their weapons.

"Where is the Marquis?" Cheng Chumo asked He Li anxiously.

"The Marquis is resting in the tent." He Li replied.

Hearing the answer, Cheng Chumo dismounted and walked towards the tent alone.

Arriving in front of the tent, he called softly, "My Lord..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Wu Wen's voice came from inside: "Come in!"

Cheng Chumo opened the curtain and entered the tent, only to see Wu Wen sitting cross-legged on a sheepskin blanket, with a little girl named Caitong beside him, who was eating food.

"What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?" Wu Wen asked calmly.

Cheng Chumo bowed and replied, "My Lord, you can't go any further."

"Why?" Wu Wen raised his head slightly and looked at him and asked.

Cheng Chumo continued to answer: "The chief steward has mobilized a large army to surround and kill you. If you go any further, you will be surrounded by the army."

Hearing this, Wu Wen said calmly again: "Is that all?"

Seeing that Wu Wen's mood did not change after hearing the news, Cheng Chumo couldn't help but feel depressed.

Because he knew the Marquis of Dingxiang in front of him too well.

When encountering problems, the calmer he is, the more decisive his solution will be.

At this moment, Cheng Chumo could imagine that if the Marquis of Dingxiang continued to move forward and encountered the encirclement of the army led by the general Hou Junji, he would definitely rush into the army, kill Hou Junji directly, and then leave.

In this way, the chief steward would die, and the identity of Dingxiang Hou would certainly be exposed. This kind of result was something Cheng Chumo did not want to see.

Therefore, Cheng Chumo immediately spoke up and said, "My Lord, I know a way. Although it is a little longer, it can bypass the army and leave the Western Regions smoothly."

Hearing this, Wu Wenshang glanced at Cheng Chumo, and after a moment, he asked, "Which way?"

"Loulan!" Cheng Chumo replied.

There are two roads from the Central Plains to the Western Regions: one is the northern route through Gaochang; the other is the southern route through Loulan.

The Yanqi Kingdom came into conflict with the Gaochang Kingdom because it wanted to repair the ancient Loulan Road, which led to a series of events afterwards.

After hearing Cheng Chumo's answer, Wu Wen naturally knew that his purpose was to prevent him from confronting Hou Junji's army.

Thinking that his identity was indeed not easy to be exposed, Wu Wen nodded and agreed.

Seeing this, Cheng Chumo immediately took out the map he had prepared long ago from his arms and handed it to Wu Wen.

Wu Wen took it, looked at it, and then called out, "He Li!"

Hearing the sound, He Li, who was guarding outside the tent, came in immediately.

"My Lord!" He Li responded.

Wu Wen handed him the map in his hand and ordered: "Change the route, we will leave from the south road."

He Li took the map, took a quick look at it, and followed the order without asking any questions.

"Yes, Lord!" He Li replied.

Seeing that the problem was solved, Cheng Chumo breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said goodbye to Wu Wen and left quickly.

Although Wu Wen wanted to take another route, Cheng Chumo also had to make some secret arrangements to ensure that the army would not encounter Wu Wen.

Rest overnight.

The next morning.

After Wu Wen and others had packed up, they changed their marching route according to the map instructions given by Cheng Chumo.

—

After several days of trekking.

Wu Wen and his party finally arrived at the "Youze" marked on the map, where Loulan was located. Youze is also known as Yanze and Peacock Sea.

The Turks called it Lop Nur, which means a lake where many waters converge.

Wu Wen looked at the vast expanse of lake in front of him, and a feeling of emotion welled up in his heart.

Because to him, this place also has a loud and familiar name: Lop Nur, the Sea of Death.

But the scene before us is hard to imagine that this lake that looks like the sea will become a deadly desert in the future.

Go south along Youze.

About a hundred miles.

It is the ruins of Loulan that once disappeared.

However, when Wu Wen arrived here, he found that the actual situation was very different from what he had expected.

Because what appeared before his eyes was not an abandoned site, but a prosperous earthen city.

"He Li!" Wu Wen called softly.

He Li immediately stepped forward to respond.

"Send someone to find out the situation." Wu Wen ordered.

"Yes!" He Li took the order and assigned two cavalrymen to investigate.

The two men rode away on horseback. After a long time, they returned and reported to Wu Wen what they had learned.

"My Lord, this is indeed Loulan."

One of the cavalrymen reported:

"The reason why this city exists now is because Yanqi wanted to open up the southern route, so it was built not long ago."

Wu Wen nodded slightly and kicked the horse's belly lightly. The horse under him then ran towards the small town, followed closely by He Li and others.

After entering the city, Wu Wen found that although the city was not big, it was extremely prosperous.

There are all kinds of shops lined up with a wide variety of goods, and merchants from all over the world are shuttling back and forth in the city.

Seeing this scene, Wu Wen couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Sure enough, opening up a trade route is a golden road, and this deal made by Yanqi Kingdom is worth it.

Arriving at the city center, Wu Wen finally saw some ruins of Loulan.

It was a small crescent-shaped lake with an island in the center. On the island stood a dilapidated palace that had obviously been abandoned for many years.

Wu Wen stopped and stared at the ruins in front of him, a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

Based on what he saw and heard along the way, as well as the scene before him, he was curious about how Loulan disappeared.
War can be ruled out because if the country was destroyed by others, there should be records in history books.

According to rumors, Loulan disappeared overnight, as if it was buried by a huge sandstorm.

"Let's find a place to stay first!"

He led everyone to find an inn that looked nice to stay in.

The inn here often receives passing caravans, so Wu Wen's group of 500 people can all be accommodated.

In the guest room, Wu Wen opened the window and looked at the street view outside.

After observing for a while, he walked out of the room, came to the lobby of the inn, and found a seat by the window.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?" the waiter came up and asked with a smile.

"Give me some of your specialties to try," Wu Wen replied.

"okay!"

The waiter agreed and left. Not long after, he brought some side dishes and a pot of wine and placed them on Wu Wen's table.

"Sir, please enjoy your meal," said the waiter.

Wu Wen picked up the chopsticks and took a few bites to taste. Although the food was not very delicious, it had a unique flavor.

After tasting it, he put down his chopsticks again and turned to look at the street scene outside.

Just when Wu Wen was immersed in his inner world and thinking about a problem, suddenly a person sat down opposite him in a very familiar manner.

Wu Wen turned to look at him, only to see that the man was dressed strangely.

Judging from his attire, he should be a fortune teller.

He was wearing a tattered Taoist robe, holding a banner with "Iron Mouth Divination" written on it in his hand, a string of prayer beads around his neck, an abacus around his waist, an eye patch covering one eye, a crooked mouth with broken teeth, and a smile on his face as he looked at Wu Wen.

At the same time, he grabbed the food on Wu Wen's table and started eating.

Wu Wen looked at him, but didn't react. He didn't pay any attention to him and continued to look out the window.

After the fortune teller had eaten and drunk his fill, he smiled and said to Wu Wen, "I'll eat your meal. I don't have any money to give you, so I'll just tell you a fortune!"

Having said that, regardless of Wu Wentong's disagreement, he took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and threw them on the table.

There was a rustling sound and copper coins fell.

Wu Wenzheng turned around to see what tricks the other party was going to play.
However, the scattered coins on the table had not yet stopped and the hexagram had not yet formed, but the other party raised his hand and waved his sleeves, and all the coins on the table disappeared and went into his sleeves.

Just by this one move, Wu Wen realized that this seemingly ordinary fortune teller in front of him was no ordinary person.

"Aren't you going to tell me my fortune? Why did you put it away before the hexagram is even out?" Wu Wen asked.

However, the fortune teller stood up and walked towards the door, chanting as he walked:

"Before the hexagram is divinated, the good and bad fortunes have already been played out in one's mind;

The body has not yet moved, but the fortune telling has already been done, and it is impossible to be complete;
Before the journey begins, the foreboding suffering is unsettled;
Things are not over yet, and disasters and blessings are still before our eyes. "

"Boy, sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing. Leave quickly!" The fortune teller's voice sounded outside the door.

Seeing the other person's figure disappear from his sight, Wu Wen couldn't help but frown slightly.

Who was the other party? Why did he let me leave in this way? Did he see that I was deducing the terrain of Loulan?
When Wu Wen saw the ruins of Loulan and was curious about the reasons for its disappearance, he had already begun to deduce in his mind.

Based on various information, he discovered that the location of Loulan was extremely special.

By observing the phenomena in Youze and the information marked on the map.

He found that Youze was like a fish, and Loulan was located right at the eye of the fish!
……

(End of this chapter)