The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 587 I want to see the border of the Tang Dynasty! I want to... go see it for the general who painted me back then!

Shen Le looked at the map with a worried expression.

There were heads swaying around me... oh no, there were no people, no heads at all, just a group of friends huddled together, pointing and gesturing at the screen:

This place is huge!

It's so big, and so scattered...

It feels like we're about to cross the desert...

"Sob... Shen Le, I'm sorry, I really can't go to this place with you..."

Along with the last sentence came a trembling, wave-like swaying beneath his feet. Yun Kun swayed apologetically, bobbing back and forth:
It's too dry there... absolutely too dry, there's no water at all, I can't exert my full strength there... So, I'll continue training here, and you can take the compass and the scroll with you?

Yun Kun's military training and research in inland lakes have been ongoing for several months.

Now, he can open the barrier in time and launch various types of ammunition, but he is not yet very skilled at controlling the impact point...

As it shrinks, the spatial barrier gradually distorts, causing missiles, rockets, and all sorts of other things to appear in inexplicable places around it.

In other words, with the compass and the scroll present, it can see the landing points of these things in time, and thus continuously adjust its capabilities...

"Ah, no need, I'll find it myself." Shen Le gently touched the table beside her.
"Your communication with the map pointed me to the exact location, which has already helped me a lot. Your training is very expensive, and although it's funded by the state, we should still try our best to save the country money, shouldn't we?"

Yun Kun, unwilling to give up, began to shake again. The whole room spun around, and the pen rolled from the table to the floor, and then from one end of the floor to the other.

The little creatures that could fly all took off, while those that couldn't, like Zhong Xiaomei, quickly gathered up the clay figurines around her and complained repeatedly.
[Yun Kun, take it easy! Think about us! I almost fell to the ground!]

[Yun Kun, don't worry, Shen Le won't fail to find his target.] Lan Zhuang gently reassured him:
When Shen Le was still in Zhuxi Town, he was able to find the parts that were looking for me all the way to the capital. When searching for the Buddha head, he was even more capable of searching all the way to Europe…

It's just a desert. He can fly, he can teleport through ley lines, and he has a place to live. He'll definitely be fine!

【But……】

The compass needle swayed back and forth. Working with Yun Kun was excellent; it allowed him to fully utilize his strengths.

However, being with Shen Le, giving him directions and pointing him in the right direction, is also very good, as it can be of great help to Shen Le.

Most importantly, he has seen the ocean for a very long time, but he has never seen the desert!
I also want to go and see the desert...

The scroll suddenly rolled itself up, and before Shen Le could scold it, "Slow down, don't hurt yourself," it quickly unfolded again.
The person I drew always wanted to see those places, but never got to go... Loulan, Kucha, Yanqi, Shule, Luntai...

He longed to see it, he wanted to see it even on his deathbed...

However, until his death, those places, those places written in poems and prose and praised for thousands of years, never again came under the actual control of the dynasty...

As descendants, we can only read those poems, some full of vigor and others filled with sorrow and longing, and silently wonder what Luntai looked like, and what Yumen Pass looked like...

Shen Le: "..."

Special Affairs Bureau, you've gone too far!

Although I don't know the exact location of this base—it's top secret—I do know its general area!

This place is less than 100 kilometers from Yanqi and only 400-500 kilometers from Kucha. Aside from doing experiments every day, haven't you ever thought of taking the little ones on a trip?!
He looked up at the camera, clearly displeased. Immediately, an agent from the Special Affairs Bureau pressed the communication button and rushed to the microphone on the other end of the line.

“We don’t know! We don’t know they want to go out! They never tell us! They have their own way of communicating, and they basically don’t use voice messages.”

Shen Le fell silent. He gently stroked the exquisite and warm sandalwood scroll, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Next door, the Special Affairs Bureau personnel he was working with, along with the researchers, clung to the handrails on the wall, struggling to steady themselves as they peered over:

"So, will those two go with Shen Le?"

"I don't know... I just hope Yun Kun doesn't follow... My recent research has just made some progress, and I'm hoping to try it a few more times..."

"I actually hope Yun Kun can come along on this trip, so I can take a vacation too... Staying cooped up in the Gobi Desert every day is making me all withered and dry..."

"There's nothing we can do, that's what we're in. The conditions are pretty good now, at least we have air conditioning, computers, fresh fruits and vegetables, and we can even play some games."

Think of our predecessors, the first group of people to come to the experimental base next door..."

That was a time when there was nothing to eat, no decent accommodations, and water had to be consumed sparingly. For decades, they lived in anonymity, unable to see their families.

Even though the country had done its best to provide the best conditions, and even the military had saved their rations to send them meat, the basic conditions remained the same, and life was still incredibly difficult...

"There's no other way; secrecy is the most important thing. Working in a bustling area is comfortable, but... you don't want to end up like that expert from the Middle East, suddenly having a wild idea, do you?"

Everyone murmured amongst themselves, each offering their own opinion. After quite some time, Shen Le finally emerged, carrying a compass in one hand and a box of ancient paintings in the other, slowly walking out.

"Um, I'll do it as quickly as possible. Find the items as soon as possible, and bring them back as soon as possible... If we complete the mission within ten days, it won't take up too much of your time, right?"

【No!】Inside the ship's cabin, the ubiquitous loudspeakers immediately emitted a synthesized electronic voice:
【Take them out to play! Play a lot! Have a good time! When they come back, have them play for me! Then I'll show you my new tricks!】

So what new tricks does Yun Kun have up his sleeve? Shen Le was extremely curious. However, no matter how many times he asked, Yun Kun wouldn't utter a single word, only urging him on:
Hurry! Hurry! Go and come back quickly!

Then I'll just have to go and come back quickly... at least I have to go quickly. Shen Le got into the Special Affairs Bureau's SUV and sped away.

Crossing the Gobi Desert, traversing mountains, speeding onto the national highway, and rushing westward along the scattered oases on the edge of the desert: "Ah...it's so far...how did the owner of that armor and his comrades manage to endure thirty years here?"

Anyway, he can only come to this kind of place for fun. If you asked him to stay there long-term, he wouldn't be able to stand it for even a month.

Just kidding, what would it feel like to drink water that's both salty and bitter, whether it's tap water or boiled water from a kettle?
What does it feel like to take a shower with water from a hotel tap and feel dry and itchy all over?
What does it feel like to wake up in the morning with a dry nose and throat, and then have a nosebleed after just a slight blow?
He even had to retreat back to the old house, take a thorough bath with water drawn from Huang Yutong's old well, and then find the nearly expired lotion and rub it all over his body!
And the Tang army back then... let alone the Tang army back then, even the legions stationed in the northwest frontier had far worse conditions than they do now...

Shen Le leaned against the window, gazing into the distance. The national highway the off-road vehicle was traveling on was not the famous Duku Highway, the magnificent road that is closed for eight months of the year and offers a different experience every day and every ten miles.
However, the scenery seen from the vehicle was magnificent and breathtaking. To the right of the vehicle stretched an endless expanse of Gobi Desert, with yellow sand stretching as far as the eye could see and pebbles rustling in the wind.
At the edge of the Gobi Desert, majestic mountains rise high, stretching to the horizon. Looking into the distance, the mountain peaks are even capped with snow, marking a halt to human footsteps.

To his left... to his left, there was a vast expanse of emerald green, a soft carpet that stretched all the way to the distance beyond which he could no longer see.

Shen Le focused his eyes and looked closely. The emerald green was not trees, but square grids of flat, open farmland!

"What is this? Why can so many crops be grown here?"

Shen Le pointed to the left front in surprise. The driver glanced over quickly and replied smoothly:

"This is a planting base! Further south is Bosten Lake, the largest freshwater lake in our province;
Water drawn from the lake and water drawn down from the mountains flows along the North Main Canal throughout this area—wheat, corn, cotton, medicinal herbs, grapes—everything can be grown, and they're thriving!

His voice was filled with pride. As a local, he had witnessed this land grow bit by bit.
From a county town the size of a fingernail, where "one cassette player could be listened to throughout the county, and one cigarette could be used to stroll through the entire town," it has transformed into a city surrounded by green trees and gardens.
From only being able to grow a little millet, countless cash crops have been added:
What can millet do? It can't do anything except fill their stomachs!
Only cash crops, such as cotton, Chinese medicinal herbs, industrial chili peppers, and industrial tomatoes, can increase the income of citizens and enable them to live a good life!
Moreover, water, precious water, even if it is next to the largest freshwater lake in the entire province, must not be wasted too much.

So over the years, they have spent far too much effort on the North Main Canal, the branch canals extending from the North Main Canal, and various precision water supply systems!

"very nice……"

Shen Le murmured softly. "How wonderful. Now, this land can support so many people, so many fields..."

If such construction capabilities had existed back then, and if it had been able to support so many people, then the Anxi Protectorate and the troops stationed in the Four Garrisons of Anxi would likely not have been able to...

Unfortunately, it didn't happen, unfortunately, it couldn't. The off-road vehicle sped westward, the air growing drier and drier, and the sandstorms increasing.

After passing Yanqi, we sped through the narrow valley between the Tianshan and Altun Mountains. Although we could see greenery on both sides, there was only endless desert stretching forward under our feet.

Looking up, you can still see the Iron Gate Pass, the beacon tower atop the mountain, and the once majestic and imposing pass...

Ah, how beautiful...

The scroll unfurled with a whoosh. A clear light reflected upon it, and soon, within the light and shadow, majestic mountains and a fortified pass, though dilapidated, still magnificent and imposing, appeared:
Such a city... such a pass...

The painter exclaimed in rapt attention:

[As long as a small team of a hundred or so men is stationed here, the enemy won't be able to get past! Hundreds or even thousands of people won't be able to cross this line!]

Only at this moment did Shen Le not help but sigh, realizing that the original owner of the scroll, the military general who guarded the border for decades, had truly had a profound influence on it:
How is your exclamation any different from saying, "This coffee shop is really great; if you put a machine gun on top, it could control two streets"?
That means he already has a wife. If he didn't have a wife, he wouldn't be able to fool a girlfriend with this kind of statement!
"This pass isn't as easy as you think." Unexpectedly, Zhong Xiaomei chimed in:

This place is too dry, with little water, and crops can't grow. Relying on supplies from the rear, if even one person's supply line drops, this small pass will be doomed.

If it were me, I would send a force to besiege and attack day and night, with catapults bombarding the area relentlessly. We could break through in three days!

It was unclear which clay figure within Zhong Xiaomei's body was speaking. Shen Le guessed it was probably a veteran who had fought against the Yuan army and experienced the events at Diaoyu City. The scroll was very displeased:
【you! 】

What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?

"Don't fight!" Shen Le thought, exasperated. He patted the painting scroll, then the pen holder.

"Let's not talk about that now. What exactly is the new pattern that Yun Kun mentioned in the painting? Is it related to the video you just showed?"

【hey-hey……】

The scroll suddenly rolled itself up. It swayed left and right.
[I can't say! I'll let Yun Kun tell you himself later! He's capable of much more impressive things than I am!]

Since it wouldn't tell, Shen Le chose not to ask. Leaving the Iron Gate Pass and heading west, the valley ahead grew wider and more magnificent.

Finally, Shen Le and the little ones beside him looked at the snow-covered slopes to their right, stretching almost to the mountainside, and beneath that snow extending to the Gobi Desert on both sides of the road, and exclaimed in unison:
"Ah... Luntai..."

In September, the wind howls through Luntai at night, and the riverbed is filled with boulders as large as buckets.

The east gate of Luntai sent you to go to Tianshan Road with snow.

Lying stiff in a lonely village, I do not grieve for myself, but still think of defending the frontier for my country.

The poet had seen Luntai with his own eyes and served in the campaign there; the lyricist had never been to Luntai but longed for it in his heart...

Without the majestic Tianshan Mountains and the continuous white snow, it would be impossible to create this magnificent and austere scene that poets can never forget.
Without the snowmelt irrigating the land, it would be impossible for such a city, capable of housing an army, to grow at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains...

"What was Luntai like back then...?"

Shen Le murmured. The ancient city, beacon towers, and various ruins around it outlined its appearance, but none of them could fully depict its appearance;
To see the former Four Garrisons of Anxi, it seems the only way is through the memories of the armored warriors...

"Almost there, almost there." The driver stepped on the gas again. From Luntai to Kuqa, which was once the capital of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, it's only a little over 100 kilometers;

The reason why Kucha was able to become the location of the Anxi Protectorate was because of its location, which connected the two sides of the desert:
The Hotan River meanders through the desert, connecting Yanqi and Shule on the north side of the desert with Khotan on the south side...

"Head south! into the desert! What we're looking for is in the desert... well, it's spread over a huge area, hundreds of miles in radius, we've got a long way to go..."

(End of this chapter)