The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 285 Hell on Earth - Lop Nur (Part 1)
The next day, evening.

The 50,000 elite troops led by Ali finally arrived at their destination within the allotted time.

The scout leader who came to meet them was reporting the situation to him:

"General Apak, fifty li to the east is Lop Nur! We have been stationed here for more than forty days. In order to help you better understand Lop Nur, we have invited a chieftain of the Lop tribe from the grassland tribes upstream of the Jishu River to come to you."

Upon hearing this, Dan Ali was overjoyed and dropped his riding whip, shouting, "Please come in quickly, please come in quickly!"

"Yes, General Apak!"

Seeing that their general still had such enthusiasm after a day of marching, the guards asked in bewilderment:
"Apak (General), what kind of tribe is the Rob tribe?"

There are forty or fifty different ethnic groups in the Western Regions, but I have never heard of the Lop Nur tribe.

"The Lop Nur are a branch of the Uyghur people. Their ancestors lived in Lop Nur, where they neither cultivated crops nor raised livestock, but relied solely on fishing for a living. To truly understand Lop Nur, one must look to the Lop Nur people."

This bodyguard was a typical case of all brawn and no brains; he was completely confused and kept scratching his head.

"The name Lop Nur means 'lake formed by many waters' in Mongolian. You said the Lop people made a living by fishing in the lake, so where have all those lakes gone?"

this problem.

The answer came from the chief of the Lop tribe, who was brought by the scout leader and was dressed in a hempen robe with tanned skin.

The old clan chief gazed in the direction of Lop Nur, a strange light in his eyes:
"That was more than two thousand years ago. There were five rivers flowing through the upper reaches of Lop Nur, namely: Jishu River, Kunqi River, Cherchen River, Shu River and Duxiang River.

All five major rivers converge in Lop Nur, and that desert is like a sea.

Our Lop Nur ancestors were born and raised here, where there is an abundance of fish and birds.
In the past, this place was home to the Loulan Kingdom, a city with many citizens and great wealth.

Merchants from various western countries and tribes would ride camels and horses through Loulan, then across Lop Nur, and eastward to the Central Plains to trade with the Han Chinese.

Lop Nur's generosity, however, did not teach the people living around this sea to cherish the value of water.

The nobles of Loulan would not leave their homes without bathing, and often bathed three to four times a day.

Later, the sun god couldn't stand it anymore and cursed Lop Nur!
The river upstream of Lop Nur changed direction and stopped flowing into Lop Nur.

Gradually, Lop Nur dried up and lost its water.

"We, the Lop people, could only move along the upstream river, while the capital of the Loulan Kingdom was buried in this yellow sand."

The elites, hearing a storyteller for the first time, were stunned.

What curse of the sun god?
They don't believe it!

I've only figured out one thing: there was definitely water here before!

Afterwards, Dan Ali proposed that he would ask the chieftain to be a guide for the army, and offered him a large reward.

To everyone's surprise, Chief Rob, who had just been so enthusiastic, changed his expression immediately upon hearing the invitation, shaking his head in terror:
“We dare not go! It’s a hell on earth cursed by the sun god. Our ancestors decreed that as long as the upstream river does not flow into Lop Nur, the Lop people will never set foot in this place again in their lives.”

Hell on earth?

It's terrifying to even hear about.

With a "whoosh," Ali's personal guards drew their swords.

He held the gleaming blade to the old man's neck.

He threatened fiercely, "Old man, you dare not go!"

The chieftain of the Lop tribe didn't even frown.

He remained silent in the face of death threats.

He thought to himself: If I die here, at least my clansmen can help me collect my body. But if I go into Lop Nur, I will die without a burial place.

The attitude of the Lop tribe chief made Dan Ali realize that this trip might not be as smooth as he had imagined.

He then summoned the scout leader again.

"How many groups entered Lop Nur West? How many days ago did they enter? Were they required to leave markers along the way?"

"General Apak, ten teams have already entered. The first team has been in for exactly one month according to the time. After that, another team will enter every three days!"

The first six groups of people, it's unclear whether they were captured by the Han army or lost their way in the salt and sand. The last four groups to enter still have news coming back; three days ago, they reported that they would soon be able to cross Lop Nur.

They marked the way they went, but the sand dunes changed rapidly, and it was common for them to lose track of things!

Upon hearing this, the guard raised his eyebrows, slapped the dark face of the Lop tribe chief with the belly of his sword, and said smugly:

"Old man, did you hear me? We can still get across Lop Nur without you leading the way!"

Chief of the Lobu tribe: "."

It's hard to persuade the damn ghost!

The clan chief's words, to some extent, resonated with Dan Ali and the others.

In the past, if they had encountered such uncooperative foreigners, they would have long since become victims of the guards' swords.

Perhaps it was because they feared seeing blood was unlucky.

Or perhaps they believe that the Lop people have some connection with Lop Nur.

In short, the clan chief is still alive.

The scouts camped here for more than a month, not only constantly gathering intelligence from the front but also preparing for the main army behind them.

The Lop people found it while searching for freshwater in the upper reaches of the Jishu River.

In addition, they dried a lot of fish.
Even with all this preparation.

When these 50,000 elite troops stepped into Lop Nur, they still felt the uniqueness of this desert.

There are none of the trees, grass, or reptiles that are common in the desert here.

It was eerily quiet.

As far as the eye can see, there are sand dunes of varying heights.

They followed the markers left by the scouts and had traveled less than ten miles.

Suddenly, a series of exclamations came from the leader at the front.

"Get up, get up!"

"Hey, give me a hand, quick!"

"Return, return"

It's too late to retreat!
The nearby horse archers were completely terrified.

Right under their noses.

In just a few breaths, the rolling yellow sand swallowed up dozens of people and horses!

In an attempt to save people, he ran in but ended up getting caught in the quagmire himself.

terrible!

It's terrifying!

Living sand swallows life!

Lop Nur truly lives up to its reputation as a living hell.

When Dan Ali heard the report, he couldn't help but clench his fists.

But he still had to appease everyone:
“We are now on the edge of Lop Nur. The further we go into the lake, the harder the salt crust becomes. Let’s slow down now and speed up when we reach the harder parts.”

They were given a rude awakening, and their marching speed became pitifully slow afterward.

Furthermore, the distance between the horses is several times greater than before.

despite this.

On the first day they entered Lop Nur, quicksand claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
(End of this chapter)