Hangu Pass! Since ancient times, it has been called the first pass in the world.
Of course, it was Lao Tzu who really made it famous...
Um, the Lao Tzu mentioned here is not Lao Tzu!
In the past, I left Hangu Pass in the west and traveled three thousand miles to the east with the Purple Qi. In response to the instructions of the city guard, I left behind an eternal masterpiece, the Tao Te Ching, and was never seen again! Later, some people said that he went all the way to India, practiced the way of inaction of heaven and earth, incorporated the teachings into Buddhist scriptures, and became a Buddha himself.
(Excerpted from Journey to the West: Laojun... rolled up his sleeves, took off a circle on his left arm, and said: "This weapon is made of Kungang... a 'Jingangzhuo', also known as 'Jingangzhuo'" "Tao'. When he passed through Hanguan, he turned Hu into a Buddha, which was a great loss to him.")
Of course, some people say that I looked down on the world, traveled around, and lived in seclusion outside the mountains.
However, things are always too long ago and the truth is no longer traceable, so Xiao Han often thinks that I may have been robbed by bandits...
Although if you think this way, you will be strangled to death by Xiao Lizi who recognizes me as your ancestor, but in fact, this is exactly what is most likely to happen!
When the group of people arrived here, the road ahead began to get difficult. After passing Hangu Pass, you are basically out of the Tang Dynasty's sphere of influence. If you go further, no one knows what you will encounter!
Although the dozen or so people accompanying him were all good at martial arts, their personal martial arts skills were really not enough to be seen in front of thousands of troops. Therefore, the group of people decisively abandoned the main road and took a small road, passing through the village.
In the past, a dozen or so galloping horses like this would definitely attract countless people to watch, but now, after passing through so many villages, Xiao Han saw less than two dozen living people on his hands.
The houses in many villages were obviously still very new, but when Xiao Han and the others dismounted to ask for a drink of water, they found that there was no one inside. Uncle Fool went in and walked around, then quietly came back and told Xiao Han: The people here, They all fled in a hurry to avoid the military disaster.
After hearing this, Xiao Han suddenly remembered the historical records: There were 8.9 million households in the Sui Dynasty, and by the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were only less than 2 million households left.
Perhaps the numbers were cold. When Xiao Han saw this, he just sighed: Oh, so many people are missing. But now that I have seen villages turned into ghost towns with my own eyes, a chill rises from the bottom of my heart!
The viciousness of war is almost indescribable!
The sight along the way shocked Xiao Han. He touched his chest and felt the purse that Xue Pan had given him. Xiao Han stopped complaining about pain and followed Li Shimin on the road!
Now, he just wants to get to a crowded place quickly.
On the afternoon of the third day, the tired group finally arrived at Xiazhou, where Changsun Shunde and his army were stationed.
After driving the horse to the city, naturally a guard came forward to reveal his identity. The captain on the battlement carefully unfastened a basket and hoisted the token of identity to the top of the city. Before he could check it carefully, Changsun Shunde, who hurried over, snatched it away.
"Open the city gate! Welcome His Majesty the King of Qin!" Changsun Shunde, wearing an old armor, lay on the top of the city and looked down, and immediately shouted excitedly.
The heavy city gate was opened, and the sand and dust in the gate hole seemed to have found a vent! Xiao Han and Li Shimin, who were standing in front of the city gate, were unprepared as they spun out and threw themselves into disgrace.
Several people quickly turned their heads and spat out the mud in their mouths. It was pity that their newly washed faces were completely ruined.
"Hahaha..." Changsun Shunde laughed and ran out of the city gate, followed by many officers and soldiers. Seeing how embarrassed these people were, he quickly stopped laughing and saluted, "Young general Shunde, see you. Passing the King of Qin, Xiaohou! It’s been really hard for you two to travel thousands of miles for me. Come to the city and take a rest!”
Li Shimin and Xiao Han also rearranged their appearance at this time, raised their hands and returned the greeting: "General, your words are serious! General, he fought for the Tang Dynasty, and we dare not tell you how hard it is!"
This was a very formal exchange. Changsun Shunde, Xiao Han and Li Shimin were not allowed to go out of their way. The others did not have enough status, so they could only follow along and bow.
After saying this, Changsun Shunde affectionately pulled Li Shimin and Xiao Han forward to the city. As for their horses, someone had already taken over for them.
Xiazhou City is huge! It is much larger than Sanyuan County. The blue-gray city wall is extremely mottled. Even the city gate is covered with traces of cuts and axes. There is even a large burnt black area. You can tell at a glance. What a fierce battle it has experienced.
Xiao Han looked around the city, while Changsun Shunde was busy explaining the situation here to Li Shimin in detail.
"King Qin, you came just in time! They just besieged this city a few days ago. However, Xiazhou City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. They besieged it for some days, but saw that it was of little use, so they had no choice but to retreat."
"Oh?" Li Shimin stopped and asked Sun Shunde, "Why did they withdraw their troops so easily? Is it because there were too many casualties?"
Changsun Shunde shook his head: "That's not true. They didn't know why at first, they could only besiege but not attack. Later, they organized a few small sieges, but they didn't have much fighting power and were easily dispersed by us. .”
"Is it easy?" Li Shimin was even more confused, "Is their combat effectiveness so low? It's impossible. If so, how did they occupy Luoyang?"
Changsun Shunde chuckled, pointed to the east, and said to Li Shimin: "It is not correct to say that they are cowards! Wang Shichong has General Long Xiang and several other generals under his command. They are really powerful! In total, our side No one can compete with him! But he never expected that Wang Shichong was suspicious by nature, and he was always half-trusting of these surrendered generals. Whenever he attacked, he would always arrange people around him to hijack those fierce generals, so these days, they fought I can’t even understand the beating!”
"Is there still such a thing?" Li Shimin laughed, and then he felt relieved and continued to walk forward. He saw that Xiao Han had already walked ahead.
Xiao Han didn't notice that Li Shimin and Changsun Shunde were standing behind him. He still walked forward along the city's main road with his legs crossed. I have been riding horses for the past two days, and even walking feels so happy!
But after he was happy, he suddenly discovered that there were many soldiers lying loosely on the side of the road, basking in the sun, looking weak.
"Is this Tang Bing too? What's wrong with them?!"
Xiao Lizi, who was following behind, also noticed this. He only took one glance and felt the anger in his heart rising up!
Under his men, even the lowest-level auxiliary soldiers would not dare to be so lazy!
Changsun Shunde saw Li Shimin's gloomy face, but he could only smile bitterly: "King Qin, what you see is a person suffering from a strange disease..."
"Sick?" Li Shimin muttered, raised his legs and walked towards a person leaning against the wall.
Except for being listless, the man looked just like any other person. He didn't look like he was sick.
"You said he was a patient?" Li Shimin's tone suddenly became more serious, and he looked at Changsun Shunde with suspicion.
He had already made up his mind, if this was a lie made up by Zhang Sun Shunde! Even if the two of them were old friends, I would not hesitate to remove them from their posts and investigate!
Changsun Shunde faced Li Shimin's gaze calmly. In fact, when this strange disease first started, he didn’t believe it at all! For this reason, he also dealt with a few people who got sick first. When more and more people with the same symptoms appeared, he believed that it was an unprecedented strange disease and hurriedly wrote to ask for help.
An old man dressed as a military doctor who was accompanying him stood up, cupped his hands towards Li Shimin, and said, "King Qin, these are the sick people! The general has been working almost day and night on this matter, looking for people to treat the sick everywhere. But there is no one. People can cure this disease, and no one even knows the origin of this strange disease!
I only know that people suffering from this strange disease are no different from ordinary people in the early stage, but their strength gradually disappears after getting sick. They cannot hold weapons, let alone work, and can only lie lazily on the side. "
"Really? You still have this disease?" Li Shimin was dubious after hearing what the old military doctor said about his nose and face. At first, he thought these people were pretending to be sick to escape. But when he said it, it didn't sound like it. I can only focus on Xiao Han, hoping that Xiao Han, who can often create miracles, can give an answer.
