"In the past few months since you left, the Hu people have increased their troops in Guazhou and Shazhou. It seems that they want to take action against the Western Regions. The border countries such as Uihe and Dadan are very nervous,"
Guo Shuyun looked at Song Che with worried eyes: "When we passed by Yumen Pass when we came here, the Hu minister named Arhan made things difficult in every possible way. I'm worried about your return this time..."
"Will not."
Song Che was indifferent and confident, "It is now the end of September, the grassland is already green, and there will be heavy snow soon. The Hu people mainly rely on cavalry. They lack forage and will never launch an attack in winter;
However, it is obvious that they have annexed the two states of Sha and Gua and are planning to attack the Western Region. If nothing unexpected happens, next year when the grass grows and the orioles fly, it will be the time for them to attack the Western Region;
After I leave, you must quickly contact the countries in the Western Region and ask them to stock up on food and grass to prepare for next year's war;
My return trip this time will take at least two months. It will also take two months to return to Jinling to report the situation and mobilize troops;
And from now to February in spring, there are still more than five months, enough for the countries in the Western Regions to prepare for war with the Liang Dynasty;"
He paused and then said:
"Of course I knew that Arhan would never let me pass Yumen Pass, so I had already arranged another route, crossing the Qaidam Desert, going south to Tubo, and then crossing Qinghai Lake and looping back to Daliang Xining."
Guo Shuyun held his arm, and her eyes became more worried. "The Qaidam Desert has high and low terrain. Although it is not as cruel as Taklimakan, it is not easy to cross it... This road will be very difficult. It’s hard to walk.”
Song Che smiled and patted the back of her hand, "The rugged road is safer. As long as you bring enough water and food, it is not difficult to cross the desert. As long as you can reach the Yellow River safely, you can take a boat and take the waterway. This road is better than Hexi Corridors save time.”
"Song Che, is Jiangnan beautiful?"
"With Miss Guo's tall figure, even an eighty-year-old man will look at you twice when walking on Jiangnan Street."
"When... the people of Beiliang live and work in peace and contentment, I will go back to Jiangnan with you."
"You mean, Her Majesty the Queen, you don't love the country but the beauty?"
"wrong."
She gently leaned close to Song Che's chest and smiled, "It's better not to love the country but to love a beautiful man."
…
…
On September 27th, Song Che left Beiliang Kingdom and embarked on his return journey.
All the barbarian slaves given by Arhan before were imprisoned in Beiliang Kingdom. This time they were all the original team, including Tang Hulu, an old Persian fox.
"Oh, my God, those stingy Roman merchants are really willing to spend five gold coins to buy a batch of silk?" Tang Hulu kept mumbling.
Five gold coins for a piece of cloth, the price is indeed ridiculously high.
Liu Xiang'er was annoyed: "Oh, I'm so annoyed. So what if I buy one for a hundred coins? You can't sell it now!"
Tang Hulu muttered: "I just want to understand the market first. This is very important. When I go back this time, I will settle in Chang'an. When Boss Song opens your mutual market, I will bear the brunt of selling silk there. I will sell it hard." Make a fortune from these Roman merchants!"
Song Che smiled and said: "Boss Tang, why don't you transport the silk back to Persia? Wouldn't it be closer and more convenient to sell it from Persia to Rome?"
Tang Hulu said: "Boss Song, you don't know something. Silk is too precious. If you ship by sea, you are afraid of encountering pirates. You often need to hire a ship of bodyguards to transport a ship of goods. Moreover, the sea is unstable, so it doesn't matter if a person dies. If the goods are gone, it will be a big loss;
And you don’t know, from Persia to Rome, you go through the Ottoman Empire. Those damn Ottomans are simply a group of bandits. They charge protection fees for passing through their homes. I would rather give this bowl of rice to dogs than to the Ottomans;
Oh, the Liang Dynasty is better. Canals extend in all directions, roads are smooth and easy to travel, and even manpower is much cheaper..."
When it came to making big money, Tang Hulu's mouth was like a machine gun, and he kept chattering all the way.
On the third day after leaving Beiliang and heading south, we entered the Qaidam Desert.
The desert is not all grains of yellow sand. On the contrary, most deserts in the world are made of bedrock and clay. For example, Qaidam in front of us has endless mounds that have been eroded bare by the wind. Among the hills and ravines, many drought-resistant vegetation survive tenaciously. , and small pools where rainwater settles, but these water sources are very dirty and are not drinkable even if they are distilled.
Different from the drought in the Taklima Desert, the most dangerous things in the Qaidam Desert are the animals living here - animals that can survive in extreme environments are either ferocious beasts or the most venomous snakes. Among them The most deadly ones are bears and wolves.
"Everyone, please be careful. There may be bears in this area."
Song Che picked up a pile of dried feces from the ground and glanced at the surrounding environment. The soil and water vegetation in this valley was very lush, and there must be animals living here.
The sun is setting soon, and predators usually emerge at night.
"Boss, haven't you always lived in the south? Why can you tell that the feces was pulled by a bear just by looking at it?" Nangong Yue asked curiously.
After all, Song Che is a wild lover. When hiking in the forest, it is basic common sense to identify animals through their feces. If nothing else, you should have watched Wilderness Survival and Animal World, right?
"What's so difficult to tell?" Liu Xiang'er said, "Look at this excrement. It's such a big pile. Who else in this desert can pull it out? It must be from a bear!"
She tried her best to find Song Che for confirmation: "Brother-in-law, do you think this is true?"
Song Che praised: "Not bad, not bad. After following me for so long, I finally gained some skills."
Nangong Yue hummed softly: "Boss, what you are saying is that on the contrary, those of us who do not cheat you and protect you have lost our abilities?"
"Hey, you can't say that. Your 'abilities' are different from hers. However," Song Che paused, held up the dried bear dung in his hand, and explained to everyone:
"It is the most superficial knowledge to identify animals based on the environment and the size of their feces - bears are omnivores and will eat both grass and meat, so the feces they poop are long and yellowish in color; while those of herbivores, cattle and sheep Horses eat grass and poop green manure."
He broke open the dried bear dung again and said, "Look, the particles in this dung are undigested berries. Bears love to eat these fruits the most. In the coming year, these fruit particles will be embedded in the soil, and the next year will be the next year." After heavy rain, roots will sprout and another piece of vegetation will grow. This is called the 'ecological cycle'."
"Brother-in-law..."
"What's wrong?"
"Look at this piece, does it look a bit like... a human fingernail?" Liu Xiang'er, with sharp eyes, asked, pointing to a half-moon-colored horny substance in the dried feces.
Song Che took out the horny material and compared it with his own nails. It was really human! He quickly threw away all the feces.
What bad luck!
