"The problem now is not the camel problem, but how do we lead a large group of people across the desert!"
The desert is endless and vast. It is nearly 600 miles from Dunhuang to Milan City. It takes them about a week to go back and forth. If they go from Dunhuang to Hongbai Mountain, it is almost equivalent to going from the eastern end of the desert to the western edge. This is a real horizontal journey. Walk through the desert.
There are one thousand one hundred kilometers in between, and the straight-line distance alone is already two thousand miles. This does not include the detours and forks they actually have to take. This also means that the journey to Hongbai Mountain this time is three or four times longer than that of Mi Lanze. times, or even longer.
If they really had to walk such a long distance, they might not be able to walk it in a month. What's more serious is that there are no towns at all in the Devil's Desert, and there is no chance of supplying supplies along the way. They can only take them with them before leaving. Enough food to travel through the vast desert.
Thinking about the many monsters in the depths of the Devil's Desert, the hairs on your back were already standing on your back before you even left.
The matter was at a stalemate here, and everyone was helpless. Yue Erpao looked at the entire desert and knocked on his head: "Keli, are you crossing the desert because there is no road to the Hongbai Mountain? Or what?"
Keli shook his head: "Of course not. Only the bravest and best desert hunters can come out of the Devil's Desert intact. My father is here to prove himself."
"That's no more!"
He patted Keli on the shoulder: "I'm thinking that the ancient Shanshan Kingdom wanted to cross the desert because the city-states on the edge of the desert were unwilling to let them cross the border. These small countries were also afraid that Queen Shanshan would come to them. Now, the entire desert has completely We belong to the Republic of China, and we don’t have to prove our bravery, so why bother crossing the desert, passing through the towns on the edge of the desert, and entering the Hotan River Basin along these oases? Wouldn’t it be easier to go to the Hongbai Mountain at this time?”
What Yue Erpao said was indeed reasonable. Song Siyuan's eyes lit up: "We have all forgotten this. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the city-states around the desert were divided into small oasis countries. Each other's territory must not be infringed. , At that time, they must have been repulsive towards the ancient Shanshan Dynasty, and Queen Shanshan had no way to take advantage of it, so she had no choice but to take risks and lead her subjects across the Devil's Desert."
She paused and said in a serious tone: "Now that the entire desert area is under the rule of the Republic of China, there are no longer any territorial disputes, and there is no need for us to cross the desert. My idea is to rent a car directly and drive along the southern coast of the desert. From the oasis town, go directly to the vicinity of Hotan Oasis, and then rent a camel team from Hotan to enter the Hongbai Mountain. This will ensure that we are safe most of the time."
After that, Song Siyuan picked up the iron branch and motioned them to look along Dunhuang City towards the oasis on the south bank of the desert. Starting from Dunhuang City, it passed through Rongrongqiang County, Tiemo County, Minfeng County, Cele County and Moyu County in sequence. Finally arrived at Hotan Oasis.
During this period, the oases nourished by the water veins of the Kunlun Mountains carried these counties and formed countless oasis towns in the desert areas. These places are large or small, like green emeralds on the wasteland, stretching on the southern shore of the desert.
Later, Song Siyuan pointed to the Hotan Oasis and measured the distance between the Hotan Oasis and the eastern foot of the Red and White Mountains: "According to the map, it is about 182 kilometers from the Hotan Oasis to the eastern foot of the Red and White Mountains. The entire journey is along the Walking around the oasis is four hundred miles. Although this distance is still very long, it is at least much shorter than the two thousand miles across the desert, which also means that we will be much safer."
Yue Guanchao nodded: "That's the only way. I think this is the safest way. Where can we find a big car?"
Dunhuang is not a prosperous city. The truck they came with has already left in the past few days. Even if they search around Dunhuang, they may not be able to find a car.
Song Siyuan nodded: "Leave this to me. No matter how backward Dunhuang is, it is still a frontier town of the past. With such a large population, we can always find cars. We will prepare the things we need in the past few days and wait until I contact you." The cart will set off immediately."
"Okay, that's all."
Before he finished speaking, there was the sound of footsteps outside Keli's grotto, and the frequency of steps and low breathing suggested that it was probably an emergency.
"Old Taoist, go and take a look. There is a sealed grotto on the cliff we excavated."
Wang Yuanlu had been standing behind them just now. After the craftsman behind him came in, the old Taoist priest was confused: "Didn't you clean it up? Why are there still abandoned grottoes that have been filled in?"
The craftsman suppressed his heat and said: "I don't know, the grotto is on the top of the cliff. When we set up the tripod, we thought it was a solid one, so we plunged into the beam and directly poked a hole in the mountain wall. Can you think of it?" Go and take a look? Is it filled in or set aside for a cave?"
Taoist Wang waved his hand: "Hey, you can just fill them in. I see there are so many waste holes, and there are no fewer than these one or two."
Song Siyuan thought about Song Siyuan's words, and her eyes lit up: "Taoist Wang, why don't you go take a look first, maybe there is something else hidden inside?"
"Song Qianjin, what do you have in mind?"
Wang Yuanlu walked along the way and saw that Song Siyuan's analysis of the situation was well-founded, clear and insightful. She was really a capable person. Seeing what she said now, he immediately understood the situation.
"Okay, there might be something else in these grottoes. Let's all go and have a look with the old Taoist."
After that, Wang Yuanlu took Yue Guanchao and the others, led by Craftsman Zuo, to the cliff. On the highest cliff, there were craftsmen prying open the sealing earth, and dust was flying.
They borrowed the steps on the plank road between the grottoes and walked to the highest grotto. They saw that the filling material had completely mixed with the color of the soil outside the grotto. If it hadn't been for a hole here, there would be no difference at all.
At this moment, these workmen have dug out all the filling and sealing layers, forming a soil hole as high as a person.
At dusk, the sun had dimmed, and everything was still in chaos. Yue Guanchao stood near the entrance of the cave, turned on his flashlight, and looked carefully inside the grotto.
After the soil was dug out, the long corridor inside had begun to appear. Rich colorful paintings jumped into the eyes from the stone walls, and they were so gorgeous that it seemed as if the pupils were sucked.
However, as the environment in the cave changed, the murals quickly faded under the exchange of gases, and many mottled color patches appeared, just like a rich and magnificent mural of gods and Buddhas that changed from new to worn out in just a moment. Thousands of years of simplicity
They waited until the gas in the cave had almost dissipated, then entered the grotto with kerosene lamps. After passing through a narrow arcade four to five meters long, everyone had arrived inside the grotto.
This grotto is in the shape of a "back" with an overturned bucket. The top surface is square, and there is a huge square pillar rising from the bottom in the middle. The entire pillar forms an altar style, and there is an arched Buddhist niche carved out. You can see the Tang Dynasty Various types of Bodhisattva and Buddha statues in the Song Dynasty are all colorful and intricately painted. There are no side caves on the four sides. Sutras and mythological pictures are drawn entirely on the walls, forming an encirclement that surrounds the four-sided Buddhist niche in the center.
Wang Yuanlu wiped his eyes and got closer to the murals on the four sides. The wall tone was light sapphire blue. The main pictures on the four sides depicted the gods in traditional Chinese mythology and the protectors of Western Buddhism, such as Mani and Hercules. , Naga God, Eight Heavenly Dragons, All Heavenly Beings, Thunder God, Wuhuo Fearing Beast, Fuxi, Nuwa, Fire God Zhurong, Water God Gonggong, etc.
On the periphery of these main murals, there are images of heretics from the heavens, such as the Sun God, the Moon God, the star priests, the Mahasura Heaven, the Vishnu Heaven, the Kumarajiva Heaven, the Vinayaka Heaven, and the Bodhisattva Bodhisattva. , the lower part is painted with the immortal riding a crane, the immortal Posu, and the flying immortal.
Among the four corners, the southeastern corner depicts the Eastern King Titu Laikata, the southwest corner depicts the Southern Heavenly King Pirauri, the northwest corner depicts the Western Heavenly King Bishamon, and the northeastern corner depicts the Northern Heavenly King Bishamon.
On the bottom floor closest to the feet and knees, there are pictures of men and women supporting nobles in rich costumes. Many of them have surnames and family official positions.
Thousands of Buddha statues are painted on the pillar platform very close to the Buddhist niche. These Buddha statues are palm-sized, shining with precious light and filled with Buddhist energy. They are a bit like repeated patterns, forming a fish scale-like outer painting of the Buddhist niche. The whole is extremely exquisite and brilliant, with a rich flavor. The artistic atmosphere, at the same time, also has a bit of history!
Wang Yuanlu pointed to the murals and said: "This kind of picture of gods and Buddhas is a kind of Buddhist offering painting. I see that besides these main murals, there seem to be something different painted on them, which seems to have been repainted."
Having said that, Lao Dao walked to the main mural on the right. It can be seen that part of the mural was obviously scratched off at the corner, and the mural was repainted. It can be clearly seen that the painting is completely inconsistent. The new painting is like a stamp and sticky. on the wall.
Song Siyuan stepped forward and took a closer look. This two-meter-long new mural depicts the city of Shazhou. The city is heavily fortified. The soldiers in the fortress are waiting with their bows and arrows bent. The flags on the wall are fluttering. The word "Guiyi" can be seen under the city. The siege ladder has been hung up.
Outside the city gate, there is obviously a group of enemies. They are wearing armor and holding swords and guns. Although they are dressed similarly to Han people, they all have braids on the back of their heads and earrings on their ears. Like a dark cloud approaching the city.
The leading general rode high on his horse and shouted in encouragement. He even attacked the city with artillery and hand-to-hand combat. The flames surrounded the city and spread to the city, burning countless soldiers to death.
Outside the city, there are several undulating sand dunes painted on the left and right. There are two people clearly standing on the top of the peak. The man is wearing a futou and robe, and the woman is wearing a gorgeous dress. Their faces have long been blurred because the paint has faded and fallen off. Qing Dynasty, I saw a tall man and a slender woman. Each of them was holding an old and thin horse, looking in the direction of the sandbank.
It seemed that they were reluctant to leave, but they had to leave. Behind them, there were more people with their families, riding horses and herding cattle. They rushed out of the city with all their belongings and walked along the ridge to the distance. Here, the setting sun gathers into the yellow sand in the distance, and the evening sun shines.
