Datang New Giants

Chapter 211 Yumen Gate Guard General

There were many marriages in the Tang Dynasty, and the routine operation was to confer a princess on a clan woman first, and then marry the princess off.

It is very difficult for Tong Yehu Khan to want an orthodox Datang princess.

Marriage has a long history in China. In the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, gave a start to marriage, but most of the people who were sent to make marriages were not real princesses. Ladies instead.

In the famous "Zhaojun Going Out of the Fortress" in history, Wang Zhaojun's real identity was just an ordinary court lady before leaving the fortress.

Tong Yehu Khan is a very capable person. Under his rule, the national power of Western Turks reached its peak. Unfortunately, in the later period, he became arrogant, conceited, and unfriendly to the people, so that Western Turks turned from prosperity to decline.

This time, the marriage trip was not as easy as expected.

That kid, Chang Sun Chong, even said that this mission was a free effort, what kind of public travel, delicious food and drink along the way, and he was promoted and made a fortune when he came back. At that time, he was very moved. Only after hearing what Li Daoli said, did he know that this trip It's not as beautiful as I imagined.

Just look at Li Heng, who is in charge of safety, he was careful all the way, as if he was afraid of accidents.

The more nervous Li Heng was, the more worried Lu Ting became.

After the mission set off, Li Daoli ordered everything to be done as quickly as possible. They set out at dawn and stayed at night. When they changed horses and had meals at the post station, they sent people to inform the post station to make preparations in advance. However, he stopped for a few drinks and sat down for a while before going on the road.

Li Daoligui is King Gaoping, and there are not many people who can make him face.

It was Lu Ting's first mission with a mission, and he was very excited at the beginning. He rode on a tall horse and led the guards on the road, and he felt vigorous and majestic.

After only a few days of riding, Lu Ting got a little bored, so he gave up riding, and just like Li Daoli, sitting in the carriage, reading books and looking at the scenery, it would be better to catch up on sleep.

Li Daoli said it well, there is no good scenery on the road.

All the way to the west, the farther away from Chang'an, the more remote and poor the place is. In Chang'an, I saw all the angry horses in fresh clothes, singing and dancing, even ordinary people, also dressed clean and tidy, with rosy complexions. When I left Chang'an, I saw it on the road. Seeing more and more ordinary people with shabby clothes and disheveled faces, their expressions are numb and their eyes are dull.

Many children don't even have trousers, and play with their buttocks on the side of the road.

It seems that they don't live in the same country as Chang'an City.

Yang Guang, the last emperor of the Sui Dynasty, conquered Tuyuhun in the west and Goguryeo in three times. He abused the power of the people to dig the Grand Canal, triggering peasant uprisings across the country and chaos in the world, which led to the collapse of the Sui Dynasty. Li Yuan and his son fought for many years before establishing Li Tang. , Internal and external troubles, years of wars, wars are the most money-consuming behavior, after so many fights, the treasury is empty, the national power is overdrawn, and the lives of ordinary people are in dire straits.

For ordinary people, there is still a long way to go to live and work in peace and prosperity.

The farther west he went, the deeper the traces left by the war. The order of life and production had not been restored, and Lu Ting felt more and more heavy.

The mission set out from Chang'an, passed through Qizhou, Longzhou, Jingzhou, Lanzhou, Liangzhou, and Ganzhou. Under Li Daoli's supervision, it took only 25 days to reach Yumen Pass.

The mission group set off on the road with light vehicles, and the horses, food and grass were supplied by post stations along the way. Even if they were not close to the post stations, some people notified the local government to cooperate, and there were soldiers to open the way ahead. It can be said that the journey was smooth. King Li Dao left his exclusive luxury carriage in the local government office.

The reason is very simple, the road is not easy to walk, such a big carriage often requires the accompanying staff to help push the cart, fill in the pit, or even open the road, which seriously affects the speed of travel. The road from Lanzhou to Qianquan is even more difficult to walk, so leave the carriage in the Lanzhou, when you come back, you can continue to sit back to Chang'an.

From Chang'an to Yumenguan, the distance is about 25 kilometers, equivalent to 120 miles. It takes [-] days to walk [-] miles, and it takes about [-] miles a day. In the case of supplies along the way, all members still have horses or carriages to travel. It's really not fast, considering that there are many banquets that cannot be pushed away along the way, and it is acceptable to stop for a while if there are delicious and interesting ones.

Of course, it can’t be compared with those three-hundred-mile expresses and eight-hundred-mile expresses, and it can’t be compared with later generations who can arrive by plane in a few hours.

After arriving at Yumen Pass, the mission was replenishing at Yumen Pass. Lu Ting followed Li Daoli, met Zhou Zhengyang, the guard of Yumen Pass, and visited the famous Yumen Pass accompanied by Zhou Zhengyang.

Li Daoli is not only the official envoy of the mission, but also King Gaoping. After returning to Beijing, he will definitely report to the emperor. When talking about what he saw on the road, saying a few good or bad words in front of the emperor may directly affect the official career of an official , so local officials tried their best to please them along the way.

Zhou Zhengyang is no exception.

When visiting Yumen Pass, Lu Ting felt a little complicated.

The imagined Jade Gate, guarding the country's gate according to natural dangers, is mighty and magnificent, like a nail nailed to the border of the Tang Dynasty, with the momentum that one man should guard the gate and no one can open it. Aided by stone and wood, it is somewhat similar to the buildings of ancient rich families.

Surrounded by high walls, there are arrow stacks and turrets on the walls. The walls are surrounded by barracks, storage warehouses, and stables for guarding soldiers. In the middle, there is a high arrow tower with a height of seven feet. , defense and beacon tower in one.

The gap between imagination and reality was too far, Lu Ting felt faintly disappointed.

Lu Ting learned from guard Zhou Zhengyang that the well-known Yumen Pass only has the strength of one battalion.

That's right, Yumen Pass sounds like a majestic pass, but in fact its function is mainly defense and warning.

From 121 BC to 111 BC, in order to consolidate the results of repelling the Xiongnu, the Western Han Dynasty set up Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor, as well as Yangguan and Yumenguan, which formed corners with Dunhuang. From then on, communication The Silk Road between the East and the West can be unblocked, and the role of Yumenguan is mainly to serve as the horn of Dunhuang to prevent Dunhuang from being wrapped in "dumplings".

Standing on the city wall of Yumen Pass, Li Daoli looked at the deserted wilderness outside, and said with a sigh: "Reading ancient books, it is said that caravans from afar came to Yumen Pass in groups, crowded, what a pity no longer."

Zhou Zhengyang said with a wry smile: "Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, wars have been chaotic. The Silk Road has three links and three unique sites. There are many forces and horse thieves along the way. If it was not bad in the peaceful era, if the road is not safe, the caravan will switch to the sea route. Sometimes it will not be seen in a month." Less than a caravan."

Guarding the Yumen Pass used to be a fat job. Caravans had to pass through the customs, they needed accommodation, and they needed supplies. These were lucrative, but now guarding such a remote place, there are not many caravans passing by all year round.

Lu Ting nodded when he heard the words, all the way to the west, the more desolate he went, the Dunhuang city was still a bit lively, and when he arrived at Yumen Pass, he seemed to have arrived at a bitterly cold place where he was dispatched, lifeless, lifeless, and all the soldiers guarding the pass had solemn faces .

The three chatted for a while, Li Daoli was a little tired, so he went to the place Zhou Yuyang had prepared for him, and took a nap.

Li Dao has been to Yumen Pass and is no stranger to Yumen Pass.

It was Lu Ting's first visit, and he was very interested. He thought of climbing a high tower and looking far away. After Zhou Zhengyang knew about it, he went up the tower with Lu Ting without saying a word.

"Vice Envoy Lu, bend over here and kowtow carefully."

"Hold the stairs and walk, save effort."

Zhou Zhengyang reminded Lu Ting from time to time, and he seemed very attentive all the way.

There are seven floors in the Arrow Tower. When reaching the sixth floor, Lu Ting suddenly stopped.

Next to the stairs on the sixth floor is a space of about five or six square meters. There is such a space on every floor. The strange thing is that there is a set of simple tea sets, tables and chairs on this floor, which makes Lu Ting feel the most. Surprised, there is a painting hanging inside.

That painting is very special. On a desolate high mountain, a graceful and well-dressed girl from the Western Regions is dancing. Next to her are soldiers riding on horses and fully equipped. The beauty of the girl is in stark contrast to the iron blood of the soldiers. impressive.

Seeing Lu Ting staring at the painting, Zhou Zhengyang smiled and asked, "Vice Envoy Lu, are you interested in this painting?"

"It's a good painting, and it's interesting."

Looking at the content of the painting, it should be a girl dancing to the soldiers preparing for battle. It may be a prayer ceremony, but the painting is very good, and the shape and spirit are complete with just a few strokes. It is a pity that the artist's skill is extraordinary. It is a pity that the signature The characters in the Western Regions were used, and Lu Ting couldn't tell who drew them.

Zhou Zhengyang saw that Lu Ting did not know the characters of the Western Regions, so he took the initiative to ask: "Vice Envoy Lu, have you heard of the Western Regions Captain Yuchi?"

Lu Ting felt that the name was familiar, thought for a while, and quickly said: "Da Weichi, is Yuchi Bazhi who is good at painting the customs and customs of the Western Regions?"

The journey was too boring, so Lu Ting asked Cyclops to tell him about the customs and customs of the Western Regions. Among them, Cyclops told him about Yuchi Bazhina, nicknamed Da Yuchi, and there was a confidant named Yuchi Jingde beside Li Er. Court will remember.

"I didn't expect Deputy Envoy Lu to know about Yuchi Bazhina." Zhou Zhengyang said with admiration, "It's okay, this map of the autumn mountain expedition was made by Yuchi Bazhina. Going up to the wolves, he was surrounded by wolves and attacked, causing heavy casualties. Zhou led a team of cavalry to patrol nearby and rescued him. After the rescued son healed up, he sent someone to deliver some meat. grateful."

Zhou Zhengyang added: "I usually stay here on duty, so I made a place to pass the time. I think the beauties in the paintings are pretty good, so I hang them here."

"I didn't expect General Zhou to have such a sense of elegance. It's rare." Lu Ting complimented.

Zhou Zhengyang said with some embarrassment: "I'm not afraid of Vice Envoy Lu's jokes. Zhou studied literature when he was young, and wanted to find a job as an official to shine in his family. Practicing martial arts is just to keep fit. I didn't expect to become a martial artist without writing. It’s not an elegant thing, it’s just to pass the time when I’m free.”

Lu Ting looked at the painting, hesitated for a moment, and said, "This painting is not bad, I wonder if General Zhou can cut it off?"

Yuchi Bazhi is a well-known great painter, his paintings are valuable for collection, this painting is in line with Lu Ting's aesthetics, it is a good collection.

The painting is from a famous artist, and the painting is not bad. Zhou Zhengyang obviously didn't pay enough attention to this painting, so he hung it here for decoration, and didn't frame it properly, allowing it to sway from time to time in the dry wind.

If someone who loves to paint, he must frame it properly and store it, take it out carefully after a while to appreciate it, and let it fall apart in Zhou Zhengyang's hands, it is better to keep it by himself.

Zhou Zhengyang took the initiative to accompany Lu Ting to the pagoda because he wanted to make friends with Lu Ting. After all, Lu Ting was well-known and became a deputy envoy at a young age. Deputy Envoy Lu thinks that a gentleman has the beauty of an adult, so give it to Deputy Envoy Lu."

Yuchi Bazhina is well-known, but he is from Yulu, and his reputation in the Central Plains is not obvious. In addition, he works very hard in creation, and many works have been circulated. The value is not high, and it doesn't hurt to give it away.

Lu Ting quickly said: "It's too much to ask General Zhou to cut love for the first time. If you take it for nothing, it's even more unreasonable. General Zhou, please make an offer."

After a pause, Lu Ting added: "If General Zhou doesn't make an offer, then I can only give up."

No matter what time it is, the debt of favor is the most difficult to repay. Lu Ting and Zhou Zhengyang have nothing to do with each other.

Things that can be solved with money are trivial, and Lu Ting is not short of money.

Seeing Lu Ting's serious face, Zhou Zhengyang knew that he was not joking, so he just pondered for a while, and quickly said: "It is said that Deputy Envoy Lu is very talented and is recognized by the Tang Dynasty as a great talent. Why don't you give Zhou a certain poem as a gift?" The exchange can be regarded as the end of Zhou's academic regrets."

Lu Ting refused to ask for it in vain, and Zhou Zhengyang also understood that the two were just acquainted for the first time, they had no friendship, and they didn't want to owe him any favors. I have no confidence in my ability.

It is obviously unrealistic for a small head of the Qin Palace to ask him for an official. Besides, now that the Prince's Mansion is dominant, Zhou Zhengyang will not stand in line easily at this time. Court to write a poem.

If you write well, you will also be honored, but your wish when you were young is very good. Besides, with fame, it is only a matter of time before you get promoted and get rich;
If the writing is not good, it doesn't matter, if you form a good relationship with a person like Lu Ting who has a limitless future, you will definitely not suffer.

Give Zhou Zhengyang a poem?

This request is a bit special. The girls in Pingkangfang asked for poems in order to increase their popularity and popularity. It is not difficult to understand that Zhou Zhengyang is a guard at Yumen Pass and a warrior. He also came to ask for poems?
After hesitating for a moment, Lu Ting readily agreed: "It's rare for General Zhou to be so fond of you, so I'll make a fool of myself."

Zhou Zhengyang didn't expect Lu Ting to agree so simply, he was taken aback for a moment, and quickly said excitedly: "Vice Envoy Lu, wait a moment, I'll go prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

In order to show his sincerity, Zhou Zhengyang prepared it himself.

(End of this chapter)