Chapter 1409: visitor on the iceberg

Chapter 1409: visitor on the iceberg

  Chapter 1409 Visitors on the Iceberg

   "The Cypriots call this a flat-roof? Fucking flat-roof. It's the roof of the world."

Shangzhu Kingdom, General Zuo Jinwu, Duke of Chu Qin Gui and Qin Shandao led their mounts, looking at the same snow peaks, glaciers and white mist as far as they could see, feeling the cold wind like a knife, the thousandth zero Once shouted and cursed.

   Just yelling and cursing seems a little weak. On the roof of the world, even if you can live up to your armor and march, it is very difficult.

   "I still like the name Congling." Anxi Military Academy Lieutenant Wang Xiaojie said with a smile.

   "Congling is a ghost. Before I came to the Western Regions, I heard the word Congling and thought it was a stretch of green mountains, lush and green. Who knew it was such a ghost?"

Sima Lixiu chewed the dried yak meat and said, "Liulang, along the way, the high mountains and valleys, glaciers and snow-capped peaks, and rough terrain, don't you feel the majestic, desolate and wild beauty of this Pamir? "

  Li Xiunai is the second son of Li Jinxing, the Duke of Yan, the general of Shule Town and the governor of Manzhou. Because in the ninth year of Wude, when Qin Lang rebelled against King Junkuo and Li Yuan in Youzhou, he did not know the father and son of Diji, the Chief of Mohe, who moved inward. He inherited the title and rank of Du Diji who was mad at him.

Afterwards, Li Jinxing attacked the Duke of Yan, but also made many military exploits in northern Xinjiang. Now he is the general of Zuo Xiaowei and the governor of Zhendong. He is the Duke of the county and the Marquis of the county. He is in charge of the generals of the third and fourth ranks, and each town is on one side.

  In terms of seniority, Li Xiude calls Qin Langyi uncle, and Qin Lang's sixth younger brother, Qin Gui, naturally also calls him uncle, but in terms of age, Li Xiu is still older than Qin Gui.

   "I've had enough of sending troops from Kucha, Anxi Prefecture, this way to the west." Qin Shandao made no secret of his irritability at this time.

  The army has been dispatched since summer, and it is almost winter at this time. We have been on the road for almost a hundred days, and the further west we go, the more difficult it is.

  Departing from Kucha, the residence of the Governor's Mansion in Anxi, we walked for 15 days to Bachang City (Aksu), and half a month later, we arrived at Wosed (Bachu). Another half month, to Shule (Kashgar).

   Then I walked for more than a month to Congling.

Qin Shandao is also a battle-hardened veteran. More than 30 years ago, he went to Jiannan Songzhou with his elder brother to stop the Tibetans. When he shot the Tibetans with a bow for the first time in Leiguan, his blood boiled and his whole body trembled with excitement. . Over the next thirty years, they fought in the north and south, conquering Songwaiman, attacking Yongchangman, conquering Goguryeo, attacking Baekje, and attacking Silla. The tribes of Mohe even fought against the Turkic and Tiele rebels in the vast Mobei, and fought in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.

   But this march was still completely beyond his expectations.

  I have been running for a hundred days on the road, and I have not encountered a single enemy. Even the farther west I go, the more lonely marches, not to mention people, it is rare to see a single bird.

  The mountains are getting higher and higher, and there are more and more glaciers.

Whether it is Congling or Pamir, no matter what the name is, this ghost place is really a headache, it is a real headache, and the mountains are getting higher and higher. The generals in Anxi in the south were composed of soldiers, and they still suffered from severe altitude sickness.

   I don’t know how those Persian-speaking Cypriots who have lived here for generations are used to it. What is there to stay in this place where the birds don’t shit?

   Li Xiu, who has served as a town general in Shule for several years, is quite comfortable. Shule, where he is located, is close to here, and in the past, he always led troops out to patrol the border every year.

  Before the great rebellion in the Western Regions, there were countless states and countries in Congling and Kunlun Mountains in the southwest of Shule. It is said that there were seventy-two small states and eighteen large states. But the so-called big countries like Bolu Kingdom are actually very small. As for those small countries, they are even smaller and pitiful.

Those people closed their doors in the mountains and proclaimed themselves kings. After the Tang Dynasty conquered Shule, Khotan and other countries, these kings, large and small, also surrendered and paid tribute. , awarded them titles and official positions, and later widened the road leading there, and built post stations along the road.

  The envoys have also brought them under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Metropolitan Government, and even made it easier for merchants to come and go.

It's just that following the Great Rebellion in the Western Regions, even his mother's Bolu and Pantuo countries, which were slightly larger in the past, are now openly rebelling. Those who paid taxes in the Tang Dynasty opposed the Tang Dynasty's suppression of Buddhism, and some even blatantly shouted their allegiance to the Supreme Emperor.

  These small mountainous countries, even under the persuasion of the Tocharian people, summoned troops to help Tocharian Yehu, the governor of Dashi Khorasan, and the Sogdian king of Zhaowu defeat the Tang people.

The ants urinate on the elephant's feet. Although it does not threaten the elephant, this kind of provocation cannot be ignored, especially now that all parties in the Western Regions are fighting. On an important passage leading to Tocharian and the middle of the river.

Datang spent a lot of energy and spent many years widening this branch of the Silk Road, not only for trade, but also as an important military channel, which is to expand westward in the future and strengthen the control of the river and even the Tocharian area. It is repaired for the control of the influence.

   At this time, this road cannot be blocked because of the rebellion of these small countries, especially when Qin Jun heavily stationed in Dawan, the east passage must be guaranteed to be unblocked.

  It is also under this premise that Anxi previously sent troops to reinforce the Dawan Army Town, and at the same time sent Qin Jun's uncle, Sima of the Anxi Governor's Mansion, the Governor of Kucha, and the Anxi Army Envoy Qin Shandao to select 10,000 cavalry and go to the conquest.

The first battle was the Pantuo Kingdom, a small country to the west of Khotan. , there are twelve fortresses outside the capital. They are similar to Khotan, and they are also mountain nomadic tribal countries established by the Cypriots.

  The so-called Cypriots are actually the East Persians who speak Persian, and they are also the ancestors of the later Tajiks.

In the past, the Cypriots were the overlords of the Hezhong area and the Tocharian area, and even expanded to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions. But now, the Cypriots have also declined. Even this small mountainous country on the Pamirs is no longer a country. Purely Cypriot, after all, with the invasion of the Greeks, the westward migration of the Yuezhi people, and the western conquests of the Huns and Turks, this place has long been complicated.

  The name of the country, Pantuo, means the road on the mountain in the Cypriot language. They call Congling Pamir, which means flat-roofed house.

In the thousands of years of regional hegemony, these mountain tribes have already been marginalized. The overlords are generally satisfied with their vassalage and tribute, and have little interest in directly attacking and occupying the place. Less, more harm than good.

  The same is true in the Tang Dynasty before. They offered felt, gold, and jade, and the imperial court was satisfied, not in the amount, but in their attitude. Now the little things that the King Gesha clan paid tribute in previous years are really not in the eyes of the court.

  Crossing Congling, it is difficult to go up to the blue sky. Avalanches, landslides, rockfall, landslides, snow, ice, and earthquakes occur from time to time.

  Especially in winter and spring, many sections of roads are covered with snow and frozen all year round.

   Along the way are full of ice peaks and snow ridges, cliffs and high mountains and canyons.

  If it weren't for Li Xiu, a town general who had been on the side of Congling for a long time, to lead the way, Qin Gui might really have to retreat.

   "How far is the fuck? I wonder if we've lost our way. Why does it feel like we've been wandering around in this ice and snow field, with those snow-capped mountains always in our eyes?"

   "Don't worry, I can't go wrong. I have been in Shule for a few years, and basically I have to inspect Congling and Kunlun countries every year."

The Silk Road is open for more than half of the year. At this time of year, he will lead troops to patrol the Silk Road to comfort the countries. At the same time, he will also inspect and repair the post stations, and even pick up the long-awaited Silk Road merchants along the way. Men, sometimes the frontier soldiers would bring some goods by themselves, and when comforting the countries, they would bring along trade. This kind of smuggling by the frontier soldiers was acquiescing, as long as the quantity was not particularly large, the court would acquiesce.

   Because of this, Li Xiu was indeed quite familiar with the route. At this time, out of 10,000 soldiers, there were 2,000 soldiers from Shule, and most of them often went on patrol with him on this road.

   Along the way, there are all kinds of beautiful scenery, and all kinds of dangers hidden under the beautiful scenery.

   Baisha River, Liusha River, Salt Lake, Glacier, Snow Mountain.

"Tell me, how far is it? I'm really on the verge of dying." Qin Shandao is not the kind of person who is afraid of suffering, but this kind of continuous march for a hundred days, and now walking alone in the snow-capped mountains and glaciers on the plateau all day is indeed true. Let him be impatient.

   "Passing the Qingling in front is the Pantuo Kingdom, just that snow mountain!"

   "Wouldn't it be more impressive to call Mount Paektu? What is it called Qingling? Damn it, it's just as **** as Congling." Qin Gui scolded.

   "Qingling is a mountain of ten thousand zhang. It is said that it is ten thousand zhang high."

   "Impossible. Saburo once told me that the highest mountain in the world is the Daxue Mountain between Tubo and Nipoluo. The highest peak is only 2654 feet, less than 18 miles away."

  Li Xiu smiled, "Then this Qingling must be at least two thousand five hundred feet long, at least fifteen miles long."

"There is a legend in the Pantuo Kingdom. According to legend, the father of the founder of the country came from Japan, and his mother was from the Han land. Therefore, the royal family called themselves the Han, Japanese and Tianzhong. The appearance was the same as that of China, wearing a square crown on the head and wearing a Hu suit. However, there is a record in the biography of Emperor Mu, that the father of Taiwang Chanfu was the first to work in the Western Lands... He was granted the title of long-term minister Ji Chuo Yu Chunshan's louse, and his wife was Yuan Nu. Therefore, some scholars have verified that this is a native of Pantuo Although he is a native of East Persia, his ruler is a vassal of the Central Plains who was entrusted by Emperor Zhou."

Qin Gui rolled his eyes, "I've also heard the story of Zhou Tianzi meeting the Queen Mother of the West, even if it's true, so what, if you dare to rebel now, I will definitely destroy his country, capture his king, **** him back to Luoyang, and offer him a prisoner." Down!"

  Qingling belongs to the Kunlun Mountains, standing in the east of the Pamirs and the west of the Kunlun Mountains. The natives call it the father of icebergs. It has more than ten glaciers and is one of the three peaks of Congling.

"We can only go around from the north and south of Qingling. The northwest is the traditional route, which leads directly to the Tocharo and Zhaowu areas. The route is long and the snow is deep. Half of the year is frozen and impassable. The southeast According to the route, after passing through the Pantuo Kingdom, go south and cross Tanju Ridge to enter Xiaobolu, and then go south to enter Kubin, Gandhara and Tianzhu in the Xindu River Basin."

   "These two roads are also the two routes that Master Xuanzang used to go and return when he traveled westward."

  Qin Gui let out a long sigh, "It seems that this time is really here. I have been tricked by you countless times along the way, and it is finally here, shit!"

  (end of this chapter)