Along with the clamor, came the crisp sound of hooves, accompanied by the faint sound of bells. As far as the eye could see, it was actually a caravan coming from afar. Several large horses galloped forward with large bamboo baskets and wooden chests on their backs, filled with cloth, tea leaves, salt, and other items. The backs of the horses were bent down from the weight.
In the caravan, there were Chinese with black eyes and yellow skin, but there were also a few people who were taller than the average Chinese, with high noses and light blue eyes.
"They really are the Hu." Gao Qiu said excitedly, "These Hu bandits are really daring. Seeing the millions of soldiers of China marching into Xingqing Prefecture, they still dare to swagger past us. They don't give us any face at all! Brother Lin, I will go and take them down, it will be our first victory, hehe. "
The caravan passed in front of the army without any signs of panic, which was indeed strange.
Hu Bugui smiled, "Brother Gao, don't be rash. These are civilian caravans that come and go from the desert, you cannot attack them. Our people at the border barter silk and tea leaves with the Turks in exchange for the horses and specialties of the grassland. This kind of trade has been in Xingqing Prefecture for hundreds of years, and the founding ancestor had already approved of it. Even when the war was at its fiercest, the private trade between the people of both sides had never stopped. "
Where there is demand, there is trade. Even the flames of war cannot stop this most primitive need. Lin Wanrong nodded, "Brother Hu is right. War is for the benefit of the country, while trade is for the needs of the people, the two are not contradictory. We share a border with the Turks, so cultural and economic exchanges and integration are unavoidable. "
Hu Bugui gave a thumbs up and sighed, "The Hu have been at war with us for many years, and have captured countless Chinese women. There are also Hu women who admire the culture of Chinese and married the Hua family. The people of both sides have intermarried for many years, and have given birth to many mixed-race children. It is common in Xingqing Prefecture and the Helan Mountains. "
As long as there were different ethnic groups living together, there would be integration. This was an unbreakable truth. Lin Wanrong nodded slightly and said seriously, "Intermarriage and trade are the needs of the people, there's nothing wrong with that. However, with the two countries on the verge of war, the most important thing was to prevent the Hu from spying on them. Just like the caravan coming and going. No one can be sure which one of them is a Hu spy. "
Apart from Hu Bugui, this was the first time the others had come to the border, and they did not understand many of the rules. Hu Buhui said with a smile: "It is necessary to get rid of spies. As long as there are Hu doing business in our China, there must be Chinese gentry as a guarantor. All the caravans passing through the border must be opened and inspected one by one, only then can they pass through. In fact, we are not the only ones worried. The Hu are even more worried. The number of Chinese trading through the Turks far outnumbers the number of Turks trading in China by ten to a hundred times. The Hu are having an even bigger headache than us. If we really have to catch spies, the number of spies that the Hu have caught might be even more than their cavalry. "
His words caused everyone to burst into laughter. Although Hu Bugui's words were a little exaggerated, but the business acumen of the Chinese was famous throughout the world. The Hu did not dare to underestimate them.
"We have once negotiated with the Hu about the trade between the two countries. Unless it is absolutely necessary, neither side is allowed to attack the caravans. There was even a written agreement, written in black and white. Our China has always been a man of our word. In these decades, we have never robbed the other's caravans. It's just that the Turks drink goat's milk and piss, their words are like farts. Out of ten times, they can only do half of it. The rest of the time, they still rob. Damn it — "Hu Bugui angrily snorted, extremely angry at the Hu for not keeping their word.
As they spoke, the caravan had already neared. The Chinese merchants in the caravan were loudly chatting with the soldiers, and from time to time, there would be the joyful laughter of fellow countrymen meeting. The Hu walked carefully, afraid that if their footsteps were too heavy, they would infuriate the Chinese soldiers and bring disaster upon themselves.
"Ding dang, ding dang." The crisp sound of bells drifted past his ears. The carriages of the caravan slowly passed by, the curtains swaying, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.
Since he could not capture the Hu in front of him, Gao Qiu could only stare viciously at them, not letting any of them go. When the carriages of the caravan passed by him, he poked his head out to take a few glances, then suddenly exclaimed, "Women! Turk women! "
His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone to hear.
Turk women! This voice was like a clap of thunder exploding in everyone's eardrums. Tens of thousands of soldiers were marching thousands of miles, and women were extremely rare, not to mention a Turk woman!
Lin Wanrong was also shocked by Gao Qiu's voice. He quickly scanned the surroundings, but not to mention a Turk woman, he did not even see a single female fly from China.
This old fellow must have gone crazy from thinking about women. He helplessly patted Old Gao's shoulder and smiled, "Brother Gao, why are you in such a hurry? Fine, when we enter the city, I'll give you half a day off. You can find a place to do it yourself, lest you mistake a monkey's butt for a woman's face! "
"It's true," Gao Qiu's eyes stared straight ahead, muttering, "Behind the curtains — look, a Turk woman — damn it, is there any justice in this world? How could the Turks produce such beauties?!"
Lin Wanrong followed Gao Qiu's gaze, only to see the curtains of one of the carriages in the center slightly lifted, revealing the figure of a woman.
The woman did not look old, around eighteen or nineteen years of age. She was dressed in a blue chiffon dress with pink edges, her long skirt fluttering in the wind like a cloud. Her head was adorned with a small golden silk and her face was covered with a transparent veil, from which one could vaguely make out the outline of her face. The bridge of her nose was slightly raised, her jade teeth were half exposed, and her red lips were slightly curled into a beautiful smile, like a crescent moon rising from the horizon.
Her cloud-like hair flowed down like a black waterfall and her skin was as translucent as the finest jade in the heavenly lake. Her beautiful eyes were slightly moving as she examined her surroundings. Her eyes were like the ripples of autumn, pitch-black and moist, tinged with an almost imperceptible tinge of blue. They were deep and clear, like Lake Namtso in the depths of the steppe, sparkling and translucent.
The wives of Lin Wanrong's clan were all outstanding beauties, and he already had a high immunity to beauty. But when he saw this Turkic girl, who seemed like a gentle breeze from the Helan Mountains, and who carried a strong exotic charm, even though he could not see her face clearly, he still felt an indescribable sense of awe. It wasn't because of her appearance, but because of her pair of eyes that were as deep as the autumn waters, and hidden within the pitch-black darkness was a faintly discernible trace of light blue. It was as deep as the mountains in the distance, and it caused one's imagination to run wild.
Not only Lin Wanrong, even the veteran generals like Hu Bugui and Du Xiuyuan were stunned by the sudden appearance of this Turkic girl.
The Turkic girl's beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings, then suddenly smiled sweetly. Her clear eyes rippled, her thin brows slightly arched, like a faint crescent moon in the sky.
"Crescent Moon!" Lin Wanrong lightly sighed. For some reason, he recited the name in his heart, as though it was the name of the Turkic girl.
The curtains of the carriage lowered and the carriage gradually moved further away. The girl was like a gust of wind, she came quickly and left quickly. It was only when the clear ringing of the bell gradually faded away, that everyone seemed to wake up from a dream. Hu Bugui shook his head in disbelief. "I, Old Hu, have fought with the Hu all my life in the Great Desert Plains, but I have never seen such a beautiful Turkic girl. Where would the Turkic have such green mountains and clear waters, how could they raise such a beautiful girl?"
Gao Qiu let out a long sigh, chuckling. "Beauties, no matter if they are Turkic or Chinese, once they take off their clothes and extinguish the lights, isn't it the same? It's just that this little beauty's eyes are too f * * king captivating, even if I have to give up my life, it's worth it! Sigh, I, Old Gao, have really broadened my horizons today. "
To be able to meet such a Turkic beauty in the Great Desert Plains, even though it was just a glimpse, it was still a pleasant sight. Lin Wanrong laughed heartily. Patting Gao Qiu on the shoulder, he said, "Beauties are hard to come by, to be able to see one is already a blessing, how can I hope for more?"
Gao Qiu chuckled a few times, then suddenly thought of something. His eyes darting around, he pulled Hu Bugui back. "Brother Hu, just now you said that our China keeps to our promise, and has not attacked the Hu caravans for more than ten years, but the Turks have gone back on their word, and repeatedly robbed our caravans, is that true?!"
Hu Bugui nodded. "That's true. When the Hu are in the mood, they remember this promise, and when their mood is gone, they wantonly rob our caravans, it's really hateful. "
"It really is hateful." Gao Qiu chuckled, then suddenly turned to Lin Wanrong, a lecherous smile on his face. "Brother Lin, just now that Turkic beauty, what do you think?!"
"Not bad!" Lin Wanrong nodded his head, then suddenly saw Gao Qiu's lecherous gaze, he was startled. "Brother Gao, what do you want to do?!"
"Since brother Lin feels that this Turkic beauty is not bad, then it's easy." Old Gao chuckled darkly. "The Hu are villains, why should we be gentlemen! I'll go and call some brothers. We'll cover our faces and rob the caravan, then we'll snatch this Turkic woman back to warm the bed for brother Lin. If she dares to disobey, I have a lot of good medicine here, brother Lin also knows — — hehe, this is called snatching a Turkic woman, bringing glory to China! "
What a good 'snatching a Turkic woman, bringing glory to China'. Old Gao you beast, do you think I'm the king of the mountain?! Lin Wanrong was sweating profusely, he did not know whether to laugh or cry, Du Xiuyuan and Hu Bugui looked at each other in dismay.
Seeing that he did not speak, Gao Qiu became even more excited. "Aiya, what's there to be embarrassed about, isn't it just a Turkic woman, we can just throw her away after using her! When this news spreads out, our army will definitely be invincible and our morale will be greatly boosted. "
This news will spread? Ning 'er and the others have placed a curse on me! General Lin was shocked, he quickly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and pulled Gao Qiu back. "Brother Gao, you know that I've always been aloof, I'm not that interested in beauties, I have less than ten wives in my family. Snatching a Turkic woman is a disgrace to our China, we need to win people over with virtue, we need to win people over with virtue! "
Du Xiuyuan also said, "Brother Gao, you mustn't be rash. If the news of us robbing the caravan reaches the ears of Commander Xu and General Xu, we will be punished by military law. "
The few of them tried their best to persuade Gao Qiu to calm down. Old Gao sighed. "Brother Lin, I know that snatching a woman is not honorable, but our China has been weak for a long time. But our Da Hua has been weak for a long time, if you can make use of this opportunity to conquer this Turkic beauty, it will greatly increase the morale of our army! Besides, this is also your strength! "
What strength, do you think I'm a stud horse! I'm here to fight, not to pick up girls. Official Lin snorted angrily, but he could not help but think of the 'crescent moon'.
By the time the army entered the city, it was already evening. Xingqing Prefecture was located at the western part of the Great Wall, close to the Helan Mountains, overlooking Yu Lin and Wu Yuan. It was the main road connecting the inner and outer parts of the Great Wall, its strategic position was self-evident. This was also the heart of the Hu Resistance Army, where Li Tai's main camp would be stationed.
After many years of war, Xingqing Prefecture's citizens had become homeless. It was only nightfall, there were very few people on the streets, and the few shops had already closed for business. The 'Jiangnan of the Great Wall' of the past was no longer bustling.
Standing on the Great Wall of the Third Pass, Li Tai's white hair fluttered in the wind as he gazed at the dark night sky of Xing Qing Prefecture and the dilapidated courtyards everywhere. He let out a long sigh and said regretfully, "The Jiangnan of the past has become a ruin today! Generals, how do you feel?! "
Standing behind the Great General were the commanders of the various armies. Everyone's faces were covered in sand, but no one bothered to wipe it off.
When they entered the city, they did not even have a sip of water before they were summoned by Li Tai to look at the night view at the Great Wall. Lin Wanrong lazily leaned against the Great Wall, the dust howling in his ears. The desert sand beyond the Great Wall was swirling with dark clouds, like a giant serpent opening its mouth, surging towards the city walls.
In the gloomy night, the soldiers' spears flashed with a cold light. Under the ancient city walls, the moonlight reflected off the desert.
The desert sand was like snow, and the moon was like a hook! Lin Wanrong muttered to himself. Facing the impregnable Great Wall, the cold moon, and the sandstorm, even the greatest person would become as insignificant as sand. Facing this scene, there was only one word that could describe his current state of mind: desolate! Incomparably desolate!
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