Continuing westward along the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, you will reach the famous Silk Road.
There is a road at each of the north and south ends of the desert, both of which run along the edge of the desert. When the two roads converge to the east, it is naturally the city of Loulan.
To the west, a road passes through Shule City and then reaches Shatuo City.
The other route passes through Khotan, then passes a small town called Pishan, continues to wind westward along the Kunlun Mountains, and also reaches Shatuo City.
Shatuo City has already entered the high-altitude area of the Pamir Plateau. Further ahead is the Persian Governor's Mansion, which is still firmly controlled by the Tang Dynasty.
From Shatuo City, going south along the Penchi River, you can enter the Tubo area, and Shatuo City is naturally the next must-pass place for Tubo.
The Pamir Plateau, also known as the Pamir Mountains, is not a truly flat plateau. Instead, it is composed of several groups of mountain ranges and the wide areas between them, forming seemingly flat valleys and basins with abundant grass and water.
The plateau can be roughly divided into eight parts, which are called "Pa" by the locals, and each Pa is controlled by its nomadic tribe.
Because the abundance of water and grass is uneven, nomadic tribes here often engage in small-scale wars, mainly to compete for fertile land to feed their tribesmen.
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The size of tribal groups is not very large, ranging from tens of thousands to thousands of people.
The Tang Dynasty's Chang'an City is thousands of miles away from here, but stone cities and small cities built of rammed earth can be seen everywhere.
The control over this place was naturally extremely weak. Because of the strength and interference of Tubo, it was difficult for the Tang Dynasty to establish effective control here.
What shocked Li Hong even more was that this place still belonged to China in the 1870s in his previous life.
Further west is Tocharia, which is now occupied by the White Caliphate. After Li Hong took charge of the Western Regions, it has become a strategic buffer zone between the White Caliphate and the Tang Dynasty.
Although it seemed to still be affiliated with the White Caliphate, some people in the country had already begun to lean towards the Tang Dynasty.
The two thousand troops led by Li Hong had already gotten used to life on the plateau, so among all the people, only Banmei and Xunlan suffered from mild discomfort due to altitude sickness.
But what Li Hong didn't expect was that the person who was least suitable for this place was the pervert Bai Qi. At this moment, his tongue was stretched out and he hadn't recovered yet.
But then again, this can't be blamed on Bai Qi. This pervert got tired of the desert from the second day. Ever since passing the Kunlun Mountains, the desert on both sides turned into Gobi, and then into an oasis.
The wolf went crazy, and when it saw the green grass, it jumped off the horse and ran wildly on the grassland, so it was hard for it not to feel uncomfortable at this moment.
We chose a flat place with northern winds, far away from the nomadic tribes and near the foot of the Kunlun Mountains, and a small lake appeared before our eyes.
If you look carefully, you will find traces of many people staying and camping around here.
The remains of the fire that had turned to ashes, the stones needed for setting up tents, and the cow and sheep dung all proved that this was indeed a suitable place to camp.
"Master, have we run too far? Should we ask Lawless for some reinforcements?" The mountain eagle soared in the sky and the hare secretly looked at these outsiders in the grass, but they didn't expect to fall into the wolf's mouth.
"It's too late. By the time we send troops from Khotan, the Tubo caravan will be here soon." Li Hong looked up at the azure sky. It was so beautiful here, and everything was so pure.
"No matter how fast the caravan is, it will be four or five days slower than us. In this case, there should be enough time, right?" After checking whether Li Hong's tent was sturdy, Hua Meng agreed with Quan Yi's opinion and echoed it.
It is so empty here, so empty that it makes people feel uneasy, as if they have entered an ethereal world.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty came here alone. If something unexpected happened, it would not be the responsibility that everyone here could bear.
"Shatuo City is the only big city. Once you cross the desert, there are only caravans traveling here, and it is sparsely populated. If the lawless send people here, the cautious Tibetans will only find clues from the hoof prints on the road. So instead of looking for reinforcements, it is better to use these few days to familiarize yourself with the terrain here. This is more reliable than reinforcements."
Li Hong took the water that Xunlan handed over while complaining, and heard Xunlan muttering softly: "It's been boiling for a long time. It looks like the water is boiling, but why does it feel like it's not boiling? It's not even hot."
He had a sullen face and tears in his bright eyes because he didn't boil the water. He felt so useless that he couldn't even boil water.
Li Hong laughed, grabbed Xunlan's hand, pulled her to sit next to him, patted her cheek, and said, "It's not your fault, it's a regional problem here..."
"Ah... Your Highness, is there a ghost here?" Xunlan looked around vigilantly.
Li Hong's words not only made Xunlan go crazy, but everyone else also looked towards the quiet wilderness in panic.
The huge mountain range, like a cliff, blocks the sunlight, making people feel a little weird involuntarily.
Li Hong couldn't explain to them that the water seemed to be boiling because of the low air pressure, but it was actually evaporated. The temperature was far from enough to cook the food.
I could only explain randomly: "Just like when we first got here, we had difficulty breathing, so it's difficult to boil the water like this."
Hua Meng and Mang Zhong fluttered their clever eyes and pondered for a long time, then said softly, "Master, isn't this similar to what you did back then when you put a piece of white paper on the rim of the cup and the water didn't spill out?"
Li Hong nodded with a smile, and then said: "That's about right. Tell them to use our tightly sealed pot lids to boil water. It will be better this way."
These were not difficult problems in places like Khotan, so over the past year or so, Li Hong's army had not encountered this "strange" problem.
Now that I have encountered this, I will naturally use the beef tendon pot lid that has long been distributed to the army. The edges can be squeezed into the edge of the pot tightly.
This way, the water and food in the pot can be in a relative vacuum, allowing the food to be cooked thoroughly.
Night fell quickly, and except for the soldiers on guard, all other soldiers began to fall asleep.
Li Hong's tent was naturally located in the most central position in the entire army.
Simple square stools, square tables and other necessary items were all transported with the dozens of camels in the cavalry team when they were replenishing supplies in Khotan.
Li Hong was wearing a big fur coat, Banmei and Xunlan were also wearing fur coats. Their smiling faces became rosy under the light of the fire, which was very attractive.
Bai Qi caught a wild rabbit from somewhere and now he was waiting with a serious face, like a supervisor, for Hua Meng to roast it.
Quan Yi came over in a short while, followed by several soldiers. The excitement on his face had already revealed the results of his investigation.
"Master, if we get out of here, we just need to go around the high ground in front and go about thirty miles forward. That place is very suitable for us to attack the caravan." Quan Yi stretched out his hand to roast the fire, pretending to snatch the fragrant wild rabbit that was being roasted in Hua Meng's hand.
Bai Qi immediately stood up vigilantly, his wolf eyes full of warning, "If you dare to touch my rabbit meat, I will fight you to the death."
"Have the scouts been sent out?" Li Hong asked with a smile at Quan Yi.
"They have all been sent out. As soon as we get close to this grassland, we will be able to get the news." As Quan Yi spoke, he watched Bai Qi pick up two roasted rabbits that Hua Meng had tied up, and then disappeared into the night without looking back.
"This... Master, what is it doing?" Quan Yi looked at Bai Qi in surprise. He was as strong as a calf. His majestic figure would make anyone's scalp tingle when they met him in the middle of the night.
"I don't know. This guy disappeared for a long time in the afternoon. I guess there are wolves nearby." Li Hong guessed.
But what puzzled Li Hong was that the wolf he picked up was too sociable!
Back then in Loulan, he colluded with foreign wolves to commit crimes. Looking at his behavior now, he must have gone to bribe the wolves here with the roasted hare in his mouth.
"This guy may become a spirit. He is too human-like, right?" When Quan Yi was in Chang'an, he also saw wealthy and powerful people raising wild animals such as leopards and tigers.
But raising wolves was unheard of in Chang'an City, or even in the entire Tang Dynasty.
Li Hong was also very puzzled. Wolves should be the most difficult animals to tame. Lions, tigers, bears and other wild animals can perform certain performance moves through rigorous training by humans.
But the wolf has never been tamed. Circuses can use wild animals such as lions, tigers, and bears for performances, but wolves have never been and will never be an animal there.
Li Hong was too lazy to pay attention to Bai Qi. If it was willing to return to the grassland, he would not stop it. So in the past year, Bai Qi seemed more like a wild animal to Li Hong.
After sending away a few people, Li Hong settled into his huge tent, which was divided into areas and even had a study room.
Hua Meng and Mangzhong had already boiled some hot water and prepared everything for Li Hong. Then they returned to their tent, one on the left and one on the right, not far from Li Hong.
Then further out were the tents of the royal guards, but a lot of space was left around Li Hong's tent.
Under the service of Banmei and Xunlan, Li Hong naturally felt just like he was in Loulan, and everything was still so easy to use.
He had already been accompanied by palace maids and was accustomed to everything, but he had no intention of giving away his precious first time.
In Li Hong's opinion, he is still in the period of growth, so he should wait for another two years.
Holding that body, which was as beautiful as jade and shone with alluring luster, in his arms every night was simply a torment for Li Hong now.
The erection every morning was enough to show how physically hungry he was now.
Xia Zhi, Xiao Xue, Ban Mei and Xun Lan had all made preparations long ago, but they all knew in their hearts that perhaps His Highness was waiting for Bai Chun.
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