There were about two hundred caravanners walking on the road.
Riding in the front was a Hu merchant wearing a leather jacket and a felt hat. In the middle were two neatly arranged rows of horse-drawn carts, followed by a camel team. Guards with curved swords on their waists followed closely on both sides of the caravan, and a few fast horses were shuttling back and forth between the head and tail of the team to provide guard.
When they noticed a sudden cloud of dust rising from the south, the guards reacted immediately, whistled loudly, drew their curved swords, and formed a defensive formation.
They have been walking on the dangerous Gobi Desert for many years and are accustomed to fighting on horseback at any time. Unfortunately, they are not facing ordinary bandits this time, but the most fierce knights of the Yelu tribe.
Yao Ying got off the carriage, rode to the top of the hill, and witnessed a bloody massacre on the plain.
The eldest prince directly tore through the caravan's defense line, and with a sharp knife, he killed people like cutting melons and vegetables.
In less than half an hour, the Yelu tribe ended the battle.
The caravan was smashed to pieces, and the guards fell one after another under the swords of the Yelu knights. The Hu merchants reluctantly abandoned their goods and fled in all directions. Before they could run a few dozen steps, they were brutally killed by the knights who chased them.
The wind brought screams of despair.
The eldest prince chopped off a head with a knife, and his body was covered in blood. He ran back to the hillside, got off the horse, wiped the sticky blood on his face, and strode to the carriage, holding several bloody heads.
"Princess, this is a gift from me to you..."
He laughed, raised his head, and was stunned for a moment when he found the carriage was empty.
There was the sound of horse hooves behind me.
The eldest prince turned around.
The wind was howling beside the slope. Yaoying was sitting on horseback, still dressed in a gown with golden pins and gold and green flowers as a princess of the Great Wei Dynasty. Her face was covered with a veil. Her sleeves fluttered in the wind, and her gorgeous skirt shone with golden light, brilliant and colorful, shimmering with bright brilliance. In the vast wilderness, it looked even more colorful and beautiful.
The faint sunlight poured down through the gloomy sky and shone on Yaoying's face and body. She held the reins in her hands and glanced at the eldest prince and the head he was holding, her face calm.
She is noble and graceful, as if a goddess from heaven has descended to earth.
It seems that the fight just now did not scare this delicate Han princess.
The eldest prince narrowed his eyes, threw the head aside, and shouted to his followers: "Set up camp here!"
Having said this, he mounted his horse and rode back to the main road.
All the guards of the caravan were killed, the Hu merchants were beheaded, teenagers in their teens and old men with gray hair could not escape the knights' swords. Only more than 20 beautiful Hu women survived, kneeling in front of the knights' horses and trembling.
The eldest prince rode his horse around, picked a Hu girl at random, and pulled her onto his horse.
Like him, a dozen other knights each picked a Hu woman and prepared to enjoy their spoils.
Yao Ying withdrew her gaze.
Hubitali stood beside the black horse, her eyes were red and her body was trembling slightly.
Yao Ying said softly: "If you are afraid, go sit in the car."
Tali wiped her eyes, shook her head, and a sad smile appeared on her pale face: "Princess, when I was twelve years old, my uncle sold me to a merchant. At that time, I was the same as them..."
She pointed at the Hu maids kneeling in the cold wind.
"The merchant took us through the desert and came to Heyan, intending to sell us to the wealthy families in Liangzhou. On the way, we encountered robbers, and many people in the caravan died. The slaves were resold three or four times, and finally ended up in the Central Plains."
Whether in the Central Plains or in the Gobi Desert, in times of chaos, ordinary people can only be slaughtered.
Yao Ying was touched and asked, "Where is your hometown?"
Tali pointed to the west and said, "I have walked too far and can no longer remember clearly. I only remember that the merchant took us across 800 miles of vast sea."
Yao Ying: "Your hometown is in the Western Regions?"
The 800-li vast sea is the Mohe Desert located between Lop Nur and Yumen Pass. It is a stretch of quicksand that stretches across Yizhou and Guazhou. The climate is dry and harsh, with strong winds roaring all year round and no grass growing on the ground. Therefore, it is also called the "Quicksand River".
In the eyes of the Han people, Liusha River is the starting point of the Western Regions.
Yao Ying said: "Tali, the Yelu tribe will not cross the 800-li vast sea. If you follow me, you may not be able to return to your hometown."
The Yelu tribe has been wandering around Guazhou all year round. Now the powerful Tubo and Beirong are eyeing the Western Regions covetously. The Western Regions countries are unable to compete, and only a legendary Buddhist country is still struggling. That monk monarch will not live for a few more years, and the Yelu tribe will not cross the Liusha River and continue to move west.
Tali smiled and said, "Princess, my homeland is just a small city-state. I have been away from my homeland for so many years, and my homeland may have been destroyed long ago. I am willing to follow you, not to go to the Western Regions, but to get rid of my slavery and be closer to my hometown. Maybe I can find my lost people."
She let out a long breath, turned around, touched Wusunma, and whispered, "Princess, the Yelu people are different from the people in the Central Plains who pay attention to poetry, books and etiquette. They rob everything they can. Whenever they rob a caravan or a tribe, they will kill all the men, even the children, and only leave women and cattle and sheep. In their eyes, women are their property just like livestock, gold and silver treasures... Don't stop the prince just because you sympathize with those caravans. In the Yelu tribe, women can never stop men!"
Yao Ying smiled faintly: "Tali, thank you for your advice. I understand my situation. When I arrived in the Yelu tribe, I was no longer the princess of the Great Wei, but the Khatun of the Yelu tribe."
Now she is walking on thin ice and has no ability to save people.
And once she asked the prince for help, he would not only show no mercy, but would become even more violent and torture and kill those poor women in front of her.
Tali blushed slightly. She was a lowly Hu woman and no noble had ever thanked her before.
"Princess, you don't have to worry too much. You are as beautiful as a flower, and Yelu Khan will definitely obey your orders."
Yao Ying thought of Yelu Khan's gray hair and old face, and closed her eyes.
She can't be afraid.
While they were talking, their followers had already set up the tent.
Yao Ying knew that the eldest prince had made such arrangements on purpose, so she showed no fear and returned to her tent to rest.
That night, the terrifying howling of wolves continued to echo from the hillside.
When we set out the next day, the road was littered with corpses that had been torn to pieces by wild beasts.
The abducted Hu woman followed at the end of the team. When she saw the corpses, she covered her face and sobbed.
Yesterday, they sat on the camel's back and sang the cheerful Liangzhou tune.
Overnight, everything changed.
Yao Ying sat in the carriage and thought: When the Yelu tribe is destroyed, her fate will not be much better than those Hu women.
Li De would not send troops to rescue her.
When he needed the Yelu tribe, he could send his daughter to marry them. When he recovered Liangzhou, the Yelu tribe would be of no importance to him. He was not arrogant enough to think that he could recover the Western Regions with the current national strength of Wei. The situation in Liangzhou was complicated. He was busy clearing out the remaining forces in Liangzhou and preparing to concentrate his forces to attack Southern Chu in the future. He would not continue to send troops to Helong in the short term.
Without external help, she only has Xie Qing, her attendants and her personal soldiers by her side. When the Yelu tribe is destroyed, how can they, with only a few dozen people, escape the disaster?
Yao Ying didn't know how the Yelu tribe declined.
The tribes on the grasslands could rise quickly and become powerful like the Northern Rong, with their influence spanning the east and the west in just a few years, or they could be destroyed overnight and disappear into thin air.
She could only adapt to the situation.
During the rest of the journey, the eldest prince still showed a greedy look in front of Yao Ying from time to time.
He was brutal and barbaric, and whenever he encountered a caravan or migrating tribe, his eyes would light up and he would gather his men to plunder.
Sometimes, he even took a few of the shepherd's sheep.
Tali and Ai could speak Turkic, and they quickly became familiar with the people of the Yelu tribe and learned a lot of information.
Yelu Khan had a total of seven sons, three of whom were adults and six adopted sons.
"The eldest prince was brave and good at fighting, and was highly regarded by Yelu Khan. However, he was also very greedy, and often quarreled with other princes over the spoils of war."
"The second prince was unhappy that the eldest prince would inherit the Yelu tribe, so he secretly united with his tribesmen and asked Yelu Khan to expel the eldest prince."
"The third prince was vicious and cruel. He killed one of his younger brothers with his own hands."
"Yeluk Khan's favorite person now is his adopted son, Bemuti. When Yelu Khan went to Chang'an to meet the emperor, it was Bemuti who followed him."
When Yao Ying heard this, she was moved and remembered the foreign man she saw at the banquet that night.
The man's eyes, as if he were looking at her prey, made her feel uneasy for a long time.
"Are Biemuti's eyes light yellow?"
Tali nodded: "The people of the Yelu tribe said that Bemuti's eyes are like an eagle's. He has no father or mother, so he is the son of an eagle."
Yao Ying's heart suddenly tightened and her body stiffened.
Golden eyes, no father and no mother, the son of an eagle...is it a coincidence?
Yao Ying calmed herself down.
Maybe she was overthinking. That person couldn't possibly appear in the Yelu tribe.
A few days later, as the men sent by Yelu Khan to welcome Yaoying arrived, the eldest prince gradually restrained himself and dared not tease Yaoying with his reckless words anymore.
Yao Ying suggested that the abducted Hu women help her guard the dowry she brought from Chang'an.
"The cloth and silk I brought are the most valuable and exquisite brocade in the Central Plains. Each piece is worth a thousand pieces of gold. It cannot be exposed to rain or wind."
The silk from the Central Plains was sold well in the Western Regions and even further to the Arabs and Fulin. Now that the trade routes were cut off, a piece of good silk could even be exchanged for a small tribe from the ruler of the Western Regions.
The subordinates and the eldest prince's eyes lit up, thinking that Yaoying's dowry would belong to the Yelu tribe in the future and must not be destroyed, so they agreed readily.
The next day, the Hu women all got on horse-drawn carriages carrying silk and were covered with thick blankets. They no longer had to walk in thin clothes.
They were ordered to guard the silk, and the Yelu knights could no longer pull them aside at will to satisfy their sexual desires.
When the team stopped to rest, Yao Ying's servants would bring them food to fill their stomachs.
The Hu women were filled with gratitude. When they saw Yao Ying getting off the carriage, they all bowed to her and said in unskilled tones, "You are the most merciful Khatun we have ever seen."
Yao Ying sighed.
There was only so much she could do.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and soon it was snowing and windy, so they had to hurry on their way in the snow.
The eldest prince was notorious for his ferocity, and he plucked feathers from passing geese. The caravan tribes in the Gobi Desert were terrified at the news.
Therefore, whenever they saw the Yelu tribe appearing from a distance, whether it was a caravan, herdsmen or tribesmen, they would immediately turn around and flee. Even the Yelu tribesmen did not dare to risk passing under the eyes of the eldest prince.
Several times, before the eldest prince could launch a charge, the enemy had already cleverly fled to the hillside where the path was rugged and not conducive to cavalry attacks.
The eldest prince was furious.
It was a rare sunny day, and they were resting in a sheltered place by the river, letting the horses and camels drink plenty of water, when they suddenly heard the sound of a passionate pipa coming from the snow.
In the distance, there were shadows of people. A caravan consisting of camels and horses was heading towards the river from west to east.
In the team, several Hu merchants wearing felt hats held pipa in their arms, talking and laughing loudly while playing the instruments, and the music was melodious.
The eldest prince pricked up his ears excitedly and called out to his men. These days he had only robbed a few old horses and a few female slaves, but finally he saw a huge caravan again!
Dozens of warriors roared loudly, mounted their horses, followed the eldest prince, and galloped towards the caravan.
The snow flew everywhere and the sound of horses’ hooves was like thunder.
Xie Qing immediately escorted Yao Ying away from the avenue.
Yao Ying rode up a hill, looked back at the snow-covered plain, and frowned slightly: The snow was covered with traces of the Yelu tribe, how could any caravan dare to approach?
She looked far into the distance and saw that the eldest prince and the warriors had already deployed their troops skillfully, like a powerful beast, opening its bloody mouth towards the caravan.
The caravan seemed to be in a panic. The frightened horses neighed and hoofed, and the Hu merchants who were playing the pipa turned their horses around.
The guards on both sides came forward and slowly raised a flag.
Yao Ying was stunned: Why didn't the caravan guards draw their swords but raised their flags?
Could it be that they knew they were no match for the eldest prince and simply surrendered?
It was too far away for Yaoying to see what was embroidered on the flag. Just as she was about to ask Tali, Yelu Khan's subordinates not far behind her suddenly gasped and let out a cry of fear.
“Stop!”
The subordinate turned pale and started yelling at the eldest prince. Then he realized that the eldest prince could not hear him at all, so he hurriedly rode down the hillside.
"Foman, stop!"
He roared and urged the riders to blow their horns.
The sound of horns rang out, the dust rolled ahead, the sound of hooves was like a torrential rain, but the eldest prince and the warriors were still charging forward with swords flashing.
The caravan guards in the distance seemed not to be afraid of the prince at all. Facing the ferocious Yelu knights who were rushing towards the caravan from all directions, they still held their heads high, held their flags high, and did not move.
The bright sunlight after the snow fell on the flag fluttering in the wind. It was a snow-white flag embroidered with intricate patterns.
The guards held up flags, drew their swords, and stood on their horses, calm and composed.
It seems that this flag is enough to resist thousands of troops.
The subordinates were so frightened that they rushed forward, snatched the horn and started to blow it themselves.
The horn blew long and loud, echoing through the sky.
The warriors were well-trained, and when they heard the warning horn, they immediately reined in their horses. The eldest prince, who was leading the way, also pulled the reins, frowned, and turned back.
The subordinates drove their horses at full speed and shouted at the eldest prince in Turkish: "Fuman, that is the royal caravan! They are the subjects of the Buddha!"
The eldest prince's face darkened.
On the hillside, Yaoying raised her eyebrows in surprise.
The eldest prince, who used to rob caravans and plunder tribes, actually gave up the fat sheep that was waiting for him to slaughter and turned back.
He spat at the caravan and uttered something angrily. At the advice of his subordinates, he turned his horse around and led his warriors back.
The caravan holding flags quickly restored order, the Hu merchants returned to the front of the team, and the sound of the pipa rang out again.
They seemed to ignore the cruel prince and continued to rush towards the river.
As if nothing happened.
There was a hint of arrogance in his calmness.
Yaoying went down the hillside and returned to the Yelu tribe.
The subordinates whispered to the eldest prince in front of the tent.
The eldest prince looked gloomy.
The subordinate couldn't help but raise his voice: "Fuman, have you forgotten the Khan's warning?"
The eldest prince took a sinister look at the caravan in the distance and walked away.
After a while, the sound of a horse crying was heard, and the eldest prince was whipping the horse by the river to vent his anger.
The black horse was startled and snorted nervously.
Yao Ying stroked her beloved horse's neck to comfort it, then raised her head and looked toward the arrogant caravan not far away.
There were not many people in this caravan. Apart from a dozen or so Hu merchants wearing brocade robes and felt hats, the remaining thirty or so were guards wearing light armor and carrying curved swords and quivers on their waists.
Unlike the light riding clothes worn by the warriors of the Yelu tribe, the silver light armor worn by the caravan guards is exquisitely crafted and gorgeous in style. It looks more like formal wear than armor. Under the armor, they all wear black brocade short-sleeved robes with silver curly grass patterns embroidered on the hems.
In Liangzhou, the only people who could afford to wear this kind of clothing were the leaders of the tribes.
Obviously, this was a wealthy caravan.
No wonder the eldest prince was so excited when he saw them.
The eldest prince was tyrannical, cruel and greedy, why did he suddenly stop?
Yao Ying looked around and saw the flag that had scared off the eldest prince. The snow-white flag was decorated with gorgeous golden patterns embroidered with gold and silver threads.
Many people in the Yelu tribe believe in Zoroastrianism, and their battle flag is black and red, which looks very imposing.
The guard's flag was actually white.
Yao Ying returned to the carriage and asked Tallie, "What did the eldest prince and his men just say? Who are the caravan members?"
The subordinates spoke to the eldest prince in the language of their tribe.
Tali whispered, "I heard from them that the caravan was the private army of several major clans in the Western Regions Royal Court."
Afraid that Yaoying didn't understand, she paused for a moment and then continued to explain, "Wangting is far away in the Western Regions, farther than Gaochang. It is an ancient holy city. Because the noble Buddhist son lives there, the countries in the Western Regions call the holy city Wangting. The Buddhist son is the monarch, commanding various small countries and tribes. There are four powerful clans loyal to him. The tribes in the Western Regions all believe in Buddhism. As long as the Buddhist son gives an order, everyone from the king to the subjects must listen to him."
Yao Ying didn't expect to hear the word "Wang Ting": "Why are Wang Ting's private soldiers here?"
The two places are so far apart, and there is an 800-li long Quicksand River in between. Why would the royal court's private soldiers travel thousands of miles to Helan?
Tari replied: "I don't know. When I was in my homeland, the royal court had already declined. At that time, Buddhists were still imprisoned in Buddhist temples, and no one obeyed the royal court's orders..."
"The eldest prince and his men said that the royal court's private soldiers have been traveling between Helan and the Western Regions in the past two years. They seem to be doing business with the northern grassland tribes. They are under the banner of Buddha, so the Helan tribes dare not rob and kill them."
"They all said that the Buddha's son was the incarnation of Ananda and had boundless supernatural powers. Anyone who dared to rob or kill the Buddha's subjects would be punished by heaven."
Yaoying was a little surprised.
The Buddhist monarch of the Western Regions is undoubtedly Tanmaraka, who has always been deeply envied by the Northern Rong. Half of the countries in the Western Regions believe in Buddhism and are willing to follow the Buddha, which is not surprising, but the various Hu tribes are barbaric and have mixed beliefs. How come Tanmaraka's reputation is so loud in Helong?
A single banner frightened Yelu Khan's men so much that their souls flew out of their bodies, forcing the eldest prince to swallow his anger and watch helplessly as the fat sheep slowly swayed back and forth in front of him without being able to take action...
Yaoying couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that the monk really has supernatural powers?
Regardless of whether Tanmaraka had real supernatural powers or not, the caravan flying his banner escaped the clutches of the eldest prince safely, and after replenishing their water, they slowly left.
The cheerful sound of the pipa echoed over the desolate Gobi Desert.
The eldest prince's face was gloomy. He turned around suddenly, drew the sword from his follower's waist, and chopped it down with one blow.
The horse, which was being whipped to death by him, uttered its last sad cry, and its head rolled off, blood spurted out, dyeing the riverside red.
The Yelu tribe continued to advance.
At night, they stopped to camp. Yaoying was sleeping in the tent when she suddenly heard the sound of hurried horse hooves.
She immediately stood up, put on her clothes, and grabbed the dagger hidden in her boots.
Xie Qing lifted the curtain and entered the tent, whispering, "Princess, that's the sound coming from the eldest prince."
He was afraid that the eldest prince would bully the princess, so he kept an eye on the eldest prince's movements at night.
Yao Ying frowned.
Xie Qing sat cross-legged in front of Yao Ying and said, "We are almost at Yelu tribe. The eldest prince will not dare to act rashly. I will stay here today. Princess, you can continue to sleep."
Yaoying was exhausted. Without giving it much thought, she just hummed and lay down to continue sleeping.
The next morning, they ate some dry food in a hurry and set off, but there was no sign of the eldest prince.
The eldest prince's subordinates said that he thought the dry rations were too coarse, so he went hunting last night.
Upon hearing this, Yelu Khan's subordinates were furious and were about to ride out on horseback to chase after them. However, the sound of hooves like raindrops came from the east, and the eldest prince and the warriors had returned.
They were all drunk, and next to their saddles hung freshly slaughtered meat and felt that they had stolen from somewhere.
The subordinates sighed helplessly, not daring to blame the prince in public, and ordered the team to set out.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the Ya'an of the Yelu tribe.
Yaoying got off the carriage and was escorted to the tent to the sound of drums and music. Before she had time to look around the tribe where she was going to live, a familiar tall and straight figure suddenly appeared before her.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Li Xuanzhen stood in front of the tent, looking haggard and with untidy beard. He glanced at her indifferently, his eyes slightly drooped, his fingers tightly gripping the hilt of the knife.
The author has something to say: Happy Lantern Festival everyone~~