The three Longying people also introduced themselves in their own way. (Baidu Search Literature Museum)
After announcing each other¡¯s names, the atmosphere improved greatly.
Bada said: "Can you use heaven as proof that you are not lying?"
Long Ying looked up at a white cloud floating in the sky and pointed to the sky: "I, Long Ying, are not only Hengkong Muye's friend, but also his brother. If I lie, God will punish me."
Five people were moved at the same time.
Bada called out, and the five men rode down the river and waded in. The three of them stepped back to make room for them to land.
As they crossed the river, they looked at Xueer and others and whispered to each other.
Bada landed first, jumped off his horse quickly and walked towards Dragon Eagle.
When Long Ying didn't know what he wanted to do, he had already hugged Long Ying and said, "A friend of Hengkong Muye is also a friend of our Hulun tribe." Then he hugged Wan Renyu and Feng Guoting. The other four people also came to hug them. It was by no means a false story, but full of enthusiasm, and the atmosphere became harmonious.
Everyone sat around the river bank, and when Wan Renyu took one of the silks to give to them, as Wan Renyu expected, Bada and others showed joy, passed the silk to look at, and couldn't bear to let go.
Wan Renyu took the opportunity to ask in Tubo: "Just now we said we came from the Tang Dynasty, why are you laughing?"
The sun has already sunk below the horizon, but is still shining fan-like colors in the west. The prairie is in another charming state.
Bada said bluntly without any hesitation: "Now that is a place governed by women. How can men be governed by women?"
The three of them had nothing to say.
Long Ying said: "Why do you believe me so easily when I say I am a friend of Hengkong Makino?"
The other four people outside Bada should understand Tubo, but they just didn't dare to speak out loud and show attention.
Bada said: "Because we know that Prince Makino has indeed become friends with the Han people. As for who told us, I can't tell you for the time being. What's more important is that my friend, you just made an oath to heaven. Your expression was sincere and frank, and your eyes did not move. "
Long Ying and the other three exchanged glances, and they all felt that there was something in Bada's words and there was something else going on. Of course I didn¡¯t dare to ask.
Feng Guoting said: "We want to go to Tubo, Bada, do you know how to get there?"
Bada said: "I can't tell you now. Let's rest in our camp tonight. Tomorrow morning we will ride on horseback for a day to visit a man who has eight tents. His tent is next to the Divine Sea. We We respectfully call him 'Antian', which means a person of great wisdom, and everything is decided by Antian."
Feng Guoting asked with great interest: "The number of tents, what does it mean?"
Bada smiled and said: "Eight tents means eight wives. I also have three tents." He lowered his voice and said: "Stay in the three tents in turn. It will reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles. Ha!"
Everyone laughed with him, and of course they understood what he meant.
The young man named Dandak smiled the most ambiguously. He must have not married yet, so he felt envious when he heard it.
At this time, it was getting dark, and everyone set off to Bada's camp. The silk given to them was carefully placed on Bada's lap and placed in the starry sky. After walking west for half an hour, we arrived at a small lake with a width of more than ten feet. We passed hundreds of tents and were sparsely scattered beside the small lake.
There are hundreds of men and women in the whole clan. The old and the young flocked to see them, and they were hospitable and enthusiastic.
That night, Bada held a wildfire party to entertain them, and invited them to taste lamb legs and drink goat milk tea. Under the deep and charming starry sky, except for the occasional sound of sheep bleating in the distance. There was only the sound of a bonfire burning.
The containers of goat milk tea were passed around the fire among everyone. Spend time leisurely. Although the three of them are not used to their rhythm, they do as the Romans do, gradually adapting to and enjoying their way of life.
Long Ying couldn¡¯t help but asked Bada: ¡°Don¡¯t you like Turks?¡±
Bada said: "Turks are not decent people."
Wan Renyu asked: "Have they ever invaded you?"
Bada shrugged and said: "I don't know, it's just that it's always been like this. Everyone knows that Turks are not decent people."
Feng Guoting said: "Do you know the situation of our friends the Tubo people?"
Bada shook his head and said: "Then it depends on whether An Tian is willing to tell you. I can't tell you without his permission. An Tian is our clan leader."
Long Ying said: "Have you ever been to the great desert in the west?"
Bada said proudly: "How can a man who has never set foot in the Divine Desert be called a man? There is a part of our grassland on the west that penetrates into the Divine Desert like a spear, directlyIt is more than 300 miles long and connects with the Qiemo River at the end. It is a good place for hunting. If you go west along the river and then turn south, you can reach Nuoqiang and Qiemo. It is the fastest way to get there. road. "
Wan Renyu said: "There is a natural hunting ground in Taklimakan?"
Bada said: "Before the Qiemo River reaches our prairie, it first flows into Taitma Lake. The lake is covered with trees and inhabited by various animals and birds. If you have time, I can take you hunting."
The three of them were amazed, thinking that there were so many good places in the vast desert. Earth can conquer water, but obviously water can also conquer earth.
The conversation ended, and the three of them were greeted to an empty tent and spent the first night after arriving in the big oasis.
Before dawn the next day, Bada led the three of them on the road towards the "Shenhai" to visit the leader of the tribe who owned eight tents.
The three of them were really a little baffled by this, because they had given gifts and were considered brothers, so why didn't they tell them what they wanted to know? It seems somewhat inconsistent with the open and enthusiastic style of the nomadic people.
Along the way, the grassland stretches out endlessly, and the forest is vast. Accounting houses can be seen hidden in the waves of grass, and farmland of highland barley, peas, flax, etc. can be seen. It can be seen that in this beautiful land, people live a comfortable life of half farming and half pastoralism. There are many large and small rivers along the way, and one has to wade across the rivers more than ten times in one morning. Two times, he has to swim across the rivers by horse.
From time to time, I see women wearing brightly colored clothes and colorful headscarves washing clothes by the river. I raise my head and say hello to them without shyness. The young women are strong and graceful, and have a unique appearance of the grassland people.
In the afternoon, they rested by a small lake and ate the dry food they had brought. Looking towards the lake, they could see flocks of birds flying on and near the lake. Thousands of them were full of life, which made them dizzy. If you shoot the arrow blindly, maybe a bird will be shot down.
Longying said: "Oh my god, there are so many different birds."
Bada was not surprised and said nonchalantly: "Every spring and summer, there are always flocks of birds flying from the southwest. There are more migratory birds in Shenhai, and the number of birds only decreases in winter." .¡±
The three of them calculated the time in their minds. It was winter when they set off from Chang'an. Now spring has passed and summer has just arrived. Before they knew it, they had been on the road for more than four months.
Bada added: "Now is the season of high water flow. A large amount of water pours from the south. This is also the time when our grassland is the most beautiful. In winter, the water flow decreases greatly, and it looks different here."
Feng Guoting asked: "Is the sea water in your Divine Sea salty or sweet?"
Bada said: "It's salty. Except for the inland saltwater lake on the southern plateau, our Divine Sea is the largest saltwater inland sea within a radius of thousands of miles. We also produce salt here, which can be exchanged for many things. I will give it to everyone later. I¡¯ll give you a packet of salt. Salt is a must-have for us when we go to the desert. When the mounts can¡¯t stand the heat, feeding them two mouthfuls of salt can save their lives.¡±
Wan Renyu was surprised and asked: "The horse is willing to eat salt?"
Bada showed an expression even more surprised than him and said, "Don't you know that horses like salt?"
Feng Guoting said: "Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books. Today I finally understand the wisdom of these two sentences."
Bada lowered his voice and said: "Antian is the most prestigious person on the grassland. The gifts you give to him must be heavier than the gifts you give to me, otherwise others will gossip about me. Do you understand?"
Wan Renyu smiled bitterly and nodded to Long Ying and Feng Guoting. The two immediately understood that they had to give all the remaining two pieces of silk to An Tian, ??whom Bada said. The nomadic people's frankness is so direct that it makes people laugh.
After chatting for a while, the four of them continued the last leg of their journey.
Bada did not exaggerate, until the sun set over the rolling mountains to the west, the huge and boundless super lake finally appeared in front.
Bada said happily: "Can you smell the salty smell of the water?" Then he pointed with his riding whip at the distant mountains that were blurry under the sun, and said: "Behind the mountains is the respectable sea of ??sand."
The three of them were inspired by him, thinking about how extreme the comparison between the deserted Taklimakan Desert behind the mountains and the grassland here with fertile water and grass, as beautiful as a fairyland on earth. The stretching mountains have become the boundary between death and life.
After having tasted the desert, Dragon Eagle was curious and bold, and did not want to have to go to the "Sea of ??Death".
Before the sun sank into the western mountains, we finally arrived at the lake area. The Divine Sea is so big that you can't even see the other side, it has no boundaries, and it looks more like a sea than a lake. No wonder it's called Puchang Sea. The lake has crystal clear crystals and abundant water plants. Countless swans, wild geese, wild ducks, fish and gulls are playing and flying in the water. The sunset and the shimmering blue waves merge into one piece. Together with the cattle, sheep and horses grazing by the lake, it creates a moving and contagious scenery. The mountains to the west are majestic and majestic.
Bada said excitedly: "We're here!" He spurred on his horse and led the three of them towards a group of tents on the high ground on the lake shore.
Compared with the large number of camps here, Bada¡¯s camp is different from a small witch to a big witch. But although there are thousands of tents, they are not crowded and are sparsely spaced, dotted with the vast and moist lakeshore area.
More than a dozen young herdsmen who were grazing nearby saw them coming. They rode up and exchanged a few greetings with Bada. Then they joined them and galloped towards the target camp. When they arrived at the largest group of camps, A long line of cavalry has grown behind them.
Along the way, there were women and children coming out of nearby tents. The atmosphere was lively, peaceful and peaceful, and everyone looked happy, as if they were unaware of the dangerous world outside the prairie.
Bada suddenly reined in his horse and whispered: "Quickly dismount, An Tian is here."
Everyone dismounted as he did, and a tall old man, surrounded by seven or eight young men, came to greet them from the camp on a small hill.