Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 139: A Narrow Road for Enemies

Gaochang, located in the middle of the Silk Road, was very accessible so it connected in all directions. To the west reached Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, and more. The east led to Yizhou. Through 800 miles of the barren Moheyan Morraine, was the Yumen Pass, and then to the east were Guazhou and Shazhou.

Right now, Hexi was under the Northern Rong's control. The trade routes were extremely severed, and subsequently, commercial trade in Gaochang declined. Once upon a time, there were inns and post stations lining the oasis like fish scales, merchants from various countries traveling in droves, with talented Hu women spinning and clapping and skillfully singing. Nowadays, it was very difficult to see camels and caravans on the trade routes to and from the Western Regions and the Central Plains. Most of the caravans set off from Gaochang, Yizhou, and other nearby places and traveled directly to the west.

The weather was getting cooler and it is the right time for caravans to travel.

In order to avoid the eyes and ears of the Northern Rong, Yaoying and the team disguised themselves as a caravan selling silk with several large carts full to the brim with goods. These goods not only were used to disguise their identity but after arriving in Gaochang, the merchandise would be then sold locally. The gold and silver exchanged would be used to bribe the princes and nobles in Gaochang.

Lao Qi followed Yaoying on this journey. He had been wandering about for many years and was well-informed as he could speak several kinds of Hu languages.

On the way, Yaoying asked him about the price of silk fabrics, jewelry, jade, and other things in Gaochang. He worked as a steward, so he was knowledgeable in a little bit of everything and answered her questions clearly.

Sultan Gu silently journeyed along, his movements secretive, seeming to be responsible only for surveillance. Other things were taken care of by Yuanjue.

Yaoying felt that Bisha was right. Sultan Gu was indeed eccentric. He practically never talked to anyone and never took off the mask on his face.

The close guards did not dare to disturb him. When there was anything that needed to be reported, they would tell Yuanjue directly, and then Yuanjue would relay the information.

The vigorous hawk followed them all the time. Its huge wings swept past their heads from time to time, enveloping them in dark shadows.

From the Royal Court to Gaochang, from high ground in the northwest and low ground in the southeast, they first passed through a large area of undulating hills with rugged and difficult roads. The terrain gradually leveled out, and after a few days of walking along the foothills of the mountains, an endless plain appeared in front of them. The Gobi Desert's sand weaved in and out and ran across the desert with oases of various sizes scattered out like stars.

Just as the Royal Court attendant said, it had scarcely turned cooler for a few days when signs of snowfall soon appeared. Fierce winds raging, the weather was gloomy, steely clouds shrouding the sky. Walking in the vast emptiness, the sounds reaching their ears was the ghost-like, mournful wailing of the wind. The horizon was desolate and barren. Only when they reach the oases did they occasionally see traces of other camel caravans.

Yaoying was glad that she had prepared thick fur coats beforehand and her soldiers also carried winter coats according to her instructions. They came from the Central Plains and could not bear the bitter winter. Every day, they were wrapped in layers of fur jackets like dumplings.

Within a few days, the temperature plummeted, and the winds mixed with snow assaulted their face. All of them wore wind and snow masks and struggled to move forward in the wind and snow.