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During this 14,000-mile journey, he not only had to open up the Western Regions, but also had to break through the prejudices in people's hearts.
Let the world know that ordinary people can also achieve great things.
Zhang Qian looked at Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo and said coldly, "Are you two here to stop me?"
Hu Xiuwu changed his attitude, bowed solemnly to Zhang Qian and said:
"No, this time when we went down the mountain, our master gave us two instructions. The first one was to order the two of us to join the delegation and help you go on the mission to Dayuezhi."
"My master believes that what you are doing is of great importance to the world and is correct."
Zhang Qian raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. What he did was to seize power from Yiren. The reason why Yiren didn't cause trouble was because Emperor Wu of Han wanted to protect him. Now Yiren actually recognized him and sent disciples to help him.
Although he was somewhat touched, Zhang Qian still bowed solemnly to express his gratitude, and then rejected Hu Xiuwu's self-examination:
"Thank you for your kindness, but please allow me to refuse."
"what?"
Chapter 115 The plan cannot keep up with the changes
"What"
This time it was Hu Xiuwu's turn to be surprised and shocked. He secretly wondered why Zhang Qian rejected him.
After a moment, Hu Xiuwu raised his head and looked directly at Zhang Qian, and said to him sincerely:
"Brother Ziwen, are you worried that my sister and I will join the delegation and want to stop this mission? I swear to Taiyi that I have no such intention."
Zhang Qian shook his head: "No, I certainly won't doubt the character of the descendants of Liu Hou."
"But I have to do this myself. If someone else interferes, it will give them an advantage."
"I must walk these fourteen thousand miles step by step. Even if I have to eat grass or drink snow, I will crawl back to Chang'an."
Looking at Zhang Qian's determined eyes and powerful words, in this era, perhaps only Hu Xiuwu understood how serious he was.
There were more than one hundred people in the delegation to Dayuezhi. They experienced the attacks of the Huns and endured severe cold and heat. More than ten years later, only Zhang Qian and Tang Yifu returned to Chang'an intact.
Because of this incident, Zhang Qian was granted the title of Marquis of Bowang. At the same time, this mission made the world understand that ordinary people can also achieve great things and eat from the Five Tripods!
Emperor Wu of Han therefore began to employ people of low status who had no accomplishments.
The ruthless Zhufu Yan, the calculating Sang Hongyang, and the late bloomer Gongsun Hong all entered the upper class and were promoted to high positions.
From then on, strange people began to slowly withdraw from the court. Except for a few who were unwilling to be lonely, most of them just let nature take its course and looked for places with beautiful scenery to establish sects and Taoist temples, where they practiced Taoism and no longer worried about the affairs of the world.
Although there were some signs of restoration by foreigners during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, they were still suppressed.
Even the top fighters in the alien world cannot go against the trend of the world with their personal bravery.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, those who wanted to achieve great things had basically no choice but to fight on the battlefield. The remaining relatively Buddhist people mostly worked in the Taishi Bureau, and apart from calculating feng shui and compiling calendars, they no longer cared about matters related to divination.
Although he could not join the diplomatic envoy as he had originally hoped, Hu Xiuwu was not disappointed because he was able to witness Zhang Qian's heroic demeanor, which changed the relationship between extraordinary people and ordinary people and left a strong mark in history books.
After refusing to mention the matter of joining the diplomatic mission, Hu Xiuwu and the other two had a pleasant conversation, mainly because Hu Xiuwu and Zhang Qian got along very well. Chen Duo just listened quietly and drank water, glancing at Hu Xiuwu from time to time.
Based on later records, Hu Xiuwu told Zhang Qian about the general geographical features of the Western Regions, which is the modern Northwest Region, and part of Central Asia, especially the situation in Central Asia where the Great Yuezhi lived.
This was something the Han Dynasty did not understand. When Zhang Qian was on his mission, he was also completely in the dark and had to grope his way across the river.
In addition, he also taught him several methods that Hu Bayi had taught him, such as finding water sources in the Gobi Desert and making water in emergencies, so that Zhang Qian could be more careful and be adequately prepared.
The situation in Central Asia and the emergency measures in the desert became common knowledge in later generations.
But these were extremely precious to the Han Dynasty, which had not yet formally established diplomatic relations with the Western Regions, and were even more priceless treasures to Zhang Qian, who was about to go to the Western Regions.
When Hu Xiuwu was describing the situation in the Western Regions, Zhang Qian had been listening silently, keeping every word of Hu Xiuwu firmly in his heart, with an attitude as pious as a student receiving instruction from his teacher.
After Hu Xiuwu talked until his mouth was dry, Zhang Qian personally poured wine for him and handed it to him with both hands as a sign of respect, which made Hu Xiuwu feel flattered and secretly happy at the same time.
Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang, personally poured wine for him. When he returned to modern times and told Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan about this, they were so envious that they died.
"Qian, thank you Xiuwu for your help. If I didn't know these details, I'm afraid Qian and the delegation would die in the desert soon."
Zhang Qian now truly believed that Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo were here to help him sincerely. Such precious knowledge would have been impossible to obtain without careful research and investigation.
Hu Xiuwu waved his hand and said, "Brother Zhang, you misunderstood. I investigated these things in order to enter the desert. In addition to asking us to help you, the master also asked us to go to Jingjue Country to find something."
"Although you don't need our help anymore, my sister and I still have to go to Jingjue Country."
"Jingjue Country? Is it the country ruled by women?"
After a brief thought, Zhang Qian remembered the familiar name Jingjue.
Hu Xiuwu was a little surprised: "Brother Ziwen has also heard of the name of Jingjue Kingdom?"
Zhang Qian laughed: "As an envoy of the Han Dynasty, how could I set out without collecting intelligence about the Western Regions? Although I haven't done as much research as you have, I have certainly heard of the Jingjue Kingdom that dominates the Western Regions."
"When I was in Chang'an, I asked Your Majesty to enter the Shiqu Pavilion to look up ancient books. These few days when I was in Xiaoshipan City, I also asked the merchants who traveled between the Western Regions and the Han Dynasty."
Zhang Qian paused for a moment, organized his words, and then continued:
"The Jingjue Kingdom is very powerful and is the leader of the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions. All other small kingdoms in the Western Regions are subject to it and pay tribute to it every year."
"And the most bizarre thing is that the king of Jingjue is actually a woman, known as the Queen of Jingjue. It is really unbelievable that a woman is governing a country."
Even if Zhang Qian himself wanted to dispel people's prejudice against ordinary people, his thinking was still limited by the times. He could not understand that there were countries in the world where women were the kings.
Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo looked at each other, the most troublesome situation had still occurred.
The Queen of Jingjue is not dead yet.
This is the last recorded ghost mother who possesses the Unbounded Demonic Pupil. As long as she is within the vicinity of the remains of the Snake God, she can use the Unbounded Demonic Pupil to attract a trace of the Snake God's power.
That is to say, when she is near the ghost cave, she can use the power of Zhongshan and the power of the World-Devouring Snake. Even if it is only a little bit, it is enough to become the best in the world.
Hu Xiuwu thought secretly: This is trouble. If the Queen of Jingjue is hiding in the ghost cave, let alone me now, even if my body recovers, I will not be a match for the Queen of Jingjue.
Feeling a little worried, Hu Xiuwu glanced at Chen Duo unconsciously. Looking at her beautiful profile, he thought:
Even if Duo'er's Dan Shi can work on the Queen of Jingjue, how can the two of us get within ten steps of her? Back then, Master Tang paid a heavy price to get close to the Ninja Head.
Seeing Hu Xiuwu looking at her, Chen Duo gave him a beautiful smile in return. Hu Xiuwu felt healed all of a sudden, and the worries in his heart were reduced a lot. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind and he remembered something.
How did the Queen of Jingjue die? It seems that she was assassinated by Prince Gumo.
Gumo? Hu Xiuwu was suddenly stunned.
Yes, Prince Gumo should have the intention to assassinate the Queen of Jingjue now.
Zhang Qian, who was concentrating on recording Hu Xiuwu's description of the scenery of the Western Regions, realized that it was already dark in the restaurant. He turned around to take a look at the weather outside the restaurant and saw that the sun had already set.
The shopkeeper stood there in a dilemma, holding an oil lamp in his hand. He wanted to give the lamp to the distinguished guest, but seeing that Hu Xiuwu and Zhang Qian were in high spirits, he was afraid of disturbing their interest.
It was also the first time he met Zhang Qian and Hu Xiuwu, and he didn't know their personalities. What if they were arrogant and domineering people who didn't like people approaching them when they were talking about things? If he went over to add more lamps, wouldn't he offend the nobleman?
Sometimes it is not a good thing to be too close to those in a higher position, because you may offend others by saying something wrong.
In this era, just one word from those in power could lead to the destruction of your family.
Zhang Qian said to Hu Xiuwu who was still thinking about the next plan: "It's getting late. If Xiuwu still has no place to stay, why don't you take your sister to the embassy's station to rest for a night?"
Hu Xiuwu said: "But won't this affect you?"
Zhang Qian smiled and said, "It's okay. As long as you don't go with the delegation, no one will gossip about you."
"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."
Chapter 116: Golden Light, Jade Hook
Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo followed Zhang Qian back to the delegation's residence. When Xu Yuanjin heard about it, he specially found two adjacent rooms for them.
After nightfall, Hu Xiuwu went to Chen Duo's room with a lantern.
Go find Chen Duo and explain your next plan to her. Chen Duo is good in every way except that she lacks initiative. If you don't take the initiative to talk to her, she won't come to you.
The room was not bright, with only an oil lamp lit, and a bean-sized flame illuminating the entire room. Chen Duo was meditating on the couch and practicing Qi. When he heard Hu Xiuwu coming, he opened his eyes and stopped the circulation of Qi.
Hu Xiuwu placed the lamp on the table and chattered to Chen Duo about his future plans: "I had originally planned to go to Jingjue Country with the delegation and take the opportunity to sneak into the ghost cave to investigate the situation. Now it seems that plans cannot keep up with changes."
"The Queen of Jingjue is in her prime and is dominating the Western Regions. Zhang Qian doesn't want any strangers to join the delegation. We have to change our original plan. I think we should go to Gumo Kingdom to find out the situation. I remember his brother once said that Prince Gumo had assassinated the Queen of Jingjue."
Chen Duo nodded: "It's up to you to decide, but how do we get to Gumo Country?"
"The safest way is to find a guide to take us to Gumo. If we really can't find one, then we'll go on our own!"
Hu Xiuwu recalled the story Hu Bayi once told him:
"I remember my brother mentioned that Prince Gusu's tomb is under the ancient city of Xiye, which is the capital of Gumo."
"Above the Xiye Ancient City is a group of Qianjiajin auspicious star signs. They are a group of Ju Men, Zuo Fu, and You Bi stars. The three stars shine brightly, forming an equilateral triangle, with the Sun and the Moon appearing in the center."
After a pause, Hu Xiuwu said, "Our situation is much better than that of my eldest brother's expedition team. At this time of year, many countries and river oases along the way are still there. We should be able to find Gumo Country by following the river and the countries along the way all the way west."
"Let's go to Gumo first to see what the current situation is, and then we can analyze it in detail."
······
The morning light was dim. The temperature difference between day and night in Xiaoshipan City was extremely large. In the early morning, there was still frost and dew on the stone slabs in the courtyard, and there was a hint of chill.
Hu Xiuwu had already packed up and came out of his room.
Hu Xiuwu finally had a peaceful rest in the city. He slept very comfortably last night, but he still got up early to practice the Golden Light Mantra in the early morning.
During this period, his five internal organs were damaged, so he needed to practice harder to strengthen his innate Qi and recuperate his body. Originally, when it came to recuperating the five internal organs, the "Huangting Sutra" was the best, but he had no choice but to not dare to use the "Huangting Sutra" for the time being.
However, as his practice of the Golden Light Mantra improved day by day, he had a feeling that he would be able to practice the Golden Light Mantra to the level of transforming Qi into form in the near future. Only then could his practice of the Golden Light Mantra be considered truly successful.
After hearing the noise in the yard, Chen Duo also got dressed and came out. Seeing Hu Xiuwu practicing standing still, she did not disturb him, but just quietly stayed by his side and practiced with him.
This was enough for her, she enjoyed the feeling of being with each other, which made her feel that she was not alone in this world. Just like in the Medicine Fairy Conference, if she hadn't had the other 48 companions with her, it would have been difficult for her to endure the inhuman treatment alone.
The two of them practiced separately and accompanied each other without disturbing each other.
Chen Duo did not practice the art of witchcraft. Without the original witchcraft as a trigger, many of her witchcraft skills became useless.
She is now practicing the skills taught by Lao Liang, the Qigong master in the Nadutong bunker. Although Lao Liang is not well-known among the extraordinary people, he is indeed a capable Qigong master. Even Zhuge Qing, who comes from a famous family, once sighed that he gained a lot from Lao Liang.
It was not until the sun was high in the sky, the dew evaporated, and sporadic figures began to appear on the street that Hu Xiuwu stood still to finish his practice. His body was warm, as if he had just finished a hot spring bath. The feeling of weakness and the vague tingling in his internal organs also subsided a little.
The practice of Golden Light Mantra is not only based on meditation, but also dynamic exercises. Golden Light Mantra also emphasizes the dual cultivation of nature and life. Static exercises cultivate nature, dynamic exercises cultivate life, combining static and dynamic exercises, and dual cultivation of nature and life.
It's just that before, Hu Xiuwu's life energy and physique were stronger than his soul, so he only practiced static energy and neglected dynamic energy. This time when his five internal organs were damaged, he picked up dynamic energy again to nourish his five internal organs.