Chinese dining table

Chapter 55 The Open-minded Old Monkey

When the water on the sackcloth evaporates quickly, it takes away the heat from the silver jug, which in turn makes the water in the jug cold.

In such hot weather, even if there is a sunshade above Yunchu's head, the heat reflected from the ground will still make people miserable.

Naha drank heavily from the cold water bottle. If Yunchu remembered correctly, this was the third pot of water this child drank today.

After drinking three pots of water, Naha didn't feel the slightest urge to urinate. Yun Chu drank two pots of water, but she also didn't feel any urge to urinate, but felt dry mouth.

Yunchu had a lot of free camels, so two camels were specially responsible for carrying water for him.

Only in this way can he and Naha's almost extravagant drinking water be supported.

In fact, the water on the camel's back has been baked by the sun for three days, because the water bag is a sheepskin bag, so there is no taste at all.

Ever since the old monkey found out that Yunchu put tea leaves and honey in the water he and Naha drank, he didn't know how to make the water cool and delicious, basically he didn't look good towards Yunchu.

Awe of the sky and the earth is the deep imprint of Lao Houzi, a native of the Western Regions. He insists that since he travels to the Gobi Desert, suffering is also a part of the trip.

Yunchu doesn't think so, and insists that as long as he has enough ability, he can live the life he wants even in hell.

When the old monkey wanted to argue, after Yunchu put the old monkey's precious wine in a silver jug ​​and made it cold for him, the old monkey stopped talking about Yunchu, and after drinking the cold grape wine, he secretly Wrap the silver pot with sackcloth and shake it vigorously.

It didn't work out well, he used dry sackcloth!Without water, there would be no reaction of evaporation taking away the heat, and he would only make his wine hotter by doing so.

When the Gobi came to the end, there was a rolling sand sea in front of you.

The Gobi is the predecessor of the desert, so the desert always crawls on the Gobi, swallowing the Gobi bit by bit.

If the Gobi is hell, then the desert is the deepest part of hell.

After two days of walking in the desert, it was finally time to climb the tall sand dunes. Livestock that died of exhaustion began to appear in Ding Dayou's team.

The big wheeled oxcart that Yunchu was carrying had its wheels removed at this moment, and the camels dragged the cart forward.

When everyone was struggling with the desert in a lifeless manner, Ding Dayou issued the rule that from now on, the leader will start the night watch.

Yunchu is the leader of Naha, the old monkey is the leader of the Hu merchants, Ding Dayou and the two school lieutenants, one of them joins the army and is the leader of the government soldiers, so after entering the desert for the second day, they become night watchmen. people.

During the day, the sun is shining brightly in the desert, and the heat is unbearable, but at night, the desert is bitingly cold and heart-wrenchingly cold.

While roasting on the fire, Ding Dayou cut a dried lamb leg with a knife and ate it. The old monkey also took a dried lamb leg and ate it with great effort, while waiting for Ding Dayou to blackmail him.

Yunchu put a small pot on the fire, and cooked Naha her favorite dried vegetable beef soup, because the beef is air-dried, it is difficult to cook it into a paste, but Yunchu just wanted to hear what Ding Dayou said Blackmailing Hu Shang doesn't care much about time.

Ding Dayou was silent for a long time, he only cared about the grilled and dried leg of lamb, and seemed not to care much about the fact that he was about to leave the desert.

So, the old monkey looked at the swaying fire and said, "According to the rules, [-]% of the goods go to the protector."

Ding Dayou glanced at the old monkey with eyes as big as cowbells, but remained silent, but he gnawed harder on the leg of lamb.

This should be a very clever way of negotiating. Of course, it is also possible that Ding Dayou is unwilling to negotiate.

The old monkey didn't make any changes, he seemed to understand that he was in a weak position, and said: "Thirty percent, no more, more than this number, I would rather take the camel team away now."

Ding Dayou looked at the barbarians who were fighting with swords and the soldiers who were on full alert, and finally said: "Forty percent, it's because you provided the information about Buddha's footprints."

The old monkey nodded, and those soldiers who had already drawn out their knives returned to their posts.

The Hu people saw that the old monkey seemed to have discussed with the Tang people, so they relaxed their guard, and the camp became lively again.

Ding Dayou said again: "If those people behind us don't leave after we leave the desert, I'll kill you, and then I'll kill those people."

The old monkey shook his head and said: "Those who are not me, their goal is you, to be precise, the footprints of the Buddha.

Desert warfare is not good for you Tang people. Here, the horses you rely on are not powerful. Those sand robbers are familiar with every grain of sand here. The general must be careful. "

Ding Dayou sneered and said, "Get out of Lao Tzu's camp immediately. If you are not dead before dawn, we will talk about going back to Yumen Pass."

The old monkey seemed to have expected this result a long time ago, and without arguing, he led the Hu people to camp on the windward side of another sand dune.

Yunchu looked around, and decisively chose to enter Ding Dayou's camp. Although he seemed to be better than the old monkey, but at this critical moment, he would only choose to trust Ding Dayou.

A whistling wind appeared in the sky. This kind of wind belongs to the high-altitude wind. The wind on the ground is still not strong. However, this kind of whistle wind has a very bad characteristic, that is, it can bring a lot of sand and dust.

Yunchu wrapped Naha with two round shields and placed them among the three camels, while he himself put on the leather armor and waited for Ding Dayou's order with a bow and arrow.

"Tingfeng, can you shoot accurately?" A gray-bearded brigade commander asked Yunchu. It was obvious that Yunchu had been assigned to him.

"Fourty out of ten."

"It's okay, you can make do with it. Your defensive area tonight is the area where the two camels are wide and narrow. No matter what method you use, even if you bite with your teeth, you can't let the enemy rush in from the area of ​​​​the two camels."

Yun Chu tapped the breastplate and said, "Here!"

The brigade commander laughed and said: "I heard that you were shot like a hedgehog by the barbarian's arrows, and you can still fight fiercely. You are considered a man. I also heard that you came to Beijing this time to study in the four schools.

Since the future is great, take care of your own life, don't die in the hands of sand robbers in vain, and you won't even be able to make military achievements. "

As he spoke, the brigade commander gave Yunchu a white cloth strip and asked him to tie it on his forehead, so that he could distinguish between the enemy and us in the dark.

After Yunchu tied the belt, he sat cross-legged on the cold sand, and when the sand and dust filled the air, he lifted off the black sheepskin cloak wrapped around Naha's body, and hugged Naha who was wrapped like a turtle by him. , I yawned and got ready for a good night's sleep.

The brigade commander bullied Yunchu who was young and ignorant, thinking that this would scare Yunchu, who enjoys a high salary in the team, for a whole night.

He didn't know how Yun Chu, who had been on the battlefield long ago and knew Ding Dayou's fighting habits like the back of his hand, would be teased by him.

If the person who said these words just now was a team leader, Yun Chu would have stood firm all night with his eyes wide open, and would have done what the team leader said, no matter what, he would not let the enemy come in from within the range of the two camels.

Since it was a brigade commander who was too idle to arrange, it naturally meant that he was not needed on the battlefield at all.

A round of dim moon hung in the sky, and Yunchu accidentally saw it, so he untied the shield on Naha's body, and wrapped the unconscious child in a cloak.

When the moon comes out, it proves that the whistle wind on the desert is about to stop. Since the wind stops, it is a good time for the sand to fall. At this time, the desert will be brightly illuminated by the moon, and there will be fine sand When the dust falls, any moving objects will be easily noticed.Can only be used as a target.

Yunchu resumed the way of sleeping in the Aries Department, that is, when a person is sleeping, his two ears are on guard.

That night, he only heard the sound of feathered arrows piercing the air, and it didn't last long. Since there was not a trace of wind in the air, he heard the snoring of the government soldiers one after another.

At dawn, when Yunchu and Naha got out of the black sheepskin cloak in disgrace, they found that except for Ding Dayou and a group of people who seemed to be drilled out of the soil, the rest of the spirits were in good spirits .

Seeing Ding Da sitting on a wooden box with a big horse and a golden knife, his hair was messy, and there were large patches of red mud on his armor, he couldn't bear it, so he handed him the water he had soaked in tea foam and honey. over him.

The honey green tea was really refreshing. After Ding Dayou took a sip, he paused for a moment and drank it all in one gulp.

"Are there any injuries in the assault last night?"

"There are no injuries, but there are two dead, one with a broken neck and one with a spear pierced through the heart. Can you save them?"

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "I can't."

"Since you can't, go do something capable and tell that old barbarian that I want half of his goods this time."

The situation of the old monkey here is very bad, the barbarians who died all over the place, after Yunchu told the old monkey who was directing the collection of goods, the old monkey readily agreed to Ding Dayou's request.

"There were too many Hu merchants who died last night, and most of the goods became ownerless. It is reasonable for Ding Dayou to ask for half, and it also saved a lot of money for those of us who survived."

"Are you going with Ding Dayou today?"

"Let's go, if we don't go with him, how can we enter Yumen Pass? Don't think that Ding Dayou's expelling us from the camp last night was an act of treachery. This is a choice, even the best choice. .

It is right for people to only have the idea of ​​seeking victory in their hearts. You must also remember in the future that there is no way for tigers and wolves to fight together. "

The old monkey has turned into an understanding and open-minded person again. Sometimes, Yunchu really has no way to make an accurate character profile for the old monkey.

He is like a combination of a jackal and a tiger. To describe him more accurately, he should also add a little bit of the insidiousness of a crocodile and the rage of a shark.

This kind of person is more dangerous than everyone Yunchu has ever met before, but it is rare for him to have a strong personality charm, making people willing to trust him and rely on him unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)