Lord of the Desert

Chapter 370: The Great Carriage

The falling snow covers the old year, and dozens of days and nights pass by like arrows.

February 21st, the 30th year of Zhenghe.

The east wind is getting warmer, and heaven and earth are shedding their white robes.

Thirty miles east of Yunlan City, Moxue held out on the eaves for the last night before surrendering to Chenguang.

This is originally a wealthy place.

And today, a piece of high-quality red silk wrapped in golden auspicious cloud patterns was spread out from between the houses and extended directly to the village entrance dozens of feet away.

A quarter before noon, all the villagers were already kneeling by the roadside.

Adults and the elderly lowered their heads like quails.

Only the ignorant children secretly raised their eyes, looking greedily at the heavily armored knight standing in front of them, silent and solemn like an iron figurine, and the huge creation at the end of the red silk.

This is a chariot that is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

It is seven zhang wide, sixteen zhang long, and three stories high.

There are hundreds of axles and twelve different kinds of beasts of burden, each of which has the strength of several oxen.

The main body is made of light and tough silver wood, with gold lacquer, incense, and jade carvings; the scorching sun shines on it, spreading the scaly light of metal.

On top of the great carriage, three flags and sails had been hoisted, with the word "风" written in official script in black ink on a green background.

A quarter of an hour later, Feng Chengyi walked out slowly from the temple in the center of the village.

He was tall and straight, with skin so white that the veins could be seen, and he wore a crown of jade inlaid with gold. Whenever he passed by, the knights would kneel on one knee.

Feng Chengyi scanned everything in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze.

He was looking to see if there were any broken tiles on the roof of the farmhouse, if the clothes of the kneeling person were wrinkled, and if there were any green silk tied on the branches of the trees that had not lost their leaves...

Everything seemed to be going as he wished.

So the King of Huaiyang walked briskly, and soon he reached the end of the red silk, ready to get on the carriage.

At this time, the east wind was a little bit unrestrained, blowing away the green ribbons on the three trees.

The wind rides on the mind and the movements are slightly sluggish.

Behind him, the princess, beauties, eunuchs, and female officials all looked solemn and dared not speak a word.

The king returned to his magnificent chariot, which was unrivaled in the world.

A moment later, the short and fat eunuch came out quickly, covering his swollen face, and whispered to the commander of the guards.

The knights spread out, pulled the three village elders out of the crowd, strangled them with one hand, and hung them on long poles beside the official road.

The king is about to rise.

The ivory horn sounded for five full breaths.

Two hundred heavily-armored knights mounted their horses at the same time, the sound of iron rods became a tide, and they guarded on all sides like a wall or a forest.

The great carriage was so steady and majestic as it moved forward. Not only were the axles silent, but there were also maids holding bells and chimes at the four corners of the carriage, which rang leisurely.

The east wind dare not move rashly.

Then the warriors of the royal court used their true energy to blow up a strong wind and fill the sails with flags.

It also blew away the corpses of criminals whose eyes were still open outside the road.

······
The sixth day of March.

More than 200 miles northeast of Yunlan City.

The mountains are stacked like folds of clothes, and the water systems are inlaid like patterns on gorgeous clothes.

This is the border of Haoran County.

Two thousand Tianfeng troops passed through this place at noon, ensuring that the bridge was stable, the official road was wide, flat and clean, and driving away all convoys and people.

One day later, the king's chariot arrived and traveled by boat on land.

There were five or six hundred people and even more livestock and vehicles, forming a huge group, with the distance between the head and the tail exceeding a mile.

Feng Chengyi's laughter lasted longer than the team.

He held a golden bow and used wooden arrows without arrowheads as arrows, and aimed at a dozen men who were tied with ropes and had their hands tied behind their backs behind the big carriage.

Every time the bowstring vibrated, the wooden arrow shaft would pierce into a person's flesh and bleed, until these warriors whose dantian and meridians were destroyed fell to the ground exhausted and died silently while being dragged.

On the top of the cliff, Prince Huaiyang's entertainment was reflected in the eyes of several people.

"These captives are heroes from the three eastern cities of Haoran County."

Duan Tiannan spoke in a low voice.

"Three days ago, they contacted more than 200 experts to attack the enemy at night. Unexpectedly, in addition to several innates, there was also a 'Liaoyuanhuo' hidden in the formation, and almost all of them were killed or injured."

The blaze of fire is the title of Gong Zhengping, the Yuanci warrior of the Gong family; his youngest daughter is the wife of the King of Huaiyang. "Is Feng Chengyi using himself as bait?"

Hong Fan frowned.

He looked at Feng Chengyi's arrogant and unbridled figure from afar - this man didn't look like someone with such scheming.

"You overestimate Taotie'er."

Duan Tiannan shook his head.

"This man succeeded to the throne at a young age, has no father or mother, and loves extravagance, squandering, and spectacles. It has been his dream for many years to build a grand chariot to tour the country. Even the two Yuanci of the Feng family cannot completely suppress his arrogance and evil desires."

While they were talking, two more people were shot by arrows and fell down, unable to get up.

"Since we took over Duanli, the unyielding people have risen up in the three counties, and the royal court's decrees only extend to a few hundred miles in radius."

“Feng Mubai then released this mad dog.”

Duan Tiannan stared at Wang Nian without blinking.

"In the eighteen days since the beginning of spring, the great carriage has passed through three cities and five counties, and everywhere it has been conquered."

"The Blast Guards attacked from all sides, destroyed eleven mountain strongholds, and captured more than five thousand people who were being escorted to Yunlan City."

"It's really cruel..."

The words faded away in the wind, and the clifftop remained silent for a moment.

Hong Fan stood on the rocks and glanced at the heavily-armored knights guarding the king.

They are named Biaofeng, with a total of 200 people. Each of them is equipped with precious armor, famous swords, and fine horses. The weakest one is not inferior to the captain of the Red Cavalry Squadron. They are the world-famous warrior guards of Huaiyang State.

The total cost of its military equipment, logistics, elixirs, rewards, and salaries was over 500,000 taels of silver a year, enough to build another large carriage.

Currently, there are at most 20,000 thoroughgoing warriors in the three counties, and less than 1,000 in the Baisheng Army. Most of them are middle-level officers and serve as the backbone of each army.

The royal court gathered 200 high-ranking soldiers and trained them into loyal warriors who obeyed orders. This was not only a luxury but also required years of accumulation.

This force is indeed devastating, but it is not regenerable.

The team slowly walked away, and Feng Chengyi's laughter could no longer be heard.

"The royal chariot is heavy and bulky, so it can only be taken on the official road, not by boat."

Xu Yuntao released his hand that was holding the knife handle.

"Having traveled north to this point, their route has been determined. They must first pass through Xianhe City and then cross the Yao River along Fengsheng Bridge."

Hong Fan nodded when he heard this.

He had overlooked the bridge when he came here, and it was only slightly smaller than the Xianzun Bridge.

It is said that the bridge piers and bridge decks were carved out of the mountain by the Martial Saint Feng Yeyi using the divine wind of Tiangang, and then pressed into the long river one by one to connect the natural moat.

No one mentions this good policy of the royal court many years ago.

"After Yao River, it's within our reach."

Duan Tiannan turned and looked at Hong Fan.

"Your Majesty, you can travel twenty miles a day and arrive at Tingtao Valley by the end of March."

"Is there enough time?"

he asked.

"More than enough."

Hong Fan returned immediately and made a decisive decision.

······
Twenty days later.

On the west bank of Fengsheng Bridge, three sailing flags are hoisted.

The large carriage, supported by more than a hundred warriors and pulled by strange beasts, slowly turned north.

At the top of the observation tower several meters high, Feng Chengyi stood proudly with his hands behind his back. He saw the colorful silk ribbons on the pine, camphor and birch trees beside the road dancing in the wind, as if all things were welcoming him. He felt particularly happy.

He entered the room and played with the beauty, letting the royal chariot and Yaohe walk side by side for two hours.

Until dusk, the terrain on the west bank of the Yao River rose up like a knife, squeezing the official road crooked.

Feng Chengyi climbed up the observation deck again and saw the clouds leaning against the mountain and the steep cliffs swallowing the river. He was dizzy at first, and then felt satisfied and proud.

"What is the name of this river, and why is it so turbulent?"

He pointed and asked those around him.

"Your Majesty, this is still Yaohe."

The old and thin eunuch answered respectfully.

(End of this chapter)