Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 160 Hehuang (Part 2)

After crossing Jincheng Ferry, Lü Shang led his troops north along the official road on the riverbank. On the third day, they could see the Guangwu City Pass faintly standing at the end of the wilderness.

Guangwu City was a key defensive point of Yanmen Pass and one of the important towns on the northern frontier. It was situated at the strategic location of Gouzhu Mountain, guarding the northern foot of Yanmen Pass, and served as a bulwark for the Central Plains.

The city was built on the mountain and relied on its strategic location. It had a horse-faced gate, arrow towers, and barbicans. It was 1,200 zhang in circumference and 35 zhang in height. It was known as an impregnable fortress. Together with Yanmen Pass, it formed a "double pass and double city" defensive position. It was said that "if Guangwu is lost, Yanmen is in danger, and if Yanmen is in danger, the Central Plains will be in crisis."

Lü Shang spent the night at the official post station in Guangwu City. Early the next morning, he led his troops out of the west gate of Guangwu and headed towards Yongliang along the Gobi Desert.

Upon entering the Gobi Desert, one is immediately struck by a wave of heat that seems to penetrate right into one's seven orifices.

Under the scorching sun, the reddish-brown rocky ridges of the Gobi Desert resembled thousands of withered bones jumbled together. A warm wind swept across the hills, whistling sharply like a saw. Yellow clouds rolled in between, and fine sand rustled against clothing and armor.

After walking for a while, the military advisor Fang Zian tightened the reins and whispered to him, "My lord, the northwest is a remote and desolate region where plants and trees often turn into demons and beasts into monsters. We have left Guangwu and the population is gradually decreasing. If we go any further, there may be demons causing trouble. We must be careful."

"You're right,"

Lu Shang rode forward, facing the swirling sandstorm before him, a divine light flickering in his eyes. After a moment, he took out a scroll from his robes and slowly unfurled it.

"The Eight Steeds of King Mu,"

The treasure map unfolded in mid-air, and a golden light suddenly appeared. The outlines of the eight divine steeds on it suddenly blurred and turned into eight streams of light that broke through the map.

"Groan!!"

After the light manifested, it was the Eight Dragon Steeds. The so-called Eight Steeds were: First, Juedi, whose feet never touched the ground; Second, Fanyu, who could outrun flying birds; Third, Benxiao, who could travel ten thousand miles at night; Fourth, Chaoying, who could chase the sun; Fifth, Yuhui, whose fur was bright and shiny; Sixth, Chaoguang, who could create ten shadows with one form; Seventh, Tengwu, who could ride on the clouds; and Eighth, Xieyi, who had fleshy wings. All of them were ancient dragon species.

Each of the eight steeds possessed extraordinary abilities. The first divine steed's primordial spirit descended to earth and transformed directly into a blue dragon. Its scales and armor were as blue as a cold pool, and its whiskers hung down, bringing with them fine drizzle. The heat wave within a three-zhang radius was suppressed by three-tenths.

The other seven primordial spirits also displayed their unique abilities, some transforming into red dragons that spewed crimson clouds from their mouths and whose feet burned away the withered grass on the sand dunes with flames beneath their feet, while others transformed into yellow dragons that coiled like mountains, with mountain and river patterns appearing between their scales.

Eight dragons lined up in formation, and strange phenomena appeared in the sky above the Gobi Desert. The originally blazing sun was obscured by heavy clouds.

"What magnificent eight steeds of King Mu!"

Lu Shang lightly flicked the treasure map with his fingertips, and the eight dragon spirits simultaneously raised their heads and roared, their voices mingling with the sounds of golden bells and jade chimes, causing the distant mounds to tremble and scatter pebbles.

"With the protection of these eight dragon spirits, you can rest assured. With the combined power of the eight dragons, evil spirits cannot invade, and demons dare not disturb. Any powerful demons or monsters who are not afraid of these eight dragon spirits will not commit evil in this Southern Continent."

As he spoke, he once again surveyed the surroundings with his divine eyes, and indeed saw that the malevolent energy that had been lurking among the Gobi hills had been swept away by the eight dragon spirits. Surrounded by the eight dragons, countless ghosts and demons were terrified, and countless mountain spirits and monsters were scared out of their wits.

"Zi'an, with this treasure in hand, even a thousand-year-old demon wouldn't dare to offend my ceremonial procession,"

Lü Shang was not the kind of person who would be reluctant to show off a treasure he had obtained. No matter how precious a treasure is, it still needs someone to use it. Rather than hiding it away and keeping it a secret, it would be better to directly display the power of the treasure map and deter any evil spirits or demons that might be present.

With Lü Shang's cultivation level and his current background, even if a treasure is tempting, no one can forcibly take it from him unless he desires it.

"This is truly a wonderful treasure!"

The soldiers, including Fang An and Xiao Ji, looked up at the divine power of the treasure map and exclaimed in admiration.

"Walk,"

Lu Shang held the painting of eight horses in his hands and said softly.

"Roar!!" With the protection of these eight dragon spirits, Lü Shang and his group traveled extremely smoothly, traversing the Gobi Desert with almost no obstacles.

On the seventh day of their journey through the Gobi Desert, the gravel thinned out, and the distant, dark green mountains began to appear. Lü Shang and his companions could even make out the outlines of a city in the distance. Upon seeing the city, the eight primordial spirits atop Lü Shang's head gradually lost their divine light, transforming back into eight divine steeds and returning to the treasure map.

Lü Shang and his group continued towards the city, and the mountain scenery ahead became increasingly clear.

Fang Zian gripped the reins tightly, gazing at the mountain silhouettes with a complex expression, and sighed softly, "This is the foothills of the Qilian Mountains."

During the Former Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu's lament, "Losing our Yanzhi Mountain has caused our women to lose their beauty. Losing our Qilian Mountain has caused our livestock to cease breeding," has now become a lost art.

After the Later Han Dynasty, the north and south were in chaos for three or four hundred years. The sons of the Han people had long lost the spirit of conquering the Qilian Mountains. As a result, the north became desolate, the gentry migrated south, and the Hu and Di peoples were everywhere.

"drive,"

As they approached, the outline of Guzang City, the capital of Liangzhou, finally came into view before Lü Shang and his companions. The triple rammed earth city walls stood majestically, and the large banner with the character "Sui" on the city gate fluttered in the northwest wind.

“Guzang,”

Lü Shang reined in his horse, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the city of Guzang that was right before him.

Before the south gate of Guzang City, three large banners fluttered in the wind. The largest banner, bearing the character "Sui," was unfurled by the northwest wind. Chief Secretary Li Gongting, dressed in a scarlet official robe with a jade pendant swaying at his waist, stood with more than twenty subordinate officials, holding their breath and waiting before the city gate.

Behind him stood Sima Wang Shilong, his hand on his sword. The gilded beast head on his armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and his gaze kept wandering in the direction of the Gobi Desert.

"coming!"

Just then, Wang Shilong let out a low shout, which startled everyone.

As everyone looked up, eight streams of light suddenly rose from the end of the reddish-brown Gobi Desert. These were the lingering spiritual power of the Eight Steeds of King Mu. Although the divine light had been restrained, the dragon's might still emanated, subtly suppressing the sand and dust.

Lu Shang rode Purple Lightning Frost at the forefront, followed by his retinue in gleaming armor.

Li Gongting immediately straightened his hat and flicked his sleeves, leading the crowd to line up in front of the city gate according to their rank. As Lü Shang's horse approached, he was the first to bow and say, "Li Gongting, the Prefect of Liangzhou, along with all the officials of the prefecture, respectfully welcomes the Prefect!"

"Welcome, Your Excellency,"

The people behind him also bowed and said in unison.

Lu Shang sat upright on his horse, raised his hand to help him up, and said, "There is no need for such formalities. I have been appointed by the Emperor to Yongliang, and I will need your cooperation in serving the country in the future."

His gaze swept over the crowd behind Li Gongting, and seeing that they all possessed a dignified bearing, he nodded slightly.

When Lü Shang was leaving Daxing, he went to the palace with Lü Yongji to meet the emperor.

After all, Lü Shang had long been in charge of military affairs but had never governed civil affairs. Now that he had been appointed as a high-ranking official, he needed a capable and shrewd deputy to assist him in governing.

Also considering Lü Shang's youth and concerns about his ability to maintain control of the prefecture, Yang Jian directly provided Lü Shang with a complete team. With this team, Lü Shang could naturally take over Liangzhou smoothly.

It can be said that the most important people in the current administration of Liangzhou were all appointed by Emperor Yang Jian.

(End of this chapter)