In the middle of March

  The sun is not as scorching as in the sweltering summer, nor as dark purple as before a storm, but clear and emitting lovely rays, quietly floating out from under the thin black clouds, refreshingly illuminating, immersed in its pale purple mist. The delicate edges of the stretched-out clouds emit flashes like small snakes, their colors similar to refined silver.

  On a cool autumn morning, Gao Fei temporarily bid farewell to his grandmother and brought Zhao Yun, Xia Houlan, and Pei Yuanshao to the west gate of Xiangwu City. There were already over 100 men gathered there with Li Wenhao, and when they saw Gao Fei arrive, they all showed great respect. Yesterday, Gao Fei had caused a sensation throughout Xiangwu City, so naturally, they knew about it.

  Li Wenhou looked up at the orange-yellow sun in the sky and smiled: "At 7 o'clock, Master Hou has come really early!"

  Gao Fei smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Li Wenhao, saying: "You arrived even earlier. Are all your people here?"

  "Just a moment ago they all arrived, Master Hou, let's set off!" Li Wenhou said.

  Gao Fei nodded and let out a soft whoop before he and Li Wenhou led the charge, galloping to the front of the army and heading towards Xining.

  Qinzhou is not a city, but a general term for an area, just like Guanzhong and Hetao. Qinzhou is located within the borders of Jincheng County in Liangzhou, where there is a river called Qinzhou River, and the areas along both banks of the Qinzhou River are referred to as Qinzhou. Here, Qinzhou mainly refers to the three counties of Yunwu, Poqiang, and Anyi in Jincheng County, rather than the current Qinzhou County in Qinghai Province.

  A group of people on the road, under Li Wenhao's leadership, gradually drove towards their destination. To avoid boredom along the way, Gao Fei chatted with Li Wenhao, mainly discussing some trivial matters about Xuanzhong, and of course, asking Li Wenhao about Beigong Boyu's situation.

  Bei Gong Bo Yu was not a Han Chinese, but a Hu person, belonging to the Yuezhi Hu. His ancestors were from the Western Regions' Great Yuezhi people. The Yuezhi originally lived in Zhangye and Jiuquan, but after their king was killed by Xiongnu's Modu Chanyu, they scattered, with most fleeing west over the Congling Mountains, only a small portion remaining in Zhangye, known as the "Yi Cong Hu". During the Western Han, after Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and took control of the Hexi Corridor, developing the Zhongyuan region, these remaining Yuezhi people came to rely on the Han Dynasty, staying in the Zhongyuan area. Over time, they intermingled with the Han and Qiang peoples, gradually becoming sinicized, their name changing to "Zhongyuan Yi Cong", no longer referring to themselves as Hu, but still being called Hu by the Han people.

  This time, Li Wenhou accepted the invitation of Beigong Boyu and was going to join him in attending the army of Hu Qian, the two agreed to meet at Luodu Valley between Poqiang and Anyi counties, where Beigong Boyu lived.

  All the way, Gao Fei gradually got used to the wind and rain, but there was a slight difference in eating. The people of Northwest China liked to eat mutton, they carried some dried cheese with them, which was more convenient than cooking. However, Gao Fei, Zhao Yun, Xia Houlan, and Pei Yuanshao were all Han people, occasionally eating one or two meals would feel fresh and delicious, but eating these things day and night, they couldn't stand it and felt greasy. So every time they ate, Gao Fei and the others had to cook in a pot, catch some wild game, and give it to Pei Yuanshao to make into a delicacy.

  The people of Liangzhou are all familiar with bows and horses, and they always carry bows, arrows and horse knives with them. Hunting is also very casual for them, and it's a piece of cake for people like Li Wenhao. Pei Yuanshao's craftsmanship is quite good, and after Li Wenhao and others had a meal, they couldn't help but praise him, so all the hunted game was handed over to him for cooking.

  After staying with these northwest men for a few days, Gao Fei gradually admired the cool and fierce folk customs of Liangzhou, which also made him think about why Ma Chao's Xiliang army was so powerful later on.

  The farther west he went, the more Gao Fei felt that he was different from the Central Plains. The geology and topography were not to be mentioned, but even the living habits of the people along the way were different. Occasionally, you could hear the sound of a Qiang flute on the road, and occasionally meet groups of Qiang people. Those Qiang people were all strong and sturdy, and when they saw them, they would appear very polite.

  When the Qiang people passed by, Gao Fei muttered to himself: "It's said that the Qiang people are fierce and barbarous, but seeing them being so polite, it's really hard to feel that way."

  Li Wenhao sneered and said, "Don't look at these people being so polite, if they really fight to the death, they are not easy to mess with. If it weren't for our line of work having over a hundred people, I estimate we would have been taken down by them long ago. Normally, even ten or twenty people walking alone will encounter trouble. These Qiang people are all poor, as long as they see money they'll rob you, and if you don't have money they'll take you back to be a slave. The government can't control them either, if you send someone to manage things on this side, the Qiang people will swarm out with four or five thousand people surrounding you, just to scare you, until you're scared to death, then see who dares to manage again."

  Gao Fei heard this and suddenly became enraged, his previous fondness for Liangzhou vanishing into thin air. He slowly said: "If I had an army of one or two hundred thousand, just watch me subdue these damned Qiang people, making them all kneel down and sing songs of surrender!"

  Li Wenhou listened and thought it was interesting, so he burst out laughing and said to Gao Fei: "The young master's idea is not bad, kneeling down and singing conquest, it's really fucking interesting."

  "Brother Li, we've been walking for several days now, how much longer can we go?" Gao Fei asked somewhat impatiently.

  "We're almost there, about 10 miles and we'll arrive."

  They continued on for a while, and then Gao Fei saw a low-lying valley below, with mountains on both sides. There was a mountain path in the middle of the mountains, but it wasn't very long, and you could clearly see the rocky walls - it was actually a dead end. On the mountainsides on both sides, you could vaguely see several floating figures, and then a horn sounded, and suddenly two or three hundred people appeared on both sides of the mountain, all with their bows full and ready to shoot. The crowd's horses let out anxious neighs in surprise.

  Someone shouted from over there: "The highway leads to heaven..."

  "Let's go our separate ways!"

  A voice immediately came from the opposite side: "May I ask who you are? What brings you to Luodou Valley?"

  Li Wenhao said: "I am Li Wenhao, responding to the invitation of Beigong Boyu, bringing one hundred and twenty brothers to meet here!"

  The people on the opposite mountain ridge immediately waved their hands, indicating to let them pass. Those people also descended from the mountain top and suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving only one person standing alone on the mountain ridge. He cupped his hands and said: "It's Brother Li, sorry for not welcoming you earlier. The master of the valley has been waiting for Brother Li for a long time, please come into the valley quickly!"

  Li Wenhao cupped his hands and said: "Thanks for your trouble!"

  Gao Fei heard Li Wenhou's conversation and found it very interesting, just like entering a mountain bandit's lair. Seeing the different roads ahead, he wondered where the valley came from and curiously looked around.

  The person standing on the mountain ridge turned around and shouted loudly: "It's a guest invited by the valley master, open the valley gate!"

  The sound of the drumming had just faded away, but a rumbling noise came from the rocky wall in front of him on the mountain path. The rocky wall cracked open to reveal a regular circular opening, and the entrance to a cave was thus opened, revealing a deep and mysterious tunnel.

  "What a hiding place! It's simply unbelievable!" Gao Fei exclaimed.

  Li Wenhou chuckled and said: "Your Excellency, I was also amazed when I first came here. The cave entrance is open, let's enter the valley!"

  As soon as the voice fell, Li Wenhao had already urged his horse to go, and Gao Fei and others followed closely behind. The crowd quickly arrived at the entrance of the cave, and saw that the entrance seemed to be man-made, and the cave was not deep either. Standing at the entrance, you could see another entrance on the opposite side, which was a tunnel. The entrance was blocked by a large round stone. If you didn't walk in and take a closer look, from a distance, it would be reasonable to believe that this was just part of the rock wall, and the so-called valley was also a dead end.

  Gao Fei couldn't help but admire the people who built this valley, it's really a masterpiece. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have been able to imagine such a secluded place existed. The group quickly passed through the cave and only after exiting from another entrance did they discover that inside was a different world.

  The so-called Luo Valley is actually a small basin, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides, with a low and flat valley in the middle. The area is not too large, but it can be compared to Xiangwu City. The valley is also polished very smoothly. On the cliff are artificial stone houses carved out, winding up along the stairs, as high as four floors, and each stone house has people living in it. All the horses are placed in the center of the valley, with nearly two thousand fine and strong steeds.

  "I didn't expect there was such a unique place in the world." Zhao Yun exclaimed after taking a look around.

  As soon as the words fell, a hurried footsteps came from the left side, and a middle-aged man walked over with joy. The man was wearing Hu people's clothes, with a sturdy figure, muscles all over his body, full of explosive power, making people feel that this person is absolutely a heavyweight at first glance.

  "Haha, Li old brother, you've finally arrived, I was worried to death!" As soon as the words came out, they were authentic Northwestern dialect, and the thick voice also made people feel very comfortable.

  Li Wenhou smiled and cupped his hands towards the man, saying: "Beigong brother, I didn't break our appointment, did I?"

  This man was indeed Beigong Boyu, he shook his head, took a look at Gao Fei beside Li Wenhao, and then looked at Zhao Yun, Pei Yuanshao, and Xiahou Lan one by one behind Gao Fei, and asked: "Li younger brother, these few people are so unfamiliar, are they your newly recruited brothers?"

  Li Wenhao hastily pulled Gao Fei and said, "Beigong brother, this is the Gao Fei who pacified Hebei, killed the Zhang brothers, and another few are Lord Hou's followers."

  Beigong Boyu looked at Gao Fei with surprise, his eyes almost disbelieving as he stared at the young man in front of him. He then bowed politely and said: "So you're the newly appointed Duke of Douchang, I thought you were a middle-aged person, didn't expect you to be so young, truly sorry for my mistake."

  Gao Fei hastily returned the courtesy: "Master Gu is too polite, I just exerted a bit of effort for the great Han."

  "Alas! It's a pity that Liangzhou has never had a Yellow Turban uprising. Otherwise, I would also have been able to make contributions to the imperial court."

  Li Wenhou saw Beigong Boyu get to the sad part, and hastily changed the subject: "Brother Beigong, you don't know this yet, but I'm actually from the same hometown as Master Hou - we're both from Xiangwu."

  Beigong Boyu smiled and said, "No wonder! So, General Hou is also from Liangzhou. No wonder you were able to quell the Yellow Turbans in Hebei with one move. This isn't a place for conversation, so please follow me to my humble abode for a chat!"

  Gao Fei cupped his hands and said, "Thanks for your trouble, Master Gu."