The melodious singing carried a touch of sorrow and sorrow, deeply touching the hearts of these men who were about to embark on an expedition.
"Brother Lin, look, it's Miss Xu, she sent us here!" Gao Qiu said softly.
Lin Wanrong looked back at the eastern foothills. In the hazy red sun, Xu Zhiqing's beautiful and slender figure was like a standing flower on the top of the mountain. The rising sun shone on her clean face, flickering with a faint golden light. Two lines of crystal tears fell silently on her cheeks, like the purest morning dew in the Helan Mountains, melancholy and beautiful, heartbreaking.
Thinking of the story of the burial of sand that Xu Zhiqing told, Lin Wanrong sighed lightly, joy and sorrow welling up in his heart at the same time. He gritted his teeth, waved his horsewhip, and the galloping steed galloped away, not looking back.
Thousands of rays of light gushed out, Xu Zhiqing's figure stood blankly on the peak, like a frozen stone, unable to move for a long time …
…
Entering the Helan Mountains from the east to the west, the weather gradually turned cold. At first, the road was still wide, with towering pine and spruce trees on both sides, thousands of miles of clouds, one could not see the end at a glance. Bright red cherries, purple lilacs, pink almonds, all kinds of unique and beautiful shrubs covered the valleys and ravines. The layers of colorful forest, coupled with the fragrance of flowers, the chirping of birds, the small bridges and the flowing water, the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. Innumerable rock paintings were distributed on both sides of the ravine, depicting the sun, moon, stars, cows, horses, sheep, donkeys, hunting, sacrifices, weddings. The colorful Helan stone walls were like an art gallery of the history of the Helan Mountains.
There was such a beautiful scenery to admire. At first, they did not feel tired. The large group of people meandered west, trampling through the rocky forest, advancing quickly.
In one breath, they advanced for seventy to eighty miles. But the scenery in front of them suddenly changed, the forest became denser, the rocks became steeper, the ravine was full of scattered gravel, big and small, abrupt and rugged. When the warhorses stepped on the gravel, they kept slipping and sinking, unable to ride at all. Everyone could only turn over and pull the reins to lead the horses forward. Their speed instantly slowed down.
Lin Wanrong looked up, the mountains were tall and the forest was thick, the lush green branches blocked the sunlight. The forest was hazy, sometimes bright, sometimes dark. It was already impossible to distinguish north from south.
The most frightening thing about walking in the mountains was getting lost. Lin Wanrong naturally understood this principle, so he took out his compass to determine which way to go. After confirming that he was heading in the right direction, he heaved a long sigh of relief.
"General Lin, where do we go now?" Gao Qiu took out his water sack and asked in a low voice. Right now, they were advancing into the depths of the vast Helan Mountains. The further they went, the more remote it became. All they could see was a sea of trees that stretched as far as the eye could see. The weeds grew taller than a man's neck. There was no road ahead, and the warhorses had to turn back every few steps.
In Lin Wanrong's memory, there were at least two canyons in the east and west direction of the Helan Mountains. Of course, that was in his previous life. He did his best to search the remaining memories in his mind, and then carefully compared the rough and pitiful sheepskin map that Hu Bugui had found. He nodded solemnly, "There's no mistake, it's here. This is the first mountain range marked on the map. Big brother Hu Bugui, look — — "
The sheepskin map had been around for many years, and the ink had long become incomplete. Hu Bugui could only recognize that the triangle on the map represented the mountain range, but he could not understand the rest. "Looking at the situation, this looks like the first mountain on the map," he said hesitantly, "but there's no road in front of us. Where should we go next? "
Lin Wanrong took a deep breath. They were now in the depths of the forest, overgrown with weeds, and every step forward required great effort. The worst thing was, whether it was the sheepskin map or his memory, there was no indication of where they should go next. If they were to scurry around in this forest like a headless fly, not only would they never reach Bayanhaote, they would also lose their lives here.
As the chief commander, he could not show the anxiety in his heart. He was silent for a while, and suddenly heard the sound of flowing water. Looking up, not far away, a clear stream flowed slowly, overflowing the thick turf, washing out a shallow ditch in the forest, and a few pale white pebbles were deposited in the water. Several war horses resting in the depths of the forest stretched their necks and lowered their heads to drink the clear stream water. It was abnormally quiet.
"Big brother Gao, give me the compass — —" Lin Wanrong jumped up abruptly, yelled, and ran toward the stream.
Gao Qiu responded and hurriedly handed the compass over to him. Lin Wanrong did not say a word, put the compass down, and was quiet for a long time. His face flashed with a deep joy, "Big brother Hu Bugui, look — —"
Hu Bugui and Gao Qiu looked over at the same time, only to see that the stream was flowing at an angle to the north and south that the compass pointed to. Gao Qiu said strangely, "Hey, this stream seems to be flowing from the northwest."
"Yes, it's the northwest." Lin Wanrong suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing. "Big brother Gao, do you remember what the most famous specialty of Bayanhaote is?"
"Of course, the Tan sheep and the golden fur coat," Gao Qiu replied without thinking.
Lin Wanrong nodded, "That's right. According to Military Advisor Xu, the alluvial plain in front of Bayanhaote Mountain has a vast grassland, rich in products, and the Tan sheep are abundant. Since it's an alluvial plain, and it happens to be close to Helan Mountain, then where do you think the rich water and soil of the Bayanhaote Grassland come from? "
"Of course it's from Helan Mountain." Hu Bugui was suddenly surprised, "Oh, I understand — General, you mean, the source of this stream is very likely the source of the water and soil that nourishes the Bayanhaote Grassland?"
Lin Wanrong smiled and gently put his hand into the stream, and the cool and cold feeling went straight into his heart. He dug out a small pebble from the soil, looked at it for a long time, and said leisurely, "Look at this stream, to be able to create a ditch in such a dense forest, how powerful is it? Look at this pebble again, it's not man-made, but naturally formed by thousands of years of flowing water. What does this mean? "
Hu Bugui and Gao Qiu looked at each other in puzzlement. Without waiting for them to answer, Lin Wanrong waved his hand forcefully, "— It means that the source of this stream is active and has a strong impact, and is very likely the source of the water and soil of the Bayanhaote Grassland."
Lin Wanrong's observation was very detailed, and his analysis was very logical. Gao Qiu listened and nodded. Hu Bugui said excitedly, "General, you mean, if we follow this stream to the source, we can reach Bayanhaote?"
This was too arbitrary. Lin Wanrong shook his head and said, "Even if we can't reach Bayanhaote, I'm afraid it's not far away. Brother Gao, pass my order, the whole army will change the route, the people and horses will not stop, go upstream along this stream, and send scouts to first explore its source. "
Since they had decided on the route, the gurgling stream was the best direction to follow. More than eight thousand officers and soldiers turned their horses around and followed the stream. Along the way, weeds were overgrown and silt piled up. It was a road that no one had ever walked on before, and one could imagine the bumpiness and difficulty. From time to time, people and horses would sink into the silt, and the soldiers would work together to rescue them. Cries of alarm rose and fell, resounding throughout the vast primeval forest of Helan Mountain.
In order to prevent the direction from deviating, Gao Qiu held the compass in his hand and constantly set the position. The stream was really as Lin Wanrong had expected, all the way to the northwest, which greatly boosted everyone's confidence. Although the road ahead was still difficult and dangerous, everyone was no longer afraid.
The fog in the primeval forest was heavy, and they were advancing along the stream. Their feet were covered in mud, and everyone was soaking wet. It was extremely uncomfortable. On the first day, twenty horses were lost because of being trapped in the silt, and as many as a hundred soldiers were bitten by snakes, insects, rats and ants. On the second day, it was even worse, as many as two hundred people were injured.
It was difficult to travel! In this boundless Helan Mountain, it was even more difficult to travel! Lin Wanrong was deeply moved.
After advancing like this for two days, the stream seemed to have no end, with no end in sight. Every day, other than sleeping, they spent the rest of the time traveling. Lin Wanrong made a rough calculation. In these two days, they had traveled more than three hundred li, and his feet had large blisters. But he still could not see the source of the stream. If not for the fact that the compass indicated the correct direction, he would definitely suspect that he had gone the wrong way.
"Big Brother Hu, has there been any news from the scouts ahead?" Lin Wanrong licked his chapped lips and poked the tree branch in his hand into the clear water. He asked anxiously. In order to conserve energy, all the soldiers had been using tree branches to advance. It was already noon on the third day, but there was still no movement ahead. Thinking about the ten day limit set by Xu Zhiqing, Lin Wanrong's heart was burning with anxiety. What was even more unbearable was that he had no idea what was going on in Helan Mountain, or whether China had already started a war with the Hu. The feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world made him anxious and helpless.
Hu Bugui wiped the beads of sweat off his face, nodding. "Early in the morning, I let Li Wuling out. He brought a team of twenty scouts to scout ahead. I don't know what happened, but he still hasn't returned. "
"Li Wuling?" Lin Wanrong was shocked. "Why did Little Li also come? Big Brother Hu, you are abusing the scouts! "
The matter of selecting soldiers was handled by Hu Bugui. Lin Wanrong did not ask about it at all. He had been busy scouting for the past two days, and did not know that Li Wuling had also entered the primeval forest at the foot of Helan Mountain. If Miss Xu knew, what would happen?
Hu Bugui smiled bitterly. "General, it's not like you don't know the personality of this kid. During the battle of Five Plains. He charged behind me, killing two Hu people with one spear, but he did not feel satisfied. He kept on complaining that you did not let him enter Five Plains City. This time, he did not let me go. When I went to the latrine, he was practicing his blade skills behind the latrine. The whistling wind even blew up the yurt, how could I pee? I had no choice but to bring him along. Fortunately, although this kid is young, he is very clever. He led two teams of scouts to scout ahead. That suits his temperament. "
Practicing blade skills outside the latrine? This Lil 'Li was really capable of doing anything. Lin Wanrong shook his head with a faint smile. He thought of what Li Tai had told him before he left the capital, that he must train Li Wuling. He did not expect this kid to have such awareness, and began to practice by himself. But he did not know how worried Miss Xu would be after knowing of Li Wuling's whereabouts.
Speaking of Xu Zhiqing, he thought of the scene of her standing at the top of Helan Mountain, full of love, and sending him off with a light song. That expression of deep love was something that no man could stand. Damn it, Lin Wanrong clenched his teeth. If he could return alive, he must take care of that Xu girl. Old Xu had gotten a great bargain this time, picking up such a powerful son-in-law for free. She would probably be smiling in her dreams at night.
He chuckled, and was daydreaming when he saw a person rushing over from afar, his feet splashing in the stream, drenching his clothes. He shouted breathlessly, "Get out of the way, quickly get out of the way, I have important military information to report!"
"It's Little Li." Hu Bugui was greatly alarmed, hurriedly taking two steps forward, pulling Li Wuling's sleeve. "Little Li, General Lin is here."
Li Wuling's clothes were drenched from running, his armor crooked from being caught by tree branches. His face was pale, pulling Hu Bugui and panting heavily.
Was this kid shocked or frightened, for him to be so tired. Lin Wanrong patted his shoulder, smiling. "Not bad, not bad, Little Li, your running posture is almost as handsome as mine. What military information did you find out, quickly report it. "
"Big brother Lin," Li Wuling gasped a few times, eyes wide open, "There's a lake in front, a very large lake."
"Lake?" Lin Wanrong grabbed Little Li's shoulder, exclaiming with an ecstatic expression, "Where's the lake?"
His grip was so strong that Li Wuling grimaced in pain as he groaned a few times. Lin Wanrong hastily let go of him, beaming with joy, she said, "Naughty, naughty, I didn't pay attention for a moment. Where is the lake you mentioned? "
Li Wuling rubbed his shoulder, let out a long sigh, and said proudly, "It's in front, sixty miles away from us, I saw it with my own eyes — — Big brother Lin, this time I've made a great contribution, right? When you attack Bayan Haote, you can't let me watch from the side again. "
Lin Wanrong laughed. "Good boy, well done. When we snatch the Hu women, I'll give you two fair and tender ones. "
"Pfft!" Li Wuling waved his hand, snorting disdainfully. Hu Bugui grinned and laughed heartily.
"With the lake, I think we're not far from Bayan Haote," Lin Wanrong muttered to himself, the joy in his heart needless to say. His eyes swept across, his roar piercing through the wilderness, "Pass down my order, the whole army must speed up, we must reach the source of the stream before sunset today."
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