Two beacons of smoke rose from the beacon towers near Pengzhou Pass. Fang Changyun did not dare to delay. He ordered people to light the beacons and sent people to check on Jin Chuan.
There was one beacon tower every 30 li, and the distance was arranged according to visibility. From the time the beacon in Jin Chuan was lit to when Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan received the letter from the pigeons in Jili Prefecture, it only took 11 hours. Most of the time was wasted on the pigeons flying.
There was not much content in the letter. It just said that there were two beacons of smoke coming from Jin Chuan. It asked Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to consider what to do.
"Two beacons of smoke, not the beacons of safety. It seems that there is some trouble over there. Is it Tubo or Tujue?" Zhang Xiaobao understood the meaning of the two beacons of smoke.
There was a line in Du Fu's poem, "Lone smoke rises in the desert." This did not only express desolation, but also a sense of peace in a distant place. One beacon-fire was for peace. Two beacon-fires were for a situation. Three beacon-fires were for war.
Of course, there were many details in the letter. For example, the length of time the beacon-fires burned, the time when the beacon-fires were lit, and so on. There were many explanations. Otherwise, they would not know that the news came from Jin Chuan.
Wang Juan also appeared to be a little anxious. The speed at which the news was transmitted was fast, but that was from other places to the capital, not from the capital to other places.
Furthermore, the news was not very specific. No one knew what exactly happened at Jin Chuan.
Looking at Xiaobei and the others who were still playing games with the newly arrived guards of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family, Wang Juan looked to the west and said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Let's see what is going on first. Don't be afraid. There are more than 100,000 slaves over there. Even if they want to attack, they will not be able to do it in a short time.
Could it be that the Tubo's life is getting more and more difficult, and they finally can't help but fight to the death? If that's the case, we'll have to go again. Jinchuan's army can't be commanded by anyone else. If someone takes a fancy to it and reports it to the Imperial Court, they should be moved to the Great Tang. "
Zhang Xiaobao nodded to show that he understood. Although they had been helping Li Longji and had a good relationship with each other, that was only possible because the two of them could restrain Li Longji at any time.
If Li Longji was in a bad mood one day, or if he suddenly decided to deal with the two families, Lu Zhou and Jin Chuan would have to act together. After all, military power was the right to speak.
As if sensing that her brother and sister were not in a good mood, Xiaobei, who was competing with the guards of the Zhang Family and Wang Family to see who could catch the most good things in the sea, suddenly stopped and hurriedly swam to the shore. She blinked her big eyes and approached Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
"Are you going back to the manor? Then, you can come back to play in the future. It's fine. I can still continue to train the guards when I go back. I've caught a lot of spoon worms. I'll fry them when I get back. "
Originally, they were going to stay for at least three days. If they were going to leave, they would only stay for two days. For children, playing for a while was a kind of happiness, let alone playing for a day.
Xiaobei was very sensible and resisted the idea of continuing to play. She had long been used to running around with her family.
Zhang Xiaobao touched his sister's forehead and tucked back the hair sticking out of the swimming cap on his face. He said to Xiaobei, "We're not going back. The matters in Jinchuan are the same as in Yi Zhou. It's the same here as in the manor."
"Oh! Then, I'll go play. Aiya, is there going to be a war? Bring me along. I'm very powerful. Even Xiaoyuan is afraid of my tripping rope. " Xiaobei's heart settled back down. After saying this, she ran back into the water. When the water reached her thighs, she dove in with a splash and swam towards the place where the children were gathered.
Seeing Xiaobei swim back, Zhang Xiaobao revealed a smile. "Don't let the adults' matters affect the children. Let Shui Yun go and take a look. If necessary, beat them again."
"That's fine. Someone, go and find Zhang Ying." Wang Juan ordered someone standing not far away.
Zhang Ying followed them and searched for eagles by the seaside. Zhang Hu left with a thousand soldiers to explore the road to North America. He brought along a lot of dogs.
After a while, Zhang Ying arrived in front of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
"Let Shui Yun go to Jinchuan and ask what happened there. Bring back the news." Zhang Xiaobao pointed at Shui Yun, who was still soaring in the clouds, and said to Zhang Ying.
After a whistle, Shui Yun spread her wings and landed on Zhang Ying's arm. She shook her head, giving people a feeling of puzzlement.
Zhang Ying ordered someone to bring a pattern with the characteristics of Jinchuan. Zhang Ying made a few gestures to Shui Yun. Shui Yun's gaze fell on Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. She blinked her eyes and looked to the west.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan suddenly had a strange feeling. Shui Yun knew how far Jinchuan was from Jili State and didn't want to go.
"Someone, go and kill a cow." Zhang Xiaobao said to the person next to him. The family's servants immediately went to the nearest place to find a cow, killed it, and dragged it back, dripping with blood.
Zhang Xiaobao personally cut a few pieces of beef and fed them to Shui Yun one by one. He didn't care whether Shui Yun could understand or not. He said to her, "Go. You can still eat beef when you get there. When you come back, I'll kill another one for you. It's a little far, but this mission is difficult and honorable. No one can do it except you."
Zhang Ying also touched Shui Yun's neck with heartache. The distance from Jili State to Jinchuan was not ordinary. But they had to go. They could only wait for Shui Yun to come back and nourish her body.
Shui Yun seemed to know that she had to go on an errand. She tried to eat the beef so that she could store more energy to support the flight.
When she really couldn't eat anymore, Wang Juan had finished writing the letter. She put it in a bamboo tube and tied it to Shui Yun.
Shui Yun rubbed her head against Zhang Ying's face intimately. Following the movement of Zhang Ying's arm, she soared into the air and circled in the sky. She let out a cry and flew to the west.
"It would be great if all eagles could be like Shui Yun. I hope she won't encounter any danger on the way. Let's barbecue beef tonight."
Zhang Xiaobao sighed as he watched Shui Yun turn into a black dot and disappear into the sky.
At the same time, Zhang Ying retracted his gaze and comforted Zhang Xiaobao, "Don't worry, Little Young Master. Shui Yun is very smart. If she gets hungry on the way, she will find animals that are easy to catch to eat. She won't lose the letter. I also want to find more eagles like Shui Yun. Unfortunately, I've caught many eagles, but none of them can reach Shui Yun's level.
Just like the big dog that the little lady brought back from Lu Zhou, it's almost psychic. Little Young Master, little lady, is something wrong with Jinchuan? "
Zhang Ying didn't read the letter, so he didn't know the specific situation.
"The two beacons are busy dealing with the matters here. The surrounding commander-in-chief manors are restless. If something really happened to Jinchuan, I'll discuss it with the people around me and go with Cuckoo. This time, I won't be surnamed Zhang if I don't make them obedient."
Zhang Xiaobao explained to Zhang Ying. The most annoying thing for him was that he couldn't take care of both the front and the back. If Jinchuan's army didn't care, he could ask the imperial court to send a general to command it. Currently, there were a few powerful people who were good at war.
Wang Juan was also furious. After Zhang Ying left to rest, she said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Xiao Bao, if something really happened to Jinchuan, let Sonrinigan take the people and hide. We can't go there for the time being. I have to deal with the surrounding matters first."
"How are you going to deal with it?" Zhang Xiaobao truly didn't think that Wang Juan had other plans.
"I'm not telling you. There are many things that you don't tell me. Go guess. I'm going to swim." Wang Juan threw down these words, took off her outer clothes, and jumped into the sea in her swimsuit.
"Fine, I won't tell you. I rushed over here this morning because I had a good plan to share with someone. Let's see who can stand it. I'm going to swim as well. "Zhang Xiaobao muttered to himself and jumped into the sea as well.
*****
Compared to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who only found it troublesome, some people were in a bad mood because of the Fire Beacon incident.
When the news came, Li Longji was in the morning court discussing state affairs with the officials. One was to continue opening the Great Tang Bank all over the Great Tang, and the other was to discuss the issue of the conscripts.
The conscripts in Jili Province could be said to have succeeded. The thirty thousand soldiers who had been scattered throughout the various armies no longer had to eat just wine and meat like they had in the beginning.
The soldiers didn't say anything. As long as their families had a good life, they had no reason to cause trouble.
This kind of success gave Li Longji hope. He wanted to find another place to try again. Just as he was arguing with the officials, the Fire Beacon incident in Jinzhou came.
He temporarily put aside other matters and began to guess what was going on. Who would dare to attack Jinchuan?
Even after the morning court session ended, it was still not confirmed. After returning to Xingqing Palace, Li Longji was not happy when he heard that the construction of the artificial Unsinkable Lake was about to be completed.
"Lishi, do you think that Tubo is taking the risk?" Li Longji, who had drunk two bowls of iced sour plum soup, still felt like his heart was on fire. He asked Gao Lishi, who was waiting on him.
How could Gao Lishi guess? He was even more anxious than Li Longji. On one hand, he was worried about the Great Tang, but on the other hand, he was worried about Xiao Bao. Jinchuan was not under the jurisdiction of the Great Tang. Although the Great Tang had offered many local specialties this year, with the majority being Desert Cistanche, if the Great Tang really did send people to occupy it, regardless of whether Xiao Bao and Cuckoo would agree or not, Tubo would not agree. If that happened, they would really have to hand over their territory to the Great Tang.
The east of Jinchuan currently belonged to Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. That was just an excuse for the caravan. If the Great Tang sent people to manage it, it would be a matter between countries.
As Gao Lishi thought about it, his eyes hurt, as if the pain had reached his head. He massaged his temples and replied to Li Longji,
"Your Majesty, it's just two plumes of smoke. Perhaps the people of Jinchuan saw wrongly and thought that someone was going to attack them. This subject thinks that Tubo currently relies on the Great Tang to exchange food for them and does not dare to make any rash moves. Although the Turks are also in the desert, they can't care too much.
Your Majesty does not need to worry. The news should have already been sent to Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. The two of them should have already made their decision. Once Jili Province sends a letter, we will naturally know everything. "
Even Gao Lishi himself didn't believe his own words. The Tubo and Turks were wolves that couldn't be tamed. As long as they were given a chance, they would definitely grasp it. Otherwise, there was no need for them to continue sending troops to guard the borders.
Li Longji also knew that Gao Lishi was comforting him. At this time, the only thing he could do was to believe his words, even if it was hard to be certain.
"Send a letter to Xiao Bao and ask him what his plans are." Li Longji could not wait any longer.
*****
Shui Yun tried its best to fly, wanting to reach the place as soon as possible. It could feel the anxiety of its master. Even if it knew that the journey was long, it still wanted to complete the mission.
The blue sky and white clouds accompanied each other. A 'light breeze' blew and it spread its wings. Every time it flapped, it had to travel a long distance.
In the place Shui Yun was determined to reach, quite a few people were busying themselves, setting up temporary camps to guard against others.
Zhang Youzhu tried his best to press a rope woven from straw on the sand according to a diamond pattern. He also placed the seeds of the haloxylon ammondendron tree in the middle and carefully watered them with water from a bucket pushed over from a distant lake.
When the haloxylon ammondendron tree grew, it was possible to find Desert Cistanche in it to repay the master.
This method was taught by the master's young master and young lady. As long as one could collect ten catties of Desert Cistanche in a year, he would have a good life and would receive a lot of extra rewards.
One had to know how to be content. Even if there were no rewards, one had to do a good job for the master. One's family name followed the master, and a stable life was also given by the master. Just as Young Master Han said, one would only know what happiness was when there was a comparison. When some people were sad because they did not have shoes to wear, they would find that some people did not have feet.
He had to cherish the days he had now. Even if the Duo People who came the day before yesterday were eyeing him covetously, he was not afraid. If they really dared to attack, he would fight them to the death.
Thinking of this, Zhang Youzhu worked even harder. He seriously planted every seed, hoping that it would sprout and grow up.
Looking at the guards from the master's house, Zhang Youzhu was even more afraid.
Compared to Zhang Youzhu, Sonrignigan was in a very bad mood. The group of Duo People in the distance did not plan to leave since the day before yesterday. They looked like they were going to stay here permanently and built a temporary camp by the lake. More than five hundred people did not come to harass them, but they did not leave either.
If they wanted to keep five hundred people here, it would be too easy. There were more than a hundred thousand people. Just the number of soldiers alone reached twenty thousand. Forty against one, one person could strangle the other party to death with a pinch.
Sonrignigan was not worried about the five hundred people, but what was behind them. There were also Duo People in the Great Tang, so it was not strange. What was strange was that if they came to the lake in the desert, were they not worried that they would starve to death after eating the food they brought?
When things were abnormal, there was bound to be a demon.
Thinking of this, Sonrignigan said to Han Xuanfeng, who was also looking at the Duo People with Clairvoyance, "Young Master Han, do you think that the arrival of the Duo People could be secretly supported by the Turks or Tibetans?"
"Hmm? They are from two places? That can't be, right? " Han Xuanfeng could not be sure. The only thing he could be sure of was that the Duo People who stayed by the lake did not come with good intentions. Mi Fan was already feeling uncomfortable. Ever since the Duo People arrived, Mi Fan had not been able to eat.
What kind of ability did Mi Fan have? It was very mysterious, and there was no way to explain it. However, it was this kind of existence that Mi Fan had never been wrong about since she had known it.
Looking at it this way, the five hundred Duo People were the root cause.
Let alone Han Xuanfeng, who was unwilling to believe that the Duo People had the support of the Turks or Tibetans, even Sonrignigan, who said this, did not believe it to be true.
But based on the intelligence reports they had gathered, both the Turks and the Tibetans had such a possibility. While the Turks were internally unstable, ever since the Great Tang's Emperor Feng Chan had dispatched soldiers to guard the border, the Turks had begun to shift their focus to the desert.
Although Tibetans were lacking in food and had an unequal exchange with the Great Tang, the people who could eat large amounts of food were not slaves. The slaves only ate a small portion of the food. Taking advantage of the arrival of spring, they went to the mountains to dig up wild vegetables to replenish their food.
There were also people who caught all kinds of insects to eat, especially locusts. On one hand, this could control the locust plague this year. On the other hand, a portion of the food saved could be used on real soldiers and a portion could be stored for future use.
Even a ghost would not believe that these two places did not have any ulterior motives.
"Young Master Han, if I were the leader of the Turks or Tibetans, I would support the Duo People and secretly provide them with all kinds of intelligence and food supplies. I would let them understand the price of Desert Cistanche Between the Clouds and the Water after it is made into a dish.
The Desert Cistanche here does not look expensive, but it is not cheap either. If you pick ten catties of Desert Cistanche, you can get ten strings of cash as a reward. Ten strings of cash is enough to feed ten pigs for a year according to the current price of food. It can even be used to make a few sets of clothes for the pigs.
But if you send it to Between the Clouds and the Water and make it into a dish and sell it, it will be dozens or even hundreds of times the price. The nobles in the capital of the Great Tang are proud to be able to eat this dish.
Let the Polyeater understand and then fight with us. Once a fight breaks out, there will be even more Polyeater participating. Both the Tubo and the Turks can just watch from the sidelines. This is called killing with a borrowed knife. Young Master Han, you must be on guard. "
Sonri Nigan said a lot of words, wanting Han Xuanfeng to come up with a good plan as soon as possible. If this continued, the pressure in his heart would be too great.
How could Han Xuanfeng not understand? He put down his Clairvoyance and looked up at the blue sky. He took a few deep breaths in the absence of wind, and then looked at the beacon tower that was still burning with twin flames.
"Sonri Nigan, the news has been spread, but the young master and young lady are in Jili Province. It can be said that it is a long journey. When the two of them know, even if they rush eight hundred miles, they will have to wait for nearly a month.
In addition, the beacon can't send specific information. When the young master and young lady know, they will send people over and then send people back. It will take at least a month and a half to go back and forth. That is if it is not raining on the road and it is easy to travel. Let's think of a solution ourselves. "
Han Xuanfeng meant that he wanted to make a plan with Sonri Nigan and then command the army to ensure the stability of this place.
He, who had never commanded an army before, was worried and excited at the same time. He was afraid that he would accidentally lose, but he also wanted to lead the army to defeat all the enemies. It could be said that he was very conflicted.
Sonri Nigan nodded. He had commanded an army before. For example, the slaves he brought with him. He had also fought in battles before. Now that he had to command more people, he was also very nervous.
*****
"From now on, the twenty of you are my guards. In the future, you have to protect me. I will take care of your meals and your monthly allowance."
Xiao Bei, who had caught enough seafood at the seaside, chose twenty people from the hundred people who came from Sanshui County. These twenty people were the best at catching seafood, which meant that they were ranked in the top twenty.
The children who came to be guards would not object. They would do whatever the master said. They had already understood during training.
"Why? You want twenty people, what should we do? "Xiao Yuan did not care about the psychological trauma of tripping rope and strongly objected.
Xiao Bei also realized that she wanted more people, but she did not want to admit it. She deliberately did not look at Xiao Yuan's angry eyes. She lowered her head and looked at her little feet. Her ten toes moved back and forth on the sand.
When the atmosphere was too oppressive, she said softly, "You guys can divide the rest. I won't steal anymore, really."
"You've already finished stealing. How many people are there? Count. One, two, three … nine people, one hundred guards. How can you divide twenty people? Do you think I don't know math? You divide ten. "
Xiao Yuan's math was far worse than Xiao Hai's. It took him a while to finish counting. If each person had ten, there would be ten left. As he spoke, he was calculating how to divide the remaining ten. He had to continue counting. It was very troublesome.
Xiao Bei also calculated. She calculated first. "If each person has ten, then there are ten left. Just enough for me. The remainder is very small."
"No, it's not like that. Brother Xiao Hai, how do you calculate?" Xiao Yuan looked at Xiao Hai for help.
Xiao Hai clearly had no interest in such a 'difficult' question, but he still answered, "If each person has eleven guards, then there's one left. What do you do in class? You have to ask me such a simple question. "
"Oh, so it's like that." Xiao Yuan wanted to refute. His math was not good, but he was good at memorizing. But who asked him to be born later than Xiao Hai? He had to show respect. Besides, Xiao Hai's math was really good. At least, it was better than his.
Xiao Bei looked up at her brother, Zhang Xiaobao, for help.
Zhang Xiaobao looked at Wang Juan. The two looked at each other and smiled. This group of brothers and sisters was really fun. Nodding, Zhang Xiaobao said to Xiao Bei, "Indeed, each person has eleven guards. There's one left."
"Then I want twelve. You're not allowed to fight with me for the extra." The smart Xiao Bei did not dare to insist on twenty guards. She knew the principle of cutting off friends, so she had always done so.
Zhang Gang wanted to write a letter home and ask for more guards from the tribe. He did not want to fight with others for a few spots, but he did not dare. Seeing that no one said anything, he could only agree to the fact that Xiao Bei had one more guard.
The twelve people who were ranked first in swimming were taken by Xiao Bei. She chose people so simply. She did not consider whether those who were good at swimming were still good on land.
After the others had finished choosing their guards, Xiao Bei came to Xiao Hai's side like a little sister. She grabbed Xiao Hai's hand and shook it vigorously.
"Brother! You don't usually need guards. Why don't you let me help you train them? Is that okay? Is that okay? "
Usually, it was too difficult to get Xiao Bei to call him 'brother'. Who asked the four little guys to be born so close together?
Xiao Hai did not care about guards. He was focused on math. When he heard his sister asking for a guard, he nodded and agreed.
Xiao Bei cheered. She looked at Xiao Yuan, who had just opposed her, and revealed a unique smile. Xiao Yuan consciously pretended not to see it and turned his head to do his own things.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked on and did not care. If not, life would be much less fun.
On the way back, Xiao Bei did not ride a car or ride a horse. She was very happy. This was because she had her own team, even if the average age was slightly younger.
"Xiao Bao, when you go back, give an expensive gift to the surrounding commander-in-chief's manors. Don't worry about money. The friendship between the various places here can't be measured by money."
Wang Juan said to Zhang Xiaobao as they walked.
Zhang Xiaobao agreed very happily. He did not ask for the reason. There would be a day when he would know, and he would not have to wait too long.
As soon as they returned to the manor, Zhang Xiaobao began to give gifts to the surrounding places. According to the status of the other party, the gifts given ranged from 1,000 strings of coins to 10,000 strings of coins. A total of 32 gifts were given, and the total value was 110,000 strings of coins.
Those who received the gifts were happy and worried. They were very clear about the value of the gifts now. The lowest value was more than 4,000 strings of coins.
Naturally, they did not know that the cost of the gifts was more than 1,000 strings of coins. They took the gifts and wanted to give back the same value, but they were reluctant to give it back.
Fortunately, the letter with the gifts mentioned a proposal, which was to hold a joint military exercise together. They hoped that they could cooperate. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were in charge of the site of the exercise, and they were in charge of the food.
Agreeing was giving face, and there was no need to return the gifts. One by one, they agreed.
Not everyone was only doing it for money. Some people did not care about money. They wanted to see the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in Jili Province.
Zhang Xiaobao finally guessed part of the content at this time. He asked Wang Juan, "Where are you going to take them to hold the joint military exercise?"
"It depends on the situation in Jinchuan. If it's good, we will hold a training exercise in the entire northern part of Hebei Province for half a year. If it's not good … we will go to Jinchuan. I'd rather pay a lot of money for it. "
Wang Juan did not keep it a secret. As soon as she said it, Zhang Xiaobao knew what she meant.
"Well, it's worth the money. First, we can let the army be familiar with the terrain here. After all, they come from the south. Second, we can let the team participating in the exercise feel our military treatment. Even if we don't win them over, we must leave a deep impression in their hearts.
As for Jinchuan, the significance of this exercise is greater, and at the same time, the purpose of this exercise is stronger. Good idea. Whether they agree or not, it's good for us. "
Zhang Xiaobao praised Wang Juan. Before Wang Juan could be modest, he changed the topic, "But … if they don't agree to go to Jinchuan, are you really going to do something to them?"
"I believe that our friendship is like the evergreen tree. When I gave them very precious and valuable gifts, I never thought about money. Betrayal is shameful. I believe they won't betray us."
Wang Juan said sincerely.
*****
When the various forces in northern Hebei Province were busy transferring troops for the exercise, Shui Yun flew over mountains and rivers and finally arrived at Jinchuan. Under the shocked gazes of Han Xuanfeng and Sonri Nigan, she lowered her head and scratched the ground with her claws, reminding Han Xuanfeng what she should do.
"Shui Yun? Why are you here? Come, get some water. Kill a cow and drag it here. Hurry, our Shui Yun flew here from Jili Province. She's exhausted. "
Han Xuanfeng knew Shui Yun. When he was in Sanshui County, he often dealt with Shui Yun. When he saw Shui Yun, he was surprised at first and then felt sorry for her.
While instructing his subordinates to prepare the things, he walked up to Shui Yun and held her in his arms. To him, Shui Yun was not an eagle, but a person.
Sonri Nigan took a few deep breaths to calm her heartbeat. Then she said, "She's Shui Yun? The world's number one eagle? She's really amazing. She can fly here from Jili Province. She's worth a lot of money. Let's see what she brings. "
"Take a rest. Come, Shui Yun. Drink some water first. The fresh beef will be here soon. Let me see if you've lost weight."
Han Xuanfeng treated Shui Yun like a person. He had someone bring a basin of water to Shui Yun and stood to the side to make room for Shui Yun to drink more comfortably.
Shui Yun was indeed exhausted. She only ate a little rabbit meat and drank some water because she was in a hurry. She spent the rest of the time flying. When she was tired, she would soar, rest, and continue flying.
She lowered her head and gulped down the water. When she was almost done drinking, the beef was also sent over. Han Xuanfeng chose the best beef and cut it into strips to feed Shui Yun. Shui Yun slowly swallowed the meat before taking the letter out.
Sonri Nigan also came close to read it.
The first sentence of the letter was not to ask about what happened here. Instead, it told Han Xuanfeng that Shui Yun needed rest and beef. Then it asked what happened to Jin Chuan. It gave a few guesses and suggestions. If they matched, they could follow the plan in the letter.
While the two were reading the letter, Shui Yun, who had eaten and drunk enough, flew to the roof to sleep.
Seeing that it was getting late, Han Xuanfeng didn't go to Shui Yun immediately after he finished writing the letter. Although eagles had great endurance and could survive for a few days without eating, drinking, or sleeping, he didn't want Shui Yun to go back immediately. Anyway, the carnivorous people were more obedient and didn't do anything out of line.
He ordered people to find a lot of soft straw and cotton wool and put them on the ground for Shui Yun to sleep on. Han Xuanfeng thought about the plan in the letter and then fell asleep.
Shui Yun had another meal. It grabbed the straw and cotton wool on the ground and flew to a crack in the cliff nearby. It began to make a nest, planning to have a good sleep.
If it were other eagles, they might not accept other people's help, but Shuiyun was not. It was not stupid. If it were Shuiyun, where would it find such soft straw and cotton wool? It was colder at night than during the day, so it would save as much energy as possible.
While Shui Yun was sleeping with many people, dozens of figures flashed out from a lake in the desert. They quickly ran toward the place where the haloxylon ammondendron was planted.
When the dozens of people came to the outside of the fence, someone shouted, "Who are you? Stop, don't move, or we'll shoot you to death."
Following the shout, there was also the sound of dogs barking, adding a bit of noise to the silent night.
Under the waning moon, the dozens of people didn't listen to the warning at all. They quickly jumped over the fence and rushed inside. Then there was the sound of rustling. When the dogs' barks got closer, the dozens of people jumped over the fence again and ran back to the camp by the lake as fast as they could.
Then there were the sounds of dogs howling. If someone's ears were good, they could vaguely make out that there were human grunts mixed in.
Under the night, everything returned to normal.
The guards had been ordered not to give chase when something happened. They had to wait until the sun came up.
When the red sun jumped out, the guards finally discovered the situation inside the fence yesterday. Several hundred haloxylon ammondendron trees had been cut down, and three dogs had gone missing.
"It must be them, the cannibals did it. I knew they didn't have good intentions there." Zhang Youzhu, who was in charge of planting the haloxylon ammondendron trees, pointed at the cannibals' camp and cried.
There was no need for him to say it. The others also understood, but they couldn't make the decision. They could only wait for Han Xuanfeng to come.
Han Xuanfeng, who had gotten up early to train, finally received the news when he was about to finish. He rode over with Sonri Nigan. Looking at the haloxylon ammondendron trees and the smoke rising from the cannibals' camp, Han Xuanfeng's face was gloomy.
"Fortunately, Shui Yun didn't go back yesterday. It seems I need to write a new letter." After saying this, Han Xuanfeng ordered, "Continue with your work and pretend nothing happened. We'll talk about it at night. There aren't many haloxylon ammondendron trees that were cut down. We'll plant more."
Leaving these words behind, the two rode back to the house. Han Xuanfeng tore up the letter he wrote yesterday and wrote a new one. He called out to Shui Yun, who was hovering in the sky. After Shui Yun came down to eat and drink, he tied a bamboo tube to it and stroked its feathers.
"Go back. Be careful, there's no rush here. Don't tire yourself out."
It wasn't clear if Shui Yun understood, but she cried out and ran a little. She flapped her wings and flew into the sky again. Gradually, she became a small black dot and disappeared from Han Xuanfeng's sight.
"If there were more Shui Yun, we wouldn't need pigeons. It's much more convenient," Sonri Nigan said enviously.
"They're chickens. You can have as many as you want. The only thing we can hope for is for Shui Yun to find a partner. When we have a little Shui Yun, we'll see if we can raise one." Han Xuanfeng's eyes were still looking at the sky.
Sonri Nigan knew about eagles and said, "Even if we have a little Shui Yun, it might not be useful. She might fall to her death. First, she'll be pushed or thrown down by a big eagle. Then, even if she can fly, she'll have her wings broken by the big eagle. Not many survive."
"You're talking about other eagles. Shui Yun isn't that stupid. He'll wait for others to make a thick cushion for him and then throw the little eagle down from the sky. Even if it doesn't learn to fly, he can catch it and throw it again. It's the same when he breaks its wings.
With the little prince and his wife's wealth, it wouldn't be difficult for them to pave dozens of acres of cotton for Shui Yun. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. When Shui Yun has a child, will the little prince and his wife do that? Will Shui Yun cooperate? "
Han Xuanfeng, who treated Shui Yun as a human, didn't agree with Sonri Nigan. Other eagles weren't smart enough, but Shui Yun, a psychic eagle, would be very cooperative. After all, it was his child.
Sonri Nigan was dumbfounded by Han Xuanfeng's words. Thinking about it carefully, it was true. "Yes, Shui Yun is different from other eagles. Other eagles are arrogant, but they are arrogant to everything. Shui Yun is only arrogant in battle. It knows when to advance and retreat. If someone is good to it, it will be very cooperative. That's why it's alive. Many of its enemies are dead."
"Don't worry about Shui Yun. The little prince and his wife will think about it. Tonight, the revenge will begin." Han Xuanfeng looked in the direction of the Duo Eaters' camp and sneered.
Night fell again. No one could see Shui Yun, who endured the sleepiness and continued to fly. The moon was a little less, and the sky was darker. Instead, the stars were brighter.
Dozens of figures came out from the lake. They went around a big circle and headed toward the fenced haloxylon tree.
When they got close to the fence again, the leader finally found that something was wrong. He stopped in confusion. After thinking carefully, he realized what was wrong. There was one sound missing. The dog stopped barking.
Just as he was hesitating whether to continue or not, and whether there were any traps ahead, a fire suddenly appeared in the direction of the camp. Then, there were screams. At first, there were only one or two screams, but in the end, there were a lot of screams. The leader of the dozens of figures couldn't care less about the haloxylon tree in front of him.
He ran back to the camp first, followed by dozens of people. If the moon was round and bright enough, one would be able to see the anxious expressions on their faces.
When they returned to the camp, some people in the camp rushed out, and some couldn't meet up with them.
In addition to the people who ran out without any problems, there were also people who were on fire, making heart-wrenching sounds as they ran around like headless flies.
The people immediately began to look for tools to hold water. They ran to the lake to scoop up water and splashed it on the people on fire.
When the sound gradually stopped, the whole camp had become a sea of fire. The remaining 400 or so people looked at the scene in front of them and wanted to cry.
Until now, they hadn't seen the people who attacked the camp. It was as if the camp itself was on fire. But this was impossible. They knew who did it, but like Han Xuanfeng last night, they couldn't find any evidence to prove it.
Unwilling to give up like this, the Duoghans spread out and searched for enemies that might appear in the surroundings. As long as they could find one, they would have an excuse to cause trouble for the Tang people living here. At the very least, they would have an excuse to dispatch troops.
A few of the Duo Eaters lit torches from the campsite and walked all the way to the outside of the fence. Just as they realized that they had gone in the wrong direction and were about to go back, someone suddenly shouted from inside the fence, "Who are you? Don't move."
The Maneaters were stunned. Only then did they realize that they were still holding torches. One of them shouted, and the Maneaters threw down their torches and prepared to leave.
Before they could run a few steps, a buzzing sound came from the sky, and then countless arrows fell, nailing them to the ground. Those who hadn't died for the time being could still vaguely hear the sound of dogs barking.
Before daybreak, more than a hundred people with crossbows in their hands made a large circle and returned home. If someone carefully smelled them, they would be able to smell the smell of cooked oil on their bodies.
When the people who had endured until daybreak checked the camp, they found many arrowheads made of stone. Looking at these arrowheads and the ashes of the arrow shafts, the people understood that if they asked the Tang people about these things, they wouldn't admit it, because the Tang people didn't have stone arrowheads.
If they didn't believe it, they could look at the people the Tang people found. They were dragging a few corpses, and the corpses were full of arrows. Those arrows were definitely iron arrowheads.
When questioned by the Tang people, the people also questioned them. Even though both sides knew that the other side was the culprit, neither side was willing to reveal it.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
