"Haha! Pull the net up. Today's harvest is really good! Awesome, it's really awesome, haha! "
Chen Long gave the order excitedly.
Soon, the golden monkeys that fell from the cliff were all pulled up. These monkeys were caught in the net and could hardly move. They seemed to be very grumpy. An old monkey even glared at Ang Lee with its teeth bared. It was probably extremely angry in its heart!
The mother monkey with the baby in her arms looked at the crowd in front of her with tears in her eyes. It seemed very pitiful, probably hoping that the kind human would let them go.
Ang Lee was also compassionate and knew that these cute monkeys should belong in the forest. However, Ang Lee was also selfish. These monkeys were free in the forest, but once Ang Lee left Min Mountain, it would be difficult to see these monkeys again. Only by bringing them back to the capital city could he see them every day. Every man for himself. In order to make himself comfortable, there was nothing wrong with sacrificing the monkeys' freedom. After all, monkeys were just animals. In this natural world where strength meant everything, because humans had strength, they could treat all other animals as food. However, monkeys had no strength, so they could only become humans' playthings.
"Assistant Minister Li, all the monkeys have been caught. 26 of them, not one less."
Chen Long counted and said.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction and said, "Hurry up and make some cages. Put these monkeys in the cages. Monkeys will feel uncomfortable if they are always put in the net. In addition, leave 20 people to camp here and take care of these monkeys. We still need to find the pandas."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
Chen Long responded and immediately went to make arrangements.
For the convenience of carrying, the cages could not be made too big. There were 26 monkeys, so at least seven or eight cages should be prepared. That way, it would be convenient to carry them. If there were too many and too heavy, it would not be easy to carry.
This time, they were able to catch the whole group of monkeys so smoothly because of the contributions of these hunters. Ang Lee naturally wanted to express his gratitude.
"It's all thanks to you guys this time. Here are a few pieces of gold. Take one each as my thanks."
Ang Lee took out a few gold bars and gave them to the hunters.
"No, we can't take it. We really can't."
Although the hunters were poor, they still had a backbone. They didn't want to come into contact with this sudden wealth. They also felt that they were only doing their best and shouldn't receive such a high reward. If they casually received so much wealth, it would be unkind.
Ang Lee tried again, but they still refused to accept. Since that was the case, Ang Lee had no choice but to give up. He also praised these hunters for their noble character and unquestionable integrity. They were actually unmoved by money, which was really rare.
After capturing the golden-haired monkey, the next step was to go to a further place to catch the giant panda. Without a guide, they might have to take a lot of unnecessary detours. Ang Lee felt that it was best to let them lead the way.
"Since you guys think that this is a small matter and not worth mentioning, why don't you bring us to catch the flower bear? If we catch the flower bear, it should be a great merit!"
Ang Lee held the gold bars and said.
The tall hunter opened his mouth and replied, "The flower bear is just not easy to catch. It's not a valuable animal, so it's not worth mentioning. Anyway, we're used to going into the mountains every day. What's the harm in bringing you guys there? We don't need to pay, hehe!"
It was obvious that these hunters were honest people. In addition, they were familiar with Ang Lee, so they were not afraid and spoke more casually.
Seeing that they insisted on not accepting the gold bars, Ang Lee could only give them to his subordinates. He had already decided to give them a gift. Although this gift was very important, and he didn't plan to give it to them, they had done so much for him. How could he let it go if he didn't at least show a little appreciation?
The team soon set off again, following the rugged mountain path towards the giant panda's habitat. Long Wujun left twenty people to take care of the golden-haired monkey, and two of the hunters left. They were going to another place to hunt, and then they had to return before dark. They also told the villagers that the other hunters were acting as guides, so that the villagers wouldn't worry.
The giant panda's habitat was quite far from the golden-haired monkey's habitat. It would be good if they could reach it in the evening. Even if they reached that place, they might not necessarily find the giant panda. After all, it was a solitary animal, and there was usually only one of them within a few kilometers. In order to find and capture the giant panda, Ang Lee divided the team into several groups after arriving at the giant panda's habitat. Each group was led by a hunter. This way, the chances of finding and capturing the giant panda were much higher.
Because they were climbing all the way up, it was more physically exhausting. In addition, the higher they went, the lower the temperature, and the colder they would feel. Fortunately, Ang Lee was prepared, and made the soldiers wear thicker clothes. The hunters grew up in the mountains, so naturally, they were used to the cold weather here. Even if they went to the giant panda's habitat, there wouldn't be any problems.
Climbing the mountain was definitely a great test of one's physical strength. Therefore, after climbing for a while, they had to stop and rest for a while, and then continue climbing. It was absolutely impossible to climb to the giant panda's habitat in one go. They would be exhausted to death.
A breeze blew, and Ang Lee felt cold on his forehead. It was so cold at the top. They were only halfway up the mountain, and it was already so cold. If they walked to the peak of Min Mountain, they would be frozen to death!
There were more animals in the forest at the foot of the mountain, but as they walked, Ang Lee could clearly feel that the number of animals in the forest decreased. The higher they went, the fewer animals there were. The top of the mountain was covered with snow all year round, and it was hard to say whether there would be animals there. Perhaps there would be some drought-resistant foxes! As for plants, there might be iceberg snow lotus, or there might be no plants at all. It was not easy to be sure, and it would be clear only when they went up.
"Do you usually go back every day when you hunt in the mountain? Or do you only go back once every few days? I see that there are many shacks on the mountain that people can live in. "
As Ang Lee walked, he saw a small house. At first glance, he knew it was a simple tent built by hunters.
The tall hunter said, "Usually, we go back every day. Sometimes, we can stay in the mountain for three to five days after we tell our families in advance. We just live in a simple tent like this."
Ang Lee could understand. It was not easy to go into the mountain. If they went back every day, then the time they spent in the mountain would be very short, and the chances of hunting prey would naturally be much slimmer. In order to catch more prey, it was not impossible to stay in the mountain for a few more days. Generally, hunters would stay in the mountain for a few more days every month.
"In addition to hunting, do you also pick herbs and wild fruits?"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
The tall hunter said, "If we meet good ones, we will definitely pick some. There are snow lotuses on the distant snow mountains. If we meet them, we will definitely pick them, but we usually don't meet them. Moreover, it is too far and too cold, and we can only go there a few times a year. "
"Good! There are snow lotuses here. It is really rare, haha! "
Ang Lee smiled happily.
Generally, snow lotuses were in the area of Tianshan. It was really rare to see snow lotuses here. In Ang Lee's impression, there were snow lotuses in Min Mountain, as well as fritillary, rhubarb, and other precious medicinal materials.
Snow lotuses were one of the few plants on the mountaintop near these precious medicinal materials because of the perennial snow. In addition, there were also many green sheep, mountain deer, and water deer. These prey were not afraid of the cold and lived in the high mountain area. In addition, this was also to avoid being hunted by humans as much as possible. Compared to the harsh natural environment, hunting by humans was the biggest enemy of these prey. As long as they could avoid being hunted by humans, these prey could live a good life. If one day, these prey became extinct, it must be because of the hunting by humans, not because they could not adapt to the harsh environment.
Snow lotuses were very precious medicinal materials. It was actually good to pick some snow lotuses back. However, the snow lotuses were in a higher place, and there was still a day's journey from the habitat of the giant panda. Ang Lee thought about it and decided to forget it. Snow lotuses were expensive, but they were sold in all the major pharmacies in the capital. This time, the main purpose of coming to Min Mountain was to catch the golden monkey and the giant panda alive and take them back to play with. Especially the giant panda, its charmingly naive appearance was really cute. The children at home would definitely like it.
Now Ang Lee already had five children, Guo 'er, Tang Er, Man' er, Lu 'er, and Ya' er. Guo 'er and Tang Er were boys, while Man' er, Lu 'er, and Ya' er were girls. The two sons and three daughters could be said to have enjoyed the happiness of a family reunion.
If it weren't for Ang Lee deliberately asking his wives to use contraception, they might be able to have more children. Although it was a blessing to have more children in ancient times, Ang Lee didn't want his wives to work so hard. It was hard enough to give birth to one child, and more children would be even harder. As for the maids, he couldn't let them have babies casually. Otherwise, Ang Lee's mansion would be full of children, which was a very terrible thing, although he could afford to raise them.
One baby panda had to be prepared. It was not bad to prepare five for five children. However, Ang Lee thought it was too difficult. It was already lucky to find one giant panda, let alone find and catch five at once. But at least they had to catch two. Otherwise, it would be too lonely. Although pandas were solitary animals and each giant panda needed its own independent space, when it came to mating, two still needed to be together. Moreover, a giant panda alone didn't look good at home. It was more interesting to have a pair of giant pandas.
Because they needed to hurry on with the journey, even if they encountered small deer, water deer, and other prey, the main team could not stop. They only let a few people chase and kill them, and then quickly catch up with the team. If the prey ran too far away, they would directly give up. In short, completing Li An's mission was the most important. These small paths, water deer, and other prey were not important.
"Stop and rest for a while."
Li An gave the order when he saw that everyone was tired.
At this time, they were not far from the habitat of the giant pandas. Bamboo could be seen in the distance, but it was getting late. It was not realistic to hunt giant pandas today. They probably had to wait until the next morning to work for a whole day.
"About how many giant pandas are there here?"
Ang Lee looked at several hunters and asked.
The short hunter replied, "Not too many, but not too many. I guess there are at least a few hundred of them! It's just that this place is too far away, and this is not very valuable. It's not easy to kill, so not many people in the village hunt flower bears. "
"I'm afraid there are more than a few hundred, at least more than a thousand. Behind this area, there is a large bamboo forest, and there are more flower bears there."
"Yes, flower bears are not only in this area of Min Mountain. There are also flower bears in the opposite mountain, and in the south and north. I'm afraid there are thousands of them in total, but there are only a few hundred in this big bamboo forest in front of us."
"These are just guesses. The flower bears all look the same. Who knows if the one we see here is the same one we see next to here."
"Why can't I be sure? Every flower bear will move around in its own fixed territory. Generally, they won't go to other flower bears' places. The flower bear here and the one next to it are definitely not the same one."
A few hunters opened their mouths to argue.
Ang Lee naturally knew what was going on. He was very clear about the habits of giant pandas. These cute little guys all had their own independent space. If the hunters said there were hundreds of them in this forest, then there were hundreds of them. There should not be too much deviation. Ang Lee and his team of nearly two hundred people scattered in this big forest to look for giant pandas. It should not be difficult to catch a few. At the thought of the great hope, Ang Lee was quite happy.
Although giant pandas were the national treasures of later generations, in this era of the Tang dynasty, they were just ordinary flower bears. There was nothing precious about them, and no one felt that the black and white flower bears were superior. Even the mountain kings of each mountain liked to use tiger skins as cushions on their stools instead of flower bear skins. It could be seen that in the hearts of the people, tiger skins were the most valuable, and flower bears were not valuable at all. They were just a very ordinary animal.
Fortunately, the people of the Tang dynasty did not recognize the value of giant pandas. Otherwise, giant pandas would not be able to avoid being hunted by human beings. Not to mention the national treasures of later generations, giant pandas would have gone extinct before the fall of the Tang dynasty.
It was not easy for a species to form. If it went extinct, it would be really a pity. Ang Lee naturally would not allow this to happen. He would not let the giant pandas face the fate of being threatened.
Although Ang Lee wanted to take the giant pandas back to raise them, he would not publicize the value of giant pandas, nor would he share them with others. He would just let his children pet them. The giant panda was a very cute little animal. Its charmingly naive appearance was very likable. In later generations, people all over the world loved giant pandas very much. Ang Lee also believed that his five babies would also love giant pandas very much. They would grow up with giant pandas.
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.
