Ang Lee and his men were in a hurry to return. They had already reached their fastest speed and encountered many prey along the way. However, they had no time to deal with them. They could only give up on hunting and return as soon as possible.
The hunters had not returned for many days and were also in a hurry to return. Although they had almost no harvest and no prey to bring back, after the soldiers had finished eating the prey, the remaining furs were all given to them. Anyway, it was a burden to bring them along. They had harvested close to ten wolf furs, a few deer and antelope furs, and more than thirty rabbit furs. These could be sold for a lot of money and could be considered a small harvest. Although it was not much, this trip could be considered an eye-opener for them and they did not suffer any losses.
They had all woken up very early. Originally, they could have set off earlier and returned home earlier. However, when they saw that the soldiers were carrying more supplies, they decided to go with the soldiers and share part of the burden. This would allow the soldiers to travel more easily when they went down the mountain. Everyone was already familiar with each other. If they left early, these hunters would feel that they were too unreasonable. They were just like that, filled with a strong sense of humanity.
The soldiers carried a lot of supplies and some of the soldiers had to take turns to carry the giant panda. This was hard work and also very tiring. Every two hours, the team would stop to rest for a short period of time to let the soldiers rest a little. At noon, the rest time was slightly longer. After all, they needed to eat something. However, this rest time was only half an hour. Otherwise, there would not be enough time. Even if they were in such a hurry, it was impossible to reach the riverside before nightfall. If everything went smoothly, they would almost reach the riverside not long after nightfall. If they were slower, they might have to walk until the second half of the night. However, regardless of whether they could reach the riverside at nightfall or if they had to walk until the second half of the night, Ang Lee would not continue to stay in the mountain for another night. No matter how tired he was, he would be able to have a good rest when he returned to the ship.
The team that had set out ahead of time had arrived at the location where the monkey was being guarded. They had informed the twenty soldiers there to prepare to depart. These fellows were very straightforward. They immediately made their preparations and set out before Ang Lee's main force had arrived. By the time Ang Lee arrived at the location, it was already empty. This made Ang Lee very happy. As long as they didn't waste any time, everything was fine.
After walking for a while, it was time for the hunters to bid farewell to Ang Lee. Although they wanted to continue sending Ang Lee and the others off, it was getting dark. Even if they brought Ang Lee and the others to the riverside at night, it wouldn't matter as long as they boarded the boat. However, the hunters couldn't. They still had to turn back. By the time they returned to the village, it might already be dawn.
"Stop."
Ang Lee did not make things difficult for the hunters. As soon as the team reached the fork in the road, Ang Lee stopped the team.
"It's getting late. You should go back to the village. Thank you for your help these past few days. Come, take this gift."
Ang Lee did not hesitate. He directly took out a packaged telescope and put it in the hands of the tall hunter.
This was a telescope with a magnification of ten. Although the magnification was not very high, it was enough for hunting. The most important thing was that it was reliable enough. It could shorten the distance by ten times. This was not a joke. As long as they found something suspicious, they could take out the telescope and find out what was going on. For hunters, this telescope could greatly improve their hunting efficiency. It was definitely a very suitable gift for hunters.
"This is too expensive. We can't accept it."
The tall hunter did not know how much the telescope was worth. He had never seen it before, but he felt that it was very valuable. It was precisely because he had never seen it on the market and the telescope's magical function that he thought it was very valuable.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Take it! This thing is worthless. It's really worthless. I didn't bring many with me when I came out, so I can only give you one as a souvenir! Don't refuse. You must accept it. "
The tall hunter wanted to be polite, but under Ang Lee's repeated requests, he compromised. After all, this guy also liked this gift very much. He really wanted it, but he was worried that it was too expensive. He should not accept such a big gift, so he was polite. Since Ang Lee repeatedly wanted to give it to him, he could not say anything more. He could only happily accept the gift and thank him again.
Holding the telescope and testing it, the tall hunter and his companions formally bid farewell to Ang Lee. They took another fork in the road back to their village. Some of them had already decided that they must go to the capital in their lifetime to see the outside world.
After parting with the hunters, the sky was completely dark. After continuing to walk for a while, the team had to turn on the lights. Otherwise, they would not be able to see the road clearly. This light was not anything else. It was a flashlight brought from the capital. It could be used for about two hours at a time. After it was used, they just had to change the battery.
It was not easy to walk in the mountains, and now that the sky was dark, it was even more difficult to walk in the dark. Fortunately, the soldiers were all young and strong lads. They had sufficient physical strength and energy, so they could overcome any difficulties they encountered.
Those with heavier burdens were only responsible for walking. Those with lighter burdens were responsible for lighting and constantly reminding the soldiers with heavier burdens to be careful of their steps. Especially when encountering a steep slope, they would remind them every few steps to avoid casualties.
Fortunately, Li An had the foresight to make the giant panda cage long and slender. Otherwise, there would be no way to carry it across the narrow roads. Even so, it was still very difficult to lift it up. After all, this was not an empty cage. There was a huge panda inside. It was the weight of two adults. The cage and the bamboo itself were also the weight of two people. In total, it was the weight of four people. For four people to carry it together, it was equivalent to four people carrying four people. Each of them had to bear the weight of an adult. This pressure could not be said to be small. Fortunately, there were three groups of people taking turns to carry it. If they did not change people, the four people would have been exhausted to death.
These four giant panda cages were the biggest burden. There was no other burden heavier than this. In addition, in order to feed these pandas, the soldiers had cut down thousands of kilograms of bamboo, which was only enough for the pandas to eat for about eight months. After all, the giant panda's appetite was too big. These four giant pandas and two cubs could eat five to six hundred kilograms of bamboo a day, and five to six thousand kilograms of bamboo would be finished in about ten days. However, if they cut down too much bamboo, the soldiers would not be able to carry it. It was not easy to go down the mountain, and wouldn't this increase the burden on the soldiers? In the future, if there was not enough bamboo, they could continue to cut it down. Although the climate in the capital was not very good, it could still grow bamboo. The train had already been connected to the south, and it was not difficult to transport tens of thousands of kilograms of bamboo from the south to the capital.
Although Ang Lee liked the giant pandas very much, he still had things to do in the south this time, so he could not bring the giant pandas with him. Moreover, this fellow could eat so much that it was also a huge burden. These precious treasures had to be transported back to his home in the capital as soon as possible. There was no need to mobilize the army. He only needed to spend money to hire some civilian transport teams to complete this task. He only needed to pick two guards to lead the way.
There were more than twenty golden monkeys. Ang Lee planned to keep two with him and send the rest back. These two monkeys were also to relieve his boredom and relieve the loneliness of the journey.
"Be careful, be careful!"
It was inevitable that people would fall while traveling on the mountain road. This was a very normal thing, and there was nothing strange about it. From time to time, people would fall. Even if there was light, the effect was not very big.
After walking in the dark for two hours, the team arrived at a relatively open place. Although this was not the foot of the mountain, the road was already very open. Even if they were to travel by carriage, there was no pressure.
"Assistant Minister Li, there are people ahead. There are more than fifty people. It seems that they are here to support us."
Chen Long opened his mouth and said.
Soon, these fifty or so people arrived in front of them. Moreover, they had brought large and small carriages with them. They had come specifically to receive them. There was still an hour's walk from here to the riverside. With these carriages, the pressure on the soldiers could be greatly reduced.
The cage for the giant panda, thousands of pounds of bamboo, and a lot of luggage were all placed on the carriages and pulled by horses. This way, the speed of travel would be much faster.
Ang Lee was very happy that the people who stayed behind to support them took the initiative to come to support them. He praised them for doing a good job and gave them some rewards.
Of course, these people who stayed behind were not honest these days. They took turns to form teams to hunt in the nearby mountains. The prey they caught was more than Ang Lee's main force. After all, they caught whatever they saw and were not polite at all. On the other hand, Ang Lee's main force led the main force to capture the giant panda and golden monkey alive. They basically did not kill the rest of the prey they encountered. They only killed a little occasionally, so naturally, they could not compete with these guys who specialized in hunting.
Li An and the main force suffered for several days on the mountain. As for the guys who stayed behind, they lived a simple life. They could not finish the game they hunted every day. There was still a lot of dried meat left, which was stored in the cabin. They could eat it whenever they were hungry. They did not have to worry about meat for the next five days. The furs of the game were also sold by them. There was a small town more than ten miles away from the river. They sold the furs to the town and used the money from selling the furs to buy a lot of good wine. They drank to their heart's content when they came back.
After returning to the riverside, the soldiers who had been tired for several days could finally have a good night's sleep. However, in order to hasten their journey, Li An did not set up camp by the riverside. Instead, he directly boarded the ship and slept in the cabin. Although the conditions were a little harsh, these were all very ordinary soldiers. They could still bear this bit of hardship.
Ang Lee's boat conditions were slightly better, but only slightly better. After all, the river here was not very wide or deep. Large boats could not pass through here. There were only small and medium-sized boats here. Ang Lee also rented small and medium-sized boats.
"The two of you guard a boat and send the pandas and golden monkeys back to the capital. This money should be enough. When we reach the shore, hire more labor. Don't be stingy. We must send these guys back to the capital safely. I have already written down how to take care of these pandas and golden monkeys. You two must study it carefully. You must not let them suffer on the way back, and even more so, don't let them die. When we return to the residence, you two will be in charge of taking care of them temporarily."
Ang Lee looked at the two guards and said.
These guards were the guards of Ang Lee's residence. They usually followed Ang Lee around or stayed in the residence to guard. The work was not very tiring, but it was quite exhausting. An impatient person would not be able to do this.
"Yes, Alang."
The two guards accepted the information written by Ang Lee and went to prepare.
Soon, the two guards and more than a dozen boatmen sailed a medium-sized boat back. They wanted to return to the capital. First, they took a section of the water, then a section of the dirt road, and finally a railway to the capital.
After sending off the treasures, the main fleet continued to move along the Min River. The well-trained boatmen did not feel any pressure to sail the boat at night. They had made a living on the Min River all year round and were very familiar with the hydrology of each section. Even if they closed their eyes, they could sail the boat well. They would never let the boat hit the rocks or hit the shore. Without this skill, how could they have the nerve to work on this waterway?
After a tiring day, the soldiers were lying in the cabins of the various ships. There were at least two soldiers on night duty on each ship to prevent any accidents from happening. Even though nothing would happen at night, it was never wrong to be careful.
Ang Lee came back empty-handed. He did not carry anything heavy, so he was not very tired. When he got on the boat, he did not feel sleepy at all.
There were more than a dozen guards on the boat. Half of them were sleeping below, and the other half were guarding the bow and stern. Ang Lee was playing with the two little golden monkeys on the deck.
After sending away most of the golden monkeys and pandas, Ang Lee deliberately kept two of the golden monkeys and asked the soldiers to build a small cage. It was definitely bigger than an ordinary birdcage. Otherwise, it would not be able to contain the bodies of the golden monkeys.
These golden monkeys had been captured for two days. Their emotions were relatively stable. They seemed to have accepted the fate of being captured by humans. They stayed in the cage and did not panic at all. They just quietly looked at everything around them.
At this time, the moon in the sky had begun to fade. However, it was only a little bit. It was not very obvious. The night wind was slightly chilly, but it did not feel cold. Ang Lee was in a good mood as he enjoyed the dark scenery passing by on both sides of the river while eating bananas that could only be found in tropical areas.
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