For Chang 'an City, no news was the best news. However, for the army on the grassland, the most torturous thing was no news at all.
"Fu Yun, that old fox, is really good at hiding," Cheng Yaojin said angrily.
The army had searched the grassland for possible hiding places of the Tuyuhun cavalry several times. Unfortunately, they found nothing. It was either a valley that had been burned down or a grassland that had been gnawed by the horses. They did not give the Tang Army any chance at all.
The other generals could not help but look gloomily at the corpses of the bulging cows and sheep in the pond. Fu Yun was really too ruthless. He did not even let go of the water source. In Qinghai, a water source was very precious. It was enough to feed a tribe of thousands. However, Fu Yun did not hesitate to destroy it.
Li Jing's face was gloomy. He waved his hand and said, "Pass down the order. Dig a well to get water. No one is allowed to drink the pond water."
In the past, the Marquis of Champion Huo Qubing was so heroic. However, because he fell into the Xiongnu's trap, he used the water source with dead cows and sheep and lost his life. Everyone was a military expert. Naturally, they would not make such a mistake.
Soon, soldiers picked up the tools to dig wells and dug wells far away from the polluted water source. Fortunately, during the drought last year, the tools to kill wells and dig wells were popularized. Soon, the wells were dug and the muddy water mixed with sand was removed.
After the muddy water was cleared, the horses could drink it. The last clear water was for the soldiers to drink. The soldiers directly ate compressed rations with the clear water. Fu Yun had burned everything that could be burned. Even boiling water to drink was a luxury.
"Libation Lord!" Xue Rengui took a pot of clear water and threw it to Meton. Meton took it and drank it in one gulp. However, his eyes did not leave the corpses of the cows and sheep that had turned white in the pond.
"It's useless. This water source is useless. Even if we salvage the corpses, I'm afraid we won't be able to use it for at least half a year." Xue Rengui shook his head.
Meton shook his head and revealed a trace of confidence. "The Tuyuhun people wanted to pollute the water with the corpses of these livestock, but they didn't know that they made a fatal mistake and exposed their whereabouts."
"Nephew Mo, could it be that you've found a way to track down Tuyuhun?" Cheng Yaojin's voice suddenly sounded from behind, immediately attracting the attention of many people.
Meton had been wandering around the polluted water source. He had already attracted the attention of many people. Suddenly, many people gathered around him. Although Meton was young, he had already won the hearts of many people after the big battle.
Meton pointed at the corpse in the water and said, "People can lie, but corpses can't. In the Imperial College, Professor Han of Law can accurately determine the time of death based on the degree of decomposition of the corpse."
Li Jing's face immediately lit up with joy. "You're saying that you can determine the time of Fu Yun's departure based on this dead sheep?"
Meton shook his head and said, "This valley can only accommodate a small tribe of about five thousand people. It can't be Fu Yun's trail."
"A tribe of five thousand people is also fine. If we can catch up to these tribes, then the army's rations will be secured." Cheng Yaojin said excitedly.
The generals nodded. The army's rations had been under great pressure these past few days. If they still couldn't catch up to the Tuyuhun tribes, the army's morale would be shaken again.
Under Meton's instructions, Xue Rengui pinched his nose and pulled out a swollen dead sheep from the pond.
Immediately, a foul stench assailed their noses. The generals pinched their noses and took a few steps back. They looked at Meton with a sinister expression.
Meton ignored the strange gazes of the generals. He pointed at the wound on the dead sheep's neck and said, "This sheep was clearly slaughtered and thrown into the water. The process of a sheep's meat from fresh to rotten is fixed. Based on the degree of decomposition of this dead sheep, this sheep has been dead for three days."
"Three days?" Everyone's eyes lit up. If there were only three days, then the army might have a chance to catch up.
"However, the decomposition of the corpse in the water will speed up. It will be three to four times slower than if it was exposed to the sun. In other words, this Tuyuhun tribe has been gone for more than ten days.
"Ten days!" The hope that had just risen in everyone's hearts suddenly dimmed. These Tuyuhun tribes had long disappeared from the vast grasslands.
"That's not necessarily true. Give me the map!" Meton stretched out his hand and beckoned. Xue Rengui immediately handed over a magnified map of Tuyuhun.
"This is the current location of our army," Meton pointed at an invisible dot on the map and said.
"The Tuyuhun tribes are herding their cattle and sheep. They can't travel fast. With the speed of the Tuyuhun tribes and the marching speed of our army …" Meton's eyes lit up. With the Tang Army's encampment as the dot, he drew a big circle on the map of Tuyuhun.
"The tribe that left here ten days ago must be within this range," Meton pointed at the circle on the map and said with certainty.
The generals gathered around and looked at the circle. They frowned as they looked at it.
"With such a large range, I'm afraid it won't be easy to find!" Cheng Yaojin said with a frown.
Although the range of the pursuit had been reduced, it was still at least two hundred li in radius. It would not be easy to find a hiding tribe within this two hundred li radius.
Meton smiled confidently and said, "Although the range is not small, there aren't many places with abundant water and grass! This is only a small tribe of five thousand people. The army only needs to divide into a few auxiliary divisions to search for these possible hiding places. I believe we can definitely find these hiding rats. "
The generals suddenly felt enlightened. They could not help but look at Meton in amazement. No one had thought that the problem that had troubled the army would be solved so easily by Meton.
Li Jing nodded slowly and immediately shouted, "Cheng Yaojin, Li Daliang, Qixin Heli, each lead ten thousand soldiers and divide into three groups. You must find this tribe for me."
Soon, the three groups of nearly ten thousand cavalry quickly left the army and searched in three directions.
Sure enough, on the third day, the central army led by Cheng Yaojin came back with news that they had finally caught up with the Tuyuhun tribe at Mount Mandou, which was two hundred li away. This Mount Mandou happened to be on the circle drawn by Meton.
The result was no surprise. The Tuyuhun cavalry who had no will to resist were defeated in one blow. Cheng Yaojin returned with a great victory and countless cattle and sheep were captured.
The entire Tang Army heaved a sigh of relief. The army's provisions had finally been found. The biggest threat to the Tang Army had finally been removed.
At the same time, in the south of Tuyuhun, Hou Junji and Li Daozong led the trembling southern army. They stepped on the frost covered grassland and suddenly pounced on a Tuyuhun tribe in front of them.
The first priority of the southern army, who had also won a great victory, was not to deal with the panicked cattle and sheep on the ground. Instead, they desperately collected all the warm clothes. Even if a large number of cattle and sheep could not be eaten, they were still mercilessly slaughtered just for their fur to keep warm.
Both the northern and southern armies had made initial progress.
With nearly ten thousand cattle and sheep as supplies, the northern army was more confident. Li Jing also displayed his command talent to the extreme. The scouts of the army spread out like a net and gathered all the suspicious information in front of Meton.
Meton looked at the information in his hand and kept picking up paper and coins to calculate. Sometimes he frowned, and sometimes he laughed loudly.
"There must be remnants of Tuyuhun troops in the cattle pile."
"Tuyuhun troops must be in Chishuiyuan."
…
As Meton drew areas on the map, the hiding places of the Tuyuhun were all revealed. No matter where the Tuyuhun hid, the Tang Army would follow them like a shadow. They could always accurately find the hiding place of the Tuyuhun.
"Kill!"
In front of Chishuiyuan, a large number of Tang Army rode their horses and charged. Chishuiyuan, which was like a fairyland on earth, was suddenly covered in blood. The blood almost dyed the whole Chishuiyuan red.
"General! Our army has won a great victory. We killed 5,000 Tuyuhun cavalry and captured nearly 100,000 cattle and sheep, "a guard said excitedly.
Li Jing suddenly raised his head and looked at Mo Jiazi's question in disbelief. Even if Mo Jiazi's question did not have the slightest problem, even if Mo Jiazi's question did not have the slightest problem.
Li Jing could not help but look happy. The Tang Army had won many battles and made great achievements, but their losses were minimal. It could be said that the situation was very good.
All the generals could not help but look at Meton's young face. If it were not for Mo Jiazi's divine strategy, the Tang Army might still be circling in the prairie.
"Have you got any news about Fu Yun?" Meton could not wait to ask the guard.
The guard shook his head and said, "This tribe was led by Murong Xiaojuan. Murong Xiaojuan was seriously injured in the battle of the three castles in Tuyuhun and has passed away."
Everyone suddenly felt regretful. The Tang Army had fought three battles in a row. Although they had achieved good results, there was still no news about Fu Yun.
"How hateful! Fu Yun, that old thief, is really cunning. He actually abandoned these tribes without mercy, "Cheng Yaojin said bitterly.
Although the North Army had won three battles in a row, they had only defeated some small tribes. The Tuyuhun forces they had destroyed were only 20,000 to 30,000 people. They did not hurt the Tuyuhun at all. In the hands of Fu Yun, Tuyuhun's main forces were still under his control.
Li Jing also looked embarrassed. For the Tang Dynasty, Fu Yun was the real big problem. If they did not destroy the Tuyuhun's main forces, the Tang Dynasty would probably face the endless harassment of the Tuyuhun.
"Our army has won three battles in a row. Fu Yun will definitely receive the news of his defeated troops. I'm afraid that he has become a frightened bird now. It will be more difficult to besiege him," Li Daliang said with a worried frown.
Suddenly, a cloud of worry shrouded the generals, and the joy of the victory just now was swept away.
"Although we don't know where Fu Yun is, there is one person who may know." Meton suddenly said something surprising.
"Who is it?" The generals could not help but look at Meton.
Meton said word by word, "Commander Dang Xiang, Tuoba Chici!"
"Tuoba Chici!" The generals could not help but be stunned and puzzled. "How is that possible? When the two armies fought, Tuoba Chici personally participated in the battle and firmly sided with the Tuyuhun. "
Meton sneered and said, "That was then and this is now. Now that our army has won a great victory, Fu Yun is like a stray dog, in a precarious situation. I think it's time for Tuoba Chici to think for himself."
"That's a good plan!" Cheng Yaojin slapped his thigh and said, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Now that the Tuyuhun tree is about to fall, I don't believe that the Tuoba tribe will be loyal to Fu Yun."
"That's right!" The generals also nodded.
"But what if Tuoba Chici is stubborn?" Li Daliang said worriedly.
Li Jing's face turned cold and he said sternly, "Then Tuoba Chici will be buried with the Tuyuhun! Let those Dang Xiang leaders pass a message to Tuoba Chici. If he abandons the dark side and joins the light side, the Tang dynasty will let bygones be bygones. If he dares to be stubborn, then the Tuoba tribe will be exterminated! "
The generals could not help but feel a chill in their hearts. Only then did they remember that Li Jing in front of them was a general who could destroy a country. He did not care about a small Dang Xiang tribe.
"Yes!" Immediately, a messenger took the order and left.
On the grassland, there was only one way to send messages. In less than five days, the threat of the Tang Dynasty army had reached Tuoba Chici's ears.
In the tent of the Tuoba tribe, Tuoba Chici, who was sitting on the main seat, looked gloomy and angry. But when he thought of his own Tuoba tribe, he could not help but feel aggrieved. The Tuoba tribe was not like the Iron Cavalry with 300,000 soldiers. If the Tang Dynasty army wanted to deal with the Tuoba tribe, there was no possibility for them to turn the situation around.
"The Tang Dynasty army is really too much. If worse comes to worst, we will fight with the Tang dynasty!" On the right-hand side of Tuoba Chici, a tall young man said angrily. This was Tuoba Chici's eldest son, Tuoba Pengyi. He was originally guarding the Tuoba tribe, but under the threat of the Tang Dynasty army, he hurriedly came to discuss with his father.
"What are you going to fight with? You didn't see the means of the Tang Dynasty army that day, and the Iron Cavalry of the Tang Dynasty army. The Tuoba tribe is just a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of the Tang Dynasty army," Tuoba Chici rebuked angrily.
Tuoba Chici's face suddenly showed a look of horror. In the darkness, under the sky full of fireworks, snow-white steel swords lit up the armor, which was daunting. The swords of the Dang Xiang warriors could not break the thick armor at all, but the sharp steel swords of the Tang Dynasty army could easily pierce the leather armor of the Tuoba warriors, not to mention the thunder-like roars, which was not something that could be resisted by human strength.
"Oh my god! The God of the Grassland has really abandoned the grassland tribes, "Tuoba Pengyi said sadly.
"The Tang Dynasty army really promised to let bygones be bygones," Tuoba Chici said with a ferocious face, his eyes red.
Tuoba Pengyi nodded and said, "This is Chief Hule's guarantee, and the Tang Dynasty army's Commander-in-Chief, Li Jing, personally promised that they only want Fu Yun's head."
"Fu Yun's head!" Tuoba Chici felt a pain in his heart. In terms of seniority, he was Fu Yun's son-in-law, but there were many people in the grassland who killed their father, let alone a son-in-law.
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