Lotus followed King Yan's team and meandered all the way north.
Maybe they have to wait for the army while walking? It couldn't be that he was injured because he was taking care of himself. He didn't run very fast. Lian Hua holds the reins tightly with her right hand and puts a little pressure on her left hand. It still hurts when turning hard, but she can barely keep up. Wang Jinghong galloped at the end, whipping his whip from time to time to catch Lotus's yellow horse, correcting the direction like a sheep.
Today's weather is a bit strange, but it started out okay. The sun shines brightly on the blue sky and white clouds. It is the weather in the desert in June, hot and stuffy. After noon, the sky began to get gloomy, the sky was very gray and low, and the yellow sand slowly changed color. I don't know when the sky and the earth became gray.
"The wind is blowing!" Wang Jinghong shouted loudly, with some worry in his voice.
Sure enough, a gust of wind blew up, carrying silt and sand, hitting everyone in the face, and everyone soon became sand people.
The wind is getting stronger and stronger.
Zhu Di, who was riding in the front, stopped his horse, looked at the sky, and tested the wind direction with his hands. His usually casual face could not help but frown. The green horse pawed its hooves restlessly, shook its head, and snorted.
Zhu Di looked around, quickly rode his horse and led the team to a huge sand dune, shouting: "Get off the horse and dig a hole!"
By this time, the wind was already very strong, picking up the sand and rocks on the ground and blowing them violently. Dark clouds were looming overhead, and the sky was so low that it seemed you could touch it. In the distance, small sand dunes continued to collapse, causing loud noises.
Wang Jinghong didn't care about anything else and led the soldiers to dig a hole behind the dunes in a hurry. The horses were scattered behind, neighing in the howling wind and sand.
Suddenly there was a scream, and Lotus's yellow horse rushed out with a long neigh. In the flying sand and stones all over the sky, the yellow horse was probably knocked out of control by the sand and stones. It was kicking and shaking wildly and running around. It was constantly hit by the sand and stones while running, and it ran even more fiercely.
Lotus screamed repeatedly on the horse and was shaking.
"Damn it! I didn't help her off the horse!" Wang Jinghong cursed, threw down the small shovel in his hand and started to catch up.
Soon after, he saw a horse galloping out and flying in the direction of the yellow horse. It’s King Yan’s green horse!
"Hurry up and dig a hole!" Zhu Di shouted at Wang Jinghong while running.
"Yes!" Wang Jinghong agreed eagerly and continued digging the hole desperately. The strong wind has been blowing down one small sand dune after another. If we don't hide, everyone will be buried in the sand.
Lotus clung to the horse's back, holding the reins tightly and hugging the horse's neck. However, the yellow horse got mad and just kicked and ran around. From time to time, it straightened up and shook wildly, trying to knock her off. Flying sand and rocks all over the sky kept hitting the body, face and hands. The surrounding area was gray and nothing could be seen.
The strong wind roared louder and louder, spinning rapidly, as if it was about to sweep people and horses into the sky. Lotus couldn't help but scream, and a strong wind filled her mouth with sand and gravel, and her mouth and throat were immediately filled with sand.
"Don't panic! Hurry up!" A roar came from behind.
It’s King Yan! Lianhua's tears were about to burst out, and she hugged the horse's neck with all her strength.
The green horse quickly chased after him and rushed to the side of the yellow horse. Lianhua felt the reins tighten in her hands. Zhu Di had already reached out and grabbed the reins to rein in the horse. The yellow horse was still struggling and its speed gradually slowed down.
The green horse clung to the yellow horse. Zhu Di relaxed his arms, picked up the lotus and placed it in front of him. With a shake of the reins, the green horse turned sharply and galloped along the road.
Lian Hua was out of danger and was still in shock. Suddenly she was in a warm and solid embrace. She smelled King Yan's body odor and cried out "Wow" for some reason. She hugged King Yan's body tightly with both hands (just like hugging the horse's neck just now). ), burying his head in King Yan's chest, crying bitterly.
Zhu Di's body felt a little stiff. He sat upright in the flying sand and rocks. He lifted the reins with both hands and clamped the horse's belly tightly with his legs, and ran straight forward with the wind.
The wind and sand were getting bigger and bigger. Looking around, there was nothing but sand. However, the green horse was very smart. After running for a while, he actually saw the huge sand dune just now. Wang Jinghong and two scouts were standing in front of the sand dune and looking up. When they saw the green horses, they jumped up happily, waved to the side and ran quickly behind the sand dune. The green horse ran behind the sand dune without waiting for its master's instructions.
In a short period of time, Wang Jinghong and his soldiers only had time to dig a large hole with their backs on the sand dunes, half on the ground and half underground.
Zhu Di rode his horse to the cave and was about to dismount, but Lianhua held on tightly and would not let go. His head was still lying in Zhu Di's arms, sobbing endlessly. Zhu Di knew that he had been frightened just now, so he had no choice but to pick him up and jumped into the cave. Wang Jinghong led the green horse and followed him into the cave.
The wind in the cave was much lighter, and the scouts were squatting or sitting along the cave wall. Seeing King Yan come in with Xiao Lian in his arms, he stretched his head and looked around with concern, and quickly moved around to get closer, leaving a space in the middle for the boss to come out.
Zhu Di sat down, patted Lianhua's back gently with his big hand, and comforted him softly: "It's okay, it's safe."
Lianhua finally stopped sobbing, raised her head from Zhu Di's arms, and looked around blankly. After a while, he suddenly woke up, shouted "Ah!" and stood up hastily. The height of the cave was not high enough, so my head hit the roof of the cave, and sand fell all over me.
Lotus hurriedly saluted: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being rude." Her face was so black and muddy that her true face could not be seen. There were a few traces of tears on the black mud, but they were white. The tip of her nose was red, and the corners of her eyes were long. There are still tears on her eyelashes.
Zhu Di couldn't help but be amused, his brows and eyes were full of smiles, and he waved his hand casually: "Don't be so polite in the cave. Sit down, it's okay."
Lianhua's face turned red, even her neck turned red. She bowed and walked far away and sat down against the wall.
The scout next to her smiled and handed her a piece of cloth: "Miss Lian, wipe your face."
Lotus took it and wiped it hard on his face. While wiping it, he couldn't help but laugh. The louder he laughed, the louder the sound became. The surrounding scouts and soldiers couldn't help but laugh together.
Outside the cave, the wind was howling, sand and rocks were flying, and the world was vast. Wang Jinghong stood by the cave while holding the young horse, his lips curved and he smiled.
The wind kept blowing all night, and when it was dawn, the wind finally died down.
Wang Jinghong went out to explore the cave and came back to report: "Your Majesty, you can go out now."
Everyone exited the cave one after another, followed by Lotus.
The desert is still the same, with yellow sand stretching as far as the eye can see. It's just that there is a plain of yellow sand all around, without the ups and downs of large and small sand dunes; the broken sand on the ground is covered with a layer of large and small stones, presumably blown by the strong wind from the bottom of the desert. The sun still rises slowly from the east, making the entire desert golden and beautiful and impossible to look directly at. Yesterday's sandstorm seemed like a nightmare.
What's worse is that all the scattered horses are gone. I don't know if they escaped by themselves or were swept away by the wind. It's such a big storm, and I don't know where they were buried at this time. Fortunately, Wang Jinghong quickly grabbed a few bags of water and hung them on several scouts. The only other ones were King Yan's green horses.
The scouts looked around and couldn't find any horses. Without waiting for instructions, they followed Wang Jinghong one by one and formed a team.
Zhu Di stood in front of everyone and looked at the team in front of him. Not bad, the setbacks of the sandstorm did not affect everyone's will at all. Although the scouts were disgraced, they all held their heads high and their eyes were firm. That little pity, standing at the end of the team, with an upright body and a tight face, looked up at him with the other soldiers, admiringly and trustingly.
Zhu Di felt hot in his heart. He changed his usual lazy and casual attitude, raised his eyebrows solemnly, cleared his throat and said loudly: "It takes six or seven days to get to Cheche'er Mountain from here. I will take everyone with me. Can you make it there? ?”
"Yes!" the scouts answered simply and loudly. Lianhua actually had doubts in her heart, but the morale of the scouts was so high that her blood couldn't help but surge up, and for some reason she shouted "Yes!" in a daze. The clear female voice in the middle is quite nondescript.
Everyone looked at her appearance of being strong on the outside and being strong on the inside, and they couldn't help but feel funny when they remembered yesterday.
"Then form the team and let's go!" Zhu Di smiled and waved his hand. He turned around and said to Lianhua, "You ride my horse." Just as Lianhua was about to argue, Zhu Di had already strode forward with the team.
Wang Jinghong led the green horse and waited beside Lotus. He helped her get on the horse. When he saw blood oozing out from her left arm, there was some concern on his white face. He asked softly: "Does it hurt? Can you hold the reins?" "
Lianhua smiled brightly: "It's okay." She followed the team on horseback.
****************
The golden desert is endless, and at noon in June, the scorching sun shines brightly.
From yesterday morning to now, the scouts are all exhausted. There are still three wounded soldiers in the team. They have been carrying people with supports, but now they are being dragged forward.
Wang Jinghong collected a little food and a few water bags that everyone had with them and hung them on the green horse. Last night and this morning, Wang Jinghong took turns taking a sip of water and a bite of food.
Wang Jinghong didn't say anything, but everyone understood that this was not enough for six or seven days.
Looking around, there was no shade of trees or grass. The green horse had its head drooped, feeling extremely depressed because it could not smell anything. Zhu Di ordered to rest on the spot, and everyone could only sit on the hot sand, letting the scorching sun bake, and the water in their bodies continued to dry out and evaporate. Everyone's lips have burst, their facial skin has fallen off, and they can't even sweat.
Zhu Di looked at the sky with a calm expression on his face and secretly worried in his heart.
Unable to find a water source, the only hope is that the army led by Ma Sanbao can catch up with him. However, although the team and the army have the same destination and are walking in the same general direction, there is no fixed path in the vast desert. The team of thirty people is inconspicuous in the desert, and the chances of missing out are far greater than the chances of encountering. Moreover, Ma Sanbao didn't know that the team had lost its horse. He must have thought that the team was in front, so the army could only rush forward and not circle. By the time the army arrived at Cheche'er Mountain and discovered it, it was already too late to look back.
Are we really going to die in the desert this time? A wry smile flashed across Zhu Di's face.
(Note: The green Cong horse of King Yan Zhu Di did have its own horse in history. Legend has it that during the Battle of Jingnan, he crossed three ditches to escape the pursuers and saved the life of King Yan. After King Yan ascended the throne, he built a horse temple in Dongba. Sacrifice is held to commemorate the loyalty and bravery of green horses. This is why the place names of today’s Dongba area in Chaoyang, Beijing, include Horse Factory, Stable House, Juzi Fang, etc.)