At sunset in the evening, a group of more than a hundred people were slowly marching in the desolate Gobi desert. It was Sun Tu and his group who were traveling from western Liaoning to Xia.
Although it is midsummer in June, the temperature here still drops rapidly as the sun sets. After the sky turns completely dark, many people need to put on some thick clothes to resist the cold. After all, the terrain is getting higher and higher as they go, and the heat here dissipates quickly, giving people a cool feeling in autumn even in this summer.
However, the weather was much more comfortable than the scorching sun during the day, so the caravan did not stop to rest because the sky was dark. Instead, it speeded up and continued moving forward. After a while, torches lit up in the team, lighting up the road ahead.
Sun Tu looked at the endless desolate Gobi in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh deeply: "I would never have imagined that there is such scenery here. No wonder there have been few wars between Liao and Xia in the past so many years. With these hundreds of miles of no-man’s land as a buffer, no one wants to spend a lot of manpower and material resources fighting a war that may not be winnable.”
A man next to him had a scar on his face. He looked at the rather fierce man and nodded with a smile: "Yes, the battle between the two countries is actually about logistics supply. The two to three hundred miles of no man's land here is no matter whether it is for the enemy or not." It is a huge burden for either side. And the Xia people have always been respectful to the Liao, so there has really been no war in these years. Of course, this is a good thing for us. If there is a war, the merchants will not dare to If we continue to interact as we please, we will lose this generous job."
"Xia has always been respectful to Liao..." Sun Tu sighed with deep meaning. Judging from some of the things he knew, that might not be the case. However, he couldn't explain such things clearly, so he could only follow the other person's words and said: "Brother Feng said that only these peaceful days can allow you and me to have food to eat."
The scarred-faced man next to him was the leader of the escort team hired by the caravan from Xijing. His surname was Feng Mingping. He was known as a quick knife because of his good sword skills. Sun Tu had seen him strike before, and the knife was so fast that most people would probably have their throat cut off by the knife without even being able to react.
Two days ago, they encountered a wolf attack while traveling at night. Dozens of vicious wolves surrounded and killed them. It was Feng Ping who led a group of brothers to cover the left and right, and guarded the entire caravan. No one was injured or killed as a result. This battle alone showed that he and his brothers were indeed quite capable. Of course, Sun Tu also showed his superb martial arts in this battle, and the wolf was pierced by his spear. So after that, Feng Ping and others also respected him very much, even when he was stationed in the camp or something. I'll ask for his opinion.
In fact, almost everyone in the team is looking for someone to chat with to relieve their loneliness. In such a desolate place where there is only sand and gravel in front of them, people can easily feel panic. Only by constantly talking to the people around them can they temporarily ignore the harsh environment around them.
After walking like this for most of the night, until a touch of fish belly white appeared on the horizon, Feng Ping said hello, and together with the two brothers, whipped the horses under their crotches, urging them to move forward quickly, looking for a way to get this horse. A great place for caravans to comfortably spend the day in the sun.
At this time, Sun Tu naturally took up the guard and command position in the front, while looking at the black people on the left and right with vigilance.
In the dark environment, he encouraged everyone who was already very tired: "Everyone, please keep your spirits up, and soon we will be able to have a good rest."
"That's good. If I see it right, in five or six days, we can get out of the Gobi and truly enter the Xia Kingdom." Huangfu Duan also had several experiences of traveling to Liao and Xia. At this time Qiang Qiang said: "To be honest, every time I walk on this barren Gobi, I make up my mind not to take such risks in the future. But every time I return from Xia Country with a full load, I start to think again. How much money can I make next time?”
These words immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter. Even Sun Tu smiled and shook his head. It seems that the essence of human beings is the same no matter before or after thousands of years, and they still cannot escape the law of true fragrance.
After talking and laughing like this for a while, everyone's spirits were lifted a lot, especially when they saw Feng Ping and the others hurrying back, everyone even smiled at ease, and they would be able to lie down and have a rest later. After riding the horse this night, the inner thighs are almost red, and the waist is almost broken...
However, the smile on Sun Tu's face quickly disappeared as Feng Ping and the others turned around. He found that the faces of the three of them were full of alertness, especially Feng Ping, whose right hand was resting on the knife at his waist. On the handle, it seemed that he was about to draw the sword at any moment, and there was even a trace of worry in his eyebrows.
"What, is there any danger ahead?" Sun Tu asked hurriedly.
Feng Ping glanced at everyone and hesitated for a moment before saying: "Everyone, if you can still hold on, please continue on your way and don't rest today."
"Ah? What's the point of this?" As soon as he said these words, he immediately aroused everyone's dissatisfaction and rhetorical questions. Why did he go to the front and come up with such an unrealistic idea? Now everyone is so tired that their backs and backs ache. The sun is blazing during the day, and neither man nor horse can bear it.
Sun Tu also stared at him. What's wrong with this? After Feng Ping hesitated for a moment, he then added: "Not far ahead is a good shady resting place, but someone stayed there not long ago..."
"So what? If I can go to Xia Kingdom to sell horses, so will everyone else."
"Those people deliberately buried the traces they left when they left, but they did not hide it from my eyes. And from their methods, I saw that the other party was probably the Gray Wolf group..." At the end of the sentence, Feng Ping's face has become extremely serious, and all his subordinates and many businessmen around him have also changed their expressions, with panic in their eyes.
Seeing Sun Tu's confused look, Huangfu Duan explained a few words softly: "This gray wolf is the most notorious horse bandit in the Liaoxia area. Not only do they come and go like the wind, but they are also brutal in their methods. It is the most feared foreign invasion by merchants traveling between the two countries. It is said that no one will survive if they encounter their caravan."
After hearing this, Sun Tu frowned deeply: "There are such people? Isn't there anyone who can cure them?"
"It's strange to say that they have been causing trouble here for many years, but neither the Liao Kingdom nor the Xia Kingdom have ever really sent troops to wipe out them. Moreover, they also act in a measured manner. They often only plunder this place once every few months, but they don't It means cutting off trade routes."
Sun Tu nodded, this horse bandit is indeed smarter than imagined, but such an opponent
It is also often more difficult to cope with. But soon, he thought of something else. Since there was never a single survivor among these horse bandits, how did Feng Ping know about their camp habits? There may be some unknown secrets about this person, and his identity is not simple.
But he has not raised this question in public now, otherwise it will only make the atmosphere at the scene more uneasy. Once the team splits, it will be even more dangerous. But he couldn't agree with Feng Ping's suggestion of continuing on the road, and said: "Brother Feng, why do you think it's safest for us to continue on the road? According to you, they should have left here. It's not right for us to stay here for a while. Can we be further away from danger?"
This statement immediately won the approval of many people, but Feng Ping shook his head and said: "You don't know the methods of the Gray Wolf. They are all accustomed to doing things. They will send people to find the target earlier. This place is probably where they want to find." They set foot on the target. And they also know that the caravans on the Gobi Desert at this time mostly choose to travel by day and night, so they will also choose to set out at night. If we can choose to travel during the day, maybe we can escape their robbery. Plundered."
Sun Tu thought for a moment and then said: "If we have really become their target, it will be the same whether we travel at night or during the day. And now the entire team is exhausted, not only these businessmen and bosses, but also all of you. I am not in a good state of mind, and if I force myself to go on my way at this time, it will only give the unseen robbers an opportunity to take advantage of me. So I have to say that I have not yet confirmed whether there are gray wolves watching me, or they will be there. Before you attack me, we can't mess up our position first, and we can rush as we please. At most, everyone should be more careful and be on guard from now on."
Sun Tu, who had experience in leading troops in combat, naturally saw this aspect more thoroughly than Feng Ping, and what he said was so reasonable that he could not refute it. As for the others, although they were uneasy, they really couldn't hold it anymore at this time, and they all supported Sun Tu's statement.
So soon, the team continued to move forward, and then stationed themselves in the shade of the towering stone wall. After arriving there, Sun Tu also paid attention to the surrounding situation, and then he saw some clues. Sure enough, there were residues from the fire on the ground, but the ashes and other things were almost deliberately covered up. If it weren't for Feng Ping mentioned before that even he might not be able to see any clues.
As a result, Sun Tu's suspicion became more and more serious. After hesitating for a while, he finally found an opportunity and called Feng Ping to a deserted place. He looked at him solemnly: "Brother Feng is really amazing. He can actually find the ashes deliberately buried by the horse bandits at a glance. ..." When he said this, his hand was already on the handle of the saber at his waist.
After the latter was stunned for a moment, his eyes narrowed: "Brother Sun, what do you mean by this? Are you suspecting that I am lying?"
A chilling and dignified atmosphere suddenly rose between the two of them...
At the same time, dozens of miles to the south, a horse team was resting somewhere in the shade. Several fierce-looking guys were looking north from a distance, as if they could see the target caravan at a glance!
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Continue today. . . . . . . . First update. . . . . . . . . . .