The leisurely a cappella came to the ears, with a touch of sadness and sorrow, deeply touching the hearts of these children who are about to go on an expedition.
"Brother Lin, look, it's Miss Xu, she sent us here!" Gao Chief whispered.
Lin Wanrong looked back at the east foot. In the hazy red sun, Xu Zhiqing's beautiful and slender figure was like a standing flower branch on the top of the mountain. The rising sun shone on her clean face, shining with a faint golden light. Two lines of crystal clear teardrops dripped silently on the cheeks, like the purest morning dew in Helan Mountain, mellow and poignant, heart-breaking.
Thinking of Xu Zhiqing's allusion to the sand burial, Lin Wanrong sighed lightly, joy and sorrow welling up in his heart at the same time. He gritted his teeth, swung his whip, and the galloping horse ran away without looking back.
Tens of thousands of rays of light gushed out, and Xu Zhiqing's figure stood on the top of the peak in a daze, like a frozen husband-seeking stone, unable to move for a long time...
*****
Entering Helan Mountain from east to west, the weather gradually turns cold. At the beginning, the road was wide, with towering pines and spruce trees standing on both sides, and a sea of clouds for thousands of miles, which could not be seen at a glance. Bright red cherries, purple lilacs, pink almonds, all kinds of unique and beautiful shrubs are all over the valleys and ravines. Layers of forests and seas are colorful, complementing each other with the fragrance of flowers and singing of birds, small bridges and flowing water, and the scenery is extremely beautiful. Countless rock paintings of various kinds are distributed on both sides of the valley, such as sun, moon, stars, oxen, horses, donkeys, hunting, sacrifices, marriages, and the colorful Helan stone walls are an art gallery of the history of Helan Mountain.
There is such beauty to enjoy. At the beginning, they didn't feel tired yet, so the large group of people meandered westward, trampling through the rocky forest, and marched very fast.
He advanced seventy or eighty miles in one breath. The scenery in front of him suddenly changed, the forest became denser, the rocks became steeper, and the valleys were full of scattered gravel, big or small, abrupt, and the horses stepped on the rocks, constantly slipping and sinking, it was impossible to ride. All the people had to turn over and get down, pulling the reins to lead the horse forward. The speed suddenly slowed down a lot.
Lin Wanrong looked up and saw that the mountains were high and the forest was thick, and the lush branches blocked the sun's rays. In the forest, it was dim, bright and dark, and it was hard to distinguish east, west, north and south.
When traveling in the mountains, the most fearful thing is to lose your way. Lin Wanrong naturally knows this well, and he took out the compass to distinguish the direction from north to south. Seeing that the heading was correct, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"General Lin, where are we going now?" Gao Chief took out the water bag and muttered. asked in a low voice. Right now they are walking in the depths of the vast Helan Mountains, getting more and more remote, there are endless forests everywhere, weeds grow higher than a person's neck, there is no road ahead, and the horses will turn back after walking a few steps.
In Lin Wanrong's memory, there are at least two canyons that can be walked through in the east-west direction of Helan Mountain. Of course, that is a matter of a previous life. He tried his best to search for the remaining memory in his brain. Then he compared the rough and pitiful leather map that Hu Bugui found, and he nodded solemnly: "That's right, it's here, this is the first mountain range marked on the map. Brother Hu, look —”
The leather map has gone through many years, and the ink marks have long been incomplete. Hu Bugui only recognizes that the triangle on the map represents the mountain range, but he can't understand the rest. "Looking at the situation, this looks like the first mountain on the map," he hesitated and said, "But, there is no road in front of us. Where should we go next?"
Lin Wanrong took a deep breath. Now that he has reached the depths of the forest, weeds are overgrown. Every step forward requires great efforts. Worst of all, neither the hideous map nor his memory explained how to go next. If you run around in this forest like a headless chicken, you won't be able to reach Bayanhot for the rest of your life, let alone your life.
As the coach, he couldn't express the anxiety in his heart. He was silent for a while, and suddenly he heard the sound of running water in his ears. Looking up, not far away, a clear stream flows slowly, overflowing the thick grass, washing out a shallow ditch in the jungle, and a few pale pebbles are deposited in the water. Several war horses resting in the depths of the woods stretched their necks and lowered their heads to suck up the clear stream, very quiet.
"Brother Gao, give me the compass—" Lin Wanrong jumped up suddenly, screaming and ran towards the stream.
Gao Chief responded, and hurriedly sent the compass over to him. Lin Wanrong didn't say a word, put the compass away and remained silent for a long time, with a strong look of joy on his face: "Brother Hu, look quickly—"
Hu Bugui and the high chief looked at the same time, and saw that the stream flowed at an oblique angle to the north and south pointed by the compass. The high chief said strangely: "Hey, this stream seems to flow from the northwest."
"That's right, it's in the northwest direction." Lin Wanrong raised his head suddenly, his eyes flashed brightly: "Brother Gao, do you still remember what is the most famous specialty of Bayanhot?"
"It goes without saying, Tan Chong and Jin Maoqiu." Gao Chief replied without thinking.
Lin Wanrong nodded: "That's right. According to Mr. Xu, the alluvial plains in front of Bayanhot Mountain have vast pastures and rich products, and they are rich in Tansong. Since it is an alluvial plain, and it happens to be close to Helan Mountain, then you say, that Bayan Where did the rich water and soil on the Haote Grassland come from?"
"Of course it's Helan Mountain." Hu Bugui was startled suddenly: "Oh, I understand—General, what you mean is that the source of this stream is most likely also the source of water and soil that nourishes the Bayanhot Grassland?"
Lin Wanrong smiled, and gently put his hand deep into the stream, and the coolness brought a cold feeling straight into his heart. He dug out a small pebble from the soil, stared at it for a long time, and said leisurely: "Look at how powerful this stream can make a ditch in such a dense forest. And look at this pebble, it is definitely not artificial Placed, but formed naturally by the alluvial flow of thousands of years. What does this explain?"
Hu Gao and the two looked at each other in confusion, and without waiting for their answer, Lin Wanrong waved his hands vigorously: "—it shows the source of this water flow, which has good activity and strong impact, and it is very likely to be the source of water and soil in the Bayanhot Grassland."
Lin Wanrong's observation was subtle, and his analysis was very logical. Gao Chief nodded his head, and Hu Bugui said excitedly: "General, you mean, we can reach Bayanhot by following this stream and tracing its source?"
These words are too arbitrary, Lin Wanrong shook his head and said: "Even if we can't reach Bayanhot, I'm afraid it's not far away. Brother Gao, pass my order to change the route of the whole army, and the troops will not stop, and go upstream along this stream Go up, and send scouts to explore its source first."
Now that the route has been determined, the gurgling stream flowing through it is the best way to find it. More than 8,000 soldiers turned their horses and followed the stream. Weeds and silt piled up all the way along the road, which is a road that no one has ever traveled. It is hard to imagine the hardships. From time to time, people and horses got stuck in the mud, and all the soldiers worked together to rescue them. The exclamation came and went, resounding through the vast virgin forest of Helan Mountain.
In order to prevent the direction from being deviated, Gao Chief kept positioning with a compass in his hand, and the stream turned out to go straight to the northwest as Lin Wanrong expected, which greatly boosted everyone's confidence. Although the road ahead is still full of difficulties and dangers, everyone is not afraid anymore.
There was heavy fog in the primeval forest, and we were walking along the stream, with one foot deep and one foot shallow in silt. Everyone was wet and uncomfortable. At the end of the first day, 20 war horses were lost due to getting stuck in the mud, and as many as 100 soldiers were bitten by snakes, rats, rats and ants. It was even worse on the second day, with 200 people dying.
It is difficult to travel! It is even more difficult to travel in the boundless Helan Mountains! Lin Wanrong was deeply moved.
After going like this for two days, the creek seemed to have no end, with no end in sight. Except for sleeping time every day, he was on the road all the time. Lin Wanrong made a rough calculation. In the past two days, he had traveled more than 300 miles, and his feet had big blisters. But still can not see the source of the stream. If it wasn't for the compass showing the correct direction, he must have suspected that he was going the wrong way.
"Brother Hu, is there any news that the scouts in front have returned?" Lin Wanrong licked his chapped lips, and poked the branch in his hand into the clear water. Asked out of breath. In order to save energy, all the fighters are walking forward with branches these days. It was already noon on the third day, but there was still no movement on the road ahead. Thinking about the ten-day limit agreed by Xu Zhiqing, Lin Wanrong felt anxious like a fire. What's even more uncomfortable is that he doesn't know what's going on at Helan Mountain and whether Dahua has started a war with the Hu people. The feeling of being isolated from the world makes people anxious but helpless.
Hu Bugui wiped the sweat off his face, and nodded: "I released that kid Li Wuling early in the morning, and he took a team of 20 scouts to scout the way. They haven't come back yet."
"Li Wuling?" Lin Wanrong was taken aback: "Why did Dong Lizi follow? Brother Hu, you are abusing scouts!"
The selection of soldiers is all handled by Hu Bugui. Lin Wanrong didn't ask at all. I have been busy exploring the road for the past two days, but I didn't know that Li Wuling also entered the virgin forest at the foot of Helan Mountain. If Miss Xu found out, what would happen
Hu Bugui smiled wryly and said: "General, you don't know this kid's personality. During the Wuyuan War, he charged behind me and took down two Hu people with one shot, but he didn't feel satisfied. He kept going. Blame you for not letting him enter Wuyuan City. This time he entangled me even more. When I went to the latrine, he was practicing sword skills behind the latrine. Still able to urinate? I was forced to bring him. Fortunately, although this kid is young, he is smart enough to lead two teams of scouts to explore the road. It is also in line with his temperament."
Practicing knife skills outside the hut? This little Lizi really can do anything. Lin Wanrong shook his head and smiled, remembering what Li Tai had told him before he set off in the capital, he must practice Li Wuling. Unexpectedly, this kid was quite enlightened, so he started practicing by himself. It's just that I don't know what kind of worry Miss Xu will be after learning of Li Wuling's whereabouts.
Speaking of Xu Zhiqing, I thought of the scene where she was standing on the top of Helan Mountain, singing with affection in her heart, her affectionate demeanor was unbearable to any man. ***, Lin Wanrong gritted her teeth, if she could go back alive this time, she must be punished. Lao Xu has taken advantage of it now, picking up such a powerful son-in-law for nothing, he probably would laugh in his dreams at midnight.
He heyed twice, dreaming and dreaming, but saw a person rushing towards him from far away, his feet splashed in the stream and wet his clothes, he shouted out of breath: "Get out of the way!" , Get out of the way, I have a major military report!"
"It's Xiao Lizi." Hu Bugui was shocked, took two steps hastily, and grabbed Li Wuling's sleeve: "Dong Lizi, General Lin is here."
Li Wuling ran so fast that his clothes were soaked, his armor was tilted by the tree branches, his face was pale, he dragged Hu Bugui and gasped for breath.
Whether this kid was frightened or frightened, he was so tired. Lin Wanrong patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "That's right, little Lizi, your running posture is almost as handsome as mine. What kind of military intelligence did you find, report it quickly."
"Brother Lin," Li Wuling gasped for a few breaths, opened his eyes wide and said, "There is a lake in front, it's a big lake."
"Lake water?" Lin Wanrong grabbed Xiao Lizi's shoulder and said loudly with ecstasy: "Where is there lake water?"
His hands were strong, and Li Wuling grinned a few times when he caught him. Lin Wanrong hurriedly let go of him, and said with a smile: "Sao Rui, Saorui, I didn't pay attention for a while. Where is the lake you said?"
Li Wuling rubbed his shoulders, let out a long breath, and proudly said: "It's just ahead, sixty miles away from us, I saw it with my own eyes—Brother Lin, I have made a great contribution this time, right? The surprise attack on Bayanhot When the time comes, you can no longer let me wait and see."
Lin Wanrong laughed and said: "Good boy, you did a good job. Waiting for the woman who robbed the barbarians, I will give you two white and tender ones."
"Cut!" Li Wuling waved his hand, snorted disdainfully, and Hu Bugui grinned loudly.
"With the lake water, it must not be far from Bayanhot." Lin Wanrong muttered to himself, the joy in his heart goes without saying. His eyes swept quickly, and his roar pierced through Cang Ye: "I have ordered the whole army to speed up, and we must rush to the source of the stream before sunset today."