Gao Shixiong and others finally caught up one after another. When the four horses saw the fresh green grass by the lake, they immediately dispersed, each occupying a piece of land and chopping large pieces, grabbing this generous gift from nature in late autumn.

Winter is coming soon. If you want to eat such fresh and juicy water plants next time, you have to wait until spring next year and the flowers bloom, or go further south.

"Master Bufan, this is really a good place to raise horses." Gao Shou looked around and couldn't help but sigh the same as Gao Bufan.

Raising horses is different from raising pigs. First of all, you must have a vast horse farm for the horses to run and have fun. Secondly, nutrition is provided. Running is the instinct of horses. All horses are born to run like the wind. Without a place, they can express their instincts.

Horses have lost their souls. No matter how rich the nutritional supply is, they will only be raised as "pigs". They will not be able to plow fields and pull carts, let alone go to the battlefield.

This place is a natural grassland with abundant water and lush grass. It is vast and has a moderate latitude. It is indeed a good place for raising horses. Horses are cold-tolerant and afraid of heat. The hotter they are, the more likely they are to get sick, so the hot south is not suitable.

Raising horses, even if they can feed them, will not produce good horses.

"Boss Changqing, could this be Yuyi Town?" Gao Shiheng asked.

Gao Bufan nodded and said: "According to what is marked on the map, it is indeed here."

Gao Shiheng turned his head and looked around, scratched his big head and asked doubtfully: "Didn't it say that there are Xi people grazing in this area? Why didn't even a ghost figure be seen?"

"The Xi people live in pursuit of water and grass. They must have gone to graze elsewhere. Hehe, wouldn't it be better? While they are away, let's occupy this place first and build a horse farm." Gao Shixiong is gearing up.

typical.

The leader rolled his eyes and said: "How to occupy it? Just the five of us? We are not tigers, just urinate and draw a circle and that's it. Although Xi Ren is not here now, he will still come back when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming.

If you see that your territory is being occupied, you will definitely fight with us."

Gao Shiheng said with a ferocious smile: "Just do it, whoever is afraid of whom, they are just a bunch of savages who drink blood from their hair. I am still afraid of them. I will kill them as many as they come, until they dare not come."

"Yes, kill him." It was rare for Gao Shixiong not to show off, and he raised the horse in his hand to express his strong support for his brother's words. He looked murderous and eager to try. It seems that the two brothers are not only martial arts idiots.

, or a war madman.

Gao Bufan disagreed. In his opinion, it would be best if no force was used. After all, although the number of Xi people was not large, there should still be 50,000 or 60,000 people, and the Xi people ostensibly surrendered to the Sui Dynasty.

, Yang Guang also tacitly allowed them to graze in this area.

In addition, Yang Guang is currently preparing for the second expedition to Goguryeo in Zhuojun. He vows to avenge his past humiliation. If he fights with the Xi people and causes instability in the north of Zhuojun, Yang Guang will definitely be unhappy.

If Yu Wenhua and his ilk take the opportunity to impeach him again for "making provocations without permission," I am afraid that Yang Guang will order his head to be removed in anger to appease the scoffers.

Therefore, the best way at present is to find the tribe of Xi people who are grazing here, fully communicate with them, and then live in harmony. You herd your sheep, I raise my horses, exchange each other's needs, and be good-neighborly and friendly. When we stand firm,

The heel has strengthened its strength. Whether it will be a war or a peace in the future will be another matter.

When you are still weak, it is best to be insignificant and develop. Don't go out to show off unless absolutely necessary!

In fact, Gao Bufan had fully considered it before coming here for inspection. The Xiren tribe was so poor that they could not even produce iron pots and cloth. If he could bring them visible benefits, it would be as good as sending them what they needed.

For daily necessities, these Xi tribes would be happy to allow them to build a horse farm here. Anyway, the place here is large enough, and the population of the Xi tribe is sparse.

Of course, the racecourse must also have the ability to protect itself. A fat pig without sharp teeth and claws is just meat on someone else's cutting board. Only with strong force as a backing, Xi people will do business with themselves honestly and dare not give birth to crooked things.

Thoughts come.

Quack, quack…

At this time, several unpleasant chirps came from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw that two vultures were flying above their heads. They looked at everyone with their deep eyes and then flew north. This thing was so lively that it jumped wildly.

Creatures are not interested.

Gao Bufan's heart moved, he jumped on his horse and said, "Follow these two vultures." Yuan Yuan took the lead in urging his horse to catch up.

Gao Shixiong and others also hurriedly mounted their horses. Under the whip of their master, the four war horses, which were greedy for young grass, reluctantly left the lake and ran northward behind the big green horse.

The vulture's flight speed was not very fast, and the terrain was open, so everyone did not lose track of it and ran north for about ten miles. A winding river appeared here, like a jade belt embedded in the grassland.

Quack, quack, quack…

At this time, the two vultures finally stopped, circling in the sky and screaming strangely. After a moment, they suddenly swooped down and disappeared behind a grassy slope in front of them.

Gao Shou licked his lips and said: "These bald birds are useless and can't get up early. They probably found food. Master Bufan, what are we going to do with these things? It's so unlucky."

"Because only by following them can we find Xi Ren's tribe." After Gao Bufan finished speaking, he got off his horse and walked up the grass slope holding the reins. If expected, Xi Ren's tribe should be at the other end of the grass slope, so as not to cause any trouble.

There was a misunderstanding, so Gao Bufan led the horse and walked.

Everyone was the leader of Gao Bufan. When they saw this, they all rolled off their horses and walked holding the reins. Gao Shiheng asked a little puzzled: "Boss Changqing, why are we looking for Xi Ren?"

Gao Bufan casually pulled out a grass stalk, held it in his mouth, and said slowly: "Of course I will do business with them."

"Hey, they are a group of savages who eat nothing but cattle, sheep and horses. Boss Changqing, what kind of business are you going to do with them? We are here to raise horses, and we can hardly compete with them to steal business." Gao Shixiong said with amusement.

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "You can't say that, the Xi people still have a lot of good things, such as various furs and herbs such as ginseng. Of course, if Shixiong likes it, he can also buy a few Xi tribe beauties back.

"

Gao Shixiong immediately waved his hand and shook his head and said: "Let's forget it. The women I saw at the Khitan League tent last time were all dirty, and they had an unpleasant smell of sheep. I almost vomited out my dinner.

The Xi people are even worse than the Khitans, so I don’t even want to give them to you for free.”

Gao Shiheng said: "I have seen some very good-looking Khitan women. They should be washed and put into beautiful clothes. They must be rare beauties. If they are given away for free, I will definitely take them."

Gao Shixiong rolled his eyes: "Why should I give it to you for free?"

Seeing that the two brothers were about to fight again, Gao Bufan hurriedly walked up the hillside, not listening. However, when he climbed up the hillside, his face suddenly changed slightly, and he quickly spit out the grass stems in his mouth.

He looked down the hillside solemnly.

Upon seeing this, the two brothers Gao Shixiong looked at each other, stopped fighting, and hurriedly led their horses up the hillside. They were also dumbfounded.

Below the hillside is a small river bend. There are a large number of horse-drawn carriages parked on the grassland of the river bend. There are probably hundreds of them. However, these horse-drawn carriages are very different from the common horse-drawn carriages in China. They do not have rectangular carriages, but they have a roof.

, the proportions of the two wheels are huge and look very weird.

The cars formed a circle, but not a single animal was seen. The ground was full of rotting corpses. A dozen vultures were scattered around happily pecking at the corpses. The scene was strange and terrifying. A gust of wind blew, and the stench hit your nostrils.

Gao Bufan quickly held his breath, and Gao Shou and others covered their noses.

"Boss Changqing, you are right. You can indeed find the Xi tribe by following these vultures, but they have all turned into dead people." Gao Shixiong said, covering his nose.

The Xi people are good at building carts, but they are not horse-drawn carriages, but ox-carts. Because ox-carts carry a greater load and have greater endurance, the Xi people are more willing to use ox-carts. They put all their belongings on the ox-carts and live in pursuit of water and grass.

Whenever they went to a place to graze their cattle, they would form a circle around all the cattle carts of the tribe as a camp. It was obvious that they were facing a tribe of Xi people, but for some reason, all the people in this tribe died.

"This Xi tribe should have been plundered and massacred by other tribes. No need to guess, all the men must have been killed, and the women, children, and all cattle and sheep were all plundered. This is what nomadic tribes are used to.

How to do it." Gao Shou sighed.

"You're not right!" Gao Bufan shook his head solemnly.

"Master Bufan, what's wrong?" Gao Shou asked, obviously a little unconvinced.

Gao Bufan pointed to the corpses scattered under the hillside and said solemnly: "The shape of these corpses does not look like those who were massacred, but more like those who died of natural causes."

When everyone took a closer look, it turned out that it was true, because many corpses were lying by the river. Looking at their postures, they seemed to be getting water before death, and more corpses died in the circle surrounded by vehicles, and some of the corpses were still lying on the ground.

There was no trace of blood around the bullock cart.

Gao Bufan pointed to the cattle lanes arranged in a circle: "If you were a tribal leader who wanted to rob, would you not take these carriages away if you succeeded?"

The leader was immediately speechless. All the wealth of the Xi people was in the oxcarts, and it was indeed unlikely that the looters would abandon these oxcarts.

Gao Shixiong gave a thumbs up and said: "Boss Changqing still has a sharp gaze. I also think these people were not killed, so how did they die? It's too weird. They couldn't have died from collective poisoning."

Gao Bufan nodded: "It's possible." People who are poisoned usually want to drink water. Those Xis who died by the river obviously wanted to drink water before they died.

"Let's stop guessing. We'll find out if we go down and take a look." Gao Shiheng led his horse and was about to walk down the hillside. Gao Bufan quickly shouted: "Wait a minute!"

Gao Shiheng stopped and asked in shock: "Boss Changqing, what's wrong?"

Gao Bufan hesitated for a moment and then ordered: "Leave the horses on the hillside. Let's go down on foot. Remember, don't touch those dead bodies. I always feel something is wrong."

Seeing Gao Bufan's solemn look, everyone did not dare to neglect him. They quickly agreed and left the horses on the hillside, with Gao Ren alone taking care of them. Then the four of them headed down the hillside.

The closer everyone got to the river bend, the stronger the stench became. Gao Bufan took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose, and then pulled off his trousers and tied his cuffs tightly. Gao Bufan was smart, and he quickly followed suit. The young master is very clever. You are right to follow him.

Gao Shixiong and Gao Shiheng looked at each other in shock and asked: "Boss Changqing, what are you doing? Is it serious?"

"Be careful with the Wannian Ship. If you don't want to die unknown, it's better to be careful. I kind of suspect it's a plague." Gao Bufan said in a deep voice.

Gao Shixiong and Gao Shiheng were startled and lost their voices: "Damn it, Boss Changqing, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I just have suspicions, I hope not!" Gao Bufan said calmly.

Gao Shixiong and Gao Shiheng quickly took out their handkerchiefs and covered their mouths and noses, and took off their cuffs and trousers and tied them tightly. Although they didn't know the meaning of this, they followed the boss Changqing and did the right thing.

Finally, the four of them walked to the nearest corpse and stood still a few meters apart. The corpse looked like that of a man. It was unknown how long it had been dead. The flesh was completely rotten and covered in maggots, and some parts were still exposed. There are so many white bones that nothing much can be seen.

Everyone looked at each other, then walked around the corpse and continued to move forward. When the vultures saw the living people like Gao Bufan, they were not afraid at all. They just tilted their heads and looked at them warily for a few times, and then continued to chop into large pieces.

At this time, the four finally reached the bend of the river. A corpse lying on the riverside looked relatively "fresh". Gao Shixiong was about to stretch out his horse to turn the corpse over, but Gao Bufan quickly shouted: "Don't move!"

Gao Shixiong quickly retracted the horse and said coquettishly: "It shouldn't matter if you don't touch it with your hands."

"Then do you still want your horse?" Gao Bufan said coldly, and Gao Shixiong was immediately speechless.

Gao Bufan took out an arrow and carefully pierced the back of the corpse's head. Disgusting blood immediately flowed out. There was a soft click, and he felt that the sharp arrow had pierced the skull. Gao Bufan then carefully removed the corpse's head. Turning my head sideways, I immediately saw the face covered with sores and the red, swollen and ulcerated neck.

Gao Bu's expression changed slightly, and he used the same method to check several nearby corpses. Sure enough, the condition of death was similar to the first one, with scars all over the body, swelling and ulceration, which was a characteristic of pneumonic plague.

"Boss Changqing, what's wrong? Is it a plague?" Gao Shixiong and others were also frightened at this moment, and they regretted running down to swim in this muddy water.

"It's pneumonic plague. Go quickly and don't touch anything here." Gao Bufan threw away the arrow and warned sternly, turning around and leaving.

Gao Shixiong and others were in a state of panic. The word "plague" was like an evil spirit urging people to die, causing people to change their expressions. They hurriedly followed Gao Bufan up the hillside.

When Gao Ren saw the four people coming back, he was about to greet them when Gao Bufan had already shouted: "Don't come within three meters of us!"

Gao Ren was so frightened that he hurriedly stopped and was at a loss. Gao Shixiong and others also looked pale. Gao Bufan's caution obviously frightened them, and they thought they had been possessed by the epidemic ghost.

"Boss Changqing, what should we do now?" Gao Shiheng asked with a sad face.

Gao Bufan did not answer. He turned around, bent his bow and arrows, and fired a volley of arrows, shooting all the dozen or so vultures that were eating carrion, and none of them missed.
Chapter completed!