Xu Chen slowly approached the valley with Feng and a group of hunters from the Ba tribe who were best at riding horses.
There is a small stream here that merges into Wushui not far away. Further downstream, in the open area, is the mouth of the river where Wushui and Wulong River converge.
In autumn and winter, the weeds turn yellow and there isn't much green on the entire river beach.
After the water in the estuary dropped, a large pebble beach was exposed, which looked even more empty.
Wild beasts of all sizes are scattered on this impact river beach with a radius of dozens of miles, looking for food and running. A large number of water birds gather near the exposed sand and gravel beach at the mouth of the river, and the circling and undulating scenery is very spectacular.
This place is still a wild wilderness, with almost no human traces visible.
Near the foot of the mountain, there are several rolling ridges. Seven or eight miles further down the ridges, you will reach the valley leading to the Hu people.
The area at the junction of mountains and riverbanks is a large area of low thorns and jungles, while the slopes toward the mountains and valleys have all turned into towering trees and primeval forests, covering the mountains so airtight that few winds have existed for thousands of years.
And humans set foot on it.
Among the mountains and dense forests are the homes of all kinds of ferocious beasts.
The wolves, bears, tigers and leopards each have their own territories and are kings.
Those places are also paradises for various animals and plants. Various unrecognizable trees, flowers and plants bloom and fall leaves all year round, growing intertwined. Various wild birds, monkeys, snakes, rats, insects, wild beasts, etc. feed on each other.
This is the most primitive place, harmonious, natural, peaceful and full of bloody killing and survival.
Even though the Uzbek people have lived near the river beach for hundreds of years, they rarely set foot in these nearby mountains and forests.
Because once you go in, you may never get out again.
The small valley where the wild horses now live is the gentle slope zone between the river beach and the dense mountain forest.
Except for wolves and ordinary wild beasts, there are almost no large beasts here, so it is relatively safe.
Xu Chen and others led the horses through a mess of thorns and woods, and finally saw traces of the wild horses.
"That's the valley over there. The wild horse's activity range is around here. It's been here for a long time recently and hasn't moved much in half a month..."
Feng followed Xu Chen, lowering his voice and recounting his recent inquiries.
Although he saw the wild horse, Xu Chen felt a bit toothache.
Because this area is so big, the wild horses are also quite scattered. Although they are said to be one group, they are actually divided into seven or eight small groups, with as few as seven or eight and as many as twenty or so, scattered over an area of two miles in diameter.
Power.
Although the hunter team of 300 people seems to be quite large, they are scattered in such a large mountain forest, and there are only a few people visible.
Moreover, these wild horses are completely different from the remaining wild horse species on the earth. They are tall and strong and run fast. Once they are found to be approached by a large number of humans and run away, it will be very difficult to capture them.
And because there was no preparation in advance, all kinds of traps and ambush were useless.
The best way is to slowly drive the wild horses into a small valley and then catch the turtles in the jar.
Long and others have already explored the topography of the valley. It is a narrowing dead valley. However, the slopes on both sides near the entrance are relatively gentle. If they cannot successfully drive the wild horses into the middle of the valley, they will basically not be able to do so.
There will be great gains.
Therefore, the current task is to take advantage of the fact that the wild horses are not alert, try to shrink the encirclement, force the wild horses into the valley mouth first, and then look at the situation.
In short, this is both an opportunity and a trial. Whether it can succeed or not all depends on the cooperation of the hunter teams between these different tribes.
Fortunately, the hunter team of the Six Tribe Alliance already has a unified command system and familiar commands, making it easier to command. As for the hunters of the seven or eight tribes of the Gonghuo Tribe Alliance, they can only improvise.
"Gu~gugu~~"
In the distance, there were several calls of wild birds.
Soon, the sounds of various birds and wild beasts began to sound from different directions up and down the valley mouth.
This is a signal that the hunting team is approaching the valley one after another.
It was already around two o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to turn westward.
In autumn and winter, the days are short, and it gets dark early, and people come and go in hours. At ten minutes after sunset, many wild animals will go to the river beach to drink water, and some ferocious beasts will also take the opportunity to go out for food. At that time, it will be more difficult to cause chaos among the horses.
.
Therefore, Xu Chen felt that it was not too late and let Feng send the signal to take action.
"Gu~ Gu Gu Gu Gu~~"
A series of wild bird calls sounded in the woods.
Soon, the hunters who surrounded them from different directions began to divide into groups and slowly surrounded the wild horses. At the same time, the sounds of various wild birds and beasts were heard chirping and roaring from their mouths.
These sounds are not unfamiliar to the wild horses, and they hear them every day, so they did not arouse the wild horses' alertness and attention at first. However, as the encirclement became smaller and smaller, the sounds became denser, and the weeds and thorns in the woods were shaking everywhere, and some
The wild horses obviously felt something was not right, so they began to look around nervously. Some wild horses even neighed to greet and alert their nearby companions.
The horses began to stir.
Some moved toward the hillside, some toward the valley, and some toward the river bank and began to gather and move.
As the movement around them became more and more obvious, the wild horses finally discovered the approaching humans, and became even more vigilant. Some of the more alert stallions saw that the situation was not good, and fled directly to the open river beach with their wives, concubines, and children.
Although wild horses and humans have always lived in harmony, this peace and harmony is based on the fact that humans cannot win.
It's not that humans don't hunt wild horses, it's just that two legs can't run as well as four legs, and their innate speed and endurance are too different, so they won't hunt wild horses easily, because the gains outweigh the losses.
But wild horses are large beasts, and there is basically no danger to herbivores. It is impossible for humans not to want to eat them.
Normally my mouth will water when I see it, but I actually want to eat it very much.
If there is really a chance to hunt, humans will never let it go.
Therefore, there are always several wild horses killed by the Uzbek people every year, or they are picked up and eaten by humans after being sick or injured.
The herd of wild horses began to panic, and the neighing sounds of the leading stallions of each group could be heard in the low jungle near the valley.
Herds of wild horses began to run around without a clue to observe the situation.
The hunters who participated in this round-up were basically the most elite groups of each tribe, so they were not in a hurry. Instead, they continued to shrink the scope of the round-up and approached the valley. At the same time, they also began to shout loudly to intimidate the wild horses and cause chaos. This way, there would be more confusion.
Lots of hunting opportunities.
The only thing that many people feel is not used to it is that this time they have to catch people alive, and they carry very few weapons. Almost all of them are horse poles, nooses, slings, rope nets, slings and other rope tools.
The Maba hunters and a group of Gonghuo captives have done this before, but this is almost the first time for other tribes to seriously come into contact with these things, and they can't help but feel a little nervous.
"Almost!"
Feng carefully guarded Xu Chen, riding on his horse and slowly approaching the valley. When he saw that the horses had begun to dash here and there without a clue, he couldn't help but whisper a reminder.
"Well, sound the horn and let each group start taking action!"
"Follow the order!"
Feng clasped his fists excitedly, then raised the horse pole in his hand, and Gu Ye held back his breath and blew the horn of attack.
"Woo~~~"
"Quickly, arrange the trip rope, prepare the rope net, and come forward with the horse pole..."
Hearing the sound of the horn, all the groups knew that the horse hunting operation had officially begun. The Ba hunters who were scattered in each group to guide the hunting became restless and loudly ordered each group of hunters to find a suitable location nearby to set up a trip horse rope, and pulled away the rope net to hide it.
, at the same time, some Ba and Uzbek hunters who had practiced roping horses began to rush toward the wild horses.
The sudden sound of horns and the large-scale appearance of humans made the panicked wild horses even more panicked.
The two groups have always been in peace with each other, so why would humans suddenly attack them?
Don’t you know that our legs are long?
In this case, let's compare our foot strength to see who can run faster!
"Eh~~~"
A majestic stallion led his group toward the river beach along the usual route.
Seeing their companions taking the lead, the rest of the horses also began to run towards places with few people, trying to break out of the encirclement.
Hundreds of wild horses were running and charging at the same time, and the roaring hoofbeats shook the entire hillside. Even the hunters holding up horse poles and ropes did not dare to use their sharp edges, and they all yelled and dodged around.
Since then, a flaw has appeared in the encirclement. Soon, two groups of wild horses successfully rushed out of the hunting area and quickly disappeared into the thorn bushes, kicking away without a trace.
However, not all wild horses have such good luck, and there are no traps where they escape.
After all, Xu Chen had spent a lot of money this time and brought so many people and a lot of tools to hunt rabbits, and he would definitely gain something.
Therefore, the temporary stumbling blocks set up by several teams finally came into use.
Among the thorny bushes, several of the fastest wild horses were heavily tripped by the snagging ropes.
The huge body was like an out-of-control car on the highway. With a roar, it fell directly into the thorn bushes. After rolling and rolling, crushing all the small trees and thorns, I was so dizzy that before I could get up, I heard several sounds.
They roared with great excitement and joy, and then a large group of savages with colorful paint on their faces jumped out, with ropes and nooses covering their bodies like spider webs.
"Wow quack quack, catch quack!"
The terrifying and shameless laughter of humans echoed in the woods one after another.