Only in this mountain, I don’t know where the clouds are.
Looking for traces of a few people in a vast mountain is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack, and the probability of encountering them by chance is almost zero.
Old Wei must lead his troops to continue searching for clues. If any clues are found ahead, the enemy's location can be gradually locked.
As we continue to move forward, the mountain road becomes increasingly difficult, and we have to cut and chop to clear the way every step we take.
Fortunately, it is winter now, and most of the wild beasts in the mountains are hibernating, so although the journey is rugged and difficult, we did not encounter any danger.
The water in the mountain stream had been frozen. Old Wei broke off a piece of it, bit it down hard, held the ice cube in his mouth to defrost it, and then swallowed it slowly.
"Mr. Wei, you drank this from me, and I held it in my arms all the way to keep you warm." A servant diligently handed over the skin bag that was close to his body.
After showing off his ability to find people, Lao Wei has gained the sincere admiration and love of his troops, and the entire team follows his lead.
Old Wei chuckled, showing his big yellow teeth: "What do you know about Guapi? I'll tell you another experience, no matter on the battlefield or in daily life, whatever you put into your mouth must be the worst, and the good must be kept."
Keep it until last and then put it in your mouth."
Pointing to the frozen stream beside the road, Old Wei said: "The conditions here are pretty good, at least there is stream water. If we drink the water in your skin first, and then after a while we reach a land without water, what will we drink?"
"
Buqu said with a smile: "It shouldn't be so difficult, there is always a way."
Old Wei sighed and said: "Have you never experienced the vast expanse of grasslands and deserts when Wang Shi went to the north to conquer the Turks? When you walk in, you are like a speck of dust between heaven and earth. You can't find a source of water even if you want to drink water. Some are just
It can chew grass like a cow or horse, and even drink urine when it is urgent."
Looking up at the vast mountains, Old Wei gradually frowned.
"If nothing else, the gang of thieves should be in this mountain, but the mountain is too big and it is difficult to find their location. The boys must work harder and walk to the mountainside before dark. In addition, send someone back to report the news.
Please ask Fifth Young Master to send more men to surround the mountain first."
…………
Xue Ne and Gao Qi led their tribes and farmers on horseback on the rural roads of Weinan County.
The two of them didn't actually get along before. After getting together with Li Qinzai, their relationship eased a bit, but they still didn't like each other.
What I encountered in Weinan County today was not an accident.
Because the entire Weinan County, whether in the county seat or in the countryside, was boiling like Li Yunlong's attack on Ping'an County.
All the dignitaries in Chang'an City were dispatched, and even the emperor sent out palace guards, all with one purpose: to find out the gangsters and rescue them.
Outside the county town, Xue Ne and Gao Qi snorted at each other after meeting each other.
"Gao, why are you here to join in the fun? Are you familiar with Brother Jingchu?" Xue Na said bluntly.
Gao Qi said angrily: "Brother Jingchu treats me like a brother, why don't you know me well? Mr. Xue, don't show off your power just because you play with brother Jingchu for a few more years. You are not qualified."
Xue Ne nodded: "The matter is critical. I won't argue with you. Let's put aside our grudges for now and save the people first."
Gao Qi glanced at the team behind Xue Ne and found that among the five or six hundred generals brought out by Xue Ne, at least two hundred were equipped with bows and arrows. Surprisingly, they were the divine arm bows invented by Li Qinzai.
Xue Ne followed his gaze and glanced behind him, and said with a proud smile: "My father conquered Tiele in the north and reached the Tianshan Mountains with three arrows. The emperor was very happy and gave me two hundred divine arm bows. Today my father asked me to take them all."
Come out, maybe you can come in handy, how about it? Are my Xue family's archers powerful?"
Gao Qi snorted and pointed to the surrounding mountains: "The villain is cunning and I don't know where he is. It requires countless people to search the mountains. Why don't you and I join forces and search all the nearby mountains for dozens of miles? Who can do it today?"
If you capture the villain, you can call him your brother in the future, how about that?"
Xue Ne squinted his eyes and looked around, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid you won't succeed, so I'll make it a promise."
Turning around and looking at his family's song, Xue Ne lowered his face and said, "Have you heard that? Don't let my Xue family lose face. Now we all disperse, with twenty people in a group, first search the mountain in the north, from inside to
Search outside and you won’t miss even a single rabbit.”
"Whoever can discover the traces of the gangster will be rewarded with twenty acres of land, whoever shoots the gangster will be rewarded with a reward of one hundred guan, and whoever rescues the nephew of the Li family will be rewarded with a reward of 500 guan."
All the members responded with fists clasped.
Xue Ne said sternly: "Search the mountain immediately!"
There was a sound of hunting in the wind, and Xue Ne stood on the hilltop wearing armor and holding his sword. Although he was not as old as the weak crown, he still had the power of a young tiger general.
…………
Inside the hut on the mountainside.
The four gangsters were packing their bags and preparing to move.
Chu Sanlang peeked inside through the gap in the hut and saw Cui Jie and Qiao'er hugging each other for warmth. There was nothing unusual. Chu Sanlang gradually felt relieved.
A weak woman and a five-year-old child, Chu Sanlang was not afraid that they could make a difference, so he was naturally not that defensive.
It is already afternoon, and the sun shines through the cracks in the thatched hut.
In the beams of light, dust is flying briskly, and the light is the same as the dust.
Cui Jie hugged Qiao'er tightly, but her beautiful eyes kept looking around the hut.
After negotiating with Chu Sanlang, she already knew that the gangsters would never let her and Qiao'er go. If they moved with them and escaped from Weinan County, it would be even more difficult for Li Qinzai to capture them.
Once the gangster escapes from Weinan County, she and Qiao'er will have no use value. What awaits them then is most likely to be killed.
Cui Jie did not want to sit still and wait for death.
She was afraid of death, but she was even more afraid of Qiao'er's death.
Qiao'er is Li Qinzai's only son. Cui Jie knows how much he dotes on Qiao'er. If Qiao'er has any shortcomings, he may live in self-blame and be unhappy all his life.
"Qiao'er, they are about to pack their bags. We must not go with them, understand?" Cui Jie whispered in Qiao'er's ear.
Qiao'er nodded in understanding.
Cui Jie hugged him tighter and said in a low voice: "When you and I are escorted on the road later, I will find an opportunity to knock one of the gangsters aside. You can take this opportunity to turn around and run away.
The sooner the better, you know?”
Qiao'er couldn't help but said: "Auntie, where are you?"
Cui Jie rubbed his head and said with a smile: "Just run and don't worry about anything else. I will follow you later."
Qiao'er asked in confusion: "If you bump into a bad person, won't they beat you?"
Cui Jie smiled and said: "No, my aunt's status is not low, they don't dare to touch me."
"In such a big mountain, what should I do if I get lost? What if I get eaten by a wolf? Auntie, can we run together?"
Cui Jie smiled bitterly and said: "We can only run first. Be obedient. My aunt will soon catch up and run with you. After you run out, keep running in the direction of the sun. When you run out of the woods, you will find a place with a village."
Call for help..."
Qiao'er reluctantly pouted: "I'm too young to run out alone... It's better to wait for dad to bring someone to rescue us."
"Your father... may not be able to come until later. Besides, this mountain is too big. Even if your father brings someone here, he won't know where we are."
Qiao'er blinked: "I can tell dad."
Cui Jie laughed: "How do you tell your father?"
Qiao'er looked left and right and saw a gap in the corner of the hut. The wall outside the gap was covered with a thick layer of ice.
Qiao'er stretched out her hand to fetch the ice cube awkwardly, then looked up at the sunlight coming through, and began to slowly polish the ice cube, trying to imitate Li Qinzai, polishing the ice cube until it was thin on the edges and thick in the middle.
Not long after, a rough convex mirror was made in Qiao'er's hands.
Qiao'er raised her head to observe the position of the sun again, and grabbed a handful of hay from beside her. Then the convex mirror formed a straight line with the sunshine hay, and kept changing positions until the light shining on the hay from the convex mirror formed a dazzling origin.
.
Cui Jie looked at what Qiao'er did in astonishment and didn't understand what he was going to do. However, Qiao'er's face was tense and serious, so Cui Jie didn't dare to disturb him for a while.
Cui Jie didn't know what the little guy was capable of, but she knew that his father was quite capable. Maybe his father had taught him a lot, and maybe he could give her a big surprise.
After waiting for a long time, the movement of the gangsters packing their bags outside became much quieter. Cui Jie became more and more anxious, but Qiao'er still had a serious face and her eyes were fixed on the starting point.
Then, Cui Jie suddenly discovered that the hay under the origin started to smoke, and the smoke grew bigger and bigger. Finally, with a soft bang, the hay actually started to burn.
Cui Jie took a breath of shock, but Qiao'er showed a proud look and said with a smile: "Oh, I'm exhausted, aunt, if the fire burns down the house, the fire and smoke will come out, my father will
Can’t see it?”
"You, you... how did you do that?" Cui Jie said in shock.
"I learned from dad, and those students also learned from dad. When they used ice cubes to make fire in the village and burned the wheat straw of the villagers, they were chased by dad and whipped hard, Qiao'er.
I remembered it then.”
Cui Jie suppressed the excitement in her heart and lit the burning hay on the four walls of the thatched house. Soon the fire in the house became bigger and bigger. The house was originally made of wooden boards and thatch. Once a fire broke out, the fire would burst into flames.
When the gangsters outside saw the smoke coming from the house, they suddenly realized something was wrong. Chu Sanlang kicked the door open and shouted sternly: "What are you doing? Who set the fire? Where did the fire come from?"
I wanted to put out the fire, but found that the walls of the hut were burning. The fire was too intense and there was no way to save it.
Chu Sanlang was furious and roughly dragged Cui Jie and Qiao'er out of the hut, staring at them with murderous intent.
Cui Jie immediately hugged Qiao'er and looked at him innocently, saying that she didn't know anything about it, and the fire started inexplicably.
Chu Sanlang was furious and immediately pulled out his sword.
But I heard a gangster outside yelling: "No! The fire and smoke will attract pursuers!"
"Sanlang, kill these two scourges. Let's run away. The pursuers will come soon." Another gangster shouted.
The remaining two gangsters didn't say anything nonsense, they drew their swords and slashed Cui Jie and Qiao'er's necks hard.