The habitat of the snow wolf is not far from here, it is found on the snowy peaks of the Altun Mountains!
The day after Miss Xiaoluo announced the conditions for choosing a son-in-law in public, Fang Ziling found out specific information about Snow Wolf from his new friend in Loulan.
This strange beast usually lives at the junction of the snow line and the forest. Only during the coldest days of winter every year, it will come down from the mountains in groups and hunt all the creatures it sees along the way. Including bears and leopards!
Because the head and legs are light ivory, the snow wolf and the silver wolf, which are regarded as sacred animals by the Turks, are not considered the same species. In the Western Regions, if you kill a silver wolf, you will definitely be killed by countless people who are influenced by the Turks.
The tribes join forces to hunt them down. But those who can hunt the snow wolves will be regarded by each tribe as heroes blessed by the gods.
Unfortunately, there are not many such heroes in the entire Western Region.
An adult snow wolf can grow up to eight feet in length and weigh more than 160 kilograms. In a rage, it can overturn a war horse. Ordinary tribal warriors cannot resist its full force. (Note 1)
What's even more unfortunate is that this kind of beast actually likes to live in groups. Either it doesn't appear, or it appears, there are at least thirty or fifty of them.
Think about what it feels like to be besieged by twenty or thirty strong snow wolves like Wang Xun. It’s absolutely terrifying. Let alone hunting one of them, being able to escape safely from the wolf’s mouth is just a result of spending several lifetimes burning incense and kowtowing in front of the Buddha.
Blessings coming down!
"It would be nice if you had the Mongolian sweat medicine on hand, put it into the mutton in advance, and then throw the mutton near the wolf's den!" Unwilling to miss the beauty, Fang Ziling began to plan to outwit her.
As soon as this idea came out, he was poured cold water on him. "Definitely not!" His new Loulan friend, a tribal warrior named Kumi Heqing who was also in his late teens, retorted loudly.
, "You think it is a dog, it will eat any rotten meat! That beast is very arrogant and will only eat animals that it has beaten or that have just been killed by its companions. You can throw a piece of frozen meat to it and keep it for a while.
Don’t even look at it!”
"Then use a clamp!" When the plan failed, Fang Ziling had another plan in his mind. "Clamp it with a clamp. There are several of our people who know how to work as a blacksmith. Just help me find a few pieces of pig iron!"
"It would rather bite off its own legs than wait to be captured alive by you. Besides, how do you know which way it goes? The Altyn Mountains are so big, you can't trap them everywhere!" Ku Mihe gave Fang Ziling a clean look.
, retorted in extremely blunt Tang Yan.
"Then dig a trap!"
........
"Set a trap!"
........
The people who answered him were one after another with big eyes. Tribal warriors are all born good hunters. Fang Ziling's tricks, Kumi and Qing have been playing with his companions since they were young. But I have never heard of anyone using this method to hunt.
I saw a snow wolf.
"Then everyone goes up the mountain to hunt. After finding the wolves, use crossbow arrows to shoot three consecutive shots. Kill ten snow wolves first, and then decide who owns the wolf skins!" Fang Ziling became more and more anxious as he thought about it, and even used his skills in marching and fighting.
.
"Then, let's shoot the wolf skin into a sieve!" Ku Mi and Qing were stunned. They were stunned for a long time before they stammered a reminder. "We, here, we pay attention to using the whole skin as a betrothal gift. You can't have holes in your body.
More than two. Better, better, an arrow to the eye..."
Before the other party could finish what he said, Fang Ziling interrupted angrily, "If I had the ability, wouldn't it be enough to just carry a bow and go up the mountain?! What else would I need to carry a crossbow and arrows?! Are you here to help me, or are you here?
I'm here to fight for someone else?! Maybe you already have a suitable candidate here?"
"Shitou, Shitou's brother's arrow skills can penetrate the prey's eyes. No one else can do it!" Kumi and Qing were honest, and told Fang Ziling the truth without reservation. "
Last year, last autumn, I saw with my own eyes Brother Shitou shot a fire fox to death, with just one arrow, it penetrated both eyes!"
"Fuck Brother Stone!" Fang Ziling was ashamed and jealous at the same time. He stretched out his hand and pushed Kumi and Qing away. "I don't believe that he can fight dozens of snow wolves by himself! Keep it under wraps.
There won’t even be any bones left!”
"Did you ask me?" Kumi and Qinghao felt aggrieved, got up from the ground and murmured. "It's not like I took the initiative to threaten you on behalf of Brother Shitou. There are many people who like Sister Xiaoluo.
But, no one is like you, who can’t afford to lose like you!”
"Did you hear me saying that I like her?" Fang Ziling became more and more angry and asked with his eyes raised.
"You, you don't, don't like her. Why are you going up the mountain to fight snow wolves?!" Kumi and Qingzui were a little stupid, but they were not slow in thinking. They took over Fang Ziling's words and asked aggrievedly.
"I want to make a wolfskin cloak, okay?" Fang Ziling stamped his feet angrily. Seeing the disdain on the other person's face, he quickly diverted the trouble to the east, "I will find a way for our king, okay? Don't think that anyone except Shi Shi
Yes, no one has the ability to hit the target with one arrow. We, our king, will. When he recovers from his injuries..."
A year ago, Wang Xun would have pretended to be a sharpshooter just to win over his brothers. But now, he had no intention of being jealous. When he saw Kumi and Qing turning their attention to him,
He immediately smiled and waved his hands, "Don't listen to him, I don't know how to shoot arrows at all. You two go on and think of a solution, I have to go for a walk!"
After that, he held on to the crutches that Old Wei helped him with, and walked swaying towards the distance.
"Didn't you say that the snow wolf comes down the mountain in winter? It's winter now. I went to the big hot spring on the hillside and waited for it to appear. I didn't believe it. It can be smarter than humans!"
"If you don't want to live, just go! Let me tell you, the snow wolf is the smartest beast in the Altyn Mountains! Smarter than a leopard!"
The arguments from behind continued, and it was all just to argue. Wang Xun smiled and shook his head gently. With Miss Xiaoluo's beauty, there must be many suitors around her. However, Yunying has not married yet, or her vision is too high.
Either he has his heart set on something. No matter which of the above situations, Fang Ziling is destined to not get what he wants. Moreover, those who heard Miss Xiaoluo’s conditions for choosing a husband yesterday were not only Minzhuang and Feilong Imperial Guard. Many of them have close contacts with everyone.
The Loulan people also heard it. As long as they spread the word, there will definitely be people in the tribe who want to show off their skills.
In any case, Wang Xun didn't want to get involved. Subconsciously, he had defined himself as a passerby. He came to the mist-shrouded valley in front of him for some unexpected reason. After recovering from his injuries, he would leave without hesitation.
From then on, he had nothing to do with all the locals here.
He is an official soldier. Even if he was abandoned by his superiors, he is still a member of the Tang Dynasty official army. And the people in the valley are all sand bandits who are incompatible with the official army. Even if they call themselves Loulan people!
Therefore, it is the best outcome for both parties to have no contact with each other in the future.
But there are few supporters for this view. Especially some imperial guards and minzhuangs of the same age as Fang Ziling, who have begun to miss Shu under the warm hospitality of the Loulan people. Wang Xun once saw with his own eyes that several flying dragon imperial guards
Wei sneaked into the Loulan woman's tent yesterday evening. There were more brothers with envious faces, eager to try.
"Indecent to morals!" Wang Xun secretly cursed while hiding in a deserted place. But he couldn't come up with any good solution. The customs of Loulan people have been like this since ancient times. As long as men and women of the same age are in love, they can get into each other at any time.
He spent the night in a tent. As an outsider, he had no right to comment on this.
Moreover, many brothers have completely given up on it after they came back from the hell gate. Since the imperial court has abandoned everyone like trash, then it would not be a bad idea to stay in the Loulan tribe and flourish. At least, there is no need to do it again.
Returning to Chang'an, Yang Guozhong tried another method to silence him.
A group of homeless men, a tribe in urgent need of fresh blood, the two sides were almost a perfect match. Sometimes, Wang Xun even wondered whether those passionate Loulan girls were deliberately sent by the tribe elders to seduce the brothers.
Through secret observations while walking in recent days, he discovered that the number of women in the Loulan tribe is much higher than that of men. Due to the poor living conditions, there are more children in the tribe, both boys and girls. In addition, there are constant interactions with surrounding tribes
Fighting and other factors, strong young men are simply priceless here. In front of many tents, there are five or six women milling around an adult man.
Brother becomes younger, father dies and son inherits. These two behaviors are regarded as inferior to animals in the eyes of the Central Plains people. Here, it is almost natural. As long as the other party is not one's biological mother, after the death of her husband, she can be accepted as her husband.
Wife and concubine. At first Wang Xun was shocked by this, but after thinking about it, he understood the reason. Loulan people are not good at farming. Even if it is spring all year round near the hot spring, they do not know how to open up the open space in the valley into farmland. In this way, they
Food was obtained entirely from herding, hunting and raiding. Without the support of men in the family, women simply could not survive.
But this does not mean that all Loulan women are as weak as Miss Xiaoluo. As the daughter of an elder and the most skilled doctor in the tribe, Miss Xiaoluo is a special case here. She does not need to be attached to any man, naturally
There is no need to take on heavy housework. Her superb medical skills are enough to make her food and clothing comfortable, and she is respected by her tribe no matter where she goes.
Most other women in the tribe are not as lucky as Miss Luo. They usually only have the right to pursue beauty before they get married for the first time. Therefore, during this period, they are like wild flowers in the valley,
In full bloom. Even though they are separated by a layer of veil, they are still breathtakingly beautiful. And once they get married, they quickly change from ornamental to practical. All complicated tasks, including chopping firewood and carrying water, must be carried out.
In addition to grazing, the young men only compete in martial arts, wrestling, and archery on the school grounds every day, so that when necessary, they can take up arms and fight for the tribe. (Note 2)
For such a tribe that lacks adult men, the twenty-seven flying dragon guards and one hundred and thirty-four strong men who survived the battlefield are simply rare treasures. If he were a tribal elder, Wang Xun would also
He will try his best to swallow up the guards and civilians in one go, leaving no bones or scraps for others.
Those who can become Feilong Guards are those who performed well in the school selection that day. Their bodies and bones are far stronger than ordinary people. After experiencing a baptism of blood and fire, those who survived are the best ones in a hundred. They can fight alone.
In a fight, any one of them would be no worse than a top-notch warrior among the Sand Bandits. In terms of basic military skills such as marching, forming formations, and cooperating with each other, they would be infinitely better than the Sand Bandits warriors.
Although the strong bodies of those people in the Tang Dynasty were weaker than those of the Feilong Imperial Guards, they were no less powerful than ordinary Loulan men. Moreover, men in Guanzhong paid attention to being diligent and thrifty in housekeeping. Anyone who could do it themselves would never spend money to entrust outsiders to do it. This group of people
In middle school, many people can work as carpenters, blacksmiths or masons at the same time. Some can even hold three jobs and can do all kinds of work.
People in the Central Plains pay attention to repaying kindness by dripping water and springing up springs. In order to thank the Loulan people for their warm hospitality in recent days, many people have taken the initiative to build furniture, make fire pits, or repair horseshoes, utensils and weapons for the Loulan people.
Whenever they demonstrate their skills, not only the Loulan girls will happily crowd around to watch the fun, but many Loulan old men with crutches will also watch silently from the outside of the crowd, with an incomprehensible light in their eyes.
"If this continues, even if we can recover half of the baggage, we may not even be able to find the manpower to drive the carriage! Damn it, a bunch of old foxes, they can eat people without spitting out their bones!" Wang Xun, who thought he had understood the plot of the sand pirates, couldn't bear it.
He kept cursing in a low voice. He didn't believe that the sand bandits happened to save everyone's lives at the most critical moment. Everything must have been planned by the sand bandit leader named Kang Lao. He first allowed the Feilong Imperial Guard and the Hexi Official
The thief fights to the death and both parties suffer, and then reaps the benefits.
Yes, that must be the case, otherwise the sand pirates would not have appeared so coincidentally. The more he thought about it, the more Wang Xun found that he had fallen into a huge trap. However, the brothers around him were not aware of this, and were still immersed in the gentle land and could not extricate themselves.
.
Before he could come up with a suitable way to wake everyone up, a new trouble came to him. Not far away from the station with just a cane, a good Anxi horse suddenly ran towards him. It was his mount,
But he no longer belongs to him. The young man who had been scolded by Miss Luo so much that he didn't dare to fight back flew off the horse and leaned over gently towards him: "Wang Xun, right? My name is Shi Huaiyi! I have something.
I want to discuss things with you!"
Note 1: In the Han system, one foot is about 23 centimeters today.
Note 2: In many northern tribes, even now, the difference between girls and women seems to be very huge. It is very common in some areas for a bucket-like mother to go shopping with a flower-like daughter.
