In the early morning, the troops and horses were preparing to move out.
Before setting off, Zhang Yanling issued an order.
"Everyone, whether you are thirsty or not, go to the river to drink water until you can drink no more. All the war horses also go to the river to drink water until they can drink no more. Everyone, and then everyone will
The water bladders are filled with water from the river. All vessels that can hold water are filled with water.”
Then, a strange scene appeared on the bank of the Yellow River. All the soldiers pulled their horses and lay down on the river. They drank until the stomachs of the men and horses were round and they almost vomited out.
There was a lot of sediment in the Yellow River, and many people choked and coughed. But everyone knew that the Marquis did not issue this order as a prank, but because he would soon march into the Gobi Desert. Drink more water and you can get more water.
Hold on for a while.
In addition to drinking water, after successfully crossing the river, Zhang Yanling bought all the hundreds of sheepskins used to make sheepskin rafts. Those sheepskins are sealed air bags that can hold water. This is the ready-made water.
utensils.
Hundreds of sheepskin bags were filled with water and then hung on the horse and taken away. Although the water was turbid and smelly, Zhang Yanling knew that after entering the Gobi Desert, the water might save lives.
Many generals and soldiers under his command actually felt that the Marquis was a little too cautious. According to the distance of the journey, it was only a day and a night's journey at best, or two days' journey at most. Even if there was no water at all, he could still hold on.
. Bringing some clean water is enough.
However, in Zhang Yanling's view, this view is ridiculous and arrogant. In the Gobi desert, anything can happen. And the forces of nature will be so powerful that you cannot resist. You will be swallowed alive by them.
Later Zhang Yanling was a traveler who liked to hike everywhere. He had been to mountains, rivers, and the Gobi Desert. Zhang Yanling had seen the horror of the Gobi Desert and knew the importance of water in the desert. He also knew that in the Gobi desert, the communication methods of later generations
Even in an era with advanced rescue methods, it is difficult to avoid accidents, and it is impossible to conquer this kind of landscape. Let alone this era.
Zhang Yanling didn't take any chances. He had to make all the preparations he could. Water was just the most important one.
The soldiers and horses set out, in order to avoid disturbing the Tatar soldiers and horses at the edge of the Gobi and causing unnecessary trouble. The army chose to go directly into the depths of the Gobi, going more than ten miles deep into the edge of the desert before heading north. This can avoid everything
The interference factor of Tatars reduces any irrelevant hindrance.
The activity range of the Tatars is on the Gobi Desert on the edge of the desert. Once you enter the desert and walk, you will most likely not encounter Tatar attacks.
For the first few miles, the soldiers did not think there was anything extraordinary. The Gobi was desolate, but it was vast and the scenery was magnificent. They walked on the edge of the Gobi and the desert, walking among the stars and morning breeze, watching the waning moon in the distance.
Hanging on the top of the tall sand dunes in the distance, it makes people feel like "the sand in the desert is like snow, and the moon in Yanshan Mountain is like a hook".
However, as time passed, especially after the sun rose, the soldiers quickly felt the power of the Gobi Desert.
The temperature began to rise, and the heat and scorching heat soon became unbearable. The sweat evaporated quickly, and the water in the belly seemed to be unable to withstand consumption. Soon some soldiers began to drink water in large gulps.
The horse also lost its vitality. Walking on the gravel-strewn Gobi Desert, the burning ground made the horse foam at the mouth, panting violently, snoring continuously, and making a gray neighing sound.
The sun shines on the ground, and the gravel on the ground becomes hot, and the yellow sand reflects white light. The ground becomes steamy due to the heat transpiration, and even the light becomes distorted. The dazzling light makes everyone dizzy and their eyes
Can't even open it.
The armor of the cavalry was also burned hot by the sun. Everyone looked like a piece of meat roasting in the sun, as if it would soon smoke and be scorched.
What makes people even more desperate is that the Gobi and the desert are endless, front, back, left and right. There is nothing in the sky, the sun is white. There is nothing on the ground, a white flower. There are no plants in the distance or near.
There were many naked corpses of animals and animals, with eyes staring into black holes, and bones scattered everywhere. And it could be seen that many of them were human corpses.
In order to cool down, the soldiers began to drink a lot of water. The water bladders on their bodies were quickly emptied. Each cavalryman was actually equipped with two water bladders, one large and one small. The larger one was for the horses, and the smaller one was for the horses.
The water is for human consumption. Normally, if you can't find a water source, it can be used as a temporary emergency. But now, the little one has drank all the water and started to drink the water from the big water bag. People drink and horses also drink, and the fresh water they carry is being consumed quickly.
Zhang Yanling realized that the situation was not good, and he immediately issued an order: "Don't drink water in large sips. Drink water in small sips. It must be limited to a time limit. Drink three sips every half hour, and don't drink too much. Don't waste a drop of water. Violators
Military ** Department."
This order seemed unreasonable, and even Zhang Yin and Chen Shiyi wanted to persuade the Marquis not to do this. After all, the journey was not far, and there were hundreds of sheepskin bags of water, so it was not necessary at all.
But Zhang Yanling glared and stopped what they were about to say, and was the first to hand over the water bag on his body to Chen Shiyi, with the obvious intention of letting Chen Shiyi supervise him.
Everyone had no choice but to continue to move forward in the scorching heat. Soon some soldiers could no longer hold on. One soldier was so hot that his body seemed to be on fire. After secretly drinking a few sips of water, he secretly put a water bag into his body.
I poured some water on my face, trying to calm it down.
This move was happened to be seen by Zhang Yanling. Zhang Yanling rode over, raised his whip and whipped the soldier violently. The soldier fell off the horse, but Zhang Yanling refused to let go. The whip rose and fell, hitting the soldier in the yellow sand.
Rolling and moaning.
"Master Marquis, please spare him, Master Marquis. Isn't it just some water?" Zhang Yin couldn't help begging for mercy.
Zhang Yanling whipped Zhang Yin in the face and cursed: "You bastards, I am thinking of all the soldiers in the army. Do you think I am deliberately torturing you? In the desert, water is as precious as gold. A drop of water can
But help me. I didn’t kill him. He was already alive.
Okay. If you want to successfully walk out of the desert, how can you not save money? Who knows when we can walk out? Do you want to die? Then drink up all the water. In less than two hours, you will all want it.
Becoming a carcass in the desert and food for vultures.”
Zhang Yin rolled his saddle and dismounted and said repeatedly: "Master Hou, please calm down. It is the fault of your humble position."
Chen Shiyi and the other generals also dismounted and knelt down to beg the Marquis to calm down. Zhang Yanling then snorted coldly and withdrew his whip.
In the afternoon, the temperature had risen to extremely high temperatures. Zhang Yanling ordered the sunshade tents to be set up to rest and wait for the temperature to drop before continuing on the road. In the recesses on the backside of several large sand dunes, sunshade tarpaulins were pulled up. People and horses
Finally, I no longer have to be scorched in the sun, and I can finally take a break and catch my breath.
While the soldiers and horses were resting, Zhang Yanling and his generals climbed to the top of the sand dune and looked around. They saw that the surrounding area was white and boundless, like a land of death. Everyone's heart sank.
"This damn place is really not a place for people to come." Feng Mazi gasped and cursed.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Because of this, we can arrive at our destination without anyone noticing. This is the key to this plan. General Feng, are you complaining in your heart that I have brought you to this ghost?"
Do you think I am acting willfully?"
Feng Mazi hurriedly said: "The general will not dare."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "You just don't dare, it's not that you don't think so. I know that many of you think so in your hearts. You didn't know it would be so hard at first, but now you feel that I am leading you to die. Yes.
no?"
Chen Shiyi hurriedly said: "Master Hou, I don't think so."
Zhang Yanling said: "You don't think so, some people think so. But it doesn't matter, this kind of thinking is normal. But you all remember, I will take you out. As long as you obey my orders, there will be no
Question. After passing this level, you will not be afraid of mountains of swords or seas of fire. I can withstand it, so why can't you?"
Chen Shiyi and others said loudly: "I understand."
Zhao Yuancheng gasped and fanned the wind with his palms: "Master Hou, how far have we walked? There is no direction here, and we don't know how far we have walked."
Zhang Yanling pointed to the faint mountains in the distance and said: "The direction is correct. Have you seen those mountains in the distance? That is Helan Mountain. It is absolutely correct to go in the direction of the mountains. Our current marching speed is too slow.
, four or five hours, I estimate it’s less than thirty miles. I’ve covered less than 20% of the distance.”
Everyone looked desperate, and after walking for a long time, they walked less than 20% of the way.
"But it doesn't matter. We will be faster later because we are far enough away from the southern border. Next, we will return to the Gobi Desert. Although it is also difficult to travel there, it is much better than the desert. Today
In the evening, we can take advantage of the cool weather to travel a little further. Anyway, there is nothing on the Gobi Desert, so we can gallop on horseback. We can travel at least a hundred miles in one night. If nothing else happens, we can leave this ghost place tomorrow evening."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice.
Everyone felt a lot better after listening to Zhang Yanling's resolute words. Many generals actually felt quite guilty in their hearts. A man like the Marquis, who was well-off and well-off, had no fear of such a situation. But he himself
Instead, these people are fearful and have no confidence. This is totally inappropriate.
Many generals in the Zhenwei Battalion actually didn't know much about Zhang Yanling. But this time, they saw how strong-willed the Marquis was, and they felt a sense of awe and admiration for Zhang Yanling from the bottom of their hearts.