The Tang army marched day and night, marching eastward through thick snow, passing Guazhou without any hindrance. They arrived in Suzhou early that morning, but there was a big river blocking their way.
Cao Wannian pointed at the big river with his riding whip: "That's the Underworld Water. It's very deep. It's said that it leads to the underworld. It's named after it. This is the uppermost reaches, but in fact it's not that deep. This river finally flows into Daze."
Guo Song smiled and nodded, "Does the Three Thousand Quicksand River refer to it?"
"I'm not sure about this, but it's already getting bright. Do you want to camp on the spot?"
Guo Song nodded and immediately ordered: "Everyone rest where you are!"
The soldiers of the Tang Army got off their horses one after another. They all rode horses, and camels were used to bear supplies.
The soldiers broke open the river ice to get water, then built a fire around the rocks, cooked milk tea, and grilled frozen meat. It was indeed a pleasure to drink a large cup of hot milk tea in such a cold weather.
Cao Wannian sat down on a piece of sheepskin. He took out his drawing board and continued drawing. He was not drawing landscapes, but drawing maps. He wanted to draw this route so that it could become the secret passage from Dunhuang to Ganzhou in the future.
While chewing dry biscuits, Guo Song asked Cao Wannian with a smile: "Young Master Cao was born in Chang'an, right?"
"How did Guo Shijun know?" Cao Wannian stopped his painting and said in surprise,
"I guessed it from your name."
"It's absolutely true. I was born in Wannian County, Chang'an, that's why I was named Wannian. I also have an uncle who is an official in Chang'an, serving as Dushui Shaojian. This time I went to Chang'an to join him."
"Master Cao is in Chang'an this time just to study?" Guo Song asked again.
"Roughly the same!"
A faint smile appeared on Cao Wannian's face, "Shazhou is too small and no one can teach me anymore. I can only go to Chang'an to learn from the great Confucian scholars. I have too many questions about my study. I can't wait to go to Chang'an tomorrow to consult the famous Confucian scholars."
At this time, Guo Song saw his old servant Cao Zhong looking around with a nervous expression, so he smiled and asked, "Has Mr. Cao found any traces of the wolf?"
Cao Zhong whispered: "I heard wolves howling last night, which means that wolves are around us. A team like ours must be targeted by them."
"Even if we attack, it should be at night! It's already dawn."
"It's hard to say! It's so cold now that it's hard to find food, and the wolves are hungry. I'm afraid they won't be able to survive."
As soon as Cao Zhong finished speaking, Guo Song's Fire Dragon King suddenly screamed violently. Guo Song's face changed slightly and he immediately ordered: "Everyone pick up your weapons!"
He then blew the bone flute, and a moment later, a fierce bird flew from a distance. It suddenly roared and rushed towards the woods at the foot of the mountain.
The soldiers were all familiar with Mengzi's warning and did not bother to pack their belongings. They got on their horses one after another. More than a hundred camels also stood up uneasily.
"Everyone retreat along the river!"
Guo Song shouted to Liang Wu again: "Liang Wu, you are responsible for protecting Mr. Cao and Mr. Cao!"
Cao Wannian hurriedly put away his horse, Cao Zhong also got on his horse, and the two followed Liang Wu and retreated northward.
At this time, the wolves finally appeared. They slowly walked out of the woods two miles away. There were hundreds of them, staring ferociously at Tang Jun and his party.
Guo Song shouted to Li Ji: "You lead fifty brothers to intercept the wolves and cover the retreat of the other brothers. I will be responsible for killing the wolf king!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Li Jidang immediately ordered: "From the first fire to the fifth fire, follow me to kill the wolf!"
Fifty Tang soldiers were eager to try it. In their opinion, this was just another kind of hunting, just a little more dangerous.
At this time, a huge wolf raised its head and howled for a long time. Hundreds of wolves rushed out of the forest and pounced on the Tang army two miles away.
Guo Song's eyes were fixed on the giant wolf that looked up to the sky and howled. He had killed wolves in Yinshan Mountain and knew that the characteristics of the wolf king were the largest and strongest body and the leadership temperament. This temperament was manifested in giving orders, which only the wolf king could do.
Order other wolves, so the giant wolf that just looked up to the sky and howled must be the wolf king.
The wolf king was extremely cunning. He did not follow the other wolves and pounce on the Tang army. Instead, he stood on a high place and stared coldly at Guo Song.
Two miles away, the pack of wolves arrived in an instant. Guo Song raised his bow and nocked an arrow, taking the lead to shoot an arrow. The black wolf running in front was shot through the head with an arrow, causing him to do some somersaults and was killed on the spot.
The soldiers of the Tang army fired arrows one after another, and the wolves dodged left and right, but more than thirty of them were still killed.
Li Ji shouted: "Run and assassinate them!"
The soldiers of the Tang Army ran quickly, waving their spears and running towards the wolves. The horses under their crotches also felt the courage of their masters. They were no longer afraid and ran bravely.
The soldiers of the Tang army and the wolves met instantly. Each wild wolf roared and jumped towards the soldiers, but was mercilessly pierced by the steel spears of the soldiers of the Tang army.
Guo Song wielded his halberd and knocked down more than a dozen wild wolves in succession, cutting most of them into two pieces. The air was filled with the smell of wolf blood.
At this time, he heard a Tang Army soldier yelling. When he turned around, he saw a wild wolf pounced on the shoulder of a Tang Army soldier, stretching its neck to bite his neck desperately. The soldier tried his best to resist, but was thrown away.
If you don't let go of the wolf, you will be bitten on the neck by the wolf.
It was too late to draw the bow and arrow, so Guo Song casually pulled out a dagger and shot it with his hand.
There was a flash of cold light, and the dagger pierced the head of the wild wolf. The wild wolf finally fell to the ground. The soldiers of the Tang Army were so angry that they chopped the wolf into two pieces with a wave of their sword.
Guo Song's martial arts skills were fully displayed at this time. He stabbed with a long halberd from a distance and slashed with a black sword from a close distance. More than a hundred wild wolves around him had been killed. Together with the display of power by other Tang troops, more than half of the wild wolves had been killed.
.
At this time, the wolf king suddenly looked up to the sky and howled again, and the wolves turned around and ran wildly into the forest.
When the soldiers of the Tang Army were about to chase, Guo Song shouted: "Stop the pursuit!"
The soldiers stopped chasing, and the wolves fled quickly and disappeared. Guo Song could only sigh secretly, the wolf king was too cunning, and he would not give humans a chance to kill him.
Not one of the fifty soldiers was killed. At this time, military doctor Xue Changshou rushed over on horseback and shouted: "Who has been bitten or scratched by a wolf? Raise your hands!"
Seven or eight soldiers raised their hands, and Xue Changshou shouted: "Hurry up and follow me!"
He rushed away with seven or eight wounded soldiers, and the soldiers were puzzled.
Guo Song nodded and smiled: "You can hesitate about my orders, but you have to listen to the military doctor's words. If the wolf carries wolf poison, you must immediately clean the wound with kumiss and then apply medicine, otherwise it will become infected."
"Chang Shi, will the wolves come again?" the soldiers asked.
Guo Song looked at Mengzi flying far away and said with a faint smile: "Probably not. Look at Mengzi, it is following the wolves and flying further and further away!"
.........
After solving the harassment of the wolves, the team continued to march eastward along the established route. On the first day of February, the Tang Army, which had gone through untold hardships, saw a military city in the distance, which was Qilian garrison, the westernmost military fortress of the Tang Army.
They left the territory controlled by Datang from here more than a year ago.
This meant that they finally arrived in Ganzhou, and the soldiers couldn't help but cheer from the bottom of their hearts.
The garrison envoy named Wu Que heard that the Eagle Attack Army that had gone to the Western Regions more than a year ago had finally returned, and he personally came out to greet the Tang army and his party.
There were 300 people when they left, but only 75 came back. It was really sad. They were all dark and thin. You can imagine the hardships they had to go west.
"For your humble duty, please see Guo Changshi!" Wu Que knelt down on one knee and saluted.
Guo Song quickly helped him up and said, "General Wu, no courtesy!"
"It's so gratifying to see Guo Changshi back safely! I believe Governor Zhao is equally happy."
Guo Song smiled lightly and said: "We are all a little tired and want to take a rest."
"Please march into the city quickly!"
The military city covers an area of about five acres and is garrisoned by 300 soldiers. Guo Song and his entourage entered the fort, and the soldiers lined up to salute them. Wu Que urgently asked people to pack up the tents for the soldiers of the Eagle Attack Army to rest.
Guo Song walked to the top of the city and looked to the west from a distance. He faintly saw a few small black spots in the snow.
"That's the Shatuo Army's sentinel!"
Wu Que whispered from the side: "They probably discovered Chang Shi and his party, so they came here to check!"
"Thanks to a good guide this time, we took a lonely road and were not discovered by enemy scouts."
Speaking of this, Guo Song asked again: "Is it serious that the heavy snow in the south blocks the road?"
Wu Que nodded, "There was little snow last year, but this year the snowfall was extremely strong. The snow was six feet thick, making it difficult to walk. We have cut off contact with Zhangye City, but fortunately we have enough supplies. As long as the Shatuo people do not attack the fortress in large numbers
, it’s not a big problem.”
"Doesn't that mean we have to wait twenty days?" Guo Song said anxiously.
Wu Que was a little surprised. How could Guo Changshi know the time when the ice and snow in the Hexi Corridor melted? It did start to melt in late February.
"Then there is no other way but to wait patiently."
Wu Que smiled and said: "In fact, not only is Guo Changshi having trouble going east, but even His Highness King Zhao is trapped in Zhangye City and cannot return to Chang'an."
Guo Song was startled, what was Li Si doing in Zhangye City?
At this time, he saw a small black dot flying from the sky in the distance. Guo Song couldn't help but laugh. He waved, and the fierce dot circled twice above his head and landed neatly on his shoulder, with its steel-like claws clasping tightly.
into his armor.
While Wu Que was stunned, Guo Song turned around and walked down the city wall.