Guo Song had already guessed who these dozen black knights were. They were probably the horse bandits that the groom had mentioned to him. There were sixteen of them in total. After he killed one of them, there were still fifteen more.
But this group of horse bandits gave Guo Song a deep taste of the powerful power of mounted archery, which was indeed the first-class martial arts in the Middle Ages. When the Taoist priests from Kongtong Mountain came down, they would definitely be wiped out by these men in black with one arrow.
net.
Compared to the deadly arrows with hundreds of steps, their flying knives and meteor hammers are simply like children's play.
Guo Song sat in the tallest pine tree for more than an hour, with the eagle perched on his shoulder. He watched helplessly as a group of men in black burned the corpses of their companions, urged their horses to leave the forest, headed west, and gradually disappeared.
At the end of the grassland.
Guo Song came out of the forest again. It was already dusk, the chicken stewed with mushrooms had become a waste, and the roasted venison had become extremely distant. He peeled half a bag of pine nuts from the big pine tree, chewed them and walked towards the official road.
Suddenly, there was a rush of horse hoofbeats from behind. Guo Song turned around and saw dozens of Qiang people running over on horseback. One of them was the woman he had rescued.
The woman saw Guo Song, pointed at him and shouted excitedly. An old man urged his horse forward and shouted: "Taoist Master, please stay!"
It was actually in Chinese, Guo Song hurriedly greeted him, "What do you have to say, father-in-law?"
When the old man saw that Guo Song was not injured, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Buddha bless you, the Taoist priest is safe."
"This way is protected by the Patriarch of the Sanqing Dynasty. Of course a few little thieves can't hurt me!"
"The Taoist priest is joking, they are not little thieves! They kidnap people and never leave them alive. Thank you, Taoist priest, for saving my daughter."
At this time, a Qiang man with a face as black as charcoal came forward and knelt down. He was not tall, but he was very strong. He looked honest and honest. He kowtowed to Guo Song with a grateful look on his face. He didn't know what he was saying.
?
The old man explained beside him: "He is my daughter's husband, an honest herdsman. He is grateful to you for saving his wife, otherwise his three children would have lost their mother."
It turned out that this dark and muscular man was the woman's husband. It seemed that there were some things that he couldn't say more about. Guo Song quickly helped him up and repeatedly explained that he was a monk and it was his duty to save people, so he didn't have to be polite.
"Taoist Master, please come to our tribe! It's just thirty miles away to the south."
Guo Song didn't want to be a guest. He only wanted to go to Zhangye City to find his master, so he politely refused with clasped fists: "I still have something to rush to Zhangye City, so please come visit me later!"
The old man smiled slightly and said: "If the Taoist priest wants to see Master Mu, there is no need to go to Zhangye City."
Guo Song suddenly jumped up and asked urgently: "Where is my master with you?"
"Mu Zhenren has been in our tribe these days."
What a coincidence. I was rushing to Zhangye City, but I didn't expect that my master was in the Qiang tribe.
At this time, the black-faced man brought a horse and asked Guo Song to get on it. Guo Song looked embarrassed and said to the old man: "To be honest, I have never ridden one before?"
"But my daughter said you can ride a horse."
"It was a critical situation and I was forced out. In fact, I have never ridden it."
The old man chuckled and said, "It seems that the Taoist priest has a talent for riding horses. It's okay. Let's just ride slowly."
At this point, Guo Song had no choice but to get on the horse. Others were flipping onto the horse. He jumped on the horse in the air and rode steadily on the saddle, winning a burst of warm applause from the surrounding Qiang people. His move was like a god getting on the horse.
Much more chic than jumping on a horse.
Horse riding mainly focuses on crotch strength, clamping the saddle tightly, and then mastering balance, just like learning to ride a bicycle. Once you master the balance, the problem will not be big, and then it is a process of mastering from slow to fast.
In terms of balance, Guo Song is ranked number one in the world, and in terms of crotch strength, he is equally strong. The only thing he lacks is experience.
Guo Song silently realized the feeling of riding a horse. After walking for more than ten miles, he suddenly urged the horse gently, and the horse actually started running at a small pace, which surprised everyone.
Of course, Guo Song didn't dare to gallop. Running in small steps was already his limit.
At this time, several herdsmen pointed at the goshawk above their heads and shouted, but the goshawk actually followed them all the way.
Guo Song whistled, and the little eagle folded its wings and fell from the sky, landing accurately on Guo Song's shoulder. Everyone's eyes turned red with envy. Which prairie man doesn't love goshawks?
"Daozhang Guo, is this your eagle?" the old man asked with envy.
"I raised him since he was a child, and he followed me all the way to Hexi."
Guo Song suddenly remembered what his master had said. His understanding of eagles came from the herdsmen on the Hexi Corridor.
Guo Song quickly asked: "Old man, do I, the eagle, need to endure it any longer?"
The old man smiled and said: "You are called a Sky Eagle, which means it has been with you since birth. It is born to regard you as its father or master. It does not need to be an eagle at all, and it is more loyal than an eagle. It will follow you.
Your whole life."
Guo Song smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear. This was more pleasing to the ear than any flattering words and made him extremely happy.
……….
The Qiang tribe that Fan Ning is going to is called Heishan tribe. Their traditional pasture is at the foot of Heishan Mountain in the south of Xiutu Lake. In winter, they drive their livestock to the Qilian Mountains to spend the winter. They are on their way back to Xiutu Lake now.
When we arrived at the Montenegro camp, it was already dark. There were more than a dozen bonfires lit in the camp, and hundreds of tribesmen were gathering together to barbecue mutton for dinner.
Guo Song turned over and dismounted, and at a glance he saw an old Taoist priest smiling and talking to several old men beside the largest bonfire. Isn't it his master Mu Zhenren?
Guo Song ran forward excitedly, "Master, why are you here?"
"You brat, why don't you go to Zhangye City?"
Mu Zhenren was about to reach out and hit him on the head when he suddenly remembered something, retracted his hand and looked up at the sky.
Guo Song scratched his head and smiled: "The little eagle found a big bird's nest on the road and has already fallen asleep."
When Mu Zhenren saw his disciple, he was really happy and introduced him to the old man next to him, "This is my old friend Pu Luoshan. He is now the chief of the Montenegro Department. He will take care of you in the future."
Pu Luoshan is a very kind and simple old man who can also speak fluent Chinese.
He smiled and said: "If you save Ying, you will be a distinguished guest of our tribe."
Guo Song felt a little confused and quickly saluted and said a few vague words.
At this time, Ying's husband and three children came forward with a large wooden tray. In the wooden tray was a roasted whole lamb. They knelt down and presented the whole lamb to Guo Song, and filled him with rice.
A large bowl of kumiss.
Mu Zhenren smiled and said: "This is their family's highest salute. Drinking all the wine and eating all the sheep is the best return gift for them."
Guo Song looked at the large bowl filled with at least five kilograms of wine and such a big roast lamb. He heard that he would drink it all and eat it all, which made his eyes pop.
That night, Guo Song was extremely drunk.
………….
At dawn the next day, Guo Song was woken up by his master while he was sleeping, "Get ready to go!"
The Montenegro tribe was now on their way back to Xiutu Lake. Before dawn, they began to pack up their tents and prepare to set off. Guo Song was drunk, otherwise he would have gotten up to meditate at the fifth watch.
After a deep sleep all night and washing his face with the cold and biting Qilian Mountain snowmelt river water, he was really full of energy and all the fatigue of the journey was gone.
Guo Song was riding on a tall and powerful black horse. This horse was the war horse that was snatched in the woods yesterday. Ying's husband sent this horse to him early in the morning.
The Qiang and Hu people of the Tang Dynasty were not narrow-minded. If their wives were kidnapped and insulted by horse bandits, they would only pick up their swords and fight the enemy to death, instead of blaming their innocent wives.
Last night, after Ying told her husband what she had experienced, Guo Song even won her husband's gratitude. You must know that the horse bandit would definitely kill his wife after humiliating her.
Guo Song has found the feeling of riding a horse, but he still needs time to hone it slowly.
He held up the curtain and looked at the little eagle hovering in the sky, and asked: "Master, do you think the horse bandits will come to attack this migrating herdsman team?"
Mu Zhenren sneered, "Do you really think they are horse bandits?"
Guo Song was startled, "Isn't he a horse bandit?"
Mu Zhenren shook his head, "The horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor were wiped out by the Tang army more than ten years ago. The horse bandits who appeared this time should be spies of the Shatuo people, their elite cavalry sent to Ganzhou and Liang
The state gathered information and prepared for the Shatuo people to go south."
"It turns out to be Shatuo Cavalry!"
Guo Song sighed softly: "No wonder riding and shooting is so good."
"The Shatuo people's cavalry and archery are indeed very powerful. In the Battle of Dadou Bugu, 6,000 Shatuo cavalry annihilated 30,000 Tuyuhun cavalry and drove the Tubo forces out of the Hexi Corridor. It was only by their cavalry and archery that I thought.
To praise them, if they fought on the plains, their 6,000 cavalry could easily defeat the 30,000 Tang army and sweep across Longyou."
Mu Zhenren was the famous Wang Zhongsi when he was young. Even he said this, which shows how powerful the Shatuo people are. Moreover, Guo Song also knew that Li Keyong later led 30,000 Shatuo cavalry to sweep across the Central Plains, annihilate Huang Chao's army and establish
Later Tang Dynasty,
Guo Song suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, so he changed the subject and said, "Why is Master in the Black Mountain Department?"
"Let's arrange a place for you to learn riding and archery! I hurried to Fengxiang before to ask your second senior brother for a war horse, but I ended up arriving a little late. Your second senior brother's army was sent to Lintao, so I had to come again.
My old friends in Montenegro can help."
"Second senior brother has joined the army?" Guo Song asked in surprise and joy.
Mu Zhenren nodded, "He is doing well now. He joined the army as a brigade commander six years ago. He made many military exploits in the war against the Tuyuhun people and has been promoted to the commander-in-chief of Fengxiang Right Army."
"What is the lay name of the second senior brother?" Guo Song only knew that the second senior brother was called Gan Yun, but did not know his lay name.
"He comes from a wealthy family in Longxi, his family name is Li, and his name is Li Sheng."