Early the next morning, Guo Song sent the Black Mountain tribe for more than ten miles before riding back to his tent alone. His tent was moved to the lake yesterday, and there was only this lonely, half-old tent by the lake.
Guo Song walked into his tent. The floor was covered with sheepskins, which Aunt Ying had spread for him. He could lie directly on the sheepskins to sleep at night.
In the middle is a fire pit, which is made of bluestone in a circle. Firewood can be burned in the fire pit, and mutton can also be grilled on it. There is a large wooden shelf on the fire pit, and a clay pot is hung on a horizontal stick in the middle. The Qiang people call it Cha Diaozi.
For tea.
There was no furniture in the big tent, only a large crude box made of wood, a large tree stump used as a table, and a few large porcelain bowls.
Dozens of kilograms of dried meat were stacked in the big box. Next to it were two large jars of kumiss and a jar of cheese. There was also a pile of tea bricks in the corner.
Guo Song lit the fire, filled half a pot of water in the lake, broke off a small tea brick and put it into the teapot, then added a handful of dried perilla, a pinch of salt, and two pieces of cheese.
The literati and high-ranking officials in the Tang Dynasty usually drank sencha, which was very particular about water, tea sets and heat. However, for the lower class people and frontier people, drinking alcohol was not called drinking tea, but eating tea, which was boiled with spices and salt.
, and finally the tea leaves must be eaten together. The Qiang people's method is similar, but the tea set is cruder, and some cheese is added to make milk tea.
Guo Song had stayed with the Qiang people for three years and was used to the milk tea and mare's milk made by Aunt Ying. It was very strong, strong and fishy. He could drink five kilograms without getting drunk. However, although he could drink it, it did not mean that he would drink it.
He likes it, he still likes Han people's rice wine and wine, but it's a pity that they are not available here.
In just a moment, the tea pot was steaming with steam, and the fragrance of milk tea was fragrant. He slowly stirred it with a wooden stick, and finally poured it into a large bamboo tube. This was his tea cup.
The dried meat that Aunt Ying left for him was dry food for him to eat when he went out. Guo Song grilled two fish himself.
Guo Song quickly finished the grilled fish, drank the milk tea in the bamboo tube, put out the fire, picked up his bow, arrows and sword and hurried out of the tent.
The cold wind outside the tent was biting, and the world was vast. He was the only one, one horse and one eagle on the entire Xiutu Lake. Guo Song got on his horse and galloped towards his archery practice field more than ten miles away.
.........
Ten days after leaving Montenegro, a blizzard swept across Xiutu Lake. The cold wind roared at night, making a terrible roaring sound. The big tent was blown and creaked, as if it would be swept away by the blizzard at any time.
The fire in the big tent flickered on and off, Guo Song hummed a little tune and quickly grilled the fish on the fire. The milk tea in the tea basket was simmering, and the big tent was filled with a rich milk fragrance.
His war horse was also in the tent, quietly eating hay and occasionally taking a sip of melted snow water.
Standing on the wooden box is the Eagle Eagle Mengzi. There are two long black feather crests on its head, which are particularly eye-catching. It is sleeping with its eyes closed. Occasionally, it opens its eyes slightly, and there will be a look of disdain in its eyes, as if it looks down on Guo Song.
The fish method wastes fresh and sweet fish meat.
At this time, Guo Song suddenly stopped and listened carefully. He clearly heard the neighing of horses just now, but when he listened carefully again, the sound was gone.
Could it be that he heard wrongly? He turned back and glanced at Mengzi, "Hey! Did you hear anything just now?"
Mengzi closed his eyes, buried his head in the feathers, and was too lazy to pay attention to him.
"Maybe I heard it wrong! Who would come out in such bad weather?"
Guo Song laughed to himself.
Soon, he was full of food and drink, fell on the sheepskin, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, the cry of Mengzi came from the sky, and Guo Song, who had been meditating cross-legged for nearly an hour, opened his eyes.
Guo Song led his horse out of the big tent. It was still snowing lightly outside, but the wind had stopped. The snow was half a foot thick. The whole world was gray and vast. It felt like he was longing for the world, and he felt sad.
Although I am open-minded, deep down in my heart, there is also a kind of loneliness that is difficult to get rid of.
Today is an underwater archery practice. Most of the time, Guo Song chooses the shore of Hubei to go into the water. There are many aquatic plants, interference, and fish there.
Guo Song rode around Xiutu Lake and came to the north bank of the lake.
He took off his monk's robe, wearing only a pair of shorts, and walked barefoot on the ice. During the coldest time last year, the ice was two feet thick, but now it is only about half a foot thick.
He stabbed his sword into the ice, cutting a large circle with a radius of two meters on the ice, then stamped his foot, and the cut round ice immediately fell into pieces.
Guo Song threw a large stone weighing a hundred kilograms into the lake. His body sank and slid into the freezing cold water. There was no sunlight, and the bottom of the lake, which was five meters deep, was pitch black.
Guo Song hooked his feet on a hundred-jin boulder, and his whole body was suspended quietly in the water. He closed his eyes, feeling the water flow and various things touching his body in the water, including fish, water snakes, and some long and thin ones.
The tentacles may be aquatic plants, or they may be some other creature.
But he felt no danger. This was a very peaceful underwater world.
A big fish weighing at least four or five kilograms touched his arm and swam toward the northeast.
Guo Song immediately raised his bow and nocked an arrow. He drew the bow fully under the water and shot out an arrow. The fish had already swam more than twenty steps away. It suddenly felt something. It swung its tail and was about to turn in another direction. "Puff"
With a loud sound, the arrow had penetrated its body.
Guo Song has been underwater for a stick of incense and is about to reach the limit of his breath holding.
As soon as his legs were loosened, his body quickly floated upward...
There are indeed more fish in the north of Xiutu Lake than in the south. He harvested twelve big fish in one morning, and the smallest crucian carp weighed two kilograms. It was a good harvest.
Guo Song piled the fish on the ice, whistled with his fingers, and invited Mengzi to come down and enjoy.
Unexpectedly, Mengzi did not come down. Guo Song was slightly startled. This was the first time. He squinted his eyes and searched in the sky, and faintly saw Mengzi hovering over the southern shore of the lake.
"What happened?"
Guo Song quickly put on his shoes, socks and Taoist robes, changed into a pair of dry shorts, got on his horse, and galloped towards the south bank of the lake.
When he was still more than a hundred steps away from the tent, Guo Song suddenly reined in his horse. There were messy horse hoof prints on the ground, indicating that someone had come.
He immediately dismounted, drew his sword in his hand, and walked step by step towards his tent.
There were still more than ten steps away from the tent. He stopped and saw a large mess of horse hoof prints heading east. Guo Song stood and listened for a while to make sure there was no movement in the tent. Then he stepped forward and picked it up with his sword.
Open the tent curtain.
His tent was in a mess. The sheepskins on the floor were missing, the ceramic teapot was smashed into pieces, and the wooden frame was cut into several sections. The sparks remaining in the fire pit were completely extinguished, and there was still a faint smell of urine.
His big box was overturned on the ground, and the dried meat, kumiss, cheese and tea bricks were all missing. They were looted, and he had nothing but this big tent.
Anger rose in Guo Song's chest. This was definitely not done by herdsmen, so who could it be? Gold diggers, there are many Han people digging for placer gold in the Hexi Corridor. They often steal sheep from herdsmen and have a bad reputation. Could it be them?
them?
At this time, the cry of Mengzi came from outside. Guo Song turned around and rushed out of the tent. He saw Mengzi hovering in the sky more than ten miles away in the southeast. Guo Song immediately realized that the person who ransacked his tent was there.
Guo Song can't rub any sand into his eyes. Even if he is a gold digger, he will make these people pay the price.
...........
More than ten miles to the southeast is Black Mountain. Black Mountain is not high, only a hundred feet at its highest point, about two miles wide, and stretches for more than 40 miles from west to east. The mountains are densely forested and have many ravines, making it a good place for hunting.
Guo Song immediately hid behind a big tree. On the snow-covered field, he saw a dozen men in black riding horses toward the mountain.
These men in black reminded Guo Song of the horse bandits three years ago. Maybe they were no longer the dozen or so people, but a strong feeling told him that they were probably enemies.
Worried that Mengzi had made a mistake, he whistled. No one could hear it from a few miles away, but the eagle could. Mengzi circled around and flew away.
.........
The sky has turned dark and the snow has finally stopped, but the sky is still high. In a mountain col deep in the Black Mountains, a fire is burning brightly. A dozen men in black are sitting around the fire drinking, while deer and a few deer are roasting on the fire.
A grouse.
"I didn't expect that I would be lucky today and get kumiss. It's a pity that there are no women in the tent. What a pity!"
"You bastard, don't think about women all day long. Wasn't the lesson you learned three years ago enough? You ran away naked and embarrassed the Shatuo warriors."
The leader reprimanded the Shatuo people severely, but the Shatuo people just did not say a word.
He looked around the crowd and said: "The big tent we encountered today should be the herdsmen from the Montenegro who were left to guard the pasture. Our traces have been exposed and we cannot leave him alive. We will go and kill him early tomorrow morning."
Standing on a big tree above the mountain col, Guo Song slowly tightened his sword in his hands. They were the group of horse bandits three years ago, no! They were Shatuo Army spies.
The other party spoke Tiele language, which is commonly used in the grasslands. Many Qiang people can speak. Guo Song also learned a lot and could understand most of them. However, Guo Song felt a little strange. There will be heavy snowfall soon and the road will be closed. These Shatuo
What were the military spies doing at Xiutu Lake? Was it for the Tang Army?
Apart from the Tang army captured by Bai Ting, he really couldn't think of any other reason.
He continued to listen attentively.
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