Everyone waited on the rock for nearly half an hour. When everyone was anxious and uneasy, Guo Songcai came running from a distance with a large group of horses.
Liang Wu immediately urged his horse to meet him, complaining a little: "Why did you come back now?"
"Of course I want to see the results!"
"What was the result of the battle?" Li Ji asked in a deep voice from behind.
Guo Song said with a smile: "We waited until the fire engulfed the entire military camp. We were sure that no soldiers could escape alive, and then we counted the escaped soldiers. There were only less than 1,400 people. If there were really 3,000 people in the military camp,
So this fire burned to death at least 1,600 people."
Everyone exclaimed, and Li Ji asked in a deep voice: "What do you think? You should know in your heart, have most of the soldiers escaped?"
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "A little more soldiers in the south escaped, but basically all the soldiers in the north were finished. I personally feel that the burning was so severe that most of the soldiers could not escape."
"That's right. I believe my judgment is correct. We can also tell from the number of horses that there should be three thousand soldiers."
"Guo Song, what is this?" Liang Wu asked, pointing to a big package behind him.
"That is a gift for you. They are all military badges. Some are captains of thousands, some are captains of centurions, and most of them are soldiers."
Everyone gathered around, and there were actually two to three hundred military medals in the package. Duan Sanniang asked in surprise: "The fire was so big, how could you pick up the military medals one by one?"
Guo Song chuckled, "I killed the captain. When I came out, I happened to meet a group of soldiers. I told the soldiers who escaped that I wanted to count the survivors and asked them to hand over their military cards to me. In the end, I received one
Big pile.”
Everyone was dumbfounded. How could such a thing happen?
Li Ji smiled happily and said, "It would be a shame if you don't join the army."
Guo Song smiled lightly and said, "Someone already said this when we were in Hexi. Let's go! It's just a pity that there are nearly two hundred horses!"
"Don't worry about this problem. We couldn't go back together in the first place. We don't have enough rafts."
Li Ji turned back to Lin Tai and said, "Take Liang Wu, Liang Ju'er, Lin Yang and Duan Sanniang directly south along the west bank of the Yellow River and bring these horses back."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Li Ji's words were military orders and must be obeyed. Liang Wu stepped forward and hugged Guo Song, "Man, it seems we are breaking up. Our Liang family will still count on you as a foreign aid next year! You have to come to Lingzhou."
"I'll try my best! Say sorry to Ling'er for me, she thought I would go back."
"Little girl, don't worry about her. You should be careful along the way."
Guo Song patted him on the shoulder, "You should take care of yourself too!"
Guo Song saw Duan Sanniang looking at him again, as if she wanted to say something. He raised the dagger and smiled: "Miss Duan, thanks to it today, I like it very much. Say hello to your father for me."
Duan Sanniang nodded. This experience made her understand many things, and she gradually matured.
At this time, Lin Tai stepped forward and patted Guo Song on the shoulder, "Come to Lingzhou when you are in danger. Lingzhou's door will always be open to you."
"Brother Lin, take care!"
"Have a nice journey with you too!"
Guo Song waved goodbye to everyone one by one, and the five of them galloped south with more than a hundred horses. They also brought a dozen sheep as food on the road.
The remaining eight people crossed the Yellow River and met up with their teammates on the other side to meet them. Guo Song took his horse, and suddenly a clear cry came from the sky.
When everyone looked up, they saw an eagle hovering above their heads. It rushed down and landed accurately on Guo Song's head. It stretched out its talons and grabbed it twice, causing Guo Song's hair to become disheveled.
Guo Song said angrily: "You have a new love, and you actually blame me?"
Mengzi also pecked Guo Song on the head twice in annoyance, raised his tail, dropped a drop of eagle excrement on Guo Song's shoulder, and fluttered his wings to fly into the sky.
Everyone burst out laughing, and Guo Song couldn't laugh or cry. He quickly took out the water hyacinth and washed away the bird droppings on his shoulders.
"You brat, I'll deal with you later!" Guo Song waved his fist to the sky.
"Chirp--" Mengzi let out a long cry and flew towards the east.
Everyone also got on their horses and rode along the outer edge of the woods toward the east camp.
Guo Song needs to say goodbye to Shi Tong again, and then he will walk eastward along the Yellow River and head directly to Chang'an.
At noon, the group finally returned to the campsite. They were still two miles away from the campsite. They saw a few teammates who had stayed behind running out of the woods and running towards them.
Everyone looked panicked, and the leader, Meng Jian, shouted: "Captain Li, something happened!"
"What happened? Don't be impatient. Speak slowly."
"Shi Tong and Han Shun'er were kidnapped."
Everyone was shocked, and Guo Song said anxiously: "What's going on? Who kidnapped them?"
"Early this morning, the three of them went to the lake to fish, saying they would have grilled fish for lunch. Later, Yang Jun ran back in a panic and said that a group of cavalry was coming. When we rushed over, Shi Tong and the others were gone, and the cavalry was gone too.
.”
"Is it Xue Yantuo's cavalry?"
"We don't know either."
"Where is Yang Jun? Bring him to see me." Li Ji said sharply.
Not long after, another support team member, Yang Jun, was brought up with a look of shock on his face.
"Tell me more details, what exactly happened?"
Yang Jun lowered his head and whispered: "The three of us were fishing and grilling fish by the lake. I found that I didn't bring any salt, so I went back to get salt. When I came back, I saw a group of cavalry surrounding them. I was so scared that I ran back to ask for help.
, when everyone rushed over, everyone was gone."
"Are you sure they were kidnapped?"
Yang Jun nodded, "I saw Han Shun'er being caught on a horse, and Shi Tong wanted to escape, but they stopped him."
"How many cavalry are there and how are they dressed?"
"There were about thirty people, all dressed in black, wearing big cloaks and wearing something that looked like a flame on their head."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ji blurted out, "He's from the Sijie Department!"
Guo Song was a little anxious and asked: "What is the Sijie Department? Where are they?"
"Let's go to the lake and take a look, and then I'll tell you. But don't worry, Shi Tong and his wife should not be in danger."
Everyone urged their horses to run towards the lake. On the way, Li Ji said to Guo Song: "Sijie is one of the nine tribes of Tiele. Yazhang is located in the north of Yinshan Mountain, about 1,500 miles away from here. Their biggest characteristic is
He wears black clothes and a flame emblem on his head. He is the mortal enemy of the Xue Yantuo people and has always had a good relationship with the Tang Dynasty."
"Then why did they kidnap Shi Tong?"
Li Ji pondered for a while and said: "I guess it was a group of sentries who came to inquire about Xue Yantuo's invasion of Lingzhou. Maybe they wanted to know the situation in Lingzhou, so they took Shi Tong away. After a while, they should
Just put them back."
"Are you sure they will be released?"
Li Ji smiled bitterly, "I can only think about the good things."
"What if it's on the bad side?"
Li Ji hesitated and said: "The Tiele tribes have been at war every year, and there is generally a shortage of men in all tribes. During the Kaiyuan period, some Han people were kidnapped to Mobei, and they got married and had children on the grasslands. They were already old men when they came back."
Guo Song's heart sank. If this was really the case, how could he explain it to the fat aunt?
Everyone rushed to the small lake. The fishing rod was still there, the stove was knocked to the ground, and there were dense horse hoof prints all around. Li Ji jumped off the horse, walked along a long string of horse hoof prints for more than ten steps, and lay on the ground to study for a long time.
.
He stood up and said: "It is indeed thirty cavalry!"
"Where have they gone?" Guo Song asked anxiously.
"I told you that walking more than a hundred miles eastward, there is a section of the Yellow River called a shallow beach. Horses can swim across the Yellow River there, and then go straight. The Yellow River to the north is also very shallow, and horses can also cross it. They went north from there.
Think back to the knot."
Guo Song made a decisive decision: "They have only been gone for a long time. We can still catch up. Let's set off now!"
"No!" Li Ji flatly refused.
"Why?" Guo Song was stunned.
"The order I received is to lead everyone back to Lingzhou immediately after the mission is over, no matter the casualties. I can't cause trouble, Guo Song, I'm sorry!" Li Ji said apologetically.
"But Shitong is our brother and your subordinate. He was kidnapped. How could you leave him and go back?"
"I am a scout captain. All I know is that military orders are like mountains. Even if I am a brother, I must carry out military orders."
"What about them?" Guo Song glanced at the others, "They must also go back with you?"
Li Ji nodded, "This is a military order!"
"Okay! I'll go alone. I'm not your subordinate, nor am I the military general of Shuofang. I have agreed with Jiedushi that when the mission is over, I will leave. I will go and bring Shi Tong back. Please tell him.
Mother, I will definitely do what I promised her."
After saying that, Guo Song turned around and took the horse to leave. Li Ji suddenly said: "Wait a minute!"
Guo Song pulled the horse and looked back at him coldly. Li Ji sighed and took off a thin rope from his neck with something like a jade tube on it. He stepped forward and stuffed the jade tube into Guo Song's hand.
"I also had a trusting eagle that stayed with me for ten years. He was my brother. The year before last, I encountered Xue Yantuo's riding sentry and was hit by several arrows. In order to save me, it died under the arrows of Xue Yantuo's riding sentry. I used its
This eagle flute is made of a bone and given to you. It can help you find your eagle. No matter it is thousands of miles away, as long as you blow this eagle flute, it can find you."
Guo Song was moved and took out the wild boar tooth wrist-removing knife and put it in Li Ji's hand, "I hunted this wild boar tooth with my own hands. I hope it brings you luck."
After saying that, Guo Song got on his horse and ran for a few steps. He turned back to look at Li Jidao and said: "You are the best scout in the Tang Dynasty, and there is no one else. It is a great honor for me, Guo Song, to fight alongside you!"
He clamped the war horse between his legs, and the war horse spread its hooves and galloped toward the east. Above his head, an eagle followed him and slowly flew eastward.