Ren Ning pointed toward the southwest, "Zhui Feng, let's get to work!"
Bah!
The black horse roared loudly, raised its front hooves with gleaming eyes, and ran like an arrow in the direction pointed by its master.
Didn't run long.
Two figures appeared in the distance on the grassland in front of them, riding towards the south.
Ren Ning took out the telescope and took a look, and was immediately overjoyed.
The man in charge turned out to be Youmeng of the Lanmang tribe.
Soon Ren Ning's brows wrinkled again.
Youmeng and another man looked hurriedly, and they were carrying spears, bows and arrows, and a machete.
Carrying scimitars and bows and arrows is the tradition of Xiliang herdsmen, just like the literati young men in the Yunchui Imperial Capital carrying folding fans when they have nothing to do, which means nothing.
However, spears with poles that are purely offensive are rare.
drive!
Ren Ning chased after him.
Compared to Zhuifeng, Youmeng's two horses were a bit miserable in terms of speed and endurance.
The distance between the two sides shortened sharply.
Without much effort, they heard the rapid sound of horse hooves behind them, and couldn't help but look back warily.
"Brother Ning?" Youmeng asked from a distance, surprised and happy.
He still hesitated.
At this time, except for the bow on his body, Ren Ning was not dressed as an ordinary soldier in the fortress. Not to mention the shabby and inhuman appearance when the two met before.
Youmeng didn't dare to confirm for a while.
Ha ha!
Ren Ning waved his hand cheerfully.
Zhui Feng instantly rushed to the vicinity of the two of them before slowing down.
"It's me! Long time no see. Are the others in Lan Mang okay?"
"What a good horse." You Meng did not answer Ren Ning's question immediately, but stared at Ren Ning as he stepped off the energetic black horse, drooling with envy.
After a while, he forced himself to move his eyes away from Zhui Feng.
"Lan Mang is just like that." He hesitated before saying, "Brother Ning, why are you..."
When the two separated in the Kailun tribe three months ago, Ren Ning said that it would be best not to see each other in this life. However, less than half a year later, the two met again on the grassland.
Ren Ning patted Zhui Feng and said half-seriously: "I got a good horse, so I took it out for a ride. I never thought I would meet you again. What a fate."
"Where are you going?" he asked again.
cough!
You Meng was noncommittal, coughed and raised his hand to point south.
"We are going to help the Kailun tribe in front!"
help?
Ren Ning was stunned.
The Kailun tribe has 30,000 people. What help do they need from the two of them?
Help with meals?
He looked thoughtfully at the weapons on Youmeng and Meng, "What happened to Kailun?"
well!
Youmeng let out a long sigh.
"A group of horse thieves who don't know where they came from have targeted Kailun and have been pestering him."
"Yesterday Kailun sent out a request for help from the surrounding tribes. Although we, Lan Mang, are small and weak, we would not be able to survive without their help last time. The Yunchui people often say that a drop of water's kindness should be repaid by a spring. So. …”
He said no more.
Horse thief?
Ren Ning was stunned and couldn't help but look up to the south.
Because he comes out to spy on the grassland from time to time, he understands the taboos and fears of some herdsmen on the grassland.
For example, fear of wolves, wildfires and heavy snow;
Another example is the fear of patronage and plunder by horse thieves!
The first three can be said to be natural disasters. When they happen to happen, you usually have nothing to say and can only resign yourself to fate.
The latter one was entirely a man-made disaster. Compared with the horse thieves who frequently kill people and set fires, the Xiliang court that buys and sells by force can actually be said to be very gentle to the herdsmen.
"Dare to target the Kailun tribe with more than 30,000 people. This group of horse thieves must be quite large. They should be very famous." Ren Ning looked at Youmeng, "What are they called?"
"I don't know." Youmeng shook his head blankly.
"According to the news from Kailun, this group of horse thieves doesn't seem to have many people, just over a hundred riders. But they are all very agile..."
He lowered his head and checked his mount. Seeing that the horse had recovered somewhat, he drove it forward.
After hesitating for a moment, Youmeng continued.
"We small and medium-sized tribes have lived on this grassland for several lifetimes, and we have never heard of such a bold group of horse thieves. Most likely they came from other places."
The companion next to him nodded in agreement.
"Only more than a hundred riders," Ren Ning pondered, "With the population of the Kailun tribe, do we still need to ask for help from outside?"
He was in disbelief.
Not to mention other things, the three patriarchs of Kailun alone raised more than 3,000 horses. Although those horses are either old or young. But three thousand against one hundred, quantity alone can overwhelm quality, and blocking can also block the opponent.
Youmeng was as confused as he was.
"We don't know the specific situation very well."
"All I know is that when the gang of horse thieves came, they set fire to kill people. When the Kailunji Hao clan members tried to surround them, these bastards disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye."
"It's been like this for several days. It's hard to guard against. It is said that dozens of Kailun have been injured and some cattle and sheep pens have been burned. But the horse thieves have not caught any of them."
Ren Ning looked strange.
This is a bit like their scout style.
Although horse thieves also like to kill people and set fires, most of them value loyalty and prestige.
Unless you hate your enemy to the core, you generally won't pester a tribe like this.
After all, some of their members might still be from these tribes.
"The horse thief didn't ask for anything?" Ren Ning asked again.
His predecessor once dressed as a caravan guard and followed the caravan to the depths of the grassland. In the process of doing business, I also encountered horse thieves.
Generally speaking, if the caravan feels that it is not strong enough, most of them can leave safely after handing over some goods and money as required by the horse thieves.
"I mentioned it." Youmeng sneered, "In addition to asking for a large amount of money and horses, the horse thieves also want to hand over hundreds of young girls."
Ren Ning was stunned.
This is non-negotiable.
If the horse thieves are asking for money and livestock, this still needs to be discussed.
If you are really at your wits' end, the worst possible option is to spend money to buy peace of mind. As long as there are people, money and livestock can be earned and maintained later.
However, if the horse thief wants the women and children of the clan, then there is no need to discuss it.
Any ethnic group that cannot even keep its own wife and daughter has no need to exist anymore.
"Let's go, there is strength in numbers." Ren Ning followed, "Let's go take a look together."
In addition to the Kailun tribe, which has always been close to Yun Chui, the three chiefs have also helped him. If there is a chance, Ren Ning would naturally not mind helping.
"That's great." You and Meng were overjoyed.
The three of them said a few more words and ran south together.
Zhui Feng snorted and ran ahead easily. From time to time, it would turn around and glance disdainfully at the two sweaty fellows behind it, and hiss a few times.
You guys, you are running so slowly, are you a horse or a snail?
The three of them saw it clearly and couldn't help laughing or crying.
Ren Ning patted the horse's neck.
"It's called Zhui Feng, and it will take a while to reach adulthood. It's still a little naughty now. You Meng, don't worry about it."
"What do you care about?" Youmeng laughed, "A thousand-mile horse is hard to find, so it naturally deserves to be proud of it."
After saying that, he winked at Ren Ning and said, "Brother Ning, when it becomes a year, bring it over and let us walk around with it."
Then breed the mare...
Youmeng didn't say it clearly, but Ren Ning understood it clearly.
He smiled and was not prepared to hide it, "I may have to leave here next year, and I guess it will be too late."
"That's such a pity." Youmeng was stunned and wisely asked no more questions.
Stopping and going, more than half an hour passed.
A large stretch of continuous tents appeared in front of them.
The Kailun tribe finally arrived.
