Upon hearing this, Tallig knew that the officer in front of him was somewhat suspicious of his motives. He immediately said with a blushing face: "Reporting to the officer, we are not greedy for life and fear of death, but we do not want to be dogs for the Japanese, nor do we want to live on the prairie in the future. Our compatriots pointed their spines at us and called us cowards, but we Mongolians are also upright men and want to protect our grasslands and our cattle and sheep."
Zhou Wen saw that Talig was irritated by his question, and he was a little agitated, but he was unmoved and continued to ask: "Li Shouxin has been your commander for many years, and he is also a Mongolian, so you are not afraid of being scolded for betraying your compatriots. ?"
"Bah! What kind of Mongolian is he? After he killed Gada Merlin with his own hands, the herdsmen on the prairie no longer recognized him as a fellow tribesman." Talig spat on the ground rudely and said loudly.
Of course Zhou Wen had heard of Gada Merlin's name. Later generations even made movies about him. He knew that he was a hero in the hearts of the Mongolian people. There were still people on the prairie who compiled his deeds into songs and sung them.
But he didn't know that Gada Merlin had died in Li Shouxin's hands.
At this time, under Delengtai's anxious eyes, Talig realized that he had behaved a little rudely in front of his superiors. He quickly slowed down his voice and said: "As for following Li Shouxin, sir, don't worry, in the prairie. If someone is bewitched by our brothers, we can find him even if he runs to the edge of the earth. This is what we are good at as scouts."
By this time, Zhou Wen basically believed in Tallig's motives. He was a sensible Mongolian man. It would be easier to deal with. Li Shouxin must not let him go.
Moreover, he also learned from Talig that today Li Shouxin led the team for dozens of miles and fought a battle before. Neither the man nor the horse got any rest. No matter how good their horses were, they would still run away. It's not a long way to go. As long as you pick some good horses and ride on them, you should be able to catch up in a short time.
He glanced left and right, and asked Ergazi and Li Hu next to him to bring their two groups of players. He also gave Talig a Japanese war horse and asked him to lead the way. A dozen people followed the horse and left. .
At this time, the mercenary group was taking in prisoners and cleaning the battlefield. Zhou Wen did not alert anyone else, so he only asked Delengtai, who looked disappointed, to inform Miaohua.
Tallig didn't know the abilities of the young commander next to him and his subordinates. He just murmured in his heart that this commander was a bit too much. There were about forty people at Li Shouxin's side. Even with the brothers he sent, the number was Don't you have an advantage?
But at this time, he didn't dare to talk to this officer anymore. His rudeness just now might have left a bad impression on the officer. Now that he was worried about the disadvantage in numbers, he was afraid that others would really think that he was not good enough. People are greedy for life and afraid of death.
Since you, the officials, are not afraid, then we prairie men have no reason to be afraid. At worst, we will just die here.
He calmed down immediately and carefully observed the marks left by his brothers along the way.
The scouts at this time did not have any communication tools, so they used some marks on the prairie that only they could see to guide the direction and communicate with each other.
Thanks to the speed of the little devil's excellent war horses, a dozen people ran on the grassland for half an hour before they met several scouts sent by Talig.
"Squad leader, Li Shouxin led people to Heixiazitan. It seems that their horses are no longer good. They need to replenish water and rest."
When these scouts saw Tallig coming with so many people, they knew that they had something to do with defecting to the national army. When reporting to Tallig, several of them secretly looked at Zhou Wen and others with careful eyes.
Zhou Wen had no time to appease these scouts now. After listening to Tallig's explanation, he learned that Heixiazitan is a small lake a few miles away from here. Li Shouxin and the others ran in a hurry and did not have time to bring too many water bags on the road. They must look for water sources first. Prepare water for people and horses.
Zhou Wen was relieved when he heard that he could catch up with him only a few miles away. He knew that the horses running long distances would not have a short time to drink water and rest. In addition, Li Shouxin didn't know that someone was following him, so the time was completely different. There's enough time.
The key now is not to alert the enemy. Once these people run wild without caring about their horsepower, they will not be able to catch up in a short time.
A dozen people rode horses towards Heixiazitan for a while. Zhou Wen ordered everyone to dismount and handed the horses to Tallig's men to guard. He led the people to run over, just because he was afraid that Li Shouxin would hear the sound of horse hooves.
You must know that starting from the end of the Qing Dynasty, the situation in the grassland has been more complicated. In addition, it is far away from the direct control of the government. The armed forces of the Mongolian princes and nobles, various horse bandits, warlords and various unknown forces will give the grassland herdsmen Bringing harm, grassland people basically have a strong sense of crisis and vigilance. Many people have developed a good ear and can hear the sound of horse hooves several miles away as long as they are close to the ground.
Tallig thought he was in good health, but after following this officer and running with him and more than a dozen people for a while, he began to pant and his legs and feet became sore.
It’s not that Talige is physically weak, but that no matter how strong a person is, he can’t bear to run more than 800 meters at a sprint speed, not to mention that there is still more than a mile to go. Tallig feels that his heart is about to jump from his throat. out.
Only then did he realize that the men led by this young officer were different. They were all strong and agile, just like a dozen cheetahs galloping on the grassland. Their physical strength was surprisingly good, and they could run for almost a mile. Their speed didn't slow down at all.
But Tallig couldn't keep up. He was exhausted and gritted his teeth and persisted. Now he felt that he might fall to the ground in the next second and never get up again.
At this moment, a pair of strong hands stretched out, put Talig's arm on his shoulders, and carried him to continue running.
Only then did Tallig see clearly that the person who came to help him was actually the young captain.
While he was amazed at the powerful power in this officer's body, he felt ashamed and moved at the same time.
In his impression, an officer at the level of a colonel usually treats ordinary soldiers with dignity and self-respect. Who the hell would talk to a big-headed soldier, let alone carry you when you can't run without giving him any advice? A few slaps from you are already extremely merciful.
With help from Zhou Wen, Talig finally regained his breath. He was a little embarrassed to let his parents hold him back. Just when he was about to speak, he found that he was approaching Heixiazi Beach. Unknowingly, he was more than two miles away. It's done in the blink of an eye, not much slower than riding a horse.
At this time, Zhou Wen put Talig down and asked softly: "Are you familiar with the terrain around this small lake?"
"familiar."
"Okay, then you draw the terrain on the ground, mainly to identify the highlands closer to the lake."
