The morning sun rises from the mountains in the east, illuminating the shining Dalumo River and the continuous and wide riverside campsites. The brutal and fierce fighting two days ago, the dark red solidified ice blood, was covered by the newly fallen white snow.
A curl of smoke rises from the camp that has changed its owner. There are busy hunters, tribesmen and captives everywhere. A large herd of deer is surrounding the camp. They lowered their heads docilely and pushed through the thick snow, quietly eating the wet and cold moss, as if nothing had happened.
"Zu! My son-in-law, the weather is getting colder and colder, and the wind and snow are getting more and more. Calculating the days now, a real heavy snowstorm will not be too far away! We are not going to spend the winter here, and we have to bring all the After the harvest, they returned to the warm mountain camps further south... At the moment, the hunters are packing up supplies, dismantling their tents, and driving the dogs, deer, tents and sleds to take all the captives southward..."
Hunting captain Mu Quan frowned slightly, looked at Zuvalo with a solemn expression, and asked in a deep voice.
"Witness the ancestors! Do you really want to go north with your men at this time? Before the big blizzard comes, go to the snowfields and coasts occupied by the deer to look for big ships on the seaside? There are so many captives and deer herds, and the tribal hunters in the camp are very A little nervous..."
"God bless you! Mu, you know. Mu Tu came back from the north with the hunters who were on guard to capture prisoners. They defeated a group of deer hunters who came to support them, and captured another twenty or thirty escapees and prisoners. .I asked carefully and found that among the captured deer hunters, some were from tribes around the Xiaolutai River... He had seen the big boats by the river with his own eyes, and had traded that kind of belt with a group of 'big boat tribes' by the river. Wine with a seal!…”
Speaking of this, the exploration captain Zuvalo's eyes flashed, and he had a strong premonition in his heart that kept rolling and surging.
Ever since he led the exploration fleet and left the kingdom's Trout Town port more than two years ago, he had never seen real paper. The coastal tribes, whether they are the west coast tribes on the east side of the sea, the far north coast tribes, or the Kamchatka tribes on the west side of the sea, do not have the technology to make paper, nor the habit of using paper to write and draw... Fishing in the coastal tribes Boats have always been small boats, kayaks, and rafts, and I have never seen any big boats. As for the taste, clarity, and pottery jar of the wine, they don’t look like they were produced by the northern tribes...
When paper, big ships and drinks are placed in front of us, three special clues are clearly revealed: the so-called "big ship tribe" comes from a large tribe that is more distant and more powerful than the tribes in the snow field! This is a rare exposure opportunity! ...and what made him even more determined to go was...
"The sun of the Lord God guides us! What's more, the prisoner also said that in the 'Big Ship Tribe', he saw a rideable, four-legged muli, a four-legged horse! ... So, Mu, I must go To the north, go to the Xiaolutai River in the north and take a look! I want to take a good look at those tribes, what they are like, and see if I can get some horses back..."
"Blessed by the ancestors and the sacred mountain! Do you want to exchange for some rideable horses?..."
Hearing this, the hunting captain Mu Quan pulled his hair and took a deep breath. He knew that the Kaibu leader was obsessed with "four-legged riding beasts". From the very beginning when the two met, the other party had been talking about it non-stop and asking about it. Now that we have a clue... Mu Quan nodded helplessly and said in a deep voice.
"Ancestor, the sacred mountain guides us! Since you insist on going, then go ahead! However, I can't squeeze out too many people for you... I can only give you a team of sled hunters..."
"A party of sled hunters? Twenty?"
Exploration Captain Zuvalo blinked. None of the kingdom's warriors or sailors know how to drive reindeer sleighs, and their legs are very short in the snowy fields. In this season when snow covers the calves, everyone must be carried by a mountain hunter's sled so that everyone can move quickly. Twenty sled hunters can probably lead twenty kingdom warriors. The Little Deer Moss River in the north is about two hundred miles away from the camp of the Big Deer Moss River. It is possible to encounter a small tribe of the Deer Tribe... Zuwaro pondered for a while and whispered.
"Mm, give me another team of hunters, forty sled hunters! I will bring forty more sea warriors... In this way, no matter what small tribe we encounter, we can fight a dozen... And if we find the 'Big Ship Tribe', in addition to In addition to exchanging horses, I will give you half of the other drinks in exchange!..."
"Gudu!... Witness the ancestors! Give me half of the wine you exchanged for?..."
Hearing such a promise, hunting captain Mu Quan swallowed his saliva. He thought hard for a while and whispered.
"Zu, my son-in-law, I can only add half a team of sleighs to you, and let the fastest Mtu lead the team, a total of thirty people! As for the drinks in exchange... I want them all!"
".Okay! The Lord God witnesses! All the drinks are yours!..."
Exploration captain Zuvalo gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.
"Mmm, when will your large force start heading south?"
"Ancestor, tomorrow Mulu will lead people to drive the deer herd and go south first. As for the manpower of the brigade, especially the captured women and children, they will also go south within three days... You'd better come back within five days and follow The last two teams of hunters left in the camp will work together to support the main force... Of course, we should go as fast as possible, because the real ice and snow storm in winter is coming!..."
"Okay! God bless you! I will be back within five days!..."
"The ancestors and Renlu protect you!..."
The two happily reached an agreement. Early the next morning, thirty mountain hunters and thirty kingdom warriors drove reindeer and husky sleighs along the coast extending to the northeast into the scattered wind and snow.
The snow is thick, the wind and snow are not heavy, and there are shining seas of ice and white snowfields along the way. Zuvallo stabbed the ice with his spear, reaching forearm depth without touching the water. Seeing such a freeze, he felt certain in his heart. No matter what kind of big ship it is, it is impossible to make it in this season...
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!..."
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!..."
Three teams of hunters and warriors, carrying enough bows, axes, spears and arrows, and wrapped in thick leather armor and fur, silently drove sleds northward. Everyone skied for two days and traveled more than 200 miles, looking for traces of the ship. Zuvalo stared at the bright white sea of ice. From morning to night, he felt dizzy and everything was silvery white when he closed his eyes.
In the early morning of the third day, several dog sleds led the hunters from the mountains at the front to explore the road. Captain Mutu suddenly stopped, his eyes widened, and he looked toward the distant sky.
"Wu Hai, is that a ship?..."
"Ah? Let's take a look... Hey! What a ship! A pointed ship... You can see it from so far away, I guess it's a big ship!..."
"Quick! Let Zu come over!..."
The two greeted Zuvalo excitedly, and Zuvalo also leaned forward excitedly. Then, he stood on tiptoe and tried his best to look out for a while, but he only saw a silvery white and snowy white, and no ship could be seen coming at all!
"Lord God, witness! Where is the ship? Where is it?"
"On the beach! On the edge of a small river...that little black spot!..."
"Yes! It's that inconspicuous little spot right on the edge of the river and the ice sea! Look, there seems to be a small camp further east..."
The three teams of hunters and warriors all gathered together and looked at the horizon of the coast. Soon, the hunters of the Kamchatka tribe. The Unanga sailors who were born in the Far North all exclaimed excitedly. Most of the warriors from the kingdom looked confused. Except for a canine hunter who also cheered, the others saw nothing.
"The Lord God witnesses! Shi Jian, did you see it?"
"The Lord God witnessed it! Captain, I didn't see it..."
"Xiong Da! Have you seen the ship?"
"Ah? Head, I saw it! There is a ship with a pointed head!"
"Well"
Zuvaro pursed his lips silently, and then realized: the eyesight of these extreme northern tribes is really better than that of the kingdom's warriors, not just one or two, but generally better.
In fact, this is exactly the case. Due to different living environments, there are innate differences among races in various regions. The natural eyesight of polar tribes and plateau tribes is generally better than that of tribes in the tropics and plains. If they had a tribal tradition of hunting and migrating, it would be easy for them to produce elite marksmen.
The descendants of Guakili dogs who hunt in the high wilderness are almost the best shooters in Central America. In the polar snowfields, the survey and herding tribes are almost the best archers in all of North and Northeast Asia. Whether they are the Mountain Tribe, the Deer Tribe or the Tent Tribe, they are generally better at shooting than the Mongolian tribes, and they are especially good at foot shooting!
The Chukchi people in the tent, with their amazing shooting skills, made the Cossack cavalry with muskets very afraid. The only ones who can compete with them are the Ewen and Sauron people who are also located on the far north coast. Those Sauron soldiers who left their names for future generations...
"The Lord God guides us! Go a little further, and walk further!..."
The sled moved forward again, and the small, distant dots in the distance gradually turned into large, not-so-distant dots. Unanga warrior Xiong Da could clearly count the five masts on the big ship. And in a small camp in a low-lying area near the big ship, the faintly flickering light of the campfire was also revealed to everyone's eyes!
"O Lord God! What are you talking about, Xiong Da? There are five masts?! A big ship with five masts?...Hurry up and go forward!..."
"Ouch! Ouch!..."
Zuvalo's excited shouts, accompanied by the barking of the dogs, dissipated in the thick snow. In the camp in the distance, the monk soldier Watanabe Masumi suddenly tilted his ears and opened his eyes wide. He stood up from the campfire where he was cooking venison and millet porridge, and looked at the snow at the southwest end.
"O Great Bodhisattva Hachiman! What is that? What is that?!... Murakami! Murakami! Look to the southwest!..."
"Ah? Lord Watanabe? Southwest?...Ah! Buddha!..."
Murakami Jidong, the ship's captain, stared with wide eyes as he watched the sleds of reindeer and wolfdogs appear on the vast snowfield. Those sleds were so far away and so small, like ants crawling on the snowfield. But when he counted a little, there were so many sleds, a full thirty! He just looked at it for a while, and the terrible memories of the painful experience two months ago and the attack by the tribesmen once again enveloped his heart...
"Hurry! Hurry! Put on your trousers, shoulder your spear, and raise your bamboo bow! Suichiro, take two warriors on your horse, and bring an extra sword! ... Merciful Buddha, don't be a cannibal. Yi, don’t be hostile Lu Yi! May the gods and Buddhas in the heavens protect us!..."
