"Back! Back! The horses that ran away are back! And they brought a group of... mules with them?"
As soon as Zhu Xiang finished saying that Arima was stupid, he heard shouting.
The horse is back? Bringing another group of mules? Where did the mules come from? Brought by the wind?
Many people came out of the tent to see a horse running in front, followed by a group of... mules? horse?
"One, two, three...thirty-three mules?" The resident took a look through the binoculars.
The horse ran back, but the group of things that followed stopped a few hundred steps away and stopped moving forward. Thirty-three heads.
"Donkey, eh! Hey hey hey hey!" Zhu Wentian said, he knew the Mongolian wild donkey.
"Donkey? Does a donkey look like this?" This is the first time the resident has seen him.
"They are donkeys. They look like mules. Some people call them wild horses. In fact, they are really donkeys. They are bigger than ordinary donkeys."
The guide stood over and confirmed the animal's name.
"How can they live in the desert?" Zhu Xi believed that there should not be any animals in the desert.
"When you return to His Highness King Qin, the wild donkeys will find a place with water. This group is probably being chased by sandstorms from other locations. If you ignore them, they will leave or die of thirst on the road.
They can withstand cold and heat better than horses, and they can go without water for a long time, even ten and a half months without any problem.
It's not easy to catch them alive because they run fast, but you can surround them on horseback and gradually narrow the circle. "
Another local guide explained the situation of wild ass, apparently he had caught one before.
Zhu Xi looked at the wild donkeys that were not approaching: "In the desert, they are almost catching up with camels. They are so big that they can tolerate not drinking water and are better than horses. Is our horse hooked up with them?"
The guide looked puzzled. They couldn't guess what the horse was doing by running out and bringing back a group of donkeys.
"How about...sending them some food?" Zhu Biao thought that the wild donkeys were probably hungry or thirsty.
"Your Highness, they will run away when people pass by." the guide reminded.
Li Chang came up with an idea: "Put the water basin and grass in another direction, leave people alone, and see if they pass by."
"Try it. After all, if you see it in the desert, it's still alive. If you can help, please help." Zhu Biao ordered.
Someone brought hay and a basin to the side of the wild donkeys. The wild donkeys moved a little, but when they saw that they were not heading towards them, they continued to stay where they were.
The ten wooden basins were placed separately on the ground, and water was poured from the water bags. Each basin was half filled, and the grass was scattered and placed not far from the basins before the people came back.
The horse that had just returned ran out again, walked in front of the wild donkeys, and then ran back to the camp. The wild donkeys did not follow.
After a while, a wild ass ran to the basin next to it, looked around, drank water, and started howling.
The other wild donkeys ran over with a splash, squeezing their heads and drinking water.
Ten and a half basins of water are enough for a human being to drink, but for a wild donkey, it is just to quench the thirst and is not enough at all.
The wild donkeys drank two mouthfuls each, and when the ten basins were empty, they lowered their heads to eat hay again. The little grass was obviously not enough.
"That's it for today. I'll see if they've left when I'm on my way tomorrow." Zhu Biao decided to put down his mind, drink some water and eat some grass, hoping he could last a few days.
…
The next day, everyone packed up the camp, dumped the sand out of the sandbags, and stacked the sacks together.
The horses and camels were set up with frames, and the team set off.
"Look, the wild donkeys are from yesterday. They are in front." After walking for a while, Zhu Xi saw a group of wild donkeys in front of him.
The team continued walking, and the wild donkeys followed them all the way, neither getting closer nor farther away.
"Can they pull a cart?" Zhu Xi looked at the wild donkeys and seemed to feel uncomfortable unless they put something on them.
The captain opened his mouth, but finally said nothing. He had a make-up lesson with Hanhan last night and learned about wild donkeys.
The guide next to him said: "Your Highness, King Qin, I heard that some people have caught wild donkeys alive and made wild donkeys work. I have only eaten donkey meat."
The guide next to him said: "Your Highness, King Qin, I heard that some people have caught wild donkeys alive and made them work. I have only eaten donkey meat."
"It's bigger than a normal donkey and has a lot of strength. It's great for catching and raising. It's great for plowing or transporting goods!"
Zhu Xi looked at his team, muttered and shook his head. If the horses in the team were sent out to surround and then lasso the donkeys, they would be more tired.
What's more, if the wild donkey refuses to accept the trap, it's not worth wasting time with them.
When it was getting dark, everyone stopped to set up camp and gave the horses some water and grass, but not the camels, so that they could hold on.
They also gave the wild donkeys the same things as yesterday. As soon as the messenger left, the donkeys ran over to drink water and eat grass.
"How much water is left in the team?" Zhu Biao asked, looking at the camels that had no water to drink.
"Your Highness, it's okay to hold on for another three days. There will be a small oasis ahead tomorrow. Go there to refill the water." The person from the Prince's Mansion replied.
The guide and the general knew where the water was as they walked over.
"Try to save as much as possible." When Zhu Biao heard that the water reserve was only for three days, there was a hint of sadness in his brows.
Others rest as usual, but now they can't take a bath because there is no river around.
It was light again, the procession was marching, and the donkeys appeared again, still keeping their distance.
When it was noon, the young general and others looked at the place in front of them and were stunned.
"Where is the oasis? There is an oasis here! There is also the skeleton of a dead camel, why is it missing?"
The young general grumbled and ran forward, and the others followed him, where they spread out instead of digging in the sand with their hands.
The two guides looked at each other: "That's it!"
Zhu Biao frowned: "Was it buried by the sandstorm?"
Zhu Ping agreed: "I guess, where is the next water source?"
"According to the distance, it takes seven days to walk, so we need to use two days of water for seven days."
The guide took off his sunglasses, with a dead look in his eyes.
Another guide suggested: "You can reduce the water given to the horses so that there will be no shortage of people. Hundreds of horses may die, and there will still be horse meat to eat."
When he said this, the expression on his face was painful, there was no other way, horses were very precious.
"Since there has been an oasis, use the Luoyang shovel to dig it out. There are so many of us! Dig out the sand."
Zhu Fang didn't want to kill the horse. The team had tools, including a way to get a little water from the wet sand.
Xu Da's army survived like this, and his own team can do the same.
"Let's make sure it's at this location. The wild donkeys probably looked for water here and were buried. They had to find a new water source before they met us."
Zhu Biao was going to do what his second brother said. If there is an oasis, it must be underground water, and it cannot be caused by rain.
As long as the location is determined and everyone starts digging, the sandstorm can bury the sand as thickly as possible.
The most troublesome thing is that the surrounding sand flows while digging. It needs to expand the scope and everyone spreads the sand outside.
The guide also ran over and looked carefully at the surrounding terrain. Once the sandstorm passed by, many low places were filled in.
Oasis are also located in low-lying areas, where groundwater can emerge, or where water from the surrounding sand dunes accumulates.
"Your Highness, why not open the box! We have something."
The chief thought it was delaying things, and the key point was that there was no water, which would have a huge impact on morale.
Therefore, he proposed to open the box and let Xiaqiu Village solve the problem.
(End of chapter)
