From Qingcheng to Datong, it takes six or seven days by horseback.
As soon as the sun went down, it got cold.
At night, Huang Hong and his men sat around the campfire, warming themselves and eating.
"Huangtou, you should go to bed early. We can handle the night watch."
The speaker was Wang Ji, a member of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, and one of the first people to follow Huang Hong to the grassland.
Huang Hong put down the big teapot in his hand, exhaled a breath of hot air, and said: "Ten people take turns to watch the night, two people at a time, and I will be on duty for the rest of the night."
After saying that, he stood up and got into the tent next to the campfire.
There is only one tent, but it can accommodate seven or eight people to rest inside.
Wang Ji turned to look at the other people beside the bonfire and said, "Let's go rest after eating. We have to go on the road tomorrow."
The journey to Datong is very hard, especially in this season when the weather is not yet completely warm. If you want to sleep in the wild, you must have a tent to protect yourself from the wind and cold.
People who had finished eating went into the tent one by one.
Wang Ji and another companion stayed by the bonfire to watch the night, throwing a few dry branches into the bonfire from time to time to ensure that the fire would not go out.
One night passed, the bonfire was not extinguished overnight, and the people in the tent came out one after another.
"Everyone sit down and have something to eat. After eating, hurry up and hit the road." Huang Hong greeted his subordinates who came out of the tent.
It was almost dawn when he was on duty, so he prepared breakfast in advance.
There was a pot hanging above the bonfire, with broth boiling in it.
The meat is bacon prepared by Wu Jingyan. Cut it into slices and small pieces with a knife and throw it into the pot to cook. It is warm and can replenish your physical strength.
The staple food is dry pancakes, which are hard enough to bite the teeth but not easy to break. They can be stored for a long time and are very suitable as rations for people on the go.
Although the dry pancakes are hard, they will soften after being soaked in broth for a while. Although they are too soft and not very tasty, they can satisfy hunger, and the flavor of the broth covers them, making them much better than what ordinary people eat.
After breakfast, Huang Hong and his party continued on the road.
Not long after the earth has been civilized, there is a layer of green on the grassland, but it is only a layer of short weeds. Unlike in summer, when the weeds reach up to the knees, once there is someone hiding in it, it is difficult to find it until you are close.
Three days passed, and the road was very safe, and no sentries sent by Su Nang were encountered.
It would take at most two or three days to reach Datong, but Huang Hong was not in a hurry.
In the afternoon, when passing by a bush, Huang Hong and his people stayed in the forest to rest.
The trees in the forest are all very sparse and short-lived, and there are many bushes with young buds sprouting out.
There was no shortage of dry branches in the bushes, which saved them the time of collecting dry branches from around to make a fire.
The fire was raised, a pot was placed on top, and boiling water was boiled in it.
The water boiled, and Huang Hong used his own big tea vat to scoop out half the tea vat of hot water.
Others followed suit, each using their own teapot to scoop hot water out of it to drink.
Drinking raw water is not allowed inside the Tiger Flag, especially in the wild. The water you drink must be boiled hot water or cool boiled water.
"We will be able to reach Datong in two days." Huang Hong put the tea jar to his mouth and took a sip. After taking it away, he continued, "If the information Wu Jingyan got is correct, we can go down at any time. Encountered a Mongolian sentry."
"Don't worry Huangtou, as long as we don't encounter a large group of Mongolian cavalry, an ordinary small group of Mongolian cavalry can't stop us." Wang Jiyu said.
Huang Hong said: "You just need to know what's going on, but if you encounter Mongolian sentries, you don't need to get entangled with them. Don't forget that our goal is to return to Lingqiu."
"Don't worry Huangtou, as long as the Mongolian sentries don't tangle with us, we will ignore them." A person sitting on Huang Hong's right said.
Huang Hong nodded, and then said: "Have a good rest today and be energetic."
After driving for several days in a row, everyone seemed a little tired even though they were riding horses. Finally, they could rest for a few more hours. As long as there was nothing wrong, everyone would get into the tent to rest.
With most of the afternoon and one night of rest, the fatigue of Huang Hong and his party was gone.
After everyone finished breakfast, they began to organize their breastplates and weapons. The lead and gunpowder for handguns were placed within easy reach.
Although they have not encountered Mongolian sentries so far, they all know in their hearts that as long as the sentries sent by Su Guang are near the border fortress of Datong, they will definitely encounter these Mongolian sentries when they return to Datong.
Another day passed, and they still didn't meet the Mongolian sentries sent by Su Nang, but everyone did not relax their vigilance because of this.
After daybreak, the group continued on their way towards Xinpingbao.
One person and two horses saved a lot of time along the way.
Mongolian horses have good endurance, but they cannot run all the time. They usually have to rest for a while after running a distance. If the horse is not allowed to rest for a long time, it will easily break the horse.
During the break, Wang Ji came to Huang Hong and said, "Huangtou, if you hurry up and hurry up, you will have a chance to have dinner at Xinpingbao before dark today."
Huang Hong nodded, then looked at the others and said, "You all heard it! Hurry up and spend the night in Xinpingbao tonight."
There are shops opened by Tiger Flag in Xinpingbao. As long as they arrive at Xinpingbao, they no longer have to sleep outdoors.
No one wants to sleep in the open in the wild when they can lie down on a bed and cover themselves with a quilt.
The ground is very cold at this time of year. Even if there is a fire next to the tent, it is uncomfortable to sleep in. I often wake up from the cold at night.
After staying in the grassland for so long, everyone knew how to take care of the war horses. They fed the war horses with the black beans and rice bran that had been prepared, and also gave the war horses some water.
After doing all this, Huang Hong and his party got back on the road.
When he was less than twenty miles away from Xinping Fort, Wang Ji suddenly pointed in the distance and shouted: "Huangtou, there is someone over there, could it be a Mongolian sentry?"
In the direction his finger pointed, there were also a dozen riding horses wandering on the grassland.
Huang Hong glanced at it, then withdrew his gaze and said: "Check each of your guns. As long as they don't come over, don't worry about them. Once they get close, give me a sharp greeting."
"yes."
The people around shouted in unison.
The handguns were always attached to their waists. Now they took them out, filled them with lead, and tamped them down with rods.
During this process, the horses under them continued to run, not stopping as they loaded their muskets with lead and gunpowder.
The Mongolian sentries in the distance also saw Huang Hong and others.
The clothing of Huang Hong and others is very different from that of the Mongolians. The Mongolians can tell the identity of the Han people at a glance.
