Song Che led the caravan into a hilly area, first distanced himself from the brown bear, and asked the large group to hide in the ravine. Then he took ten female swordsmen and began to lay a trap——
He found a vertical mountain wall, dug a large hole about a few feet above the ground, put some dried meat and raisins mixed with "smothered beef" in the hole, then set a trap at the entrance of the hole and covered it with sand, while he Holding the other end of the hemp rope, he squatted not far away and waited quietly for the brown bear to take the bait.
Although bears are smart, they are still far behind Two-legged beasts.
"Boss, why did you dig a hole in the wall? This is the first time I have seen such a trap." Nangong Yue asked in a low voice from the side.
Song Che said with a smile: "The bear is about ten feet tall. If it wants to eat food, it must stick its head in. In this way, it will not notice us. And if it wants to reach the food in the cave, it must Stand with two feet on the ground, just wait for it to step into the trap, and we can restrain it."
"What if it doesn't catch the trap?" Nangong Yue asked again.
If he doesn't get the trap... then Song Che has no choice. It's his first time hunting a brown bear, so he can't be too confident.
"Actually, there is no need to kill it. Let it get hurt and suffer a little, and then you will retreat."
"Shh...it's coming."
The brown bear was still looking for the scent as before, trotting all the way into the hilly area.
Everyone hiding behind the hill did not dare to breathe.
The brown bear searched for the scent and approached the trap step by step. When it came to the cave, it looked left and right, and waited for nearly half an hour. After confirming that there was no other movement, it stood up, with its forelimbs stretched against the wall and its hind legs on the ground. He stuck his head into the hole and ate the dried meat and honey.
"pull!"
Song Che yanked the rope, and the trap quickly tightened, binding the brown bear's feet!
"Hoo!"
The brown bear fell to the ground and tried to stand up, but it could not open its legs. It could not find its center of gravity and could only use its waist and claws to roll on the ground like a loach.
Song Che plus four or five female relatives may not be enough for him!
"Tie the rope to the mound and cover it with asbestos cloth!" Song Che shouted.
The other end of the rope was tied to a mound, and the brown bear could no longer pull it. Song Che, Nangong Yue and others opened the asbestos cloth to cover the brown bear!
The brown bear kept rolling and wrapped itself up. It kept tearing the asbestos with its sharp claws and roared at Song Che and others with its teeth bared.
One drop of the 'Bottle of Mist' can make people lose consciousness. In order to catch this brown bear, Song Che poured more than half of the bottle. It can still struggle for so long, which shows how ferocious it is.
"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Song Che fired four shots at the brown bear's head. Although they all hit, he still didn't kill it!
Nangong Yue, Lu Jingxiang and other female swordsmen rushed forward and stabbed the brown bear randomly, with white knives going in and red knives coming out!
Just like that, after being stabbed dozens of times, the brown bear finally let out a whimper and completely fell into a pool of blood.
"Boss, you are right, this guy cannot be subdued by just one or two people." Nangong Yue and the female swordsmen were all shocked by the bear's vitality.
"Bear meat is a good thing. Don't waste it. Drag it away. Let's have an 'all-bear barbecue feast' tonight!"
…
A family of forty people ate two kilograms of meat in one meal and only lost eighty kilograms. This brown bear weighs at least 500 kilograms, enough to last seven or eight days.
If you can't finish it, you will pickle it with salt, dry it into dried meat and carry it with you as a toothpaste to satisfy your craving.
On the third day of October, the eighth day after crossing the desert, I finally saw the graceful figure of Qilian Mountain. In early winter, the flowers and grass wither and turn yellow, and the majestic rivers and mountains become noble and aloof as all things wither.
"It's so cold." Liu Xiang'er breathed into her hands. Before it was night, she was already blushing from the cold.
Song Che prepared clothes to keep out the cold, but he far underestimated the power of nature. Even if he was wrapped in a thick cotton jacket, he could not resist the cold air.
"There are traces of people walking now, indicating that there should be a village nearby. Let's hurry up. When we get to the village, we can buy some fur goods from local hunters to keep out the cold."
Most of the residents living under the mountains make a living by fishing and hunting, and you can definitely buy good leather goods from them.
In the season when everything is hiding, there is no scenery to speak of along the way. Everyone has their heads lowered, taking one step after another, as if it will never end, and the atmosphere is somewhat dull.
"Boom!"
Suddenly there was a loud noise, and even the camels and horses raised their front hooves.
“A bolt from the blue, is it going to be hail?”
"No, this is not thunder, but... dynamite!"
Song Che was very proficient in explosive explosions. He could tell the difference by hearing it, and this explosion was so powerful that even the earth trembled.
Explosions of this level are either used for military purposes, or... for mining and road construction.
Song Che took out his telescope and followed the sound of the explosion. As expected, he saw thick smoke rising from the foot of the mountain not far away.
Where there are mountains, there must be mines. But if you open a mine in an uninhabited area, you have to investigate whether it is state-owned or private?
In the Liang Dynasty, unless a businessman found a relationship to contract the entire mountain, no private mining was allowed. High gunpowder alone had to go through cumbersome government approvals. If not, he would be imprisoned at best, or his head would be on the ground at worst.
This place already belongs to the border of Tubo. Will the Tibetans mine here? Will the Tubo people mine? Do the Tibetans use explosives to mine mines?
But what is certain is that those who come to the uninhabited land to mine and make gold are definitely not good people.
"Just pretend it didn't happen. Let's get out of here quickly." Song Che called the caravan to circle outside the foothills.
"But brother-in-law, it's rare to see someone, why don't we go say hello or ask him for directions." Liu Xiang'er said.
Song Che shook his head, "In a no-man's land with no village in front and no shop behind, there are no legal restrictions. Everything you do is taken for granted. The most untrustworthy people are strangers."
Sudden!
"Da da da..." The sound of horse hooves.
Look at the foot of the smoke-filled mountain, five or six fast horses suddenly sprang out. They carried bows and arrows on their backs and machetes on their waists, and rushed straight towards the caravan.
The female swordsmen wanted to draw their swords, but Song Che stopped them and held their ground for now to find out the reality and purpose of the attacker.
Soon, five fast horses blocked the way of the caravan. Judging from the clothes they wore, they must be Tibetan people. Their skin was rough and dark, and they were fierce and evil. They were definitely not good people.
They stopped the caravan and chattered in unintelligible dialect, but they were definitely not saying hello.
At this time, Tang Hulu, who was proficient in many languages, came into play. He touched his chest and saluted the group, and then communicated with them in dialect. He was smiling at the beginning, but gradually his smile solidified, and he shook his head while retreating to the caravan.
"Boss Tang, please translate what he said." Song Che asked.
Tang Hulu retreated behind Song Che and then murmured: "They asked us where we came from, and I told them that we were Daliang merchants. When they asked us why we appeared here, I told him that we passed here on business from the Western Regions. They said again-"
"You pick the key points!"
"They are robbers...they want to buy money for the road!"
