Judging from the armor of this group of Tibetan knights, they should be the scouts from the previous cavalry army. Tuoba Qimei whispered: "Don't act rashly, their arrow pots are filled with dynasties."
The Tubo scouts ran to the position where Jiang Shuo and others had just left the road, and looked around on horseback.
Jiang Shuo and the other three were marching along the route of the Tubo cavalry. There were numerous horse hoof prints on the ground, and the Tubo scouts could not see anything strange. They stopped their horses for a moment, then turned around and galloped back.
Dugu Xiang said curiously: "Brother Tuoba, your ears are so good, how come you knew that the Tibetan cavalry was coming before Brother Shuo noticed it."
Tuoba Qimei explained with a smile: "That's not what I heard. This is the practice of the Tibetan cavalry. The cavalry is patrolled ten miles in front and three miles on the left and right to prevent sneak attacks."
Jiang Shuo sighed and said: "It seems that the Tubo people are also very knowledgeable in the art of war. It will be very difficult for the Tang Dynasty to completely defeat the Tubo."
The three of them waited for another moment before returning to the road and continuing to walk westward. They just kept the horse's speed down and did not dare to go any faster.
Tuoba Qimei looked up at the sky and said, "There shouldn't be any more patrols during the day. Let's hide the horses at night and go explore the camp again."
The three of them were walking on the road on the south bank of the West Sea. On the right side was the endless sea water, and on the left side were the vast mountains. The mountains and rivers were very close to each other. They were several miles narrow and no more than thirty miles wide. If they wanted to hide, there were many mountains on the left. There is no need to worry about the place.
I just had to be a little more careful when moving forward. After all, the sky was getting dark and it was time for the Tibetan army to set up camp. However, after walking for a long time, it was already midnight and there was still no sign of a camp ahead.
Tuoba Qimei frowned on the horse, looking very confused.
Jiang Shuo asked in confusion: "Brother Tuoba, is there something wrong?"
Tuoba Qimei said: "When a large cavalry marches, it is impossible for every horse to be a thousand-mile horse. There is also time to set up camp and cook. They can only travel a hundred miles in one day. This Tibetan cavalry set off in the middle of the night. Until now, They are still running recklessly, and they have traveled more than two hundred miles without stopping. I don't know what they are so anxious about."
Just as he was talking, Jiang Shuo suddenly said: "Right in front!"
This time it was Tuoba's turn to be confused. To him, the front was just a dark patch of darkness. However, seeing that Jiang Shuo had already dismounted, he and Dugu Xiang also dismounted.
Jiang Shuo said a few words to Hay Ding Huang in horse language. The yellow horse snorted, as if to show that he understood, and turned to the peach blossom horse and green horse to neigh softly. The three horses turned towards the mountain forest on the left. Ran away.
Jiang Shuo explained to Tuoba Qimei: "I asked the yellow horse to take the two horses and hide in the forest together, so that we don't have to go far by ourselves. Then I can call them back with just a whistle.
A day ago, Tuoba Qimei would have just scoffed at Jiang Shuo's statement, but after the magical experience last night and this morning, he now firmly believes in Jiang Shuo's words. Jiang Shuo picked up his hand again and led him to fly towards the west. Dugu Xiang unfolded his body skills and moved with Jiang Shuo, and his feet were like flying without falling behind at all. Only then did Tuoba Qimei know This little girl also possesses unique skills, and her Qinggong skills are not inferior to Jiang Shuo's.
After walking forward for a few miles, Tuoba Qimei saw clearly that there was a mountain ridge lying in front of him, leaving only a gap a hundred steps wide on the seaside for passage. The three of them climbed up the mountain ridge and saw that there was a small piece of land below. The flat river beach in Qiuhehuo is covered with small black gravels. It is a good place to rest your horse on the river beach.
At this moment, the Tubo people are "cooking rice". What's strange is that they don't raise a fire, let alone build a stove or set up an iron wok. I don't know how they cook.
Considering the haste of the Tubo cavalry's departure, tents, food and other baggage could not be transported with the army. There were no tents, and there was no hot food. I saw them sitting together, taking off a leather bag they carried with them from their belts, taking out some powder, putting it into a wooden bowl and pinching it. m.
Dugu Xiang couldn't see clearly from a distance and asked, "What are they doing? Are they eating mud?"
Tuoba Qimei chuckled and said: "This is not soil. There is a special kind of wheat here called 'highland barley'. The Tibetan people dried the highland barley in the sun, fried it and ground it finely, and it became 'tsampa'. Tsampa can be stored for a long time and can be used as military rations. Each Tibetan soldier carries a leather bag called 'Tanggu', which contains tsampa. He also carries a wooden bowl, pours a little butter into it, and kneads the tsampa into The dough is ready to eat.”
Jiang Shuo nodded and said: "The Tubo army can move quickly, and this convenient military ration also plays a major role."
Dugu Xiang said: "I don't know if it tastes good or not. When we grab the tongue later, we will grab some and try it."
At this moment, the sky was getting darker and darker. The sun was setting in the west and the new moon was rising in the east. Thousands of Tibetan soldiers were eating tsampa in silence in the dark without making a sound. The scene was very strange.
After half an hour of this, I suddenly heard rustling among the Tibetan army, as if someone was whispering orders. Wherever the military order was passed, the Tibetan warriors stood up suddenly, arranged their clothes and armor, and got back on their horses.
This move surprised the three of them. Tuoba Qimei asked in surprise: "Are they still going at night?"
When the Tubo knights got on and off their horses, not a single horse clattered. Jiang Shuo's sharp eyes saw that all the horses had coins in their mouths. Jiang Shuo said: "Everyone is silent and the horses all have coins in their mouths. Are they going to launch a sneak attack?" "
Tuoba Qimei said in confusion: "The Western Sea is in the hinterland of Tubo. There are no enemies. Who are they attacking at night?"
Jiang Shuo suddenly became excited and said: "Wang Zhongsigong is like a god with his soldiers. Could it be that he found a trail into Tubo from the north?"
Tuoba Qimei shook his head and expressed disbelief. He made a living by gathering medicine and hunting in his hometown of Tuyuhun in the West Sea. He had been to all the ditches and bumps here, but he had never heard of a road connecting the Qilian Mountains in the north of the West Sea with the Tang Dynasty.
While they were still making wild guesses, the Tubo cavalry had already set off. They moved forward in silence, their horses' hooves rustling on the coarse black gravel, really like a ghost army.
Jiang Shuo said: "No matter what, let's catch up later!"
The three of them climbed down the mountain ridge, and Jiang Shuo let out a clear whistle. This sound was like an eagle or an owl, but it was not the language of a horse. This was the code he had agreed with Long Xiangma, but it was not the language of a horse. There are many birds of prey on the plateau, and such a call would not attract any attention. Come to the attention of the Tibetan people.
Not long after, Huang Caoyuding came back with two horses. It was very puzzled, rubbed its head against Jiang Shuo's body, and asked Jiang Shuo, and Jiang Shuo said a few words in horse language, Tell Lao Ma that he must continue to pursue.
Hay-Top Yellow is a dragon horse that travels thousands of miles a day. Today's journey is not enough for it, and it is very excited when it hears that it has to catch up. Although the other two horses were tired, they did not wear vests most of the time, which was much easier than the Tibetan cavalry's horses, and they also chirped to show that they could run again.
Tuoba Qimei said: "I'll find three branches and make them into a mouth bit, so that the horse won't make any noise."
Jiang Shuo said, "You only need one, not three. I'll just tell the horses."
He told the three horses in horse language to move forward silently. The peach blossom horse and the green horse are originally military horses and know the meaning of holding medals. They can silence even if there is no stick in their mouths. The dragon horse is extremely smart and has feelings for Jiang Shuo. Du Hou, since Jiang Shuo told him to be quiet, he would never make a sound.
After Tuoba Qimei saw Jiang Shuo's horse talk, the three horses actually nodded to Jiang Shuo and no longer made any sound. She couldn't help but secretly marveled, but asked: "Then why do you need a branch?"
Jiang Shuo glanced sideways at Dugu Xiang and said, "Xiang'er talks a lot more than a horse. I'm afraid she won't be able to keep her mouth shut, so I'll find a stick to hold her in."
Dugu Xiang was half angry and half smiling, and punched Jiang Shuo with his fist, and the two of them laughed and made a mess.
Tuoba Qimei naturally knew that Jiang Shuo was joking. She shook her head helplessly and thought that although the two of them had high martial arts skills, they were still children after all. However, she also thought that these two and a half-year-old children had such chivalrous hearts and could follow them thousands of miles without realizing the pain. And secretly admire,
At this time, a lot of time had passed since the Tibetan archers and cavalry set out, and the three of them were on the road again. This time they knew that the Tibetan army was not far ahead, so they did not dare to let their horses gallop, so they could only rein in the horses frequently and let them go. The slow movement made the dragon and horse very dissatisfied, but it remembered not to make a sound and could only snort to show its dissatisfaction.
The Tubo army marched another eighty miles and reached the western edge of the West Sea.
Tuoba Qimei asked: "Are they going to spend the night in Fuqi City?"
Dugu Xiang was told by Jiang Shuo that she talked too much, so she deliberately stopped talking. She spread her hands in front of Tuoba Qimei, shook her head, and said: Where is Fuqi City?
Tuoba Qimei said: "Fuqi City is located thirteen miles west of the West Sea, on the bank of the Wuhaqu River. Speaking of which, Fuqi City was originally the capital of Tuyuhun. It was the headquarters of the Northern Dynasty Wei general who conquered the west and the founding father of Xihai County, Fulian. In the second year of Xinghe's reign in the Wei Dynasty, Fu Lianchou's son Kua Lu established himself as the Khan of Tuyuhun and established his capital in Fuqi City. However, the people of Tuyuhun were nomadic and did not live in the city even though they had city walls. Now that Tuyuhun has been annexed by Tubo, it is only It’s just an empty city wall.”
Jiang Shuo said: "It seems that the Tibetan general leading the army is very careful to bring the army to the city before resting."
Tuoba Qimei thought to herself, why is he so careful? Could it be that Tang troops really fell from the sky? However, he once again misguessed the movements of the Tibetan people.
Wuhaqu is the largest tributary of the West Sea. It comes from the Qilian Mountains and flows directly into the West Sea. The horseshoe prints follow the Wuhaqu River instead of going westward, but go eastward. When they reach the mouth of the Wuhaqu River, they suddenly stop and disappear.
The river on the plateau was not deep in summer, so the three of them rode their horses through Wuhaqu, and sure enough they saw horse hoof marks again.
Tuoba Qimei said: "What a wonder, what a wonder..."
Dugu Xiang still didn't speak. He fingered hoof prints with one hand and scratched his head with the other hand, asking Tuoba where Qimei Qizai was. Her look was very funny. Jiang Shuo laughed softly and said, "Okay, Xiang'er, I don't know." That's all you say, you'd better speak, otherwise it will make us laugh, and it will spread further."
Dugu Xiang intervened and ignored him.
Tuoba Qimei said: "I think the Tubo people are heading towards Dandao."
At this time, Dugu Xiang could no longer stand still and said: "Why are we going to Dan Island, and they are also going to Dan Island, as if they are leading the way for us."
Tuoba Qimei said: "Yes, do you think it's strange?"
Jiang Shuo said: "We just follow them to see what weird things they do. Anyway, our horses are fast and we will retreat immediately when the situation is not right."
Tuoba Qimei nodded and said: "However, there is Egg Island a few miles ahead, and it is easy to be spotted on horseback. We should leave the three horses here to drink water and eat grass, and go on foot to explore."
Some people died, but not completely...
