On the morning of the 22nd of July, in the endless wasteland, there was a sudden sound of horses' hoofs, and I saw a team of more than 300 horsemen, riding on the half-man-deep grassland, and unlike ordinary troops, except for a few adults, the rest of the cavalry were thirteen or fourteen years old.

In addition to the "Sun and Moon Flag", their standard-bearers also carried a flag painted with "Flying Tiger", which is the flag of the Pyongyang Invalids Academy.

The Invalids School is a special school, he is different from ordinary schools, this school only accepts the children of military households, according to the plan of the General's Palace, those children of military families can apply for the Invalids School after receiving 4-5 years of enlightenment education in thousands of households, where they receive primary military education, its role is basically equal to the army primary school in Prussia in another world, and the outstanding students, after graduation, can be used as low-level sergeants, and finally will go to Dalian to receive further military education, Graduating students can become junior officers.

This system of military education may not be the best, but it is certain that the officers who come out here must be the most loyal. And for Zhu Guoqiang, this is the most important thing.

A month ago, they left the school and headed north, crossing the Tumen River, to begin their adventure in this wild land.

The so-called expedition is very simple, in addition to drawing a map, it is to search and clear - find the wild Jurchen tribe and clear it.

But they traveled all the way north, and there was not a single house to be seen in the vast northern land. The Jurchen tribe of savages who once lived has disappeared, leaving only a few dilapidated wooden houses. Just yesterday, they saw a burned and looted tribe of savage Jurchens, and they searched the ruins around them, but they found nothing.

"Maybe Dolgon has already been surrendered."

Song Yu's tone was a little regretful, although a month's march in the field had already exhausted him and his classmates, and sometimes, the taste of hunger during the forced march was also uncomfortable. But deep down, the thirst for battle drove him to keep going, searching for their target, the Savage Jurchens, finding them, and then killing them!

"Damn Dolgon, you didn't leave one for Lao Tzu!"

Song Yu heard Sun Fatzi complaining there again.

"That's right, you say, if we return in the air this time, it will be a shame, I heard that they have wiped out a tribe in Gaizhou, more than 100 people."

"It's one hundred and sixty-five people, all of them are in the newspapers, and they are very proud......

Listening to the children's words, Li Fugui had a smile on his face, in these children, he saw the future, no matter what the future, they would no longer kneel to survive. When faced with a threat, they will take the initiative to attack, just like now, what is the purpose of their expedition to the north? It was to clear the northern mountains and forests of the threat from the barbarians.

However, what is surprising is that they have not encountered any wild people along the way - Dolgon has long swept away the wild Jurchens on both sides of the Heilongjiang River, and now there are only a few fish that have slipped through the net, and it is not easy to find them

However, as a military instructor in the academy, Li Fugui knew that the significance of this long-distance march for the students was not how many wild Jurchens they defeated or captured, but that they could adapt to the long-distance march, master the skills of marching, and be able to grit their teeth and persevere when they were tired, which was its significance. Of course, drawing maps and determining the territory of the north were also the purpose of their march.

"Students should pay attention, don't let your guard down just because you complain."

Sometimes Li Fugui would ride his horse next to the team and say this while running.

"You have to remember that on the battlefield, letting your guard down is a dead end."

The weather was gloomy and the temperature was neither high nor low, but the fear was that it could rain at any time, which would make the journey even more difficult. They also encountered several torrential rains along the way, and because of this, out of concern for the weather, Li Fugui ordered.

"Song Yu, you lead people forward to find a campsite, limited to one hour."

"It's the instructor!"

After accepting the order, Song Yu led ten classmates all the way north to search for a suitable campsite, and about half an hour later, when he found a suitable campsite, he unexpectedly saw several shacks in the grass.

"Look, what's that?"

Hurriedly taking out the binoculars, Song Yu saw the shacks located by the river, and there was a circle of wooden walls outside the shacks.

"The wooden walls seem to be made of a fortress."

Handing the telescope to Chen Jia, Song Yu picked up the musket, unlike the seven-coin flintlock pistol used at home, the musket used in the school was the three-coin flintlock pistol, although it had less recoil, it could still penetrate heavy armor when using a cylindrical single-headed bullet.

"Look, those people look a little weird, and they look like they have muskets."

Chen Jia's unexpected discovery made Song Yu nervous.

The savages actually had muskets.

"Chen Jia, you go back with the thin man and tell the instructor the news, and we'll keep an eye on them here first."

After Chen Jia and the others left, Song Yu and the others jumped off their horses with muskets in their hands, and observed the movement behind the wooden wall at the edge of the forest.

At this time, Song Yu and the others didn't know what this encounter meant. And for the people in the shack, he is now faced with a choice - whether to continue the exploration, or return to Yakutsk.

"There must be no return to Yakutsk, otherwise we will become a joke on everyone's lips."

Boyarkov said loudly.

He had been working in Yakutsk as an officer in charge of records and communications, and three months earlier, on the orders of the governor of Yakutsk, he had set out with 133 men. His purpose was not to find mineral deposits, but to find land that could be cultivated. However, instead of a pre-planned route, they set out along the Aldan, a tributary of the Lena River, and then explored aimlessly along several other Siberian rivers: everywhere was uninhabited.

"But, Poyarkov, if we continue south, we don't know at all what danger there will be, and perhaps, we will run into the Jurchens."

Starovoev looked at Boyarkov and cautiously reminded.

Jurchens!

Last year, outside Yakutsk, they spotted a number of fleeing Daurs who had fled to the north to escape the Jurchens.

"The Jurchens are just a group of Tatars, one Cossack can defeat at least ten Tatars. This matter, so decided, Starovoev, I will leave you some men, you stay in our camp, spend the winter on the spot as a backup, and then I will lead the rest of the men to continue the march south, believe me, we will definitely be able to find land to cultivate, didn't those Daur people say? Where they have left, they can be cultivated, and if we find land to cultivate, then all of us will be commended by the Governor-General, and the cause of Russia will take root in the East for a long time. ”

After Poyarkov made this decision, he walked out of the humble shack, unaware that his every move was watched by several pairs of eyes in the forest.

But despite this, perhaps out of the hunter's sensitivity, he still sensed a hint of danger, and he looked up at the forest beyond the wooden walls.

Nothing seems to be different.

"Could it be anyone?"

How is that possible? In the past few days, they have explored the surrounding area with a radius of hundreds of versts, not to mention people, not even traces of human life.

It's a barren land with no one inhabited. It is precisely because of this that they let their guard down and have no sense of danger at all.

There are quite a few people swimming in the river, bathing, and there are many people chatting somewhere.

One thing is for sure, it's very safe here. Because there is no one.

But why do you feel this way in your heart?

Boyarkov's mind was full of doubts, and for a moment he thought that maybe some beast was watching them nearby.

Could it be a tiger?