The Tang army marched east through thick snow and crossed Guazhou without hindrance, and arrived at Suzhou in the early morning of the same day, with a large river blocking the way.

Cao Wannian's horse whip pointed to the big river: "That is the dark water, the water is very deep, the legend leads to the Yin Cao Difu and got its name, here is the most upstream, in fact, it is not so deep, this river finally flows into Daze." ”

Guo Song smiled and nodded, "Three Thousand Quicksand River, is that what it refers to?" ”

"I don't know about this, but it's already getting dark, do you want to camp on the spot?"

Guo Song nodded, and then ordered: "Everyone rest in place!" ”

The Tang soldiers dismounted from their horses, they all rode horses, and the camels were used to provide provisions.

The soldiers smashed open the river ice to get water, and then surrounded the stone to burn the fire, boil milk tea, roast frozen meat, and drink a large cup of hot milk tea in such a cold weather, which is indeed a pleasure.

Cao Wannian sat down on a piece of sheepskin, he took out the drawing board and continued to draw, he was not painting landscapes, but drawing maps, he wanted to draw this route, which could become the secret passage from Dunhuang to Ganzhou in the future.

Guo Song chewed dry cakes and asked Cao Wannian with a smile: "Cao Gongzi was born in Chang'an, right?" ”

"How did Guo Yuanjun know?" Cao Wannian stopped his brush and said with some surprise,

"Guess from your name."

"That's right, I was born in Wannian County, Chang'an, so I was named Wannian, I also have an uncle who is an official in Chang'an, and the official is the young eunuch of Dushui, and this time I went to Chang'an to defect to him."

"Cao Gongzi is in Chang'an this time just to study?" Guo Song asked again.

"Almost!"

Cao Wannian showed a faint smile on his face, "Shazhou is too small, no one can teach me, I can only go to Chang'an to learn from Confucianism, I have too many questions about studying, I can't wait to go to Chang'an tomorrow to ask for advice." ”

At this time, Guo Song saw the old servant Cao Zhong looking around, looking a little nervous, so he asked with a smile: "Has Old Master Cao found the trace of the wolf?" ”

Cao Zhong said in a low voice: "I heard the wolf cry last night, which means that the wolf is around us, and a team like ours must be targeted by them." ”

"Even if you attack, it should be at night! It's dawn now. ”

"Hard to say! Now it's cold and it's hard to forage for food, and the wolves are hungry, so I'm afraid they won't be able to survive. ”

As soon as Cao Zhong's words fell, Guo Song's Fire Dragon King suddenly screamed, Guo Song's face changed slightly, and he immediately shouted: "Everyone pick up weapons!" ”

He then blew the bone flute, and in a moment the fierce man flew from a distance, and with a sudden roar, it rushed towards the woods at the foot of the mountain.

The soldiers, who were familiar with the warning, did not bother to pack their belongings, and turned on their horses, and more than a hundred camels also stood up uneasily.

"Everyone retreat along the river!"

Guo Song shouted to Liang Wu again: "Liang Wu, you are responsible for protecting Gongzi Cao and Lao Zhang!" ”

"Obey!"

Liang Wu stepped forward and said, "Please come with me!" ”

Cao Wannian hurriedly put away the drawing board and got on the horse, Cao Zhong also got on the horse, and the two followed Liang Wu to retreat north first.

At this time, the wolves finally appeared, and they slowly walked out of the woods two miles away, numbering hundreds, staring at Tang Jun and his party with fierce eyes.

Guo Song shouted to Li Ji: "You lead fifty brothers to intercept the wolves and cover the retreat of the other brothers, and I am responsible for killing the wolf king!" ”

"Obey the order!"

Li Ji immediately ordered: "From the first fire to the fifth fire, kill the wolf with me!" ”

Fifty Tang soldiers were eager to try, and in their opinion, this was another kind of hunting, only a little more dangerous.

At this time, a huge wolf raised its head and let out a long howl, and hundreds of wolves rushed out of the forest and pounced on the Tang army two miles away.

Guo Song's eyes were fixed on the giant wolf who was looking up to the sky, he had killed the wolf in Yinshan, and knew that the characteristics of the wolf king were the largest and strongest physique, and he had a leadership temperament, which was manifested in giving orders, only the wolf king could order other wolves, so the giant wolf who looked up to the sky just now must be the wolf king.

The wolf king was extremely cunning, and did not follow the other wolves to pounce on the Tang army, but stood on a high place and stared at Guo Song coldly.

Two miles away, the wolves arrived in an instant, Guo Song opened his bow and took the lead in shooting an arrow, and a black wolf in front was shot through the wolf's head by an arrow, turned over a few fights, and was killed on the spot.

The soldiers of the Tang Army released arrows one after another, and the wolves dodged left and right, but more than 30 were still shot.

Li Ji shouted, "Run, assassinate them!" ”

The Tang soldiers ran quickly, they brandished their spears and ran towards the wolves, and the horses under their crotches also felt the courage of their masters, they were no longer afraid, and ran bravely.

The Tang soldiers and the wolves met instantly, and one by one the wild wolves roared and jumped up and pounced on the soldiers, but they were mercilessly pierced by the steel spears of the Tang soldiers.

Guo Song brandished his halberd and slashed over more than a dozen wild wolves in a row, mostly cutting them into two pieces, and the air was filled with the smell of wolf blood.

At this time, he heard a Tang soldier yelling, and when he turned around, he saw a wild wolf pounce on the shoulder of a Tang soldier, stretching his neck and desperately biting his neck.

It was too late to draw a bow and arrows, so Guo Song casually pulled out a dagger and waved it away.

I saw a flash of cold light, the dagger pierced the wolf's head, the wolf finally fell to the ground, the Tang soldiers hated it very much, and with a wave of their hand, the wolf was split into two pieces.

Guo Song's martial arts were vividly exerted at this time, stabbing with a long halberd and slashing with a black sword at near, more than a hundred wild wolves around him had been killed, and together with the power of other Tang troops, more than half of the wild wolves had been killed.

At this time, the wolf king suddenly looked up to the sky again, and the wolves turned around and ran wildly into the forest.

The Tang soldiers were about to catch up, and Guo Song shouted: "Stop pursuing!" ”

The soldiers stopped the pursuit, the wolves quickly fled and disappeared, Guo Song had to sigh secretly, the wolf king was too cunning, it would not give humans a chance to kill it.

None of the fifty soldiers were killed, and at this time, the military doctor Xue Changshou galloped over on horseback and shouted, "Who was bitten or scratched by a wolf?" Hands up! ”

Seven or eight soldiers raised their hands, and Xue Changshou shouted, "You guys hurry up and follow me!" ”

He galloped away with seven or eight wounded soldiers, who were puzzled.

Guo Song nodded and smiled: "I can hesitate to order, but the words of the military doctor cannot be disobeyed, the wolf carries wolf venom, and the wound must be cleaned immediately with mare's milk wine, and then the medicine will be applied, otherwise it will be infected." ”

"Changshi, will the wolves still come?" The soldiers asked.

Guo Song looked at the fierce son who flew away, and said with a faint smile: "It shouldn't be, you look at the fierce son, it tracks the wolves and flies farther and farther!" ”

.........

Solving the harassment of the wolves, the team continued to march eastward along the established route, and on the first day of the second month, the Tang army, which had gone through a lot of hardships, saw a military city from afar, that is, Qilianshu, the westernmost military fort of the Tang army, from which they left the territory controlled by the Tang Dynasty more than a year ago.

This also means that they have finally arrived in Ganzhou, and the soldiers can't help but cheer from the bottom of their hearts.

The envoy of the garrison was called Wu Qu, and when he heard that the Eagle Strike Army that had gone to the Western Regions more than a year ago had finally returned, he personally came out to greet the Tang Army.

There were 300 people when they went, but only 75 people came back, which is really sad, all of them are dark and thin, and you can imagine the hardships of their journey to the west.

"See Guo Changshi!" Wu did kneel down on one knee and salute.

Guo Song hurriedly helped him up, "General Wu is exempt!" ”

"It's really gratifying to see Guo Changshi come back safely! I believe that Zhao Dudu is also happy. ”

Guo Song smiled faintly and said, "We are all a little tired and want to take a break." ”

"Hurry up and march into the city!"

The military city covers an area of about five acres, with 300 soldiers stationed, Guo Song and his entourage entered the fort city, the soldiers lined up to salute them, Wu was anxious to let people pack up the camp tent for the eagle strike soldiers to rest.

Guo Song walked up to the city and looked at the west from afar, and he faintly saw a few small black spots in the snow.

"That's the outpost of the Shatuo Army!"

Wu Qu said in a low voice on the side: "It is estimated that they have discovered Changshi and his party, so they came to check!" ”

"This time, thanks to a good guide, we took a cold road and were not discovered by enemy scouts."

Speaking of this, Guo Song asked again: "Is the heavy snow in the south and the road closure serious?" ”

Wu Qu nodded, "Last year, there was little snow, but this year's snowfall is extremely strong, the snow is up to six feet thick, making it difficult for people to walk an inch, we have cut off contact with Zhangye City, but fortunately, the supplies are sufficient, as long as the Shatuo people do not attack the fort, it is not a big problem." ”

"Wouldn't it be another twenty days?" Guo Song said with some anxiety.

Wu Qu was a little surprised in his heart, how could Guo Changshi know the time when the ice and snow melted in the Hexi Corridor, it was indeed the beginning of snow melting in late February.

"There's no way but to wait patiently."

Wu Qu said with a smile: "In fact, not only is it difficult for Guo Changshi to go east, but even His Royal Highness King Zhaowang is trapped in Zhangye City, and he can't go back to Chang'an." ”

Guo Song was stunned, what was Li Si doing in Zhangye City?

At this time, he saw a small black dot flying from the distant sky, Guo Song couldn't help laughing, he beckoned, and the fierce son circled twice above his head, and landed on his shoulder with agility, and the steel-like claws were firmly buckled into his armor.

In Wu Qu's stunned, Guo Song turned around and walked down the city wall.