The road to Mutuo had already been explored, Zhao Junsheng led the army to advance quickly, and arrived at Mutuo two days later, and the lieutenant led a small number of soldiers to go out more than ten miles to meet him.

When the vanguard of the two lines of soldiers and horses saw each other, they all shouted joyfully almost at the same time, and the soldiers rode on horseback and waved their hands desperately, shouting: "We are here, here!" ”

The flag-bearers waved their flags vigorously and cheered loudly.

Thousands of miles away from their homeland, reuniting with their comrades and friends, this situation, the irrepressible excitement made the officers and soldiers of the two armies unable to help but burst into tears.

When Zhao Junsheng rode over on a horse, the lieutenant and the generals under his command dismounted and stepped forward quickly, and bowed down on one knee together: "The ministers and captains greet Your Majesty, Your Majesty is blessed and safe!" ”

Zhao Junsheng reined in his horse, and his mood was inevitably excited, he and the generals who accompanied the army jumped off the horse, quickly stepped forward to help the captain, and shouted to the generals and colonels behind him: "All the soldiers are flat!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junsheng looked at the lieutenant and the generals, and laughed: "It's all tanned!" ”

The crowd laughed together.

Zhao Junsheng asked again: "From Huaishuo Town, until now, how has it been?" How many of the 20,000 horses are left? ”

The lieutenant replied: "Back to Your Majesty, the casualties of the brothers are not large, that is, the Rouran people have been playing hide and seek with us, and we are not familiar with the terrain, and we are often played around, but fortunately, the ministers and others acted cautiously, and were not caught by the Rouran people. So far, our army has lost more than 2,000 people, annihilated more than 7,000 enemies, captured more than 2,000 people, and returned to four tribes with a total of more than 13,000 people! ”

Zhao Junsheng nodded and said: "I heard that it is Princess Rouran Tuzhen who stays in the Khan Court, this woman is not simple, you and Bai Jinguang can join forces to force her far away to the extreme north, it is not easy!" This also shows that the strength of Rouran has been seriously and greatly weakened, and she has no capital to fight with us! By the way, do you still have a connection with Bai Jinguang? ”

The lieutenant replied: "Yes, two days ago he also sent someone to send me a message saying that he had led his troops to search for him along the Yusini water, and that the Rouran and Gaoche people should not be able to escape far, and they would not be able to survive without a water source, and at most they should only be able to move around the water!" ”

Zhao Junsheng frowned and said: "Bai Jinguang likes to take risks, so I'm worried that he will fall into Princess Tuzhen's tricks alone!" ”

Wei Jun thought for a while and said, "Since Your Majesty is worried about what will happen to him, do you want to send a fast horse to inform him?" The messenger has been there twice, and the journey is familiar! ”

Zhao Junsheng thought about it for a moment, "Okay, send a messenger to convey my will to him, and after receiving the order, you can lead the army back south!" ”

Then the group talked and laughed and returned to Muto's camp.

In the camp, there were already men killing cattle and sheep, making fires to make rice, and buckets of mare's milk wine were brought out by the soldiers, and before the meal was served, each soldier and general officer poured a bowl of mare's milk wine, and the depression and fatigue of the past few days were swept away.

In the evening, the generals held a grand celebration ceremony to celebrate the successful meeting of the two armies and the fruitful results of the Northern Expedition.

Under the order of the lieutenant, he was sent out to search for the Rouran people, and after receiving the order, all the troops withdrew to Mutuo one after another.

The army rested in Mutuo for a day, but Zhao Junsheng felt that he couldn't stay any longer, he didn't worry about Bai Jinguang, this guy has 20,000 horses under his command, if the loss lies in the great water of Sini, and Xue Andu and his 20,000 soldiers and horses will end up in the same fate, even if this northern expedition is won, it will be a tragic victory.

"Someone, go find the captain!"

Soon, the lieutenant walked into the big tent quickly, and clasped his fists to salute: "The minister greets Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Junsheng got up and said, "I am still a little worried about Bai Jinguang's department, and I decided to lead the army to Yusini Dashui to respond. There are still some captives and obedient Rouran tribes here, and if there is no chaos, you can lead your troops to stay as reinforcements! ”

Wei said: "Since Your Majesty is worried about Bai Jinguang, and the minister is willing to lead the army to meet him in Yusini Dashui, why let Your Majesty go in person, not to mention that the soldiers and horses who came with Your Majesty are already very tired, and the soldiers also need to rest and recover their spirits!" ”

Dongfang Chen stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the minister has a compromise solution, why not let General Chang lead his troops to stay, and Li Bao will lead the Long Wei Army and General Wei to lead the headquarters of 5,000 men and horses to escort His Majesty north?" There are not many troops on this trip, but the march can be carried out quickly, and it has also fulfilled the loyalty and courage of the general! ”

Zhao Junsheng thought about it, felt feasible, and asked Wei Wei: "What do you think?" ”

The lieutenant bowed and clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty is determined to go north, and the minister must lead his troops to defend to the death and never give up!" ”

"Okay, this matter is decided, pass the order, let the soldiers who set off get ready, and go north early tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!"

At dawn the next day, Wei led 5,000 men from the headquarters and Li Bao with 2,000 dragon guards to escort Zhao Junsheng north.

The number of troops is small, and they are all cavalry, there is no burden, and they have been walking north along the Zhiju River, and the marching speed is very fast.

Although there are only 7,000 men and horses, they are not afraid of encountering the enemy's brigade of soldiers and horses, even if the enemy has an army of 20,000 or 30,000, Zhao Junsheng and others are not afraid, they will fight if they have the opportunity, and leave if they don't have the opportunity, the enemy may not be able to catch up if they want to, not to mention that Princess Tuzhen is afraid that she will not be able to muster up so many troops at this time, otherwise she will not be chased by Bai Jinguang all the way to flee to the far north.

The army marched for three days, and when it was camping that night, the lieutenant came to report: "Your Majesty, from tomorrow our army will turn around!" ”

"Divert? Isn't it along the Zhiju River all the way to the north? ”

"Your Majesty, it's not! Zhiju Water is not a straight line, but meandering, the general direction is to the northeast, if you walk along Zhiju Water, you have to walk a few more days! More than 30 years ago, Hu Cong, who had served as an envoy of Wei, went to Yusini Dashui to meet Datan Khan, and he also changed his route here, and there were several lakes and two small rivers on the way to replenish drinking water! ”

Zhao Junsheng nodded after listening: "Okay, since you go to the Great Water, I don't have to worry about getting lost, and the route of the march is up to you!" ”

"Obey orders!"

During the march, Zhao Junsheng asked the relevant officials from time to time whether the direction of the march was accurate, the guide car was dragged by two horses, and there were special officials to take charge and keep an eye on it, once the direction of the march deviated, it was immediately reported for correction.

On the way to the great water of Usini, the army traveled for eight days, passing four lakes and crossing two small rivers on foot.

On the morning of the ninth day, the army was led by Zhao Junsheng and Wei to the side of the hill, and at a glance, a few miles ahead was an endless sea, and the cool sea breeze was coming.

Everyone's eyes widened, watching large flocks of seabirds fly over the sea from time to time, and their eyes swept over the vast and boundless sea, as if the whole person was relaxed and open-minded.

Wei said: "Your Majesty, this is Yu Si Ni Da Shui, the Beihai that the ancients said in ancient books!" ”

Zhao Junsheng didn't make a sound, he watched quietly, and everyone quietly looked at this lake as wide as the sea.

Li Song asked, "General Wei, is this the end of the great water in the heavens?" ”

Wei Jun shook his head: "I don't know, no one has been there, maybe the Rouran people have been, the Gaoche people have lived here for generations, they may have been, but no one knows what the situation is at the end of the Yu Si Ni water!" ”

Zhao Junsheng thought about it and instructed Li Bao: "Go and call Kuhehan!" ”

It didn't take long for Hu Hehan to come to Zhao Junsheng and salute: "See Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Junsheng nodded and asked, "Huhehan, have you gone to the end of the great water?" ”

Hu Hehan nodded: "The minister has been there once!" ”

"Oh, what's the situation there? Some people say that it is the end of the sky, is that true? ”

Hu Hehan bowed down and said: "Back to Your Majesty, Yu Sini Dashui said that it is the sea, in fact, it is not the sea, I heard that the sea water is salty, but the water of Yu Sini Dashui is not salty, it is drinkable fresh water, this is actually a relatively large lake!" Walk along the shore of the lake all the way to the north, you can basically not see people and livestock halfway through, the further north you go, the more wild it is, all of them are mountains and valleys and dense forests all over the place, most of the area is covered with snow all year round, and it is not suitable for grazing, there are large wild beasts that are not tolerant of severe cold everywhere, and there are even wild people infested, extremely ferocious, it is easy to get lost in it after entering, so no one continues to go north after reaching the northernmost point of the Yusini water! ”

After hearing this, Zhao Junsheng said to Na Yan: "Send a scout team to the north along the shore of the lake to search for the traces of Bai Jinguang's army!" ”

"No!"

"Captain, Li Bao, order the army to camp on the spot, and make a decision after finding the traces of Bai Jinguang's army!"

So the army camped on the high ground, and sent a large number of scouts and guards to the surrounding areas.

In the afternoon of the same day, a scout reported that a troop of soldiers and horses had been found on the east bank of the river to the north, and Zhao Junsheng immediately ordered the lieutenant to lead his troops to track along the riverbank.

The next morning he led his army north to continue north, and according to Kuhehan, the river would eventually flow into the Great Water of Yuni, so it should be possible to find Bai Jinguang along the lake to the north.

Two days later, a messenger returned to the camp on a fast horse.

"Your Majesty, General Wei sent a villain to report to Your Majesty that our army discovered the scouts sent by General Bai when they marched along the shore of the lake yesterday evening, and then the two armies met at the entrance of the river, and General Bai and his troops were safe and sound, and at this time the two generals had led their troops to withdraw southward, and they would arrive at noon tomorrow at the latest!"

Zhao Junsheng was worried that Bai Jinguang would have an accident in the depths of the army, and now he was relieved to hear the news that Bai Jinguang and his men had not encountered any accidents.

Sure enough, the next morning, Wei and Bai Jinguang led the troops back to the camp, and the monarch and ministers met again and greeted each other.

Zhao Junsheng asked, "Princess Tuzhen took the Rouran people all the way to be evacuated?" I heard that the north is a completely wild land, and there is no grazing land at all! ”

Bai Jinguang clenched his fists and said: "Yes, the minister also followed the trail of their migration to the north, the minister doesn't know how they survive in the far north, there are indeed wild people, beasts are rampant, ice and snow all year round, only two or three months of the year are sunny!" ”