Between the silence of the night and the vast expanse of distant mountains, a crimson crescent moon hung high, staring indifferently at the desolate land beneath its feet. The howling west wind added to the desert's murderous atmosphere, and the surrounding area was deserted and deserted, except for a lonely sandstone staring coldly at the uninvited guests who intruded here.

Yang Feng's 200 horsemen passed through this place and chose a leeward sand dune as a camp, and the dismounted cavalry moved tents, cooking utensils and other things from the camels and pack horses that were belatedly following them, together with the firewood and water collected and searched, and began to build camp tents and make fires for cooking.

Ma Chao tightened the leather robe on his body, the desert during the day and night are completely different places, the desert during the day is a furnace that can dry people, but at night, it becomes a cold snowfield, water and firewood, always the most urgent things for people passing through here.

He slowly moved his body closer to the campfire, and his eyes looked around, and the desert in the distance completely changed its appearance in the moonlight, some of them were horizontal, some of them were sparkling, giving people the illusion of being close to people, as if they were close to people, and they were clear waterholes.

Those scattered sea buckthorn and red willows grow on these pools, and in the dark night they are like strange monsters, and when a cold night wind blows, they let out a strange and terrifying cry.

Yang Feng, who was nearby, was standing by a bonfire and shouting loudly, he seemed to be familiar with this strange place. It was only after entering the desert that the temper of the stubborn leader became unusually hot, and he had to quarrel every day with the guide who led the way, and the soldiers who tended the cattle.

After the quarrel, Yang Feng's face was flushed, and his spirit was not bad, he took unhurried steps, came to Ma Chao's bonfire, and sat opposite Ma Chao with a big grin.

Ma Chao didn't care, he instead pulled out the saber at his waist, and beside the bonfire, he lowered his head and rubbed the clearly recognizable flowing water patterns on the sword.

Yang Feng also didn't speak, and soon the steaming food was brought by a soldier, and the two of them didn't open their mouths, they took one each, and ate it in a big gulp by the campfire.

Ma Chao ate quickly, and when he swallowed the food completely into his stomach, Yang Feng, who had become slow and methodical at the moment, had not finished eating, Yang Feng suddenly raised his head, grinned, and smiled.

"Do you want to eat?"

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Alcohol, in the Sanhe and Guanzhong regions where the prohibition was prohibited, and even in the army that went on the expedition, it was a symbol of status and privilege. Each cavalryman was given a bag of wine before setting out, but by the way, most of them had already drunk it.

For the soldiers who need to numb or stimulate their nerves with alcohol from time to time, their own heads are pinned to the waistband of their trousers, and instead of hiding and sipping wine, it is better to drink happily in the face of fear and loneliness.

Only Yang Feng, the leader of the army, has more bags of wine, he can reward a meritorious soldier at any time, and he can also use it to boost morale, so that the lonely soldiers can forget a lot of bad things for a while.

Yang Feng stretched out his hand to untie the wine bag and threw it at Ma Chao, after Ma Chao caught it, he pulled out the wine stopper and poured it into his mouth fiercely, the pleasure of the taste of the liquor blooming in his own taste buds made Ma Chao can't help but shout.

"Good wine!"

Yang Feng smiled and said:

"There is also good news, I will be able to get out of this ghost place tomorrow and enter the grassland of the former Zhangye vassal country."

"You're familiar with this place?"

"Yes, this place extends all the way to Juyanze in the northwest, and it is all under the rule of Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Juyan established by the Han Dynasty in the past, but later there was a Qiang Rebellion, and the Han Dynasty almost abandoned Liangzhou, and these subject countries naturally slowly got out of control and became the horse grazing land of various Qianghu tribes."

"As for those abandoned tuntians, they were slowly abandoned, and later they became what they are now."

Yang Feng pointed to the sand under his feet, and continued:

"I've been to those places since I was a ranger. As for here, it was when he led people to pretend to be merchants and quietly stole a group of horses from the Qianghu tribe, but was chased by the Qianghu people, and he didn't choose the way to go, and accidentally broke into this ghost place. ”

Recalling the years of the Ranger Hexi in the past, Yang Feng smiled at the corner of his mouth, but it quickly dimmed again.

"In this ghost land, we quickly got rid of the chasing Qianghu people. But we didn't know that if there was no guide to lead the way, anyone who broke into here, whether it was a Qianghu or a ranger, would not be able to escape death. ”

"At that time, horses were dying every day, and my men were dying and fleeing. In order to survive, they can only eat horse meat that smells of raw maggots and drink bitter and astringent human urine. Later, after I escaped by luck, I vowed that I would never return to this ghost place again in my life, but I didn't expect that now I finally came back with people and horses. ”

Listening to Yang Feng talk about these old things, although Ma Chao just listened quietly and did not say a word, he was still intoxicated by Yang Feng's sad story.

They are all cool people who lick blood with knives, but they have completely different life experiences. Ma Chao's memories since he was a child were generated in the military camp where the horns were full of horns and Diao Fighting Senming, and he met many people, but they were all enemies or his own people who were simply branded, so that Ma Chao couldn't remember how his hands were stained with blood.

Compared with Yang Feng, who is also good and evil, good and evil, everything in his past seems so thin and blank.

"Do you have something to say?"

Yang Feng looked at Ma Chao and suddenly asked.

Hearing this, Ma Chao lowered his head and put the sword back into the sheath.

"Ask whatever you want. I have long said that when you enter this desert, there are no generals and soldiers, just a group of ordinary people who rely on each other and want to live. In the desert, in fact, it is like the wind and sand, you will leave as soon as you come, and you will never leave any traces. If you don't ask, it's my turn. ”

Ma Chao was silent. Yang Feng is actually right, the desert that devours heaven and earth forces everyone who enters here to stay close together, relying on the strength of the group to survive, and the boundless loneliness forces everyone to open their hearts and try their best to believe in everyone around them.

"Why take risk? is a general, and his in-laws are noble, but he wants to be parasitic? Although they didn't say it, from the moment they entered the desert, I am afraid that they had slowly felt that General Gan was right in their hearts! ”

Ma Chao didn't look up, but he still confided in his heart.

Yang Feng smiled when he heard this, and said:

"There are so many things that are right or wrong when it comes to life, on the battlefield, if you win the battle, you can survive, it is right. If it is steady, then there is no need for our gang to trek through quicksand here, they may think that I am deliberately competing with Duan Zhongming and Gan Shusheng for military power, but in fact, in my own opinion, this is just an ordinary person fighting against his own life. ”

"I have fought a lot of battles with the hussar general and others, and the enemy has changed one stubble after another, Bai Bo, Song Yi, Wang Yi, Zhang Yang, Hebei Yuan Shao, Xiongnu Shan Yu, Li Dao Guo Yan, Han Sui and your Ma Jiajun, plus the horses of Yongliang this time, this battle in Guanxi is about to end, and the land of Hexi is the place I am most familiar with, if I don't come to this trip, this life will probably be like this."

"With the current relationship between Sanhe and Hebei, the big war will come sooner or later, and once the battle in the Kanto region begins, it will not be able to be fought in three years or two years. Cao Yuan, who planned to collect and annex the state, Xu Huang, who guarded Hanoi all the year round, Zhai Hao, who was good at using cavalry, and Lu Yi, who was familiar with the enemy's situation, all watched with their eyes blank, and there could be no more wars in Kansai, do you understand? ”

Yang Feng kept his mouth shut and did not mention his in-laws, nor did he talk about the wife of the newlywed Yan'er. Ma Chao didn't seem to realize this, and was still immersed in the future outlined by Yang Feng, and Yang Feng had already looked at Ma Chao and opened his mouth to say:

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask."

Ma Chao nodded silently and drank the wine in his hand.

"I'm actually curious, why are you following me this trip? You didn't have to use it, just like the brothers of the Koji family, staying in Zhaowu City to lead the troops, it seems that you can also make a lot of contributions. ”

was asked about this by Yang Feng, although Ma Chao did not speak, a look of pain still appeared on his face unconsciously.

Words such as "the general of the defeated army" and "the son of disobedience" appeared in his heart, he had lost the army of the Ma family, and also lost the trust of his father, just like a person who had been erased of all past honors, he was not like the brothers of the Koji family, there was a Koji family behind him, and the elders of their families could rely on, all he could rely on was his own intuition and the sword in his hand.

"Is there a choice for someone like me?"

Ma Chao smiled dismally and said to Yang Feng, his eyes full of pain.

Yang Feng no longer asked, but nodded and said:

"It's you again!"

Ma Chao didn't want to ask again, but after thinking of a hidden matter in his heart, he suddenly poured a sip of wine, also looked at Yang Feng, and asked out loud:

"What kind of person is the hussar general?"

"What do you think?"

The corners of Yang Feng's mouth hooked and asked rhetorically.

"I've heard that he was a warrior, but I've never seen him shoot; They say that he is a victorious general who uses his troops like a god, but I have seen the battle of Huaili, and I wonder what would have happened if it had not been for the sudden collapse of Han Sui's left flank. ”

Yang Feng narrowed his eyes.

"He never went to charge into battle in person, but he had Dian Wei, Bao Chu and other fierce generals loyal to the death; He may not be the best at fighting, but those battle-hardened enemy generals eventually fell at his feet; Hedong has never been the largest force, but it still annexed Guanzhong, Longyou, and Hexi. ”

"Those who fear him are still alive, but those who oppose him have fallen considerably. So, does it matter who he is? ”

After Yang Feng finished speaking, he staggered up, stretched his waist, seemed to be a little tired, and no longer talked to Ma Chao, but turned around and walked towards his tent.

Ma Chao, who didn't get the expected answer, was stunned for a moment, and took his eyes back from the back of Yang Feng leaving, he looked at the fire, and wanted to pour himself another sip of spirits, but the wine bag that came to his mouth didn't flow a little wine.

Before he knew it, the wine bag in his hand was empty.