Glancing up at the starry sky in the northern sky, he confirmed the direction, and kept walking towards the endless darkness. Although he carried dozens of catties of grain on his shoulders, he still walked like the wind under his feet. Although it was dark in front of him, there was no light, but with years of experience, this forest did not cause any hindrance to Qiu Ge. However, the brothers who followed him did not have the skills he had, and they stumbled along the way, making a lot of noise. Just listen to 'Oops!' With a bang, Qiu Ge looked back and saw two black shadows colliding together, falling to the ground, and a frightened night owl fluttered its wings and flew away from the branch.

Listening to the shouting and scolding of several brothers who did not restrain their voices at all, Qiu Ge frowned dissatisfiedly, but did not say anything, and glanced into the boundless darkness, Qiu Ge stopped the brothers who still wanted to move forward: "Just get here, Black Bulon can't see the road at all, this distance is almost the same, and those people can't catch up for a while." Let's rest here, and then find a way out of the mountain when it gets dawn. With that, Qiu Ge threw the grain bag on his shoulder to the ground and sat on it. Fourth, find a place that is not transparent, light a fire, and get something to eat. ”

Running around all night, climbing up and down. At this time, Qiu Ge is really a little tired, patting the food under his buttocks, hey, the old saying is good: the people take food as the sky. People live for this mouth. Looking up at the little bit of night sky peeking out between the canopies, Qiu Ge remembered the escape on the grassland when he was a child, the same dark night, the same way to get rid of the pursuers. It's just that there wasn't so much food that time, and if there was such a big bag of food around at that time, Abba might not have died.

It's a pity that there are no ifs in life, if there was really such a bag of food at that time, Qiu Ge would not be Qiu Ge.

Qiu Ge, who was just eleven years old at the time, was named Yang Nu, which was certainly not a proper name. In fact, there were three sheep slaves in Qiu Ge's felt tent, and they were all responsible for shepherding sheep, so they were called sheep slaves. Qiu Ge's parents, both Han Chinese, were taken captive by the Eastern Turkic tribes when they were fighting grass valleys. The sheep slave was born after arriving in the grassland, and his mother, a thin Han woman, carried him through the Hanhai Sea for 300 miles and gave birth to him.

It should be said that Qiu Ge was lucky, his stepfather always said so about him back then. Before he was born, he was a child who was pitied. Because if his mother had given birth to him a few months earlier, then the Turks would never have brought back such a small baby when they fought in the grass valley, and he would have died. If his mother hadn't survived the dust and scorching sun of the Hanhai Sea, Qiu Ge wouldn't have been able to get out of his mother's womb, and he would have died. If it weren't for the fact that his parents had just been assigned slavery when he was born and settled down temporarily, he would have been born in his mother's womb, and his skinny mother had no milk to feed him, and he would have starved to death. If it weren't for the kindness of the master family that his parents met and let him grow up drinking goat's milk, Qiu Ge would not have lived to be ten years old. Qiu Ge is not the current Qiu Ge. So Qiu Ge was lucky, and his luck blessed him to avoid the pursuers, avoid the wolves, and meet the 'father-in-law' on that night of escape.

In fact, according to the obedient nature of the Han people, as long as they have something to eat, even if they are whipped and abused, they will not do anything to kill the master and flee. What's more, Qiu Ge's father is such an honest farmer. Since the first unified empire in the Central Plains, Great Qin, the Han people have been threatened by the grassland tribes.

If there is no Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, those who offend my Han will be punished even if they are far away. 's scream. These tribes wandering on the grassland probably would not have thought that the Han people had such a terrible power flowing in their bones. I'm afraid I won't believe that these cowardly Han people who hid in the fortified city and trembled out of the Great Wall in anger were so powerful.

However, the power of the Han Dynasty was so long ago that not only the Turkic tribes but even the Han themselves had forgotten the power they had inherited from their blood and bones. The blood of anger is bright red, it can burn when it meets fire, and when it burns, it will burn the prairies.

When Qiu Ge's mother was caught in the tent by his master and never came out, Qiu Ge saw this burning blood in the hands of his father, whom he had always considered weak. From that day on, Qiu Ge's father exchanged a whip for a worn-out horseshoe that he had secretly hidden in Qiu Ge's clothes. Then I found an opportunity to hone this piece of horseshoes, grinding my hands full of blood, and refining my body full of burns. Whenever he saw his father's blood burst into the burning furnace and burst into a half-human-tall spark, Qiu Ge's young heart was filled with fear. At that time, he was still ignorantly asking his father, 'Where has my mother gone?' I didn't understand what his father was doing.

Until that night, there was no moon in the sky, and the stars were exceptionally bright. Qiu Ge dozed in the sheepfold wrapped in a thin fur, and then, with sleepy eyes, he saw his father take the shiny horseshoe that he had sharpened into his master's felt tent. At first, he thought that his father was crazy, and that if he entered his master's tent without being summoned at such a time, he would be severely beaten. Qiu Ge stared at the big tent with a pair of numb eyes on the railing, waiting to see his father being kicked out with a whip. This kind of scenario is too common for him to do anything about it.

But the truth was not what he thought, and soon his father opened the curtain and ran out, followed by the whip owner. His father came straight at him, and without saying a word, he carried him out of the sheepfold and ran toward their tent. Qiu Ge, who was held in his arms, felt that his face was wet, and when he touched it with his hand, he found that his father's leather robe was wet. And it was black and smelly, and the shepherds were all alarmed by the stench, and they barked directly.

Qiu Ge was placed at the door of the felt tent by his father, who told him to wait here. Qiu Ge watched his father enter the tent, turned to the barking dogs, and drove them all back to the sheepfold. As soon as Qiu Ge closed the door of the dog cage, his father ran out with a baggage, looked around and found him, and hurriedly ran over to pick him up and ran. If they just run out like that, maybe someone else won't find out until at least tomorrow morning. The little sheep slave, who was dragged by his father to run out of the camp, came up with a clever idea, so they were discovered by the slave who watched the horses. This uncle, who is also a Han Chinese, did not protect them, and did not hesitate to send out a warning signal after discovering that their father and son were about to escape.

Although Qiu Ge and his son finally grabbed a horse, it was a pity that they couldn't run far. Hit by an arrow, fall off a horse, flee on foot, flee without a destination. Or there is one, when he can occasionally stop to rest, Qiu Ge's father will babble to him: He said that he just needs to escape back to the pass, and he will be home after entering the pass.

It's a pity that neither Qiu Ge nor his old father knew how far they were from 'Guannai' at that time. So one day, when the bread they brought out was eaten up, and when Qiu Ge's father staggered a few steps and then fell on his heel but never got up, their escape journey was completely over.

Qiu Ge thought that his father was just tired, and seeing that there was no chasing soldier in front of him, the hungry Qiu Ge also sat down next to his father to rest, drank a sip of water, but could not fill the hunger in his stomach. Seeing that his father was just sleeping but didn't get up, Qiu Ge had to find something to eat by himself, but fortunately he would dig a rabbit hole. When Qiu Ge finally caught a rabbit and ran back happily, he saw five wolves around his father's sleeping place across a steep slope. The little Qiu Ge looked at the scene in front of him in a daze, his father's blood stained a grass red, and his father's hands and feet were drenched in torn blood. When Qiu Ge watched one of his father's legs being torn off by a wolf, Qiu Ge finally couldn't help but lie on the ground and vomit. Then Qiu Ge fainted, not even thinking that he would wake up.

So Qiu Ge's stepfather always said that Qiu Ge was lucky. For he was returning to camp with his brothers who had been left behind for giving up on plundering a small tribe, but he happened to smell blood, and poured a sulk on a few wild wolves, and then found such a child still panting. In fact, his father-in-law was drunk again and told Qiu Ge that if he hadn't felt too embarrassed to take the rabbit with his legs tied like this, he wouldn't have been kind enough to pick up a child and raise it, how could there be so much food to feed him.

Regardless of whether this is the sincere words of his father-in-law, Qiu Ge worshipped this man as his father-in-law. Since then, Qiu Ge has become Qiu Ge, 'the name is just a title and it doesn't mean anything', his stepfather said truthfully. But Qiu Ge noticed that every time his father-in-law touched his scimitar, the eyes were the same as when his father sharpened his horseshoes.

When Qiu Ge was able to wield a scimitar skillfully, he became a real horse bandit, and he could follow his father-in-law out to loot without herding sheep and rabbits. If so, such days have passed for a long time, so long that Qiu Ge thinks that he will continue like this for the rest of his life. But things are always changing.

I forgot to mention that Qiu Ge's stepfather is also Han. Their gang of horse bandits are all Han Chinese, and they are all slaves looted from various parts of the grassland, and they also have the brand of slaves on their faces. They were like Qiu Ge's father, who ran out for various reasons, but did not run back to the gate. When Qiu Ge asked his father-in-law why he didn't go back, his father-in-law told him impatiently: What can he do if he goes back, with a brand on his face; The land is gone, and the court can't protect us, so sooner or later we won't have to be tied up again; At that time, as soon as they saw that we were branded, they knew that we were fugitive slaves, and they directly killed us and fed the wolves! Fate with your unproductive father.

I don't understand what my father-in-law said earlier, but I understand the last sentence. Thinking of his father's corpse being dismembered by a wild wolf, Qiu Ge always had nightmares that he couldn't suppress. Qiu Ge hates wild wolves and is afraid of wild wolves. When he was alone, even with a bow and arrow in hand, he didn't dare to fight a lone wolf. He didn't want to end up with his father, so Qiu Ge was down-to-earth in front of his horse bandits. Follow the father-in-law to rob those former masters and nobles. Of course, it is not without danger, although the Turkic tribes are a general term, they are certainly strong together. There are many small tribes, but even the smallest tribe is not something that Qiu Ge's two hundred people can rob casually. Always use all kinds of methods such as arson, sneak attacks, and traps. Even so, there is always the risk of being surrounded and pursued.

In this way, more than ten years later, Qiu Ge has grown into a heroic and strong man, and has become the number one general under his father-in-law. And his father-in-law, who was already gray-sided, led less and less teams out to eat, and their group of horse bandits grew from 200 to 1,200. Although not all of them had horses, nor were they all sturdy youths. The elderly, women, and children make up their team.

As the ranks grew, so did the leaders who took the lead. Although on the surface, Qiu Ge's father-in-law is still the leader, but more things are still discussed by several leaders. Originally, even so, there was no problem, in this vast grassland, as long as a group of fugitive slaves could eat their stomachs, there was really nothing to fight about. But there is one thing that has caused major disagreements, that is, Qiu Ge has never thought of 'going home'. Originally, Qiu Ge's father-in-law was pressed, and the news of the Central Plains that he occasionally heard knew that there was still war and turmoil there, and no one thought of going back. But within a few years, news came from the steppe that the Turkic tribes had signed an alliance with a country in the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty. As a result, some people who thought about the good of their hometown wanted to go back, but they were still pressed down by their father-in-law. The reason is: the Tang state called the Turkic tribe Jieli Khan a tribute. He's all a vassal, and you still expect him to protect fugitives like us when you go back?

I don't think it will be a few years later, but I heard from the businessmen who came from Guanzhong that the war in the Central Plains has ended. Before anyone could ask to go home, there was another turmoil on the grassland, and Jieli Khan led his troops to the Tang Kingdom to plunder. It is said that it was because the Tang State changed an emperor, and then, the new emperor of the Tang State did not dare to fight with Jieli Khan, but signed a new alliance. So the thought of going home was suppressed again, but before Qiu Ge forgot about it, the situation changed again.

The steppe was hit by a white plague, and the Turkic tribes had nothing to eat, let alone them. Hearing that Jieli Khan had issued an order with the Khan's Golden Seal, his tribes began to grab food, and the other tribes were very dissatisfied with this. But before the eighteen tribes were divided, Qiu Ge's horse gang split first.

Qiu Ge's stepfather insisted that he did not want to go back, while the other part insisted on going back. Even if they don't have land to plant when they go back, they can join the army. With the lack of food and such an axe hanging over everyone's heads, Qiu Ge's father-in-law fell ill again, and no one could stop the split of the horse gang. Or the split is not quite exact, it should be said that the gang is scattered.

Qiu Ge also had a few old men who followed his father-in-law to stay in the mountains to accompany his declining father-in-law. Most of them followed the second master to join the Tang army, because they received the exact news that the Tang State had attacked the Turkic tribes! Those who did not want to join the army packed up their belongings and took this opportunity to run back to Guanzhong, because there was really nothing to eat on the grassland.

Qiu Ge's father-in-law was always reluctant to believe that Tang could defeat Jieli Khan, because he knew how powerful Jieli Khan's army was. Qiu Ge didn't believe it either, so when he learned that Jieli Khan had lost the battle, he was just stunned, and he didn't feel that the Turkic tribe had lost because of this. But when he caught the defeated tribal soldiers and learned that Jieli Khan had been ambushed and had been escorted to Chang'an. Qiu Ge once suspected that the man was lying to him, and when he told his father-in-law the news, the father-in-law didn't say anything, slowly closed his eyes, and never opened them again.

Qiu Ge and several uncles carried their father-in-law's bones back to Guanzhong. Then Qiu Ge lived for twenty-four years and saw the appearance of the 'homeland' for the first time, and saw the appearance of the 'hometown' that the old population center had in mind. Qiu Ge was at a loss. Accompanying several uncles to bury his father-in-law's bones in his hometown, where his father-in-law had only lived for less than a third of his life, Qiu Ge kowtowed in front of his father-in-law's tombstone and stood up, at a loss.

Several uncles went to their homes in tears, where should he go? I don't know where my home is in my homeland, but my home on the grassland is gone. Even if it was too late to surrender to the army, the Turkic tribes were defeated, and the Tang State was temporarily left without enemies. Why did you join the army? Standing sentry? Qiu Ge was reluctant, he still liked the feeling of riding a horse and slashing and slashing.

Fortunately, someone soon took a fancy to his ability, and Qiu Ge was favored by the horse bandit bosses who were active in Longyou Liangzhou and Shanzhou. So Qiu Ge returned to his old business and continued to be his horse bandit. However, the objects of the horse bandits in the Guanzhong realm are all caravans coming and going, or collecting protection money to live, which is a little too boring for Qiu Ge, who is used to the life of slashing and killing on the grassland. But soon this boring and comfortable life will not be able to live. In order to ensure the safety of the trade routes, the imperial governor stationed in Liangzhou began to clean up the thieves and horse bandits along the way.

So Qiu Ge took up his second career in life: a ranger. After wandering in Guanzhong and Henan for more than four years, Qiu Ge, who was about to be established, once again thought that when he lived like this in this life, his life encountered the tribulation of famine, which was not an ordeal, and then ...... Maybe that's the end of it...... Maybe it's a turning point......