Between the winding mountains, the endless rivers, and the sometimes open and sometimes narrow valleys, a team on foot is trudging from west to east.

The procession was formed in two columns, stretched out about a mile long in front and back, and from time to time there were a few quarrels and roars in the procession, and even occasional scuffles.

In April, the temperature had already warmed up, but quite a few of the people in the team were still wearing leather clothes and robes, sweating and panting in the midday sun. It's not much like an army, because as soldiers, none of them carry weapons, not even simple wooden sticks. It was not much like a caravan, they had no horses and wagons, and everyone was carrying water bags and dried beef and mutton as dry food.

More than 1,000 people were divided into two columns, and the two people marching in each row were different in their clothing, the same cape and the same leather wrap, but the style of the clothing and the ornaments on the clothes were different, and as for the accent of the speech, there was no difference to the Han people, anyway, they were all foreign languages, and they couldn't understand how they listened to them.

From the angry scolding and fights that erupted from time to time, it can be seen that the relationship between the robes in this team does not seem to be very good, and almost every line of two people next to each other is pregnant with resentment and violence that are difficult to resolve in words. This group of people is indeed not like the army, although there are fights between the soldiers of ordinary armies, but none of them are like them, leaving no room for the slightest desire to put each other to death.

This is the fact that Li Wenge has just been included in the organized local security cavalry regiment.

It's called a cavalry regiment, but at the moment these thousand men don't just have no horses. Not even equipped with weapons, marching on foot with bare hands, the first military operation after the formation of the Security Cavalry Regiment. That's how it unfolds.

Also on foot, Seal Minda was wearing cavalry armor and carrying a wooden bow, and more than thirty arrows with no clusters of arrows stuck in the quiver. He walked in the middle of the queue, keeping an eye on the movement in front and behind the queue.

For the disputes and scolding that erupted from time to time, this party harrier turned a blind eye, and there was no impatience on his indifferent face. He intervenes only when the dispute escalates into a physical altercation.

At the front of the line, about twenty Yeonju cavalry and more than a dozen Gyeongju officers walked; At the end of the line. Twenty cavalrymen were also marching in the distance. The current treatment of these thousand men is more accurate than that of a soldier and that of a prisoner.

Killing Niu Jijidi's son Killing Niu Simo and Ye Jichuan's younger brother Ye Jichuan Pheasant, two senior officers who have been designated as the commander of the left and right battalions by Li Wenge. At this moment, they were walking side by side in the middle of the queue, parallel to the fine seal Minda.

Killing the cow Simo is twenty-one years old, Ye Jichuan is twenty-nine years old, the same beard, the same draped hair, the same fierce eyes and broad arms, the cow killing Simo has a long scar on his face, from the eyebrows to the corners of the mouth; The pheasant was seriously injured under his nose, and his lips were three-petaled like rabbits.

The two men were full of hostility and wariness towards each other, and the gaze that looked at each other was also full of provocation and disdain.

However, they can only compete with their eyes. No one dared to make a move lightly against the other - the one who did it first would be immediately removed from the military and sent back to the tribe.

That would be a great disgrace.

Before the slaughter of the cow came out this time, the slaughter of the cow was repeatedly told that this was a godsend opportunity for the slaughtering family to restore the royal family name and obtain the fertile pasture, and it was a major event for the whole clan, which should not be damaged and desecrated in the slightest. Once the ox was killed, Sima was reckless, causing this big deal to be aborted halfway. He will be the public enemy of the whole clan of cattle slaughter, and he will be a sinner for the ages in the land of Ashina.

Ye Jichuan Pheasant is even more miserable, he is the general of the defeated army in the Battle of Ten Trees, and his heart is full of inexplicable awe and envy for this Yanzhou army with mysterious origin. His elder brother Ye Jichuan was crumbling because of his defeat in the clan. If it weren't for the fact that General Li made it clear to the Council of Elders of the clan that he supported his brother. I'm afraid that Ye Jichuan will have lost his status as the patriarch at this moment. Moreover, Li Wenge exempted the sheep and horse donations that had made the whole clan miserable for two years with one sentence, and it was public and private. None of the hostages could disobey Li Wenge's will and orders at will.

What's more, in a one-on-one situation, none of them was sure to win against the tough and unspeakable Qiang people.

On the first day of the march there was a great commotion, and hundreds of soldiers from both families tumbled and rolled into a mess, but fortunately no one had any weapons in their hands, but no one was killed. The two of them wanted to maintain order, and the two young people who were already hating each other broke out into a quarrel in front of the thin seal Minda, from moving their mouths to their hands, the two of them twisted together for only a blink of an eye, and then separated.

The right arm of the cow killer Simo was unscrewed off by the fine seal Minda, and Ye Jichuan Pheasant was kicked more than two feet away by the commander of this arrogant security cavalry regiment, vomiting blood on the spot.

Since you can't beat it, you naturally have to listen to others, this is the simple logic of the grassland people.

What's more, this party harrier is so stereotyped.

Before he set out, he announced that the daily march distance was fifty miles, and whether it was blocked by mountains or rivers, this itinerary could not be changed.

On the first day, because of the brawl, it was delayed for half a day, and as a result, the day's journey was not completed until the second half of the night, and after resting in the open camp, he only slept for less than an hour and a half, and then he brandished a wooden stick and began to drive people, and on the second day, everyone on the march had no spirit of fighting, and some of the tribal warriors fell asleep while walking.

Fifty miles of road, interspersed with marches in mountains and rivers, set off before dawn every day, and barely able to finish until evening. That's what you can do with all the time you need to rest and eat.

And that's nothing, the hardest thing is not enough to eat.

There was no grain transport team around this team, and Simo and Ye Jichuan Pheasant vaguely knew that there was a fleet that was following them far along the river, carrying a large amount of grain and other supplies. But those weren't for this team.

The jerky of beef and mutton that you carry with you must be eaten sparingly, otherwise you can eat it in a day, and then you have to rely on hunting to maintain the stomachs of the warriors.

As a nomad. Fishing and hunting are not difficult.

The premise is to have enough tools.

It's not fun to catch hares or elk with your bare hands.

All the weapons were confiscated before the march, and not a single piece of iron could be found on the bodies of the thousand men. In the middle of nowhere, the only tools available are stones and branches.

Fires are not allowed......

Even if you catch prey, you can only eat it raw.

The Niu Killing Family and the Ye Ji Family are both relatively primitive tribes, but after all, they are not primitive to the point of drinking blood.

If there was only one family of soldiers, this group of savages would have been unable to endure it for a long time, and now the feud is in sight. No one is willing to show weakness to the other party in front of the Eighth Route Army, and in this case, it is a big loss of face for any soldier to be unable to make a fire, and there is no need to seal Minda to do it. Killing Niu Simo and Ye Jichuan Pheasant took the initiative to greet him.

Like them, he marched on foot, carrying significantly more weight on his body than them, but the daily journey seemed to be extremely easy for this party Qiang barbarian, killing the ox Simo and Ye Jichuan Pheasant walking sore and tired to death, but he was in good spirits and walked steadily.

After camping every day, the ability to hunt carefully also made the whole army respectful, a vole, a green snake, this man's appetite is as strong as his fists. Every day, most of the people were still rumbling in their stomachs looking for prey, but this party man had already filled his stomachs with these formidable creatures and began to fall asleep.

On the second day of the march, the ox killer Simo and Ye Jichuan Pheasant watched as the party leader chewed and swallowed a palm-wide scorpion. The crawler that struggled and wriggled in his mouth made the two young men from the barbarian tribe suddenly lose the slightest desire to eat.

It's been four days since the march, and the beef jerky, which was the basic reserve, has been sitting in the bag around the waist of the fine seal Minda, barely moving.

In the face of this kind of strongman, the two young alien generals couldn't accept it if they wanted to.

After all, Simo, who killed the ox, was young and vigorous, and he once had the audacity to question Xifeng Minda while marching. Why do you want to make such a long march on foot for no reason. To his surprise, Minda did not slap him in the face, but casually discussed the issue with him while marching.

"There are no horses to ride, so on foot, that's it......"

This answer did not satisfy Sima, the ox-killer. While trying his best to keep up with the length of his stride, he continued to stubbornly say, "Since there are no horses. What else is it called cavalry? ”

"Do you think you're cavalry?" Thin Feng Minda looked at the future patriarch of the cattle slaughtering family with a sarcastic gaze.

"You can't even do infantry, and you still want to be a cavalryman?"

"I grew up on horseback," said Simo......, the ox killer, holding his head high.

"You can only be counted as a man who can ride a horse - but not a cavalryman!" Thin Seal Minda's expression was still indifferent.

"Cavalrymen are warriors in the army. Not everyone who can ride a horse can become a cavalry land! ”

Killing the ox Sima didn't understand.

Ye Jichuan Pheasant didn't understand either, but he was the general of the defeated army, and his courage was not as big as that of killing the cow Simo, so he didn't dare to open his mouth and ask Xifeng Minda directly.

"The weather is so warm, there are countless birds and beasts in the wild that can be hunted, just walking, such a comfortable march, what are you not satisfied with?" Thin Seal Minda seemed a little confused by the dissatisfaction of killing the ox Sima.

The cow killer Sima was speechless......

Xifeng Minda smiled coldly: "More than a year ago, the great general who made your family surrender led his army of only more than thirty people, braved the overwhelming wind and snow to march for more than a hundred miles, and caught me outside Luzi Pass......"

"The weather was so cold that it turned to ice, and all the birds and beasts in the world were extinct, so more than thirty people walked over without carrying any dry food to feed ......"

"He caught me, so I'm here for him!"

"Got it?"

Killing the ox Sima didn't understand, but he could hear it, in the opinion of this party member, the current level of marching. It's just a very comfortable hike.

"Since General Li wants our clan to serve, do you want us to fight on foot for him?"

This is a relatively high-level question asked by Sima after thinking about it for a long time.

"It's not!" Minda replied very simply.

"He wants a cavalry, and I'm in charge of training a cavalry for him......"

"As a qualified ground cavalry. You must first learn to walk on foot

Killing the Ox Sima: "......"

Guo Huan still hung his arms, walking at the forefront of the entire team, walking behind Kang Shishi.

Far from getting better, his injuries worsened.

There was not enough food, and there was no way to change the dressing, and the sprained arm hung in front of him like a heavy piece of iron, which became a great burden.

He was a little worried, his own arm. Will it be scrapped like this?

He was particularly disturbed by the fact that he was followed by strangers who did not speak the same language but were fierce and unusual.

There were originally 24 Gyeongju officers participating in the trip to Yeonju, but now only 11 remain. More than half of them were quietly left behind in this prosaic but too torturous march. Guo Huan did not know whether these former colleagues had returned to Gyeongju. However, he knew that these Gyeongju officers who quietly left the team would never have the opportunity to take charge of the army again in their lives...... At least not in Li Wenge's sphere of influence.

Kang Shishi took good care of him, for the sake of his arm injury, Kang Shishi, the food he hunted every day in the past few days, Kang Shishi shared it with Guo Huan.

And when Kang Shi hunted, he did not exclude Guo Huan's participation.

Unlike the fine seal Minda, Kang Stone is not skilled in hunting, and in most cases it is tricky.

Dig traps, go up trees to dig birds' nests, and shoot birds with shoddy slingshots...... These simple solutions may not always work, but after a while of tossing and turning, you can still get some food in your mouth.

Kang Shi digging the bird's nest. Although he only has one hand, he climbs the tree very quickly, and when he climbs up, he puts his legs on the branch and uses his left hand to dig the eggs from the bird's nest. On the big tree that was swaying in the wind, Kang Shishi, who was basically unable to use one hand, was steady. Although the branches swayed, they remained clinging to the tree like maggots on tarsal bones.

This is nothing, when he saw Kang Shi holding the stone with his teeth and pulling the simple slingshot to shoot down the flying bird, Guo Huan really had a breathtaking feeling.

Kang Shi's slingshot is not flawless, but his ability to stab fish is obviously superior.

A slender twig. In the young man's hand, it became a very convenient fishing tool. As long as you camp near the river, you can camp at a time. Kang Shi was able to fork at least five or six fish in one breath to feed the two of them.

It would be nice if Kang Shi's ability to clean up fish had a point of his fishing skills.

Raw fish meat is not tasty, but it is better than fish scales......

Guo Huan's feeling is. Kang Shi seems to be telling himself with his practical actions all the time that even if this arm is scrapped, life may not be hopeless.

Like the slaughter of the ox, Guo Huan did not fully understand the significance of this long march.

As for his question—and indeed the question of all the old officers who had followed him from Gyeongju—Kang was not as cold as a stone in Gyeongju. He answered this question as best he could, within the limits of his understanding.

"Fenglin Mountain Liutao Pavilion is the most important place in the Eighth Route Army, all infantry officers in Yanzhou, accompanying Rong lieutenant and above, must go through the Liutao Pavilion to teach and lead troops, this is the rule set by adults!"

"Adult ——?"

"It's General Li, Marshal Li!"

"Oh—does that have anything to do with the march?"

Kang Shishi glanced at Guo Huan in surprise, as if he was asking this question very indistinctly.

"The Liutao Pavilion is so important, naturally no one can enter it if they want to. Those who can enter the Liutao Pavilion are either literate and hyphenated talents, or veterans who have performed well in the army, are brave and outstanding on the battlefield, and have outstanding military achievements......"

"The Jingdu head who proofread you with me that day was selected to teach in the Liutao Pavilion because of his heavy military merits and many beheadings!"

"Oh!" Guo Huan still didn't understand what this had to do with the march.

"You have no military merits, if you want to enter the Liutao Pavilion, you must have some foundation to become successful, and the Liutao Pavilion does not accept waste!"

"This march is a test of your foundation. If you can get through it, after the training and teaching of the Liutao Pavilion, you may be able to make a ......."

Kang Shishi glanced at him deeply, and said lightly: "If you can't even pass this level, you won't be able to enter the Liutao Pavilion at all......