The sky was bright.

Qin Huaidao quietly left Jiaohe City with the team, all the way south, to pass through the Great Sand Sea, the war horse was not suitable, so he did not buy the war horse to travel, the white hoof Wu was too precious, naturally accompanied by it, there were ten more carriages, which were full of horse materials, grain, water and kitchen utensils for cooking.

Mo knives and crossbows were distributed, one knife per person, one crossbow, and the vacated space was just enough to store a hundred jars of liquor, and the crossbows, wires, and scimitars continued to be kept in the carriage without moving.

The Gobi is vast, deserted, and there is no end in sight.

The sand is weathered, the eyes are dead and silent, and there is no green in sight.

The only good thing is that the terrain is flat and easy to walk.

The army marched under the scorching sun, sweating profusely, but no one complained, everyone was either well-trained, or had high martial arts and excellent physique, and the interpreter was used to this climate, and the marching speed was not slow.

When you are hungry, you have something to eat, and when you are thirsty, you have water to drink, but you can bear it.

At dusk, there is a ruin in front of you, the ruins and broken walls, the shape is peculiar, it looks like a mountain has been eroded by the wind and rain, and the masterpiece left by nature.

The three interpreters who led the way suddenly stopped, fell to their knees, and said something reverently, as if praying.

Qin Huaidao raised his hand, and the team stopped, and the order was forbidden.

"What's the situation?" Luo passed and stood side by side.

"Let's see." Qin Huaidao wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew some taboos, and the interpreter must have his reason for doing this, so he gave Luo Ying a look.

Luo Ying understood, and quickly signaled everyone to disperse their vigilance through battle sign language.

They were all specially trained, and they understood it, and a thousand people quickly dispersed, holding their crossbows and staring around.

Luo Tong's eyes lit up when he saw this scene: "This team can, you practice?" ”

"Let Luo Ying practice." Qin Huaidao responded casually and stepped forward.

After praying, the three interpreters got up one after another, and one of them said solemnly: "My lord, according to the old man, two hundred years ago, there was a tribe living in front of me, and then the devil generals ate all the people, and this place became the devil's territory. ”

"There's a well?" Qin Huaidao was a little surprised, this kind of thing is artificial, which means that there are indeed people living here, as for what night the ghost cries wolf, it is just a natural phenomenon formed by the wind passing through the ruins, it is not surprising, but it can be sheltered from the wind.

The temperature difference between morning and evening is very large, the wind will take away the body heat, and freeze people to death, although the problem is not big in this season, but everyone is from the Central Plains, and they are not used to the abnormal temperature difference between day and night, so they really need a place to take shelter in case they catch a cold.

Qin Huaidao looked back at the army and shouted: "Everyone, it's not early, you need to set up camp, the front is good, as for the legend of the devil, what night ghosts cry wolf howl, it's just the wind blowing." ”

"No, my lord, it's true, let's go around......" An interpreter was anxious.

"Shut up and listen to me!"

The Tang people believe in ghosts and gods, and they must be broken, otherwise it will affect the morale of the army, Qin Huaidao scolded, and continued to everyone: "Think about it, whenever there is a strong wind, the doors and windows of the house will whine, yes or no? ”

Everyone understood this and nodded their heads.

Qin Huaidao continued: "The wind will sound through the narrow doors and windows, and here is also a glance, the wind passes through the cracks in the ruins in front, and it is the same as passing through the cracks in the doors and windows, the stronger the wind, the louder the sound, plus the shape of others, after the wind blows in, it will not dissipate, but will be blocked, turn around, it will form all kinds of strange sounds, not a devil, everyone doesn't believe it, turn around and push the earth wall that blocks the wind, you will find that the strange cry disappears." ”

As soon as everyone heard that it made sense, their tension eased a lot.

Qin Huaidao continued: "Brothers, we are not afraid of death, will we still be afraid of the so-called devil? Let's go in with me to check the authenticity, we know that the terrain platform, without shelter, you can't make a fire, you can't eat cooked food, you can't drink hot water, you will get sick, the temperature drops at night, the wind blows, with the heat on your body, you will catch a cold, we have no choice, we can only go in to avoid the wind, camp, everyone come with me. ”

Everyone had inexplicable trust in Qin Huaidao, and drove the carriage forward.

The three interpreters looked at each other and went in hard.

The ruins are criss-crossed, the mounds are high and low, the maze is general, white bones can be seen everywhere, there are people and animals, and feces abound, looking a little infiltrating.

Qin Huaidao didn't go deeper, found a relatively open place to stop, and ordered: "Protect the Zhuang team, go in and investigate, just in case." ”

"Obey." The five teams quickly dispersed and searched deeply.

Qin Huaidao looked at Luo Ying and continued to order: "The sentries will be released for five miles, arrange for the fire to be cooked, and the rest of the people will rest in place and prepare for war at any time." ”

"Obey!" Luo Ying hurried to make arrangements.

Luo Tong saw that Qin Huaidao's arrangements were cautious and meticulous, and he also found a place to sit down and rest, as always, he did not express any opinions, nor did he regard himself as an elder, interfered with the command, took out a fragrant pear and nibbled it with relish, his eyes gradually fell on an inconspicuous corner, and he was a little more surprised, and stepped forward.

In the corner was a broken arrow, stuck in the crack, if it wasn't for the accidental discovery, it would be really difficult to find, take it out and take a look, it was still very new, and suddenly his heart moved, and he walked to Qin Huaidao.

Qin Huaidao took it and looked at it carefully, his eyes became cold, he swept around, and found that the color of the soil in some places was wrong, he thought it was a natural phenomenon before, he stepped forward to check, twisted some and put it in his mouth to taste, felt a smell of blood, quickly spit it out, and looked at Luo Tong: "Uncle, something is wrong here." ”

"What do you think?" Luo Tong examines the school road.

"This area is deserted, there is no tribe, it is said that the Turkic cavalry will not come, I heard Guo Xiaoke mention it, saying that some bold caravans will go here in a hurry, walk from Jiaohe City for a day, and come here to rest at night, combined with arrows and blood, I am afraid that it is done by bandits, this is the hunting ground of bandits."

Luo Tong nodded, and said with emotion: "You are really good, your analytical skills are very strong, no wonder you can win battles one after another, I only thought of the caravan being robbed, but you judged that it was a bandit, and it was sure that this is a hunting ground for bandits, judging from the time and route, it is indeed very possible." ”

"It's not possible, it's for sure."

Qin Huaidao said and looked up in the direction of Jiaohe City, and added: "The Turkic cavalry needs commodities, and they need caravans to go deep into the grassland to exchange materials, and normally they will not hunt caravans, not to mention that there is no one here, and the cavalry will not come, only bandits are entrenched, and the bandits don't care whether the Turkic tribes need materials or not, they just need to send people to keep an eye on Jiaohe City, and if they find that a caravan is taking this line, they will send a message and send someone to hunt and kill, and they don't need to come over at ordinary times." ”

"Makes sense, so, we're being targeted?" Luo Tong smiled with satisfaction.

"Must be targeted, twenty carloads of goods, who is not impressed? I just don't know if these bandits have good teeth. Qin Huaidao said and looked at Luo Ying who came over, and was just about to give the order to arm, when he heard a faint thunder coming, which was not very real.

Luo Tong quickly lay down, put his ear to the ground, and his face was solemn: "It's cavalry, at least two thousand." ”

"So much?" Qin Huaidao was a little surprised, are there so many bandits now?

"There are more than 1,000 of us, even if it is a normal caravan, we don't dare to come over without 2,000." Luo Tong smiled, his eyes were beating with the desire to fight, and he was eager to try: "Say, how to fight?" The first battle must be mine. ”

Qin Huaidao didn't answer immediately, and motioned for the three interpreters to step forward: "Are there bandits and robbers near Haizhou?" ”

"Yes, there are quite a few, hundreds of people, dozens of people, after the fall of Gaochangguo, many armies turned into bandits, causing bandits in the vicinity to become more and more serious, there is a horse bandit...... Hey, the sound of horses' hooves. The interpreter's face changed greatly, and he quickly lay down and listened carefully.

"Could it be ......?" said another interpreter, whose face changed dramatically.

The interpreter who listened carefully hurriedly said: "At least two thousand cavalry, it is impossible for the Turkic cavalry in this area to come, so many cavalry, I am afraid they are horse bandits." ”

"What's going on with this bandit?" Qin Huaidao asked curiously.

"I heard that it was composed of a team that was broken up in Gaochang Kingdom, the leader of the bandits is called Koji Zhiyi, the son of Gaochang King Ko Wentai, the younger brother of Gaochang Prince Ju Zhisheng, who was in charge of the Gaochang Guard, collected the remnants, collected bandits from all over the country, and tried to restore the country, I don't know if it's true or not, but the strongest among the bandits in this area."

"Koji Zhiyi? The concubine of the king of Gaochang? ”

Qin Huaidao was a little surprised, I have read the military report that Gaochang was destroyed, Gaochang King Ko Wentai and Prince Ju Zhisheng died, and a concubine Koji Zhiyi actually appeared, and he still wanted to restore the country, isn't this guy brainless, what will he do if the country is destroyed? Can you fight the Tang Dynasty?

The sound of horses' hooves became tighter and tighter, and everyone got up and looked at Qin Huaidao one after another.

"Two thousand horse bandits only, give me five hundred is enough." Luo Tong said murderously.

"I only need three hundred." Not to be outdone, Luo Ying said that he was most familiar with the soldiers he trained.

"No, try to catch them alive." Qin Huaidao interrupted, a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Captured alive?"

The crowd's eyes were shocked, and they couldn't believe what they had heard.

PS: A big war is about to begin.