A month later, the 20,000 Western Expeditionary Army had penetrated more than 1,000 miles into Mangmang Kunlun.

They entered the real wilderness, and the forests and meadows that they could still see before had disappeared, and even the birds were rare.

Looking around, the surroundings are full of grass-leaved peaks, rocky peaks, the top of the peak has a snow cover that does not melt all the year round, and the bottom of the mountain is a barren beach formed by falling rocks over the years. Men and horses walk on top, and every step must be careful, if you don't get it right, you will get to your feet, and even be pierced by sharp stones......

What's worse is that the air has become very thin, and breathing, which is usually unfeeling, has become extremely laborious. When the activity is a little bigger, the lungs will be on fire, and I will be out of breath as if pulling the bellows.

And the sun is obviously not too vicious, but it will sunburn the skin after a short time, and then the whole body will be hot for several days, and it hurts to move until the sunburned skin falls off, and then the cycle repeats. Everyone's skin turned to purple willow bark, coarse as sandpaper.

After a long time in such a harsh environment, the soldiers who were still full of energy and laughing at the time of departure all became silent, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing one after another.

To protect them from the sun, they wrapped their heads in robes and looked at the road under their feet with only their eyes exposed. It was useless to look ahead, because the sight ahead was the same, except for the rocks and gravel.

If it weren't for the endless Shaliu River on the side, which pointed out the direction for them, the soldiers really didn't know how many times they would have been lost.

But they still wonder from time to time, could it be that they are on the wrong path? How could tens of thousands of people and cattle hide in such a place?

Deng Yu didn't ride a horse either, just like ordinary soldiers, walking silently on the gravel road. It's not that he has the heart to share weal and woe with the soldiers, but that this kind of road is impossible to ride a horse at all, otherwise the horse will stumble, and the person will fall off the horse, and the tendons and bones will be broken.

After a long time of silence, before the sun set, the scouts returned.

The soldiers brought him to Deng Yu, and Deng Yu cast an inquiring look.

The scout shook his head, Deng Yue sighed in disappointment, and waved his hand to signal him to rest.

Then he hissed to Mu Ying on the side: "Let's go to camp." ”

Mu Ying nodded, and forcibly commanded the subordinates to arrange guards, set up deer villages, and bury pots for cooking.

Especially when cooking, you have to hurry up, because you have to turn off the heat before dark. Otherwise, after dark, the firelight will be a beacon for sneak attackers.

And among the mountains, the sun always can't wait to set, and before the soldiers can boil the water, the sky is dark. They had no choice but to step on the fire and soak in unboiled water to eat.

Blister rice is a field army food invented by the Ming army. It is to dehumidify and dry the rice after steaming, so that it can be stored for a long time. In an environment like Kunlun Mountain, it won't be bad for a few months. When eating, soak it in hot water, and you can eat it directly, which is very convenient.

The main non-staple food is tempeh mixed with mashed salt, made into biscuits, and then dried. When eating, peel a piece the size of a jujube kernel and eat it with soaked rice to supplement salt and increase the taste.

In fact, the status of the Ming army at the beginning of the country was high and the guarantee was strong, and there were even dried meat, moon cakes, and candied fruit to eat when they set off, but at this time these delicious things were exhausted.

At the moment, in addition to these two kinds of food, there is only a little pot helmet and fried noodles left......

The soldiers sat together in groups of three or five, silently eating soaked rice and soy salt beans, but they did not complain. In fact, they don't have the strength to complain, they just want to finish their meals quickly and go to sleep.

As everyone knows, even these two things are not much to eat......

The baggage officer came to Deng Yu's side and reported in a low voice: "Dashuai, there are ten days left......

"......" Deng Yu's face was extremely ugly, and the cooking cake in his hand was difficult to swallow.

"Is it going to reduce the supply from tomorrow?" Mu Ying said in a low voice.

"......" Deng Yu shook his head, after entering the plateau, the consumption of the soldiers was extremely great, just marching normally, and the required rations were just in time for the battle. This is also an important reason why military rations bottomed out half a month earlier than expected.

But he didn't dare to reduce the food for the soldiers, first of all, if they couldn't eat enough, it would greatly weaken the physical strength of the soldiers, and even affect their ability to compete with this plateau and snow-capped mountain.

And Deng Yue knew that the soldiers were very sensitive to food. Especially in these difficult times, when it is found that ration quotas are reduced, can seriously undermine their morale.

"Tomorrow we will start killing livestock, first killing donkeys, mules, and horses, leaving only the war horses." After being silent for a long time, Deng Yu finally gave the instruction.

"Whoa." The baggage officer nodded, and asked with some hesitation: "In this case, the baggage can't be ......."

"Throw away everything except what is necessary." Deng Yu said in a deep voice.

"Yes." The baggage officer went in response.

"Killing livestock is also a morale boost, right?" Mu Ying said in a low voice.

"It's okay, I'll tell the soldiers first, these animals are the rations that have been prepared." Deng Yue said lightly: "It's just time to eat them." ”

"The big handsome can really soothe people...... Mu Ying couldn't help but admire: "The last general has learned another trick." ”

"Hehe......" Deng Yue smiled, and was just about to speak, when suddenly he coughed violently, and his face turned red.

Mu Ying hurriedly handed over the water and rubbed his big spine again, so that it was easy to stop coughing.

"Dashuai's cough is getting worse and worse."

"Before entering the mountain, I was as strong as an ox, and it seems that I am not the opponent of Kunlun Mountain." Deng Yu smiled bitterly, and suddenly sighed again: "Alas, I didn't expect to chase a thousand miles, and I haven't seen the figure of Tubo yet." ”

According to the pre-estimate, the Tibetan tribes brought their families and livestock, and at most they hid for hundreds of miles to break through the sky......

"This opponent, understand the marshal, understand our Ming army." Mu Ying smiled bitterly.

"Well, King Yu of the Northern Yuan Dynasty followed us from Xuanfu to Hezhou, and he must be familiar with us." Deng Yu nodded and said, "However, this is not just a problem that can be solved by understanding. ”

After a pause, he whispered, "I guess we were wrong in our previous judgment, and their hiding place is not necessarily by the river. ”

"No, tens of thousands of people eat horses and chew, how much water do they need every day, how can they stand living without water?" Mu Ying said in disbelief.

Coupled with their previous speculation, the Tibetan tribes must have taken refuge in river valleys, canyons, and other sheltered places in the Kunlun Mountains where rivers pass through because they brought old and weak women, children, and livestock.

Such places tend to be moist and warm with pasture growth, and it is possible to carry tens of thousands of people to take refuge. And of course it's big enough.

Therefore, since the Western Expeditionary Army entered the Kunlun Mountains, they have been searching along the river, even the tributaries, and some such river valleys and canyons have also been found, but there are no figures from the various departments of Tibet.

"We overlooked one thing." Deng Yu pointed to the white in the air in the distance, which was the snow on the top of the mountain.

"Snow water?" Mu Ying let out a low snort.

(End of chapter)