Compared with the Central Plains, although the grassland is vast and relatively flat, it is by no means a thoroughfare. Mountains, blisters, forests, valleys and hills are more mysterious because of the gentle terrain, and it is not uncommon for a Central Plains person who has never been to the grassland to lose his way in the grassland than in the mountains.

Because of the advent of the Great War, the garrison of Gubeikou increased, and the scouts sent out were of course more than ten times, or even dozens of times that of normal times. It was not only the number of people that increased, but also the distance of exploration, from thirty li to fifty li, and then to eighty li, and in the case of never being able to find the Khitan army, the Gubeikou guard extended this distance to a hundred li.

The scout ranger rode deep into the grassland, which was basically tantamount to suicide.

In times of war, the tribes of the steppes can be called soldiers, and women and children can fight when necessary, if they have swords and arrows in their hands. In this case, the scout's life would be in danger even if he came across a steppe man who was hunting and grazing.

This is the first time Zhang Zai has come to the grassland.

Even as a scout ranger, he needs to be calm and cautious at all times, and he is deeply impressed by the magnificent scenery of the grassland. Along the way, the amazing gaze in his eyes has never dissipated, and there is infinite pride in his chest, and he has the urge to recite poetry many times.

The two Confucian scholars beside him also reacted in the same way.

Writing poems near the water, ascending to the heights, and observing the scenery are the interests of the book business, and they are the habits engraved in their bones. The desert is lonely, the sun sets on the long river, why should the Qiang flute complain about the willows and the spring breeze...... This is how these psalms, which have been passed down through the ages, came about.

Since ancient times, there is no first, there is no second, of course, there is no reason for the ancients to specialize in beauty.

It's a pity that the rangers always have a dead face, don't say that they won't be given a chance to stay, and they are not even allowed to speak at will. This made Zhang Zai and others full of splendid articles, and they could only chew them in their mouths a few times and swallow them back into their stomachs.

I can't chant poetry, it's really very uncomfortable, it's more uncomfortable than holding back three urgency, so before noon, when the cavalry took a short rest, eating food and drinking, Zhang Zai came to Niu Dan's side and asked each other, how they wanted to find the traces of the Khitan army.

It has been a short time since everyone entered the grassland, and even if they searched left and right, the distance in a straight line exceeded eighty miles.

"When the steppe people go out on the expedition, they must drive a large number of cattle and sheep as military rations, and a fine cavalry of 100,000 people will inevitably have more than a million cattle and sheep. With such a large-scale livestock operation, how can it not leave traces, even if the Khitans intend to clean up, as long as we are keen, we can always catch clues. ”

Niu Dan glanced at him obliquely, he didn't want to tell the other party about these military affairs, but when he remembered the instructions of the commander before leaving, he could only be patient and say a few more words coldly.

"If we can't find the army, we can't find the dung of the livestock? as long as we find them, we can deduce where the Khitan army is, how many people there are, and even the direction of their activities. ”

Speaking of this, Niu Dan suddenly sneered, "You scholars won't understand these things.

"Do you know the difference between sheep dung and cow dung? Do you know how to judge the number of the opposing army's army by the traces of broken weeds? Tell you, on the grassland, as long as you are careful enough and have a little luck, everything is hidden!"

Zhang Zai didn't expect that the soldier in front of him, whose name was vulgar and stupid, and who exuded the smell of sweat, would still have such knowledge, so he opened his mouth and said: "Cow dung is a pool, and sheep dung is an egg-......."

There was nothing wrong with this sentence, but as soon as he thought of Niu Dan's name, Zhang Zai immediately closed his mouth, and looked at Niu Dan with a complicated, weird and apologetic look.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with Zhang Zai shutting up, but when he looked at Niu Dan's eyes, Niu Dan's eyes sank, and he felt that this stupid scholar was satirizing himself with yin and yang, and he wanted to have a seizure.

But for the sake of the unity of the team, he just snorted heavily and stopped talking.

In fact, Zhang Zai originally wanted to ask, how to judge the number of the army by the traces of weeds being trampled and damaged, and be able to distinguish the difference between sheep dung and cow dung, which is already very rare for him, a scholar who is not diligent - this kind of thing is actually very common, but once you see it, you will be impressed - but seeing Niu Dan's expression, he also knew that he had problems with his verbal reaction, so he didn't say more.

According to Zhang Zai's character, if he is facing a scholar with a little knowledge, he will definitely not hesitate at this time, and he will definitely apologize.

It's just that the cow eggs in front of me look so vulgar. When the other party took off the hood, Zhang Zai also saw the lice crawling in the other party's chicken nest-like hair, and under the cold in his heart, the idea of looking up to it just now was gone, replaced by a strong disdain.

That little thought of apologizing disappeared completely.

"Brother Zhang, I heard that among the imperial dynasty, there are many master monks, and the Tsing Yi Yamen is even more pervasive.

Beside Zhang Zai, a fellow disciple with thin eyebrows and small eyes asked him.

Zhang Zai looked left and right, and saw that no one was paying attention to them here, so he shook his head and said solemnly: "You think too highly of yourself." Although there are many monks in the imperial dynasty, there are also many Khitan monks, and during the war, who did not fight in their own position?

"Not to mention the Yuguan battlefield, which brought together hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides, even the Yanzhou in the west is now in full swing, we are just a few scholars, and we are not important figures, who has the leisure to take care of us elegantly?

Disciple Liu Dahe changed color and said: "Then aren't we all in danger of our lives all the time?"

Zhang Zai said, "If the soldiers at the border pass can die in battle, why can't you and me?" Although I don't look down on such vulgar men as Niu Dan, I have to admit their merits in fighting the border in bloody battles. In the final analysis, everyone carries a head on two shoulders, and when it comes to the battlefield, no one is more expensive than anyone's life. ”

Liu Dahe was speechless.

Jang Jae patted him on the shoulder. He is one of Zhang Qi's most valued disciples, and he is also a scholar in the realm, and his status in Yangzhou Confucianism is not ordinary.

He said earnestly: "In the battle of Luoyankou, the invincible and meritorious Wolf Tooth Army elite cavalry was almost wiped out, the deputy general Zhao Nianci died in battle, and the Shangguan generals almost fell. They are all sons of the world, which one is not the meat of King An's heart? Even they can be shrouded in horse leather, what reason do we have to be delicate?"

Liu Dahe wanted to speak several times and stopped.

When it was over, his eyes when he looked at Zhang Zai became extremely weird.

When Zhang Zai was about to ask a question, he bothered and said, "Brother Zhang, these words don't look like what you said.

"When you were in Yangzhou, you never had a good impression of the fighting men in the army. I only regard them as a group of people who are cheap, have no knowledge and no vision, only know how to fight for their own food, and don't know what the great cause of the world is......"

Zhang Zai was stunned.

When Liu Dahe said this, he also found that in the past few days since he came to the north, some concepts have indeed changed, but he has not realized it before.

Zhang Zai thought carefully for a while, and soon had a clear understanding, as a Confucian student who took "my day, three provinces, and my body" as his motto, he was very good at this kind of thinking.

Zhang Zai looked at Niu Dan, who had a rough voice and laughed with the soldiers, his eyes were sharp, and he said slowly: "Perhaps, it's because of the border pass."

"In Huainan, the soldiers and men fought and killed, only for the interests of the feudal town, for a little property, and it was not ambiguous to kill women, children, the old and the weak. In order to change this status quo and make them loyal to him, King Wu used our Confucianism to promote the theory of loyalty and righteousness, although it has some effect, but because the time is still short, it is limited after all.

"But at the border...... The soldiers here fought against the northern barbarians, fought bloody battles, and defended the Central Plains behind them. Whether they have the consciousness and conviction to die for the country or not, what they do actually protects their compatriots.

"I have been to see the graves of the war dead in the North Exit, the broken white flags in the middle of nowhere, in the evening breeze, and the graves with only more wooden tablets than mass graves are indeed very desolate. No matter how many sons of my life look down on the big characters that are not a few mud legs, I can't help but feel admiration at that moment. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Zai paused, and wanted to say more, but for a while, it seemed to sink into the memories of the scene of that day, and he had no time to say the rest of the words.

Liu Dahe nodded solemnly and said, "When I went to see it with Mr. and Brother Zhang that day, I almost burst into tears. In any case, they died for the country. Although they do not have the pride and talent to govern the country and level the world, what they do is worthy of our admiration. ”

Liu Dahe sighed, looked at the northern grassland and was silent for a while, and muttered: "There are many emotions in this world, but in terms of heroism, what is better than dying for the country?"

The two looked at each other and said no more.

These words may not happen among ordinary soldiers, because of their lack of knowledge, even if they feel it in their hearts, they can only red-eyed, twist their knives and bravely rush to the enemy, and they cannot say these profound truths.

At this moment, Zhang Zai and Liu Dahe were both moved, and an inexplicable flame burned in their chests.

It's just that they can't react immediately, and in their young, hot-blooded bodies that have not yet cooled, they have begun to flow with the idea of justifying the name of the border army, writing their glory, spirit and sacrifice for the bloody soldiers, and making everyone in the world admire and praise.

The border army only knows how to fight to the death, and no matter how exciting their dying roar is, it is destined to dissipate in the fierce or gentle north wind, and their feelings and lives are destined to disappear silently with the desolate tomb.

These soldiers who live and work in peace and contentment for the people of the Central Plains and for the glory and wealth of officials and wealthy businessmen, and fight to shed their last drop of blood that their families are looking forward to every day, should not be ignored and ignored.

And now, among them, there are a few scholars who can hold a pen.

Although for now, they don't get along well, and they don't like each other.

The cavalry set out on the road again and set foot north on the boundless grassland, but after only an hour, the traces of large-scale cattle and sheep activities were found in Dutou Egg.

Without waiting for Niu Dan to carefully examine these clues and deduce the number and movement of the Khitan army, this ranger who went deep into the danger zone was attacked by the Khitan cavalry several times his size.