The crowd was running out for five miles, and it was already dark, and the traces of the battle spread all the way to an open-air well, and everyone approached the well.

Jingfang's corpse has been gathered into a large section, the occurrence here is the most tragic, the broken weapons are scattered all over the ground, Lao Lai picked up a broken knife, took a closer look, and said, "This is the Mufeng sword cut!"

Xie Tong found a very important information, the hoof prints in front of Jingfang were messy, and the two rows of hoof prints in Jingxi were obviously very regular and had no intention of being messy, which showed that the enemy was still very strategic. He hurriedly told the news to Lao Lai.

Lao Lai suddenly quieted down, and said, "Lay it out, it is very likely that the other party set up an ambush here and took our people away, and they are better than us!"

After saying this, he was busy inspecting the well for a long time, and there was still a large trace of dried water on the ground, and the old man was busy lying on it and sniffing it, and said, "This water has been sprayed with strong sweat medicine, you see that the sun has dried the water, but the traces cannot be erased, this white powder is sweat medicine! Is this actually arranged by the enemy in advance? If it is really aimed at us, it will be terrible."

Xie Tong was also aware of the seriousness of the situation, but he still had a trace of belief, with Huo Zixin's martial arts cultivation, there should be a possibility of escape, and he hurriedly ordered, "Go all out to search the grass and trees in the vicinity, and if you find the news of General Huo, tell me immediately!"

After that, he said to Lao Lai, big brother, you and I each have a team of people, look for them separately, if you encounter an accident, you will ignite this rocket, we will support each other, and at dawn, we will meet in this well!

Lao Lai let out a long sigh and said, "Okay!"

The two immediately separated, looking for one east and one west.

The 1,000 men and horses led by Xie Tong immediately scattered to the vast land, and they shouted Huo Zixin's name as they walked, and after dark, they lit torches again!

By dawn, every inch of land within a radius of thirty miles had been turned over, and there was still no gain, and the soldiers had been running all night, and they were already sleepy and tired.

When Xie Tong returned to Jingfang, Lao Lai also came back with his head drooping, just looking at his expression, he knew that the situation was the same, was Huo Zixin really arrested?

Xie Tong sat in the well shop dejectedly, his good brother had disappeared, I don't know if he was killed by the enemy, or taken away, he didn't know, he leaned against the wall behind him, intending to rest, but he was suddenly hit by a hard thing behind him.

Xie Tong was very angry, at this juncture, even the broken stone came to tease him, he probed with his backhand, intending to touch the stone out and smash it, but as soon as he touched this thing, Xie Tong felt that something was wrong, this was not a stone, but a dagger.

Xie Tong turned around and saw a dagger inserting a small piece of sheepskin into the crack in the stone.

He hurriedly pulled out his dagger and removed the sheepskin.

Lao Lai saw that Xie Tong had made a discovery, and he also leaned over knowing the opportunity.

A few Chinese characters were written crookedly on the sheepskin, "Huo Zixin is in our hands, don't act rashly, we won't hurt him, and when the time comes, we will naturally contact you."

Only these words, there is no payment and no other information, after reading it, the two looked at each other, not knowing what to do!

Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time on the Prairie

Li Zheng, the king of Wu, sat behind the bookcase of the camp tent, he had read this sheepskin six times, and every time he read it, he shook his head once, this situation was obviously beyond his expectations, and after he read it for the seventh time, he finally spit out a few words, and said, "Everyone, what do you think of this matter?"

There was silence in the tent, and only Wang Wanru's constant sobbing could be heard, and Hong Shan and Cai Wei kept comforting her.

Xie Tong said, "Lord Wang, this matter is Xie Tong's responsibility, hey, I shouldn't have let him lead the troops to pursue alone, those horse thieves are extremely vicious, Zi Xin and I also decided to lead the troops to a decisive battle after seeing their tragic behavior, how do you know that you have hit the enemy's full set, please punish the prince."

With that, Xie Tong walked to the center of the tent and knelt down.

Li Zheng asked, "Are horse thieves really as ferocious as rumored?"

Xie Tong nodded and said, "Yes, I have seen them **** women with my own eyes, eating people's hearts raw."

As soon as these words came out, Wang Wanru was so frightened that she even stopped crying, her eyes turned black and she almost fainted.

Hong Shan quickly helped her, glared at Xie Tong fiercely, and blamed him for talking too much.

Lao Lai hurriedly said, "But the prince can rest assured, Huo Zixin is absolutely safe, since the other party left a sheepskin, it seems to be a warning, but in fact, it is to let us know his safety."

King Wu nodded, and said, "Hey, I really hope that the horse thief will make a request now, and this king will not hesitate to exchange for General Huo, ha, Wanru can rest assured, this king will not let the other party hurt a single hair of his hair."

Wang Wanru was relieved, confessed, and returned to the camp, obviously unable to bear such a blow, since hearing the news, she has been holding on.

Hong Shan and Cai Wei hurriedly helped him back to the room.

Li Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, what should I do next? This king looks at her like this, she can't leave, she can't stay, I really can't bear to see her sad."

Xie Tong said, "Lord, if Xie Tong doesn't care about brotherhood, it has been written clearly on the sheepskin, and it is meaningless for us to stay, these horse thieves obviously have a plan, but the time is not yet ripe, Xie suggested, continue to move forward and wait for the enemy to contact us."

Lao Lai said, "Lord Wang, I also agree with Brother Xie's opinion, since the other party is targeting us, staying is no different from advancing, if we give up entering Mobei, the enemy's intrigues and tricks will be useless, and Huo Zixin will be meaningless to them, it is useless to leave him, so it seems that it will harm him."

Li Zheng hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up, and said, "Okay, just listen to the two generals, the army will continue to set off tomorrow, and we will wait for the division of the heavenly kingdom, and we can't stagnate because of such a little difficulty, and let the small countries outside the country see us laughing." He regained his former domineering.

After experiencing this not very pleasant memory, the army continued on the road, Xie Tong learned from Lao Lai's mouth that there are dozens of ethnic groups outside the Saiwai, among which the larger and established the country are Khitan, East and West Turkic, Murwei, Xianbei, Hui, Tiele, Bohai, Heishui Yan, etc., from west to east, stretching for thousands of miles, and this time the Murwei clan is located in the east of Mobei, to pass through the ******, The territory of the Khitan and the Black Water Indiment, during which there was not only a deserted and uninhabited area, but also a terrifying desert, through the desert, there was an endless grassland, and the other end of the grassland was Murowei. And their current position has entered the territory of the Khitan State.

Xie Tong listened with relish, and said, "So, Brother Lai has been there?"

Lao Lai's face turned red and said, "It's just that I have heard, I have only been to the Khitan, and this is the route we are walking now, ha, it was when he worked hard for Kexu City, trafficked sheepskins for him, and dealt with the people of the Khitan clan, which can be regarded as familiar." The people of the Khitan tribe are very fierce, but they are very sincere, if you are kind to them, they will be kind to you, and they also hate Xue Yantuo's horse thieves!"

Xie Tong continued to ask, "What is the matter with the Xue Yantuo horse thief?"

Lao Lai Rushu said, "Xue Yantuo horse thieves originated from a small tribe in the north of the Hui Dynasty, because of the bullying of the ******, they raised troops to resist, how could they be outnumbered, not only lost the original territory, the clansmen were slaughtered, they were angry, changed the way of survival, no longer relying on nomadic herdsmen for a living, but robbed, at first they were the herdsmen who robbed the ******, and over time, provoked the anger of the ******, ****** Combining the various tribes on the steppe to suppress and kill, they continued to migrate, and eventually became today's horse thieves, but also for all ethnic groups, and interestingly, after changing the way of survival, they gradually became stronger and prosperous, and the tribes were scattered into more than ten branches, and have been following the life of horse thieves."

Xie Tong couldn't help but sigh that in this era of the jungle, the survival of the fittest, in order to survive, you can only try all kinds of ways, but in order to survive, it is really inappropriate to build the way of life on the lives of other peoples.

For three or four days, the army walked on this deserted land, and there was not a single figure in sight, and even supplies became difficult, especially in the water source, which had reached the point of imminence.

After encamping at night, Li Zheng called everyone to discuss.

In King Wu's handsome camp, Li Zheng frowned and said, "Everyone, due to the large number of people, our water has reached the point of running out of ammunition and food, according to the current estimate, it can only last for two days, General Lai, you are extremely familiar with this generation, do you know if there is any water source nearby!"

Lao Lai said, "There must be a water source, fifty miles to the east, is the territory of the Khitan tribe, Eqina City, there is a grassland, but if you take the liberty of going, I am afraid it will cause conflicts." ”

Li Zheng shook his head and denied this opinion.

Lao Lai said again, "Forty miles to the west, there is an underground river, if I am not mistaken, where there is a well workshop, it is built during the Zhenguan period, named Caojing, regardless of the cold winter and wax moon, the water flows endlessly."

Li Zheng said, "Then immediately send someone to fetch water, and the army is waiting here." It seems that General Lai is going to make a personal trip."

Lao Lai said, "The subordinates obey the order, so they will lead the troops there."

Wu Wang said, "Don't worry, it's not bad for this night's time."

How do you know that Lao Lai said firmly, "Please rest assured, I will definitely complete this task." ”

With that, he ran out of the tent, gathered his men and horses, and prepared to fetch water.

Xie Tong followed out of the camp tent and said, "It's extremely unsafe here, I'll go with you!"

Lao Lai shook his head and said, "It's okay, this is the territory of the Khitan clan, no matter how rampant the horse thieves are, they don't dare to be presumptuous here, you'd better stick to the camp, lest anything go wrong, I'll come back when I go."

Lao Lai selected 1,500 elite soldiers and left with torches.

Xie Tong returned to the camp, King Wu did not rest, he was drinking tea one by one, when he saw Xie Tong coming in, he asked, "Do you want to have a drink?"

Xie Tong nodded yes, Li Zheng personally poured him a cup of tea, which made Xie Tong feel very interesting, from ancient times to the present, which prince is not high, how can he be so approachable.

Li Zheng seemed to see through Xie Tong's thoughts, and said, "What, do you take the favor of this king as dog food? This king doesn't treat everyone like this", he suddenly laughed, and said, "Ha, in fact, this king has always treated you as a friend and brother."

Xie Tong smiled, "Ha, how dare your subordinates." ”

They both burst out laughing at the same time.

King Wu ordered someone to prepare wine and food, and the two chatted while drinking, waiting for Lao Lai here.

Four hours have passed, and there has been no news of Lao Lai, and according to the distance, it is time to come back after eighty miles.

Xie Tong's heart was clouded with a layer of haze, and with Huo Zixin's experience, he couldn't help but worry.

The east side gradually turned white, it was September, it was already cold outside, the temperature was much lower than that in the gate, Xie Tong was worried, he got up and walked out of the tent, and felt a cold wind blowing in his face.

He wanted to pick up the old man immediately, but he was not an old horse after all, and he didn't know the way outside this vast expanse.

Suddenly, the figure of the nightingale appeared in his sight.

The nightingale changed her outfit, wearing a sheepskin short coat on the top, and a long skirt below, which looked small and charming, which was a common dress on the grassland, Xie Tong's heart lit up, he saw the nightingale dressed in women's clothes for the first time, but he was irritable and had no intention of looking at this beauty.

Nightingale walked up to him quickly and said, "Why did you get up so early?"

Xie Tong smiled bitterly, "It's not that I got up early, but I haven't slept yet!"

Nightingale seemed to understand what he meant, and said, "Hasn't the old man come back yet?"

Xie Tong nodded, not making a sound.

The nightingale lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking, and after a long time, she bit her lip lightly and said, "It's not good, the old man may be in trouble!"

Xie Tong said angrily, "Don't be so unlucky, it's okay, according to the time, it is possible to be later, maybe it has encountered wind and sand and delayed."

The nightingale shook her head and said, "No, take me to see the prince!"

Xie Tong didn't know what kind of medicine she was selling in her gourd, so he had no choice but to take her to see the prince.

Li Zheng saw Xie Tong go and returned, and said, "Is Lao Lai back?"

Nightingale didn't wait for Xie Tong to answer, and said, "Lord, the folk girl has been to Saiwai and is quite familiar with this area, so please allow Nightingale to lead a thousand men and horses to meet Lao Lai." ”

King Wu smiled and said, "Nightingale girl, this king knows that you are worried about General Lai, but there is no precedent for a female general to lead troops in this dynasty, let you respond, is there no one in my dynasty?"

Xie Tong was shocked in his heart, he knew that the real relationship between Lao Lai and Nightingale was not a couple as claimed to the outside world, Nightingale's move was very inappropriate, could it be that the two of them actually secretly fell in love? In this way, it is also a good thing. He hurriedly said, "Lord Wang, please allow Nightingale to lead the troops! She is strong in martial arts, and she is more familiar with this area than her subordinates, so it is the most suitable."

King Wu sighed and said, "Okay, you can take two thousand men and horses and set off!" He deliberately asked Nightingale to bring an extra thousand men and horses just in case.

Nightingale hugged his fists and said, "Thank you, Lord, wait for my good news!"

The nightingale mounted her maroon steed, clicked, and slowly spoke.

After the nightingale set off, Xie Tong became even more worried in his heart, and his intuition told him that Lao Lai must have encountered something, otherwise with his experience, how could he do something worrying. (To be continued.) )