The cadres rested on the edge of a coniferous forest, and the makeshift camp was surrounded by rangers.

Chang Kun came over and reported to Zhao Junsheng: "Your Majesty, the minister has sent people to investigate, and no people have been found within a radius of ten miles around, and the minister estimates that those Rouran tribes have moved to a far place, but there are a few wild horses and bison herds found nearby, as well as wolves!" ”

Zhao Junsheng took out the map and said while looking at it: "This area is relatively remote and desolate, there is a desert in the west nearby, and the eastern section of the Tangnu Mountains in the north, the terrain is complex, and it is normal to find no traces of human habitation!" Where are we now······ It is still five days away from the confluence of Zhiju Water and Shishui! By the way, has you found a water source here? ”

Chang Kun replied: "No water source was found, but the minister found that the soil here is still wet, the vegetation is lush, and there should be water underground, so the minister will organize the soldiers to dig pits and store water!" ”

Zhao Junsheng thought for a while and nodded: "Since there are herds of cattle and wild horses, there should be a water source nearby, but if it is not found within a radius of ten miles, it should be far away." At this time, it is too troublesome to find a water source and let the soldiers go to the water source to rest, and it is good to organize the soldiers to dig pits and store water, which is convenient and trouble-free! ”

"Yes!"

It took only one hour for the soldiers of the engineering battalion to dig a large puddle, which was still muddy and needed to be precipitated to make the water clear before boiling it for drinking.

As soon as the puddle was dug up, a sentry rode over with a whip and reported breathlessly: "Your Majesty, we have found a small team of people and horses, messengers from the Heyun Sect's Captain's Department and Bai Jinguang's Department to convey their will!" ”

"What? How did the messenger of the will come here? Zhao Junsheng was taken aback and immediately ordered: "Bring them to see me quickly!" ”

"No!"

The news quickly spread in the team, and Chang Kun, Yang Lie, Dongfang Chen, Li Song and other ministers and generals rushed over one after another.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the scout sentry has met a messenger who conveyed his will to the lieutenant and Bai Jinguang? How did they get here? Dongfang Chen asked.

Zhao Junsheng said: "We don't know yet, but when they arrive, we'll find it clear when we ask!" ”

Everyone stayed by Zhao Junsheng's side and waited for the messenger to arrive, and one by one they whispered about the various problems that the messenger might encounter on the way that led them to come here.

After two moments, a cavalry of about two hundred cavalry came to the temporary camp under the guidance of the sentinel horse, led by a dragon guard general, a standard-bearer holding a banner of the general, and a eunuch beside the general, this eunuch's name was Yuan Lan, or Zhao Junsheng personally named him as a eunuch to herald the decree.

Yuan Lan and the generals asked the soldiers to stay in the camp to rest and eat, and he and the accompanying guards came to Zhao Junsheng together.

"Old slave greets Your Majesty!"

"Long Wei Neidu will Xie Guang pay a visit to Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junsheng asked: "You set off two days earlier than my men and horses, and you took the straight road, and I also took the men and horses around in a big circle, why haven't you arrived at the captain's army, but you are here?" ”

Yuan Lan and Xie Guang both had bitter gourd faces, and Yuan Lan said: "The old slave and General Xie arrived at Yanran Mountain six days after they set off from Heyun, but they got lost in Yanran Mountain, and it took five days to come out of the mountain!" After coming out, I found that the terrain drawn on the map was very rough, and many places were even blank, and the old slave and General Xie could only take the men and horses all the way north, but they didn't expect to meet His Majesty's men and horses! ”

Zhao Junsheng was speechless after hearing this, but he also knew that Yuan Lan and Xie Guang couldn't be blamed for this, in the absence of a map and unfamiliar with the terrain, it was normal to get lost in the vast wilderness of Mobei.

Zhao Junsheng said: "This is also your luck, if it weren't for the temporary rest of the soldiers here with me, I'm afraid that even if you go to the extreme north and go to the edge of the sky, you won't be able to find the army of captains!" ”

The two were ashamed.

Dongfang Chen asked, "Didn't you let you bypass the western foot of Yanran Mountain?" How did you come up with the idea of going over Yanran Mountain? ”

Xie Guang blushed and said: "Gonggong Yuan and I are thinking about saving some time, the distance over Yanran Mountain should be much closer, and we can quickly find the source of Shishui or Zhiju Water, but I didn't expect to almost can't get out of the mountain, and after coming out, it was a rainy day for several days, and I couldn't find a sense of direction at all, the guide car broke down on the way, and I couldn't find the two obvious rivers on the map, so I could only walk by feeling!" ”

Zhao Junsheng waved his hand: "Forget it, it is a great luck in misfortune that you can be safe and reunite with me, go down and rest first!" ”

The two saluted: "The old slave (the last general) retires!" ”

Dongfang Chen watched the two of them walk away, and said to Zhao Junsheng: "Your Majesty, the will has not been passed into the hands of Wei and Bai Jinguang, then it is certain that Wei and Bai Jinguang should still be searching for Rouran, and Wei and Bai Jinguang's men and horses should be in the northwest of Zhiju Shui!" This place is still five days away from the intersection of Zhiju Water and Shishui, and the minister suggested sending a number of 100 teams to search for Zhiju Water soldiers in a fan shape, so that it is easier to encounter the men and horses sent by the captain, and then tell the captain, we will go to the intersection of Zhiju Water and Shishui to meet him! ”

Zhao Junsheng turned his head and looked at the map and shook his head and said: "You see, most of the areas north of Yanran Mountain on the map are blank areas, and there are only two main rivers, that is, Shishui and Zhijushui are relatively clear, and the others are not clear, which shows that no one in the Northern Wei Dynasty has ever been to this area, and it is no wonder that the progress of the captain's army is slow, all because of the unfamiliar terrain, it is easy to have an accident if the enemy rushes in, and the lieutenant is still very cautious!"

We are now digging pits to store water and take water, but we have a large number of soldiers and horses, and the water in one pit is not enough to drink, so we must find the water source as soon as possible. ”

Early the next morning, the army set out to march forward.

After two days of marching eastward, the forward spies reported the discovery of a river fifteen miles north of the northeast.

After Zhao Junsheng received the report, he immediately led his army to the river, and it only took half an hour to reach the river, and after setting up camp by the river, Zhao Junsheng found that the river was going from the northwest to the southeast, and its source should be the northern foot of the eastern section of Tangnu Mountain.

Next, Zhao Junsheng sent a number of cavalry teams with teeth as a unit to explore the surrounding terrain and enemy situation, and agreed that the farthest distance to be explored would not exceed 100 miles.

After a day, the teams sent out kept sending people back to report the news, and some of the teams discovered the habitation of the Rouran tribe, but they had already gone to the ground; There were also some people who caught some Rouran people hiding in the mountains and forests, and the number was small, and after interrogation, most of the Rouran people had already migrated to the northwest.

On the north and south banks of the river, several grazing lands once inhabited by the Rouran people have been found, but none of them are gone.

"That Yan, is there still a letter eagle that passed the message with Wei and Bai Jinguang?" Zhao Junsheng asked.

Na Yan clenched his fists with a bitter face and said: "The letter eagle released before the departure has not returned, and the minister is worried that the letter eagle has encountered an accident during the flight, but there are still two letter eagles, but they are both used to contact Heyun, and it is useless to contact them with the captain."

Zhao Junsheng was at a loss, this was the first time he felt helpless because he was not familiar with the terrain.

"After this battle is over, I must send someone to explore the terrain of the entire Mobei to the bottom of the sky, and the map drawn will be clearer and more accurate than the Rouran people who have lived here for generations!" Zhao Junsheng slapped the table and said angrily.

At this time, a soldier walked in and reported: "Your Majesty, that Kuhehan has asked to see Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Junsheng was stunned for a moment, muttering in his heart What is this guy doing? After thinking for a while, he ordered: "Let him in!" ”

Hu Hehan walked in and saluted Zhao Junsheng: "See Your Majesty!" ”

Zhao Junsheng asked: "I heard that you want to see me, is there something wrong?" ”

"I heard that Your Majesty is sending people around to reconnoiter the surrounding terrain, and want to find the captain's army, I have a map here, although it is a little rough, but I think it should be able to help Your Majesty!"

A roll of sheepskin was taken out by Kuhehan, and the eunuch took the sheepskin roll from his hand and handed it to Zhao Junsheng.

Kuhehan said: "This river is called the Mutuo River in our Rouran, from our current position along the river to the southeast for two days, there is a large area of abundant water and grass, very suitable for living and grazing, there are tens of thousands of horses can also be fed, it will not be worse than the Khan's Court, the locals call it Mutuo, this is how the name of the Mutuo River comes, Your Majesty may wish to send someone to that area to explore, maybe you can find the army of the captains!" ”

Zhao Junsheng finished reading the map and ordered: "Nayan, send someone to walk two hundred miles along the river to investigate!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junsheng looked at Kuhehan and asked, "Do you know where all the Rouran people here have gone?" ”

Hu Hehan shook his head and said: "I don't know very well, not all the power of Rouran is in the hands of Tuga Zhen, after Tuhe Zhen led the army to leave the Khan's Court, the affairs of the Khan's Court are in charge of Princess Tuzhen, and the migration of the various tribes of Rouran must be Princess Tuzhen's order!" However, in my opinion, the Rouran tribes should have moved to the northwest and north, because the only way to leave is to leave as far away as possible! ”

Zhao Junsheng waved his hand and sent away Hu Hehan.

As the cavalry squads sent out one after another sent back the maps drawn through reconnaissance, Zhao Junsheng and his people revised these maps, and soon formed a relatively regular map, and the terrain north of Yanran Mountain was gradually clearly presented on paper.

The news obtained from the investigation also kept coming back, through the summary, Zhao Junsheng found that there was indeed no trace of the Rouran people in this large area, it seems that the determination of the Rouran tribes is quite big, since they are gone, they will go cleanly, and this is what makes Zhao Junsheng a headache, if the Rouran people make a comeback in the future, he will not feel strange.

Two days later, at noon, a scout galloped into the camp on a fast horse.

"Your Majesty, we have made contact with the army of the captains, and they are on the Mutuo grassland two hundred miles away!"

Zhao Junsheng was overjoyed, ordered the army to prepare for the camp, and set off early the next morning to join the army of the captain's family.

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