Rosalind said calmly: "There is no point in us continuing to walk towards Yarkand City. The top brass of the Yarkand Khanate can no longer be trusted. If we continue towards Yarkand, we are likely to fall into their clutches. We have to go west. Keep heading west. Make a short stop at the fork force and then continue westward. ”

Marthatini said in a daze, "Do you mean to go back to our country directly?" However, if this is the case, we have a long way to go! ”

Rosalind nodded and said cautiously, "Even if we don't go back to our own country, we should at least wait near the border." Only by leaving the control of the White Clothes Army and the Yer cavalry can it be safe. Anyone who belongs to the Yarkand Khanate, we must be careful. We'd better be able to get back to Aksi before autumn arrives. ”

Of course, what she meant was not as simple as just going back to the Western Regions. After she returns, she will have to find a way to launch a new attack. The hatred with the white army can't be ignored so easily. In the Three Kingdoms of the Western Regions, a considerable number of fanatics have already gathered, and as long as they go back and organize a little, they can launch a new attack. This time, not only did they have to clean up Xu Xingxia's white-clothed army, but they also had to clean up the Yarkand Kingdom.

Autumn in the Western Regions is the best season to launch a military offensive. In most areas, the climate is suitable for fighting, and there is enough forage to feed the horses. As long as you successfully take down the intended attack target, you can spend the winter comfortably. When the time comes next spring, a new offensive will be available. Cyclic battles have always been like this.

Marthatini cheered up and said stupidly, "Good! Let's go! Let's go back first, and then make a comeback! I must find a way to get this revenge back! ”

…… Gao Jie was tired.

The entire mastiff cavalry was very tired.

Advancing from the left guard of Handong to the loss of fork force is actually a road that few people take. Along the way, there were hardly any supply points, not even a few figures. This road, in fact, is the ancient Silk Road, which was opened purely along the edge of Tarim. There are quite a few historical monuments they have walked through. Among them, there are the remains of the ancient Loulan Kingdom.

It is estimated that more than 1,000 years ago, this road was the main passage of the Silk Road. At that time, the Kingdom of Loulan was still very prosperous. All kinds of legends about Loulan can be written in a thick book. During the Han Dynasty, the Han people who went to the Western Regions basically had to stay in the Loulan Kingdom. However, later, the kingdom of Guloulan suddenly and mysteriously perished, and this road gradually became deserted. The Silk Road was therefore divided into two routes, north and south.

However, even though the conditions were difficult, the mastiff cavalry finally passed through here with strong perseverance. The mastiff cavalry once crossed the barren northern desert and fought all the way to the core hinterland of the Tatars, and they have long had very rich experience in these desert areas. This time, they were also well prepared before their departure. Therefore, from Gao Jie's point of view, the difficulty is not very great. Of course, exhaustion is a certainty. After walking such a long way, even the gods can't hold on. The mastiff cavalry must have a good rest.

Fortunately, after the Mastiff cavalry troops reached the fork and lost their strength, the local Yarkand defenders immediately dispersed. Part of the defenders surrendered to the white-clothed army. The fork force loss is a good supply point, there is enough supplies, and there is also enough water. In order to ensure the connection with the Turpan area, Abdullat and others have stockpiled a considerable amount of military supplies here. Now, all the military supplies are in the hands of the white-clothed army.

Gao Jie immediately ordered the mastiff cavalry to seize the time to rest. For the vast number of mastiff cavalry soldiers, the most important thing is to take a good bath. Due to the lack of water, since entering the Western Regions, many mastiff cavalry soldiers have not taken a comfortable bath. Now, they finally have the opportunity to rub all the dry mud bumps off their bodies.

Bosten Lake has become the best place for mastiff cavalry to relax. The soldiers in white who had been tired for more than a month could finally take a good bath and eat. In addition to the necessary vigilance and training, they spent the day in Bosten Lake, as if to make up for the missing baths. The originally clear and calm Bosten Lake, because of the arrival of the mastiff cavalry, constantly stirred up bursts of ripples, exuding a strong vitality.

Many mastiff warriors like to rub the mud of Bosten Lake on their bodies. According to the locals, the silt of Bosten Lake, which is very effective in treating skin diseases, is very effective. If the locals have any skin ailments, they treat them with the silt of Bosten Lake. It just so happened that due to not bathing for a long time, many mastiff cavalry soldiers had some skin diseases on their bodies to a greater or lesser extent, even if they took medicine, it was useless. Now, they have finally found a cure. They simply smeared their whole bodies as if they were clay figures.

Sure enough, the effect of the silt of Bosten Lake is magical. In three or five days, the skin diseases on many mastiff cavalry soldiers have improved one after another. When the news spread, more mastiff warriors suddenly became clay figures. Even the commander Gao Jie is no exception. Some people simply burrowed in the mud by the lake and lay down for most of the day.

The fish in Bosten Lake were also wiped out for the first time due to the arrival of the White Army. Mastiff cavalry soldiers, who have not eaten fish for a long time, send people to catch a large number of fish every day as an ingredient. The fish in Bosten Lake are indeed abundant, and sometimes hundreds of fish can be caught in a net, at least three or four thousand catties. If you go a little further to the center of the lake, the harvest will be even larger. The cooking class changes the practice of various fish every day, as if to eat all the fish that has not been eaten in a year.

One day in early June, Gao Jie himself was bored, just next to Bosten Lake, ** fishing with his whole body and eyes closed. There are all males here, not a single female, and most of the mastiff cavalry soldiers are naked. This is also the most unique scenery around Bosten Lake. Many locals secretly prayed that the heavens would blame these rude people. However, it is estimated that the gods are too busy to pay attention to their prayers.

The scout captain suddenly hurried to Gao Jie's front and reported an emergency.

After listening carefully, Gao Jie opened his eyes and said suspiciously: "A combat team of two or three hundred people, with strong combat effectiveness, and there are women in it?" ”

The scout captain said, "Those who carry female dependents must be important people. ”

Gao Jie frowned and said, "What kind of important person is it, is there any accurate news?" ”

The scout captain shook his head and said regretfully, "I have asked repeatedly, but I have no clue for the time being, and I don't know who the other party is. The team that exchanged fire with the other party was never able to identify the other party. Not the cavalry of Yarkand, to be sure. They had never seen each other before. I sent scouts to search the area repeatedly, but they didn't find anything. I've brought all of that team back, would you like to ask the Commander personally? ”

Gao Jie immediately stood up and said decisively: "Of course!" Bring them to me right away. ”

Soon, more than a dozen white-clothed soldiers who had exchanged fire with the Rosalind Guards were brought to Gao Jie. After careful inquiry, Gao Jie basically figured out the situation. He walked back and forth by the lake a few times, and suddenly slammed his fist and exclaimed, "They must be Rosalind or Marthadine!" You must be a fanatic! They must have been defeated by the chairman and are on their way to escape! ”

The scout captain said suspiciously, "Is it possible that someone else?" ”

Gao Jie said with certainty: "It won't be anyone else." Because their attire, as well as their weapons and equipment, we mastiff cavalry have never encountered before. If they were the cavalry of Yarkand, we would know each other. Previously in Hamiwei, we had contact with the cavalry of the Yarkand army. Since they were not Yarkand's cavalry, they could only be fanatics. In the Turpan region, there were only two armed forces, the Zealot and the Turpan Cavalry. ”

After a slight pause, Gao Jie said with a calm face: "There are many women in their team, and it is very likely that they are Rosalind and Marthadine. It should be the chairman of the committee who led the team and scattered the enemy, and the desperate enemy had no choice but to flee to our side. Yes, it must be so! We've got to catch them! ”

After a moment of silence, Gao Jie decisively ordered: "Order the troops, line up in the north-south direction where the fork force was lost, and intercept all passing pedestrians and merchants." If you find traces of fanatics, you must do everything possible to annihilate them. It would be better if it could be captured alive. ”

He separated the remaining mastiff cavalry squads and placed them in each unit to serve as the main personnel for identifying the fanatics. At the same time, light cavalry was sent to urgently advance eastward, searching for the presence of Rosalind and Marthatini. The purpose of this is not to really catch the two of them, but to startle the snakes so that the two of them have nowhere to hide.

The Mastiff Cavalry had a strength of more than 8,000 men, and a part of the Lion Cavalry that cooperated with the battle, almost 12,000 men. If you add the local forces, there are almost 15,000 people. With such a strong force, it would be a joke if they couldn't catch Rosalind and Marthadine, and they couldn't kill two or three hundred fanatics.

Of course, if Rosalind and Marthatini change direction and don't lose the force of the fork, it has nothing to do with the mastiff cavalry. After all, the Western Regions are so big and there are so many roads, even if the mastiff cavalry has three heads and six arms, they can't block all the roads.

(To be continued)