Chapter 387 Tracking
Chapter 387: Thousand Miles of Pursuit
Heading west from Fuqi City, you enter an uninhabited area that stretches for thousands of miles. It is either desert Gobi or plateau grassland. In the distance are snow-capped mountains, numerous mountain rivers, and lakes of all sizes that are strung like pearls on the plateau.
The rivers are generally short, fast and not deep, so people can wade across them on horseback.
Wang Junkuo led a thousand cavalrymen to track down the Tuyuhun king Fuyun's troops. Each cavalryman was equipped with three horses and two thousand camels loaded with supplies.
The Sui army arrived half a day later than the Tuyuhun army, but Wang Junkuo was not in a hurry at all. He led his troops slowly and leisurely, stopping from time to time to admire the magnificent scenery and lengthening the distance between them and the Tuyuhun army, keeping it at about 150 miles.
But one hundred and fifty miles is really nothing compared to a distance of more than two thousand miles.
Wang Junkuo is over 30 years old this year. He started working as a thief in Hengshan area when he was 16 years old. He gradually became famous when he was just in his early 20s ten years ago. He became famous because of his nickname, White Wolf.
He has very white skin, but well-developed muscles, and is as ferocious and agile as a leopard. He prefers people to call him White Leopard, but no one calls him White Leopard. They all call him White Wolf because he is cunning, cruel, and good at tracking like a wolf. He once tracked an enemy for seven days and seven nights, relying on grass roots and tree bark to survive for seven days, and finally cut off the enemy's head.
No one is born willing to be a robber. He was appreciated by King Xiao Xia of Chu and became a senior general of the Sui army. He was quite satisfied and cautious, not wanting to lose the future he had worked so hard to get.
Wang Junkuo sent out a scout team of ten people to follow the Tuyuhun army from a distance. Every other day, one person would come back to report the situation to him. Ten days later, another scout team would be sent out.
At noon that day, Wang Junkuo led his army along a small river. They would soon reach the first freshwater lake on the map, Hala Lake. At this time, they were already 500 miles away from Fuqi City and had entered the plateau meadow area from the previous desert area.
The green grass along the way was particularly pleasing to the eye. The guide was called Wang De, which was his Chinese name. He was actually a Qiang merchant, about 40 years old. He traveled all year round, often went to Chang'an, and had been to Shanshan many times. He spoke Qiang, Chinese, Xianbei and Sogdian very fluently.
Wang De said to Wang Junkuo and Li Kexiao, "You should have discovered this feature. Lakes in grassland areas are freshwater lakes, while lakes in desert Gobi areas are saltwater lakes."
Wang Junkuo was puzzled and said, "But we encountered many small rivers along the way, all of which were fresh water!"
Wang De smiled and said, "Rivers are fresh water, but lakes are salt water lakes. It rarely rains in this area, so the water basically comes from the melting snow and ice in the mountains. However, if the rivers are dense, grasslands will be formed. If there is a lot of fresh water flowing into the lakes, they will naturally become fresh water lakes."
"Guide Wang, how far is Hala Lake from here?" asked Lang Jiang Li Ke.
Li Ke is very young, only in his twenties. He is a scout, very calm and doesn't talk much. Wang Junkuo doesn't dare to underestimate him. He thinks that if he can become a scout general, he must have something extraordinary.
"Twenty or thirty miles ahead is the Hara Lake, which is huge and magnificent!"
"Are there many tribes around?" Wang Junkuo asked.
"There must be quite a few. Large freshwater lakes are rare here."
At this time, a scout was running towards this side in the distance. Li Ke saw him and immediately asked, "General Wang, what should be going on ahead?"
Wang Junkuo nodded. The scouts he sent out should not be back until evening. It was only noon now. Maybe something had happened?
He hurried over and asked, "What happened?"
"General, there are more than 20,000 sheep about ten miles ahead. If you go this way, you will definitely encounter them."
“Are there any herders?”
"Yes! About seven or eight herdsmen."
Wang Junkuo thought for a moment and said, "Order the troops to speed up!"
His Royal Highness the King of Chu only asked them not to disturb the Qiang tribe, but if they met them on the road it should not be considered as disturbing them, as long as they did not steal their sheep.
The team quickened its pace, and sure enough, a large flock of sheep suddenly appeared in front of them, grazing peacefully by the river.
Wang Junkuo ordered Li Ke, "General Li, go get all the herdsmen here. I want to ask about the situation!"
"Follow the order!"
Li Ke rode down with dozens of men. Soon, they brought up seven herdsmen. They were obviously Qiang people and looked very nervous. "General, they don't understand Chinese!"
Wang Junkuo turned around and waved to Wang De, who quickly stepped forward. Wang Junkuo pointed with his whip and asked, "Are you from the tribe of Hara Lake?"
Wang De translated, and the Qiang leader quickly said a few words. Wang De translated: "They said that their tribe left without notifying them, and when they came back, they found that the tribe was gone."
Wang Junkuo was stunned. What does this mean?
Li Ke beside him hurriedly said: "Guide, ask them whether their leader is Xianbei or Qiang?"
Wang De asked the other party, and the other party's answer made him look very strange, "They said that the leader of their tribe is a Xianbei, who specializes in raising sheep for the army!"
Wang Junkuo suddenly realized, "Damn it, they are the supply tribe. The supply tribe followed the Tuyuhun king and left them here."
Wang Junkuo pointed at the sheep and asked, "Are these sheep all from the Tuyuhun army?"
Wang De asked the other party and turned back to translate: "They said yes, a total of 23,700 sheep, if one sheep is missing they will be beaten to death."
Wang Junkuo was overjoyed, it was truly an unexpected harvest. Wang Junkuo immediately ordered that all the sheep be confiscated as military sheep. The seven shepherds were so scared that they collapsed to the ground.
Wang Junkuo also asked Wang De to tell the seven people that if they helped to herd the sheep along the way, he would give them 50 strings of cash each as a reward.
Wang De talked to the seven herdsmen for a long time before they understood the current situation. The Qiang people were going to rise up and become the masters of this land. They immediately agreed to help herd the sheep, but they did not want money. Each of them only wanted one hundred sheep as a reward.
Wang Junkuo immediately agreed and gave them two hundred sheep each.
The crowd continued to move forward, driving the sheep. Soon, a large lake appeared in front of them, covering at least thousands of acres. The waves were as bright as a mirror and as blue as a gem.
Wang Junkuo ordered the whole army to rest, slaughter sheep and roast meat to reward the soldiers. After ten days of marching, the soldiers were finally able to enjoy a hearty meal of barbecue. They all ate with their mouths full of oil and smiles on their faces.
At this time, Li Ke found Wang Junkuo and said, "I just asked those herdsmen. Do they know where the Qiang tribe is? I want to take a few brothers to take a look."
Wang Junkuo hesitated for a moment and said, "You can go and take a look, but His Highness has ordered that you must not disturb them!"
"Please rest assured, General. I will not disturb them."
Wang Junkuo nodded, "Take care of yourself!"
Li Ke then took twenty cavalrymen and Wang De, and asked the oldest herdsman to lead the way and head south.
After walking for more than an hour, we arrived at the south side of the lake. The herdsman pointed to the distance and said, "Their tents are in the distance."
Li Ke opened the hand curtain and took a closer look. He saw that there was indeed a large group of tents ten miles ahead.
He asked the herdsman, "Do you know them?"
Wang De translated it for him, and the herder nodded, "We often herd together, so we all know each other!"
Li Ke asked Wang De again: "If I want to visit the leader, do you think it's okay?"
Wang De shook his head. "I think your general is right. Don't disturb them. If they know that a large army is passing by, they will immediately flee far away. It will be useless to promise them. These tribes are most afraid of encountering an army."
Li Ke had no choice but to take out the map, make a mark, and return to the campsite.
After resting for more than an hour, the team set off again. This time, Wang Junkuo left behind fifty soldiers and ten thousand sheep as supplies for the main force behind.
The team continued to move forward, following the Tuyuhun army westward. They always maintained a distance of 150 miles between themselves and the Tuyuhun army.
(End of this chapter)