Yuwen Chengchao said before that he could arrive at Zhuma Lake within two days of customs clearance.
Qin Xiao didn't know why he chose this name before. He didn't understand the meaning until the team arrived at Zhuma Lake.
Before the sun set, the team had already arrived at a lake.
This lake is not small, and the water is clear. Under the setting sun, the lake is shimmering and the water is like a mirror.
Around Zhuma Lake, there are obvious traces of caravans staying there.
In addition to the traces of setting up tents, there are also the embers left by the campfire, and most of them are the horse pegs stuck in the soil. This way, there is no need to re-nail the pegs, which saves a lot of trouble.
Everyone was in high spirits when they saw the clear lake, and Yuwen Chengchao also ordered that the team rest at Zhuma Lake for the night.
There is a natural water source here, which is suitable for camping.
However, this lake is located in a depression, surrounded by undulating hills. Although the environment is suitable for camping, the terrain is very dangerous.
When I first came out of the customs [Biquge www.biqugeso.me], I could see the vastness as far as the eye could see.
But approaching Zhuma Lake, hills and high slopes rise one after another, and the distance you can see is no longer as far away as before. Especially the surrounding terrain makes it difficult to spot anyone approaching.
Of course Yuwen Chengchao and Qin Xiao both saw this.
Arrangements were made immediately, and vehicles were circled half a circle around the lake, and the horses were gathered on both sides, with Zhuma Lake as their back. Naturally, there was no need to worry about enemies coming from behind, but the front and left and right needed to be paid close attention to, so on the three sides
One person was assigned to guard the high slope in one direction, and two people were assigned to one direction, and they took turns on duty at night.
When the sun set, the tents had been set up and the guards were in place. Others couldn't bear it anymore and jumped into the water one after another.
Since we set out, we haven't had the chance to take a bath. Now with the lake behind us and the clear water facing us, few people can resist the desire to get into the water.
Yu Wen Chengchao also knew that the atmosphere in the caravan was quite depressing these days, so he finally had the opportunity to relax a little, so he did not stop it and just asked the guards to be more vigilant.
Qin Xiao couldn't help but go into the water and take a good bath. When he returned to the shore, he felt extremely comfortable all over.
He saw several grooms feeding the horses, and thought that his Black King had not eaten for a long time. He went over to find the groom who was in charge of the horse feed. He saw that there were freshly prepared horse feed in several wooden barrels, and asked the groom to spread half of the bucket.
, then carrying the material bucket in one hand and the wooden ladle in the other, we arrived at the Black Overlord.
Black Overlord had a violent temper, and every time he was stationed in the camp, he would be chained to a place alone.
Putting down the material bucket, Qin Xiao touched the Black Overlord's mane and said with a smile: "Old man, I haven't eaten it myself yet, so I'm bringing it to you first. Isn't this fair enough?" He scooped a ladle of horse feed from the material bucket.
To the lips of the Black Overlord.
Black Overlord turned his head away, seemingly not interested in the food.
"Why, you are still picky about food?" Qin Xiao said: "Didn't you eat these before? Hurry up and have a good night's rest. You will have to go on the road tomorrow." He stroked the Black Overlord's mane a few times.
down to show comfort, and then put the wooden ladle to its mouth.
This time, Black Overlord stuck out his tongue and licked it, but still didn't eat. He quickly turned around and snorted a few times, walking around in place, looking quite restless.
Qin Xiao frowned, threw the wooden ladle into the bucket, hugged the Black Overlord's neck and stroked it a few times.
Although the Black Overlord is aloof and arrogant, he has never been picky about food before. He is picky about people and not picky eaters. If other people come close to him and want to feed him, the Black Overlord will immediately lose his temper. Only Qin Xiao feeds him in person can this guy be submissive.
Today, it was uncharacteristically not eating. Qin Xiao suddenly became worried, fearing that this guy was not acclimated to the climate and was not feeling well. He knew that the caravan would be very well prepared in advance when traveling a long distance. There were doctors accompanying it, and there were also doctors who specialized in treating horses.
of veterinarian.
After all, every time you take a long journey, especially to the west for trade, the journey will take at least ten days and a half. If you go deeper, it is common to go back and forth for several months. Regardless of whether you are a human or a horse, there will be situations where you are not acclimated to the climate.
, so spending a lot of money to hire one or two doctors and veterinarians to follow the team to ensure that people and horses can be diagnosed and treated when they get sick is also an essential preparation.
Black Overlord seemed to be in good spirits and showed no signs of illness.
But it seemed restless and refused to eat, which naturally worried Qin Xiao.
Although he tamed the Black Overlord, the taming process was not because he understood the horse's temperament. The method was entirely through force.
He conquered the Black Overlord's body first, and then got its heart.
"Hey, come here." Qin Xiao was worried, looked around, saw a groom not far away, and waved.
The groom hurriedly ran over: "Vice Commander Wang, are you looking for a villain?"
"I'm worried that the horse is sick." Qin Xiao said, "There is a veterinarian in the team, right?"
The man was sensible and said immediately: "Deputy commander, wait a moment, I will go to the veterinarian immediately."
The man ran away, and not long after, he led a little old man in his early fifties over. The little old man was obviously a veterinarian, and he also knew that the deputy commander was looking for him. He ran over at a slow pace, and Qin Xiao cupped his hands and said
: "Old sir, please help me take a look. It ate horse feed at noon. Until now, I just fed it horse feed and it didn't eat a bite."
The veterinarian cupped his hands and stepped forward to get closer to the Black Overlord. The Black Overlord immediately raised his hoof and hissed. The veterinarian was startled and hurriedly backed away.
"Old man, don't move." Qin Xiao hurriedly hugged the Black Overlord's neck: "Old man, let me check if you are sick. Don't lose your temper." He stroked the hair and waited for the Black Overlord to calm down before the veterinarian approached cautiously.
He wanted to reach out, but still hesitated and said to Qin Xiao: "Vice Commander, can you let me see its tongue?"
"Of course." Qin Xiao knew that the veterinarian was scared, so he did it himself without bothering him. He whispered a few words to the Black Overlord, then pinched the Black Overlord's mouth and made it open.
The veterinarian looked closely at the tongue, frowned, then circled around the black bully, and finally squatted behind the black bully's butt, raising his head and observing carefully.
"Old sir, what problem can you see?"
The veterinarian shook his head and said: "The tongue is normal and there is nothing wrong with the anus." He looked around and saw the horse manure that Black Overlord had pooped. He came closer and lowered his head to smell it. Qin Xiao saw this and was really afraid that he would stick it out.
Dip a little with your finger to taste.
"Deputy Commander, don't worry, there is no big problem." The veterinarian stood up and said, "From all aspects, this horse is healthy and not sick."
"Then why doesn't it eat?"
"May I ask the deputy commander, is it the first time it has come out of seclusion?"
Qin Xiao nodded, and the veterinarian smiled and said: "That's right. It may be that he is acclimatized and his appetite is not very good. Similar situations have happened to many horses before. Don't worry too much. Try again later. If
If you don’t eat tonight, you should be back to normal tomorrow.”
Qin Xiao thought that what the veterinarian said made sense, so he smiled and said, "That's good. Thank you, old man."
"No thank you, no thank you." The veterinarian smiled and said, "I'll take my leave first. If you have any questions, the deputy commander will call me."
After the veterinarian left, Qin Xiao patted the Black Overlord on the cheek and said with a smile: "I have adapted to the environment here, so you brother should also adapt quickly."
The veterinarian was very sure that Black Overlord was in good health, and Qin Xiao still believed in the veterinarian's ability. After all, this was the Yuwen family's caravan, and it was impossible to hire a quack doctor to follow the team.
It was getting dark, everyone had dinner and went to bed early.
Most of the caravans were not out of customs for the first time. They knew very well that after passing Zhuma Lake, they would reach the Gobi area. The environment was harsh and the energy consumption would be greater. They had to recharge their batteries at night.
Qin Xiao had to go on duty in the middle of the night, so he lay down early. Not long after he fell asleep, he suddenly heard shouting from outside.
He was extremely alert. When he heard the sound, he turned over and sat up. He grabbed the big knife on the side and rushed out of the tent. He heard someone shouting: "Veterinarian, which tent is the veterinarian in?" He saw a figure not far away.
Looking at the outline of his body, he seemed to be Ning Zhifeng. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother Ning Wu, what's wrong?"
"Brother Wang, did I wake you up?" Ning Zhifeng looked at Qin Xiao and knew that he had just woken up. He apologized and said, "I'm really sorry. I'm looking for a veterinarian. I don't know which tent he is in."
“What to do with the vet?”
"There's something wrong with some of the horses." Ning Zhifeng frowned and said, "The groom just came to report that there are some horses lying on the ground panting, unable to stand up, and they have been suffering from diarrhea and loose feces."
Qin Xiao felt a shiver in his heart. At this moment, he saw Fat Fish and Dapeng hurried over. From the looks of them, they looked like they had just woken up.
"Madman, what's going on?" Fat Fish frowned and said, "Everyone is asleep, what are you yelling about?"
"Find a veterinarian." Ning Zhifeng said: "There are several horses that are dead."
"Ah?" Fat Fish was also surprised. Before he could speak, Yu Wen Chengchao's voice came from behind him: "Where are those horses?"
Several people looked over, and Ning Zhifeng hurriedly said: "Over there, eldest son, I will take you to see it."
Everyone followed Ning Zhifeng to the left. There were dozens of horses gathered here, all tied to horse posts. At this time, several grooms were very anxious. When they saw Yu Wencheng approaching, a groom had already come to meet him, leading them.
He cried and said: "Master, it's not good...it's not good, a few more horses have fallen down."
Everyone was startled, and Qin Xiao clearly saw that among the horses, nearly ten horses were lying on the ground, weak and seemed to be struggling, and the smell of excrement assaulted his nostrils.
Horse manure was a must when camping before, but I had never had such a strong smell of manure under my right eye. The smell was obviously not right.
Yu Wen Chengchao quickly walked into the group of horses and squatted next to a horse. The horse was lying on the ground with dung behind its buttocks. Qin Xiao followed him. Now that he was close, the smell of dung was overwhelming.
Gagging.
The horse was panting heavily and weak. It tried to struggle several times, but it was obviously weak.
Qin Xiao thought to himself that even if he were a human being, he would not be able to have any strength if he was like this.
"When did it start?" Yu Wencheng's face turned solemn and he turned to look at Ning Zhifeng.
Ning Zhifeng, Geng Shao and others were on duty in the first half of the night, and since he was the first to find a veterinarian, he naturally had a good understanding of the situation.
"Just now, they told me that several horses fell down and had diarrhea and loose feces." Ning Zhifeng said hurriedly: "I came over and took a look and felt that something was wrong, so I quickly went to the veterinarian, but I didn't know which tent he was in.
I can only call him."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard another horse neighing. Several people looked at the sound and saw a staggering horse not far away. It soon became exhausted and lay on the ground struggling.
"Fat Fish, get all the guards up." Yu Wen Chengchao's voice was cold and stern: "Keep your eyes wide open and stare at the four sides, this side of the camp. Strengthen the back of your hands and unsheath your sword."
Fat Fish knew something was wrong, so as soon as Yuwen Chengchao gave the order, he immediately retreated and made arrangements.