In Lake Harry in spring, the water is not crystal clear. The ice and snow melt, bringing abundant water, making the lake as green as grass. There are dead grass left in winter and wind blowing from distant mountains floating on the lake.
leaves.
On a grassland about 200 steps away from the west shore of Lake Harry, the Western Turks set up more than a hundred tents. More than a thousand Western Turk cavalry were busy packing their belongings. They had just set up their tents last night.
There was a mess inside and outside the camp.
At this time, on the lake not far from the camp, a reed pipe and a pile of dead grass were floating up the water, slowly approaching the camp. None of the several Turkic soldiers who were fetching water by the lake noticed the pile on the water.
Leaves with obvious artificial traces.
The Turkic soldiers carried the water jug and walked away talking and laughing. At this time, a pair of shining small eyes were revealed under the haystack. The small eyes blinked and carefully observed the horses tied outside the tent and the busy people.
of Turkic soldiers.
He is a fat fish with good water skills. His father is a boat doctor on Luoshuang River. He drives a small boat on rivers all over the Central Plains all year round. It is the life on the boat for many years that makes Fat Fish have extraordinary water skills since he was a child.
xing.
Like a fat big-headed fish, he crossed Lake Khali to find out the information about the Western Turks. After roughly counting the number of people, he couldn't help but curse in his heart, "The number of his nainai is actually three times more than them, and they are all above."
It's a good wool tent, and there are a few people roasting whole sheep outside the tent, and the treatment is better than them.'
At this time, Fat Fish saw Shi Shu Hu Xi leaving the Turkic camp. A Turkic nobleman handed the full skin bag to Shi Shu Hu Xi. Shi Shu Hu Xi repeatedly declined and finally accepted it.
Fat Fish secretly thought, 'Is this guy taking bribes? It looks a bit like it.'
At this moment, Fat Fish's little eyes suddenly widened, with a look of fear in his eyes. A small green water snake swam majestically in front of his eyes. The water snake suddenly turned around, spitting out a red letter, and swam towards his mouth.
The fat fish, who had been afraid of snakes since childhood, was so frightened that his heart was about to break. "Gudu!" He swallowed a mouthful of lake water, turned around and ran away in panic.
........
Yang Yuanqing returned to his tent, and Fat Fish also came back. He had changed into dry clothes and reported his findings to Yang Yuanqing.
"There are about a thousand of them. They are all tall and very brave. They are all wearing armor. They use the same bows and arrows as our Sui army. There are about a hundred tents in the camp."
Important clues were found from the details. Only the guards of the Khans in Turks had armor, which meant that Datou was also likely to come. Yang Yuanqing asked again: "Are there any outposts nearby?"
"Yes, they are fixed sentries, with about four people in each direction, about a mile away from the camp."
Yang Yuanqing took out a piece of map paper used for scouts and used a charcoal pen to draw random sketches on the paper, outlining the locations of the Western Turks and outposts.
"How do they set up camp? Is there a pattern?"
"It seems to be Plum Blossom Camp!" Fat Fish scratched his head, he was not sure about this.
The main tent in the Plum Blossom Camp is in the middle, and the other tents are scattered around like petals. However, Yang Yuanqing stopped his charcoal, raised his eyes, and stared at Fat Fish with a sharp gaze, "It seems? Are you sure?"
The fat fish grinned. The little green snake interrupted his observation. He didn't notice the other party's camp shape.
"It should be!" he said with a sad face.
Yang Yuanqing glanced at him and shook his head. He had always been strict with his subordinates and did not like such ambiguous information.
Fat Fish felt ashamed and said to Yang Yuanqing: "Otherwise, I will go there again."
Yang Yuanqing didn't answer him. He quickly sketched the location of the tents and asked, "What is the distance between the tents?"
"This subordinate has seen it clearly. The distance between the tents is very close. There is only about one foot between the tents."
Yang Yuanqing nodded. It doesn't matter whether it is a plum blossom tent or not. What matters is the spacing.
"Any other information?"
"besides....."
Fat Fish scratched his head and suddenly remembered something: "I also saw that Shi Shu Hu Xi in the Western Turks camp. It seemed that he had accepted a heavy gift from the Western Turks."
Yang Yuanqing nodded, and this information was almost complete. At this time, the voices of Yuchiwan and Kangbas came from outside the tent, "General, we are back!"
"Come in!"
Yuchi Wan and Combas opened the tent curtain and walked in. Combas was full of joy. It could be seen that his porcelain vase had been sold for a good price and he was very satisfied.
Yuchiwan saw the embarrassment on Fat Fish's face, so he sat down, touched him with his arm, and teased him with a smile: "Why, did you meet a snake in the water or a scorpion in the grass? You are so embarrassed.
!”
"Nonsense! I've always been afraid of snakes. I just didn't notice the situation where the Western Turks were camping."
Combas took out a small bottle and handed it to Yang Yuanqing, "General, this is for you!"
"What's this?"
"This is a powerful poison. It's called Papamu in our hometown. It's extracted from a red snake in the Khwarezm Desert. Just a little bit of it will immediately seal your throat with blood. It's said to be the most poisonous medicine in the world.
.”
When Fat Fish heard that it was snake venom, his face changed with fright, and he immediately moved two steps to the side. Yang Yuanqing took the bottle and asked curiously: "Where did you get it?"
"The one I bought from the Sogdian woman of the State of Shi is the wife of Hu Xi of the State of Shu. She was just brought from Sogdiana."
Yang Yuanqing thought, could it be used to deal with Princess Yicheng?
"General, there is one more thing."
Kangbas said worriedly: "That Shiguo woman asked me to leave you immediately, saying that being with you would put my life in danger. From what she said, it seems that the Western Turks have made some conditions and want your head."
Yang Yuanqing paced slowly in the tent with his hands behind his back. Judging from various signs, the Western Turks would probably take action tonight and could not delay it any longer.
"Yuchi!"
Thinking of this, Yang Yuanqing said to Yuchi Wan: "Take fifty brothers to protect the princess. The Western Turks may kill the princess tonight, so don't be careless."
"General, I'm going too!" Pang Yu was worried about Yuchi's safety.
Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "You don't have to go, I have more important tasks for you tonight."
.........
Su Lie has been silent since the yellow sheep incident three days ago. He rarely speaks, just like a shadow attached to the army. He has been arrogant since he was a child. From the age of ten, he has traveled around the world with a bow and a sword.
He had never met a rival before, but he unexpectedly met Yang Yuanqing at the border. Yang Yuanqing was only one year older than him, but Su Lie felt that there was a huge difference between them. That kind of magnanimity honed through hundreds of battles on the battlefield, that kind of spirit.
His prestige among soldiers and grassland people, as well as his superior martial arts, far exceeded his own. This made Su Lie feel disappointed, and he felt his own insignificance.
Since noon, he had been sitting by the river, staring blankly at the water. A dozen soldiers were practicing martial arts not far behind him, but he turned a blind eye and turned a deaf ear.
"Why are you always so worried these days?" Yang Yuanqing smiled and sat down next to him.
"It's nothing, I just feel a little homesick." Su Lie said with a wry smile.
"Have you... got a family?"
Yang Yuanqing smiled and asked, "In the Sui Dynasty, it was normal for women to get married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and for men to get married at the age of fourteen or fifteen."
Su Lie shook his head, "I don't have a family, and I don't want to."
Yang Yuanqing understood his ambition. He patted Su Lie on the shoulder and smiled: "Now there is an opportunity to fight on the battlefield. Do you want it?"
Su Lie's eyes lit up and he looked back at Yang Yuanqing, "Aren't you lying to me?"
"What did I lie to you for?"
Yang Yuanqing said calmly: "If you want to, go back and prepare now, tonight."
.........
About two miles south of the Turkic camp, there is a flat grassland. Different from other grasslands, this grassland is lined with hundreds of straw man targets and hundreds of wooden stakes. This is the training ground for the Tuli tribe. Every day
In the early morning, more than a thousand young Turkic warriors galloped here, practicing sword skills and riding skills, but in the afternoon, it was generally quiet here.
It was already dusk, but the sound of galloping horses could be heard in the usually quiet martial arts training ground. From time to time, people were shouting and yelling. In the martial arts training ground, the warrior Utu was holding a long sword in his hand and was going crazy in the martial arts training ground.
He was chopping wood piles as if he were doing it, and his heart was filled with shame and grief.
Xue Qiluo came to take away the love in his heart, but he did not have the courage to fight with her, no! It was not that he had no courage, but her tears. Her tears extinguished the fire burning in his heart. He hated his own
Cowardice, incompetence, and a man's self-esteem make it difficult to suppress his inner depression and have nowhere to vent.
"And you, you are laughing at me too!"
Wu Tu pointed at hundreds of straw men and cursed. He took off his bow and arrow, opened his bow and shot at the farthest straw man. Before the arrow could reach the straw man, another arrow shot from the side like lightning. The arrow was very powerful.
, with a sound of 'Dang!', his arrow was intercepted and flew away.
Wu Tu was startled and turned around to see, dozens of steps away, Yang Yuanqing, the leader of the Sui army's guards, looking at him coldly.
"What do you mean?" Utu was furious. In the Turkic competition, whose arrow was shot away would be a great shame and humiliation.
"If you were still a man, go fight with Xue Qiluo tonight and don't vent your anger on the straw man!"
"Do you think I don't want to?"
Yang Yuanqing's words deeply hurt Utu's self-esteem, and he yelled: "I even dreamed of killing him, but, but..."
"But your skills are inferior to others, aren't you? But women's tears have worn away your courage, haven't they?"
Yang Yuanqing shook his head and said in a pitiful tone: "Xue Qiluo will propose marriage to your Khan early tomorrow morning. Your woman can only wash her face with tears. She also knows that you are useless, so her sister came to ask for it."
I, please, please kill Xue Qiluo for you tonight, is this the number one warrior under Qimin Khan? He can’t even protect his own woman, I’m really embarrassed for you!”
After saying that, Yang Yuanqing turned his horse around and walked away without looking back. After walking dozens of steps, he heard a heart-rending roar from behind him, "I don't need your help, I can kill him myself!"
"
Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly. The Turks were brave enough, but their minds were still a little lacking.