The yellow sand is long.

The desolate Gobi Desert, the endless vastness.

In such an environment, some people will feel particularly small.

Some people will feel arrogant because of the same scene. After all, there are dead objects in front of you, and only you are alive, just like you have become the master of this world.

Pound, with his men and horses, marched silently on the Gobi Desert.

Several scouts in front of him came back.

"Have you found anything?" asked Pang De.

The horse thief who served as scout shook his head.

Pound was silent for a moment, then waved his hand to let them retreat.

Horse thieves also have scouts. After all, they also have to chase the merchant's convoy, check the traces of the carriages, etc., but after all, they are in the next door, and under the cover of wind and sand, they basically lose their meaning after two or three hours.

It is said that some old shepherds can distinguish marks for more than one day, but at least there is no such person under Pound.

Horse thief is a high-risk profession. There are no five insurances and one fund, and there are no double insurances. Whether it is a headache, fever, tears and bleeding, they are responsible for it. Although there are also large bowls of wine and large pieces of meat, it only takes place in dreams most of the time, so most people are unwilling to engage in this profession.

There is no good bird for being a horse thief.

If Pang De wanted to pick out some good birds among such a group of horse thieves, he could basically only look for a broken wheel among the dwarfs.

Ma Xiu had a sweet taste in the forward camp, so he wanted to reuse the same trick. After all, at the beginning, Ma Xiu's plan was to attract some people from the forward camp, and then run quickly after achieving some results. However, he did not expect that the forward camp would be so "cooperating", so he could not find some weaknesses of the Han army in Xihai City and "cooperate" again?

If you cannot get "cooperation", you can also attract the Han army and the Kushan people...

Another level of goal, Ma Xiu can establish his name, and then use the hands of the Han people to attack disobedient subordinates, and then recruit some troops, just like in the grassland and desert, such as those things Maodun did.

Even if this goal is still unsuccessful, Ma Xiu can gain some reputation.

After all, at the moment, those who dare to challenge "tiger" are all very eye-catching, whether they are pretending or doing something real.

Maxiu's plan sounds beautiful, but there are many problems.

At least Pang De felt that there seemed to be some problems inside, but he just had this feeling and could not find it. After all, many plans in this world, if you don’t wear safety underwear well, you will be caught by accident and pressed to ravage on the ground...

It seems like it is tempting and teasing a cat, and it is enough to take a dog-tail grass, but even if the tiger is already a little old and its minions are a little unfavorable, it is not the ability of a dog-tail grass.

But the problem is that under Ma Xiu, only the "breaking wheel" pulled out from these short men directly under Pang De can be called "smart and tough", while the rest are all messed up.

Pang De frowned, and he suddenly felt a rush in his heart, and he subconsciously stood up halfway on the horse's back and scanned the distance.

Unfortunately, he saw nothing.

There is still a desolate and vast Gobi Desert in front of me.

It's like having been dead for millions of years.

Only a goshawk in the distant sky seems to be a living creature.

The goshawk was in the sky, spreading his wings and slid across it smoothly.

In its eyes, there were not only Pang De and others moving, but also Gao Shun standing in a remote place.

Gao Shun was also looking at the smoke rising in the distance.

After watching for a while, he bent down, grabbed a handful of yellow sand, and let go. The yellow sand fell down, slightly deviating.

"The wind is not strong." Gao Shun snorted and said, "These thieves are really..."

"This must be the thieves moving," the scout team beside Gao Shun nodded and said, "However, judging from the smoke and dust, there are not many of these thieves. General, should you send someone to get closer and investigate?"

Gao Shun frowned and thought, but did not answer immediately.

There are not enough shelters in the Gobi desert, so if you want to cover up your whereabouts, you can only rely on distance.

If you are far away and scattered, the smoke and dust raised in the queue will not be large and will not be easily discovered. In this way, you can discover the target yourself, but you will not be noticed by the target.

This was taught by Lu Bu to Gao Shun.

Back then, Lu Bu used this method to defeat the Hu tribe in the desert and was about to die. Those Hu people didn't know where Lu Bu came out and where he disappeared...

Gao Shun initially admired Lu Bu very much because in Lu Bu, Gao Shun saw a bravery beyond ordinary people, as well as his determination and courage in the battle formation, and his keenness to grasp a fatal blow.

But now, Gao Shun seems to have some other answers in his heart.

"Martial power... cannot represent everything..." Gao Shun murmured. Looking back now, Gao Shun suddenly felt that martial power was not the most important thing in troubled times, at least not all.

"General?" The scoutsmanship beside Gao Shun couldn't hear clearly, so he couldn't help asking, "General, what did you say?"

"Oh," Gao Shun came back to his senses, shook his head and said, "No need to go forward, let them go. Looking at the number, there are only two or three hundred people. I guess they are just the striker of the horse thieves. Most of the horse thieves should be behind... We don't have to alarm the snake... Send someone to sneak around to vent their anger and prepare them."

No matter how ineffective Chang Cheng is, he will not be able to stop the two or three hundred horse thieves?

The scouts nodded and retreated.

Deciding the outcome of a battle may be martial spirit.

But deciding the outcome of a battle is not just about martial arts.

Lu Bu, obviously, can decide a battle, but it is difficult to decide a battle.

And in the Western Regions, is it a battle or a battle?

Gao Shun knew the answer very well, but he was also trapped, like an insect stuck in amber, visible but unable to move.

Gao Shun didn't take the attacking horse thief to heart. He was still worried about Lu Bu or the future.

If Lu Bu has enough ambitions, wants to expand his territory, lead everyone to conquer a country and establish his own country, it may be a good thing. If Lu Bu has no ambitions, just wants to protect the country, work diligently to protect the border defense line, and station the national gates for the Han Dynasty, it is also a good thing.

Now Gao Shun feels that the bad thing is that Lu Bu has ambitions but no ambitions, which is helpless. Gao Shun even feels that Lu Bu doesn't know what he wants at all.

So what do you want?

Gao Shun was suddenly shocked, and then he couldn't help but laugh.

He saw others like this, wasn't he the same?

Forget it, just focus on what’s in front of you first!

"Come on the map!"

Gao Shun said loudly, and the guard not far behind him hurried forward, opened a bamboo tube in his arms, pulled out the carriage, and handed it to Gao Shun.

"Forward Camp..." Gao Shun's fingers slid on the map and quickly found the destination.

Whether it is a horse thief or a Han army, they all need to eat and drink water, so the route of travel will not be too far away from the water source. Generally, three days are the limit. If you cannot get new water supplies in three days, then many problems will arise. If it takes more than five days, you must consider whether to kill livestock to drink blood.

If it takes more than seven days, then you don’t have to think about anything and wait for death…

Moreover, water has a very strange characteristic. When carried, it seems to be heavier than any object. However, when you drink it in your stomach, you feel that it is lighter than anything else to eat. Therefore, even if you carry spare water bags and other items, you will not bring a lot of them in general.

In the past, the Han army was in the open and the horse thieves were in the dark. Now that the horse thieves gathered together, the situation turned around.

If a horse thief wants to act, especially a large-scale assembly operation, it must be inseparable from water sources. Small-scale troops like Gao Shun are much more flexible when they turn around.

This is an opportunity!

A fatal opportunity can be directly hit.

Just like when Lu Bu was...

never mind.

Gao Shun put away the map and said, "Transfer the order! Divide into a team, follow the water source, and detect with all your strength! Find out where the thief is coming!"

Gao Shun's subordinates agreed in unison, and a murderous aura surged up.

The thief leader Ma Xiu, who was beloved by Gao Shun, was still bragging and did not feel the danger was coming at all.

Although Ma Xiu promised to Pang De that he would never brag again, Ma Xiu felt that bragging after drinking and bragging when he was sober now cannot be considered the same thing, so naturally it cannot be considered a violation of his promise to Pang De.

Ma Xiu is now urging the Kushan envoys to make noise. Anyway, it means that people in the Western Regions are stupid and come at a high speed. The most important thing is that the Kushan people have to give money, weapons and equipment, war horses, etc.

If you can’t blow it well, how can you get more benefits?

『Dear Horse! Congratulations on your outstanding achievements!』 The Kushan Envoy's Chinese is still good, but his expression is a bit exaggerated, making people feel that it is being performed, not from the heart, 『I brought you fine wine! Bacon! It is the best wine and the best meat!』

Maxiu laughed, as if he was happy about the wine and meat, but soon he dragged the Kushan envoy into the tent.

Of course, it was not for the purpose of making money, but for Ma Xiu to ask the Kushan envoy for the benefits beyond wine and meat.

Those benefits promised by the Kushan messengers.

"There are the best land, the best wealth, the most suitable weather in the east..." Ma Xiu pointed his fingers, as if there was not only Xihai City in front of him, but also the three servants of Chang'an were at their fingertips. "Believe me, as long as your things and war horses are in place, I can fight to Chang'an! You can fight wherever you want! As long as your money and war horses are enough..."

Are you bragging? It doesn’t look like there was a tax bureau in later generations, so you don’t have to pay taxes.

The Kushan envoy squinted his eyes and watched Ma Xiu jump up and down, dancing with his eyebrows, as if he was looking at a monkey, and even his tone seemed to treat a monkey, "No, no, my dear horse, this is not enough, not enough... Dear horse, although you have done these things now, it is still a little bit short of that... Dear horse, you only need to work harder... At least now you have to prove yourself, you need to defeat the most powerful opponent in the Western Regions, so that you can prove that you are the most powerful in the Western Regions..."

The Kushan people were smiling on their faces, but they were despising them in their hearts. He despised Ma Xiu, thinking that Ma Xiu was actually a traitor. No one would like a traitor, even this traitor may still be useful.

Ma Xiu was laughing, and he was also despising in his heart.

Really beat Lu Bu?

Do you think I'm stupid?

Ma Xiu saw the perfunctory Kushan envoy, and his smile became a little colder. "Then let's not talk about the future, just talk about the present! I have captured the camp now, and you have to give money and war horses as agreed! Fighting Xihai City is the next stage, so I asked when the money and war horses in this camp will arrive?!"
To be continued...