The bonfires that the soldiers camped were burning, illuminating everyone's faces. Tomorrow they would enter the swamp along the trade route, and many people were excited and nervous. It was late at night, and most soldiers cursed the damn cold. However, Zhao Xingde knew that the colder the weather was, the less melting water in the upstream, and Puchangze would not suddenly flood because of the water coming upstream. Because of the severe cold, the speed of sand dunes moving is the slowest of the year. Near the Great Salt and Puchangze, it is the safest time.

Zhao Xingde checked that every soldier in the team had already slept, then he got into the camp tent, lying on the cold and dry felt blanket, and soon fell asleep. Sometimes he dreamed that Li Ruoxue leaned against the door and leaned against the door, and ran over excitedly when he saw him return. Suddenly he dreamed that Zhang Bing was pale, looking at him, and seemed to be talking, but he couldn't hear anything. Suddenly, he dreamed that the foundation laying ceremony of the large steel mill that had been devoted to it in later generations, and suddenly he saw his name engraved on a black stone tablet. The people around him shoveled by shovel, and the blood-red soil gradually covered himself in the boundless darkness without consciousness.

The next morning, the bells of the on-duty soldiers resounded throughout the camp. The soldiers in the camp were in order. Some were cooking fires and making meals, some feeding horses, and some packing up the tents. Before the hour of the dynasty, five hundred soldiers were in line and slowly leaving the inn along the road chosen yesterday.

Du Chujiao and others tried their best to distinguish the water plants along the way, the hoof prints of camels and horses, and the ruts of the ruts. The soldiers from Chengying's Seventh Battalion led camels and horses and drove the carts, and slowly marched in the mud on the Puchang Lake.

The trade route sometimes turned southwest, sometimes turned north. After walking for six days and seven nights, the soldiers were already a little dizzy and just arrived in front of a dry river channel. Looking at the quicksand under the riverbed, Du Chujiao's face looked even worse than the dead. The most important thing is that he followed this trade route and had been in the swamped water and grass for several days. Now even facing the map, he didn't know where he was.

That night, we were camping in the poplar forest on the bank of the dry riverbed. When the military was discussing, everyone looked at each other and felt embarrassed silence.

After waiting for a while, Zhao Xingde sued, walked to the marching map, pointed his hand, and said in a deep voice: "We are here." Then he retreated. During these six days and camped all the way, he would determine his position every night. He was as insightful as the situation of the army traveling around the Puchang Lake.

"So it's here!" Du Chujiao was stunned for a moment, then coughed, touched Zhao De's pointing out the spot, looked down, and couldn't help but look happy and said, "It's Qimo River less than a hundred miles south."

Wang Tongdeng sneered at this time: "Will people fill the swamp with a hundred miles without roads?"

Du Chujiao was stunned and woke up to his mistake. He was not very responsible at first. In an anxious manner, he turned his attention to Zhao De again.

Zhao Xingde sighed inwardly. Although this old Du was a little narrow-minded, he had no scheming. No wonder he was just a ten-man captain. Seeing that everyone's eyes looked at Du Chujiao, he stood up again, pointed to the map and said, "I'm wrong. For the sake of the present, follow this dry river and walk out of the swamp, and then turn to the south. With Sinan's guidance, you will definitely find the river channel of the Qiemo River."

Du Chujiao suddenly realized and secretly scolded himself for being completely overwhelmed by the frustration of being lost. He didn't even think of such a simple truth, and immediately said, "Let's follow Zhao Shichang's suggestion."

Zhao Xingde's suggestion was originally one of the most reasonable choices. When Du Chujiao agreed, the others agreed. There were a few who wanted to object, but they stopped talking. In the end, the ten men and women discussed and decided to march according to Zhao De's proposed line.

After walking along the dry riverbed for three days, he finally left the swamp area. Zhao Xingde immediately guided the brigade to leave the river and turned south. Every night he camped in the desert, and the surrounding wind was howling, as if he was crying. Sometimes he also encountered strange rocks eroded by the wind and sand for thousands of years, standing beside the sand dunes, just like monsters.

The deeper you go to the desert, the harder it becomes to get water. You have just left the swamp for dozens of miles. When you camp at night, even if you dig three feet into the ground, there is no water. After the water source is cut off, the idea of ​​"it can't get in and out" of this rapidsand secretly breeding in everyone's minds. Many soldiers began to feel uneasy, hoping that as Zhao De said, walking south for two more days will be the Qiemo River.

Zhao Xingde was very calm on the surface, and still observed the location of the marching camp every day, and carefully marked it on the map. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Du Chujiao asked Zhao De to spread out the map and point it to everyone, where he marched again today.

Although Zhao Xingde firmly believed that Guantian positioning and Si Nanyi's direction would never be wrong. The boundless sand and Gobi naturally made people feel desperate. Hundreds of robes saw Zhao Xingde calm and unconsciously felt a little confident. Zhao Xingde's longest journey was the time when he escaped from Bianjing with Li Ruoxue. His uneasiness and anxiety could only be hidden deep under his calm and gentle face.

After walking south for four days, I finally saw that after the dunes were undulating, on the horizon, it was like a mirage, with a forest that could not see its head to the east and its tail to the west.

"Is this Qiemo River?" Wang Tongdeng licked his cracked lips and asked Jian Cheng. Jian Cheng looked to him, Zhao Xingde nodded and said in a deep voice: "That's right." At this time, several people were listening to him with their ears.

"I've found the way!" "This is Qiemo River!"

Almost all the soldiers believed Zhao Xingde's judgment at the first time. As soon as this was said, several cheers broke out from the marching queue. Wang Tongdeng accelerated to urge his horse and rushed forward with the cavalry. After crossing the poplar and red willow bushes, an frozen river suddenly appeared in front of him, winding in the sand embankment on both sides of the shore like a jade dragon. The overjoyed cavalry immediately turned their horses, turned back to the woods, and shouted loudly at the large number of people: "That's right! This is the Qiemo River!" Suddenly, even more enthusiastic cheers erupted among the soldiers in Chengying Camp far away.

"Old Zhao, I just said you must be fine." Jian Cheng punched Zhao Xingde on the shoulder.

Zhao Xingde didn't bother to fight back. He and hundreds of soldiers cheered loudly, releasing all the pressure accumulated over the past ten days. Until now, he felt relieved.

The march along the Qiemo River was quite smooth. Fifteen days later, as the journey was about to approach Qiemo City, Zhao De suggested that 500 soldiers slapped the flag of the 7th Battalion of the Chengying Army, and under the leadership of the Shifu Commander, they sang military songs all the way toward the city. The soldiers were all long-standing, so they knew that no matter how hard it was during the journey, they must cheer up when they arrived. So, the Shifu Commander's army agreed to Zhao De's proposal again.

"The white horse is adorning the golden ban, and it is flying northwest. I ask who the family is quiet and wandering. I go to the villages and towns for a young age, and the sound of the desert hangs. I have been holding a good bow and the arrows are uneven. I control the string and break the left, and the right hair breaks the moon branch... I sacrifice my life to the country and treat death as if I am home."

The faint sound of military singing reached the top of Qiemo City. Zhou Yuanzhong, the commander of the Chengying Army, smiled and looked at the military flag raised by the 7th Battalion. The cavalry was in front, with carriages and camels in the middle, and the infantry was behind. The marching formation was neat, with a bit of a strong force.

Luo Zongmeng, the commander of the Ran army, said: "The Chengying Army was indeed a collection of elite troops from the imperial guards. It was marching for nearly a thousand miles, and it was still very morale." Luo Zongmeng and Zhou Yuanzhong were both serving in the Longya Army. When he heard that he had arrived in Qiemo, he made a special trip from Yutian to entertain him.
Chapter completed!