Old man Bilig was silent all day long, smoking bag after bag of dry cigarettes. Chen Zhen overheard the old man saying to himself: It's time for the wolves to get angry.
Chapter 5 (1)
It may be said that the Turks first came from Suo country, north of the Xiongnu. The leader of his tribe is called Azanbu, and he has seventeen brothers. One of them is called Yizhi Ni Shidu, who was born from a wolf. He slandered the equal nature and was ignorant, and the country was destroyed. All clay masters have special senses of strange energy and can summon wind and rain. Marrying a second wife means she is the daughter of the Summer God and the Winter God. Four boys are born from one pregnancy... Although this is different, they will end up as wolves.
——"Book of Zhou? Turks"
Thick black clouds broke out of the horizon of the northern border, rolled and circled, straight into the blue sky, as fierce as thick smoke and black fire. In an instant, the clouds swallowed up the shadow of Baili Mountain, pressing down on the top of the ranch like a huge black hand. The orange sunset in the west has not yet been obscured, and the north wind carrying dense snowflakes sweeps across the vast Elun grassland in an instant. The flying snow flakes, illuminated by the slanting sunlight, are like billions of hungry locusts, flapping their yellow wings, rushing toward the rich and fertile pastures.
Mongolian proverb: The wolf flees with the wind. The Elun grassland wolves, which have been conducting guerrilla activities inside and outside the country for decades, took advantage of this rare late-spring cold wave to cross the border posts, jump over the fire roads, rush through the border patrol highway, and fight their way back to the Elun border grasslands. There are high and low temperatures outside the country, the grass is sparse and the sheep are sparse, and the mountains are poor and the wolves are hungry. This year, the meat stored under the snow by the domestic wolves for the winter was stolen, and the spring famine outside the country intensified, making it difficult for the wolves to capture the yellow sheep with clear snow and light hooves. A large number of hungry wolves have already assembled at the border. The wolves entering this round have particularly red eyes, a particularly big appetite, their methods are particularly cruel, and their behavior is particularly reckless. Almost every wolf rushed over with a desperate vengeance to fight for food. However, the Elun Grassland is busy digging wolf dens within the territory and has neglected to guard against foreign aggression.
In the mid-to-late 1960s, the level of grassland weather forecasts was that rain was reported but no water was seen, and sunny forecast was but no sun was seen. Field Director Uligi said that the weather forecast was nonsense. Except for Bilige and a few other elderly people who expressed concern about the ranch leadership team dedicating so many laborers to dig out wolf dens and tried to dissuade them several times, no one else warned in advance about the cold snap and the wolf disaster. Even the officers and soldiers at the border station, who have always been concerned about herdsmen and animal husbandry production, failed to predict and warn them in time. In the past, once they found the tracks of a large pack of wolves on the border patrol highway, they would immediately notify the field department and herdsmen. In the border pastures of the Elun Grassland, the hills are low and unobstructed. Cold storms and white-haired winds are often as fast as lightning. The prairie wolves, who are very good at weather warfare, often use storms to successfully organize blitzes again and again.
In an excellent warm-slope pasture in the northwest of Elun, a new herd of horses has just gathered in the past few days. These are the top-grade horses selected by a certain division and regiment of the Inner Mongolia militia cavalry from more than a dozen horse groups in the Elun grassland. There are seventy or eighty horses. These days we are just waiting for the medical report. As long as there is no glanders, we can hit the road immediately. War preparations are intense, and the responsibility of taking care of military horses is heavy. Representatives of the Ranch Army and the Revolutionary Committee specially selected four horse herders with high sense of responsibility, alertness, courage and horse skills, and asked them to be divided into two groups and take turns on duty 24 hours a day to guard the horses day and night. Batu, commander of the second militia team, served as the team leader. In order to prevent the military horses from running back to their original herds, Batu kept all the horses tens of miles away from this place. The wind has been warm and the sun has been warm in the past few days, the water is clear, the grass is dense, and there are still sparse first spring buds to nibble on. The quasi-military horse never misses Shu and never strays from the group. The four horse herders also tried their best, and a few days passed without incident.
As soon as the cold wind at the front stopped for a moment, the grassland white-haired wind with a wind strength of more than ten levels swept over. The lake water poured down onto the grassy beach, and the livestock broke through the corrals. The yurt at the wind outlet was blown over into a big bowl, turned around a few times and then fell apart. The roof of the felt boxcar traveling in the wind was lifted, and the felt boxcar flew into the sky. The snowflakes were so dense that people were riding on horses, and no one could see the head or tail of the horse. The snow particles are like sand particles shot from a sand gun, flying at high speed, leaving hundreds of millions of white flying marks, as if white hairs are flying all over the sky. The old man said that there was a shaman in ancient Mongolia who once said, "Baimaofeng, Baimaofeng," it was a disheveled white-haired monster going crazy. Baimaofeng got his name from these words. Between heaven and earth, on the grassland, all humans and animals are frightened by the white-haired wind. People shouted, horses neighed, dogs barked and sheep barked. Thousands of voices suddenly merged into one sound: the roar of a white-haired giant monster.
The people who were preparing to fight at night and continue to dig the wolf cave were trapped in the distant mountains and were in a dilemma. Most of the hunters who have returned have lost their way. Almost all the laborers, old, weak, women and children who were left behind in the herd mobilized to chase and intercept the herd. In the grasslands, whether you can keep your years of labor savings often depends on one day or one night.
When wolves cross the border, the first target of organized attacks is the fat army horses. That day, Old Man Bilig thought that the army and horses had been sent away at the specified time, and he was secretly glad that Baimao Feng was there. Later I learned that Ma Qun was delayed for a day by the medical examination report. The correspondent who picked up and delivered the report followed military representative Bao Shungui up the mountain to pick out wolf cubs that day. This spring, an especially large number of wolf cubs were taken out, no fewer than a dozen litters, more than a hundred of them. The she-wolf, howling after losing its cubs, joins the wolf pack, making this year's wolf pack particularly crazy and cruel.
The old man said that this fighter plane was given to the Wolf King by Tengger. This must be the revenge target selected by the White Wolf King who is familiar with the Elun Grassland after conducting on-site reconnaissance.
As soon as the wind blew, Batu immediately leaned out and rushed out of the simple small felt bag belonging to the horse herdsman Yuan Mu.
It was his turn to take off work during the day. Batu had already worked several night shifts in a row and was exhausted, but he still couldn't sleep and didn't sleep a wink all day. Batu, who grew up among horses, suffered countless losses from Baimaofeng and wolves. The dubious peace for many days had made his nerves as tense as the strings of a horse-head harp, and his head would buzz at the slightest sign of trouble. All the horseherds remember the prairie motto written in blood: In the Mongolian grasslands, there is no peace behind peace, and danger behind danger.
As soon as Batu got out of the bag, he immediately smelled the scent of Baimaofeng. When he looked at the northern sky and wind direction, his wide purple face suddenly turned into purple gray, but his amber eyes were startled. Bright. He hurriedly got back into his bag, kicked his sleeping companion Schatzlen awake, and then hurriedly took a flashlight, pulled the gun bolt, compressed the bullet, hitched the horse stick, put on a leather robe, put out the fire, and did not forget to give him a hand. The herdsman on duty for the horses brought two fur coats. The two men shouldered their guns, carried a two-foot-long large flashlight, mounted their horses on poles, and ran toward the horses in the north.
On the top of the West Mountain, as soon as the sun sets, the Elun grassland becomes dark. As soon as the two horses rushed down the hillside, they collided head-on with the white-haired wind like a tsunami and avalanche, and the men and horses were immediately swallowed up. People were choked by the white-haired wind and turned purple in the face, beaten by snow and sand until they could not open their eyes, and horses were also startled by the blow. The two horses seemed to smell something, their heads were shaking, always trying to turn around to avoid the wind and escape. The two of them were close at hand, but Batu couldn't see his hands. He yelled in a hurry, but he couldn't hear Shazleng's reply. The wind and snow roared, obliterating everything. Batu tightened the horse's bit, wiped the sweat from his forehead, calmed down, then turned the horse's pole in his hand, held the big flashlight, and turned on the switch. The beam of light that usually looked like a small searchlight and could illuminate horses a hundred meters away, could only have a visibility of no more than a dozen meters at the moment. The light beam was filled with dense white hair. After a while, a snowman and snow horse appeared in the light beam, and also shined a pale and blurry beam of light towards Batu. The two drew a circle with the light, struggled to control the frightened horse, and finally got close to each other.
Batu grabbed Schatzlen, lifted up the ears of his hat, and shouted to him: "Stand still, stop the horses here." Drive the horses eastward, making sure to avoid the big bubbles on Jiaoshan Mountain. Otherwise, everything will be ruined.
Shazileng also shouted in Batu’s face: My horse was frightened, as if there was a wolf. How can the four of us withstand this?
Batu shouted: Even if you risk your life, you have to bear it...
After saying that, the two held up the flashlight and shined it towards the north. They kept shaking the light beam and pointed it at the other two companions. Signaling with the horse herd.
A gray horse with a gray mane suddenly broke into two beams of light, slowed down a few steps, and suddenly stopped beside Batu, as if it had encountered a savior. The big gray horse was in shock, gasping for air. There was a bite wound under its neck. The horse's chest was covered with blood. Steam was rising from the wound, and lines of blood ice dripped under the wound. When Schatzlen's horse saw the blood, it jumped up in shock, then lowered its head, strangled its neck, and ran wildly along the wind regardless of the situation. Batu had no choice but to quickly mount his horse to catch up. The big gray horse also disappeared immediately.
Chapter 5 (2)
By the time Batu finally grabbed the reins of Schatzlen's horse, the horses had just rushed to their side. Under the blurry flashlight light, all the horses that could be seen looked like the big gray horse, frightened and out of his mind. The horses howled and neighed in the wind, running and kicking. The hooves of hundreds of trembling and crazy horses rolled up the turbulent snow waves, drowning the more ferocious torrent below the horses' waists. When both Batu and Schatzlen pointed their light beams at the horses in fear, Schatzlen was so frightened that he rushed forward, hugged the horses' necks, and almost fell off the horse. Although the flashlight illumination was blurry in the snow waves, the sharp eyes of the two horse shepherds saw the wolves under the horses. Almost every horse next to the herd has one or two big wolves chasing and biting them. The fur of each wolf was covered with snow in the white fur wind, making the whole body white. The wolf's waist was also swollen a lot more than usual. It was frighteningly big and white. A pack of white wolves, a pack of ghost wolves, a pack of evil wolves that scare the horse herders to death. The wolf that was usually frightened by the light of a flashlight and ran away was now filled with hatred, as domineering and fearless as the wolf king and the female wolf.
Batu felt guilty and sweating, feeling that he had bumped into the Wolf God and was about to be punished by Tengger. Although every herdsman in the Elun Grassland will eventually be buried in the belly of a wolf, this is what he hopes before his death, and his family and friends also hope after his death that his body will be cleaned up by the wolves and his soul will return to Tengger. It has been like this for thousands of years, and it has been calm for thousands of years. However, everyone who is still healthy and semi-healthy is afraid of wolves, and they are unwilling to be eaten by wolves before their life span is over.
Batu and Schatzlen have not seen the other two horse herders for a long time. It is estimated that they may have been frostbitten by the white-haired wind and were taken away by their frightened mounts. The two stable boys were on the day shift. They had no guns, no flashlights, and no thick leather robes. Batu said cruelly: Don't worry about them, it's important to save the horses!
The horses were still running wildly in the beam of light shot by Batu. Seventy or eighty quasi-military horses are the darlings of the dozen or so horses and dozens of horse herders in the field - they have noble blood and pure breeds, and are the world-famous Ujumqin among the Mongolian war horses in history. Horse, historically known as Turkic horse. They all have beautiful bodies, have the character of being hardworking, resistant to hunger, thirst, heat and cold, and can run fast and energetically. Usually, most of these horses are the mounts of big horseherds and farm leaders. This time, in order to prepare for war, the militia cavalry division was allocated, and the ranch was in trouble.
Once this group of horses feeds the wolves or dies in the water, the horse herders are not like wolves and must tear them apart. When Batu thought of those young and old stable boys who were usually disobedient, his blood suddenly rushed to his head.
When Batu saw that Shazileng was hesitant, he rushed over with his horse and hit him in the head with a stick. He pinned Schatzlen's horse with his own horse, pinned him next to the horses, then shook his flashlight in his face several times and shouted: If you dare to run away, I will kill you! Schatzlen shouted: I'm not afraid, but the horse I'm riding is! Schatzlen whipped the horse's head with the reins several times before taking control of the horse. Then he turned on his flashlight and charged toward the horses with the lasso pole. The two men used flashlights to guide the horses, and used horse poles to beat some horses that did not obey the command and ran wildly with the wind, pushing the horses to the east. Batu estimated that this place was getting closer and closer to Dapaozi, no more than twenty miles away. The army horses are all geldings with tall heads and broad chests. They are not burdened by the pregnant mares, foaled horses, and old colts of the ordinary horses. The horses run extremely fast. At this speed, it does not take more than half a year. Within an hour, the whole herd had rushed into the muddy pond. The terrible thing is that the big bubble in front is narrow from north to south and wide from east to west. It is long and horizontal in front. If the wind direction does not change, it will be difficult to get around. Batu felt that the bubble was like the big mouth of a giant demon, waiting for the wind monster and the wolf god to give it a feast of fat horses.
The direction of the white-haired wind did not change at all, facing north and south, and continued to roar and blow fiercely. In the dark, Batu could feel the height of the terrain, the direction of the ground veins, and the softness of the geology from the changes in the horse's step on the pasture, and judge his location and wind direction. Batu was burning with anxiety. He felt that the female wolves who had their dens empty and lost their cubs were even crazier than the wolf king. He didn't care that he was surrounded by wolves, that the wolves might bite his mount at any time, or that the horse might stumble and fall into a pack of hungry, hateful, and crazy wolves. He yelled desperately and beat wildly with the horse pole. He only had one thought left, which was to stabilize the morale of the army, gather the scattered horses, drive them due south, and avoid the big paozi. Then drive the horses to the ger gathering place, and use dogs and people to deal with the wolves.
Under the guidance of the flashlight, and under the beating and roaring of the two horse herders who never left the horse group, the horses gradually regained their consciousness and seemed to have a backbone. A big white horse volunteered, head held high and neighing, and stood up as the leader of the new herd. Batu and Schatzlen immediately pointed the beam of light at the leader. With the leader of the horse, the horses became excited, quickly restored the instinctive team spirit of the Mongolian war horses, and organized the traditional formation that has been used to deal with wolves for thousands of years. The leading horse suddenly let out a command and hissed, and the formation that had been disrupted by the wolves suddenly concentrated on the leading horse, shoulder to shoulder, belly to belly, packed tightly. Hundreds of horse hooves invariably increased their downward force, stamping, stamping, kicking, and kicking fiercely. The wolves were caught off guard, and the ferocious wolves lost their advantage for a moment. Several wolves were trapped under the belly of the horses among the horses. They were tightly circled in front, back, left and right by the horse legs like fences, unable to jump out or escape. Some wolves were trampled lame by the dense horse hooves, their backs were broken, and their heads were kicked open. They let out shrill howls of ghosts and wolves, which were even more human than Baimaofeng. Batu breathed a sigh of relief. He estimated that at least two or three wolves would be kicked to death and injured by the horse's hooves. He could remember the boundaries of this land, and he could come back to skin the wolves when the weather cleared and the weather cleared. After the massacre, the horses quickly adjusted their formation, with timid horses inside and strong horses outside. Use explosive and powerful iron hooves that make wolves fearful, forming a rear defense line like a chain of iron fists.
Getting closer to Dapaozi, Batu is satisfied with the regular formation of the horses that has just been formed. This formation is still commandable. As long as the leading horse is controlled, there may not be many left. In the time required, the horses were driven to the east of Paozi. However, Batu is still afraid. This pack of wolves is extraordinary. Crazy wolves cannot be beaten. The more they fight, the more ferocious they become. The more they kill, the crazier they become. No one on the grassland is not afraid of the vengeful wolves. The wolf pack must have heard the wolf's scream just now. The road ahead will be full of dangers. Batu looked at the horses and saw that many horses had been bitten. This group of horses are all good horses and war horses. They are horses that have fought with the wolves. Even the injured horses will run with the group desperately, trying their best to keep the formation neat and try not to give the wolves a chance to attack.
However, this group of horses has a fatal weakness. They are all geldings, but they lack ferocious and aggressive stallions (male stallions) that can actively attack big wolves. In the Mongolian grasslands, each large horse herd has more than a dozen horse families, large and small, and each family has a horse. Those majestic horses with knee-length or even floor-length manes, taller than other big horses, are the real leaders and killers in the herd. As soon as they encountered a wolf, the horses immediately formed a circle under the command of the horses. The mares and ponies were inside, and the big horses were outside. All the horses were fighting the wolves head-on outside the circle. They spread their long manes, snorted and roared, He stood up with his two hind hooves, hanging over the wolf's head like a hill, then slammed his front body downwards, and used his two huge front hooves to smash the wolf's head and body. Once the wolf escapes, the wolf will lower its head and chase after it, gouging and biting it. The largest, ferocious, and violent wolf can bite the wolf, throw it into the sky, throw it to the ground, and then gouge it to death. In the grassland, no matter how ferocious the wolf is, it is no match for Ermazi. No matter day or night, Ermazi guards the horses vigilantly. Even if the horses encounter wolves, lightning strikes, or wildfires and startle the herd, Ermazi will protect his family in front and behind, minimize the casualties of the family's wives, children, old and young, and lead the horses. The group ran to safety.
At this moment, Batu missed his son so much.
But the temporary champion horse in the white-haired wind in front of me, and all the horses in the herd, are geldings. Although they are strong and powerful, they have lost their maleness and are not very aggressive. Batu secretly complained that the regular army had not come to the ranch to recruit military horses for several years, and people had almost forgotten the consequences of not having any horses in the military horse herd. Even if some people thought about it, they would think that the military horses would leave in a few days anyway, and once the military horses left, it would no longer be the ranch's business. This matter, which was almost impossible to go wrong, actually allowed the wolf to take advantage of the loophole. Batu had to admire the wolf king's vision. He had probably discovered that this was a group of horses without any horses.
Chapter 5(3)