Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 238 Indecision
  "Where has the chief steward gone?"

As soon as Chen Qingsi asked this question, the scene became deserted.

Huang Heshou, Zhang Rong, you looked at me and you didn’t know what to say.

Both of them are Zheng Rentai's old subordinates. They all followed Zheng Rentai when he was envoy to Chijie and Lingyan, the governor of the two states.

After coming back, I was a little embarrassed for a while when I learned what Zheng Rentai had done.

After all, one side is their old boss, and the other side is Chen Qingsi, who controls their promotion and leads them to victory.

The two of them were caught in a dilemma.

Fortunately, Chen Qingsi never mentioned anything about Zheng Rentai, so they naturally kept silent.

But regardless of whether we talk about return or return, we can still clearly distinguish between right and wrong.

No matter which aspect Zheng Rentai looked at, he couldn't make sense.

The matter of Sanshou surrendering to the city was important, so the three of them avoided Zheng Rentai and focused on business matters, so they ignored him.

Until Chen Qingsi said, "Where is the general manager?"

Only then did Huang Heshou and Zhang Rong realize that they had not heard from Zheng Rentai for a while.

Chen Qingsi was a little dumbfounded. How come the war ended and the West Route Army lost its coach?
  He suppressed his laughter and asked, "When did you last get news from the Grand Controller?"

Huang Heshou hurriedly looked at Zhang Rong. He didn't get any news about Zheng Rentai.

He went deep into Mobei to pursue Bisudu. When he was injured and retreated, Zheng Rentai had already led his troops deep into Mobei, and there was no news from him.

Zhang Rong looked a little panicked and said: "The last news I got from the General Manager was before he went deep into Mobei. He said that they had found traces of Ba Yegu and went to the Mobei grassland."

When he got the news, he was happy for his old boss. No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat.

Zheng Rentai lost his temper because he didn't get any merit. Being able to drink a sip of soup now is better than getting nothing at all.

Then he devoted himself to studying Sanshou Jiangcheng with Chen Qingsi...

Chen Qingsi asked hurriedly: "Has the General Manager asked the Sijie Department for guidance when he went here?"

Zhang Rongdao: "I don't know about the general, but judging from his marching trajectory, there shouldn't be any."

Chen Qingsi felt funny. Is this old guy lost?
  "Put aside what you are doing first and send people who are familiar with the terrain to search for traces of the Grand Controller."

Huang Heshou and Zhang Rong obviously thought of this and hurried away.

When Cheng Boxian saw the two leaving, he gloated and said softly: "Sir, sir, isn't the chief manager lost?"

I don't know how deep Mobei is, but I don't know how vast Mobei is.

This time I followed Huang Heshou in pursuit deep into Mobei and saw a different situation.

When I went there, I was biting my tongue and had no time to distinguish the north, south, east, and west.

When I came back, I was confused.

There are endless stretches of sand, grass, swamps everywhere...

Even if you know the way south to get home, you will unconsciously deviate from the route while walking.

Even if you can rely on the sun to tell your direction in the early morning, as long as the sun is high in the sky, you will lose your direction.

Cheng Boxian was still frightened, but fortunately, Huang Heshou's soldiers included many Qiang and Turks. With their help, he found the right road and went to the Towering Khan Road, and then returned to Lingzhou along the road.

Without those Qiang and Turks, Cheng Boxian would not have the slightest confidence to return to Lingzhou.

"not sure!"

It’s hard to say about Chen Qingsi.

Zheng Rentai is a veteran, and logically speaking, he would not make such a stupid mistake. It’s just that anyone, once disturbed by emotions, will inevitably fall into self-confusion and go to extremes.

"Let's go! Let's go to the Si Jie Department!"

Chen Qingsi thought about it and had no intention of sitting idly by.

If it was just Zheng Rentai, he could remain indifferent. But Zheng Rentai led the Tang Dynasty's tens of thousands of troops, and there was indeed no tribe in Mobei that could threaten Zheng Rentai's tribe.

But the threat to Mobei is not from humans, but from nature.

If you really get lost in Mobei, run out of food, or be unable to find water, there will be terrible consequences.

It is not enough to rely on Lingzhou soldiers to search. It is most suitable for people living on the grassland to do this kind of thing.

Chen Qingsi arrived at Sijie Department quickly.

Facing Chen Qingsi's arrival, all members of the Sijie Department came out of their tents to welcome him.

The same is true for thinking about enemies and talents.

Chen Qingsi told him of his intention to make friends with enemies and talents.

Sijie Dilu said without hesitation: "The Sijie Department is the subject of Tian Khan, and the general manager is also the general manager of my Sijie Department. Don't worry, sir, my Sijie Department will do our best to search for this matter."

Sijie Yingcai also said: "Mr. Chen's matter is my Sijie Yingcai's matter. I will summon the warriors of the clan to personally search for the whereabouts of the general manager."

The unknown Gobi Desert.

Zheng Rentai was naked, looking at the endless Gobi desert around him, with a trace of confusion and anxiety in his eyes.

"Zhong Xiang..." He deliberately lowered his voice and said, "How much food do we have?"

Wang Fangyi licked his dry lips and said, "It's less than two days."

Zheng Rentai glanced around and saw that all the soldiers around him were exhausted and listless. He couldn't help but regret and said, "I regret not listening to Zhong Xiang's words."

That day they discovered the enemy's traces. Zheng Rentai couldn't resist the temptation, entered the Great Gobi, and successfully intercepted a group of thieves. He wanted to interrogate the details, but found that the thieves could not speak the Mandarin of the Tang Dynasty.

The tribes in Mobei are far away from the Central Plains, unlike Sijie. The common people are studying the "Three Character Classic", and the people who receive Han culture are limited to the nobles of various tribes.

Zheng Rentai brought troops to Guanzhong this time, but no one was proficient in Tiele or Turkic languages.

Zheng Rentai was unwilling to give up, but he also knew that where there are small fish, there must be big fish, and he found traces of a bandit soldier.

Wang Fangyi tried to dissuade him at that time, saying: "In the desert, the thieves have few soldiers, but our army is so large that they cannot catch up."

Zheng Rentai said, "Why should we catch up? I will let a small group of scouts follow them, and the army will follow them from afar. Let them lead us to the bandit's camp and destroy it in one fell swoop."

Chen Qingsi robbed him of the credit he deserved, and now he set his sights on the credit of the East Route Army.

On the left and right, they were marching slowly, no wonder he was there.

The idea was good, but they underestimated how bad Mobei was.

The days were hot and the nights were cold. They followed him from the Gobi into the desert. Then they lost contact with Tanma and lost traces of the enemy.

Can't go in, can't go back.

Zheng Rentai's indecisive character is most vividly reflected at this time. As a deputy for ten thousand years, Zheng Rentai is very qualified. He can give reasonable suggestions and let decisive people make decisions.

But when it came time for him to make a decision, he started to get confused.

If he can retreat decisively and directly, he can return the same way. But he was unwilling to give in and chose to continue chasing north...

Similarly, if he can persist in pursuit, he can get out of the desert even if he doesn't meet the thief.

He chose the stupidest way and chased for two days. When he saw that he had not left the desert, he was worried that he would not be able to get out. He regretted his choice and ordered to turn back!
  (End of this chapter)