The village was built in the Northern Han Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, with a rammed earth high wall, relying on Shuangfeng Mountain in the east and the Guan River in the west. The Guan River surrounds the city, instead of the moat, and the terrain is dangerous. This is a three-way intersection, west to the Volcano Army, east to two roads, one to Xinzhou, and one to the Khitan hinterland.

This area is deep in the Loess Plateau, with broken mountains and rivers and inconvenient transportation. Most of the only roads on the east bank of the Yellow River that go south and north meet here, which is one of the channels for the grassland peoples to go south. The center of gravity of the Khitan people is in the northeast, and they do not attach as much importance to Hedong Road as they do to Hebei Road.

The sun was setting, and more than a dozen Tibetan people drove cattle and sheep to graze leisurely outside the wall. The Guan River flows quietly, and the sunset shines on the river, shining with rippling waves. There are a few persimmon trees outside the wall, no one picks them, and the persimmons on them are as red as fire.

With the sound of horses' hooves, Du Zhongxiao's brigade emerged from the valley, and the bright flags were particularly conspicuous in the setting sun.

"Ah, there are officers and soldiers coming!" When the sheep herders saw the flag in the distance, they roared in panic and were at a loss.

The scout crossed his hands in front of Du Zhongxiao and sang a promise: "Governor, the subordinates have clearly investigated, and there are neither Khitans nor large Tibetan tribes around. Only a few families of Tibetans shepherd sheep here, and they make tents outside the village, and it seems that they live here all year round. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and ordered: "Take down those few families and don't allow them to spread the news." Remember to entertain them well, don't abuse them, so as not to lose the prestige of the court. The scouts are scattered, and the team will follow me into the village! ”

Everyone made a promise, and surrounded Du Zhongxiao along the Guanhe valley and walked towards the southeast side of the Guanzhai village.

A few fast horses galloped all the way in front, and when they reached the wall, they shouted to a dozen or so Tibetan people who were huddled together: "We are soldiers and horses of the imperial court, and we have come here to guard the village, so you don't need to panic." Each drove his own cattle and sheep to his own tent, and later the officials had their own orders! ”

More than a dozen people only made promises, and did not dare to disobey, and each drove the cattle and sheep back to their own tents, all of them uneasy. A few years ago, when there were soldiers stationed, it was still very lively, and it was equipped with all kinds of facilities. Since the rebellion of several surrounding Tibetan tribes and the suppression of officers and soldiers, it has become untenable here, and the stockade has been abandoned. Several rebellious tribes were encircled and suppressed several times, and the surrounding population was sparsely populated, and these people moved from other places.

When he arrived in front of the village, Du Zhongxiao rode on a horse and looked at the village across the river. This village is built on the high ground across the river, and it is condescending, overlooking the Guanhe River and the road in front of the village, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Guan River in front of the village turns a corner here, in the shape of a few figures, just wrapping the village and becoming a moat.

This kind of strategic location, the choice is very cautious, and it is not built here casually. Since the construction of the village in the fifth dynasty, it is a strategic place, especially to the Ming Dynasty, the main threat comes from the northern grassland, and here is one of its southward routes, directly threatening and merging the state, that is, the later Taiyuan Mansion.

The formation of a strategic place, of course, does not rely on such a stockade alone, but has a series of surrounding supports. The reason why the village was abandoned a few years ago was because the surrounding attached forts were gone, and it was difficult to defend the isolated village.

The scout who was exploring the road in front came over to report: "Yu Zhijun, at this time in late autumn, the river is not deep, you can cross the river on horseback." It's just that it's getting late, and the river is too cold, so it's better to wait until the sun rises tomorrow and the brigade crosses the river. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Okay, camp on this side of the river tonight, and cross the river tomorrow." Order Guangrui Army Shao Dutou to cross the river with me! ”

The herald around him ordered the soldiers to answer the promise, turn the horse's head, and go to pass the military order.

The sun goes down, leaving a blush on the horizon. The cold wind in the mountains rose up, and suddenly it was cold.

Shao Qun was wearing iron armor, and he couldn't help shrinking his neck in the cold wind, and whispered: "This stockade is on the other bank, and you can't run, why do you have to cross the river today." Those who do not go to war do not know the value of horses. With such icy river water, what should I do if the horse is sick! ”

Although he was dissatisfied, he did not dare to disobey the military order, and commanded his subordinates to slowly cross the river with Du Zhongxiao and his party.

The river in this area is gentle, and the bottom of the river is full of mud and sand, so there is no accident to cross the river. When he arrived on the other side, Du Zhongxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and ordered Tao Seventeen to take people to open the gate of the village and lead the army into the city.

Within a few years, the stockade became extremely desolate. The school yard in front of it is overgrown with weeds, and many houses have collapsed. Fortunately, there is little rain in this area, and the largest walled hall is still intact, but it is covered with cobwebs and dust everywhere.

Thirteen Lang took people into the walled hall, checked it carefully, and came out to report to Du Zhongxiao: "Official, the walled hall is still intact, the tables and chairs and other utensils inside are all there, and they are not decayed." It's just that there is too much dust, and it needs to be cleaned before it can live well. ”

Du Zhongxiao looked at the sky and shook his head: "That's it, I'll clean it tomorrow, and sleep all night tonight." ”

After entering the walled hall, the soldiers cleaned up the case, invited Du Zhongxiao to sit, and lit a charcoal fire next to him. There were originally charcoal and other materials stored in the village, but in a few years, they had already been moved by nearby households, and they could only rely on what they brought from this trip.

Thirteen Lang and Tao Seventeen went out for a walk, and came back and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Official, we looked around, except for the empty room, there is nothing left here. Fortunately, a well in the back did not collapse, so we could fetch water, and we boiled some water to drink. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The well that has not been used for several years, it is better not to drink the water in it." There is the Guan River in front of you, so go a little upstream and get some water to drink. The flowing water does not rot, and the water in the river is always reassuring. ”

After all kinds of things were cleaned up, Du Zhongxiao settled down in the walled hall and sat by the fire. I boiled hot tea and handed it over.

Du Zhongxiao took a sip of tea and said to Thirteen Lang: "You go and call the head of the Baojie Army, I have something to tell him." ”

After a while, Shi Kaicheng came in, crossed his hands and sang a promise, and Du Zhongxiao ordered him to sit opposite.

Ordering his entourage to serve tea, Du Zhongxiao said to Shi Kaicheng: "I came in a hurry this time, and many things were not prepared. Fortunately, everything went well, and we entered the city safely, and we had to plan for the future. After this village is rebuilt, someone will be stationed there, and I want to send you here to be the owner of the village. If you make a meritorious contribution, you will be promoted to be the owner of the village, which is also a way out. ”

Shi Kaicheng was quite surprised, and said with his hands crossed: "Xie Guanren lifted!" - But why small? There are also the two heads of the forbidden army this time, and they are all higher than me according to their official positions, so they should be the masters of the village. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The forbidden army is all cavalry, so it is not good to be stationed separately. When the stockade here is repaired, and in the spring of the following year, they will return to the Volcano Army. The Baojie command was already stationed in various places, and it was only natural that he should be stationed here. A few months ago, you set up camp and did field work, although you did not have great success in leading the soldiers and horses of your headquarters, after all, there was no fault, and you should be promoted. In addition, this area is all in the Tibetan Division, and when you are in the field work, you can talk about going with the Tibetan Division, and you are a suitable person. ”

Shi Kaicheng hurriedly thanked him. He heard it, Du Zhongxiao said that the core reason for making himself the owner of the village should be that he got along well with the people of Fan when he was building a camp and doing field work. The owner of the village is to govern the lower Tibetan department, and Du Zhongxiao used Shi Kaicheng to obviously want to appease.

At this moment, there was a noise outside. Du Zhongxiao was taken aback, and hurriedly called his relatives to ask what was the matter.

After a while, Shisanlang came in from outside, and said with a forked hand: "Official, the people of the Guangrui Army saw the sheep of the Fan people, and they had to kill a few to eat, but the Fan people refused to quarrel there. Shao Dutou was angry, pulled out his knife, and shouted to kill. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao's face darkened.