The Volcano Army is located on the bank of the Yellow River, with ravines and broken terrain, and there is almost no flat land except for the river valley area. It belongs to more than 3,000 households and more than 10,000 people, which is smaller than Yongcheng in Renzhi County, Du Zhongxiao. On the other side of the Yellow River in the north is the newly established Khitan Prefecture of Yongbyon.

This is the forefront of the town of Khitan, but the terrain is rugged, not conducive to the movement of the army, the garrison is not much, there is a command of the forbidden army cavalry under the Ma Military Division, and three commanders of the infantry army of the Xiang Army, less than 2,000 people. But for a small place with 3,000 households, it is not easy to raise 2,000 soldiers and horses, not to mention a large number of village soldiers.

Du Zhongxiao left the state and went up the Fen River, until the Lan army turned to the northwest. As soon as you get out of the valley around Taiyuan, you will enter the mountains, and it is difficult to see the flat land again. Out of the mountains, it is the loess is pervasive, the hills are continuous, the ravines are vertical and horizontal, and often there are no people for a day.

This is the hinterland of the Loess Plateau, the terrain is broken, and if you don't follow the ancient road where the post station was built, you will get lost if you don't go far.

After walking for more than a month, I entered the valley of the Yellow River from the continuous mountains, and the population suddenly became dense.

Thirteen Lang, who was walking in front, returned with a horse, and excitedly said to Du Zhongxiao: "Official, in front of you are the people of the Volcano Army who have come to greet us." And here for a while, they came to meet them. ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed, ordered the brigade to stop, and bowed his hand to Tian Dutou of the Baode army beside him: "Thank you for sending each other, and rest here for a while and drink a glass of wine." If there is no urgency, then follow me into the city and spend a few days. ”

Tian Du crossed his hands: "Knowing the army's good intentions, the subordinate must go back and pay the military order, and dare not delay." ”

Du Zhongxiao was not easy to keep, and when he saw a big tree by the river in front of him, he went to the tree with Tian Dutou and dismounted.

The Baode army was in the south of the Volcano Army, adjacent to the Volcano Army, and Du Zhongxiao entered the river valley and first arrived at the territory of the Baode Army. According to the custom, when an official takes office, the state army that passes through must send military officials to greet and see him off. The terrain here is complex, and it is adjacent to the Khitan, and there are many troops, so the Baode army sent Tiandu to take a capital to send Du Zhongxiao. Now that he has entered the territory of the Volcano Army, Tian Dutou's mission has been completed, and he wants to go back to the Baode Army.

After waiting under the tree for a short time, I saw a group of people and horses rushing in front of me, with hundreds of people, and the momentum was not small. More than a hundred steps away, those people saw Du Zhongxiao's banner and dismounted one after another, and more than a dozen people walked quickly here.

After a while, when they came closer, they saluted Du Zhongxiao one after another.

This is the main official of the Volcano Army, the official Cheng Wenli, the secretary of the army Pan Zhen, the soldiers and horses to inspect Sun Dan, and several commanders and village owners.

The Volcano Army is a small place, the officials are uneven, and compared with Yongcheng, there are a few more generals.

Everyone sang Nuobi, took wine, and the subordinate officials saluted, and Du Zhongxiao toasted a glass of wine to Tian Dutou, and said goodbye.

After a little trimming, Du Zhongxiao took his men on the horse, surrounded by officials of the Volcano Army, along the east bank of the Yellow River, all the way north.

The Yellow River meanders through the territory of the Volcanic Army, rushing out of a valley, and most of the villages under its jurisdiction are distributed in the Yellow River valley. Along the way, Du Zhongxiao saw that in every village he passed, there were soldiers and horses stationed at the entrance of the village, saluted from afar, and said to Cheng Wenli beside him: "Tuiguan, why is there a soldier and horse in every village here?" I see that their military appearance is well-groomed, and they are not comparable to ordinary villagers. ”

Cheng Wenli said: "Back to the Zhijun, this is the extreme border, close to the Khitan, and there are many soldiers and horses in the territory. In terms of the number of households, almost one household raises an army, which is not comparable to other places. In addition to the forbidden army, most of the households in the territory are township soldiers, such as the villages and villages. The people here are fierce, not comparable to the mainland, and the village soldiers are also brave and good at fighting, so it is so. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, understanding that all he saw at the entrance of the village were village soldiers. According to Cheng Wenli, almost all the people here are soldiers, and it is different from the place where he used to be. The households here, in addition to the Han people, there are many households, but they have lived with the Han people for many years, and they have long been sinicized and cannot be distinguished. Regardless of the Fanhan Dynasty, the people of the border areas have experienced wars for hundreds of years, and the folk martial arts are extremely strong.

After walking for more than 20 miles, I saw an earthen city on the edge of the Yellow River, lying there in ashes, inconspicuous. There are no households outside the city, which is very different from the situation in the mainland. If it is in the interior, most of the grass markets will be formed at the city gates, and many places are more prosperous than the county. The reason is simple, people have to pay taxes when they go to the city to do business, and the area around the city gate is a gray area. The city gate here is so deserted, which is a unique style of the border land.

When Du Zhongxiao and his entourage were still a few miles away from the city, they heard the thunder of drums, and hundreds of soldiers poured out of the city and lined up along the city gate. Although it was only a few hundred people, the army was well-groomed and quite imposing.

Wu Wenzuo, the commander of the forbidden army Guangrui in the back, urged him to step forward and said loudly to Du Zhongxiao: "The new official of the Zhijun has taken office, and the sons and daughters of the city will go out of the city to greet him." According to the rules, you should give wine, food, and clothing, and hope that the army will be completed! ”

Du Zhongxiao was stunned for a moment, looked at Wu Wenzuo with his hands crossed, and looked at himself firmly, obviously not giving up until he reached his goal. Is this an example, Du Zhongxiao didn't know it in his heart, and turned his head to look at Cheng Wenli beside him.

Cheng Wenli's face was a little embarrassed, and he said: "The border land is hard, and the soldiers patrol the mountains and often run around. In the past, when the army took office, there were many rewards for clothing. This matter is well governed, and I hope that the Zhijun will not mind. ”

Seeing Cheng Wenli's expression, Du Zhongxiao already knew it. In the past, most of the intellectuals of the Volcano Army were military generals, and out of the habit of winning people's hearts, someone should reward them as soon as they arrived, but it was by no means a convention. Wu Wenzuo did this, just because he was afraid that he was a civilian official, and he would pull the army out, scare him first, and then cheat some benefits. Being a soldier only recognizes money in his eyes, which is a stubborn disease of this era.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said: "The Volcano Army has nearly two thousand forbidden hall troops, where can there be so much property in the city?" It's a bit tricky. ”

Wu Wenzuo said loudly: "Our forbidden army is a horse army, and when the battle is the first, how can it be compared to the box army!" Although the Zhijun rewarded the forbidden army, the Xiang army didn't need to pay attention to it. Those splashes are useless, they will only chew the horse valley, so why bother with them. ”

As soon as the words fell, two people behind him shouted: "The forbidden army is a person, isn't the box army a person!" ”

As he spoke, he urged the horse forward, and there was a posture of drawing a knife if he didn't agree with him.

Du Zhongxiao watched coldly, and it was the commanders of the two Xiang armies who spoke, and it was very likely that their subordinates were stationed in the city. There are many fortresses under the Volcano Army, and there are troops stationed in each place, and the forbidden army is still relatively concentrated, so the Xiang army is very scattered.

Seeing that the three of them were getting closer, Du Zhongxiao coughed and said in a loud voice: "Since it is a convention, I will naturally do it." There is no urgency in this matter, after I enter the city, I will check the treasury and then set the reward, how about it? Since it is a soldier in one place, why bother to divide the army and the army. ”

Wu Wenzuo sneered: "How can you not divide it?" The border is in chaos, and it is our forbidden army that comes forward to fight for life and death, and the benefits are exchanged for life! ”

Du Zhongxiao's face was flat, and he said: "There are common rules in this matter, and it is useless to fight." Tell me to go down and wait until I enter the city, and then set a reward. The soldiers who went out of the city to greet them were strictly restrained by the commanders and were not allowed to cause trouble. Who dares to make a noise for no reason, disturb military discipline, and behead! - Enter the city! ”

After speaking, urge the horse, and go first. Thirteen Lang followed closely behind, his hand tightly gripping the iron shovel, and followed behind him.