Daishire. Guangchang County.

Guangchang originally belonged to the Zhongshan Kingdom of Jizhou, and was only included in Youzhou during the Taikang period of the Great Jin Dynasty. This area is thousands of miles in circumference, traversing between the three large states of You, and Hebei Province, and is the convergence place of the three mountain ranges of Taihang, Yanshan and Changshan, the mountains in the territory are undulating, the valleys are vertical and horizontal, and the geographical location is very dangerous. There are also three rivers of Yishui, Laishui, and Lianshui, which originate in the meantime, and nurture the gentle slope pastures in the mountains. In recent decades, a large number of Hu ethnic groups in northern Xinjiang have gathered here, independent of the imperial court system, either farming or herding, and many of them simply make a living by plundering.

This is Baishi Mountain in Guangchang County. Baishi Mountain is a particularly tall and longitudinal among the mountains of Guangchang County, and the strange peaks and ravines are undulating and undulating, as if the angry waves are rolling. Like a knife and axe carved out of the cliff wall, the white rock mass glows in the sun, corresponding to the pine and red birch everywhere, which is magnificent.

Halfway up the side of the side peak of Mt. Shiraishi, there is a relatively flat slope with a slight slope. The slope of the hill is connected to the mountains on the east side, and the water pools and streams on the west side are submerged, and it is about three miles long and one and a half miles wide. There was a cottage here, I don't know which dynasty and which generation of displaced people who escaped the oppression of the government to build, and then it was abandoned, the wall collapsed horizontally, and the houses became ruins.

Seven days have passed since the meeting with Ding Shao, and the day of the Tuoba Xianbei Sacrifice Ceremony is getting closer and closer. Lu Yao and his subordinates, with the help of magistrates from Changshan, Zhongshan and other counties in Jizhou, successfully infiltrated Dai County. In the plain area of Jizhou, because they were under the banner of changing local garrisons and had no more than 1,000 troops, they did not attract anyone's attention along the way. After entering the mountainous area, relying on the effective guide and the cover of the deep mountains and dense forests, their actions became even more unaware of them, and they approached only twenty miles away from the county seat of Guangchang County, Dai County, before they were stationed.

Lu Yao climbed to the top of a strange rock and looked around.

There is no trace of people in the depths of the empty mountains, except for the occasional mountain beasts, shaking the vegetation.

The soldiers arrived at the time of Shen, when they were busy cutting down trees and setting up tents. Some soldiers were thirsty from hard work, so they went to a nearby mountain spring to fetch water to drink, and when they were discovered by the officers, they were all reprimanded. In order to achieve the concealment effect, since yesterday, Lu Yao has strictly ordered the troops not to light fires, and can only eat the dry food and cooked water they carry with them.

Most of the cavalry were still on horseback, and they scattered on the mountain meadows, leading their horses on foot, brushing and combing their hair, and by the way, gathering enough grass before sunset. Under a warrant from the Jizhou Assassin Shi Ding Shao, the northern prefectures and counties of Jizhou generously provided a large amount of provisions, which were expected to be enough for 20 days. It is a pity that yesterday when passing through the gorge of Panshiyu, a team of heavy horses was frightened and fell off the cliff, losing some supplies. Therefore, the only way to collect and prepare the fodder for the horses is to collect them along the way.

This mountain, which stretches for hundreds of miles, has rarely had pedestrians since ancient times, and it is much more steep than Lu Yao imagined. In the past two days of arduous trekking, not only horses and supplies have been lost, but more than 20 soldiers have lost their footings in the mountains.

After just three days of mountain marching, the loss of personnel was almost two percent. In this era, the role of geographical conditions in restricting military operations can be seen from this. Such a loss ratio made Lu Yao a little shocked. Although he had experienced countless battles and witnessed countless killings and deaths, Lu Yao still could not calmly face the sacrifices of his soldiers. Especially in such a situation, these sacrifices could have been avoided if there had been better preparation and more time.

Lu Yao sighed and looked further. Standing in this position, it can be seen that the diffuse clouds and mist at the southern foot of Baishi Mountain are accumulating in the high air, and they are blocked by the peaks of the wall and cannot advance an inch. The cascading clouds obscured the sky and the sun, making it difficult to find a large area of mountains, but the north side of Baishi Mountain was sunny, and even the county town of Guangchang on the plain outside the mountains was clearly recognizable. Separated by a mountain, it is like two worlds, and it is a wonder.

The trembling of branches and leaves behind him sounded, and it was Shao Xu who climbed the branches of the forest trees and came up. He followed Lu Yao's gaze and observed left and right for a long time, and then said with a smile: "General, Jizhou is as dark as obscure, and the sky is clear in Daijun, this is an auspicious omen." Doesn't it indicate that our trip to the north will be smooth? ”

"Haha, the auspicious words of Mr. Cheng Zu." Lu Yao smiled, knowing that his expression had misunderstood Shao Xu, thinking that he lacked confidence in the actions he was about to implement.

He diverted the topic and said, "I don't know how Zhu Sheng is progressing." The bait is ready, and the water in the pond needs to be muddyed as soon as possible. ”

Shao Xu nodded: "And the ...... over there is the master of Hu Dazhai."

Zhu Shengyuan was a herdsman under Liu Jingying, the general of the Xiongnu to destroy the Jin Dynasty, who was captured by the Jin army in the Battle of Banqiao, and then sent to Lu Yao's department. According to his own account, before he was held hostage by the Huns, he was a famous horse thief who committed crimes in Youhe Erzhou. However, Hu Liuniang had never heard of the name of this thief, and it was obvious that Zhu Sheng's self-boasting was a lot.

Zhu Sheng's bow and horse martial arts are quite standard, and he is also very alert and shrewd. He rose to prominence in the Jinyang War, and now he is Lu Yao's right-hand man. The important thing is that this person is quite talented in language, proficient in the local village proverbs, and fluent in Hu, and can communicate with all the miscellaneous Hu tribes without hindrance. It must be known that the origins of the Hu people in northern Xinjiang are different, and the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan tribes often do not understand each other's languages. It is because the adults of each tribe usually speak Chinese, and because of this, it is impossible to communicate with other tribes. With Zhu Sheng's ability, if he didn't join the army first, it would be more than enough to be a translator in the Shogunate of the Assassination of Bingzhou.

And at this moment, it is time for Zhu Sheng to perform.

He wore a rough sheepskin coat and rode a scrawny old horse, and walked slowly on the mountain road leading to the county seat. The horses were in front of and behind them, bleating and screaming, and hundreds of variegated sheep were running around in clusters. Sometimes a sheep ran far away, and Zhu Sheng waved a long pole whip and made a popping sound in the air to bring the sheep back.

The general will cross two hills, and the dust and smoke rise in the distance, and a group of horsemen are galloping.

Zhu Sheng smiled, drove the sheep to the gentle slope by the roadside, and sang in a loud voice: "Poor man, go out with death worries." The corpses are buried at the bottom of the valley, and the bones are not collected. The head hair is depraved, and the grass is flying. This is a song of mourning and mourning often sung by the Hu people, and through Zhu's hoarse voice, it floated out far away along the mountain wind.

A moment later, a song was heard from the direction from which the cavalry had galloped: "If a man wants to be healthy, he doesn't need more companions." The harrier flies through the sky, and the swallows wave in two phases. The cavalry team was in front of him in an instant, and the cavalry team was full of male Wuzi with swords and bows, no wonder the singing was so generous and heroic, but it was far a hundred times better than Zhu Sheng.

These are the powerful men in the mountains, and they are by no means something that a mere shepherd can afford to provoke, but Zhu Sheng has already driven the sheep out of the way and let the knights pass through.

One of the knights looked Zhu Sheng up and down a few times, and suddenly asked, "I know this old horse, it belongs to the old man of Hou Mochen's family, and he used to graze here." Why did you change your life today? ”

Zhu Sheng sighed: "That's my grandfather, who fell off a cliff while climbing to collect medicine five days ago and fell into the mud." I am his son Hou Mo Chen Sheng, alas, if this didn't happen, why would I come to serve these sheep......"

"It turned out to be a dead man. No wonder it sang so desolately......" The knight nodded, and rode away. The Hu people are cold by nature, and when their loved ones die, they just sing a song to mourn a few words, which is much simpler than the complicated etiquette of the Han people. It is precisely because of this that although this "Hou Mo Chen Sheng" seems to lack some mourning, none of those knights have any doubts.

But he heard this "Hou Mo Chen Sheng" and said weakly: "I heard that there is a caravan coming from the mountains, and the day should come." I'll take a look tomorrow, instead of working hard to herd sheep, it's better to raise horses for the officials of the Han family......"

The knight circled his horse again: "Caravan? What caravan? Where did you get the news? ”

"My Ah Gan is a servant of the Han Mansion outside the mountain, and he told me when he came to the funeral yesterday. The caravan was huge, with countless carts. The convoy was loaded with silk and goods. It is said that he came from a large city in the south to buy livestock and leather goods from the tribes of the Xianbei people in the grasslands in the north. Zhu Sheng replied,

The knight's face changed suddenly, and he greeted his companions, and dismounted to inquire carefully.

Zhu Sheng greedily stared at the leather bag hanging from the knight's saddle, swallowed and said, "Is there Tong cheese there?" Can I taste it? ”

The knight untied the entire skin bag and stuffed it heavily into Zhu Sheng's arms: "It's all yours!" Tell me about the caravan, boy! Uncle can't treat you badly! ”

Zhu Sheng nodded like a chicken pecking rice, and replied a few words, rendering the scale of the caravan extremely large.

There are caravans! Or a caravan with a large share! The knights exchanged glances with each other, and everyone could imagine what a tempting fortune it was.

In the past few months, the Han land has been very unpeaceful, and the normal commercial exchanges between the interior and the grassland have almost come to a standstill. It is rare to see large caravans that go to the grassland to buy leather and livestock, and even if there are, most of them go to Liaodong and Liaoxi through Jicheng. This can cause a lot of trouble for the Hu'er. Without caravans, there would be no iron, no silk, no strong wine. It's really hard. Now he suddenly heard the news that a caravan was passing by, and he was not excited.

This caravan is going north, so what does it matter? Hu'er are all part-time bandits, and it is not uncommon for them to rob a group of merchants. What's more, the behemoth in the north, Tuoba Xianbei, is fighting for the position of Da Dan, who cares about these little things!

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This week begins to pay off old debts. There are two watches today, and there will be two watches tomorrow. Thank you for your support!