Farmer of Shu Han

The winding river valley is sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, and many places are steep cliffs, just like a passage sandwiched by two high stone walls.

At this time, nearly ten thousand Hu people were crowded in this river valley, those in the north wanted to go south, and those in the south wanted to block them.

They were originally from the same clan, and they fought fiercely here.

The narrow river valley cannot accommodate too many people at the same time, and the barbarians who were organized into a centurion held crude weapons in their hands.

There are rusty iron tools, sharpened wood or bamboo poles, or bone.

Some of them roared angrily, some gritted their teeth, almost all of them turned red at the same time.

Because there are people watching from behind them, forcing them to have no way out.

Those who are physically strong will throw javelins at the crowd on the opposite side from a distance.

After the javelin crossed a certain distance in the sky, the sharp point of the spear pierced through the thin and tattered clothes and penetrated directly into the body.

The person who was shot staggered back and fell to the ground.

Soon, the two sides began to fight each other.

"kill!"

"Crack!"

The end of the wooden stick with the rock tied was thrown at the opponent, but unexpectedly, the opponent blocked it with a simple wooden shield.

The weapons in someone's hands were broken after colliding with each other, and the two hugged each other with bare hands, elbowed and bited, like the most primitive beasts fighting for territory.

Roaring, shouting, moaning...

There are already many corpses floating in Fenshui.

Liu Meng and Liu Bao whipped their horsewhip hard, but they couldn't drive the exhausted barbarians forward again.

As a last resort, they began to send out their own generals to lead the people of their tribe into battle.

It wasn't until night fell that the fierce fighting in the river valley came to an end.

...

The two who couldn't make any progress in the river valley pleaded guilty in front of General Guan with some trepidation:

"General, the villain is incompetent!"

General Guan is not unreasonable, he didn't blame them:

"It doesn't matter, the thieves have taken precautions in advance, and they have taken advantage of the location. It is human nature that it is difficult to attack for a while."

After hearing this, Liu Bao and Liu Meng breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, when I led the army to the south, I caught Wei's bandits by surprise. If we dragged on this mountain pass for too long, wait for the bandits from Guanzhong or Hebei to come to support us..."

Having said that, General Guan gave the two of them a meaningful look:

"At that time, I'm afraid it will be the beginning of the real trouble. If I can't conquer this mountain pass, I can only be regarded as defeated and lead the army back to Liangzhou, but where will the two of you go?"

When Liu Bao and Liu Meng heard this, his expression changed drastically.

Liu Meng's forehead was sweating slightly, he suddenly remembered something in his haste, and quickly whispered:

"General, the villain thinks of something, maybe he can help the general pass this mountain pass."

General Guan's eyes flashed: "Oh? Bushuai Liu, please come."

"General, apart from Guanjuejin Valley, there are actually other trails leading to the south of this mountain."

"Um?"

When General Guan heard this, a very interested expression appeared on his face.

When Liu Meng saw it, he was overjoyed: "General, it's like this. There is a salt pond in the east of the river, and salt has been produced since ancient times..."

General Guan directly interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "I know this better than you, let's get to the point."

"Yes, yes." Liu Meng wiped off his sweat and continued to explain, "Originally, the salt produced by the salt pond is under the jurisdiction of the government."

"It's just that in recent years, because of the war, the government has inevitably made some omissions, so many people have secretly obtained salt from the salt pond, and transported it to various places for sale."

"The villain's tribe once traded a lot of salt from smugglers. In order to avoid the government's investigation, those shady smugglers found another way, bypassing Guanjuejin Valley."

The more Liu Meng said, the more clear his thinking became:

"General, although the mountain road that the smugglers took is more difficult than Guanjuejin Valley, it has become a mountain path that is barely passable after walking all the year round."

As he talked, Liu Meng's expression was a little excited:

"At that time, I will wait in the north to attract the attention of the thieves, and the general will send a thousand or two thousand fine horsemen to sneak around behind, attacking back and forth, why worry about the valley's entrance?"

"The general's fine cavalry is rare in the world. No matter how many thieves there are, I'm afraid they will be defeated!"

General Guan showed a strange smile on his face:

"But thirty miles east of Guanjuejin Valley?"

Liu Meng was shocked: "How did the general know?"

General Guan smiled without answering, but said:

"I have already sent Liu Hun to lead 3000 fine cavalry to go there."

Liu Meng was even more horrified when he heard this.

Looking at General Guan's calm and indifferent expression, both Liu Bao and Liu Meng thought to themselves:

That's right, this general went all the way south, and he sent his secret agents first. How could he be unprepared for such a dangerous place as Guanjuejingu?

Thinking of this, the two couldn't help admiring and aweing at the same time.

General Guan's seemingly unintentional words and deeds shocked the two commanders, and she could only hear her say slowly:

"The fact that Liu Hun led the army to leave is still a secret in the military. It should not have been said to the two of you."

"But one of you is his elder brother, and the other is his uncle. I think I should be able to trust you."

Liu Bao and Liu Meng quickly lowered their heads and answered:

"Why would the villain harm my younger brother (nephew)? The villain promised the general that he would never say a word about it."

General Guan nodded in satisfaction, then sighed again:

"Actually, the reason why I forced you to wait for the two of you to spare no effort to attack the river valley is precisely to let you attract the attention of the thieves on the opposite side and cover Liu Hun's partial division."

"Therefore, you must not slack off in the slightest tomorrow. This mountain pass is the last obstacle."

General Guan's tone became low, and it sounded like he was bewitched:

"As long as the army enters Hedong, Guanzhong will be at your fingertips. As long as the big man takes Guanzhong, you will be heroes of the big man."

"At that time, your children and your clansmen will all benefit from it. The rise and fall of your clan for a hundred years depends on your one thought."

Liu Bao and Liu Meng swallowed, thinking of those Hu Qi under General Guan's command.

Not to mention the naturalized Huqi in the Liangzhou Army, even those righteous Huqi are enough to make people envious.

Don't look at the short words of "fed enough, clothed and warm, and have no worries about food and clothing", but that is the biggest dream of most people in this world.

For hundreds of years, the Huns have licked their faces and said that they are the sons-in-law of the Han family, guarding the frontier fortresses for the emperor of the Han family, and obeying the orders of the emperor of the Han family to fight everywhere.

What is the picture?

The Huns at the lower level were just for the rations promised by the emperor of the Tuhan family.

The middle-level leaders may want to ask for more good-looking fabrics, more exquisite clothes, and the like.

As for the nobles of the Xiongnu, they also want to have a comfortable life—it’s just a higher level of comfort, preferably the kind that benefits their children and grandchildren.

On the other hand, if patronage forces people to work hard, there will be no benefit.

Let alone the emperor of the Han family, even Shan Yu of his own family, if it should be rebelled, then it must be rebelled!

Fifty years ago, the rebellion within the Xiongnu that even killed Shan Yu was because the emperor of the Han family frequently conscripted the Huns, but they couldn't pay them?

People have to eat and dress to live. The world view of the grassland man is so simple, honest and single-minded.

Unlike certain aristocratic clans of the Han people, who dislike the stink of copper and claim to be a gentleman on the surface, but secretly wish to boil their bones to oil.

Pooh!

hypocritical!

I don't know if the promise made by General Guan in front of him can be fulfilled in the future.

But the meeting gift given to the two of them was really thick—the kind of thick stack.

These days, in the Liangzhou army, regardless of whether they are Hu or Han, privately they are willing to exchange the spoils for the tickets in their hands.

When his own brother Liu Hun couldn't help saying that he could also exchange the weapons seized from the Wei thief for tickets, Liu Meng regretted it.

This ticket is really valuable to his mother!

A few days ago, I accidentally changed my age with someone else, and it hurts when I think about it.

Big loss!

Cannibalism is short-mouthed, soft-handed, and things are going the other way, so what else?

Even if General Guan lied to them, it would be worthwhile to lower the requirements in the future and serve the big man as a righteous soldier like before.

Anyway, from what I saw and heard along the way, people felt that the treatment of Yi Congjun didn't seem too bad.

It is much better than being bullied and robbed by the Wei people.

Wei thief is not even willing to give him a way to live. He is not a son of man, and he will die in the future.

After thinking up to this point, Liu Bao and Liu Meng shouted in unison: "Don't worry, general, let's see how the villain will lead the army in person tomorrow, how can we fight to the death without retreating!"

Sure enough, on the second day, Liu Bao and Liu Meng took turns to organize the clansmen to fight, and even rushed to the front several times.

Under the leadership of the two, the two Huns on the left and right defeated the south in a row.

If the Wei army at Taniguchi hadn't forced the Huns in the south to withdraw from Guanjuejin Valley, Liu Bao and Liu Meng would have already killed Yong'an City.

(The Yong'an Palace that was not Liu Bei's was also called Yong'an in Huo County in the Three Kingdoms period)

This situation made Wei Jun nervous.

Obviously, the Huns in the south couldn't stand it anymore.

The Pingyang prefect of the Wei State seized the time to strengthen the camp on the mountain, and at the same time ordered a large number of rolling stones and trees to be placed on both sides of the valley.

He didn't extravagantly hope that the two or three thousand people on hand could stop the Shu captives, but only hoped that they could block the Shu captives in the valley for ten and a half months.

As long as the reinforcements arrive and crown the danger of Jingu, the big thing will be settled.

At this time, in the mountains and forests more than 30 miles east of Guanjuejin Valley, a group of people was trudging through mountains and rivers.

Especially when encountering danger, people are in front and horses are behind. Everyone is holding their own horses and carefully avoiding them.

Liu Hun found a hillside, looked at the long line below, and looked at the mountains and deep valleys that could not be seen in front of him. With worry in his eyes, he asked Shi Bao beside him:

"General Shi, are you sure this road can go around to the back of Yong'an City?"

Shi Bao was a little tired from walking, he sat down regardless of his image, took a few breaths, and then replied:

"General Liu, you can't be wrong."

He pointed to the east and asked:

"Do you know that there is a Zhangshui River in Shangdang County to the east of Xihe County?"

"Naturally, I know that from Shangdang down the Zhang River, it is the city of Ye in Jizhou."

Although Liu Hun grew up in Bingzhou, he has been away from here for more than ten years, and he has not taken over the position of commander-in-chief from Liu Qubei.

Naturally, there is no chance to get in touch with smugglers from Hedong like Liu Meng did.

In this day and age, when traveling abroad, one should not only follow the official path as much as possible, but at the same time, it is best to have a guard.

If there is no escort, go with others.

Who is full enough to go to the less-populated trails?

There is a saying that people rely on mountains to eat mountains, and water to eat water.

The mountain people are simple people who pick up farm tools, but sometimes they see someone who is alone, and take a part-time job of "I opened this road, I planted this tree", that is not a problem at all.

Hit the head with a hoe, search for the money, and then throw the body into the ravine. Isn't that a windfall?

Otherwise, why are everyone used to walking around the rivers and lakes with swords?

Going to challenge the law of the jungle if you have nothing to do, that's not called being bold, that's called being stupid and bold.

After all, no one knows whether he will miss the day.

So Liu Hun naturally had no chance to walk this road, and he had never even heard of it.

But at this time, Shi Bao asked about Zhangshui, but he was familiar with it.

After all, after leaving Bingzhou, Liu Hun also traveled around Hebei with Han Long for a long time, so he had certainly been to Yecheng.

Shi Bao chuckled, with some emotion on his face:

"Yecheng... When I was sent to serve in Yecheng, I never thought that the official appointment would be long-term and indecision. Under poverty, I had to sell iron for a living."

"Later, I heard that selling salt and iron in the north could bring great profits, so I also went to Zhangshui to join Shangdang, hoping to find a way to go north."

"I didn't know that the road was found, but the goods were snatched by the locals, and the people almost disappeared..."

Talking about those years, Shi Bao sighed.

In order to monopolize the channels for selling in the north, those big dogs in the east of the river used all kinds of means.

If he hadn't run fast, his bones would have been eaten up by wild beasts in the mountains.

Liu Hun looked at Shi Bao with a vicissitudes of life, feeling a little sympathetic in his heart.

After working together for so long, Shi Bao never shy away from expressing in front of others that Feng Junhou and General Guan are his nobles.

And before he met Feng Junhou and General Guan, his fate can be regarded as a history of tragic misfortune.

And now...

Shi Bao stood up, patted his buttocks, and said to the valley in high spirits:

"I, Shi Zhongrong, are no longer comparable to those in the past. Today, I lead the master back and see who dares to stop me!"

Especially those big dogs in Hedong!

At that time, I will definitely report to the princes and send troops to guard the salt pond. Don't you want to steal another grain of salt!

"General Liu, I remember that there is a river on this road, which comes from the east, goes west, and finally pours into Fenshui."

"Smugglers built a wooden house by the water for rest. Although I don't know if the wooden house is still there at this time, as long as we see that stream, we will be considered halfway through."

"Okay, let's go!"

After walking for another half a day, I saw the water flow that Shi Bao said.

Overjoyed, Liu Hun ordered the whole army to rest by the water, and at the same time sent scouts to explore the way ahead.

What people didn't expect was that on the second day, Liu Hun received a report from the scouts:

"There seems to be Wei thieves guarding the intersection leading out of the mountain."

Liu Hun looked at Shi Bao in shock:

"Didn't it mean that this road was taken by smugglers? Why is the Wei thief guarding the mountain pass?"

Shi Bao sighed:

"The aristocratic families in Hedong colluded with the government, so the government turned a blind eye to their sale of private salt."

"Because of this, I am afraid that this road has been known to the government for a long time..."

Hearing this, Liu Hun stamped his feet and said:

"In this way, didn't we suffer all this in the mountains for nothing?"

Shi Bao laughed, not panicking at all:

"General Liu, don't worry. As far as I know, there is another way besides this way, which can be bypassed again."

When Liu Hun heard this, his eyes suddenly widened: "What else?"

"Of course there are. Back then, I was here and I was not familiar with the place where I was born. How could the government be willing to sell me face? So I had to find another way."

In fact, I just didn't want to send money to the government, and I was also a poor ghost at the time, with no money on me...

So it's not without reason that I almost fed the beast in the mountains.

Naturally, Liu Hun couldn't care so much about the past, he asked in surprise:

"General Shi, dare to ask where is the way?"

"Following this stream to the east, there is also a secret mountain path, which can be calculated half a day earlier than this path."

"However, after going out, we have to go west for a long time to reach Yong'an City."

It turns out that this group of mountains, from west to east, has three roughly parallel roads.

The westernmost Guanjuejin Valley is the official road.

And the middle one is the mountain road that smugglers often take.

As for the easternmost one, it is the most secretive and least known valley road.

(That is, Queshu Valley, Qianlijing, and Tongjunchuan in later generations. Qianlijing was officially opened as an official road in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and Tongjunchuan was a mountain road washed by a tributary of the Fenshui River)

"It's okay to be further away, as long as you can get out of the mountains safely and not be known by the Wei thieves, General Shi, please lead the way."

PS: Liu Hun's marching map: Click on the comment, the first floor is not easy since ancient times.