Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The sandstorms have not stopped, but they are already very weak when they reach the border of Yanzhou, and have little impact on the people and animals living here.

If Yanzhou had not been cleared of its land, the grassland herders in the north would still dig sand under the organization of the chief.

That is, the sand blown to the grassland by the wind would be carried back to the edge of the desert by livestock as much as possible, even if it was a drop in the bucket, but they would still do it.

The "sand digging" operation was the largest in the Qing Dynasty. After all, it was a centralized unified government, and there was a large population around the Maowusu Desert at that time. The local officials of the Qing Dynasty organized local farmers and herdsmen to push the sand piles back again and again, but they were blown back again and again by the strong wind.

If Zhu Guoxiang sent people to promote the grass grid, the local farmers and herdsmen would be very willing to implement it. They don't ask to turn the desert into grassland, but only ask that the desert stop swallowing up the grassland!

Once the grass grid is proven to be effective, it is estimated that the herdsmen will worship President Zhu as a saint.

Nuwuji is a herdsman in the north of Yanzhou. His name means "a person with great wisdom", and it can be seen that he asked a monk to help him choose it. If translated into Chinese, it is written as "Huimao".

There is a special translation method for Xixia people's names: the surname is transliterated, and the given name is translated.

Nuwuji is in a relatively forward position and whispered: "Brother, walk slowly, beware of ambush!"

"Brother" is a word borrowed from the Han people. In the Tangut language, it should actually be called "Lang" (brothers or brothers call each other "Lang", brothers are called "Minggu", and sisters call brothers "Mei").

From Yanzhou to Longzhou and Yinzhou, the Tangut people here are greatly influenced by the Han people, and even the daily names of family members are closer to the Han people.

The elder brother's name is Sengjiu, which was also chosen by the monks. Translated into Chinese, it is Zhihai.

Sengjiu turned back and urged: "Hurry up!"

Nuwuji carefully turned over a piece of rammed earth, ready to escape at any time, he didn't want to accompany Brother Richard to die.

The two brothers are both herders, so why are they fighting so hard?

The ethnic conflicts here are far less profound than class conflicts.

The ruling class of Western Xia was: nobles, herders, landowners, monks.

The ruled classes were: craftsmen, herders (farmers and herders), and slaves.

With the development of the times and the intensification of mergers, the tribes of Western Xia were further divided into herders and landowners under the chiefs.

Some people were both herders and landowners.

The herders and farmers were equivalent to their tenants, and slaves were their private property.

And there were pastures and farmland transactions.

Affected by years of war and under the oppression of heavy military service, everyone fought crazily and robbed.

In the early and middle stages of the founding of Western Xia, many herders and farmers could become herders and landowners by robbing. Therefore, fighting from top to bottom was like crazy, and there were even frequent infighting when grabbing spoils.

Gradually, it was no longer possible. Even if the lower level grabbed wealth, it would be taken away by the middle and upper levels. Western Xia had already solidified its class.

The lower-class people are increasingly disgusted with war, because there are only disadvantages and no benefits.

What are the disadvantages?

Conscription for war will delay grazing and farming, and all losses will be borne by the lower-class people.

Lower-class herders like Nuwuji hate the emperor, officials, nobles, chiefs, herders, and of course the Ming emperors, ministers, and soldiers.

His heart is full of resentment, and he just wants to graze in peace on the grassland - even if most of the income from grazing belongs to the herders, at least he can survive.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Nuwuji had just passed through the gap in the wall full of obstacles, and after walking a few steps, he suddenly heard gunshots, and there were flashes of fire on both sides in the darkness.

Nuwuji exclaimed: "Brother, run away!"

His brother Sengjiu was very brave, or he didn't have a brain, and he still dreamed of fighting and winning rewards.

Under the double attack of the fire gun, Sengjiu heard a noise in front of him and rushed into a street without fear of death.

He was stupid when he rushed in.

The narrow street ahead was blocked, with three four-wheeled carts without mules.

There was also a gap between the four-wheeled carts. Sengjiu tried to pass through the gap, but was stabbed by two long spears.

Niu Fu, who had never practiced before, shouted in panic with joy: "I stabbed a barbarian, I stabbed a barbarian..."

"It's not dead yet, draw your gun and stab again!" Yang Danian reminded.

Niu Fu quickly drew back his long spear and stabbed it again.

Sengjiu, who was eager to make merit and be rewarded, was stabbed to death by two militiamen. He didn't think about it, even if he made great contributions, what rewards would he get? A bag of grain, or a sheep?

He would still be a herdsman in the future, and it would be impossible for him to become a herdsman. The upward channel for the lower-class people had been blocked long ago.

Even if he made great contributions, his military merits would be taken away by his superiors!

Yang Danian and Niu Fu were extremely excited. They not only stabbed Sengjiu to death, but also stabbed another Xixia soldier to death.

The militiamen in their alley were organized into a temporary battle team. They would also count the number of heads and merits, but they would be divided equally among the entire battle team, unless someone was so powerful that his merits had to be counted individually.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Another round of shooting.

Not only were there four-wheeled vehicles blocking the alleys, but the avenues on both sides were also fortified, and the Ming musketeers stood behind the fortifications and shot.

Every gap in the city wall was a pocket formation after the Xixia soldiers entered!

It was too dark to see anything.

Nu Wuji didn't know where his brother had gone, let alone whether his brother was alive or dead. He only knew that his brother was a fool. He told his brother not to charge during the day, but now he was rushing to die.

Many Xixia soldiers turned around and fled, and Nu Wuji was among the deserters.

He heard Brother Richard's angry scolding, which seemed to be ordering the soldiers to fight back.

He also heard the voice of the chief.

The chief is the cousin of the herdsman of Nuwuji, and he is yelling at Brother Richard: "You are still charging? If you charge again, everyone will die inside, and the Ming army has already ambushed!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Countless thunderbolts were thrown down from the unexploded city wall and exploded among the retreating Xixia soldiers.

"ah!"

A scream rang out next to Nuwu Ji. The man had been stabbed in the crotch by shrapnel and was rolling on the ground with his crotch covered.

Nuwuji was so frightened that he ducked down and fled out of the city.

Suddenly, he felt a pain in his shoulder, and was hit by a stray arrow that appeared out of nowhere, but it was the Ming army crossbowmen on the walls on both sides who were shooting arrows.

The rumble of horse hoofs sounded again, the city gates opened one after another, and Yao Pingzhong personally led the cavalry out.

"withdraw!"

Only then did Brother Richard confirm that he had been ambushed.

In other words, this is a trap set for him. Li Yanxian is acting to deceive him by leaving with the main force!

Nuwu Ji didn't know where his war horses were. He finally saw one, but it was ridden away by other defeated soldiers.

He was very frustrated.

Herdsmen in Xixia are classified as civilians, and men must be included in the yellow book when they reach the age of fifteen.

Nuwuji was first sentenced to death more than ten years ago. At that time, he was given a war horse and a camel.

Nuvji was very excited when he got the war horses and camels, but soon he couldn't be happy anymore. Because he had to raise the war horse himself and bear the daily forage expenses of the war horse. The chief would also send people to check regularly. If the war horse died, he would have to compensate him.

He had already paid compensation once, but it was not enough to spend all his savings, so he had to borrow usury from the herdsman.

"Where's the horse? Where's my horse?"

Nuwu Ji forgot the pain of being hit by the arrow and the fear of being ambushed. Now he just wanted to find his horse.

Or just find a random one, otherwise he will lose money again.

There's one there!

Nuwu Ji ran wildly with joy, and suddenly a hail of arrows came and fell in front of him.

The war horse was frightened by the arrow, raised its hooves and ran away, disappearing into the night in a blink of an eye. Nuwu Ji stood there and wanted to cry without tears.

"kill!"

The cry of killing came from behind, and a large number of Ming army infantry chased them out from the gap in the city wall.

Nuwu Ji, who couldn't find his horse, was afraid of going back and bearing the responsibility for compensation, so he simply ran in the opposite direction to the base of the city wall, where he knelt down and waited to be captured by the Ming army.

In fact, if the army is defeated and loses its horses, the soldiers are exempt from compensation.

But Nuwu Ji completely forgot about this. He only had the fear of compensating the horses in his mind. This fear was even worse than being massacred by the Ming army.

To what extent has Xixia become corrupted?

When the government issued war horses to men who were serving as soldiers for the first time, some herdsmen would even take away the good horses and then give the inferior or sick horses to their own herdsmen. It not only makes money, but also helps control the shepherds. And it won't affect the battle. At worst, we can just lend another good horse to the herdsman before the war.

If you win a battle, you have even more excuses to snatch the shepherd's spoils and war exploits - you borrowed my usury and rode my good horse to fight, then of course your war exploits and spoils should belong to me.

"Surrender and spare your life!"

The infantry of the Ming Dynasty had rushed over, and Nuwuji knelt under the wall and shouted.

Moreover, he was shouting in Chinese, which he had secretly learned.

"The militiamen will stay to guard the prisoners and captured war horses!" an officer ordered.

Niu Fu was no longer afraid of the battlefield and became extremely excited. He volunteered to rush over and hold Nuwuji down.

Yang Danian followed up with a slap in the face and reprimanded: "You don't want your life? What if this person pretends to surrender? If anything like this happens again, at least two or three people will have to go over!"

Niu Fu said with a smile: "I remember, Brother Yang taught me a lesson."

"There is someone here who was hit by three arrows and is still alive."

"Drag him into the city and wait for the doctor to treat him. Whether he lives or dies depends on his fate. There are not many medicinal materials left here, so we have to use them on our own wounded soldiers."

"Haha, I caught a man wearing iron armor. He's so lucky, he can still escape after being hit by a fire blunderbuss."

"..."

Nuwu Ji was taken away obediently. There were garbled sounds in his ears, and he couldn't understand most of the Chinese words.

But the Ming army did not kill him.

The injured prisoners were taken to the city to kneel down together, and doctors came to treat their injuries.

At this moment, Yao Pingzhong was leading the Xiaoqi in a mad pursuit.

He did not know the direction of the enemy general. In the darkness, more than 10,000 Xixia cavalry scattered and fled.

But the Ming Dynasty Xiaoqi who were chasing after them only had 2,000 people.

No Xixia general dared to lead his troops to fight back. They also couldn't figure out how many troops were ambushed in the city, and they didn't know how many Ming Dynasty knights were chasing them in the darkness.

There was even a tribal chief who blew his trumpet frantically to gather the tribesmen. After they fled far away, they all stopped and waited for dawn to surrender.

Because they were escaping in the wrong direction. The east side was full of cities occupied by the Ming army, and they couldn't find anything to eat along the way.

Then there is no point in escaping, just surrender and count the balls.

The reason why they didn't surrender immediately was because they were afraid that the Ming army would kill them with red eyes!

Yao Pingzhong chased, killed and captured countless people along the way, but he could never figure out Brother Richard's location.

In desperation, he could only pursue them everywhere. Anyway, the enemy troops were scattered in the vast grassland, and it was impossible to restore their organization in a short time.

This can also be regarded as a disguised war of annihilation.

Yao Pingzhong's luck has always been bad.

Wu Lin was extremely lucky. He led 500 cavalrymen in pursuit and just happened to catch up with Richard's team.