Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Go!"

More than 5,000 cavalrymen swept past, and Zongwu followed the soldiers on horseback.

He was escorted by Yue Fei and his troops, and walked around the four direct-controlled areas of Linhuang Protectorate, rewarding the civil and military officials and ordinary soldiers stationed here.

Although Yue Fei's title was not promoted, his generals were rewarded generously.

Xu Qing, Wang Gui and other generals, due to their repeated military exploits last year and this year, a total of four people were promoted to earls. Six generals at the next level were also awarded the title of baron.

The large-scale title conferment of titles on these people can perfectly reflect the value of the two battles.

Even the civil and military officials and soldiers who stayed in the Linhuang grassland and did not go on the expedition were all rewarded with coins to comfort their hard work.

The rewards given to the generals were said to be silver dollars in the imperial edict, but in fact they were all Ming treasure notes. It was convenient for the imperial envoy to bring them, and it was also convenient for the generals to take them back home. It was just difficult to exchange them on the grassland, but they could be used to trade with Han merchants.

After the reward was completed, the soldiers were excited.

There were even many caravans that heard the news and went north from Dading Prefecture, taking the opportunity to sell goods to the soldiers, especially alcohol, cloth and accessories.

The soldiers who received the reward could not help but spend money when facing many merchants.

Many of them brought their wives and children to settle down and were also allocated land. Of course, they had to save some of the reward money, but they had to buy good cloth for their wives and children to make clothes, and even buy jewelry for their wives, and buy some strong liquor for themselves. These expenses were naturally inevitable.

It was already autumn, and Yue Fei invited Zongwu to go hunting, and also called the chiefs of various tribes.

Some tribes that went to war with the army also received rewards. The chiefs came happily with their soldiers, you brought 20 or 30, I brought 40 or 50, and by the way, I would please the angels.

The place where they hunted was Chifeng, which had mountains, water and grasslands, but the population was not large, and it was an excellent place for hunting.

"Woo woo woo woo~~~"

The horn blew, and the shouts shook the sky.

A young general came on horseback to report: "Angel, Protector General, a herd of deer was found over there!"

Yue Fei smiled and said: "Angel, please."

"Go!"

Zongwu immediately galloped out, Yue Fei led the generals to follow, and the tribal chiefs followed one after another.

Everyone was very happy, a picture of harmony between the Han and the barbarians.

Most of those chiefs were Khitans, and they had no psychological burden to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Because the Liao Dynasty was not destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, and on the contrary, the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Jin Dynasty to avenge the Liao Dynasty. Now that the disputes among the tribes have been mediated, the grasslands have been redefined, and the chiefs have just been rewarded, all the tribes recognize the rule of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Even the angel Zongwu was respected by the chiefs.

Swish!

Zongwu shot an arrow and landed in the middle of the deer herd, accurately avoiding several deer.

"Haha, I'm so embarrassed, I'm so embarrassed." Zongwu laughed awkwardly twice.

A chieftain named Yitenian volunteered to run out and said, "I will drive the deer for the angel."

"I will go too!"

"I will go too!"

The Khitan chieftains rushed out one after another, vying to please the Ming angel.

The chieftains seemed to have become slaves of the angel when he was hunting. They divided the work and cooperated to surround the deer and drove them directly to Zongwu.

The deer fled in panic. No matter which direction they fled, they were soon driven back. In the end, they could only run around within 20 to 30 meters of Zongwu.

There was even a wild deer pretending to be dead on the spot, with its belly facing the sky and its four legs stiff. It was a real acting school.

Zongwu was surprised and said, "Is the deer scared to death?"

The chieftain Li Geng explained, "If these animals are desperate, they may pretend to be dead."

The chieftains shouted in competition, "Angel, shoot the deer! Angel, shoot the deer!"

Zongwu shot an arrow and hit the wild deer pretending to be dead ten steps away... in the leg. He originally wanted to shoot the neck.

"Angel shooter!"

"Angel shooter!"

The chiefs shouted with joy, and the Ming army soldiers followed suit.

Several chiefs jumped off their horses, ignoring the fleeing deer around them, and wanted to run to carry the wild deer shot by the arrow.

Who knew that the wild deer shot in the leg suddenly stopped pretending to be dead, and actually limped away with the arrow, leaving the chiefs empty-handed.

The crowd did not dare to shoot more arrows, so they could only chase on horseback.

It was the hunting dog raised by Yue Fei that rushed out like an arrow and quickly bit the injured wild deer.

The chiefs threw food to appease the hunting dog, then carried the wild deer that was not yet dead, and knelt in front of Zongwu to ask for credit: "The deer shot by the angel is really fat, and it can run fast even when it is injured. It is the king of the deer herd at a glance."

"Hahaha!"

Zongwu laughed uncontrollably when he heard this.

This group of Khitan chiefs is so interesting, and each of them is a master of flattery.

In fact, they were frightened by the military power of the Ming Dynasty. Last year, they followed Yue Fei to the Western Xia and experienced the battle with Richard's 100,000-man army. Yue Fei led a group of cavalry to defeat the Western Xia Iron Harriers head-on, which is still fresh in the memory of the Khitan chiefs.

It was outrageous to use cavalry to charge heavy cavalry and defeat the opponent. What was even more outrageous was that the Ming Dynasty cavalry did not suffer many casualties.

Yue Fei waved his hand and said, "You can go hunting again."

"Yes!"

The chiefs immediately took the order and rode away with the grassland soldiers.

Zong Wu said, "The prestige of the Protector General shocked the grassland."

Yue Fei said, "It was the prestige of the Ming Dynasty that shocked the grassland. The chiefs of all tribes bowed their heads to the court."

Wang Gui smiled and said, "These Khitan people, even if they met Ming Dynasty merchants, they would warmly welcome them and dare not neglect them. Now that they have seen an angel, don't they treat him as a bodhisattva? They can't wait to lead the angel's horse and fall on the stirrup."

Zong Wu suddenly felt proud and laughed loudly: "The grassland tribes are so respectful, which can only be seen in the heyday of the Han and Tang Dynasties. After the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the Han'er returned to the grassland, finally letting the barbarians know the style of China!"

"What the angel said is absolutely true." Yue Fei smiled with a smile on his face.

Zong Wu asked: "Is Mobei still honest?"

Yue Fei replied: "We have been fighting. I heard from the merchants who came back from Mobei that it has become colder and colder in recent years, and there is a white disaster every three to five years. It is becoming more and more difficult for the Merqi tribe on the bank of the North Sea to survive, and they go south every year. They looted and defeated the Klei and Mongolian tribes. "

"How powerful is Mi'er Qibu? He can actually defeat two of them." Zong Wu said in surprise.

Yue Fei explained: "The Merqi tribe is good at using long bows and arrows, riding horses or deers to come and go like the wind. They go out in a swarm to plunder pastures, and when they encounter large groups of enemies, they retreat to the mountains and forests. Although the Kele tribe and the Mongolian tribe It is powerful, but cannot always gather heavy troops to defend the pasture.”

Zong Wu nodded and said: "It is indeed difficult to guard against it. The border people of the Song Dynasty were like that before the Xixia crossed the border and plundered."

Yue Fei said: "The Kelie tribe and the Mongolian tribe even joined forces to attack the territory of the Merqi tribe for revenge. As a result, they were defeated and returned. There were mountains and dense forests, and large groups of cavalry could not move. Moreover, in It is very easy to be ambushed in the mountains and forests. The Merqi tribe can endure the bitter cold. When they heard that there was a shortage of food, they even went south to kidnap herdsmen and eat human flesh."

Zong Wu was shocked: "Cannibal tribe?"

Yue Fei nodded: "There are such rumors, but I don't know whether they are true or not. Many herdsmen in Mobei believe it."

Zongwu clicked his tongue and sighed: "The tribes in Mobei are already barbarians. I didn't expect the tribes on the Beihai coast to be even more barbaric. Thinking back on the Su vassal state (Su Wu) who had been herding sheep in Beihai for more than ten years, how difficult it must have been."

"That's why your majesty invited the Su vassal state to worship in the Confucian Temple," Yue Fei said. "When Yelu Dashi was in Mobei, the Merqi tribe actually surrendered and sent troops to help Yelu Dashi fight. Now the Klie, Mongolia, and Mongolians are fighting against each other. Mierqi are actually all subordinate tribes of Yelu Dashi. If I have the chance, I would like to go to the Western Regions to meet Yelu Dashi."

Zong Wu smiled and said: "Peng Ju should first restrain Shi Yanran and drink horses in Beihai. After finishing these things, it will not be too late to go to the Western Regions to lead troops."

"By the words of my dear brother," Yue Fei said, "When the population of Linhuang Protectorate recovers a little, I will take my generals and grassland tribes to Mobei. I will drink Ma Beihai and Leshi Yanran no matter what!" "

Zong Wu held up his hand and said, "I wish Peng will win the victory!"

Yue Fei returned the salute and accompanied Zong Wu on horseback.

Everyone was running to the mountains and forests, and suddenly they heard the soldiers driving away the prey shouting: "There is a tiger! There is a tiger!"

Zong Wu had no sense of protecting wild animals, so he immediately shouted: "Kill the tiger quickly to get rid of the harm to the people!"

The soldiers kept clanging and banging, and the tiger was frightened and ran quickly in the forest to avoid it.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty did not let go, and even chased him on horseback, shooting arrows constantly to scare him.

Yue Fei ordered: "Drive that big insect over here!"

The generals and soldiers galloped on horseback, beating gongs and shooting arrows as they surrounded him.

The hunting dogs seemed a little scared, but they still barked at the tiger from a distance. When the tiger was driven over, the hunting dogs quickly went elsewhere and continued barking at the tiger.

"Guardian, be careful!"

The crowd shouted.

Yue Fei had already rushed out and took out three shovel-shaped arrows. This thing is not just for hunting, but for shooting heavy armor. There is a certain chance that it can shoot through heavy armor.

Facing the tiger's roar, Yue Fei was not afraid of the briquettes under his crotch, maybe because he had never met a tiger before.

The divine horse ran straight towards the tiger, which was also frightened and angry. Seeing Yue Fei charging forward on his own, the tiger also rushed towards Yue Fei.

Yue Fei drew his bow like a full moon, and the arrow flew out like lightning from the string.

An arrow shot into the left eye of the running tiger!

The tiger was shot and fell over on the spot, struggled a few times and then stood up unsteadily. Yue Fei drew his bow and shot the second arrow, which accurately hit the tiger's right eye.

The soldiers surrounded the tiger on horseback, trying to stab the tiger to death.

But Yue Fei shouted: "Everyone, move away, don't hurt the tiger skin. I aimed at the eyes deliberately, and I want to present the intact tiger skin to His Majesty!"

The arrows in the tiger's eyes were not yet dead, so everyone was ordered to ride away on horseback.

The tiger couldn't look away and roared, and the hounds were surrounding and barking. When the tiger heard the barking of the dog and pounced, the hound immediately ran away and took cover, making the tiger go crazy.

Finally, the tiger became visibly weaker, its movements became slower and slower, and its roar was no longer loud and powerful.

Yue Fei borrowed an iron rod from a general, dismounted, walked toward the tiger, and struck the tiger on the head with the iron rod.

Not only the generals gathered around, but the chiefs also came to watch the fun.

Seeing that the tiger's fur was intact and only had arrows in its eyes, everyone respected Yue Fei like a god.

A Khitan nobleman who was good at skinning volunteered to kneel next to the tiger carcass and use the knife. It took a long time to peel off the tiger skin. Holding the tiger skin in both hands, he knelt down in front of Yue Fei and offered it to him: "Captain, the tiger skin is ready!"

Yue Fei turned to Zong Wu and said, "When the tiger skin is tanned, please bring it back to Luoyang and present it to the emperor."