Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

In Shangjing of the Liao Kingdom, outside the thick gate of the city, a man was walking around the gate with his neck curled up, as if it would make him a little warmer. Together with other herdsmen and common people, he watched the battle outside the city curiously.

It was only October, and there was already light snow on the grassland, and the weather was very cold. The sky is gray; the snow on the ground has not yet covered the withered grass, which looks like the gray hair of an old man.

In the depths of the snowflakes all over the sky, black masses of people and horses are surging, and the snow is hazy, like a blurry picture.

Not far away, a herdsman said in Khitan words: "There is going to be a big battle, and the tribal troops are here. There are many tents in the north of the city, and they are all people from various tribes."

The man with his neck shrunk was a man named Zhang Fugui. He had dealt with Khitan people for many years and knew Khitan dialect.

Zhang Fugui was wrapped in thick fur, tied around his waist with a hemp rope, and covered his head with a wide, shoulder-length dog fur hat. As long as he didn't speak, he couldn't tell whether he was a Khitan or a Han at first glance. The faces of the Khitan people and Han'er are different, but they are both yellow-skinned, and it is difficult to tell them apart just by looking at the small half of the face under the dog fur hat.

However, Han'er and Khitan people live together in the south of the city, and there are the most Han'er craftsmen, so it doesn't matter if they are found to be Han'er.

Zhang Fugui looked at it for a while, then shrank his neck, put his hands in his sleeves, and walked into the city silently with his back bent. Most of the people in the south of Shangjing are Han children, but Zhang Fugui is still uneasy here, and he is usually cautious and basically never smiles.

He walked along the quaint and old street in the wind and snow, pushed open a door, and lifted the back leather curtain hanging on it. What caught the curtain was a pile of red and blue firewood, with an iron pot hanging above it, and the lid of the iron pot was shaken by the steam. There were two people sitting next to the firewood, a thin old man over fifty years old, and a thick-waisted man with a bald head and loose hair. Zhang Fugui's gaze rested on the face of the bald man.

At this time the old man stood up: "Ah Lang, he is here. I told him that you have gone out of the city. I don't know if I understood, so I warmed up here and waited."

Zhang Fugui nodded, walked over and said slowly in jerky Khitan dialect: "I, I went out for a while, Abu has been waiting for a long time."

Abu, a Khitan, pointed directly at a large package in the corner: "Here's the leather, and I'll send ginseng tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you Abu, you are very trustworthy." Zhang Fugui shook the snowflakes on his body, walked over to pick up the package and checked the leather.

Abu said, "Don't worry, they are all good products."

Zhang Fugui smiled, and pretended to care about the goods... In fact, he can't make any money with this thing, let alone want to make a fortune from it.

Zhang Fugui used to trade northern goods, mainly by cooperating with the Han people in Youzhou, and entrusting the Khitan people to bring ginseng and rare animal fur from the northeast... These things are rare and precious in the Central Plains and even in the southern countries, but if you travel too far, you can't make much money. If you are not strong enough, there is a great risk.

Later, he was found by people from the court and government, and he did a meticulous job. Still dangerous, but rewarding.

If it wasn't for wealth and livelihood, who would want to go to such an unfamiliar place with all kinds of difficulties? Zhang Fugui first found a Khitan to cooperate with, and that was Abu.

And this Abu is even more dishonest!

On the grassland, Abu wanted to kill Zhang Fuguitu for all the money he brought! Zhang Fugui can say whatever he wants... All the money will be given to him, as long as he can get some leather and ginseng; there is also a chance to make money next time.

At that time, life and death were on the line! Human greed saved Zhang Fugui's life; it was because of profit, not credit and sympathy. Only then did a path be established. It was not easy for Han'er to come to Shangjing. Most of the craftsmen there were brought over from Youzhou.

Zhang Fugui continued to observe Abu by the light of the fire. Abu roasted a piece of jerky on the fire, and he didn't seem to doubt anything.

At this time Abu said: "I heard that you have left the city? It is best not to go out casually for a while. The vicinity of Shangjing is full of troops. I heard that a few days ago a few men were killed as spies."

Zhang Fugui said: "Then how do I take the leather out?"

Abu said: "When the winter is over, it will be too cold to go south now. The Liao army will not go out for more than two months. After this time passes, the road will be easy."

Zhang Fugui nodded: "Thank you, Abu, for reminding me."

He got up to bring a jug of wine and some cheese to entertain the Khitan man, and he sent them away when it was getting dark.

Then the snow stopped. Zhang Fugui lifted the curtain, looked up, and then paced back and forth in the room. Finally, he took out the key and opened a door, and there was a "cuckoo" cry from inside.

"Shhh..." Zhang Fugui uttered a voice, but the pigeon couldn't understand it, and it was still scurrying around in the cage. He took a small basin containing grain and put it in, and said in a low voice, "Eat, I'm going home when I'm full."

Speaking of this, Zhang Fugui felt sore in his heart. He really wanted to write a letter home, but the pigeon's legs could not be tied with too heavy things, and even the message could only be as brief as possible.

He sat down at the table and began to grind ink, turning his head to observe the movements of the pigeons from time to time.

After preparing everything, Zhang Fugui used a bench as a cushion, opened a small window above, and looked at the sky again. The sky was pitch black, the snow had stopped, and there was not a single star. He let go of his hands, let the two pigeons fly out of the window, and said: "Go home, go home..." After saying these two words, his eyes were a little moist.

...

In late October, Bazhou Xingyuan on the south bank of the Juma River. Guo Shao successfully obtained news from thousands of miles away here.

Most of the more than 50,000 cavalry soldiers of the imperial army have retreated to Bazhou, because a large number of cavalry soldiers need to eat food on the north bank of Juma River, and now they need to save the food that is transported to the front line.

Bazhou became the headquarters of the Hebei Qianying Army Mansion. The location of this place is very good, leaning on the Juma River, in the middle section, not far from the west line of Zhuozhou and the east line of Jinzhou; and it is an important fortress town in the mainland of Dazhou. It has been in operation for many years and the city is very strong.

Guo Shao unfolded a small piece of paper, glanced at it, and said to the civil and military officials sitting next to him: "The Liao army is going south."

Everyone immediately talked about it. Tan Shitou, who was standing by the side, glanced at Guo Shao quietly in surprise, as if to say: Your Majesty said earlier that there will be news from Shangjing, and it turned out to be true!

Guo Shao ignored everyone's arguments and directly ordered: "Immediately decree that all the main forces of the front division of the palace, except for the infantry in the left chamber of the tiger and the left, go north and station in the three prefectures of Xiong, Ba and Yi, waiting for dispatch."

Wei Renpu bowed and said, "I obey the order."

Guo Shao said again: "Do everything possible to speed up the transportation of grain, and we must ensure the grain and grass reserves of the four cities of Zhuozhou, Gu'an, Xincheng, and Jinzhou. Once the Liao army goes south, the grain transportation road will be threatened."

Prime Minister Li Gu said: "I obey the order."

Guo Shao issued two military orders very quickly, his expression relaxed a little. He looked back and said: "The winter war is inevitable. Our Zhou army will deploy about 270,000 soldiers (real numbers) on the Juma River line; it is estimated that the Liao army should have more than 100,000 cavalry and some Xi nationality infantry to participate in the battle. This battle is about the survival of the country, and we must go all out!"

Everyone's expressions were concentrated, and they clasped their fists to express their views.

Guo Shao said again in a deep voice: "According to the strategy of the Privy Council, the strategy for this winter's battle is to protect the integrity of the fortifications on the Zhuo, Gu, Xin, and Tianjin fronts, so we must not rush for success!"

At this time, the sound of rumbling drums came from a distance outside the lobby, as if urging the prelude to the war, Guo Shao's heart tightened inexplicably. He secretly took a deep breath, quietly waiting for this long and difficult period of time to pass.

Everything will pass... Thinking about the battle of Shouzhou back then, if you hadn't kept your head up and suffering during that time, looking back now is just a relatively deep memory. \u003c