Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

The Yellow River has frozen, like a jade belt falling between the mountains.

Guo Shao stood by the Yellow River, looking at the surrounding mountains. People say that the mountains here are high and the roads are far away, which is compared with the plains of the Central Plains; in Guo Shao's opinion, compared with the mountains of the Shu Road he had been to, it is not so dangerous.

The mountains on the road to Shu are high and steep, and some roads must be built with plank roads to pass. The northwest side is not so exaggerated. The mountain is very big, but the hillside is relatively gentle compared with the Shu land.

It's just that the gullies are vertical and horizontal, the mountains are continuous, and the line of sight is extremely limited. Looking around on the road is blocked by the mountains. This kind of terrain can easily hide people and horses and cannot be discovered in time. Fortunately, it is still within the jurisdiction of Daxu, and there is no risk for his wife.

In winter, the land is withered and barren, the eyes are full of loess, and the air is very dry and cold. Fortunately, the weather today is better, the sky is blue, and the sun can be seen, which adds bright colors to the scene.

A faint sentence came from the barracks: "Let me sing Qin Feng."

As soon as the voice fell, the horn sounded first, like a prelude, and then the military musicians found an entry point, and the horizontal blows and drums also sounded one after another. The rhythm of the song was slow, thick and powerful, and the vigorous and powerful music immediately changed the atmosphere.

The musicians sang first, and then the surrounding soldiers also sang, "Is there no clothes? I have the same robe with you. The king Yu Xingshi, repair my spear. I have the same hatred with you..."

The soldiers digging ditches, chopping wood, and pitching tents all turned their ears to the camp where the drums sounded.

After hearing this, Guo Shao was inadvertently moved. The barren and backward land in front of him made him seem to see that in ancient times, Huangdi Yandi's army took simple sticks and stone axes, cut thorns and thorns in the wilderness, opened up territories, and the ancestors' blood flowed all over Kyushu. Only then did this vast land exist.

But now, he has excellent armor, precision forged weapons, and even finely crafted artillery firearms, so there is no reason to shrink back!

After Guo Shao listened for a while, the musicians changed to Han Yuefu again, and he returned to the Zhongjun tent.

The kang is still being repaired inside and outside the tent to prepare for keeping warm at night; it's okay during the day, but sleeping in the open at night can freeze people to death. Li Gu's logistics was good. He ordered Yan, Xi, Shi and other state officials early on to prepare fuel and recruit civilians to send to the army for the needs of the army, mainly coal (coal) and charcoal.

The soldiers were setting up a stove in the tent. They worked very hard in front of the emperor. A soldier was trimming a stone with a chisel, which seemed to be not smooth enough.

All the soldiers are dressed differently from when they were in Tokyo, mainly because they have a lot of sacks and sundries hanging on their bodies. General soldiers will have flints, knives, grain bags, etc. on their bodies. Soldiers also have many things related to weapons, such as small bamboo tubes hanging on belts to hold gunpowder and iron molds for clamping lead pellets. Each team will also carry various tools such as hatchets and hammers on donkey carts and mule horses... Marching and fighting, the time on the battlefield is very little, and most of the time is a journey life of eating and sleeping.

The tents of the Chinese army have not been tidied up yet, and the civil and military personnel have not come. They are deploying and inspecting the stationing of the battalions. In the messy big tent, Guo Shao asked someone to take out the pen and paper, and wrote letters in his free time. The letters to Jinzhan and Second Sister took many days to write each letter intermittently.

Now I can finally write a personal letter to Jinzhan as a matter of course.

In the noisy tent, Guo Shao first described what he saw and felt along the way. This place is relatively deserted, and there is a section of the road that has no human habitation for a whole day. But Guo Shao found that when many people walk this way together, people are not worried, and they will be more dependent on each other. During the emperor's personal expedition, getting along with the soldiers day and night can build greater trust.

He told Jinzhan and others not to worry too much. When the army marched to the border area where the Wuding River and the Yellow River met, they would build a fort there, which could be used as a barrier.

Guo Shao wrote another sentence, I miss you very much... The word "you" was not written, he thought it was too explicit, so he wrote the days when Tokyo Jinzhan took good care of him.

At this time, generals and civil servants entered the big tent one after another. Guo Shao put down his brushes and asked them to find a place to sit. Everyone sat down around the stone stove.

The soldiers put an iron pot on the stove, took off the grain bag, poured corn into it, took out cheese, dried small salted fish, and pickled vegetables, and put them all in one go, so that there was no need for condiments, just cook a pot of porridge like this. Wheat cakes are placed by the stove to heat up.

Even Guo Shao also eats this thing, and there is not much difference in eating from top to bottom. The military law of the Forbidden Army forbids drinking without reason during the march, and the generals of the Forbidden Army generally do not drink excessively.

There is no extravagance and magnificence in the palace hall, no extravagant guard of honor and pomp. The most powerful ministers of the dynasty sat around such an earthen stove, surrounded by the emperor of Daxu. But at this time, the monarch and his subjects seemed to be much closer.

Guo Shao was holding a map, and ignored everyone's intentions, so the princes started talking casually. The soup fire gradually warmed the tent.

The drawings were added to the scale by Guo Shao, but they are still very crude. He can get a rough idea of ​​where things are going...relative to modern psychological knowledge. For example, Jingzhao Mansion in Guanzhong in the south is Xi'an, and Yanzhou is Yan|an. These place names are all reference objects.

The Yellow River flows north-south in the eastern part of Shaanxi, and Guo Shao and others are now taking this route.

Their previous destination was the confluence of the Wuding River and the Yellow River, and they were almost here. This place is now under the jurisdiction of Daxu. There is no city and no place name. It is a place that is said to be unintentional. There are Xi, Shi, Yan, Sui and other prefectures around it... probably on the bank of the Yellow River in the east of "Yan|An", should it belong to northern Shaanxi?

...The lower reaches of the Wuding River into the Yellow River already belonged to the Pingxia regime. The upper reaches of the Wuding River generally flow in an east-west direction, and the lower reaches generally flow in a north-south direction; the downstream section is on the west side of the Yellow River.

Going up the Wuding River, you will soon reach Suizhou: the city occupied by the Xiazhou regime. Suizhou is at the confluence of the Dali River and the Wuding River, and Guo Shao found that Chinese cities like to be built at the confluence of such rivers.

Going up the Wuding River, another city where the rivers meet: Yinzhou.

Yinzhou roughly belonged to what the ministers called the "Hengshan area". Guo Shao had never heard of such a mountain range as "Hengshan" before. After learning many times in Tokyo, he believed that this place is not a mountain range at all, but a mountainous and hilly area with many ravines. The reason why it was called a mountain range by the ancients is probably because this area is a transitional place from the mountainous area to the northern pasture plateau.

The Hengshan area is the main agricultural and animal husbandry area in Pingxia. After Dang Xiang got this ravine-rich area, his strength increased a lot.

From Yinzhou to the upper reaches of the Wuding River, it generally flows east-west. Further upstream is the center of the party item: Xiazhou. In the Jin Dynasty, the Daxia State built "Tongwan City" as its capital, which was the city built at that time. It is on the north bank of the Wuding River and should belong to the plateau area.

According to Guo Shao's memory, the north of Xiazhou should be the Ordos Grassland... He was deeply impressed by this place. The real estate bubble was very big. It was called a ghost town, and it was often reported in the news before.

At this moment, Wang Pu came, and his voice interrupted Guo Shao's wild thoughts: "I will introduce someone to your majesty, please show me to your majesty."

Guo Shao heard that it was recommended by Wang Pu, so he said without asking, "Call him in."

After a while, a burly man with black and yellow skin bent over and walked in, knelt down in the tunnel and said, "Brother Zhehei, the last general, kowtows to His Majesty, my emperor will live forever..."

Guo Shao said: "Get up and talk." Then he turned to look at Wang Pu.

Wang Pu bowed and said: "Brother Zhehei is a Qiang from Hengshan, but he was a servant of the Zhe family very early on. He often went out with Zhe Dejian's father, Duke Zhe, and fought bravely. Therefore, he became a general and was given the surname Zhe. The person sent by Zhe Dejian is no different from the Han people now."

Brother Zhehei said: "Duke Zhe treats the generals like sons. It is often said that during the time of Emperor Yan and Huang, there was no difference between Qiang people and Han children, but now that the generals have entered China, they are children."

Guo Shao immediately said: "If you enter China, you will become China; if you enter barbarians, you will become barbarians. The heart of the king is also the heart of the court and me."

Brother Zhehei said: "The last general grew up in Hengshan when he was young, and he knows the customs of the party and people. His majesty issued an edict to Lingzhou, ordering the commander-in-chief to guard and defend, and the commander-in-chief sent the last general to join his majesty, hoping to serve for his majesty's personal conquest of Xiazhou."

Guo Shaoxin said that he didn't know what it was like to lead other countries' troops to fight against his own people, but Han'er led the way|there were also many parties, so it's not surprising... After all, Zhehei brother stayed with the Han people for too long, and assimilation still has an effect. He nodded calmly and said, "Sailor Zhe Jie is commendable for his loyalty."

Brother Zhehei said: "As far as the general knows, Hengshan Dangxiang has a larger population than Pingxia (Dangxiang, a pastoral area north of Yinzhou). It is rich in iron and grain, and its people are brave. It is also the main source of soldiers for the Xiazhou infantry. Your Majesty will check it out."

Wang Pudao: "During the Later Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains realized that Dangxiang was becoming more and more powerful, and mobilized a large army to attack. During the siege of Xiazhou, the surrounding area was harassed by more than 40,000 Dangxiang cavalry. The road and food collection were in a dilemma. At that time, the Central Plains was in chaos.

I estimate that today, the Dangxiang is extremely large, and with the Hengshan Qiang infantry and the Hexi Dangxiang reinforcements, the maximum number of troops that can be gathered may reach 100,000! "

Guo Shao pondered: "Of course Dangxiang will use all its strength in this battle. However, the strength of troops should not only depend on the number of people. I dare to govern more than 400 prefectures and raise more than 100,000 elite soldiers and feel that the treasury is tight. The population of Dangxiang's territory is only so large. Even if it can mobilize 100,000 horses, the equipment and training must be very crude.

Daxu Baizhan's imperial army is elite, well-trained, brave and good at fighting, and the equipment and fodder are all the best in the world. Don't be afraid! "

Everyone bowed: "Your Majesty is wise."

Guo Shao also wants to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to scare the enemy to death... If the treasury can be rich enough to ignore transportation, it is enough to use millions of civilians to supply front-line military supplies regardless of the cost.

He said: "One hundred thousand enemy troops, I'm afraid they won't have the guts to fight decisively!"