This year’s spring plowing was a bit late, starting in late February and ending in early March.
Shao Xun left Pingyang with his entourage in mid-February, first heading west into the mountains, and then heading north to patrol along the river.
On March 11, the army arrived at Lishi, and then marched westward for four days to the ferry on the Yihe River.
This ferry was named Mengmenjin. It was not the Mengmen stone trough ferry at the Hukou of the Yellow River in later generations, but it was located in Mengmen Town, Liulin County, Shanxi Province, opposite Wubao County, Shaanxi Province.
Two golden eagles, one behind the other, soared into the sky and emitted a cheerful hawk's call.
On both sides of the river, the pastures have turned green and sprouted quite a lot of buds, which is quite pleasing to the eye.
In the mountains on the other side of the river, some farmers were tending crops on relatively gentle slopes.
The land does not look very fertile, and irrigation is quite difficult, but the farmers have the perseverance and perseverance to engage in this difficult work day after day.
By the way, they are Qiang people.
The Qiang people, like the Han people, are accustomed to endure hardships, or even more so.
"What are they growing?" Shao Xun squinted his eyes and looked carefully, but even though he was a sharpshooter, he still couldn't see clearly because it was too far away.
"Mi Zi." Seeing the staff coming with the king, the generals didn't say anything. Tian Mao, the prefect of Xihe, mustered up his courage and stepped forward to reply.
"Really?" Shao Xun looked at his student, niece and son-in-law, and asked with a smile.
Tian Mao was a little nervous and hurriedly said: "Maybe there are also millet."
"Why is that so?" Shao Xun patted Tian Mao on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I didn't expect either of these things."
Mountain farming is not easy.
He remembered that later generations of the Northern Song Dynasty and Xixia competed here, and the main target was the relatively good agricultural land in the continuous mountains. For example, Zhenzhu Mountain, located in Mizhi, Jiaxian County, Shaanxi Province, has thousands of hectares of fertile land and high yields.
The competition between the two sides was fierce.
It doesn't matter if you didn't get it this year. Let's see if the enemy has farmed.
After planting, they would kill him during the autumn harvest, making his year's hard work go to waste.
It is a pure turn-based game. Both Song and Xia suffered losses, so that during the autumn harvest, the number of people preparing for war was several times the number of people harvesting grain, and both suffered severe losses.
"Which county is across the street?" Shao Xun asked.
"Shangjun Fushi County (today's Yuhe Town, Yulin City) has been established for more than ten years." Tian Mao replied.
"How many counties are there in Shangjun?"
"Fushi, Baitu, Gaonu, Diaoyin, Yangzhou, Sheyan, Yuanyang and Dingyang eight counties."
"Where is Liu Hu from Tiefu Xiongnu?"
"After fleeing to the west of Xingxing and Yanmen, he established a foothold in Shuofang and was still Liu Han's vassal. Two years ago he attacked Tuoba Dai, was defeated and fled to the north of Yinshan Mountain. His younger brother Liu Lugu surrendered with the remaining troops.
"
"So, Shuofang is controlled by the Tuoba clan?"
"Actually, that's not the case. There are Xianbei people there who do not submit to the Tuoba clan, and there are also many Wuhuan people."
Shao Xun nodded and understood.
The Tuoba Dai Kingdom has Shengle as its northern capital and Pingcheng as its southern capital. From the current view, although most of the dignitaries are in Shengle, the strategic focus of the country is obviously to the east, with more emphasis on the Yanmen and Daijun areas.
If it weren't for Liu Hu's desperate attack, they would not have gone west.
If the Xiongnu wanted to make achievements in Henan, they could only send troops from Shangjun to suppress and pacify, and see if they could capture Shuofang and establish a territory roughly similar to that of the Later Qin.
Does this mean that I can also send troops to Hexi to try to capture Shangjun and Shuofang, so as to give the Xiongnu a mountain to suppress?
"Woo——" the horn sounded.
Everyone looked for the sound and found that the sound came from the other side.
The soldiers from the Silver Spear Right Battalion who came with them were setting up camp and immediately scattered when they heard the sound.
Some people were watching the ferry, some were occupying the hills on both sides, and some were hiding in the valley, ready to attack at any time.
Yi Congjun and Luoyan Army officers also led their horses out one after another, preparing to fight.
Shao Xun laughed, rode his horse down the hillside, and came to the ferry to drink.
There is a small house here. I heard that it was the villa where Liu Kui, the son of Liu Cong and the king of Gaoping, lived temporarily when he went hunting in the mountains. Liu Kui once lived in Lishi, and later returned to Pingyang to serve. After the Battle of Wenxi, he served as a pursuer.
Killed in Sushui.
The crisp sound of horse hoofbeats sounded, and Shao Xun turned his head to see the heroic Liu Yena running over. He got close and jumped off the horse lightly.
Her breath is slightly short, her bulging chest is extremely proud, her buttocks are as round as beads, and her thighs are slender and strong. A fit young woman in her twenties and seventies is at her most charming and charming.
This is a woman in the same age echelon as Princess Yu Wenjun (24 years old).
The sergeants were preparing to spend the night in a temporary camp. The staff found an open space, set up desks, and handled more urgent official duties. Shao Xun sat under the locust tree at the entrance of the small courtyard and looked at the other side.
"Your Majesty wants to attack the county?" Liu Ye asked, sitting on the grass with buds sprouting without any hesitation.
"Call me Lang Jun." Shao Xun said.
"Well, Lang Jun." Liu Ye said without any shyness.
"You are too little woman now." Shao Xun laughed.
"What is a 'little woman'?" Liu Ye asked curiously.
"I have always heard that Mrs. Liu is brave and brave. With a military order, any offender will be killed immediately..." Shao Xun said half of the sentence and stopped.
Perhaps, women were one way in front of him and another way in front of others. He remembered that time in Youzhou, when Liu Ye was sentencing the Jie people who had committed crimes, but he was not lenient at all.
Didn't the punishment of lying on the ground, having his leg bones struck by horse hooves, and being repeatedly run over by wheels, come from Liu Yena's words?
"You just have these dirty thoughts." Liu Ye didn't know what he thought of, but he actually blushed.
Shao Xun was confused. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard some movement on the other side of the river, so he turned around and looked.
Mengmenjin is located on a narrower part of the river bank, only a few hundred meters in fact.
Looking from the east of the river to the west of the river, you may not be able to see clearly, but the large team of people can still spot it...
****
Shi Le climbed the hillside and looked down at the other side.
The sound of trumpets just now came from his troops.
After the horn sounded, groups of knights rode forward one after another, quietly looking at the ferry on the other side.
Outside the small brick courtyard hidden among the trees, there seemed to be a man and a woman sitting side by side, very affectionate.
Shi Le looked up at the golden eagle hovering in the sky, and then at the men and women on the other side of the river, his face gradually turning pale.
"Uncle." Shi Hu followed, followed by hundreds of panting soldiers, holding high the banner with the word "stone".
"Ming Gong, do the thieves want to cross the river?" Zhang Jing also rushed up the hillside, built a pergola with his hands, looked towards the other side, then took a breath and said: "It looks like they are the Silver Spear Army."
"Crossing the river? Crossing the river!" Shi Le's anger was so intense that it was incomprehensible. He just heard him say: "We can't build a floating bridge here, and the thieves haven't collected ferries yet. How can we cross the river?"
Zhang Jing was sprayed with saliva and was speechless.
Shi Hu looked at the fast-flowing Yellow River and said nothing.
He heard people say that even in the coldest months of the twelfth and first lunar months, the river surface here is not frozen solid.
Sometimes half of the river is frozen, sometimes the middle is not frozen, and sometimes it is full of ice floes.
Crossing the river here in winter is simply fantastic.
What about summer? In fact, it is also difficult because the current is too fast and it is difficult to build a pontoon bridge, so we can only ferry.
Also due to the strong current, the ferry is very slow and cannot carry many people. It is also easy to capsize and is very easy to defend. I wonder what my uncle is worried about?
Could it be that as he got older and was beaten to a pulp by Shao Thief, he has gone a little crazy?
Thinking of this, Shi Hu secretly sighed.
My uncle now has 8,000 cavalry, and most of them (5,000 people) were brought here by him. Sooner or later, the position of Shuofang Prefect will fall to him.
Uh, yes, Shi Le has been appointed as the prefect of Shuofang by Liu Can.
Considering that the Xiongnu did not own the land of Shuofang, this so-called governor was just in name only. If he really wanted to do it, Shi Le would have to fight for it himself.
Of course, the Xiongnu court will also provide appropriate help, such as recruiting Liu Hu and Liu Lugu's personnel (nobles from the Tiefu Xiongnu), as well as farm tools, seeds, cattle for farming in Shangjun, etc.
They don't have enough strength to take over Shuofang now, so they can first cultivate the fields to support themselves, and by the way make friends with the noble tribesmen in Henan, and then do other things.
The location of their farming was also determined: Baitu County (near Shenmu, Shaanxi today).
The local household registration is not abundant, and most of them belong to the Qiang, Xiongnu, and Xianbei tribes. They mainly focus on grazing, supplemented by farming - the kind of farmland that sows and then leaves it alone, and "relies on the sky to harvest".
It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the population was quite large and agriculture was quite prosperous. But now things have changed and people have changed, but it is no longer as prosperous as it once was.
"Why doesn't Shao Thief, your mother's maidservant, leave? Has the palace in Bianliang collapsed? Do you have to live in Pingyang Palace?" Zhi Quliu came on horseback and cursed when he saw it.
Shi Hu couldn't help laughing.
Zhang Jing couldn't help but smile.
Shi Le took a long breath and said: "Let's go, Shao Thief can't cross the river."
"It's none of our business to cross the river. Liu Yang's tribe will drive them away." Shi Hu muttered and took the lead to go down the mountain.
Before leaving, he took one last look at the other side.
Another woman walked out of the small courtyard, saying something to Shao Thief, and then they went in together.
Zhang Jing called everyone down the mountain and said to Shi Le as he walked: "Ming Gong, after we went to Baitu County, our first enemy was the Dugu tribe of the Xiongnu. They relied on the Tuoba clan and disobeyed the court's orders. They often plundered the Tiefu tribe and even the Huns.
If you go to the county, you must be prepared."
"I heard that the Dugu tribe once surrendered to the imperial court?" Shi Le asked.
"Of course, it's just an old thing. The late emperor was able to recruit the Dugu tribe, but that's not necessarily the case today." Zhang Jing said.
"Where's Helanbu?"
"The Helan tribe is also a Huns, but they have been married to Tuoba Xianbei for generations and have never been recruited." Zhang Jing said: "The current plan is to stop the plundering of the Dugu tribe. This tribe thinks that Tuoba Xianbei is in charge.
The backers have always been arrogant, and many small tribes in Henan have enmity with them. Ming Gong may be able to unite these tribes."
"Well, not bad." Shi Le praised.
After saying this, he, like Shi Hu, couldn't help but look back.
It is impossible to say that I am not afraid.
For so many years, since Ye Ye Gang, he has been oppressed by Shao Thief, and his mentality once collapsed. After recuperating in the past few months, he has regained a little confidence.
Liu Can sent him north, which was not an insult. It could even be said that he was reused and given him one last chance.
He understands this very well.
As the sun sets, smoke rises from the other side of the river.
In the small courtyard, Liu Ye was lying lazily on the couch, his hair was messy, his face was red, and he was full of water.
The gentleman just now was really too cruel.
As for the reason for the fierceness, she buried her face in the mattress, and her ears were red.
Shao Xun, like a sage, sat behind the desk. After writing an order, he got up and went out. He handed it to Yang Qin and said, "Send it to Pingyang and handle it immediately."
"No." Yang Qin left immediately.
Shao Xun looked at the gradually darkening sky and felt satisfied.
He has already issued an order to establish Dinghu County here, under the jurisdiction of Xihe County, and to move some of the Jia clan in Pingyang to settle here.
If you don't have the funds to attack Kansai at the moment, it's always a good idea to make preparations in advance.
(It will definitely be the third update today, so don’t worry about it. It’s the last day. If you don’t vote, it will be wasted.)
Chapter completed!