After trekking for many days, we were not far from Shengle.
Shengle was the northern capital of Dai Kingdom, located in Tuchengzi, ten kilometers north of present-day Horinger County, Inner Mongolia.
The Qin and Han Dynasties established Yunzhong and Dingxiang County. In addition to the Yellow River, there are many tributaries, lakes and rich water and grass nearby.
The soil appears to be black sand, which is relatively fertile and suitable for farming and animal husbandry. It has the reputation of "livestock is widely spread, and the most fertile soil in the wilderness". In fact, it has great agricultural potential.
At this time, the rice grains (millet seeds) have just been sown, and the countryside is quiet.
Villages of all sizes are scattered all over the countryside. Miraculously, there are not many forts and manors here, and there appear to be more homesteaders. This is ironic when you think about it. In the grassland areas where slavery is more severe, homesteaders are more likely to be seen than in the Central Plains.
"What are these people preparing?" When passing by a village, Yu Mi asked, pointing to the things that the people were tying up.
The Daiguo Military Academy who escorted them glanced at them but didn't answer, just hurried on.
"Sacrifice wine, this is roasted straw." Wei Hong, a descendant of the Wei family, followed him and said softly: "The people of this generation like to grow roasted straw, buckwheat and other things, which is very different from the common cultivation of millet and wheat in the Central Plains. The roasted straw can be eaten as grains.
Its stalks are the best fodder, and they were collected during the reign of the country and sent to the army."
"I see, that made Ji Shi laugh." Yu Miao nodded, frowning.
When he was a child, he worked hard with his father in the Linlu Mountains. He often cut firewood, cut grass, and fed crop straws to livestock. However, many years had passed and he didn't think about it for a while.
However, seeing this fact always made him a little worried.
He looked around again.
In addition to farmland, there are many pastures.
The terrain of Dai country is long from east to west and narrow from north to south, so there is a big difference between the east and west.
I heard that in some places the grass turns green early, in some places it turns green later, but the most concentrated period is in April.
It will be mid-to-late April, and most of the pasture has turned green. So, will it...
"Ji Shi." Yu Miao glanced at Dairen's soldiers not far away and asked in a low voice, "Is Dairen preparing for war?"
Wei Hong hesitated, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "It's unlikely."
After that, he explained again.
It turns out that next month, various places will gradually enter the critical growth period when pastures are heading, budding and blooming. The Tuoba family has a tradition that from May to July, the king of the country visits various places, one to calm down and the other to prevent frost.
The so-called frost protection is mainly concentrated around the Yinshan Mountains, where it is relatively cold, the trees are extremely luxuriant, and there is even residual snow in May. It is suitable for growing food, and the climate in recent years is a bit strange. In the warmer months of May and June, it occasionally
Frost events occur, causing crop yields to decrease.
This kind of crop cannot withstand frost during the critical growth period.
After three months of maturity, they are not afraid of frost, but the wind will pick up at that time, which will blow off the seeds and reduce the yield.
In fact, frost will also affect the growth of forage in the flowering stage, so the Tuoba family will organize people to prevent frost in the Yinshan area - there may not necessarily be frost disasters, but Tuoba Xianbei attaches great importance to agricultural and animal husbandry production
, necessary precautions still need to be taken.
At the end, Wei Hong said: "Judging from my experience of doing business with the Tuoba family over the years, Tuoba Xianbei was very envious of the Xiongnu of the Liu Han Dynasty. The Kelan County placed by King Liang was surrounded by vast mountains, and the Jin people found it inconvenient to farm.
, abandoned them like worn-out shoes, even the counties and villages were too lazy to build them, and threw them all to the Huns. But the Huns were like a treasure. The valleys under the mountains can be farmed, the mountains are lush with grass, and they can be grazed. There is more rain than on the grasslands, and the grass grows taller.
, it grows big, dense, and fast. I wonder how many more livestock can be raised and how many more people can live."
"The most important thing is that there is much less frost in June than on the grassland, and the harvest of pasture and grain is high. Liu Kun ceded Yanmen and Daijun. Although the land is not big, it is a rare good land for Dai country. So
They immediately built Pingcheng as the southern capital. This was their national policy. Just like the Huns' "crossing Yongbin", Tuoba Xianbei was very eager to go south. Counties with more mountainous areas such as Kelan and Xihe were their
The stuff of dreams.”
"How much frost was there in June before?" Yu Mie had never been to the grassland and was a little curious about this.
"Yes, but less." Wei Hong shook his head and said: "I don't know why, but there have been more and more suddenly in recent years. The grassland in June is actually the warmest period. In the past, it was almost impossible to hear falling frost.
Even if the incident occurred, it might not be of any consequence, but it has become serious in recent years. The people in the grassland were terrified, thinking that they had done something wrong, and repeatedly killed people to make sacrifices to heaven, but nothing changed."
Frost and frost-induced disasters are two concepts with very different degrees.
The most embarrassing thing is that not only have there been more frosts in recent years, but they have also been severe and caused repeated disasters. This is another story.
"But -" Wei Hong was a little unsure at this time. He looked at Yu Mian and said seriously: "In the past three years, there have been no disasters worth mentioning in the Tuoba clan. After three good years,
I can't tell what will happen to them."
Yu Mi nodded silently, he basically understood the whole story.
On April 25th, a group of more than ten people arrived in the south of Shengle City.
Yu Mi took the opportunity to observe and found that the city was not small: it was more than four miles long from east to west and six or seven miles long from north to south.
Just like the cities in Han Dynasty, there were many people living outside the city, including herdsmen, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants, making it very lively.
This is a big city outside the Great Wall. It is probably home to more than 50,000 people!
Moreover, I heard from Weihong that as Tuoba Dai conquered more and more areas and the household registration became more and more prosperous, Shengle may continue to expand.
How ambitious!
Just when Yu Mi and others were about to enter the city to take a look, they were suddenly taken to a Buddhist temple in the west of the city by the military academy escorted all the way.
This person was as cautious in his words and actions as ever, and only said: "If you don't want to die, don't leave here."
Yu Miao and Wei Hong looked at each other, shocked.
"May I ask who ordered the general? Where is the Duke? Why don't you see me waiting?" Yu Miao caught up with the military academy who turned to leave and asked in a low voice.
The military academy seemed a little annoyed, and his expression suddenly became very fierce, and he simply said: "You can live here as long as you live here, and don't talk too much. There are many people looking for you now. If you fall into their hands, you will definitely die."
Yu Mi wanted to say something more, but Wei Hong stopped him.
The military academy left quickly, but the hundreds of soldiers who followed him did not leave. Instead, they were scattered in every corner of the Buddhist temple, serving as both guards and surveillance.
Yu Miao had a bad premonition in his heart.
Perhaps, the previous judgments of King Liang and his shogunate officials were wrong.
They felt that Tuoba Xianbei had experienced a civil strife in a short period of time, with three monarchs dead and a large number of people fleeing. The situation in the country was extremely turbulent, and it was impossible to launch a war with other countries at this time.
But this is just a judgment made from the perspective of the Central Plains people. Maybe the grasslands are different?
It is easy to make mistakes when judging others by yourself.
"Tick tock!" It started to rain.
The huge raindrops fell on the lotus-turned-tongzi tile, washed away the dust on it, gradually formed a line, and fell to the ground.
The Buddhist temple is relatively new, and the vermilion paint on the tiles is very dazzling and looks a bit like blood.
It's just that this bloody disaster happened in Shengle or somewhere else. Maybe it happened everywhere.
Tuoba Xianbei had actually already made plans for this year's southern expedition. This was an idea that suddenly popped up in Yu Mian's mind.
****
After receiving the news from Gao Yi, Shao Xun did not act rashly, but he did not neglect it either.
He immediately sent a large number of rangers northward into Yanmen territory to spy on the news.
Ten days later, half of the manpower was lost, and the remaining people came back in disgrace, without finding any useful information.
But one thing is certain, every city in Dai Kingdom is hoarding food and grass.
The forged iron armor, arrows, swords and guns were also transported in one cart and one load, and convoys of baggage could be seen everywhere on the road.
Shao Xun was a little surprised by this.
He was making preliminary preparations for the conquest of Tuoba Xianbei, such as wooing the peripheral tribes, inspecting local areas, setting up strongholds before building them, making diplomatic concessions, etc. He did not expect that others would actually take the initiative to go south.
This is so unexpected.
On April 25, he left the Yellow River and led his army to Langu County (today's Kelan County).
Arashi Valley was newly built. After the rain stopped last autumn, a thin earthen wall was built. It is similar to a better-sized fortress and cannot be called a city at all.
The mountains surrounding Langu County are towering, and the Kelan River (today's Lanyi River) flows out and merges into the Yellow River.
The terrain in the northeastern part of the county gradually opened up, forming a trumpet-shaped valley in the later Wuzhai County area.
There are many rivers in the valley - in fact, Wuzhai County is also an area with relatively rich water resources in Shanxi in later generations - the largest of which is named "Caocheng River", and the place is also named after "Caocheng River", but it is not known where it originated.
Due to the abundant water and grass, Tuoba Xianbei Ruo went south and liked to gather in the Caochengchuan area because supplies were relatively abundant.
Shao Xun established Langu County here to block Caochengchuan, a gathering place for enemy troops.
He is here now.
"Kill!" In the valley, ten thousand soldiers lined up in formation and practiced hard.
Shao Xun stood at the top of the city and watched silently.
Chen Yougen's hands were itchy, so he actually led a team to drill the Yellow Head Army soldiers.
He was harsher and his words were harsh, and he often beat people with a horse whip. Anyone who failed to move properly or reacted slowly was often punished, which left a deep impression on the soldiers.
Another 10,000 soldiers were divided into several batches to cut down trees and collect soil to build camps.
The county town is just that big, with three to four thousand people living there reaching up to the sky. Most of the sergeants have set up villages around the county town, and many of them are even stationed in the mountains on the left and right, looking down into the valley.
"Your Majesty, the food and grass in the army can't last more than a month. It's time to go back." Zhang Bin, the military adviser, pointed to the rolling mountains to the north and said: "Just leave one general to guard here. Your Majesty's body of ten thousand gold cannot be taken lightly."
Personal risk."
Shao Xun hesitated and asked, "Didn't we just harvest a lot of livestock? I don't have enough food for just one month, maybe two or three months."
Zhang Bin still frowned, then changed his advice and said: "If Tuoba Yulu goes south, he may not have to leave Lishi. Wouldn't Jinyang be more convenient?"
These words had an effect. Shao Xun said after hearing this: "Meng Sun's words are quite reasonable. Jinyang only has Liu Ling's troops, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to support him alone."
It's not that we don't want to mobilize more troops, it's mainly because we don't have enough food and grass.
This problem will not be alleviated until June and July - the wheat is harvested in May and shipped at the end of May or early June at the earliest. Depending on the distance, it will be sent to the frontline in June or July.
"Your Majesty, please come to Jinyang." Seeing that the persuasion worked, Zhang Bin immediately bowed and said in greeting.
"Meng Sun..." Shao Xun looked at him with emotion.
This son was reluctant at first, but now he is trying his best to make suggestions for him. He has changed a lot in a few years.
Sometimes I think about it, is it overkill to only let him serve as a military staff officer? Maybe he can be qualified for a more comprehensive stage?
"I will go to Tianchi in the past two days, and then lead the army back to Jinyang." Shao Xun said: "Meng Sun, who do you think is better to stay in Langu?"
"I thought—" Zhang Bin was just about to finish his sentence when he saw the rangers sent to Caochengchuan running back on Pegasus. Some of them had arrows stuck in their backs, looking extremely embarrassed.
His face suddenly froze.
Tuoba Xianbei said, "If you control the string and mount the horse, you will have millions."
Of course, this is bragging. There are more than one million people in the country, but it is still quite scary, because it can already recruit a lot of soldiers, and they are all relatively strong and resistant to fighting.
King Liang will not be besieged in Lan Valley and unable to move, right?
"Your Majesty." Zhang Bin's face was not very good, and he whispered: "The three counties of Kelan, Xihe, and Taiyuan are all mixed up. They have just joined, and people's hearts are in confusion. If they are together, they will suffer from elbow and armpit troubles, but they are not beautiful. Servant, please——"
Shao Xun stretched out his hand to stop Zhang Bin's words, and said: "Meng Sun, send people to Jinyang, recruit soldiers from all counties, and guard Shiling. If you can evacuate, the emerging people will evacuate. If you can't evacuate, stick to Wubao."
"I'm going back to Youzhou. I've recently heard that Xianbei have repeatedly harassed Guangning and Shanggu. We should recruit people from the county as a defensive plan. If Guangning is difficult to defend, we can retreat to Shanggu at our discretion, but we are not allowed to retreat any further."
"Send people to Lishi and let the Huangtou Army escort the princess and others back to Pingyang."
"The rest of the people, follow me to attack the thieves. Retreating is not a retreat like this. If you run away when you see the thieves, how will you fight in the future?"
Chapter completed!