The terrain leading from Lanzhou to Pingliang is already steep. There are many mountains and peaks on both sides of the road. Five thousand troops and horses marched towards Pingliang in a mighty manner. After three days of journey, they have entered the territory of Pingliang.
Yang Xiaoxiao accompanied Da Kui on the horse and said as he walked: "Father, we need to find a guide. Otherwise, if we enter Pingliang like this, we may be disadvantageous to our army."
Dakui nodded and looked around, only to see devastation everywhere, but there were no homes anywhere.
Yang Xiaohu looked back at the five thousand elite cavalry behind him, and couldn't help frowning and said: "Father, the land of Pingliang is very steep, and we are not in a good position. Besides, there are ten thousand Yuan soldiers and five thousand soldiers, but we are outnumbered. How can this happen?" Able to fight,"
Dakui smiled softly and said: "Soldiers are not more numerous but more skilled. Ao Dun's subordinates are all rogues and bandits. Even though they are numerous, there is nothing to fear."
"This time the adoptive father has brought out the Jingqi camp, so why didn't Sun Qian come?" Yang Xiaohu asked one question after another.
Dakui not only sighed: "Sun Qian is a relative of the emperor, how can he be comparable to us?"
While he was talking, Dakui saw smoke rising from the mountain at the foot of the mountain.
"Xiaohu, go ahead and see what kind of house it is. Remember to be careful with what you say, so as not to scare the people," Dakui warned carefully.
"Yes," Yang Xiaohu agreed, then rode his horse and whipped his whip, leading the large group of people and running towards the distant smoke.
As the saying goes: A horse is racing to death when looking at a mountain. Yang Xiaohu galloped for a while, and it took him only a matter of seconds to waste a stick of incense before he reached the foot of the mountain. There was indeed a farmhouse at the foot of the mountain. The farmhouse was surrounded by wooden boards and was separated by a fence as high as one person. The smoke that he had seen before was gone. It's from this farmhouse.
Yang Xiaohu came to the courtyard gate, turned over his saddle and dismounted his horse, led the horse to the gate and stretched out his hand to knock on the door.
Not long after, I saw through the gap in the courtyard door that the door of the farmhouse opened and an old woman in her fifties walked out.
"Auntie, I'm passing by and want to ask you something," Yang Xiaohu said in a loud voice.
When the woman saw Yang Xiaohu alone outside the hospital, she couldn't help but ask, "Where are you from?"
Yang Xiaohu smiled and said: "I'm from Lanzhou,"
The woman took two steps forward and looked at Yang Xiaohu carefully through the fence. Fortunately, Yang Xiaohu looked upright and did not look like a villain. The old woman looked at it for a long time before coming over and opening the door.
Yang Xiaohu led the horse, first bowed and clasped his fists with a smile on his face, and then said: "Madam, I would like to ask where this place is and how far it is from Pingliang Town."
When asked, the old woman replied: "This is Kongtong Mountain, which is still seventy miles away from Pingliang." As she spoke, she looked Yang Xiaohu up and down.
Yang Xiaohu was leading the war horse, with an iron gun hanging on it, and his whole body was tight and neatly covered with iron armor. Perhaps this old woman was rarely seen in the military, so she was particularly curious.
Yang Xiaohu blushed at the sight, not only broke the silence but also asked: "I wonder who else is in the aunt's family?"
The old woman looked at the sky and then replied: "I have an old man at home who will be back soon."
Yang Xiaohu came here to inquire about Pingliang City, but it was difficult to speak to this old woman.
"Child, are you hungry?" the old woman asked with a kind smile on her face.
Yang Xiaohu scratched his head and said after a long while: "There are many of us, and I have brought food for the stove, so I won't trouble my aunt." After saying that, he turned to leave, but the old woman called out: "My child, I have been boiled at home. I made highland barley porridge and steamed some steamed buns. If you are hungry, come to my house and I will fill you up."
Yang Xiaohu turned around and replied with a smile: "Hey, I'll be back after I talk to my adoptive father." The old woman couldn't help laughing when she heard this.
Seeing Yang Xiaohu get on the horse, the old woman greeted with a smile: "Since your family is here, you might as well come to my house together. There is no one nearby, and there is usually no one to talk to. It just so happens that you are here to make it more lively." ,"
Yang Xiaohu just smiled slightly as he turned his horse around, and then whipped off in the direction he came from, the sound of hoofbeats disappearing in an instant.
The old woman happily returned to the house. She wiped the tables and chairs clean first, and sprinkled water on the clean floor to clean it up. After cleaning up, the old woman put the prepared meals on the table. He also specially brought out home-brewed wine and put it on the table.
At this moment, half a hundred old people came in from outside the courtyard gate. The old woman looked back at the house and then happily welcomed her out of the house.
"Old man, we're going to have guests soon," the old woman said with a smile.
It was the old woman's husband who came back. The old man was carrying two rabbits in his hands and a long bow with a quiver on his back. He looked like a hunter. "Yes, I didn't say where he came from or what he did," the old man said. As he walked towards the house, he asked.
The old woman followed behind and replied with a smile: "He is a young man. He looks like a soldier."
The old man paused when he heard this, turned around and said, "Jun Han, could it be that you went to Pingliang to inquire about the news?"
The old woman not only asked: "What news are you looking for?"
The old man said anxiously: "Hurry up and clean up with me, let's hide in the mountains."
"Oh, old man, what are you doing?" The old woman couldn't help but panic when she heard her husband's bad tone.
The old man said angrily: "Even if he is a soldier, he must be here to talk and hear the news. If he talks about it, he will offend the people in Pingliang. If he doesn't say it, he is afraid of a disaster."
The old woman suddenly understood and hurried into the house. The old man stood outside the courtyard and called out: "Just bring the dry food, don't need anything else." After a while, the old woman carried a bag and returned to the courtyard. , the old couple hurried out of the door and hurriedly ran towards the mountains along a deserted path.
After listening to Yang Xiaohu's report, Da Kui immediately ordered the army to move forward at full speed. The iron hooves flew and rumbled, and the five thousand men and horses arrived in front of the farmhouse Yang Xiaohu mentioned in just half an hour.
When Yang Xiaohu came to the door of the farmhouse again, he saw that the door was wide open and there were two dead rabbits on the ground in the yard. Other than that, there was no trace of anyone.
"Is anyone home?" Yang Xiaohu shouted loudly as he stood in front of the courtyard gate, just about to step in.
"Stop," Dakui shouted, dismounted from his saddle, walked to Yang Xiaohu and said, "Even if the master is not here, it is naturally inconvenient for us to break in."
"But it was clear that someone was at home when I came here earlier, and the old lady invited me to have dinner with her." Yang Xiaohu then added hurriedly: "The old lady also invited you." He pointed to the farmhouse and said, "Look at the house." The doors were open, and there was food and wine on the table in the room, which was naturally used to entertain us."
Dakui sighed and said, "Give me the order and the army will retreat three hundred steps to rest in place."
Upon seeing this, Yang Xiaohu pouted and went to deliver the order.
There are green mountains and beautiful waters all around, and you can occasionally hear the chirping of birds and the chirping of insects. In such a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, the people who live in it are naturally a kind home.
Dakui only wanted to see the people and carefully inquire about the situation in Pingliang Town. Dakui would never do anything to disturb the people.
Pingliang is just a small town, with a population of just over 2,000, but a garrison of more than 10,000.
Ao Dun used to be a gangster on Qingyang Street. He usually caused trouble and did all sorts of bad things. He was once imprisoned for injuring people's lives and was sued. Yuanting has laws. If a Han man is killed, a Han man will be punished with twenty sticks. If a Han man is wounded, a Meng man will be punished. He was cut in half, but it was a pity that Ao Dun accidentally beat to death a relative of Lanzhou Zhizhou while he was drunk, so he got into trouble.
Later, the world was in chaos. Timur, Li Siqi, and Zhang Liangbi had a grudge against each other, and they attacked each other. Zhang Liangbi was the weakest among the three. He was temporarily short of troops, so he released the prisoners from prison and sent them to the army. Aodun relied on his ruthlessness. He gradually became a lieutenant colonel in the army, and later he was promoted to a partial general due to his bravery in combat. It is said that Ao Dun was Zhang Liangbi's general. When Zhang Liangbi died, the hozens fell from the tree, and Ao Dun was destroyed on the day Qingyang City was destroyed. Pulling together a group of people and carrying a large amount of jewelry, they escaped from Qingyang City and arrived at Pingliang Town.
He knows Pingliang Town Ao Dun very well because this is his hometown.
It’s true that money can make the world go round. Whether they are bandits or bandits, defeated soldiers or even bachelors and homeless people, as long as they are willing to join the army, Ao Dun will accept all comers. In just one month, Ao Dun’s soldiers and horses The original number of six or seven thousand has grown to nearly ten thousand. It is a wise saying to be prepared for danger in times of peace. Ao Dun is not only brave but also resourceful. He knows that occupying Pingliang is not a long-term solution, so he recruits soldiers and stores large amounts of food and grass. As long as the Ming army comes to suppress it, he can If you can't fight, you can take your men and hide in the mountains.
Nowadays, Aoden has changed his tactics and appointed Kuaoku Timur as his commander. In the Battle of Guanchuan River, Aoden's men were the first to bear the brunt. This time, Kuao Timur fled far to Mobei, and Aoden died in Pingliang. When the expanded Timur comes back, it will be the time for his arrogance to rise again.
As God wished, two distinguished guests came today.
Naturally, entertaining distinguished guests requires a feast, and all of Ao Dun's generals come to accompany them.
In the hall, silk and bamboo are wrapped around the ears, and the beautiful lady is waiting for her with wine.
At the banquet, Ao Dun toasted frequently, his expression and speech were extremely respectful. One of these two distinguished guests was Sun Qian, the deputy general of the Ming Dynasty's vanguard army, and the other was Fang Jiutian, the Poison King of the Miao Territory.
"Two distinguished guests are coming to Pingliang. It's a great honor for Ao. Come, come, I'll toast you two again," Ao Dun said and drank the glass in one gulp. Sun Qian raised his glass casually to deal with it, but Fang Jiutian He didn't move at all, and there was no expression on his face with bulging veins, but an ordinary person would probably have nightmares for three days just looking at this face.
"General Sun's affairs are my Ao Dun's affairs. There are no outsiders here. If General Sun has something to say, it's okay to say it." Ao Dun waved his hand, looking heroic.
In terms of stature, he is about the same size as Sun Qianzhen, with the same tall and mighty appearance and the same rough appearance.
Sun Qian sighed and said: "I thought that if Chang Yuchun was removed, the Ming army would lose power, but it turned out to be the opposite. Now Dayuan has lost its city and territory and has been defeated again and again."
Ao Dun couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. Who could say otherwise? If the Yuan army hadn't been defeated, Ao Dun wouldn't have fallen to this point.
At this time, Fang Jiutian, who was sitting as the guest of honor, said in a cold voice: "Then let's get rid of Xu Da." After speaking, Fang Jiutian picked up the wine glass and took a sip of the wine and slowly swallowed it. After a long time, he said: " If Xu Da does not die, it will be difficult for us Jiutian to return to Liang Wang."