Although a war is approaching, Qingfu County is still relatively calm.
Ordinary people did not know much about the Mongolian army's invasion of Shu. Even the county magistrate Jiang Chun was not too nervous after receiving the news.
In Jiang Chun's view, Zhang Dutong had led a large army to meet the enemy, and this battle was most likely to drive the enemy away from the country.
Zhang Dutong was a general under Commander Yu, and he rarely suffered defeats.
The battlefield is to the west of Qingfu County, separated by high mountains and ridges, where large armies gather. There is Changning Army to the east of Qingfu County, Xuzhou to the north, and Junlian Prefecture to the south.
Surrounded by soldiers and horses, it is safe and sound.
Moreover, the county chief clerk and the county captain are both willing to work hard and have been strengthening their defenses for a long time. Even if a small group of Mongolian troops comes in, closes the city gates and lights up the smoke, the Changning army can defeat them in one day.
to.
What made Jiang Chun upset was something else.
"Zhengshu, I'm really annoyed."
"What is the county magistrate worried about?"
Jiang Chun sighed and said: "Since Li Feiyu moved into the county government, things have changed, and people's hearts have changed. My son and daughter have become more and more disgraceful. They dared to contradict me in the past two days, which makes me angry!"
Fang Yankai raised his head from the official document and glanced at Jiang Chun, feeling that he was not as calm as usual.
"The county magistrate has also changed."
"What do you mean by this?"
"The county magistrate has rarely spoken so directly in the past."
"Really?" Jiang Chun was stunned, stroking his beard and said, "That's what made Li Feiyu angry."
"Don't be angry, county magistrate." Fang Yankai said casually.
Jiang Chun said: "Li Feiyu just came back from Xuzhou in the north. He hasn't settled down for two days and he went south again?"
"Say it's a military exercise."
"Huh, it's an army exercise. A county captain thinks he is a commander. He leads those three hundred people around all day long, as if he thinks he is an army of tens of thousands. He is just a child. He uses chicken feathers as arrows to lead the country's important events.
Acting like a child acting out."
Fang Yankai said: "Just go and leave. Wouldn't it be more peaceful than being in front of the county magistrate?"
"I just annoy him, whether I'm in front of you or not. I don't care about him, Zhengshu. Go south out of Qingfu Realm and arrive at the land of Jisi in Junlian Prefecture. What should I do if a conflict breaks out?
"
"No, Li Feiyu behaves fairly steadily."
"Steady?" Jiang Chun snorted coldly and said, "You agreed with him to go?"
Fang Yankai nodded and said: "It's good to take a look along Wuchi Road and Shimen Road. If there is a small group of Mongolian troops invading, we must be prepared."
"Those who are not familiar with the place should not get stuck in Junlian and waste thousands of money from the county."
"He found a guide."
Jiang Chun said: "Xiong Mountain?"
Fang Yankai said: "When he came to ask me, I asked him to go to Baiyan Miao Village to find Xiong Shan."
"Then Baiyan Miao Village never lets people from the county government enter the village, so there won't be any conflicts, right?"
"Li Feiyu personally went to the village entrance to invite people."
"Hmph, that's so embarrassing." Jiang Chun snorted and said, "The official book has always been prudent. Fortunately, you are also the county captain, so I feel a lot more at ease."
"The county magistrate was so complimentary."
Jiang Chun waved his hand and asked: "Why haven't you harvested the autumn grain outside the city? In previous years, it was harvested in September. It's almost time to harvest winter wheat."
"It's time to harvest in just these few days. There has been less rain this year, so the rice has just finished harvesting. Zhang Yuanming has been turning a deaf ear to the war. He has not taken the lead, and the people have been waiting."
"It's just nonsense! Poor villages and bad water breed unruly people."
Fang Yankai sighed and said, "Don't worry, county magistrate, I have sent someone to call for payment."
In fact, he is not easy to be the chief clerk. The county magistrate above him seems gentle and only talks about things all day long, but he knows everything in his heart and only treats him as an envoy.
Now, here comes another county captain who is fighting for power.
"Let's talk about business." Jiang Chun put on a straight face, showing the majesty of a chief official, and said: "Although the taxes paid to the city this year are exempted from the prefecture. But the three hundred river patrolmen can earn more than a thousand dollars a month, and the county
We cannot bear the burden all year round. After this autumn defense, it is time to dismantle it."
"Let's talk about it after the autumn defense? We always put the overall situation first."
"I understand, so I didn't say much more about it. But seeing Li Feiyu training as a government official like a soldier, it shows that he is serious about his career. I need to give the principal a warning first."
"Yes, running the county is already difficult, but here comes such a tough person."
Fang Yankai sighed again, feeling worried when he thought about Li Xia's actions...
South of Qingfu County, Junlian Prefecture.
Qingfu County has been classified as a county governed by the province. Unlike Junlian Prefecture, it is still "Jisui Prefecture".
"Ji" refers to the horse's reins; "縻" refers to the cow's reins. "Ji" means to control.
After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the policy of restraining and restraining officials was adopted from the Tang Dynasty and made more perfect. Simply put, it was to "establish chiefs and make them control themselves", and in addition to the chiefs, additional supervisory officials were appointed.
Junlianzhou is located on the edge of the Sichuan Basin, and further south is the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
Within its territory, there are Zhenzhou River, Xunsi River and Junlian River respectively flowing into Fujiang River. Although it is not the main source of Fujiang River, it is also the upper reaches of Fujiang River.
Therefore, Li Xia took a boat up the Fujiang River and headed south to Junlian Prefecture.
He turned around and saw that the city was very small, not as big as Qingfu County, and the city walls were low and made of rammed earth.
"The county captain thinks this city is small, right?" Xiong Shan said.
"What I saw along the way was that the river valley was deep and secluded, with only winding trails. There weren't many Han people here?" Li Xia asked.
"Yes, the farther south you go, the higher the mountains and the more dangerous the water. Fewer people come here." Xiong Shan said, "There are more tribes here, and Song officials only supervise them, so the city is not big and there are not many people inside."
Having said that, there were also patrols coming to stop us.
Li Xia took out the written order and said that it was the Qingfu County Lieutenant who led people to patrol the border and paid a sum of money to continue traveling south...
This time he came out without Liu Jinsuo and left a hundred people to guard the camp in Qingfu County in case something happened to the county.
He also brought Xiong Shan and seven Miao people as guides.
After passing the state city and walking for a while, Xiong Shan said: "Li County Lieutenant, it's time to abandon the boat and take the mountain road. If you go a little further, you will find the Five Feet Road."
"Five-foot path? Not Shimen path?"
"This side is called Wuchi Road." Xiong Shan said: "The Shimen Road that County Lieutenant Li mentioned was built on Wuchi Road in the Tang Dynasty. The side of Shimenguan in Yunnan is called Shimen Road, and our side is accustomed to call it Wuchi Road.
"
Li Xia nodded and ordered Kong Muxi to lead twenty people to station by the river.
There are small villages nearby, so there is no need to set up camp in Kongmu River, just guard the boats.
Li Xia continued to lead 180 people to abandon the boat and land.
Xiong Shan said: "After walking through this five-foot road, it is no longer the boundary of Sichuan and Shu, but the boundary of Wumeng tribe."
"Why don't you see the local defenders?"
"The patrol in front may be only twenty miles away, but it is so winding and winding that it would take nearly a hundred miles."
After walking for a while, the road ahead gradually narrowed.
In the end, Li Xia had no choice but to order his men to form a column and march side by side.
Luhu led a few people to clear the way in front, while Bao Shan followed behind the team.
Li Xia still walked side by side with Xiong Shan, lamenting that the road was too small.
Xiong Shan said: "Five-foot road, five-foot road, the road is five feet wide. I'm afraid the county captain has never walked such a road?"
"It's true that I've never been there." Li Xia said, "You have to take a boat all the way to Sichuan, and the roads in Qingfu County are not like this."
"The terrain in Qingfu County is more open, and there are mountains to the south. This five-foot road was built in the Qin Dynasty. It was built to sell Bo children, and it is also called the 'Bo Qingyi Road'. This section is quite wide and can accommodate two people. People walk side by side, and after passing the patrol, it becomes even narrower, and only one person can lead the mule."
"Brother Xiong knows a lot."
"Being a guide." Xiong Shan laughed and said, "I used to take some merchants to the Wumeng tribe and listen to what the merchants said."
This Miao man also heard from hearsay that there were people selling Bo boys, but Qin's practice of the Five Feet Road must not only be for this purpose.
Li Xia raised his eyes and could understand Qin Shihuang's ambition.
This small road connects Sichuan and Yunnan. Without this road, Qingfu County would still be an uncivilized and barbaric land.
After walking this road himself, Li Xia understood why Jiang Chun was not worried about the Mongolian army marching north from Shimen Road and Wuchi Road to attack Qingfu.
It was such a narrow road that the army couldn't walk at all.
If the Mongolian army goes here, the smoke will rise, and the Song army will be able to block them before they can cross the five-foot passage.
Having said that, we cannot think of things in the world based on common sense.
According to common sense, who would have thought that we should guard against the Mongolian army's northern expedition from Yunnan to attack Sichuan?
In my impression, Mongolia is still in the north and cannot go further north. This place is hundreds of thousands of miles away from Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia.
I originally thought that the Mongolian army was just big men riding horses and roaring on the grassland, but now they are trekking across mountains and rivers to knock down the Dali Kingdom. They climbed up and pulled out one after another of the high mountain villages in the southwest like monkeys.
It was this inherent impression that was shattered by the Mongolian army that made Li Xia determined to take a look at the Sichuan-Yunnan Mountain Road.
One hundred and eighty people walked for more than twenty miles for another day, and finally saw a pass ahead, which must be the patrol...