The three border fortresses of Mayi, Yingzhou, and Yunzhong formed a horn, guarding the northern Turks' southward path. Cheng Yaojin was setting up a defense line in Yingzhou at this time, and Wei Xiaojie was in Youzhou, deploying a long line of defense in the Yanyun area.
line of defense.
Zhang San and his party showed their identity documents and were allowed to enter the city.
At this time, groups of soldiers were patrolling back and forth in Yingzhou City. There were still some people and traders in the city, but there was no hustle and bustle in the past.
Cheng Yaojin and Cheng Chumo were not in the city today and had gone out to patrol. Now Li Jing's army has occupied Wuyang Ridge and is pointing directly at the Turkic city of Dingxiang.
Although Zhang San lost his title, Li Shimin took special care of Zhang San. Zhang San and his party temporarily stayed in the post house, waiting for Cheng Yaojin to come back before making arrangements.
"Mr. Zhang, we are going back to resume our duties. I wish you will make a name for yourself here." A leader of the soldiers said goodbye to Zhang San.
"Thank you for your hard work along the way. For this small expense, I'll buy some tea for the brothers on the way." Zhang San handed dozens of taels of silver to the leader and said.
"Then I would like to thank Mr. Zhang on behalf of my brothers." The soldier leader took the money without refusing to be polite.
After seeing off a few soldiers, Zhang San summoned Genzi and others into the house and said: "We have arrived at the border. We may fight at any time. We must prepare in advance. I don't want anyone to be gone when we leave."
"Sir, what do we need to do?" Genzi asked.
"Except Erwazi, all four of you have been on the battlefield. When you come back, talk to me and Genzi about the situation on the battlefield. Meritorious service is only one of them. The most important thing is to find a way to survive."
"Okay Sir, if you need to join us to fight the enemy, we will definitely guard you closely. Your safety is more important than the five of us put together. You must not take any risks." Genzi.
As the team leader among the five, he warned Zhang San.
"Young master, try not to go to the front line when the time comes. We will take care of killing the enemy." Zhang Zhi also agreed.
"What are you talking about? My life is important, isn't your life important? You all should live well, otherwise I will have no face to see your wives, children, and children when I go back in the future." Zhang San felt warm in his heart, but his words were warning.
road.
"Okay, let's get down to business. You are all the best in the escort team. We are now in a strange place. We need to find out the situation here first. Tomorrow you will go to the city to look around. Also, pay attention.
Whether there are things like saltpeter and sulfur, the environment inside and outside the city must be clear."
"Sir, what are you looking for these things for?" Black Bear asked in a loud voice.
"Just pay attention. You don't understand the specific use. If you can't find it, you can go to Taoist Temple and have a look. There might be one there." Zhang San thought for a moment and added.
"Although we have the protection of Duke Lu here, the sword has no eyes on the battlefield, and the war situation is changing rapidly. It is impossible for Duke Lu to pay attention to us at any time, so we have to rely on ourselves for everything."
"Okay, sir, we understand." Genzi replied.
"By the way, when will our caravan arrive?" Zhang San and others came on horseback. Many things were difficult to pick up, so they handed them over to the caravan for transportation.
"We're not going very fast. I guess we'll be there tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, everyone has been working hard these days on the road. Let's go back and have a rest first. Let's talk again during dinner in the evening."
After Genzi and the others left, Zhang San lay on the bed, holding the back of his head with his hands, and sighed: "I didn't expect that one day I would be able to go to the battlefield."
Zhang San took out a sachet from his arms and looked at the strand of black hair in his hand. With tenderness in his eyes, Zhang San said to himself: "Keying, wait until I get back. I will give you a grand wedding then."
In Yingzhou City, fast horses gallop by from time to time. As one of the barriers guarding the Central Plains, this place has extraordinary strategic significance.
When Zhang San saw that Cheng Yaojin had not returned the next day, he followed Genzi and others to walk around the city to familiarize themselves with the environment.
"Sir, this place is far less lively than Chang'an. There are basically no people on the street!" Erwazi complained as he walked on the street for the first time on his trip away from home, looking at the passers-by in a hurry.
"Nonsense, this is just a small border town, and there is a war going on right now, how can it be compared with Chang'an." Zhang Zhi scolded with a smile.
"If there had been no war, this place would have been very lively!" Zhang San came to Yingzhou for the first time, and said with a smile as he looked at the completely different style from Chang'an.
"Sir, you are wrong about this. The Turks often go south to plunder and invade the borders. The Yanyun area is the barrier to the Central Plains and is subject to the most intrusions. Therefore, these places are very depressed and are not as good as our Chang'an.
The surrounding towns are lively." Genzi explained.
Zhang Sanyi thought so. During the feudal dynasty, wars often broke out between the Central Plains and the northern Xiongnu. You came and went. The Central Plains Dynasty also had a headache for the northern Xiongnu. However, except for the Tang Dynasty, basically no dynasty completely solved the harm of the Xiongnu.
.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only defeated the Xiongnu, and only Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty completely destroyed the Turks. The Song Dynasty was even more miserable, with all the sixteen states of Yanyun falling into the hands of the northern nomads.
"Go and have a look at the front."
A few people walked and stopped, and when they came across a blacksmith shop or a small shop with special characteristics, they would go in and take a look.
"After looking around, it turns out that the iron is made of strong iron. It's strong and durable. I can swing my sword like a tiger, it's powerful enough!" Black Bear carried a sword on his back and had a sinister face, looking like a gangster.
.
"When the caravan comes, we can arm ourselves properly." Genzi said with a smile.
"Sir, I don't seem to have seen the two things you want." Erwazi had been paying attention to the sulfur and saltpeter Zhang San mentioned last night, but they couldn't see them after looking around.
"Look for it slowly. If it doesn't work, go out of the city and look for a way to see. If there is ready-made charcoal, I will bring it back when the time comes." Zhang San felt that he was powerless. On the battlefield, he estimated that if there was no one to protect him, he would survive.
Just one episode.
So before setting off, Zhang San had thought about equipping himself with some thermal weapons, but Zhang San would not use them unless it was a last resort to avoid causing further trouble for himself.
Several people came to the city wall and walked around it, "This city wall doesn't look very strong. It would be great if there were reinforced concrete at this time. Just pour it around to ensure that the Turks will be dumbfounded when they attack the city."
.”
Zhang San said to himself, very worried about his life.
When they returned to the street again, they saw the city gate wide open and Cheng Yaojin riding a tall horse and leading a group of soldiers galloping back from outside.