Chapter 135: What Battle did the Song Army Fight (1)
Shi Jialing and his party walked cautiously westward along the path at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. They traveled day and night, avoiding roads, grasslands and cities, all places where they might encounter Song people.
That day, when they were walking to a mountain col, they suddenly encountered hundreds of people seeking refuge.
These people include noble merchants, defeated soldiers, and herdsmen. Each group lives in a certain place, wary of others, and cautiously dealing with the new neighbors around them.
Near Shijialing's temporary residence, there was a large noble family, with twenty or thirty servants alone, plus more than a hundred guards, a team of nearly two hundred people, which was considered a large group among the evacuation teams.
The hostess was a lady in her thirties. When she met Shi Jialing by chance, she could tell at a glance that she was also from a noble family. She had a similar status and shared the same illness. The lady took the initiative to say hello to Shi Jialing.
Shi Jialing also wanted to know the latest situation, so he took the opportunity to chat with the lady.
It turns out that her officer is the Beiting Guardsman, and he is also ranked high among the nobles of Gaochang Kingdom.
The lady herself also came from a noble family, and her brother was Chongli Dagan, who was ordered by the king to take Shi Jialing's father, Shi Chiguo, to patrol the border in Beiting.
After a few greetings, the awkwardness and strangeness of the first meeting were relieved a little, and the noble lady couldn't wait to vent her full complaints to Shi Jialing - she had been holding it in for so long that she could hardly contain it.
"The people of the Song Dynasty are really not a thing, so why come to attack us? We, the Uyghurs with ten surnames, have not provoked him, so why did they suddenly send troops to attack us? Beiting, relying on the white tiger flag of the Song people, is only two or three days away from Jinshan. These few days
We suffered a lot in the year. The number of cattle, sheep, and herdsmen became less and less year by year, and they were all snatched away by the Song people who cut their bodies into pieces on five horses."
"I have advised the senior officials in our family to change their positions as officials. But I can't bear to do so. Beiting Ranch has been handed down from our ancestors. If we change the place, where can we find any ranch in exchange? My brother said that we can go to Puleihai instead.
Grassland. The Stone Buddha tribe there, Asilan Khan (the name of King Gaochang) has long been dissatisfied with them."
When Shi Jialing heard this, he was stunned. He was glad that he lied and claimed that it was the family scroll of a tribal leader south of Yidu.
"But just after I had this idea, the Song people came and everything was ruined. My officials found out that the Song people in the north were about to make a move, so they quickly sent people to Gaochang City to report to Asilan Khan for help. It was easy to wait until my brother came with him
Nearly ten thousand cavalry came north for reinforcements, but they were ambushed halfway by the Song cavalry."
When the noble lady said this, she burst into tears and cried for a while, then she continued to speak more choked up.
"I don't know where these Song people crossed the border from, and suddenly they ran to the south of Beiting... My poor brother, I don't know whether he is dead or alive. The officials saw that the situation was not good, and sent people to send us out of the city.
, moved to Gaochang City. But on the third day after I came out, I saw thick smoke billowing from the Beiting... My officials, my Beiting, my cattle, sheep and pastures..."
The noble lady started to cry again.
Shi Jialing advised: "It's all this damn world. My father was also ordered to lead his troops to reinforce Yinzhou City. He made arrangements before departure to send us out of the city to Uncle Balitang's house in Yangji. When we arrived at Guigukou, we saw Yinzhou City burning into the sky.
, and then I heard that the Song people captured it."
Thinking of his father and clan members who had run a step ahead and didn't know if they could catch up, Shi Jialing felt sad and burst into tears.
When she heard that someone was as miserable as herself, the noble lady immediately felt that half of the pain in her heart was shared, and she comforted Shi Jialing in turn.
"It was all caused by people from the Song Dynasty. I am very lucky to have escaped with my life. Thank you Buddha for blessing me!"
The two "sympathized with each other" for a while, and Shi Jialing began to talk.
"Madam, we are going to Yangjibali to join our cousin. Is the road there safe?"
"It's hard to say, and it's hard to say. This time the Song people used their troops in a mess. Shatuo Qi, more than a hundred miles north of Beiting, was the first to find traces of the Song army, but my brother and the others were two hundred miles to the south.
The place inside was ambushed. Beiting was captured, and Zhangbali was also captured, but Yangjibali seemed to be safe and sound... You don't want to see the Song Army, but you can encounter it everywhere; you want to fight with them, but
I can't find it anywhere..."
"My family has been guarding Beiting for generations and has been fighting with various tribes for more than ten or twenty years. I still have headaches. I have never fought such a chaotic battle. The Song army is elusive and may rush out from any place. If it weren't for it,
It’s not safe anywhere, and we won’t hide in this damn place. There is no city, no felt bags here... We don’t eat well, we don’t sleep well, and we can’t even take a hot bath..."
The lady's topic quickly went off the rails, and she kept complaining, as if she had suffered all the hardships of her ten lives in the past few days.
Shi Jialing pretended to listen carefully and his mind was analyzing rapidly.
In the area north of the Tianshan Mountains in Gaochang Kingdom, from the old place of Yinwu Army, Puleihai to Beiting, from Zhangbali to Yangjibali, and then to Yemili and Alimari, although there are rolling mountains, the grassland and Gobi are connected together.
Such natural dangers as Tianshan and Kunlun Mountains.
There are scattered cities, and there is no Great Wall connected in a line. The Song cavalry, who have often gone south in recent years, are as familiar with the path here as they are when they go to grandma's house.
Therefore, it is normal for Song Jun to appear and disappear.
It is normal to meet someone when you don't want to see them, and to find them when you want to fight. This shows that the Song Army firmly holds the initiative on the battlefield.
After saying goodbye to the noble lady, Shi Jialing told his brother and Uncle Lai the news.
Shijialuluo and Uncle Lai also told about the news they had obtained from inquiries, which was similar to what Shijialing knew.
"What has been determined so far is that the northern towns such as Yinzhou, Beiting, and Zhangbali have been captured by the Song army. From Pulehai to the Manali River, the Song army launched a full-line attack from north to south. As for Yangji Bali and others,
Due to the lack of information, it is uncertain whether it has been captured. But judging from the situation, the situation is not optimistic."
After listening to his sister's summary, Shijialuluo frowned and said, "I wonder what is going on with my father and his tribe. They have two thousand tents, their families, so many people, so many cattle and sheep. They are too conspicuous.
It’s easy to be targeted by the Song army.”
"Let the Buddha bless you." Uncle Lai was also worried, but he was trying to comfort the Shi brothers and sisters.
"Now the north of the Tianshan Mountains has become a pot of haggis soup. Dozens of tribes and thousands of herdsmen are running away with their cattle and sheep. This chaotic situation is the best cover for our tribe."
"And we are also convinced that the Song people are coming to occupy the Gaochang Kingdom. If this is the case, they will not burn, kill, and loot. They will do more moral and good deeds to win people's hearts and maintain order. The leader is a smart person and will definitely act according to the opportunity.
.”
Yes, my father is such a smart person. Once he sees that something cannot be done, he might just rush to the foot of Jinshan Mountain to ask for surrender. It is better to worry more about people like yourself.
"There's more!" Uncle Lai looked into the distance.
The noble lady was scolding the two servants. The more she scolded, the angrier she became. She asked her attendants to drag the two men down and give them a whip.
He carefully lowered his voice and said softly to the Shi brothers and sisters: "I noticed something was not good. The defeated army, guards, and servants seemed to be secretly colluding. The fleeing noble families, old and weak women and children brought a lot of property with them.
"
"Is there someone with evil intentions?" Shijialuluo asked quickly.
"Yes." Uncle Lai nodded, "Maybe we will do it at night. We have to be careful not to be affected. I found a place that is far away and relatively remote. If there is any change, we will leave immediately.
