However, on the way back to Dongning Prefecture, an unexpected news interrupted Jiang Tian's trip. Not long ago, a team that was ordered to go to Changhua Prefecture, where Shanzhong Road is located, lost the news two days ago. Along with it, the team was also lost.
The connection is very close to the Yanping Camp, the left guard station of Shanzhong Road.
Therefore, under the situation that the original prince has probably appeared, Jiang Tian can be temporarily put aside to target the follow-up actions of Donghai Grand Shrine; and gather outside Changxing Prefecture, and come from Dongning Prefecture to the Zhongwei Third Battalion and
Some of the guards from the outer court changed direction and headed directly to Changhua Prefecture.
As the saying goes, "seeing is believing, hearing is believing", even if there is an imperial edict issued by the official office and an official envoy; but in the original version, when the crown prince took the initiative to speak out in public, the left guard soldiers of the Yanping camp,
How many people are willing to believe in the office is another matter.
Therefore, it is not only an opportunity to seize the wrong direction, but also the key to solving most of the subsequent problems. Therefore, it is very necessary for Jiang Tian to lead the team there in person. And Zuo Weisan, one of the three guards in the office,
The camp was stationed for a month to guard the mountain road that ran through Yizhou from east to west and to conquer the native barbarians.
Among the seven prefectures and one prefecture on Yizhou Island, the four prefectures and one prefecture located in the western coastal plain are the essence of public rule; they are also the first areas to be developed. Therefore, they occupy almost all the public territory.
The royal family has 70% of the population and taxes, and also has the largest proportion of garrison troops.
Next is the east coast of the island, Yilan and Xiongshan Prefectures in the long and narrow coastal valleys. Because the development and colonization happened later, they are different from the states in the west of the island where Tang people and naturalized people have already occupied the mainstream; in the east of the island
There are many places outside the two states where Yi and Han people live together.
The central mountain range and its extended mountainous areas, which stretch for more than half of Yizhou Island, have become the biggest barrier between the east and west of the island. Therefore, the office spared no effort to promote the east side, spending more than ten years, investing tens of thousands of labor and millions of dollars in
Only after spending money and food did they build a road in the mountain that runs from east to west.
It makes it convenient and fast to connect the east and west states from the big island. Even the rumors and news that happen in Dongzhou County of the island can be reached to the office of Dongning Prefecture day and night through the post horses and messaging stations set up along the way.
Changhua Prefecture was not established to ensure the mountain road.
Therefore, the newly established jurisdiction of Changhua Prefecture seems to be the largest among the seven prefectures; but it actually has three counties and the smallest household registration and output; and in addition to a large number of tamed and naturalized native barbarians and mountainous people outside the country,
Outside the Yi settlements, the main industries are medicine gathering, mining, and logging.
In addition, because the central mountain range of the island occupies a vast area, the savages and barbarians during the gathering period grow like weeds; they gather together every once in a while, becoming a threat to the Yamanaka Road and surrounding prefectures and counties.
, so the Yanping camp was specially set up to collect and collect taxes uniformly.
Therefore, Changhua Prefecture, which has many mountains and almost no plains outside the country, is the only one among the seven prefectures that cannot provide surplus for the government. Instead, it requires tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass and hundreds of thousands of dollars of money to be invested every year for maintenance.
The situation on the mountain road and where the official training is conducted in disguise.
The only output among them is the harsh and dangerous environment of the remote mountains and rivers; it also provides a considerable number of hard-working, brave and fearless soldiers for the office; and for a long time, they have been sent abroad as Yizhou Yicong (mercenaries),
Stationed in rotation, struggling on overseas islands and continents.
Originally, according to the strategic policy followed by the Gongfu for generations, through the steady advancement of generations, fortresses and walled cities were built at mountain passes and dangerous places; in this way, the space for activities of those native barbarians could be slowly eroded and compressed.
; And each settlement will be destroyed or moved away.
In the past, the barbarians and savages in the mountains were completely rendered harmless. Until a few years ago, when the crown prince pushed hard to the east, men, horses, and materials were mobilized from all over Yizhou, with the Youwei Third Battalion of the Yanping Camp as the core; they were randomly distributed
A major offensive was launched against settlements deep in the central mountains.
During this period, it was claimed that hundreds of mountain settlements were destroyed, and as many as 10,000 savages were captured and captured; but compared to the manpower and material resources invested by the government, as well as the cost of subsequent maintenance and aftermath
, but it is obviously a victory that is not worth the gain.
In particular, the troops who were asked to go deep into the mountains to capture the barbarians and the thunder-sweeping caves were in the harsh and dangerous environment of the wild and deep forests. Due to the difficulties in the supply of back roads, the intrusion of snakes and insect miasma, and the influence of sudden rains and cold fog, they were extremely vulnerable.
Battle attrition even reached several times the normal battle casualties.
If you persist in coming east for a long time, it will inevitably cause serious wear and tear and setbacks to the morale of the local soldiers and civilians; they may even become negative and full of complaints. Therefore, the original prince’s last news was that he could not go there.
On the way to the Yanping camp to express condolences.
Therefore, Dongning Prefecture immediately sent troops to blockade the western end of Shanzhong Road at Wufeng garrison outside Nantou County; it also temporarily isolated the spread and spread of subsequent news. Then it sent several messengers with seals,
He successively contacted the governor of Changhua Prefecture and the captain of the Unity Camp.
At first, he entered the Yanping camp in the name of condolences, but unexpectedly received news that the prince had not arrived at the place at all. Therefore, Dongning Mansion did not hesitate to arrest and detain the prince's son in the name of the official office.
Confidants, as well as generals and commanders who have close contacts.
When the latest news came out, it was said that some of them had been escorted on the road; and after being provided with a large amount of comfort materials and the promise of fighting and repairing, most of the soldiers in the Yanping camp also calmly accepted it.
He received the order from the office and was ready to change defenses.
However, something unexpected happened at that time; when a team of foreign guards sent by the government, together with a group of soldiers, were ordered to inspect the Shenyunshan Grand Shrine outside Madong County, Changhua Prefecture, where the Tu people lived, they were completely cut off.
News. Immediately afterwards, the Yanping Camp, which received regular messages every day, also lost contact.
Therefore, when Jiang Tianma quickly advanced without stopping and led part of the pioneer cavalry into the mountain road, he discovered some unusual clues. For example, among the ancient and dense mountain forests, some wisteria vegetation had obviously grown excessively, forming patches of
Invasion into hillside terraces.
Many tea mountains, orchards, jicama fields, etc., have experienced large-scale withering and decay; it is as if the winter months have entered early. And the villages and settlements scattered along the highway are also tightly closed.
It is closed and everyone is on the wall, patrolling day and night with swords, bows, gongs and drums.
I sent someone to ask and found out whether wild beasts were rampant and active in the mountains in those days, even attacking business travelers, pedestrians, and even farmers working outside in broad daylight; they even did not hesitate to cross fences and guardrails in groups and risk their lives
Entering villages, killing livestock and taking away old, weak, women and children.
Therefore, almost no place in the villages or settlements along the mountain road is immune from harm; there are also some enslaved slave traders and natives among them, because they live outside the village and cannot be warned.
Just one night, the family was wiped out by a beast.
Even when Jiang Tian and his party of several hundred riders arrived at Dapu, the first county town, what they saw was still the closed city gates with a bright red sky, and the outside of Fang District in the east of the city was still a deserted and depressing scene. I briefly understood the local situation and materials.
Even if you don't bring it with you, it's no longer safe after dark outside the county town.
For several days, there were screams and screams from people's homes in the city; then when the patrolling regiment trainers rushed there, all that was left was a mess and splattered blood. Therefore, outside the county town, there was no roasting group.
If you don't do this, everyone will be in danger; it is obviously an extraordinary beast, and it can be done.
Despite this, Jiang Tian did not stay too long in Dabu County; he asked the local government to follow past experience to remind the local government to pay more attention to and monitor the exits of the Dongshui Channel and canals. He briefly replenished water in Dongling and traveled all night long.
If you go to the hinterland of the mountain road, you will find the Yanping Camp.
However, when Jiang Tian was paying his bills at night on the mountain road, he experienced another completely different scene. Apart from the cavalry walking with open fires and holding sticks, there was no omnipresent thick darkness in the night, even if it was
The brilliance of the clouds and the moon cannot shine through the dark and dense shade of the trees.
Flickering in the darkness, pairs of faintly glowing eyes wandered through the mountains and forests like will-o'-the-wisps; they also seemed to be closely following and spying on the speeding group that was bringing some light to the road. Then one after another,
There were constant sounds of howling and howling like ghosts and wolves.
Sometimes, in that howling chorus, certain beings would come so close unknowingly. So that Jiang Tian, who was in the team, seemed to be aware of it; he suddenly threw a wind lantern towards the rear of the team, and crashed into pieces.
On the left side of the first few riders, a fire suddenly spread out.
They were so startled that their cavalry lifted up slightly, and at the same time, they also illuminated the looming pairs of copper bell-like animal eyes in the darkness close at hand; as well as the ferocious beast shape as big as a calf. Was it like a big hyena?
He has a big head and is hairless but has lizard-like horny folds.
"Dire wolf?" At that moment, the name of an ancient creature that would have fossils in later generations popped up in Jiang Tian's mind; however, more guards and cavalrymen had already reacted, and all of a sudden they reined in their horses.
Hold the crossbow, raise your leg on the string, and release a crossbow arrow in a slanting moon formation.
In an instant, the sudden rain of arrows hit the "dire wolves" that jumped out of the darkness, spraying blood and howling in various directions. They immediately felt pain and dodged, rolled down, and threw themselves down.
On one side; at the same time, he also saved in disguise the few cavalrymen and their free riders who were at the end of the team.
Immediately afterwards, someone else in the team straightened up the horse's hook and tried to control the frightened horse; they used their courage to stab the injured "Dire Wolf" who was dodging aside;
, the electric stab penetrated the front legs and shoulder blades of the "Dire Wolf".
In the blink of an eye, several people worked together to nail him to the ground; then another "dire wolf" jumped out, and his head was set on fire by the wind lantern that was hit head on; he screamed and bit another of the same kind; he committed suicide on the spot.