Guo Ning stepped one foot deep and one foot shallow in the muddy water, walking slowly. Even so, the muddy water under his feet was inevitably stirred up, emitting a unique rancid smell that made it difficult to breathe.
Although there was a bright moon in the sky, there were deep pools and pits all over the swamp, and there was light mist floating in the air, which mixed with the steaming water vapor and obscured the view. Traveling at night was very dangerous.
When I was dizzy and avoided the depths of the swamp, I didn't seem to have gone very far; now I turned back, but I lost my way several times on the way and spent a lot of time.
Fortunately, the fighting field just now remains the same.
The bodies of companions and enemies are still there.
There were several small black beasts baring their teeth, gathering around the corpse and licking the blood, eager to try. It wasn't until Guo Ning strode over that they whimpered unwillingly and slowly retreated into the bushes.
Guo Ning first put a long knife on his waist, then lifted an iron bone flower and tried the weight.
The failure of the Yehuling Battle severely damaged the core force that the Jin court could mobilize. Hundreds of thousands of well-equipped garrison soldiers and tens of thousands of field elites were wiped out in one fell swoop.
After the boundary trench defense line that had been in operation for decades fell, all the countless supplies that had been stored fell into the hands of the Mongols. Instead, the troops retreated to Hebei, without any relief in terms of food or ordnance.
Short weapons such as swords are easy to damage, so clumsy things like iron bones have to become popular.
This iron bone flower was originally used by Yao Shier, Guo Ning's close subordinate. Yao Shier was very strong and was good at using weapons such as iron spears, iron bone flower and meteor hammer. In his early years, he saved Guo Ning's life several times when they were fighting north of the border trench.
life.
Because of Yao Shier's courageous character, aggressiveness and bloodlust, he was particularly feared by others. When the enemy sneaked up on him, he was the first to be shot by random arrows. There were more than a dozen arrows densely inserted into his body, just like a
Dead hedgehog.
Guo Ning took out the arrows one by one, selected a few good ones, washed away the blood, and put them into the quiver.
Then, he found a slightly clean robe, wrapped Yao Shier's body, and dragged it into the newly dug hole by the pond.
After the tall and thin man was placed securely, Guo Ning turned around and continued to collect several other corpses.
The next one is Gao Kezhong.
Gao Kezhong was a Bohai native who came to Linhuang Prefecture in Beijing. He failed in the imperial examination in his early years and made a profession of teaching rural studies. Later he was signed into the army and moved to Xuandezhou.
Because he was well versed in writing, he became a clerk for hundreds of households in the garrison. After living in Ansu Prefecture, he met Guo Ning and always wanted to teach Guo Ning how to read. Unfortunately, Guo Ning was not interested at that time.
The old scholar survived for a while after being hit by an arrow. He struggled for a long time before being hacked to death with a knife. He was slashed several times in the chest and abdomen, leaving a huge gash. His intestines and lungs were leaking out, emitting a strong fishy odor.
, it’s very troublesome to clean up.
After a long while, Guo Ning murmured a curse and went to the water to wash his hands.
The last person is the youngest Lu Su.
The groundwater level at the edge of the pond was very high, and Guo Ning didn't have enough physical strength and didn't have the tools handy, so the hole he dug was a bit shallow. Most of Lu Su's body was higher than the ground, and his bloodshot eyes stared at Guo Ning.
.
Guo Ning reached over and closed his eyes for him.
When he was in Wushabao, Guo Ning was the main soldier, and Lu Su was his Alixi, that is, the deputy of the soldiers. Lu Su's elder died early, and he had an older sister and a younger brother to support at home. Every spring famine was very difficult.
.
Because Zhengjun's salary was much higher than that of Ali Xi, he often borrowed money from Guo Ning.
Lu Su kept saying with a playful smile that when he retired from the army, he would be able to get eight taels of silver and five pieces of silk, and then he would pay off all his accumulated debts.
However, when will that take place? Unless the soldiers of the garrison are killed in battle, will they be able to retire? Guo Ning feels that this kid probably doesn't intend to pay back the money, but is just being stubborn.
Guo Ning smiled.
The placket on Lu Su's chest was open, and a small rattle was about to fall out. Guo Ning hesitated for a moment, then solemnly put away the rattle, and then began to cover the piled corpses with soil.
It took him half an hour to collect a mound of soil.
Several small beasts that had retreated into the bushes now came out again. They ran around the mound twice in despair, barking like dogs.
Then they discovered that there were still several corpses that had not been buried, so they pounced on them and continued the interrupted feast.
Guo Ning worked hard for half a night, and his whole body ached and was very tired. He panted heavily and sat by the mound, watching the enemy's corpse being torn apart by wild beasts.
Guo Ning knew all three of them. Their identities were the same as Guo Ning and others. They were also stragglers who retreated into Hebei from outside the boundary trench.
Its leader is a hundred households of the original garrison troops entrenched in the Gaoyangguan area, and the ridicule person Xiao Haohu.
The original Guo Ning did not expect why Xiao Haohu acted so viciously. But now Guo Ning can easily think clearly from beginning to end.
After the defeat of Da'an in the third year, the defeated troops on the frontier did not receive any support or rectification from the imperial court.
Many people whose hometowns are in Hebei, Shandong or the Central Plains are returning to their hometowns in groups one after another. As for whether they will be signed into the army again after returning home, no one knows.
The garrison soldiers whose hometowns are north of Jiehao are in trouble. Their hometowns have long been turned into ruins, and there are no people left. Even if there are any living people, most of them have been moved to the grasslands by the Mongols.
The soldiers were homeless, so they were scattered in the Zhuo and Yi states in northern Hebei. Some fell into disgrace and became bandits, while others were recruited by local forces to make a living while waiting for the imperial court to recruit soldiers.
Last year, the Mongolian army went south to attack again. The defeated troops scattered in various places took advantage of the news and fled, some heading east to Zhongdu, and others heading south.
Guo Ning and others were then carried away southward, passing through Baozhou and settling at the border of Ansu Prefecture.
Two months ago, news came that the Mongolian army had been repulsed. According to the court, although Marshal Zuo Dujian Ao Tunxiang's troops suffered a slight setback, Deputy Marshal Zuo and the one who stayed behind in Xijing fought to hold on to the city with all their loyalty and attack.
Repelled the Mongolian army and injured Genghis Khan himself.
The Mongolian army's partial division in the direction of the surprise attack also failed to escape.
This news gave the defeated soldiers a little peace of mind.
Thanks to this victory, the imperial court finally had enough time to reorganize the northern defense line. Taoism issued an order to gather troops and horses from all over Hebei and send them to the front one after another.
At this time, Jurchen nobles intervened, trying to use these defeated soldiers as capital. After all, many of the defeated soldiers were original field elites. If they could be reorganized and trained, they could easily form a strong army.
For example, the defeated troops gathered here in Ansu Prefecture have recently been attracted by Tu Shanhang, the new governor of Ansu Prefecture.
The disciple Shan Hang originally served as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the court, and was a descendant of a famous and prominent family in the Jin Kingdom. It is said that his father was the consort and the privy envoy, and his eldest sister is the current queen, and many of his clan members have served as marshals.
Chapter and other important positions.
Tu Shanhang had great ambitions. Although he was in a mere branch and county in Anzhou, he wanted to use his own strength to obtain the position of Baozhou Shuntian Army's Jiedushi, so he tried his best to collect stragglers as a support.
To this end, Tu Shanhang specially set up a new command and envoy department, freeing up 500 people, and used all the positions of commander, military envoy, general, director, and escort to recruit brave people. .
Seeing the imperial court regrouping, the troops recruited from all over the country are marching northward one after another, and their power is gradually restored. The defeated soldiers have been dispersed for a long time. At this time, they have to think about the outcome. There are ambitious people, brave and ruthless people, and insidious people. Cunning people take advantage of the situation and seize this opportunity to fight for power.
Guo Ning was very dedicated to serving his country and was very interested in reorganizing his troops. In the past few days, he had been traveling back and forth, trying to recruit people to defect to Anzhou.
But although he was brave and courageous, he obviously lacked the ability to discern people's hearts, and he ended up getting involved in inexplicable disputes.
Xiao Haohu, the leader of the defeated troops at Gaoyang Pass, had always been keen on an official career. He regarded Guo Ning as his rival for the position of commander and was very dissatisfied with Guo Ning's constant communication.
Xiao Haohu is a very decisive and ruthless man. Just yesterday, he sent dozens of archers to set up an ambush on the road that Guo Ning must pass. Guo Ning was completely unprepared for this and luckily escaped with his life. They were attacked and killed.