At the end of summer, although there is some autumn feeling, the lush and deep grass half a person's height is still there, like an endless green blanket, and the sky is blue. Between the blue and green, there are clusters of purple, yellow or white. The wild leek flowers are in full bloom, which makes people feel happy just looking at them.
Standing tall and looking around, you will see that the north, south, and east sides of the grassland are covered with continuous mountains, and the terrain is not open. However, compared to walking in the ditch of Juyongguan, you can see that there are mountains on both sides, and they seem to be weighing you down. Despite the tension of death, it is always comfortable to be able to walk on the grassland.
As the queue marched, rustling sounds continued to be heard in the deep grass, sometimes closer, sometimes farther away. Those were wild wolves, gazelles, hares, and foxes moving in groups, or maybe badgers with bad tempers.
There happened to be a breeze blowing by, and patches of green grass bent and stood upright, like undulating water waves. When the meadow to the east sank, two large, four small and six yellow sheep were revealed, raising their heads in a daze. Looking at the marching queue, I don’t know how far I can run.
The core of this northward team was fifty cavalrymen from the Dinghai Navy, and then there were the Mongolians who worked hard to drive the convoy. These Mongols had failed to catch up with Genghis Khan and Muhuali after the previous battle of Zhongdu. The prisoners were on the run. As the Ding navy gradually pushed the control area to the north of Zhongdu, more and more Mongolian prisoners were transferred to take on the transportation tasks between the two places.
In the past few years, when the Mongolian army marched south along this road, they often saw a large number of animals. Because the states behind the mountains are rich in water and grass, and the climate is wetter and warmer than on the plateau, there are also many animals, and they can't catch them all even if they keep shooting during the march.
In the past two months, the Han people in Jinshan Province have been purchasing furs. A complete yellow sheep skin can be exchanged for fifty cents, which is ten bowls of wine. So many Mongolians looked at the yellow sheep with excitement. look. embankment
It's a pity that they are no longer free Mongolian warriors. Who dares to move?
The road from Juyongguan to Jinshan has been dilapidated for many years. The road surface has been dug into deep grooves by ruts, making it almost unusable. Therefore, the team has to leave the road from time to time and walk on some newly created trails in the meadow. At this time Everyone had to be busy taking care of the animals pulling the carts, or help push the vehicles whose wheels were stuck, so there was no time for hunting.
If you don't want to hunt, but want to run, there is a chance. In such a rolling grass field, hundreds of cars and hundreds of people are like shrimps swimming in the sea, not conspicuous at all. If a single person rushes in suddenly In the grass, if you run two or three hundred steps away, no one will be able to see you.
The problem is that if one person escapes, the other nine people in the same category as him will have to sit together. No matter among those nine people, whether they are Mongolian captains of ten or centurions, their appearance, or their status, No matter how noble Qie Xue was, it was completely meaningless in the eyes of Ding Haijun, and he would be beheaded immediately.
The navy enforces this rule very strictly and never makes any compromises.
The officers who guarded the prisoners said on many occasions that this was Marshal Guo's intention. Killing all the prisoners would harm the peace of the world, but the Mongolian army had too much blood debt, and the soldiers did not feel comfortable allowing them to live. Comfortable. So whoever wants to escape, just give it a try. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with the soldiers taking this opportunity to show off their ruthlessness.
In the past two months, there were really many Mongolians who wanted to escape, and they even secretly formed a conspiracy to riot. The Ding navy officers just lined up and killed seven or eight hundred people. So at first, the Mongols were willing to fight for the escape. To cover up, no matter who shows signs of this later, without the guards having to say anything, the same group of prisoners will be eager to beat him to death.
When all the stubborn ones were dead, the surviving Mongolian prisoners gradually discovered that working for the Ding Navy was not particularly hard. At least, the officers did not treat others more harshly than the nobles on the grassland.
As a result, all the Mongolian prisoners became honest and honest, and they were not lazy at all in their work.
Assisting in managing the prisoners was Shi Moye, a Khitan officer among the prisoners.
Shi Mo has traveled back and forth on this road more than a dozen times and is very familiar with every plant and tree on the road. Every time he calls for instructions, the Mongolians are happy to listen. Half a year ago, this honor would have been truly extraordinary. .
But now, Shi Mo also often thinks that one day he may be able to accumulate enough merit and get rid of his status as a prisoner. Then he can return to his hometown in Liaoyang Prefecture, Tokyo. He doesn't need any wealth, he just wants a piece of land, farming or grazing. .In his spare time, he would save money to marry more wives and concubines and have more children. When the children grew up, he would teach them to perform the willow shooting act according to the custom of the Khitan people.
Don't think about the rest.
When Shi Moye was young, he heard his father tell the story of the fall of the Liao Dynasty. He said angrily on the spot: "You can restore it."
It's ridiculous to think back now on how ambitious I was at that time.
Restore the country? Why? Since the Han Dynasty, powerful tribes have emerged one after another from the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, and Turks. Where are these powerful tribes now? The Khitans have suffered countless casualties over the years, and there are not many left. Why rush to put the knife on? Live your life!
As for Shi Mo, he chose to rely on Mongolia and ran into the sudden rise of Han power. The current result is not surprising. Mu Huali fled from the central capital that day, and Shi Mo followed him along the way. Mo Ye first fought fiercely at Xuanyaomen to hold off the enemy until he was exhausted and captured. He felt that he was worthy of the Mongols.
Later, Marshal Guo took control of Zhongdu, and Yelu Kechou Baer, one of the Khitan people, was given the official position of Qiao because he surrendered early. This act of being too weak and too flattering made many Khitan people despise him. Yelu Si was not included. When many people discussed in private and denounced Yelu Kechou Baer, Shi Mo was the only one who did not participate at all.
Later, the Marshal's Office split up the Khitan tribesmen who stayed on Zhongdu Road and dispersed them into the military household system of Ding Haijun. Some people were extremely dissatisfied with this. After all, they were also the tribal leaders of the Khitan people and chose to surrender to Ding Hai Hai. The premise is that in addition to saving lives, one must also protect one's own people and special status. If the navy wants to deprive them of these, it might as well break up.
Without waiting for anyone, Yelu Si quickly communicated privately, took his followers and fled, but Shi Mo did not participate at all.
Later, the Marshal's Office assigned the remaining Khitan people to various departments of the Ding Navy, and Shi Mo also cooperated honestly at first. So much so that some Khitan people thought he was a coward or a coward, and they insulted him to his face, thinking that he was not worthy of being a leader of the Liao Dynasty. Descendants. Embankment
Shi Mo did not refute this at first.
Soon after, news came that Yelu Si had not only fled to Goryeo, but also occupied several cities there, with the tacit approval of Li Langzhong, Ding Haijun. Then someone secretly said that Shi Mo was too stupid to take everyone with him. Going to Goryeo and becoming a city lord would be better than the current embarrassment.
Shi Mo was silent at first.
Recently, he was responsible for transporting supplies from Zhongdu to Jinshan. The journey was very hard, and all the Khitan prisoners with status were against this kind of work.
Shi Mo Yexian was different from them. Every time he received a military order, he set off immediately, leading his subordinates along the way to fully cooperate with Ding Haijun. It was the same this time.
The escort traveling with the convoy this time was a commander named Zhao Xuan. Although he was young, he was a veteran of marching on the grasslands. The orders he gave along the way were all appropriate, which made Shi Mo admire him a little and felt that this journey Easier than before.
"Here we are, here we are!" Di
Zhao Xuan galloped past Shi Moye first, wiped the sweat from his face, and laughed.
Needless to say, Shi Mo and the Mongols first saw the sudden military fortress at the end of the wilderness ahead.
That is Jinshan City.
During the Cheng'an period, the boundary trench defense line used by Dai Jin to confront Mongolia was based on Fuzhou as the command center and Changzhou Wushabao as the front line for garrisoning troops. Later, several battles were lost in a row, and the border generals' bases first retreated from Fuzhou. Arrive at Xuandezhou, then retreat from Xuandezhou to Fengshengzhou, and finally retreat to Jinshan.
Because Jinshan is backed by Juyong Pass and can advance and retreat freely, the army persisted here for the longest time... as long as nine months. Later, the Mongolian army crossed Zijin Pass and captured Juyong Pass, and Jinshan could not hold on. It was captured in a battle and the entire city was slaughtered.
Until two months ago, Qiu Huiluo, the general of the Ding Navy, led his army northward.
A total of more than 90,000 troops were stationed in Jinshan, and they also controlled the first treasure land with lush water and grass outside Juyongguan. It was not only enough to raise troops, but also to cultivate and operate embankments.
However, at this time, most of the soldiers were divided into two groups. One group went north to control the mountain fortress Longmen, and the other group went west to prepare to regain the line from Guichuan to Fanshan and cover the Qingbaikou west of Juyong Pass. Therefore, Jin was stationed. There are only more than 2,000 people in the mountain. Zhao Xuan came here just to take over the command of Jinshan City and these 2,000 soldiers and horses.