Sun Dayong is a guard at the border, with a very low official position, but only a member of a hundred households.
The area under his jurisdiction is a shabby town, with hundreds of families living in it. The total number of old, weak, women and children is less than 3,000.
Every autumn and winter, there would be groups of bandits coming to plunder.
So Sun Dayong led his five hundred officers and soldiers to patrol everywhere at all times, and beware of bandits coming to plunder at night.
Life was very hard, but it was not bad. After all, we were in the Ming Dynasty's defense area. The bandits only dared to sneak in at night. There were not many people, one or two hundred people at a time.
He just ran very fast every time, which made Sun Dayong very unhappy.
He really wanted to kill a few bandits and report them in exchange for merit, so that he could live in a thousand households and go to a nearby small town to direct others around without having to patrol day and night.
However, the horses that the bandits rode were very good, and their arrows were also very accurate. They did not fight when they encountered the officers and soldiers, but just ran away, so Sun Dayong was very depressed.
This year is different.
When autumn comes, perhaps because the weather gets cold early, life is difficult for thieves.
It is said that a large tribe organized more than a thousand cavalry and entered a large town with tens of thousands of people at night.
Not only did they kill the patrolling local officials and guards, but they also robbed thousands of civilians.
The emperor was very angry, so he mobilized 200,000 troops and marched in person.
Sun Dayong was not promoted to the front line, but he was promoted to a small pass and served as a guard general.
This pass is very small and can only be passed by people, not horses.
But finally there was a city wall. Although it was very short and made of earth, Sun Dayong was very happy. He finally no longer had to run around to catch thieves.
The low city walls made him feel a sense of security that he had not seen for a long time.
It's just that the number of soldiers in the city is a bit small, less than three hundred, which is not as good as when he was a hundred households.
Sun Dayong asked the veterans in the city, and they told Sun Dayong.
There were originally a thousand garrison troops in this city, but the emperor personally marched and transferred 600 people. This was the case in many nearby passes.
It was said that a 30,000-strong army was to be formed to prevent the bandit army from attacking the city so that reinforcements could come over.
So Sun Dayong was a little worried. What if there were bandits coming to rob him at this time?
There were too few soldiers in the city and he was afraid that he would not be able to defeat them.
But soon, he felt that his worries were unnecessary.
The emperor's army arrived, hundreds of thousands of them, passing by Xuanfu City nearby.
Sun Dayong followed him and saw that the long procession took a full day to cross the pass.
The Shangguan who led them there said that the Mongolian side was also in panic and gathered 70,000 to 80,000 people from various tribes to attack Datong.
But there are more of us, two hundred thousand!
Those bandits were too busy taking care of themselves that they had no time to take care of these small cities.
Shangguan is Shangguan, what he said makes sense.
For half a month, Sun Dayong lived a very stable life.
As expected, the bandits did not come to plunder again. Several veterans told him that among the nearby tribes, all those who could fight had been recruited by their great khan, so no one could come if they wanted to plunder.
Several days later, Sun Dayong saw the imperial army again.
But this time I was heading back!
It is said that because the emperor was there and he was afraid something might go wrong, he returned to the army.
Sun Dayong was a little disappointed. He was still thinking that when the war broke out, he might be called up to the front line.
Unexpectedly, the troops would be withdrawn...
Not long afterward, one night, while Sun Dayong was sleeping, two commanders came in in a hurry and woke him up, saying that there was a fight at the earthen fort outside Xuanfu City.
Sun Dayong hurriedly put on his armor and climbed up the tower.
There was a fire in the distance, and the sound of fighting and the sound of horse hooves could be heard from a distance.
Sun Dayong felt a little uneasy.
Didn't he say he was going back to school? Why did they start fighting again?
Throughout the night, the shouts of killing continued in the distance. Sun Dayong woke up all the officers and soldiers in the city and tightened their defense.
Not only that, he also mobilized the remaining few hundred people in the city to patrol around.
The fire in the distance burned all night, and Sun Dayong's heart hung high all night.
Its daybreak.
Still no one visited his small pass. Sun Dayong was exhausted and ordered his subordinates to take turns on duty while he went back to catch up on his sleep.
When he woke up again, someone outside told him.
The army was ambushed in Tumubao, the emperor was captured by the bandits, many high officials died, and more than half of the 200,000-strong army also died.
Sun Dayong panicked. He took more than a dozen people and secretly rushed to the place where the battle was taking place.
The sight of dead people, dried bloodstains, long curled knives, and scorched earth all showed how tragic a battle had just ended on this land. The winding creek beside it was still bright red to this day.
color.
He froze on the spot and shed tears unconsciously.
He still remembered that when the army passed through Xuanfu, it was vast and indomitable.
At that time, he was so envious that they had the opportunity to go to the battlefield, get military honors, and be granted the title of wife and son.
He felt that with such a powerful army, how could there be an unwinnable battle?
However, the hell-like scene in front of him frightened him.
Until now, he has never seen so many dead people.
Resisting the strong feeling of vomiting in his heart, he led his men to pick up many usable weapons and firecrackers from the battlefield.
After returning to that small pass, Sun Dayong was terrified every day.
Because almost every day, bad news comes.
It is said that the bandits captured the emperor and wanted a lot of gold and silver.
Some people say that the imperial court is unable to win and wants to negotiate peace.
There are rumors that the Xuanfu and Datong will be compensated to the bandits in exchange for the emperor.
These small passes must also be sent out together.
Sun Dayong didn't believe it. He had been waiting for the imperial court to send troops for reinforcements.
but none!
The only ones waiting to arrive were the bandits and the court's strict prohibition against opening the city gates indiscriminately.
The imperial court appointed a prince and a new emperor, who was the younger brother of the original emperor. He was said to be very powerful and passed down several decrees in succession for everyone to abide by.
However, there are also rumors that the imperial court has too much to take care of itself, and the armies mobilized from various places are heading towards the capital.
The imperial court must give priority to protecting the capital, and these small passes on the border can only fend for themselves.
Sun Dayong no longer cares whether he believes it or not. He has been very busy recently.
I don't know why, but there are suddenly more thieves everywhere in the area.
More than in previous years!
Someone told him that it was because Yanghe had been lost and the bandits were stationed outside the pass, negotiating with the imperial court.
Therefore, the army of bandits had nothing to do, and only a few hundred people came in from Yanghe to plunder everywhere.
He has encountered it three times in the past few days.
Fortunately, they were all small troops of less than 200 people and were able to hold on.
But after patrolling, guarding, and fighting all day and night, he felt that he could no longer hold on any longer.
I was unlucky at the pass next door and encountered an elite force of 800 people. Within two hours, the city was broken.
Not a single one of the five hundred officers and soldiers who guarded the place was left, and all of them, including the guards, were dead.
The thieves always only kill people, steal things and plunder the people, and then run away after beating them.
After they left, Sun Dayong secretly took a look.
Very miserable!
The town was burned down, most of the people were kidnapped, and a small half fled to him.
After returning, Sun Dayong felt very scared. There were now less than 400 people in his city, not as many as the people next door.
He called Shangguan several times to request additional troops.
He felt that there must be at least a thousand, no, fifteen hundred people to make him feel at ease.
He knew that the imperial court had 30,000 troops, and they were in nearby places such as Zijing and Juyong, ready to reinforce everywhere at any time, and he wanted to send some over.
But the court refused!
They said that the people should move away first and go to Juyongguan. The city there is high and the walls are deep, and there are ten thousand troops guarding it. The pirates dare not pass through.
As for the garrison, they must continue to guard and are not allowed to retreat. The imperial court has mobilized a large army from within the pass, which will arrive in half a month. As for the 30,000-strong Zijin army, if it is necessary to defend, it must be used in a large-scale attack first, and cannot be dispersed.
Sun Dayong was scared, very scared.
As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw the tragic scene when the guard at the next pass died.
Apparently two days ago, they were drinking together.
The guard general's surname was Wang, who was several years older than Sun Dayong. He had been guarding the pass next door since he took up the post.
He said that that was where he grew up and it was also his home!
While drinking, Brother Wang also said that he had few soldiers in the city and if he encountered a situation that he could not cope with, if he reported it to him early, he would definitely come over immediately for reinforcements.
Later, he died.
The head was chopped off and hung high on the city wall. Under the city were the corpses of officers and soldiers scattered everywhere.
I will never die with my eyes in peace...
There was so much noise outside that Sun Dayong sat up from the bed almost as a reflex.
From the day the next pass was breached, he never took off his armor.
Lifting the long knife placed on the table, Sun Dayong rushed out immediately.
He stood on the city wall, feeling like he was going to die this time.
Under the low city wall, a large number of bandits were riding horses and shouting. Sun Dayong glanced over and saw that there were at least five hundred people.
He can't stop it!
But now that the matter has come to this, he can only fight.
The bandits' horses were very fast, and they had too few archers to effectively stop them.
So he could only go out of the city to meet the enemy.
I have only 300 people, but there are more than 500 people opposite me.
Sun Dayong watched the soldiers around him fall one by one, and he was almost out of strength.
The long knife in his hand slashed hard on the hoof of a bandit's horse. From the corner of his eye, Sun Dayong saw someone behind him holding a scimitar and stabbing him.
But he didn't have the strength to hide.
Fortunately, most of the people in the city have moved away. After so many days of fear, he finally has an outcome.
He's not dead!
The veteran who had been beside him saved him and was stabbed to death himself.
Then, the captors retreated.
He was lucky. The inspection censor sent by the imperial court to Juyongguan happened to pass by. He brought 500 officers and soldiers with him. Seeing the fighting here, he came to reinforce.
When the bandits saw reinforcements coming, they did not want to fight and retreated.
When Sun Dayong returned to the city, he didn't even have time to feel sad and fell asleep.
It was already evening when I woke up again.
The clouds are very beautiful, red, like fire, and like blood, smearing the whole sky.
The censor did not leave, but helped direct people to strengthen the city defense.
Sun Dayong and he climbed up the city wall and took a look.
I don't know where the bandits got the gunpowder from, but a gap has been blown out of the city wall, and only a few people are still building it nervously.
The censor expressed his approval for Sun Dayong's heroic efforts in defending the city, and said that he would report it to the imperial court and commend him for his merits.
Sun Dayong didn't react at all. Instead of talking about his merits, he hoped that the court would give him a few hundred officers and soldiers, so that next time the bandits came over, he might have a better chance of surviving.
The censor also brought a piece of news.
It is said that the guards at several passes could not withstand the pressure and led their troops to Juyong Pass without permission, but were caught by the guards.
This censor was there to take them back to the capital to discuss their crimes.
"What will happen to them when they return to the capital?"
"That's no need to ask. If you abandon the city and flee during the war, you should be killed!"
"Deserves to be killed?"
Sun Dayong repeated these two words gently without saying a word.
He was afraid of death and wanted to go back.
But seeing the angry look on the censor's face, he didn't dare to say anything.
"Can the imperial court win this time?"
The censor let out a long sigh and finally said.
"must be able to!"
The censor left.
He had his mission, which was to go to Juyongguan and escort those fugitive generals back to the capital.
Sun Dayong has Sun Dayong's mission to continue to guard this small town.
Their encounter was like a chance encounter, passing by without leaving a trace.
Sun Dayong knew that he might never see him again.
The favor of saving one's life is very important, but on the battlefield, this is just an ordinary thing.
He was more worried about his future than something far away like repaying his kindness.
He once again asked his superiors for more troops, but the answer was still no.
Sun Dayong took the reply letter and looked at the broken city wall.
There was another raging fire in the distance, and I don't know which pass was invaded again.
I don’t know if I can survive the fight...
In the shadows, a sly-eyed guy touched his back and said.
"Brother Sun, why not surrender?"
"The imperial court doesn't care about us anymore. If we fight, we will die, and if we escape, we will die. Why don't we take the city's baggage and surrender..."
"The Emperor doesn't regard our lives as ours, so let's follow Wala and rebel against the Emperor. Anyway, the Supreme Emperor is also on the opposite side, so it doesn't count as rebellion..."
The cold moonlight shone on Sun Dayong's face, half of it hidden in the shadows.
Sun Dayong held the knife in his left hand and the letter from Shangguan refusing to increase troops in his right hand, without speaking...