He Huchen sat on the cliff of the mountain stream and ate the last piece of fire, still feeling unfulfilled.
The Lion Battalion is not the only army in Shaanxi that can eat donkey meat and burn it.
Compared with the roasted horse meat made by Cao Yao from Henan, the roasted donkey meat cooked by He Huchen, a cook in the army from Baoding, is more authentic.
Looking at the greenery in Ziwu Mountain, He Huchen's face was filled with emotion.
He was unlucky. When he was the deputy commander-in-chief of Yansui Town, there was a severe drought in northern Shaanxi.
He was promoted to Ningxia. Ningxia also suffered from a severe drought last year, so the troops in Ningxia privately called him He Laohan.
And the problem there is not just drought, the desert is more terrible than drought.
Since he took office last year and reorganized the border wall, the entire Ningxia border army has been busy carrying sand.
There are quicksand all over the north and south of the Great Wall. At that time, the Great Wall was built on the mountain, but now the terrain there has become a smooth road. The quicksand accumulated over the years is two to three feet, and some is three to four feet.
Today the army went out to pick away the sand. When I woke up tomorrow, all the sand was back. They even picked up the quicksand for several days, but it was not as strong as the strong wind that blew it all night.
When I went out to practice riding and riding, everything got stuck. The city wall connecting Yulin Town in the southeast of Yinchuan was either buried or eroded by wind and sand. There was no other way except organizing troops to remove the sand.
In fact, it is said that the desert pressure in Yulin is greater than that of the eastern border wall of Ningxia, but Yulin mobilized the army and civilians during the Wanli Year to remove 33,000 feet of sand along the Great Wall, so that the border wall took on a completely new look.
Ningxia is not good, there is a shortage of people. Ningxia guards have 29,337 military and civilian households, but only have a population of 56,400.
Counting private households, the average household size is less than two.
There is no ability to control desertification on a large scale.
Ningxia not only has few soldiers and people, but also few vassal nobles.
The Prince Qing vassal state with its fiefdom in Ningxia is simply pitiful compared to Prince Qingcheng in Shanxi.
Up to now, Qingfan has only one prince, six county princes, sixty-one generals, fifty-six lieutenants, fifty-seven princes, and six common people. p>
There is a relationship between survival pressure and fertility desire.
So when he arrived in northern Shaanxi and climbed into the Ziwu Mountains, He Huchen was actually quite happy.
"This place is much better than other places. Further forward you can see the straight road built by Qin Chao... Where did Old Jackal Li go?"
The servant standing beside him did not speak, but walked to the edge of the cliff and waved a few times. The mountains facing each other across the ravine in the distance waved their flags in response. After a while, the flags were waved.
The servant came back and said: "General, Tang Qi reported that the thieves were eating thirteen miles away."
"Why are you eating so slowly? I've finished eating but they haven't finished yet. Do you have any ethics like a thief?"
He Huchen frowned. He felt that it was not possible. If he let Li Laojie eat for a while, he would not be able to take his men to see the ruins of Qin Zhidao today. He waved his hand and said: "General God, hurry them up."
The guerrilla general Shen Guang smiled and clasped his fists as he accepted the order. Not long after, a group of Yiding soldiers under his command mounted their horses and rushed along the official road in the mountains.
He Huchen drank some more water and put on his shawl. The servants behind him rolled up their flags to convey orders, and the troops stationed under his command on the rolling mountain road were ready to set off.
On the long and narrow valley road, the troops from Ningxia moved forward in groups. Each group divided into two groups within one mile, took turns wearing armor and moved forward along the mountain road.
Every time they arrive at a mountain pass, there will be a group of soldiers divided into two groups, one group occupying the high ground, and the other wearing armor to explore the road.
Although the march was cumbersome and careful, it was very easy for them, and they could always hang far behind Li Laojiao.
He Huchen was like traveling in the mountains and rivers, taking his time and leisurely all the way without being impatient at all.
He is waiting for the opportunity, waiting for the opportunity for Li Laojiao to enter Yanzhou.
This enemy army had robbed a lot of money and food in Qingyang and could not run fast at all, so He Huchen was not worried about their escape. Of course, if Li Laoji was willing to be a living Bodhisattva and ran away, it would be too late for him to be happy.
You don’t need to kill too many people and you can still get enough loot. Where can you pick up such a good thing?
In fact, this time to fight against thieves was He Huchen's opportunity to invite him to the Trilateral General Administration. Autumn was approaching, and he had to find a way to get some food for his men.
This year, border soldiers from all over the country became insurgents and he was a little scared. Fortunately, Ningxia was poor enough. If he didn't have enough to eat at the border wall, he would not have enough to eat as a deserter, and he would starve to death faster.
But being too poor is not enough. He only has a thousand horsemen at his disposal, and 600 of them were borrowed from the Mongolian tribes attached to Yanbian.
He had to get some food and stabilize the morale of the border troops. The Ningxia border troops had always been strong in combat and able to endure hardships, so it would not be a problem to stop the Northern invaders if their morale was stable.
The soldiers and horses marched slowly for two more days. Li Laoji's troops in front were approaching the Zhiluo Inspection Department, and finally the cavalry soldiers from the Anbian Camp came behind.
The horse soldier's crotch was torn and bloody, and he handed the letter from Yulin Town to He Huchen.
When He Huchen saw it, his face filled with joy and he let out a breath.
This letter was written the night before yesterday.
Du Wenhuan said in the letter that Yulin Town selected 4,000 men and horses and escorted 1,200 thief soldiers from the Zuogua Division of the thief king. They set off from Suide yesterday and are expected to arrive in the eastern part of Yan'an Fucheng the day after tomorrow.
He has already sent someone to Fucheng to handle something for Governor Hong, which will lead to the whereabouts of Liu Shishi.
It is not easy for the imperial court to mobilize 7,000 troops and horses to enter northern Shaanxi this time. We must take this opportunity to catch all the traitors who have not yet surrendered in northern Shaanxi.
He Huchen thought to himself, isn’t this a dream?
They can wipe out all those who rebelled this year.
Some people haven’t rebelled yet, and they won’t rebel until next year. How can we catch them all in one fell swoop?
He Huchen smiled to the left and right and said: "Okay, we can hurry up and advance the troops. General Du from Yulin is still a step behind in advancing the troops. He will go to Yan'an Fucheng tomorrow... and he will urge Li Laojie again."
"General God, tomorrow you will lead the large group forward, and I will lead the small group into the mountains. There is a fork in the road ahead that you don't know. You can go around to the east of Zhiluo and defeat these people. Get the food first. I'll see General Du the day after tomorrow." Shen Guangxian responded with clasped fists and conveyed the order to each team. His Yiding moved forward again and manually urged Li Laojiao to march quickly.
Li Laojiao was almost mad to death along the way.
I can’t eat well; I can’t sleep well.
When he had time to rest and when to set off, he would remember all the officers and soldiers behind him. If he slacked off even a little bit, a group of Mongolian soldiers would come out and fire a few arrows to scare him.
After traveling hundreds of miles, the three thousand men under his command managed to become somewhat decent.
They have become completely accustomed to the marching routine of the Ningxia border army.
The two sides formed a strange tacit understanding.
For example, right now, Li Laoji's troops are resting where they are, and he won't leave until the officers and soldiers come to drive him away with whips.
Until the cavalry soldiers behind came to report: "Chief, the Tatars from Ningxia are here again."
Li Old Jackal then stood up calmly and gave orders to all the troops, and everyone set off again.
Both sides are waiting for reinforcements. The only difference is that Li Laojie is waiting for reinforcements for this battle, while He Huchen is waiting for reinforcements for the next battle.
"Tiger in the Mountain."
Li Laozhen happened to see his subordinates who had gone to Yanzhou running back. He quickly asked: "Where is Lion Liu?"
It’s not far away from the Zhiluo Inspection Department. No matter how much we delay, we have to get there tomorrow. Liu Chengzong doesn’t believe me!
"Chief, Liu Shizi is setting up defenses in Yichuan. He has sent five hundred of his men over. They are south of Yanzhou City at this time."
After saying that, Zhuanshanhu leaned into Li Laozhen's ear and said, "There are more than a thousand people coming from Fucheng."
"Can we get to Zhiluo today?"
Zhuanshanhu shook his head: "It is estimated that only those five hundred people can arrive."
Li Laojiao was very silent and his face was solemn.
The reason why he needed Liu Chengzong to reach Zhiluo was because of the fork in the road here.
There are many forks in Ziwuling, but none of them are as dangerous as Zhiluo.
There are many mountain ridges for more than ten miles to the west, many of which are the same as the mountain roads to the south. The officers and soldiers can cover him from the side at any time.
When outflanking other places, the roads are too narrow to displace the troops, so don’t be afraid.
But the road to the east of Zhiluo is surrounded by fields on both sides, which can accommodate thousands of foot soldiers.
More importantly, although the pursuers were Ningxia soldiers, their general was He Huchen, who had served in Yansui. Li Laoji estimated that the officers and soldiers knew the way here.
They have been chasing him so leisurely. It cannot be to train him. There must be other reasons.
Li Old Jackal quickened his pace, thinking in his mind what Liu Chengzong would do if he couldn't arrive in time.
Fighting head-on is not an option, especially on mountain roads. The officers and soldiers cannot get rid of him, and neither can his thieves.
A minority versus a minority, his people must be defeated.
Thinking of this, Li Laojiao became angry and called some of his subordinates and said: "Run forward thirty miles and go deeper to find a few ditches. You can't take all the money, food and goods with you."
"At night, throw all the grain into the ravine, mule by mule."
Zhuanshanhu listened on the sidelines, reluctant to give up, and asked: "Chief, what will the officers and soldiers do if they find the food?"
"Throw it into the ravine, and after the battle is over, whoever lives will have the food."
Li Laojiao is also distressed.
If the food is thrown into the ravine, he may not be able to pick it up after the war.
But now the situation forces us to do this.
If the officers and soldiers were given sufficient food and grass, not to mention their death, even if they defeated the Lion Battalion of two generals, Li Laojie felt that he might not be able to defeat them.
"Throw it away, throw it all away. I can't sleep at night and walk through Zhiluo."
That night, when it was dark, it was difficult for the Ningxia Army's Tangqi to see clearly Li Laojiao's men.
He searched for several mountains and pushed most of the food, looted cloth and goods to the foot of the mountain covered with vegetation.
The tents were also left beside the road, and the team marched along the road at night, passing through Zhiluo and moving overnight towards Yanzhou City.
Early the next morning, He Huchen was reported by his subordinates who went to wake up Li Laojiao, and he almost became furious.
But he held it back, was stunned for a moment and then laughed and said: "No wonder this kid is called Li Laojiao."
Immediately, all the Ningxia soldiers set off, no longer relaxing, and quickly pursued eastward.
The four evil beasts that people often talk about are jackals, tigers and leopards.
Among them, jackals are thin and small and look very weak.
However, it is ferocious, aggressive and extremely flexible. It is also good at attracting friends and will never be left alone. It barks like a human being laughing. Once it roars, the mountains and fields are filled with jackals. Moreover, the population does not count casualties when fighting large beasts.<
/p>
It’s a very scary beast.
Li Laojiao's troops, covered with stars and moons, failed to get out of Ziwu Ridge. They only walked to Yangquan in the east, which is a narrow plateau running from north to south.
They were sleepy and tired, and no longer had the strength to continue walking, so they could only hold on to the plateau and mountain roads, waiting for reinforcements.
Before the reinforcements could arrive, He Huchen chased after him that evening.
Li Lao Jackal, who had just woken up, could still resist for a while at the mountain pass. However, immediately after the mountain pass defense line was breached, the Ningxia army broke into the plateau with cavalry, and Li Lao Jackal was unable to support it.
However, the reinforcements that arrived first were neither Yang Yao nor Zhang Tianlin, but Ma Maoguan, who had just surrendered to Liu Chengzong some time ago.
More than 300 Guanzhong soldiers and their families were in Ganquan County. Knowing that Li Laojiao was being pursued, Ma Maoguan led his troops to help.
However, Ma Maoguan was not familiar with the route here, so he ran this way when he heard the sound of cannons in the distance.
I ran over and found that it was a dead end, so I could only watch the battle from a deep ditch of 300 paces, watching muskets and arrows being fired from both sides, random cannons mixed in, and all kinds of smoke and poisonous fire being thrown out by short cannons on the large plateau. p>
He was so anxious that Li Lao Jackal had helped him, and he should repay Li Lao Jackal, but this unlucky road really didn't work.
I took another detour and found that this time the straight line distance between the two sides was three miles, but there were still two deep ditches in the middle. The Yanshang Mountain Road was in a zigzag shape. It was on the east side of the Yangquan Plain and had to be walked from south to north to get around it. The distance of this road... Ma Maoguan visually estimated that it is nearly thirty miles.
He couldn't cross the deep ditch that was more than fifty steps between two roads.
The anxious Ma Maoguan scolded his mother on the mountain ridge, and could only watch as Li Lao Jackal's men were defeated.
He discovered that the officers and soldiers actually did not fight very hard, and there were not many officers and soldiers who rushed to the plateau, but the momentum was too great. They fired cannons and cannons at the same time, and various poisonous smoke obscured the battlefield.
The people behind had no idea what was happening in front. When they saw the officers and soldiers rushing out of the smoke, they ran into the ravines and trails in groups.
Fortunately, Li Laojie's men also discovered this mountain road and ran up the switchback like a desperate man. They were running sideways to the south in front, while the officers and soldiers were chasing behind them to the north.
Ma Maoguan also gave orders to his subordinates, and they also headed north to meet him.
Three groups of troops ran on three almost parallel but connected zigzag ridges.
Finally, on the connecting mountain road, Ma Maoguan received Li Laozhen's troops. His men set up defenses on the edge of the mountain ridge and at the bend. They used fire and bird guns in front and bows and crossbows in the back. Although there were only more than 300 people, they relied on the terrain to block their attack.
The pursuit of the resident army.
Give Li Laojie a chance to regroup.
Li Laojiao almost fell down the ravine while driving his war horse. With lingering fear, he stepped forward to thank Ma Maoguan. Ma Maoguan said: "What else can I thank you for? Run quickly. We have to run for two days in the mountains to the east."
After Ma Maoguan said this, he looked at the mountain ridge opposite as if he had seen a ghost: "Cannon, cannon, cannon, the army is coming, keep running!"
For a time, Wuyangyang's bandits didn't care about their formation, so they could only run away.
Fortunately, they got some sleep and ran around with Ma Maoguan all night.
When they saw Yang Yao, who was fortified at Huanglong Mountain Pass, the two of them looked really miserable, with only a little over 2,000 troops left under their command.
Many were killed, many were captured, and many were defeated.
Li Laojiao's first words when he saw Yang Yao were the same as Ma Maoguan's first words when he saw him: "Run, brother, you, five hundred people, can't stop you."
Yang Yao had no intention of running away. He raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Yanzhou City: "There are more than 800 people over there. The leader called Tianxing to fight first."
He looked at Li Laojiao and said: "If the officers and soldiers are crazy about chasing, they can form a team when facing the enemy. If you are crazy about running away, can you still form a team to defend against the enemy?"
-
Note:
The population of Ningxia is from "Shuofang Xinzhi" published in the 45th year of Wanli period
The population of Qingfan is from Wang Shizhen's "Yanshan Hall Collection Volume 1: The Prosperity of the Clan"