It's freezing in Beizhou in winter, and the low wind howls from the south and blows northward. With the naked eye, Luoshui can be seen from the initial scattered ice floes to the river surface being completely frozen by ice and snow.
In the pre-noon time, the sun was still bright, and although the heat it shed was meager, people who were wrapped in thick robes and fur coats, bumping on the horseback, did not feel the wind was unbearable, but rather felt a bit dry.
But when it reached noon, there was a hint of dampness and coldness in the wind, which penetrated into people's bodies along the gaps in their robes. The experienced soldiers warned that snow might fall in the afternoon, and all the knights dismounted and looked for a leeward spot by the river.
, make cooking and fire, let the horses and horses fill their bellies first, then take out the facial fat and ointment they carry, and smear it on the head, face, hands and neck, and even the horse riding capital is smeared with a thick layer of ointment.
When we started on the road again, the wind was already mixed with some tiny ice particles, which crackled on our bodies. Soon the ice particles expanded into flakes of snow, and even our vision was obstructed.
However, the knights who had eaten and drank enough and continued on the road did not stop because of this, but continued to move forward towards the determined target. In such weather, if they sleep in the cold wilderness, both men and horses will lose their body temperature quickly. If there is no sufficient supplies,
With proper placement, even the most elite troops may be defeated by this ordinary wind and snow.
The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and from afternoon to evening, the sky and the earth are already white. Smoke rises from the walls of the cities along the Luoshui River. Pedestrians traveling against the wind and snow see this scene, although they cannot feel the reality.
I feel warm here, but I also feel a little comforted in my heart.
In previous years, the situation in Beizhou was not stable. Especially in the autumn and winter, thieves and bandits appeared erratically, and swarms of Jihu were like locusts sweeping through the countryside. Therefore, there were rarely a large number of people living in a geographically marked area like Luoshui.
But since last year, both sides of the Luoshui River have become obviously lively, and villages and towns of various sizes have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. After the winter this year, the scale of these settlements has experienced varying degrees of growth.
For ordinary people, what is the most precious thing in troubled times? It is a sense of security!
With the establishment of the military defense system of the Three Defenses City and the effective attack on the Jihu forces in the area, people from all over the world also heard the news and migrated to the Luoshui River Basin, which had become very safe.
Li Tai does not hold a local official position, so he does not know the specific situation of migration and household expansion in the entire Luoshui Basin in the past year. However, this year's journey north was also in the extremely cold weather with wind and snow.
What I saw along the way was completely different from the depression and desolation I saw last year, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment in my heart.
Although he did not have the outstanding virtues of Shun to attract people to take refuge, he could be regarded as through his own efforts and with the bow and sword in his hand, he had truly expanded the living space of today's people.
Previously, northern Shaanxi was a desolate land. With only the blueprint he imagined in his mind, he led his troops into it without hesitation. Now that he saw smoke curling up from the villages and towns along the road, he should know better who the war drums were beating for.
Why should we be afraid of the wind and snow? We have the courage to bury all invading enemies!
After traveling north for several days, Li Tai led more than a thousand forward troops to arrive at Luochuan Defense.
Compared with Li Tai's southward march in the middle of the year, the scale of Luochuan defense today is even greater.
Fangcheng itself has not been expanded much, but the settlements surrounding Fangcheng have expanded by nearly twice. Along the Luochuan Fangcheng and the banks of the Luoshui River, an area extending for dozens of miles to the north, south and east, Fansuoluo
Almost all the area covered by the Sichuan garrison was filled with felt tents and houses.
Although such a scene looks lively, it is also chaotic. Especially Luochuan Fangnai is a military castle, but even the passages for soldiers to enter and exit are occupied by people's settlements. It would be okay if there are no military affairs, but once the bandits come to disturb them,
Even if we can ensure that the city is not lost, we cannot effectively prevent and control the surrounding areas.
Li Dao, who was left behind to guard the Luochuan defense, led a group of troops to the south of Fangcheng early to wait for Li Tai's return. After they reunited, he arranged for people to clear the way back to Fangcheng without any embarrassment.
When Li Tai saw this scene, he immediately frowned and said in a deep voice: "If there are no rules, there will be no circle. The garrison is not without recruitment. There are regulations and rules for the placement of the dead. If the people cannot be controlled by law, then the people will not be able to do anything for them."
Instead of supplementing it, it has become a drag!”
Li Dao first nodded in agreement, and then sighed in distress: "Everyone in Beizhou already knows that the governor loves the people like his own children. It is difficult to make a living in the wilderness, so only by living close to the city can you have someone to rely on. What's more, Luochuan
There are many civil engineering and construction projects in the surrounding area, and people gather here to apply for labor. They can get food supplements to maintain their livelihood throughout the winter. There are also several tribes such as Diaoyin Liu’s to increase the momentum..."
No matter what era, military-civilian relations are never harmonious. Most of the time, those with knives in their hands cannot tell whether they are soldiers or bandits.
However, Li Tai has been emphasizing military discipline since he led his troops to fight. Many times, he would rather pay double the cost of military resources than allow his troops to prey on the people.
Nowadays, as the number of people under command increases, the ranks themselves also have differences in closeness and distance. In addition to their own direct lineage, it is difficult to maintain the strict enforcement of military discipline in other units as before.
But generally speaking, his discipline is still much higher than that of other generals, and there are few cases of bullying and oppression of ordinary people. His reputation gradually spreads in Beizhou, so people are happy to come and seek refuge with him.
There are quite a few defenses set up by the Bafu in Beizhou, but there are few that can attract so many people to take refuge like the Luochuan Defense. Even the Heishui Defense, one of the three defense cities, is far inferior.
Of course, in addition to the strict military discipline of Li Tai's team, the geography and living environment of the area where Luochuan Fangcheng is located are inherently superior.
The Luochuan defense line is adjacent to the Luoshui River. The area is rich in water and grass, suitable for farming and grazing. It is located at the central link between the past and the next in the current three-defense city system. All personnel resource dispatching in the three-defense city needs to go through the Luochuan defense transit.
These storage and transportation processes require a lot of manpower to maintain.
In addition to the resource allocation of the Three Defenses City itself, the Liu Shifo Temple not far to the north of Luochuan Defense is also a very large project. Especially after the Diaoyin Liu family, a big local tycoon on the ground, joined and injected a large amount of materials, this large temple
The construction process is several times faster.
What Li Dao said about the Jihu tribe boosting the momentum is that the Diaoyin Liu family and other tribes offered favorable conditions to recruit Han and Hu manpower from all over the world to work here in order to speed up the construction period of the temple.
After winter, the output of field materials has dropped sharply, and there have been various unpredictable natural and man-made disasters. Now that there is a place that provides food and drink and is very safe, people naturally flock to it.
The surge of people gathering in the surrounding areas has put great pressure on the administration of Fangcheng. Li Tai also drained a lot of the administrative power of Fangcheng in order to participate in the parade, making the people left behind even more powerless, thus causing the current crowding.
Chaotic situation.
After hearing this, Li Tai did not continue to rebuke Li Dao. The affairs he was in charge of increased sharply, so that the staff reserve was insufficient. This can be regarded as a happy trouble.
The group of people moved between these felt tents and shacks, and it took them half an hour to return to Fangcheng. Li Tai also felt more and more that if there was no control over, the gathering of people would greatly hinder the personnel scheduling of Luochuan Fang.
Fortunately, when he returned from this trip, he brought with him some employees who were originally affiliated with the Dushui Administration Bureau.
After preparing for a grand parade, the Metropolitan Administration Department had to sell off its assets in order to provide sufficient material supply. Li Tai almost turned it into an empty shell. The number of cases in the department also dropped sharply. In order to prevent these subordinates from doing nothing, they saw
Feeling hurt, Li Tai brought these people to the three-defense city.
These subordinates have all been tempered by the original Dushui Administrative Office cases and are very experienced in handling trivial and general affairs. They are perfect for use in the current situation.
So Li Tai ordered Pei Hong, the capital's water recorder, to lead his officials to register households as soon as possible, organize the people around Fangcheng into farm households, and divide them into different living areas.
Hundreds of households were divided into one battalion, each with a military commander in charge. Only those who complied with the organizational structure could be allowed to live here and receive some food charcoal subsidies from Fangcheng, and participate in farm production in the coming year.
After explaining this, Li Taicai asked about the military situation: "Since this year, the Hu tribe in the territory has been suppressed many times, and the Hu tribes in Diaoyin and other places have attached themselves one after another. How can there be traces of the Hu tribe bandits again?"
When talking about this issue, Li Dao's expression suddenly became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "This winter's disturbance does not originate from Heishui, but from the territory of Xiazhou. At the beginning of winter, there is a big disturbance in Sheyanshui in the north.
The Hu bandits gathered together, harassed Shuofang, and even besieged Tongwan City for a time..."
When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but take a deep breath. He was not surprised that the country would be harassed again in the winter this year. He had foreseen it before, but the main idea was that Heishui Hu
He fought back, but he didn't expect that the fire would start elsewhere and be so fierce.
Especially when he heard that these Hu bandits actually dared to besiege Tongwan City, he became even more aware of the seriousness of the Hu situation. Although his three-defense city was currently operating quite prosperously, the most powerful one in Beizhou was still Xia Xia.
He even had to borrow troops from Xiazhou to ensure that he had enough men and horses to control the city.
"Xiazhou Yuwen sent troops from various tribes, and although he tried his best to keep Tongwan City intact, he was unable to counterattack the bandit Hu. This time, the bandit Hu numbered more than 50,000. After Tongwan City was defeated, he
The number of those who invaded Dongxia Prefecture by plundering various parties should be more than 30,000. Li Shijun of Dongxia Prefecture was originally planning to stop the enemy in Shangjun, but he was almost out of the bandit formation. Now he retreated to the prefecture city and sent his troops to the south.
Come and warn us..."
At this point, Li Dao already had a worried look on his face and sighed: "If the bandit army continues to come south, they will be able to reach the vicinity of Heishui Fangcheng before the twelfth lunar month at the latest. The governor should increase the number of troops and fortify it early!"