Since ancient times, the salt industry has been the source of wealth for the imperial court.
Since the founding of the country, Daikin has been financially dependent on the salt industry. Even if the imperial court made great efforts to expand property tax revenue from material resources and money, by the Taihe period, the annual annual income from the salt field was still seven times that of material resources and money.
So many.
Official salt is like this, but private salt is even more profitable. Jinan City is the first center for the three major salt companies of Shandong, Baodi, and Cangzhou to transport salt to the mainland, so business is prosperous and people gather. Along the Xiaoqing River that runs through the salt field, various reasons
There are countless heroes who rose from salt.
More than twenty miles west of Changbai Mountain where Dong Jin took his family members to take refuge, there is a rolling high slope called Hongtan Ridge. It is said that a thousand years ago, the great scholar Zheng Xuan wrote a book here, saying that when the Song Dynasty was strong in the Southern Dynasty,
, and a minister named Fan Zhongyan lived here.
In modern times, all these relics have disappeared, and Hongtan Ridge has become a place where private salt dealers are entrenched. After the Mongols invaded Jinan Prefecture, some heroes gathered rebels here and refused to surrender to the Mongolian army.
There are now five to six thousand people on the entire Hongtang Ridge, most of whom are people who escaped from Jinan City. That day, the Mongolian army suddenly entered the city, causing chaos inside and outside the city. Fifty to six thousand people escaped from the city and scattered in the countryside. Many people later arrived one after another.
After being captured by the Mongolian army, most of the men worked as coolies or filled the trenches, while the women were treated as female slaves or military prostitutes and were ravaged.
Only a few lucky ones could avoid the disaster. After all, the main force of the Mongolian army was not permanently stationed in Jinan, and the Mongols usually avoided mountainous areas with complex terrain as they plundered the countryside.
Of course, this was also due to the fact that the Mongols were not familiar with the unspoken rules of the Jin Kingdom's territory. They never expected that villages that seemed to be located on fertile plains were usually poor, while the ravines and valleys where private salt dealers were located were rich in oil and water.
There are naturally difficulties on the Hongtang Ridge. There are water sources, wild vegetables, and wild fruits here. There are also two privately cultivated dry fields in the mountains toward Changbai Mountain. But even if all the grain stored by private salt dealers over the years is included, it is not enough for the long term.
Provide food for five to six thousand mouths.
The leader of the rebel army, Zhang Rongsui, a native of Licheng, Jinan, reorganized his troops and went down the mountain to plunder food.
Originally, private salt dealers were mostly strong men who dared to fight and carried weapons with them. Since the Mongolian army invaded Hebei, Zhang Rong felt that the situation was not good early on, so he recruited several blacksmiths to build gun heads on the mountain. Now there are almost
Each man had a spear. He also recruited many hunters and formed a team of archers.
As long as he did not encounter the Mongolian cavalry, Zhang Rong was confident in the combat prowess of his subordinates.
They first arrived at Zhangqiu County, only to find that most of the soldiers and civilians in the county had fled, and the granaries had long been emptied by the Mongols. The only people left in the city were the old, the weak, women and children, and they all died of hunger.
Zhang Rong left some grain for them, but his family was increasingly in straits. So he led his troops to continue north, intending to cross the Xiaoqing River and go to Jiyang County to see if they could gain anything.
This area is frequented by private salt dealers. The roads along the way are remote, the terrain is rugged, and there are many reed mountains and forests. Mongolians rarely come here. Therefore, everyone is inevitably a little relaxed.
But it was really strange today. As soon as a group of people came out of the mountain forest, they were discovered by a group of Mongolian cavalry.
It was noon, and some of these Mongolian cavalry were busy setting up round tents, some were grilling meat, and some were half-lying by the stream, putting their feet in the water to wash away.
But they were extremely vigilant. As soon as they saw Zhang Rong and others, everyone immediately shouted and got on their horses. Some cavalrymen had just taken off their saddles and jumped directly onto the saddleless horses, casually grabbing a
He picked up a machete and rushed towards Zhang Rong and others.
The Mongols were so fierce that they were no match for them. Zhang Rong ordered his men to flee into the woods behind him without hesitation, and he cut off the rear with several archer guards.
His archery skills were good. He stood on the spot and fired two arrows. One arrow missed and the other hit one person. But the Mongolian happened to be wearing armor and continued to charge with arrows as if nothing had happened. Zhang Rong didn't care about regrets.
Guessing that his companions behind him were almost in the woods, he threw away his bow and arrow and started running wildly.
Seeing that they were still more than twenty steps away from the forest, nearly a hundred Mongolian cavalry reined in their horses and dispersed to both sides, while raising their bows and firing arrows.
There was only a "bang bang" sound of the bowstring playing, and several archers around Zhang Rong were instantly hit by arrows.
Fortunately, these Mongolians didn't seem to have come specially to fight, and they used light arrows. Except for one person who was killed by a cluster of arrows in the head, several people who were hit by arrows screamed in agony, and most of them continued to struggle towards the forest using their hands and feet.
Only Liu Bin, a tall fellow from Zhang Rong's hometown, was hit by an arrow in his left thigh. He was jumping hard on one leg, and his speed was not much different from his normal walking. How could he escape in time?
Zhang Rong was about to draw his sword to cover, but his heart suddenly turned upside down. He ran behind Liu Bin, pulled him over, and then dragged him back quickly.
At this time, the Mongolian cavalry had already run a little further to both sides, and then circled back. Most of them laughed at the embarrassment of Zhang Rong and others. Only a few cavalry came closer and continued to shoot with their bows.
Zhang Rong dragged Liu Bin and retreated into the forest facing the flying arrows.
The Mongolians reined their horses outside the forest for a long time, and then shot a few tentative arrows. Seeing that there was no movement in the forest, they stopped.
Zhang Rong dragged Liu Bin deep into the forest. When he saw his companions coming around him, he gasped and let go: "Mom, look at Liu Bin. Is he dead?"
Just now, in order to avoid the arrows, he rushed towards the thorns and bushes. Liu Bin was dragged by him. He didn't know how many times he was hit by rocks and how many cuts he received from the thorns. However, they should all be flesh wounds.
Everyone agreed, but they didn't move. Everyone looked at Zhang Rong in horror.
"See what I do?"
Zhang Rong felt that something was wrong with what he was saying, and his face felt heavy. He reached out and touched his face, and then he felt unbearable pain and his mouth was full of blood. It turned out that an arrow was shot diagonally from his eye socket.
It penetrated from below and penetrated straight into the mouth, cutting his tongue. At the moment, mouthfuls of blood were pouring out of his mouth.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Fortunately, it was a light arrow with a slender cluster, which only made a hole, but no major lacerations or cuts.
Many subordinates shouted: "Quick, quick, get the linen! Get the knife and pick out the arrow clusters!"
The private salt dealers were all experts in committing crimes. They were good at wielding knives and swords, and they were also good at dealing with injuries caused by swords and arrows. At that moment, someone helped Zhang Rong and asked him to open his mouth wide so that the knife could be inserted.
Cut arrow clusters.
"The arrow cluster is not rusty!" The man holding the knife said loudly, pressing Zhang Rong's head hard.
When he was hit by the arrow, he didn't feel it. Now the arrow shaft moved slightly, and the flesh under the eye socket was involved. The pain was excruciating. Zhang Rong snorted repeatedly, kicked his feet wildly, and finally cut off the arrow cluster.
When it came time to pull out the arrow shaft, the pain was so unbearable that I couldn't do it.
Zhang Rong had lost too much blood. At this time, he felt a little dazzled and looked at people twice. He knew that if he delayed any longer, his life would be at stake, so he lay down on his back and called a subordinate: "Come, step on my forehead! Step on it hard!
Got it!"
After the subordinate stepped firmly, another subordinate pulled out the arrow with force. Zhang Rong grunted and jerked his head. Fortunately, he was firmly stepped on and could not move much.
When the arrow shaft was pulled out, several subordinates rushed up: "Where are the herbs! Herbs! And anointing oil! Apply the anointing oil!"
Someone else took linen cloth and wrapped it around Zhang Rong's face more than a dozen times, then stuffed a ball of linen cloth into his mouth to block both ends of the wound.
Zhang Rong lay there dizzy for a while, as if he were a dead body, daring not to move. After a long time, he asked in a low voice: "Is Liu Bin okay?"
His tongue was blocked by linen, and he couldn't speak clearly. After asking several times, Liu Bin limped over: "Brother Shihui, I'm fine!"
"Where are Ma Wu and Ma Liu? Where is He Boquan?"
"Ma Wu is fine, Ma Liu's arm is broken, and He Boquan was hit by an arrow in his ribs and fainted... Whether he can survive next depends on the sky."
Zhang Rong cursed loudly.
"It's weird," he said.
"Yeah, why would the Mongols suddenly come to inspect Xiaoqinghe? They usually..."
"It's not an inspection... If it's an inspection, we won't set up camp." Zhang Rong felt that his cheeks, cheeks and tongue were twitching, and he was burning with pain. Every time he said another word, cold sweat broke out all over his body.
He insisted: "Someone is coming from the lower reaches of Xiaoqing River. These Mongolians are ready to welcome them."
Liu Bin was surprised and said: "Did the main force of the Mongolian army turn back? I heard that the fourth prince of Mongolia led his army to Laizhou. Did they win the battle and withdraw their troops?"
Hongtan Ridge is not far from Jinan Prefecture. If the Mongolian army increases its troops in Jinan, there may be big trouble immediately at Hongtan Ridge. If they cannot be transferred in time, wouldn't so many lives be handed over to the Mongols for massacre?
Zhang Rong put his hands on the ground and stood up slowly.
When his feet first touched the ground, they felt a little weak, and the ground seemed to be shaking. He stamped his feet hard to cheer himself up, and the vibration of stamping his feet made a salty taste come back to his mouth.
The wound on the tongue is split, it's okay. The wound on the cheek seems to have healed a bit, just don't open your mouth too wide.
"Let Ma Wu pick out a few smart people and follow me. Let's go around Shishili Valley and take a look in the direction of Xiaoqing River. You and your people will wait here. If there is any disharmony, the smoke will be the signal."
