In the last month of the ninth year of Yanxi, the Han Dynasty from south to north, Jiang Wei and Liu Yin of Luoyang, Jiang Bin and Wang Han of Hedong, and Shi Bao and Hu Zun of Shangdang were all dispatching troops intensively, and they might attack Hanoi at any time. Initiate an encirclement.
Feng Dashima, who was based in Jinyang, sent out his front troops and pointed them directly at Jingxing without concealing his intentions at all.
For a time, the Han army pressed across the border from Luoyang in the south to Jinyang in the north, greatly increasing the pressure on Hebei.
Although it was about to enter the coldest mid-winter season, heavy snow completely closed the mountains, causing great difficulties for the Han army to pass through the Taihang Mountains.
At the same time, it also gave great help and convenience to the Wei army on the defensive side.
However, the shadow cast by the Han army on Wei over the years still makes people in Hebei panic.
However, relatively speaking, the Han army, as the attacking party, seemed to have bad luck.
In fact, there is an unexpected benefit.
That is, after heavy snow seals the mountains, the Han army can completely cover the battlefield and block news, so that Hebei, east of the Taihang Mountains, has no way of knowing the Han army's next move.
If Xizuo wanted to send the message, he would have to take a detour to Luoyang.
As a result, not to mention the many hurdles, even if the trip was successful, the news sent to Yecheng would have been out of date long ago.
In other words, Sima Yi got the news that someone Feng had arrived in Jinyang, which was most likely the last news before the spring of next year.
Sima Yi even had some doubts that his opponent's decision to send troops at this time, contrary to common sense, might not be due to this factor.
So, does Mr. Feng still want to take advantage of this time difference to carry out some conspiracy?
Master Sima was a little worried.
Of course, the good news is that because of the heavy snowfall, it is also difficult to get news from Hebei from the Han side.
The Taihang Mountains are like a huge fog of war, blocking the vision of both sides.
Next, it depends on how the commanders of both sides arrange their troops.
It has to be said that as Wei's last hope, Taifu Sima is still a competent opponent.
Not only did he make arrangements at every pass where the Han army might break through Hebei.
You can even guess some of Feng Da Sima's thoughts.
Just when the forward sent by Feng Da Sima arrived at Jingxing and was about to try to find a way to pass through Jingxing, attracting the attention of most people, General Ji Han Zhendong had quietly arrived in Pingcheng.
Accompanying him were not only Zhao Guang who led the Tiger Cavalry Army, but also Liu Hun, Tufa Kheli, Bu Dugen, Liu Bao and other leaders of the Hu Cavalry Corps.
The person who came to greet him was none other than Pingcheng Huxianbei School Captain Shi, who was also the chief senior brother of the academy, Zhang Yuan.
"The general will pay homage to General Zhendong."
"No need to be polite, get up!"
General Zhendong's face was cold and he just replied lightly. He did not stop and continued walking towards the mansion of the Colonel Hu Xianbei.
Zhang Yuan quickly stood up and followed General Zhendong.
After entering the Hu Xianbei Xiaowei Mansion and asking the irrelevant personnel to leave, General Zhendong asked again:
"How are you preparing?"
Following General Zhendong into the hall of the Hu Xianbei School Lieutenant's Mansion, Zhang Yuan heard the question and quickly answered:
"General, please don't worry, everything has been prepared."
General Zhendong sat down on the main seat unceremoniously, glanced at the generals who followed him, motioned for them all to sit down, and then looked at Zhang Yuan:
"What about the situation beyond the wall?"
Pingcheng has been repeatedly destroyed and built over hundreds of years since Emperor Gaozu was besieged by Baideng. It has always been the dividing line and contested area between Han and Hu.
Even not far to the north of Pingcheng, there are still ruins of Guan fortress built by the former Han Dynasty.
Starting from Pingcheng and crossing the mountain pass, you don't have to walk far before you have already entered the grassland.
"Before winter came this year, the captain's office sent people to conduct a sweep again. At the same time, our people in the Wuluhui Department sent back the news that everything is normal there."
Zhang Yuan replied and glanced at Liu Hun, Tufa Tianli and others.
The people responsible for the sweep were these two people.
In the past few years, the use of big sticks and jujubes from Pingcheng has turned the area from Pingcheng to Juyongguan, close to the border fortress, into a no-man's land.
As for the Wuluhui tribe mentioned by General Zhendong, it is the in-law tribe of Suotou, the core tribe of Tuoba Xianbei.
The current leader of the Luhui tribe is Dou Bin.
Dou Bin, the name of Dou, is said to have a very close connection with the Fufeng Dou family, a political family spanning the Han Dynasty.
Because Dou Bin's father is said to be the son of Dou Tong, the prefect of Yanmen in the Later Han Dynasty.
As for Dou Tong, it is also said that he was the son of Dou Zhang.
Who is Dou Zhang?
A direct descendant of the Dou family in Fufeng and a great-great-grandson of Dou Rong. (Note: Dou Rong was the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty and one of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai)
As for why Dou Tong, Dou Bin's lord, left the good governor of Yanmen behind and went to the grassland to become the leader of the Hu tribe, I heard that it was to avoid Dou Wu's troubles.
Dou Wu, the general during the reign of Emperor Ling, was known as the "Three Monarchs" together with Liu Shu and Chen Fan during the "Party Imprisonment Disaster". He wanted to get rid of the eunuchs, but failed and committed suicide. He was beheaded in Duting, Luoyang.
After the defeat of Dou Wu, his clan members, guests, and relatives by marriage were all executed.
Even Dou Miao (the eldest daughter of Dou Wu), who was the Queen Mother at the time, was placed under house arrest in Yuntai.
Therefore, it makes sense that Dou Tong went north to the grasslands to seek refuge.
If all this is true, then Dou Bin's status as the son of Dou Tong may indeed be extraordinary.
Of course, rumors are just rumors after all, and no one knows whether they are true or not.
The Fufeng Dou family had already declined due to Dou Wu's incident. In addition, the government at that time continued to be in chaos and the eunuchs were taking power.
Then came the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which caused great chaos in the country, and Guanzhong was naturally unavoidable, with warlords fighting everywhere.
Under such circumstances, it is rare for Mr. Fufeng Dou to be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
If you want to regain the grandeur of the past, just dream, you can dream anything.
Therefore, regarding the fact that Hu Yi claimed to be the Dou family in the northern grasslands, Fufeng Dou family said, "I don't know, I haven't heard of it:"
As long as you don't go to Fufeng to forcefully identify yourself, it doesn't matter if you say you are Liu Han.
When Emperor Xiaomin (i.e. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Xiaomin was the posthumous title given by Liu Bei) returned east from Chang'an to Luoyang, Liu Qubei, the leader of the Hu people, escorted him with merit.
This Liu Qubei, after he said that he was Emperor Guangwu in front of Emperor Xiaomin, Emperor Xiaomin didn't see what he did to him.
(Note: The ancestor of Liu Qubei was Liu Jinbo, the general who conquered the Liao Dynasty. He was captured during the expedition against the Huns. His son was dead. The Xiongnu Chanyu regarded him as King Guli and named him Dugu tribe.)
Of course, it is not impossible for Dou Bin to want to cling to the famous Dou family and use the name of the Dou family to strengthen his tribe.
After all, after Tan Shihuai's death, Xianbei was divided and civil strife continued. Large tribes annexed small tribes, and small tribes relied on large tribes. These were things that happened every day on the grassland.
At that time, Suotou, who had almost no foothold, was attached to the Wuluhui tribe and fought against the Xianbei in the west.
Later, Dou Bin was defeated in a battle with Xianbei in the west. Fortunately, he was rescued by Tuoba Liwei and was able to escape back to his tribe.
In order to repay Tuoba Liwei, Dou Bin not only married his daughter to him, but also assigned the land of Changchuan to Suotou.
After years of hard work, Tuoba Liwei not only strengthened Suotou, but also led Tuoba Xianbei, becoming the largest force on the grassland today.
At the same time, he is most likely to become the third hero in the history of the Xianbei people - the first two are Tan Shihuai and Ke Bineng.
It stands to reason that, given the relationship between the deer's back part and the rope's head, the two should be very harmonious.
It's a pity that Dou Bin may have a very good relationship with Tuoba Liwei, but he is already old.
The people who are now in charge of the daily affairs of the Wuluhui tribe are Dou Bin's two sons, Dou Suhou and Dou Huiti.
Contrary to Dou Bin, Dou Suhou and Dou Huiti were quite critical of their brother-in-law Tuoba Liwei, and could even be said to be hostile.
In their view, Suo Tou's success today is all because there was no support from the Lu Hui Department back then.
If we really want to investigate, Suotou is still not a subordinate tribe of the Luhui tribe!
Now that Suotou is rising, not only has he not repaid the Wuluhui tribe, but Tuoba Liwei has also never favored the Wuluhui tribe in disputes between tribes in order to show his impartiality.
No favoritism at all!
As a result, the Luhui tribe not only did not get any benefits from their status as in-law tribes, but instead lost face several times in front of other tribes.
Forget it, as the Han Dynasty's forces continued to penetrate into the grassland, Suotou, who felt threatened, actually wanted Wu Luhui to join Tuoba Xianbei.
In other words, Suotou wanted to make the Moluhui tribe a subordinate tribe.
Sure enough, what the Han people say is true: raising rice cultivates kindness, fighting rice cultivates hatred.
I was really blind back then, and I raised a white-eyed wolf to ride on my head.
At that time, the Lord even thought of giving half of the land to Tuoba Liwei, but he didn't know what he wanted.
Therefore, it was only natural that Tuoba Desert Khan came to Pingcheng for the first time a few years ago and was made difficult by the Moluhui tribe at the mountain pass. (Chapter 1169)
Ever since Dou Suhou and Dou Huiti took over the tribe, there has been an increasing alienation between Wuluhui and Suotou.
Especially after Tuoba Liwei formed an alliance with Sima Yi and received Sima Yi's promise to send away the land in Liaodong, Tuoba Xianbei began to consciously move eastward.
The Wuluhui tribe was attracted by Pingcheng's market. Instead of following Suo Toutou to move eastward, they kept approaching Pingcheng.
Zhang Yuan, as the chief senior brother of the academy, stayed in Pingcheng to serve as the director of the Hu Xianbei School. In addition to his own job, he also had a secret identity.
Then monitor the grassland and collect information about the Hu tribe.
Tuoba Xianbei was a thorn in the mountain chief's side, and Zhang Yuan had long known that.
This thorn in the side is not because Tuoba Xianbei colluded with the thieves, but it goes back more than ten years ago.
When the mountain leader was in Longyou, this Hu tribe sent people to ambush the mountain leader regardless of life and death, hoping to snatch the "Wu'an Jun's Art of War" from the mountain leader's hand.
Zhang Yuan was still with the mountain chief at that time, and experienced that whole thing. (Chapter 0711, When History Meets Fiction)
If others don't know, why don't the students who are the mountain leader know what it means to be ruthless?
I don’t know if Tuoba Xianbei regretted what he did back then when faced with the great Sima of Han Dynasty who is famous all over the world today?
This is probably one of the reasons why they would rather ally with the Wei thieves than have good relations with the Han?
Therefore, Zhang Yuan would not let go of any information collected on Suo Tou.
The grudge between Lu Huibu and Suo Tou naturally gradually surfaced during the investigation.
As a student who was personally led by King Feng Gui, even if he couldn't learn the essence of his master's foresight, he could still get a glimpse of it through the influence of his ears and eyes.
The plan to plant nails directly in Tuoba Xianbei through Tuoba Desert Khan has failed.
But using Wuluhuibu as a springboard soon became the second option.
For the last time, clearing out the barbarians from Pingcheng to Juyongguan, covering the battlefield, blocking news, and preparing supplies, this is what Zhang Yuan has been doing for more than half a year.
After listening to Zhang Yuan's report, General Zhendong's face brightened slightly and he nodded:
“Well done.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue! Then he turned his eyes to others and gave the order without any doubt:
"We will only rest in Pingcheng for three days. Within three days, you and other tribes must make all preparations for departure."
When all the generals heard this, they all stood up in awe: "Here!"
Three days later, Liu Hun and Tufa Tianli took the lead and took the lead.
As the commander-in-chief, General Zhendong stood outside the camp and watched the auxiliary soldiers tying various supplies to the sledges.
The sledge is like a cart without wheels, like a couch without legs, the cover is like a niche, the lead rope is like a chariot, and the bottom is flat like a plow, making it easy to travel in ice and snow.
The sledge was originally the plaything of Miss Feng of the Feng family.
When Feng Da Sima was the governor of Liangzhou, he accepted many barbarian tribes who came south from the grassland.
Among them, there was a small tribe called the Suohui tribe. Due to the civil strife in Xianbei, they were forced to wander from the Greater Xianbei Mountains (i.e., the Anling area) to Liangzhou. (Chapter 949)
The reason why this small tribe attracted the attention of the busy governor Feng was because there were deer in their tribe.
Deer used to pull carts.
This kind of deer was brought out from the Daxianbei Mountains.
It can withstand severe cold, is strong enough to pull a cart, and can see things at night as if they were in daylight.
During the Little Ice Age, even large rivers could freeze, let alone the northern climate.
Therefore, deer that were originally supposed to live in the Xianbei Mountains can live normally further south in this era.
Because this kind of deer is big and strong, and can pull a cart like a horse, people call it red deer.
The Han Dynasty regained the territory of Henan (i.e. Hetao), and the red deer artificially bred in Liangzhou could also be moved to Jiuyuan for breeding.
As for going from Jiuyuan to Pingcheng, it is even simpler.
In the middle of winter in the north, thick snow covers every inch of bare land.
It was originally a deer cart for the young lady of the Feng family to play in winter, but now it became the main tool for the army to transport supplies.
A heavy-duty sledge can even be as big as two small sedans and can carry thousands of kilograms of materials without any problem.
Don't worry if the deer can't pull it, just use two if one is not enough, and if two are not enough, use three.
The people of the Suhui Department are born to be with deer and are good at training deer.
Like the deer cart used by General Zhendong, it was also equipped with a sleeping shed. The shed was made of deer skin, with small windows on the left and right sides, and a brazier on the side.
You can stay overnight and withstand wind and snow during long distances.
Of course, not every general has this treatment. For example, Zhao Sanqian, his sleeping shed is made of dog skins...
Seeing the auxiliary soldiers tying up all the supplies, the leader shouted again:
"Have you applied oil on everything? If you haven't applied oil, apply it quickly! Otherwise, you will freeze to death after leaving the fortress, and no one will care about you!"
The so-called oil is of course not cooking oil, and big men are not so luxurious.
Most of them are oils extracted from tung oil produced in Nanzhong and castor oil that was found in Feng Dasima's Huawaishi in the early years.
Especially castor oil, in addition to being applied to the skin in winter to prevent frost cracks, it can also be used as an antifreeze.
In the cold winter, most of the oil has long been frozen, but castor oil will not.
It can be said to be a must-have premium item in winter.
Nowadays, after years of promotion of cultivation, the Han Dynasty has planted castor from Nanzhong to Guanzhong.
Because the oil extracted from castor seeds is not only a strategic material, but the plant itself can also be used to make hemp.
For this alone, Hua Xiaowu can be said to have made a great contribution, and it is not excessive to grant her son a title.
As for the frozen tung oil, it is also excellent for burning fires and keeping warm.
The vigorous development of Han's textile industry in recent years has provided enough warm clothes for the army.
Some of them are even made from cotton produced in Liangzhou.
"Put on your hat, put on your gloves, let's go, let's go!"
"Bah!"
The whip made a hollow sound in the air, and the red deer, which was much taller than ordinary deer, began to take steps, pulling the sledge towards the mountain pass north of Pingcheng.
The sledge made a deep mark in the snow.
But the snow is very slippery, and the red deer can pull it out a long way with a little force.
This is much easier than riding a horse-drawn carriage.
There were dogs following behind the sledge, all of them were very fat, especially the leading dog, which was almost as big as a calf.
This is the second echelon of pulling sledges.
These dogs are the breeds that Duanmu Zhe, the big Han dog, has been cultivating for many years.
The third echelon is horses, which should not be used unless necessary.
It can be said that General Zhendong's expedition to the fortress this time was supported by the powerful system that the Han Dynasty has worked hard for many years.
If there is a slight lack of logistical support, even if Feng Da Sima is replaced, he will not have the guts to lead the army out of the fortress in the middle of winter.