As Liu Jinhou said, this mountain road of more than a mile is really not easy to walk. Under the cliffs on both sides, a winding mountain road winds up, wading through a rugged stream, climbing two steep slopes, and straight to the
When the sky was bright, Li Chengzhong saw the stone wall blocking the mouth of the two mountains.
This stone wall is not high, just over a foot and about fifty paces long. It is stuck between two mountains, strictly blocking the only way into the mountain. One side of the stone wall has been damaged.
There are some wooden frames and wooden railings supporting it, and you can vaguely distinguish what it used to be like the village gate and the village tower. Li Chengzhong looked at the mountain walls on both sides, almost vertically upward, more than ten feet high, and there seemed to be some remaining wooden houses on the top of the mountain.
He nodded secretly. He didn't know who built this military stronghold back then. With this terrain, as long as a team of soldiers were placed, they could block the passage into the mountain. No matter how many enemies came from outside, they would not be affected at all.
Fear. It can be said that one man is in charge of the pass and ten thousand men cannot get through it.
Looking at the cliffs on both sides with lingering fear, Li Chengzhong stopped and raised his hand to signal the team to be alert. The soldiers from both capitals immediately drew their weapons at the officer's shout, rushed out with their swords and guns, and loaded their bows with arrows.
Li Chengzhong carefully looked at the tops of the mountains on both sides and found no movement. He turned his head and stared at the stone wall in front of him. At the same time, he listened carefully, but did not see anyone. He heard a sound. He called Liu Jinhou from the team.
He came out and asked, "Is this the military stronghold you are talking about?"
Liu Jinhou nodded, with some eagerness in his eyes. Li Chengzhong said: "Take someone in to take a look. I feel like there is no one inside. Be careful and report back immediately if there is any situation."
Liu Jinhou said "yes", turned around and shouted to the team. His group of soldiers immediately came out of the team, followed Liu Jinhou, and filed in through the damaged entrance of the stone wall. After a while,
Liu Jinhou's figure appeared at the stone wall and said loudly: "Dutou, there is no one inside, everything is safe."
Li Chengzhong waved, and soldiers from both capitals lined up through the stone wall and entered the village.
This is a simple military village. Apart from the stone walls, there are no houses of note, and some are just large and small cave dwellings carved along the mountain wall. In addition to being simple, this village also has a sense of charm.
There was a smell of dilapidation, the kind of dilapidation that had been soaked by time. Li Chengzhong discovered some remains of wooden fences on a recessed mountain wall. Judging from these moss-covered wooden slats, this place should have been a stable.
, the scale is not big, I am afraid it can only keep a dozen horses. In another corner, several stone stoves were found.
Cave dwellings on the mountain wall, broken stables, several stone stoves, a village wall, and a small school yard that can accommodate hundreds of people for training, complete the overall view of this military village. Behind the military village is a lower road
There is a short stone wall, and a mountain road outside the stone wall is getting higher and higher, leading to the back of the mountain.
Feng Dao came to Li Chengzhong and whispered: "Li Yuying, the charcoal in the stove hasn't burned out yet. There must be someone in the village who just left not long ago."
Li Chengzhong nodded. He also saw the charcoal, and some of it was still red. Jiang Miao also came over to report the search results of the cave dwellings on the mountain wall. Many of the cave dwellings had been lived in, and it seemed that the people who lived in them had lived in them.
Just as he left, he was about to ask Liu Jinhou to come over and ask more questions, when he saw Liu Jinhou shouting loudly towards the mountain road behind the village: "Pillar! It's such and such, it's such and such!" While shouting, Liu Jinhou ran over and saw the mountain road.
A dark-skinned man slowly poked out from behind a nearby tree. The man was lean and lean. He stared at Liu Jinhou who ran over with his mouth wide open. He didn't say anything for a long time.
When Li Chengzhong rushed over, Liu Jinhou also pulled the man over.
"Du Tou! This is a cousin of a certain family... Cousin, this is the head of a certain family!" Liu Jinhou introduced each other here, but the man didn't understand, and asked doubtfully: "Du Tou?" Liu Jinhou scratched his head.
, explained: "It's a certain Shangguan!" The man understood this time and hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Hello, this Shangguan!"
It has been more than half a year since Li Chengzhong came to this era. In this era, there are no televisions, computers, movies and other entertainment for people to enjoy, nor are there all kinds of delicious food that people can enjoy in later generations. He feels very sorry for this, and
He often complains once or twice. But one thing he is very satisfied with is that there is no kneeling during etiquette. He was deeply influenced by later TV dramas and believed that in ancient times, subordinates must kowtow when meeting their superiors, especially those in the Qing Dynasty who kowtowed.
He often feels disgusted and ashamed of the sound of the floor tiles and the way he calls himself a slave.
In the late Tang Dynasty, although life was like grass and life was difficult in the troubled times, subordinates did not have to kneel down and kowtow when meeting their superiors, and they did not need to call themselves "villains" or "slaves" all the time. Here, even an old farmer would not have to kneel down when meeting his superiors.
For a high-ranking official like the governor, he only needs to bow slightly, and the governor will nod in return. He can stand and speak, calling himself "someone" or "I", and the governor will also call himself the same as him, instead of just saying "I am".
"Your Excellency", "Official".
Li Chengzhong smiled and gave the man a virtual hand, and then began to ask questions. The man was too simple and seemed to be in awe of the officials. He couldn't say anything in front of Li Chengzhong, so Li Chengzhong had to retreat temporarily and let Liu Jinhou
After chatting with the man, the man spoke more eloquently.
The man's name is Liu Jinzhu, and he is Liu Jinhou's cousin. He has been hiding in Bailang Mountain with his fellow villagers for nearly two months. This time Li Chengzhong led a team into the mountain, and was discovered by the people who warned him at the mountain pass. So everyone withdrew from the military camp overnight and hid in the back.
Inside the mountain, Liu Jinzhu, because of his nimble legs and feet, was arranged to take a peek on the mountain road leading to the back mountain. As soon as this group of soldiers did anything, he could report to the back mountain early. He was surprised to see Liu Jinhou among the soldiers.
He forgot to hide himself and was discovered by Liu Jinhou.
The number of people hiding in Bailang Mountain greatly exceeded Li Chengzhong's expectation. According to Liu Jinzhu, there were seven or eight hundred people. In addition to Liu Jinhou's neighbors, there were also people from other villages. The people usually lived in Junzhai.
In the cave dwellings, people make a living by digging wild vegetables and hunting in the mountains. Just because there are more people fleeing here, the wild vegetables have been basically dug out this month, and it is becoming more and more difficult to hunt animals in the mountains, making everyone's life more and more difficult.
.According to what Liu Jinhou said, this man named Liu Jinzhu was originally quite strong. The reason why he was so lean was entirely due to hunger.
Under the summons of Liu Jinhou and Liu Jinzhu, the people who had taken refuge in the back mountains gradually returned to the military camp. Most of these people were old, weak, women and children. There were less than 200 young people like Liu Jincun. Li Chengzhong was surprised to see
When these people came back, each household dragged a wooden door. When the people resettled the wooden boards on the cave dwellings, they suddenly realized that when they fled the military camp, they even removed the door. Li Cheng was killed
Zhao Da took out the food from the car, lit the stove and started cooking porridge. Seeing this, the people gathered around the stove one after another, craning their necks and squeezing in. Only with the support of the soldiers could they barely stabilize themselves, but their eyes were closed.
Staring at the big iron pot on the stove, I couldn't help but swallow my saliva.
The people who fled here mainly came from three villages at the foot of Bailang Mountain, mainly with the surnames Liu, Guo and Cheng. As the Lulong Army gradually withdrew from the pass, this land no longer had serious official management, so the villagers made the final decisions.
Among the elders, Li Chengzhong invited the three elders with the most weight among the three surnames to come to him. The three elders could not tell how old they were from their appearance. In short, they looked very old, although there were already two in the mountain.
They didn't have enough to eat for a month, but the three old people seemed to be very healthy and in good spirits.
Li Chengzhong informed the three elders of his intention with his words and gestures. After he finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief and said emotionally: "Three elders, don't worry, follow us back to Yuguan and into Guancheng.
This is our Han people’s world. No matter how ruthless the Khitans are, they can’t capture Guanli, and then everyone can live in peace again!”
These emotional words did not achieve the desired effect. Li Chengzhong originally imagined that when he finished saying this, the old men would be moved to tears, and then they would hold Li Chengzhong's hand and express all kinds of gratitude loudly.
After the elders announced the news of returning to Yuguan, the people in the whole village would cheer. Everyone would definitely be happy to be able to leave Bailang Mountain alive... Unfortunately, all these imaginary scenes
Nothing happened. After hearing this, the three elders just stared at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you...
Li Chengzhong thought they didn't understand, so he was a little frustrated and explained in plainer terms. Then, he saw the three elders frowning, and each of them looked embarrassed. He didn't understand. At this moment, the porridge was ready.
Liu Jinhou brought several bowls over and handed them to the three elders. Seeing the three elders blowing on the wooden bowls and drinking porridge without saying a word, he helplessly pulled Liu Jinhou over and asked: "What's the matter?"
What's going on? Why don't the three old people say anything?"
Liu Jinhou was stunned for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I'll go and ask." Li Chengzhong nodded and left the three elders a little annoyed. He took the risk and led his troops to rescue the people. For his good intentions, in exchange for
He responded with indifference, and suddenly felt a bruised sense of loss. He was so depressed that he kicked a piece of gravel and kicked the stone far away.
Watching from a distance, the three old men finished their porridge, gathered around and talked for a long time, and then followed Liu Jinhou to Li Chengzhong. One of the old men with yellow and black skin bowed forward, hesitated for a while, and then said: "This
General, I heard from Jin Hou, the young man, that the general seems a little angry. In fact, it’s not that the old men are ignorant. The general led the troops to rescue us. We are all grateful, but we still want to stay here. After all, this is
I have grown up in this place for decades and I really can’t bear to leave..."
This time it was Li Chengzhong's turn to stare. He opened his mouth in confusion and said after a long while: "You don't want to leave?... But... what will you do if the Khitans come? Where else can you escape? The Khitans have
Swordsman, I will take you captive when the time comes, and let you work as cows and horses if you are happy. If you are unhappy, how can you survive? Old man, you have to think clearly!"