Chapter 999: The Diaomen, the Ancient Tea Horse Road
Chapter 999: Diaomen Important Site, Ancient Tea Horse Road
There was no talking all the way. At noon on the third day, Shen Tang and his party passed through Lushan and arrived in front of Diaomen Village!
Diaomen Village can be traced back at least to the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. It is said that Zhuge Kongming of the Shu Han Dynasty personally visited Diaomen Village and sent General Gao Xiang to guard this place in order to curb the invasion of Shaping barbarians.
To the west of Diaomenzhai are the Xishan Yechuan tribes, which are also said to be Shaping barbarians! To the east is the territory of Yazhou! Although nominally the Xishan Yechuan tribes also belong to the people of the Song Dynasty, these frontier barbarians have never been too important to the Song Dynasty. Much sense of belonging.
Therefore, when Tubo invaded Chengdu Fulu, these barbarians directly sent tens of thousands of troops to help Tubo, but they were defeated by the Song Dynasty's heavenly soldiers and fell into Shiyang City!
This place has always been a strategic location. During the Li and Tang Dynasties, a military town was set up in Diaomen Village. In the Song Dynasty, this place was named Diaomen Village, and the defense against the barbarians in the west was relaxed a lot.
Even within Diaomen Village, exchanges between the Song Dynasty and many barbarian tribes began. The Song Dynasty exchanged specialty tea and other products for barbarian horses, and this is where the earliest Tea Horse Road was located.
Although there is a small town in Diaomen Village, there are very few people there, especially after the Tubo invasion. Except for the occasional people from various ethnic groups who come to trade here, most of them are soldiers!
This small town is about two miles to the west, with Dagang and Luoxi mountains facing each other and in the canyon! Under the cliff between the two mountains is the Tianquan River! Between the two mountains, there is an iron cable bridge about two feet wide connecting them. On both sides of the canyon, this is also the only way for the western barbarians to enter Yazhou! In fact, if the Diaomen Village Zhizhai could stay and guard instead of fleeing, even if there were only a few hundred soldiers in hand, it would be enough to make the Xishan Yechuan people The coalition forces at the Ministry are at their wits’ end!
"A few years ago, I led a caravan to the Diaomen to trade with the barbarians. At that time, the Diaomen was extremely lively! Unexpectedly, it has become so desolate now!"
Looking at this somewhat empty town, Mu Yu felt a little emotional!
Shen Tang smiled, "Trading allows everyone to get what they need, and it is also profitable for the local area, so naturally everyone wants to come.
However, the previous Tubo invasion had brought the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the tribes of the Western Mountains and Yechuan to a freezing point, and these barbarians were afraid of the Song Dynasty's revenge, so naturally they did not dare to come easily."
"So, for the tribes in both Sichuan and Sichuan, I have repeatedly warned the garrison to try to ease the relationship between them! They are just some barbarians. As long as the Song Dynasty employs people properly, these barbarians cannot hurt the people of the Song Dynasty at all, and if we can continue Transactions were extremely important to the Song Dynasty.
Not to mention anything else, just the horses that can be obtained from the land of two rivers are enough to make Song Dynasty jealous."
"My husband is far-sighted. If everyone were like my husband, how could the Song Dynasty not be strong?"
Shen Tang laughed heartily. His wife's praise would certainly make people feel happy, "But I, the number one scholar of the Song Dynasty and the general of the Song Dynasty, have not become my wife's husband!"
While they were talking, a team of more than ten people from the city came towards Shen Tang and his party!
"The last general, Shi Ying, meets Master Shen!"
Shiying had already received a message from Shen Tang, saying that he was coming to Diaomen Village! Although he didn’t know Shen Tang’s purpose, Shi Ying was extremely excited! After all, Shen Tang’s coming meant that his troops would After receiving Shen Tang's trust, he himself will gradually become a warrior under Shen Tang compared with Xin Qiji and others!
"Hahaha!"
Shen Tang stepped forward on horseback, "Shiying, you're fine!"
Shiying grinned and said, "Thanks to your great fortune, I have come to Diaomen Village. I have eaten well and slept well. The only thing that makes me anxious is that my subordinates are really idle! It's a pity that those The barbarians were frightened by the adults.
If they can come again, they will eventually fight side by side with you, what a blessing!"
"Don't be anxious! This time I'm here, and I won't leave you, Shiying, idle anymore! However, if your Shiying loses my face by then, don't blame me for my ruthless military law!"
Hearing Shen Tang's words, Shiying was not surprised but happy, "Sir, this is true!"
"Hahaha! Stop talking nonsense and enter the city! I have traveled three hundred miles and arrived at Diaomen Village! Is it possible that you just let me talk to you outside the city?"
Shiying smiled awkwardly, then turned to lead the way, "Sir, enter the city!"
This city is not big, only about two or three miles in radius! Most of it is simple houses made of bluestone. You can occasionally see some common people in the city, but their number is extremely rare.
"Sir, the people in this Diaomen Village are extremely rare. There are only more than 2,000 people now! Moreover, they have moved back from Lushan, Shiyang and other places one after another! Mo divided his troops into two parts, one part and one part. Ten thousand troops are stationed in the camp in the west of the city! Another part of ten thousand troops is stationed outside the city. Even if a fly flies over from the other side, the general will know it immediately!"
"Although there is no war for the time being, the general and his troops dare not slack off! The soldiers and horses in the two camps are training every day, just waiting for your call!"
"How are the army's food and grass reserves?
Is there any shortage of food and salary for the brothers?"
Hearing Shen Tang's question, Shi Ying's face showed some gratitude, "Sir, since I came to Chengdu Fulu in the end, my food and salary have been in full every month! There has never been any arrears! Now the food stored in the camp is Grain and rice are enough for two to three months.
Those of us who serve as soldiers naturally say that we want to protect our country, but after all, it’s all about the military pay and grain, right?”
"Having a superior like you is a blessing to the general and others! Not only are there no deductions, but the daily salary is even a little more! Where else can such a thing happen?"
"It is said that our local army eats empty pay, which is certainly true.
Even the last general has done such unscrupulous things.
But, in the final analysis, is there still no money?
The grain, rice and wages shipped from the imperial court were deducted on the way, and were deducted by the superior officers when they arrived. How much will be left after it actually reaches the army?"
“If we don’t get free money, won’t all our brothers be hungry?
Therefore, an army should originally have more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, but many of them can only be filled up, or the old, weak, sick and disabled can fill them! Among the dozens of local soldiers and horses in the Song Dynasty, less than 11 can fill the quota! Such It's really frustrating to be a soldier! Now under your command, the brothers have food to eat and money to pay. Who doesn't want to sacrifice his life for you?
Even if they really die in battle, none of the brothers will regret it!"
It was obvious that Shiying was also full of grievances. When Shen Tang mentioned this matter, he couldn't help but speak out.