The fresh wind howled on the desolate land, and the summer of the late Han Dynasty during the Little Ice Age was unbearably hot, with droughts that caused the earth to crack. In winter, heavy snow fell, and the temperature was frighteningly cold on the border between Jizhou and Yanzhou in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
Above the wilderness, countless people and horses shuttled through the wilderness like black spots. The sky and the earth were completely white, and in the ice and snow, except for the rolling hills, which stood like big snowpacks in the wind and snow. This was the only thing left.
Rows of black spots are like long, winding snakes plodding along the ancient path of the Yellow River.
Dahe Gudu is the original river channel left after the Yellow River changed its course. In the third year of Emperor Yuanguang of the Han Dynasty, that is, 132 BC, the Yellow River burst at the gouzi southwest of Puyang, Yanzhou, and changed its course for the second time since historical records.
This time the Yellow River is rerouted almost along the borders of Jizhou, Yanzhou and Qingzhou. It goes all the way from Yin'an, Yuancheng, Guantao in the north of Puyang, to the west of Fagan, to the south of Beiqiu, to Lingxian and Qianxian, and finally
It enters the sea in Yangxin, and its general location is from Puyang City in later generations to Dezhou City, and finally enters the sea in Laoling City.
It can be said that from the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, the border division of the three states began with this change of course. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, three years after the founding of Wang Mang's new dynasty, that is, in 11 AD, the Yellow River changed its course for the third time.
Except for the western section of Puyang, other rivers no longer pass through Jizhou. They originally entered Jizhou from the north of Puyang. After this change, they now pass through Puyang and all the way eastward, dividing the entire Yanzhou East County and Qingzhou Plain.
The country enters the sea at Lijin.
After this diversion, it was managed by Wang Jing, a water conservancy expert in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The waterway of the Yellow River was fixed for a thousand years, and no diversion or large-scale floods occurred again. It can be said that it is a contribution to the present and a benefit to the future.
And because this diversion occurred when Wang Mang was in power, the original Yellow River course was also called Wang Mang River.
By this time, the Wangmang River had long since dried up, and the originally wide river channel had become extremely narrow after two hundred years of vicissitudes of history and continuous filling of soil.
The deepest part of the river below used to be more than ten feet deep. Now, due to geological movements or human factors, only a shallow tunnel remains. Even many places are no different from ordinary wilderness. The original old road and many former tributaries
, now there are only sections of shallow roads and pits.
After going south from Beiqiu, Zhang He led his army all the way south along the ancient river. Because he knew very well that this ancient Yellow River road was the dividing line between Yanzhou and Jizhou. To the west was Guantao County in Jizhou and to the east was the birthplace of Yanzhou.
Qianxian County is sandwiched by rivers.
Although it is an important passage between Jizhou and Yanzhou, there are official roads from south to north on both sides of the river. On weekdays, there are people coming and going, traders, civilians, and merchants.
Moreover, there are a large number of villages, pavilions and fields on this land, which should be full of vitality and populated by people.
But at this time, on the road in the vast wilderness, apart from Zhang He's army, not even a single person could be seen. Occasionally, a black figure ran past in the snow, and another black figure jumped out of the gray snow and fog.
, capture it.
A closer look revealed that it was a gray fox holding a gray rabbit in its mouth.
In such troubled times, villages and pavilions have long been abandoned, and fields have become desolate.
The population became the target of plunder by various princes. Because Cao Cao was unable to protect the Yanzhou border, many people on the border even went to Gan, Lecheng, Liaocheng, and Boping areas to flee to Jizhou or Qingzhou. Hundreds of people on the border
Inside, everything became deserted.
The army walked on the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Most of the soldiers wore cattle and sheepskin jackets, filled with some reed catkins, three layers inside and three outside. Even summer single clothes were wrapped in them, holding ice-like jackets.
Ironware, my whole body was shivering with cold.
Qingzhou's cotton-padded clothes are strategic materials, and Jizhou has managed to buy some. However, it is impossible to equip the entire army on a large scale. Only the middle and high-level generals of Zhang Hejun can wear cotton-padded clothes.
The cotton coat Zhang He was wearing was green. It was a high-end military coat produced in Qingzhou. It was a bit thick, but its thermal insulation effect was absolutely first-rate.
He was riding on his horse and looking into the distance, he saw a vast forest on the left bank of the river. Next to it was a river pit filled with snow and withered autumn leaves.
On the right bank, there is an abandoned village. A small river flowing from north to south flows around the village. The fields are covered with dry weeds and covered with heavy snow. It is obvious that after many years of war, this place has long been abandoned.
"Where is this place?"
Zhang He turned to ask the scout guide who had been there several times. He was from Hejian and naturally didn't know much about the terrain here.
The scout replied: "This place is west of Fagan and north of Yuancheng."
"How far is it from Yuancheng?"
"About 120 miles."
In later generations, this place was called Guan County. It was about 70 to 80 kilometers away from Ganling County at that time, which is 200 miles. And from here to Yuancheng, it was only 120 miles, almost two days' journey.
Zhang He glanced at the sky. They set out from Ganling. Due to the heavy snow blocking the road, the marching speed was extremely slow. They walked for almost five days. At this speed, it would probably take three days to reach Yuancheng. He looked back.
The soldiers all turned purple from the cold and were shivering, so they said: "Send the order to camp and rest in the villages ahead."
"only!"
The messengers went to convey the order, and the scouts dispersed. Some went towards the village to see if there was anything going on in the village, and others went into the forest in the distance. Although Zhang He felt that the weather was like this, he suddenly took the risk to break through.
, it is impossible for the enemy to chase you, but you still have to be careful.
It was already dusk at this time, the snow had stopped long ago, and the setting sun in the sky was shining palely without any warmth. The whole village was like a world of ice and snow, with three inches of snow in front of every house, and knots of snow under the eaves.
The thick ice edges of my arms.
After confirming that there had been no trace of human life here for at least two years, Zhang He ordered his soldiers to cut wood from the distant forest and build a simple overnight camp based on this dilapidated village.
In the middle of winter like this, if you don’t set up your camp in a leeward place or a place that can shelter you from the wind and snow, you will freeze to death. This village is just behind a hill, and there are some small hills to the north that can block the early wind from Youzhou.
, so it is an ideal place to stay.
The 40,000-strong army carried out their work in an orderly manner. The auxiliary soldiers entered the jungle to cut down trees and erected rows of fences around the village. Some people cut down the trees, and naturally others cleaned the campsites. After the snow was cleared, rows of bonfires were set up.
Erect it and set up the pottery cauldron.
The frozen river was of no use. The soldiers, whose hands and feet were numb and cracked from the cold, took dry firewood from the baggage carts, built a bonfire, and piled the white snow on the ground directly into the cauldron. Then they threw the pickled dry cakes into the cauldron.
Put it into it, cook it into a pot and eat it.
Zhang He, Zhu Ling and others moved into a relatively complete house, and used the stove in the house to set up a fire. Several generals crowded together, and the guards brought more than ten fishes from the edge of the village as if they were offering treasures.
Caught from the river.
After the river freezes, you can catch fish by digging a hole in it. Although the fish will not drown due to lack of oxygen because it is living water, they will instinctively come out of the river to breathe.
"Have the scouts who went to contact Captain Zhao come back?"
Zhang He was sitting on a table in the main room outside, waiting for the fish soup to be brought from the kitchen behind him. Before setting off, he had already sent out scouts to contact Zhao Rui who was still in Yuancheng, asking him to send troops to respond. Zhao Rui wrote back and said:
We will set off in the future. If it is not too windy and snowy, we should be able to meet today.
As for whether the two sides will cross each other, there is no need to worry about this. Because you only need to follow the ancient path of the river, so there is a former Yellow River ancient road there, so it is impossible to get lost.
Zhu Ling replied: "I haven't come back yet. I think it was difficult to walk in the heavy snow, which slowed down the march."
"Well, if the scout comes back, please inform me as soon as possible."
Zhang He nodded. It was normal for the marching speed to be slow in the snowy weather. There was no need to be suspicious.
"The general used the snowy weather to break out of the encirclement. Chen Zigui would not have thought of this."
With a compliment in his tone, Jiang Qi said with a smile: "I'm afraid he is still foolishly in Guangzong City, thinking that when spring comes, he can wait for us to run out of food and attack the city."
Zhang He smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Then Chen Zigui is indeed a difficult opponent. If it weren't for the lack of food in the army, I wouldn't want to take such a big risk to break out. It's a pity that the Qinghe Kingdom was handed over to the Qingzhou Army."
Jiao Chu said: "Liu Bei, Gong and Sun Zan's coalition forces numbered tens of thousands, and the general was outnumbered. Bringing back an army of 40,000 people is already a great achievement. I believe Yuan Gong will not blame the general for this."
"Yes, maybe Mr. Yuan will reward the general."
"I don't know what's going on over there in Ping'en, what's the situation like?"
"Now that Duke Yuan is in power, with Duke Yuan's ability, he will easily repel the invading enemies."
"That's true."
"Okay, let's stop talking about these gossips. Let's rest early today. We have to go on the road tomorrow."
Hearing several people talking, he opened and closed his mouth to tell them to stop talking, but in his heart he was thinking about the situation in Yecheng.
Yuan Shao has been the shepherd of Jizhou for almost three months, but there hasn't been much movement in Yecheng. When he contacted Zhao Rui a few days ago, he said everything was calm.
The Qingzhou Army and the Youzhou Army were almost at home. Didn't Mr. Yuan react at all?
Zhang He felt a little strange.
But these are matters for the big shots. What Zhang He has to do now is to bring these 40,000 troops back to Yecheng intact.
About two-quarters of an hour later, the fish soup was finally ready. After drinking the fish soup, several generals discussed some details of tomorrow's march and then returned to their own camps.
It gradually became dark, and at dusk, the winter days were short and the nights were long, and the sun completely set on the mountain. At night, although it didn't snow anymore, the wind howled like a ghost crying and a wolf howling, making a weird scream.
After a peaceful night, the scout sent out on the second day finally came back. He reported bad news to Zhang He. Zhao Rui's men who came from Yuancheng to meet him met Zhang Liao from Guantao on the way.
"What?"
Zhang He's expression changed in shock, and he asked the scout: "Did Guantao's Qingzhou Army directly intercept Captain Zhao, or did they just happen to meet him?"
"Back to the general, the Qingzhou Army was ambushed in the Wulu Ruins. Zhao Lieutenant's troops were ambushed just after they left the city, and they had to withdraw their troops and return to the city."
the scout replied.
Zhang He's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly. The men and horses coming from Yuancheng to meet him were actually ambushed. Does that mean that the Qingzhou Army already knew their movements well?
They...know when to retreat!
While Zhang He was still in extreme shock, less than ten miles away from here, a large army was slowly approaching.
Cao Cao did keep his promise. Chen Mu helped him take Yanzhou, and he came to help Chen Mu intercept Zhang He!