Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Baiyu Mountain is located at the northwest end of the Northern Shaanxi Plateau. The territory is crisscrossed with ravines and ridges, and the terrain is the most complex and changeable, but it is not desolate.

Because the most important rivers in northern Shaanxi such as Luoshui and Sheyanshui originate here, and there are many valleys and mountains running through them, the area has lush vegetation and abundant water and grass, making it one of the most important pastoral areas in northern Shaanxi. , there are many garrison cities scattered around.

Guide City is located at the source of Luoshui River. It has more than a thousand soldiers stationed there. It is the largest military city in recent times. It is under the control of Xi'an Prefectural Governor's Mansion located in Wuyuan County, nearly a hundred miles away to the north.

In late autumn, the grass and trees are withering, and the herds originally distributed in the ravines and valleys have returned to their respective places, preparing to survive the coming cold winter.

Because the city was built by the water, as the weather turned colder, the cold and humid mountain wind blew on the wall stacks, condensing a thick layer of white frost.

The soldiers guarding the city were wrapped tightly in their fur coats, but they still could not resist the biting cold wind. They rubbed their hands and stamped their feet to keep warm while complaining about the torturous weather.

"Those Qiu Ba people in the south are probably already showing off their power in parades and hunting in the fields. We, the frontier soldiers, are the most pitiful. We are guarding the barren mountains and have no birds. We don't know when we can move inward!"

The soldiers complained in low voices, but also looked forward to it: "I wonder if Beihuazhou will go out to hunt beards this winter? Otherwise, it would be a good idea to organize the leaders to guard this barren mountain. When can they return to the court to show off their military skills? ?”

At this moment, the sound of chaotic horse hooves came from the valley opposite, and the scouts who were patrolling outside also galloped back to report that a large number of horses were coming from the valley to the east.

"Your Majesty has ordered that all the herds should return to their respective places before ten months. Why are there still horses passing through the border now?"

After hearing this, the city guard commander frowned and immediately ordered: "Lead them to the North Road and leave fifty sheep for extra meals!"

Everyone burst out laughing when they heard this, and rushed out of the city to pick up the herd. The supplies that the army can provide are really limited, and they all rely on obtaining supplies from nearby herdsmen in order to have extra meals.

But when a group of sergeants left in a noisy manner, several people returned quickly and shouted loudly before entering the city: "General, it's not good, it's not good..."

"What is there to make such a fuss about? Is the shepherd along the way a thief?"

When the general who defended the city saw the soldiers in such a panic, he frowned and asked.

"They are not thieves, but they are not shepherds either. They..."

The soldiers couldn't explain what they were talking about for a moment. At this time, several more soldiers came rushing back on horseback. Among them, a young man who was wrapped up in a dusty life was not a soldier guarding the city here.

"A certain Cui Yansheng, who joined the army in the Dushui Administrative Office, followed Shangguan Daxingtai's Zhonglang and Dushui envoy Li Boshan and Li Shijun to the north. He intended to visit the Chang Envoy of Xi'an Prefecture to discuss official matters, but on the way he was harassed by the blackwater thief Hu Dabu. Li Shijun's troops were small, and he was afraid that the horses he had recruited would be captured by thieves, so he turned to his colleagues on the surface and begged the general to take shelter. "

The young man rode his horse to the city, raised his hands upwards and said, and handed over the documents and letters to prove his identity.

"Where is Mr. Li? I didn't listen..."

The guard frowned when he heard this somewhat unfamiliar name. He pondered for a moment before suddenly remembering it, and quickly shouted again: "The Li Boshan you are talking about, is it the thief officer who committed murder in Luochuan a month ago?" ? Where is he now? He dared to rob our troops of food and make it difficult for our soldiers to survive the winter. I really don’t know how to write death!"

"This, this is a misunderstanding, so you are here to mediate..."

After all, Cui Yansheng did not regard face as an external possession like his superiors. He felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, but now he still wanted to ask for help. He could only say awkwardly: "General, please put the overall situation first. There are many thieves and barbarians in the back." Due to the overwhelming power, your Majesty was afraid that this situation would be difficult for the generals and soldiers to defend, so you went to Xiazhou to ask for help in person, but did not go with you..."

"Sure enough, he is a cowardly and thief official. He only dares to play tricks in the south. Once he enters this place, his ugly appearance will be revealed! He is just a thief, so why should he be afraid of millions of people!"

After hearing this, the guard general sneered and sneered unceremoniously.

At this time, the horses in the rear were also driven to the pass here. Seeing the size of the horse herd, the guard's face changed again, and he immediately laughed and said: "That Li Boshan is timid and afraid of thieves, but I am not afraid. Since he gave the horse as a gift, I will happily accept it. If I want to get it back in the future, I will have to kneel down in front of the city and beg for it!"

He ordered the horses to be led in from the side, and escorted Cui Yansheng to the top of the city. Then he asked: "How many thieves are there in the back?"

"The wilderness is so vast that we can't count them all, but there should be at least tens of thousands of them."

Hearing Cui Yansheng's words, the guard's eyes suddenly widened and he asked in shock: "How much? I think carefully before answering. If you dare to cheat, my blade is freshly sharpened!"

"About tens of thousands, only a few more. Our troops defeated dozens of Hu tribes, killing thousands of thieves, and captured several Hu chiefs such as Liu Pingfuzi Liu Zhenqiang, the powerful chieftain of Dongxia Province. The general saw horses, They are all obtained by the Hu tribe. Most of the Hu tribes from the north and south of Kuli River will arrive soon. If you don't believe it, you can just see the authenticity!"

Anyone who is so slighted and humiliated will not be able to bear it. At this moment, Cui Yansheng said no longer politely: "But general, please call for reinforcements as soon as possible, and don't test the authenticity of this with the lives of the people in the city!"

"You, you are talking nonsense...how is that possible?"

The guard general felt a little dizzy when he heard this, and had to hold on to the city wall to stand still. First, he ordered Cui Yansheng to be detained in the city, and then quickly sent scouts to investigate, and his officers prepared beacon smoke and were ready to light a warning at any time.

At this time, in the foothills dozens of miles northeast of Guide City, Li Tai and others were riding fast.

In the past few days, in order to attract the hatred of the Jihu army in the rear, he did everything he could and finally led them to the source of Luoshui.

But he also knew that he was not popular in Xi'an Prefecture. Chang Shan was originally holding back to deal with him. If he knew that he had led so many Jihu into the territory, he would be a ghost if he could still treat him politely.

So after entering the territory of Baiyu Mountain, he began to order his troops to separate from the big team. There were gullies and ridges in the mountains and fields, and it was not noticeable to lose 20 or 30 people at a time.

Until he was near Guide City, the source of Luoshui, 300 of his troops had left the team and gathered in the valley in the north of Baiyu Mountain. The rest of the troops led the Jihu pursuers to continue westward.

It was very cool to lead the disaster to the west, but the key was not to drown yourself in it. Gao Aocao was so awesome, but he was stabbed in the back by his comrades and had difficulty entering the city. Li Tai didn't want to be blocked in front of the city and die under the knife of Jihu.

Running all the way, the horses are inevitably separated. When collecting the spoils, they are too hasty and have no time to distinguish them carefully. Moreover, even if they are qualified war horses, without the protection of hooves, they will inevitably be injured after running for a long distance.

If only the horses arrive, the defenders of Guide City will definitely accept them, and Li Tai can also find a place to store the horses.

As for whether he can get them back, he is not worried at all. If he loses one horse, Chang Shan, the old boy, has to make up for it for himself!

Because his plan is only in the first half, the second half is the key.

It is not a human thing to divert trouble to the west and harm others for self-interest. Li Tai is a decent man, of course, he will not do this. He brought the Jihu pursuers to the vicinity of Xi'an Prefecture just to have a big battle and kill them.

Damn, you chased me like a dog and ran away all the way. Do you really think I have no temper?

He left the team and did not go to Guide City, not to save himself, but to borrow troops.

"Lord, after crossing the mountain ridge in the north, there is a plain ahead. In half a day's walk, you can reach Tongwan City!"

This place is full of gullies and ravines. In the eyes of ordinary people, it seems to be just the same, but this is the hometown where Li Dao grew up, and he is very familiar with the geography here.

Li Tai nodded after hearing this, and while pulling the reins of the war horse and walking hard on the rugged mountains, he shouted loudly to cheer: "Everyone hold on a little longer, wait until we enter Xiazhou to attract a strong army and kill all the bandits who chased here!"

This is the so-called area where you can see the mountain and run to death. Although the two gullies are clearly visible, it takes most of the day to turn around and detour to reach it.

After such a difficult journey, they left the mountainous area and came to the plain area until the afternoon of the next day. But the so-called plain is just a desert sand dune. If Li Dao hadn't reminded them to fill the water bags in the mountains, the people and horses would not have the strength to continue on their way.

Xiazhou is more desolate than the northern Shaanxi area. Looking around, the terrain has no obvious ups and downs, and there are almost no people. There are many intermittent Great Walls, but they have long been abandoned and no soldiers are stationed.

Under the leadership of Li Dao, the local snake, the group ran in the wilderness for more than two hours. The scenery in the field of vision gradually became richer, and there were many herdsmen tribes distributed here. The most eye-catching building is a majestic city standing on a gentle slope.

The city is tall and deep, and it is very visually impactful in this wilderness. It is the Tongwan City built by Helian Bobo more than a hundred years ago. Although the Huxia regime has been destroyed for many years, this majestic city still remains to this day, and it is the current state capital of Xiazhou.

There are many herdsmen living near the city, and the endless felt tents and camps are almost endless. As soon as Li Tai and his team arrived near the settlement, many herdsmen and villagers drew their bows and rode their horses to stop and question.

It was Li Dao who came forward to negotiate. Although his clan had moved to Guanzhong, many people were left behind, so they were able to successfully pass through this large settlement area and arrive in front of Tongwan City.

"Li Si, you are not in Guanzhong, how can you have time to return to your hometown in the cold wilderness?"

The sergeant guarding the city recognized Li Dao at a glance, and rode his horse forward and joked.

However, Li Dao did not have the leisure to reminisce with others. He only clasped his fists and apologized to the sergeant: "The military situation is urgent. I really have no time to reminisce with my brother. Please enter the city quickly to inform Yuwen Envoy that the southern border thieves Hu rebelled again and have invaded Xi'an Prefecture. I followed the Grand Executive Office, the Li Envoy of Gaoping, and came here day and night to warn!"

The sergeant guarding the city heard that Li Dao said so seriously, and he did not dare to neglect it. He first took Li Tai's token and then hurried into the city.

Li Tai and his companions had not waited long when a tall middle-aged man rode out of the city surrounded by the crowd and asked in a serious tone, "Which one is Li Gongshi, the man from Gaoping?"