This vast area in northern Hebei, south of Yanshan and west of Taihang has never been a stable place.
For hundreds of years, the river here has no fixed course, shapeless embankments, crisscross ravines, and low-lying terrain. When the Song Dynasty occupied this area, they used the dotted Dawa and Dadian to build the Tangluo defense line. As the Song and Liao countries saw each other along the border, many water thieves who used lakes and ponds to survive appeared on the border between the two countries.
Later, when Dajin came to dominate the Central Plains, most of the military villages and military forts in this area were abandoned. However, repeated inspections and promotions, land expansion, and increasing miscellaneous taxes have forced the local people to live in difficulty and continue to flee. Finally, every great swamp has become a source of gatherings for people abandoned by the imperial court.
At this time, the imperial court lost successive battles with the Mongols, and various parts of Hebei suffered from natural disasters. The people in various military states were in decline, and the fields were abandoned. The control of local areas by military commanders, military envoys, and governors became increasingly loose. As a result, salt dealers, gangsters, green forest heroes, merchants selling stolen goods, and gambling tycoons all appeared in the continuous lakes and swamps. As a result, this foreign land has formed a unique economic landscape.
Three years after arriving in Da'an, a huge number of defeated troops from Northern Xinjiang came one after another and fell into this secret but actually existing network.
On the upper reaches of the Xiangjun River and on the western edge of Wuguandian Lake, there is a small beach hidden deep in the water. There is an unknown wild shop built of logs and with a rough structure, which is a node on the large network.
Due to two consecutive years of drought, the water in several small rivers and ditches in this reed pond is close to drying up. However, the hydrological environment is still complicated. Deep and shallow depressions and swamps are dotted. The road is very difficult to walk, and the imperial court inspections and soldiers are not clear. No one would come here unless absolutely necessary.
That morning, the owner of the shop, Xu Wei, opened the door early, set up a table in the open space in front of the door, took out a goat head that had been stewed all night, and carefully cut the meat with a knife. Following his movements, The crystal-clear sheep head meat is shaved into translucent thin slices, and the aroma is fragrant.
Xu Jin was a native of Yingshang County, Shouzhou Prefecture. He was a low-level official. He had read some books, practiced some guns and sticks, and could shoot a two- or three-stone bow. When he was a boy, he got into trouble in his hometown and ran away. He has been making a living from this wild shop for a long time. Over the past ten years, I have not saved much money, but I have made many good friends.
The officers who suffered from epidemics, the military academy who suffered financial losses, the scholars who lost their money, the thieves who broke their legs, the officials who were framed, the merchants who suffered from the plague, the people who fled to find relatives, and the wealthy people who wandered the rivers and lakes, as long as they come. In this wild shop, Xu Jin either took him in to recuperate from his injuries, or helped to cover up his traces, or subsidized Sichuan money, and he helped countless people.
Last fall, he also responded to a group of defeated soldiers from northern Xinjiang and helped them find an abandoned camp downstream of the Xiangjun River to settle down. To him, it was just a trivial thing that he would forget once he had done it.
Xu Jin had no idea that the young leader of the defeated army was Guo Liulang, who had repeatedly blocked the enemy's rear and resisted the enemy during the army's retreat.
He didn't expect that Guo Ning would suddenly turn over after being silent for a long time. Not only did he force back the Tiewa Gan warriors entrenched in Zhuozhou, but he also became the common leader of 31 defeated camps in the five states!
From those thirty-one defeated camps, Guo Ning was able to mobilize a total of 2,400 experienced warriors. Once these forces are gathered together, they will become the best among the local forces in the military prefectures of Hebei!
What kind of appeal and what kind of prestige is this!
Xu Jin had heard of the name Guo Liulang of Wushabao. But didn't Guo Ning only have one regular soldier in Wushabao back then? Could it be that the leaders of the defeated troops disliked how easy their life was, so they had to find a regular soldier to be their boss?
Xu Jin has never been in the army, nor has he participated in the fighting of thousands of troops, so it is really difficult for him to understand, and he cannot imagine how much hardship Guo Ning went through in the big retreat the year before and last, to win this kind of response. reputation.
Xu Jin frowned and thought for a long time. Suddenly he felt a figure flashing in front of him, and he realized that the movements of his hands stopped for a while. He quickly concentrated on speeding up. A group of pot-bellied men will arrive at any time, so there can be no delay.
The person in front of me has suddenly ascended to a high position, which is the time to win people's hearts. He was willing to let his subordinates eat better, so he gave Xu Jin a chance to make a small fortune... You have to flatter him!
It was Guo Ning who appeared not far in front of Xu Yan.
Guo Ning was originally under a big tree, talking to the young sergeants sitting around him.
These young sergeants were sent to Guo Ning's tent by the leaders of defeated troops from various places in response to Guo Ning's recruitment. Generally speaking, they are all the sons and nephews of the leaders of the defeated army. The elder is sixteen years old and the youngest is only thirteen years old.
There is no mediocre young man who can survive in troubled times.
Among these young men, some are brave enough to fight, and even have experience in killing enemies; some are agile in mind, can read and write, and are very familiar with flags and drums; and a few have lived a hard life since coming to Hebei, and their daily lives are long. After working in the fields, his hands and feet are calloused, which makes him a bit stunned at first impression, but at least he is diligent and reliable.
The teenagers are not very familiar with each other. Among them was one named Ni Yi, who was older and had more outstanding martial arts skills. Guo Ning asked him to temporarily serve as the assistant to Pu Liyan, the leader of the fifty people.
Pu Liyan among the personal guards was Zhao Jue.
Zhao Jue is young, but a bit old-fashioned and doesn't talk much. In the past few days, Guo Ning had been chatting more with the teenagers. Now everyone was in a relaxed mood and laughing from time to time.
While smiling, Guo Ning heard a dull sound coming from the depths of the swamp. He immediately stood up and stood outside the wild store, looking south. The young men hurriedly followed behind. There were more than thirty people, all with straight bodies and serious expressions. They pressed the hilt of the knife at their waists with one hand, looking around without talking to each other.
Ni looked at Guo Ning and saw that Guo Ning nodded, so he took out two small flags, stood them on the ground on the left and right, and drew a long horizontal line between the two small flags with his knife.
The rumbling sound got closer and closer, gradually turning into the roar of hundreds of people stepping heavily on the mud.
The eyes of the young people couldn't help but reveal a look of expectation. Some of them held their heads high in advance to show that they were sure of victory.
The next moment, the two centurions were almost side by side, rushing out of the reed swamps with eyes wide open. They only looked for a moment before running towards the flag gate. It can be seen that they all traveled hard and rolled in the mud many times along the way. Many of them were covered in mud from head to toe.
One of the centurions was unable to continue. After running wildly for a while, the queue became longer and longer. In the end, only a dozen people arrived at the same time as the previous centurion. In comparison, all members of the previous centurion were present, and their spirits were obviously higher. They even reorganized their queues while rushing towards the flag gate.
Guo Ning noticed that in addition to straw sandals, this group of soldiers also wrapped reed leaves around their feet and tied them tightly, making them look like boots from the ankles to the calves. In this way, it can not only protect the soldiers' soles and ankles from being bruised, but also protect the lower legs from being cut by broken withered grass and reed leaves.
This is a common trick and is very beneficial when marching long distances. But to do this in a twenty-mile marching competition requires the soldiers to stop every step of the way and risk being caught up or thrown away by their competitors to make these reed boots with patience.
A general who is not deeply trusted by his soldiers would never be able to do this.
All members of this hundred-man team will be Han Xuan. He was one of the first leaders to come to the Xijunhe camp and participate in the decision to go to Shandong. He was very effective these days, and Guo Ning saw it.
Seeing Guo Ning walking towards him, Han Xuan bowed and saluted, and proudly puffed out his chest.
He opened his mouth to say a few words, but found that his voice was completely hoarse as he shouted and encouraged him along the way.
Within the scope of the Thirty-One Camp in Five States, some leaders were only willing to obey Guo Ning, but wanted to continue to maintain their independent attitude. There were also some people who came with their subordinates to defect, allowing Guo Ning to increase the number of troops he could directly command.
So Guo Ning decided to organize it into seven capitals and appointed seven generals to command them respectively. The first, second and third places are naturally Monk Luo, Li Ting and Wang Shixian. In the other four capitals, Guo Ning appointed temporary generals, but also announced that the order of each capital, and even the position of the generals, would be finalized through competition with each other.
After this scene, Han Xuan has truly deserved his title.
Guo Ning punched his chest hard, took a military flag from Ni Yi's hand, and handed it to him solemnly: "General Han, I'm begging you."
Generally speaking, Anmouke, the fierce warriors of the Jin Army, used five-color flags with yellow circles, while the defense troops in various places mainly used khaki and red flags. After arriving in Hebei, the defeated soldiers were generally in embarrassment and had no intention of making new military flags, but many of the flags used in the early years still survived.
Guo Ning used the remaining red flags and transformed them into military flags for each of his subordinates. The flag is small, triangular, and the words on it are simple: "Fourth Capital".
Han Xuan held the military flag and couldn't help laughing. Although the soldiers behind him were tired, they also cheered.
Seeing this, the other guy next to him would sigh and beat the ground repeatedly.
This general's name is Qiu Huiluo, and he and Guo Ning were both from Changzhou's defeated army. It's just that Guo Ning is from the Yongtun Army, and he is from the A Army of the divided Tunnel Army. He was signed from Shandong two years ago. This man was tall and had extraordinary martial arts skills. Guo Ning once asked him for advice on how to use Tie Gu Duo.
Qiu Huiluo was very motivated. It was not easy to compete all the way to this point, a distance of twenty miles. It's a pity that it fell short in the end. Guo Ning comforted him with kind words, awarded him the military flag of the "fifth capital", and raised his voice to encourage the soldiers of the two capitals, asking them to make some repairs and prepare for a feast.
Later, Xu Chen hurriedly called to the waiter and brought out the prepared fat lamb, scones, dry fried noodles, millet porridge, etc. His country store looks dilapidated, but in fact his family has a lot of money and a lot of good stuff hidden away.
In this world, the vast majority of ordinary soldiers may one day fill in the ravines and pad the blades of their swords. Their ideas are much simpler than those of the leaders, so any discussion of survival and future with them is unrealistic. For them, having a full meal is the best thing; and the only thing more attractive than a full meal is a full meal with meaty taste.
The soldiers from both capitals set out in the early morning and were already hungry. After seeing the delicious food, everyone smiled and wolfed it down. Han Xuan's subordinates were even more proud as they each received an extra lamb bone and a bowl of lamb soup.
Just as I was eating with great joy, the sound of rumbling footsteps came from the reed marsh again.
The soldiers looked at each other, whispering, and there was a vague commotion.
