Since ancient times, the salt industry has been the source of wealth for the imperial court.
Since the founding of the country, Daikin has relied more heavily on the salt industry financially. Even if the imperial court made great efforts to increase property tax revenue from material resources and money, by the Taihe period, the annual annual income from the salt field was still seven times that of material resources and money.
Official salt is like this, but private salt is even more profitable. Jinan City serves as the first hub for the three major salt companies of Shandong, Baodi and Cangzhou to transport salt to the mainland. Therefore, business is prosperous and people gather. Along the Xiaoqing River that runs through the salt field, there are countless heroes who were inspired by salt.
More than twenty miles west of Changbai Mountain where Dong Jin took his family members to take refuge, there is a rolling high slope called Hongtan Ridge. It is said that thousands of years ago, the great scholar Zheng Xuan wrote a book here and said that when the Song Dynasty was strong and prosperous in the Southern Dynasty, a minister named Fan Zhongyan lived here.
In modern times, all these relics have disappeared, and Hongtan Ridge has become a place where private salt dealers are entrenched. After the Mongols invaded Jinan Prefecture, heroes gathered here to rebel and refused to surrender to the Mongolian army.
There are now five to six thousand people in the entire Hongtang Ridge, most of whom are people who escaped from Jinan City. That day, the Mongolian army suddenly entered the city, causing chaos inside and outside the city. Fifty or six thousand people fled the city and scattered in the countryside. Many people were later captured and sent back by the Mongolian army. Most of the men worked as coolies or filled the trenches, while the women were treated as female slaves or military prostitutes and were ravaged.
Only a small number of lucky ones could avoid the disaster. After all, the main force of the Mongolian army was not stationed in Jinan Prefecture permanently, and the Mongols usually avoided mountainous areas with complex terrain when they plundered the countryside.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that the Mongols are not familiar with the unspoken rules of the Jin Kingdom. They never expected that villages that seemed to be located on fertile plains were usually poor, but the ravines where private salt dealers were located were rich in oil and water.
There are naturally difficulties on Hongtang Ridge. There are water sources, wild vegetables, wild fruits, and two privately cultivated dry fields in the mountains towards Changbai Mountain. But even if all the food stored by private salt dealers over the years is taken into account, it is not enough to support five or six thousand mouths for a long time.
Zhang Rongsui, the leader of the rebel army and a native of Licheng, Jinan, reorganized his troops and went down the mountain to plunder food.
Originally, private salt dealers were mainly young men who dared to fight and carried weapons with them. Since the Mongolian army invaded Hebei, Zhang Rong felt that the situation was not good early on, so he recruited several blacksmiths to make spear heads on the mountain. Now almost everyone on the mountain has a spear. He recruited many hunters and formed a team of archers.
As long as he did not encounter the Mongolian cavalry, Zhang Rong was confident in the combat effectiveness of his subordinates.
They arrived at Zhangqiu County first, only to find that most of the soldiers and civilians in the county had fled, and the granaries had long been emptied by the Mongols. The only remaining people in the city were the old, weak, women and children, all of whom died of hunger.
Zhang Rong left some food for them, and his family became increasingly embarrassed. So he led his troops to continue north, intending to cross the Xiaoqing River and go to Jiyang County to see if he could gain anything.
This area is frequented by private salt dealers. The roads along the way are remote, the terrain is rugged, and there are many reed mountains and forests. Mongolians rarely come here. So everyone was inevitably a little relaxed.
But it was really strange today. As soon as the group came out of the mountain forest, they were discovered by a group of Mongolian cavalry.
It was noon, and some of these Mongolian cavalry were busy setting up round tents, some were grilling meat, and some were half-lying by the stream, putting their feet in the water to wash away.
But they were extremely vigilant. As soon as they saw Zhang Rong and others, everyone immediately got on their horses and shouted. As soon as some cavalrymen took off their saddles, they jumped directly on the saddleless horses. With a scimitar in their hands, they rushed towards Zhang Rong and others.
The Mongols were so fierce that they were impossible to defeat. Zhang Rong ordered his men to flee into the woods behind him without hesitation, and he cut off the rear with several archer guards.
He was a good archer. He stood there and fired two arrows. One arrow missed and the other hit one person. But the Mongolian happened to be wearing armor and continued to charge with arrows as if nothing had happened. Zhang Rong didn't care about regrets. He estimated that his companions behind him were almost in the forest. He threw away his bow and arrow and started running wildly.
Seeing that there were still more than twenty steps away from the forest, nearly a hundred Mongolian cavalry reined in their horses and dispersed to both sides, while raising their bows and firing arrows.
Only the "bang bang" sound of the bow string was heard, and several archers around Zhang Rong were instantly hit by arrows.
Fortunately, these Mongolians didn't look like they came specifically to fight, and they used light arrows. Except for one person who was killed instantly by a cluster of arrows pierced through his head, several people who were hit by arrows screamed in agony. Most of them continued to struggle into the forest using their hands and feet.
Only Liu Bin, a tall fellow from Zhang Rong's hometown, was hit by an arrow in his left buttocks. He was jumping hard on one leg, and his speed was not much different from walking normally. How could he get away in time?
Zhang Rong was about to draw his sword to cover, but his heart suddenly crossed. He ran behind Liu Bin, pulled him over, and then dragged him back quickly.
At this time, the Mongolian cavalry had already rushed to the two sides and circled back. Most of them laughed at the embarrassing appearance of Zhang Rong and others. Only a few cavalry came closer and continued to shoot with their bows.
Zhang Rong dragged Liu Bin and retreated into the forest facing the flying arrows.
The Mongols reined in their horses outside the forest for a long time, and then shot a few tentative arrows. Seeing no other movement in the forest, that's all.
Zhang Rong dragged Liu Bin deep into the forest. When he saw his companions coming around him, he gasped and let go: "Mom, look at Liu Bin. Is he dead?"
In order to avoid the arrows, he rushed toward the thorns and bushes. Liu Bin was dragged by him. He didn't know how many times he was hit by rocks and stabbed and scratched by thorns. However, they should all be flesh wounds.
Everyone agreed, but they didn't move. Everyone looked at Zhang Rong in horror.
"See what I do?"
Zhang Rong felt something was wrong with what he said, and his face felt heavy. He reached out and touched his face, only to feel unbearable pain and his mouth was full of blood. It turned out that an arrow shot from an angle, pierced under his eye socket, pierced straight into his mouth, and cut his tongue. At the moment, mouthfuls of blood were pouring out of his mouth.
Fortunately, there was still a light arrow with a slender cluster. It only made a hole through the body, but there were no major lacerations or cuts.
Many subordinates shouted: "Quick, quick, get the linen! Get the knife and pick out the arrow clusters!"
The private salt dealers are all experts in committing crimes, are good at wielding swords and swords, and are also good at treating injuries caused by swords and arrows. Someone was holding Zhang Rong and asking him to open his mouth wide so that the knife could be inserted to cut the arrow clusters.
"The arrow cluster is not rusty!" The man holding the knife said loudly, pressing Zhang Rong's head hard.
I didn't feel it when the arrow was hit just now, but now the arrow shaft moved slightly, and it involved the flesh under the eye socket, and the pain was excruciating. Zhang Rong snorted repeatedly, kicked his feet wildly, and finally cut off the arrow cluster. When he wanted to pull out the arrow shaft, the pain was so unbearable that he couldn't do it.
Zhang Rong lost too much blood and felt a little dazzled at this time, seeing people with double images. He knew that if he delayed any longer, his life would be at stake, so he lay down on his back and called a subordinate: "Come, step on my forehead! Step on it hard!"
When the subordinate stepped firmly, another subordinate pulled out the arrow with force. Zhang Rong groaned and jerked his head. Fortunately, he was firmly stepped on and couldn't move much.
When the arrow shaft was pulled out, several subordinates rushed up: "Where are the herbs! Herbs! And anointing oil! Apply the anointing oil!"
Someone else took linen cloth and wrapped it around Zhang Rong's face a dozen times, then stuffed a ball of linen cloth into his mouth to block both ends of the wound.
Zhang Rong lay dizzy for a while, as if he was a dead body and didn't dare to move. After a long time, he asked in a low voice: "Is Liu Bin okay?"
His tongue was blocked by linen and he couldn't speak clearly. After asking several times, Liu Bin limped over and said, "Brother Shihui, I'm okay!"
"Where are Ma Wu and Ma Liu? Where is He Boquan?"
"Ma Wu is fine, Ma Liu's arm is broken, and He Boquan was hit by an arrow in his ribs and fainted... Whether he can survive next depends on the sky."
Zhang Rong cursed loudly.
"It's weird," he said.
"Yeah, why would the Mongols suddenly come to inspect Xiaoqinghe? They usually..."
"It's not a patrol... If it's a patrol, we won't set up camp." Zhang Rong felt his cheeks, cheeks and tongue twitching, burning with pain. Every time he said another word, cold sweat broke out all over his body.
He insisted: "Someone is coming from the lower reaches of Xiaoqing River. These Mongolians are ready to welcome them."
Liu Bin was surprised and said: "Did the main force of the Mongolian army turn back? I heard that the fourth prince of Mongolia led his army to Laizhou. Did they win the battle and withdraw their troops?"
Hongtan Ridge is not far from Jinan Prefecture. If the Mongolian army increases its troops in Jinan, Hongtan Ridge may be in big trouble immediately. If they could not be transferred in time, wouldn't so many lives be handed over to the Mongols for massacre?
Zhang Rong put his hands on the ground and stood up slowly.
When my feet first touched the ground, they felt a little weak and the ground seemed to be shaking. He stamped his feet vigorously, forcing himself to cheer up. The vibration of stamping his feet brought a salty taste to his mouth.
It's the wound on my tongue that's cracked, it's okay. The wound on the cheek seems to have healed a bit, just don't open your mouth too wide.
"Let Ma Wu pick out a few smart people and follow me. Let's go around Shiwuli Valley and take a look in the direction of Xiaoqing River. You and your people will wait here. If there is any disharmony, the smoke will be the signal."
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