King Sui and Yang An'er were fighting in darkness. Many Xuanfu envoys and Jiedu envoys in Zhou Dynasty not only sat and watched, but also took the time to implement internal affairs and enrich their own strength. Ding Haijun is naturally no exception.
Guo Ning received the post of controlling various pastoral offices from the imperial court, and immediately acted vigorously and resolutely to make arrangements.
Leading the first group of people to Liaodong was the new Qun Mu Envoy Judge Li Yun.
Guo Ning does not value Confucian background when employing people. The scholars who have come to join us one after another these days, except for some who have been identified as having outstanding abilities after inspection, most of the others are just in charge of their own affairs, without having the authority to take over anything.
On the contrary, it is Li Yun who has been tempered in the shopping mall and officialdom, but comes from the army and dares to fight fiercely, who is of great use in Guo Ning's eyes.
Moreover, Li Yun was responsible for dealing with merchants from all sides in Zhigu Village, and he was really effective in doing things; later he served as an assistant to move Chu materials, and participated in the negotiations between Laizhou and many Song Dynasty maritime merchants. When he goes to Liaodong, he can deal with the complex situation and solve the source of war horses for the navy.
In order to handle this important matter as quickly as possible, Guo Ning mobilized Wang Bao'er, who was from the Northeastern mainland, and more than a dozen veterans as Li Yun's escorts. He also selected a number of people with backgrounds from the Northeastern mainland or from various ethnic groups in the Northeast. His subordinates accompanied him, including Aduo from Bohai.
The group set off by boat from Penglai, Dengzhou, and headed north along the maritime islands. They spent a day repairing on Changsong Island in Fuzhou. They then paid a visit to Fuzhou guard He Shiliehuanduan and presented him with the official document of appointing the navy, as well as some donations. Gift.
Although the territory of Shandong is not as rich as before, it is still better than Liaodong, which is poor and barely surviving.
Since Yelvliu Ge raised his troops, the Jin Army, the Liao Army, and the Mongolian Army have been going back and forth for more than a year. Both the Jin and Liao armies have used what they claim to be hundreds of thousands of troops.
At the beginning, the two sides repeatedly fought for important towns and relied on plundering military supplies to support the army; after a few rounds, even Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo changed hands four times, the people were dispersed, and the treasury was exhausted. So all parties sent troops and horses to search for food.
In just a few months, all county towns and villages near and far were looted.
In the northeastern hinterland, various ethnic groups live together, and the living areas are intertwined. Jurchen, Bohai, Khitan, Shiwei, Tieli, Mohe, Huli Gai, Goryeo and many other ethnic groups and tribes attacked and robbed each other in order to survive. Soldiers and horses passed through the border like wolves. Wherever they went, they grinded their teeth and sucked blood, killing people like numb. By February and March this year, large numbers of people died of hunger in various places. As time went by, hunger spread and the situation became increasingly unstable.
The existence of the Jin Dynasty in the Northeast has become more and more like a dam that is bound to collapse. But the people sitting on the embankment are also digging the foundations of their homes in order to maintain their own survival.
Not only the Khitan army and many local tribes were looting food and supplies everywhere, but the imperial officers and soldiers were also involved. Liaodong's own agricultural output has been destroyed by the war, and Zhongdu has no ability to provide relief. What will the soldiers and civilians under the local government eat?
He Shi Lie Huanduan and Wen Di Han Qing Gou were officials with some integrity, but they could only turn a blind eye to the looting behavior of their subordinates. As for the consequences, they could no longer care about it.
Just when he was having no choice, officials from Shandong Dinghai Navy came to visit and offered to rebuild trade routes and exchange grain for horses... This was exactly what He Shi Liehuanduan wanted.
Therefore, when Li Yun proposed to collect horses in Liaodong, set up transshipment pastures, and repair ports to facilitate shipping, Heshi Liehuan agreed.
He told Li Yun that when the Liao Dynasty was strong and powerful, the port where the Jurchens traded with the Song Dynasty was in Huacheng County in the south of Fuzhou. The Hesihan Pass, which is mutually dependent on Huacheng County, means "muzha" in the Liao language. It was a pass built by the Liao people to block the Jurchens' foreign trade.
Today's Hesihan Pass has long been abandoned. During the Daning period, this place was used as a hunting ground by the Jurchen nobles. Later, Wanyanqi, a famous official of the clan, came forward and said that this place was fertile and that if the people could be cultivated, it would be beneficial to both public and private interests. The imperial court relaxed the ban and allowed herdsmen to live there. , and recruited many wild Jurchens or yellow-headed Jurchens from Huli Gailu and Supin Road in the north to enrich this place and establish Hesihanmeng'an.
However, the governance of the imperial court has shown little progress over the years. The yellow-headed Jurchens were fierce and difficult to control. After being detained here, they rebelled and rebelled many times. In the end, Meng'an and even Huacheng County to the north were almost abandoned. Savages of various origins still live in this wild forest and deep mountains.
They mainly make a living by fishing and hunting, and also graze some cattle and sheep on the plains.
These savages are too poor and local officials are too lazy to take care of them.
There is an additional benefit. These yellow-headed Jurchens are stupid and not afraid of death. The imperial court recruits strong men here from time to time to join the army. Whenever they go to war, they will use this generation as the vanguard wearing heavy armor, calling it the "hard army". ".
"In that case, they have a lot of dealings with the imperial court? We are here under the same banner as the imperial court. Why are they so angry?"
Wang Bao'er followed closely behind Li Yun and walked quickly towards the seaside camp, asking as he walked.
He rested for a moment, had already tightly tied his thigh with a piece of cloth, and got a short knife from Li Yun's hand. Although his body was covered in blood at this time, he seemed not to feel any pain at all, only murderous intent.
Li Yun Li Yun walked further ahead, slicing the branches in front of the horizontal path with his knife from time to time. Hearing some complaints in Wang Bao'er's words, he could only smile bitterly.
During this expedition to the terrain south of Hesihan Pass, he made sufficient preparations in advance. Not only did he follow the advice of his Xi people and Bohai people, he also brought several kinds of cakes with more sugar and oil, and also brought several large pots with him. of drinks.
In addition, considering the women and children in the wild Jurchen tribe, Li Yun also carried a few colorful headdresses and pottery figurines in his sleeves, preparing to please the local women and children.
But after going tens of miles into Hesihan Pass, they suddenly encountered the enemy and started killing them indiscriminately. Li Yun's preparations were of no use at all.
He lost all those little trinkets as he ran.
He said in a deep voice: "The trouble was caused by He Shi Liehuanduan's subordinates. There was a monk named Aotunma from a hundred households. Just yesterday, he led his armored soldiers deep into Hesihan Pass and killed all the old, weak, women and children in two villages. They stole the grain and livestock in the village, and then set fire to it. So today, wild Jurchens, yellow-headed Jurchens, and Shiwei people gathered everywhere, and they were thinking of rushing to Huacheng County to kill, loot, and take revenge... but we bumped into them!"
Wang Bao'er said angrily: "These savages have no brains. Can't we explain it? Tell them that we are not on the same page!"
"These savages are so angry that they are fainting with hatred! Just when Lao Huang was about to explain, he was chopped down with a knife. What should we do?" Li Yun sighed: "Let's rush back to the camp first. As long as the camp is fine, we will slowly think of a solution."
Wang Bao'er suddenly quickened his pace.
"Hurry up, those savages are catching up! They are really... stunned and fierce!"
Li Yun looked back and saw numerous figures in the forest.
"They should have been chasing on horseback on the slope, and then fighting downhill. They moved very quickly." Li Yun said calmly: "We can't outrun them, so why not go back and find a way to ambush a few of them and seize the horse. "
"Hey!"
Wang Baoer let out a heavy breath. Li Yun was light in stature and could run like a rabbit. He could not outrun his pursuers, except Wang Bao'er who was hit by an arrow in the thigh.
But both of them are veterans, so there is no need to say nonsense about me staying and you leaving first. He immediately pointed with his knife: "There are six people on the left and three on the right. Let's go around behind the bushes and kill the three on the right first."
"good."
When Wang Bao'er and Li Yun launched a counterattack, just as Li Yun guessed, the camp they set up near a stream near the sea was also under siege.
The savages with yellow and green eyes, like groups of Hu Feng, rushed out of the cover of the forest by the hundreds and rushed toward the camp surrounded by vehicles. The soldiers in the battalion fired arrows one after another, forcing a group back first, and then collided with the savages between the vehicles.
Knife against knife, person against person, metal collided, people roared, sword light swept across, and blood burst out. The savages had very few iron weapons, let alone sophisticated weapons. They suffered immediately in this face-to-face conflict. The first wave of people who came up retreated like a tide, and then the second wave.
Leading the escort was Wang Bao'er's deputy, a tall warrior named Zheng Rui. His eyes widened, he waved the big knife in his hand, and slashed continuously between the two cars, using his maximum strength each time.
After cutting down several people in succession, a very short savage rushed up. Even though his hair was disheveled and covered in black dirt, Zheng Rui could tell that he was just a teenager, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old.
His eyes were very childish, and although he bared his teeth in a threatening manner, he was actually very panicked.
Zheng Rui ducked out of the way of the stick swung by the young man, and then the sword slashed.
When the knife went down, his wrist shook, and then blood rained down, and the young man turned into a headless corpse.
After killing several people in a row, Zheng Rui was not happy. There is a huge disparity in the numbers between the enemy and ourselves, and our two leaders and a group of subordinates are still stuck in the woods! This time, I was in trouble!
Zheng Rui turned back slightly to take a look at the several officials who were guarding the center of the vehicle, and shouted: "Be prepared, let's take a look at the gap and break out!"
Even if we break through, I'm afraid not many people on our side will survive. Zheng Rui is a veteran who has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he has long had the consciousness to die on the battlefield.
Unexpectedly, several officials did not listen to him. Instead, they followed a young man of their own and kept busy around the new fire pit in the center of the camp.
The young man's name was A Duo, a Bohai native and a follower of Guo Jieshuai. However, Zheng Rui has always looked down on him a little, because this kid can't speak clearly and is dull. He doesn't know how he is lucky enough to be favored by the commander.
So Zheng Rui shouted angrily: "Aduo! Aduo, you fool! What are you doing!"
