The mountains in southern Shandong are vast and deep, with majestic peaks standing tall. They connect Yanji to the west, Xuhuai to the south, the sea to the east and Taidai to the north.
The Cangshan and Aishan areas south of Yizhou and north of Pizhou are the southern edge of the Lunanni Mountains. The undulating mountains and scattered cliffs coming from the north are scattered here and become sporadic small peaks. The plains between the peaks are lush and green, and there are Yishui River and Shushui River flowing in meandering directions, intersecting with the mountains.
In the early years, the Southern Dynasty general Du Chong opened the Yellow River embankment to stop the Jin army. The Yellow River swallowed Bian, captured Si, and entered Huai. The water potential of Yishui River has been strengthened and it has become an important channel for water transportation between the north and the south. As a result, Pi and Yizhou are rich. Emperor Liu Yu of Da Qi, his son Liu Lin, and nephew Liu Yi frequently stayed here.
However, this area has declined for a long time, and now it is just the boundary between the Ding Haijun and the remnants of the Red Coat Army.
Going further north into the hinterland of Xiong'er Mountain, you can see the stockade built by the remaining members of the Red Coat Army no more than fifteen miles away. Liu Erzu, who actually controlled the Red Coat Army, had his base in Damugu deep in the Nishan Mountains.
Passing through the plain area between Nishan Mountain and Mengshan Mountain, you can quickly reach Yanzhou and Dongpingfu, the important towns on the East and West Road of Shandong. Therefore, the road Guo Ning rode on became wider in the direction of the town, and continued to branch out from the mountain roads, directly entering the hinterland of the mountains.
In the past few years, the Red Coat Army and the Jin Army fought fiercely between each other, and most of the mountain roads were dug out or blocked with huge rocks and trees. Along the way, Guo Ning and others found traces of horse traps on some forks in the road. There are ruins of villages on both sides of the mountain road, but the earliest ruins should be from twenty or thirty years ago. Almost all the villagers have gone deep into the mountains.
Since the founding of Dajin, rebels in Shandong Province have emerged one after another against the imperial court.
During the Zhenglong period, Geng Jing, Zhang Anguo, Xin Qiji and others took Yanzhou, Tai'an and Dongping as their bases, with hundreds of thousands of them. During the Cheng'an period, the imperial court entrusted Wanyan Zonghao, the privy envoy, to control the land. In just one year, more than 300,000 hectares of farmland were allocated to Shandong and Hebei. All the fertile fields cultivated by the common people for decades were taken away by the Jurchen nobles. Countless people lost their families and fled to the mountains, which once again expanded the strength of the rebels.
When the power of these rebels was at its peak, Yang An'er gathered hundreds of thousands of people and swept across most of Shandong, invaded Henan, and founded his country and proclaimed himself emperor.
But Yang An'er died in the battle with Nanjing Lu Jinjun. After the remnants of the Red Coat Army returned to Shandong, they were suddenly attacked by the Ding Navy. In the end, only the mountainous areas of Tai'an, Yanzhou, and Tengzhou and half of Dongping Prefecture and half of Pizhou at the foot of the mountain were left in their territory.
Among the remaining main leaders of the Red Coat Army regime, Li Quan was defeated and died, Yang Miaozhen led his troops to retreat into the Song Dynasty, and Liu Erzu led Peng Yibin, Hao Ding, Shi Qing and others back to the mountains, still relying on the mountain stronghold to protect themselves.
These cottages were slowly built by bandits or escapees over the years. The rebels fought countless battles with the Jin Army relying on the mountain strongholds, and most of them were captured if they were not so reliable. And with the brutal methods used by the Jin army to deal with the rebels, the residents of the village would be massacred almost immediately.
Therefore, the cottages that have survived to this day all rely on huge ravines and are very dangerous and strong.
For example, the road leading to Xiong'er Mountain Village passes through a three-mile-long rift valley with extremely twists and turns. Peng Yibin stood on the top of Xiong'er Mountain and looked down. He saw that the cliff was connected to the rift valley. It was hundreds of feet steep and the bottom was so dark that it was dark. The rocks on the cliff were so jagged that even the apes in the mountain could not climb up.
The last time Peng Yibin saw Guo Ning, it was at the foot of Moqi Mountain in Juzhou. The terrain of Moqi Mountain is far less steep than that of Xiong'er Mountain, so everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Guo Ning come and go freely without being able to stop him.
Peng Yibin couldn't help but think that if Guo Ning came to visit again, it would be up to him. If I push a big boulder into the rift valley at the right time, maybe I can eliminate this scourge? This Guo Ning has now become a powerful official in control of Zhongdu, and he is still frighteningly bold and frighteningly frivolous in his actions. If he is stoned to death, will it trigger a warning for those who come after him?
Thinking of this, Peng Yibin walked a few steps to the edge of the cliff and looked around.
The strong wind in the canyon immediately became much stronger. Before it picked up the hooves of the cavalry running deep in the canyon, it first brought the noisy voices from the other side of the canyon.
On the opposite side of the canyon is the split mountain next to Xiong'er Mountain. The terrain of Split Mountain is more complex than that of Xiong'er Mountain, and there are many caves and strange rocks. At this moment, many figures appeared among the strange rocks in the cave, as if the grass and trees were all soldiers.
However, these people were not preparing for war. Some of them were clearing obstacles along the mountain path, some were waving flags to signal the group down the mountain, and some were shouting and cheering. Peng Yibin didn't hear clearly what they were enjoying. His mood was mixed with expectations and depression, which was very complicated, so he was not in the mood to distinguish their cheering words.
Those people are Ding Haijun.
Three months ago, Ding Haijun mobilized a considerable amount of troops to go south to intimidate Song State Huaidong. The soldiers and horses made a fuss in Chuzhou, Baoying and other places, and then turned back, but not all returned to the starting station.
A considerable number of these troops, covered by the mobilization of friendly forces, entered the mountainous areas controlled by the Red Coat Army and stationed themselves there.
Peng Yibin was Liu Erzu's right-hand man. Of course he knew that the remnants of the Red Coat Army had begun discussing cooperation with Ding Haijun two years ago and had reached a tacit understanding in private. Later, the two parties were just acting as if they were not in conflict with each other. Even Monk Luo, the commander-in-chief of Ding Haijun in Shandong, visited several times, which was just an act.
The situation in the world has changed so quickly. The originally ferocious and powerful Jin Kingdom has now fallen into Han'er's hands. On the border of Shandong, the remnants of the Red Coat Army, which had been fighting the Jurchens for decades, actually had no enemies left. They just relied on their long-standing habits and continued to guard their mountain stronghold and exclude all forces under the mountain.
But as the leader of all copycats, Liu Erzu needed to find a way for everyone to continue, so the two sides had a secret cooperation.
Peng Yibin understood these principles, but he still felt uncomfortable every time he saw these Dinghai navy officers.
He always remembered that it was these people who suddenly sent troops, seized the vast territory of the Red Coat Army, and killed many of their comrades in Paoze. So he shook his head and snorted coldly: "These admirals and commanders of the Ding Navy are very good at flattering others and creating such a big battle."
Beside him, Hao Ding said with some sigh: "I'm not flattering you. Guo Ning arrived in Juzhou first, then went south to Qushan in Haizhou, and then westward from Qushan, crossing Shu River and Yishui River. All the way here, I Follow him from a distance the whole time. Lao Peng, every time he goes to a place where soldiers and horses are stationed, the soldiers know that Zhou Guogong is coming, and it is always like this."
Peng Yibin was surprised: "Why is this so? Is this Guo Ning a chicken with golden eggs?"
Hao Ding chuckled: "If you were a soldier of the Ding Navy, you would see that Guo Ning was invincible, that he had arranged land for countless soldiers, that the world under his rule was becoming more and more stable, and that there were even new ones replacing the Jurchens. The attitude of the new dynasty...do you accept him? If you were about to have a big responsibility and suddenly saw him coming to encourage you, would you be happy?"
Peng Yibin was stunned and shook his head.
After a while, he said dullly: "Speaking of heavy responsibilities, isn't it on our shoulders? In the final analysis, we have to use our own lives as a pledge of surrender!"
Hao Ding knew that Peng Yibin often compared Ding Haijun's management with his own. The more he compared, the more unsatisfactory he found, so he had been a little too depressed recently.
He leaned over and looked into the canyon, and found that Liu Erzu and others had already gone down the winding mountain road to greet him, so he whispered to Peng Yibin: "Ding Haijun has mobilized thousands of people to come to the mountain, isn't it just to eliminate your doubts? We are really going to fight. When everyone is watching, can you really let your brother die?"
He patted Peng Yibin on the shoulder: "Okay, okay, don't complain. Come to my village in the evening. I got a big piece of good beef and wine in the past two days. Let's have a good drink. What should we do next?" , just do whatever you want!”
Peng Yibin was a little resentful: "Which group of people secretly killed cows again? Huh? It is said that the people are safe and sound under Guo Ning's rule. Why can't we be more successful? Why can't we manage the local government in a decent way?"
This topic is complicated. Hao Ding pulled Peng Yibin away and said repeatedly: "Go down the mountain first, don't complain!"
