The chaos on the Mongolian grasslands intensified, and Guo Ning continued to patrol the northern Xinjiang defense line.
In the blink of an eye, from the middle of the month to the end of the month, Guo Ning and his party passed through the continuous mountain road and entered the area of Yehu Ridge.
This place is the end of the vast plateau on the southern edge. Looking around are continuous steep ridges, high walls, and numerous mountains.
In late autumn, among the mountains with scattered light and shadow, it seems as if a giant is holding a pen and painting out a series of dark and light colors. Although this is full of scenery, in the eyes of battle-hardened warriors, the undulating textures of the mountains and deserts seem to hide unknowns and hardships, cruelty and death.
In ancient times, after Zhao Xiangzi occupied Daidi, he built defense facilities on the northern border, which was called the "Infinite Gate". The word "infinity" is not only a place name, but also means leading to an unknown place. It can be seen that the grassland at that time was a place of fear and unknown for Han'er in the Central Plains.
For thousands of years since then, the Infinity Gate has long been lost in the chaos and bloodshed of generations. However, this area has always been an important place for military confrontation between the Central Plains and the grassland regimes. I don't know how many years ago, this place was named Juehu Ridge by the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains. Later, it gradually became Yehu Ridge due to rumors.
In Mongolian, this battlefield where hundreds of thousands of Jin soldiers were buried is simply called "Hunie Gentaba", which is also the mountain pass.
The wind on the mountain pass is strong, no matter what season it is, it is like thousands of horses galloping. A particularly violent gust of wind poured into the mountain pass and blew along the mountain ridge at the entrance of the dam. The hills at the end of the mountain ridge roared violently and swirled. This situation startled the badgers on the mountain ridge. Many badgers raised their fat bodies, looked at the sky, then looked at the cavalry, and then headed down the mountain one by one.
"Several years have passed and there are still so many badgers here."
Guo Ning chuckled twice.
Because there are so many badgers on this mountain ridge, it is named Badger Mountain. The southern part of the mountain is called Badger Nest, and the northern end is called Badger Mouth.
This badger's mouth is where Hu Shahu underestimated the enemy and advanced with his main force to challenge the Mongolian army during the Da'an period of the Jin Dynasty. The Mongolian army, with only 20,000 men, attacked and defeated the Jin army at the foot of the mountain, killing them with blood.
At that time, Guo Ning followed the defeated troops of Wushabao and retreated here. There were still hundreds of familiar elders and robes around him. However, when Hu Shahu's troops were defeated, all the 400,000 soldiers and civilians who followed him felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was falling. They all fled with their lives. The Mongols followed closely and pursued them all the way to Juyong Pass. Almost all the old people around Guo Ning died. When I come here today, I can still see traces of blood on the ground, as well as human bone fragments that have not been chewed by the badgers, weapons and armor leaves that have not yet been weathered and decayed.
When Guo Ning lowered his gaze, many officers around him felt a little resentful.
Fortunately, Guo Ning quickly raised his head and looked up at the huge and thick fortress at the top of Badger's mouth.
This fortress is obviously newly built, and the corresponding route is from Juyongguan and Xuandezhou to the salt field in the north, and it is also a straight line running from north to south from Zhongdu to the grassland.
For the Northern Recruitment Division, this is the most advanced military fort on the central line of Northern Xinjiang. Further north, in the Jinlianchuan area, those military fortresses belonged to the Huanzhou Defense Department, and their missions were not only to defend the central capital.
Under the eyes of the Mongols, such a military fortress was built in a short period of time, which shows the strong human, financial and material resources of the Zhaoping Division, and is also a symbol of the courage and wisdom of the frontier soldiers and civilians.
"This location is very good, easy to defend but difficult to attack. But, how about the water source?" Guo Ning asked.
"Deep wells were dug in the military fort. There was abundant water in spring and summer. The guards here tried to divert water to the deep trenches outside the fort. In autumn and winter, it was dry and cold, and the trenches dried up, but the water in the deep wells was enough for people to eat and horses to chew."
Qiu Huiluo answered a few words casually and led Guo Ning to the edge of the trench. He raised his finger and asked Guo Ning to look at the densely packed iron signs in the trench.
Guo Ning nodded with satisfaction and asked about the construction progress of several other military forts.
While the two were talking, many soldiers on the outer wall of the military fort shouted: "Coming, coming, your Majesty is coming!"
A trumpet was blown in the military fort, and more than twenty cavalrymen filed out of it. Then two hundred infantrymen lined up in four horizontal lines, trotted out, and stood in a standard square formation behind the cavalry, waiting for Guo Ning's review.
Guo Ning did not follow the formal review process. He dismounted with a smile, came to the soldiers on foot and cavalry, joked with them, complained that he was about to be dried, and asked the soldiers to take him into the fort quickly and bring out some delicious food.
So the group quickly rushed back to the fortress.
Guo Ning followed the crowd and saw that in the courtyard in the center of the fortress, there were stables that had been set up and hay that had been dried and stacked. At the other end of the yard, separated by two walls, there was a slightly crude blacksmithing stove.
In order to set fire, both walls were built very high and the intervals were wide. According to military regulations, the space between the two walls should be empty, but now, for the convenience of life, the soldiers set up a sheepfold here and raised a small group of sheep and a few dogs in it.
As a result, the smell of the whole yard is quite touching. Guo Ning was a little skeptical. These soldiers probably couldn't bear the smell of feces and fucked in the yard for two days. At that moment, he glanced around and confirmed that the weeds sprouting in several places in the yard had obviously been rarely stepped on.
Qiu Huiluo followed closely beside Guo Ning. Wherever Guo Ning looked, he immediately understood what Guo Ning had discovered and wanted to explain a few words.
Guo Ning patted him on the shoulder to indicate it was okay.
Compared with the rules of training, the emotions of the soldiers are more important. Finding ways to raise some pigs and sheep yourself can also help the soldiers stay healthy. We all started as soldiers at the bottom, and we feel the same way about some things. Sometimes we can turn a blind eye and not take things seriously.
The south-facing side of the yard is specially set aside for parking vehicles.
These vehicles are subordinate to the Recruitment Department and are specifically responsible for transporting supplies. The vehicles were well taken care of and one car had a broken wheel which had just been removed and repaired. Because the soldiers responsible for repairs were eager to go out and line up, several hammers, chisels and other tools were placed aside.
Last year, it was difficult for the Recruitment Department to use so many vehicles to transport supplies northward, but since this year, many once-abandoned roads have been re-explored bit by bit. There are also many powerful large commercial banks who have taken the initiative to provide money and widen the roads without any effort from the solicitors.
Most of the powerful trading houses of the Great Zhou Dynasty were backed by the military groups of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so their cooperation in border defense was always good.
On the other hand, merchants cannot afford to be early because they have no profit. They do this naturally because they have more and more trade with the grassland. Whether they buy horses, livestock or wool, or sell medicinal materials, tea, cloth, etc., they can bring in huge sums. profit.
On the Recruitment Department's side, they took advantage of the situation to expand their fleet of supplies, and the quantity and variety of supplies delivered to military fortresses in various places greatly increased.
For example, these cars came to the grassland in early October. Badgerzui Army Fort was the last stop. What was delivered on this journey were mainly letters and winter clothes sent by the soldiers' families from various places. In addition, there were several jars of pickles and several jars of lard.
The army itself also distributes winter coats every year. This year, there are one more woolen felt robes than in previous years. However, the families of the sergeants are not at ease, and it is natural for them to want more protection for their husbands or children.
Military households in the Zhou Dynasty had fields, military pay, and generally lived a prosperous life. It's easy to prepare a few thick clothes in winter, a few thin clothes in summer, or even mats and tents.
On the contrary, local governments spent a lot of effort to deliver so many parcels and letters in a timely and proper manner. In the past few years, the military has continuously deployed auxiliary troops to be responsible for transportation. The total number of vehicles traveling continuously along the route has exceeded a thousand.
In the past few years, a considerable number of common people have joined the army, and most of them first joined the auxiliary army, which gradually expanded the number of auxiliary soldiers registered in the Zhou Dynasty to about 150,000. The pay and benefits of the auxiliary soldiers were roughly half of those of the regular soldiers, but there were too many of them, which made the additional annual expenditures horribly high, and all the ministers in charge of finances in the DPRK had a headache.
But military pay must not be reduced, and treatment must be generous. Whether regular soldiers or auxiliary soldiers, only by enjoying good treatment can they endure difficult tasks, ensure good training, and even maintain high morale and loyalty.
Loyalty is something that never comes from paper or words. Anyone who gives loyalty that is not supported by actual interests must be cheating; anyone who wants to get loyalty that does not require actual interests must be crazy.
