Li Shuang suffered from the problem of insufficient fertilizer, so he called on the people to raise pigs extensively. Although the Perak Army is not short of food, they are still short of meat. In addition to hunting, they obtain a small amount of yaks and mutton from the Tibetan area. Large livestock such as cattle, horses, and mules are important laborers, and their growth is extremely slow. Only the sick, old, disabled, and those who have lost their labor force are allowed to be slaughtered. Pigs are extremely tolerant to rough feeding. They can not only accumulate fat but also eat meat. If they are fed a small amount of grain, their growth rate can be greatly accelerated. Its meat is more tender and rich in fat, and its taste is much better than that of cattle, horses and wild beasts. More importantly, pigs have extremely high reproductive capacity and can give birth to two litters a year, with each litter having several or even more than ten pigs.
Due to the prolonged war under the rule of the Perak Army, Li Shuang ordered people to purchase pigs from Jiading, Weimao, Yazhou and other places and sent them to various settlements for breeding. The Mengshan settlement was also allocated more than ten pigs. The Mengshan settlement site is located next to the official road at the junction of Baizhang County and Mingshan County, more than ten miles away from Baizhang City. There was originally a village here, but it was massacred by the Cheli tribe of the Mongolian army. After the Pili Army took control of Baizhang City, they saw that the transportation here was convenient and the land was fertile, so they built a small settlement. Most of the existing villagers come from other places in Baizhang, and there are also refugees from Qiongzhou and even Pengshan.
Cao Zhizhou was very hostile to the Perak Army, so he stationed a thousand people in Mingshan City, which was the largest number of people stationed in any county under Yazhou. Yazhou is located at the junction of Yi and Tibet. It has a sparse population and a weak economy. It cannot support many soldiers and horses. Cao Zhizhou only has four to five thousand soldiers at his disposal. These soldiers and horses are not only to prevent the Mongolian army from attacking from the Liangshan area of Luosuo, which is what Ouyang Xuan said, but also to prevent the Yifan and Qingqiang tribes from causing rebellion, as well as to prevent bandits from causing rebellion, so they appear to be very sparse. Therefore, there are only four or five hundred troops stationed in Lizhou, Diaomen and other important military places, and there are only 1,500 troops in the state city. Judging from the deployment of troops, Cao Zhizhou obviously regarded the Perak Army as his number one enemy.
To say that the army is stationed in Mingshan City is an internal matter of Yazhou and has nothing to do with the Pili Army. However, the problem is that there are too many troops stationed in Mingshan City. Although Mingshan City is the place with the most finance and taxation under Yazhou's rule, its wealth is obviously not as rich as the states and counties in the Western Sichuan Plain. Thousands of people are stationed in this small town, and the cost of food and accommodation is also a big problem. This garrison did not implement farming because Mingshan City had many mountains but little land, and suffered from the common problem of the Song Army withholding military pay. Therefore, many soldiers of the Mingshan Army often went out to hunt on their own due to hunger, and even stole from the common people.
When the Perak Army caravan was dispatched, there were hundreds of people, and the guards were equipped with grenades, light cannons and other firearms, so naturally they did not dare to mess with them. These famous mountain army soldiers set their sights on the countryside and disturbed every village. The people can't afford to offend them, but they can't afford to hide? In addition to large numbers of people who fled to the areas under the jurisdiction of the Pili Army, some of the remaining people were hiding in the mountains far away from Mingshan City, and some simply fled to places such as Baizhang and Qiongzhou. As time passed, the villages more than ten miles around Mingshan City became sparsely populated, and naturally there was no more money to be found. For these soldiers, the law is illusory, but hunger is real. Since there is no food nearby, walk a little further.
On this day, a group of soldiers sneaked into the Mengshan settlement and took away a pig weighing 70 to 80 kilograms. It was after the autumn harvest and before winter planting. There were still some scattered rice left in the fields, so the shepherd boys at the settlement point drove the pigs to nearby fields to look for food. Faced with the strong man who suddenly came to snatch the pigs, how could this young man stop him? The pigs were also frightened and ran all over the field, but one of them was caught, tied up and carried away. The cries of shepherd boys and the howling of pigs attracted the attention of villagers working nearby. However, several of the chasing villagers were injured by the knives and guns of the pig thieves, and they had no choice but to watch the robbers walk away.
The bell at the settlement point rang immediately, and the villagers working outside rushed back one after another. It is said that this is the first time the bell has been rung since the settlement was established. This is not a place where the Song and Mongolian armies are fighting. Large groups of bandits in the surrounding area were also driven away by the Perak Army. Small groups of bandits did not dare to attack at all. This Mengshan settlement is the same as other settlements of the Perak Army. Behind the deep trench is a high and thick earth wall. Not only is it equipped with a suspension bridge, the gatehouse and gate are also reinforced with cement and iron sheets, and are even equipped with two light doors. Old artillery. Mengshan's camp chief, whose surname was Cao, was a lame man who had retired from the army, but he was very fair and reputable. He managed the camp properly, organized the people in the camp into a company, and trained them well. I heard that he was the brother of General Cao Ergou and was once a squad leader in the army.
Chief Cao learned what was going on from the crying shepherd boys and villagers, and immediately ordered twenty militiamen to chase him. At this moment, he didn't know that the people who snatched the pigs were Mingshan soldiers, let alone that there were more than thirty people in them. He only knew that they were a few small pig thieves, so he did not bring light artillery, but only a few muskets and grenades. The rest are weapons such as swords and spears. Yazhou is already rainy, and it is the autumn rain season, so the roads are very muddy and slippery. Cao Tun's long legs were disabled, so he was even slower to catch up. But he was once a scout, and it would not be difficult to find the pig thief by following the footprints left on the dirt road.
When he quietly approached the ravine where the pig thieves were hiding and discovered that they were actually famous mountain soldiers, or a whole team, Cao Cao also hesitated. Although he was confident that his twenty men could deal with fifty thieves, he had no chance of winning against this group of famous mountain troops. No matter how many thieves there are, they are still a ragtag bunch, but the enemy in front of them is organized and well-trained, so it is really difficult to deal with them. A Song army usually consists of fifty people, but due to the prevailing pay situation, there are often only twenty or thirty people. In comparison, this famous mountain army can be considered fully equipped. Now they had bled the pig and were roasting it on the fire, talking excitedly in a circle. This place is still more than ten miles away from Mingshan City, and they plan to eat here before going back. If you take the pig back, you will definitely not be able to eat it, and those bosses will definitely take the pig away.
The aroma of meat poured into his nose, making Chief Cao both greedy and annoyed. He had been working in the fields and dragged his residual legs through the mud for several miles. He was already tired and hungry, and he couldn't stand the smell of meat there. What’s annoying is that the whole village works so hard that we don’t see any meat at all on ordinary days. I wanted to kill a pig during the Spring Festival and give it to everyone as a tooth sacrifice, but I never thought that these pig thieves who got something for nothing would eat it first and even hurt it. several villagers. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He suppressed the anger in his heart and quietly arranged tactics to make a sudden attack on this famous mountain army before the meat was cooked.
A grenade first fell into the fire, knocking down several famous Shanjun soldiers. Sparks and ashes were scattered, making the surrounding Shanjun soldiers disgraced. After several gunshots, shouts of killing began. The famous mountain army soldiers who were happily waiting to eat meat scattered like rabbits in front of this sudden attack. It is said that the meat will be cooked after roasting for a while, and the aroma will make people salivate. If the team hadn't raised their knives to warn them, they would have pounced on it and eaten it. However, no matter how delicious the meat was, it was not as valuable as life. They had no choice but to escape far away while savoring the aroma of the meat.
When Captain Cao saw the famous Shanjun soldiers fleeing, he did not pursue them, nor did he pay attention to the wounded soldiers on the ground. Although stealing is abhorrent, it is not a crime that can lead to death. This injury is their retribution for hurting the people of Mengshantun. Immediately, he ordered people to carry the pig that was about to be roasted, and hurried back by taking a small road.
