However, on the way back to Dongning Mansion, Jiang Tian's trip was interrupted by unexpected news. Not long ago, a team that was ordered to go to Changhua Prefecture, where Shanzhong Road is located, lost news two days ago. Also missing was the Yanping Camp, the base of the left guard of the Yamazaka Road.
Therefore, under the circumstances that the original crown prince may have appeared; Jiang Tian could only temporarily put aside his follow-up actions for Donghai Grand Shrine; and gathered in Changxing Prefecture, and came from Dongning Prefecture to the Zhongwei Third Battalion and part of the inner court The guards immediately turned around and headed for Changhua Prefecture.
As the saying goes, "Seeing is believing, hearing is believing." Even if there are official documents and official envoys issued by the official, but under the initiative of the original Crown Prince to come forward and speak out in public, the left guard soldiers of Yanping Camp are still How many people are willing to believe the official is another matter.
Therefore, this is not only an important opportunity to seize the opponent's movements, but also the key to solving most of the subsequent problems; therefore, it is very necessary for Jiang Tian to lead the team in person. The Zuowei Third Battalion, one of the three guards of the public house, is regularly stationed on the mountain road that runs through Yizhou from east to west and to conquer Tuman.
Among the seven prefectures and one prefecture on Yizhou Island, the four prefectures and one prefecture located on the western coastal plain were the essence of public rule; they were also the first areas to be developed. Therefore, it accounts for almost 70% of the government's population and taxes, and also has the largest proportion of garrison troops.
Next are Yilan and Xiongshan prefectures on the east coast of the big island, along the long and narrow river valleys along the coast. Because the development and colonization occurred relatively late, compared with the Tang people and naturalized people, the western states of the island have already occupied the mainstream; there are still many places in the two eastern states where Yi and Han people live together.
The central mountain range and its extended mountainous areas, which stretch for more than half of Yizhou Island, have become the biggest barrier to the east and west of the island. Therefore, with the government's unremitting efforts, it took more than ten years, hundreds of thousands of labor and millions of dollars of food to build a mountain road that ran from east to west.
It makes it convenient and fast to connect people from the big island to the east and west states. Even rumors and news that happened in Daodongzhou County could reach the office of Dongning Mansion day and night through the post horses and messaging stations set up along the way. Changhua Prefecture was established to ensure this mountain road.
Therefore, the newly established jurisdiction of Changhua Prefecture seems to be the largest among the seven prefectures; but in fact it only has three counties and the smallest household registration and output; and in addition to a large number of tamed and naturalized Tuman and Shanyi people in its territory Outside the settlement, the main industries are medicine gathering, mining, and logging.
In addition, because the central mountain range of the island occupies a vast area, during the period of gathering, the savannah and barbarians grow like weeds; they will gather together every once in a while and become a threat to the mountain road and surrounding counties. , so the Yanping camp was specially set up to collect and collect taxes uniformly.
Therefore, Changhua Prefecture, which has many mountains and almost no plains, is the only one among the seven prefectures that cannot provide surplus for the government. Instead, it has to invest tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass and hundreds of thousands of money every year to maintain the mountains. The situation of Taoism and the place where the official training is conducted in disguise.
The only output among them is the harsh and dangerous environment of the barren mountains and rivers; it also provides a considerable number of hard-working, brave and fearless soldiers for the office; and for a long time, as Yizhou Yicong (mercenary), he was sent out and rotated Stationed and struggling on overseas islands and continents.
Originally, according to the strategic policy followed by the government for generations, as long as generations of people steadily advanced and built fortresses and walled cities at mountain passes and dangerous locations, they could slowly encroach and compress these activities space for native barbarians; and Each settlement will be destroyed or moved away.
In the end, these barbarians and savages in the mountains were completely rendered harmless. Until a few years ago, with the full push of the prince, men, horses, and materials were mobilized from all over Yizhou, with the Youwei Third Battalion of the Yanping Camp as the core, and a large-scale offensive was launched against the settlements deep in the Central Mountains.
During this period, it was claimed that hundreds of mountain settlements were destroyed, and tens of thousands of raw and savage people were captured and captured. However, compared with the manpower and material resources invested by the government, as well as the cost of subsequent maintenance and aftermath, , but it was a victory that obviously outweighed the gains and losses.
In particular, the troops who were asked to go deep into the mountains to levy the barbarians and the thunder-sweeping caves were in the harsh and dangerous environment of the wild and deep forests. Due to the difficulties in the supply of back roads, the intrusion of snakes and insect miasma, and the influence of sudden rains and cold fog, they were unable to do anything other than combat. Attrition even reached several times the usual battle casualties.
If persisted for a long time, this will inevitably cause serious wear and tear and setbacks to the morale of local soldiers and civilians; they may even become depressed and full of complaints. Therefore, the last news that came out about the original crown prince was on his way to the Yanping camp to comfort him.
Therefore, Dongning Prefecture immediately sent troops to blockade the western end of Shanzhong Road at Wufeng garrison in Nantou County; it also temporarily isolated the spread and dissemination of subsequent news. Immediately afterwards, several more seal-bearing messengers were sent to contact the prefect of Changhua Prefecture and the captain of the Unity Camp.
Finally, he entered the Yanping camp in the name of condolences, but unexpectedly received news that the prince had not arrived at the place at all. Therefore, the Dongning Mansion did not hesitate to order the arrest and detention of Prince Yuan's cronies and generals who had close contacts in the name of the office.
When the latest news came out, it was said that some of them had been escorted on the road; and after being provided with a large amount of comfort materials and the promise of rotational repairs, most of the soldiers in the Yanping camp accepted the official position relatively calmly. The order; be prepared for a defense change.
However, something unexpected happened at this moment; when a group of inner court guards sent by the office, together with a regiment of soldiers, were ordered to inspect the Shenyunshan Grand Shrine in Madong County, Changhua Prefecture, where the Tu people lived, they were completely cut off from the news. . Immediately afterwards, the Yanping camp, which received regular calls every day, also lost contact.
Therefore, when Jiang Dao advanced without stopping and led a part of the pioneer cavalry into the mountain road, he discovered some unusual clues. For example, among the ancient trees and green forests, some wisteria vegetation has obviously overgrown, and has invaded the hillside terraces in patches.
There are also some tea mountains, orchards, jicama fields, etc., which have experienced large areas of withering and withering; it is as if winter has entered early. The villages and settlements along the highway also have their doors closed and everyone is on the wall, patrolling day and night with swords, bows, gongs and drums.
After sending someone to inquire, they found out that wild beasts were rampant and active in the mountains in the past few days. They even attacked business travelers, pedestrians, and even farmers working outside in broad daylight. They even did not hesitate to cross fences and guardrails in groups and venture into villages. Among them, they killed livestock and carried away old, weak, women and children.
Therefore, almost no village or settlement along the mountain road is immune from harm; among them there are many slave traders and natives who were enslaved because they lived outside the village and could not get the warning. The whole family was wiped out by this beast in one night.
Even when Jiang Tian and his party of several hundred riders arrived at Dapu, the first county town, they still saw the city gates closed in broad daylight; the area below the city was also a deserted and desolate scene. After briefly understanding the local conditions, I found that even after dark in the county, it was no longer safe.
For several days, there were screams and screams from people in the city; then when the patrolling team trainers arrived, there was only a mess and splattered blood. Therefore, the county town is also in panic and everyone is in danger; this is obviously not something that ordinary beasts can do.
Despite this, Jiang Tian did not stay too long in Dabu County; he just reminded the local area based on past experience to pay more attention to and monitor the exits of sewers and rivers. He ordered a short supply of food and water, and then traveled through the starry night to the hinterland of Shanzhong Road, where the Yanping Camp was located.
However, when Jiang Tian was driving on the mountain road at night, he experienced another completely different scene. Outside the cavalry with bright fires holding staffs and walking like fish, there is an all-knowing and thick darkness in the night. Even if the light of the moon is seen through the clouds, it cannot illuminate the dark and dense shade of the trees.
Flashing in the darkness, pairs of faintly glowing eyes wandered through the mountains and forests like will-o'-the-wisps; they also seemed to be closely following and spying on the galloping group that brought some light to the road. Then the sounds of ghosts crying, wolves howling and roaring came one after another.
Sometimes, in this howling chorus, certain beings would come so close without realizing it. Jiang Tian, who was in the team, seemed to be aware of it; he suddenly threw a wind lantern towards the rear of the team; it crashed into the left side of the last few riders, and a burst of fire suddenly flowed and spread.
Their mounts were raised slightly in shock, and at the same time, they also illuminated the looming pairs of copper bell-like beast eyes in the darkness close at hand; as well as the ferocious beast shape as big as a calf. It had a big head like a big hyena, and a hairless body with horny folds like a lizard.
"Dire wolf?" At this moment, the name of an ancient creature that only has fossils in later generations popped up in Jiang Tian's mind; however, more internal guards and cavalrymen had already reacted, and all of a sudden they reined in their horses. Hold the crossbow, raise your hand to string it, and release a crossbow bolt in a slanting moon formation.
The sudden rain of arrows hit the heads and bodies of the "dire wolves" that jumped out of the darkness, spraying blood and howling in various directions. They were immediately dodged, rolled down, and fell in pain. On one side; at the same time, he also saved the few knights and their mounts who were at the end of the team in disguise.
Immediately afterwards, someone else in the team straightened up the horse's spear on the hook, trying hard to control the frightened mount; with all their strength, they lunged towards the injured "Dire Wolf" who was dodging aside; they used the sword-shaped spear tip made of fine steel to The lightning-like stab penetrated the front legs and shoulder blades of this "dire wolf".
In the blink of an eye, several people worked together to nail it to the ground; then another "dire wolf" jumped out, and its head was set on fire by the wind lantern that was hit head on; it screamed and bit another of the same kind; it committed suicide on the spot. Killing each other...
(End of chapter)
