Chapter 985 Take Pingcheng lightly
Since ancient times, if you want to enter Yanmen County and pass the Yanmen Fortress, you must first pass through Pingcheng County (later known as Datong).
Pingcheng County is the first line of defense guarding the northern fortress.
There is Shitou Mountain (that is, Hongtao Mountain in later generations) to the west, and Baidengshan Mountain (that is, Cailiang Mountain in later generations) is to the east.
Between the two mountains, there is a river coming from the north.
Pingcheng County, just beside the river at Shankou.
It can be said that there are mountains, water, grass and sheep.
In the early years of the former Han Dynasty, King Xin of Han was at a disadvantage in the battle with the Xiongnu at Yanmen. He privately sued for peace with the Xiongnu many times, which was suspected by Emperor Gaozu.
Han Wangxin was afraid of being killed, so he simply launched an army to rebel and surrendered to the Huns.
At the same time, he also gave his capital Mayi (later Shuozhou) to the Xiongnu, and agreed with the Xiongnu to go south to attack Taiyuan together.
Emperor Gaozu personally led his army to the north to meet the attack. He won consecutive battles, so he began to underestimate the enemy and rushed into Pingcheng with light troops. Finally, he was besieged by Maodun on Baishan Mountain.
This is the famous siege of Baishan Mountain in history.
Today, Baishan Mountain is still there, and Pingcheng County, which was operated by the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years, has long become a place where barbarians raise cattle and sheep.
Pingcheng is located in a dangerous location, and it guards the throat between the north and the south. Xieguini likes to stay here in summer and autumn.
This can prevent unsighted people from sneaking in to graze.
It's okay to take refuge and rely on him, but if you want to go south to herd without asking him to be an adult, that's not okay.
Secondly, caravans that smuggled salt from Hedong County or smuggled ironware and grain to the grassland basically had to pass through here.
Xieguini can get a lot of benefits from it - the middlemen make the difference, and you can really make money just lying down.
In the early morning at the end of July, the sun has not yet risen. On the mountain pass north of Pingcheng, thin summer fog floats on the grass in layers and has not yet dissipated.
The mist is like wool, spreading flat on the ground.
Horse hooves wetted by the mist trampled on the grass, accompanied by the tinkling of horse bells, breaking the tranquility of the mountain pass.
The Hu man guarding the mountain pass was awakened. He climbed up and listened carefully to make sure that he heard correctly.
A small leader hurriedly ran forward a few steps, shouting first in nonsense, and then in blunt Chinese:
“Who’s in front?”
The jingling of the horse bells stopped, and then a voice came from the other side:
“Cavalry, tea, brown sugar, spirits, soap.”
Just ten words, concise and clear, which made the little boss look happy and quickly sent a few people to check.
After a while, the Hu people came back with a Han man:
“It’s a horse team, bringing a lot of good things.”
"Okay, okay! Quick, quick, quick, go and report to the Lord right away."
The little leader sent someone to report the news in the direction of Pingcheng. At the same time, he personally led the cavalry to a valley to wait.
Not all Han caravans came from the south.
In the past few years, a special caravan has come from the north every year, carrying the most precious tea and brown sugar, men's favorite spirits, and women's favorite soap.
I heard that they set out from the distant Liangzhou, entered the grassland, and walked thousands of miles before arriving at Yanmen.
At this time, the tribe is the happiest, comparable to a festival.
This caravan only comes once a year, and each time it stays for as long as one month or as short as half a month, it has to leave in a hurry.
But this is enough.
At the beginning, Xie Guini led tens of thousands of string-controllers left behind by Fulohan to join Kebineng.
During this process, his strength was partially weakened by Kebineng.
While escaping to Budugen, another part was lost.
Then Qin Lang defeated the coalition forces of Kebineng and Budugen, and lost another part.
Over the years, the Xie Gui Ni tribe has really been celebrating the New Year with Wang Xiaoer, and every year has been worse than the last.
It was not until he was granted the title of King Guiyi by the State of Wei, and led his tribe back to Yanmen, and also gathered some small tribes, that the population decline trend was slightly stopped.
Even so, there are only about ten thousand warriors in the whole clan who can mount a horse and control the string.
This shows how much the tribal population has suffered over the years.
But it was precisely because the population of the Xieguini tribe was not too large that the state of Wei felt free to let him graze herds in Yanmen.
The tribe has a small population, so the transaction does not take much time.
Xie Guini was a little surprised when he learned that a caravan was coming from the north.
He immediately sent men and horses to the mountain pass to protect the caravan into Pingcheng.
Since the size of this year’s cavalry seems to be much larger than in previous years, the goods they bring will naturally be much larger.
Xie Guini couldn't help but be a little curious:
“You came half a month earlier this year than in previous years, which is rare.”
The steward was relieved to hear Gui Ni’s question. There was a look of helplessness on his face, and he sighed:
"The leader doesn't know. According to past habits, we will indeed have to stay at the foot of Yinshan Mountain for at least half a month."
“It’s just that this year is different. Feng Langjun from Liangzhou led his army across the desert and wanted to use Daoyin Mountain to go south.”
“At first, Kebineng not only agreed, but even sent troops to help. Later, for some unknown reason, the two sides fell out again and actually fought.”
“Now the entire Yinshan Mountains are in chaos, and there is chaos everywhere. Who dares to stay there?”
At this point, the steward sighed again, "It's just that we can't take this goods back, right? So we had to come over and bring it to Chief Guini."
When Xie Guini heard this, he was first surprised and then happy:
“Is there a fight over in Yinshan?”
He certainly knew that there was a fight between the Han and Wei people in Guanzhong.
Because last month, Bingzhou mobilized a lot of troops and sent them to Guanzhong.
Bi Gui of Taiyuan in the south also sent people to Yanmen and asked Xie Gui Ni to bring out some horses, cattle and sheep to finance Guanzhong.
However, Xieguini did not know the specific situation as to what the situation in Guanzhong was like.
What I can find out are basically bits and pieces of information.
Some say that the Han people are powerful, while others say that the Wei people won.
But these are not what Xie Gui Ni is concerned about.
Anyway, no matter who wins, people will be watching Yanmen, right?
At present, there is no decent tribe except myself near the pass.
Even Kebineng, who is far away in Yinshan, is not a figure who is willing to submit to others.
So when Xie Guini heard that Ke Bi Neng was fighting with the Han people, he was a little surprised, but he felt that it was reasonable.
The most important thing is that Xie Guini is happy to see this matter come to fruition.
Because the master and his uncle were killed by him one after another, he and Ke Bineng had a **** feud.
“How was the fight over at Yinshan? Who won?”
Xie Guini asked anxiously.
The steward shook his head and smiled bitterly:
“Chief Xieguini is embarrassing me. If there is a military disturbance, we can’t escape in time. How can we dare to inquire?”
“Anyway, when we left, we only heard that Feng Langjun and Ke Bineng were fighting fiercely, and both sides suffered casualties.”
Hearing this, Xie Guini nodded and agreed:
"Yes, Ke Bi Neng should not be underestimated. The Han army came across the desert and was able to fight Ke Bi Neng at Yinshan Mountain. It is already very powerful."
"Yes, yes!" The steward nodded repeatedly and agreed, "It is in Yinshan. If it were in Liangzhou, haha..."
“Haha!” Xie Guini looked at the steward and also smiled:
“Speaking of which, you came early this time. We haven’t brought much of the fur in our hands. As for the wool, we haven’t started shearing it yet…”
When the steward heard this, he immediately smiled and said:
“It’s okay, it’s okay, we can wait.”
Xie Gui Ni had some free time and said slowly:
“What I mean is that you brought too much goods this year. If the price is the same as in previous years, we may not have enough furs and wool to exchange with you.”
“So I hope the price of goods this year will be lower.”
“Chief Xieguini, you are taking advantage of others’ danger!” The steward immediately called out to Qu, “We haven’t sold much of our goods in Yinshan.”
“Originally, we wanted to come here to see if we could get our money back. If you do this, our trip will be in vain! Not only will our trip be in vain, we may also end up paying back our money!”
Xie Guini shook his head and said:
"Now except me, I'm afraid no one can buy so many goods from you, and you came here this time to avoid the war."
"Who can protect you now except me? So the price of your goods should be lower."
Every tribe on the grassland will welcome the caravan going to the grassland.
Even some tribes have a tacit agreement not to touch the caravans that come and go, even if they are fighting to the death.
Because the caravan can bring them supplies that are scarce in the grassland.
If you were really in the mainland, if you encountered such natural and man-made disasters while doing business, you would probably lose your blood.
Even though the steward loudly said in front of Xie Guini that this trip was in vain, he knew very well in his heart that it was impossible to lose money.
It just depends on how much you earn.
Not to mention that this is the farthest distance the caravan can travel. Even if there are other places to go, autumn is coming soon. If we don’t sell out quickly, is it possible to keep it for the New Year?
The manager gritted his teeth and had no choice but to lower the price according to Xie Guini's words.
“Chief Xie Gui Ni, I can give you some other things, but I have a novelty here. If you like it, you have to give me more in exchange for it.”
"If it doesn't work out, I'd rather take it back than sell it."
Upon hearing this, Xie Guini immediately asked curiously:
"There is no benefit to this thing during the day. I will show it to you only at night."
Xie Guini became more and more curious when he saw what the other party said.
The steward smiled mysteriously, but he would only take it out at night.
Finally it was night, but there was a sudden "bang" sound at the top of Pingcheng.
Then it’s “whoops”!
Then, a brilliant firework appeared over Pingcheng.
Looks extremely bright in the dark night.
When Xie Guini saw the fireworks, he was so frightened that he almost knelt down:
"Could it be that this is a gift from ghosts and gods? It can actually summon a star pendant!"
"Hahaha…"
The caravan steward laughed.
At night, General Guan was standing on a hilltop, staring south.
The mountain wind blew her cloak and made a violent sound, but her tall and straight body was as firm and motionless as a stone sculpture.
When a bright firework exploded in a certain direction, General Guan couldn't help but narrowed his eyes slightly.
After a while, the second flower took off and opened again...
This signal means that the current tent of Xie Gui Ni is located in Pingcheng.
General Guan's cold face finally broke into a smile, which was like the bright fireworks in the night sky.
“Come here, please pass the order. Let’s make food at the third watch tonight and set out at the fifth watch so that the whole army can be ready.”
“No!”
“Let Shi Bao come to see me.”
Shi Bao quickly climbed up from the bottom of the mountain:
“General, you are looking for me.”
“How is the situation in the army?”
"General, there are still 8,643 people in the army who have not followed up. Now there are 1,412 people in the army who are either overworked or sick, so they cannot go into battle."
There were 26,000 men at the time of departure. Even if there were one man and three cavalry, the non-combat casualties would have reached 10,000.
"It's okay, let them follow slowly and wait for the stragglers. Tell the soldiers that when they enter Pingcheng tomorrow, they will not be allowed to eat meat."
Shi Bao licked his lips. Hearing General Guan's words, he almost swallowed his saliva.
These days, I only have one hot meal every three days, and I'm already very hungry, let alone eating meat.
“If you can’t defeat Xie Gui Ni quickly, then just wait and continue to eat dry food.”
“Here!”
Shi Bao raised his chest and responded loudly.
Not to mention anything else, even if it’s just for tomorrow’s hot soup and meat, you have to work hard!
It’s still dark, the same mountain pass, the same early morning, the same mist.
The little leader of the Hu people guarding the mountain pass is still sleeping.
The wine given to him by the caravan steward was very strong.
Although he only drank two bowls, he was still a little dizzy last night.
The faint sound of horse hooves came from the distance of the mountain pass.
A conscientious Hu man was awakened and muttered:
“Which tribe doesn’t have eyes?”
Don’t blame him for being so unwary.
Because the past few years have been too comfortable.
Ever since Kebi was able to escape, there was no tribe nearby that dared to cause trouble for Master Gui Ni.
So he didn't expect it to be an enemy attack at all.
The sound of horse hooves came closer, like muffled thunder.
“No! This is...at least tens of thousands of horses!”
After all, he has lived on horseback since he was a child. Just hearing the sound of horse hooves, the barbarians can react.
Thinking of this, he was so frightened that he lost all sleep and broke out in cold sweat.
He quickly stood up, without even arranging his clothes, and ran to find the leader.
“Someone is coming, many, many people!”
The leader was shaken awake by death, opened his somewhat hazy eyes, became very angry when he got up, and cursed when he opened his mouth:
“What are you doing so early in the morning?”
The little guy gestured and pointed tremblingly to the north:
“There are people, there are people, many, many…”
"What…"
Before he finished speaking, the leader felt the ground shaking.
“Where did so many cavalry come from?”
“Enemy attack?”
The leader quickly got up, but the hangover was a bit severe, making his head feel like it was exploding.
He held his head and groaned a few times before standing upright.
By the time he hurriedly gathered the people below, the rumble of horse hooves was about to collapse the mountain.
The sun rose, and the first ray of sunlight penetrated the mist, allowing the leader to finally see clearly the enemy rushing towards the mountain pass.
Like a long dragon, like a torrent, black and overwhelming.
"No!"
The leader let out a shrill scream.
This must be a dream!
It must be that I still haven’t woken up from the wine I drank last night.
How could an enemy attack at this time?
The enemy has begun to branch out and move around various intersections.
Some people even rushed up the hillside, preparing to dive from high altitude.
“I’ll go back and tell the adults!”
The leader turned around and ran away.
With the outpost captured easily, Guan Ji continued to lead the army out of the mountain pass without stopping, heading towards the real destination.
At this time, Xie Gui Ni was truly hungover.
Last night he saw something called fireworks. They were so beautiful that he couldn't keep his mind still. He drank a lot of wine out of joy.
I was having a sweet dream, and I dreamed that the God saw me setting off fireworks, and then asked the extremely beautiful Goddess to send me an invitation...
An hour later, Guan Ji led the army and rushed to the river bank outside Pingcheng.
Before the Hu people on this side understood what was going on, all the tents had been washed to pieces.
Hold up the telescope and look at the dilapidated city walls of Pingcheng. There are many places where a horse can pass through. Guan Ji smiled slightly and then ordered:
“Cross the water!”
On weekdays, tribesmen who had to go back and forth between the two sides of the river would naturally have a place to cross the water.
As the Han army was crossing the water in batches, the barbarians in the city finally reacted.
“Sir, the enemy is attacking, the enemy is attacking, my lord!”
The bodyguard tried his best to shake him awake and return him to the mud.
Only after Xie Guini regained some consciousness, shouts of killing could already be heard outside the city.
There was no unified command among the Hu people, and some ran back, trying to run back to the city.
Some of them tried to stop them without knowing their own strength, but the Han soldiers who rushed up raised their sharp sabers and slashed them down, knocking them off their horses.
The Pingcheng has become a pen for cattle and sheep. Naturally, there is no way to stop the Han army's cavalry. Those with superb riding skills directly found a low place and jumped over it.
Those who have no faith will rush towards the city gate that has not had time to close.
Some people wanted to close the city gate, but suddenly a group of people rushed out from inside and chopped down the barbarians at the gate.
Then, the cavalry rushed directly into the city...
Xie Guini, who didn't have time to put on any clothes and was only wrapped in a leather robe, was supported by his bodyguards and mounted on his horse, rushing to the street.
But there were cries everywhere, black smoke rising in some places, and even many cattle and sheep running into the streets.
Seeing this chaos, even if Xie Guini was completely awake, he might not be able to organize a strong resistance.
He was in a daze and was escorted out of the city by his personal guards, and then he finally regained consciousness.
He murmured as if sleepwalking:
“Who? Who is it?”
"I don't know! It looks like there are Han people and Hu people coming from the north. I don't know where the enemy is."
The little leader who originally ran back from the mountain pass to report the news followed the adults out of the city and provided some useful information.
“North? That’s not a sneak attack by the Wei people.”
Xie Guini perked up, and at the same time glanced at Pingcheng behind him, his expression immediately became depressed.
The enemy's cavalry has already circled around from the east along the opposite bank.
“Let’s go to Yanmensai!”
The terrain of Yanmen Fortress is difficult and the enemy's cavalry cannot climb over it. As long as it can be delayed for a while, Taiyuan in the south can provide timely support.
Xie Guini didn't dare to stay any longer, so he slapped the horse's **** hard and fled south for his life.
(End of this chapter)