Chapter 994: The Smuggler’s Obsession
The winding river valley is sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, with steep cliffs in many places, just like a passage sandwiched between two high stone walls.
At this time, nearly ten thousand people were crowded in this valley. Those from the north wanted to go south, and those from the south wanted to block them.
They were originally from the same race, but they fought fiercely here.
The narrow river valley could not accommodate too many people at the same time, so the barbarians were organized into hundreds of troops, holding crude weapons in their hands.
There are rusty iron tools, sharpened wood or bamboo poles, or bone.
Some of them roared, some gritted their teeth, and almost all of them turned red at the same time.
Because there are people watching from behind, forcing them to have no way out.
Those who are physically strong can throw javelins at the crowd on the opposite side from a distance.
After the javelin passed a certain distance in the sky, the sharp tip passed through the thin and tattered clothes and penetrated into the body.
The person who was shot staggered back and fell to the ground.
Soon, the two sides began to fight hand to hand.
"kill!"
“Click!”
The end of the wooden stick with a stone tied to it was thrown at the opponent. Unexpectedly, it was blocked by the opponent with a simple wooden shield.
The weapons in someone's hands were broken after the collision. The two of them hugged each other with bare hands, elbowing and biting, just like the most primitive beasts fighting for territory.
Roaring, shouting, moaning…
There are already many corpses floating in Fenshui.
Liu Meng and Liu Bao whipped them hard with their riding whips, but they could not drive the exhausted Hu people forward again.
As a last resort, they began to send their own generals to lead their own tribes into battle.
It was not until night fell that the brutal fighting in the river valley came to an end.
…
The two men, who could not make any progress in the river valley, apologized in front of General Guan with some anxiety:
“General, the villain is incompetent!”
General Guan was not an unreasonable person and did not blame them:
"It doesn't matter. The thieves were prepared in advance and occupied a favorable location. It was difficult to capture them for a while. This is human nature."
Liu Bao and Liu Meng were secretly relieved after hearing this.
"However, when I led the army south, I caught the Wei thieves off guard. If I delay at this mountain pass for too long, I will wait for the thieves from Guanzhong or Hebei to come to support..."
Speaking of this, General Guan glanced at the two of them meaningfully:
"I'm afraid that's when the real trouble begins. If we can't capture this mountain pass, I can only count it as a defeat and lead the army back to Liangzhou, but where will the two of them go?"
Liu Bao and Liu Meng changed their expressions after hearing this.
Liu Meng was sweating slightly on his forehead. In his haste, he suddenly remembered something and whispered in a low voice:
“General, I think of something, maybe I can help the general pass this mountain pass.”
General Guan's eyes flashed: "Oh? Commander Liu, please come."
“General, in addition to Guanjuejin Valley, there are actually other mountain trails leading to the south in this mountain.”
"Um?"
General Guan looked very interested when he heard this.
Liu Meng was delighted when he saw it: "General, it's like this. There are salt ponds in the east of the river, and salt has been produced since ancient times..."
General Guan waved his hand and interrupted him: "I know this better than you, let's get to the point."
“Yes, yes.” Liu Meng wiped his sweat and continued to explain, “Originally, the salt produced in the salt pond was under the jurisdiction of the government.”
“It’s just that in recent years, due to wars, the government has inevitably made some mistakes, so many families have privately taken salt from the salt ponds and transported it to various places for sale.”
“The villain’s tribe once exchanged a lot of salt from smugglers. In order to avoid the government’s investigation, those shady smugglers found another way and bypassed Guanjuejin Valley.”
The more Liu Meng spoke, the clearer his thinking became:
"General, although the mountain road traveled by the smugglers is more difficult to walk than Guanjuejin Valley, after walking down it for many years, it has become a mountain path that is barely passable for people and horses."
As he spoke, Liu Meng looked a little excited:
"At that time, we will attract the attention of the thieves in the north. The general will send one or two thousand elite cavalry to sneak around behind and attack from both sides. Why worry about not being able to get down from the valley entrance?"
"The general's elite cavalry are rare in the world. No matter how many thieves there are, they will all surrender!"
General Guan had a strange smile on his face:
“But it’s thirty miles east of Guanjuejin Valley?”
Liu Meng was shocked: "How did the general know?"
General Guan smiled and did not answer, but said:
“I have already sent Liu Hun to lead three thousand fine cavalry to that place.”
Liu Meng was even more horrified when he heard this.
Looking at General Guan’s calm and indifferent expression, Liu Bao and Liu Meng both thought to themselves:
Yes, this general sent his troops to advance all the way south. How could he not be prepared for such a dangerous place as Guanjuejin Valley?
Thinking of this, the two of them couldn't help but admire and awe at the same time.
General Guan’s seemingly unintentional words and deeds shocked the two commanders, and they only heard her say slowly:
"The fact that Liu Hun led the army to another route is still a secret in the military. This matter should not be told to the two of you."
"But one of you is his brother and the other is his uncle. I think I can trust you."
Liu Bao and Liu Meng quickly lowered their heads and answered:
"How can a villain harm my nephew? I promise the general that I will never let out a word."
General Guan nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed again:
“Actually, the reason why I forced you and the two of you to spare no effort to capture the valley is because I wanted you to attract the attention of the thieves on the opposite side and cover Liu Hun’s partial army.”
"Therefore, you must not slack off at all tomorrow. This mountain pass is the last obstacle."
General Guan's tone began to become lower, and it actually sounded like he was bewitched:
"As long as the army enters Hedong, Guanzhong will be within easy reach. As long as the Han Dynasty captures Guanzhong, you will be the heroes of the Han Dynasty."
“At that time, your children and your tribe will all benefit from this. The rise and fall of your tribe for hundreds of years can be determined by your thoughts.”
Liu Bao and Liu Meng swallowed, thinking of the Huqi under General Guan.
Not to mention the naturalized Hu Qi in the Liangzhou army, even those Hu Qi who were righteous followers were enough to make people jealous.
Even though "having enough food and clothing, having enough food and clothing" is only eight words long, it is the biggest dream of most people in this world.
Over the past hundreds of years, the Huns licked their faces and said that they were the sons-in-law of the Han family, guarded the frontiers for the Han emperor, and followed the Han emperor's orders to fight everywhere.
What is the picture?
The Huns at the lower level were fighting for the share of rations promised by the Lord emperor.
The middle-level boss may want to get more good-looking fabrics, more exquisite clothes, etc.
As for the Xiongnu nobles, they also wanted to have food and clothing of a higher quality, preferably one that would benefit their descendants.
On the other hand, if you patronize and force people to work hard, there will be no benefit.
Let alone the emperor of the Han family, even the Chanyu of his own family should rebel, so he must rebel!
Fifty years ago, there was a rebellion within the Xiongnu that even killed the Chanyu. Wasn't it because the emperor of the Han Dynasty frequently conscripted the Huns but could not pay them food?
People have to eat and clothe themselves while they are alive. The world view of prairie men is so simple, upright and single-minded.
Unlike some Han people who despise the smell of copper and claim to be gentlemen on the surface, secretly they want to make the oil out of people's bones.
Bah!
Hypocrisy!
I don’t know whether the promise made by General Guan in front of me can be fulfilled in the future.
But the meeting gift given to the two of them was really thick—a thick pile.
These days, Liangzhou's army, regardless of whether they are Hu people or Han people, are privately willing to exchange the spoils of war for the money in their hands.
When his brother Liu Hun couldn't help but said that he could also use the weapons captured from the Wei thieves in exchange for notes, Liu Meng regretted it.
A few days ago, I accidentally swapped old and young with someone else, and it makes me feel sad when I think about it.
What a big loss!
They are short-tongued and soft-handed, and so far, they have turned against each other, so what else can they do?
Even if General Guan deceives them, it would be worthwhile to lower their demands in the future and join the army as a righteous soldier for the big man as before.
Anyway, what I saw and heard along the way made people feel that the treatment of Yi Congjun was not too bad.
It is much better than being bullied and plundered by the Wei people.
The Wei thief is not even willing to give him a way to live. He is not the son of a human being, and he will not die a good death in the future.
At this thought, Liu Bao and Liu Meng shouted in unison: "General, don't worry, let's see how the villain can lead the army in person tomorrow and fight to the death without retreating!"
As expected, on the second day, Liu Bao and Liu Meng took turns organizing the tribesmen to go into battle, and even rushed to the front personally several times.
Under the leadership of the two men, the Huns from the left and right groups killed and retreated in succession in the south.
If the Wei army at the mouth of the valley had not forced the southern Xiongnu and prevented them from exiting the Guanjuejin Valley, Liu Bao and Liu Meng would have reached Yong'an City.
(Not Liu Bei’s Yong’an Palace, later Huo County was also called Yong’an during the Three Kingdoms period)
This situation made Wei Jun become nervous.
Obviously, the Huns in the south could no longer hold on.
The Pingyang Prefect of Wei State seized the time to strengthen the camp on the mountain, and at the same time asked people to arrange a large number of rolling stones and wood on both sides of the valley.
He did not expect that the two or three thousand men he had on hand could stop the Shu captives. He only hoped to be able to block the Shu captives in the valley for ten days and a half.
As long as the reinforcements arrive and the dangerous position of Guanjue Jin Valley is used, great things can be decided.
At this time, in the mountains and forests more than thirty miles east of Guanjuejin Valley, a group of people were trudging through mountains and rivers with difficulty.
Especially when encountering danger, people are in front and horses are behind. Everyone holds their own horses and carefully avoids them.
Liu Hun found a hillside, looked at the long team below, and then looked at the endless mountains and deep valleys in front of him. With worry in his eyes, he asked the stone bud beside him:
“General Shi, are you sure this road can go around to the back of Yong’an City?”
Shi Bao was a little tired from walking, so he sat down regardless of his appearance, took a few breaths, and then replied:
“General Liu, you can’t be wrong.”
He pointed to the east and asked:
“Did you know that there is a Zhang River in Shangdang County to the east of Xihe County?”
“Of course we know that going down the Zhang River from Shangdang is Yecheng in Jizhou.”
Although Liu Hun grew up in Bingzhou, he has been away from here for more than ten years. In addition, he did not take over the position of commander-in-chief from Liu Qubei.
Naturally, there is no chance to come into contact with smugglers from the east of the river like Liu Meng.
In this era, when traveling abroad, not only should you try to follow the official route, but it is also best to have a guard.
If there is no escort, go with others.
Who has eaten enough to take a path less visited by people?
Youdao relies on mountains to feed mountains and water to feed water.
Mountain people are simple people who pick up farm tools, but sometimes they see a lone person and take a part-time job as "I drove this road and planted this tree." That's no problem at all.
Lift a **** and hit it on the head, collect the money, and then throw the body into the ravine. Wouldn't it be a windfall?
Otherwise, why would everyone be accustomed to walking around with swords?
Challenging the laws of the jungle when there is nothing to do is not called a skilled person but bold, that is called stupid and bold.
After all, no one knows whether one day they will fail.
So Liu Hun naturally had no chance to walk this road, and he had never even heard of it.
However, when Shi Bao asked about Zhangshui, he was familiar with it.
After all, after leaving Bingzhou, Liu Hun also traveled with Han Long in Hebei for a long time, and he had naturally been to Yecheng.
Shi Bao smiled, with some emotion on his face:
"Yecheng... When I was sent to Yecheng to serve, I never thought that my official appointment would not be decided for a long time. I was so poor that I had to sell iron to make a living."
“Later I heard that selling salt and iron to the north could make a lot of money, so I also took the Zhangshui River to join Shangdang, hoping to find a way to go north.”
“Unexpectedly, the road was found, but the goods were snatched away by the locals, and the people were almost killed..."
Shi Bao couldn’t help but sigh when talking about the events of that year.
The big business owners in the east of Hedong resorted to all kinds of methods to monopolize the sales channel to the north.
If I hadn't run fast, I'm afraid the bones would have been eaten up by wild beasts in the mountains.
Liu Hun looked at Shi Bao with a vicissitudes of life, and felt a little sympathy in his heart.
Having worked together for so long, Shi Bao has never been shy about saying in front of others that Feng Junhou and General Guan are his nobles.
And before he met Feng Junhou and General Guan, his fate could be said to be a history of tragedy and misfortune.
And now...
Shi Bao stood up, patted his butt, and said to the valley with high spirits:
“I, Shi Zhongrong, am no longer what I used to be. Today I am bringing the king’s master back. Let’s see who dares to stop me!”
Especially those big dog owners in Hedong!
At that time, I will definitely report it to the king and send troops to protect the salt pond. You can’t even think of stealing another grain of salt!
“General Liu, I remember that there is a water on this road, coming from the east, going to the west, and finally pouring into the Fen River.”
“The smugglers built a wooden house on the edge of the water for rest. Although I don’t know if the wooden house is still there at this time, as long as we see the water, we have walked half the distance.”
“Okay, let’s go!”
After walking for another half a day, I saw the water flow that Shi Bao mentioned.
Liu Hun was overjoyed and ordered the entire army to rest by the water. At the same time, he sent scouts to explore the road ahead.
What people didn’t expect was that on the second day, Liu Hun received a report from the scout:
“The intersection leading out of the mountain seems to be guarded by Wei thieves.”
Liu Hun looked at Shi Bao in shock:
“Didn’t you say that this road was used by smugglers? Why are Wei thieves guarding the mountain pass?”
Shi Bao sighed:
“These aristocratic families in Hedong colluded with the government, so the government turned a blind eye to their illegal salt sales.”
“Because of this, this road may have been known to the government for a long time...”
Hearing this, Liu Hun paused and said:
“In this case, didn’t we suffer all this in vain in the mountains?”
Shi Bao smiled and was not at all panicked:
"General Liu, don't worry. As far as I know, besides this way, there is another way that can be bypassed."
Upon hearing this, Liu Hun's eyes suddenly widened: "Anything else?"
"Of course there is. I think back then, when I was here and I was unfamiliar with the place, how could the government be willing to give me face? So I had to find another way."
In fact, I just didn’t want to give money to the government, and I was also a poor man at the time and had no money...
So it’s not without reason that I almost fed the wild beasts in the mountains.
Liu Hun naturally couldn't control so many things of the past. He asked in surprise:
“General Shi, may I ask where the road is?”
“Following this stream to the east, there is a secret mountain trail, which can be calculated as leaving the mountain half a day earlier than this road.”
“But after we go out, we still have to go a long way to the west to reach Yong’an City.”
It turns out that there are three generally parallel roads in this mountain range from west to east.
The westernmost Guanjuejin Valley is Guandao.
The middle road is a mountain road often used by smugglers.
As for the easternmost one, it is the most secretive and least-known valley road.
(namely Queshu Valley, Qianli Jing, and Tongjunchuan in later generations. Qianli Jing was officially opened as an official road in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. Tongjunchuan is a mountain road washed by a tributary of the Fen River)
"It doesn't matter if we go further, as long as we can get out of the mountains safely without being known by the Wei thieves. General Shi, please lead the way."
PS: Liu Hun’s March: Click to comment, the first floor has not been simple since ancient times.
(End of this chapter)