stubborn thief

Chapter 174 Manual Alarm Clock He Huchen

He Huchen sat on the cliff of the mountain stream and ate the last piece of fire, still wanting more.

The Lion Camp is not the only army in Shaanxi that can eat donkey meat and burn it.

Compared with the horse meat fire made by Cao Yao from Henan, the donkey meat fire made by He Huchen from Baoding is more authentic.

Looking at the greenery in Ziwu Ridge, He Huchen was extremely moved.

He was unlucky. When he was the deputy commander-in-chief in Yansui Town, there was a severe drought in northern Shaanxi.

He was promoted to Ningxia, and Ningxia also suffered a severe drought last year, so the troops in Ningxia privately called him He Laohan.

And the problem over there is not only drought, the desert is more terrible than drought.

Since he took office last year and straightened the side wall, the frontier troops in Ningxia have been busy picking sand.

Quicksand was everywhere on the north and south of the Great Wall. In the past, the Great Wall was built on the mountain, but now the terrain there has become smooth, and the quicksand accumulated over the years is two or three feet long, and some are three or four feet long.

Today the army went out to pick up the sand, and tomorrow when I woke up, all the sand came back. Even picking up quicksand for several days was not as good as the strong wind blowing overnight.

Going out to practice, riding and riding were all trapped. The city wall connecting Yulin Town in the southeast of Yinchuan was either buried or eroded by wind and sand. There was no other way except to organize the army to scrape the sand.

In fact, it is said that the pressure of the desert in Yulin is greater than that of the eastern side wall of Ningxia, but Yulin once mobilized the army and civilians to scrape [-] feet of sand along the Great Wall, so that the side wall has a new look.

Ningxia can't do it, there is a shortage of people. The guards in Ningxia have 330 military and civilian households, but only [-] people.

Counting private households, the average household is less than two.

There is simply no ability to control desertification on a large scale.

Ningxia not only has few soldiers and few people, but also few suzerain and vassal nobles.

Prince Qing's vassal state in Ningxia is pitiful compared to Prince Qingcheng of Shanxi.

Up to now, Qingfan has only one prince, six county kings, 61 generals of Zhenguo, Fuguo, and Fengguo, 56 lieutenants, 57 county lords, and six common people.

Survival pressure and fertility desire are related.

So when he arrived in northern Shaanxi and entered Ziwu Ridge, He Huchen was actually quite happy in his heart.

"This place is much better than other places, and you can see Qin Chaoxiu's straight road ahead... Where is Li Laozhen?"

The servant standing beside him did not speak, but walked to the edge of the cliff and waved it a few times, and the mountain chasm facing each other across the gully waved the flag in response, and after a while, the flag waved.

The servant came back and said: "General, Tang Qi reported back, the thief is eating thirteen miles away."

"Why are you eating so slowly? I've finished eating and they haven't finished eating yet. Do you have the ethics of being a thief?"

He Huchen frowned, he thought it was impossible, if he let Li Laozhen eat for a while, he would not be able to show his subordinates to see the ruins of Qin Zhidao today, so he waved his hand and said, "General God, hurry them up."

The guerrilla general Shen Guang smiled and held his fists to accept the order. Not long after, Fu Yi Ding, a team under his command, put on horses and rushed along the official mountain road.

He Huchen drank some water again, hung his shawl on his body, and behind him, his servants rolled up the command flag to send an order, and the troops stationed on the Mianyan Mountain Road were ready to set off.

On the narrow and long valley road, the troops from Ningxia marched forward in separate groups, and each team divided into two groups with a limit of one mile, and marched forward along the mountain road in rotation wearing armor.

Every time they reach the mountain pass, there must be a team of soldiers divided into two groups, occupying the high ground along the way and exploring the road all the way.

Although the march was tedious and careful, it was very easy for them, and they were always able to stay far behind Li Laozheng.

He Huchen seemed to be traveling slowly, not in a hurry.

He was waiting for the opportunity, the opportunity for Li Laozheng to enter Fuzhou.

This enemy army robbed a lot of money and food in Qingyang, and they couldn't run fast at all, so He Huchen was not worried about them escaping. Of course, if Li Laozhen was willing to run away as a living Bodhisattva, he would be too happy.

You don't need to kill too many people, and you can still get enough profits. Where can you find such a good thing.

In fact, this time to fight against thieves was an opportunity He Huchen himself invited to fight in the Trilateral General Mansion. It was almost autumn, and he had to find a way to get some food for his subordinates.

This year, the frontier soldiers from all over the country became a little scared for him. Fortunately, Ningxia is poor enough. If you can't get enough to eat on the side wall, you can't get enough to eat as a deserter, and you will starve to death faster.

But it doesn't matter if you are too poor. He has only [-] horsemen under his command, and [-] of them are borrowed from the Mongolian tribes attached to Yanbian.

He needs to get some food to stabilize the morale of the frontier soldiers. The Ningxia frontier army has always been strong and able to endure hardships. It is not a problem to stop the northern captives with stable morale.

The soldiers and horses marched so slowly for another two days. Li Laozhen's troops in front were already approaching the Zhiluo Inspection Department, and finally there were horsemen from the Anbian Battalion running behind.

The crotch of the horse soldier was torn and bloody, and he handed the letter from Yulin Town to He Huchen.

When He Huchen saw it, joy appeared on his face, and he let out a breath of foul air.

This letter was written the night before.

Du Wenhuan said in the letter that Yulin town selected [-] troops and escorted [-] bandit soldiers from Zuoguabu, the king of bandits. They set off from Suide yesterday and are expected to arrive in the eastern part of Yan'an Fucheng the day after tomorrow.

He had already sent someone to Fucheng to do something for Governor Hong, which would lead to the whereabouts of Liu Shizi.

It is not easy for the imperial court to mobilize [-] soldiers and horses into northern Shaanxi this time, so we must take this opportunity to wipe out all the thieves who have not surrendered in northern Shaanxi.

He Huchen thought to himself, isn't this a dream?
They can wipe out all the rebellions this year.

Some people, they haven't rebelled yet, they will rebel next year, how can they catch them all at once.

He Huchen smiled and said to the left and right: "Okay, we can hurry up and advance. General Du in Yulin should take a step forward. He will arrive in Yan'an Fucheng tomorrow... and then urge Li Laozhen."

"General God, tomorrow you will lead the team forward, and I will lead the small team into the mountain. There is a fork in the road ahead that you don't know. You can go around to the east of Zhiluo, defeat this group of people, get the food first, and meet Du Zongbing the day after tomorrow."

Shen Guang responded with clasped fists, and conveyed the order to each team. His Yi Ding moved forward again, manually urging Li Laozheng to march quickly.

On the way, Li Laojie was almost pissed off.

Food, food is not good; sleep, sleep is not good.

When to rest and when to set off, he will remember all the officers and soldiers behind, but if there is a slight slack, a group of Mongolian soldiers will come rushing in and shoot a few arrows to scare him.

Hundreds of miles away, the three thousand mobs under his command had trained to look good.

They have been completely accustomed to the marching schedule of the Ningxia frontier army.

The two sides formed a strange tacit understanding.

For example, now, Li Laozhen's troops are resting where they are, and if the officers and soldiers don't come and drive him away with small whips, he won't leave.

Until the horsemen behind came to report: "Boss, the Ningxia Tartars are here again."

Only then did Li Laozhen stand up unhurriedly, give orders to all the troops, and everyone set off again.

Both sides were waiting for reinforcements, the difference was that Li Laozhen was waiting for reinforcements for this battle, while He Huchen was waiting for reinforcements for the next battle.

"Drilling mountain tiger."

Li Laozhen happened to see the subordinates who had gone to Fuzhou come back, so he hurriedly asked, "Where is Liu Shizi?"

It's not far from the Zhiluo Inspection Department, no matter how late it is, we have to go there tomorrow, Liu Chengzong doesn't believe it!
"Boss, Liu Shizi is setting up defenses in Yichuan. He sent 500 of his men here, and they are currently in the south of Yunzhou City."

After finishing speaking, Zhuanshanhu came to Li Laozheng's ear and said, "There are more than 1000 people coming from Fucheng."

"Can you reach Zhiluo today?"

Diamond Mountain Tiger shook his head: "It is estimated that only those 500 people will be able to arrive."

Li Laozhen was very silent, with a dignified expression.

The reason why he needed Liu Chengzong to reach Zhiluo was because of the fork in the road here.

There are many forks in Ziwuling, but none of them are as dangerous as Zhiluo.

There are mountain ridges for more than ten miles to the west, many of which are the same as the Dashan Road in the south, and the officers and soldiers can surround him from the side at any time.

Outflank other places, the roads are narrow and the troops cannot be moved, so don't be afraid.

But there are fields on both sides of the road to the east of Zhiluo, which can accommodate thousands of soldiers.

More importantly, although the chasing soldiers were soldiers from Ningxia, the general was He Huchen who had served in Yansui. Li Laozhen estimated that the officers and soldiers knew the way here.

They have been chasing him so unhurriedly, it is definitely not for training him, there must be other reasons.

Li Laojie quickened his pace, thinking in his heart, what should Liu Chengzong do if he can't reach him in time.

Reckless fighting is not the answer, especially not on the mountain road, the officers and soldiers can't get rid of it, and neither can the bandit soldiers under him.

A few against a few, it must be his people who are defeated.

Thinking of this, Li Laozhen became ruthless, and called several subordinates: "Run forward for thirty miles, go deeper and find a few ditches, you can't bring all the money, food, and goods."

"At night, throw all the food, mule by mule, into the ravine."

Zhuan Shanhu listened to it, feeling very reluctant, and asked, "Boss, what should the officers and soldiers do if they find the food?"

"Throw it into the ravine, and after the battle is over, whoever lives will count the food."

Li Laojie also felt distressed.

The grain was thrown into the ravine, and he might not be able to pick it up after the battle.

But now the situation forced him to do so.

In case the officers and soldiers get enough food and grass, not to mention their death, even the lion camp that defeated the two generals, Li Laozhen felt that it might not be able to beat them.

"Throw it away, throw it all away, I won't be able to sleep at night, go through Zhiluo."

That night, taking advantage of the darkness, it was difficult for Tang Qi of the Ningxia Army to see Li Laozhen's troops clearly.

He searched for several caves, and pushed most of the food, looted cloth, and goods to the foot of the mountain full of vegetation.

The tents were also left on the side of the road, and the team led the team to travel along the road at night, passing through Zhiluo and moving towards the city of Kunzhou overnight.

In the early morning of the next day, He Huchen was almost furious when he was rewarded by his subordinates who went to wake Li Laozhen up.

But he held back, was stunned for a moment but laughed and said, "No wonder this kid is called Li Laojie."

Immediately, all the Ningxia soldiers set off, no longer relaxing, and quickly pursued eastward.

People often say that the four evil beasts are wolves, tigers and leopards.

Among them, the jackal was born thin and small, and looked weak.

But it is fierce and aggressive, extremely flexible, and good at beckoning friends. It will never be left alone. It sounds like people are laughing, and with a roar, the mountains and plains are full of jackals, and the population does not count casualties when fighting large beasts.

It is a very terrifying herd.

Li Laozheng's troops wore the stars and wore the moon, and they couldn't walk out of Ziwu Ridge. They just walked to Yangquan in the east, which was a narrow plateau running from north to south.

They were sleepy and tired, and had no strength to continue walking, so they could only guard the Yuankou and the mountain road, waiting for reinforcements.

Before the reinforcements could arrive, He Huchen chased after him that evening.

Li Laozheng, who had just woken up, was able to resist a little on the mountain pass, but immediately after the mountain pass defense line was breached, Ningxia officers and soldiers broke into the plateau with horse soldiers, and Li Laozheng was unable to support it.

However, the reinforcements who arrived first were neither Yang Yao nor Zhang Tianlin, but Ma Maoguan who had just joined Liu Chengzong a while ago.

More than 300 Guanzhong soldiers and their family members are all in Ganquan County. Knowing that Li Laozhen was being pursued, Ma Maoguan led troops to help.

But Ma Maoguan was not familiar with the route here, and ran this way when he heard the sound of gunfire from a distance.

I ran over and found that it was a dead end, so I could only watch the battle from a deep ditch of [-] steps, watching the firing of guns and arrows on both sides, a few cannons were mixed suddenly, and all kinds of smoke and poisonous fire were thrown out from the short cannons on the big plateau.

He was in such a hurry, Li Laozhen helped him, and he should repay Li Laozhen, but this bad luck really didn't work out.

I made another detour, and found that this time the distance between the two sides was three miles in a straight line, but there were still two deep ditches in between.

The distance of this road... According to Ma Maoguan's visual inspection, it was nearly thirty miles.

He couldn't get through the deep ditch of more than fifty steps between the two roads.

The anxious Ma Maoguan scolded his mother on the mountain ridge, he could only watch Li Laozheng's subordinates being defeated.

He discovered that the officers and soldiers didn't fight very hard, and there weren't many officers and soldiers who rushed into the plateau, but they were too powerful, firing cannons and guns at the same time, and all kinds of poisonous smoke covered the battlefield.

The people behind didn't know what was going on in front at all. Seeing the officers and soldiers rushing out of the smoke, they ran into the ravines and trails in groups.

Fortunately, Li Laozhen's people also found this mountain ridge road, and ran up the zigzag road desperately. They ran sideways to the south in front, and the officers and soldiers chased north sideways from behind.

Officer Ma Mao also gave orders to his subordinates, and they also marched sideways to the north to meet them.

The three forces are running on three almost parallel but connected zigzag mountain ridges.

Finally, on the connected mountain road, Ma Maoguan received Li Laozhen's troops. His men set up defenses at the edge of the mountain ridge and at the turn. Live in the pursuit of the army.

It gave Li Laozhen a chance to regroup.

Li Laozhen almost fell down the ravine on his war horse, he stepped forward to thank Ma Maoguan with lingering fear, Ma Maoguan said: "Why do you thank me, run quickly, we have to run for two days in the eastern mountains."

After Ma Maoguan said this, he looked at the opposite mountain ridge as if he had seen a ghost: "Pao Pao Pao, the officers and soldiers are coming, hurry up and run!"

For a while, the black bandit soldiers didn't care about the formation, so they could only run away.

Fortunately, they slept and ran with Ma Maoguan all night.

When they saw Yang Yao who was fortified at Huanglong Mountain Pass, the two looked really embarrassed, and there were only about two thousand troops left under their command.

Many were killed, many were captured, and many were defeated.

Li Laozheng's first sentence when he saw Yang Yao was the same as Ma Maoguan's first sentence when he saw him: "Run brother, you, 500 people, can't stop it."

Yang Yao didn't intend to run away, he raised his finger and pointed in the direction of Yanzhou City: "There are more than 800 people over there, the leader called Tianxing, let's fight first."

He looked at Li Laojie and said: "The officers and soldiers are chasing madly, and they can form a team when they face the enemy; if you run away like crazy, can you form a team to defend against the enemy?"
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Note:
Ningxia population, from "Shuofang Xinzhi" published in the 45th year of Wanli

The population of Qingfan is from Wang Shizhen's "Yanshantang Collection Volume [-] The Prosperity of the Clan"

　Because there are a lot of things to check, it is difficult to update stably, and it is inevitable to be sloppy in rushing to write and arrange the plot. So... how about noon?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)