The Yellow River has frozen, as if a jade belt has fallen among the mountains.

Guo Shao stood by the Yellow River and looked at the surrounding mountains. People said that the mountains here are high and the road is far, which is comparable to the plains of the Central Plains. In Guo Shao's opinion, it is not as dangerous as the Shu Road mountain he had visited.

The mountains on the road to Shu are high and steep, and some roads have to be built to pass. The northwest is not that exaggerated. The mountains are very large, but the hillside is relatively gentler than Shu. It is not difficult to pass by people. Passing along the road, there are villages and people, you can see terraces on the hillside.

It’s just that there are ravines and continuous mountains, and the view is very unobstructed. When you look at the road from all directions, you are blocked by the mountains. This terrain can easily hide people and cannot be discovered in time. Fortunately, it is still in the jurisdiction of Daxu, and there is no risk of a wife.

In winter, the earth is withered and desolate, with loess all over the eyes, and the air is very dry and cold. Fortunately, the weather is better today, the sky is blue, and the sun is visible, which adds bright colors to the scene.

A sentence came from the military camp: "Come on a Qin Feng."

As soon as the words were finished, the horn sounded first, as if it were the overture. Then the military musician found the entry point, and the horizontal blow and drums also rang one after another. The rhythm of the song was slow, heavy and powerful, and the vigorous and powerful music immediately made the atmosphere different.

The musicians sang first, and later the soldiers watching also sang, "Why do you say you have no clothes? You are in the same comrade with your son. Wang Yu raised his troops and repaired my spear. He shared his grudges with you..."

The soldiers digging trenches, cutting wood, and setting up tents all turned their ears and looked at the camp where the hymns were heard.

After hearing this, Guo Shao was moved inadvertently. The desolate and backward land in front of him seemed to see that in ancient times, the army of Emperor Yan of Huangdi, with simple sticks and stone axes, cut through the wilderness and opened up the territory. The blood of his ancestors flowed throughout the nine provinces, and this vast country was found.

And now, he has excellent armor, finely forged weapons, and even meticulously crafted artillery firearms, and there is no reason to retreat!

After Guo Shao listened for a while, the musician changed the music from the Han Yuefu, and he returned to the central army tent.

The kangs were still being repaired inside and outside the tent to prepare for warmth at night; it was okay during the day, but if you sleep in the open at night, you could freeze to death. Li Gu's logistics was done well, so he ordered the officials of Yan, Xi, Shi and other states to prepare fuel and recruit civilians to send them to the army to supply the army with the needs of the army, mainly charcoal (coal) and charcoal.

The personal soldiers were setting up a stove in the tent. They worked very carefully in front of the emperor. A soldier was trimming a stone with a chisel, "Ding Ding Dangdang" and seemed to be not flat enough.

All soldiers dressed differently from those in Tokyo, mainly because they were hung with many burlap bags and miscellaneous items. Ordinary soldiers would have flints, knives, grain bags and other items on their bodies. The soldiers also had many weapons-related things, such as small bamboo tubes that were hung on belts and iron molds with pincers and lead balls. Each team of people would also carry hatches, hammers and other tools on donkey carts and mules... Marching and fighting, the battle formation was very little, and most of the time was spent in the wind and in the open.

The central army tent has not been packed up and the civil and military officials have not come. They are deploying and inspecting the stationing of various battalions. Guo Shao asked someone to take out the paper and pen in the messy tent and write letters while he was free. Each letter to Jinzhan and Ermei and others lasted for many days, and it was written intermittently.

Now it is finally possible to write a private letter to Jinzhan for granted.

Guo Shao first described his experiences and feelings along the way in the noisy tent. This place is relatively deserted and there is no people all day long. However, Guo Shao found that many people were not worried when walking this path together, and they would be more dependent and dependent on each other. During the journey, the emperor was able to build greater trust with the soldiers day and night.

He asked Jinzhan and others not to worry too much. When the army reached the border area where Wuding River and the Yellow River converged, it would build a fortress there, and the fortress could serve as a barrier.

Guo Shao wrote another sentence, I miss you very much... He didn't write the word "you". He thought it was too explicit, so he wrote it on the days when Tokyo Jinzhan was taking good care of him.

At this time, the generals and civil servants came into the tent one after another. Guo Shao put down his brush and asked them to find a place to sit. Everyone sat down around the stone stove.

The personal soldiers put an iron pot on the stove, took off the grain bag and poured corn into it, took out cheese, dried salted fish, and put all the pickled vegetables in it. In this way, they didn't even need the ingredients, and just cooked a pot of porridge. The wheat cakes were placed beside the stove and heated.

Even Guo Shao ate this thing, and there was not much difference between eating from top to bottom. The military law of the Imperial Guard prohibited drinking without reason during the march, and generally the Imperial Guard generals did not drink too much.

Without the noble and luxurious palace hall, there was no luxurious ceremonial guards and pomp. The most powerful ministers of the dynasty sat around such a earthen stove, surrounding the emperor of Daxu. But at this time, the monarch and ministers seemed much closer.

Guo Shao was holding a map and ignored everyone's intentions. The masters started talking casually. The fire of cooking soup made the tent gradually warm.

The drawings were added to the scale by Guo Shao, but they were still very simple. He could roughly understand the directions of various places... Compared with modern psychological knowledge. For example, the Jingzhao Prefecture in Guanzhong in the south is Xi'an, and Yanzhou is Yan'an, these place names are reference objects.

The Yellow River flows north and south in eastern Shaanxi, and now this is the road that Guo Shao and others are following.

Their early destination was the intersection of Wuding River and the Yellow River, and they were almost here. This place now belongs to the jurisdiction of Daxu, without a city or a place name. It is the legendary place where the three are not in charge, surrounded by shi, stone, Yan, Sui and other prefectures... It is probably on the bank of the Yellow River in the eastern part of "Yan'an", and should belong to northern Shaanxi?

...The lower reaches of the Wuding River that flows into the Yellow River are already part of the Pingxia regime. The upper reaches of the Wuding River flow roughly east-west, and the lower reaches are roughly north-south; the lower reaches are on the west side of the Yellow River.

Go up the Wuding River and you will soon arrive at Suizhou: the city occupied by the Xiazhou regime. Suizhou is at the intersection of Dali River and Wuding River. Guo Shao found that China's cities like to be built in such places where rivers meet.

Continue up the Wuding River, another city where the rivers meet: Yinzhou.

Yinzhou roughly belongs to the "Hengshan area" mentioned by ministers. Guo Shao had never heard of a mountain range like "Hengshan". When he was in Tokyo, he learned it many times that it was not a mountain range at all, but a mountainous hilly area with many gullies. Why was it called a mountain range by the ancients? It was probably because this area was an excessive place from the mountainous area to the northern pasture plateau.

Hengshan area is the main agricultural and animal husbandry area in Pingxia. After Dangxiang obtained this area of ​​many gullies, its strength increased a lot.

The Wuding River flows roughly east-west from Yinzhou to the upper reaches. The upstream is the center of Dangxiang: Xiazhou. The Daxia Kingdom of Jin Dynasty built the "Tongwancheng" as its capital, which was the city built at that time. It was on the north bank of Wuding River and should belong to the plateau area.

According to Guo Shao's memory, the Ordos grassland in the north of Xiazhou should be... He was deeply impressed by this place, with a huge real estate bubble, called a ghost town, and was once common news reports.

At this moment, Wang Pu came, and his voice interrupted Guo Shao's random thoughts: "I introduced someone to Your Majesty, please tell me."

When Guo Shao heard that it was Wang Pu's recommendation, he said straight without asking: "Let him come in."

After a while, a big man with black skin and burly body bent over and walked in, knelt down and said, "I will bow to Your Majesty, my emperor will live forever..."

Guo Shao said, "Get up and talk." He turned to look at Wang Pu.

Wang Pu bowed and said, "Brother Zhehei is from Hengshan Qiang, but he was a slave of the Zhe family for a long time. He often followed Zhe's father, Duke Zhe, to fight bravely, and became a deputy general and gave him the surname Zhe. The people sent by Zhedeji are now no different from those of the Han people."

Brother Zhe Hei said: "Donald Zhe is waiting for the last general as a son. It is often said that during the Yanhuang Emperor, the Qiang people and the Han people were originally no different, but now when they are about to enter China, they are innocent."

Guo Shao immediately said: "If you enter China, you will be a flower, and if you enter the barbarians, you will be a barbarian. The heart of the Lord Zhegong is also the heart of the court and me."

Brother Zhehei said: "My general grew up in Hengshan when he was young and knew the customs of the Dangxiang. His Majesty issued an edict to Lingzhou and issued an order to guard against defense. The general sent the general to your Majesty to join His Majesty, hoping to serve His Majesty in his personal expedition to Xiazhou."

Guo Shao thought to himself that he didn't know what it would be like to lead other countries to beat his own people, but Han'er led the way. There were many parties, so it was not surprising... After all, Brother Zhei has been with the Han people for too long, and assimilation still has effect. If there is no independent regime of Dangxiang, the effect would be better. He nodded quietly and said, "Zhejishang is loyal and commendable."

Brother Zheihei said, "As far as the last general knows, the people of Dangxiang in Hengshan are more populated than those of Pingxia (the pastoral area north of Yinzhou), and are rich in iron and food, and are brave in the people. They are also the main source of military troops of the Xiazhou infantry. Your Majesty will observe it."

Wang Pu said: "During the Later Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains realized that Dangxiang was becoming increasingly powerful and had mobilized a large army to attack. When besieging Xiazhou, the surrounding area was attacked by more than 40,000 Dangxiang cavalry, and the road was difficult to raise food. At that time, the Central Plains were in chaos, and the Later Tang court was unable to hold on, so they had to find many excuses to retreat and give up.

I estimate that to this day, Dangxiang is extremely powerful, and with the Hengshan Qiang Infantry Army and the Hexi Dangxiang reinforcements, the maximum number of troops that can gather may reach 100,000!"

Guo Shao pondered: "Of course Dangxiang will do his best in this battle. However, the strength of the troops cannot be just a matter of number. I am a great minister of the country to govern more than 400 states and raise more than 100,000 elite soldiers. I feel that the national treasury is tight. The population of Dangxiang is only that large. Even if we can mobilize 100,000 people, the equipment training must be very crude. It should be a gathering of some young men who are usually farming and herd.

Daxun’s elite troops of the imperial guards, well-trained, brave and good at fighting, and are the best in the world to equip food and fodder. Don’t be afraid!”

Everyone bowed: "Your Majesty is wise."

Guo Shao also wanted to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to scare the enemy country to death... If the treasury can be so rich that it ignores transportation, it can only use millions of civilians to supply the front-line military supplies at any cost.
Chapter completed!