In the thousands of mountains, the long smoke and sunset are closed in a lonely city.

When Ma Yue arrived in Lingzhou County, it was evening, and a lonely county town appeared in front of everyone in the vast desert of Saibei, and the city wall and the land were connected, and all eyes were yellow.

At this time, it is the middle of May, all over Liangzhou except for the Zhangye curtain is the season of horse grass madness, blue sky, white clouds, high mountains and green water, herdsmen gallop on the grassland, and herds of cattle and sheep The most beautiful scenery of the year in Liangzhou.

However, all this has nothing to do with the Northland.

The county seat of Lingzhou is covered with the devastation of the war, and it stands here, only forty miles north of the Great Wall. Every year of the border turmoil, this county bears the brunt.

Xianbei must defeat this small city, which is not grand, because there are no people living here, and some are only the most vicious prisoners and the most fierce and heroic soldiers of the Han Empire.

If this small city is not bulldozed, the road to the south will be very difficult, so every time Xianbei plunders the border counties, this is the main battlefield. There are still a few cities in Beidi County like Lingzhou County.

Such as Huan County, such as Lian County.

When there were still ten miles away from the county seat, Ma Yue ordered Gu Taer to take the official seal of himself and Su Zhenghe to call open the city gate, and when the group arrived at the city gate, the assistant official was already waiting at the city gate.

Zuo Yan is a somewhat short and fat middle-aged man, with a little shrewd air between his eyebrows and eyes, named Zhang He, and he is a very interesting person.

Zhang He first took a group of people to the northern district of the city to settle soldiers and horses, and then took Ma Yue and others to tour the city and introduce the specific situation of Lingzhou County.

Lingzhou County, how to say it, from the outside it looks like there is no difference between it and other cities in the Han Dynasty, but it is a little smaller, the city wall of three zhang high and one zhang wide is surrounded on all sides, and the four city gate towers are hung with big bells for vigilance, the only difference is that the city wall is only eight miles wide.

But from the inside, it is known that there is a fundamental difference between this and the small city inside the empire, there are few residents here, Ma Yue took a cursory look at the roughly such a city, there are only 2,000 families living in such a city, there is no market outside the city, and there are no wheat fields in the north and south.

A bare lonely city stands in the middle of the desert, accompanied by thousands of border soldiers in this lonely city all day long.

"Zhang He, how long have you been here?"

On the way, Ma Yue couldn't help but ask Zhang He, Zhang He was very familiar with every grass and tree here, and even many courtyards he could call out the name of the master's family, as if this lonely city in the north of the country was his hometown.

Zhang He counted with his fingers and said with a smile: "Hey, don't forget it, this is the sixth year of Lingzhou County." ”

Ma Yue looked around, right here? Where birds don't poop and chickens don't lay eggs, Ma Yue asked, "Why did you want to come here in the first place?" ”

Zhang He was happy when he heard it, rubbed his hands and smiled: "Hey, look at what you said the county lieutenant, where can it be chosen by the subordinates, is there a choice for the subordinates to choose this kind of prisoner?" ”

Ma Yue couldn't help but take a closer look at Zhang He when he heard this, with a round face and big eyes, a short and fat seven-foot-tall child, and a harmless appearance of humans and animals with a smile, is this still a prisoner? Who should be the person who looks like himself and is covered with scars?

Ma Yue asked, "What crime did you commit to being sent here, and you stayed here for six years?" ”

Zhang and the fat hand spread out and said, "What other crime can you do, selling illicit salt." Just in time for the war, he was sent here to replenish the army, otherwise he would have been executed that year. ”

Unexpectedly, he was still a smuggler of salt, Ma Yue said: "Then you didn't come here to fill the army, how did you become a county official now?" ”

Zhang He rubbed the fat on his face, and said nonchalantly: "My subordinates are lucky, they dragged the Xianbei generals off their horses and stoned them to death in the chaotic army. ”

Ma Yue nodded and patted Zhang He's shoulder. To be honest, he didn't expect that such a smiling assistant had a few lives in his hands, and here, I'm afraid he was not qualified to despise anyone. Ma Yue had never experienced a major war, but he had seen the battle of Luoxian from afar.

He understood that dragging the enemy's 100 generals off their horses in a chaotic battle was not as light as Zhang He said. The danger may only be clear to Zhang and himself.

The men who survived here are all real men who have survived through hardships and hardships.

"Are there many prisoners like you here? How many regular troops are there? ”

Zhang He smiled and said, "What do you think, county lieutenant?" There are more than two thousand prisoners who have been charged here, and the regular army has three songs, and the hundred cavalry you brought is just over a thousand. ”

After a pause, Zhang He continued: "Hey, the Jiuqu army is not in the city now, there are two songs on the city wall, and the remaining seven songs are standing guard in the beacon outside the city." As he spoke, Zhang He slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "Look at my memory, I forgot to tell you, come, county lieutenant, let's go to the city, and I will show you the area under your jurisdiction." ”

After a short time, Zhang He took Ma Yue and others to the top of the city, looking at the vast plain, Ma Yue couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"County Lieutenant, don't be busy getting excited, east of here, ten miles and one beacon, there are nine roads in total, and there are people guarding them every day, responsible for guarding the enemy. In that valley, you see, right? Yes, it is the mouth of the valley, there is a fortress of our Han army that can garrison 500 people, only forty miles away from here, built according to the mountain and guarded by danger, ten miles away from the Great Wall, there are two songs of soldiers and horses that we are resident on the Great Wall, and now we must be more vigilant against the Xianbei people in the eventful autumn, so they are stationed there. ”

"Looking north, there is also a fortress on that mountain road, guarding the pass of the Great Wall. It is also easy to defend and difficult to attack, as early as the Gaozu period, it has been built, and after several generations of repairs, it is now on the scale. There is also a song of people stationed there, and two songs are stationed on the pass of the Great Wall. ”

Zhang He took Ma Yue and the others around, and then took Ma Yue to the county office, Zhang He said with a smile: "Is there any problem with the county order and the county lieutenant?" ”

Ma Yue didn't speak, Su Zhenghe said with a smile: "It's nothing, just send someone to present me with the population, armaments, horses, and materials in the county." ”

Zhang He nodded and said with a smile: "In this case, Su County Commander and Ma County Lieutenant have worked hard all the way, and their subordinates will not disturb the rest." By the way, the Emperor Fu Taishou may come to inspect the defense recently, please pay attention. ”

Ma Yue nodded, and Zhang He withdrew from the county government.

Ma Yue turned his head to look at the people around him, and said with a smile: "We are going to spend the next ten months here, how do you feel?" ”

Su Zhenghe said: "In the future, I hope that the county lieutenant will take care of it." ”

Ma Yue looked around at everyone, his eyes swept over Guan Yu, Ma Wan, Yang Feng, Gu Taer, Peng Tuo, Su Zhenghe's faces in turn, and said: "Now, in this border city outside the Saiwai, only we and others are working together. ”