Even if Jia Jiu already attaches great importance to the border pass, in fact, An Yuanwei's situation is far more severe than that of other guards.

The lack of food and salary at the border of Daqi has been the norm for twenty or thirty years, and it can be said that it has become the norm for the soldiers of Daqi to go to the battlefield hungry. And An Yuanwei is one of the most severe among the many guards. If the soldiers of the other guards can eat half starved and half full, they can eat at most thirty percent full.

This is also why Zhang Cuifeng planted the red lotus in An Yuanwei as soon as he got it, and it was really the hardest time for the soldiers here.

But the red lotus that Zhang Cuifeng got from Jia Jiu was just a basket, to put it bluntly, it was just a few vines drawn from a four-tael red lotus, and it was only planted for a few months. An Yuanwei is a border pass again, the climate is not as good as that of Jingshi, Jia Jiu's second planting of red lotus has harvested nearly a thousand catties, but those that were taken away by Zhang Cuifeng are actually only a few hundred catties of harvest.

One is because the planting time is late, and the other is because it was dug up in October. It has begun to snow in October in An Yuanwei, and the food in the surrounding military camps has also come to hand, but the girls in the Beijing division are still wearing skirts and carefully tidying up in the garden.

When the red lotus was first delivered, the soldiers were skeptical and did not believe in the high yield of the red vetch, but An Yuanwei's situation also made everyone attach great importance to food, so when the red lotus was just planted, everyone would come and go around, water, fertilize, loosen the soil or something. But after all the other grains were harvested and half of them were handed over to Shangfeng. There isn't much left. The soldiers looked at the little ration they had in their hands, and then looked at the large patches of red weeds crawling in the field, and everyone's hearts were uncertain.

Everyone knows that the border is bitter cold. The water source is also tight, and there is no way to grow rice. As for wheat, first, the growth cycle of wheat is long, a full 270 days of growth cycle, and it will not mature until summer if it is planted in early winter, and if you are not careful, the seedlings will freeze to death in the cold winter. It is just in time for the summer to mature, if the Di people go south on a large scale, they often have to be burned before they have time to harvest. In order to prevent the Di people from harvesting it first.

It can be said that when the grain is harvested every year, it is also the time when the big guys and the Di people are desperately trying to harvest the grain. At this time, it was also the time when An Yuanwei's attrition was the most severe.

It is said that the red lotus is highly productive and cold-tolerant. The soldiers are all skeptical. Although he was carefully served, he didn't have much expectation for the red lotus.

But the food that was snatched back with his life was not much, and half of it had to be handed over to the top, looking at that little ration, everyone knew that there would be comrades starving to death again this year.

Everyone's hearts were uncomfortable, and they heard that this red lotus originally grew in the jungle of the Southern Barbarians, and they couldn't sit still. Seven drags and eight drags. As it dragged on until October, the food in my hand was decreasing day by day. Even Zhang Guerrilla couldn't sit still, and couldn't help but pick up all the red lotus in the field.

Speaking of which, this red lotus was planted in An Yuanwei for the first time, but the harvest was much better than those wheat, and even better, the red lotus harvested did not need to be handed over.

Thanks to the blessings of these red roots, An Yuanwei's soldiers have eaten half full for the first time in so many years.

It is precisely because of this that An Yuanwei's soldiers all remembered Honglu and knew that this was the original Lao Rongguo Gonggong's credit, so they were not too embarrassed by Jia Amnesty who came to supervise the army and Jia Lian who sent food.

However, for Jia Lian and his son, who came to the border for the first time, An Yuanwei's impact on them was not trivial.

came to the border from such a prosperous place in Beijing, and Jia Yu thought that he would be left in the Chinese military tent of the Zhenyuan Army. Jia Yu thought very well, that is, he didn't understand military affairs, as long as he didn't point fingers, it was always okay to mess around in the back, and the children of the powerful who were the supervisors in the past also came to the border to gild, that is, Wang Ziteng also used the light of the Jia family to be a prisoner. Since Wang Ziteng can, he can naturally pardon it. Where did Jia Yu think that these big bosses in the army are not stupid.

Jia pardoned the matter of repaying the deficit and offended the magnates, and these generals also heard about it. They even guessed that the above arranged for Jia Yu to come here, so that their father and son were sent to death.

His own salary, military food, and ordnance are all stuck on it, who would gamble his life to leave Jia Lian and his son behind?

Therefore, when Jia pardoned Jia Lian's father and son sent supplies to Zhenyuan's army, they sent General Zhenyuan to An Yuanwei.

Where is this for them to rub the experience gilded? is simply to let Jia pardon Jia Lian's father and son are exiled, and let them resign themselves to fate. It's nice to say, An Yuanwei is the rear, safe. In fact, everyone knows the real situation, but they just bullied Jia Lian and Jia Lian's father and son don't know.

Jia Yu was very happy at first, thinking that he could return to Beijing after two years in An Yuanwei's house. Even when he arrived at An Yuanwei, he thought that this was just a stop halfway. But when they arrived at the place, the soldier who led the way went back, and the father and son knew that something was wrong.

How could they believe that this qiē in front of them was An Yuanwei in the rear in their minds?! An Yuanwei with wine and a woman?

On that day, when Jia Yu and Jia Lian were assigned to An Yuanwei, they thought that there were beggars sitting under the low earthen wall, but where did they think that those skinny, gray-faced, and lifeless people were actually An Yuanwei's active soldiers. Looking at the skinny people sitting under the wall in twos and threes, it became a stark contrast to Jia Amnesty, Jia Lian, father and son, and their entourage, who had been red-faced and white-faced and white-skinned all the way.

Although Jia Yu is a little incompetent, he and Jia Lian are both people who can look at each other, and they are not too stupid. Especially Jia Yu, when he heard that Zhang Guerrilla had just been assigned here, he immediately reacted, and immediately untied the burden of dry food from his horse, handed it to Zhang Guerrilla, and said: "This, General Zhang, I don't understand this military, and there is General Lao on how to do it next." There is a bit of food in it, even if it is a little bit of the lower official's heart. ”

Zhang Guerrilla looked at the horse behind Jia Yu and said with a wry smile: "General Jia, I'm afraid that An Yuanwei can't find fodder to feed the horses now." ”

Jia Yu was stunned for a moment, and immediately said, "Then these horses will be handed over to the general." ”

These four horses are not the best horses, though. But it is the descendant of the good horse left by Rong Guogong when he was alive, even if he is put in Beijing, it is worth thousands of silver. But what can be done now? Jia Yu is just reluctant. I also know what happens when I eat alone. Moreover, he also saw that this Zhang Guerrilla did not have horses, so Jia Yu could also guess the fate of these four horses.

When he first arrived here, he was unfamiliar with the place where he lived, so he kept these horses. What can be done? Do you want to be a deserter? Besides, what if there are only four horses? You just want to organize a cavalry team, at least you have to do it, right? Rather than keep these four horses. Let people look sideways, it is better to hand over these four horses and make a good fate, so as not to be cut down in the middle of the night.

The timid Jia Yu immediately made what he thought was the smartest decision at the time. also flattered An Yuanwei's soldiers.

These soldiers have also seen a lot of prison soldiers. Which one is not a big name has to ask for wine and women, and when everyone is hungry, which of the prison guards is not a big fish and big meat? is such a good talker and no temper with Jia Yu, that's it.

Seeing that Jia Yu was so untempered, the soldiers thought that this was an impostor, if it wasn't General Zhenyuan's personal guards who had just sent someone, and they brought the official documents of the military department and Zhenyuan Army, they would have taken Jia Yu down long ago. I saw Zhang Guerrilla again and recognized Jia Yu. called Jia Yu General Jia, and then I knew that this person was the former Rongguo Mansion that planted the red lotus, the current first-class Shenwei general, and the notoriously temperamental and bullying Jia Yu.

Because of the case of the Jia family. Now everyone knows that Jia Yu is a bun, and even things about the Jia family have spread to the border. And Jia Yu's biggest characteristic is that he has no temper, which has become a well-known thing.

This was the first time An Yuanwei's soldiers saw Jia Yu's impression.

And what made Jia Yu begin to integrate into An Yuanwei was the person sent by Jia Jiu to deliver winter clothes and letters. Jia Yu and Jia Lian were at the border pass, of course Jia Jiu was not at ease, almost every ten years he would send some clothes, pills, and all kinds of dry food made by himself, including beef jerky and mutton jerky, and even dried chickens and ducks and a small bag of bijiao rice used to make porridge.

Jia Jiu was originally worried that Jia Yu and Jia Lian would not adapt at the border pass, but he didn't expect Jia Yu and Jia Lian to survive at the border pass.

Probably this is a human being, the cheaper the better. The grandfathers of the Jia family are pampered at home, even if they blow the wind, they will have a headache and brain fever and ask for a doctor, but when they arrive at the border, probably Jia and Jia Lian's father and son know very well that they can't afford to be sick now, and they can survive in the case of being half hungry and half full. Even if they just have a leather coat and a pair of boots. The rest of the luggage had already been handed over to Zhang Guerrilla and divided.

The people sent by Jia Jiu to visit really saved Jia Lian's father and son, and also saved An Yuanwei's soldiers.

Because I missed it on the road, it was the first time that two groups of people arrived at An Yuanwei at the same time. When Jia Yu went out, Jia Jiu also thoughtfully prepared silver money for him, including gold and silver stubs and silver tickets, but in An Yuanwei, he couldn't even see the shadow of a caravan, and where could he find a place to buy food?

It was the rice grains and chicken and duck jerky sent by Jia Jiu that made An Yuanwei's soldiers have a warm night for the first time in so many years.

And these people did not return to Beijing as soon as possible, but were sent by Jia Yu to buy grain and charcoal. In this way, this winter has become the most comfortable winter for An Yuanwei in ten years.

The problem of food is easy to solve, but what to do with this ordnance?

Most of An Yuanwei's ordnance is also decayed, the best weapon in the whole army is actually the sword brought by Jia Yu Jia Lian's father and son, even Zhang Guji's Tang knife has been curled several times, and it has been polished again and again, and now it is very thin, and I don't know how many times I can last in battle.

However, An Yuanwei happened to be at the corner of the entire Zhenyuan army's defense line, and it was the first choice for the Di people to go south almost every year.

This is a trap set by the Zhenyuan army for the Di people, and the three counties behind An Yuanwei are the places where the Zhenyuan army makes dumplings for the Di people every year, and An Yuanwei's soldiers are the bait and victims of the Zhenyuan army.

There is no military ration and not enough ordnance, nearly half of the soldiers have no armor, and most of the soldiers only have a spear in their hands, this is the situation of An Yuanwei's ordnance.

There is no food that can be bought by sending people to buy it, but what about ordnance? These are all controlled products, and you can't buy them. Even if you can buy a bow for Orion, you don't have enough arrows. Moreover, where can the bows used by the hunters compare to the bows and arrows of the people on horseback ?!

It's almost a dead end.

It can be said that Jia Yu and Jia Lian are worried almost every day. And An Yuanwei's soldiers, they took note of Jia Yu and Jia Lian's goodness. The horses that Jia Yu and Jia Lian rode were eaten by everyone, but the people sent by Jia Jiu to visit Jia Lian later left the horses. An Yuanwei's soldiers secretly hid two horses. also braved the wind and snow to collect forage, so that when the crisis came, Jia Lian and his son could escape.

They had no other requests, just hoped that Jia Yu and Jia Lian would be able to take care of their families for them in the future.

As for Jia Yu and Jia Lian, the two of them had no hope that they would be able to escape. They even thought that it was already their luck that they could be captured by the Di people instead of being hacked to death on the spot.

It was at this time. The hundred guards sent by the emperor to protect Jia Yu also came to An Yuanwei. They thought they would be able to see a complete guard post and a group of soldiers ready to go, but how did they expect to see a group of beggars and a dilapidated village with incomplete walls?!

When the leading guards saw this place, their hearts were cold.

I'm afraid that these 100 people will have to explain here.

As a royal guard. These people were not those royal honor guards composed of powerful disciples, but the imperial guards who were responsible for the emperor's safety and security composed of real elite soldiers. That is, because these people were elite soldiers before, they could see An Yuanwei's crisis at a glance.

What if they were the emperor's side? They did not have the emperor's decree, nor did they have the right to take away the military power. There is no military power. They are just ordinary soldiers. If someone doesn't like them. If they are to be sent to death, can they still disobey their orders?

And when An Yuanwei's soldiers saw these guards, they immediately knew that the other party was an elite soldier with strict military discipline, and one by one they came out with the spear in their hands.

On one side were the imperial guards, and on the other side were An Yuanwei's military ruffians, so they were afraid of each other until Zhang Guerrilla came out.

Zhang had only entered Beijing a few months earlier. He also brought back a batch of military pay and ordnance, and of course he recognized that two of the people in this group were acquaintances. And it was still by the emperor's side, so he immediately arched his hand and said, "Isn't this the horse guard in front of the emperor?" How to ......"

Ma Liang waved his hand and said, "The guerrilla general should not make fun of his brother." The brother was sent by Banzai to protect the first-class Shenwei general Jia Amnesty Jia Enhou. I don't know if General Jia is here. ”

Jia Yu and Jia Lian, father and son, who were hiding in the tent to roast the fire, got a message from the soldiers below, and then came out.

Jia Yu also recognized Ma Liang, and said in surprise: "Ma Guard, why did you come here?" ”

Ma Liang is a person in front of the emperor, and he is also very decent. In the past, when Jia Yu was drunk and dreamed of death in Beijing, he did not expect to be able to have a relationship with Ma Liang.

Ma Liang smiled bitterly: "General Jia, you gave birth to a good daughter, and my brother is afraid that he will have to confess here for one hundred and ten catties." ”

Seeing that Jia Yu was staring at him and didn't understand, Ma Liang told Jia Jiu about offering the red lotus, and said: "Ling Yan pleaded long live in front of the two prime ministers, and in the future, the red lotus will be the auspicious gift from God to Daqi, and it is a good thing that Zhang Guerrilla found at the border pass." Ling Yan's only condition is to ensure the safety of the general. ”

Jia Yu has been stupid.

He only learned about Honglu when he arrived at An Yuanwei, and when Zhang Guerrilla and the soldiers below were grateful to him for this, he was still inexplicable. Listening to Ma Liang say this now, even the emperor believed that the red lotus was a good thing that their Jia family had spent several generations of effort to make, and even the emperor had to send imperial guards to protect him.

Jia Yu didn't dare to say that he didn't know anything about red lotus at this moment.

He had to say vaguely: "It's all because the subordinates are not strict with their daughters, which has affected you." ”

Ma Liang waved his hand and said, "General Jia, the house is for the country and the people, and Ling Yan is also for the safety of the general." The general did raise a good daughter. ”

Jia Yu said: "The details of the little girl's sacrifice of the red lotus, I don't know if the horse guards can know it?" ”

Ma Liang hurriedly talked to him in detail.

Jia Yu felt bitter in his heart.

What was there in his yard that he wouldn't know about? He has only planted flowers and plants, where has he planted any red roots? I'm afraid that this thing was obtained from somewhere else, and it was his daughter who spent a lot of effort to get it, if it is offered, their Jia family may be able to exchange it for a hereditary marquis. But for the sake of his safety, his daughter had to act early.

If he offered that red lotus, he and his eldest son would die at the border, and his younger son and daughter would be able to take care of the court for the rest of their lives. And now, it is being used by his daughter in exchange for his safety.

Jia Yu believes that the inability to afford great merit is simply an excuse for his daughter. With this credit, the daughter begged the emperor to get her back to Beijing, and the emperor was willing to do so nine times out of ten, but the daughter only begged for her own safety.

The daughter is the daughter in the end, this vision is a little worse after all.

Jia Yu was bitter and regretful, but more relieved, he was speechless.

This 100 guards came to An Yuanwei, which made An Yuanwei up and down surprised, happy and sad. What was surprising was that the emperor would actually send the imperial guards to protect Jia Yu; Happily, with so much combat power, An Yuanwei may have a good change this year; The worry is that this 100 guards have a hundred horses, where is there so much forage to support these horses? These people don't have much rations, right?

Just when An Yuanwei's soldiers were worried about rations, the Daomen caravan that received Daokui's instructions sent letters and a large number of bamboo poles and, of course, sickles, to Jia Lian.

After Jia Yu read his daughter's letter, he immediately jumped up and ran to find Zhang Guerrilla.

Zhang Guerrilla is also very suitable for Jia Yu and Jia Lian's peace and self-control, of course, he is not optimistic about An Yuanwei's prospects. He was even ready, and when the war was over, he sent Jia Yu and Jia Lian to the military camp. Where his wife and children are, as long as one of his wives and children is alive, he will definitely take care of Jia Yu and Jia Lian. And he worked with the soldiers and those imperial guards to fight for Jia Yu and Jia Lian to escape for their lives.

Guerrilla Zhang never expected that Jia Yu would come to him. At that time, he was discussing the new year's arrangements with Ma Liang and wondered why a caravan would bring so many bamboo poles to a place like An Yuanwei where birds don't.

"General Jia, what are you doing here?"

Jia Yu ran out of breath, only waving the letter in his hand.

Zhang Guerrilla was stunned for a moment, took it and took a look, and immediately jumped up.

He was familiar with the Di people's combat methods, and naturally knew how lethal this method would be to the Di people.

Zhang Guerrilla said with some uncertainty: "General Jia, who wrote this letter?" ”

Jia Yu blurted out: "Who else can there be?" It's my daughter. I don't know how he came up with this idea. Guerrilla Zhang, does this method work? ”

Zhang Guerrilla said: "Damn, there is no bamboo forest around An Yuanwei, so everyone didn't think of this method." But who would have thought that this humble bamboo could still be used like this? General Jia, the big guy has been saved this year. Zhang Guerrilla didn't care much, so he immediately kicked his lieutenant and said, "Go, gather the big guys, there is work to do." Whether we can survive this year depends on whether we are fast or that brute. His grandmother's sent Lao Tzu here, not to swallow the credit of this red lotus! Don't look at Lao Tzu is also covered! ”

The lieutenant general said, "General, is the bamboo sent from this gate really useful?" Isn't that firewood? ”

Zhang Guerrilla kicked his subordinates fiercely, and said: "What firewood, tell the little rabbit cub below, if you want to survive this year, you have to look at these bamboos." No food? We'll eat the horses of the Di people! No knives and arrows? We'll take the Di people! Lao Tzu wants those who have black hearts to take a look, and send Lao Tzu to this An Yuanwei, Lao Tzu can also live, not only can he live, but he can also make meritorious contributions in a beautiful manner. ”

Ma Liang took the letter and read it, and immediately said, "Quick, look at those little rabbits, don't let them burn these bamboo poles as firewood." Whether the brothers can go back this year depends on this. ”

Ma Liang's deputy immediately rushed out.

Ma Liang said: "General Jia, the person who delivered the letter doesn't know if it's here, but it's someone from the house?" ”

Jia Yu also gasped for breath at this time, shook his head, and said: "No, that person also said that they had something to do with Daomen, because my daughter entrusted the relationship with Daomen, so I sent the letter to them." Only they can send these bamboo poles to An Yuanwei in a short time. ”

Ma Liang said: "Then they can also get enough horse feed and rations for us in the shortest possible time?" (To be continued......)