In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River was close to the Wolf Mountain, and the Wujia River in later generations was the main stream of the Yellow River, and the main stream of the Yellow River in later generations was only a tributary.

With the destruction of grassland vegetation, the Alxa sand flow invaded the Hetao Plain in large quantities through the gap between Wolf Mountain and Helan Mountain under the action of northwest winds. The mudslide in Wolf Mountain also brought a lot of sand and gravel. Under the superposition of the two phases, the Yellow River was diverted to form the Wuliangsuhai Sea, and the desert area expanded rapidly, which was a matter of the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.

During the Zhengde period, although the Wuliangsuhai had not yet been formed, there were already two small lakes by the river, which were caused by the flooding of the Yellow River to low-lying land.

The vegetation here is luxuriant, with red willow and poplar trees everywhere, and countless fertile fields cultivated by the Han people. To the east and south of the lake, the desert areas of later generations are still grasslands with abundant water and grass.

Zhou Shangwen led his troops all the way north, but did not encounter any resistance, and many old people from the Wurahai Department had already rushed to Ordos to participate in the war.

This deputy commander-in-chief didn't even bring auxiliaries, and naturally he didn't have any food, so he relied on a small number of cavalry to raid and rob the old and weak Mongolian women and children who had not yet evacuated.

Zhou Shangwen didn't bring many soldiers, but when he came to the Yellow River here, he actually divided his troops again. Each share ranged from 500 to 1,000 people, went to intercept Gaoque (ancient name of Qin and Han Dynasty) and other Yinshan mountain passes, and led 500 soldiers to place them at the north end of the Shimen Ancient Road.

Zhou Shangwen looked up at the ancient road between the two mountains, and couldn't help muttering: "Don't teach Hu Ma to do Yin Mountain, don't teach Hu Ma to do Yin Mountain!" ”

Although this person is a military general, he is familiar with the subset of scriptures and history, and he is qualified to be admitted to the Jinshi. He is usually very proud, the civil officials look down on him, and he also looks down on the civil officials, even the governors of the border towns are regarded by him as straw bales.

Since he is a cultured military general, seeing this ancient stone gate road, he naturally has infinite reverie.

Meng Tian, the general of the Qin Dynasty, crossed the mountains and mountains from here to build the northernmost Great Wall of Qin. Wang Zhaojun also went north from here, bidding farewell to his homeland and going to the Xiongnu and his relatives. The 180,000 troops of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also attacked Mobei through this ancient road and landed in Taiwan...... There are too many heroic stories, all gathered on this Shimen Ancient Road!

Let's put it bluntly, this is the valley area between Daqing Mountain and Wula Mountain, which can go directly through the mountain from Baotou to Guyang County, so it is called "Baogu Highway" after a few hundred years.

Zhou Shangwen embarked on the ancient road from the northern end, passing through several abandoned ancient cities along the way.

It is said that it is an ancient city, but in fact, it is a rammed earth castle, which belongs to the ancient "stone barrier" defense system.

Choosing the most dangerous city obstacle, Zhou Shangwen garrisoned 500 troops here, and tens of thousands of troops came to attack, and it would take at least ten days and a half months to capture it. If the city barrier is completely repaired, only 1,000 troops are needed, and it can be difficult for an army of 100,000 to cross.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was not desolate and was full of lush trees.

Even Baotou, the other end of the ancient road, is also rich in water and grass, Baotou in Mongolian originally means "land with deer".

Zhou Shangwen only garrisoned his troops for half a day when he saw hundreds of Mongols coming. There are young and strong, there are old and weak, there are livestock and belongings, but there are not a few war horses, and it looks like they are fleeing.

"Haha, Wang Shangshu has won!"

Zhou Shangwen laughed, pulled out his waist knife and shouted: "Sons, Wang Shangshu has already won a big victory, we are stationed here, and we must not let a Mongolian thief pass!" ”

The gap in the city barrier only allowed three horses to go side by side, and there were many earth, wood and stones by the Ming army.

Hundreds of Mongols were desperate and had no choice but to follow the mountain road and return the same way, bypassing the Ula Mountains and then going north.

There are many mountain passes in Yinshan, and Zhou Shangwen has divided his troops to block the four places on the side of Wolf Mountain, and he also led his troops to block the most convenient Shimen Ancient Road. The Mongols had to cross the desert from the northwest or the northeast around the Wula Mountains (which had already been conquered by the Ordos tribes, but the local tribes were resentful and would have beaten the water dogs).

These hundreds of Mongols walked back for an hour, and then they encountered more than 1,000 people who had fled north.

The two sides combined were more than two thousand, so they decided not to leave, and waited there to gather troops and prepare to storm the pass. By the next day, more than 4,000 Mongols, a large number of livestock and goods, had gathered here, and the mountain road was tightly blocked.

The Mongolian young and strong were all organized, and they were blindfolded by several war horses, and stabbed the horses to let the war horses hit the obstacles.

"Shoot!"

Before a few horses could get close, they were condescendingly shot into hedgehogs by a hundred archers.

In order to escape to Mobei, these Mongols had to rush to the gap with their heads reckless. They were blocked by earth and stones, stabbed by the spears of the Ming army, and those behind became targets for archers.

At the end of the assault, the Mongols left behind more than 30 corpses, while only one Ming soldier was wounded, who was shot in the shoulder by a Mongol bow and arrow.

Suddenly, another three or four thousand Mongols rushed in.

These people were very embarrassed, and they didn't even bring livestock or big things, and it seemed that they had been chased here.

"The Han soldiers are here, let's go!" The Mongols who arrived later urged.

The Mongols who came first said: "There are also Han soldiers in front, and they can't get by!" ”

About 8,000 Mongols, blocked and killed here, in a dilemma, lost their souls, and all surrendered.

"Which general is ahead?" The Ming army in the south asked.

Zhou Shangwen commanded his subordinates to tie up the captives, walked over and hugged his fists and said, "Zhou Shangwen, deputy chief soldier of Ningxia." ”

"The Dare Yong Battalion (Leopard House New Army) guerrilla Yang Fang, I have seen General Zhou," a young general came over and arched his hand, "General Zhou is so good at his ability, he actually stuck the Shimen Ancient Road to death." ”

Zhou Shangwen said: "All the mountain passes in Wolf Mountain have been blocked by me. The Mongols wanted to flee north, so they had to take a detour to the northeast to go to Qiyang. The grassland of Qiyang was originally the territory of the Maoming Anbu, and the right-wing Mongolia conquered Mobei a few years ago and beat the Maoming Anbu. Before I came to Shimen Ancient Road, I had contact with the Maoming Anbu, and they were willing to join the Ming Dynasty and help attack and kill the remnants of the Ordos Ministry. (Note: The Maoming Anbu of the Zhiyang Grassland is only a branch of the Maoming Anbu.) ）

In other words, the Ordos tribe wanted to flee north, but the biggest opening was blocked by the tribes it conquered.

Hearing that Zhou Shangwen had blocked all the mountain passes in Yin Mountain in the west, Yang Fang was immediately impressed and sighed: "General Zhou is really a famous general in the world!" ”

Zhou Shangwen smiled and asked, "How is the battle situation ahead?" ”

Yang Fang roughly said: "General Zhao Da (Yuan Da), a general in southern Liaoning, led 3,000 horsemen to attack the Tumut Department, beheaded the old generals of Tumut and captured the city of Bansheng in Fengzhou. Wang Shangshu sent suspicious soldiers to feint to attack the Babai Room, personally led the main force to the north, and recaptured the Dongsheng Left Acropolis in one fell swoop. He waved his army to attack the right acropolis of Dongsheng, and fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Ordos Department who hurried back outside the city. The donkey skills of the Ordos Department were poor, and even the old people and children fought on horseback, which was enough for 60,000 cavalry. ”

"There are 60,000 horsemen in the Ordos Department alone?" Zhou Shangwen was shocked.

Yang Fang smiled and said: "The old man has gone to the battlefield on a horse, how can it be less?" But what about the 60,000 cavalry, it was not broken by our battle, and even the Mongolian deputy Khan was captured on the battlefield. ”

Zhou Shangwen thought carefully about the war, and couldn't help but sigh: "Wang Shangshu is really extraordinary, I might as well too!" ”

Yang Fang said: "General Zhou's achievements are also very great, and he has blocked all the Mongols, so he might as well have more contacts in the future." ”

"Well said!" Zhou Shangwen also wanted to befriend the general of the leopard house and overturn Qiu Luan's bastard, and his top boss did nothing other than corruption and merit.

Yang Fang climbed the abandoned city wall, looked at the northern scenery from afar, and said with a smile: "Don't teach Hu Ma to do Yin Mountain, as soon as this river loop is beaten down, build the Great Wall and Xiongguan to block the gap, and the Mongols don't want to go south." ”

Zhou Shangwen said: "I still have to immigrate to the real border, and it costs a lot to build the city gate. ”

Yang Fang said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, the imperial court has cement, and the city is built much faster than before." Let's go, Mr. Zhou, let's go back with the captives, and I'll take you to meet Wang Shangshu. ”

Zhou Shangwen was surprised: "General Yang is very familiar with Wang Shangshu? ”

Yang Fang laughed: "My younger brother Yang Rui is Wang Shangshu's brother-in-law. ”