Ding Taiyi didn't want to stay in Lingnan for a moment.

There was too much anger in his heart. In his opinion, the originally stable confrontation situation in Hunan was completely destroyed because Xiang Zhen took the liberty of taking the plunge, and his tens of thousands of troops were buried in one fell swoop, losing all the anointed areas, but fortunately, Ding Sheng and Sun Debin were able to deal with it in time, and finally saved half of the army. However, after retreating to the Xiangxi region, the future difficulties can be imagined.

As soon as he remembered that night, Xiang Zhen rushed into his post house in full armor, and then forced him to write down the scene of the mobilization of Lu Yuan's cavalry, he felt a wave of humiliation.

Well, now a farce is over, the Tang people have died ten thousand people, but the Southern Alliance has paid several times the price and lost so many territories. Then, the strategic line goes back to the old ways.

This time, the cost of proving wrong is too great.

No one knows better than him what the situation is in that place in Xiangxi.

It is not an exaggeration to describe that place as poor mountains and bad waters. The mountains stretch, the transportation is inconvenient, the people are scarce, and most of them are Fanyi, the tribes are entrenched on one side, and the leader of each tribe is the emperor of the land, for the government, it has always been advantageous to obey, and the unfavorable one is to resist. For these tribes, it was as normal as eating and drinking. The only thing that the original Hunan Observer could control was those towns, and outside the towns, it was the territory of those Fanyi.

Displeased with them, several tribes gathered together and could come and besiege the towns until they had something they were satisfied with.

Even if you don't mention all of this, the difficulty of feeding tens of thousands of troops in that place is no less than that of the sky.

This is also the reason why he still can't turn his face with Xiang Zhen now.

Things have reached this point, there seems to be no other way except to endure and survive, and the Ding army that has retreated to the Xiangxi region needs the Southern Alliance to provide them with a large amount of military food and salary to maintain their existence.

And himself, from an observer on an equal footing with these people, has completely been reduced to the point of being someone else's thug and a housekeeper. Although Guizhou, Guangxi, and Lingnan all promised to provide him with food and ordnance, they were only promised, and it is difficult to say how much of them could be implemented in the end.

He wanted to rush to Xiangxi as soon as possible, but his son was still too young. I couldn't suppress Lu Yuan before, and now I can't necessarily suppress the remaining veterans. Especially when retreating to such a poor place, it goes without saying that the morale of the army has been greatly affected, and if the army is chaotic again, then the Ding clan will be completely finished.

Xiang Zhen generously gave him a million funds this time. It can be regarded as compensation for the huge losses in Hunan in the early stage, Ding Taiyi did not ask for silver, but wanted to convert the million funds into food, ordnance, etc., and then send him to Xiangxi, in Xiangxi, with money, now at this time, you can't buy things with money, especially ordnance. Now Hunan's own ordnance manufacturing is completely destroyed, and in that place in Xiangxi, it is naturally impossible to create good things, so it is better to get it from Guangdong.

After leaving a henchman to handle this matter, Ding Taiyi took his three hundred henchmen and rushed all the way towards Hunan.

Even if it is stormy, even if it is covered with ice and snow, it can't stop Ding Taiyi's mood at this moment.

"Jieshuai, I have arrived in Lianshan County, this place has nine mountains and half water and half fields, streams and streams, and the terrain is precipitous, it is really not suitable to rush at night, and the people of Lianshan County, ten of them are Zhuang and Yao, these people are docile people during the day, and at night, maybe what will they do? Enter Lianshan County today, where to rest at the post house for a night, and then set off tomorrow morning? A Lingnan official in charge of sending Ding Taiyi raised his voice.

Looking at the sky, it was already dark, and I missed Lianshan County, but I really had to sleep in the wild. rushed all the way, and even those soldiers were a little unbearable, let alone the older Ding Taiyi? For those Yi tribes who may attack at night, Ding Taiyi doesn't care, the three hundred soldiers in his hands are all iron-blooded elites, and the attacks of a few barbarian villagers can only hit stones with eggs, but there is no need to cause such trouble. After all, it's still on someone else's turf.

"So be it, sharpen the knife and don't mistake the woodcutter! Just go to Lianshan County to rest for one night, and tomorrow morning on the dry road! Ding Taiyi bowed slightly: "Go drink some hot water, scald your feet, eat a meal with good wine and meat, and set off again after you have enough spirits!" ”

Hearing that it was time to rest, hundreds of soldiers cheered.

"Jie Shuai, then I will go into the city to find the county order of Lianshan County and the officials of the post house, what about you, go directly to the post house."

"Then there will be Lao Shi to join the army!" Ding Taiyi nodded.

"You're polite." Shi Jin smiled and arched his hand, turned around and hit the horse away.

Lianshan County as a small place in Lingnan, the county seat is also really shabby, located on a gentle hillside on the bank of the Jitian River, the so-called city wall, is just about two or three meters high rammed earth wall, and there are gaps everywhere, some places were originally covered with bricks, but now most of them are missing, it seems that someone has taken it away. Above the earthen walls, there were tufts of withered yellow grass everywhere. Seeing that Ding Taiyi shook his head again and again, if there was an enemy attack, it would not play any role in blocking the enemy at all.

After seeing the so-called post house in Lianshan, Ding Taiyi was even more dumbfounded.

It is also a small courtyard surrounded by rammed earth, and there are only three or two bungalows inside, although it is a blue brick house, but just looking at those broken doors and windows, you can know that no one has lived here for a long time.

And a post station official who stayed here looked at Ding Taiyi and was speechless.

After a while, Shi Jin rushed back very quickly, and the person who came back with him, as soon as he saw the clothes on his body, knew that he was not an official from Lianshan County.

"Jie Shuai, I'm really embarrassed. Lianshan County Ling didn't expect you to settle here, so he went to Fucheng to visit his boss, and he couldn't come back in the past two days, this is Lianshan County Cheng Ruan Cishan, a local. Shi Jinlian apologized.

"Can this live?" Ding Taiyi pointed to the dilapidated post road.

"Clean up, the festival commander can still live." Shi Jin said with a smile: "As for the entourage soldiers, they can only live in tents around the post station." County Cheng Ruan Cishan arched his hand and said: "I have already sent someone to find Yicheng, he is also a local, and it won't take long to clean it up." To be honest, we are a broken place, people who come and go, basically do not settle here, and even if there is, most of them are messengers and the like, I never thought that the marshal would live here, and I asked the marshal to forgive his sins. ”

Ding Taiyi was helpless, seeing that it was already dark, he could only do so.

Fortunately, in this county, Cheng looked red, obviously drank a lot of wine, but when he started to do things, he was quick with his hands and feet, and when he came over with a few people, under his command, he quickly cleaned up a room and came out, cleaned, washed, and re-pasted the window paper, Yi Cheng brought new mattresses and quilts and other things from his own home, Ruan Cishan went to get several trucks of firewood, hundreds of catties of grain, chickens, ducks, fish and meat, and when Ding Taiyi's personal soldiers set up military tents around the small post station, The yard is also fragrant with meat, and the smoke and fire are quite interesting.

Sitting in the room where the temperature had risen, watching Ding Taiyi, who had begun to eat hot rice among the soldiers, couldn't help but praise this Ruan Cishan and this Yicheng who didn't even remember his name.

The efficiency of this work is quite good.

Thinking about it, if you can stay in such a place, you don't have any small skills, but I'm afraid you won't be able to get by. Similar to the Xiangxi region, this Lianshan County is also a place with a large number of Yi people, which has always been difficult to manage.

"Jie Shuai!" Shi Jin walked in with a tray with a smile, "There is nothing else in Lianshan County, Coptis chinensis is the only specialty, this thing can not only be used in medicine, but also good as food." Don't look at it as bitter, but cooking it in their mountain method has a different taste. ”

"Coptis chinensis!" Picking up a finger thick and long coptis chinensis, Ding Taiyi sighed, now, he is really like eating Coptis chinensis, and he is bitter in his heart.

"Where does Shi Joinjun live?"

"I live in the hut next door! They're cleaning up! Shi Jin smiled and said: "Ruan Cishan sent a pot of wine, if the festival commander doesn't dislike it, I will accompany you to eat this coptis and drink two glasses." ”

"Okay, drink two glasses together, this time you go to Xiangxi with me, as the liaison officer of both sides, it will be hard, this does not have to be in the city of Guangzhou, then Xiangxi, and this mountain is almost the same, or even more bitter, at least it is very calm here." Xiangxi is much more dangerous. ”

"What's so scary! Isn't this following the festival marshal? Tens of thousands of troops, still afraid of those barbarians? Shi Jin didn't care.

"If only killing would solve the problem!" Ding Taiyi shook his head and said, "There will be a lot of trouble in the future." Shi joined the army, and in the future, I will ask you to think of more ways for us in terms of logistics support! ”

"That's nature!" After drinking a glass of wine with Ding Taiyi, Shi Jin patted his chest and said, "Hello, I can be good, I think very clearly about this section." Naturally, he was the only commander to obey his orders, and tried his best to get more money, more food, and more ordnance for my Hunan army. ”

Hearing Shi Jin say this, Ding Taiyi nodded with satisfaction, this Shi Jin is a person who understands.

"You've known that Ruan Cishan before?"

"I know, but there is no deep friendship, every year he has to escort a large number of medicinal materials such as Coptis chinensis to Lingnan, I have been in contact with him a few times, no, today he invited me to his house to drink again!" Shi Jin said with a smile.

"Then you have to go early and return early, early tomorrow morning, we will leave." Ding Taiyi said with a smile. "This Ruan Cishan looks very good, and he has a lot of experience in dealing with the Yi people, you ask him, would you like to follow me? To be a county here, I was wronged! ”

"Then I'll tell him!" Shi Jin said with a smile: "To be favored by the handsome, this guy is going to have good luck!" ”