In the middle of Yanshan and the northern prairie, the undulating Yanshan Mountains gradually extend northward to a large area of soothing low-altitude slopes. The Yanshui River and its two important tributaries, which raise 800,000 sons and daughters of Yanzhong, originated here, and after a long geological time, the winding Yanshui washed out a large river road that stretched for more than 300 miles in the slope. Since before the Spring and Autumn Period, there is a steady stream of Central Plains people who came here to settle and farm, on the cliff in the north of Liuzhen, you can still find the footprints left by the ancestors in those years, and you can find the plow, rake, shovel and utensils shaped like hammers made of stones and animal bones in the three caves. But the industrious people shed sweat, but did not harvest happiness in the land, from the day of the historical records, this land has been wrapped in the flames of war, immersed in blood, from the early Xiongnu, to the later Donghu and Wuhuan, to the Turkic, Uighur, Xi, Xianbei, Khitan ...... They all used this place as an important passage to peek into the rich agricultural civilization of the Central Plains. This long list does not include the small tribes and small peoples who were swept away by the surging tide of ethnic integration on the steppe before they could leave their names in the history books. But the fact that they did not leave their names does not mean that they did not write their sins, and driven by greed, they also rode horses and raised butcher knives in this land. Yet, as history has proven countless times, bloody killings can never lead to true submission. In the face of the butcher's knife of the nomads, the Yanshan people may be silent or forbearing, but they will never forget their hatred and resistance. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to the Qin Dynasty, to the Han Dynasty, to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, to the Great Zhao, generation after generation of Yanshan people fought to the death with foreign races on this land. The Yanshan people went to fight the enemy for the land. At the same time, they did not go to war for the sake of the land. Now, the battle is far from over. Just as the beacon tower on a lonely hill in the grassland foreshadowed, the calm in front of us was only a temporary pause in the long river of war, a sign and a warning......

This beacon tower has an official title: Yanshan Weiliu Town, Ganzhi Village, Xinzi Beacon Tower.

On the geographical map of Yanshanwei, it is absolutely impossible for people to see the mark of the beacon tower of the Xinzi beacon tower in Ganzhizhai, Liuzhen; In many Yanshan guards, people will never hear of such a beacon tower. It is in Liuzhen and Ganzhizhai, if you ask about the Xinzi Beacon Tower, it is very likely that the answer to you is a pair of blank and puzzled eyes. However, if we ask "Lonely" in another way, then about six or seven out of ten people will know about it; And if you ask "Huozhuotai", then ten people will all tell you that it is the northernmost point of the entire Yanshanwei, and it is a guard post closest to the northern grassland. It is probably also the northernmost beacon tower of Dazhao.

However, the answer that this person knows is not very accurate. In fact, it was a fort tightly encased in irregularly shaped rammed earth walls, and a sentry guard was stationed all year round. In the military village, there are command posts, barracks, grain depots, equipment stations, wells, almost everything. There were also two bed crossbows on the earthen wall, and a huge crossbow bolt attached to the battlement of the earthen wall made the fortress look like a beast with teeth and claws. Rust barges on crossbow arrows made of thick iron, staring quietly and calmly into the distance......

When Shang Cheng saw this beacon tower for the first time, a picture poured out of his mind, and a picture couldn't help but emerge from his mind, which was completely a flat boat in the desert ocean. Looking out, a radius of more than ten miles, except for this bare and lonely hill, the rest of the place is full of haze, desolate grass and yellow grass beach. The cold north wind that swept across the vast desert drove the lead-gray clouds across the sky, tumbling and moving slowly across the sky. The withered leaves swirled in circles on the tips of the frosted and snow-covered grass, and suddenly rose like a fry-winged sparrowhawk, and suddenly fluttered like rootless catkins. The two huge meadows in the northeast, northwest, and northwest directions, like two giants, were hidden in the green gauze and white fog and confronted the stone mountain coldly. Looking south, only a gray-black barrier is left in the winding Yanshan Mountains.

He stood for a long time on the earthen wall of the beacon tower. He did not speak to the men who accompanied him, nor to the commander of the garrison, but stood alone on the enemy tower facing north.

He had only come to the beacon half an hour earlier.

In the past three days, he has visited the other seven beacon towers between Ganzhizhai and Gushan, and Gutai is the last one and the end of his trip.

This trip was not on his schedule, but was a temporary decision made after he went to Ganzhizhai to inspect military affairs and preparations for war. In the past two times he came to Liuzhen, he had never been to the area north of Ganzhizhai, and he had little intuitive understanding of the road conditions and natural environment along the way. He needed to do a field trip. Maybe they'll come in handy at some point.

The traffic situation was much better than he expected. After the war in September was over, the Wei government urgently requisitioned a group of people and experienced craftsmen, and with the cooperation of the local garrison, raided and repaired part of the road between the beacon towers in Ganzhizhai, strengthened all the bridges along the road, and set up a military station every five miles along the way, and hoarded a large number of straw mats, straw bags and hay. It seems that the Wei government has been working to find a way to solve the problem of grain and grass transportation after the rainy season in spring and summer......

Now, he is standing under the Xinzi beacon tower, which is famous in the north for its name. This beacon tower made of stones embedded in the earthen wall can be seen everywhere on the wall after the fire, many of the stones have irregular lines that have exploded due to the high temperature, and the mortar filled in the cracks of the stones has also been burned into powder, and the fingers dig out the fine muck and fall down. There are even crystals on the earthen walls that can be distinguished by the naked eye, shining in the sunlight and changing into strange colors.

He lingered on the beacon for a while, and then went to the barracks where the soldiers lived, and without saying much to the soldiers who were not on duty, he prepared to go down the hill and head back.

The commander of the beacon tower is a nine-rank captain, and he has been by his side since Shang Cheng entered the fortress. The man was in his forties, thin and tall, and he staggered like a long bamboo pole when he walked. He had a long scar between the two cheekbones on his face, the tip of his nose had been cut off, his uncovered nostrils had become two black holes, he spoke without nasal resonance, and his voice was dry. According to the introduction of the captain of the guard army in Ganzhizhai on the way, this long surname Shi, originally from Cangzhou, was convicted of a felony because he stole a neighbor's ploughing cow, and he was kicked to Yanshan to be a border army, and it has been almost 20 years now. This person's life is hard, he didn't die when he was slashed open by the people of Tu Ji, and the time spent guarding this platform has accumulated for more than five years, and he is still alive and kicking, so he earned a nickname called "Can't Die". As for his original real name, few people can remember it.

I can't die, I've been keeping an eye on Shang Cheng. He saw that Shang Cheng was just dressed as an ordinary petty officer, but he had several guards around him, and the rank of several lieutenants and officers accompanying him was not low, but the stars were surrounding him like the moon, and he was so nervous that he didn't even dare to take a breath, so he guessed that Shang Cheng was probably a great big man, and he had to be a brigade commander to say the least, maybe he was still a general...... Seeing that Shang Cheng seemed to have the intention of leaving, he had an idea as soon as his eyes rolled. He slapped his legs and bowed to his chest and roared: "The commander of the Xinzi beacon tower of the border army in the town can't die, I've seen all the adults!" ”

Shang Chengwan smiled, raised his hand to return the salute, but did not speak, waiting for his next words. Looking at this guy's face, there was a sense of carelessness everywhere, and the kind of military appearance that no one could find a mistake, he knew that this was a veteran oilman.

Sure enough, he couldn't die: "A few adults came from afar, and they wanted to invite a few adults to a light meal." ”

Several of the guards captains immediately collapsed.

Shang Cheng smiled and asked him, "The guest is as good as the host, then we will stay and disturb this light meal...... Don't be busy, I take the liberty of asking, what do you have to eat here? ”

"My lord, the sky is high and windy in our remote place, and if you want to eat something good, you will definitely not be able to do it. However, corn and white flour buns are enough. There are also pickles, dried mushrooms and salted fish, which are better than gnawing on dried grain residues. ”

"Nothing else?"

"Yes!" I can't die and bow my head. He rubbed his hands, leaned over and salivated, and said, "My lord, you have seen a few steppe people on the grassy beach over there, and they have well-winded jerky, live sheep and cattle, and lambs that are less than half a year old. If you want something to eat, I'll get it right away. ”

Shang Cheng had already seen the few black broken felt bags and rotten shacks scattered on the big grass beach. In the north, there are not only the Turgits, but also many small tribes that are independent or semi-independent. They have lived here for generations, worshipping the white wolf and believing in the eagle god like the Tuqi people, and devoutly abiding by the laws of survival on the grassland, living in the vast grassland chasing water and grass, taking the sky as the curtain and the earth as their home. They are the real owners of the land......

He retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "Since Captain Shi is so enthusiastic, we can't rub this meal empty-handed." stones, let them bring all the skins on the horse's back. Captain Shi was worried about these bags of liquor, and I was afraid that it would not be for a while. ”

The real intention of the courteous guests was broken by a word, and it was inevitable that the black face would turn red if he couldn't die, and he laughed dryly and said: "Where is the need for adults to do it......" turned his head and shouted, "Then who hurry up and keep a few bastards in the stove room busy, and serve the wine and food with delicious food, if you wait for the adults to frown, I will hang all of them on the wall to dry!" ”