Du Zhongxiao rode a horse and traveled north along the Yellow River. The further north you go, the more open the valley becomes, but the less populated it becomes. Looking at a wide and flat grassland, the Yellow River runs through it in the middle, and occasionally there are cattle and sheep dotted among them, as if they have arrived at the grassland, where it looks like the Central Plains of the Han people.

Puzzled in his heart, Du Zhongxiao asked Pang Xun who followed him closely: "Command, the more north, the flatter the land, and close to the Yellow River, all the land that has been reclaimed is fertile land, why is there no human population?" It is said that the Volcano Army is a bitter and cold land, the land is barren and the people are poor, and there is no way to make a living, but the best land is barren, this is not begging for food with a golden rice bowl? If it is said that the vulgar is impregnated, the people are used to half-farming and half-pasture, and there are always people from the Central Plains who come here to open up the land. ”

Pang Xun smiled all over his face: "I don't know that the officers don't know that this is close to the border, and it is close to the Khitan, so it must be abandoned according to the rules, thinking that it is a forbidden land." The officials did not see that although it was flat land here, there were many big trees, and it became a forest, which was to take the meaning of Yusai to limit the Khitan horse army. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and did not speak. The place where the Song Dynasty and the Khitan border, Hebei Duotangbo, has been excavated continuously over the years, and it has been continuously formed into a block, forming a barrier to block the Khitan cavalry from going south. Hedong Road is located on the plateau, there are no big rivers and lakes, so you have to use trees and forests. History records that in the Qin period, Meng Tian guarded the north, the stone was the city, the elm was the plug, and the large forest formed by this kind of man was called the elm stopper.

In addition to intentionally planting trees at the border, the cutting down of trees on Hedong Road is even more strictly prohibited. After decades of accumulation, there are many big trees in the mountains in this area, and there are no trees in the mountains due to iron smelting in the southern states, which are completely different scenes.

However, how effective is this method of blocking the Khitan cavalry with the help of the forest, Du Zhongxiao can only shake his head.

Corresponding to Yusai, reclamation is prohibited within 20 miles along the border, which is called forbidden land. The geographical limits of the Volcano Army, the most extensive river valley, are within twenty miles of the border. In fact, the reason why the army was set up here was because the city was located at the mouth of the wide river valley that narrowed to the south, and it choked the throat. The many fortresses under its jurisdiction are all the periphery of the military city, and form a complete defense system with the military city.

Everything here is for military defense, and for decades, people's livelihood has not been considered at all. Of the 3,000 households, half of them depended on the garrison, and many relied on trade along the border, and the peasants in the real sense were quite scarce.

All the way to the north, at noon to the Xiongyong Village. Here is the Yellow River in the west, the mountains in the east, just the intersection of the south and the north, although it is a small village, but it is like a majestic pass. There are 100 people stationed in the wall, which is the north gate of the volcano military city.

Fei Li, the owner of the village and the head of the capital, was determined to welcome out of the village early and took Du Zhongxiao and his party into the city.

Du Zhongxiao took Pang Xun on a northern tour today, and it was he who volunteered to actually command the garrison in the military city, and there were no of his subordinates in this area. On that day, Du Zhongxiao gave the newly steamed wine to Xiang Jun, which made Pang Xun misunderstand that the new Zhijun looked at Xiang Jun differently, and was particularly affectionate to Du Zhongxiao.

Looking at the various shops on both sides of the street in the village, it seems to be prosperous, but the pedestrians on the road are very scarce. Du Zhongxiao knows that the business here does not rely on locals, and it is all the business of foreign merchants. The land here is close to the Khitan, the terrain is complex, and I don't know how many chaotic businesses there are, feeding countless merchants. If you check it carefully, I'm afraid that every store has an unsavory business.

When he arrived at the village hall, after a little news, Fei Lizhi crossed his hands and said: "It's not early, the small one has prepared some wine and meat to catch the wind for the army." This is a small place, and it can only be in this official hall, and the officials are not strange. After saying that, he ordered his subordinates to clean up the sundries in the hall and prepare to serve wine and meat.

Du Zhongxiao waved his hand: "It's good for you to keep your subordinates busy, take me to the city tower to have a look." This is the gateway of the Volcano Army, which is not comparable to ordinary walled forts. I am an intellectual, and I have to influence the geographical situation. - By the way, I brought a few jars of good wine, and you can move it down and distribute it to the soldiers in the village. ”

Fei Lizhi hurriedly thanked him, and loudly ordered a few personal soldiers to follow Tao Seventeen to carry wine.

The village is very small, and it is not possible to walk one or two hundred steps out of the village hall, and then it will arrive at the north village gate. Fei Lizhi led Du Zhongxiao to the walled building, pointed to the river valley in the north and said: "Officials and look, from now on, the village will be a flat river to the north, and there is no danger to defend." The road from the north of the village, over the hills, the Yellow River into the mountains. The one that chokes the mouth of the valley is Dongjiazhai, where there is a field. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and asked: "From here to the north, the Yellow River twists and turns, and the valley is dozens of miles wide, which is a rare fertile land, why don't you see people?" Could it be that these hundreds of hectares of fertile land are all wasteland and have not been cultivated? ”

Fei Lizhi said: "What the official said is right, this is a forbidden land, not only is it not allowed to be farmland, but even grazing is not allowed. ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "The border is listed as a forbidden land, which was determined by the alliance between this dynasty and the Khitan Prefecture, and the people of the two countries are not allowed to cultivate the land for twenty miles along the border. It has been more than 40 years since the covenant was made, and the dynasty has not changed, but the Khitan has not obeyed it. Not only have they reclaimed forbidden land north of the border, but in recent years, they have continued to encroach on the south, causing many disputes. The Volcano Army is here, there is no such thing? ”

Fei Lizhi was a little embarrassed: "The Zhizhi Army, the Volcano Army is all dirt and mountains to the north, the terrain is cold, and there are not many Khitan households. There are no cases of encroachment in river valleys, but it is common to see cattle and sheep grazing across the border. The imperial court and the Northern Dynasty are on good terms, and we really can't stand it when we turn a blind eye, but we expel the matter. In recent years, the Khitan people have become more and more bold, and some of them have set up accounts in the territory all year round, and they don't know how to deal with them. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head again and again and did not speak. The so-called Wen Tian Wu Huan, since the alliance of Lanzhou, the defenders along the border did not dare to clash with the Khitan, and strictly restrained the interior, and covered up the Khitan's betrayal of the alliance if they could, maintaining a false impression of peace. For example, the forbidden land along the border was originally forbidden to cultivate by each side for 20 miles, forming a 40-mile-wide no-man's land to avoid all kinds of conflicts. In fact, the Khitan never complied with it. Forty years have passed, and the Song Dynasty has been uninhabited for 20 miles, but the Khitan has reclaimed all the forbidden land, and in recent years, it has continued to invade the southward border.

The Khitan already had a psychological advantage over the Song Dynasty, and they were nomads, and these wastelands were not forbidden lands at all in their eyes, but good pastures. The river valley in this area is rich in water and grass, and the terrain is low, which is a good wintering pasture in the eyes of the Khitan people, and cross-border grazing is taken for granted by them.

Fortunately, in recent years, the mentality of the DPRK and Chinese officials has changed, and they have become more assertive on the border issue. Recently, the Khitan was defeated by the party, and taking advantage of this opportunity, the voices of the DPRK and China calling for the reclamation of forbidden land have increased significantly. First, Bao Zheng invaded the forbidden land on Hedong Road, and then Ouyang Xiu demanded the abolition of the decree that the forbidden land should not be reclaimed, and the policy began to loosen.

With so many years of policy inertia, it is unrealistic to ask a small village owner to be tough on the Khitan. This kind of policy change can only be done by a landlord like Du Zhongxiao. What Du Zhongxiao has to do now is to understand the actual situation in various localities under his rule as soon as possible.

Seeing that Du Zhongxiao was silent, Fei Lizhi obediently changed the topic, pointed to the opposite side of the Yellow River and said: "On the other side of the river is Fuzhou, and when you cross the river and turn over the mountain, you will be Anfeng Village." In recent years, the party has been in turmoil, and there have been constant wars there, and more than half of our Volcano Army soldiers have supported there. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The party has made peace, and there is no need to mention the past." Now the Khitan is defeated by the party, Shengyun Prefecture is Datong Prefecture, set as Xijing, and the garrison increases. Just north of us, the new state of Yongbyon was established, and there were heavy troops. These days, you have carefully checked the territory, and how many Khitans have crossed the border must be found out one by one. I have a decision on what to do with it. You can't be confused, you don't even know how many people are coming. ”

Fei Lizhi made a promise, and his heart was a little irritable. This new intellectual, it seems that he is different from the previous ones, and he wants to do something, and the good days of his own people seem to be coming to an end. Originally, these soldiers stationed in the border villages had no preparation for war at all, and they did business, secretly raising cattle and sheep for grazing, and lived a good life, and they were most afraid of Shangguan making trouble.