Jincheng has been the capital of Ankang for more than 100 years.

On the loess city wall without bricks, the moss is dense, and many places expose large or small holes, and whenever it rains, the rainwater falling on the city wall gathers into a stream, which flows down from the rammed earth crevices like a human capillary, and flows out like a fountain from these holes, making the whole section of the city wall look like a spectacular scene.

Under the city wall, along the mud road to the city gate, there is a stone cut gatehouse, there is a watchtower built of wood on the top, several zhang high from the ground, enough to overlook the whole city, it is the only commanding height of the whole city, it is also a place where the people of Jincheng are proud, the people of the four counties come to the city, when passing by here, they will always sneak a glance at the mighty soldiers on the tower with awe-inspiring eyes.

From the bottom of the castle tower, through the huge gate of thick wood and iron leaves, and walk a few steps along the avenue paved with scattered bluestone slabs, you can see Jincheng Street.

Jincheng is seven miles longitudinal and horizontal, the layout of the cross street, the circle-shaped city wall wraps the cross-shaped street in it, look down from the air, some like a special-shaped "Tian" word, also allude to the ancient precept of the round place, although the city is small, the rules are still there.

There are more than 1,000 households in the city, with a population of tens of thousands, almost the main population of the entire Ankang Mansion is here, and the number of people scattered in the deserted county town is not even a fraction of the Fucheng, Jincheng is the prosperity of the residents of the four counties of Ankang Prefecture, they have not seen how big the sky outside is, but they stubbornly believe that when they arrive in Jincheng, they will reach the center of the world.

Jincheng can gather popularity, of course, there is an advantage, not only because the city is here, but for another reason, in a sense, the city can be located here, but also because of this reason.

Five miles outside the city, is the Han River, the rushing river water will flood the good fertile fields along the river every year in the flood season, a certain year of big floods, will swell and flood under the wall of the city, from a historical point of view, the flood season brings serious harm.

However, the water is like a tiger, but it is also like a Buddha's face, and the Han water is the weight of Jincheng when it was in its heyday.

From the Nanyang Basin down the river and against the current, down to Yangzhou can go to Xijing, and if you go along the Han River, you can go to Hanzhong, this is the core element of the key area in Nanyang Xiangyang for the world to decide.

Take a boat from Junzhou, the 700-mile river valley will be crossed in just a few days, Hanzhong is like a stone's throw away, but although the time is short, you always have to get off the boat in the middle to hit the point, otherwise you will be depressed on the boat every day. And Jincheng happened to be in the middle of the 700-mile river valley, and the time and place were very good, so the wharf by the river was developed.

Jincheng Licheng was established on the basis of smooth trade routes, and it also prospered for decades, but with the outbreak and continuation of the war, river transportation was abolished, and only leaves drifted on the river except for a few lonely fishing boats, and Jincheng slowly fell into decay.

At the intersection of the cross street in the city, there is a three-entry courtyard sitting in the south and facing north, the lintel is tall, the courtyard is broad, a pair of stone beasts guarding the door are powerful and hideous, and the threshold is high to get the calf of ordinary people.

This is the Ankang Mansion.

But it has been abandoned for many years.

The Jin people and the Song people came and went, and the signboard on the door changed many times, and in the past few years, no one simply hung it, just exposed there.

Wanyan Chenghei regarded himself as a remnant of the Jin Kingdom, but the monarch was gone, and he didn't know how to deal with himself, so the plaque didn't go to get a new one, and everyone in the city knew that this was his official office.

But at the moment, there is no one in the official office.

Wanyan Chengsi was ten miles away from the city, accompanying a person to check the geography.

"From here to Xunzhou, it is a smooth road, there are no mountains and ravines in the middle, which is convenient for cavalry to pass, presumably Liu Heima will be very satisfied when he sees such terrain." Wanyan Chengji has been here for several years, and he knows everything about the grass and trees, he stands on a high post, pointing downward, pointing everywhere, the terrain near Jincheng is unfolding in front of him one by one.

"But when the river valley arrives here, it suddenly tightens, Junshan and Father Mountain suddenly stretch out from both sides of the river, the river water flows out of the cracks, some are as thrilling as the Kuimen on the Yangtze River, there is no passage on both sides, and the bird road army of some herb pickers is impossible to pass, and the only way is the plank road along the river."

"Back then, Jin Guo set up a water pass to collect taxes here, and now commerce and trade are cut off, and the water pass is abandoned, but the original site is still there, if Liu Heima passes, an elite soldier comes down from the mountain, and the plank road can be burned by setting fire, then Liu Heima can never turn back except for one way forward."

Changsun Hong listened attentively, but shook his head: "You burned the plank road, won't Kublai Khan be able to come?" Inappropriate. ”

Wanyan Chengsi blinked, and said in a deep voice: "My lord, Liu Heima has more than 10,000 elites with him, and there are more than 20,000 people and horses behind him, I can see it very clearly, it is not easy to eat them in one bite, the terrain around Jincheng is not wide enough, tens of thousands of enemies and enemies are crowded here, there is no room for detours, it is not bad to eat his vanguard troops, and if you covet too much, will you not be able to eat and choke?" ”

The eldest grandson Hong and Wanyan Chenghei, the high gang terrain is very prominent, the field of vision is excellent, from here to the distance, the surrounding landform is unobstructed, the golden city ten miles away is just built on an open ground on the edge of the Han River, because of the relationship between the front Jun Mountain and the father mountain, the river water has been impacted here for many years and months to come out of a good big flat land, a radius of dozens of miles is an excellent land, the Han River Valley flat land is innumerable, it is the best here, the location of the Golden City is here, it can be said that it is very reasonable.

Outside the city, the fields are full of green seedlings in May, and the industrious mountain people work in the busy season, as if they have not been disturbed by the war in the outside world, or rather, the war has not affected their urgent needs for farming, and they still work silently on the fields on which they depend.

Changsun Hong squinted at the scene full of idyllic scenery, and replied: "After the war, these seedling fields will be trampled to the end, and the harvest in this year's valley is very bad." ”

Wanyan Chenghei looked at him inexplicably, didn't know how to answer, and held back a sentence for a long time: "Yes, the life of the people in the river valley has always been very difficult. ”

"Hanzhong has been deliberately stockpiling grain for a long time, and the grain transported from Sichuan is increasing every day, and when Jincheng is stable, he will send a fleet down to transport a batch of rice down to ease the grain problem." The eldest grandson said, a strange light flickering between his eyebrows: "It's not easy for the people, if you can help, just help." ”

Wanyan Chenghei didn't talk this time, he felt that there was something in Changsun Hong's words.

The eldest grandson Hong sighed faintly and continued: "Lord Wanyan, you are a family of generals and officials with fine clothes and food, and you don't understand the hardships of ordinary people's lives, and the hardships and tiredness of the military are completely different from the hardships and tiredness of the common people. ”

(End of chapter)