The banquet in the backyard of the Linzhou Prefecture lasted until late, and it was not until the middle of the moon that Zhong Hao and the three of them dispersed happily. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Zhong Hao and his entourage stayed at the accommodation arranged by Yang Wenguang, and Zhong Cheng chatted with Zhong Hao for a while before leaving.

Before Zhong Hao came to Linzhou, he had already inquired about the departure time of the Yang family's caravan. The Yang family caravan will not leave until the day after tomorrow, and Zhong Hao deliberately came to Linzhou one day in advance, so as to leave time for the Yang family caravan to contact and leave it to the Yang family caravan to arrange.

The next day, Yang Huaiyu told Yang Wenguang about Zhong Hao's desire for Zhong Cheng to come over to help. This matter is nothing to Yang Wenguang here, so he naturally readily agreed.

Yang Wenguang immediately shouted Zhong Cheng to sign the detention room and instructed him to behave well, try his best to help Zhong Hao, and not lose the face of the man who went out of the Zhenxi Army.

Zhong Cheng naturally agreed, and thanked Yang Wenguang for his kindness.

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In fact, Linzhou is very close to Hengshan, and on the red building on the city wall of Linzhou, you can clearly see Hengshan.

Hengshan was called Qiaoshan in ancient times, Qiaoshan was connected to Yaozhou in the south, Yanzhou in the north, Yanzhou in the east, more than 800 miles in length, the so-called danger of Hengshan, that is, the north of Qiaoshan. Hengshan specifically refers to the Hengshan mountain boundary of Guixia, that is, the Hengshan mountain area, and the Hengshan area in a broad sense also covers the five prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, You, and Yan at the northern foot of Hengshan.

The five prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, You, and Yan in the Hengshan area are the traditional areas inhabited by the Dangxiang people, and not only the production of agriculture and animal husbandry is quite developed here, but also the salt and iron, which are related to the lifeline of the economy, are also produced here.

When he was in Qingzhou, when he mentioned the party members, they all knew that they were powerful cavalry, and many people thought that they must be a nomadic people who were not good at farming, and Zhong Hao also thought so at that time. However, after arriving in Hexi, Zhong Hao learned that the party members were not only good at herding, but also good at farming.

Although many Qiang people do live by grazing and hunting, and the Dangxiang people are also a branch of the Qiang people, the Dangxiang people have a very high degree of sinicization, and their traditional settlements are very close to the central areas of the Han people, and they have already learned many ways of life and livelihood of the Han people.

Since Li Yuanhao established the country, the Hengshan area has become a natural barrier for Western Xia to resist the Great Song Dynasty, and has also become the forefront of the military struggle between the Song and Xia, and several major wars between the Song and Xia have taken place near the Hengshan area.

Hengshan mountainous area, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack; The Hengshan Qiang soldiers were able to fight well, and the Tangut people were quite troubled with the operation of this area.

However, the effective rule of the Western Xia was actually only in the Hengshan area covered by the five prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, You, and Yan outside the Hengshan Mountains. The Shengqiang tribe in the Hengshan Mountains was unruly and fierce, able to fight well, and it was difficult to restrain them, although the Western Xia worked the Hengshan Mountains, but in fact they have not been able to effectively rule.

In fact, what Zhong Hao said about attacking Hengshan mainly refers to the strategy of Hengshan Mountain. The five prefectures of Yin, Xia, Sui, You, and Yan covered by the Hengshan region have been ruled by the Western Xia for many years and have become an inseparable part of it, and it is too difficult to capture and not very operable. But as long as the Hengshan Mountains are controlled, the barrier of Western Xia will disappear completely

In fact, Song and Xia have been competing for these Shengqiang tribes in the Hengshan Mountains for a long time, and these Shengqiang tribes are not only excellent soldiers, but also excellent horse breeders.

Although these Shengqiang tribes and Dangxiang people in the Hengshan Mountains belong to the same Qiang people, they have been divided hundreds of years ago and have no close connection. Of course, in the face of interests, even the same species has no advantage. Race could not be an obstacle to the Song and Xia contending for the Shengqiang and Tibetan tribes.

Even if they belong to the same party Xiang Qiang people, there are many people who have to follow the Great Song Dynasty with all their hearts, such as the Zhe family in Fuzhou and the Wang family in Fengzhou, all of whom are Dangxiang Qiang people, but they are determined to help the Great Song Dynasty resist the Western Xia people. In the final analysis, this is all due to interests, and with the Great Song Dynasty, the Fuzhou Zhejia and the Fengzhou Wang family will be able to maintain their territory and retain their own interests to the greatest extent.

The reason why the Western Xia has been more dominant in the Hengshan Mountains in recent years, and the Great Song Dynasty has only wedged a few nails, is mainly because the Great Song Dynasty has invested too little in the operation of Hengshan, while the Western Xia is operating at full strength and has military deterrence, so it is more successful.

The northwest is bitterly cold and sparsely populated. Although the Great Song Dynasty did not fully promote the strategy of attacking Hengshan, in fact, some local governors on the edge of the border have long been doing it, just like in Linzhou, there are many Qiangbo tribes who have recruited them.

The Zhenxi army in Linzhou also had a lot of troops to replenish, which were selected from these attached Qiang people. There are also many Qiang people who were used by Yang Wenguang to help the Zhenxi Army raise war horses, and some of them cultivated the fields. Those who were recruited by the Great Song Dynasty to get the birth of the Qiang were generally called Ripe Qiang, those who herded war horses were generally ridden by herdsmen Ripe Qiang, and those who cultivated the land were generally called Farmer Ripe Qiang.

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Zhong Hao followed the Yang family caravan along the Tumaochuan River valley into the Hengshan Mountains.

The Yang family's caravan went to Silver Star Fort once a month, and it brought a lot of goods with it. There were more than 100 men and nearly 200 pack horses in this area.

The chief steward of the Yang family's caravan is called Yang Mingsheng, a very amiable middle-aged fat man. Because of the soju business, he went to Jingqiang Village and dealt with Zhong Hao, and he was quite familiar with Zhong Hao.

Zhong Hao wanted to go to the Hengshan Mountains to investigate the situation of the Shengqiang and Tibetan tribes there, and specially asked Yang Wenguang to follow the Yang family caravan during the banquet the day before yesterday.

In fact, if Zhong Hao just wanted to see on the edge of Hengshan, he didn't have to be so troublesome. The Shengqiang tribe at the eastern foot of Hengshan Mountain generally has more dealings with the Great Song Dynasty, and it is easy to avoid conflicts, Zhong Hao can actually take people directly to see it, as long as he pays attention to guarding against the party cavalry. However, Zhong Hao wanted to have an in-depth understanding of the situation of the Shengqiang Department in the Hengshan Mountains, so there was no way to clear the customs.

Yang Mingsheng knew Zhong Hao's identity, coupled with Yang Wenguang's entrustment, so he was very concerned about Zhong Hao and his party, and deliberately arranged him in the middle of the caravan's horse team for safety.

Most of the guys in the Yang family's caravan in the team looked very strong, and Zhong Hao estimated that many of them were soldiers who had retired from the ranks. These guys all have weapon pouches on their mounts, and the weapons are all in the bags. After all, it is to go to the realm of Western Xia, and if it is an open fire, I am afraid that it will cause unnecessary trouble.

Zhong Hao also asked Zheng Feng, who was accompanying him to protect him, and he to carry the long knives and swallow-winged crossbows that the twenty elites of the middle battalion would also carry with them, and put them in weapon bags, trying not to cause unnecessary trouble.

Zhong Cheng and Wang San, who were accompanying Zhong Hao, also put their weapons in their bags, after all, it was the territory of the Western Xia people, so there was nothing wrong with being careful.

Yang Huaiyu originally wanted to come with Zhong Hao, but he was sent to Fuzhou by Yang Wenguang to visit Zhijimin, the governor of Fuzhou.

It is said that Fuzhou Zhizhou Zhizhou Zhe Jimin is seriously ill, and the two families are in-laws, Zhe Jimin's grandfather Zhe Yuxun and Yang Wenguang's grandmother Zhe Lao Taijun are brothers and sisters, and the Zhe Yang family always watch and help each other, and the relationship is very good, so they need to visit each other. However, Yang Wenguang was the local magistrate of Linzhou and could not easily leave his post without permission, so he sent Yang Huaiyu to visit on his behalf.

Zhong Hao not only checked the situation of the Shengqiang tribe by himself, but also kept chatting with those old guys in the Yang family's caravan.

From those of them who often shuttle through the Hengshan area, Zhong Hao also inquired about some details of the Hengshan mountainous area.

Along the valley of the Tumaochuan River, Zhong Hao followed the Yang family's caravan and constantly encountered many Qiang tribes along the way, and they were quite friendly to the Yang family's caravan, and it was natural for them to exchange some goods with the Yang family's caravan.

The Qiang people in the Hengshan Mountains mainly lived by grazing and hunting, and were unable to produce any necessities of life, so they basically relied on exchanges with caravans.

And these caravans that brought them the necessities of life were mainly caravans from the Great Song Dynasty. After all, the productivity of the Tangut people is not high, and many things still depend on the Great Song Dynasty for supply. The caravans from the Western Xia to the Great Song Dynasty were mainly to sell livestock and Qingbai salt, which were not lacking in the Qiang people in the Hengshan Mountains.

These Qiang tribes also knew that if they had any disadvantage to these Great Song caravans, they would not dare to come in the future, and they would be subject to their own tribes in the end. Therefore, most of the Qiang tribes in the Hengshan Mountains will follow the conventions and rules, and they will exchange daily necessities with the caravans of the Great Song Dynasty in peace and stability, and they will not easily have any unfavorable behavior to the caravans of the Great Song Dynasty. (To be continued.) )