Black Mountain Battalion, Zhenyuan Pass.

Zhenyuanguan, which is at the end of Helan Mountain and the confluence of the Yellow River, can be said to be the place where mountains and rivers intersect, and the place where soldiers must fight. During the orthodox years, because of the Warat Tatars have grazing in this area, the southward intrusion occurs from time to time, in order to guard the convenience, finally built a section of the North Great Wall that stretches for more than 30 miles in the mountain pass, and the town is located on this section of the Great Wall. The five miles in Guannan are the construction of the Black Mountain Battalion, which has both warehouses and fields, and these two places have become the most important barrier in Ningxia.

However, when Xu Xun left Miao Kui Zhang Yong and a part of his entourage in the Ningxia Acropolis, set off early in the morning, more than 200 people rushed for two days, and did not arrive at Zhenyuan Pass until the evening of the third day, only to find that this place was completely different from the world's Xiongguan like Juyong Pass. Decades of wind and rain erosion years have invaded, the North Great Wall has long been dilapidated, the town on the pass of the Great Wall, it looks lonely, and even the three words of Zhenyuan Pass, which was once bound to be the dragon flying and the phoenix dance, also seem to be bleak.

Zhenyuan Pass is under the jurisdiction of Ningxia Pingyu Qianhu, although Wei Sheng, who got the news, knew that Xu Xun was coming, but he was a little surprised that he came so quickly. The general army has always been appointed to inspect various guards in Ningxia, but Zhenyuanguan has been ignored almost every time. First, they have traveled too far and the mountain roads are also steep, and secondly, there are more than 200 people here, and the death of those who have been sick for many years has long been nothing to look forward to. Therefore, when he faced the young and powerful Xu Xun, he was more curious, unlike the panic of those generals in the General Military Mansion.

There is no more difficult place in the world than Zhenyuanguan, and he is not afraid of being put in small shoes!

Therefore, taking Xu Xun into the pass, seeing that he had no expression when he looked around, Wei Sheng said bluntly: "The place is small and there are only a few rooms, and these people like Pingbei Bo are afraid that there is no place to settle them." Moreover, the grain of our military household here is a fixed amount, although the General Military Office has sent someone to inform it before, but the grain and grass in the Black Mountain Camp and Warehouse are limited, and the General Military Office will have to take several days even if it is transferred, so if Pingbei Bo stays longer, it is not a lowly and frustrating speech, but I am afraid that the stored grain will be difficult to support......"

"Before I came, I had commanded my head to prepare seven days' dry rations."

Xu Xun glanced at Mo Feng, who was full of indifference behind him, and secretly thought that he was fortunate to have met such a person by chance, otherwise without his reminder, he might have heard that the Black Mountain camp and warehouse had both the camp and the field, so he thought that he would not bring dry food, which would be trouble. At this time, seeing that Wei Sheng breathed a long sigh of relief, obviously pleased that his people would not rob the soldiers of Zhenyuanguan of the stockpile, he opened his mouth and asked, "How many garrisons are there in Zhenyuanguan now?" ”

"There are five hundred and twenty people registered, but there are actually two hundred and fifty-three." Wei Sheng replied very happily, and then as if Xu Xun had questions, he took the initiative to explain, "Humble duties can be said very honestly, and they never eat empty quotas." Eat empty quotas in this kind of place, and if the Tartars get into the Kou, they will be looking for their own death. The 263 people who were short of the quota had died of illness, war, or wounds over the years. Zhenyuanguan is the most bitter place in the whole Ningxia Town, no one is willing to come, but whenever the military household is selected, everyone will pay money to bribe and exempt from the hook, so the shortage is more and more. ”

It's not that no generals dare to say it, but most of them are not true, so Chen Xiong, who has led the troops for many years, laughed, and Jiang Bin, who was behind, also scoffed. However, Mo Feng, who was standing behind Xu Xun, suddenly spoke: "Uncle Pingbei, Wei Baichan is already fifty and eight this year, and he should have been stationed in Zhenyuanguan for more than twenty years. ”

Although Mo Feng agreed to follow Xu Xun to Zhenyuanguan, this was the first time he spoke except for the previous reminder to bring enough dry food. As soon as these words came out, others were fine, but Wei Sheng glanced at him in surprise, and then laughed self-deprecatingly: "I didn't expect that my Wei Sheng had such a little reputation, and some people would know that I still think that no one remembers me as a person." "...," "At that time, Wang Taifu burned the Tartars in the red salt pond with a lot of rollers, and captured their old and young, at that time, Wei Baihu was the first to enter the enemy formation with a small pawn, and this is the hundred households who were promoted because of merit, right?" ”

Xu Xun suddenly asked, seeing that Wei Sheng was stunned all of a sudden, even Mo Feng raised his eyebrows, he secretly thought that he had let Cao Mi operate in Zhubian for more than a year, and established the files of the upper and lower officers, although it was not as detailed as the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, but there was still some progress. At this moment, he glanced back at Mo Feng and said, "It seems that I am very lucky this time, and I was able to meet two warriors back then." ”

Seeing that Xu Xun led everyone to stride forward, while Mo Feng stayed where he was and didn't move, Wei Sheng couldn't help but stare at the other party for a while, and then said with some hesitation: "Dare to ask this ...... to go"

"Although I have been with Wang Taifu for a longer time, but compared to Wei Baihu, it is far inferior, after the expedition to Ganzhou, I took off my armor and went home, unlike Wei Baihu who has been guarding the place of Zhenyuan Pass because of Wang Taifu's words back then." "No one will defend it, and if I pick a pick, I'm afraid this place will have to be lost." Wei Sheng smiled bitterly, and then spread his hands and said, "Fortunately, there are still these fools staying here with me, otherwise it will be difficult for my good wife to cook without rice, and I won't be able to last for so many years." It's a pity that they can't resist so many heroes who died in this life, old age, sickness and death, and now only a small half is left, and the rest have gone underground to follow Mrs. Wang...... By the way, you haven't said who you are? ”

"Wei Dabang...... I'm Mo Feng.

Seeing that Wei Sheng's eyes suddenly widened, Mo Feng smiled bitterly: "The old brothers have all scattered, I have been disheartened all these years, and now it seems that I really can't help but be sorry for you who are still thinking about eating sand in Zhenyuan Pass!" ”

"Hah...... Ha ha! ”

Wei Sheng completely forgot about Xu Xun, who had already gone out, and patted Mo Feng on the shoulder and said, "I can't imagine that you, the youngest back then, are now also like this with gray hair and beard!" Don't say anything that is okay or not, if the court wants to restore the Hetao, but you are still at home, then I have to slap you in the head, but now...... The last time the Black Mountain Business Grain came over, those dogs said that Zhenyuanguan was going south, and even I was disheartened! ”

While the two brothers were gossiping, Xu Xun finally came to the northeast city wall. The north side of Zhenyuanguan is used to build that section of the Great Wall in the orthodox years, the loess rammed wall is more than four meters high, you can clearly see the traces of repair, and the city wall is more than three meters wide, and one by one the arrow buttresses are attacked by the wind and sand for many years, only a piece of yellow remains. Because Zhenyuan Pass is located in the mountain pass, it is condescending at this moment, and you can clearly see the passage road under the mountain, and the rushing river in the east. In the distance, another rolling Great Wall can be clearly seen.

It is clearly another section of the Great Wall left over from the Qin and Han dynasties!

"The west side of Zhenyuan Pass is close to Helan Mountain, which is a stone city wall, but this section is built of loess, a total of more than 30 miles to the west bank of the Yellow River." Wei Sheng didn't rush over until this time, and when he said this, he sighed again and said, "I heard that when I originally built it, I planned to use all the stone walls, but after all, it cost too much, so it was rammed with loess here." If they were all stone walls, it would not be so easy for the Tartars to destroy the walls and attack them. Also, this city wall of more than 30 miles, but only Zhenyuan Pass is guarded, that is, that section of the stone city wall is not easy to climb the war horses, and other places are exposed to the wind and rain, and it is easy to come in. ”

Hearing Wei Sheng complain here, Xu Xun suddenly pointed to a green field by the river over there and asked, "Whose land is that?" ”

"That? It was the land that some soldiers had cultivated. Wei Sheng replied naturally, "When the Yellow River flooded, although Xing Xing could all be flooded, and when the Tartars came, Xing might all be gone, but it was more likely that it was a bumper harvest. It takes some seeds and effort, otherwise it will not be enough to rely on the grain and grass transported by the Montenegrin camp alone. ”…,

Xu Xun went from Yansui Town to Ningxia Town, and he had already heard many people say that he was farming in the Hetao, but when he really saw it at this time, the throbbing was not trivial.

After a long time, he spoke: "The Tartars often attack when the spring flowers are in full bloom and the autumn horses are fat, so you have not attacked when their herdsmen came to graze?" ”

"Why not?" Wei Sheng raised his eyebrows, and said almost without thinking, "Otherwise, how could the imperial court have a decree in the past, if the cattle, sheep and horses were recaptured from the captives, forty percent would belong to themselves, and six transactions could be exchanged for military merits?" It's just that those herdsmen are not vegetarians, and if they dare to come down to graze, most of them are a whole tribe coming down, echoing each other, and it is not easy to get a big vote. To do such a thing, those generals have to mobilize a large army, so that they can not only exchange the first merit, but also those cattle and sheep can be exchanged for a large amount of money. ”

That's the right thing to do! It doesn't make sense, only the Tartars invaded and plundered the people on the border, but the border generals didn't know to do the opposite. I remember that in the past, there were border generals who tricked the leaders of a certain department into trading with each other, and then killed people and made meritorious deeds, in contrast, Wang Yue, who was repeatedly impeached for meritorious service, even if there was really a meritorious service, how to say that he also had real money and silver military exploits.

The sky darkened very quickly, and Xu Xun had only been standing in Guan Zi for a quarter of an hour, and night had completely fallen. The heat under the sun during the day was quickly replaced by an indescribable cold, and he saw that a few scattered torches had been lit in all directions, and before Wei Sheng could explain, he knew that this person was not stingy, but that Zhenyuan Guan had limited materials. Therefore, he took the initiative to say: "It's dark, let's go back to the room first!" ”

Although Wei Sheng vacated his house and cleaned up a little, it was still very shabby. Seeing that Xu Xun glanced at it and sat down with a comfortable face, remembering that this one brought Mo Feng and could go to Zhenyuan Pass to have a look, at least it would be better than those general soldiers who changed their lights, Wei Sheng's original disapproval in his heart faded a lot. Therefore, seeing Xu Xun's face sinking like water, he couldn't help but say tentatively: "Pingbei Bo plans to stay in Zhenyuan Pass for a few days, so why don't you have a preparation?" ”

"Three."

Xu Xun stretched out three fingers, and when he saw that Wei Sheng was a little surprised, he opened his mouth and said: "First, I have to go and see this section of the Great Wall along this town to the west until Helan Mountain; Second, take me to the land where the soldiers are cultivating and have a look. Third, go to the Black Mountain camp again. Before, because I wanted to take advantage of the darkness to get to Zhenyuan Pass, I didn't have time to go to the Black Mountain Camp, and General Qiu had already gone first. "But it won't take three days......

Without waiting for Wei Sheng to answer, Xu Xun said lightly: "In addition, I have to wait for a group of people here." ”

If you don't go to the Great Wall, you are not a hero, although Xu Xun is also a person who has fought a war, but although he has passed by Juyong Pass and other Xiongguan before, he has also explored many stone castles built along the Great Wall, but this is the first time he really climbed the Great Wall in this life. Compared with the stone city walls built of big stones in Juyongguan, the loess rammed city walls in the area from Zhenyuan Pass to the west are extremely difficult to walk in many places because of the wind and sand invasion of the years, which reminds him of the experience of being curious and people climbing the wild Great Wall.

However, the more than 30-mile Great Wall built on the mountain was even more difficult to climb, and if Wei Sheng hadn't prepared a few mules that were good at walking this kind of road earlier, he would only have had time to walk half the way even if his physical strength was good. Wei Sheng walked as if he was strolling leisurely, but when Xu Xun got off the mule at the end of the stone city wall next to Helan Mountain, and walked to the end of the mountain with the saber that had been tightly wrapped in cloth, he couldn't help but look at it in surprise.

Finding that Xu Xun suddenly drew his sword out of the sheath, the bright sword light penetrated deep into the mountain, bringing down a lot of soil, and then Xu Xun actually took a silk handkerchief and wrapped some soil casually, he finally couldn't help but ask: "Pingbeibo, what does this mean?" I only heard that the wanderer is outside, bringing his hometown to show his nostalgia, do you have to take the soil of Helan Mountain back as a souvenir? "...,"It's not that I want to make a souvenir, but to bring it back to the emperor." ”

Coming out today, Xu Xun left Chen Xiong at Zhenyuan Pass just in case, and at this time, he saw more than a dozen other entourage sergeants standing in the distance, and only Wei Sheng Mofeng was close to the place, and both of them were stunned at the moment, so he said: "The emperor has always wanted to patrol the border, but he was persuaded by my bitter words, and he regretted it in his heart, so he gave this sword, saying that in case of war, he hoped to kill a few Tartars, and it could be regarded as the emperor coming to the battlefield in person." It's a pity that although I have encountered a small group of captives along the way, this sword has not seen blood, in case I go back like this, it is good to bring some soil from Helan Mountain to calm the emperor's heart. ”

Speaking of this, he carefully returned the sword to its sheath, and said word by word with the opening of the arrow stack: "Before coming out this time, Governor Yang and I played it to the emperor. The Hetao is no longer in Shaanxi. Guarding according to the natural dangers of the Yellow River is far stronger than letting the captives come and go like the wind now! ”

"Pingjian Bo...... Is this true? ”

Wei Sheng was finally moved, and after blurting out a question, he woke up to such a military event, and it was not his turn to speak, but it was really uncomfortable to hold him back, so he opened his heart horizontally and said: "But there is a captive nest in the Hetao, what a hero Wang Taifu was back then, repeatedly broke the captives, and in the end it was just a loss for the captives, and he had to cross the river to the north, which was temporarily stopped for more than ten years, but now Pingbei Bo said that he wanted to collect the Hetao, do you feel that he is better at fighting than the former Wang Taifu?" ”

"Those who are good at fighting have no great achievements." Xu Xun saw Wei Sheng's face full of dissatisfaction, and immediately said, "Back then, Wang Taifu was the trilateral general system, although he made many military exploits, but after the court discussion, Fuhetao Dongsheng had different opinions after all, even if he had great ability, he couldn't risk the world's disapproval. Now that the emperor has the heart to reset, many of the ministers also support this proposal, and Governor Yang is even more on the policy of guarding the emperor, which can be said to be ripe. Governor Yang wrote six things along the three sides before, and one of the most important is to rebuild the pier platform of Montenegro and Zhenyuanguan. ”

"It's really going to be like a ...... I really want to repeat the question! "Thinking that the fertile soil by the Yellow River can only be used in a small piece, and this grain has to rely on the hard work of the lower head to transport it, although he is unwilling, Wei Sheng also knows that even if Zhenyuanguan does not move south in his lifetime, he will definitely move south after closing his eyes. At this moment, he almost did not hesitate to kneel down on one knee and salute: "If the imperial court really has such a discussion, although the humble position is an old age, it will definitely do its best!" ”

As an old general, Mo Feng has always been angry about the injustice suffered by Wang Yue, and he couldn't help but say at this time: "What Pingbei Bo said now is certainly exciting, but what if the imperial court changes its order? ”

"The emperor's heart has always been extremely strong, and it will not be like this!" When Xu Xun said this, he paused for a moment, and then said word by word, "And I have already discussed with the emperor before I left, and I plan to restore the title of Earl Fu Weining, the crown prince!" ”

For the two officers who were picked up by Wang Yue in the past, whether it was the restoration of the Hetao or the rebuilding of Zhenyuan Pass, although it was impassioned and heartwarming, it was not as important as Xu Xun's last sentence. Especially Mo Feng, who was by Wang Yue's side when he died, was even more choked with excitement and couldn't say a word. After a long time, Wei Sheng's voice trembled and said, "Uncle Pingbei, are you really not talking about it?" When Wang Taifu was removed from the throne, there were so many people in the world, and no one said a word of justice. ”

"Just because no one spoke up then doesn't mean there isn't anyone speaking up now! Besides, I don't need to speak to you! Xu Xun smiled, and then said word by word, "You must know that the emperor is not the Xian Temple of the year!" That's a bit of a rebellion. However, it is no secret that Emperor Chenghua is a repetitive person, but the current Emperor Zhengde is rumored to be stubborn and arbitrary, and these are all things that are criticized on weekdays, but at this moment, thinking about the temperament of the little emperor, Wei Sheng and Mo Feng can't help but have deep hope. …,

The Son of Heaven even dared to chase away veteran ministers like Liu Jian and Xie Qian, and restore their benefactor titles, maybe it was really possible!

With this promise, on the way back, the two knew that Xu Xun could tell them such a thing, and they were already convinced, and they couldn't help but say a word to Xu Xun, and told Xu Xun a lot about the personnel of Ningxia Town, as well as the whereabouts and recent situation of Wang Yue's other subordinates in the past. Although Wang Yue died only nine years ago, after Hongzhi's comeback in nine years, only a small number of subordinates were recalled that year, and more people waited for Wang Yue's death before they had the opportunity to come out. Many of the brave generals who broke the enemy several times in the past are now fifty or sixty old men, and more are no longer alive.

Wang Yue was demoted in the Chenghua years, and was not recalled until the seventh year of Hongzhi, and the general system of Ganliang border affairs in the tenth year of Hongzhi was impeached not long after Li Guang was involved, and finally died of grief Speaking of luck, and Cheng Minzheng was on par. Among the prestige, such injustice does not seem to be much, but it is only not very famous, at least far less famous than those who died or deposed when the traitorous ministers were in power.

Although he brought a mule, it was very inconvenient to go up and down in some places, so Xu Xun walked down more than sixty miles back and forth, and when he returned to Zhenyuanguan, the sun had already set. In the early morning, I watched the rising sun rise from the end of the Yellow River, at noon I watched the sun shine on the Great Wall of Qin and Han Dynasties parallel to this Great Wall, and at this time I watched the sunset slowly set in the direction of Helan Mountain.

Chen Xiong, who came out, saw Xu Xun looking at the sunset with a daze, and vaguely understood in his heart, because he smiled: "It's the first time Pingbeibo has seen such a scene, right?" ”

That's right, I unconsciously remembered those two lines of poetry, the desert is lonely, and the sun sets on the long river. Today's toss is not small, but also see this section of the Great Wall is in disrepair, coupled with the mountains and rivers, the terrain is precipitous, only hundreds of people in Zhenyuanguan, it is indeed extremely inconvenient to guard, Ningxia Town intends to abandon this place to move south to Zhenyuanguan, its circumstances are forgivable, but it is not advisable to reason. Not to mention anything else, first of all, I'm sorry for these soldiers who have been collected in Zhenyuan Pass for decades! ”

"It's really hard to stay in this lonely pass for so many years."

Chen Xiong took a turn in Guanzhong today, although he also saw women and children, but after all, the number was very small, and they were either old or small, and after asking, he knew that young women could not bear to be poor and lonely here, and only the elderly and children could not do without. And the military kings are all forty or fifty, and there are very few young and strong, so in the opinion of him, who has led many years of soldiers, how can he not know what such a situation represents?

Wei Sheng was still immersed in Xu Xun's previous promise at this time, and when he heard Chen Xiong's words, he grinned and said: "As long as there are more people in the court who understand and know our suffering, these years of suffering will not be in vain!" ”

"Having said that, if there is only hard work and no merit, how many Wei Baihu in the world can be like this, who are willing to guard the poverty here?" Xu Xun smiled slightly, and then said, "The soldiers in front of the sect shed blood and tears, and even tolerated some famous and reputation-seeking shafts to pick their noses and eyes at real heroes, how can there be such a truth in the world!" According to me, in the future, let all the new jinshi stay in the most dangerous stone forts at the forefront of Ruzhen Yuanguan for a month, let them know the hardships of the soldiers, and then let them go back to be their security officials! If you don't go to the Great Wall, you are not a hero, you are not a hero, how can you slander the qualifications of a hero? ”

As soon as these words came out, even the sergeants not far away burst into laughter, Wei Sheng Mofeng thought that Xu Xun was just joking, and he didn't take it seriously when he laughed, Jiang Bin couldn't help but secretly laugh at Xu Xun's empty words, but Chen Xiong knew Xu Xun's temperament, and after glancing at the past, he muttered a little in his heart.

This master, you can't be serious, right?

ps: The parallel of the two sections of the Great Wall in Zhenyuanguan is what I found in the information, until now, the west of Datong can still see the spectacular scene of the parallel of the Hanming Great Wall....... ）