After watching the dense Yue Tuo, there was a sad feeling that he wanted to cry bitterly, the Great Khan trusted him and entrusted him with a heavy task to let him take charge of the Horqin Prairie, and he also wanted to do his best to repay the Great Khan's kindness, but the damn wolf thief group came and went without a trace, burned and looted, it was completely their usual style of fighting and raising war, tossing the prairie into a mess, and the Phoenix Legion stationed at Shanhaiguan ran out from time to time to intervene, which not only made him tired, but also suffered heavy losses.

There are hundreds of large and small tribes in the entire Horqin steppe, at least more than half of them have been robbed by wolf thieves, only some strong, well-defended, and distant tribes have not been attacked and robbed, but their caravans can not escape the doom of the total annihilation, these wolves are also ruthless enough, even if they rob it, they also kill all the people, and put the things that can't be taken away and burn them all, so ruthless that they are a B.

In order to protect the safety of the caravan, all tribes formed a coalition army to protect the merchants, and sent a large team of men and horses to escort them, which was mighty and magnificent, so that the caravan was safe, but the cost was high and the pressure was great.

If it weren't for the several times he saw the wolf thieves and the Phoenix Legion fighting, he once suspected that the wolf thieves and the Phoenix Legion were in the same group, he took a lot of effort and died a lot of scouts to find out, all the members of the wolf thieves were the remnants of some small tribes that were destroyed by Dajin before, which also explains why the style of the wolf thieves is so vicious, and why they are so familiar with the prairie, and can repeatedly slip away without danger under the encirclement and interception of the army, fortunately, the wolf thief group and the Ming army are also in the same situation. If they can put aside their old suspicions and join forces, it will be even worse.

Now is the spring flowers, all things grow, the prairie is green and green, it is a good season for grazing, but the weak tribes do not dare to go far away to graze, the ghost knows when the elusive wolf thief group suddenly kills out, can only shrink in the middle, everyone is huddled together, no matter how fast the weeds grow, it is not enough for the large number of horses, cattle and sheep raised by the tribes to eat, it is inevitable that all kinds of conflicts will occur, serious knives to dry, Yue Tuo has to mediate in the middle, every day just to solve these messy things, there is nothing to do.

Now, the Great Khan Emperor Taiji has led the main army to make a detour to the Kolbi steppe, he has to prepare the camp tent, grain and other materials, the camp tent is fine, the preparation of this grain is really a headache.

Eight families are finished, the Ming army at the border is extremely strict, now in addition to tea, porcelain and silk and other things can be bought, even the grain has become an embargo, now it is not like before, a lot of fines are fine, now people are dirty if they directly cut off their heads, confiscate all property, serious raids, silver is tempting, but the head is priceless, no businessman dares to smuggle those prohibited goods out of the customs.

If you can't buy food, forget it, the prairie is still tormented by the wolf thieves and the Phoenix Legion, all tribes have suffered heavy losses, and the livelihood of their own people is tight, where can they make up how much food? But there is no way, the food must be solved, all ethnic groups are dissatisfied, and it is useless to protest, they all have to be handed over according to the shares.

Yue Tuo knew that such a domineering extortion of donations would cause strong dissatisfaction among all ethnic groups and plant hidden dangers, but he really had no choice, the holy decree could not be violated, and the dead Dao friends could not die in poverty.

As he expected, when the patriarchs and elders of the various tribes heard the news of the grain requisition, they all blew up their nests, all of them were full of cattle, beating their chests and feet, and complaining pitifully, eldest brother, it's not that the younger brothers don't want to give food, there is really no surplus food, they can't eat enough, how can they have the strength to go into battle to kill the enemy? We've been talking about reporting to you and asking for something to eat.

"The Holy Command cannot be violated, everyone do their best......"

Yue Tuo sighed, he also knew that everyone's life was not easy, but the holy order did not dare to disobey, everyone gritted their teeth, tightened their belts and squeezed it, how much squeezed out, I had to explain, ugly words ahead, before I lost my head, I cut off your heads first, everyone can still chat and drink or something below, and it can also be lively.

All the clan patriarchs and elders withdrew from the tent with a bitter face, and when they arrived outside the tent, the expressions on their faces instantly became gloomy and terrifying, and they gritted their teeth and greeted Huang Taiji in their hearts one by one, but the Jin Empire is powerful, what can you do if you hate it? If you don't want to die, you can only be a man with your tail between your legs, honestly go back to collect food, recruit warriors, and prepare to go on the expedition.

The tribes gathered food, gathered warriors to go on the expedition, the movement was very big, the news could not be hidden, and some of the small tribes that were conquered before had a grudge and were unwilling to give in, and the tribesmen were forced to collect grain in the case of serious lack of food, and the resentment in their hearts was greater, and they also leaked the news intentionally or unintentionally, although they did not know that Huang Taiji would come to the Horqin steppe in person, but it was true that the main force of the Jin army moved over.

Some small tribes living near the border pass still have business contacts with the people of the Ming Dynasty, which is a tacit phenomenon on both sides, and the bazaar of trade is also infested by secret spies, and the main source of intelligence, the acting governor Lu Hongniang and the general soldier Zhao Shujiao who sat in Shanhaiguan naturally also knew the news that the main force of the Jin army gathered in the prairie, and they all secretly raised their vigilance, strengthened the city defense, and made preparations for defensive warfare.

For security reasons, the wolf thieves have quietly retreated to the city under the cover of night, resting in the barracks, and waiting for the opportunity to dispatch.

Longjing Pass, Da'ankou and other border forts have also received warnings, and they have strengthened the city defenses, increased vigilance, and strictly prevented the Jin army from attacking the city.

The appearance of cement in advance made it convenient and trouble-free to build houses, repair city walls, and strengthen fortifications, and the new tactics of filling soil with cloth bags to pile up simple fortifications have also been implemented in the army because of Zhu Jian's butterfly wings, especially in the land of the nine sides, which often have to resist the attack of the Jin army.

During the cold winter, Li Xin came to Shanhaiguan several times to discuss the military situation with Lu Hongniang, and both of them had the intention of leading the army out of the city after the beginning of spring, looking for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with Yue Tuo's main force, and reported to the Son of Heaven for instructions.

In addition to telling them to be cautious, Zhu Jian gave full support to this, and sent people to transport more than 500 rear-loading guns that had been rushed out, equip Li Xin's Shenji Battalion, and increase the firing speed and power of the Shenji Battalion's platoon guns as much as possible, and specially designed a multi-purpose carriage for them.

The carriage can be loaded with all kinds of military materials at ordinary times, the carriage wall is movable, can be dismantled at any time, replaced with a special iron plate, can resist the impact of arrows and war horses, the iron plate is designed with a movable small plate, open the small iron plate of the activity is a small window that can be observed and shot outward, there are holes at both ends of the carriage, and the iron cable will form a simple fortification of the car formation, even if the field encounters the iron cavalry of the Jin army, it is not afraid, unless the ammunition is exhausted, it is difficult to break through the car formation, even if it can really be forcibly broken, The cost of casualties has also been devastating.

Lu Hongniang and Li Xin were full of joy, and after receiving the design drawings, they immediately ordered the craftsmen to hurry up the production, and before the end of the cold winter, the two armies each rushed to build about 150 board cars.

During this period, the two not only stockpiled a large amount of food and gunpowder, but also urged the Liaodong Ordnance Bureau to rush to produce a large number of thunderbolts and flowering shells, the artillery rate of fire is low, the explosion power is not large enough, the thunder is a melee weapon to restrain the Jin Army's iron cavalry to charge the formation, Zhu Jian repeatedly explained in his reply letter, take more of these things, don't be afraid of burning money, safety first.

The temperature is warmer in spring, but the ice and snow are melting, the roads are muddy and difficult to walk, both of them are waiting patiently, it can be said that everything is ready, only the east wind is owed, but they did not expect that the main force of the Jin army would gather in the Horqin steppe, and it was clear that they were going to attack, but they couldn't confirm which city or border fort they wanted to attack.

The situation has changed, and Lu Hongniang and Li Xin had to temporarily dismiss the idea of going out of the customs for a decisive battle, patiently waiting for Jin Jun to send them to the door, and then decide whether to leave the customs according to the situation.