Zhang Yuan, Zhao Mingxiu and others left Zhiluo Town, marched northwest along the Huashui (Hulu River) valley, hid their whereabouts based on Ziwu Mountain (also known as Ziwu Ridge), and waited for the hunting target to be automatically sent to the door.

Meridian Mountain, Tang Dynasty used to be called Qiaoshan, because the mountain is extended, in a north-south direction, and the original meridian coincides, and the ancestors used to call the north as "Zi", the south as "Wu", so this mountain range is called Meridian Ridge.

According to legend, the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor clan tribe originated in the upper reaches of Qiaoshan and Beiluo River, and gradually developed and expanded. According to the records of the Five Emperors, the Yellow Emperor collapsed and was buried in Qiaoshan. Three thousand years ago, the Zhou people moved south from the Loess Plateau, and the Zhou Dynasty was established in Guanzhong, and the Loess Plateau began to be gradually occupied by northern nomads.

The Loess Plateau is close to Guanzhong, which can be regarded as the northern gate of the Guanzhong region, and if it loses control of the Loess Plateau, the Central Plains Dynasty will have no danger, and the Loess Plateau has become the focus of the Central Plains Dynasty and the northwest nomads. In 272 AD, the Qin conquered Yiqu, occupied the Loess Plateau, and built the Great Wall here to defend themselves against the invasion of nomads in the northwest in order to strengthen their rule.

Ziwuling, located in the hinterland of the Loess Plateau, between the Jing River and the Beiluo River, is the main path of the north and south crossing on the Loess Plateau. Qin has built a straight road on the ridge of the mountain range of the Meridian Ridge, starting from Yunyang in the south, reaching Jiuyuan in the north, there are Feng tunnels, piers and passes along the way, the main customs villages from north to south have Wuting Village, Xinglong Pass, Artemisia Shop, Dispatch Pass, Jinsuo Pass, etc., which is regarded as the earliest military highway in China.

In Chinese history, before the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty was able to firmly control the Loess Plateau whenever it was in a strong period. Once it lost control of the Loess Plateau, the Central Plains Dynasty would either die or settle in the south.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the northeast lost the natural barrier of the "Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures" against the northern nomads, and if the Loess Plateau in the northwest was lost, the Northern Song Dynasty would not be far away from losing its rule over the Central Plains. Therefore, the competition for the Loess Plateau, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Western Xia were extremely fierce, and when it came to Li Yuanhao, it had become white.

It is a pity that the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty did not know what was going on in the end, and only wanted to get by at that time, found various excuses to compromise with the Western Xia, and lost the absolute control of the Loess Plateau. After more than 80 years, he died on the border line of thousands of miles from east to west, becoming the first Central Plains Dynasty to die not from internal strife, but from external troubles.

The Northern Song Dynasty, from the founding of the country to its demise, well implemented the national policy of emphasizing literature and suppressing military force, greatly prevented the dominance of the warriors, but also well restrained the hands and feet of the generals.

In view of this, the Northern Song Dynasty took great pains to resist the invasion of the cavalry of the Western Xia, which was brave and good at fighting, and built nearly 500 castles and fortresses on the Loess Plateau, a military defense line of nearly 3,000 miles, a fire in five miles, a pier in ten miles, a fort in thirty miles, and a city in a hundred miles. The cost of manpower and material resources is so huge, if you look at it from the perspective of economists, it is better to make up your mind, learn from the Tang Dynasty, and slap the Western Xia regime to death. You said no? (These are extravagant words, but they can be more true, and they must not be more true.) ）

Ziwuling is such a military stronghold, Zhang Yuan and Zhao Mingxiu are thinking about setting up an ambush here, is it that the brain melon seeds are rusty?

It shouldn't be, crossing the Meridian Ridge from east to west, and the Gyeongju Mansion is only a few dozen miles away.

Who dares to say that people who have traveled thousands of miles, when they are about to arrive at the door of the destination, the mood is not happy and excited. It is normal for people to be careless, forget the danger, and relax their vigilance.

Zhang Yuan, Zhao Mingxiu and others should think so, can they really get their wish?

That's not necessarily, judging from what Fan Zhongyan did when he came to the northwest from the capital, he can be called a master of defensive warfare.

At the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Western Xia was a vassal to the Song Dynasty, and the border areas were dominated by trade, and there were few military conflicts. However, the emergence of party member Li Yuanhao changed the original situation. In 1038, Li Yuanhao led the party members to establish the Great Xia Kingdom, and in order to draw a clear line with the Northern Song Dynasty, he ordered that all men in the Great Xia Kingdom must be bald within three days, and violators were punished with capital crimes. With such determination, the Great Song Emperor Zhao Zhen (Song Renzong) should not know, if not, he would not always think about surrendering without a fight, shaking hands with Li Yuanhao of Western Xia, and making peace and good-neighborliness.

Before the founding of the country, the party members fought everywhere, opened up the territory, and the cavalry was brave and good at fighting, and the wings were full. In 1040, the Western Xia army suddenly attacked the border towns of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Song Empire was taken by surprise. The soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty had no war for more than 30 years, their armaments were relaxed, and the Song army was defeated in the first battle of Sanchuankou, and most of the fortresses of Guancheng for hundreds of miles were looted or occupied by the Western Xia army. At this point, Fan Zhongyan returned to the northwest to fight the fire.

As soon as Fan Zhongyan arrived in the northwest, he did not hold a feast or shout slogans, but conducted field investigations non-stop. He suddenly discovered that the defense of the Yanzhou Prefecture in the Northern Song Dynasty was very lax, there were many problems in the army, and ethnic relations were unbearable...... All kinds of signs were not conducive to the Song army fighting deep behind enemy lines.

It is not conducive to taking the initiative to attack, and Li Yuanhao of Western Xia likes to take the initiative to attack, so why not wait for work and defend as an attack.

Seeing that there are many soldiers in the army, they come from the south, and they miss their hometown for too long on the border, and their fighting spirit is not high. In order to improve the morale of the soldiers, Fan Zhongyan recruited soldiers from the local area, and these new recruits were not only familiar with the mountains and rivers, but also had high morale because they were defending their homeland, which really killed two birds with one stone.

Seeing that the command system in the army was strict and rigid, Fan Zhongyan hurriedly selected 18,000 soldiers and divided them into six divisions, so that each general could lead 3,000 people, thus eliminating the disadvantage of not knowing each other in the past, and the army's combat effectiveness was rapidly improved.

This is not enough, thinking that since the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the people on the northwest border, whether they are Han people, Qiang people and other ethnic minorities, have long been bullied and oppressed by the regime established by the Han people, and the ethnic relations in the border areas have become extremely acute and complicated. Fan Zhongyan treated each other with a pragmatic style and sincerity, comforting them spiritually and supporting them economically, starting from stabilizing the border areas, easing the relationship with the ethnic minorities in the border areas and digesting the contradictions. Within the authority, he will implement it if he thinks of it, and outside the authority, he will ask the court to give him the opportunity to implement it. These include the sale of alcohol, which has changed from a national patent to the participation of all frontier people, as well as the equalization of land for the families of some local soldiers. In this way, the people in the border areas made a lot of profits, and the soldiers also produced while fighting, which not only solved the problem of army supply, but also obtained some economic income for the families of the soldiers.

When I saw Ziwuling, what I remembered in my heart was the national majesty supported by Emperor Qin's Han Wu and Tang Dynasty and Song Zu because of cultural and martial arts, not the joy of the wanderer finally arriving home.

Coming to the bank of the Hulu River, Bai Yutian looked at the mountains on the other side, overjoyed, got off the horse, walked with Fan Zhongyan, and said, "My lord, can you go to this mountain range today?" ”

Fan Zhongyan turned his head and glanced at the team, and saw that everyone was dusty and tired, and said happily: "Since the Yanzhou Mansion escorted me on the road, everyone has rested in the dark and hurried at dawn, all the way non-stop, and I must be tired." Rest here today, go to Meridian Ridge tomorrow morning, and rush to the Gyeongju Mansion for dinner. Luckily? ”

The little lieutenant Wu San stepped forward and said, "My lord, before I escorted you into the gate of the Gyeongju Mansion, the soldiers dared to say that they were tired. It was still early, so we should not go up the mountain and spend the night in the camp on the ridge, and we would rest at ease. ”

Fan Zhongyan glanced at Bai Yutian and said, "Boy, you didn't look scared along the way, why didn't you speak?" ”

Bai Yutian replied with a smile: "My lord, forgive me for being stupid, I really don't know what to say. ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "If you are stupid, I'm afraid our group won't be able to get here." If you have something to say, say it. ”

Bai Yutian said: "My lord, as far as the public is concerned, it is best to spend the night in the camp on the ridge tonight. However, privately, I look forward to staying here for a night to see if I can settle some grievances. ”

Wu San said: "Brother Bai, your lord was ordered by the emperor to come to the northwest imperial border, and the place he was in was all official affairs, and there were no private affairs. ”

Bai Yutian replied with a smile: "What Third Brother Wu said is extremely true, the junior brother is confused. ”

Wu Sanchao Fan Zhongyan said politely: "My lord, you should put your safety first, and you will have the opportunity to do other things in the future." ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled slightly and said, "Bai Yutian, is the private matter you said beneficial to your family and country?" ”

Bai Yutian said politely: "Returning to my lordship, for those who cherish their family and country, family affairs are worry-free, and patriotism should be stronger. ”

Fan Zhongyan laughed and said: "Okay, let's rest here today, stop the worries of family affairs, and ask for patriotic enthusiasm." ”

Bai Yutian saluted and said, "Thank you for your compassion." ”

Wu San was displeased and said, "Bai Yutian, you ......"

Fan Zhongyan patted Wu San on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Wu San, the rivers and lakes of the people, if you don't say it well, it is the world of officials." Dealing with the affairs of the rivers and lakes is a strategy to govern the world, Bai Yutian's move is not inappropriate, calm down and rest for a night, and hurry tomorrow at dawn. ”

Wu San said politely: "Humble and orderly." ”

Fan Zhongyan said loudly: "Don't rush today, stop by the bank of this gourd river." He led the horse to the crowded place.

Everyone received the order, led the horses and followed them, laughing and laughing.

Fan Zhongyan saw that everyone was happy, and said: "Bai Yutian, it's rare that everyone is in a good mood, why don't you play a song to drive away the miasma in the mountains and forests, and ask for a clean mountain road and a comfortable heart." ”

Wushan Daoist echoed: "Boy, adults speak, you can't help but listen!" ”

Bai Yutian put a smile on everyone's face and said, "Then I'll come to the last paragraph, don't plug your ears and don't listen." ”

Several bold soldiers said in unison: "Please ask Bai Gongzi to play a song." ”

Bai Yutian happily stepped on the horse's back and sang loudly:

"Heavy passes, those who are in danger are also on the ground;"

"Ministers and warriors, those who are in danger are also in danger;"

"Those who are afraid of danger are also in danger."

......