In the fourth year of the Great Song Dynasty, August, Hebei, Zhigu Village.

Zhigu Village, that is, Tianjin in later generations, is located in the three-way waterway to Tianjin, north to the North Canal, through the boat to the central capital Yanjing; Nanhang Yuhe and Yongji Canal, pass through several towns in Hebei to reach Liyang; It is connected with Zhangshui and Hutuo River in the southwest, and leads to the sea in the east, which is the traffic fortress of Haihe River.

The opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty made Tianjin, which has the convenience of river and sea transportation, become more and more important, and the canal and the Haihe River converge at the mouth of the Sancha River, and Tianjin will be named "Sanhui Haikou" in the annals of history. After the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Tianjin became a land and water wharf for transporting grain and silk from the south to the north.

It stands to reason that at the three forks of the canal, the Juma River and the sea road, the Zhigu village should be a gathering of ships, the trees are adjacent, the banks are lined up, the traffic is busy, and it is a prosperous and lively scene. But as far as the eye can see, the river is deserted, the walls on both sides are ruined, desolate and withered, the weeds are overgrown one person high, and the remains of corpses can be seen everywhere. The wind-blown grass is low to see wild dogs, and the endless green reed forest is magnificent.

With a "whoosh", a feathered arrow flew at the door, a wild dog was shot over, and let out a terrible howl, and the other hounds who had snatched the carrion scattered in a hurry, and fled into the endless grass.

More than ten horsemen galloped to the front, the first person was a white narrow-sleeved arrow suit, white clothes and black horses, the age was only the age of the weak crown, the face of the national character, the eyes were blazing, the plagiarism was fierce, the waist was straight, and he seemed to be a general in the army.

He glanced at the wailing wild dog, pursed his lips, and shook his head slightly.

"I thought it was a wolf, but it turned out to be a wild dog. What a disappointment! ”

He came up alone, similar in appearance to him, the same age, but the complexion was much fairer, a book was inserted in his waist, white clothes were fluttering, and he was graceful, adding a little more elegance.

"Second brother, it seems that I have disappointed you."

The elegant young man smiled slightly, easy-going and open-minded.

More than a dozen horsemen around the two of them were warriors in short clothes and strong clothes, full of wind and frost, holding bows and knives, and they were very imposing.

"Big brother, you're getting more and more like Daddy!"

Looking at his brother, the fierce young officer blurted out.

At the mention of his father, the elegant eldest brother Shi Yi's expression suddenly dimmed.

"Big brother, I said the wrong thing again!"

The fierce second brother Shi Quan regretted it and sighed.

"Second brother, don't blame yourself, this is my father's life, and I can't blame others."

Shi Yi comforted his younger brother.

Shi Yi and Shi Quan brothers are all from the Hebei Shijia family, and their father Shi Tianni was the marshal of the soldiers and horses on the Hebei West Road of the Great Mongolia, guarding Zhending, and was later killed by the rebel generals in the army.

"Big brother, that's what you said. If you want to talk about killing, our Shi family, which one has not killed hundreds of people. However, compared with the Mongol army slaughtering the city at every turn, it is a small thing. ”

Shi Quan quickly found psychological comfort and complained self-deprecatingly.

"My uncle just felt that he had killed too many people, and now he began to read more, and he did not leave the "Zizhi Tongjian" when he was fighting. During the attack on Hedong, his uncle warned his subordinates not to kill a single person, and none of his subordinates dared to kill ordinary people. ”

Speaking of his uncle, Shi Yi's eyes showed a look of fascination.

"Uncle appointed Confucian scholars, pacified the people, built water conservancy, and benefited the locality, of course, it can't be compared with those Mongolian officials!"

Shi Quan is also in awe of his uncle.

The uncle in the mouth of the two Shi Yi brothers is the youngest brother of their father Shi Tianni, and their third uncle Shi Tianze. After Shi Tianni's death, Shi Tianze attacked Shi Tianni's post and garrisoned Zhending Mansion for the three major Han armies in the Central Plains.

In the second year of Song Jianwu (1231), the Mongol army was divided into three ways to cut gold, and it was planned to encircle Bianjing in the spring of the following year, but due to the heavy casualties of the Torre Department of the Western Route Army, it failed to break through the Shu realm, and the success fell short. Wokotai had to retreat to the grassland, and Shi Tianze retreated to Zhending Mansion in Hebei Province to standby.

The terrain of Zhigu Village is dangerous, and Shi Tianze asked his young nephew Shi Quan to guard here. As for Shi Quan's elder brother Shi Yi, he came to relax on business.

Although there is no imperial examination in Mongolia, he served as a local tax collector by virtue of his father's shadow, and this time it was also a routine inspection.

"Big brother, look at it, there are not many merchant ships on this canal, how can they be taxed? Is there a million people in a huge Hebei? How many people are there in the farm? In my opinion, it's better to save some effort, and it's not too late to wait for the last five or six years. ”

Shi Quan pointed to the rolling canal and said casually.

The Mongol army occupied most of the two rivers, but the civil administration was deserted, and the two rivers were broken, until the second year of Song Jianwu, Mongolia sent the glued Chongshan and Yelu Chucai into the two rivers to establish civil affairs and collect taxes, and the two rivers recovered some vitality slightly.

But in just one or two years, it is difficult to talk about restoration, and the two rivers are still sparsely populated and devastated, and it is far from enough to rejuvenate all kinds of waste. As for the collection of taxes, it can only be in some reclamation areas and large cities.

"Second brother, you should have also heard that a few years ago, Chagatai's son Baitar once suggested that the Han people were of little use to the Great Mongolia, and that they should kill all the Han people, turn the land of the two rivers into pastures, and graze sheep and horses."

Shi Yi looked at the rolling river and smiled slightly.

"And what's going on? And what about later? ”

Shi Quan was taken aback, and then asked.

Once the crazy suggestion of "the land of empty two rivers is pasture" is adopted by Wokotai, will the Han people in the north still have a way to live?

Later, thanks to Yelu Chucai, he persuaded the two rivers of Ögedai to have land tax, commercial tax, wine, vinegar, salt, iron, and the benefits of mountains, and that he could get 500,000 taels of silver, 80,000 taels of silk, and 400,000 stones of millet per year, which was enough to supply the needs of the army. Only then did Wokotai agree to Yelu Chucai's request. ”

The elder brother's words made Shi Quan nod, relieved, and said indignantly.

"Why didn't you blow up this shit?"

Yelu Chucai made a lot of contributions to the succession of the Mongol Great Khan in Ogedei, and it can even be said that he made great contributions. If he intervenes to dissuade him, the ridiculous argument of the reckless man of Baitar must be invalid.

"Big brother, you say, is Wokotai a generation of heroes?"

Speaking of Wokotai, Shi Quan subconsciously asked.

"Second brother, why did you remember to ask about this?"

Shi Yi looked at his younger brother and asked in surprise.

The younger brother won't say anything. Apparently, he was pointed.

"Big brother, last year Torre led the army of the West Road into the Song Realm, and I heard that half of the people were killed and wounded, and even Torre and Kuoduan were killed. If you want to be higher than the heavenly test, you must have a sunny day. I'm thinking, what kind of person is that Song Emperor in the south, how can he even eat the elite of the Mongolian iron cavalry? ”

Shi Quan finally said it, and his face suddenly brightened.

The hearts of young people are always filled with reverence and yearning for heroes.

"Heroes, save the people from fire and water, and relieve the people from hanging upside down. The Mongol army was in tatters, thousands of miles uninhabited, corpses were strewn all over the field, and rivers of blood flowed. Do you say that Ogedai is not the hero? ”

After all, Shi Yi is two or three years older, he is full of poetry and books, and he is also well-informed, and he patiently solves his younger brother's doubts.

"Uncle killed Peng Yibin, the governor of the Song people's northern land, and the hatred between my historian and the Great Song Dynasty is afraid that it will not be able to be resolved."

Unconsciously, Shi Yi was full of sorrow.

The father of the two of them, Shi Tianni, was the marshal of the soldiers and horses on the Hebei West Road of Mongolia, guarding Zhending, and the Jin general Wuxian was the deputy marshal. Wu Xian rebelled and killed Shi Tianni, Shi Tianze avenged his brother, defeated Wu Xian, and killed Peng Yibin, the head of the Southern Song Dynasty Daimyo Mansion who was united with Wu Xian.

In this way, it was inevitable that a bond would be formed between the historian and the Great Song court.

"Big brother, the soldiers are coming to block, and the water is coming to cover the earth, are we still afraid of him? The two sides are fighting, each for its own master, and it is not possible to complain about others. ”

Shi Quan glanced at his brother and shook his head.

"Big brother, I see that you have been bewitched by the newspapers of the southerners. You must know that although my uncle is a Han army of ten thousand households, he still has Dalu Hua Chi Ge Sa'er on him. If it angers him, it won't be easy. ”

I don't know when the newspapers of the southerners poured into the northland, and the repercussions were great among the scholars and young people of the two rivers. Don't say that Shi Yi, a scholar, is a young officer like Shi Quan, and he is not exempt from vulgarity.

"Ge Sa'er went to Yanjing to guard the Tongzhou Fortress, what are you afraid of?"

Shi Yi is a scholar, and he is very unaccustomed to his brother's caution.

"Second brother, don't forget, you and I are upright Han people. No matter how you deny it, you and I are reading the Four Books and Five Classics, practicing the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, and benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith are the foundation of life. You can't deny that Hebei is the ancestor of my Han family, Bilu Blue Wisp, and it is the place where Wei Qinghuo used to gallop. ”

"Big brother, don't say it! Beware of the walls with ears! ”

Shi Quan's heart was shocked, and he quickly stopped his brother's words.

Chineseism, Huayi's distinction, Han and Tang dynasties, etc., these rebellious words are better to say less.

Mongolia has not yet established a stable civil government in the two rivers, and once the local government is established, the government will surely accept the crime of words. At that time, it will definitely be full of people again, shocking.

Yelu Chucai came back from Hebei and privately told his uncle that the Song people were running steam ships in the river, and they were still building any trains and railways, all of which did not need manpower, just charcoal. The road is flat like the river, and there are sewer public toilets or something. He said that the Song people were rich, and we were like beggars. Uncle was skeptical, and he didn't know if it was true or not? ”

Shi Yi chattered endlessly, and his eyes were full of yearning.

"It should be true. The Song people can't fight wars, but they have a way of governing the people. ”

Shi Quan said, suddenly pricking up his ears and listening carefully.

"Big brother, listen, what sound does it seem to have?"

"Second brother, are you here again?"

Shi Yi smiled and shook his head, but he couldn't help but listen.

Because, he also seems to have really heard something.

"Check it out!"

Shi Quan looked around, beat his horse and headed towards a high ground, Shi Yi and the guards followed closely.

A few people climbed the high ground and looked east, and everyone was dumbfounded.

The warships that fill the river are full of moving helmets. Batches of war horses disembarked from the huge building ships at the sea, and soon the crowded shore was full, at least thousands. Countless soldiers lined up on the shore, and in a short time there were five or six huge phalanxes, each of which was thousands of soldiers.

Water and land at the same time, a sea of flags, swords and guns like a forest, countless artillery vehicles, cavalry like a dragon, black and overwhelming, cold light and iron clothes, the army all the way to the west, it seems to be the direction of Zhigu.

"Song ...... Army! ”

Looking at the banner of the word "Song" that sounded fiercely in the wind, Shi Quan exclaimed in a low voice.

It is said that the Northern Expedition of the Song Army will take the two rivers directly. Unexpectedly, so soon, the Song army went north.