Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 2527 Heavy Rain and Snow in the Desert

   While Fei Qian was improving the textile equipment, the army village north of Yinshan Mountain ushered in the first winter rain this year.

  The weather in Yinshan is very interesting. With Yinshan Mountain as the boundary, the north side is often full of wind and snow, and the wind howls, while the south side of Yinshan Mountain is calm and the climate is mild.

Of course, if you read some knowledge about geography, you will understand why this is so, but for most people in the Han Dynasty, including Hu people, they just think that the south of Yinshan Mountain is a sheltered place by heaven. It is a treasure.

  Yinshan Beijunzhai does not have any special name, it is called "Beijunzhai". Because this military camp is considered the northernmost military camp north of Yinshan Mountain, it doesn't seem to be a big problem to call it that.

  Beijunzhai was just a checkpoint at the beginning, and then it was gradually built into a checkpoint, and finally became a military village today, which can be regarded as witnessing the changes of the Yinshan Dahan army over the years, from small to large, from temporary to fixed.

  Beijunzhai is like a tentacle of Yinshan Mountain. It is lonely and tenaciously extending out. It is also like a needle pierced in the grassland that originally belonged to Yinshan Xianbei. No one can get around it.

As soon as winter comes, the south of Yinshan Mountain is okay, with occasional light rain, but the climate in the north of Yinshan Mountain is very bad. This time, the winter rain is intermittent, big and small, and it falls continuously. For several days, at noon on the third day, there was a heavy snowfall in the sky, and the sky and the earth suddenly became a vast expanse of whiteness.

  When it snows heavily, the world seems to be boundless.

  The vast mountains in the distance are like jade-clad ice dragons stretching across, flickering in the wind and snow, as if they were alive, roaring, swimming, and then disappearing at the edge of the wind and snow.

  Beijunzhai is like a little hedgehog in comparison, curled up among the small valleys.

  Beijun Village in the snow was as quiet as a ruin.

  There is only one road in the village, and the snow on the road has already reached ankles, and there is no sign of human activity at all. A skinny black cat poked its head out from a dirt wall. Because of the reflection from the snow, its pupils formed a line and shone with a slightly weird light. Then it ran across the street like a black ghost. It disappeared behind the earth wall opposite, leaving only a few small footprints in the snow.

  Generally, there are dogs and cats in military villages. It's not to prevent the soldiers guarding the village from being lonely, um, maybe it also has this effect, but it's more because the dog can call the police, and the cat can protect the small amount of food in the army village so that it won't be harmed by rats up.

  Besides the stockade, there is an almost dry riverbed, which has long been filled with snow, like a big white snake, winding towards the south and gradually disappearing behind the mountains.

This river flows in summer and stops flowing in winter. It is also the lifeline of this military village, and even the nurturer of the surrounding animals and plants. She is like a thin mother. Even if her body is weak, she tries her best to keep the surrounding creatures alive. go down.

   It was evening.

  The heavy snow still does not stop, but it seems to be smaller, but it is also very small.

  In the mountain depression on the south side of Beijunzhai, figures of forty or fifty riders suddenly appeared.

  These cavalrymen, who came against the wind and snow, trekked hard in the snow. The helmet on the head and the iron armor on the body are wrapped in sheepskin that has lost its hair, so as not to accidentally get the skin and flesh on it and it will not be able to be torn off. The iron utensils on his body were basically the same, they were either wrapped in ripped leather with lost hair, or wrapped with various tattered variegated cloth strips. There are even some tattered leather or linen on the horse's body, neck, and face to prevent the cold wind from blowing directly.

The tattered skins of various colors and variegated rags are indeed unattractive and untidy, like beggars who fled from nowhere, but in fact, only those who know how to know understand that such people are living in the desert. Veterans in the Northern Territory can truly be able to move freely in the cold desert.

  In the wind, the slender tricolor flag danced like a spirit snake.

   This is the Yinshan cavalry.

It's not that the equipment of the Yinshan cavalry is poor, in fact, their equipment is the same as that of the cavalry of Sanfu in Guanzhong, but in the desert, if they are neatly dressed and brightly dressed in some kind of iron helmet, or It's because he doesn't know how to wrap cloth strips on the handle of the weapon. I'm afraid that he will be defeated by the cold weather before he meets the enemy.

   You should know that iron in the north likes to eat skin very much. If you put hot meat on it, it must be a layer of skin that will be eaten!

  In the wind and snow, the sound of horseshoes and other sounds were covered.

  So Beijunzhai didn't seem to find any people from the south, which seemed normal, but as a group of people approached, Beijunzhai still didn't respond, which made people a little confused.

   At the south gate of the Northern Army Village, the gate is closed.

   This line of cavalry arrived in front of the village.

  A cavalryman was separated from the ranks to drive forward. When he arrived at the village, he shouted a few times, but no one responded. In the howling north wind, the sound seemed to be a few more whimpers, and it disappeared with the wind in a blink of an eye.

  The leader's eyes in the ranks were slightly cold. He pushed up the helmet wrapped in broken leather with leather gloves, and looked at the guard tower standing alone in the wind and snow.

   Obviously, there is no one on the sentry tower.

this is…

  The soldiers pushing the door in front shook their hands, indicating that the door was locked inside and could not be pushed.

  The general beckoned back and gestured.

Two or three soldiers stepped forward from their horses, grabbed the front of the stronghold, turned over and dismounted, then took off the wall climbing hook from the horse's back, waved it back and forth a few times, and then threw it onto the stronghold wall, pulling the rope nimbly with their hands and feet. Stepped on the wall and climbed up.

It seemed that these pawns climbed lightly, but in fact only light cavalry like scouts could do it so smoothly. It's not that scouts are better than ordinary pawns, but most of the scouts are light in body, plus Focusing on leather armor, its own weight is relatively small, and of course it is more convenient to climb and so on.

There is a barracks in the Beijun village, but the gate of the barracks seems to have been there for some time, and the two wooden doors can't be closed no matter what, maybe they are being blocked with something from the inside, but they can't take care of the tail. There was a large gap at the lower end of the door panel.

  Gusts of north wind howled, drilled in and out of all the gaps, made all kinds of strange sounds, and rolled up snowflakes flying around. A soldier walked up to the gate of the barracks and slammed his shoulder against the shaky door, and the two sentries who were squatting at the gate to shelter from the wind and dozed immediately stumbled.

A sentry scolded his mother uncleanly, got up and turned around, clenched his fists and was about to hit someone, but was bluffed by the group of soldiers at the door, his breath was suffocated, and his heart beat almost instantly They all stopped, and when they saw the general surrounded by soldiers, their legs and feet suddenly became weak, and they knelt down again with a plop, "Li...General Li! 』

  Sentinels are lazy when they are on duty. According to the military order, the first offender will be given ten leather whips, and the second offender will be given a whip for three days.

   Then there is no need to change it.

  Li Dian glanced at the two sentinels, "Where is the chief?" 』

   "Tun... Tun, Tun Tun..." A sentry was only trembling, and "Tun" for a long time, he couldn't figure out why.

  『The Chief, the Chief is ill... 』 Another sentry seemed to be more clever, and took the opportunity to beg for mercy, 『General, it was just a moment of negligence...』

   Li Dian frowned, ignored it at all, and just stepped forward.

   These two sentinels have their own guards to punish them, so he doesn't need to worry about it at all. He is more concerned about whether the head of the army village is really sick or pretending to be sick.

  The head of the Beijun village is surnamed Guan.

   Well, it has nothing to do with Guan Yu, just an ordinary junior officer.

   After receiving the information, the soldiers in the barracks in the northern army camp rushed out and knelt down in the small school grounds. Among them was the head of Guan Tun, he was dragged out, his face flushed a little unhealthily, he really looked like he was sick.

  Li Dian glanced at it, then said in a deep voice, "Shichang is out!" 』

  Five chiefs came out.

  『Who is on duty today? ’ Li Dian asked again.

  A chief trembling and kowtowing, "Yes, it's a small one..."

   Li Dian waved his hand, and immediately the guards stepped forward, and after a long delay, he left, and soon under the gate of the barracks, there were screams of being whipped.

  The reason for Beijunzhai’s negligence on duty is very simple, after all, people are lazy. The past few days have been raining in winter, and then it has turned into heavy snow. It is obviously a painful thing to be on duty outside. In addition, the head of the village is sick. Just more slack.

  『I remember...』 Li Dian sat on the section hall of the barracks, looked at Chief Guan, and said, 『Are you a veteran who fought with the lord against Baibo? If I remember correctly, you have accumulatively cashed in 200 acres of Xun Tian, ​​which counts as a productive family...』

   Chief Guan Tun lowered his head, wishing he could poke his chin into his chest, he didn't dare to take a breath, his back felt cool, needless to say, he must have been drenched in cold sweat.

  『Do you know what Xuntian means? 』

Li Dian said slowly, "Many people think that with Xuntian, not only will they have the property of Zhuanghe in the field, but they will also have the opportunity to shine on the lintel. Being able to wait and praise, even if you have some crimes, you can reduce the crime and eliminate the disaster... But how many people remember that besides the glory, this Xuntian is actually a responsibility, an obligation, and a commitment! 』

   Li Dian looked at Guan Tunchang, "You thought no one would come here in such a cold weather, so you slacked off? Do you know that if you slack off by one point, the people below you can slack off by five points, and when you get to the pawns, you will throw away all the responsibilities! Today, there is no one on duty at the Zhaimen sentry tower! If it wasn't me who came, but the barbarians, you would all die here! 』

  『There are still a few of you...』 Li Dian turned his head and said to the rest of the elders, 『There is no need to talk too much, a soldier means his head is on the waistband of his trousers! If you want to be lazy and comfortable, don't come to eat this soldier's salary! He is also greedy to get more military pay, but he doesn't want to suffer this kind of suffering. Where is the good thing coming from? ! 』

  『…』The head of the village and several other chiefs bowed down, not daring to say anything more.

Because the Beijunzhai is small, there is no special military judge, so it will inevitably become Guan Tunchang's "one-word hall". After a long time, it is easy to regard this area as one-third of an acre. Land, plus no personal qualities, belongs to the dirt road, arrogance and slack are naturally inevitable.

  Li Dian thought for a while, then called a chief who came with him, and then appointed him as the false head of the Northern Army Village, and immediately took over the related matters of the head of the Guan Tun, responsible for arranging and rectifying military affairs.

   And Guan Tunchang was demoted to Shichang, and when Li Dian returned, he followed him back.

  The reason why Guan Tun Zhang was not punished on the spot, or beheaded, was because Guan Tun Zhang was indeed ill, and the disease was not serious.

   At the same time, he was also a little weirdly ill.

  Before Guan Tunchang got sick, that is, before the heavy rain and snow, he found some traces of scattered horse thieves, so he took some men to search and check...

  From this point of view, Guan Tunchang is not all lazy and slack in Beijunzhai.

  Of course, maybe the military rewards of the Hussar General are always very attractive?

Anyway, Chief Guan found some traces of horse thieves, but during the tracking process, a few of them fell ill for no reason, vomited and diarrhoea, so they hurriedly withdrew. Formed a certain habit, coupled with the low temperature, the disease of Guan Tunchang and others did not infect other people.

  『Did you drink "dead water"? 』

   Li Dian immediately thought of what was mentioned in the military strategy before, which was also emphasized in the frontier soldiers. Any body and remains in the spring water are "dead water" and cannot be drunk.

   Chief Guan denied it, saying that he was also a veteran, so how could he not know how to distinguish "dead water"? Moreover, he had checked carefully, and there were no animal or human corpses and bones.

   So, this is weird.

   Li Dian sent people to investigate the place mentioned by the head of Guan Tun again, and finally caught a living man!

  His hair was loose and his mouth was tightly pursed. Even if he was thrown to the ground and touched the wound, he just groaned, then stared at Li Dian with a pair of triangular eyes, as if he was looking at an enemy.

  Li Dian observed the victim.

  Exposed is dry and dark skin, messy hair, and broken leather robes.

  『Has there been an interrogation? ’ Li Dian asked.

  『Before I had time, the snow was heavy again, and the wind was fierce, so I hurried back when I caught it. ’ Li Dian’s men replied.

  Li Dian nodded, and then met the eyes of the living man who seemed to be full of hatred, and his heart jumped suddenly.

"you know me? ”Li Dian frowned, “No…it should be that you know us…”

  Huokou stared at Li Dian viciously, like a wounded lone wolf on the prairie, even though he was in a mess all over his body with wounds, his eyes still revealed ferocity.

  『Xianbei people? ’ Li Dian asked, ‘Or Ding Lingren? 』

  Having been in Yinshan for a while, Li Dian can speak nonsense.

  The live mouth turned his face away.

  『Take it down and ask carefully. 』

   Li Dian smiled, it seemed so, so he waved his hand.

  Li Dian speculated that the so-called sporadic horse thieves encountered by Chief Guan may not be real horse thieves. It is more likely that this is a small tribe of Xianbei people or Dingling people.

   It is said that Zhao Yun launched a war against the Dingling people before, and it achieved good results. The Dingling people's royal court was defeated and dispersed. In the desert, there is no longer a tribal alliance that can threaten the Han people. This battle achievement really made Li Dian envious, and he wished that he could be present at that time and get some meritorious service more or less.

  But now, Li Dian suddenly realized that perhaps, meritorious deeds were right in front of him.

  Because this desert is really too big.

  Although it is said that Zhao Yun set up a big camp in Changshan and extended his tentacles to the entire northern desert, it does not mean that he can control every inch of land and manage every tribe.

  Especially when the area expands, it is often out of control.

  Especially as a subordinate army under Zhao Yungan and Zhang He, just like Guan Tunchang of the Northern Army Village, if no one is watching, he will inevitably become slack and tired.

   Not long after that, Li Dian's subordinates came back to report.

   Sure enough, it was Dingling who fled.

I don't know if it's because this Ding Lingren doesn't know much, or because he is relatively weak, so he didn't get any very important information. He just knows that he came here with the people of the tribe, but when asked about the details Location, just say north...

  North?

  The area in the north is larger.

  But it seems to have aroused Li Dian's fighting spirit even more.

  Li Dian boarded the watchtower of Beijunzhai.

   The whistling north wind seemed to blow away the small watchtower including the roof and the shelves, and the thick wood creaked as if it was overwhelmed by the wind and snow. The icy snowflakes fluttered in the wind, rushing towards him, like a pair of small knives scraping his body and head, as if trying to wipe out all the heat of a person, leaving only endless coldness.

  『Is this targeting Yinshan? 』

   Li Dian muttered in a low voice and sneered.

Although Li Dian couldn't see exactly what scenery was in the north in the snowstorm, it was just a white and chaotic piece, but he seemed to be able to see people and horses shaking, tents trembling in the cold wind, and maybe some The corpse that froze to death in the wind and snow stretched out its hands like withered claws unwillingly...

  His gaze scanned back and forth from far to near calmly, with dots of faint light flickering in the dark pupils.

  A dog jumps over a wall in a hurry, and a person will go crazy if he is in a hurry.

  Ding Ling people were scattered, but it does not mean that they were wiped out. The torn people fled in all directions in the desert, like a cockroach nest whose cover was lifted, even if they stomped and beat them randomly, they couldn't kill all the cockroaches. In addition, the Xianbei tribe north of Yinshan Mountain has been emptied a long time ago. At this stage, there are only a small part of the Southern Huns, so they are basically empty. It's an impossible task.

  The fertile Yinshan Mountain is like a piece of meat exuding a tempting aroma that has been grilled to creak and has a brown color, attracting these crazy hungry people.

   And combined with the inexplicable illness of Chief Guan Tun...

   This is even more interesting.

   Most of these guys have mastered some method of poisoning that Li Dian is not clear about, which can make people sick, so they want to make a breach in Yinshan, take a bite, and make a fortune!

  Of course, it is also possible that these guys have reached the point of desperation and can only fight for their lives. If they cannot be replenished, they are likely to die in the desert?

  But whether it is the former situation or the latter possibility, they all represent the same thing.

  A sudden battle is just around the corner.

  Perhaps, just when the heavy snow in front of you stopped!

  (end of this chapter)