Chapter 281 The enemy situation is severe

Chapter 281 The enemy situation is severe

It's freezing in Beizhou in winter, and the low wind howls from the south and blows northward. Luoshui can be seen with the naked eye from the initial scattered ice floes to the river surface being completely frozen by ice and snow.

In the pre-noon time, the sun was still bright, and although the heat it shed was meager, as the person was bumping on the horseback wrapped in thick robes and fur clothes, he did not feel the wind was unbearable, but rather felt a bit dry.

But when it reached noon, there was a hint of dampness and coldness in the wind, which penetrated into people's bodies along the gaps in their robes. The experienced soldiers warned that snow might fall in the afternoon. The knights dismounted one after another and found a leeward spot by the river. They made cooking and lighted a fire. They first asked the horses to fill their bellies, and then took out the facial fat and ointment they carried and smeared it on their heads, faces, hands and necks. Even the horse riding capital was smeared with a thick layer of grease.

When we started on the road again, the wind was already mixed with some tiny ice particles, which crackled on our bodies. Soon the ice particles expanded into flakes of snow, and even our vision was obstructed.

However, the knights who were full of food and drink and continued on their way did not stop for this, but continued to move forward towards the determined target direction. If people and horses sleep in the cold wilderness in such weather, they will lose their body temperature quickly. Without sufficient supplies and proper placement, even the most elite people and horses may be defeated by this ordinary snowy weather.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and from afternoon to evening, the sky and the earth are already white. Smoke rose from the walls of the cities and towns along the Luoshui River. Pedestrians traveling in the wind and snow saw this scene. Although they could not feel the real warmth, they felt a little comfort in their hearts.

In previous years, the situation in Beizhou was not stable. Especially in the autumn and winter, thieves and bandits appeared erratically, and swarms of Jihu were sweeping the countryside like locusts. Therefore, it was rare for a large number of people to live in a geographically marked area like Luoshui.

But since last year, both sides of the Luoshui River have become obviously lively, and villages and villages of various sizes have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. After the winter this year, the scale of these settlements has experienced varying degrees of growth.

For ordinary people, what is the most precious thing in troubled times? It's a sense of security!

With the establishment of the military defense system of the three defense cities and the effective attack on the Jihu forces in the area, people from all sides also heard the news and migrated to the Luoshui River Basin, which had become very safe.

Li Tai does not hold a local official position at the same time, so he does not know the specific situation of migration and household expansion in the entire Luoshui Basin in the past year. However, this year's journey north was also in the extremely cold weather with wind and snow. , what I saw along the way was very different from the depression and desolation that I saw last year, and I couldn't help but feel a full sense of accomplishment in my heart.

Although he did not have the outstanding virtues of Shun to attract people to take refuge, he could be regarded as having truly expanded the living space of today's people through his own efforts and the bow and sword in his hand.

Before, northern Shaanxi was still a desolate land. With only the blueprint he imagined in his mind, he led his troops into it without hesitation. Now when you see the smoke from the villages and towns on the road, you should know better for whom the war drums are beating. Why should you be afraid of the wind, snow and beard? You have the courage to bury all the invading enemies!

After traveling north for several days, Li Tai led more than a thousand forward troops to Luochuan Defense.

Compared with Li Tainian's southward journey, today's Luochuan defense is even larger in scale.

Fangcheng itself has not been expanded much, but the settlement surrounding Fangcheng has expanded by nearly twice. Along the Luochuan Fangcheng and Luoshui River banks, it extends for dozens of miles to the north, south and east. Fansuoluo The area covered by the Sichuan garrison was almost completely filled with felt tents and houses.

Although such a scene looks lively, it is also chaotic. Especially Luochuan Fangnai is a military castle, but even the passages for soldiers to enter and exit are occupied by people's settlements. It would be okay if there are no military affairs, but once the strong bandits come to disturb, Even if we can ensure that the city is not lost, we cannot effectively prevent and control the surrounding areas.

Li Dao, who stayed behind at Luochuan Fang, led a group of troops to wait for Li Tai's return in the south of Fangcheng early. After reuniting with them, he arranged for people to clear the way back to Fangcheng without any embarrassment.

When Li Tai saw this scene, he immediately frowned and said in a deep voice: "There is no rule without rules. The garrison does not have rules and regulations for recruiting and placing the dead. If the people cannot be controlled by law, then the people will not be able to do anything for them." To make up for it has become a drag!”

Li Dao first nodded in agreement, and then sighed in distress: "Everyone in Beizhou already knows that the governor loves the people like his own children. It is difficult to make a living in the wilderness, so only by living close to the city can you rely on him. What's more, Luochuan There are many civil construction projects in the surrounding area. People gather here to apply for labor and get food supplements to maintain their livelihoods throughout the winter. There are also several tribes such as Diaoyin Liu’s to increase the momentum..."

No matter what era, military-civilian relations are never harmonious. Most of the time, those with knives in their hands cannot tell whether they are soldiers or bandits.

However, Li Tai has been emphasizing military discipline since he led his troops to fight. Many times, he would rather pay doubled the price of military resources than allow his troops to take advantage of the people.

Nowadays, as the number of people under command increases, the team itself also has differences in closeness and distance. Except for its own direct lineage, it is difficult to maintain the strict enforcement of military discipline in other units as before.

But generally speaking, his discipline is still much higher than that of other generals, and there are few cases of bullying and oppression of ordinary people. His reputation gradually spreads in Beizhou, so people are happy to come and seek refuge with him.

There are quite a few defenses set up by the Bafu in Beizhou, but there are few that can attract so many people to take refuge like the Luochuan Defense. Even the Heishui Defense, one of the three defense cities, is far inferior.

Of course, in addition to the strict military discipline of Li Tai's team, the geography and living environment of the area where Luochuan Fangcheng is located is very superior.

The Luochuan defense line is adjacent to the Luoshui River. The area is rich in water and grass, suitable for farming and grazing. It is located at the central link between the past and the next in the current three-defense city system. The dispatch of human resources in the three-defense city all needs to be transferred through Luochuan Defense. These storage and transportation processes alone require a large amount of manpower to maintain.

In addition to the resource allocation of the Three Defense City itself, the Liu Shifo Temple not far to the north of Luochuan Defense is also a very huge project. Especially with the addition of Diaoyin Liu, a wealthy local tycoon, and the infusion of a large amount of materials, the construction process of this large temple has accelerated several times.

What Li Dao said about the Jihu tribe boosting the momentum is that the Diaoyin Liu family and other tribes offered favorable conditions to recruit Han and Hu manpower from all over the world to work here in order to speed up the construction period of the temple.

After winter, the output of field materials has dropped sharply, and there have been various unpredictable natural and man-made disasters. Now that there is a place that provides food and drink and is very safe, everyone naturally flocks to it.

The surge of people gathering in the surrounding area has put great pressure on the administration of Fangcheng. Li Tai also drained a lot of the administrative power of Fangcheng in order to participate in the parade, making the people left behind even more powerless, thus causing the current crowding. Chaotic situation.

After hearing this, Li Tai did not continue to rebuke Li Dao. The affairs he was in charge of increased sharply, so that the staff reserve was insufficient. This can be regarded as a happy trouble.

The group of people moved between these felt tent shacks, and it took them less than half an hour to return to Fangcheng. Li Tai also felt more and more that if there was no control over, the gathering of people would greatly hinder the personnel scheduling of Luochuan Fang.

Fortunately, when he returned from this trip, he brought with him some members who were originally affiliated with the Dushui Administrative Department.

After preparing for a grand parade, the Capital Administrative Office had to sell off its assets in order to provide sufficient supplies of materials. Li Tai almost turned it into an empty shell. The number of cases in the office also dropped sharply. In order to prevent these subordinates from doing nothing and seeing the incident Because things were hurt, Li Tai brought these people to the three-defense city.

These subordinates have all been tempered by the original Dushui Administrative Department cases and are very experienced in handling trivial affairs. They are perfect for the current situation.

So Li Tai ordered Pei Hong, the capital's water recorder, to lead his people to register and register households as soon as possible, organize the people around Fangcheng into farm households, and divide them into different living areas.

Hundreds of households were divided into one camp, each with a military commander in charge. Only those who complied with the establishment could be allowed to live here and receive some food charcoal subsidies from Fangcheng, and participate in farming production in the coming year.

After explaining this, Li Taicai asked about the military situation: "Since this year, the Hu tribe in the territory has been suppressed many times, and the Hu tribes in Diaoyin and other places have attached themselves one after another. How can there be traces of the Hu tribe bandits again?"

When talking about this issue, Li Dao's expression suddenly became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "This winter's disturbance does not originate from Heishui, but from the territory of Xiazhou. At the beginning of winter, there is a big disturbance in Sheyanshui in the north. The Hu bandits gathered together, harassed Shuofang, and even besieged Tongwan City for a time..."

When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but take a deep breath. He was not surprised that the country would be harassed again this winter. He had foreseen it before, but his main expectation was Heishuihu's counterattack, but he did not expect that the fire would break out elsewhere and be so fierce.

Especially when he heard that these Hu bandits actually dared to besiege Tongwan City, he became even more aware of the seriousness of the Hu situation. Although his three-defense city is currently operating very prosperously, the most powerful one in Beizhou is Tongwan City in Xiazhou. He even has to borrow troops from Xiazhou to ensure that he has enough troops.

"Xiazhou Yuwen sent troops from various tribes to recruit troops. Although he tried his best to keep Tongwan City intact, he was unable to counterattack the bandit Hu. This time, there were more than 50,000 bandits and bandits. After Tongwan City was defeated, they The number of people who invaded Dongxia Prefecture by plundering various parties should be more than 30,000. Li Shijun of Dongxia Prefecture was originally planning to stop the enemy in Shangjun, but he was almost out of the enemy formation. Now he retreated to the prefecture city and sent his troops to the south. Come and warn us..."

At this point, Li Dao already had a worried look on his face and sighed: "If the bandit army continues to come south, they will be able to reach the vicinity of Heishui Fangcheng before the twelfth lunar month at the latest. The governor should increase the number of troops and fortify it early!"