Han Shizu

Chapter 867 General Yanmen
To the north of Daixian County, on Gouzhu Mountain, the strong pass stands tall, and the dangerous fortress remains.Because it leads to the Yunshuo Plateau in the north and the Xindai Basin in the south, the Yanmen Ancient Road has always been the throat of the north-south communication, and it is a place that military strategists must contend for.Although the terrain is steep, it always attracts the northern peoples. After all, as long as they break through the tens of miles of mountain passes, they can take advantage of the situation and go straight to Taiyuan through the Xin Dynasty, and a little bit of the Jin Dynasty.

However, the mountain pass of dozens of miles in this area is like a natural moat, which has always blocked the ambition of the Khitan people to go south. The Yanmen Pass, which is located high in Gouzhu, is like an iron gate, faithfully performing its duties.

The Khitan people have a certain relationship with Yanmen Pass, and they are not ignorant of the Yanmen Ancient Road. More than 20 years ago, the Khitan army passed by here, and went south to Jinyang to help Shi Jingtang build the country. More than 10 years ago, when the Khitan fought against the Jin Kingdom, they also mobilized troops to go to Hedong, but they were defeated by Liu Zhiyuan, who was still the king of Beiping at that time, and gained a lot.

More recently, in the early days of Qianyou, during the period of Yang Yeshu's reign, around the danger of Yanmen, there were several battles between Han and Liao. Although there were no large-scale battles, there were several confrontations between more than 500 people. Moreover, the wrestling of small troops was also brutal and bloody.

It was not until the fourth year of Qianyou, when the Han and Liao peace talks were made, that the situation gradually eased. Of course, it is impossible to say that there is nothing wrong with each other.Some Khitan soldiers dressed up as thieves and robbed Han merchants and Han people, and some Han soldiers dressed up as horse bandits and went to the "Great Grass Valley" in the Saibei grassland.

In order to protect the commercial roads and protect the people, the officers and soldiers of the Han and Liao Dynasties also fought wits and courage with the bandits.Of course, many things are well known, but none of them have been exposed, and they are unwilling to give in. This kind of tacit struggle between the two sides has continued for seven or eight years.

It has been almost ten years since the winter of the first year of Qianyou, when he was ordered to go north to guard the dynasty.In ten years, Yang Ye has grown from youth to adulthood, becoming a father, and growing into a truly mature border guard.Long garrisoned in the frontier, living in one city and one pass for ten years, Yang Ye can be said to have dedicated the best years of his life to Yanmen.

In the past ten years, Yang Ye's greatest contribution was to build a defense system centered on Yanmen Pass on the basis of the old Yanmen Pass, supplemented by dozens of passes along the mountain, and to train an elite cavalry team. .

In the Dongxing Pass of Yanmen, on the southeast school field, a Han army of more than 700 soldiers was practicing. Yang Ye personally commanded in the formation, waving the command flag, and the fake soldiers followed the order to the east, changing the formation.The whole scene appeared serious and orderly, smooth operation, rigorous formation, perfect circle, almost no flaws, obviously this group of soldiers had reached a certain level in the training of the formation.

The practice this time is the Six Flower Formation created by Li Jing, the god of war in the early Tang Dynasty. It has been developed for hundreds of years and is already very mature. It is simpler and minimizes complex coordination.

For ordinary soldiers, of course, the simpler the coordination, the less changes the better, and the same is true for generals.The establishment of the Liuhua Formation was originally to use as few troops as possible to complete a more stable formation, achieve the most effective effect, and reduce the difficulty of command.

Yang Ye commanded the Dingxiang Army with a strength of 4000. In these years, apart from patrolling the defenses of the pass day after day and exploring the situation of the enemy in the northern part of the Great Wall, the rest of his energy was devoted to training the troops under his command.Up to now, the cavaliers under his command can already be driven like an arm and run like a heart.

Although the Liuhua Formation is mainly about defense, Yang Ye's practice is based on offense strategically. He has already considered the battle against the irrelevant city of Saibei in advance.This is also something that some senior generals in the Han court are considering.

Changing from a circular formation to a square formation, from a curved formation to a sharp formation, imagining the situation of the enemy, the terrain, and switching between offense and defense, they have been practicing for more than two hours before disbanding at the end of the training.

"Daddy!" On the platform, the little boy who had been watching the sergeant's drill saluted Yang Ye.

The boy, who was almost ten years old, was naturally Yang Ye's eldest son, Yan Zhao, who had already shown a certain degree of military talent. He had been learning literature and martial arts since he was six years old, and followed Yang Ye in and out of the barracks and patrolling the fortress.

Yang Ye has three sons now, but he is the only one who loves this intelligent eldest son very much.

"Da Lang, are you hungry?" Yang Ye asked with a smile.

Yang Yanzhao nodded and said directly, "I'm hungry!"

"Then go back to the mansion to eat!" Yang Ye said.

Hearing this, Yang Yanzhao couldn't help asking questions: "Didn't Dad always say that in order to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, it is already late and there is food in the camp, why not eat in the camp?"

Thick eyebrows raised, seeing the eldest son's smart appearance, Yang Ye's smile became wider, he touched his head, and said: "I am the head of an army and the head of the family. If I don't go back to the house, I'm afraid your mother will find you." Come to the barracks."

Of course Yang Ye was joking.His wife is the granddaughter of the late Prime Minister Feng Dao, and she was also a matchmaker for the emperor. She has a long history of family education, knowledgeable and polite, sensible and well-educated, and is a very good and virtuous wife.Accompanying Yang Ye Shudai for ten years, he never complained about the bitter cold in the frontier, and always kept himself safe, caring for his husband and raising his children.Because of the heirloom of poems and books, he also made several poems that were spread in the south of Sai and the north of Sai.

When mentioning his mother, Yang Yanzhao obediently said that he was going back home. For so many years, Yang Ye was bound by his official and military affairs, so he inevitably ignored his family.Up and down the Yang family, the upbringing of the heirs is managed by the Feng family.For his mother, Yang Yanzhao also cultivated respect and fear from childhood.
Yang Ye picked up the eldest son and wanted to take him back to the mansion, but he threw him a few times, struggled to the ground, and wanted to leave by himself.

The Yang Mansion is located in Guannei, in the west city.For a military fortress, life is definitely not good.

Feng Shi is two years younger than Yang Ye, and married him before he was eighteen.Years of life in the northern garrison made Feng's soft and beautiful, and his skin was not as smooth and delicate as before, but the resolute and strong temperament he gradually developed later made Yang Ye even more heartbroken.Not every pampered, graceful and weak woman can endure such loneliness and bitter cold.

"Ma'am (mother)!" Yang Ye respected Feng Shi very much.In the hall, Yang Yanzhao and Yang Yanzhao, one big and one small, stood there honestly, laughing carefully with them.

The sky was already dark. Before returning to the mansion, Yang Ye had a feeling in his heart, and took someone to inspect the fortress in the north of Guanbei. After walking around like this, it was naturally too late.In the hall, the meal was ready, but it was obviously cold. Mrs. Feng was sitting by the desk, with two hungry babies beside her.

Seeing Yang Ye's slightly guilty expression, Feng's beautiful face softened, and said softly: "Since you're back, wash up and tidy up, I'll ask someone to heat up the food!"

"You guys, go and clean yourselves too!" Feng stared at the three sons again, especially the two younger ones, who liked to fumble around. After waiting for so long, the clean hands were already dirty again.

And Mrs. Feng personally helped Yang Ye take off his cloak and coat, and went into the courtyard.The servant brought the hot water, and Mrs. Feng took the cold water to adjust the temperature, and then waited for him to wash his hair and wash his body.
It's not yet midsummer, and the weather is not too hot, but after taking a bath, it is still a very enjoyable experience, refreshing.However, looking at Mrs. Feng with his sleeves rolled up, Yang Ye couldn't help but said: "Madam comes from a scholarly family. I feel guilty for doing this job with your hand that holds a pen and ink!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Feng laughed lightly and said, "If I live in a deep boudoir all day long and study poetry and books, I won't be the wife of General Yang! It's what I should do to help husband and raise children, so why should you be ashamed!"

Feng's attitude is calm and generous. Regarding this, Yang Ye can only sigh, what more can a husband ask for if he has a wife like this?

Feng said: "My husband always says that, and I am ashamed to receive such praise!"

After dinner, the whole family stayed together, and the atmosphere was harmonious, but the meal was half-eat, and the military academy rushed to report: "Military envoy, people from Beisai came to warn, there is a change in the Liao army in Yunshuo territory!"

Hearing this, Yang Ye immediately let go of his tenderness, became serious, turned his head to look at Feng Shi, Feng Shi showed him a virtuous smile: "Since there is a military situation, my husband should deal with it early, don't neglect it!"

(End of this chapter)