Chastity Layman 2

Chapter 860
In the seventh year of Zhenguan, early winter.

Ha Giang.

The estuary where the Lu River flows into the Panlong River is a stockade on a flat jungle mountain.The South Route Army led by Qin Lang crossed southwest from the upper mountain valley of the Jinjiang River, entered the Lujiang River Valley, an upper tributary of the Panlong River, and then swept the barbarian villages along the river valley, all the way southeast to this jungle mountain.

What Qin Lang liked was the flat terrain of this place, especially the connection to the upper and lower reaches of the Panlong River, and the connection to the Jinjiang River via the Lujiang River, so he decided early on to set up Hejiang Prefecture here and station troops to reclaim wasteland and farmland.

In this barren mountainous area, the key points to control the barbarians are those river valley tunnels, and the key points to control these tunnels are the confluences of rivers that can connect several crossroads.

The unique scenery of Hejiang is like a paradise, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, isolated from the world.

There are not only terraced fields all over the mountains, but also slash-and-burn hillside upland rice planting. In this small jungle valley, there are several barbarian tribes living, each with their own traditions. There are also some barbarians who like direct slash-and-burn farming, and some brook barbarians who like mining and smelting, and some barbarians who like hunting and fishing.

In the fields, what you see are often women.

"Why do some people open terraces to store water and grow rice, while others burn mountains to plant upland rice?" Standing on the hanging tower in the middle of the village in Hejiang, looking at the scene outside, many Chinese soldiers were puzzled.

"In fact, it has something to do with the geography and climate. You should also know that the weather in Annan is quite different from that in Lingnan, Guangdong and Guangxi. The rainy season and dry season are obvious here, and there are no four distinct seasons like the Central Plains. When the rainy season comes, There will be continuous rain, so rice can be grown even on the mountains. The upland rice grown on the hillsides of Judingman or Jiaozhouman is to directly set fire to a mountain, and then take a wooden stick to poke a hole on the burned hillside. Just put a few grains of rice seeds in the hole, and you don’t even need to cover it with soil. Burnt tree ash can provide nutrients for the rice seeds, and sufficient rainfall in the rainy season can ensure the water they need without even using How to take care of it, just wait for the rice to mature and harvest.”

Niu Jianhu was stunned, "Is there really upland rice? Slash-and-burn farming?"

Someone said happily, "Then how about we bring this rice seed back to the Central Plains, especially Guanlong?"

"You are stupid. I never heard that upland rice can be grown on the mountain here. Is it because of the rainy season here? There is a lack of it in Guanzhong. If you plant rice on the mountain, can you live?" Niu Jianhu said disdainfully.

Qin Lang nodded, "Indeed."

Someone else thought it was wrong.

"Since this is the case, why does Heman want to build terraced fields? Isn't that thankless?"

"Although the hillside upland rice cultivated by slash-and-burn cultivation is miraculous, it is just a special kind of rice cultivated by these barbarians for a long time. Although this kind of rice has many advantages, it also has disadvantages, that is, the yield of this kind of upland rice is actually not high. "

"The fact that Heman people like to build terraced fields is actually due to their habit of moving south from the Central Plains all the way. After all, from Longyou to Jiannan to Yunnan and then to Nanzhong, there are many places that do not have the conditions to grow upland rice. That kind of rice didn’t have the same climate at that time, so they still planted rice traditionally, but they just moved all the way south. The good plains have already been occupied by people. They can only move into the mountains, or even live on the slopes of the mountains, without valleys. If the land is flat, then build terraced fields on the hillside.

It has been passed down from generation to generation, so the Heman people have very sophisticated terraced rice planting techniques, especially here, where there is plenty of rain, which is more suitable for building terraced fields. The glutinous rice grown by the Heman people has a soft and delicious taste, and is also suitable for wine making.

Of course, more importantly, although the construction of terraced fields is more complicated and laborious than slash-and-burn cultivation, the harvest is also higher. The yield of mountain rice cultivated by slash-and-burn cultivation is no more than a stone per mu, but the yield of glutinous rice grown in terraced fields is even much higher than that of rice fields in the Central Plains.

In other words, in fact, Hebaren has mastered the advanced rice terrace planting technology.

"Impossible, can Heman be better at farming than us Han people?"

"It's impossible. After all, they have been farming for generations, and don't forget that they are a tribe that is constantly migrating. They are constantly learning and integrating the farming techniques of other tribes. They will naturally become stronger if they adopt the strengths of the other tribes. Of course, this is also related to the climate here. If you go to Longyou Guanzhong to grow rice terraces, it will definitely not work."

Niu Jianhu refused to accept, "I remember Sanlang, don't you have a lot of terraced fields near Chang'an?"

"It's true, but where are my terraced fields? They are all reclaimed and rehabilitated in some riverside ditches, close to the water source. Only by setting up water trucks and building ditches to divert water for irrigation can the income be guaranteed."

In fact, Annan does not have a real rainy season and dry season. The Linyi, Chenla, Funan and other places south of Annan have a real tropical monsoon climate, with a distinct rainy and dry season. However, Annan is also nearby, so the climate is relatively close.

From the beginning of autumn to the early summer of next year, it is a season of drought and little rain, while from summer to autumn, it is a season of continuous rain.

This winter is actually a good season to conquer the Southern Man, because the weather is cool, dry and less rainy, which is good for marching. If it is delayed until the rainy season, although it is not as strong as the south, the climate will become humid and hot , and the rain continued, and the rivers were full. At that time, marching and fighting was definitely a nightmare for the soldiers in the Central Plains.

Especially in this season, the northern army is often prone to outbreaks of many diseases.

May in the Central Plains is called the evil month, and there are traditions such as drinking realgar wine to drive away epidemics. In Annan, it is of course more difficult for northerners to adapt.

The strategic plan formulated by Qin Lang, why is the attack in a split line, and then set up point-shaped fortresses, but he never thought of solving the problem at once.

Instead, we need to open up several lines of communication, build fortresses at each node, and then we need to cultivate fields, garrison training, adapt to the climate here, and prepare for long-term siege and suppression, not in a hurry.

The ultimate goal is not to be satisfied with subjugation, but to truly carry out direct actual rule.

Of course, some people have raised doubts about Qin Lang's plan.

Now that the army is all on the move, the climate is cool and dry, which is quite good.

But if the rainy season starts next year and the army retreats, will the soldiers in the fortresses staying behind, the family members of the troops who have migrated, and the prisoners and slaves accompanying the army be able to maintain it?

Can they really adapt to the harsh climate and environment at that time, especially the plague and disease, and the counterattack of the barbarians?
Qin Lang still thinks he can give it a try, as long as he makes sufficient preparations in advance.

It is simply unrealistic and impossible to make all the barbarians submit to the army once. It can only be self-deception.

Not to mention other things, in these deep mountains and old forests, even if you visit all the wild villages, it is estimated that there is not a few years where you can't do it.

In the mountain with inconvenient transportation, one mountain looks at the other, not far away, the two barbarian villages seem to be able to hear a few shouts, but if you really want to go there, you may have to go over the mountains, or even You have to go left and right, those continuous mountains and deep valleys will make you miserable, and you may not be able to pass it after walking for seven or eight days.

This is the status quo in the barbaric land.

Although Qin Lang and the others were divided into three armies, and the third army was further divided into left and right hatchbacks, etc., they could only advance along the main river and valley roads. They used troops against some large villages, but they were temporarily out of reach for other barbarian villages that deviated from the main road. up.

This can only be done step by step.

So far, since Qin Lang dispatched troops from Gaoping Fort, the progress has been quite smooth. The main force of Juding fled to the west in a panic. The Juding barbarians in the mountains, as well as some other tribal barbarians, could no longer effectively resist the Tang army.

The dragons have no leader, and there is chaos.

Qin Lang marched along the main tunnel, and defeated many villages, but there were still more villages behind him that he hadn't even seen.

However, some major nodes in the plan have been successfully won, and construction has already started.

Hejiang is one of the seven new prefectures proposed by Qin Lang, a very important point, and a guard fortress will be built here.

After a short rest here, they will leave some auxiliary soldiers and peasants here to build a fortress with some summoned barbarians, and then lead the soldiers up the Panlong River to the old nest of the Nong clan in Juding.

It's just that plans never catch up with changes.

The Hejiang Fortress had just begun to lay the foundations, and the soldiers who had been marching for days were still very tired. As a result, a team of light cavalry came from the southwest, and they sent Li Daliang's latest military report.

Not long ago, Zhang Bi, the governor of Aizhou in the Annan Protectorate, led [-] troops to chase the Judingman to the Nongren River, where all the troops were wiped out.

The entire army of [-] soldiers and horses was wiped out. It was not the Xie Cong barbarian army that restrained the Manzhou, but the regular Tang army under the Annan Metropolitan Protectorate, including [-] light cavalry.

The [-] well-equipped Tang army even possessed [-] light cavalry. This was definitely a force to walk sideways in Annan, but it was completely wiped out in the barbaric land.

Although these 8000 people also used blood and swords to take away nearly 2 horses from Judingman and Heman before they died in battle, this still shocked Qin Lang and others.

That Nong Sanniang once again created a miracle. She led [-] young and strong men in the town to fight against the Tang army's pursuit. In the end, not only was she not wiped out, but she wiped out the [-] Tang army.

The [-] barbarian cavalry and [-] young men brought by Meng Guzhen of the Heman tribe were crucial, and the two barbarian tribes who came one after another dealt the final blow to the Tang army.

Should not be ah.

Niu Jianhu and the others all looked in disbelief, they all thought that barbarians were barbarians, and Tang Jun should fight ten of them one by one.

"A tiger can't stand a pack of wolves!"

Qin Lang recounted the battle in detail, and finally had to shake his head. The key to Zhang Bi's defeat was that he underestimated the enemy and rushed forward. He chased the whole army for seven days and seven nights before exhausting him. Originally, there were tens of thousands of assistants behind him. Soldiers and civilians, etc., but in order to chase the enemy, he left those hundreds of miles behind.

And Li Daliang's department, which should have kept a distance to support each other, was also left too far by Zhang Bi.

Of course, if Zhang Bi was able to resolutely give up the fight when there was a pincer attack with the barbarians, and lead his army to retreat slowly, letting go of Juding, then even if he himself was injured, it would be impossible for his entire army to be wiped out.

He thought he could defeat the two barbarians, but in the end he was defeated.

In this battle, Zhang Bi fought fiercely, and he made many fatal mistakes. Of course, it was unexpected that the barbarians were able to fight back in such a desperate situation. They will think that the barbarians have a chance to win, and they all think that they can win.

That Nong Sanniang is really unexpected in every way.

When they heard that Nong Sanniang's eldest son had died in front of the battle, Niu Jianhu and the others applauded, but Qin Lang understood that woman a bit better.

After all, this battle is not the last battle of Juding's invasion of Tang territory. This time it is a desperate battle on their way to escape. If they don't work hard, they will die. Their homes will be gone, and their parents, wives and children will also die. , They are fighting for their lives, fighting for their loved ones, and fighting for the ethnic group.

Those people had too much anger in their hearts, and when they all erupted, it was terrifying, especially when they were under a commander with an incomparably amazing fighting spirit and determination.

After losing Zhang Bi, a fierce general, and the eight thousand elites, Li Daliang quickly led his troops to the north, but in the end he failed to stop the two barbarians fleeing south in Baping City.

The two sides started a big battle on Baping Bazi. Nong Sanniang wrapped her forehead in a white scarf and wore a white robe, carrying her son's sword and a big horse to charge forward. Join forces with the barbarians to attack.

After all, Li Daliang came from a long distance, and the soldiers were exhausted, especially after losing Zhang Bi's army, Li Daliang only had a few thousand soldiers in his hands.

After a day of bloody battles with the barbarians, they still couldn't stop the terrifying aura of the barbarians.

Li Daliang's army lost [-] people and had to retreat into Baping City. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as more than a hundred thousand barbarians helped the old and the young pass by Baping City. The barbarians passed by the city for three days and three nights. .

Although Li Daliang went out of the city several times to attack, he was eventually repelled by Nong Sanniang and Meng Wuju, without any success.

"Wei Gong, please order to send troops to pursue." Niu Jianhu and the generals asked for orders.

Qin Lang just put down the letter and shook his head slowly.

Everyone has run away, so what are you chasing after?
After the two barbarians broke through the pass of Baping City, there was no one to stop them going south. They went all the way to the south, and there was Heman's base camp, with more than a dozen tribes of Heman, and countless barbarians, their strength was still there.

Li Daliang is now in a state of injury, if not for some soldiers and horses from the navy to support him, he would have to worry and quite take the opportunity to go down the West Dao River and go straight to Jiaozhou.

"Since the battle is over and the barbarians have run away, let's leave them alone for the time being and clean up the mess first."

"Before the rainy season comes next summer, I hope to reach Nanpanjiang in the west, Xidaojiang in the south, Youxi in the north, and Gaoping in the east, and conquer all of them."

"Then Nong Sanniang and Meng Wuju killed our eight thousand soldiers and brothers, so forget it?"

"It's not forgetting, I just write it down temporarily, and I have to pay it back." Qin Lang clenched his fists and said slowly.

(End of this chapter)