Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 173 Promoted to Defense 1
  Drive, drive!

Jia Cong and his entourage did not go to the school grounds to join the army. They left Ningrong Street and ran straight north along Wagangshi Street towards Deshengmen.

Nowadays, the military situation is like a fire. I followed the imperial army and slowly walked over. How long did it take to get Liaodong?

He calculated clearly that if he arrived a few days earlier, he would at least be able to choose a good place to perform his duties, and he would also have a lot of time to familiarize himself with the situation and prepare supplies.

Therefore, knowing that Niu Jizong was leading the army, he asked him for everyone's customs clearance documents and military examination certificates early in the morning. Others who had no problem with the examination could only follow the army and walk slowly.

The entrance to Desheng was sparsely populated, except for the farmers who had rushed into the city early to sell vegetables, and there were only a few gatekeepers dozing listlessly against the wall.

Inside the door, a knight with a face like rock and eyes like ice and snow, wearing a helmet and armor, holding a spear in his hand, stood straight on his horse. Hearing the intensive clatter of horse hooves coming from the other end of the long street, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. .

Appeal!
  Jia Cong galloped forward, pulled the reins of his horse suddenly, and the war horse stood upright. Immediately, two iron hooves as big as bowls crushed the morning frost and stopped steadily.

"Master! Are you out of the mountain?" Jia Cong said with a smile.

Wang Jin said: "After seeing the note and armor you sent, how can I not be moved as a teacher? A good man should gallop on the battlefield and be wrapped in horse leather, how can he die in bed?"

Jia Cong said: "Then let's go, Cong has already taken care of things."

"go!"

Wang Jin shouted loudly, turned his horse's head, and rushed out of the city gate first, rushing towards the border battlefield where he could shine brightly.

drive! Jia Cong laughed and urged his horse to follow. As expected, he was a martyr in his old age and had great ambitions. With Wang Jin's assistance, this trip became more stable.

After leaving the city gate, everyone headed eastward without stopping, passing through Shunyi, Pinggu, Jizhou, Zunhua, Qian'an, Yongping, Funing and other places. It only took three days to arrive at Shanhaiguan, also called Yuguan.

There is a huge plaque on the gate of Guan City, two feet long and half a foot high, with five large characters in block letters reading "The First Pass in the World". The writing is powerful, the muscles and bones are strong, and the spirit is heroic. It should be written by a famous master, but unfortunately there is no signature.

"Brother Cong, do you know who wrote this plaque?" Wang Jin pointed at the huge plaque and asked.

Jia Cong shook his head.

"It was exactly what the old Duke Rong wrote when he was chasing death in the north."

Everyone was amazed and had some understanding of the background of Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Cong looked at the majestic fortress in front of him, which stretched for several miles and was about four feet high, guarding the southern end of the Liaoxi Corridor. He sighed in his heart that even if Liaodong was lost, with this fortress in one day, the Central Plains would be as stable as Mount Tai.

But then I thought about it, fortresses are often unreliable. No matter how strong the fortress is, it will be breached. It is definitely not a good idea to defend with a turtle shell.

Wang Jin looked a little excited and pointed at the pass and said: "Back then, I followed Duke Xianrong out of this pass for the first time to the north. I still remember it vividly when I think about it. It has been more than 20 years ago."

Jia Cong smiled and said: "What emotion does master have this time?"

Wang Jin sighed: "What you have learned throughout your life will eventually be useful."

Su Can and others laughed and said: "Instructor Wang will definitely shine when he goes there. He can teach a disciple as good as Brother Cong. It would be a waste of resources to just be an instructor."

Wang Jin smiled slightly, looked at Jia Cong, and said, "I believe that Brother Cong will really shine. Let's go!"

With that said, everyone handed over the customs clearance documents, passed through the many caravans, and went straight to Liaodong.

As soon as I left Shanhaiguan, I felt that my atmosphere suddenly changed. There was less life in the air and more of the chill of autumn and winter. It's still late autumn in Shenjing, and it's already freezing cold here.

Going north along the Liaoxi Corridor and passing through several small military towns such as Tiechangbao, Yonganbao, Sanshan Yingbao, and Pingchuan Yingbao, Jia Cong felt a little strange.

"Master, why are these small towns and counties not like counties and jis like jis, and why are their names called forts?"

Wang Jindao: "The Nine Borders are different from the inner provinces. There are no prefectures or counties in the important border areas, and there are no officials close to the people. They are all controlled by the Liaodong Jiedushi, which manages both military and civil affairs, and implements a system of integrating military and civilian affairs.

The entire Liaodong Dusi is centered on the three majestic cities of Liaodong Town, Fengtian, and Beizhen. It has 25 garrison and garrison cities as its backbone, and more than 200 forts, passes, and villages to guard various places to jointly defend the nearby areas. Two thousand miles of land border defense and 1,300 miles of coastal defense. ” ˆ ˆ “What is the difference between a fort, a pass, and a village? "Jia Cong said.

"Building a city on the road is called a fort, guarding dangerous passes is called a pass, and building on the mountain is called a village. These small towns are used to station troops during war and to control the market in peacetime, which is very convenient." Wang Jin said.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Fortunately, there is an old horse who knows the way to lead the way, otherwise our eyes would be completely black."

"Brother Cong understood what was going on and asked Coach Wang to take action early." Everyone laughed.

Wang Jin waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and hurry up. I don't know what's ahead."

Three more days later, everyone arrived at Liaoyang City, which is the Liaodong Town Administration Office.

The place seems to be calm, with no signs of a coming war. Countless people and convoys of goods are passing in and out of the city gate. Everyone looks relaxed, as if they don't know there is a war.

"What's going on?" Jia Cong looked at Wang Jin in shock.

Wang Jin shook his head: "I don't know."

Jia Cong casually greeted a farmer on the roadside and asked: "Old man, don't you know that the Tatars are coming? Why are you still so leisurely?"

"The general is from the south. It's winter and the Tatars have nothing to eat. What big deal is it to cross the Great Wall and come to the border to grab some food? Prince Liao is guarding here. Are you afraid they won't attack?" The old man said smiled.

Jia Cong frowned slightly. If it were so simple, Yang Xiong, the Jiedushi envoy and chief military officer, would never dare to light the beacon fire. Now that foreign enemies have arrived, but the people are slack and don't care, they are afraid that something big will happen.

"I'll rush to Fengtian as soon as possible and ask General Yang to find out." Jia Cong said.

Su Can pulled him and said, "Brother Cong, we are passing by Liaodong Town. Do you want to pay a visit to the King of Liao?"

Jia Cong shook his head. He had heard Jia's mother say before he came that when the old Duke Ningrong followed Taizu to Liaodong, he established a foundation here and snatched a piece of land that the old King of Liao had favored at the foot of the Black Mountains. Two hundred thousand acres of fertile land, because of this matter there was great discord with the Liao king and his family.

The late Duke Jia Daishan inherited his father's legacy. When he was guarding Liaodong, he overwhelmed the King of Liao.

Before returning to Beijing, he promoted his confidant Yang Xiong to serve as the commander-in-chief to restrain him, so it was impossible for Jia Cong to come to ask for trouble.

"I'm sorry, I don't agree with you. Let's go!" Jia Cong patted his horse and left.

Everyone hurriedly followed him through the city and headed straight for Fengtian.

Following the official road, one day later we arrived at Fengtian, the forefront city of Liaodong Town to resist foreign enemies.

Only more than a hundred miles apart, Fengtian City is already in a state of imminent rain.

Pedestrians and merchants were in a hurry, and the soldiers on the border were watching the wolves, waiting in full formation. On the city wall several feet high, countless soldiers stood upright with solemn expressions.

Seeing the visitor wearing bright clothes and angry horses, the city gate guards did not dare to be careless and stopped everyone and asked, "Who is coming?"

Yan Shuangying handed over the customs clearance documents and vouchers to everyone, and said: "Master Cong, the Enqi Lieutenant of Rongguo Mansion, is now in the military examination. He has come to guard the border under the order. Let us go in to see General Yang."

After checking it, the soldier knew the weight of Rongguo Mansion and did not dare to neglect it. He hurriedly asked his colleagues to move away and let Jia Cong and others enter the city.

Jia Cong saw that the city was quite peaceful. It was probably because the majestic city gave the residents a strong sense of security, and all walks of life continued to do business.

Compared with Shenjing, the buildings in Fengtian City are not exquisite and luxurious, but they are taller and stronger, with a unique kind of rough beauty.

"Jiubian is indeed prosperous. Looking at this city, there are probably hundreds of thousands of people living there." Wang Jin sighed.

Jia Cong nodded and said: "I heard that the Nine Borders do not have to pay taxes to the imperial court. They only need to support the consumption of the border troops by themselves. After nearly a hundred years of recuperation, even the barren place can develop, not to mention the fertile black soil of Liaodong."

"The general military office has arrived." Wang Jin pointed to a large five-bay government office in front of him and said.

(End of this chapter)