Chapter 100 Pingliang Fort

Hearing his father asking about his third brother's whereabouts, Zhao Tinglei was silent for a moment before saying, "My third brother didn't tell me in detail. He just said he was migrating to the Mida Valley."

"Mida Valley?"

Zhao Yanjiao took a breath, he was very familiar with this name.

Back then, he led his troops to fight several fierce battles here for the Wuda tribe.

There is a report from the army that there are now eight allied tribes stationed in the grasslands around the Mida River Valley, with a population ranging from 50 to 500, scattered everywhere.

Given the strength of the Wuda tribe, although it will not be easily swallowed up by others, it is still a huge risk to face an alliance with a number of people more than three times its own.

In particular, the Wuda tribe has been under the protection of the Zhenbei Army in recent years and has long been regarded as a rebellious tribe by the Di Lu Alliance.

If the alliance discovers their whereabouts, they will definitely be besieged.

"You agreed if he left like this?"

Zhao Yanjiao stared at Zhao Tinglei with sharp eyes, as if he wanted to see through his heart.

This is knowing that Xiao San is seeking death, yet still letting him take the risk and go.

Zhao Tinglei knew that his father was suspicious of him, but he was unwilling to sacrifice his son to catch the wolf, otherwise how could he provoke a war between the two sides.

Fortunately, a fallback route has been left. If my third brother is trapped, he can still find shelter in Suijin Town.

Seeing that the eldest son remained silent, he obviously acknowledged the fact that he was taking advantage of the mistress.

Zhao Yanjiao closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

At this point, he could no longer blame the two men for their audacity. He could only grit his teeth and say, "If the Di Lu people attack us, we will fight them back fiercely and drive them into the grasslands."

Only by quickly involving the Zhenbei Army in the war can we share Xiao San's pressure.

Because there was no communication from Xiaosan since they entered the grassland, the two could only speculate why Pingliang Fort north of Hecheng was attacked.

"My son speculates that my third brother encountered other tribes during his migration and a conflict ensued... The defeated tribe lost their livestock and had no choice but to rob Pingliang Fort."

In winter, the grasslands are covered with heavy snow and water freezes into ice. In such circumstances, if people lose their yurts, cattle, sheep and horses, they will not survive.

The best case scenario is to find the nearest other tribe, join them and become their slaves.

Or they might enter the territory of the Wu Dynasty, wander around and plunder, rest temporarily, and then return to the grassland in spring.

The current situation in Pingliang Fort belongs to the second type, and the direction was chosen under guidance.

Zhao Yanjiao has been in the northwest for twenty years and is already familiar with the local customs and folkways. This is the most likely possibility.

But Xiao San has to fight all the way, and I don’t know how much damage she will suffer.

The loss of contact with Pingliang Fort was a major event, and the first rescue team of 500 people dispatched by Tang Ying had already arrived at the fort.

After the Zhenbei Army fought several tough battles with the Di Lu people in the northwest in the first few years, a cat-and-mouse game emerged.

The Di Lu tribe was originally a nomadic people. The vast grassland was boundless, and the horses could run fast here. The cavalry could appear in unexpected places at any time, burn, kill, loot, and then leave quickly.

As a result, the border residents suffered heavy losses and the soldiers were exhausted from the pursuit.

The Zhenbei Army could no longer search around the world, so after the situation stabilized, they began to build garrisons and military forts.

All the troops were divided into a chain, slowly encircling the border of Yunzhou.

Although the method is stupid, it is better than chasing after the Di Lu people.

The construction of fortifications was extremely costly and took a long time, which also led to a serious shortage of military pay for the Zhenbei Army.

Pingliang Fort was one of the earliest military forts built.

Pingliang Fort, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, looks unremarkable on the surface. There are no high mountains or large gorges here, but a loess ridge with gullies and ravines. The garrison is located on the top of the ridge.

If you want to walk from the ditch to the fort, you need to walk along the winding mountain road for half an hour.

There are no tall trees on Huangtuling. As long as someone stands carefully at the sentry post inside the fort and looks down, the area within two miles around can be seen clearly.

Coupled with the upward-sloping slope, rolling logs, arrows, and falling rocks can keep offenders out of the fort.

Just like the Xuanwei Army at this time.

The team of 500 people stood below in shock, looking up at Pingliang Fort crouching like a monster on the earthen hill.

The flames on the beacon tower above had not yet completely gone out, and the curling green smoke looked like a ghost face with its mouth open and laughing.

The Xuanwei army had just launched a feint attack, but when they were halfway up, they were chased back by rolling logs that were thrown down randomly.

"General Liu! Those bearded men are formidable. If we charge head-on, we'll suffer heavy losses."

Liu Kuan, who was leading the troops, pursed his lips and cursed in his heart.

The Zhenbei Army had nothing better to do, so they built a dirt ridge so solid that it's now impossible to climb up.

He knew that a surprise attack was impossible, so he could only say angrily: "Push back a mile and set up camp, surround Pingliang Fort, and attack again tomorrow morning."

Pingliang Fort was built with fired earth bricks, with rammed earth in the middle and arrow holes and battlements on the walls.

People inside the fort could observe the battle situation from the battlements and then throw stones at the enemy.

Arrows shot from below cannot penetrate the defense at all, but will instead be attacked from a high position.

Seeing that the Xuanwei army had returned empty-handed and had to retreat, a burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the fort.

A Dilu man wrapped in a fur robe and smelling of mutton, holding a scimitar, looked down and spat, then put his hands on his hips and said, "What a bunch of cowards! Fifteen of us were able to sneak up on them, and the Xuanwei army didn't even dare to charge. It's a pity that we prepared a pile of stones, but no blood was seen."

Next to them, five ragged Wu Dynasty men were desperately carrying rubble as big as their heads to the parapet. These were the rolling logs they had just dropped.

Outside the fort not far away, in the light and shadow of torches, a group of men and women were carrying military supplies.

On the ground, there were more than ten headless corpses, all wearing Xuanwei military uniforms.

In the cold winter, the blood flowing from the corpses froze on the ground, turning into ice chips, which were then crushed by stepping on, leaving dots of color everywhere.

In the dark night, a woman's screams of pain pierced the sky, and the rich smell of meat filled the air.

A Dilu man came out of a nearby room and said loudly with a laugh, "These Wu Dynasty women are as skinny as lambs. It's not fun to torment them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Dilu man who was patrolling with a scimitar heard the sound and scolded him: "Aji, this is not our land, not our home. Don't forget that our families and cattle and sheep are still in the Wuda tribe.

The Wu Dynasty people are already attacking. If you don't restrain yourself, you will die on a woman's belly."

His words instantly made the Dilu man who was tying his belt furious: "I will kill them, I will kill those white wolves to avenge my father."

"Well, I'm glad you still know how to seek revenge. These Wu Dynasty people are our slaves, not your playthings for venting your anger. We will even use them to exchange for livestock."

At this time, the Wu Dynasty men working nearby seemed not to have heard anything, but just stared at the corpse on the ground with angry eyes.

These people were all military households in Pingliang Fort, and most of the dozens of families were exiled here for committing crimes.

They hated the Di Lu people, even though they knew they would be taken as slaves and exchanged for livestock, but they hated the Xuanwei soldiers whose heads were chopped off even more.

(End of this chapter)