Crossing the Unknown Country

The Dongjie army, led by Wanyan Ahan, finally arrived five miles away from Fenggou, the border town of Ansheng, after several days of marching. Dongjie sent all its best troops here, and some soldiers were stationed in cities closer to Dongjie. They were determined to win this time, otherwise they would not retreat.

The territory of Ansheng is in a relatively rich area. In fact, if it weren't for the strong national strength of Ansheng, the surrounding Suzhi, Xining, Daqi, and Baoxiang would not be able to live in peace. These countries may not attack, but they can pose a threat, so that Ansheng can't easily withdraw troops from each other. In this way, the war will be uncertain, and they can benefit from it.

In diplomacy, there is a saying that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. All countries have interests to maintain, and if they can take the opportunity to expand their territory, no one will give up this opportunity. In particular, Ansheng is still a big piece of fat meat, and these neighboring countries all want to take a bite.

The Ye family had already tidied up the cave so they could hide in it at any time. They also found a few trees to plant at the entrance of the cave, which would make it more concealed. There were two openings in the cave extending from the stone slab, so they could escape and have a way out if there was any danger.

Suhe Village first built a wall. The extra-wide foundation allowed the wall to be higher. A ditch was dug on the periphery, and wooden spikes were inserted upside down. Children in the village were strictly prohibited from approaching this place. All children could only go up the mountain and could not go out. The wall was not too high or too long. As long as there was time, all the young and old were mobilized to build it together. The lazy people in the village didn't want to do it at first, but in the end, the village chief said that if they didn't do it, they had to get out of the village, which made these people behave themselves.

Su He's house was the farthest from the village entrance, but closest to the back mountain. They were also afraid that a small group of enemies would come down from the back mountain, so they dug a tunnel from their yard leading to the back mountain. Since they couldn't escape in a hurry, they finally escaped through the tunnel, trying to escape as many as they could.

The nearby villages also began to move. They all had household registration restrictions and could not run away elsewhere. They could only build some defensive fortifications and try their best to reduce some damage.

At this time, Su He felt that the underdeveloped transportation was a good thing. At least they had few undercover agents from the enemy country. Their ancestors had been like this for generations, and most of them married each other. This way they could help each other. Once the enemy came, they could send out signal fire to each other or hide in the villages inside.

When General Wang An saw the strength of the Dongjie Kingdom, he was also encouraged. He wanted to fight a tough battle this time. A group of soldiers in the hall were discussing how to deal with this. It happened to be the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. They came to rob the grain and cotton of Ansheng Kingdom when they saw the bumper harvest.

Everyone felt that it was not the time to go to war, and that they should focus on defense, and when the enemy was exhausted after multiple attacks, they would launch a massive counterattack. Their walls were strong enough, and the garrison was large, but there were only about 500,000 garrisons. General Wang had submitted a memorial to the higher authorities, requesting the garrisons of several cities behind to reinforce here. At least some of the military roads outside the city should be heavily guarded to prevent them from bypassing Fenggu City and attacking from the villages and towns. There were no troops there, only some yamen runners and a few hundred garrisons to maintain order and stability, but there was no chance of winning against the foreign enemy.

The border of Ansheng State is mainly mountainous, which is good and bad. There are natural barriers and many mountain roads, so it is too difficult to completely block them. General Wang An also requested in his memorial that more troops be sent to various villages and towns to block the mountain roads. They have a big battle here, and other places have defenses, but this time Dongjie State attacked with such a large force, and they are under great pressure here.

Shili Village finally received a notice for military service. Each household had to provide one person. If they didn't, they had to pay 20 taels of silver. Su He's family and his grandmother's family barely managed to collect 40 taels of silver. Finally, Su He discussed with his father to sell the cow directly. If the enemy came, there would be no place to hide the cow, and it would be too late to kill it, so it would be better to exchange it for silver and keep it.

The family reluctantly sold the cow because someone was going to escape. The cow and the cart were still easy to sell. They fed the cow well and finally sold it for 25 taels. The villagers cried for two days. The lazy men did not escape and were also recruited to serve. Except for the village chief and another family, Su He and his family did not send anyone. All other families had adult men to serve. Because everyone knew that they were going to the border town to fight this time, every household was shrouded in dark clouds.

Su He had no other options. His family wasn't rich and had just escaped poverty. It was already difficult to save his family. If there was another conscription, his family would also be doomed. Now he could only pray to God not to let the enemy attack, otherwise he would lose his family and be forced to join the war.