Chapter 225 Searching for the Hu Tribe
Jiacheng, the shogun.

Wang Bin sat in the study looking at the map of the outside of the Great Wall.

"Dad, Lord Yang has already led his troops out of the country!"

At this time, Wang Sheng walked into the study and said.

Wang Bin raised his head, glanced at him, and said, "Where are the others?"

"Everyone has set off, and should be able to leave the country today!" Wang Sheng replied.

This military order did not specify any specific tasks, but required the garrisons of each city to leave the country on April 12.

To put it simply, you must go out to fight. As for what you can do after that, that is up to you.

There are no rigid requirements or mandatory tasks; it's all about free play.

If you are afraid of death, then you can find a place to hide for a few months. If you want military merit, then go find the enemy yourself.

Those who only seek to save their lives may be liquidated after the war, but they can save their lives.

If you want to achieve something great, you have to risk your life for it.

"What is their attitude?" Wang Bin continued to ask.

Wang Sheng thought for a while, "It's still unclear at the moment. They can all leave the country today. As for what they can do after leaving the country, that depends on them!"

Wang Bin nodded slightly.

This is an expected problem.

Neither Liang Chu nor Lu Chongde placed the chips of victory on these garrison camps. In their eyes, the garrison camps were just a stick to alert the enemy.

As long as these garrison camps roam outside the pass, the Hu tribes will inevitably take action, and as long as they take action, they will inevitably leave clear traces. At that time, other teams can follow the traces they left to launch a pursuit.

The generals responsible for pursuing the tribe were Wang Bin, Zhou Lan and others.

As for the Zhenbiao Camp under Liang Chu's command, they marched straight to Fushan City.

Although Chongshan Town cannot be said to be strong in terms of military strength today, it is much stronger than it was four years ago. The military strength alone has been greatly improved.

Four years ago, Chongshan Town could mobilize a maximum of 100,000 troops, but now Chongshan Town can mobilize 150,000 troops without affecting the defense lines of various places.

Liang Chu looked at the map, wondering where he should make his next move.

According to the military order from the General's Office, his mission was to clear the 300-mile coastal area, that is, the area north of Jiacheng.

"Let's send out our scouts first!" Wang Bin thought for a moment and then gave the order.

Wang Sheng responded and left the study.

……

The northern border of Anyuan City.

Yang Zhengshan had led the soldiers of the garrison camp more than ten miles out of the border.

On the first day, Yang Zhengshan did not advance rapidly. After going out of the border for ten miles, he ordered his soldiers to set up camp.

The simple tent was set up, and Yang Zhengshan was also looking at the map in the tent.

Han Cheng, Song Dashan and Yang Mingzhen stood beside him, also looking at the map.

"My Lord, what should we do next?"

"The higher-ups only let us leave the country, but didn't give us any specific tasks. We can't just rush around like headless flies!"

Han Cheng said with some entanglement.

He felt a little tricky.

The North is so vast, more than a thousand miles long from east to west and a thousand miles wide from north to south. With such a large area, they certainly cannot wander around without a purpose.

It would be fine if we can't find the Donghai Hu tribe, but it would be terrible if we were targeted by the Hu cavalry and attacked!
Yang Zhengshan asked calmly, "What do you think is the primary condition for the Donghai Hu people to choose a place to live?"

Han Cheng was stunned. "This, I really don't know."

Although he has lived in Chongshan Town for most of his life, he doesn't know much about the Hu people of Donghai.

"Sir, I know!" Yang Mingzhen suddenly said.

"What is it?" Yang Zhengshan looked up and gave him an encouraging look.

Yang Mingzhen said: "It's the source of water. Both humans and livestock cannot live without water!"

"The Hu bandits are used to moving around, they definitely won't dig wells in fixed locations, so their settlements must be next to rivers!"

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and said, "Yes, the first condition for them to choose a settlement is water!"

"But there are many rivers in the north, so it's difficult to find them!" Han Cheng said again.

There are no big rivers in the north, but there are many small rivers and streams.

Even if we knew they would live by the river, it would be difficult to find them.

"Well, the first condition is water source, and the secondary condition is fertile grassland!" Yang Zhengshan continued.

Although the Donghai Hu people are not a purely nomadic people, most of their tribes rely on raising livestock for their livelihood.

Water and grass are their biggest needs.

As Yang Zhengshan spoke, he picked up a charcoal pencil and drew on the map.

He first crossed out the areas near the sea. “The areas near the sea are all saline-alkali lands with neither water sources nor grasslands. They can be directly excluded.”

Then he crossed out the area near Black Cloud Mountain. "Although the Black Cloud Mountain is not steep, it is not suitable for grazing livestock. There may be some hunters among them, but the number should not be too large. And searching the mountain is too troublesome, so there is no need for us to go there."

"There must be many tribes gathered near Fushan City, but there are too many Hu people there. Our small number of people won't be enough to stop them!"

"The west is too far away from us, so we won't go over and compete with our comrades!"

Yang Zhengshan crossed out areas one by one, and soon the map was broken into pieces.

"Water source, Songyuan River!"

In the end, Yang Zhengshan chose a familiar area.

During the Battle of Fushan City, Yang Zhengshan delivered food and fodder along the Songyuan River several times, so he was very familiar with the Songyuan River.

"However, this section of Songyuan River is located between Chongshan Pass and Fushan City. When the war comes, the Hu tribes that originally lived here will definitely move away after hearing the news." "They will stay away from this area, but they will not completely leave Songyuan River!"

"So I think there should be some tribes of the Hu people in this area!"

Yang Zhengshan pointed at the upper reaches of the Songyuan River and several of its tributaries.

Han Cheng was scratching his head. He felt that there was a huge gap between him and Yang Zhengshan. He just wanted to find the Hu tribe in the north, which was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He didn't expect that there were so many factors to consider.

"You are so thoughtful, sir!"

Yang Zhengshan smiled, looked at Yang Mingzhen and said, "Mingzhen, you guys go search this area early tomorrow morning, and be careful when you search!"

Before the expedition, Yang Zhengshan adjusted the responsibilities of Han Cheng, Song Dashan and Yang Mingzhen.

Han Cheng led the cotton-armored infantry, Song Dashan led the iron-armored infantry, and Yang Zhengshan personally led the cavalry. Yang Mingzhen, as his deputy, was responsible for the deployment of the guards.

"Yes!" Yang Mingzhen responded with joy.

After coming to Chongshan Town for several years, Yang Mingzhen is finally able to go to the battlefield to kill enemies and make merit, which makes him excited and thrilled.

Even though Yang Zhengshan only asked him to go for reconnaissance and search, he still felt extremely excited.

The night passed in a flash.

The next day, at dawn, Yang Mingzhen led dozens of riders out of the camp and headed for the area Yang Zhengshan had mentioned yesterday. Yang Zhengshan also led the remaining soldiers to continue marching northward.

At the same time, King Daling also spread the news of the impending war to all tribes.

The capital of King Daling was formerly known as Fushan City.

Since the founding of the Daling Dynasty, Fushan City has been the capital.

However, the Darong Dynasty did not recognize the existence of the Daring Dynasty, and naturally would not recognize any royal capital, and still called it Fushan City.

The fact that Chongshan Town went out to attack could not be concealed, and the fact that a large number of garrison soldiers left the country was also difficult to conceal from the Daling Dynasty.

Although the Da Ling Dynasty was unable to guess the specific plans of Lu Chongde and Liang Chu at first, this did not prevent them from taking precautions and issuing warnings against the garrison camps leaving the border.

The news quickly spread among the tribes, and these Hu tribes also responded quickly.

They began to hide themselves and look for the garrison camps operating outside the Great Wall.

For a time, the entire north became a large hunting ground.

The garrison camps in each city and the Hu tribes are both hunters and prey.

……

Yang Mingzhen's luck was not very good. He led dozens of cavalrymen to search the upper reaches of Songyuan River for several days but could not find any trace of the Hu tribe, which made him a little anxious.

I finally got the chance to make a contribution, but in the end I couldn't even find the shadow of the enemy. How can I make a contribution?
On the bank of Songyuan River, Yang Mingzhen looked at the surging river and sighed in depression.

But at this moment, three cavalrymen came galloping from the northeast.

"My lord, my lord~"

Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

"Any findings?" Yang Mingzhen was shocked and asked quickly.

"Yes, just ten miles to the west, we found traces of the Hu cavalry there!"

Yang Mingzhen was completely alert, "Let's go and take a look!"

After saying that, he climbed on top and ran along the river towards the west.

Ten miles is a very short distance, and if you ride at full speed you can get there in just a quarter of an hour.

This is not a flat plain, but a hilly area with small hills rising one after another.

Yang Mingzhen did not come forward immediately, but dismounted from his horse at the foot of a small hill, then crouched down and climbed up the hill.

"Sir, look over there!"

Yang Mingzhen looked over and saw a dozen or so Hu cavalrymen sitting together to rest in the opposite valley, and they had even made a fire.

Judging from their appearance, they should be cavalry from a certain tribe, not ordinary Hu people.

They were definitely not here to graze or hunt.

"There must be a tribe of the Hu people nearby!"

Yang Mingzhen observed for a while and said affirmatively.

Because he found that there were many signs of activities at the location where the Hu cavalry were, which means that the place was not a temporary resting place they were looking for, but was probably their fixed resting place.

Just when Yang Mingzhen wanted to observe further, a warning suddenly came from the side, "Sir, there are Hu cavalry over there, they are coming towards us!"

Yang Mingzhen suddenly raised his head and looked, and couldn't help but swear.

"grass"

Just on the small hill to the north of them, three Hu cavalrymen rushed towards them.

Apparently, when they were observing the Hu cavalry in the valley, the Hu cavalry on the hill also discovered them.

These Hu cavalry were also smart. While resting, they did not forget to set up guards around them.

"Come on!"

Yang Mingzhen didn't hesitate at all and ran down the hillside.

At this time, there were only five people around him, while there were more than ten people on the opposite side.

Even if they could win, they would probably suffer heavy losses.

And their task is not to fight with each other, but to find the other party's traces.

Now that we have found the other party's trace, there is no need to fight with him now.

Yang Mingzhen was very decisive and ran very fast. Before the Hu cavalry could catch up with them, they had already mounted their horses and ran away.

But this unexpected encounter was clearly not over yet.

(End of this chapter)