Aztec Eternals

Chapter 1552: Rebuilding the Three Guards, Standing on the Shoulders of Emperor Taizong…

On a low mountain hill more than ten zhang high, the Turuting Mountain Guard of the Niu Man River in the Xing'an Mountains has passed its eighty-ninth year.

Eighty-nine years of wind and rain have made this thousand-person mountain fortress guard mottled and dilapidated, covered with pitted 'age spots'.

The watchtower in the guardhouse has collapsed by half, and the warehouse has also collapsed, leaving only most of the barracks, which has become the camp of the Duoer Tribe.

However, the rammed earth wall built nearly ninety years ago did not collapse like the earth wall of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

It only shed the outer layer of brick, revealing the vicissitudes of the gray-yellow background, still standing firmly!

“May the East Sea Lord God bear witness! Under this earth wall, a foundation as tall as a person was dug, and great efforts were made to tamp it down.

Then, with a heavy hammer, inch by inch, the entire wall was rammed and compacted with force, until it could not be more solid… Look at the clay used to build the wall, it is carefully sifted fine soil, then poured with lime, mixed with crushed rice straw, and fused with glutinous rice juice to bond it together, I don’t know how much manpower it took! …”

The sky was wet and gloomy, and the forest was vast and deep.

Everyone climbed the earth wall of the guardhouse, overlooking the vast forest of Outer Northeast China, listening to the sound of the wind and the neighing of horses.

Looking around, hundreds of miles of forest could not see any signs of human habitation.

But this earth wall is very strong! Not only can it not be dug with an iron shovel, but a heavy hammer can only smash out a small pit…”

Chief Ali of the Haar Man tribe looked emotional, staring at the pitted surface of the earth wall.

There were many hammer marks and arrow marks on the bottom of this wall, obviously after a series of厮杀 battles.

But judging from the intact upper layer of the earth wall, it seems that no battle has broken through the defense of this mountain fortress guardhouse?

But the tribes in this guardhouse are completely like raw Jurchen barbarians, and no inheritance from the guardhouse has been found.

Is this so-called 'Duoer Tribe' really the Turuting Mountain Guard that the Great Emperor once named?

“Grandfather! What are you looking at?”

“Agudai, I am looking at the terrain of this area.

The more I look at it, the more I feel that the location of this Ming Dynasty mountain fortress is wonderful, easy to defend and difficult to attack!

No, with the strength of the surrounding tribes, it is impossible to attack it! …”

Zu Wara continued to climb up, ascended to a higher watchtower, and looked around with a divine-eye telescope.

The location of this mountain fortress is in a triangular narrow area sandwiched between two rivers, and it is also the upper reaches of the river.

There is no doubt that this kind of terrain with mountains and rivers interlaced limits the deployment of a large number of troops.

Only the northeast direction can carry out large-scale siege, and only one or two thousand people can be invested at a time.

And the terrain of the mountain fortress, coupled with the earth wall watchtower, as long as hundreds of archers are stationed and enough food is stored… I am afraid that even the 8,000-strong Xijipi army can only sigh and helplessly choose a long-term siege.

However, this mountain fortress is also in the upper reaches of the Niu Man River.

To come from the west, you have to go upstream, and to come from the east, you have to cross the Xing'an Mountains.

And in this wild Outer Northeast, crossing the endless black forest, crossing the mountains or going against the river, transporting supplies for thousands of people for thousands of miles? … This is the logistics transportation that Zu Wara cannot imagine at all, and is almost impossible to complete!

Therefore, to some extent, this mountain fortress in the Xing'an Mountains is indeed 'impregnable' militarily.

And from a political and economic point of view, in this era, no one would pay such an astonishing price to compete for this barren mountain forest that has nothing…

“Grandfather, if there are two or three hundred archers stationed in this mountain fortress, it is indeed impossible to attack it from the outside… But no tribe will come to gnaw on it, who would be stupid enough to forcibly attack the city?

If you can't rob here, then go south and find a tribe that is easy to rob! …”

“No! Agudai, you don’t understand what I mean… Do you remember the ‘potatoes’ that I gave you before that can be planted?

The harvest of potatoes is at least five times that of barnyard grass!

And here, relying on the river, there is no shortage of water.

Even in the mountains, potatoes can be grown! …

“Ah! Are you talking about that small ‘potato’?

Planting potatoes here? Leaving the tribal people here and managing it as an important camp? …

“May the Lord God bear witness, that’s it!

Agudai, this location is so safe, it is the best logistics camp!”

“Great Spirit! This place is indeed safe, even a large tribe of thousands of people cannot forcibly attack this mountain village… But this location is too far away from our Maha Tribe, right?

We have been walking for more than a month, I am afraid it is one thousand two hundred li.

From the Hengu River where we started, to the Niu Man River here, there is still a Xing'an Mountain range in between… Well, planting potatoes… planting potatoes! …”

Maha Agudai’s expression changed, and hesitation and expectation appeared on his face.

On the way to the village, he originally planned to take this one-hundred-plus 'Duoer Tribe', especially the thirty-odd strong war slaves he had captured, directly back to Nurgan after buying horses.

That is to say, abandon this remote and unreachable 'mountain village' and give priority to strengthening the Maha Tribe itself.

Zu Wara originally agreed with this, and agreed to share half of the tribal people.

But after the two of them saw this 'mountain village' with their own eyes, and found that it was actually an 'impregnable Ming Dynasty guardhouse', new ideas emerged!

Currently, with the kingdom's food support, the Maha Tribe has expanded to three or four hundred people, and is considered a 'large tribe' in the entire lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and the food supply it needs is increasing.

There are basically no old people in the southern wild tribes, and the Maha Tribe also absorbs strong men who can go into battle.

They have been able to mobilize more than one hundred raw Jurchen warriors and more than thirty shock cavalry.

Although this tribal scale is still insignificant compared to the tens of thousands of Ming troops in Liaodong in the south.

But in the Outer Northeast forest, one hundred and forty Solun warriors, all of whom are armored, can be called 'powerful'!

This time, when Zu Wara came to the west to buy horses, Agudai dispatched seventy or eighty warriors, accounting for half of the horse-buying team, including all thirty Jurchen cavalrymen.

And if they eat this 'Duoer Tribe' in one bite, the tribe's strength will double again, directly reaching the 'amazing scale' of five hundred people.

“Chief Agudai, Priest Zu Wara… Emperor Taizong’s vision will not be wrong!

Turuting Mountain Guard is an important place to control the Niu Man River, and it is also a bridgehead for dealing with the various Nenjiang tribes in the west and the various forest tribes in the northwest, those semi-Mongolian and semi-Jurchen tribes, and it is the safest channel for buying horses, cattle and sheep!”

“As long as we occupy this solid guardhouse mountain fortress, with the protection of this mountain fortress, at least thousands of acres of land can be reclaimed in the surrounding mountains and at the foot of the mountains… If all the cold-resistant potatoes are planted, three hundred more tribes can be raised! …

Then, get some horses from the forest tribes in the west, and raise fifty or sixty of them here, and there will be another cavalry team.”

Hearing their discussion, the Harrier Man chieftain, Ali, revealed an expression of excitement. He strode forward with an agitated look, pointing towards the Hinggan Mountains to the east, recounting the Yongle Emperor's arrangements in the northern Hinggan region. It was precisely this line of defense—"Niuman River Turuting Mountain Guard"—"Hengu River Duo'erbih River Guard"—"Heilongjiang Estuary Manjing Guard Nuergan Commandery"—that controlled the entire Hinggan Mountain range!

"May the Eastern Sea Lord God bear witness! As long as the Turuting Mountain Guard is re-established and Nuergan is restored to some extent... we can move one force eastward and one westward, rebuilding the Duo'erbih River Guard at the foot of the Hinggan Mountains, and controlling the Hengu River!"

"The Duo'erbih River Guard is located in the Hinggan Mountain valley, with two Hinggan lakes to the south. The terrain there is very flat from north to south, with a mix of swamps and forests, and abundant water and grass by the lakes, making it suitable for grazing horses, cattle, and sheep! However, precisely because the terrain there is flat and there are large lakes and rivers, it is one of the main routes for the various savage tribes to move southward."

"Currently, the area from the Hinggan Mountain valley to the middle and lower reaches of the Huntong River is completely chaotic, filled with slaughter and cannibalism. The Gelin Guard further south has also long fallen, leaving only the Hushi Gate Guard, with whom I am familiar, still struggling to hold on, relying on the great river and mountain strongholds... We must have sufficient strength and enough cavalry to occupy the Hinggan Mountain valley!"

"And as long as we can occupy the Hinggan Mountain valley and re-establish the Duo'erbih River Guard, we can continuously recruit southward-moving savage tribes, expanding our power! This is much safer and more reliable than moving south to the middle reaches of the great river and fighting with the Wuzhe and Haixi tribes... And the excess population in the Outer Northeast forest sea that cannot be supported can all be transported to the east, to Shenhua Tai Port, or even to the large island of the Ainu people!…"

"Lord God! Are you saying that three connected guardhouse fortresses can control the Hinggan Mountain range? Then, control the main passage for the southward movement of the Jurchen savages, continuously recruit and relocate strong laborers, and replenish the kingdom's strongholds in Sakhalin and Ainu, even transporting them back to the northern continent, the Lake Kingdom?!…"

Hearing Ali's strategic proposal, standing on the shoulders of the Yongle Emperor, Zuvaro's eyes flickered, as if seeing a clear and feasible path through the fog of a vast forest. He looked at Maha Agudai again, this extraordinarily brave brother-in-law, and after a series of changes in expression, a desire also emerged on his face!

"Agudai, you have heard Ali's proposal! You are the great chieftain, what do you think?…"

"Zu! We saw the vast Hinggan Mountain valley downstream of the Hengu River when we came! It is indeed a good place with people and lakes, becoming increasingly broad as you go south, all the way to the middle and lower reaches of the Huntong Great River. That is a good place; only a powerful Northeast tiger can occupy such a vast territory!… If we can truly control that place in the future, I will move the main camp of the Maha tribe there from Nuergan! Then, using that as the center, Nuergan as the left hand, and this place as the right hand, we will look south towards the Huntong River like a tiger, becoming a ‘huge tribe’ with as many as several thousand people!…"

At this moment, Maha Agudai was ambitious, puffing out his tiger-like chest. In this guardhouse of the Turuting Mountain Guard, he finally saw a broader and more magnificent life goal. Of course, in his eyes at this time, being able to expand into a "huge tribe" of several thousand people was already "ambitious" and the limit of what he could imagine!

"Zu! You must support me, give me enough grain, so that I can recruit the southward-moving savages. And rebuilding that Duo'erbih River Guard also requires you to send your craftsmen over to help me repair that fortress! When the tribes that are recruited and captured arrive, we will still divide them half and half!…"

"Good! Then it's settled! You leave a batch of warriors to intermarry with the Duo'er tribe in this mountain village, leave a trustworthy confidant, and take away another batch of strong laborers, and also take that clumsy bear... I will also leave a priest here to help guide them in cultivating potatoes and let them convert to the Lord God! Well, the priest will also tell them your divine stories…"

"Haha! Good, it's a deal!!…"

On the dilapidated watchtower of the guardhouse, the kingdom priest Zuvaro, the Sheng Jurchen chieftain Maha Agudai, and the Shu Jurchen chieftain Ali... stood together like this, looking at the southern river and the remaining veins of the Hinggan Mountains, envisioning a vibrant future. In this strategic plan that may not be realized for a long time, Zuvaro is responsible for connecting faith and providing food and military supplies; Maha Agudai is to unite the tribes and lead warriors in conquest; and Ali is to offer advice and open up channels for connecting the Shu Jurchen guardhouses and the Liaodong Garrison of the Great Ming...

Looking towards the future, everything is full of possibilities, and everything is unpredictable. As the sun sets, the mountains of the Hinggan Mountains float with red clouds, as if the mountains have opened their eyes. The ancient Hinggan Mountains silently watch, blinking once every hundred years, already witnessing too many rises and falls. It vaguely remembers that the last time it blinked, cavalry holding blue military flags came here and set up the "Liaoyang Province Huntong River Circuit." And the last time it blinked, it turned into cavalry holding sun and moon flags, building the "Nuergan Commandery Hinggan Mountain Guardhouses." As for what will happen after this blink... who knows?

"Ancestors! What are you still looking at, Niu Ba? What's so good about this old forest? Come down quickly, it's time to eat!!…"

The Duo'er tribe chieftain, Wuduwen, never thinks so much; only not going hungry and being full is the tribe's top priority! When the aroma of mashed potatoes cooked with salted fish and meat wafted from the campfire by the camp, Wuduwen couldn't wait for a moment and filled his "big bowl" to the brim. Then, like a bear, he held the "big bowl" with his left arm and scooped food from the bowl with his right hand. Even though it was scalding hot, he still smacked his lips contentedly as he ate, constantly praising it.

The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ say ⊥ in ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ book ⊥ ⊥ bar ⊥ ⊥ first ⊥ hair!

"Tsk tsk, delicious!… Aiya ma ya! Where did you dig up this ‘white mud’? It tastes so good!!…"

"? ? ! …"

The three of them came down from the top of the wall and immediately saw Wuduwen's bear-like eating appearance. Before the Harrier Man chieftain, Ali, could laugh, his eyes suddenly widened! He reached out in surprise, pointing at the "big bowl" in Wuduwen's arms, and asked incredulously.

"Wuxiong! What is that thing you are holding? Where did it come from?!"

"? ? … What is what? What where did it come from?… This is my bowl? The bowl passed down from my Ama, a sturdy ‘big bowl’! Haha, with such a big bowl, I can eat two bowls in one meal!…"

"Bullshit! Bowl bowl bowl, what ‘big bowl’ is this?! This is… quickly give it to me and let me see!…"

The Harrier Man chieftain, Ali, eagerly stepped forward to snatch the "big bowl" from Wuduwen's arms. Wuduwen immediately held it tightly, turning around to desperately protect his food, roaring like a bear in his mouth.

"Roar! You bastard, you're not a good person! You actually want to snatch my bowl, snatch my food? Right now, Erzhen is here, so I can't beat you to death. When there's no one around later, watch me use a stone hammer to flatten your head with one blow!"

"Uh…"

Hearing this clumsy bear's scolding, Ali's forehead broke out in sweat, and he felt a sudden weakness in his heart, and his hand stopped. He was really afraid that this clumsy fellow with a pointed head would secretly give him a fatal blow. He gritted his teeth, stopped his hands, and carefully looked at Wuduwen's "big bowl" for a while before finally confirming it and shouting with suppressed excitement.

"Wuxiong! This is your bowl, I won't snatch your bowl. But this is not your bowl either… Ah, bah! This is a high-ranking military officer's helmet with a spear point, it's the helmet of the Great Ming Regional Military Commissioner!…"

"You just said that this was passed down from your Ama? Was this ultimately inherited from your Ama, or did he snatch it?…"

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