Chapter 44: The Han Village

  A swift horse was galloping along the mountain path towards the direction of Sha Hu Kou, it was Ping Kui's messenger.

  Grain, Zhai Zhe now only needs grain! As the news of the worsening Shaanxi people's uprising in the Ming Dynasty continues to come, Zhai Zhe's demand for grain becomes more and more urgent. Without grain, everything in the mountain stronghold will disappear into thin air, and most of these people will be buried in the grasslands.

  Who knows what this year's harvest will be like?

  End of February.

  The young people who were tortured for two months in the mountain stronghold finally stopped, unaware that there had been two pairs of eyes secretly watching them all along.

  Di Zhe ordered Wang Yi and Che Feng to select those who had been diligent, meticulous, and uncomplaining in their work over the past two months from among these people as his personal soldiers, including also Geng Guang's son Geng Zhu.

  These people are not old, most of them were born as herders' slaves, suffering in the grasslands since childhood, and were taken in at the moment of life and death. Di Zhe hopes that after staying by his side for two years, he can produce a few talents who are loyal to him.

  In the mountain stronghold, there were only a handful of people that Zhai Zhe could truly trust. Xiao Zhishan and Meng Kang were decent at fighting, but they didn't understand military affairs or logistics. Moreover, Zhai Zhe also didn't want the side branches to become too powerful. After Geng Guang left the pass, Meng Kang had 300 men in Hei Shan, so he immediately transferred 100 of them back to Lao Ya Mountain. He needed talented people who were worthy of his trust.

  The weather is getting warmer and warmer, and the land that has been frozen for five months is finally starting to thaw. The horse thieves' bodies, which have also been frozen all winter, are about to start moving too.

  Di Zhe led over a hundred people down from Lao Ya Mountain and searched in the Helin Geer Mountains, almost every inch of land was stepped on. He wanted to re-select a location to establish an old camp. Hei Shan and Lao Ya Mountain were too close to the main road, and the terrain wasn't solid either. Once they were targeted by the Chahar people, the mountain stronghold could be abandoned, but if the stored grain was lost, that would be a disaster beyond redemption.

  A dozen or so newly selected bodyguards stayed by Di Zhe's side, and since Di Zhe was kind to people, everyone relaxed a bit after just a few days.

  And Lin Ge Er south, originating from Shanxi Shuozhou Tu Mao River across the mountains into the Yellow River, the front section of the two banks of steep cliffs towering, terrain is treacherous, the latter segment near the Hetao both banks of the terrain gradually become flat. Di Zhe led his troops to bypass He Lin Ge Er west, along the river flow into the mountains walking.

  There were people in the entourage who had wandered with Lin Ge before. As they walked, they talked and told Zhai Zhe about the terrain ahead.

  A bold and resourceful personal soldier named Zong Mao, who had been a slave on the grasslands since childhood, plucked up his courage and said: "I know of a mountain where there used to be a stronghold a long time ago."

  "Have you been there?"

  "Years ago when I escaped to Hohlin Gol, I went up there, just by the bank of Tugemu River, with only a small path leading up the mountain. The top is flat and treeless, surrounded by stone walls in circles."

  Di Zhe's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Where is it? Do you still remember?"

  Zong Mao thought for a moment and said: "I went up there in autumn, stayed on top for three days, and then ran out because I had nothing to eat. It should be possible to find it."

  "Take a few men and search." Zhai Zhe reined in his horse and ordered over ten men to follow Zong Mao into the mountains.

  Zong Mao did not dare to slack off, and along the river water towards the east, relying on his memory to check everywhere, he searched for more than a day before finally finding that place where he had once wandered.

  Di Zhe led the troops to follow Zong Mao, and they headed east along the Tuomao River. The road was not difficult to travel. When they arrived near the mountain, following Zong Mao's direction, they saw that the two sides of the mountain were steep and stood like walls, with a gentler slope on the side facing the water, where it entered the river. The top of the mountain was flat and open, with a narrow winding path covered in green grass leading to the summit.

  Crowds followed the winding path to the top of the mountain, where the view suddenly opened up. The earth and rocks were still there, and some stone walls could be faintly seen in the distance. Looking far away, the Hare Fur River flowed over this mountain, and the river gradually widened into the Yellow River, with a flat grassland on the opposite bank. The continuous mountain range from this mountain to the west gradually became hills.

  Di Zhe gently stroked the abandoned stone wall on the mountain top, the weathered stones shattered with a touch, this place has been deserted for many years, but it must have been a stronghold in the past! Legend has it that a long time ago, there were Yi people living here and later they all moved out of the mountains.

  "What a great place!" Di Zhe couldn't help but exclaim.

  It's most suitable to set up an old camp here!

  The mountain path is well-built, one man guards the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. With the Tuomao River behind, there is no need to worry about water shortage. Even if surrounded, it can retreat by waterway. The grassland on the opposite bank can be reclaimed for farming, and the nearby hills can also be used for grazing cattle and sheep. From this place, going west can directly reach the Yellow River coast, the Hetao Grassland.

  Upon hearing the praise from the master of the house, Zong Mao, who was anxious by his side, finally felt at ease.

  On that day, the sky was already late, and everyone stayed in this mountain, deep at night, quiet, and the river water gurgled.

  After many days of hard work, Di Zhe finally got the result, but he couldn't sleep. He crawled out of his tent in the middle of the night, and under the bright moonlight, the water of Tuomao River flowed like white fish scales. He suddenly missed Zhangjiakou. The people in the collection were fighting for life and death, but their ultimate goal was not different. Among these bandits in the mountains, he only felt lonely, even Xiao Zhiyan couldn't imagine how big his heart was.

  Nothing happened all night.

  The next morning, the group returned from the mountain forest, crossing countless mountains along the way. The road was narrow and in some places they could only lead their horses on foot. It was harder to search for them from Liang City than to reach the sky.

  After returning to Lao Ya Mountain, Di Zhe immediately set out to handle the relocation matters.

  In March, the warm wind blows, and the green grass begins to sprout. The Chahar people are about to move around for grazing, and the people in the mountain stronghold can't bear it anymore. Led by Wang Yi, the elderly, women, and children set out first, followed by Che Feng and Zhai Zhe's large team of horses and men, with most of their supplies also taken away.

  Meng Kang and Xiao Zhiyuan guarded the main road to Ling'er. Meng Kang led two hundred men to Black Mountain to monitor the roads leading out of the pass at Hu Kou, except for Ping Kui, Zhai Zhe did not allow any merchant group to leave the pass. Xiao Zhiyuan led three hundred men to stay in Old Crow Mountain to monitor the movements towards Liang City, and could also respond to Meng Kang in case of anything.

  The migration took nearly half a month to complete, and after arriving at the destination, Wang Yi arranged for everyone to build earthen houses and also built simple city walls at the entrance. More than 1,000 people worked tirelessly.

  "Great master, give our village a name!" Wang Yi asked Zhai Zhe for advice.

  "What's the name?" Zhai Zhe thought for a moment and said: "We are all Han people who have fallen into the grassland, let's call it the Han Village!"

  "Good!"

  Most of the migrants were herders, who had suffered under the oppression of the Tumet people and had done all sorts of hard work. The earthen houses in the grasslands were also built by them, and it was not difficult to do these jobs. Geng Guang's subordinates were also very obedient under Wang Yi's instructions.

  But there were a very small number of old bandits who, after doing it for a few days, did not want to do it anymore. Murder and arson were their strong points, and they had some status in the mountain stronghold of the Zhongshan Wolf or the Flying on the Grass. They really couldn't bear these hardships.

  Di Zhe and others have reached this point, the mountain stronghold is full of fish and dragons mixed together, and the number of surrendering horse bandits who muddle along is not small. In order to survive in Helin'ger, he was busy for a winter without time to rectify the internal affairs. Now he is going to make those restless horse bandits suffer a bit.

  Xiao Zhiyan used his charm to subdue the horse thieves, but Di Zhe didn't have this skill, and could only use a combination of kindness and severity to control his subordinates. This big leader had captured many horse thief prisoners, but never beat or scolded anyone, nor killed anyone. Most days he was busy outside, and as time passed, some people gradually felt that they could also touch the tiger's buttocks.