Dayu Northern Frontier Fortress

The vast grassland is as vast as a green screen connecting the sky and the earth.

On the green screen connecting the sky and the earth, there are several loess castles scattered here and there.

These earth-yellow mud castles look a little out of place on the vast green.

The wind and sand on the grassland whined and hit these earthen castles, but the earthen castles remained motionless like nails embedded in the grassland.

Some soldiers in these earthen forts are hiding in the underground caves of the earthen forts to avoid the wind and sand.

Outsiders may think that beyond the Great Wall, there must be a picturesque scene with a clear sky, vast fields, wind-blown grass and low cattle and sheep.

But they didn't know that in the bitter cold land in the north of the Great Wall, the biting wind could scratch people's faces like a knife.

In order to defend against the northern tribes, the Dayu Dynasty built many such earth forts north of the Great Wall.

These earthen forts served as the first barrier against the northern tribes and also served as outposts that provided early warning for the Great Wall defense line.

Because there was a lack of stones on the grasslands, the soldiers at the frontier fortress dug out loess to build earthen forts.

Because the loess of the grassland lacks stickiness, the earthen castles they built were not very tall.

Sometimes the grassland falls into the rainy season, and the earthen forts will be damaged by the rain.

Fortunately, the grassland tribes will not invade the Dayu Dynasty during the rainy season.

Because the rainy season is the time for them to recuperate and recuperate, and the rich grassland in the rainy season is the time for the war horses to recuperate and breed.

If we attack the Dayu Dynasty at this time, we are likely to miss the grazing time, and then the tribe may not be able to survive the White Disaster in winter.

The earthen castle was built low not only because the loess lacked stickiness, but also because the wind and sand on the grassland were very violent in autumn and winter.

Too tall earthen castles can easily collapse in the constant wind and sand.

But a bunker that is too short always makes people feel cramped and depressing.

But there are always more methods than difficulties. The smart frontier soldiers learned from the methods of building cave dwellings by the people in the northwest region and dug many cave dwellings under the earthen fortress.

In this way, it not only solves the problem of the castle being too short, but also can well avoid the wind and sand on the grassland.

In addition, this method also allows the defenders to discover the enemy troops of the Grass Army tribe more quickly.

Because all the tribes of the Cao Army are basically cavalry, the vibration of the running horses hitting the ground will be transmitted far underground.

Therefore, as long as the defenders buried the war drums on the floor of the cave dwellings, they could feel the sound of horses galloping far away.

The distance of this kind of distance transmission is even farther than the place where the eyes can reach.

At this time, several soldiers were huddled together holding their weapons in a cave dwelling under an earthen fortress.

Because they have been in the grassland frontier for a long time, their skin has become chapped.

Many soldiers' hands have been broken by the frost, and their swollen hands cannot even hold weapons tightly.

Although it is still autumn, the temperature in Saibei is already freezing.

"Damn it, this weather is really killing me."

A soldier sighed and said to his hands.

"Even so, I don't know when these beasts from the grassland will come to thresh the grass this year?"

Another soldier, who was slightly younger, tightened his hands in his cuffs for fear of letting out some heat.

"It's probably getting colder soon. If these beasts on the grassland don't take action, they may have a hard time this winter."

A veteran spit out the grass roots in his mouth and said through gritted teeth.

"So we are about to evacuate the earthen fort and return to the Great Wall Pass!"

The young soldier was very excited. Although many people would die if the grassland tribes attacked, he still did not want to be stationed in this earthen fort. He wanted to fight head-on with the grassland barbarians outside the Great Wall.

Because there is a lack of supplies here and the weather is cold, I can only eat hard steamed buns without having a mouthful of hot rice every day.

I usually worry about my little bird getting frozen when I go out to pee.

"Tou Song, are those beasts really that scary when they attack?"

The young soldier named Li Li was just transferred from the south this year. He didn't know much about the war in the north.

"Haha, you little kid, how can war not be scary?"

The veteran named Song who spit out the grass roots smiled bitterly.

This veteran named Song is named Song Yu, and he is the commander of this earth fort.

"Song Tou, I heard that if you cut off the head of a barbarian at the border fortress, you can exchange it for five acres of fertile land?"

Another soldier from the south asked with his neck shrunken.

His name is Li Cheng and he is from the same village as Li Li. According to his seniority, he should be Li Li's uncle.

"There is such a rule."

Song Yu leaned against the earth wall and said calmly.

"Then Song Tou, you have been here for so long, aren't you already a big landowner?"

Li Li looked excited and curious.

Song Yu rolled her eyes at him, then sighed and said sincerely: "Baby, I see you are still young. Uncle Song will teach you to be a good boy. When the prairie barbarians come to kill you, you'd better not think about military exploits and fertile land, and keep your little land."

Life is the most important thing."

Li Li looked disdainful when he heard Song Yu's statement.

"We, the men of Dayu, should spread our blood on the battlefield and kill the bandits with our swords. Even if we die on the border, we should be buried in horse leather."

Li Li was born in the south of the Dayu Dynasty, where the literary style was prosperous. On weekdays, they always heard literati chanting: Why don't men wear Wu hooks and collect heroic poems such as Guanshan and Fifty States?

Therefore, he came to the frontier with full enthusiasm, just to protect his family and country and make contributions.

However, his passionate words did not affect the surrounding veterans at all, but only caused a burst of laughter from the veterans.

This made Li Li very dissatisfied, and he immediately scolded him angrily.

"Why do you, as a frontier veteran, only think about saving your life and not about serving your country and your king?"

As soon as he said these words, Li Cheng, who came with him, kicked him to the ground.

"He is still young and ignorant. Please don't argue with him, colleagues. I am here to apologize for him."

Li Cheng immediately saluted the veterans around him.

"It's okay. We used to have such a hot-blooded guy here, but now the grass on his grave has grown very tall."

A veteran said with a smile, his face full of disdain.

When Li Li heard that the other party was cursing him, he immediately became angry.

But before he could get angry, Li Chenggong gave him a chestnut so hard that he immediately squatted down and held his head.

Song Yu couldn't help but be filled with emotion when she saw Li Li's upright look.

I used to be like Li Li, who came to this bitter and cold frontier with the heroic ambition to protect his family and country.

He wanted to kill the enemy and perform meritorious service, and kill all the prairie barbarians in the north of Saibei until they became frightened, until they would never dare to invade Dayu again.

But reality gave him a hard slap in the face.

It has been ten years since he came to this frontier fortress, and he has lost count of all the battles he has gone through.

But he remembered that a total of ninety-six comrades died in previous battles.

He remembered the faces and names of each of them very clearly, because he buried each of them with his own hands, and he also wrote the tombstones of each of them with his own hands.

Among these ninety-six people, many of them, like Li Li, came to the frontier with full enthusiasm and wanted to make contributions and immediately become marquises.

But the result was that their passionate blood was finally spread on this vast grassland. The wind in the grassland completely cooled the blood and finally froze it into ice lumps.

These ice knots were also buried deeply in Song Yu's heart, freezing his originally hot heart into a heart of stone.

But seeing that Li Li was so young and so energetic, he couldn't help but soften his heart, so he persuaded Li Li that saving his life was the last thing he wanted.

In the end, Li Li was ungrateful and refused to listen to his advice just like his comrades who died in the battle.

But it doesn't matter, the veterans who are making fun of Li Li still listen to them, so they can still sit in the bunker alive and make fun of Li Li, a new recruit.

"Song Tou, are you saying that the exchange of military merit for one person for five acres of fertile land is a lie?"

However, Li Cheng was still entangled in the matter of military merit.

"Seeing that you are quite sensible, I will tell you, you must not think about military merit, otherwise you will soon become someone else's military merit."

A veteran who had teased Li Li before snorted and said angrily.

The other veterans around him also bowed their heads in silence.

Li Cheng could see from their expressions that things were not simple.

"Tou Song, we are new recruits and we don't understand things about the frontier fortress. Since we are both in the same team, please help us to clear up our confusion."

Li Cheng knew that there was something hidden in this matter, so he quickly asked Song Yu diligently.
To be continued...