Chapter 23 The War is About to Start

"There has been no war on the northeastern border for more than 20 years. Why did it suddenly break out this year?" Luo Jin said in a deep voice.

Duan Changhe thought for a while and said, "I have received some news. It is said that there has been no rain outside Chongshan Pass for eight consecutive months this year, and it was not until a month ago that a heavy snow fell!"

Chongshan Pass is the most important border pass on the northeastern border of Darong. Beyond Chongshan Pass is the territory of the Hu people.

The Hu people outside Chongshan Pass are mainly the Donghai Hu people. They make a living by nomadism and hunting. For them, the most terrible natural disasters are drought and snow disasters.

Last year, they first experienced drought and then snow disasters. The result is needless to say.

Luo Jin is not clear about the situation of the Donghai Hu people. He is only the magistrate of Anning County, not a general of the Northeast Border Army. Naturally, he will not pay attention to the situation of the Donghai Hu people.

"So this war is inevitable?"

"The court should have expected it!" Duan Changhe said.

After hearing this, Luo Jin felt much more at ease.

If the court had anticipated this, the Hu tribe in the East Sea should not be a threat. Of course, this does not mean that Anning County is worry-free. Wars change rapidly, and no one can be foolproof.

Even if the court had been prepared, it might not be able to keep all the Hu tribe out of Chongshan Pass.

"Then get ready!"

"Let the inspection department keep a close eye on the passers-by to prevent spies from entering the county, and summon the yamen runners and civilians to guard day and night. Sir Li will be responsible for this matter, okay?" Luo Jin looked at Li Qing.

Li Qing stood up and bowed, "I obey the order!"

Luo Jin nodded slightly, and then said to Duan Changhe: "The granary of the county government is the top priority. Sir Duan, I need you to guard the granary and don't make any mistakes."

The county government does not have many soldiers available, only a few hundred at most. If a large number of Hu people really enter Anning County, the county will have no choice but to defend it.

To defend the city, food is needed. Luo Jin has made the worst plan and prioritized ensuring that the county government's granary is not in trouble.

"I obey your order!" Duan Changhe also stood up and responded, but he asked again: "Sir, do you want to recruit civilian warriors?"

Civilian warriors are a force that cannot be underestimated. The court will naturally not ignore the power of civilian warriors, so the government and county governments of the Darong Dynasty have the power to temporarily recruit warriors, referred to as the call for warriors.

However, the call for warriors cannot be issued casually. Only in the most critical moment can the government and county governments issue the call for warriors.

Luo Jin shook his head and said, "It's not possible now. The Hu tribe has not entered the country yet, and we have no right to issue the call for warriors."

"But we can make preparations in advance and arrange for the yamen runners to guard outside the city with a list of warriors. Once we receive an order or find that a Hu army is besieging the city, we can immediately issue the call for warriors."

"Your Excellency has considered it carefully!" Duan Changhe flattered him without leaving a trace.

Li Qing glanced at Duan Changhe and curled his lips in disdain.

This guy always likes to flatter, which is really despised.

However, Duan Changhe didn't care about Li Qing's contemptuous look at all, and his face was calm.

...

The news of the border war soon spread out of the county. Before the New Year's excitement was over, Yang Zhengshan received the news. The news was sent by Lu Zhaoqi arranged by Lu Wenchun.

"Uncle, my father also asked me to bring a message." Lu Wenchun said in a low voice in the main hall of the Yang family.

"What?" Yang Zhengshan's brows twisted into a ball.

The invasion of the Hu tribe is not a good thing.

A little misfortune may bring disaster to the Yang family.

The Hu tribe is not a mountain bandit. The mountain bandit is at most dozens or hundreds of people, and there will not be too powerful warriors among them.

But the Hu tribe has thousands of troops and many powerful warriors.

With Yang Zhengshan's current strength, it is not enough to fight against the thousands of troops of the Hu tribe. Let alone thousands of troops, even if it is a small force, Yang Zhengshan is not sure to fight.

"This may be an opportunity!" Lu Wenchun said.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes flashed, he understood what Lu Zhaoqi meant.

He wanted to seek an official position before, but unfortunately the timing was not right. The county government did not have a suitable vacant official position for him, so he had to give up temporarily.

Now the border war is about to start, which may affect Anning County. This is indeed a rare opportunity.

This really interprets the coexistence of opportunities and dangers.

"I know, you go back first!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded, then stood up and sent Lu Wenchun out of the house.

Now is a time of trouble, Lu Wenchun has no time to stay at the Yang family as a guest. As the eldest grandson of the Lu family, he still has a lot of things to do.

After sending Lu Wenchun away, Yang Zhengshan sat in the hall and thought for a long time before coming to Yang Zhengxiang's house.

"Is this true?"

Hearing that the border war was about to start, Yang Zhengxiang was in a panic.

"It's almost certain. The county government is already making preparations now." Yang Zhengshan said.

Yang Zhengxiang's old face wrinkled into a ball, and he paced anxiously in the house with his hands behind his back.

He had lived for sixty years, so he naturally understood the horror of war. In fact, the northeastern border had been very peaceful in the past twenty years, because of the Black Cloud Mountain War twenty years ago. In that war, Darong won a great victory and wiped out most of the main forces of the Donghai Hu tribe in one fell swoop, causing the Donghai Hu tribe to still not recover.

Before the Black Cloud Mountain War, there were wars in the northeastern border year after year, with a small fight every two years and a big fight every three years. Hu cavalry often crossed the border and entered Darong, slaughtering and looting everywhere.

Yangjiacun also encountered plunder by the Hu tribe in the East China Sea. In the most brutal incident, nearly half of the villagers in Yangjiacun were killed or injured, and they could only hide in the Evergreen Mountains and live as savages.

Yang Zhengshan, the original mother, unfortunately died due to the plunder of the Hu tribe in the East China Sea.

Thinking of those years of suffering, Yang Zhengxiang's heart throbbed as if it was being squeezed tightly.

But now that the border war has resumed, he is really afraid that the situation like before will happen again.

"What do you think?" Yang Zhengxiang suddenly looked at Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan habitually rubbed the hard callus on the tiger's mouth and said lightly: "It's too early to say anything now. The war hasn't started yet, and everything can't be done accurately."

"All we can do is prepare in advance. If the border army can stop the Hu tribe's invasion, it has nothing to do with us. If it can't be stopped, then at least we must have the strength to resist and have a way out!"

The power of the Yang family cannot influence the direction of this war. All they can do is to protect their homeland of Yangjiacun as much as possible while preserving themselves.

Yang Zhengxiang thought thoughtfully, "Resist! Then we need to train our troops. Retreat! Evergreen Mountain!"

"That's right!" Yang Zhengshan nodded, "If it's just a small group of Hu cavalry, we can look for opportunities to fight. If it's a large army, then we can only hide in the Evergreen Mountains."

Opportunities and dangers coexist. If the Yang family wants to gain achievements, they can only fight on the battlefield. The border war is about to start. This is indeed an opportunity for the Yang family, but if things cannot be done, Yang Zhengshan does not want to ruin his achievements for any reason. The entire Yang family and himself.

Therefore, he must be prepared.