Chapter 927: Going South and Meeting
Chapter 927: Going South and Meeting (Part )
On July 21, Shao Xun personally led a part of the troops across the river and arrived in Hexi.
After three days of marching, they entered Fugu (an ancient town in Fugu County), a hundred miles northwest.
Everywhere you look, there are vast mountains.
Forests, loess plateaus, mountains, gullies, rivers and grasslands are dotted in an orderly manner on this ancient land.
The Diqiang chieftains, wearing dirty sheepskin coats, stared blankly at the army that was coming like a tide.
It was a sea of weapons and armor, a forest of flags, and a murderous aura that could almost overwhelm the autumn wind.
They wiped their eyes, almost thinking they had seen it wrong.
For many years, our ancestors have never seen such military might.
Some nobles with strong appeal may be able to gather 10,000 or 20,000 people, but the soldiers under their command cannot even wear uniforms, and their weapons are varied and extremely crude. The only thing they rely on is their courage.
This kind of courage and bravery would naturally be crushed if it encountered an experienced and murderous army.
But if you encounter a troop that appears to be well-equipped but is actually just for show, then you win, because after defeating them, you will become well-equipped and have the courage and bravery of a brave and diligent person.
The army before them was not what it seemed. The Diqiang chieftains walked between life and death and had a very keen sense of smell.
"There are more than 2,000 people in total. After Shi Le fled west, they went south and hid in the mountains. They did not dare to surrender to the Xianbei. When they saw the troops of the Jin governor, they took the initiative to surrender. The Jin governor ordered them to return to Fugu and live a stable life." On the plateau, Zhang Bin took the initiative to introduce: "Fugu is the old land of Fuchang County in the Han Dynasty, but it is not big enough to accommodate many people. Your Majesty can set up a county or a military town."
"What does Mengsun think?" Shao Xun asked.
"Set up a military town." Zhang Bin said.
"Why?"
"This place is too far north, bordering the Xianbei, so it is suitable to build a military town to support Muguayuan in the southeast, and also to support the ferry crossing on both sides of Junzijin." Zhang Bin said: "When peace comes in the future, we can also build a military market here to replenish the military supplies."
Shao Xun looked at Zhang Bin approvingly.
Zhang Bin escaped the great epidemic a few years ago, which made him very relieved.
Many famous people in history died in that year. Needless to say, it was definitely because of the epidemic that swept the whole world - Zhang Bin, Yang Xianrong, Wang Dun and others all died of illness in that year.
"Shangjun is too big, I want to split it up. What do you think of the previous strategy, Mengsun?" Shao Xun became interested, so he asked Huang Zheng to bring the map, and called Yang Man and Pan Tao to discuss it together - Xi Jian was still at the Mayi County ferry urging the various camps to cross the river.
"It is also a good thing to clearly demarcate the border with the State of Dai to avoid disputes in the future." Pan Tao looked at the continuous mountains and the fragmented basins between the mountains and had little interest.
But he also knew that if you don't defend these poor places, the rich places will be plundered by others.
After careful calculation, it would be better to let the relatively wealthy Guanzhong and Bingzhou provide money and food to supply the military towns stationed here, so that they can live a peaceful life in the rear.
In addition, the existence of these military towns is not just as simple as defense. In fact, they have a very important task: to compete with the nobles of the grassland for the loyalty of various tribes in Henan.
King Liang's original plan was grandiose.
He planned to build a circle of military towns along the Yellow River, that is, to set up several military towns to the east of Beiyi Mountain (Helan Mountain), several military towns on the southern foot of Yin Mountain, and several military towns to the west of the Yellow River, plus Guanzhong in the south, to encircle the various tribes in Henan on all sides.
You have nowhere to run, so you can only be obedient, right?
However, this plan could not be implemented for the time being, and one could only barely maintain a weak military presence in Hexi.
"Before I left, Duan Fan of Dai came to visit me and said that he had established Dingxiang County, which governed four counties: Dingxiang, Shengle, Yulin, and Hebin." Shao Xun said, "The two countries use the sandy land as the boundary. The sandy land belongs to Dai, and the mountainous land south of the sandy land belongs to Jin."
In fact, it was Shao Xun who first proposed the plan to establish a county.
Dingxiang County is located in the southwest of present-day Hohhot, Shengle County is located in the north of Horqin, Yulin County is located in Shierliancheng Township, Tokto, and Hebin County is a very good ferry crossing, located on the bank of the Yellow River in the southeast of Yulin County.
To the south of these four counties, you have to go through a section of desert, which theoretically is a small section of the Kubuqi Desert extending eastward to the Yellow River.
The natives call the Kubuqi Desert "Kujiesha".
Don't look down on the desert. In fact, the Kubuqi Desert at that time was different from that of later generations. There were a large number of lakes, swamps and grasslands for grazing. It was said that there were several tribes living in it, with a total population of tens of thousands.
Generally speaking, all the mountains west of the Yellow River belonged to the Jin Dynasty, which was a larger territory than that of Shangjun during the Qin and Han Dynasties.
In addition, the Qiudun tribe and its vassal tribes (formerly the Dugu tribe) who grazed in the Ordos area in later generations remained where they were. Their pastoral areas may have included some mountainous areas, and the two sides would redraw the boundaries.
"Your Majesty, I think the establishment of Xinqin County is a good idea." Zhang Bin said, "But there are not enough people. Now there are only more than 10,000 people left by Shi Le. We must find a way to replenish them in the future."
Xinqin County only had jurisdiction over three counties.
One of them is called Baitu County, which was a county in the same city and its seat was moved to the vicinity of present-day Shenmu City.
The second is Liangu County, which is 40 miles north of Baitu and is based on Liangu Fort established by Shi Le.
The third is Shicheng County, which is 40 miles south of Baitu and is based on a stone fort built by the Huns.
All three counties are located in the Kuye River Basin, and conditions in this area are relatively good.
As for the military settlements created by Shi Le, such as Fugu, Muguayuan, Qibaoshan, and Gushanbao, those that should be settled with military towns should be settled there, and those that should not be settled should be assigned to the counties of Xinqin County.
To the south of Xinqin County, Diaoyin County will be established in the area of present-day Yulin. The specific division of counties and townships can only be determined by sending people to investigate. At present, it is just an idea.
Xinqin, Diaoyin and other newly established counties in the Sheyan River area further south divided up Shangjun, which stretched for thousands of miles from north to south during the Qin and Han Dynasties. To be honest, it was a bit outrageous that a county stretched for thousands of miles from north to south.
These three counties, plus Dingxiang, Wuyuan, Shuofang, Liangcheng, Yunzhong of the Dai State, and Dai and Guangning counties controlled by the Jin Dynasty, constituted most of the northern defense system.
It can be seen that most of them relied on Tuoba Xianbei to defend the border.
But to be honest, Shao Xun was not optimistic that they could hold on.
Given the current situation of the Dai Kingdom, it may lose the grasslands and tribes north of the Yin Mountains in the future, and a new powerful ruler will rise on the grassland.
Could the Tuoba Xianbei, who lived south of the Yin Mountains, really defeat them? That was hard to say.
However, by that time, the Daliang Dynasty might have already absorbed a considerable portion of Tuoba Xianbei's counties. Faced with this situation, there was no good way out and they could only endure it.
The only good news is that there is probably no shortage of cavalry. After all, there are too many grasslands south of the Yin Mountains, and the Hu people living there also have the habit of raising horses. Before the court's horse policy deteriorated, there must have been a large number of war horses.
Just wait and see. After this little ice age, the Liang Dynasty will have accomplished its historical mission. ******
At the end of July, Shao Xun led his army to Fushi County.
Along the way, news continued to come.
The western city of Puzhou had already surrendered. When Liu Can heard that the north had rebelled and that cavalry was approaching Chang'an, he led his troops to retreat westward from Zheng County and returned to Chang'an.
Hou Feihu did not pursue the enemy across the Luo River, but instead led his troops northward and, together with the Xianbei who went south, defeated the Xiongnu imperial cavalry that Liu Can had sent to the Hengshan area north of Fengyi.
The remaining enemy forces of three to four thousand people fled westwards, but encountered the Xianbei on the way and were killed by more than a thousand of them. In the end, only more than two thousand people retreated to Chang'an.
The defenders of Tongguan held out for ten days and finally surrendered the entire city, including the 5,000 imperial guards stationed there by Liu Can, who were also forced to surrender.
After Hou Feihu pacified the Di and Qiang tribes in Fengyi, he led their people westward and was about to reach Chang'an.
The second batch of nearly 20,000 Wuhuan, Xianbei and miscellaneous Hu cavalrymen who headed south also broke into Guanzhong, and their traces could be found in Fufeng, Anding, Jingzhao and other places.
The Xiongnu people stationed in various parts of Guanzhong fought with him, and there were victories and defeats, but overall they lost more than they won, and their morale was very low. Some tribes even fled westward, unwilling to continue working for Liu Can.
The phrase "a defeat like a landslide" may describe this situation.
This is an overall collapse of people's hearts and minds, a collective vote with their feet by local powerful families and tribal nobles.
You may be at your peak one moment, but collapse the next. This is the characteristic of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and you have to experience it.
If Shao Xun loses his troops and suffers an epic defeat, what happened to Liu Can will most likely happen to him as well.
Everyone has a weak foundation, and the rule is based on the control of the grassroots by the aristocratic families. It is normal to have such a result.
On the first day of August, he met with several envoys who had turned against their allies in the south of Fushi County.
One of them was the marquis Liang Xun, who led some of the Longxi soldiers and civilians who had moved to Chang'an to "rebel" in Bashang. He gathered more than 7,000 people and fought several battles with the Xiongnu troops.
The second was Pu Hong, who was stationed in Xinfeng. He led tens of thousands of Di people in a rebellion and once intercepted Liu Can on the road, but was defeated by him.
The third is a person who has disappeared for many years: Zhao Gu.
He surrendered with his entire army in Lantian, but did not dare to come in person.
Shao Xun looked at Zhao Gu's letter and snorted coldly.
He had killed Pei Dun, the brother of Concubine Pei, but Pei Dun's daughter was Zhao Gu's wife. Shao Xun was still thinking about how to deal with this person and asked Pei Lingyan for her opinion.
"Where is Yao Yi Zhong?" Shao Xun asked his attendants after meeting with several envoys.
Shao Xun didn't know much about this man except that he had 42 sons in history, which was slightly less than his brother Murong Wei who had more than 60 sons.
She can really give birth! How embarrassing for Wang Dun.
"Your Majesty, Yao Yi Zhong is waiting outside the tent." said Huang Zheng, the commander of the imperial army.
"Oh? Let him in." Shao Xun sat up straight, quite interested.
"My lord..." A voice came from far away outside the tent.
Yao Yi Zhong trotted over, slid to his knees, and there were several knives on his neck.
But Yao Laoqiang remained calm and said, "Death penalty! Death penalty!"
"What crime has Mr. Yao committed?" Shao Xun sat upright and asked with a smile.
"When I was in Fufeng, I heard about your righteous act, but I was hesitant and wavered. I never made up my mind to surrender. This is a capital crime." Yao Yi Zhong said with a look of regret.
Shao Xun was speechless. Aren't you trying too hard in your performance?
He waved his hand, signaling his personal soldiers to put down their weapons, and stepped forward himself to help Yao Yizhong up, saying, "Have you made up your mind to come to Fushi today?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Yizhong bowed again and said, "Since I have surrendered, I have no second thoughts. I am willing to lead the best soldiers in my army to fight against the Xiongnu."
"Oh?" Shao Xun was somewhat surprised by Yao Yizhong's straightforwardness, and he also developed a favorable impression of him. He said, "You are a straightforward person."
"Since ancient times, there has never been a barbarian who became the emperor. Liu Can may succeed for a while, but he will be defeated sooner or later. What is there to be afraid of? My lord, just watch the old Qiang jump on his horse and raise his spear to kill this beast." Yao Yi Zhong said, patting his chest.
Damn, this guy is so good at talking!
Shao Xun laughed loudly and said, "Guanzhong has been stabilized, so there is no rush. I heard that when you were in Longyou, you visited the needy and helped the poor, and enforced military laws on the people in your hometown. The soldiers and civilians feared and loved you, so you must be a capable minister. Is there anything you can teach me about Qinzhou?"
Yao Yizhong thought for a moment and said, "There are many powerful people in Longxi, and the people there are fierce and violent. It would be better to move them all to Luoyang and keep them under close supervision to prevent any further trouble in the future."
"Who are the powerful families?" Shao Xun asked.
"Pu Hong of Lueyang, Yang Nandi of Wudu, and even Lao Qiang of Nan'an should all move away," said Yao Yi Zhong.
Shao Xun did not comment.
At the same time, I wonder why Yao Yizhong is so fierce? Is he really a loyal minister? Is he willing to leave his home and ruin his family to help others?
I used to think he was overacting, but now it seems that’s not necessarily the case.
Is this really a loyal person?
"Please follow me south." Shao Xun patted Yao Yizhong's hand and said, "The Qinlong area still needs Yao Jun's help."
"Yes, sir." Yao Yi Zhong had a solemn expression on his face. He stood respectfully beside Shao Xun, considering himself a loyal and upright subject.
Huang Zheng and the others were all dumbfounded. Could this guy be a traitor pretending to be loyal?
When he walked out of the tent, Pu Hong glanced at Yao Yi Zhong with some resentment in his eyes.
Yao Yi Zhong was completely unaware and glared back at him.
(End of this chapter)