Chapter 299: A calamity falls from the sky
Shuofang County in the northern part of Bingzhou has now become a paradise for the Huangxuan tribe. General Zhenbei was a man who kept his promises. None of the benefits agreed upon when several tribes merged were left behind, and all of them were fulfilled in the past two years.
The former Qiang people and the current Huangxuan people were not good at farming. They used to occupy large tracts of land in Shangjun and did not make much food. On the contrary, they were born to be willing to join cattle, sheep and horses, and had instinctive enthusiasm and long-term accumulated rich experience in animal husbandry. Therefore, Zhao Xing migrated them together to the Heshuo area with abundant water and grass through land replacement, which is very suitable for free-range horses.
Today, tall and sturdy cities have been built in Linrong, Guangmu, Woye and other areas of Shuofang County, with rows of stables and cow pens and sheep pens. When winter comes, Huang Xuan, who was originally nomadic, would drive cattle, horses and sheep into several cities and spend the cold winter in the warm and sturdy houses, no longer have to worry about the livestock being frozen to death by a sudden snow disaster.
The stable sheep pen designed and built by Zhao Xing is very distinctive. Pipes are buried underground and in the middle of the walls, which can be heated by burning coal stone. Nowadays, the coal stone mineral output in Bingzhou is amazing, which is enough for the people of the whole province to boil water and cook on weekdays and keep warm in winter. It is really a good thing.
Every winter, the city is stored in sufficient food and forage, which is enough for people and animals to survive the winter. All households of the Huangxuan tribe only need to report to the government office in the city to sell the number of livestock and various items they need to purchase. Then sit at home and wait for the government to come and take the cattle, horses and sheep away, and at the same time bring the salt, soju, medicinal materials and cloth they ordered.
If there is still remaining wealth after the transaction is over, the Huangxuan tribe can choose to accept bills issued by the government, gold and silver or Changhe Daqu. Most people choose Changhe Daqu, and some choose light bills. Few people like to store bulky gold and silver.
The leader of the Huang Xuan clan is Hu Cheer, who is worshipped by the locals as a great hero. Because Hu Cheer is not only the leader of his clan, but now he is the commander of the Canglang Army of the Zhenbei Legion with heavy troops. Many descendants of the Huang Xuan clan also married Han generals. Women like Myolie Wu and Hulia are all extremely expensive.
Zhao Xing's policy of ethnic integration is subtly changing the understanding and views of these ethnic minorities. For example, the Huangxuan tribe and the Southern Xiongnu no longer regard themselves as outsiders, but regard themselves as Bingzhou people. They also have the citizenship certificate just issued by the Bingzhou Patriarchate, and have names on the Bingzhou household registration list, enjoying the same treatment as the Han people. Their children can also be sent to the school to study and read, give a Han name, and in the future they will be an official or a general, and marry a Han woman as their wives...
If there is no sudden disaster and the people of Huang Xuan who have begun to live a happy life, their happiness will continue, rather than being ruthlessly interrupted...
On July 15, 2018, the Han people called this day the Zhongyuan Festival, which was a day for the dead to relieve sins and pain. Elder Sahutu, who was in the woye City, suddenly received a message that made him frightened. A large number of Xianbei people were found in the north, and they were quickly approaching Shuofang.
"Immediately ask the general to light the beacon fires on the city, and quickly summon the tribe members into the city!" Sahutu immediately issued an order and rushed to the residence of the Han general stationed here.
The general stationed in the fertile field was Lu Xiang, and his brother Lu Kuang was stationed in Linrong not far away. After listening to Sahutu's warning, he immediately asked the messenger to notify the battalion commanders of the battalion to come and discuss matters urgently, and all troops climbed the city to defend.
After several silent internal mobilizations, the two brothers Lu Xiang and Lu Kuang are now the commanders of the First and Second Regiments of the Shuofang *** under Guan Yu. They each have a thousand cavalry infantry under their command. The main task is to prevent the attacks of the Xianbei people from going south. As a bridgehead to fight against the Xianbei, Lu Xiang and Lu Kuang need to defend the city under the siege of the Xianbei army and wait for reinforcements. This task is not easy.
This time, the Xianbei people went south too suddenly. The shadow team members who were collecting intelligence everywhere did not notice it. The Huang Xuan, the nomadic people heading north, quickly brought people back to report the letter. In order to send the news of the Xianbei people going south to Linwo as soon as possible, this family didn't even want livestock. Of course, if they encountered the Xianbei people head-on, they would probably not even be able to recover their lives.
The Xiongwu Army, which had been quickly deployed, soon saw a large number of Xianbei people running towards Woye City. What made people feel strange was that these Xianbei people seemed to be chased by something terrible. It was not like going south to fight, but instead like fleeing south. As they approached the city, some people fell off their horses for no reason and could never get up again. Some horses also lie on the ground in a wail.
Lu Xiang, who was guarding the city, felt strange at first, but when the Xianbei people were about to enter the range of the bows and arrows of the defenders at the city, he found the problem. So Lu Xiang loudly ordered the defenders at the city: "The whole army obeys the orders and shoots indiscriminately. Anyone who dares to approach the city will be killed without any qualities. The crossbow and the sky-bombing thunder can be used freely!"
"Swish-Swish!" A warning shot fell out of the city, and the dozens of Xianbei people running in the front shot into hedgehogs.
"Listen to the Xianbei people under the city. If you dare to approach the city again, kill them without any hesitation!" Lu Xiangrang, the messenger who knew the Xianbei language, held a loudspeaker and shouted loudly at the city.
Looking at the towering city walls in front of him and the dense archers on the top of the city, the Xianbei people who had nowhere to go seemed to have been pulled away with the last glimmer of hope, and they fell down one by one, knelt on the ground and begged to the soldiers on the top of the city.
The leader of this tribe is called Puluru. He raised his hands and walked to the front of the city, shouting to Lu Xiang at the top of the city: "Dear Han general, please take my tribe. We have been abandoned by the Xianbei Shanyu Kuitou. Now there are devils on the northern prairie. My tribe members are almost unable to survive. As long as you can take us in this time, we are willing to be a cow and a horse in the future!"
The messenger general Pu Uru told Lu Xiang. After hearing this, Lu Xiang looked shocked and finally confirmed his guess that the group of Xianbei people under the city were infected with the plague!
"The commander told the leader that they have been possessed by the devil and it is impossible to enter the city, but we can provide them with clean water and food. The prerequisite is that they must immediately kill all the livestock and the tribe members who are already infected with the devil, dig a pit and burn it, and then bury it deep!" Lu Xiang said coldly and ruthlessly.
Before the messenger could finish calling, Lu Xiang turned around and whispered a few words to Elder Sahutu, which immediately caused the old man's face to change drastically and he quickly got off the city.
As an old man with rich experience in grassland life, Sahutu began to suspect that the city's people had become devils before Lu Xiang told him. After receiving Lu Xiang's affirmative answer, he immediately panicked. Fortunately, Lu Xiang told Sahutu some emergency solutions and comforted the elder that as long as General Zhenbei was there, no demon or monster could invade Bingzhou.
Sahutu expressed his understanding and support for Lu Xiang's decisive and even cruel decisions, but he was extremely worried about the tribesmen who were still nomadic and did not return to the fertile world. When these tribesmen discovered the devil and began to escape into the fertile world city, what they were going to face was the order of Lu Xiang's indiscriminate shooting...
After a while, a desolate trumpet sounded at the head of the Woye City, announcing that the city had entered level one martial law. Everyone received more than two white masks, and they were prohibited from walking on the street, and they had to stay in the house and wait for the government's next order.
Chapter completed!