Chapter 3537 Flame and Blood
To the north of Xiangyang, Jingzhou, there was a bloody storm.
After Li Dian broke through the Pass of the Imperial Pass, although it was as expected by Cao Ren, the speed was too fast after all...
Before the big man appeared, the weird cavalry, which war was not calculated in the past years?
Even when Yuan Shao gathered troops in Jizhou to fight a small Zang Hong, he still surrounded him for a year with absolute superior force and finally barely captured him.
Therefore, Cao Ren became nervous when working in the field clearing the land in the northern part of Jingzhou.
From a strategic perspective, Cao Ren's arrangements and measures are not wrong.
Whether it is the Danshui River or the Hanshui River, it will gather at the Danjiangkou. Danshui Riverkou is indeed the place where the Jingzhou naval forces can best be exerted, and it is also suitable as an important strategic node. If the Jingzhou naval forces are advantageous, the Li Dian Liaohua coalition will be defeated in one fell swoop, then the entire Jingzhou will be settled immediately.
At that time, whether Cao Ren goes up to help Cao Cao in the northern part of Jingzhou, or turns south to Jiangling to fight against the Sichuan and Shu army, he will be more calm.
Of course, the risks are also extremely high.
So in order to fight this battle, Cao Ren has sent people to urgently strengthen and expand the military camp at Danjiangkou.
However, Li Dian broke through the Imperial Pass too quickly, and Niu Jin on the other hand didn't know how long it would take for him, so Cao Ren was forced to strengthen the walls and clear the fields in advance, snatch or destroy the village along the Danjiang River, grab food and grass, and arrest the strong men to build defense lines and dig tren.
For a moment, there were screams and cries in the south town of Jingbei.
The wheat fields that had just been planted were ruthlessly trampled on. The wheat seedlings that had not yet grown were broken in pieces and fell into the mud.
The arrested young and strong neck tied up the hemp rope they used to tie wheat on their usual occasions. The rough hemp rope cut the skin of these strong men, and blood dripped on the ground, between the broken pots and the broken rakes.
Someone was hiding in the cellar and was discovered by Cao's army, with strange laughter and screams intertwined.
Some people also fled to the mountains and forests and abandoned all human order.
Nanxiang!
It was once a place for emperors, and it was known as a place full of nobility and a place that gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
This place was indeed beautiful and rich.
At that time, in Nanxiang, there were abundant water and grass, and the fields were crisscrossing, stable and peaceful.
Everyone thinks that such a life can accompany the Han Dynasty for generations...
However, when bad luck came, these people in Nanxiang knew that there was no nobility, no emperor who could bless them or protect them.
At first, they tried to reason, then gave in, and took out the things as much as possible and handed them to Cao's army in exchange for a brief calm.
However, as the war became more and more frequent, Cao's army asked for more and more demands. They were angry and fearful that they were helpless. They wanted to escape, but they still could not escape.
The Cao army soldiers smashed the barn door with swords and guns, and snatched the last bit of food from the people of Nanxiang. Even the warehouse door with spider webs was searched carefully.
All the useful items were collected.
They either piled up on the open space where the grain was dry and waited for the supplies to be taken away, or stuffed it into their arms to take it away.
The statue of the god worshipped by the villagers in the village is now pushed to the ground, and the broken clay sculpture still has a stiff smile on its skin, but the grass embryo inside the statue's belly is already black and rotten.
"Mother……"
"Son!"
『Let me go!』
『…』
At this time, these farmers let go of their voices and howling, but who would pay attention to it?
It’s like a butcher cares about the screams of cattle and sheep before dying?
I just think it's noisy.
An old farmer howled in sorrow, rather than surrender, burned his house with fire and burned all his life savings and hopes.
In the fire, the old farmer suddenly saw a painting on the adobe wall.
The very simple strokes are not very deep, so they should be his grandson's graffiti.
Yellow dog, wheat pile.
There is also a circle that I don’t know if it is the sun or the moon…
The old farmer lay under the graffiti and howled angry and sad to Cao's army outside the flames...
However, Cao's soldiers outside the flames did not even take a look at each other for a moment.
Trampling on flames and blood, bringing death and destruction.
...
...
The loess plateau in the morning light is like mulberry paper that is randomly crumpled by the gods, and the people wearing armor meander in the folds.
The three-colored flag pierced the white and blue morning light in the mulberry forest, scaring the early birds scattered everywhere, and the feathers floating down for a short time on the red tassels, and then left like a passerby.
In the gullies left behind by the impact of ancient glaciers, the cavalry and horses followed the zigzag metaphysical along the earth path.
This time point is still a better marching stage for the Loess Plateau. When the rainy season arrives, these wild areas that do not belong to the official road will become powerful weapons to retain the army to march under the dual effects of rain and horse hooves.
Some Hu people like to hang copper bells on the saddles on the war horses, or tie a colorful ribbon on their weapons, etc., anyway, they want to be different from others.
And the Han soldiers had almost no such habits...
What?
Gan Ning?
That's a minority.
Most Han soldiers looked like they were poured from a mold. The cold light reflected by the blue and black armor was like a blade slashing across the surface of the pottery pot, sharp and full of passion.
If we do not consider the cruelty of war, the scene in front of us is undoubtedly a very beautiful picture.
The mountains in the distance and the tender grass in the near distance.
The Han-style ring-headed knife is in the scabbard, and it hits regularly as the war horses leaps.
When the Qiang Man's bone flute and arrow pouch passes through the air outlet, the sound of the Qiang Man's bone flute and the arrow pouch seems to have a resonant frequency and emit a light and low sound.
The flags behind the messengers were recognized and tassels entangled with each other, dancing their own unique dances.
The crimson battle robe on the left stained a continuous line of fire from the yellow earth.
The indigo horse dress on the right outlines a moving body full of power.
The dust pillar raised by the horse's hooves is like golden steps of twelve stairs, and can reach the sky at any time.
The shadows of soldiers were lengthened on the top of the plateau and became flowing notes, playing silent music.
Chinese military orders form clear sound waves on the top of the plateau.
"Sharp arrows—turn——"
The Qiang language should be harmonious and turned into fuzzy echoes at the bottom of the ditch.
『hodog—nuog—』
At this moment, the majestic army was like the art of marching on the earth. Each soldier was both a carrier of civilization and a power to change the world. Finally, he completed the measurement of the three auxiliary servants of Guanzhong at the forbidden ditch in Tongguan and fell in front of the horse of the Great Han General Cavalry.
Fei Qian mobilized the Hu soldiers from Longxi Horse Farm to come to end the Han Dynasty, especially in the late Eastern Han Dynasty when the conflict between the Hu and the Han Dynasty was sharp, and he tried to explore the possibility of national integration through military reform.
As the implementer of Longxi military reform, Jiang Xiao had to maintain the Han system and resolve the conflicts between the nomadic peoples. It was indeed quite difficult and encountered many problems. Now that Jiang Xiao came with problems, Fei Qian naturally needed to point out the direction for Jiang Xiao.
This is something that must be done as a leader.
"Lord... Some words..." Jiang Jie lowered his head, "I don't know if it should be said or not..."
Fei Qian smiled and handed over a bowl of hot tea, "Drink slowly, talk slowly."
Fei Qian likes to drink more tea than alcohol.
Some people like to drink because they themselves like it, while others like to drink because they like to see their power, others have to drink...
The more you need to show your authority, the more you are inconspicuous little people, for fear that others will look down on him.
Of course, Fei Qian didn't have to do this. He invited Jiang Xiao to have tea, but when Jiang Xiao came, Fei Qian was just drinking tea.
However, Jiang Jie held the tea bowl and touched the warm carvings on it, and couldn't help but think of the snowy night he first arrived in Longyou.
The Qiang people like to drink, and the leaders of the Qiang people also like to drink wine.
Whether it is to inject his subordinates or Han officials who have just arrived in the local area like Jiang Jie.
At that time, Dong Zhuo had not yet entered Beijing, and the Western Qiang was still very powerful, so Jiang Jie could only sit in the next seat. The first person in the bonfire dinner was the old chief of the Qiang people.
The sheep oil drips sizzle on the bonfire.
The horse milk wine was delivered one bag after another.
"Drink! If you don't drink, you look down on me!"
『Cheers! Cheers to our friendship!』
"Another bowl! How can a man say that it's not possible?!"
Some wines get hotter the more you drink, but the colder it gets.
The snow sways on the pine branches, and the bonfire cannot drive away the chill in my heart.
At that time, Jiang Jie had just entered the officialdom and asked inexplicably: "What do you think of the laws of the Han family?"
The house was filled with laughter and the snow fell from the pine branches.
The old chief of Qiang people held a bone bowl inlaid with gold and silver and sneered: "Can you know the rules of the grassland? The wolf cubs are willing to follow the strongest wolf, but not the words carved on the stone..."
Recalling this scene, Jiang Jie's hand trembled slightly. He lowered his head, and revealed these past and previous confusions one by one to Fei Qian and Pan, and asked earnestly: "Lord, the Qiang people fear power but not virtue. If they use laws and regulations to suppress them, then the Hu people are afraid but do not know what to fear. If they are benevolent and moral, then the Han officials are separated but cannot last long... Although there are Southern Xiongnu as an example, the Qiang people are different after all..."
Jiang Jie looked up at Fei Qian, and then bowed again, "There are many people in Qiang and the tribes are scattered, which is definitely not comparable to the Southern Xiongnu... If there is no long-term plan, my subordinates... I am afraid that time will change, and it will be like before... I hope the lord will give me some advice to defend the Qiang and Hu and protect Longxi for a hundred years of peace and peace!"
After hearing what Jiang Jie said, Fei Qian slightly told Jiang Jie to drink tea and calm down a little.
The Southern Xiongnu's spirit was beaten alive by the Han people.
From the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, the two sides fought and stopped for two or three hundred years. The big man forced the prototype of a huge grassland and desert empire into a lonely wolf that escaped with his tail. The Southern Xiongnu were just a small wolf cub in this pack. By the Three Kingdoms period, even though they still looked like a wolf, their tail had already begun to learn to shake.
Under such circumstances, the Chineseization of the Southern Xiongnu is actually not difficult.
After all, in history, the Southern Xiongnu themselves took the initiative to give a Chinese name after the Three Kingdoms, which was used to express their admiration for the Han family and their bloodliness.
But the Qiang people are different, there are many people in the East, the West, and the number is large.
Another key point is that although the Qiang people had big leaders, old chiefs, and even alliance leaders like Beigong, there has been no quantitative change that led to qualitative change, forming a structure similar to the Huns. This is the disadvantage of the Qiang people, but in a sense it is the disadvantage of the Han people who want to Chineseize them.
So when dealing with the Huns, when the spiritual symbol of the Huns, the so-called golden bloodline was defeated, the Southern Huns were even wolf whose backbone had been cut off, and they could not be fierce. However, the Qiang people could not say that there was no so-called "backbone". Most of the Qiang people gathered for profit and then collapsed because of profit.
Will the thing of interest never appear again because of the death of a person or the dissipation of a tribe?
Obviously, it is not possible.
Nowadays, the Qiang people are obedient, on the one hand, because Beigong has just died shortly after. Even if they want to cause trouble, they have no leader. Another very important reason is that Fei Qian brought benefits to the Qiang people.
In this case, the Qiang people naturally cannot make trouble, but Fei Qian can give it to others, and when will Fei Qian or the officials sent to the Western Qiang have any problems? What should the Qiang people do?
The education of the Southern Xiongnu was that because most of the Southern Xiongnu were in Yinshan at that time, they were concentrated and the firewood was removed from the bottom of the pot, so they became. However, the Western Qiang was so widely distributed and had a vast land and sparse population. Even if they wanted to educate, how many educations would it take? How many years would it take?
These are all problems...
Fei Qian listened to the questions raised by Jiang Jie, but did not feel disgusted because Jiang Jie kept asking questions, but felt relieved.
Fei Qian did not immediately respond to Jiang Jie's question, but took him to the top of Tongguan city.
At this moment, lights were lit on the Tongguan city tower, and smoke began to emerge from the military camps on the earth plateau and the military sheds in the forbidden ditches.
The men and horses brought by Jiang Jie seemed to have become hazy in the twilight and smoke, and mixed with other troops that were originally in the Tongguan Ban Gully.
Jiang Jie looked at it and seemed to have some insights in his heart.
Fei Qian looked at Jiang Jie's expression change, and he was quite satisfied.
This person is one of the legacy left by Li Ru.
Because they have the blood of Qiang people, they are also more suitable as candidates to manage and sort out the relationships between Han and Qiang people and establish long-term institutional institutions.
Having the Qiang bloodline should not be Jiang Jiong's disadvantage, but rather, Jiang Jiong's advantage.
The Qiang people should be like the Southern Xiongnu people, integrating into the Han culture rather than being out of the way. This integration is absolutely impossible to achieve by relying solely on violence.
It's very simple, because the Qiang people can escape.
Unlike later generations, the strict household registration control system for the Central Plains, in such a vast area with sparsely populated areas, the ancient household registration system was basically just a big deal. Not to mention Qiang people, even ordinary Hu Hu could leave as soon as they wanted, and lay a roll of tents at any time. Where can I find people all over the mountains?
If you just blindly violence, these people will definitely run away!
Back then, did the Huns escape to the Western Regions?
What Fei Qian wants is people, people who can produce and contribute to the Han Dynasty, not those land and grasslands!
Look at the Huns who had crossed the east and west of the desert back then, the territory was large enough? But how much output was there? There were many grasslands occupied? But how many core soldiers were there? If the core tribe was destroyed, the entire Huns collapsed. When it was time to escape, could they be taken away by the grasslands left in the desert?
Therefore, the key is to keep people, like the Southern Xiongnu, they will become part of China, and they will not disgust the main body of China.
"Lord..." Jiang Jie looked at the military camp under Tongguan, "Hu Han mixed up, and also implemented it in Longyou... It does have some effect, but the customs of the Han people are different. After a long time, the Han people are looking for the Han people, and the Hu people look for the Hu people..."
This is a human nature, and it cannot be solved by simply mixing it.
Hu Han’s mixed work is not Fei Qian’s innovation.
"Hu Han's mixed work, this is the first step..."
Fei Qian pointed to the military camp under Tongguan and said.
Jiang Jie's eyes lit up, "So... can I have something my subordinates can do? Please give me instructions!"
Fei Qian smiled and nodded, "The Hu people value blood oath, the Han people value ancestors... It seems different, but in fact it is one... Now, you might as well start with this point..."
"Blood oath, ancestor?" Jiang Jie repeated.
Fei Qian nodded, "You might as well call it...Blood Swearing Covenant!"
The battle flags at the top of Tongguan city were roaring in the twilight, as if they were singing softly across thousands of years.
Fei Qian held the battlements in Tongguan and touched the mottled marks on the battlements with his fingers.
Traces of war.
These traces will slowly passivate and disappear with time, but in the end, something will have to be left behind.
It's just like the miscellaneous Hu education that Fei Qian is now promoting.
It's difficult, but it has to be done.
Fei Qian raised his head and looked into the distance.
The smoke rising from the forbidden ditch blends with the sunset, dyeing the entire earth plateau red and golden, making it look particularly beautiful.
"Tomorrow is here to build an altar." Fei Qian suddenly spoke, reached out and pointed forward, "Just on the soil plate in front..."
"Altar?" Jiang Jie was stunned for a moment.
Fei Qian nodded, "This place has the water of Tong, Wei, Luosanchuan, Hedong, Longyou, Sichuan, and Heluo, which is enough to lay the altar of the great sacrifice..."
Jiang Er was shocked.
That's right!
The Han people valued ancestors, while the Qiang people valued blood oaths, but one of the two was the same, that was the sacrificial ceremony!
When Jiang Jie was young, he also followed his father to participate in the Qiang people's white horse festival.
At that time, the Qiang people were very powerful and arrogant.
At the White Horse Festival at that time, the selected boy had to fight against the wild wolf with a short blade!
The blood of the killed wild wolf will be applied to the stone slab representing the White Horse God...
Chapter completed!