199 BC.

As time enters another hundred years, in the land between the Tianshan Mountains and the Altai Mountains, a coalition of tribes returning from the east began a tragic and long-distance migration.

The Huns chased all the way, killing the lagging Aries tribesmen one by one. The soldiers of Maodun were not in a hurry to catch up. They did not want to press too hard and trap the prey in front of them and fight, but more importantly,

, King Dayuezhi has agreed to help the Huns surround and kill this group of invaders.

The number of sieges and killings gradually reduced the number of the Aries tribe. Difficulties and despair shrouded people, and no one could see any hope. Some tribes began to waver and broke away from the large army and fell into the arms of the Dayuezhi people.

In desperation, Bai Guangji had no choice but to lead the Hexi Qiang warriors to clear the way first and then to cover the rear, and started a race for survival against the ill-intentioned Dayuezhi people and the Huns who had killed them all.

There are interceptors in front and pursuers behind.

The Aries tribe struggled again and again in desperate situations.

——.

Chang'an.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival has not completely dissipated, and the people of Qin have ushered in the grand festival of Lantern Festival on the 15th. From beginning to end, the 15-day holiday allowed the people of Qin to release their desire to buy that they had saved for a whole year.

, and also allowed the merchants in Chang'an City to earn a lot of money.

As a result, the reputation of Shenwu King Li Yuan reached its peak. For ordinary people of Qin, the men of Qin were mostly excited about military victories in the past. But this time, the women who focused on daily necessities were

They also began to praise Li Yuan.

The days are getting better day by day.

Compared with the initial emperor's period, today's Xin Qin has given the Qin people more freedom in terms of speech, materials, etc. Although some gossip about Li Yuan's personal affairs is also circulating, this kind of circulation has not harmed Li Yuan.

His reputation made him more popular with women.

The king of a country.

There are many women, even those small princes who have separated themselves from each other, and they have also included beauties one after another. At this point, Li Yuan has only won Yushu, Gu Yunniang, and Xin Zhui in these years. Isn't this professionalism?

What?

Ask the world, what is love?

In fact, Li Yuan had no time to pay attention to what women were thinking. After solving Xi Chu, he felt so lonely at a high place that he had to immerse himself more in state affairs. And the Qin State was getting bigger and bigger.

The territory also warned the central government of Chang'an City that the governance of local counties and counties requires supervision and support from the central government.

So, after staying in Chang'an City to spend a festival with his wife and children, Li Yuan's car set off from Chang'an again. This time his route was to visit Hanzhong County, Ba County, and Shu County in the south, and then start from Hanzhong County again.

The county enters Longxi County and Hexi County along the Baoxie Road, and finally reaches the destination of this trip: Loulan.

Loulan is an important city on the Silk Road and the leader of the countries in the Western Regions. It is also a de facto ally of the Qin State. Whether the Qin State is dealing with the Xiongnu or entering the Western Regions, it needs the cooperation of the Loulan people.

At the same time, with the unification of the country, the Qin State's task of maintaining local security will also be very important in the future. The lessons of the riots in Hanzhong County are at hand. Li Yuan hopes that his pro-people move can psychologically appease the Qiang people in Hanzhong area.

, Di people.

What a county official does, whether they are honest and self-disciplined, represents the image of the Qin State. Once the chief officials, such as the county governor, have deviations in governance, it will not only affect the governance of this place, but also on a larger scale.

, is more likely to lead to a series of uncertain events.

After Zhao Bi failed to govern the county, after inspection by the central court and local recommendation, Zhao Ping succeeded Hanzhong County Governor. The hometown of this melon grower in the Qin State was Nanzheng in Hanzhong County, and he was appointed to govern Hanzhong.

It was also to appease the resentment of the people in Hanzhong against the killings by the Qin army during the suppression of the rebellion.

At the same time, Qin general Zhang Ping, as the general stationed there, will assume the task of guarding the Jushui military fort and maintaining the plank road transportation. The riot gave Li Yuan a new understanding of the importance of the geographical location of Hanzhong County, a remote small county located at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains.

Although the products are not abundant, their importance is not trivial.

During Li Yuan's trip to Hanzhong, he asked Zhang Ping and Zhao Ping not to have any conflicts in their cooperation. After all, one is in charge of the administration and the other is in charge of the army. They have different priorities, so it is normal to have differences of opinion.

Li Yuan's carriage stayed in Hanzhong County for ten days, of which he spent more than three days in Jushui Army. Peng Sheng's research and development of primitive gunpowder has entered a critical stage. Li Yuan hopes that Peng Sheng can continue his efforts and produce it as soon as possible.

The "Sky Fire" is easy to carry and powerful enough.

From the age of cold weapons to the age of hot weapons, the symbol is the use of gunpowder.

The Huns' cavalry was the most powerful force in the cold weapon era. Although the Qin army also owned two pastures in Hetao and Hexi, there was still a gap between them and the Huns, who were born on horseback. If they could sacrifice their lives in the decisive battle with the Huns,

With the introduction of more advanced weapons, the pressure faced by the Qin army will be greatly reduced.

In order to reward Peng Sheng for his "invention" contribution, Li Yuan directly appointed Peng Sheng as the second division of the Great Qin Army. His status was second only to Sima Yin. This appointment changed Peng Sheng's mood from uneasy to confident.

"Sky Fire" was just an unintentional failed attempt on his part, but he didn't expect that it would become his reliance on being reused.

However, the instability of gunpowder is still a problem that needs to be overcome. If the problems of carrying and guiding cannot be solved, Peng Sheng's invention can at best be used to liven up the holiday atmosphere and will not be truly decisive on the battlefield.

effect.

After the inspection in Hanzhong, Li Yuan, accompanied by Li Shang, Wang Shang, and Luo Xian, began a second inspection of Bajun and Shujun where the Ba people lived.

Ba and Shu have been the land of fish and rice since ancient times. After being occupied by the Qin State, Li Bing and his son, and Wang Shang, successively served as county governors, strengthened and dredged the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. The area of ​​corn cultivation in the Chengdu Plain expanded at a doubling rate. This is also

It brought more new immigrants from other places to join.

Rice from the south has been introduced to Bashu from the south of the Yangtze River, and has been trial-grown in some places slightly closer to the river. Although its yield is not large due to climate reasons, Li Yuan is still very interested in it. After all, rice is more important than millet.

, is a crop with more promotion value to replace another eliminated crop.

In addition to agricultural progress, the construction of the Five-foot Road from Bajun to Yelang and the ancient Dian Kingdom is being stepped up. This road is also an important commercial route on the Qin State's Southern Silk Road.

One south and one north.

With the Qin State as the fulcrum in the middle, trade transportation in different directions will give wings to the development of the Qin State. If those gems and agate from South Asia appear in front of the tribal nobles in the north, it will inevitably trigger a war.

The revolution of trends.

January 27th.

Li Yuan received an urgent military report from Hexi County on Shiniu Road. This military report was delivered non-stop by postmen all the way from Gaizang City, the county seat of Hexi Province.

As soon as the military memorial was handed over to Li Yuan, the exhausted postman fell off his horse, with bursts of blood spilling from his mouth. In order for the military memorial to arrive quickly, the postman hurried for three consecutive days.

For three days and three nights, I finally reached my destination with one breath.

Li Yuan unfolded the sheepskin fold, and when he took the first look, his face changed drastically as if he had been struck by lightning. The military information written on the sheepskin shocked him: "On the 18th, the Hexi Qiang and the Xiongnu fought fiercely in Devil City, and their leader Bai Qin was killed -

—!"

Bai Qin.

That is the pseudonym of Bai Guangji.

Li Yuan stared at it with wide eyes. The word "killed in action" was so eye-catching that he couldn't even admit it even if he didn't want to.

In the past few years, although the Qin army has experienced many battles, many of which were difficult, this was the first time that an important general was killed in battle.

Bai Guangji died on the battlefield.

For Li Yuan, this meant losing a trustworthy general. For Qin, it was like losing an arm. Without Bai Guangji, who was familiar with the situation in the Western Regions and the Xiongnu, Qin would have lost one when facing the Xiongnu.

Confident and calm.

"With Bai Guangji's ability, it shouldn't be a problem to avoid the Huns' pursuit. Why did he lose his life instead?" Li Yuan covered his military roll and ordered the chariot to gallop towards Hexi County without stopping. (To be continued.
Chapter completed!