cite Han

Chapter 480 Buying a Horse
With the sound of horseshoes, a cavalry team of about [-] people galloped out from the slightly dilapidated Wuguan City Gate. There were both Han Chinese with hair tied and Qiang people with hair tied. They were all tall and short. With a bow and a knife across his back, he has superb riding skills.

The leader rode a white horse, eight feet long, majestic in appearance, and extraordinary in appearance. It was Liu Jing's general Han Guang.

In mid-September, he led five thousand cavalry and escorted Nanyang prefect Zhao Jian to the north. Of course, Nanyang County has now been renamed Nanxiang County.

After that, it took less than two months to wipe out the thieves and bandits, suppress the unruly, and help Zhao Jian to secure the position of prefect, and then marched into Wuguan.

After Dong Zhuo's death, Wuguan changed hands several times. With the collapse of Guanzhong, Wuguan lost its strategic position and was gradually abandoned. Today, it has been stolen by a group of Guanzhong thieves.

This group of thieves took over the pass as king, blackmailed the merchants who traveled to and from Qin and Chu, and even the Sanfu refugees who were eager to return to their hometowns, lived a very prosperous life.

When Han Guang arrived at Wuguan with [-] cavalry, the bandit chiefs were frightened. There were only a thousand of them in total, and their armor and weapons were not good enough. How could they have the courage to fight against the pass? Ask Han Guang to surrender, for fear that he will bring disaster to himself if he is too late.

Han Guangbing took Wuguan without bloodshed, while recruiting bandits and repairing the defenses of the pass.

This time, Liu Jing sent him to the north. Apart from towning Funan Township and stationing at Wuguan, he also had another important task, which was to use his identity as a native of Liangzhou to contact Ma Teng, Han Sui and other generals in Kansai, and ask them to buy war horses. .

No matter whether he entrusted merchants or dispatched cronies for this matter, there was a little lack of sincerity, and Han Guang had to go there himself.

When Wuguan was initially stabilized, Han Guang asked his servant to command the troops on his behalf and garrison Wuguan, and he set off immediately, with only fifty personal guards, and traveled lightly to Guanzhong.

From Wuguan to Lantian, it stretches for [-] miles, almost all of which are mountain roads. It is true that there are no mountains to meet, and there is no half-mile level in a hundred miles. The road is difficult and dangerous, which can be seen.

During the Taiping Festival, there are pavilions and posts every ten miles or tens of miles on Wuguan Road for travelers to rest.It is currently in troubled times, and many pavilions and posts are abandoned. Only Shangxian, Shangluo and other counties and surrounding towns can be used as resting places.

Han Guang and his party traveled all the way through mountains and rivers, eating and sleeping in the open air. Even with a good horse to travel, it took more than ten days to get out of the vast mountains.

After passing Lantian, you entered the Guanzhong Plain, and the road became flat and easy to walk, but the interrogation was not the same as before. Basically, every time you pass through a place, you will be interrogated in various ways.

Fortunately, Han Guang was a general appointed by the imperial court. With his silver seal and blue ribbon on his face, and the group's tough temperament, it was obvious that they were Qin Hu soldiers from Xiliang, so no one dared to make things difficult for him.

Han Guang and his party crossed Jingzhaoyin and arrived at Huaili in Youfufeng.

"Congratulations, General. Gao Gan and Guo Yuan led tens of thousands of troops to the south to join forces with the Xiongnu. Zhong Sili supervised all the troops to help Pingyang. They were unable to win the battles. The north of Fen and Hui was in danger. At this critical juncture, Meng Qi led The army arrived, crossed the Fenshui River, and attacked Pingyang. In the first battle, Guo Yuan was beheaded. The high-ranking officials ran, the Xiongnu asked to surrender, and the Heshuo earthquake. After this battle, the name of the general will be displayed in the court. The public place is important, and I entrust it to the west." A handsome young man who was nearly eight feet tall and wore a big armpit shirt stood in the hall and congratulated Ma Teng.

The young man is already extremely tall, but still not as tall as Ma Teng. Ma Teng is more than eight feet long, with a distinctive face and nose.

Ma Teng stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Earlier, Gao Gan and Guo Yuan sent envoys to form an alliance with us to fight against Cao Gong. Fortunately, Yancai spoke out to dissuade him. , are unknown."

The young man's surname is Fu Mingqian, style name Yancai, from Beidi County, Liangzhou. He is the late Zhuangjiehou, the son of Fu Xie, the governor of Hanyang. When Fu Xie died in Hanyang, Fu Qian was only thirteen years old. Back home, now that Fu Gan has grown up, he takes care of Ma Teng.

Fu Gan calmly said: "There is an ancient saying: 'Those who follow the way will prosper, and those who go against virtue will perish. How can we be invincible when we act obediently and eliminate violence? Fame and fame can be easily obtained."

Ma Teng nodded frequently.

At this time, someone outside the gate reported that dozens of riders had come from outside Huaili City. The leader said that he was an old fellow of the general's hometown, and he threw a stab to see him.

"An old fellow from the same hometown?" Ma Teng looked puzzled, took a look at the wooden table, and couldn't help saying "Hey" in his mouth, "General Bo, Han Guang, Marquis of Longxi in Guannei, pays his respects again, and his name is Gongfu."

Han Guang was born in Dong Zhuo's general Yang Ding's tribe, while Ma Teng was a frontier army first and then turned to rebellion. Although the two were from the same hometown in Longxi, they had little contact with each other, and even met each other on the battlefield more than once.And Ma Teng has also seen the power of this fellow in previous battles. He is not only a brave champion, but also has a strategy in his chest. Ma Teng often sighs that there is no such general under his command.

A few years ago, Ma Teng heard that Yang Ding went south to plunder and was punished by Liu Biao. He thought that Han Guang was also in danger, and he was deeply regretful. Now it seems that Han Guang should have surrendered to Liu Biao.Recently it was rumored that Liu Biao had been defeated by Liu Jing. Could it be that Han Guang came to join him?

Thinking of this, Ma Teng was overjoyed, and urgently ordered someone to invite Han Guang into the city, but after thinking about it, he felt that he didn't pay enough attention to it, so he went out of the mansion to greet him immediately.

After a while, Han Guang rode over alone. Seeing the horse vacated to meet him, he dismounted to greet him.

Ma Teng stepped forward and took Han Guang's hand, looked at it carefully, and laughed loudly: "Gongfu, I haven't seen you for many years, and your demeanor is getting more serious. It seems that you have been very useful in the south these years."

"Thanks to General Annan's attention..." Han Guang briefly told Ma Teng about his experiences in the past few years.

When Ma Teng learned that Han Guang served Liu Jing, he immediately knew that he had misunderstood.Liu Jing is now an official worshiped by General Annan, who dominates Jing and Jiaozhou, with [-] armors and strong troops.He was inferior to Liu Jing in terms of official position, territory and military strength, so how could Han Guang defect to him.

Ma Teng suppressed his disappointment and asked, "I don't know why Gongfu came here this time?"

Han Guangdao: "The general also knows that Liangzhou is a poor country with barren land. The men are few to farm and crops, and the women have no wits to spare. They tend to live on pommel horses and shoot and hunt as a profession. I and my athletes fought against the Chu people in the south. Lacking horses and no access to boats, I often feel powerless, and many athletes die in vain. Now that Jingchu has been settled, and it can pass directly through the pass, I want to ask the general to buy good horses for combat. General Annan also has the intention to form a cavalry army, so he sent me here. Come……"

"So it was to buy a good horse..." Ma Teng nodded, not surprised.

It is not difficult for Ma Teng to obtain good horses, not to mention Liangzhou Dama, which is the best in the world. In the territory of Sanfu Youfufeng and Zuofengyi alone, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are "good at raising horses." "The famous Qiang people.

Most of these Qiang people were captured and surrendered rebel Qiang and their family members when Huangfugui, Zhang Huan, and Duan Jiong of the "Liangzhou Sanming" quelled the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou during Huan and Ling. for regulation.

After that, there was nothing in the west, and it has been quiet for more than ten or twenty years. However, with the decline of the Han Dynasty, these Qiang people began to restless again. When Han Sui and Ma Teng invaded Guanzhong, many Qiang people from Youfufeng joined. When Si Gong was in charge of the government, the Zuofeng Yiqiang people also set off a rebellion.

Ma Teng is of Han and Qiang mixed blood, and his mother is a Qiang girl, so he is naturally close to the Qiang people. Ma Teng is also kind and fair, and has won the trust of the Sanfu Qiang people. It's much simpler.

Fu Gan frowned unconsciously. Liu Jingcai got rid of Liu Biao and captured Jingzhou. At this time, he didn't want to stop the army and rest with the people. blessing.

Seeing Fu Gan's expression was wrong, Han Guang asked Ma Teng, "I don't know who this is?"

Ma Teng introduced him: "He is Zhuang Jiehou, the son of Fu Hanyang, Fu Yancai, and now works in my mansion. His nature is resourceful, and he has a fatherly style. I rely on him as my heart."

"Oh? So it's Empress Zhongliang." When Han Guang learned that the other party was Fu Xie's son, he was in awe.Fu Xie sternly rejected Zhao Zhong and angrily reprimanded Cui Lie. He was deeply admired by the world. When he died in battle, everyone from the emperor below sighed.

"I've seen General Han..." Fu Gan also greeted Han Guang.

"This is not a place to talk, Gong Fu, please." Ma Teng led Han Guang into the mansion, and the two walked side by side. Ma Teng turned his head and asked, "How many horses does Gong Fu plan to buy this time?"

Han Guang replied with a smile: "Jingzhou has always had few horses, so naturally the more the better."

"Oh?" Ma Teng couldn't help reminding: "Gongfu was Dong Zhuo's general. You should know that Dong Zhuo broke five baht coins and changed them into small coins. After that, money is cheap and goods are expensive. Dendrobium rice can reach hundreds of thousands. Guanzhong coins are not good now. Taking cloth millet as goods..."

Han Guang naturally knew that because of Dong Zhuo's reckless actions, the Guanzhong economy had completely collapsed, and he had already returned to the era of barter.

Han Guang calmly said: "Don't worry, general, iron from Nanyang, rice from Jingnan, cloth from Jianghan, gold, silver, copper, lacquer, salt, paper, wine... Jingzhou has everything you need in Guanzhong. If the general is interested in the rare treasures of the South China Sea, he can exchange them with horses."

Ma Teng's heart skipped a beat when he heard that. He was not interested in the so-called rare treasures of the South China Sea. What he valued most were the iron, rice, and cloth from Jingchu.

At the beginning of Jian'an, with the death of Guo Si and Li Jue, the stability of Guanzhong was gradually restored, and the people in Guanzhong began to return one after another. In Nanyang alone, there were more than [-] returnees.

However, their land was either annexed by the surnames, or occupied by generals, and those who returned could not make a living. At this time, Ma Teng and others competed to recruit each other, thinking of trilogy. The counties were poor and weak, and it was difficult to compete with them. The generals were powerful It is proof that Ma Teng dispatched more than [-] people to help Hedong at one time.

Ma Teng is certainly happy about the sharp increase in his subordinates, but he also has troubles. With so many mouths suddenly added, feeding them is not an easy task. Guanzhong's farming has been abandoned for a long time, and it is difficult to be self-sufficient in the short term.

By exchanging the good horses of the Qiang people for the supplies of Jingchu, Ma Teng not only made money at both ends, but also met his own needs, which couldn't be better.

(End of this chapter)