The World of Yellow Sky

The ice and snow melt, spring flowers bloom, birds soar, and animals hum.

The impression of spring is always full of vigor and vitality, and everything is revived.

At least for the birds and beasts in the mountains and forests.

This year's cold winter has been too long, and many animals in the mountains and forests have never seen the warmth of spring and the flowers blooming
A hare got out of the bushes and stepped onto a piece of green grass. It looked around vigilantly and raised its long ears. Although it didn't see any threat or hear any sounds worthy of vigilance, it still remained vigilant. .

After a while, the hare crouched down in the grass and gnawed on the newly grown tender grass on the ground. This was a rare delicacy for it, and it was worth the risk.

Suddenly, as if hearing something, the eating hare suddenly stood up, and at the same time pricked up its ears vigilantly, but before it could make any other movements, a feathered arrow flew towards it, killing it. It was firmly nailed to the grass.

The arrow hit his chest and abdomen, and this arrow hit the vital point. The hare just struggled and howled for a few times and then fell silent. The shrill howling startled a large group of birds in the forest.

"The hare's cry is really like that of a baby, and it is indeed a bit penetrating."

The horn bow in Xu An's hand was lowered, and he put the second feather arrow in his hand back into the quiver hanging on the side of the saddle.

It was the first time he heard the hare's cry. Back then, there was a spring search in Bingzhou, and then Xu An made it a routine, stipulating that hunting activities would be held regularly every year, but the time was changed to autumn. "autumn (xiǎn)"

Most of the animals released in autumn are slightly larger animals such as deer and foxes, and there are basically no wild rabbits.

"Duke Ming's archery skills are a bit more refined."

Jia Xu smiled and praised.

"When I was in autumn, I needed to hit the target first as the opening. If I didn't have this bit of archery, wouldn't it be ridiculous and generous."

Xu An inserted the hornbow into the quiver on the side. Until now, he didn't need to put on armor to go into battle at all, but he still kept his old habit of exercising every day, whether it was riding, bowing, sword, or spear. He didn't let go.

After more than ten years of training, Xu An is in his prime again, and now Gong Du is no longer his opponent at all. After all, his martial arts teachers are Lu Bu and Xu Huang, and Ma Teng taught him sword fighting.

"Without human habitation, there are many more animals and birds, and the mountains and forests are becoming more and more lush."

Xu An looked up at the frightened flying bird in the sky, and sighed.

Jia Xu looked around at the surrounding scene without saying a word, but he also found that the surrounding situation was indeed as Xu An said.

The woods next to the official road, especially near the city, are generally sparse, with very few animals, but the forest in front of you is indeed quite dense, with many animals, and it looks full of vitality.

Years of wars have not only affected the warring places, but Liang Guo, which is in the hinterland, has also been greatly affected.

Conscription took away a large number of people, and the various conscripted labor forced many people to leave their hometowns, making Liang Guo, which was originally densely populated, become sparsely populated.

The sparsely populated areas and the absence of human activities have revitalized the mountains, forests and lakes across the Liang Kingdom.

Xu An pulled the rein lightly, turned his head, and looked west.

At the end of the field of vision, above the horizon, a huge city was hovering over it.

The city that hovers in the distance like a crouching tiger is not Chendu, but Suiyang, the seat of the Liang Kingdom in Yuzhou.

The terrain of Suiyang is flat, on the North China Plain, close to Suishui River, and it is an important transportation route and transportation hub connecting Yuzhou and Yanzhou from north to south.

In the past, when Sun Jian and others made the Northern Expedition, Suiyang was used as a transit point to continuously transport food, grass and soldiers from the southern and eastern states and counties to the north.

Suiyang City is vast and huge. After undergoing renovations, the brick walls made it even stronger. Although it is on a plain, it can definitely be called a strong city.

But this majestic city, not long ago, when he did not lead the army, he had already chosen to surrender.

The vanguard cavalry had taken over the entire Suiyang City, and He Man had already entered the city and took over the city defense. Even the border areas were not checked to make sure there was no threat.

Gazing at Suiyang City in the distance, Xu An's expression was complicated.

He had never met Liu Xie, and all the news about Liu Xie came through secret reports from the military newspaper and the Eagle Wolf Guard.

Liu Xie presided over the reform and carried out various reforms with great courage and perseverance. He saw it all. All of this was just Liu Xie's struggle. No matter how courageous and capable he is, Xu An actually has no half. admiration and respect.

In the end, Liu Xie ordered those ordinary soldiers to freely choose to surrender or continue to fight. Only then did Xu An have a little respect for Liu Xie.

Back then when Liu Xie told him outside the camp that if Huang Tian's life really existed, he might as well go and talk to him. He looked into Liu Xie's eyes that day, and saw something different in Liu Xie's eyes. look.

Now Xu An also understands why Liu Xie said that.

The reason why those cities along the way are almost all determined by the order, they are almost all pardoned.

Not only that, Liu Xie also issued the same edict to Yuan Shu and other state shepherds and loyal ministers.

Xu An originally thought that after winning the battle of Pengcheng, there must be a few more battles, and the Han army would make the final struggle.

But he did not wait for the final battle, but for the instrument of surrender.

Yuan Shu died for his country, and the Yanzhou army handed over a surrender form to Xu Rong, who was Chen Bing in Jizhou.

At first, Xu Rong thought it was a strategy of the Han army, but after the Eagle Wolf Guards also sent the information, he began to be dubious. It was not until the vanguard army sent out did take over Puyang, and after the news of Yuan Shu's death was confirmed, Xu Rong finally realized. , the Yanzhou army really surrendered.

So Xu Rong sent a letter to Xu An, commanded the army to cross the river, and gradually began to take over the cities of Yanzhou. Now he has taken over most of the cities in Yanzhou, only a few cities have not accepted.

The Yanzhou army had put down their weapons and was restrained by guards. The threat of Yanzhou was almost completely lifted.

Most of the cities in the Han court chose to surrender, almost depending on the order. Only a few cities made resistance. Their resistance was extremely fierce, but under absolute strength, they were all wiped out by the Ming army .

However, the officials of the Han court did have integrity. In the cities taken over along the way, most of the officials either hung their seals and abandoned their officials, or committed suicide and died for the country. Only a small number of officials chose to surrender.

Xu An's hand moved the position on his chest, and there was this letter, which was left to him by Liu Xie.

After he read the letter, he understood that Liu Xie had read almost all the newspapers he published in China through the embroidered clothes messenger.

In the letter, many of what Liu Xie said were what he had said at the time. He expressed his own views, raised some questions, and expressed some opinions on the government orders he implemented.

When Xu An read the letter at the beginning, he even saw some shadows of himself in Liu Xie. He knew that he had indeed influenced Liu Xie through the contents of the newspaper. Perhaps the reason why Liu Xie implemented the reform was because he was received his influence.

At the end of the letter, Liu Xie's last words were not asking him to forgive the Liu clan.

Instead, I hope that he will not be militaristic, just indulging in expanding the territory blindly, but be considerate of the people's feelings so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.

"Live and work in peace..."

Xu An sighed. Most of the reforms implemented by Liu Xie were aimed at the aristocratic and powerful families. There was indeed no increase in taxes for the ordinary people in the head of Guizhou. They even recruited refugees and distributed farmland.

This is how the Tianhan Army and Zhangwuying arrived, and after their defeat, the officials of the Tianhan Army and Zhangwuying also received an edict not to hold anyone accountable.

Xu An turned his head and looked at the official road not far away.

On the official road, countless ochre-yellow banners are swaying in the breeze, and every soldier's face is full of vitality. They all have a fighting spirit and are full of vigor.

Today's Ming Dynasty is like these soldiers, like a newborn sun.

The beginning of every unified dynasty is almost the beginning of a prosperous age, with very few exceptions.

The Han Dynasty was overthrown, and Liu Xie's last edict allowed him to quickly take over the world.

Apart from Yanzhou, Mu Liubiao of Jingzhou and Mu Liuyou of Yangzhou have already handed in the form of surrender. The situation in the prefecture is stable, and it is only necessary to send troops to accept it. There is no accident in Yuzhou, and the resistance will only increase the killing .

As for Jiaozhou, Xu An knows Shi Xie very well. Shi Xie is not a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. If he was a loyal minister, he would not behave like this. ultimatum.

With the fall of the Han Dynasty and the defeat of the Ming army, Shi Xie would definitely choose to surrender. Jiaozhou's surrender is probably on the way at this time.

It is useless to resist, and those powerful families are not stupid.

Escape, there is no way to escape, where to escape.

Resistance, how can defeat the Ming army.

To be honest, Xu An hoped that they would resist. As long as they resisted, he could justifiably and directly wipe out all those aristocratic tyrants without causing any resistance from anyone else, nor would it cause any bad influence in the country.

The war is basically over, Xu An only needs to lead the army into Chen Du, at that time the whole world will be under his control, and Ming Court will become a unified country in the true sense.

But reunification is not the end...

Just like what Xu An said in Pengcheng earlier - our era has begun.

The Han court fell, and the old era has indeed died.

But now a new era has just begun.

Conquering the world is difficult, but governing the world is even more difficult.

On the surface of the current Ming Dynasty, the domestic politics is stable, the military is strong, and there is no sign of rebellion anywhere, and the officials who have surrendered are extremely respectful.

But in fact, there is an undercurrent surging inside, and in places where the sun can't shine, countless black shadows sway in it.

Xu An is very clear that Ming's current internal and external troubles, as well as various problems, are only because of his prestige and the deterrence of the army, they have not been revealed for the time being, and are hidden under the skin.

And these problems, he must deal with them one by one, otherwise the country he built with his own hands will slip into the abyss in the near future.

The regular autumn meeting every year is actually Xu An's solution to the problem. The reason why Qiu's status has been improved a lot by him.

The reason why regular hunting is stipulated is not for entertainment.

Rather, it has a deeper meaning.

Although the homeland is large, it will perish if it is warlike; although the world is safe, it will be dangerous if you forget the war.

Hunting can cultivate the spirit of martial arts. Every year in autumn, all states and counties can select soldiers who are good at shooting to participate.

At the same time, there will also be people from the directly subordinate army such as the Yellow Angels, the trapped camp, military soldiers, and sharp soldiers, as well as all the military officers who have reached the fifth rank in the Ming Court.

In addition, the tribes that surrendered in the North, Western Regions, Liaodong, and Southern Xinjiang all need to send archers to participate in the autumn.

In addition to cultivating a martial atmosphere, there is also the potential meaning of using force to deter neighboring countries and domestic ministries.

At the same time, the elites of all ethnic groups were collected and incorporated into the army to weaken their strength.

Now the territory owned by the Ming Court has almost reached its limit, not counting the surrounding vassal states, but the territory of the provinces and the Protectorate is already wider than the prosperous Tang Dynasty in history.

Of course, this is not because Ming Ting's national strength is stronger than that of the Tang Dynasty at its peak, but because the countries around Ming Ting are much weaker at this time.

When the Tang Dynasty began to expand, there were Eastern Turks in the north, Western Turks in the west, and Tubo in the south. After the Tang Dynasty defeated the Western Turks, they also encountered the Arab Empire that had risen at that time.

During the Tang Dynasty, although China was still leading in all aspects of science and technology, this leadership was not due to generational differences.

At this time, many countries and tribes around China have not entered the Iron Age, either there is no iron ore, or the iron smelting technology is insufficient. Those countries that have entered the Iron Age, their iron smelting technology has no way at all Compared with Huaxia.

Whether it is the Han court or the Ming court, they are almost an era away, and the gap between the eras is not so easy to bridge.

When there is a generational difference in weapons and armor, and the training methods of soldiers are different, the war will evolve into a one-sided massacre.

It is for this reason that one Han became the Five Hus, and it is also for this reason in the era of European voyages and colonization.

A hundred years ago, Dou Xian defeated the northern Xiongnu, swept across Mobei, swallowed hard, and the threat of the northern land to the Central Plains was minimized.

Although the martial arts of the Eastern Han Dynasty were a little weaker than those of the Western Han Dynasty, they were still superior to the heroes. Wherever the edict came, all the surrounding countries and tribes would follow.

Among the chaotic northern tribes, which one was not a vassal who was called by the Han court and left immediately?

After Xu An founded the country in Chang'an and established the Ming Dynasty, Liangzhou was stable and easily occupied the Western Regions. Just sending Guo Tai to lead [-] cavalrymen almost overwhelmed the entire Western Regions.

At that time, any country in the Western Regions that could gather thousands of troops could be called a big country. As for the completeness of military battles, don't expect extravagance.

When the Ming army entered the Western Regions, although Dawan Kingdom was not angry, there was nothing they could do. They were just unwilling to surrender, and did not challenge Ming Court's ruling power in the Western Regions.

The territory is too vast and the expansion is too fast, which has laid many hidden dangers for today's Ming Dynasty.

And those powerful families in the country who have not been completely eliminated are not reconciled to their decline. They will try their best to win on another battlefield and regain control of the country.