Shu Chen

Chapter 264
Che Bibi, Ma Xiaoxiao, pedestrian bows and arrows each at his waist.

On the northeast side of Xihai (Qinghai), where Shaodang Qiang was entrenched outside the territory of the Han Dynasty, a caravan of more than [-] people was slowly moving.

Unlike other caravan guards who gagged and talked and laughed while escorting, these hundreds of knights were silent and always on guard against unknown dangers.When people see it, they can guess that this must be a soldier who has been in the army for a long time.

This is the convoy of Da Honglu of the Han Dynasty and Wuji Xiaowei Youchu, who led the Western Regions.

As for why, as a court official, he dressed up as a merchant and appeared in the habitat of Shaodang Qiang, it was the prime minister Zhuge Liang's dispatch for the Zhang family in Dunhuang because of the exhaustion of Bashu.

Before planning to send troops to Liangzhou, the prime minister asked You Chu to transfer to Longyou, originally intending to regard him as a "horse bone" who received court courtesy from Hexi people, so as to reduce Liangzhou Haoyou's resistance to returning to Han.

Finally, following the statement of the Zhang family in Dunhuang, the prime minister saw another possibility.

Although, the Zhang Family of Dunhuang had already reached an agreement with Zheng Pu and was willing to stand under the banner of the Great Han Banner again.

But this is conditional.

If the Han army's conquest of Liangzhou is unfavorable, or due to natural disasters and other factors, it is impossible to reach Dunhuang County before the main force of Niwei Guanzhong sends out troops, then the Zhang family will definitely void this agreement.

In this regard, the big man can't blame anything.

After all, the current Zhang family is a courtier of Wei State.

Therefore, the prime minister wanted to plan for the worst outcome.

Let You Chu pretend to be a merchant and take a detour to Dunhuang County with Shu brocade, tea and other materials that are in short supply on the Silk Road trade.

First, trade helps the imperial court to accumulate money and food for war, and it can also turn the small countries in the Western Regions into a friendly big man-now that the Silk Road is cut off, only the big man can send trade supplies, which can make them feel that the big man is better than the big man. Wei Guo is more trustworthy and reliable.

The other is to make the Zhang family no longer able to contribute to the conquest of Wei.

After traveling from Chu to Dunhuang, he will leave the customs as the captain of Wuji in the Western Regions and set up the Protectorate.

Through the distribution of trade materials, those small countries were integrated, and when Wei State asked Dunhuang County to send troops to help in the war, he took the soldiers and horses of the small countries in the Western Regions to wander around Yumen Pass, Yang Pass and other places.

Let the Zhang family shirk Wei's conscription on the grounds of turmoil in the Western Regions and keeping soldiers and horses to guard the county people.

It also reduced the resistance of the Han army.

Will the Dunhuang Zhang family feel annoyed by such behavior?
This is nothing to worry about.

In other words, the Zhang family is happy to hear about it.

From the beginning of their private meeting with Zheng Pu, they were unwilling to fight for Wei.

Moreover, the trade must pass through Dunhuang County, and the customs duties paid along the way are a large amount of income, not to mention that the prosperity of trade can also make the people in the county rich.

The only thing that needs to be considered is that the western route of the Silk Road needs to cross the Qilian Mountains from Zhangye County and enter the Hexi Corridor.

At present, there are three valley roads connecting Zhangye County with Huawai Qiang land.

They are Biandukou (Minle County), Baishiya (Shandan County) and Pingqiangkou (the source of Xida River).

For example, a few years ago, when Ma Dai and Shaozhong Qiang joined forces to attack the Shandan Racecourse in Wei State, they took the valley road at Pingqiangkou.

With this past, Cangci, the prefect of the Wei Dynasty, would inevitably take strict precautions and station troops for defense.

Therefore, the prime minister's original intention was to let Zhang Hua, the prefect of Wei Xihai County (Zhangye Juyan's vassal state), dispatch one or two thousand soldiers and horses to guard a valley road on the grounds of assisting defense.

Afterwards, taking advantage of the monthly transfer of military equipment and food supplies needed by the garrison, the Dahan's Silk Road materials were escorted to the Western Regions.

As for how Zhang Hua persuaded Cang Ci, this is not within the prime minister's consideration.

After the matter is completed, the Zhang family will also share the interests of the Silk Road, so why worry about them not doing their best?

Furthermore, the Dunhuang Zhang family has ruled the roost in Xichuan for many years, and it is the authority of one family and two eunuchs. If such a small matter cannot be handled properly, then their value to the big man will also decrease.

At least, when the Dahan regained the Hexi Corridor, many people would think that the conditions promised by Zheng Pu were too generous.

If the Zhang family doesn't want to be shattered and slaughtered, or rejected jointly by the court officials and assistants, they must first lay a solid foundation for returning to the Han Dynasty.

Power and profit are not static.

In fact, as expected by the prime minister, the envoy of the Zhang family responded quickly after informing You Chu that he had left Longyou.

Zhang Jiu, who was in Dunhuang, used his late father Zhang Gongjiu's Yu Wei, who served in the Western Regions, to contact the caravans of various small countries; and the two thousand paces sent by Zhang Hua have already marched to Wulan County in Zhangye County!

The reason why they acted so quickly was because the messenger who informed Zhangye prefect Cangci was in front, and the soldiers and horses were behind.

The difference between the two schedules was only one day, Ling Cangci didn't even have a chance to stop it.

However, Cang Ci couldn't stop it.

It was Zhang Hua's eldest son who came to supervise the soldiers.

Its identity is determined. If there is a bloody conflict between the two sides, Zhangye County will surely usher in the vengeful divisions of Dunhuang and Xihai.

Another reason is that Cang Ci dispatched most of the guarding troops to Wuwei County to return to Hexi Governor Jia Xu to dispatch to face the Han army's attack.The remaining county soldiers were scattered across the counties, and it was impossible to gather in a hurry, nor could they stop this army from entering.

There is also a hidden reason, which makes Cang Ci not want to get into trouble with the Zhang family.

He is not from Hexi.

After the implementation of the Wei State's policy of "ruling the border by people from the border", all the powerful leaders of the Haoyou or Qianghu tribes in Zhangye County secretly stared at him, the prefect of other places.

I hope that one day, I can find an opportunity to replace it.

Now, it is a good opportunity for Zhang Hua to send troops into the country.

Once Cang Ci clashed with Zhang Hua's eldest son, those nobles would bring their own private soldiers and use "outsider bullying" as an excuse to mobilize the scholars and kill Cang Ci.

Afterwards, he joined forces with the right and the right of the counties to file a letter, framing the crime and blaming Cangci for the incident.

There is no need to question whether the scholars in the county are in chaos.

They are more willing to trust the Zhang family who has praised Xichuan for decades than Cangci, who has served as the prefect for several years.

There is no need to question whether Luoyang Temple, Yongliang Governor Sima Yi, or Yang Fu and Jia Xu believe it.

At the beginning of the Great War between the Han and Wei Dynasties, no one would tilt the balance of victory or defeat by causing the rear to fall into turmoil for a prefect who was massacred by the county's common people.

Therefore, even though Cang Ci was furious and his fingernails pierced deeply into his palm, he still acquiesced to Zhang Hua's shameless act.

The Zhang family is willing to guard the valley road, so let's guard it!
I, Zhangye County, will not produce a grain supply!
Cang Ci was indignant.

Immediately, he changed his mind again.

The reason why the Zhang family came here was that the envoy Yang and General Jia asked the Zhang family to jointly send troops to resist. They used the turmoil in the county and the Hu Qi knocking on the customs in the Western Regions as an excuse. So this time I found a leisurely place to guard, is it right to cover up my shame?
Well, maybe.

Thinking of this, Cang Ci's heart calmed down a little.

He also wrote some ink and asked the messenger to go to Guzang, Wuwei County, to inform Yang Fu and Jia Xu of the Zhang family's actions.

(End of this chapter)