Fenghou

Chapter 1363 Unfinished
Chen Qing led the army to Wuyuan County. After hundreds of years of vicissitudes, only ruins remained of the former county town. Groups of captured herdsmen came dejectedly, followed by their women and children.

At this time, several old men were brought to Chen Qing, knelt down and kowtowed, clasped their palms together and begged bitterly. The soldier next to him translated: "They said that they are all ordinary herdsmen, belonging to the Bai Dadan tribe and the Basimu tribe. Living in the Yinshan area in the north, they were conquered by the Tata and Kelie tribes and became slaves. The Tata and Kelie tribes forcibly moved them here. They were forced to raise sheep and serve as soldiers. Their men were enslaved, and their women They will be humiliated, have no property of their own, and all the hard-working sheep will be eaten by the army, please forgive them, Your Highness."

Chen Qing looked at him for a while and asked, "Are they the leaders?"

After hearing the translation, several elders quickly explained, and the soldier translated: "They said that the chief has been killed, and they are the elders."

"Let them swear to Changshengtian that everything they say is the truth."

The soldier translated it, and several old men knelt down to swear to Changshengtian. The soldier said to Chen Qing, "They swore all poisonous oaths, and they promised Changshengtian that everything they said was true."

At this time, Tang Qian came over and said to Chen Qing: "The humble officials interrogated the herdsmen. They said that they were herdsmen from the Bai Dadan tribe. After being conquered by the Tata tribe, they became military slaves and raised sheep for the army. They were exploited and bullied."

"Have you seen their property?" Chen Qing asked again.

Tang Qian nodded, "I've seen it from a lowly position. The tent is impoverished, and the children's clothes are shabby."

Several old men finished their oath and said to Chen Qing: "This land does not belong to us, please Your Highness to let us return to our homeland."

"How many herders do you have?"

The soldiers translated it, and the elder at the head said: "There are 1 households in total."

Chen Qing nodded, "Each household will give them a hundred sheep, and allow them to pack up their belongings and return to their homeland."

After listening to the translation, several elderly people embraced each other and burst into tears. They knelt down and kowtowed to Chen Qing, expressing their thanks again and again.

Chen Qing said slowly: "The Western Army will not bully the kind people. In the future, if you are bullied by other powerful tribes, you can also go south and join us. I will treat you as my people and buy your sheep so that you can be like other people." Just as well-fed."

Several old men thanked them and went, Tang Qian said in a low voice: "Actually, it's better to keep them. The Helan Mountain Ranch has been empty for now."

"It depends on their willingness! Maybe they are more willing to return to their hometown."

Chen Qing urged his horse to go to the camp.

The Western Army seized tens of thousands of large tents, built their own barracks, and built more than a dozen huge sheep and horse pens. There were 1000 to 200 million sheep. The number was really huge. The soldiers sent most of the sheep back to Lingzhou, leaving only [-] million sheep as rations for more than [-] troops.

The main tent covering an area of ​​three acres has also become Chen Qing's king's tent. In the big tent, Chen Qing said to the generals: "I made two plans before dispatching troops. The first plan is after defeating the nomadic cavalry. Go north to destroy the remnants of the Tata and Kret tribes, but now I have changed my mind. If these two tribes are weakened too much, it will only lead to the resurgence of the Mughal tribes. I think it is better to let them fight each other, at least this After World War I, they dared not go south for ten years."

There was no sound in the big tent, and everyone was looking forward to King Yong's second plan.

Chen Qing said slowly again: "My second plan is to continue eastward to Datong Mansion and seize Yanshan Mansion in one fell swoop!"

There was a burst of cheers in the big tent, this is the good news they have been waiting for for a long time!

The generals dispersed, and the soldiers rushed to find Chen Qingyu and reported: "His Royal Highness, those old men are here again, please see Your Highness!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Let them in!"

Not long after, the soldiers led the five old men into the big tent, and the translation sergeant also arrived. The four old men knelt down and kowtowed, and the old man at the head said: "Your Highness's magnanimity has given us hope for life, and we are all willing to stay as Your Highness." My subjects, please Your Highness include it!"

After listening to the translation, Chen Qing asked lightly, "Why don't you want to go back to your hometown?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the pasture in our hometown has been taken over by a tribe from the Tata tribe. If we go back, there will inevitably be conflicts. We have no power to protect ourselves and will be reduced to slaves again. We would rather submit to Your Highness and become His Highness's people."

Chen Qing nodded, "Being my people is conditional, you must accept it!"

"Your Highness, please tell me!"

The soldiers translated very smoothly, and there were almost no communication barriers between the two sides. Chen Qingwei smiled and said: "I have two conditions. First, you must accept the jurisdiction of the government like other ethnic groups in my territory, such as Qiang people and Uyghurs." , Of course, the government does not want to enslave you, but to put you in the household registration, and you have to pay taxes every year."

"Excuse me, how much tax do we have to pay every year?" Several elderly people asked nervously.

"Not much. For every [-] newborn sheep, you pay the tax of five sheep. It's the same for other ethnic groups, and it's the same for you."

The crowd breathed a long sigh of relief. Compared with the Tata Department requiring them to pay half of the sheep, the sheep tax is very low, and they can completely accept it.

"We do!"

Chen Qing nodded and said: "The second condition is your organizational form. I don't want you to implement the chieftain system. The current elder system is better. I ask you to continue to maintain it."

After listening to the translation, the five elders looked at each other and agreed together: "This is very good, and we are willing to keep it!"

Chen Qing immediately said: "There is a large pasture at the foot of Helan Mountain. It used to be the pasture of the Dangxiang people. At present, there are no tribes there. You can migrate there. Then you go to Lingzhou to file a record with Governor Zhang, and I will give you a letter. , give this letter to Inspector Zhang, and he will arrange your ranch, and you will be under the jurisdiction of the Lingzhou government in the future."

Chen Qing immediately wrote a short message, handed it to the elder, and arranged a local soldier as a guide to take them to the Helan Mountain Ranch.

Several elders thanked me and went.
After resting for three days, Chen Qing reorganized an army of 13, carrying 200 camels, thousands of carts and [-] million sheep, and continued to march eastward along the north bank of the Yellow River.

Ten days later, the army arrived at Datong Mansion, and the governor Yan Jun came to welcome King Yong's army.

The army set up a camp outside Datong City, and Yan Jun took Liu Kun, the head of the Datong Intelligence Sub-Administration, to report to Chen Qing about the situation in Yanshan Mansion.

The Datong Intelligence Sub-Administration is responsible for investigating information on the grasslands and Yanshan Mansion. Yanshan Mansion has a total force of about 7 troops, including [-] Jurchen troops and [-] local Yan troops. The south is close to the Hebei line, and there are basically no garrisons in the north, except for [-] troops stationed at Juyongguan.

"How is the situation of the troops stationed in Yi County?" Chen Qing asked again.

Yi County is the entrance of Feihuxing into Yanshan Mansion, and it is an extremely important strategic location, Liu Kun quickly said: "There are three dangerous passes over there, and [-] local Yan troops are stationed there, and the security is very strict, which is more difficult than Juyong Pass. "

"Can Juyongguan merchants pass the customs?"

Liu Kun nodded, "The trade between the Grassland and Yanshan Mansion is through Juyongguan. As long as you pay taxes, it will be unimpeded!"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and asked again: "Is there an intelligence station for Yanshan Mansion in Datong Mansion?"

Yan Jun next to him replied hesitantly: "We destroyed an intelligence point in Yanshan Mansion last fall, so I don't know if it will be rebuilt now."

Liu Kun added: "If Wanyan Holisa gets the information that His Highness has arrived in Datong Mansion, he will definitely dispatch troops on a large scale, and our intelligence station will also send news. I believe that as long as there is no news of Yanshan Mansion within three days If there is any movement, it means that the other party does not know that His Highness is coming."

Liu Kun's deduction makes sense, Chen Qing nodded and said: "Then the army will rest for a few more days!"

(End of this chapter)