Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 543 He Huang
AD 236, July, Xiping County.

In the early morning, on the bank of Huangshui River, looking around, there are fertile fields and canals.A large number of cavalry pawns galloped out of the western capital city and went upstream along the Huangshui River.

Liu Chan set off from Chengdu on Qingqi in June, instead of passing through Wudu in Hanzhong and arriving in Longyou, he chose places where the Han and Qiang people lived mixed together, and inspected the living conditions of the Qiang people in the Han Dynasty.Therefore, from Yinping, take the Yinping Avenue to Longyou, and then follow the Taoshui to take the Xiping County.

After all, compared to the Neijun area, the Border Commandery of the Han Dynasty and the mixed Han and Qiang areas, Liu Chan has rarely been to it.In order to gain an in-depth understanding and appease the barbarians, Liu Chan specially selected the border for his northern tour, and Xiping was the top priority.

Liu Chan was dressed in a military uniform, which resembled Qiang people's clothing. He took the reins and rode his horse slowly. Pointing at the large fertile fields by the river, he said: "It's located in the western border of the Han Dynasty, where the Qiang people are mixed. Young Chang lived in the county for five years. It is really a great achievement, conquering the north and the south, appeasing the Qiang people, and supplying Yi Cong to the army, it is not easy!"

Ma Di, who was nearly fifty years old, had already had slightly white temples. He looked around and said with emotion: "When I arrived at the county in the ninth year of Jianxing (AD 231), Anliangzhou was in the early Han Dynasty. The farming season was deserted, and the people had nowhere to go. The whole county The people are only about [-] households, and the Qiang people graze in Huangshui, so it is difficult to issue government orders. Today, the Qiang people in Xiping are peaceful..."

Ma Di felt that he wanted to boast and ask for credit, so he changed his tone and said: "This is nothing more than a humble merit, it is actually the duty of a minister, and it is reported to His Majesty as such."

Liu Chan glanced at Ma Su, and saw that there were far more wrinkles on his face than five years ago, when the ruler and his ministers met in Chengdu, and he did not have the same high-spirited expression as before, only his weather-beaten face remained.

Liu Chan took the reins, lowered the horse's speed, and asked: "You have lived on the border for a long time. I deeply appreciate your hard work. There is a vacancy in Qianwei County. I wonder if you want to return to Shu? Or many of the old officials died of illness, and there were no guards. You can be appointed, and you can return to the court."

It is obvious that Liu Chan is compensating Ma Di for his hard work in governing the barbarians for more than ten years, and asked Ma Di to choose one of the two.

At the beginning, Liu Chan threw Ma Di to the barbarian land to rule the county for a long time because of Jieting, and Ma Di did not disappoint Liu Chan.Under his governance, Nanzhong Yue County built a city, and the barbarians were attached, and they were completely classified into the Han land.

Since he served in Xiping County, Ma Di has conquered the Hehuang Qiang people and the barbarians in Wuwei outside because of his status as the guard of the Qiang.

When Zhuge Liang conquered Guanzhong, Ma Di sent thousands of Hehuang righteous sergeants to the Han for help.After pacifying Guanzhong, Qianming He Huangyi was sent from his family to settle in Guanzhong.

It can be said that Ma Di's talent has been thoroughly tempered in the long-term tempering, even if he is the governor of Nanzhong, a big man, he is also competent.

Hearing this, Ma Di felt mixed emotions in his heart. After a long time, he shook his head and said, "I'm only sixty in forty, can draw a bow and shoot a barbarian in martial arts, and can stabilize prefectures and counties. I'm not old yet, so how can I live in the interior. Moreover, if the minister is far away from Xiping, it is not a minister boasting, but now it is the time for employing people, and it is difficult for the court to choose a successor like a minister."

Indeed, as Ma Di said, the Great Han Dynasty had Shuofang to settle in the north, and South and Central to settle in the south.People who are good at governing the barbarians are mostly sent to serve in these two places.It is difficult to choose a person who is good at writing and martial arts like Ma Di.

Today's Ma Di has successfully transferred from civil to martial arts, but he was not the one who forcibly transferred from civil to military during the Battle of Jieting in history.He lived among the barbarians for a long time, and as a literati, he could fight with a sword and bow even when he was on horseback, conquering the Hehuang Qiang people, spreading the might of the great Han.

Liu Chan tugged at the rein and confirmed, "You don't want to be transferred to Xiping?"

Ma Di bowed his hands to the emperor, and said in high spirits: "I heard that Ban Dingyuan abandoned his pen and joined the army. He lived in the Western Regions for [-] years and pacified the countries in the Western Regions for the Later Han Dynasty. Today, the Hehuang Valley is a land of prosperity, and there are hundreds of thousands of Qiang and Di. All the people, in order to prevent the big Han from suffering from elbow and armpits. The minister is willing to follow the example of Ban Dingyuan in governing Hehuang. The mighty Hehuang caused the Qiang people to appease the Qiang people, expand the territory and rebuild Xihai County (now Tianjun County, Qinghai). .”

Liu Chan stopped his horse and said solemnly: "What you said is my long-term concern. The Han and Qiang wars lasted for a hundred years, and the Later Han was overthrown. It is difficult for the Qiang people to disperse. But the land of Hehuang is fertile and good at raising people and animals, so it can be cultivated and herded. If there are barbarians living here for decades and the population grows, it will be a disaster for our great Han Lianglong. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, if it does not fall into our hands, it will be a disaster."

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Huns contacted the Hehuang Qiang people to cause chaos. Therefore, in order to cut off the connection between the Huns and the Qiang people, Huo Qubing conquered thousands of miles west, and the territory of the Han Dynasty touched the Hehuang Valley.After the Huns were expelled from the north, the Western Han Dynasty began to further govern the Hehuang Valley. During this period, the most famous one was Zhao Chongguo and Ping Qiang.The in-depth control of the Hehuang Valley in the Western Han Dynasty made the northwest of the Han Dynasty always peaceful.

In the later Han Dynasty, the Hehuang Qiang people rebelled, and the forces of the Later Han withdrew from the Hehuang Valley, so the northwest of the Later Han Dynasty completely fell into a state of overturning.

If you look at the history of later generations, the same is true. Tang held Hehuang Liangzhou to be stable, and Tang lost Hehuang Liangzhou toppled.Song Kaijiang Hehuang, almost destroyed Xixia.

Liu Chan naturally knew the importance of Hehuang, but because the big man focused on conquering Cao Wei, he couldn't concentrate on governing Hehuang, so he could only let Ma Su work hard here with meager strength.The bald-haired Xianbei, who was related to Liu Chan by marriage, was moved here, and there was also a plan to help Ma Di.

Liu Chan clamped the horse's belly lightly, drove the horse slowly, and asked, "Since you have the idea of ​​governing Hehuang, I don't know if you can submit a plan?"

Since Ma Di has great ambitions, Liu Chan, as a monarch, has to support him.Asking about politics with Ma Su means to be sophisticated, to observe his strategies, to give him varying degrees of support, and to appoint him to an appropriate official position.

Ma Su pondered for a while, and said the strategy in his mind: "I would like to report to your majesty, I will follow the prime minister's strategy to calm down Nanzhong, and make four strategies."

"First, use the barbarians to control the barbarians and divide the barbarians. The Hehuang Qiang people live in the mountains, and the tribes are scattered, and they often kill each other. Therefore, we, the big man, should unite the weak barbarians and conquer the powerful tribes to deepen their hatred. We can also support the pro-Han barbarians, Teach them to farm and let them graze in fertile land. Counties and counties come forward to buy horses instead of them, and if they refuse to obey the barbarians, they can recruit local tribes to cooperate with the Han army to fight."

"Secondly, bestow officials and titles, and conscript Qiang soldiers into the Han Dynasty. The Qiang people are greedy for wealth, and our great Han can use Shu brocade as a reward to the Qiang people. Recruit soldiers among them and send them to the army, thinking that they will fight and weaken the strength of the Qiang people in Hehuang. Perhaps the tribe can be recruited to fight, and if there are many soldiers, they will be rewarded with Shu brocade and promoted to rank."

"The third is to educate the barbarians and increase the number of Han people. The Qiang people can't read and write, so they can make maps to educate the Qiang people. If the Qiang people want to marry Han women, they need to change their surnames, live in the city, and are not allowed to take concubines. Encourage the Han Dingna Qiang women, all the Qiang women obtained in the battle were distributed among the meritorious soldiers as wives and concubines. Within a few years, there were fewer Qiangs and more Hans, and Hehuang general Ning."

"Fourth, send soldiers to dangerous places. If you let the bald Xianbei garrison the Xihai land and control the Xihai Yanchi, they think that they can restrain the Hehuang Qiang people and sell them to the Qiang barbarians, and they can make profits for us."

Ma Di's four strategies dispersed the Qiang barbarians from multiple dimensions, weakened the population of the Qiang barbarians, and strengthened the strength of the Han people themselves.If Ma Di implements these policies for a long time, the Hehuang area may really be completely in the hands of the big man in a few decades.

Liu Chan was very satisfied with Ma Di's answer, it would be a pity if he didn't entrust him with a heavy responsibility!
Hanging his horsewhip, Liu Chan said with a smile, "If you don't dislike the small people in Hehuang, how about succeeding as the governor of Hehuang?" , in order to wait for Qing to expand the territory. The required money will be reported to Chengdu and allocated by Jiang Qing."

Ma Di was overjoyed, and dismounted to salute, saying: "I will live up to your Majesty's high expectations, and I will devote myself to serving the great man with all my heart."

Liu Chan got off his horse to help Ma Di, held his palm, and sighed, "You have great ambitions, but the people of the Han Dynasty need to conquer Wei Wei first, so I am afraid that you will not be able to help you manage Hehuang. Therefore, I entrust you to hold the festival and serve as Hehuang. The governor, and the prefect of Xiping, will entrust the military affairs of Hehuang to Qing in the future."

There is no way that the center of gravity of the big man is in Guanzhong. For Ma Su, a promising big man to stabilize Hehuang, he can only give all support except population.What's more, regardless of Ma Di's qualifications or ability, he can afford the post of governor.

After a pause, Liu Chan continued: "A few years ago, I heard the words of the ruler of the Western Regions that the West Sea can lead to the Western Regions with a way. If you can reopen this way, the merchants of the Han Dynasty will gather in the future, and Hehuang can do it again." This prosperity."

What Liu Chan was talking about was the Qiang Middle Road (Qinghai Road) on the southern route of the Silk Road, from Qinghai to the Western Regions through the Qaidam Basin, opened by Zhang Qian.

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)