Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 921 Northern Border Patrol
Lu Xun knew that he was good at naval warfare, but he knew that he was far behind in land warfare. What's more, most of the generals in the city were Yuan Shu's old generals. Tai Shi Ci was the only one who could really turn the tide, and the manpower was still quite tight. .

After thinking for a long time, he sent some of Yuan Shu's former generals to lead some soldiers upstream along the Huai River to support Xinye from the flanks. However, he could not decide how to help him in Jiangdong's attack on Jiangxia, so he had to send a message to Youzhou.

The letter was delivered to Jicheng, then transferred from Jicheng to Daijun, and then to Bingzhou. It took a month for the letter to come and go.

At this time, nearly three months had passed since Yuan Xi sent troops. During this period, his progress was not very fast. He only occupied the northern part of Yanmen County and part of Dingxiang County to the west. He is now moving toward March on the border of Yunzhong County in the west.

Yuan Xi was also helpless. He knew that the Bingzhou grassland was difficult to fight, but he did not expect it to be so difficult, especially in the rainy season in spring. The roads on the grassland were muddy, and it was difficult to follow the grain road logistics, let alone carry luggage. superior.

The conflict between the Hu and Han border people has been simmering for hundreds of years, and many of them did not trust the Han court. This situation was extremely troublesome, and Yuan Xi spent a lot of time to stabilize people's hearts.

If he uses simple and crude methods, he will certainly speed up the march, but if he arouses resistance from the Hu people, he will only lay a minefield for himself. Therefore, after Yuan Xi laid down a ground, he first did a good job of appeasing the local residents and waiting for the local residents to live. After returning to normal, he began to plan for his next goal.

This approach of seeking stability is undoubtedly the best choice at the moment, but it also frustrated Yuan Xi's hope of launching a blitzkrieg. After spending almost the entire spring to capture two counties, Yuan Xi finally gave up the idea of ​​a quick victory. With my mind in mind, I began to take steps step by step.

As for the outcome of the battle in Jingzhou, he really had no choice or strength to take care of both. What made him even more headache was Lu Lingqi's situation.

Although Lu Lingqi is in good health and has not had any adverse reactions so far, Yuan Xi is always worried and has been persuading Lu Lingqi to return to Youzhou to raise her baby. However, this suggestion was rejected by Lu Lingqi. She said: "Lay down Yunzhong , this is Wuyuan County, the hometown of the Lu family, how can I give up halfway at this time? "

"If I wasn't there when Wuyuan was conquered, how would my children have the dignity to establish themselves in Wuyuan in the future?"

Lu Lingqi behaved like a stubborn donkey, which gave Yuan Xi a headache. He had no choice but to ask Hua Tuo to persuade her. As a result, Hua Tuo chuckled and said, "My thoughts are not the same as your lord's."

This is a border fortress camp built during the Qin and Han Dynasties, similar to the military towns of the Song and Ming Dynasties in later generations. After hundreds of years of inaction in the Eastern Han Dynasty, these border towns have been almost completely abandoned. Now what Yuan Xi has to do is to renovate and connect them. The migrating Hu and Han border residents settled there as a means of coping with the invasion of the Waihu.

Yuan Xi nodded slightly. Shuofang is the northwestmost county in Bingzhou. The situation is extremely complicated. Not only is it related to the infiltration of foreign Xianbei forces, but to the west is the eastern part of Liangzhou, which is the territory of the Qiang people.

Lu Lingqi leaned her head on Yuan Xi's arms and said softly: "This is not easy. Even if Wuyuan is captured, and the most troublesome Shuofang is still there, it is truly a no-nonsense zone."

"I know you want to share my worries, but I would rather you live a long life even if you don't make any achievements."

After Hua Tuo left, Yuan Xi supported Lu Lingqi, looked at her slightly bulging belly, and sighed: "You are the woman who has been with me the longest in these years. I really don't want anything to happen to you."

This is a long-term and huge project, and there are many things that need to be done. For example, after the people settle down, they can no longer focus on grazing. Instead, they must expand cultivated land around the city and cultivate food and cash crops. Only in this way can a growing population trend be formed. .

"The reason for this is that on the one hand, women in the grasslands graze cattle every day, so their bodies get relatively more exercise. On the other hand, the grasslands are sparsely populated and the river water sources are clean, so they are not prone to diseases."

"The living conditions of herdsmen on the grasslands are much worse than those of women in the Central Plains, but there is not much difference in the mortality rate between the two sides."

Yuan Xi sighed: "I originally wanted my descendants to stay away from the war, but it seems that we can't hope for hundreds or hundreds of years."

He raised his hand, pointed into the distance, and said to Lu Lingqi: "Sometimes I really want to live a few more decades to see what this place will look like in the future."

Lu Lingqi was moved and said: "My husband understands me. In addition to wanting to revive the Lu family, I also want to share my husband's worries."

And this road is not isolated. The fertile land in the southern Hetao Plain can form vertical communication with the northern city at any time. With this as a support, the five northern counties can form a vertical and horizontal network, thus turning Bingzhou into a The second Youzhou.

However, as long as the fortresses in the five northern counties of Bingzhou are connected to form a direct trade and transportation line to Youzhou, it can improve local living standards. Yuan Xi privately called it a continuous line.

"What the people lack is mostly medical treatment when they are sick. Now that I am with the army, I have discovered many herbs on the grassland that could only be seen in medical books before. I have benefited a lot. I should be able to keep my wife safe now. Please rest assured, lord. "

"So no matter what, I will personally help my husband conquer Wuyuan and give birth to the child in Jiuyuan!"

The two walked out of the camp and looked out at the endless grassland. However, there were sparse black spots standing on the horizon. Soldiers and civilians were walking through it carrying soil and hoeing.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi had no choice but to accept this reality, but he did not notice that Lu Lingqi secretly made a gesture of appreciation to Hua Tuo from behind. Obviously, Lu Lingqi had already bribed Hua Tuo.

"My husband placed his headquarters in Jicheng with the intention of protecting the gateway to the Central Plains. The Wuyuan area of ​​Yanmen is also an important gateway for foreigners to go south. Of course, it also needs people to protect it."

"That's it. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Let's just do our best."

The Qiang people have always been a stubborn problem in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there is a deep hatred between the Qiang people and the Han court. The frequent outbreaks of Qiang rebellions still show no signs of being resolved. Coupled with the rebellious Southern Xiongnu, today's Shuofang County has become a Sifang County. A wrestling area.

It is easy to fight a war, but difficult to deal with the aftermath. It is very difficult to conquer a place and stabilize the local people. It does not mean that you can convince people of different ethnic groups if you have superior strength. The subsequent governance is a big problem. question.

Yuan Xi shook his head, thinking that the initial integration of the Hu-Han border people within thirty years was his most optimistic estimate.

While he was talking to Lu Lingqi, someone reported that Shouchun had received a letter. Yuan Xi opened the silk book, read it, and said to Lu Lingqi: "Cao Cao's actions were expected, but Jiangdong is so eager to send troops, which is really ironic. Lu Lingqi smiled and said, "Mrs. Wu's second son is young and energetic. As a foster father, you will have to take good care of him in the future."

Yuan Xi was quite embarrassed, "What kind of foster father? Don't talk nonsense. I'm not a foster father."

Lu Lingqi covered her mouth and smiled: "My husband just keeps Mrs. Wu in Jiangdong like this? Can you bear it?"

"Sooner or later, my husband will welcome Mrs. Wu back. By then, won't Sun Quan be my husband's adopted son?"

Yuan Xi felt a chill, "This thing sounds unreliable. I'll talk about it later. Why has Sun Li been out for several days and hasn't come back yet?"

He had previously sent Sun Li to lead troops to patrol the northern border of Dingxiang County to stop the Xianbei horse thieves who were constantly invading Bingzhou to plunder. But after all, it was time to come back. Maybe something happened, right?

At this time, Sun Li was galloping on his horse, with the bow in his hand fully drawn, aiming at the fleeing horse thief in front of him. The horse thief changed his route several times, but Sun Li was not affected at all. He looked accurately, and loosened his grip. The arrow flew out from the string, hit the horse thief's vest, and shot him off his horse.

The soldiers behind Sun Li cheered loudly. They chased this small group of Xianbei horse thieves for a whole day and night, and finally shot them all.

Sun Li's soldier got off his horse, cut off the head of the Xianbei horse thief, and raised it to hand to Sun Li. Sun Li shook his head and said, "You can keep it. The horses will dislike the hair hanging around their necks."

Xianbei is also called Suolu, which means a Tatar with braids, with his hair hanging down the left side. It is not braided and braided, nor is it shaved in front and braided in the back. There are many braids, which look like the dirty braids of later generations.

This is also related to the cold climate in the North. When it is cold, you have to wear a fur hat. In order to make it easier to wear a hat, you have to shave your hair. However, the Han people in the North tie their hair and do not shave. The characteristics of the two are very obvious, so the people in the North are Hu and Han. , can be seen at a glance.

Sun Li and his men walked back for half a day, and they met a small river ahead. Everyone cheered and wanted to get off their horses to fetch water for cooking, but Sun Li said: "No hurry, we will patrol upstream and downstream for fifteen miles each. See if there are any traces of enemies."

Everyone followed the order and left, and soon came back to say that they had not found anything. Sun Li nodded and asked everyone to set up the iron pot to fetch water, light two coals under it, and start cooking.

The guard next to him lit the fire and said, "This thing is really easy to use. Otherwise, most of the time on the grassland, we can only eat dried meat."

Someone agreed: "Indeed, if this coal is available on the grassland, the firewood problem will be solved."

Some people wondered: "This thing is not found in the mountains. Can it be found on the grassland?"

Sun Li recalled what Yuan Xi had said to him and said: "There are grasslands, and there are many of them. As long as we can find them, everything will not be a problem."

"The most troublesome thing is the mining method. It's easy to dig a pit, but it's not easy to mine it safely. If you don't pay attention, it will collapse. It can be said that there is no life."

His personal guard said: "Is this what the boss said to me from my lord?"

"My lord seems to know everything. He really seems like a real person sent by God."

Sun Li smiled and scolded: "Now my lord doesn't want others to call him a real person. You should be careful what you say."

"He said that as long as you study for free, you can learn these things, and your children will have opportunities in the future."

The guard smiled and said: "The boss seems to be right. I followed him out to fight, not for the sake of my child being able to stand out in the future."

Someone next to me joked: "I have been fighting for several years. Don't get addicted to fighting. What if you don't come home and your sister-in-law runs away with someone else?"

The guard turned red in the face and cursed: "You have a bad mouth, so take care of your wife first. Don't make a mistake on the battlefield and make her a widow!"

The man smiled playfully and said, "Can you just take care of me then?"

The guard was stunned: "How come there is such a shameless person like you?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Sun Li looked at the boiling rice porridge in the pot and shook his head. He couldn't help but think of his mother and wife in Jicheng. How are they doing now?

Suddenly his ears perked up and he said, "Someone is coming!"

His personal guard quickly put his ears to the ground, then his expression changed and he said: "North, there are many horses coming from the north!"

"This is either a herd of wild horses or a large number of cavalry!"

(End of this chapter)