Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 964 A Hundred Years of Qiang Rebellion
Yuan Xi naturally understood that Cao Cao had good intentions when he declared that he had become an official. This was obviously pouring dirty water on himself, but he couldn't do anything now.

At this time, Yuan Xi led his troops back to Wuyuan. He originally wanted to persuade Lu Lingqi to take her children back to Youzhou, but he stayed temporarily because of the arrival of two groups of envoys.

A group of people were sent by Bu Dugen. After he learned that Yuan Xi had captured Taiyuan and pacified the southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou, he sent envoys to congratulate him and at the same time wanted to discuss the details of mutual trade between the two sides.

Compared with this time, the attitude of the envoy was more respectful. After all, whether it was luxury goods or necessities that Xianbei wanted outside the Great Wall, they had to go through the Jinyang Commercial Road. Yuan Xi occupied Bingzhou and completely controlled the initiative of trade outside the Great Wall. .

Yuan Xi was very cautious about trade with Xianbei outside the customs. Whether or how much important tools and weapons were provided would affect the future situation of the frontier fortress. So Yuan Xi entertained the envoys for a few days, and after comforting them, he sent the envoys away. Jinyang went to Tian Yu to discuss the details.

Another group of people, somewhat beyond Yuan Xi's expectation, were the Qiang people from Longxi, Hexi.

The Qiang people are also called Xirong. Their historical origins can be traced back to Dayu's flood control. According to records, Yu flourished in Xiqiang. Many Qiang people who assisted Dayu in flood control moved inland to the south of the Yellow River, forming many kingdoms with the surname Jiang. King Wu The Qiang people sent troops to help the Zhou army when they conquered Zhou. Later, the Qin State opened up thousands of miles of land and dominated Xirong. The Qiang people could only develop in the Hehuang area.

The so-called Hehuang refers to the Yellow River and Huangshui. The Hehuang area was also called Qiangzhong, and its location was near Qinghai in later generations.

In the early days, the Qiang people were mainly nomadic. Later, they obtained farming technology from the Qin Dynasty, and gradually changed to half farming and half pastoralism, adopting a lifestyle of lowland farming and highland animal husbandry.

Yuan Xi is now implementing this method in Bingzhou. In terms of economic population growth and war mobilization capabilities, it is much higher than that of pure nomads. Therefore, the population of the Qiang people grew extremely fast during the Western Han Dynasty, reaching as many as There are more than 150 tribes, and the largest tribe has more than 200,000 people.

Everyone's eyes lit up, and someone said: "May I ask the envoy, can this wine be sold in the caravan's cargo?"

When Yuan Xi thought of the situation in the northern border fortress, he felt extremely headache, because the safety of the northern area all depended on the relationship with the Hu people and the Qiang people, from Wuhuan and Dongzhong Xianbei in Youzhou to Xianbei and Nanbei in Bingzhou. The Xiongnu, and further to the southwest are the Qiang people.

However, due to complex conflicts, the Qiang people have been at war with the Han court since the Western Han Dynasty, with both sides winning and losing. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo adopted the frontier fortress and farmland system, which effectively suppressed the Qiang rebellion.

However, the practices of the officials of the Eastern Han Dynasty did not change accordingly. They adopted high-pressure measures and provoked Qiang rebellions several times. Although there were examples of Deng Xun, the governor of Zhangye, adopting a gentle policy and winning the favor of the Qiang people. Generally speaking, the Eastern Han Dynasty's Powerful local officials mostly resorted to expropriation and expropriation, which led to continuous rebellions between the Eastern and Western Qiang and became a thorn in the side of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The territory occupied by the Dong Qiang to the west of Bingzhou had strong folk customs and a mixture of Hu and Han people. It was extremely famous in later generations, especially from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as the Guanlong area. The gentry born here were called the Guanlong gentry.

There is a very famous Guanlong Ancient Road in the Guanlong area, which runs from Longxian to Guguan and then to Zhangjiachuan. It is an important passage into Liangzhou. If Yuan Xi wants to capture Liangzhou in the future, he will have to fight with the people who live here. Dealing with the Qiang tribe.

There are many reasons why Dong Qiang chose Yuan Xi. The most important point is that with the expansion of Yuan Xi in Bingzhou, the territory has been connected with the Qiang people, so Dong Qiang has to face Yuan Xi. The fact of being a neighbor.

There were many tribal representatives in the mission, with strange names, including Niaowu, Qie Dong, Fu Nan, Quan Wu, Wu Liang, etc. The leader of the group, Shaodang Lihe, was from a branch of the Shaodang tribe of the Qiang people. At its peak, He often plundered the Han Dynasty, but he was quite respectful towards Yuan Xi. After all, Yuan Xi's reputation in the North was not gained through talk, but was built purely through battles.

Yuan Xi just touched a little to his lips and then put it down. He smiled and said: "This wine was improved by the craftsmen when I was in Youzhou. It is more mellow and fragrant than the previous wine. If you are willing, you can take more back. ”

Liu Xiu's approach seems to be no problem in isolation, but he ignores another fact, that is, the Han people in Bingliang's border areas suffered a significant decrease in population due to the wars during the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty. After the Qiang people moved in, they quickly occupied the local area. The main body of the population.

Yuan Xi naturally wanted to fight for the Dong Qiang, because the Xiqiang was now under the control of Ma Teng and Han Sui.

In the end, the Qiang Rebellion, which lasted for a hundred years, brought down the economy of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In order to suppress the Qiang Rebellion, the Han court supported the Liangzhou wealthy families, which led to the birth of the Liangzhou warlords, who in turn sounded the note of burial for the Eastern Han Dynasty court.

But with the fall of Wang Mang and the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, in order to weaken the threat of the Qiang people, moved a large number of Qiang people in the Hehuang area eastward to the vicinity of the East China Sea in the Liangzhou area, which was called the Eastern Qiang. Those who stayed in the Hehuang area It is called Xiqiang.

The representatives of the Qiang people raised the wine bowl and saw that the wine in the porcelain bowl was quite clear, which was very different from the turbid wine they had bought from the Central Plains before. They put it to their mouths and drank, and their eyes immediately lit up.

The people who came to contact Yuan Xi were the joint missions of the Eastern Qiang tribes. As for the Qiang people, Yuan Xi actually wanted to win over them. After all, their culture and traditions originated from the same origin as those in the Central Plains, and they were deeply loved by them. Chinese cultural influence.

Yuan Xi could see that the representatives of the mission were in awe and wary of him, and there was also a hint of natural resistance. After all, Yuan Xi first became famous in the world, largely due to his defeat of Li Jue and Guo Si, who was born in Liangzhou. Ma Teng, Han Sui and others.

During the era of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, the Sanming of Liangzhou quelled the Qiang rebellion. However, during the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban uprising and the Western Qiang rebelled again. Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the Western Qiang were closely related, so they took advantage of the war to separate Liangzhou and became vassals.

In this regard, Yuan Xi attached great importance to the incoming envoys. He received them with high etiquette and invited the envoys to visit Youzhou.

Moreover, the Qiang people and the Han court have been at war for hundreds of years, but neither side is actually willing to continue the war. What the two sides lack now is an opportunity for peace talks.

Now Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun are sitting at the top, with more than 20 tribal representatives below. Yuan Xi raised his bowl and said: "You have come from afar and are honored guests when you come to my place. I give you a bowl."

Looking at everyone's expectant eyes, Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Of course, why not?"

"I can even teach you how to make wine. The food grown in the Hetao Plain may not be any worse than that in Youzhou."

"I believe that if you learn the method, you will definitely make better wine than this." Everyone looked ecstatic at first, and then they all suppressed their expressions. They have a long history of dealing with the Central Plains, and of course they know that nothing is free.

Shaodangli Hedang spoke first and said, "May I ask the envoy, what is the price?"

Yuan Xi knew what the Qiang people were wary of, so he sat up straight and said seriously: "I know you don't really trust the Han people, otherwise Bingliang would still be like this today."

"I can't comment on who is right and wrong in the past few hundred years, but from my personal point of view, it is indeed unfair to you that some of the previous measures taken by the court were unfair."

Everyone in Dong Qiang was a little shocked. They had never seen a Han prince say openly that the imperial court was not good, let alone the head of a big family like the Yuan family!
Shaodangli He tempted: "As a Han Chinese, you are not afraid of being criticized for saying this?"

Yuan Xi shook his head and said: "I am a person who talks about reason first, then looks at the position, and finally the bloodline."

"If Emperor Ling hadn't lost his way, it wouldn't have led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which would have brought so much poison to the world. Even the emperor would make mistakes. There's nothing to be afraid of."

This was a naked remark against the traitors, but the faces of the people in Dongqiang showed some relief. Regardless of whether Yuan Xi's words were true or false, at least he sent a signal of goodwill to them!
Shaodangli He tempted: "Then what will the envoy do to our tribe in the future?"

"What do we need to do for you?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I like your habit of speaking directly."

"Before that, would you like to hear what I want to do?"

After everyone heard this, they all sat upright and listened with their ears pricked up.

Yuan Xi slowly said: "The history of the Qiang people has been thousands of years, and they are actually from the same origin as the Han people."

"While the Han Dynasty has been in power for hundreds of years, the contradiction between the Qiang and Han has not been resolved, but has intensified. The main conflicts and disputes are caused by the inaction of the superiors and the misbehavior of local officials."

"I like history very much, and one of my wives is also a history compiler. From this, I also learned that the Qiang people were indeed treated unfairly in their history."

"This may not be the emperor's original intention, but the emperor has not fulfilled his responsibility to understand the powerful locals who do evil."

"So when I first brought peace to the world, I made it my ambition to go to every county in the world to see with my own eyes and hear your voices with my own ears."

"So I came to Bingzhou. Some people in Xianbei outside the Guan Dynasty wanted to do harm to me. Of course I would fight back. So after the two battles, the two sides can sit down and talk."

"The same is true for the Southern Xiongnu. If they were living and working in peace and contentment in Bingzhou, I would not send troops. However, they have been violating the border and plundering the Central Plains, so I can only take action."

"As for you, I hope that we can negotiate in front of the table and become friends, instead of having to meet each other on the battlefield."

Who among the Qiang people is willing to fight you?
Those die-hards from the Southern Huns were beaten to the point of annihilation!
Yuan Xi continued: "In fact, many of the conflicts between the Han and Qiang people are caused by problems between officials on both sides."

"There are Han court officials who enrich themselves and do evil things, and there are tribal leaders on the Qiang side who coerce the people into rebellion. In the final analysis, it is caused by a few people on both sides who are greedy and want to obtain benefits that do not belong to them."

"And the only ones who really suffer are the vast majority of innocent people."

"I know there may also be tribal leaders who are here today. I am not targeting anyone in particular, but please think about it, what form should we take in the future so that we can coexist?"

For more than a year, Yuan Xi gradually realized some truth through dealing with Xianbei and the Huns.

Ethnic conflicts are extremely complicated, and the practice of buying high-level officials will only suppress them for a while. Sooner or later, the situation will worsen again due to the replacement of leaders.

So he wanted to try to use class contradictions to resolve national conflicts.

Of course, this first step is quite difficult. After all, the representatives of the Qiang people who are talking to him are not ordinary people. They are nobles in the tribe who have the power to speak.

This is tantamount to allowing them to rebel against themselves.

(End of this chapter)