Ji Han Liu Zhang

Han Sui died, Song Jian died. The two heroes who had dominated Liang Province for more than ten years died one after another in Fuhan. With their deaths, the sins and mistakes they had committed also disappeared.

However, after their deaths, the treatment they received was very different. Song Jian was beheaded and his head was hung on the top of the city wall for public display, while Han Sui's body was kept intact and buried by two of his former officials, Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing.

Outside the current city of Fuhan, Cheng Gongying glanced at the low tomb in front of him. The tombstone was extremely crude, but the words on the tombstone were graceful and elegant, with an indescribable style. The tombstone was inscribed with "The Tomb of General Han Gongsui of Anqiang of the Han Dynasty".

Looking at the six big characters "Great Han General Anqiang", Cheng Gongying suddenly remembered Han Sui's request to him before his death yesterday afternoon. Han Sui felt quite regretful about his life and asked him to write the words "Great Han General Anqiang" on the tombstone so that he would not bear the name of traitor in the underworld.

Thinking of Han Sui's repentance before his death, Cheng Gongying felt a little sad, with tears streaming down his eyes. He pulled up his sleeves to wipe them once or twice, and then continued to scatter the yellowed paper money.

Yan Xing, who was tall and strong with a majestic appearance, made the same movements as Cheng Gongying. He grabbed a handful of paper money from the basket and threw it into the sky. The paper money fluttered in the breeze and finally fell on Han Sui's grave.

After Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing scattered the paper money, they poured a few glasses of wine one after another, kowtowed once or twice, then mounted their horses and prepared to leave.

Before riding away, Cheng Gongying glanced sideways at Han Sui's grave and said his final farewell to his former master. Then he put away the sad look on his face and rode away with Yan Xingfei.

Just when Cheng Gongying was burying and offering sacrifices to Han Sui, in the county temple of Fuhan.

Peng Ying, the military officer, was not without emotion: "Although Han Sui was a traitor, he was also a hero, and he was supported by his subordinates. For example, Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing requested to bury Han Sui... Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing did not avoid taboos and honored their former master Han Sui with posthumous honors. They are rare loyal and righteous men."

"Yeah." Liu Zhang nodded, and he glanced at the window frame filled with sunlight, with a sigh in his expression. The scholars of the Han Dynasty were honest and sincere, and most of them were loyal and righteous. In this atmosphere, those who did not forget their former masters were the most recognized by the scholars.

Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing, the two newly surrendered people, did not avoid Han Sui because of his identity as a traitor, but served Han Sui from beginning to end, serving him during his lifetime and seeing him off after his death. It is no wonder that people like Peng Ying, who had such high standards, praised Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing.

"My lord, you have been able to get this one civil and one military, and to bring Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing under your command. I should congratulate you." Peng Ying said with a smile, and then he added: "Of course, this is just a small happy event. For a big happy event, I should congratulate you for settling Longyou and pacifying Liangzhou."

Liu Zhang's face was as calm as water, and no expression could be seen. He only replied: "Although Han Sui and Song Jian are dead, the strong bandits in Liangzhou have been eliminated, but the bandits, big and small, in all directions still need to be dealt with one by one."

Peng Ying nodded in agreement. He sighed and said, "Your Excellency is right. Although Han Sui and Song Jian have been killed, many Qiang and Hu tribes in Liang Province are still rampant and do not take the laws of the court seriously. Although the Qiang and Hu are shocked by your military feat of killing Han Sui and Song Jian, they dare not make any big moves. But if the army leaves, the Qiang and Hu will be in trouble again without the strong soldiers to suppress them."

"It is easy to pacify Han and Song, but difficult to eliminate the Qiang and Hu." Liu Zhang gave a summary statement. The Qiang Rebellion in Liangzhou began after the Qiang people migrated to Longyou at the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Qiang Rebellion lasted for a long time. Now, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty was almost over, but the Qiang Rebellion still lingered in Liangzhou like a stubborn scabies.

Liu Zhang vaguely remembered that during the Cao Wei and Western Jin dynasties, there were large-scale Qiang rebellions in Liangzhou, which disturbed the prefectures and counties and caused unrest in all directions. As such, how to govern Liangzhou and ensure long-term peace and stability in Liangzhou was a headache for Liu Zhang and a test of his governance skills.

"Did Wu Ziyuan deliver any military reports?" Liu Zhang asked.

Peng Ying shook his head when he heard this. "General Wu's last military report was delivered last night. He said that he had already arrived near Shaodang's headquarters and was about to lead his troops to attack and kill this group of rebellious Qiang and Hu. However, we still need to wait for General Wu's report on the situation."

"Yeah." Liu Zhang nodded. In an era without radios or cell phones, patience was a very important virtue. Without patience, it was useless to get angry. After all, the transmission of information and the exchange of intelligence depended on horsepower, which could not fly.

Just when Liu Zhang was about to stop discussing with Peng Ying and was looking through the documents piled up on the desk, the voice of Zheng Du was heard from outside the door.

"Big win, big win."

Zheng Du walked in from outside with a joyful voice. He first bowed to Liu Zhang with a cheerful look in his eyes, and then handed a military document to Liu Zhang's desk, while he kept talking.

"Mingsir, General Wu sent someone to announce the victory. He has now wiped out Shao Dang's troops, killed his leader Shao Dang, killed more than a thousand young and strong Qiang and Hu people in battle, and captured more than 5,000 Qiang and Hu people. As for the details of the battle, you can take a look at the documents."

The news reported by Zheng Du were all the contents of the Lu Bu Fei Jie. However, he did not know the details of the course of the battle, how Wu Yi advanced, how he won, and who suddenly killed the leader of Shao Dang's army. After all, he was not qualified to open the document package of details handed by Wu Yi, and had to hand it to Liu Zhang for his Minggong to read.

Liu Zhang glanced at the seal of the document bag and saw that it was intact. He then tore open the bag, took out the silk cloth from the bag, and carefully read the words on the silk cloth. As he read, a smile gradually appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Wu Ziyuan's raid caught the Shaodang tribe off guard and wiped out the entire Shaodang clan. He made a great contribution. Gan Xingba was unparalleled in breaking through the enemy's formation and beheaded the leader of the Shaodang tribe. He was credited with breaking through the enemy's formation and beheading the general. His contribution was also not small." After reading the text on the silk cloth, Liu Zhang handed the cloth to everyone and praised Wu Yi and Gan Ning at the same time.

After reviewing the document, Peng Ying and Zheng Du both bowed and congratulated Liu Zhang, saying, "The Shaodang tribe has been destroyed, and there is one less potential threat to Liangzhou."

"Yes." Liu Zhang agreed with great enthusiasm. Since he conquered Fuhuan and killed Han Sui and Song Jian, his reputation had been feared by the barbarians. The Qiang and Hu tribes in Liangzhou sent envoys to express their submission, including the Qiang and Hu tribes that had helped Han Sui in Xiangwu City.

Liu Zhang did not accept the surrender of the Qiang and Hu tribes. He knew a famous saying: "The barbarians are not of our race, their hearts must be different. When they are strong, they will be robbers. When they are weak, they will be submissive and disregard kindness. This is their nature." So he knew that the Qiang and Hu's current submissiveness did not mean that they were convinced by him, but that they were simply afraid of his powerful military force.

But if Liu Zhang did not have strong soldiers, would the Qiang and Hu still be so submissive? The answer to this question has long been determined in history. The Five Barbarians, Khitan, Jurchen... many other ethnic groups gave the same answer, that is, not only would they not be submissive, but they would oppress and bully the Han people. Today, I call on King Ran because the Qiang and Hu are rampant again.

Liu Zhang recalled Ran Min, the terminator of the Jie Hu, so he killed all the envoys sent by the Qiang Hu tribes who had participated in the previous rebellion, and dispatched a large army to wipe out these Qiang Hu tribes that had rebelled and cleaned up the territory of Liangzhou.

As for the reason for such brutal behavior, Liu Zhang had a very legitimate reason, that is, these Qiang and Hu tribes had participated in rebellion, and the rebels should be exterminated with three clans. Although these Qiang and Hu tribes later sent envoys to surrender, it did not mean that Liu Zhang would accept the surrender.

Of course, it was not Liu Zhang's prejudice against other races that led him to act so cruelly and wipe out the Qiang and Hu tribes. Rather, he would go east to conquer the Central Plains in the future and needed a peaceful rear area. However, if these Qiang and Hu tribes had rebelled once, there was a high probability that they would rebel again in the future, and no one could predict this.

Thinking about the future, Liu Zhang did not want to leave any trouble for himself in Liang Province, so he did such a cruel thing. However, such a thing that undermined his benevolence received a strong response from his civil and military officials.

From the eyes of his civil and military officials, Liu Zhang knew one thing, that is, the barbarians were ugly and no different from beasts. The civil and military officials all regarded the barbarians as beasts, and no matter how excessive they were, they would not have any moral burden.

In addition, Liu Zhang only killed the Qiang and Hu tribes that had rebelled. In the eyes of the civil and military officials, all Qiang and Hu could be killed, without distinguishing between those who had rebelled and those who had not. Liu Zhang was still "a little too lenient" in his actions, and he had to be "strictly cautious" in dealing with the Qiang and Hu.

"What do you plan to do with the captured Qiang and Hu people? Will you kill them all and build a memorial to intimidate the remaining Qiang and Hu tribes?" asked the little poisoner Zheng Dushang, looking eager to try.

Liu Zhang thought about it for a while, and then gave his answer: "Liangzhou has suffered from the Qiang for a long time. The roads are not repaired and the cities are dilapidated. It is probably because of the Qiang and Hu. Let's leave it to these Qiang and Hu to repair it."

"You are so kind, sir." Zheng Du sighed, and after pondering for a while, he added: "You are right, sir! These Qiang and Hu people committed unforgivable crimes in the past. It would be too easy for them to be killed like this. Let them make up for their mistakes."

"Your Excellency is wise, far superior to us." Peng Ying nodded and praised.

……

In the next month or so, Liu Zhang, surrounded by more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, inspected various parts of Liangzhou. At the same time, his elite soldiers and generals were dispatched to clean up the territory of Liangzhou and kill the Qiang and Hu tribes that refused to submit. For a time, the wailing of the Qiang and Hu tribes resounded throughout Longyou.

During this period, the Qiang and Hu people, unwilling to be slaughtered, organized two larger coalition forces in an attempt to resist. However, under the attack of Liu Zhang's elite soldiers and generals, they were like bubbles stirred up by the sea water on the summer beach, bursting and disappearing in an instant under the scorching summer sun, without a trace.

When Liu Zhang finished clearing the Qiang and Hu tribes in Liangzhou, more than 10,000 young and strong Qiang and Hu tribes were killed, and more than 30,000 Qiang and Hu tribes were taken prisoner. The prisoners were lucky enough to survive for a while, and what awaited them was extremely heavy labor, such as building roads, repairing bridges, and digging ditches and rivers for water diversion. All kinds of hard labor were wearing away their lives and numbers.

Many of the Qiang and Hu prisoners were unwilling to perform heavy and arduous labor, and several small-scale Qiang and Hu riots occurred during this period. However, in front of the well-armored, well-equipped, and well-rested Shu army, the Qiang and Hu riots were nothing more than massacres again and again.

After several attempts at resistance, all of which ultimately failed and the leading Qiang and Hu people were torn to pieces by five horses, they lost the courage to resist and obediently did the heavy labor, repairing bridges and roads, digging ditches and rivers, contributing to the prosperity of Liangzhou and atonement for their past mistakes.

Due to heavy labor and lack of food, the number of Qiang and Hu prisoners decreased little by little over time. By the end of September, when the harsh autumn was about to pass and the bitter winter was about to come, half of the more than 30,000 Qiang and Hu prisoners were gone. The other half who died either could not endure the labor and illness, or died in the resistance.

However, the efforts of Qiang and Hu were also rewarded accordingly, such as the roads in Liangzhou were repaired, the cities in Liangzhou were maintained, and the ditches for irrigation in Liangzhou were dredged. However, Qiang and Hu had no chance to enjoy these rewards, and only the Han people in Liangzhou were eligible to enjoy these rewards.

The Qiang and Hu people carried their burdens forward, while the Han people lived a peaceful life. This was the scene that appeared in Liangzhou.

In Ji County, Liu Zhang is currently stationed here, handling affairs of the four directions.

"It is said that the Qiang and Hu people live by the water and grass and do not engage in production. But now it seems that it is a big mistake." Zheng Du said happily to Peng Ying.

"That's right." Peng Ying nodded, expressing his agreement: "Now these Qiang and Hu are doing a good job of repairing bridges and roads and dredging ditches. It shows that Qiang and Hu are also capable of craftsmanship."

The two of them were talking and laughing, their lips moving, and every time they moved, hundreds of Qiang and Hu souls were wailing.

Soon, Peng Ying and Zheng Du arrived at the entrance of the county temple's lobby. They straightened their clothes, put away the smiles on their faces, and then stepped into the lobby.

As soon as he entered the hall, Peng Ying noticed that the atmosphere inside was somewhat cheerful. After he sat down, he asked, "What's the good news?"

Fa Zhengzheng smiled and said, "News came from Hexi that Wuwei Governor Zhang Meng and Yongzhou Governor Handan Shang were not on good terms and had a grudge against each other. They led their troops to attack Wuwei. Handan Shang was no match for Zhang Meng and was defeated and captured. He was imprisoned by Zhang Meng."

"Wonderful." Peng Ying clapped his hands, and a smile also appeared on his face. Wuwei Governor Zhang Meng and Yongzhou Governor Handan Shang were both official officials appointed by the court. They had no reason to attack Hexi before, but now that Zhang Meng and Handan Shang had led their troops to attack each other and committed illegal acts, it would be natural for them to march into Hexi. In this way, they could extend their sphere of influence to Hexi. (End of this chapter)