At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 245: The fragmented grassland pattern and the coward Maodun

Zhou Zhang thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, you should take the imperial examination after the autumn harvest. Now we are not only short of agricultural officials, but also short of water conservancy and craftsmen. After the autumn harvest, as long as there is a good harvest of food, Guanzhong can feed more people. "

Zhou Zhang is a member of the Huang-Lao School. He just believes that the First Emperor has tormented the world too much, so that the whole world has turned against him. But now that the world has begun to stabilize, it is better not to torment if he can.

Xu Fan felt that it made sense, so he listened to Zhou Zhang's suggestion. It happened that several colleges could be renovated. At that time, there would be a unified examination for big men, and then let farmers and Mohists train them.

April 5, the third year of Han Dynasty.

A piece of good news and a piece of bad news reached the Chang'an court at the same time.

The good news is that Han Xin lived up to Xu Fan's expectations and wiped out the Dong Chu regime cleanly.

Xu Fan appointed Cai Ci as the prefect of Sishui County and Wang Ling as the prefect of Donghai County. At the same time, he ordered Han Xin to escort the nobles and powerful men of Dong Chu and their families to the Yingbo vassal country to reclaim wasteland.

These powerful aristocrats from Donghai County would be a cancer if they stayed in the Han Dynasty, but if they went to England, which was still a wild land, they would be talented people with both military and political talents. This could be considered as making the best use of them.

The bad news is that Zang Tu rebelled in Shanggu County and killed Han Guang, the Shanggu King appointed by Xu Fan. He also sent an envoy to Chang'an City to ask Xu Fan to canonize him as the new Shanggu King.

When Xu Fan learned this information, his face was full of disbelief. After 60 years of coercing the Han Dynasty, Maodun Shanyu, the founder of the Xiongnu Empire, was actually a coward on the grassland. If it hadn't been recorded in history that Mao Dun beat Liu Bang violently, Xu Fan would have believed it to be true.

The grassland at this time can be said to be leaderless. If there is an overlord in the grassland now, it is the Dayuezhi people. They have more than a million followers and more than 100,000 armored men. They defeated the Huns and handed over their prince Maodundang. Proton.

And the Huns, the overlords of the grasslands in his memory, were still bullied. Li Mu severely damaged the Xiongnu tribe in the first battle, and then Meng Tian led 30 Qin troops to beat them up and directly seized the most fertile Xiongnu territory. They have not yet recovered their strength in the Hetao Plain.

So Xu Fan said: "Order Ji Xin, the general who conquers the north, to lead an army of 3 people to attack Zang Cha, and order Zhao Xie, the acting king, to lead an army of 2 people to assist Ji Xin in his attack on Zang Cha."

Forget about attacking the Eastern Chu State, that was the strategy that was planned from the beginning, and the food and grass used came from Chen County. Chen County's wealth could withstand the consumption of this war.

Wu Sheng, who succeeded Chen Xiao as the general who joined the army, was the first to say: "Your Majesty has made a three-year armistice agreement. Zang Tu not only violated it, but also killed his own monarch. He was so treacherous and had the honor to be king. My subordinates thought that the imperial court was going to immediately Send an army to destroy the traitor Zang Tu."

However, the Han court did not anticipate the war in Shanggu County. The war would consume Aocang's meager supply of food and grass, and occupying a barbaric land like Shanggu County would make it impossible to recover the cost of the war.

Vice Minister Chen Ping categorically objected: "At this time, Zang Tu has newly occupied Shanggu County. The local heroes and people must be willing to attack Han Guang at this time. If troops are sent in the autumn, Zang Tu can gain a foothold in Shanggu County. Our army will definitely pay a higher price."

Now in the grasslands of the Huns, they are either bullied by the Dayue people or the Donghu people. It is very miserable. In Xu Fan's memory, the grassland overlord Maodun who beat Liu Bang and asked for peace just succeeded to the throne this year and became the Huns. Chanyu.

Xu Fan looked at the map of the desert. The desert that was divided into several pieces was obviously easier to deal with than the unified desert of Maodun. While the desert was not completely unified, he had to find a way to occupy the grassland and make the grassland empire disappear completely. It would be better to leave places like Shanggu County, which are close to the desert, to his confidants.

Wu Sheng was very unhappy when Han Guang was enfeoffed as King of Shanggu. He fought hard for the Han Dynasty and fought hundreds of battles before becoming just a marquis. Han Guang only fought a few battles, but because of his good luck, he did not encounter the main force of the Qin army and occupied the Qin army. Half of the county can actually be king, but Zang Tu is just a captain with 5000 troops, and is not qualified to be his subordinate. Such a person actually wants to be king, it is unbelievable.

The most critical ones are Surabaya County and Donghai County, which are also wealthy counties. The champion can achieve the purpose of supporting war with war. As long as the two counties are captured, the Han will make money.

Moreover, Modu's reputation on the grassland was not very good. He killed his father Touman Shanyu in order to gain power. Then Moton killed his stepmother, younger brother, and ministers who disobeyed him, and established himself as Shanyu. At.

Prime Minister Zhou Zhang hesitated and said: "I, a great man, have just rested and recuperated, and rashly raising an army will be detrimental to the people. Your Majesty will wait until the autumn harvest before sending out troops to attack."

Zhou Zhang instinctively felt disgusted with such an unexpected war and wanted to postpone the outbreak of the war.

Xu Fan summoned Dahan's senior officials to discuss the matter.

Although Touman Chanyu wanted to kill people with a borrowed sword, he was able to force the Huns to hand over hostages. Obviously, the Da Yuezhi people had greater power in the grassland.

Vice Prime Minister Zhang Liang also said: "Of course a clown like Zang Tu is not worth mentioning, but I, a big man, must pay attention to the power of the barbarians in the desert. If Zang Tu knows that your majesty is going to attack him, he will definitely find allies, and Shanggu County In addition, there are two groups of Hu people, the Huns and Dong Hu people. If Zang Tu leads the Huns and Dong Hu people to invade the Central Plains, I am afraid that I will have to pay ten times the price to drive out the Hu people. "

After Xu Fan entrusted Ji Bu to Hexi and Lu Chen went to Liaodong, Xu Fan began to pay a little attention to the desert. At this time, Xu Fan was shocked to find that the situation in the desert was no different from that of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in the Central Plains. More than a dozen forces In the melee on the grassland, the three most powerful and closest to the Han forces were the Dayuezhi people in Hexi, the Huns in Hetao, and the Donghu people in the desert of Liaodong.

From then on, the prestige of the Huns dropped greatly, and the name of the coward Maodun resounded throughout the grassland. Even the Xianding people who were not as powerful as the Huns dared to bully the Xiongnu tribe, and Maodun did not dare to retaliate.

Originally this was nothing. A son killing his father or a father killing his son was not a big deal in the grasslands. However, after he came to the throne, King Donghu took advantage of his unstable footing and sent his envoys to ask for Chanyu's horse. Such a slap in the face unexpectedly happened. accepted.

"promise!"

April 20th, the third year of Han Dynasty.

After receiving Xu Fan's order, Ji Xin immediately summoned the officers above the captaincy of Zhenbei General's Palace and said: "The Emperor has ordered that we, Zhenbei General's Palace, destroy Zang Tu's rebels."

After hearing this order, the senior officers of the Han army who were present were full of joy. After Zang Tu killed Han Guang, their entire Zhenbei General's Mansion was ready to go.

First, they looked down upon Zang Tu. A person who betrayed his master also dreamed of becoming a vassal king. He simply didn't know what it meant.

The second is that they are excited about their achievements. The king of Han is known all over the world for his generosity, and he is even willing to give up his position as a prince. Yingbu and the others have become role models for all Han armies. As long as they can make enough achievements, they can become Who would not be tempted by the princes and kings who created a country?

The officers of the Zhenbei General Mansion watched Han Guang and Chen Yu every day, watching to see when they would disobey His Majesty's orders. Originally, Ji Xin and the others were eyeing Chen Yu. After all, Chen Yu would not deal with them, and the Liaodong Kingdom , the territory is larger, the power is stronger, and the credit for destroying Chen Yu is greater, but he did not expect that Zang Tu would suddenly appear.

Song Liu asked: "Did the King of Han ask other princes to cooperate with us?"

Ji Xindao: "The king will lead an army of 2 to support us."

Captain Zhou Bo said: "It's enough for our Zhenbei Army family to beat up a shameless villain like Zang Tu."

Captain Cao Shen said: "It's better to be cautious. After all, Zang Tu has 20,000 people in his hands."

Zhou Bo sneered and said: "There are only 20,000 rabble, what should we be cautious about?"

Ji Xin said: "Your Majesty, let me wait for two groups to attack Zang Tu. I will ignore King Dai's group and fight my own battle."

April 21, the third year of the Han Dynasty.

Ji Xin led the 3 Zhenbei Army and vowed to fight the Northern Expedition against Zang Tu.

Thirty thousand Han troops passed through Juyong Pass, which was later established, and crossed Jundu Mountain, all the way to Ningcheng County, Zang Tu's seat.

Ningcheng County, Assembly Hall.

"The Han soldiers are really coming!" Zang Tu asked in despair.

This is completely different from what he thought. The Han Emperor granted so many meritorious officials in succession that he even granted four vassal states. Why did he fall in love with a wild place like Shanggu County? King of Han, you are unfair! I just want half of Shanggu County, but you won't give it to me.

The Yan army's detective horse said in fear: "Now two groups of people are attacking our Shanggu County. One is the main force of the 2 Han army led by Ji Xin, and the other is the Dai army led by the Prime Minister Zhang Er. They are divided into two groups to attack us. Upper Valley.”

"Zang Tu, what's going on? Didn't you say that the King of Han would agree to let you become the King of Shanggu? What do you say in this situation!" Yan Xun, the powerful man in Shanggu, yelled angrily. They followed Zang Tu to kill Han Guang because they wanted to get promoted and make a fortune, not to seek death.

But at this time Zang Tu was also panicked and didn't know how to answer.

His son Zang Yan said: "The enemies are about to kill us, so what's the point of talking about this now?"

"It doesn't matter if the enemy has 5 troops. We also have 2 troops. We may not be a match for the Han army in the field, but if we stick to the city, it is enough to give those Han troops a drink."

Yan Xun said angrily: "There is no point in defending the city. If you don't defend the city, do you understand? If the Han army really surrounds Ningcheng County, we will die without a burial place."

Zang Yan said loudly: "Then we will look for reinforcements. There must be people in the world who are dissatisfied with the Han Emperor. Let's go to Chen Yu, the Huns, and the Donghu people. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the Han Emperor will be our allies. ”

Yan Xun snorted coldly, "The Emperor of Han wants to kill you, father and son, and I will not bury you with him."

Zang Tu realized that Yan Xun wanted to surrender, so he drew his sword and shouted coldly: "It's not good for you to bully a certain sword."

Yan Xun also pulled out his sword and confronted Zang Tu: "My sword can also kill people."

The Yan State and the Qin Army have been fighting for several years, and the heroes who can survive now are all people with strong martial virtues. Although Zang Tu is the strongest among them, he is not enough to scare them.

The other powerful people retreated one after another, for fear of being affected by Zang Tu and the others, but in their hearts they also wanted Yan Xun to kill Zang Tu, so that they would be freed and could put all the blame on Zang Tu. Sacrificing one of them would make us happy Everyone.

Many people were shouting in their hearts: Fight, fight quickly, it is best to kill Zang Tu.

Zang Yan grabbed his father. He knew that if he took action at this time, regardless of victory or defeat, their army would collapse, and their father and son would die without a burial place.

Zang Yan looked at the crowd with a sneer and said: "If you want to betray my father and son, you should also think about your own fate. The Emperor of Han was equalizing the land in Guangyang County. The family of the Yan Kingdom that has been passed down for hundreds of years has not died in the Qin Dynasty." However, it disappeared into thin air in the hands of the Han Emperor. How many of your relatives came to Shanggu from Guangyang County.

You must know that Shanggu County has been a barren land for hundreds of years. The nobles of Guangyang County have always laughed at us as savages, but now they want to take refuge in us savages. Think about it, the Han army really captured Shanggu County and your manor. Can the ranch be saved? Emperor Han not only wanted to destroy my father, but also wanted to annex your family property. how to choose? I also ask all heroes to think about it for themselves. "

Zang Yan's words calmed everyone down. Even Yan Xun put away his sword and looked decadent. They wanted to surrender to the Han Emperor, but the consequences were unbearable for them.

Zang Yan said: "When the Han army comes, our entire family will be destroyed. Now we have the only way to resist."

"If any of you have contact with Chen Yu, please contact Chen Yu. If you have contact with the Donghu people, contact the Donghu people. If you have contact with the Huns, please contact the Huns. In short, you must try any method that can repel the Han army."

There is a mixture of Hu and Han people in Shanggu County. The local powerful people include Chinese Hu people and Hu people. There are even tribes of Huns and Donghu people. It can be said that they are a mixed bag. They have connections with all parties. When they are combined, they are supposed to stay together for warmth. , and at the same time, he was ready to betray others at any time.

Yan Xun said: "I have friendship with King Donghu, so I will go to King Donghu for help."

"I have contact with King Liaodong, I will go find King Liaodong."

Zang Yan said: "My family has friendship with the Huns, so I went to see Modun Shanyu."

In this way, the powerful people in Shanggu County began to build various relationships in order to resist the Han army.

The second day of May in the third year of Han Dynasty. Shanggu County, Luoluo County.

Zhang Er led an army of 2 to surround Xialuo County. However, Zhang Er did not immediately attack Xialuo County. Instead, he went to the bottom of the city and shouted: "Please also ask the generals in the city to come and answer."

The guard stood up and said loudly: "Zhang Er, you are also a hero in the world. Why do you have to work as a lackey for the Han Emperor to embarrass me in Shanggu County? The Han Emperor was so greedy that he annexed your Zhao Kingdom and drove them to Dai in the wilderness. Commander, today you helped the Han Kingdom destroy us in Shanggu. Who knows that the fate like this will not happen to you tomorrow. I hope you will take care of yourself. "

Zhang Er was not angry when he heard that he was a lackey, but said: "Zang Tu killed his lord, and this matter has nothing to do with you. Why should you waste your life and be buried with Zang Tu? The emperor is benevolent and righteous, as long as you open the city gate , surrender to the world, the emperor will definitely forgive you."

The guard said angrily: "How come it has nothing to do with us? As long as the Han army comes to Shanggu County, the land will be equalized. This is the wealth that my family has accumulated for hundreds of years. Why should it be distributed to these small people? The Han Emperor valued the small people and ignored them. A hero will lose the world sooner or later like the First Emperor."

Zhang Er said: "You are confused. Only some people have everything. The land and pasture outside the pass don't matter. If you really want the land, then if your family comes to my county, I will give you twice the land on my behalf." And pasture, as long as you can plant it.”

The guard hesitated and asked, "Are you so kind?"

Zhang Er said: "The area of ​​my county is larger than 2-3 counties in the Central Plains, but the population is only more than . Do you think there is much land and pasture? The emperor even defeated the million-strong army of Qin Dynasty. You are so small." If Shanggu can resist the Han army, don't be buried with Zang Tu. The emperor will only kill him, a villain who killed his lord, and will not blame you. "

Zhao Xie and Zhang Er also had their own ideas in sending troops this time. They did not dare to occupy the land of Shanggu County, but the population of Shanggu County was what they wanted. Just like Zhang Er said, Dai County is too vast, so There are only more than 100,000 people in the large territory. There are too few people and a large amount of land and pastures are vacant, so Zhao Xie urgently needs people to fill his country.

After the guard heard Zhang Er's conditions, he thought that the powerful fighting power of the Han army was indeed not something they could resist in the upper valley. So after the guard and Zhang Er discussed the terms of surrender, he opened the city gate and surrendered to Zhang Er, which would protect his own interests. , of course he would not sacrifice his life for Zang Tu.

May 3, the third year of the Han Dynasty
Ji Xin's 30,000 troops arrived in Ningcheng County and set up camp.

After resting for the next day, Ji Xin led an army of 30,000 to call for battle in Ningcheng County, so that Zang Tu could go out and fight in the field.

But the Han army wiped out even the most powerful violent Qin army, and they were beaten to a pulp by violent Qin. As long as Zang Tu and the others were in their right mind, they would not dare to fight the Han army in the field.

So Zang Tu, no matter how fiercely the Han troops yelled outside the city, could not hold on, so he wanted to rely on Ningcheng County to hold off the Han troops and wait for reinforcements. This was their only hope.

But the Han army was too experienced in attacking cities. They used stone cannons to attack even the fortified city of Xingyang, let alone Ningcheng County, a small city outside the Great Wall.

Ji Xin also brought the parts of 10 stone cannons this time, which can be used to exert their power as long as they are assembled.

He asked Zhang Wendao, a Mohist disciple: "How long will it take to destroy the city defenses of Ningcheng County with stone cannons?"

Zhang Wen looked at the city walls eroded by wind and sand in Ningcheng County and said: "Ningcheng County is built on sand and soil, and there is not much masonry structure. There is no shortage of stones near Ningcheng County. There are enough projectiles. If the landing points are concentrated, If so, it will only take three days to destroy the city wall.”

Ji Xindao: "Okay, I will send all the people to support you. I will watch the city wall collapse in three days."

There are 2 civilians behind the Han army who are responsible for helping the Han army escort grain and grass and handle logistical affairs. Now Ji Xin has dispatched all of them to Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen led the civilians to assemble stone cannons. Ten stone cannons capable of firing 300 kilograms of stone bullets were erected steps away from Ningcheng County. There were heavy Han army defenses near the stone cannons.

When these behemoths began to be assembled, Zang Tu and the others' expressions changed drastically. Of course they had heard of the famous stone cannons that had made great achievements in the Central Plains War. Strong cities such as Daliang and Xingyang were all destroyed by stone cannons. Ningcheng County How could such a small city be able to withstand such a powerful siege weapon?

(End of this chapter)