I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 604 My Military Merits

Yan Liang was very confident. He was now the Sima of another tribe. If the chieftains in Nanzhong dared to bring people to attack the Zhu tribe, he would take this opportunity to gain more merits.

In his opinion, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As a result, the members of the Zhu tribe that he trained worked harder.

But since Liu Bei and Zhuge Xuan took their men away, ten days, twenty days... At the beginning, Yan Liang still thought that the barbarians in Nanzhong were watching and watching the developments.

Then, one month, two months.

Yan Liang was getting anxious. He asked Zhu Huo, "When General Liu was still here, some chieftains and generals spoke rudely to you, and several big families in the south openly looked down on you. How come after so long, these people haven't made any move?"

Although what Yan Liang said was true, Zhu Huo said he was not happy at all.

Besides...no one came, isn't that a good thing?
Yan Liang also knew that he was a little anxious. Noticing Zhu Huo's strange look, he excused himself and said, "I'm also worried that these people might unite and plot something."

Zhu Huo didn't think much about it and asked, "Sima Yan, do you want to send someone to find out something?"

Yan Liang had this idea in mind, so he said, "Okay! But the people to be sent out must be carefully selected."

At first, the news that the Han army was hiding in the city could be concealed, but as time went on, there were too many people and too many eyes to see inside the blockaded city to conceal it.

Zhu Huo's younger brother Zhu Ping set out with his mission.

At the beginning, he was very cautious, fearing that there might be traps outside, but after meeting people from other tribes, he immediately straightened his back and was full of confidence.

It was because the news that there were Han troops here had spread, and he also found out the reason why it was so quiet here during this period - because there was an internal conflict between the big families and the chieftains.

"What's going on?" Yan Liang asked Zhu Ping, who had returned not long after being out.

"It was Meng Huo from the Meng tribe... He contacted the people from the various tribes who used to follow General Liu and told them that the big clans wanted to destroy their cultivated fields... Even those who were the most careless and just sowed seeds on the ground were not happy to see their fields destroyed." Zhu Ping's expression was a little strange. "Then, those who originally clamored to attack our Zhu tribe started fighting among themselves."

"Now they have finished fighting, Meng has won and has become the new chief. He didn't even want to fight the Zhu tribe..."

As Yan Liang listened, he felt that the military achievement he had expected was already far away from him.

A few days later, Meng Huo sent one of his tribesmen to express his willingness to live in harmony with Zhu Huo, and Zhu Huo was naturally happy to accept it.

However, Yan Liang eventually controlled his desire for military merit and did not choose to disrupt this peace agenda.

During these years in Nanzhong, since the people of Nanzhong have made the right choice, Yan Liang is willing to accept the current situation.

……

Compared to the vast area of ​​Nanzhong, which has always been influenced by the Han Dynasty and has only really increased its investment in recent years, the situation in Qiangzhong is not so optimistic.

The Qiang people among the Qiang had no habit of obeying management, although the existence of the vassal state commander was more of a manager who did not interfere with their internal customs.

It was one thing for the Qiang people to leave Qiangzhong and submit to the Han Dynasty, but it was another thing for the Han people to bring the Han and Qiang people back to Qiangzhong.

Because Han Sui had shown some favors to the Qiang people in Qiangzhong, Yan Xing had always enjoyed some reputation among the Qiang people because of his status as Han Sui's son-in-law, but this did not mean that he could openly bring Han and Qiang soldiers to Qiangzhong and issue orders.

Therefore, Yan Xing, the eastern commander of the Qinghai vassal state who set out from Shu County, encountered a situation he had not expected.

He didn't expect that the Qiang people, who had been extremely enthusiastic towards him, would change their attitude towards them this time.

In fact, Yan Xing, who had already done his homework, already understood what the Qiang people were worried about. Facing the Qiang leader Da Meng who was willing to come before him, he explained earnestly: "You should understand that I am not here to seize your land or annex your people, but for the Qiang people who live here and have already submitted to me, and for the Han people in the border area!"

The troops under Dameng are actually composed of six small tribes belonging to the Canlang Qiang, and Dameng integrated them with his own prestige. Its population is close to 20,000, which is already a large tribe among the Qiang and deserves Yan Xing's attention.

This is also a characteristic of Qiang. The climate here can only support the Qiang people to make a living by grazing, and the harsh natural conditions make the Qiang people only use larger pastures to feed a smaller population. Nature itself has limited the upper limit of the organizational structure of the tribes in Qiang. Like Dameng, uniting tribes of the same origin is already a leader among the Qiang people.

Moreover, the food route of the garrison chosen by Yan Xing for himself had to pass through the controlled area of ​​Da Meng. If Da Meng could not accept it, Yan Xing could only retreat first. However, Yan Xing had established a relationship with Da Meng a long time ago, and he felt that he could convince Da Meng.

Seeing that Dameng still had no reaction, Yan Xing asked, "Over the years, how many Qiang people in Qiang chose to submit? Now among Guanghan's vassal states, there are still people from your Canlang Qiang... and now there are frequent fights among Qiang people, even Canlang Qiang can still defend their pastures... what about the future? Can you guarantee that Canlang Qiang will never fail? Over the years, many tribes that couldn't survive in Qiang wanted to submit, but are there half of them who can really enter the Great Wall alive? If I come here, I will do my best to stop the fighting."

At this point, Da Meng was finally moved. He asked, "I don't know what the truth is, but did you lead the troops here just to stop the Qiang tribes from fighting among themselves?"

"It is also to prevent you from invading the interior!" Yan Xing knew that he could not be polite at this time.

He emphasized to Da Meng: "The grain used by our army is brought by ourselves. If you want to exchange cattle and sheep for cloth and other things, I am willing to do so, and I can even exchange some grain for them. And my army's orders are as firm as a mountain, and we will never plunder like you do!"

After hearing this, although Da Meng was still not very happy to see Yan Xing lead the Han-Qiang army to station in Qiang, his hostility was no longer so obvious. Unless it was necessary, he was not willing to fight with Yan Xing.

When Yan Xing saw that Da Meng's attitude softened, he felt relieved - as long as he was willing to listen to his words, it was good. As long as the first step was taken, there would be plenty of opportunities for him to take advantage of in the future, especially in the winter when there was a shortage of food and clothing.

As it turned out, the opportunity came earlier than Yan Xing expected.

Less than half a month after arriving in Qiangzhong, two tribes came to him for help, hoping that Yan Xing could do justice. These two tribes belonged to the Jiaowai Qiang, and they had the same ancestor several generations ago. Now they are also keeping each other warm. The two tribes together have less than 5,000 people, which is a common small tribe among Qiang. They were attacked by a larger tribe, and the target was naturally cattle and sheep.

Yan Xing naturally did not want to miss this good opportunity to make a name for himself. He originally had 2,000 soldiers with him, so he immediately selected 1,500 of them. After the leader of the Qiang tribe, Dameng, learned the news, he also sent 200 men to help.

Yan Xing understood that helping was fake, but observing closely was real.

But he was not afraid, and even wished that Da Meng would come and see it in person!
In just three days, Yan Xing led his troops to the area around Quwai Qiang.

In other words, the Jiaowai Qiang, who had abandoned their pasture and were fleeing, encountered Yan Xing who came to help. The two leaders of the Jiaowai Qiang tribe had never expected that Yan Xing would lead his troops so quickly. They were originally facing the attack of the more powerful Longqiao Qiang and had planned to bypass the territory of the Canlang Qiang and submit to them. They only heard about the existence of Yan Xing and thought that contacting Yan Xing could help them pass through the territory of the Canlang Qiang safely.

Therefore, they treated Yan Xing with even more respect.

Xiang Shenzi, the leader of the Longqiao Qiang tribe, had also heard about Yan Xing's affairs. In his opinion, Yan Xing was just someone who came to compete with him for the property of the two Wai Qiang tribes.

When he met Yan Xing, he sent people to negotiate with Yan Xing. At first, Xiang Shen thought that people could be taken away, but the cattle and sheep had to be left behind. However, after seeing the formation of the Han army, he was worried that he could not win, so he decided to split the cattle and sheep in half.

However, Yan Xing’s response made him very angry - return the pastures to the two Qiang tribes.

How could Xiang Shen tolerate this?
Just looking at the neat and orderly formations of the Han army's cavalry and infantry, as well as the iron and leather armor on the soldiers... he reluctantly stated his bottom line - "30% to 70%."

But before Yan Xing was told this bottom line, the Han army on Yan Xing's side had already set out.

Xiang Shen finally did not dare to start a war and chose to retreat.

He could not afford the damage after going to war with Yan Xing. Anything less than a great victory would be a great defeat for him... and a great victory - Xiang Shen had heard that the tribes close to the Han Jincheng County and Longyou County were badly beaten by the Han people a few months ago. He did not want to become the topic of conversation among other Qiang people.

Although Yan Xing offended the Longqiao Qiang, the problem of subduing the two Wai Qiang tribes was solved. Moreover, Yan Xing's reputation as the commander of the Qinghai vassal state and the things he had done also spread among the Qiang.

After all, the production method and productivity of Qiang people determined that there were many tribes with only two or three thousand people. Under the law of survival of the fittest, these small tribes certainly hoped that someone would stand up and give them justice.

Relying on his reputation and the readiness to send troops at the slightest disagreement, gradually, when the Qiang tribes not too far from where Yan Xing was stationed encountered disputes, they would choose to seek justice from Yan Xing.

……

Compared with Yan Xing, Jincheng County has a different development.

After Lu Jun took off the acting hat of Jincheng prefect, he also took on the title of Western Commander of Qinghai vassal state. This can be regarded as an opportunity for Liu Bian to train Sun Ce, Ma Chao and Wang Can.

After all, although the three were all young talents, they were still young. The oldest, Sun Ce, was only 23 years old. Although he had made contributions, he was still a little short of becoming a captain with a salary of 2,000 stones. However, they were more than qualified to be chancellors or marquises under the captain of a vassal state. Moreover, the affairs of the western captain were obviously still to be taken care of by them.

Qiangzhong was Ma Chao's home ground, especially after he and Sun Ce led their troops out of the border and fought a round of battles.

The Qiang tribes that are still close to the border are all good people.

When they heard that Ma Chao and Sun Ce would be sent to manage them, they were all so happy that they couldn't sleep. Although they had to be happy, at the same time, these tribes had to thank Ma Chao and Sun Ce, because after the two of them killed a round, they could graze more pastures. Moreover, with the two leading the troops, these tribes didn't have to worry about other tribes coming to compete for their pastures.

Therefore, Ma Chao and Sun Ce had a much smoother start than Yan Xing.

But only at the beginning.

Although Ma Chao is the son of Ma Teng, he should have a high reputation among the Qiang people. Moreover, Ma Teng has one advantage over Han Sui: he has Qiang blood.

However, Han Sui was eventually killed by Ma Teng, and Ma Chao had a lot of Qiang blood on his hands. As a result, except for those Qiang tribes that had already surrendered, the rest of the tribes did not dare to resist openly due to the troops led by Ma Chao and Sun Ce, but they always pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed.

As for asking Ma Chao and Sun Ce for justice like we did to Yan Xing?
The Qiang people were very worried that they would never be able to come back once they left.

Sun Ce and Ma Chao were young after all. Wang Can was with Lu Jun on this trip, helping him deal with military and political affairs in the county. The two men came to a conclusion after a discussion: "If they don't dare to come, we will go by ourselves!"

"Heroes think alike!"

The two men were skilled and courageous. They carefully selected 500 soldiers, brought a month's rations, and set off immediately.

These five hundred soldiers were all Han and Qiang soldiers who had fought with the two men before. They could be considered elite troops. Moreover, they had won consecutive battles in the past few months, and Sun Ce and Ma Chao had been generous in rewarding them, so their morale was high.

Sun Ce said to Ma Chao confidently: "These five hundred soldiers are worth ten of us, one for each!"

Ma Chao refused to be outdone: "Even if there are tens of thousands of enemies, there is nothing to fear!"

The two men then patrolled their jurisdiction with confidence, and inevitably encountered the Qiang tribe, who, seeing that they were few in number, coveted their weapons and horses. Then, as expected, these tribes were easily dealt with by the two men.

This also made the two men's notoriety among the Qiang people spread more and more.

Whenever they arrived at a place, they would ask the local Qiang tribe about their living conditions. The Qiang tribes originally suspected that the two were leading troops to plunder, but they found out that they were really just there to ask about the situation.

Such a contrast actually changed the Qiang people's view of the two men.

Then some Qiang tribes began to seek help from the two.

When Sun Ce and Ma Chao saw that their strategy was effective, they immediately chose to continue their efforts.

So, throughout the entire winter, except when it snowed heavily and made travel difficult, the two were on the road leading troops out.

He was even trapped on the road by heavy snow more than once. On one occasion, he was trapped to the point where he had almost run out of all the dry food he had. Finally, he found a nearby Qiang tribe and exchanged his war horses for goat milk and other food, which saved his life.

After this incident, Lu Jun came to Qiangzhong in person.

He had a very good character, but he rarely got angry at Sun Ce and Ma Chao, and scolded them like quails, and they didn't dare to say a word.

Under Lu Jun's strict order, the two promised not to take such risks before the weather warmed up, and now, their adventure has paid off.

(End of this chapter)