Chapter 554: Hebei’s Great Movement (Part 2)

County Magistrate Wang Yecheng changed his official uniform and hurried to the outside of the county town with two yamen runners. Next to the official road about fifteen miles north of Anyang County, there was a Longquan Post, which was an important post station for the people who traveled to the public to rest and stay. Behind Longquan Post is a hill covered with lush pine forests.

At this time, the Songlin was full of Tang cavalry, with a total of five or six thousand people, surrounding the entire Longquanyi. This was Guo Ziyi's army. Guo Ziyi's 100,000 were stationed in Baixing, Weizhou, southwest of Xiangzhou, which is today in Huixian, Henan. Today, he led 5,000 cavalry to Anyang County to inspect the immigration situation.

Although Hebei Road is An Lushan's sphere of influence, it refers to An Lushan's military deterrence range. In fact, An Lushan did not really control the entire territory of Hebei Road. His army is still north of Youzhou and Youzhou, and the jurisdiction of Fanyang Jiedu and Pinglu Jiedu. If An Lushan's army begins to be stationed in Xiangzhou and its vicinity to the south, it means that he has really rebelled.

An Lushan has not officially rebelled in name. Although he supported the new emperor, most of the prefectures and counties in Hebei did not recognize it, which puts An Lushan in a very embarrassing situation. More importantly, he is not fully prepared, and has not yet reached the point of forcing Hebei prefectures and counties to recognize the new emperor by force, and has not yet reached the point of sending troops to directly occupy the entire Hebei territory. Therefore, he tried his best to maintain a silence and restraint. Even sending troops to the Yellow River to support Xu Shuyi was just an excuse to train in the army.

At this time, An Lushan sent troops to support Xu Shuyi in Weizhou, about 400 miles away from Anyang. Guo Ziyi's army did not fully enter Hebei in the Hedongdao boundary west of Xiangzhou. To a certain extent, his army restrained An Lushan's army. Today, he led 5,000 cavalry to quickly arrive at Anyang County. On the one hand, although he wanted to inspect the progress of the evacuation of the people, on the other hand, he was also testing An Lushan's reaction.

At this time, Guo Ziyi was in the room of the inn, carefully checking the map of Hebei Road. Judging from the information currently obtained, An Lushan has not yet reacted to the immigration of Hebei. An Lushan's army is still in Youzhou, and there is no incident of interference in immigration in Cai Xide, Weizhou.

Guo Ziyi was walking slowly with his hands behind his back, frowning in a ball. He knew An Lushan very well. With An Lushan's character, it was absolutely impossible to sit idly by the great immigrants in Hebei. Unless he really had no intention of rebelling, Hebei Road would be his base, and he would not be able to watch his foundation be weakened.

Guo Ziyi is sure that An Lushan will definitely interfere with Hebei immigration. The key is where he will start? What means will he use? What level will he start, or directly rebel, which makes Guo Ziyi full of doubts.

Guo Ziyi returned to the map and looked at Youzhou and pondered. This time he led the army to Hebei, largely in implementing Li Qing'an's strategic deployment. Guo Ziyi also understood Li Qing'an's concerns. An Lushan was not the Southern Tang army, nor was it a weak brigade like Li Mao and Li Lin. Fan Yang's army was very strong, even surpassing his Shuofang army, and second only to the Anxi army. In addition, he recruited a large number of northern Hu people to join his army, which made his combat power even stronger. Although everyone said that An Lushan's 500,000 army was a boast, Guo Ziyi did not think so. He had been in the border for many years and knew the details of the Hu people. The Hu people were soldiers of the whole people. A slightly larger tribe had tens of thousands of troops. If An Lushan was able to recruit well and profit, it was not impossible to have a 500,000 army.

It is precisely this that made Guo Ziyi admire Li Qing'an very much. Guo Ziyi then understood why Li Qing'an did not destroy Xu Shuyi immediately. He just wanted to form a strategic confrontation situation and control the rhythm of An Lushan's rebellion so that he could have time to withdraw people from Hebei. Although An Lushan might not necessarily pay attention to Li Qing'an's control, this is indeed the only feasible solution.

Otherwise, together with An Lushan's Hu soldiers, Hebei will be defeated. What the Hu soldiers want is the children of Han people and the property of Han people. An Lushan must have made a promise. Guo Ziyi sighed and had to speed up the immigration speed!

At this time, a personal soldier outside the door reported: "Master General, the magistrate of Anyang County has arrived."

"Yeah! Let him come in!"

Guo Ziyi put away his thoughts and ordered someone to take away the map. After a moment, the county magistrate Wang Yicheng walked in quickly under the guidance of his personal soldiers. He stepped forward to salute Guo Ziyi and said, "I am not in charge of Anyang County Magistrate Wang Yicheng, who is the old general!"

"Mr. Wang, no need to be too polite, please sit down!"

"Thank you Old Shuai!"

Wang Yicheng sat down, and a personal soldier served him tea. Wang Yicheng bowed to thank him. Guo Ziyi picked up the tea cup and took a sip of the tea slowly. Then he smiled calmly: "I am afraid that I will disturb the people, so I did not enter the city, so I asked someone to come here. Thank you for your hard work, the magistrate of Wang County."

Wang Yicheng quickly responded: "Where! Where! Guo Laoshuai loves the county people, and was deeply moved by his humble position. If the oldshuai need it, I will do my best to help me."

"Haha! County Magistrate Wang thought I was here to fight Qiufeng?"

Guo Ziyi laughed and Wang Yi turned red. He thought Guo Ziyi was here to ask for food, but he had already made up his mind that he would only give him three thousand stones at most. Unexpectedly, Guo Ziyi suddenly exposed it, and he murmured that he couldn't speak.

"Mr. Wang County Magistrate, I'm not here to fight Qiufeng, I want to ask about the immigration situation."

Hearing that he was asking about the immigration situation, Wang Yecheng was excited and hurriedly said: "It is the first day for immigration in Anyang County to be handled, but more than 30,000 people have gathered outside the county government, and they all have to hurry to immigrate, that is, there are 30,000 households, and the county government is under great pressure."

"Why?"

Guo Ziyi was a little surprised. It was only a few days later that some people started to sign up for immigration. There were 30,000 people in Anyang County that day. This was simply incredible. Guo Ziyi felt excited. He was a little worried that the immigration progress was too slow, but he couldn't speed up immigration. Anyang County was so popular. Is there any way they really possible?

Guo Ziyi asked hurriedly: "Tell me quickly, what's going on?"

Wang Yecheng was wrong. He thought Guo Ziyi was asking him why he started to sign up today. He felt guilty and said stuttered: "I got sick a few days ago and missed the imperial notice."

"I'm not asking you this, I'm asking you why so many people sign up!" Guo Ziyi was a little unhappy and raised her tone.

Wang Yicheng was frightened and let out a cold sweat, and quickly stood up and said, "It's also strange that humble vocational skills are so popular. After asking someone, I found out that the county was circulating, saying that An Lushan was going to rebel, and the imperial court immigrated to evacuate the people in Hebei. Everyone was panicked, so there were particularly many people who came to register."

"So that's how it is!"

Guo Ziyi then realized that he nodded. This was not bad. It was much better to add a sense of crisis than simple temptation. Anyway, it was a rumor. As long as the official did not admit it, An Lushan would have nothing to say.

"Okay! Thank you to Wang County Magistrate today. I still want to go to Ye County. I won't disturb Wang County Magistrate. Please help Wang County Magistrate to speed up immigration and not delay major issues."

"I understand. I will go back now and register overnight, and it will never be a waste of trouble."

Wang Yicheng said goodbye and left. Guo Ziyi pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "Prepare to set off and go to Ye County!"

Guo Ziyi's army quickly gathered, and in a moment, five thousand cavalry headed north and soon disappeared at the end of the official road.

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The surging wave of immigration on the land of Hebei Road soon spread from south to north and spread throughout Hebei. Moreover, as the rumors about An Lushan's rebellion spread more and more, the people began to panic. Each county was filled with farmers who wanted to sign up for immigration. Many counties had begun to immigrate on the official road leading to the west. They were carrying the elderly and young, carrying baskets and loads.

Drive ox carts, horse carts, donkey carts, and carts carrying their meager family property. On the cart were the old man and his young son, and they were jingling pots and pots all the way, passing through the eight hurdles of Taihang, crossing the Taihang Mountains and heading towards the east of the river.

But the trend of immigration was surging, but An Lushan never made any noise, which made everyone feel incredible. However, only the senior figures of Fan Yang Army knew that An Lushan was not in Youzhou at this time, but he was in the Xi tribe north of Pinglu.

Without An Lushan's order, no one dared to interfere in the situation in Hebei. Even Shi Siming or Gao Shang could not. Only An Lushan had the power to mobilize the troops of Fan Yang's army with more than 100 troops.

The Xi people were an ancient nomadic people in the northeast. Before the Khitan was powerful, it and the Khitan were both vassals of the Tang Dynasty. However, after the Khitan gradually became stronger, the Xi people were eventually annexed by the Khitan and became a branch of the Khitans.

The Xi tribe has always been under the jurisdiction of An Lushan's Pinglu Jiedu Mansion, but the Xi people also rebelled several times. In the fourth year of Tianbao, Princess Yifang, a member of the Tang royal family, married the leader of the Xi people, King Huaixin and the governor of Raole. However, less than a year, the Xi people rebelled and gave Princess Yifang a living sacrifice. Later, the Xi people were defeated by An Lushan and honestly surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

At present, the leader of the Xi people is still Li Yanchong, the king of Huainhin, with nearly 80,000 powerful soldiers from the tribe. After An Lushan recruited a large number of soldiers among the Hu people, he surrendered nearly 200,000 troops from various Hu tribes such as the Turks, Uighurs, and Khitan. However, Li Yanchong was not willing to help An Lushan, so he only barely sent 5,000 cavalry to An Lushan, which had only a little symbolic significance.

An Lushan was not willing to let this 80,000-man army go. He sent people to negotiate with Li Yanchong several times, promising to pay great benefits, but Li Yanchong neither agreed nor refused, and his attitude was very ambiguous. An Lushan was helpless. At this time, the situation in Henan Province was in a confrontation, so An Lushan went to Raolezhou in person to negotiate with Li Yanchong. This was also the last army he recruited. If the 80,000 Xi people army was obtained, his army would reach 450,000, which was enough to participate in the battle for dominance of the world.

An Lushan is bound to win this trip to Rao Le.

To the north of Miyun County, Tanzhou is the Raozhou Governor's Office. Walking north along the Luan River, you will come to the vast field. The Yanshan Mountain in the distance seems to be carved like a skill. From there, a gentle diagonal line appears, and it falls all the way to the undulating hills at the foot of the mountain. The hills are dense forests, and the vast primeval forest is elusive at a glance. On the outside of the forest is a vast grassland, with green grass under the blue sky, and groups of cattle and sheep eating grass leisurely by the river. The shepherd boy lies on his head and stares blankly by the river, looking forward to his future.

It was a quiet morning, but with the rushing sound of horse hooves, the morning was no longer quiet. The shepherd boy was so scared that he sat up and stared blankly into the distance.

I saw a group of cavalry running towards the distance like lightning, and instantly rushed past the opposite side of the river and headed northeast. The shepherd boy looked at it and touched the back of his head. Who are these people? Why are they so anxious to do?

The cavalry came from Fanyang and ran to the location of Xiren's den, which was located in the northeast of Raolezhou, close to Yingzhou of the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, there were many places nearby Li Yanchong's den, and thousands of tents stretched densely for several miles. Today, Li Yanchong welcomed the distinguished guest of the Tang Dynasty, An Lushan, the governor of Fanyang.

In a cowhide tent that can accommodate hundreds of people, the people were clamoring and steaming. The strong fragrance of beef and mutton permeated the tent. Two big men were fighting in the open space in the middle, and shouting one after another. They leaned against the tent, and there were a circle of low tables. The table was filled with meat mountains and wine, and various seasonal fresh fruits were filled with large ceramic pots.

The ground next to the table was covered with sheepskin, and dozens of hosts and guests sat on the sheepskin, urging them to drink and eat meat, chat and laugh. The atmosphere was very warm, and the two of them were Li Yanchong and An Lushan.

It has been almost half a month since An Lushan came out. He walked around the neighborhood, and the Khitans, Turks and other tribes all comforted them one by one. Finally, the Xi people were the key to his northern tour.

King Huainhin Li Yanchong is only over forty years old this year. He is burly and majestic, with a big head, and a big bearded face. He speaks very loudly. He urges him to drink and drink until he drinks, which makes him look extremely generous, but his eyes are not big, and he always squints, and a trace of cunning will appear.

Li Yanchong respects An Lushan very much, and even reaches a level of humility and respect. The county magistrate is not as good as the current jurisdiction. Although Li Yanchong is a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, An Lushan is his real jurisdiction. However, Xi, like the Khitan, is very independent. An Lushan is just their nominal jurisdiction. Today, he is so polite because Li Yanchong knows that An Lushan’s purpose is to ask him to send troops to help.

Li Yanchong's Xi tribe had 80,000 soldiers, all of them were extremely fierce warriors. This was also his greatest wealth. How could An Lushan easily take it away if he wanted to borrow his most precious wealth?

Of course, Li Yanchong was also willing to borrow troops. He knew that An Lushan was going to rebel. Once An Lushan killed in Hebei prefectures and counties, it was also the time for them to make money. Women, wealth, gold, silver and jewelry, these were the things their tribe dreamed of. How could he give up this opportunity? However, negotiations were necessary, and An Lushan had to meet his greatest conditions.

"Mr. An, I will toast you again in this glass of wine. Thank you for your special care for me over the years!"

Li Yanchong stood up and toasted An Lushan with a large glass of goat milk wine. An Lushan had already drunk a lot. His big pumpkin-like face was as red as pork liver. He lowered his head and waved his hand, refusing to say, "I won't drink your wine anymore. Unless you promise to borrow soldiers, I will not drink another drop of your wine today."

"Well! Isn't it just borrowing soldiers? It's easy to say! It's easy to say! Marshal An has come in person. How can I not give this face? After drinking this glass of wine, let's talk about borrowing soldiers."

Li Yanchong narrowed his small eyes, and his eyes were involuntarily cunning. An Lushan seemed not to see it, and laughed and said, "Okay! I'll drink this cup and we'll talk about the serious matter."

However, he did not take Li Yanchong's wine glass, but picked up his wine glass and drank it all, turned the mouth of the wine glass and pressed it towards the table, indicating that he had drunk it.

"Okay! Happy."

Li Yanchong waved his hand and two young and beautiful Xi girls poured wine for An Lushan. Li Yanchong pointed at the two girls and smiled at An Lushan: "These two beauties are only sixteen years old. Without humanity, let them serve the coach together tonight, how about it!"

Both girls showed shyness on their faces and turned their heads. If An Lushan had no mercy in the past, with his lustful heart, he would not be in the mood today. If he did not get the Xi army, it would seriously affect his plan to raise an army south. At this time, even the beautiful girl was not as important as the 80,000 army.

But I still want hypocritical politeness. An Lushan laughed and said, "I have taken over Governor Li's intentions, and I will accept the two women, but if we talk about borrowing soldiers, I will be happier."

"Okay then! Let's talk about borrowing soldiers."

Seeing that the time had come, Li Yanchong stopped delaying, he sat down and took a sip of wine slowly, then smiled and said, "The Grand Marshal has sent people to talk about borrowing troops several times. Of course I am willing, but there are many different opinions in my clan. It's not enough for me to be willing alone, but I have to convince the elders of the clan. Oh! It's hard to talk to the generals!"

An Lushan cursed in his heart, "It's hard to adjust everyone." After so many years, how could he not know that Li Yanchong had the final say, but he was just looking for excuses to speak all over the sky."

An Lushan didn't say much, so he said directly: "Just say it! What is the highest price in the clan?"

"this......"

Li Yanchong thought for a while, he narrowed his eyes and said, "We want 200,000 women in Chang'an."

"This is not OK!"

An Lushan changed color suddenly. Two hundred thousand Chang'an women, this was too much. He couldn't do it. "Chang'an is a capital city! It's very difficult."

An Lushan knew that the Xi people were like the Khitans, and they were extremely lustful. They sent troops to plunder women. They sent troops with them and would definitely plunder them all the way. This was not enough. They even had the idea of ​​Chang'an. If they really gave them Chang'an women, they would not be the emperor of Dayan.

When Li Yanchong saw An Lushan refuse on the spot, his face changed and said coldly: "Master An, my soldiers are going to work hard for you. Do you even refuse to give it to a woman?"

When An Lushan thought of borrowing troops, his tone softened again and said, "You plundered all the way, aren't there enough women? Give something else! I'll give you a million guan, okay?"

Of course, Li Yanchong also wants money, but those who can plunder along the road, but women are more important, especially women in Chang'an, are all top-notch. He once went to Chang'an and his eyes were straightened. He still shook his head and said, "The general doesn't know anything! The women who plunder along the way are just fun. Can they still send them back to the tribe? We Xi people have 200,000 men. I plan to each of them to give birth to descendants of the Xi people. Our population is too small and we need a large number of women."

An Lushan still refused and said, "Chang'an is the capital, it's too sensitive. If you change the city, I will agree to you."

"Oh well!"

Li Yanchong then leaned back and said, "I want 300,000 women from Luoyang, there is no problem with An Shuai this time!"
To be continued...