"Jiuyuan, is that you?" Guo Huai identified it and suddenly said in surprise.
Luo Xiang chuckled: "I am Luo Xiang now, not Luo Jiuyuan."
Guo Huai asked deliberately: "Oh, are you still my old friend from many years ago?"
"No matter how the names change, friends are still friends." Luo Xiang said with a smile. It was indeed a very happy thing to be able to see his good friends outside the Great Wall: "You are now the prime minister, shouldn't I?"
Did I call you Prime Minister Guo?"
Guo Huai's face was stern: "Are you kidding? If you call me that, then I should also call you Mr. Luo. However, I am afraid that my status as prime minister is not noticed by you."
Guo Huai also knows very well about his old friend. Although the three counselors in Hetao have no military positions, they have always been treated the same as the five generals in the military. Especially Luo Xiang and Chu Xiangcheng, who are the best in Hetao.
Characters. Although Guo Huai himself is the prime minister of Uma, they don't even pay attention to the Qingfeng royal family, let alone a little Uma.
"You are the prime minister. Haha, we haven't seen each other for many years. Why don't you find a place to have a drink?" Luo Xiang said as he walked.
Guo Huai shook his head: "No need, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Your Majesty is still waiting for me to come back and reply, and at this time, it is not suitable for me to stay here for too long. I believe you also know the purpose of my coming here this time.
"
Luo Xiang nodded, and the two of them walked along the only street in the vast city while talking. Luo Xiang looked at Guo Huai's somewhat pale hair and said softly: "We said goodbye back then, but I didn't expect to meet again outside the Great Wall. I
I also know that your life in Uma seems to have been glorious these years, but only you understand the hardships involved. Guo Huai, we have been friends for many years, and our lord is a very good son. Now that we in Hetao have strong troops and horses, it is a great opportunity to make contributions.
.You might as well come to Hetao. After the Sixteen Provinces of Youyun are recaptured, you will first become a prefect. When you gain qualifications, I will transfer you back as a deputy."
Guo Huai's heart moved slightly. Luo Xiang is not the kind of person who talks nonsense. With his and Chu Xiangcheng's status and his own ability, he will definitely be able to become a senior executive in the Hetao in two years at most. In the Hetao, even if
All the prefects along the way were more prestigious than Prime Minister Uma. Besides, this is still his own country, and working hard for his country is also his long-cherished wish. But when he thought of Tupuchidan, Guo Huai shook his head again.
"Uma is now facing a crisis in the country. Your Majesty has a deep affection for me, Guo Huai, so how can I abandon him at this time?"
Luo Xiang naturally knew what kind of person his old friend was, but he still tried to persuade him: "Guo Huai, the water in Uma is too shallow to hide your dragon. Think about it, you have worked hard in Uma.
After so many years, Uma still has not improved. You should understand that with Uma's strategic location, it is impossible for a powerful country to rise. My lord has great ambitions and wants to restore the territory of the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties. There is only one way for Uma in the future.
There is a way to go, that is to submit to our Hetao. Either maintain the status of a vassal state, or become part of the Beiting Protectorate."
Guo Huai was silent for a moment: "I have lived in my hometown for a long time. After staying in Uma for so many years, I have regarded myself as half an Uma citizen. Let's talk about the future things later."
Luo Xiang sighed in his heart. He didn't have many old friends from back then, but it was rare to meet one who was so stubborn. However, if Guo Huai didn't have such a bad temper, I'm afraid it wouldn't be to his liking. He smiled at the moment.
: "It's up to you. However, you must remember one thing, don't get too close to the aliens outside the Great Wall. We have already made up our minds and must kill all the aliens outside the Great Wall. If you are too close to them
, I’m afraid I will suffer the same disaster as the fish in the pond in the future.”
Guo Huai said worriedly: "I will try my best to advise Your Majesty. But I'm afraid it will be difficult. After all, in order to escape from Qingfeng's control over the years, Uma has had a close relationship with Tie Ying Qiu Ming. Alas, if we really get to that point in the future,
You and Xiangcheng must help."
Luo Xiang smiled bitterly: "As long as you don't play too outrageous, we will naturally help you think about it. If you just talk to Tie Ying Qiu Ming, we will never take it seriously. You see, we will not take it seriously this time.
Outside the fortress, except for Fuyuan City, there are no people who harass you at all. Oh, all your officials in Fuyuan City are here, but we have temporarily used it as a logistics and supplies base, and we will not return it to you until we return.
"
Guo Huai also gave a wry smile: "We are very lucky that you can return it to us. Well, what is the limit of excess you mentioned?"
Luo Xiang considered his tone and said: "Guo Huai, Tieying Qiu Ming and the Three Northeastern Kingdoms have been included in the list of complete genocide by our military. No one can stop the current momentum of our Hetao. The Lord is still young, and the military and political parties
The average age of Fang’s senior leaders is not very old, and they still have plenty of time. It’s okay for you to hook up with Tie Ying Qiu Ming, but you must not follow them to send troops to fight with us. Otherwise, if you win, you will have no profit. If you lose,
I'm afraid we will end up with them. To be honest, our desire to kill in Hetao is too strong now. Except for a strategist's mystery, both the military and the government are basically staunch hard-liners."
Guo Huai paused, looked at Luo Xiang and said, "Isn't this what you insisted on back then?"
"It's not enough to go too far. If I just gave them a spark before, now the Hetao is already in flames. Remember, don't send troops to openly confront us. We in the Hetao are not unreasonable people. This time in Fuyuan City
It was just an accident. But don't worry, we haven't touched anything or the people in the city. We even put a seal on your treasury. When the time comes, you can just send someone to pick it up. My lord is very affectionate, as long as
You didn't take the initiative to look for trouble. With me and Xiangcheng here, I won't make you look too ugly."
Guo Huai did not speak, but walked side by side with Luo Xiang in a dull tone. Luo Xiang was right, his status in Uma was indeed only superficial. The military generals were very dissatisfied with Guo Huai's conservative self-protection policy.
It has long been known to everyone that the two generals died in smoke, and Hu Jinchu and Guo Huai were at odds with each other. As for Guo Huai's suggestion not to form an alliance with Tie Ying Qiu Ming and not become an enemy of the Celestial Empire, Tupuchidan was also very concerned about it.
There are criticisms.
Tupuchidan, Yan Shenwei and others all have high self-esteem. They are bent on building Uma into a powerful country beyond the Great Wall, a powerful country that does not need to look at the faces of anyone around them. However, Uma's geographical location has destined them to
It is impossible to become a powerful country. It can only rely on one side or become a buffer between the two sides. However, Qingfeng has been weakening in recent decades, so that the pro-Qingfeng forces in Uma have been greatly reduced, and many people are biased towards
Yu Tieying Qiu Ming.
Although Guo Huai thought this matter was a bit dangerous before, he didn't really care about it. But now after hearing what Luo Xiang said, he suddenly felt the seriousness of the matter. He had also heard about the methods of the Loop in the southeast, and these days
He was even more aware of the situation of rivers of blood in the southern part of the prairie. If Uma really dared to offend Hetao's reverse scale, Guo Huai could not imagine what the consequences would be. Since Hetao dared not to take Qiu Ming, the iron eagle, into consideration,
How could they still have scruples about such a small Uma?
Unknowingly, the two of them had already walked out of the city gate. Haohan City was not big. In fact, it was just a small fortress with a circumference of only four or five miles and a population of more than 5,000. There were only two gates in the north and south. In
In front of Hetao's army, the vast city with only a wall more than one foot high was captured by Hetao without any resistance.
"What are they doing?" Guo Huai suddenly asked.
"Tear down the city walls and build roads." Luo Xiang said calmly.
Guo Huai was shocked. The purpose of Hetao was obviously to prevent the nomadic people from using these Bansheng cities as a base for southern invasion. To tear down the city walls, on a deeper level, was to cut off the budding transition from nomadic people to settled people.
.Although a barbaric nation without the support of civilization can be strong for a while, it will never be strong for a lifetime. Only when they start to settle down and start building cities will civilization develop rapidly and truly impact and threaten the Chinese civilization.
The Hetao seems to be not only preparing to drive out the nomads as much as possible, but also preparing to nip any possible civilization in the bud.
"Over there?" Guo Huai asked, pointing to the other side. There was a large circle of people surrounding it, but they were either old people or children. There was a platform in the middle, and there seemed to be many people kneeling on it. On the platform stood upright
There are quite a few wooden piles, and I don’t know what they are used for.
"Kill people." Luo Xiang said in a calm tone: "My lord has said that the city lords of Bansheng City and their lackeys must be killed without leaving a trace. As for the people who were kidnapped, they will be dealt with accordingly.
Now we are collectively trying those traitors and lackeys."
Guo Huai asked in confusion: "How do you know who is the traitor?"
Luo Xiang said with a smile: "My lord said, of the population that the barbarians plundered from my kingdom, the able-bodied people were naturally taken as slaves by them, the beautiful women were turned into sex slaves, and the old, weak, sick and disabled were either killed.
, or they were thrown to these Bansheng City Lords as coolies. Therefore, there were very few slaves in Bansheng City who were young and strong. Therefore, those young and strong people in the city were most likely the lackeys of the traitorous Bansheng City Lords.
We’ll arrest all these people first and then we’ll talk about it.”
"Aren't you afraid that someone might slip through the net and be killed by mistake?"
"There are definitely fish that have slipped through the net. But have you seen so many people gathered around there? We can let them report. As long as there are more than ten people who report in agreement, we will kill them without mercy! As for the people who were killed by mistake, there are definitely people.
But in order to prevent those traitor lackeys from taking advantage of the situation, we have no other choice. Besides, even if they die, it should be comforting to think that they will be accompanied by the enemies who once oppressed and tortured them."
"What to do with those people?"
"Those who committed the most heinous crimes, like the lords of Bansheng City and their loyal lackeys, were either put to death or quartered. As for those who were later exposed and whose heinous crimes were recognized by everyone, the same was true, and the rest were all hanged. As for these people,
After all the city walls are demolished, we will move them back to Hetao 3rd Road," Luo Xiang said calmly.
"You all killed the Hulu directly, why did you use such cruel methods to execute these people?" Guo Huai asked in confusion.
"Although the Hulu are our enemies, it is a question of the positions of both sides. Since the two sides are enemies, it is normal for them to kill our people. On the other hand, it is natural for us to kill them. For such a courageous enemy
, even if we want to eliminate them, we will let them die with dignity. However, we will never tolerate these traitors and slaves! A nation can tolerate cowardly people, because you cannot expect everyone to be as passionate as yourself.
They donated their lives for the sake of the nation. Since they could not defeat the barbarians, they had no choice but to become slaves in order to survive. After all, no one wanted to be a slave. But these traitors, for their own interests and for the sake of glory and wealth, not only betrayed
Our own nation, and they helped the tyrants to persecute their own countrymen. If they were not sentenced to death, how could they be worthy of the people who died tragically at their hands, and how could they be worthy of the compatriots who lost their lives innocently because of their selfish interests?"
"So what if they surrender?"
"We will not accept the surrender of a traitor under any circumstances! For these people whose hands are stained with the blood of their compatriots, whose sins are so heinous that their souls are extremely filthy, the only outcome is death! Of course, for those who have not harmed the common people,
We will also deal with those who protect the people of China under our rule as much as possible. A few days ago, the lord pardoned the crime of Mo Fangyuan, the lord of Candlestick City, because he did not want the people under his rule to be punished.
After many sufferings and insults, he voluntarily petitioned to be the lord of that city, and more than 4,000 people in the city also raised their hands and praised him. If nothing else happens, after regaining the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun, this Mo Fangyuan will definitely become the prefect of the first prefecture.
.”
Looking at Luo Xiang's calm expression, Guo Huai's heart trembled again. However, he wisely did not continue to say more on this matter. He just said: "There are so many old people and children, I'm afraid it is a big burden."
Bar."
Luo Xiang sighed. This was the first time Guo Huai saw Luo Xiang sigh: "Then what can we do? These are our fellow villagers and citizens of the Celestial Dynasty. How can we ignore them? Leave them behind.
Here, we are completely letting them die. Fortunately, we have accumulated some foundation in the past few years, and their total population will not exceed 500,000, so there should be no problem. Haha, haven't you seen our Hetao after the Battle of Hukou in 620
Due to the lack of food and the large number of old, young, women and children, the entire Hetao, including the Northwest Second Road that was later included in the rule, implemented a limited supply of food and mixed it with coarse grains. During that time, even the Lord ate it every day
Sweet potatoes and potatoes. No matter how heavy the burden is now, it can't be compared to what it was then."
Guo Huai was silent. After a long time, he held up his hands and said to Luo Xiang: "We must say goodbye after a long journey. Guo still has official duties, so he won't stay here. If he has time someday, Guo will definitely go to Hetao in person.
, Let’s raise a toast with you and Xiangcheng!”
"No matter what, we are the best brothers at any time." Luo Xiang laughed: "That's fine! I won't come back until I'm drunk!"