Chen Qing led the army to Wuyuan County. After hundreds of years of vicissitudes, only ruins of the former county town remained. Groups of captured herdsmen walked dejectedly, followed by their women and children.
At this time, several old men were brought to Chen Qing. They knelt down and kowtowed, clasping their palms together and begging. The soldiers next to them translated: "They said they were ordinary herdsmen, belonging to the Bai Dadan tribe and the Bath Simu tribe.
Living in the Yinshan area in the north, they were conquered by the Tata tribe and the Kle tribe and became slaves. The Tata tribe and the Kle tribe forcibly moved them here. They were forced to raise sheep for the army. Their men were enslaved, and their women were still alive.
They will be humiliated, have no property of their own, and the sheep they have worked so hard to raise will be eaten by the army. I beg Your Highness to spare them."
Chen Qing looked at him for a while and said, "Are they the leaders?"
Several old men listened to the interpreter and quickly explained. The soldier translated: "They said the chief had been killed and they were the Presbyterian Church."
"Let them swear to the Immortal God that every word they say is the truth."
The soldier translated and several old men knelt down and swore to Changshengtian. The soldier said to Chen Qing: "The oaths they swore are all poisonous. I promise to Changshengtian that every word they say is true."
At this time, Tang Qian came over and said to Chen Qing: "I have interrogated the herdsmen in my humble position. They said that they were herdsmen from my Bai Dadan tribe. After being conquered by the Tata tribe, they became military slaves and specialized in raising sheep for the army. They suffered from exploitation and bullying."
"Have you seen their property?" Chen Qing asked again.
Tang Qian nodded, "I have seen it from my humble position. The tent is destitute and the children's clothes are shabby."
After several old men swore an oath, they said to Chen Qing: "This land does not belong to us. I beg Your Highness to let us return to our homeland."
"How many herdsmen households do you have in total?"
The soldiers translated, and the leader of the old man said: "There are twelve thousand households in total."
Chen Qing nodded, "Each household was given a hundred sheep and allowed to pack up their belongings and return to their homeland."
After listening to the translation, several old men hugged each other and started crying. They knelt down and kowtowed to Chen Qing, thanking him again and again.
Chen Qing said slowly: "The Western Army will not bully kind people. In the future, if you are bullied by other powerful tribes, you can go south to rely on us. I will treat you as my subjects and buy your sheep so that you can be like other people."
Just as well-fed and clothed as ever.”
The old men thanked them profusely and left, and Tang Qian whispered: "Actually, it's better to leave them here. Helan Mountain Ranch is currently empty."
"It depends on their volition! Maybe they would rather go back to their hometown."
Chen Qing urged his horse to head towards the camp.
The Western Army captured tens of thousands of large tents, built its own military camp, and built more than a dozen huge sheep and horse pens with 12 million sheep. The number was really huge. Chen Qing ordered the logistics commander Zhao Xiaoyi to lead a team.
The thousands of soldiers sent most of the sheep back to Lingzhou, leaving only two million to serve as rations for the army of more than 100,000.
The main tent covering an area of three acres has also become Chen Qing's royal tent. In the big tent, Chen Qing said to the generals: "I made two plans before sending troops. The first plan is to defeat the nomadic cavalry. We will continue
Go north and wipe out the remaining forces of the Tata and Kele tribes, but now I have changed my mind. If we weaken these two tribes too much, it will only lead to the re-rise of the Mengwu tribe. I think it is better to let them fight each other, at least this time
After World War I, they would not dare to go south within ten years."
There was silence in the big tent, everyone was looking forward to King Yong's second plan.
Chen Qing said slowly: "My second plan is to continue marching eastward to Datong Mansion and seize Yanshan Mansion in one fell swoop!"
There was a burst of cheers in the big tent. This was the good news they had been waiting for!
The generals dispersed, and the soldiers hurriedly found Chen Qing to report: "Your Highness, those old men just now are here again, asking to see Your Highness!"
Chen Qing nodded, "Let them in!"
Not long after, the soldiers led the five old men into the big tent, and the translator and sergeant also arrived. The four old men knelt down and kowtowed. The leader of the old man said: "Your Highness's magnanimity gives us hope for life, and we are all willing to stay as Your Highness."
The people of our country, please Your Highness to include it!"
Chen Qing listened to the translation and asked calmly: "Why don't you want to go back to your hometown?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the pasture in our hometown has been occupied by a tribe from the Tata tribe. If we go back, there will inevitably be conflicts. We have no ability to protect ourselves and will become slaves again. We would rather join His Highness and become His subjects."
Chen Qing nodded, "There are conditions for becoming my people, you must accept them!"
"Please tell me, Your Highness!"
The soldier translated smoothly, and there were almost no communication barriers between the two parties. Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "I have two conditions. First, you must accept the jurisdiction of the government like other ethnic groups in my territory, such as the Qiang and Uighurs.
, of course, the government does not want to enslave you, but to enroll you in household registration and pay taxes normally every year."
"How much tax do we have to pay every year?" several old men asked nervously.
"It's not much. For every hundred sheep born, you pay a tax of five sheep. It's the same for other ethnic groups, and it's the same for you."
Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. Compared with the half of the sheep tax that the Tata tribe asked them to pay, this sheep tax was very low, and they could completely accept it.
"We do!"
Chen Qing nodded and said: "The second condition is your organizational form. I don't want you to implement the chief system. The current elder system is better, and I ask you to continue to maintain it."
After listening to the translation, the five elders looked at each other and agreed together: "This is very good, and we are willing to keep it!"
Chen Qing immediately said: "There is a large pasture at the foot of Helan Mountain. It was the pasture of the Dangxiang people in the past. There are currently no tribes there. You can move there. Then you can go to Lingzhou to register with Governor Zhang and I will give you a letter.
, give this letter to Governor Zhang, and he will arrange your pasture, and you will be under the jurisdiction of the Lingzhou government from now on."
Chen Qing immediately wrote a short message and gave it to the elder, and arranged for a local soldier to be a guide to take them to the Helan Mountain Ranch.
Several elders thanked him profusely and left.
After resting for three days, Chen Qing organized an army of 130,000, carrying 70,000 camels, thousands of carts and two million sheep, and continued to march eastward along the north bank of the Yellow River.
Ten days later, the army arrived at Datong Mansion, and Governor Yan Jun came to welcome King Yong's army.
The army set up camp outside Datong City, and Yan Jun took Liu Kun, director of the Datong Intelligence Branch, to report to Chen Qing on the situation in Yanshan Mansion.
The Datong Intelligence Branch is responsible for detecting intelligence on the grassland and Yanshan Prefecture. Yanshan Prefecture has a total force of about 70,000 people, including 50,000 Jurchen troops and 20,000 local Yan troops. It is led by Marshal Wanyan Helisa. The current defense focus of the Jin army is
The south is close to the Hebei line, and there are basically no troops stationed in the north. Only 3,000 troops are stationed at Juyongguan.
"What's the situation like with the garrison in Yixian County?" Chen Qing asked again.
Yixian County is the entrance where Fei Huxing enters Yanshan Mansion. It is an extremely important strategic location. Liu Kun quickly said: "There are three dangerous passes over there, and 10,000 local Yan troops are stationed. They are very heavily guarded. It is more difficult than Juyong Pass.
"
"Can merchants from Juyong Pass pass?"
Liu Kun nodded, "Trade between the grassland and Yanshan Prefecture all goes through Juyongguan. As long as you pay taxes, it will flow smoothly!"
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and then asked: "Is there an intelligence station in Yanshan Prefecture in Datong Prefecture?"
Yan Jun next to him replied hesitantly: "Last autumn we destroyed an intelligence point in Yanshan Prefecture. I don't know if it has been rebuilt now."
Liu Kun added: "If Wanyan Helisa gets the information of His Highness's arrival in Datong Mansion, he will definitely mobilize troops on a large scale, and our intelligence station will also send news. I believe that as long as there is no one in Yanshan Mansion within three days,
The movement means that the other party does not know His Highness is coming."
Liu Kun's inference made sense. Chen Qing nodded and said, "Then the army will rest for a few more days!"