Chapter 7 The sand in the desert is like snow, and the moon in Yanshan Mountain is like a hook (1)
The new wind is howling, and people are shouting and horses neighing. The army has crossed Wushui (today's Naling River) eastward and reached the vicinity of the old hot spring water channel.
The hot spring water is one of the tributaries of the Wuding River. In the past, the water volume was very large. During the Helian period, the hot spring water was introduced into Xiazhou City, which was named "Black Canal". Many orchards were built on both sides of the black canal in the city, making it a spectacular sight.
After Shao entered Xiazhou, the black canal had dried up for many years, and the orchards were in disrepair. Last year, he was still thinking that after the northern expedition to the grassland gained a large number of people and wealth, he would reorganize the black canal and restore the "Hualin Chi Zhao".
"The grand occasion.
The hot spring water has stopped flowing, but it is not that there is no water. Instead, several small disconnected water pools have been formed. Next to the water pools are endless grasslands, where Dangxiang tribes graze their cattle.
Shao Shude hated this Dangxiang tribe, also named Tuoba. They were only a few dozen miles away from Xiazhou City, but they were not obedient and refused to pay tribute. What if they didn't die? It happened that he needed to defeat a few tribes first to establish his authority.
Otherwise, who would be honest and obedient? So with an order, more than a thousand cavalry came out first, followed by a large group of infantry, and went to kill this tribe of only about a thousand people.
In fact, this Tuoba tribe had already discovered the arrival of the Xiazhou Army. But they had no time to leave. It was only April, the grassland had not yet completely turned green, and the cattle and sheep could only eat the previously stored fodder. How could they escape?
A tribe of one thousand people can only produce two to three hundred adult men. Shao Shude stood on a high slope and looked down, and saw that these two hundred men had already taken out weapons, but it seemed that not everyone had them.
It’s even rarer to see it. It seems that just by following Tuoba Si Gong, you won’t get much richer! Although they both have the same surname as Tuoba, they might not be as good as those who don’t have Tuoba’s followers like Zang.
.
It is your own fault for being so stupid and ending up like this!
The cavalry of the Tielin Army did not directly charge into the formation. Although these party members were small in number and poorly equipped, they only defeated the enemy's dozens of cavalry on the periphery, and then circled to the rear.
With the Xiazhou infantry in a well-formed and murderous formation in front of them, and the enemy's cavalry behind them, the Dangxiang herdsmen were in a state of defending their homeland, and their morale was relatively high, but they still became uncontrollably panicked.
“Woo!” The trumpet sounded, and most of the party members were a little confused, but the faces of the experienced people suddenly changed, and they all shouted something in nonsense.
"Buzz!" The overwhelming arrows flew over and easily penetrated the weak armor of the party members. They were like the reeds beside the water, and they all fell down when the strong wind blew.
The cavalry came back to fight again.
Horse horses, swords and axes chopped and killed wantonly. Under the skilled skills of professional warriors, the herdsmen were almost unable to put up any resistance and scattered in despair. Later, they were overtaken one by one and chopped down to the ground.
The blood flowed gurglingly and merged into the water. On the grass, corpses were strewn everywhere, and the fishy smell filled the sky.
Shao Shude walked down the high slope under the escort of his own soldiers. The auxiliary soldiers had already begun to clear the battlefield, and all the party herdsmen who were injured but not dead were given a knife. The old and weak women and children of the tribe were also picked out one by one, and they knelt down tremblingly.
On the ground.
Tribal annexation wars are not very pleasant on the grassland. You have no idea what the victor will do with himself. A single thought may save his life, but with bad luck, all men taller than a wheel will die.
“Count the cattle, sheep and property and make a register.” Shao Shude ordered.
“As ordered.” Li Yanling was very familiar with this matter and quickly took the people to work.
“Everyone, please take care of them all. General Zhou, you are responsible for this matter.”
"As ordered." Zhou Rong has 2,500 Xiazhou Yamen troops under his command. It seems that the king wants him to specialize in guarding prisoners.
“We will camp here tonight.” Shao Shude looked at the sky and said.
Almost all the adult men of this Tuoba collateral tribe died, and the only ones left were women and children. As for what to do with these people, Shao Shude had a vague idea in his mind, that is, to give them to the Chao people as wives.
Enrich the town's population.
The current total number of people in the town is no less than 25,000, all of them are strong men. Most of them are digging canals and building reservoirs in Yinzhou, and a small number of them are renting land on military farms in Suizhou. Among these people, more than 10,000 have already
Although they have household status, but they don’t have a wife, how can they make up their mind?
There were not many people in the four states of Xia Sui. Tielin's army came with nine thousand soldiers, Zhuge Shuang brought three thousand soldiers, plus the Chao soldiers, there were thirty to forty thousand strong men, which greatly damaged the ratio of men to women.
Although he has brought over 10,000 families from Guanzhong, and more than 1,000 families of sergeants' families have moved here in the past few years, overall there are still more men than women. The sergeants are rich and are very popular in the marriage market. Basically,
Sooner or later, he will marry a wife and have children, but the nest people are not so attractive!
Their status is not good to begin with, and they have no assets. Who is willing to marry you? Shao Shude thought for a long time, and only these tribal women were "matched" to them.
It doesn’t matter if women from the Dangxiang tribe have children. “Being a father” is not a bad thing in this era. Agricultural production requires labor. When those children are raised, the daughter can get married and the son can help with farm work at home.
With a few more children, the family would be large and the population of the town would be greatly enriched.
Let’s do this first!
On the second day, the army marched northeastward under the leadership of their guides.
The auxiliary soldiers counted for a long time last night and finally counted the spoils: more than a hundred horses, more than 1,700 cattle, and more than 8,000 sheep. Okay, take them all. There are also large carts in the tribe, loaded with
Women and children, under the supervision of Zhou Rong's troops, followed the army all the way.
In the afternoon of the same day, the whole army arrived at the bank of Jiaolan River (now Hailiu Tu River).
Shao Shude followed the Chinese army, a little slower than the forward. When he arrived at the riverside surrounded by his own soldiers, what he saw was only a chase north. In the evening, as the last strong man was killed by the Tielin Army,
The soldiers bowed their heads, and the whole battle had come to an end.
Another small tribe with more than a thousand people! According to Zhe Yao, the guide sent by the Zhe family, this tribe calls itself the Dangxiang Mibu branch, but most of them are fake. This is not surprising on the grassland, because Dangxiang is so powerful.
Many small tribes of miscellaneous Hu also like to pretend to be called Dangxiang. But if you look closely, they are probably "Hu" rather than "Qiang".
But it doesn’t matter. I only care about my political stance and don’t ask about anything else. Since I am determined to follow the Tuoba family, I must be aware of being implicated. Marshal Shao has been in Xiazhou for more than half a year. Why don’t I see you guys coming to offer cattle?
Sheep? You just pay tribute to the Tuoba family and send troops to help. Who else will I kill if I don’t kill you?
"Zheyao, I have destroyed these two tribes to establish my authority. Has the news been leaked?" An iron pot has been set up by the river. Li Yanling personally barbecued meat, cooked soup, and prepared food for the commander. Shao Shude came to find him when he had nothing to do.
The guide speaks.
“It shouldn’t be yet.” Zheyao thought for a while and said, “The commander has more than a thousand fine knights riding around outside, so there shouldn’t be any fish that slip through the net.”
“There are still too few cavalry.” Shao Shude sighed.
Although the Dingnan Army has a lot of territory and horses, it is only cheaper than the inland vassal towns in terms of purchase and maintenance costs. Xiazhou is poor, and the food and salary to support 23,000 sergeants is already a big headache for itself. If it raises more cavalry, it will indeed
It's a lot of pressure. Yuduole City's strategic army has three thousand professional cavalry. It would be great if they could be used by themselves.
"Tomorrow, we will go north along the Jiaolan River, search for any tribes along the way, and then cross the river northeast to reach the old city of Gaowang County, Hangzhou?" Li Yixian spread out a map next to him, and Shao Shude looked at the dim light on the map.
Double-check the marching route.
It has only been five days since the troops were dispatched, and we still have enough food and grass for the next few months. We destroyed two Dangxiang tribes and captured more than 200 horses, 3,000 cattle, 18,000 sheep, and more than 1,000 women and children. There is no need for supplies.
Worrying. It’s just that the roads along the way are either grassland or sandy land, and the landscape has not changed at all, which makes people a little upset.
Tomorrow’s destination is Gaowang County, Han Dynasty, which has long been abandoned. Back then, Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered Meng Tian to attack Hu in the north, take over all the land in Henan, and build forty-four cities. The Han Dynasty also vigorously developed it, but unfortunately, most of it is gone now.
There is a large pond next to the ancient city of Gaowang, with abundant water and grass. It is inhabited by Dangxiang Miwei tribe, who has good relations with the Zhe family and has a large population of five or six thousand people. When Shao Shude first learned about it, he was also a little annoyed. This Miwei tribe was obviously
In Xiazhou, he actually surrendered to the Zhe family. Since he took office, he has never donated cattle, sheep, horses and camels. It is simply unreasonable!
“Commander, when the Tubo invaded in the past, the Miwei Department sent five hundred people to help the Tang Dynasty army.” As if he knew what Shao Shude was thinking, Zhe Yao said softly.
“You are clever.” Shao Shude laughed and scolded: “That’s it. The Miwei Department will pay off the taxes owed over the years, and I will ignore it.”
Zhe Yao’s face turned pale when he heard this.
Marshal Shao, why is he so concerned about urging students to teach? None of the previous commanders were so interested in money. I am afraid that the Miwei Department is going to suffer a lot of bleeding this time. Not only will they send troops to help in the battle, but they will also have to feed cattle and sheep.
This handsome man is unlucky!
“Where is General Zhe waiting for me?” Shao Shude asked again.
“We will arrive in Gaowang City by walking straight north in three to five days.” Zheyao replied, “He is waiting for us on the pasture of Pang Qingbu.”
“How far is it from Dijinze?”
“It’s just a three-day trip.”
“How big is Pang Qingbu?”
“More than eight thousand people.”
“That’s not a big deal.” Shao Shude nodded and said, “Let’s do it like this. I heard there is a Manu tribe over there in Dijinze?”
“Commander Mingjian, the Manu tribe has more than ten thousand members and is a large clan, closely related to the Tuoba clan. There is also a group nearby named Weicai, which is not on good terms with the Manu tribe.” Zheyao said.
“Very good, let’s do this with this Manubu.” Shao Shude smiled and said, “Okay, let’s eat first. The meat and cakes should be ready.”
April 14, after resting one night by the Jiaolan River, the army marched north along the river.
The grassland tribes live in pursuit of water and grass. As the Jiaolan River is a tributary of the Wuding River, there are naturally many tribes on both sides of the river. Except for the tribes pointed out by Zhe Yao who tend to lose their families, the other tribes are really unlucky. Two
They were directly destroyed, four surrendered as a sign of submission, and one fled with his entire family, not even giving up his family property.
When the army arrived at Pang Qingbu's pasture on April 22, they had captured more than 6,000 people, 1,500 horses, 19,000 cattle, 107,000 sheep, and 1,000 camels.
Two hundred head, it can be said that the harvest is quite rich. At this time, the 5,000 Han soldiers and horses led by Zhe Zong were also waiting here for a long time.