"Your Majesty, the prey has been retrieved!" Yuan Xingqin rushed over excitedly.
"Canglang!" Xia Ruqi took out the knife and held it in front of him.
Yuan Xingqin's steps slowed down and he stopped far away.
"Your Majesty, I was rude." Yuan Xingqin said awkwardly.
"It doesn't matter." Shao Shude patted Xia Luqi on the shoulder. He was very satisfied, but he still walked forward in person and said: "Yuan Qing is interested. Eating deer in winter is the most beautiful thing in life. After a while, he will share the food with the soldiers.
, you take it down and rectify it first."
Yuan Xingqin was holding a deer in his hand, which was the deer that Shao Shude had just shot down. He could talk so well, but his arms could not move at all. His arm strength was indeed very good.
"As ordered." Yuan Xingqin glanced at Xia Luqi quietly and left. Xia Luqi glared back at him.
"I heard that you have fought against him?" Shao Shude suddenly asked. "There is no difference in victory or defeat." Xia Luqi replied.
"Oh? This person is so brave?" Shao Shude pretended to be surprised: "I didn't expect to be able to fight you back and forth."
"Your Majesty, if we fight on foot, I will definitely kill this person. If we fight on horseback, we don't know what we are capable of." Xia Ruqi blushed and defended himself.
Shao Shude smiled and said, "It's pretty good."
Xia Luqi, one of the three greatest slayers of a hundred people in history, personally certified that Yuan Xingqin was quite capable. And what can I say about this person? He was much more loyal than the average person at this time. After taking refuge with Li Cunxu in history, he devoted himself to
Try your best, not avoiding life and death on the battlefield, rush into the enemy's encirclement alone, use your bare hands to kill the enemy soldiers, and rescue the lord.
When Li Cunxu was at the end of his rope, he had offended Li Siyuan long ago and could not seek refuge with him again, so he spoke impassionedly, but in reality he was not very trustworthy. After Zhuangzong died, he also escaped and was held by the villagers. But no matter what
No matter what, he did not rebel, and whether he was with Liu Shouguang or Li Cunxu, he tried his best. Although he was not a loyal and loyal soldier, he was by no means a rebel. He had his own ideas and values.
Observe and observe again, and you can gradually increase the burden on him.
Well, Xia Ruqi has already been given a heavy burden. Shao Shude is very satisfied with him. He has been promoted to deputy general and leads a hundred silver-saddled warriors. After the palace guards, they form the last layer of security around Shao Shude - these hundred people are also
They are veterans of the Forbidden Army. They have cold-forged armor, foot bows, long swords, horizontal swords, and heavy swords. They can be called killing machines. With them, that's enough.
There are knights galloping in the distance. If you look carefully, you can see that they are all young men. The old men have already dismounted. They seem to be chatting, but the corner of their eyes is focused on Shao Shude.
Shao Shude sat on his classic limited edition tiger leather chair, carefully watching the performance of the juniors, and making comments from time to time.
"There are a lot of good seedlings coming this year."
"Who is this person? He hit seven out of ten arrows, which is as good as He Basheng's back then." - He Basheng shot birds on horseback and hit six or seven out of ten. He cannot be said to be the best in archery, but he is also top-notch.
"Haha, you are showing off your riding skills in front of me. The more you show off, the more you show off."
"Prairie warriors, apart from other things, their riding and archery skills are indeed top-notch. They are all my sons, good, good!" Shao Shude enjoyed the feeling of the warriors vying to perform in front of him, which made him feel like a hero in the world.
The satisfaction of having them all fall into my lap.
What's more, the warriors of the grassland slaves are all members of my own family, which makes me even more happy to see them.
"Profuse sweating." The old guys who were resting not far away finally couldn't bear it anymore and came over one after another. "Everyone, sit down." Shao Shude ordered.
Chu Shenping had someone bring a chair—well, the upgraded chair ordered by Shao Sheng was no longer the previous rope bed.
"Do you know why you are called here this time?" Shao Shude asked.
In front of him, there were more than ten people sitting. In addition to the people from Xianyou Palace, Wang He, the inspector of Sanquan, and the cronies of King Xi Quzhu were also among them. Basically, all the people of Daxia in the Yanbei grassland.
The leader of the force.
"Please express it clearly from the Great Khan," Tuoba Jin, the eunuch of the Immortal Palace, said.
"How much food do you have in your respective tribes?" Shao Shude asked, "Has the horse lost weight?"
Winter and spring are generally the most difficult times for grassland tribes, because
The grass has stopped growing. Therefore, ministries usually start preparing hay for the winter in autumn and slaughter excess livestock to prepare for surviving the harsh winter.
Tribes in winter are like frozen snakes, without any vitality. Both people and livestock are "losing fat". Food and fodder are scarce, and there is really not much left.
"Great Khan, the grain has been gone for a long time, but the fodder is enough to last until May." Tuoba Jin replied: "The horses have lost some fat, but according to the order of the Great Khan, there are still more than a thousand horses that can be used at any time. The rest are
A war horse can be kept alive and kicking if you raise it."
"Great Khan, our department is like the Xianyou Palace." Go to Zhuhui. "What about you?" Shao Shude looked at Wang He and asked.
"Great Khan, our troops can dispatch 3,000 knights and 5,000 horses at any time." Wang He replied loudly. "Oh?" Shao Shude was surprised and asked, "Why?"
"I have been guarding against the Khitan thieves." Wang He said with a smile. "Well, not bad." Shao Shude said.
After speaking, he pondered for a moment, as if he wanted to announce something.
Tuoba Jin, Quzhu, and Wang He held their breath and waited quietly, for fear of missing any word.
"After two days, you will each return to your respective tribes." Shao Shude said: "Slaughter the livestock and prepare dried meat. Feed the horses quickly, and don't make them emaciated. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month - Tuoba Jin, you will lead the five horses to ride.
In the area around the ancient city of Yanle; Wang He, you lead ten thousand cavalry to the Ximiyun garrison area; to Zhu, you lead three thousand cavalry to the Guangbian army area."
The Guangbian Army, Ximi Yunshu, and Yanle City all belonged to the mountain back area of Youzhou Town. After they gave up, they were occupied by the Khitans. But in a big battle last year, the Xia army chased them all the way, and the Khitans fled in all directions. Xia
After the army withdrew, the Khitan people never came back, and they almost became a land without one.
"You have to wait for arrival within ten days without any mistakes." Shao Shude emphasized again. "I obey." The three of them agreed immediately without asking any questions.
Shao Shude was very satisfied.
Because of the loose relationship among the grassland tribes, it has almost become a habit for someone to babble or even bargain when the leader gives orders.
Only when people with very high prestige stand up and speak, no one dares to contradict them. Once such people appear on the grassland, it means that they have been integrated to a certain extent. The power they can mobilize is very huge, and they can often mobilize hundreds of thousands.
ride.
When Shao Shude speaks now, no one dares to talk nonsense. The tribes of Yinshan, Daibei, and Yanbei were either conquered by him or cultivated by him. Their prestige is very high, and no one dares to talk nonsense.
"Don't worry. I will send people to transfer some of the grain and grass to Ximiyun garrison and other places. Just wait until you send people to receive it." Shao Shude said: "I will also replenish the slaughtered livestock and the lost horses. You only have one mission.
, which is to intercept tribes that may flee north."
"As ordered." The three of them responded in unison.
In fact, it is not a difficult task. The fleeing tribes are usually in a state of panic and chaos. And they do not know that there is an ambush behind the mountain. Under a sudden attack, collapse is a high probability event. For this task,
It can even be called easy.
"Okay, let the boys come over," Shao Shude said.
After the three of them heard this, they each gave a few instructions. After a while, the warriors who were hunting stopped one after another, dismounted from a distance, and trotted over.
"Greetings to the Great Khan." Hundreds of people knelt on the ground. "Everyone, please get up." Shao Shude supported him with both hands.
The heads of thousands of households gave orders in their own nonsense languages, and hundreds of people cheered and stood up.
Shao Shude knows several foreign languages. He is proficient in Dangxiang, and can speak most conversations in Tubo. He once tried to learn Uighur, but gave up because he didn’t have so much energy - Dangxiang only has language and no characters, while Tubo and Uighur
They are all written, so it is too troublesome to learn and takes up too much time.
"Each person receives two pieces of silk and a can of tea." Shao Shude said.
"Thank you, Khan." Everyone had known that there would be rewards for a long time, and they were still very excited when they heard about it. "I am also very happy to see you." Shao Shude smiled and said, "Total total here-"
"Great Khan, there are four hundred and three people." Tuoba Jin whispered.
"Well, four hundred and three people, all of them will be incorporated into the palace guards." Shao Shu
De said. The leaders translated again. Everyone was overjoyed and thanked him again.
One of the sources of the palace guards is the grassland slave tribe. This time, some of the warriors brought by Wang He from Zhuzhu were also recruited. It seems that they also benefited from it.
During the Pre-Tang Dynasty, the palace guards were mainly composed of government soldiers who were on duty, surrendered barbarians, foreign hostages and students. Most of them were rotated regularly instead of being on fixed duty for a long time.
The same was true in the Xia Dynasty. The palace guards were just a job. After a few years, they would be transferred and replaced with a new group of people. There were pros and cons to this, but in the long run, the pros outweighed the cons. At least since the Northern Dynasties, the effect has been
Not bad, at least it's much safer than using a fixed person.
Of course, the people in the grassland slave department must be rotated. Some of the people who are replaced may enter the military system and become members of the imperial army and state soldiers, and then eat the royal food; some officers can even get official positions, which is a great success.
Even those who are sent back to the tribe can get a generous severance package, which is quite good. Therefore, when I heard that I could be a palace guard, I was naturally very excited.
"On New Year's Eve—" After waving the warriors to retreat, Shao Shude looked at Tuoba Jin and said, "Hongyuan, Yulin, Woyang, and Xianyou Four Palaces are recruiting 20,000 people to Youzhou. Your troops are not going to do it either."
Exception. I need to train my sons well. The bodyguards and troops haven’t gathered for a battle in a long time. How can I rest assured if there is no blood?”
"Your Majesty is wise." Tuoba Jin said.
He knew that training was one thing, but winning over the soldiers of his own tribe was the main reason why the Supreme Khan ordered his troops.
The history of the imperial guards is very long. They fought with Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong, but since then, they have been on the battlefield very rarely. Except for the Xianyou Palace Department who often fought with the Khitans, the other three palace subordinates
It is indeed a bit comfortable, and I haven't seen the Khan for a long time. This recruitment is at the right time.
"Is there any place north of Yanshan that is suitable for building a palace?" Shao Shude suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, there is a land to the north of the ancient city of Yanle, with elegant and beautiful mountains and abundant water and grass. It is suitable for building a palace." Tuoba Jin replied.
"Have you been there?" Shao Shude asked with a smile.
"When I was chasing the Khitan, I came here. Liubuxi once grazed here, but they were driven away this year." Tuoba Jin said.
"Okay, I understand." Shao Shude said.
He thought for a while, the ancient city of Yanle was located in the Longhua County area in later generations, and was actually still in the Yanshan Mountains. These
The place can be used for grazing or farming. Historically, it has always been at the crossroads of the Central Plains and grasslands. The result
Even those who farm cannot survive, and herdsmen cannot graze here for a long time. The human population has always been very sparse.
This is the difficulty of the frontier land. Even if there are agricultural conditions that can be cultivated, you do not have a safe external environment, so it can only exist as a military stronghold, and the population cannot increase.
It would be a good idea to set up a training palace in this place and place slaves to graze their animals as a peripheral barrier for Youzhou. In fact, this is also part of the defense system for the northern capital Youzhou that he has been conceiving recently.
As an important town connecting the grasslands and the Central Plains, Youzhou will obviously establish a complete defense system based on the Yanshan Mountains. The periphery of this system is the various vassal tribes and slaves of the Bashang Grassland, and in the middle is a small number of tribes set up in the tunnels of the Yanshan Mountains.
The fortress where the sergeants were stationed, and finally the army stationed on the Youzhou Plain.
The place Tuoba Jin mentioned should be in Weichang County in later generations, and it was indeed a good pasture. Shao Shude felt that it could be built as part of a three-level defense system, and it was suitable for building a palace to house slaves.