Huangfu Song was transferred to fight against the rebels in Liangzhou.
Last year, the Qiang rebelled first in Liangzhou, and at the end of the year the Yicong rebelled in Huangzhong. The Qiang and Hu leaders Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou took advantage of Bianzhang. Han Sui gathered more than 100,000 people to attack the city and plunder the territory. withstand.
At the beginning of this year, Liangzhou rebels entered Sanfu and Chang'an was in danger.
His Majesty the Ling Emperor was very anxious, as his ancestral grave was about to be dug up, so Huangfu Song had just put down the Yellow Turbans, but before he had time to finish, he had to fight two thousand miles away and hurried to Chang'an.
The important task of pacifying the bandits in Jizhou fell into the hands of Liu Xiang. He was not given the authority to control the army. He only had a troop deployment document and an order for the counties in Jizhou to support supplies.
Liu Xiang didn't care about this. It hadn't been long since he had just issued an imperial decree. How could he gain trust? As long as he could march into Jizhou with legitimate troops, he would be fine.
The little mouse has entered the rice vat, do you need to care about anything else?
It is more convenient to suppress bandits alone.
He is a general of the Han army who leads troops to suppress bandits. He is the nominal commander of the Yellow Turban Army. Therefore, he is the soldier and he is also the bandit. This is fun.
Zhu Jun's army had left long ago. Sun Jian and Liu Bei were both his generals, so they naturally followed them. I don't know how Liu Bei became Zhu Jun's subordinates. It's hard to guess what his fate will be like in life.
Cao Cao was special. He led the troops independently with the official position of Cavalry Commander. Although he obeyed the command of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, he was not considered their subordinate.
Now I have handed over my military power and gone to serve Liu Kang, King of Jinan.
Only Guo Dian, the governor of Julu, was left in Jizhou, who could barely be regarded as Liu Xiang's ally or obstacle.
It depends on Liu Xiang's mood.
On the second day of March, the branches were already green and the weather was pleasant, suitable for fighting.
The Anping army left 5,000 men to defend the city, and 23,000 cavalry marched south to Jizhou.
Before leaving, Liu Xiang handed the locust control booklet to Tian Chou. In the past few days, he had been recalling the records of locust control and summarized a few of them:
When plowing and plowing the ground in spring, pay attention to killing insect eggs, and patrol the wilderness. If you see countless small holes in the ground, shaped like a honeycomb, dig them out, boil them in water, and burn them all to kill them. This is the top priority.
Encourage raising chickens and ducks to kill locusts in fields.
Encourage people to catch locusts. Single locusts can be eaten, but swarms of locusts cannot be eaten.
Plant some mung beans and peas to prepare for emergencies.
If a swarm of locusts is discovered, the people will immediately be mobilized to hunt and kill them. They will dig ditches during the day, light fires at night, burn, kill and bury them.
If the people are afraid, tell them that as long as they don't eat the swarms of locusts, they will be fine. General Anping will bear all the blame, and the Locust God will not punish the people.
As for the issue of protecting the environment and maintaining the ecology, Liu Xiang did not mention it. This is the Han Dynasty, and this is Youzhou, a vast and sparsely populated area. The ecology is very good, and there is no need for human protection. Instead, strong men are needed to patrol and be careful of wild beasts eating people.
In these times, it is people who need protection.
Liu Xiang solemnly handed the booklet to Tian Chou and ordered: "Order many people to copy it, and be sure to send people to each township pavilion to read it. Each township pavilion must leave a copy, keep preaching, keep monitoring, and take the trouble." , let the common people know.”
"only."
No matter how worried you are, you still have to send troops. Taking advantage of the fact that the Black Mountain Army has not yet taken shape, recruiting some of its personnel can not only strengthen your own power, but also weaken Zhang Yan's strength.
They are too close to Youzhou and are active in the Taihang Mountains. It is not a good thing to have such a force at home.
It would be in Liu Xiang's interest to weaken him a bit.
The army traveled for a day, rested in Puyin County, mixed some food and grass, and continued to move forward. Puyin County could not squeeze out much oil and water, and his goal was to govern Lunu.
The Anping Army only brought half a month of food and grass. He wanted to raise supplies in Lunu County and check the situation.
The bandits in Jizhou are complex. There are mountain bandits entrenched in the valleys of the Taihang Mountains, water thieves hiding in lakes and rivers, old Yellow Turban troops scattered everywhere, and farmers who are newly revolted.
Of course the imperial court didn't care, and annihilating them all would be in line with their wishes, but Liu Xiang couldn't do this.
His goal is to subdue the Yellow Turbans and those who are new to the uprising. If they can, they will fight the mountain bandits and water bandits. If they can't, then leave them alone. It's not worth fighting against these people.
He is here to recruit labor and earn a living.
"The goal must be clear and no effort should be wasted." Liu Xiang looked at the map of Jizhou and muttered softly.
All the way south from Beixin City, passing through Lunu, Zhending, Xiangping, Handan and Ye County, the Taihang Mountain East Footpath runs through Jizhou from north to south, with mountains and valleys to the west and hills and plains to the east.
He prepared to advance southward along this dividing line.
After another two days' journey, we arrived near the Qishui River on the day of Shangji Festival. After passing the Qishui River, we walked another ten miles to Lunu.
The medical officer of the medical camp wanted to celebrate the Shangji Festival here and hold a purification bathing ceremony, saying that it could cure diseases and make the army healthy.
The Qi Chu River Bath means everyone goes to the river to take a bath together. Liu Xiang agreed, and after crossing the river, they took a bath together. It was just noon at this time, so they continued on their way after taking a bath without delaying the trip.
The first Ji day in early March is called "Shangji", and this day is Shangji Festival. In fact, Shangji Festival should be regarded as the Valentine's Day of the lunar calendar, where men and women often meet for bathing and outing.
one day.
Qiao Qiao Festival is more like Labor Day exclusively for women. Praying for skillful hands will help you work well in the future. Isn’t it Labor Day?
The Shangji Festival originated from the witchcraft activity of orchid soup to ward off evil spirits. Orchid grass is a spiritual creature with a fragrant aroma. The ancients had to bathe and fast before holding major rituals to worship the gods. The best way to bathe is "bathing in orchid soup".
On this day, people will go to the waterside to bathe together, which is called "祓禊", which means bathing beside the water. It is a ritual to remove evil and dirt.
"The Analects of Confucius once recorded: "In late spring, when the spring clothes are ready, five or six crown princes and six or seven boys bathe in Yi, dance in the wind, chant and return." What was written was the situation of exorcising evil spirits at that time.
After that, sacrificial banquets, meandering water drinking glasses, spring outings in the countryside, etc. were added.
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the date of Shangji Festival was changed to the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, which has been used until modern times.
The order to cross the river and bathe spread throughout the army, and the soldiers also wanted to celebrate the festival. They were all in high spirits, and the march speed accelerated significantly.
When we arrived at the river bank, a scout came to report that there was a small group of thieves bathing by the river ten miles upstream.
"How many people are there?"
"Nearly five hundred."
"Tai Shi Ci."
"The end will be here."
"Take Qian Yue and ride over there and capture the person." Liu Xiang was a little suspicious. This place is not far from Lu Nu and the location is a bit sensitive, so he wanted to capture him and ask.
He originally went south to suppress bandits, and when he found thieves, he would not let them go.
Taishi Ci led an army to fight for the first time. He was so excited that training and marching could not compare to fighting.
He is not a murderer, he just wants to achieve military success. He is from a humble background and has courage, so he naturally wants to stand out and change his family.
He had refused a conquest before, fearing that Liu Xiang would not be happy, so he had to perform well. The first battle was a great opportunity to show off his abilities.
Taishi Ci led his troops in a hurry and went straight to where the thieves were. He rushed forward on horseback and shot down the sentry on the bank. A thousand cavalry blocked the enemy in the river.
They shot and killed several people who tried to swim to the other side. Under the threat of bows and arrows, more than 400 people were captured. Within half an hour, they were driven to Liu Xiang.
Those people were running out of breath.
After interrogation, it was found that they were bandits entrenched in Hengshan Mountain, and their leader was Sun Qing. At the beginning of the year, officials increased taxes, and many people revolted, and many fled to the mountains.
Seeing an opportunity, Sun Qing led his people down the mountain and recruited fifty or sixty thousand people. He had already captured Shangquyang and was on his way to Lunu.
Liu Xiang smiled. He came at the right time and was lucky enough to receive a gift from Shangji Festival.
He looked in the direction of Lu Nu and felt that he should receive two gifts.