Liu Xiang could not take so many people with him. He had to resupply many times over 2,400 miles, which required transfer orders and customs clearance documents. No dynasty would allow the army to be mobilized at will. To mobilize troops without orders is a capital crime.
He can't leave Youzhou Tuqi behind and take these people back, right?
That's impossible.
Therefore, they were placed in the area from the mouth of Bao Valley to its valley, which is the Bao River Basin. There are more than 30 miles of gentle terrain, which is suitable for cultivating wasteland and grazing cattle and sheep. Because there are Qiang barbarians in the nearby mountains, and the Hanzhong Plain in the south
It is more suitable for farming. No one has ever lived here. It is just suitable for these thousands of Qiang and Hu soldiers. How can the scattered Qiang barbarians be their opponents?
To the south is Baozhong County, where you can exchange living materials, to the north is Bao Valley, and to the west is Qi Valley. If there is an accident, you can retreat to the valley. It is difficult to be wiped out. It is also the exit of Baoxie Road. Caravans come and go frequently, doing business or doing business.
Looting is very convenient.
The most important thing is that this place is behind Yangping Pass and above Nanzheng. When conquering Hanzhong, this is a sharp knife in the back.
Qie Jian was very happy to place them here. It was just a wasteland and would not disturb the people. Being able to station soldiers and horses who were once friendly forces on the head of Su Gu, the prefect of Hanzhong, was of great benefit to him to restrain Su Gu. The governor of the Han Dynasty was
A petty official with a salary of 600 shi needs to be supervised and controlled by a prefect with 2,000 shi. Although his power is not small, it is not easy. This is his opportunity to take control of Hanzhong.
Fan Xian studied for several days and designed farming and grazing areas for them. Liu Xiang provided them with weapons, allocated a batch of captured tents and baggage, and gave them a lot of cattle and sheep.
Tan Minman, from a small tribal leader, became a famous Qiang king overnight. With 500 cavalry and 5,000 Qiang infantry, his combat prowess should not be underestimated.
Most of these soldiers were Qiang people who lived together with the Han people. Later, their families were brought in, and a large Qiang people were born.
"When will the general come back? We are still fighting with the general." It was like a dream, and Tan Mingsuan became the king of the Qiang people?
"They will come back, it won't take a few years." Liu Xiang is not worried about them at all. They have a good mix of infantry and cavalry, sharp weapons, no shortage of low-level officers, and a complete organizational structure. They have cultivated the courage to fight through winning battles. Such a large army.
, do you need to worry? The most terrifying thing is that their former robes are all on the west, north and south. Whoever messes with them will be in trouble.
"We are waiting for the general to come back." Tan Mingxuan turned around and led the people away step by step. You know, he is disarming and returning home, but you don't know, he thought it was a large army going on an expedition.
The remaining several thousand soldiers also received the rewards and set off home. Except for the regular soldiers stationed in Chencang, only the Youzhou Tuqi were left.
There are more than 2,800 Hu cavalrymen with three horses, two Hexi war horses, and one Hexi mare, all of which are selected good horses. There are also more than 500 stallions, which will be sent to the military horse farm after they return.
A thousand carts pulled by two thousand packhorses, driven by three thousand civilians, loaded with provisions and supplies, went with the team to settle down in Youzhou. These civilian laborers were all Liu Xiang's people, fully equipped with weapons, and had been trained for more than half a year.
Ordinary armies may not be able to defeat them.
The leader is Zhang He, assisted by Ke Bineng and Xu Rong on the left. They will return along the way they came. Zhang Liao and Tai Shici are transferred to their side to strengthen the protective force.
"Jun Yi, there is no need to hold back. The more restrained you are, the more people will bully you. If you are more arrogant, no one will dare to offend you."
"The general will definitely bring the troops back to Youzhou and live up to the general's instructions."
Tens of thousands of horses and thousands of two-horse carriages were rushing eastward. They had to brave the severe cold to rush back to Youzhou. The journey was not easy.
Chencang Camp also had more than 30,000 cattle and sheep, and 2,000 horses. Liu Xiang didn't keep a single war horse, and all of them were distributed to the army.
These people have to rush to Chang'an. If they eat the meat, the friendly troops will also be exposed to the meat.
As per the old rules, Sun Jian works.
Liu Xiang has already submitted a petition to recommend Sun Jian to succeed him as the commander-in-chief of the Chencang War Zone. Yuan Pang has already approved that the official appointment must wait for the imperial edict. At the very least, he can become a captain. He has already crossed the threshold of a high-ranking officer in the Han Dynasty. , he knew how many people had been stumped by this step.
After everything was settled, Liu Xiang rested for a few more days and arrived in Chang'an on November 15th.
"Yicheng is here, and the imperial edict has just arrived. He appoints Sun Jian as the governor of Wudu, the captain of the rebel school, and takes charge of the affairs of the Chencang camp. He appoints Dong Zhuo as the general for the expedition to the west and the prince of the country. He urges you and me. Set off as soon as possible, the boat is ready, we will set off tomorrow, and stay in the house tonight."
"The general will obey the order."
Needless to say, we had a banquet at night. When we boarded the ship the next day, Sun Jian came to see him off. Liu Xiang joked: "The imperial edict has arrived. Wentai will guard Xiongguanjiancheng from now on. If I lead an army to invade, you and I will It’s going to be a big battle.”
Sun Jian already knew about his appointment. He was in a good mood and joked: "If Yicheng comes, I will turn against you. How can I be an enemy of my best friend?"
"That's what you said."
"One word and nine tripods!"
The two looked at each other and smiled, and Liu Xiang reminded quietly: "Guard Chencang, no one can swallow you." After saying this, he glanced at Dong Zhuo.
Sun Jian nodded gently.
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries and then said goodbye. The fleet set sail and sailed eastward along the Weishui River.
Liu Xiang's boat was a small building with only two floors. It was less than ten feet high and twenty feet long. It had both oars and sails. It was equipped with fifty sailors and could carry more than five hundred troops. Liu Xiang only brought more than two hundred troops. When Su Wei boarded the boat, it was not crowded at all. Unfortunately, it was too cold, so he could only huddle in the cabin to avoid the cold.
In front of them was Yuan Pang's boat, which was also a small building boat. It was a pity that they didn't see a large building boat with a height of three stories and more than 20 feet.
Followed by five horse ships, loaded with 1,500 horses, each ship was escorted by fifty Suwei people. Originally, only three ships were prepared, but Suwei had many horses, so they could only allocate two more ships. Yuan Pang saw When there was a man and three horses, he looked at Liu Xiang like a prodigal.
"If I hadn't known about Yicheng's method of driving Jingqi, I would have thought you were a horse dealer."
Liu Xiang chuckled: "Only if you have many horses can you run fast."
Chang'an is more than 700 miles away from Luoyang. It enters the Yellow River from the Wei River and sails all the way to Pingyin County in five days. The team will disembark from here. There is a road leading to Luoyang along the foot of Beimang Mountain, a distance of 60 miles.
Taishi Ci was left to lead 200 people to meet the fleet. The fleet would return to Chang'an. He wanted to hire a large number of ships and station them on the river bank, ready to cross the river at any time.
Yuan Pang saw that Su Wei's team had been reduced by less than half, and felt that Liu Xiang was making a fuss out of a molehill.
"Three hundred people want to fight their way out of Luoyang, Yicheng, are you looking down on me too much?"
"Consider defeat before thinking about victory. I am timid in one aspect, and Duke Yuan laughed at me."
Yuan Pang shook his head noncommittally.
The team accelerated their march, with a guard of honor clearing the way in front of them. The procession was smooth and they arrived at the foot of Luoyang City in the evening.
"It is nine miles and one hundred steps long from north to south, six miles and eleven steps wide from east to west. There are twelve city gates. The wall is five feet and three feet high. It is a convenient journey. I ask you, how to capture this city?" Yuan Pang introduced proudly. He paused for a moment, as if he was bragging about his child.
Liu Xiang looked at this huge city and was speechless for a long time.
The sun was setting, the light was dim, and between light and dark, he seemed to see a giant beast entrenched on the bank of Luoshui, capable of swallowing him at any time.