The battle to encircle and suppress the Liangzhou rebels was launched at noon. Cui Yi led 11,000 cavalry to cross the river from the upper reaches and cut off the battlefield from west to east. Cao Cao led 36,000 infantry to cross the river and launch a general attack.
Then Sun Jian's 30,000 men came to complete the siege from the south.
The Chinese sergeants left Ji County and participated in the battle.
The four armies of the Anping Army, with more than 90,000 men, defeated the 200,000 rebels in Liangzhou in one battle on a battlefield with a radius of more than 40 miles.
The real battle actually ended at noon. Cui Yizhen killed Han Sui, Liang Xing and Sun Jian killed Song Jian, Yang Qiu and the kingdom surrendered, Zhang Heng disappeared, and Liangzhou soldiers collapsed and scattered.
Throughout the afternoon, the Anping Army pursued the defeated soldiers and gathered prisoners, and did not retreat until nightfall.
The results were numerous.
More than 10,000 people were killed, 180,000 were captured, and soldiers, armor, horses, and baggage were captured.
For more than two months, the people of Liangzhou had been beaten to death under the city of Ji County, and their morale was already low. First, the cavalry attacked and killed the commander, and then the army encircled them. Their will to resist was not strong.
After nearly three months, the main force of the Liangzhou rebels was eliminated. The ownership rights of the six counties east of the Hexi Corridor have been obtained. It is only a matter of time before they occupy the territory.
Although the household registration statistics are not accurate and no one can tell the exact number of people, Liu Xiang does not believe that this land can organize a large-scale resistance force.
Liangzhou is short of water, and its landscape is dominated by mountains, hills, deserts, and grasslands. There is little arable land, and even less developed fields. Nomadic herding is the main means of livelihood, and it cannot feed many people.
The more than 200,000 coalition troops organized by Han Sui mobilized most of the young men, and all the men of many tribes were dragged onto the battlefield.
What can the remaining people do to resist the Anping Army?
So the next day, the army set off. Sun Jian's troops entered Longxi, and Cao Cao's troops went straight to Jincheng. After occupying Han Sui's lair, they continued north to Wuwei and controlled the eastward passage of the Hexi Corridor.
As for the Anding and Beidi counties adjacent to Zuo Fengyi, they were handed over to Yan Rou and Xu Rong.
Liu Xiang wanted to occupy the territory as soon as possible to avoid any complications.
The Chinese army was left to guard the prisoners, while the infantry fought fiercely for more than two months and needed to be repaired.
More than 4,000 military officials and tribal leaders among the 180,000 captives were selected and beheaded on the spot.
They also selected craftsmen and Han people, a total of 60,000 people, to expand the wharf in the Ji County river section, and later to expand the city, because this will become an important node on the Silk Road, and markets and warehouses need to be built to facilitate future transactions and
Prepare for material transfer.
The Silk Road planned by Liu Xiang was to take the Weishui River from Chang'an to Ji County, and then continue westward along the river, changing to a land route at Xiangwu in Longxi County, and then crossing over to Jincheng County in Jincheng County, which was later known as Lanzhou.
Cross the Yellow River, travel northwest along the Zhuanglang River, cross Wushaoling, and arrive at Guzang County, Wuwei County.
The next step is to follow the Hexi Corridor, exit Yumenguan or Yangguan, and lead to the Western Regions.
Fortresses need to be built in the Hexi Corridor to cooperate with the original Great Wall defense line to protect the trade routes, but east of Wuwei County there is no need. The six counties in the east of Liangzhou can be pacified and developed to ensure public security.
It is only necessary to establish markets and warehouses in Ji County, Xiangwu, Jincheng, and Guzang to facilitate commodity trading and material transfer.
He planned to relocate the Han people around these cities and open up fields to ensure the supply of some food and reduce the pressure on transportation in Guanzhong. The 60,000 Han people and craftsmen selected from the captives would divide the fields on the spot after building Jixian County.
Of the more than 80,000 Qiang and Di prisoners remaining, 30,000 were selected to serve as civilian laborers for the Western Expedition, responsible for transporting supplies. The remaining 50,000 or so were escorted back to Sanfu and used as laborers to dig canals and build roads.
The placement of the prisoners was busy for more than a month. The captured weapons and equipment were also transported to Chang'an for remanufacturing. Only more than 15,000 horses were left, which were temporarily grazed around Ji County.
Not many of these horses were castrated, but there were quite a few stallions and mares. Liu Xiang was not going to assign them to the Western Army. He wanted to select some of them to rebuild the Liangzhou Pastoral Garden, which was located in Yongshi County, downstream of Jincheng. Eight years ago,
, that’s the Muyuan he and Sun Jian grabbed. It was a place with rich water and grass, suitable for raising horses.
The rest will be assigned to the post stations and military households in the Hexi Corridor, used to deliver messages and maintain security on the trade routes. There are 1,800 miles of trade routes, many foreign races, and horse thieves everywhere. Infantry alone is not enough, and a large number of cavalry are needed.
In the past month, the various armies have not encountered any obstacles. Many counties and local tribes have surrendered in defiance of the wind, almost marching all the way to regain their territory. The situation is similar to what Liu Xiang expected.
The only problem is that there are no redundant officials to allocate, so he can only arrange military control, which is also impossible. He does not dare to let a large number of nobles enter the officialdom and weaken his control over the local area.
He couldn't trust the local officials even more, so he could only wait for the many poor people to defect, and slowly dispatched them to Liangzhou.
In mid-July, the things Liu Xiang needed arrived, and he rushed to Lintao with Su Wei.
Dong Zhuo was from Lintao. After he was assassinated by Lu Bu, no bones were left and his family was slaughtered. He wanted to build a tomb for old Dong, but after a lot of effort, he found a sword that belonged to Dong Zhuo.
On the east bank of Taoshui River, we found a hillside with good geomantic omen as the burial place of Lao Dong. Standing here, we can overlook the city.
The cemetery is not big, and the coffin is not made of precious wood. In addition to Dong Zhuo's sword, he was also buried with his uniform and the twelve-color diadem.
"To bury you with the emperor's royal possessions, am I a friend enough?" Liu Xiang patted the wordless stone tablet on Dong Zhuo's grave and said jokingly: "Get a wordless tablet so that no one digs up your grave."
No matter how much evil Dong Zhuo did and how many people he harmed, he really helped Liu Xiang a lot. Although a lot of "help" was passive or even coerced, help is help, and the benefits should be considered.
As you can see, the two of them had indeed been friends for a while.
After toasting the wine and meat, Liu Xiang sighed and turned around to go down the mountain. Dong Zhongying had finished, but he still had many things to do and a long way to go.
There's no time to stop.
Returning from Lintao, he did not stop in Ji County, boarded a navy ship, and returned to Chang'an with most of the soldiers.
He is not prepared to participate in the subsequent war in Liangzhou. Whether it is to pacify the six counties or attack the Hexi Corridor, it is enough to leave it to the Western Expedition Army. Cao Cao and Sun Jian join forces, this trivial matter is not a big deal.
The most important thing is that it is time for him to complete the transformation from the commander of an army to the king of a country.
He couldn't help being willful.
Everyone is opposed to sending troops this time. He can suppress everyone once, but he cannot do it every time, otherwise he will lose people's support.
After seeing dozens of letters of remonstrance from his confidants, Xun Yu even put down all government affairs and ran directly to Chang'an despite the guilt of disobeying the order.
well!
I really can't be willful anymore.
To put it bluntly, if you don’t have a son, you can’t conquer it yourself.