Under the sun, as far as the eye can see is the boundless yellow sand wilderness, with only sparse green vegetation on the soil. It seems that the decades of war between the Qiang people and the Han people have severely damaged this beautiful western grassland and land.
If it were not fertile, deserts would gradually form over hundreds of years.
Seeing that there was less than a mouthful of water left in the water bag, Zhu Kui unconsciously added some water to his chapped lips. The wind in the grassland was so strong that it made his skin and lips slightly chapped. This time he came to Xiliang, and finally
What he hates is the climate here, which is extremely unsuitable for him as a southerner.
"How long will it take to reach the West Sea?"
That night in Guzang, I learned from Ma Teng that due to the massacre of Qiang people in the Sanming section of Liangzhou, the population of wild Qiang has dropped very low in just a few years. Now the largest number of tribes are those near the West Sea.
If the Xianling Qiang, that is, the Beigong Yu tribe, decline, Xiliang's peace and tranquility can be guaranteed for at least ten years.
Of course, this all depends on the premise that the Qiang people who have been naturalized as Han do not rebel.
After hearing this, Zhu Kui immediately decided to make another contribution. With Ma Teng as his guide, they joined forces and sent 20,000 cavalry deep into the West Sea to wipe out the Xianling Qiang in one fell swoop.
And Ma Teng can also use this credit to offset his crime.
After calculation, it has been half a month since the lone army entered the territory. The food and grass were good. When passing through these territories from Xijun and Zhangye counties, they encountered many scattered small Qiang tribes and robbed a large amount of cattle and sheep food. The problem still lies in the water source.
, supplementation is more difficult.
Astride the knife, Ma Teng looked at the seemingly endless road in the distance. Due to the wind and sand, his vision was a little blurry. He said, "I have been to the West Sea several times. I should have taken the right path. You can see it by running through this wasteland."
The grassland is almost here."
"Then work harder and run across this wasteland as quickly as possible, trying to enter the grassland as soon as possible so that we can find water for the night."
After saying this, the 20,000 cavalrymen raised up dust that covered the sky and galloped away.
Fortunately, after dusk, the army finally ran out of the wasteland and entered a lush green grassland.
Smelling the fragrance of green grass, Zhu Kui felt a lot better and said, "Okay, the army will stop here!"
"Disperse the sentries and look around to see if there are any Qiang tribes or water sources."
"promise!"
After the sentinels left, Zhu Kui and Ma Teng got off their horses and sat together: "General Ma, where is your eldest son Ma Chao? Don't you always protect him by your side?"
Ma Teng replied casually: "Chao'er said he went to explore the water source, but the general was laughing at my child's incompetence!"
"Ma Chao is really brave. At the age of fourteen, he can compete with those two sworn brothers. Only Wang Cheng can defeat him."
Along the way the army marched westward, there were many battles. Ma Chao was brave and brave. Seeing that Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, and Wang Cheng were more powerful, he stepped forward to challenge him. However, Ma Chao was more powerful than Gan. Tuesday's man was more than four years younger.
, can already rival the two men, only inferior to Wang Cheng.
Zhu Kui sighed, the top generals of the Three Kingdoms were really powerful, but his second and third brothers were still half as good.
Ma Teng was very satisfied with his eldest son. Not only was he more powerful than himself, but he was also more strategic. He said unceremoniously: "The most proud person in Teng's life is this son. In the future, it will all depend on him to enhance the reputation of our ancestors."
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Say Ma Chao, Ma Chao will be there.
"Father, I have found a source of water." Ma Chao came galloping over on horseback and dismounted and said, "I have seen the general. There is a small river in the southeast. The army can set up camp there."
Zhu Kui praised him, got up, and led his troops to follow Ma Chao's instructions to set up camp by a small river and light a fire to make food.
I was lucky today. I could find a water source and spend the night in the water. The whole army was very happy. I don't know who in the army was the first to do it. Suddenly everyone burst into song.
Carrying iron armor... Carrying a long sword, I fight with you... The road is long! I share the same hatred with the enemy... I live and die together, and I fight with you... My heart is not slack! I step on the swallows... I chase the beard, and I fight with you... The song is fearless!...
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This is the military song sung by Huo Qubing, the general of the Hussars, when he led the Han army to seize Shi Yanran during the reign of Emperor Wu. They sang this song and marched three thousand miles out of the fortress, killing the Xiongnu and fleeing thousands of miles north. Shan Yu escaped at night.
Nowadays, soldiers in the army sing this song because they feel that when they go on an expedition against foreigners, they are like Huo Qubing, and they want to make great achievements.
The rough singing became louder and louder with the night wind in the grassland, like the roar of wind and thunder.
More than ten miles away from here, at this moment, a middle-aged scribe was holding some dry firewood and piling it into a pile. There was also a brown horse standing next to him.
The scribe was wearing a gray cloth robe, and his figure was a bit thin, but his long and rosy face showed that he was not poor and thin, but the eyes on his face were full of indifference and sharpness.
Looking directly at the fire stone in his hand, he was about to light a fire, when he suddenly heard bursts of singing coming from the distance.
The scribe was surprised that in this prairie, there were people singing loudly.
No! This is not someone singing loudly, but many people singing together. Could it be the Qiang tribe? The scribe couldn't help but listen carefully, and the movements of his hands slowed down.
"Here comes the iron armor... armed with a long sword, and fights with the son... the road is long!" This is a Han song. The song of the Han army is like a stone Yanran. When the Han army penetrates deep into the grassland, the scribes can't help but be surprised.
"It's over, there's going to be a fight here, let's go quickly." The scribe put away the flint in his hand, led the horse, and turned to leave.
Unfortunately, just as he was listening, a sentry rider spotted him. At this time, several knights had surrounded him, making him afraid to move, so he had to wait quietly. There was no panic on his face.
color.
The sentry rider approached and saw that it was a Han rider. Before the other party could speak, the scribe took the lead and said: "I am a Han, not a Qiang people."
"Sir, whether you are Han or otherwise, since you are here, come with us." Several knights looked at each other, and one of them said.
Soon, Zhu Kui, who was eating by the fire, caught a Han scholar.
Zhu Kui was surprised to find a lone scholar in the prairie, and he quickly sent someone to take him with him.
When I saw the person, he was dressed in commoner clothes and gray robe, with a thin body and a long face. His face was rosy and his eyes were different from ordinary people.
While Zhu Kui was observing the other party, the middle-aged scribe was also observing him, with a different look on his face, as if he was surprised that it was a young Han general who went deep into the grassland. However, these had nothing to do with him, so he introduced first:
"Jia Xu, I have met the general."
Hearing this name, I was shocked at first and couldn't help blurting out: "Your name is Jia Xu? You are from Wuwei Guzang?"
"Huh?" Jia Xu was puzzled. This young man seemed to know him, but he knew nothing about him. He responded: "Xu is from Guzang. Does the general know me?"
After saying that, he looked at the other party and saw that the young general suddenly closed his eyes and clutched the sword tightly with the five fingers of his left hand, presumably thinking.
This appearance made Jia Xu panic, and he was thinking in circles. Could it be that this young general had a grudge against me? Why did he clenched his sword as soon as he heard my name? Did he want to kill me? What should I do?
He has no clue, no way to tell, no matter how talented he is, he will be killed when he encounters a barbarian general.
Soon, Zhu Kui opened his eyes, saw that Jia Xu's face was slightly pale, smiled, and said, "No, this is the first time that sir and I have met, but your name is like thunder!"
Then, Zi Gu stood up and bowed deeply: "My surname is Zhu Mingkui, and my courtesy name is Huai Ming. I am now the powerful general of the imperial court. I am lucky to meet you sir."
At the same time, he pointed at Ma Teng and introduced: "These two are General Ma Teng and his son."
After finishing, he pointed to his brothers: "These three are my good brothers, Wang Cheng, Gan Ning, and Zhou Tai."
"Why are you three sitting there? Why don't you get up and salute Mr. Jia?" After being scolded by Zhu Kui, the three of them didn't know who this person was, but they got up obediently and saluted respectfully: "I have met Mr. Jia."
"Mr. Jia is a great talent in the world. There was a famous scholar from Hanyang, Yan Zhongcheng, who said: "You have Liang (Zhang Liang), you have Ping (Chen Ping)."
After introducing everything that could be said one by one, Ma Teng and his son finally understood the reason for the courtesy. Yan Zhong's name was famous. Naturally, they knew that not long ago, the Xiqiang coalition forces hijacked Yan Zhong and wanted to use his name to recruit Xiliang celebrities. Unfortunately, they did not
Success, Ma Teng also participated in the hijacking.
Seeing that Zhu Kui suddenly became unusually polite to him again, Jia Xu was flattered. With his wisdom, he categorically did not believe that Yan Zhong's assertion had such great influence. He did not dare to boast about it at all, and returned the courtesy repeatedly: "Generals should not be like this."