Wang Xu smiled and said: "Master, why don't you keep her? Do you have plans for the Western Regions?"
"The Western Region is too far, I don't want to consider the highway."
"But my lord has already thought about it involuntarily. Although the Western Region cannot be touched with our current strength, it does not mean that it will never be moved. The Western Region is a sensitive place. It is good to formulate a policy and strategy early. It can be done in the future.
Modification, at least when the time comes, we will not respond hastily and cause irreparable trouble.
What Wang Xu doesn’t understand is that taking the children of the Western Regions as hostages has been a tradition of the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years. My lord seems to have given up, why?"
"With their children as hostages, will they be obedient?"
Wang Xu said: "Of course not. When the Xiongnu and Yuezhi (Kuishan) become stronger, these small countries will all join."
"With their children as hostages, will these children get close to us when they return to the Western Regions?"
"If we are strong, of course we will be close to us. Otherwise, people in the Western Region will rely on powerful forces."
"That's right. After all, the countries in the Western Regions recognize their own strength rather than their own. It's useless to hold their children hostage. In fact, my real decision to let Princess Shache go was because of Mr.'s soft-attack strategy.
Inspiration from Qiang people, Huns, Xianbei people, or people from the Western Regions.
They all occupy a territory, and these territories are often bitter and cold. Even if we defeat them, the Han people are unwilling to migrate, but there will always be people and strength in these territories, so we defeated the Huns, but the Xianbei people still harassed us.
, Sir’s soft-attack strategy is a typical example of using barbarians to fight barbarians. I began to consider fighting the barbarians without using force, or without using absolute force to deter the barbarians. If it is delayed for too long, the losses will be too huge."
"So that's it. The Western Region is different from the Western Qiang. It has a large territory and many countries. It cannot be dealt with in the same way as the Western Qiang. However, there is more than one mode of soft attack strategy. I believe that a suitable strategy can be found to control the Western Region. However."
Wang Xu suddenly turned to Liu Zhang and said with a smile: "Is this really the only reason why my lord let the girl go?"
Liu Zhang looked down at the snow and was silent for a long time. He did not answer but acquiesced. Indeed. The so-called soft attack strategy was just a booster to make him decide to let the girl go. In fact, he had already had the idea of letting the girl go before.
That night in the Diren Valley, the girl's words were false as soon as she heard them. However, the resentful flute sound still touched Liu Zhang.
The girl from the Western Region ran into the snowy mountains. She grew up in the country of Yarkand. The snow there was no less than here, and walking in the snowy mountains was no problem. She found a cave, collected some branches, and grilled a snow rabbit bitten by a snake.
.
Next to the steaming flames, the girl sat with her knees crossed. Facing the white snow outside the cave, she played the flute gently. The sound of the flute floated in the air. Liu Zhang's fake smile last night echoed in her mind. From that moment on, the girl knew
Liu Zhang wanted to let her go on purpose.
Liu Zhang tested his sincerity by "attending to the bed", and then asked himself if he knew Lark Cao. This was just to give himself an excuse. He had been acting for so long, but in the end he never deceived him. It was a real failure.
"When I know the Western Regions, you will never be able to catch me." The girl put down her flute and said softly.
……………………
Liu Zhang led 5,000 Han cavalry back to Hanzhong, and ordered Pang Rou to receive the horses from the Dongqingyi Racecourse in Tazhong, purchase horses from the Xiqiang, train Han cavalry, and guard the Hanhu market.
Since the news of the opening of the mutual market reached Jingyi, many Jingyi businessmen began to flock here.
Having tasted the benefits of trading with the barbarians in southern Xinjiang, he purchased animal skins, wild meat, herbs and other mountain products, and then sold them to grain, cloth and other products, making a lot of difference in price.
Nowadays, the Jingyi commercial consumer market has limited purchasing power of farmers and is already approaching saturation. When the Xiqiang market is opened this time, these merchants will certainly not let it go.
A large number of merchants settled in, set up tents, and sold many high-end Han products, attracting the Qiang people to sell wild animals and then buy them. At the same time, they purchased their wild animal skins and other items, forming a small town market in Tazhong.
Four months have passed since Liu Zhang left the army, including two months of fighting and two months of consolidation. Seventy-eight percent of the food stored in Hanzhong has been consumed, and all the food left by Zhang Lu has been used up.
But the benefits obtained were also huge. The Xiliang Army's 200,000-strong coalition was defeated. They left behind countless grains, grass, heavy weapons and armor, and captured tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers. Whether it was materials or manpower, the battle at Tielong Pass was a great gain.
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Later, all the big clans in Tianshui were plundered, materials and manpower were replenished again, coupled with the surrender of the Western Qiang tribes, the formation of 50,000 cavalry, and the acquisition of the East Qingyi grassland, the gains of this northern expedition far outweighed the losses, which is unprecedented.
A great victory.
After this battle, the Sichuan Army was completely transformed. The 200,000 Xiliang Army was defeated. The Sichuan Army defeated 300,000 Xiliang Army successively. The world was shocked. The name Sichuan Army began to be engraved in the ears of princes all over the world.
In this battle, Liu Zhang's authority was strengthened. Jing Yi, who had just experienced a rebellion and looting, finally had people's hearts completely stabilized. Jing Yi's political model became stable and could no longer be shaken.
And it was also this battle that the land of Jingyi completely broke with the outside world. Just like the tiger and wolf Qin back then, Jingyi under the government was demonized by the unprecedented hatred and hatred of the aristocratic classes under the rule of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, causing hostility outside Jingyi.
The Sichuan Army and the common people and businessmen who enjoyed political dividends in Jingyi also rejected the external scene.
After five months, Liu Zhang finally returned to Chengdu. Spring had already begun in Chengdu and Liu Kang was one year old. When they learned that Liu Zhang had returned loudly from the expedition, Chengdu businessmen and people spontaneously went to greet Yin Bai, Qu Xi, Jin Fatty and others.
They are all brightly dressed.
Liu Zhang led his army through the streets. In less than a year, this city, which had suffered a lot from the rebellion of the noble families, became more prosperous than before.
Liu Zhang returned to his mansion surrounded by officials, businessmen and soldiers, and was greeted by Huang Yue and his family members.
Fatty Jin looked at Liu Zhang's back and said to Yin Bai: "Brother Yin Bai, I heard that although the Lord of Shu won a great victory this time and brought back a lot of supplies, the food consumption was huge, and the soldiers who died needed pensions. This is very expensive."
Big expenses.
There have been too many things in Jingyi in the past two years, and money and food have been tight. I'm afraid your treasury is tight, shouldn't we donate a little?"
"When did you become so kind?" Yin Bai looked at Fatty Jin strangely. This guy usually cared about every penny, but now he was so generous.
Fatty Jin chuckled and said, "Aren't I raising chickens to lay eggs? I think if we give birth to a good child, a great talent will come from heaven and we can make money every day. If the Sichuan Army can't hold on, won't we also suffer?
?If Cao Cao and Sun Quan invade, and those old-fashioned and stubborn rotten old immortals rule Jingyi, we will definitely not be able to make any money."
"That's true, but don't worry about adults, you should worry about yourself first. Now the sales of our products are basically saturated. The people of Jingyi can only buy so much. The sales channels in the north of Jiangdong are solidified, and it is basically impossible to improve.
, we have a falling out with Xiliang, we can’t even leave Yumen Pass, and the opening of the Xiqiang Mutual Market is of no avail, you should think about how we can expand our industry."