Chapter 10 Winning the Central Plains Section 75 The little emperor sat on the grass, holding his knees with his hands, drooping his little head, and listlessly looking at the blood-colored sunset in the western sky.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on Xiao Tianzi's thin figure, making him look lonely and helpless. Li Hong walked to his side and squatted down,

"Is the sunset pretty?"

"I want to go home." The little emperor pleaded in a pitiful whisper,

"I miss my aunt." Li Hong hesitated for a moment, and suddenly said, "The minister sent someone to Jinyang to pick up Yan Ba and Zhao Tong and let them play with you." ”

"Really?" Xiao Tianzi jumped up in surprise,

"Really? When are they coming? ”

"The minister immediately wrote to Jinyang." Li Hong saw Xiao Tianzi's eyebrows fluttering, and the sorrow on his face was swept away, and he couldn't help but reach out and hold him into his arms, and said guiltily,

"The minister should let them come with you. During this time, His Majesty was indeed too lonely to stay here alone. Xiao Tianzi asked excitedly, "General, when will they come?" ”

"Half a month." Li Hong said with a smile,

"That's the fastest speed."

"Another half a month?" Xiao Tianzi was slightly disappointed, but when he thought that he could be with his friends every day in the future, he couldn't close his smile again.

"Where's Auntie? Will my aunt come too? ”

"Her Royal Highness and the ministers are going to Chang'an, and she doesn't have time to come." Li Hong explained,

"The families of all the ministers will stay in Jinyang for the time being, and they will be relocated one after another after Chang'an is renovated. Therefore, as long as His Majesty is willing, he can summon more friends from Jinyang at any time, and they will inevitably go on this trip. ”

"Can I call anyone?" Li Hong nodded affirmatively. Xiao Tianzi showed a strange smile on his face, then put his mouth to Li Hong's ear and whispered, "I want to call Sister Wen'er." Li Hong glanced at Xiao Tianzi suspiciously, and did not nod immediately.

Fengxue and Xiu'er are in the desert, and Xiaoyu only has Wen'er by her side. If Wen'er is allowed to rush to Luoyang, Xiaoyu will leave Jinyang alone, and no relatives around her will be gone.

Xiao Tianzi saw that the general did not agree, so he was very anxious, and hurriedly came to his ear and added,

"Yan Ba and Zhao Tong are here, so I don't have time to do my homework. Sister Wen'er will help me with my homework. Li Hong was dizzy and immediately asked,

"When I was in Jinyang, it was Wen'er who helped His Majesty do his homework?" Xiao Tianzi looked around nervously.

"Don't tell me, it's my secret. I and Sister Xiu'er's homework are all done by Sister Wen'er, hehe......" Xiao Tianzi smiled proudly,

"It's been a long time, and no one has found out, hehe......" Li Hong couldn't cry or laugh. After Li Hong returned to the big tent, he invited Zhao Song, a counselor.

Zhao Song is about thirty years old, elegant and delicate, and polite. Although he is very young, he has an elegant aura in his bones, which is very loved by Master Zheng Xuan.

Master Zheng Xuan has thousands of disciples, and there are only three of the most outstanding and famous, Shangshu Ling Cui Yan, Shizhong Xi Xuan, and the other is this Zhao Song.

After Master Zheng Xuan arrived in Jinyang in August last year, he was worshiped by the eldest princess as the master of the Son of Heaven, and taught the Son of Heaven together with Master Wang Jian.

But Master Zheng Xuan was too busy, and soon returned to Handan and asked Zhao Song to teach on his behalf. Li Hong had a very good impression of Zhao Song, and after chatting with him for a few words, the topic turned to the study of the Son of Heaven.

He wanted to ask Zhao Song a few words, why did he condone Xiao Tianzi to be lazy. Li Wen's handwriting is not the same as Xiao Tianzi's handwriting at all, how could a teacher not find out?

But Zhao Song's few words made Li Hong feel very reasonable, and the words on his lips were swallowed back. Zhao Song believes that the Son of Heaven is too young, it is the age of play, and there is no need to stifle the fun of childhood.

Moreover, forcibly filling irrigation is tantamount to pulling out seedlings to help them grow, which is extremely detrimental to the growth of the Son of Heaven. In his opinion, it is far better to let the Son of Heaven drive the expedition in person, take a look around, and deeply understand the hardships of the people in the troubled times and the bloodshed of the war, than to stay in the palace and watch the sky.

Although the Son of Heaven is too young to understand the hardships and dangers of the world, it is a subtle education that has an immeasurable impact on the Son of Heaven.

"If the Son of Heaven wants to govern the country and lead his subjects to create a prosperous world, his growth process should not be sitting in the palace and reciting scriptures, but should be galloping on the battlefield filled with smoke." Zhao Song said impassionedly,

Mencius said that the heavens will descend on the people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically. If the Son of Heaven wants to become a generation of Ming Jun and complete the great cause of Zhongxing, he must accept all kinds of training from an early age and taste the ups and downs of the world. If you want to rely on the shadow of your predecessors, and if you want to rely on luck to achieve success, it is absolutely impossible. Li Hongda admired him and talked to him until late at night.

In mid-October, the eldest princess left Jinyang. She stood on the shore of Jinshui, looking back at the majestic Jinyang City, full of emotion.

For twelve years, I stayed in Jinyang for twelve years, worked hard to save the Han for twelve years, and grew from an ignorant little girl to a pillar supporting the society.

Although I paid a huge price for it, it was all worth it. Seeing that thousands of people are no longer struggling for survival, seeing thousands of Han soldiers roaring on the front line, seeing the cornerstone of Zhongxing's great cause being built up one by one, and seeing the Han gradually recovering its former majesty, even if he is broken, he can smile in Jiuquan.

The eldest princess rushed to Longshan, worshiped the heroic souls on the martyr's platform, and then let the boat go down, went south along the Fenshui River, and hurried to Guanzhong.

October, Western Xinjiang, Hexi. At the end of September, after a long journey of more than two months, Kirby Xiong led his army to the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain, entered the Great Wall, and met the Tiger General Leizi at Gaoque Pass.

In October, Lei Zi and Kirby Xiong led the army to the vicinity of Helan Mountain, and met the four Xianbei kings of Arc Ding, Qi Shen, Mu Tao, and Mu Li, who had arrived here in advance.

In mid-October, the army rushed to the northern desert of Hutuze in the north of Wuwei County, and rendezvoused with Budugen and Gui Ni, who had arrived here in advance, and the army of 30,000 was now assembled.

Hutuze is a large lake, called Duye in this dynasty (now called Yuhaizi or Yuhai). The Lu water from Qilian Mountain converges to Hutu Ze.

The southern part of Hutu Ze is also the Bu Lai Mountain, and the Han people call it Daquan Mountain. To the south of Daquan Mountain is the Great Wall.

Lei Zi is the commander of this army, and he plans to go up along the Lu River, first capture the small city of Wuwei, and then cross the Yibu Raid, and then capture the two small cities of Xuanwei and Xiuju, and then occupy the county of Wuwei County, Guzang City, and cut off the road for the Qiang people in Hexi to return to the north.

But Kirby Bear and Gado have come up with very different attack strategies. They believed that winter had arrived and that time was running out for the army to attack.

In order to return to the Yinshan and Hetao areas for the winter before the heavy snow came, it was better to give up the siege and turn to burning, killing and plundering the Qiang tribe's residence.

The purpose of this attack was to lure back the Qiang people from Hexi, so as to force the Qiang people to withdraw from Hanyang and ease the situation in Liangzhou.

However, if Guzang can be captured and the road for the Qiang people to retreat into the hinterland of Hexi can be cut off, it will be very beneficial for the army to recover Hexi next year.

For this reason, Lei Zi repeatedly persuaded him, but Kirby Xiong was resolute, he believed that the time left for the army to attack was too short, and the army was not ready to capture Guzang, and the possibility of success of this strategy was too small, and there was no need to take risks.

In the midst of the controversy, the intentions of the Xianbei people were gradually revealed. The Xianbei people in the west such as Budugen, Mu Tao, and Mu Li wanted to move to Hexi, while Arc Ding and Qi Shen also had the same idea.

It's just that they are hindered by their relationship with the general, so it's hard to say it clearly. Hexi is a barren and desolate place for the Han people, but for the Xianbei people who live in the even more barren western part of the desert, it is a fertile place that they desperately yearn for.

The canals of the four counties of Hexi are vertical and horizontal, the Qianmo is connected, the water and grass are fertile, and the later generations have the reputation of Saibei and Jiangnan.

The rivers and lakes in Hexi all come from the Qilian Mountains. After the snow water on the Qilian Mountain melts, it merges into a river, and the larger ones are valley water, weak water, Lu water and dark water.

These rivers gather to form lakes such as Hutuze, Juyanze, and Mingze, so it has been a good place for farming and raising livestock since ancient times.

Hexi was once occupied by the Huns, but since the current dynasty took Hexi from the Huns, the vitality of the Huns has suffered a great loss.

It is found in the famous Xiongnu folk songs

"Losing my Qilian Mountain will make my six animals restless; I lost my mountain, so that my wife has no color".

The geographical situation of the four counties of Hexi is like a long and narrow passage connecting Guanlong and the Western Regions, and this is an important reason why the Xiongnu, Qiang, and Xianbei people have not given up fighting for Hexi since the Han people got the land of Hexi.

The Hexi Passage slopes from southeast to northwest. To the south is the Qilian Mountains, to the north is the Heli Mountains, and the passage is sandwiched between the two mountains.

At the two ends of the passage, there are Pipa Mountain (now Wusheling Ridge) in the south, and Yangguan and Yumen Pass in the north. During the period when the war subsided, the four counties of Hexi were the most critical section of the Silk Road, and merchants and goods from various countries continued to travel through Dunhuang.

During the war, the four counties of Hexi became a dangerous place to control the Western Regions and defend Guanlong. When the national strength of this dynasty was strong, Hexi was the rear of the army in the Western Regions, and when the national strength of this dynasty was weak, Hexi was an important gateway to defend the Western Regions and defend the rear of Guanlong.

In the past, the capital of this dynasty was Chang'an, and the gates to defend Chang'an were repeated again and again. Longdi in Western Xinjiang is the first gateway, which is the so-called in Guanzhong

The key gateway of "four stops". The four counties of Hexi are the second gateway and the outer barrier of Guanzhong.

The Green Mountains are the third gateway, and the insurmountable nature of the Pamir Mountains separates China and Central Asia into east and west.

Whether this dynasty is strong or not has a very close relationship with Hexi and the Western Regions. Once the national strength of this dynasty is weakened, the gates on the periphery of the capital will be lost one after another.

First the Green Ridge, and then Hexi, if even Guanlong is in danger, then the Chaosheji will also reach the most dangerous juncture.

During the period of Wang Mang's rebellion and Guangwu Zhongxing, the dynasty successively lost the Western Regions and Hexi, and lost the outer barrier of Kyoto.

Emperor Guangwu built the capital Luoyang, in fact, it was also a helpless move, in the case of losing the two gateways of Hexi and the Western Regions, he could only shrink the focus of defense to the hinterland of the Central Plains.

After shrinking to Luoyang, Guanzhong and Cuihan became the first barrier of the capital, and the western Xinjiang became the second barrier, and decades later the Han army recovered Hexi, and Hexi immediately became the third barrier.

Without the barrier of the Western Regions, the national power of the Han Dynasty could no longer be restored to the peak of the Xiaowu Emperor and the Zhaoxuan Zhongxing period.

Nearly a hundred years ago, the Qiang people in the western Xinjiang began to rebel frequently, and the Qiang people were unable to control Hexi, so that the Qiang people occupied a large part of Hexi.

Tracing back to the origin, the strength of the national strength of this dynasty has a lot to do with moving the capital, and moving the capital has a lot to do with whether it can control the four counties of Hexi.

Among the four counties in Hexi, Zhangye and Wuwei are the most important, in addition to their unique geographical location, there is fertile land and fertile pastures.

Local folk songs are known

"Jin Zhangye, Yin Wuwei, Qin 100,000" is called. Wuwei County is located in the easternmost part of Hexi, bordering Jincheng in the south and the desert in the north, which is the throat of the countries in and out of Hexi and the Western Regions, and Guzang City is the throat of the throat.

Guzang City was originally built by the Xiongnu, called Gaizang City, and the Han people falsely called Gu Shou. The city is in the shape of a dragon, so it is also called Wolong City.

Whether or not the Hexi Expeditionary Force can capture Guzang City will directly determine the development of the situation in Western Xinjiang. Therefore, when the imperial court received the news of the wind and snow, saying that Kirby Xiong sent troops to Hexi, Xian Yufu and Zhang Yan immediately wrote to Lei Zi, asking him to do his best to seize Guzang and break the neck of the Qiang people in the future when the main force of the Qiang people in Hexi besieged Hanyang Yicheng in the process of the expedition to Hexi, so as to lay the foundation for the army to advance westward into Pingqiang in the future.

Now the Xianbei people took advantage of the critical situation in Western Xinjiang, and the Han army was unable to take care of Hexi, and when they needed to ask for help, they stuck the neck of the Han army.

Lei Zi thought carefully all night. In the past ten years, in order to stabilize the desert and border counties, Northern Xinjiang has implemented and implemented various policies to appease the Hu people, but the focus is still on restricting the growth of the strength of the Hu tribes, and then on this basis, let the Hu tribes gradually improve their lives, and let them gradually move south and gradually integrate into the Han Dynasty.

The policy of refuting Hu in the new policy of the imperial court was also formulated on this basis, which was consistent with the policy implemented in northern Xinjiang in the past.

That is to say, even if the Han army recovers Hexi in the future, in order to firmly hold Hexi, in addition to immigrating from all over the Central Plains to garrison the border, it is still necessary to move some Xianbei people and some Qiang people into Hexi.

In this way, the imperial court could not only increase the strength and force of the defenders of Hexi, but also quickly increase the population of Hexi and restore the wealth of Hexi, so as to prepare for the army to march into the Western Regions.

The next day, when the two sides were in the military discussion, Lei Zi agreed to the Xianbei people's request.

"I'm just a general, and I can only forward your request to Chang'an. I can't guarantee whether the Son of Heaven and the imperial court can agree, but I can guarantee one thing, Hexi was fought by us together, and your tribe and clansmen will definitely be able to move into Hexi to live in the future. My Son of Heaven is very generous, and he will never be stingy with such a reward for the warriors who are loyal to the Han Dynasty and the warriors who have made meritorious contributions to the Han Dynasty. "In October, Lei Zi led the army to cross the Yibula Mountain, crossed the Great Wall, and killed Guzang.

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