Yumen Pass, that is, the westernmost part of Dunhuang County in Liangzhou, after passing the Yumen Pass, it is no longer the border of the Han Dynasty.

Ever since Ma Teng broke with the Qiang, he has been fighting against the Qiang. I have to say that the Xiliang army under Ma Teng is even more brave and good at fighting than the Qiang people.

Especially after they are full of hatred, the ferocity is not under the Qiang people.

In the process of fighting with the Qiang people along the way, Ma Teng and Ma Chao took the lead, defeated the Qiang people and slaughtered many captured Qiang women and children.

The Qiang people had no idea that Ma Teng, who was originally their loyal ally, would actually turn against them.

Ma Teng's war against the Qiang people undoubtedly won the hearts of the Han people in the four counties of Longxi. Many Han men who were oppressed by the Qiang people followed the footsteps of Ma Teng's army and joined the Xiliang army that fought against the Qiang.

All this was also expected by Ma Teng.

Otherwise, he would not dare to start a war with the Qiang people with tens of thousands of horses in his hands.

However, as the war expanded, the casualties of Ma Teng's soldiers increased day by day. Those Han people who came to join Ma Teng are getting fewer and fewer.

Ma Teng calculated everything, but forgot that there were not many Han people in the entire four counties of Longxi. Even if they all defected to Ma Teng, it would be a drop in the bucket.

It must be known that in the past, there were less than 400,000 Han people with household registration in Liangzhou. Now the most fertile counties in Liangzhou have been occupied by Chen Xu, leaving only the remote, desolate, and desert-covered four counties of Longxi.

Just imagine, within the four most remote counties of the Han Dynasty, after experiencing the repeated massacres of the Qiang people, how many Han people can remain?

Fortunately, Liangzhou is a place where Han and Hu live together, especially in the four counties of Longxi. Although the Han people here are nominally under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, in fact many of them are not registered by the Han Dynasty.

In this way, these Han Chinese were able to avoid the forced labor and taxes of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the number of real Han people in Liangzhou is actually far more than 400,000.

Rao is like this, in the remote and desolate four counties of Longxi, the population of the Han people is completely inferior to that of the Qiang people. As for the Han warriors, they were even less numerous than the Qiang people.

In this way, the men and horses under Ma Teng's command are fighting fewer and fewer, and there are only more than 20,000 people left today.

If it weren't for the ruthlessness that was not afraid of death, coupled with Ma Chao's killing of the Qiang people in fear, I am afraid that Ma Teng would have been wiped out by a huge number of Qiang people.

The combat effectiveness of the Qiang people is actually not strong, and their character of bullying the weak and fearing the hard is doomed to the Qiang people to be just the bottom of the nomadic tribe.

Perhaps in the eyes of the defenseless people, the Qiang people are even more brutal than the Xianbei people. But in the eyes of real warriors, they are nothing more than a bunch of clowns.

Coupled with the help of those who had been defeated and driven into the desert by the Qiang people, Ma Teng drove the Qiang people to the vicinity of Yumen Pass with the remaining more than 20,000 people.

In the rolling yellow sand, Ma Teng looked at the faintly visible Yumen Pass in the distance, and his heart was suddenly a little excited.

As long as the Qiang people are driven out of the four counties of Longxi, Ma Teng will become the real master of the four counties of Longxi, even if he asks the court for the title of king of the northwest, I am afraid it will be possible.

How many years have passed since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty drove the Xiongnu north and placed the four counties of Longxi, and the army of the Han Dynasty finally set foot on the territory of Yumen Pass again, and finally completely controlled the four counties of Longxi again!

This is not only the glory of Ma Teng, but also the glory of all Han people!

Licking his chapped lips, Ma Teng took out the water bag and carefully took a small sip, then covered it tightly and tied it solemnly to his body.

In the desert, nothing is more valuable than water. Sometimes a sip of water may be equivalent to a life.

In the process of chasing the Qiang people, I don't know how many Xiliang soldiers fell on the road forever because of thirst. On this road, not only the Xiliang army was buried, but also a large number of Qiang people.

Fortunately, the current four counties of Longxi, after the great migration during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, left many Han people in the territory.

It was with these local Han people as guides that Ma Teng's army crossed several deserts at minimal cost and chased the Qiang all the way to Yumen Pass.

The arrival of the Han people not only enriched the population of the four counties of Longxi, but also built many post stations and roads, so that Ma Teng would not get lost.

It can be said that the difficulty of Ma Teng's expedition to Yumen Pass this time is far less than the military action of Wei Qing and Huo Quai.

In addition to the fact that the roads were easier to drive and there were many guides, there was simply no way to compare with the Huns because of the fighting power of the Qiang.

If the Huns were vicious jackals, then the Qiang were at best a big domestic dog.

The wind howled, rolling up a patch of yellow sand, Ma Teng closed his eyes very experienced, and then covered his mouth and nose with his left hand.

After the wind and sand, the tribal leader of the Di people came to Ma Teng's side and said respectfully: "Respectful and powerful general Zhengxi. The cruel Qiang have been driven to the westernmost part of the Han Dynasty, are we going to take the opportunity to drive them out of the border? ”

Ma Teng narrowed his eyes slightly, and said softly, "Why not?" ”

After speaking, he raised the big knife in his hand, and rushed forward with a clamp on the horse's belly. At this moment, Ma Teng seemed to have returned to his youthful age, full of strength.

"If I can completely drive the Qiang people out of the Han Dynasty, I will live up to the prestige of my ancestors. And now that I'm old, this may be my last fight. ”

Ma Teng charged while thinking with some sentimentality.

"Drive!"

Seeing the boss's actions, Ma Chao and Xiliangjun also shouted and began to charge. They didn't have the slightest scruple about being tired, because this would probably be their last battle.

As long as this war is won, the four counties of Longxi may usher in peace.

The Xiliang army and the Di people, under the leadership of Ma Teng and Ma Chao, galloped wildly.

Fighting against the Qiang people in the desert, there is no too much fancy and scheming, there is only the courage to win when meeting the brave on a narrow road, and the fighting style of not afraid of death.

For the Qiang people who bully the weak and fear the hard, as long as they are more ruthless than them, even if the strength is not as good as the Qiang people, they can achieve the final victory.

On the contrary, once they show their fatigue and timidity, those Qiang people who are already vulnerable will become fearsome beasts.

All this is the experience that the Xiliang army has gained with blood in the desert.

On this battlefield, the more afraid of death, the sooner they will die; Those who put life and death aside will win the last survival.

So, in the face of the Qiang people, just drop everything and fight hard!

More than 20,000 Xiliang troops, plus nearly 10,000 Di people's troops, they ran in the desert, and the yellow sand rolled up by war horses covered the entire sky.

"Life or death, glory or shame, will be shown in this battle."

Ma Teng, who rushed to the front, showed a glint of hope in his eyes.