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In a large tent in the military camp outside the city, a Hu man, who was over teenage, was strolling back and forth with all his heart. Although it was already a warm spring, he was still wearing a thick leather jacket, a pair of ears and thick felt boots on his feet. This was a typical dress for the Qiang and Di people. He was of medium figure, strong, black in face, and bright and vivid eyes.

His name is Ge Yuan, and he was the younger brother of Yang Qianwan, the Di people. The Di people are distributed in the Longxi area, and are composed of dozens of tribes of all sizes, with a population of hundreds of thousands. The ancestors have been engaged in animal husbandry for generations.

There were major forces in Longxi and Liangzhou. One was Song Jian, a native of Longxi, who claimed to be the King of Longxi. He had been in power for more than ten years. His capital was located in Kuanghan and had tens of thousands of soldiers.

The second is the Qiang people and the Di people. Because the Qiang people live in the north and the Di people live in the south, it is also called the Northern Qiang and Southern Di.

The Qiang people live in the Hexi Corridor in Wuwei and Zhangye. Qiang King Nangong Su once sold horses to Jiangxia and brought alfalfa seeds to Liu Jing.

The Di people lived in Longxi and Hehuang areas, and lived in mixed with the Tuyuhun people and some Qiang people. There were two Di people, one was Yang Qianwan, the Di king of Xingguo, and the other was Agui, the king of Xiang Di.

The envoy in the big tent was sent by Yang Qianwan, the Di king of Xingguo. For the Han people in the Central Plains, it was difficult to distinguish whether it was Qingxingguo or Xiang, and they were called Dihu.

In fact, the Di people lived in Tianshui County and even in Wudu County. Liu Jing mobilized a large number of troops in Wudu County, while Cao Cao continued to increase his troops in Tianshui County, which had already alarmed the Hu people living in this area.

Including the Qiang people, Di people, Tuyuhun people, etc., they moved westward to avoid the war that was about to break out. The Di people led Yang Qianwan to a deep interest in the Longxi area, so he sent his brothers to meet Liu Jing.

At this time, there were voices and footsteps outside the tent, and a soldier hurriedly ran to Ge Yuan and said, "Our provincial governor is here."

Ge Yuan hurried out of the tent, and saw dozens of soldiers surrounded by a burly young general walking quickly. The young general was wearing fish scale armor, wearing a golden helmet, and his steps were vigorous. He immediately guessed that this was the famous Liu Jing. Ge Yuan hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down to salute, "The Di King's envoy, Ge Yuan, paid a visit to the governor of the state."

He has been dealing with the Han people for many years, so that Ge Yuan can speak fluent Chinese. In addition, his humble attitude makes people feel fond of him. Liu Jing is no exception. He smiled and said, "Please talk to the account."

He invited the envoy Ge Yuan into the big tent. The two of them sat down. Liu Jing ordered someone to serve tea again. Then he smiled at Ge Yuan and said, "I don't know the Di people, but I know Nangong, so he seems to be the leader of the Qiang people."

Ge Yuan hurriedly said, "Yes, he is a leader of the Qiang people, mainly living in Liangzhou, we are Di people, living in Longxi and Hehuang areas. However, Qiang and Di were originally a family, and their living customs were similar, and ordinary people could not distinguish them."

Liu Jing nodded. The reason why he attached so much importance to the Qiang, Di and Hu people was rushed over when he heard the news was because he had left a deep impression on him when he had dealt with Nangong.

The Qiang Di Hu people had many heroic war horses in their hands, which were the strategic materials he urgently needed. Liu Jing smiled and said, "I told Nangong back then that I was willing to establish trade with the Qiang people and buy and sell their own specialties, such as cattle, sheep, horses, etc., but it was only one wish, because there were Bashu and Hanzhong in the middle, but now it was different. We can already establish a trade line. Whether it was the Qiang or the Di people, I was willing to develop friendly relations."

Liu Jing said it very implicitly. If it is to be said, it is just a sentence. I want to buy your war horses.

As an envoy, Ge Yuan certainly understood the profound meaning of Liu Jing's words. He quickly smiled and said, "I brought a few horses, which were gifts from my chief to the governor of the state. I wonder if the governor of the state is willing to see it."

"Haha I'm very happy."

The two walked out of the tent, and Ge Yuan asked his followers to bring in several war horses. These war horses were slender and strong in all fours, and looked majestic. They were either black all over or white all over with snow, without a single hair. Ge Yuan patted the body of the war horse and smiled: "These five war horses were all obtained from Dragon Cat Island. They are said to be descendants of Dragon and Horse, and they are the little intention of my chief."

Liu Jing really liked these five war horses. It can be seen that these five war horses were all better than the war horses that Nangong gave him back then. The Di chief really invested a lot. He smiled and said, "Thank you."

The two returned to the tent and sat down. Ge Yuan slowly expressed the purpose of his trip. "Because we supported Ma Chao, after Cao Cao wiped out the remaining troops of Ma Chao, he ordered Xiahou Yuan to continue to attack the Di people westward. If the Guanzhong Battle had not broken out, we would have perished. So for us, we hope that the Zhou Mu could defeat the Cao army. For this reason, my brother is willing to send troops to assist the Zhou Mu to attack Tianshui."

Liu Jing didn't say anything for a long time. He didn't expect that the Di people would actually send troops to help him attack Tianshui. This was indeed beyond his expectations. He thought that the Di people just wanted to establish a trade relationship.

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you very much for your chief. In fact, we can cooperate many ways. For now, I want to buy a thousand high-quality war horses first."

"There is no problem with this transaction. We hope to exchange cloth. According to the market price, ten pieces of silk can be exchanged for a horse. We will send the war horses from Yinping Road to Hanzhong as soon as possible. In addition, we have gathered 6,000 cavalry and can launch an offensive from the west at any time to the Cao army. We are willing to obey the orders of the provincial governors."

Speaking of this, Ge Yuan asked his entourage to bring in a golden short sword full of gems and present it to Liu Jing, "This is our Di King's Army sword. With this sword, the Zhou Mu can mobilize six thousand Western Di cavalry warriors at any time. We are willing to help the Zhou Mu defeat Cao's army without hesitation and restore the peace of the past."

...........

Ge Yuan said goodbye and left. Liu Jing paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his hands, thinking about the sudden change. He also knew that Xiahou Yuan was preparing to lead his army to continue attacking Dihu, but later cancelled the plan. The reason was to prepare for war and defend the Han army to Guanzhong north. It would be great if Dihu was really willing to send troops to attack Cao's army, but this incident happened more suddenly, which made Liu Jing a little confused.

At this time, a soldier reported outside the tent: "General Ma Chao is here, please see the governor of the state."

Liu Jing was about to find Ma Chao, but unexpectedly Ma Chao came. He quickly ordered: "Please ask him to get in."

After a moment, Ma Chao walked into the big tent quickly, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See the governor of the state"

It has been four months since Ma Chao surrendered to Liu Jing. He has gradually adapted to his current identity. Fa Zheng also hinted that because of his father, the provincial governor could not reuse him for the time being, so he could endure it for a year or two.

Ma Chao could understand this, and more importantly, Liu Jing was preparing to promise his widowed sister to his wife, which moved Ma Chao very much. He had agreed to this marriage, so that Ma Chao could stay in Hanzhong with peace of mind.

This time, when he was in Guanzhong, Liu Jing personally fought, Ma Chao was the general of the army and obeyed orders in the tent. Just now, he learned that Ge Yuan was coming to the envoy, and he was very familiar with the Qiang and Di people, so he couldn't help but come to see Liu Jing.

Liu Jing waved his hand and smiled, "General Meng Qi, please sit down."

Ma Chao sat down under Liu Jing and asked, "I heard that Yang Qianwan sent an envoy to come. Is he still here?"

"The messenger's name is Ge Yuan, who claims to be Yang Qianwan's brother. He has gone back. Is Meng Qi very familiar with him?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

Ma Chao nodded, "Ge Yuan is indeed Yang Qianwan's brother, and he is very familiar with Weichen, but this person is very slippery and good at changing his mind. I don't like him."

Liu Jing smiled, "Actually, I want to buy their war horses to supplement my cavalry strength, and they agreed, but Ge Yuan actually expressed his willingness to help me attack Cao's army, which was really beyond my expectations. Meng Qi thinks their statement is credible?"

"Do they give any credentials?"

Liu Jing took out the golden sword and placed it on the table, "I gave this sword and said that it could mobilize the Di cavalry with this."

Ma Chao picked up the sword and looked at it, and said to Liu Jing: "This sword is one of Yang Qianwan's military swords. It does have the function of mobilizing troops. Since I gave this sword to the provincial governor, it means that they are willing to send troops. And I know that Yang Qianwan is very afraid of Cao Cao's advance westward. It is not surprising that he has the idea of ​​sending troops to attack Cao Cao, but there is one thing I want to remind the provincial governor."

"Meng Qi, please say it"

Ma Chao said slowly: "There is a saying in Longyou that Qiang is rich and Di is weak, that is, the Qiang people are reliable, and the Di people have no trust. When I was defeated in Guanzhong, I asked for help from the Di King Yang Qianwan. He did give me 10,000 troops, but this person only gave soldiers, not war horses, which eventually led to my inability to return to Xiliang and was completely wiped out by Cao's army. This shows that Yang Qianwan is not a sincere person. He is scheming and the governor of the state must be careful to prevent him, at least not rely on him to prevent him from changing his mind temporarily."

Liu Jing nodded, "Meng Qi said it well. Although I really hope that the Di people can attack Cao's army from the side, I still can't see their sincerity, so I can't pin my hopes on them, and I still have to implement them according to our original plan."

...........

Qishan Road refers to a north-south official road from Xiabian County, Wudu County to Ji County, Tianshui County. It is about five miles long and is divided into two parts: north-south with Qishan as the middle point.

The southern road is from Xiabian County to Xixian north of Qishan. This section is about two miles away, half of which is in Wudu County. It belongs to the western section of the Zhongnan Mountains. The mountains are undulating and the road is rugged. It is a relatively difficult section in the southern road of Qishan. However, after walking out of this section of the mountain, it is relatively easier to march and enter the Qishan area.

Qishan is actually a mountainous group composed of mountains and nearby mountains. The terrain is broken and the mountains are compared. It stretches from northwest to southeast. The paths between the mountains are complex, and various paths are interspersed. There are only wider official roads, which detour from the east and west sides of Qishan to the north.

The so-called easy march is only compared to the southern road. Compared with the plain terrain of Guanzhong, Qishan Road is still a relatively difficult mountain road. Due to the high strategic position of Qishan, there are more than a dozen passes and military cities in this area, such as Jieting, Liucheng, Licheng, Mumen, Longkou, and a county-wide county.

Cao Cao stationed 60,000 troops in the Qishan area, with his second son Cao Zhang, Xiahou Yuan as the deputy general, Chen Qun as the adviser, and core generals such as Cao Hong, Yu Jin, Zang Ba, Li Dian, Zhang He, Zhang Yan, etc.

For Liu Jing's Han army, exploring intelligence was also the top priority before the war. For this reason, Liu Jing sent ten most elite scout teams composed of the Eagle Strike Army to explore intelligence in Qishan Road, Tianshui and Weihe River areas.
Chapter completed!