Chapter 2 The Imperial Order East

Early autumn in the Hetao Plain is a different scene. The corn in the endless fields is light yellow. In another month, the harvest period will be reached. On both sides of the fields, there are abundant water flowing in artificially excavated canals. You can see dense forests in the distance, like green blankets distributed on the vast and fertile Hetao Plain, like green pearls.

After several years of development of the Great Sui Dynasty, the Hetao Plain, which had been desolate for hundreds of years, gradually restored its prosperity during the Han Dynasty. In just five years, 200,000 households and more than one million people were moved from Guannei, Guanzhong, Hedong and Longyou one after another. Nearly half of the tens of thousands of women and children captured by Yang Yuanqing from the Western Regions were also placed on the Hetao Plain.

The population surged, rivers and canals were excavated, large areas of fertile land were developed, and villages appeared on the vast plains, and newly built counties also rose one after another. It turned out that there were only Jiuyuan, Yong'an and Dali counties, and now there were Wuhai, Beihe and Feng'an counties. The population and counties were mainly distributed on the east side of the plain, centered on Jiuyuan County, but the border trade was still in Dali County. The entire Hetao Plain was mainly planted with wheat, millet, corn, mulberry, hemp and polenta. At the same time, every household also raised cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys, making the Hetao Plain richer than in the pass.

That afternoon, a team of 500 cavalry rushed from the north along the road, rolling dust under the horse's hooves. The road was built when Emperor Yang Guang inspected Wuyuan County. It was wide and solid. It now becomes the main transportation route to communicate north and south of Wuyuan County. In the north is Dali County and Jiuyuan County to the south. It is 120 miles apart. It is precisely this flat and wide road that allows cavalry to pass through the plain in one day.

There are dozens of flags standing in the Mercedes-Benz cavalry, mainly red flags of the Great Sui Dynasty, and also battle flags of the Fengzhou Army. It is a black eagle with a spreading wings embroidered on the red flag. The eagle is the most common raptor on the Hetao Plain, hovering under the blue sky and white clouds.

There is also a handsome flag, which is also embroidered with a golden "Yang" on the red flag. This is the handsome flag of Fengzhou coach Yang Yuanqing.

Under the commander's flag, Yang Yuanqing was wearing a helmet and armor, with a cold look. He has been re-held by the commander seal of Fengzhou Army for nearly two years and has firmly controlled the 24,000 Fengzhou Army.

Yang Yuanqing looked into the distance. It was only twenty miles away from Jiuyuan County, the county seat, and the population gradually became dense. There was a huge dark building called the Fort City in the southeast of the road. It was also a unique building in Fengzhou. It was made of fired large blue bricks and cast iron gates, three meters high. Each fort city could accommodate thousands of people. It was usually the garrison of the government soldiers, and in wartime it was a refuge for the elderly, weak, women and children. In densely populated areas, there would be such a fort city in a radius of more than ten miles. (　　)

A mile ahead is an inn. There are five inns on both sides of this 120-mile long road, which are for pedestrians and merchants to rest, eat and stay. The inn in front is called Longquan Station. Behind it is a large village called Longquan Village, which is more than 200 families with four surnames moved from Longquan County, Hedong.

Like the Central Plains, more than 200,000 immigrants in Wuyuan County are mainly linked by blood families. They often live together in a village, where elders and patriarchs exercise family leadership. This has been the case for thousands of years, which gives the people strong cohesion.

Yang Yuanqing waved his hand and the cavalry slowed down. He immediately ordered: "Go to the post station to rest for a quarter of an hour!"

It was noon, and it was lunch time. The soldiers accelerated and rushed towards the post station. In a moment, the post station became very lively. The soldiers brought their own dry food and dried meat. The post station mainly provided clear water and resting places. There was a deep well in the backyard of the post station. Soon, the well was filled with soldiers who fetched water.

Yang Yuanqing was interested in Longquan Village behind the post station. He just saw a village soldier training on the wheat threshing field outside the village. He drank two sips of water and ate some dry food. Then, under the escort of more than a dozen personal soldiers, he rode to the wheat threshing field.

On the wheat threshing field, two hundred soldiers from Longquan Village were lined up to train, wearing leather armor, bowing and arrows on their backs, waving spears and shouting loudly, and two veterans of the army served as brigade commanders.

Since Fengzhou is close to the Turks, it is the northernmost military center of the Great Sui Dynasty and a bridgehead to defend against the Hu people on the grassland. It is very susceptible to the Hu people on the grassland. Therefore, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty approved Yang Yuanqing's request last year to implement the Filipino Baojia Law in Fengzhou area.

In other words, in addition to the normal 24,000 border troops, each household had a man who was trained in a concentrated manner during the slack season. The temporary organization was carried out according to ten people, one fire, fifty people, one team, one brigade, three hundred people, one battalion, and one thousand people, one regiment. It was similar to the system of the government troops in the Central Plains, but there were essential differences. They were still civilians rather than soldiers. The Ministry of War did not register, and the officers were not full-time, designated from the militia, but weapons were registered in the Ministry of War. There was a weapon room in every five villages, and there was a dedicated person to keep it. The Ministry of War would send people to inspect every year.

Although there was no compensation training, the people of Fengzhou participated enthusiastically. Everyone understood that once the Hu people in the grassland attacked, they could not completely rely on the army, but they would rely on themselves to defend their homes.

Yang Yuanqing did not go up to disturb the training of the militia. He immediately inspected the villagers' training from a distance a mile away. Two hundred strong villagers were wearing leather armor and iron helmets. They were all brave and powerful. Two hundred spears waved together, and the spear tips flashed and shouted like thunder. They were training the Great Sui soldiers' spear method to destroy the enemy. The spear method was simple and practical, and very suitable for actual combat, without any fancy. (")

Two veterans served as the brigade commander of the militia. One of them was the leader of the team to practice spears, while the other was on a horse patrol, holding a whip in his hand, and his attitude was fierce and rough. Whoever dared to be lazy would whip down hard.

"Master, go up and take a look?" asked a personal soldier.

Yang Yuanqing shook his head, turned his head and said, "The departure time is coming, let's go back!"

More than a dozen people turned their horses and ran towards the post station. The five hundred soldiers at the post station also boarded their horses, galloping towards Jiuyuan County in the south.

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In the afternoon, five hundred cavalry arrived in Jiuyuan County, which is the capital of Wuyuan County and is also the location of the Fengzhou General Administration Army. There are 10,000 troops around, and Yang Yuanqing's home is also here.

After entering the county town, Yang Yuanqing came directly to the General Administration Office. Like before, the General Administration Office and the County Office still have two brands and one team. The former chief Wei Siyun has been promoted to the prefect of Lingwu County. The current chief is Cui Junsu, the younger brother of the Jingzhao Yin Cui Bosu. He has been on missions to the Western Turks several times. He is proficient in Turkic language and is quite capable, while Sima is Du Ruhui.

Yang Yuanqing turned over and dismounted, and the two officers on the front of the steps saluted. Yang Yuanqing threw the reins of the horse to the soldiers and asked, "Are they still here?"

Yang Yuanqing refers to them as two eunuchs who came from Yanmen County. He was inspecting Dali City, but when he heard that eunuchs who passed by the eunuchs who came, he rushed back to Jiuyuan County.

The officer nodded, "They have been waiting for the general manager."

Yang Yuanqing quickly walked into the government office. Two eunuchs who were waiting impatiently heard that Yang Yuanqing had returned, basically ran out and shouted: "Mr. Yang, you are finally back, but when you die, please accept the order!"

"Two father-in-laws wait, I will set up an incense table to receive the order!"

Several people had been engaged in placing incense tables and cushions. Yang Yuanqing knelt down and said, "My minister Yang Yuanqing welcomed the imperial edict!"

The eunuchs, who were the leaders of the eunuch, read loudly: "The great cause is about to rise, and the whole country is peaceful. When the government is harmonious, the horses and grasses are growing outside the frontier. I inspected the border and specially summoned important generals from the border towns and imperial camps to discuss the important matters of border defense. Promote the General of the Zuo Xiaowei and the General Manager of Fengzhou Yang Yuanqing, go to the Mayi border to see the enemy. I will be here!"

"My minister Yang Yuanqing obeys the order!"

Yang Yuanqing respectfully accepted the imperial edict and asked again: "Where is the Lord now?"

The eunuch in charge scratched his head with some embarrassment and said with a wry smile: "Our family came out of Loufan County and ran for more than ten days before we got here. Now I don't know where the emperor is? I guess it's on the edge of the grassland, so he shouldn't go deep into the grassland."

Yang Yuanqing nodded, "I'll go back and clean up and arrange some government affairs. We'll set off tomorrow morning!"

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Yang Yuanqing's official house in Wuyuan County is not far from the government office, only a hundred steps away, and the house is not big, covering an area of ​​ten acres, and it is also an old house. When he returned home, his wife Pei Minqiu and several maids came out after hearing the news. Her lower abdomen was slightly raised and she was five months pregnant. This is her second child. At the end of last year, Pei Minqiu also gave birth to a daughter named Yang Sihua to remember Yang Lihua who died of illness in Xiping County.

"Husband, I have an imperial edict!"

"I've answered."

Yang Yuanqing stepped forward to support his wife and asked with concern: "How do you feel?"

Pei Minqiu whispered with some excitement: "I think this time I am a kid, and my kicking is very powerful, and I really like meat dishes recently."

"Is this related to meat and vegetables?"

"Of course it's related. When I was Huaisi, I liked to eat vegetarian food. I felt nauseous when I saw meat, and the same was true for me."

Speaking of Qianchen, Yang Yuanqing looked back and asked strangely: "Where is her?"

"She is coaxing Bing'er to sleep. Her wet nurse is a little sick in the past two days. She can only take care of the child by herself and will come over later."

Pei Minqiu asked worriedly again: "Did the emperor summon you to Beijing to report your work?"

Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "It's not that he has entered Beijing. The emperor is now outside the border. On the other side of Mayi Road, he summoned the border generals to visit him. I also want to go. I will leave early tomorrow morning and come back at most a month. After this summoning, I don't have to go to Beijing to report my duties."

When Pei Minqiu heard that he didn't have to go to Beijing to report his work, he immediately turned his worries into joy and immediately smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go and pack your luggage for you."

She thought for a while and said, "Or why don't you let Green Tea go with you and you can take care of your daily life on the way."

Green Tea was officially accepted as a concubine by Yang Yuanqing in March this year. She has a good relationship with her two mistresses, and Pei Minqiu also trusts her very much.

Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "She wants to take care of you, so stay at home. You go pack your luggage! I also want to pack some documents."

Pei Minqiu had no choice but to go. Yang Yuanqing came to his study room, sat down, and obtained the report. This was the report he was going to hand over to Yang Guang when he went to Beijing next year. It was already halfway through. It was still early, but now he had to prepare quickly. He just picked up his pen and wrote a line of words.

Chuchen walked in with a bowl of hot tea. She was Yuan Qing's wife and had been with Yuan Qing for almost two years. Her years of martial arts practice still kept her charming figure and agile vitality, just like she was when she was sixteen or seventeen years old. However, she had been accustomed to a free life for a long time, and her life in the mansion every day almost made her sick.

When Chuchen heard that Yuan Qing was going to travel far, she had an idea in her heart. She hugged Yuan Qing's neck from behind, gently arched his ear with her nose, and whispered in a coquettish voice: "I want to go with you too!"

Yuan Qing held her hand and smiled and said, "You go with me, what should Bing'er do?"

"Bing'er can be handed over to her tamper. She has been with her for two years. There is no problem. Her tamper will recover tonight, and Minqiu can also take care of her."

"Can she leave her mother?" Yang Yuanqing asked again.

Chuchen said a little dejectedly: "She just can't live without her wet nurse, but she can live without me."

Yang Yuanqing understood the grievances of this Jianghuai female hero. This time he was just going to meet the saint, not a military operation. He could take his family as usual, so he patted her hand and smiled: "As long as you can convince the little guy, then you can follow me and dress up as my personal soldier. Maybe you can still be of great use."

After being overjoyed, I was thinking in my heart, how can I convince my daughter? The key is to impress her with what gift?

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Chapter completed!