Chapter 137: Spring Scenery of the Tent (Part 1)

In November of the first year of Xuanren, a blizzard that had never been seen in a century hit the Helong area. When the sudden snow stopped and the faint sunlight shone again on this land, the power structure of Helong had quietly changed under the cover of the blizzard.

Lingwu County, the base camp of Shuofang Army, had been occupied by Duan Xiushi's Anbei Army, and Shuofang Army withdrew to Yan'an County. Wei Yan in Hexi District finally let Zhang Huan enter Hexi, and assigned Tianbao County, the westmost part of Wuwei County to his garrison. Zhang Huan immediately appointed Li Hengqiu as the envoy of Huizhou, leading 2,000 soldiers to guard Hui County, thinking it was a supply base, and he personally led 3,000 people to the He Army.

Liangzhou was promoted to the Central Governor's Office in the seventh year of Wude. In the first year of Tianbao, Liangzhou was renamed Wuwei County and under its jurisdiction, five counties. Panhe County originally belonged to Zhangye County. In the third year of Tianbao, it was renamed Tianbao County, with a population of 2,000 households and a total of more than 12,000 people.

The large group of people had been on the Hexi Corridor for six days. The thick snow made their march extremely difficult. The journey was a world of ice and snow, and it was hard to find. After passing Wuwei County, there were more trees along the road, and the river network was still everywhere.

The ice and snow are blocked by the river, but you can already imagine the beautiful scenery after the ice and snow melt.

"Governor, there is Tianshan Mountain. We natives call it the snow mountain. Bypassing the snow mountain, it is Tianbao County."

The guide was a Qiang man, who called himself Awang, who was about thirty years old. However, his long-term nomadic life made his skin extremely thick and dark, and he looked like he was in his early fifties. However, he was simple and honest. He had a very talented language. He was very proficient in Chinese, Tubo, Turkic, and even some indigenous languages ​​in Hexi. He was poor, and Zhang Huan hired him as his full-time translator for only ten cents of money per year.

Awang didn't care about Zhang Huan's arrival. He was already used to the coming and going of soldiers in Hexi over the years. What he cared about was whether this young Han general could respect the customs of the Qiang people like General Xin Yunjing.

He pointed to the snow-capped mountain in the distance and smiled tentatively, "That snow-capped mountain is the guardian goddess of our Qiang people. We have to worship every four hours every year. If the governor is willing to respect it, he will win the hearts of the Qiang people."

Zhang Huan smiled and said nothing. He looked back at the winding army and asked the guide again: "Has the Tubo army come to harass him in recent years?"

Awang shook his head, "I heard that the internal battles in Tubo are very strong, and it has not been here for three years. Besides, in recent years, there has been drought and locust plagues, and the Hexi is barren. There is no oil or water when they come."

Seeing that Zhang Huan did not take the Snow Mountain Goddess to heart, Awang felt a little disappointed. After a glance, his eyes fell quietly on General Zhang's young wife. He had seen such a beautiful woman, and even the daughter of the toast was not worthy of carrying shoes for her. He couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "My Snow Mountain Goddess! Why did you forget your daughter in the world?"

Pei Ying was wearing a thick fire fox fur coat, with crystal clear and delicate skin, and a touch of red on her face, which looked extremely delicate. It was her first time to come to Hexi. Although the scenery along the way was monotonous, she did not feel tired of following Zhang Huan. At this time, she was admiring the jade trees and branches that stretched for hundreds of miles by the road. Although there were also Chang'an, how could it be more spectacular than Hexi?

"Ying'er, what's the scenery of Hexi?" Zhang Huan saw that she was focused, and couldn't help but ask with a smile. Since the relationship between them broke into a couple at the head of Huijun, Zhang Huan's name for her has changed naturally, but there was also a little more trouble. How can she and Cui Ning be evenly arranged? Although it is normal for a real man to have three wives and four concubines, the key is who is the right minister and who is the right minister? One is the daughter of the right minister and the other is the daughter of the left minister. There are two major families behind him as their backers. Zhang Huan couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. Let's talk about this later!

Pei Ying turned her head and gave Zhang Huan a light glance, and told him how many times he could not call him Ying'er in front of outsiders. He just couldn't remember it. Zhang Huan suddenly realized it. He touched his nose and smiled embarrassedly.

Seeing that he had admitted his mistake, Pei Ying spared him this time. She pointed to the sapphire-like Xuefeng in the distance and smiled, "Is it Qilian Mountain there?"

When Awang next to him saw her delicate smile, he felt dizzy again and almost fell off his horse. He thought to himself: "My fairy! That's not Qilian Mountain, that's your mother."

Zhang Huan discovered Awang's abnormality. Seeing that he was fascinated by Pei Ying's beauty, he couldn't help but feel a little proud. He smiled slightly and said to Pei Ying: "I heard that Tianbao County is under the snow-capped mountains, but the climate is very warm, like a paradise. When the weather is warm, I will take you to hunt on the grassland. We will watch the stars in the tent. Do you like it?"

Pei Ying didn't know where she was thinking. She suddenly felt shy on her face, and she turned her face and didn't dare to look at him. However, Awang next to her suddenly thought of something fatal to Pei Ying. He slapped his forehead repeatedly, only to hurt his brain, "My god! How can the daughter of the snow mountain live in a tent? That smell is a blasphemy fairy!"

At this moment, several personal soldiers shouted together, pointing ahead, their voices filled with surprise, "General, look at that!"

Zhang Huan looked forward intently and saw a black line appearing in the vast snow, which was more than ten miles long. "Is it the Tubo cavalry?" This idea was immediately denied by him. There seemed to be many ox carts and horse carriages in the team, and the march was slow and lacking the killing spirit of the army. Who would it be?

At this time, the two scouts rushed over, "Governor, those are all people, with tens of thousands of people being discharged from the army to Wuwei County."

"People?" Zhang Huan thought about it, and he immediately realized that this must be the people of Tianbao County. Lu Sigong implemented a solid wall and cleared the fields, leaving only an empty city for him.

"How many troops are there to escort?"

"About five hundred people, infantry and cavalry."

"Has the county town burned?

"Report to the Governor, the county town is intact!"

Zhang Huan smiled coldly. It seemed that Lu Sigong was not cruel enough to do things. If he killed everyone in Tianbao County, burned the city, and pushed it to himself, Hexi would not have any idea of ​​gaining a foothold.

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered the personal soldiers behind him, "Protect Miss Pei to a safe place, and the remaining brothers come with me."

The three thousand cavalry divided into three teams, galloping from left, center and right towards the immigration team, completely blocking their way.

This team is indeed the people of Tianbao County. Because of heavy snowfall, many herders hid in the county for winter. Unexpectedly, they were all killed by the army sent by Lu Sigong, and they were all driven out of the county and escorted to Wuwei County. At the beginning, they cried loudly, and everyone left their homes as if they were parting with life and death. However, after two days of travel, the people gradually became numb and began to realize that crying too hard would consume their physical strength and waste precious food. The crying was gone, and everyone followed the team silently.

Men walk on the ground, while women and children and elderly people sit on horse and carriages or ox carts. There are still some small property on the carriage, which is half a jar of grain, and a few skinny sheep, and a few tattered leather mattresses, which occasionally reveal a few pairs of timid eyes.

A total of 500 soldiers who drove away these people, including 300 infantry and 200 cavalry. They were led by a captain named Zhou. They had already arrived in one day from Tianbao County to Wuwei County, but the road was blocked with heavy snow. The people walked slowly. It took two days to walk halfway through, and there was no fuel. Just as Captain Zhou cursed in his heart, he suddenly realized that he had been surrounded by thousands of cavalry.

The team stopped, and the children were so scared that they got into their mother's arms, while the men ran to their families, pulled out their knives from the carriage, and looked at the strange army with vigilance.

The brigade of cavalry was getting closer and closer, and the Tang Dynasty dragon flag was clearly visible. A big white banner next to it was written with a big "Zhang," and the commander Zhou cried out in his heart, "Why did they come so quickly?"

"Who is the leader!" Yass Li Panyu took the lead and pointed at the soldiers and shouted sternly.

All the soldiers looked at Captain Zhou, and a few of them quietly pointed at him. Captain Zhou smiled bitterly in his heart. Being an official may not be a good thing! He gritted his teeth and walked forward to Li Panyu and said, "Last general Zhou Hao, please see General Zhang, no, Governor Zhang!"

At this time, Zhang Huan came up from behind. He glanced at Captain Zhou and asked coldly: "How dare you hold so many people hostage? Do you really treat my Tang Dynasty's laws without anything?"

The cold sweat on Captain Zhou's forehead had already come down. If the Tang Dynasty laws were used, he would be a death sentence. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "Governor, his subordinates are just arrows. When General Lu shoots there, I will fly there. If the Governor is not allowed, I will go back!"

"Go back?" Zhang Huan smiled with a hint of sarcastic tone: "Stay here to make trouble, and do you want to leave after slapping your butt? You can go back and tell Lu Gongsi that each soldier has two stones of rice, and a war horse has two stones of rice. I don't want it anymore. I want him to take 1,500 stones of rice to redeem people, otherwise I will send him five hundred heads."

The Captain Zhou's face was pale. He did not dare to say too much. He lowered his head and fled in panic. He waited for him to run away. Zhang Huan urged him to go forward and said to the subordinates of the Captain Zhou: "It's just a matter of being a soldier. Lu Gongsi is for dinner. You can have dinner with me. This governor is the governor of Liangzhou appointed by the court and the governor of Wuwei County. It's just right. How about it? Are you willing to return to the governor of the principal?"

Everyone just heard that he wanted to exchange for rice for himself, but now he wanted to surrender himself. I don’t know what he was thinking. They all looked at each other and couldn’t make up their minds. However, Zhang Huan smiled slightly and said to them: “As long as you follow this governor, I will exempt you and your family from military ranks, which is no different from the free people. How about it?”

As soon as he said this, everyone was uproaring and knelt down one after another, "We are willing to surrender to the governor!"

The Tang Dynasty's military system gradually declined during the Middle Tang Dynasty, and instead implemented the recruitment system. After the Anshi Rebellion, major families rose. In order to solve the shortage of military resources and to effectively control the army, major families began to implement the military system of the Northern Wei Dynasty in some troops, and they were about to convert some free people into military households. Without land, their families rely on men to join the army to support them. When men die in battle or get old, their children take over the army, they are actually military slaves. Under the strict household registration control, their children and grandchildren are not allowed to turn over. Their families are called hostages, but in fact they are private property of major families and local governments.

This military system has different degrees of implementation in major families. Among them, the Wei family in Guanlong is the most common. Eighty-most of the soldiers are from military households. Zhang Huan today let them off their rank as the governor. Although their family members are in Longyou or Wuwei, it is a great blessing for them.

Pei Ying next to her was a little worried. Zhang Huan's move was undoubtedly against major families. Is this right? But she dared not say much. She knew her identity very well. Before she became Zhang Huan's wife, she must not interfere in military and political affairs.

At this time, Zhang Huan said to Li Shuangyu again: "Take these brothers down and break up the teams."

"But Governor, what if Lu Gongsizhen sends food to redeem them?" Li Panyu couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

"What do you think?" Zhang Huan sneered, ignored him and walked towards the people. At this time, the people of Tianbao County all knew Zhang Huan's identity, the governor of Wuwei County, and that was his own parents. Everyone gradually calmed down and no longer feared.

An old man with a yellow complexion came out of the team. He walked forward and bowed to Zhang Huanshen, "Tianbao County Magistrate Li Hanjie, who came to see the governor."

"Where is your county magistrate? Why didn't he come to see me!"

County Magistrate Li sighed, "Mr. Wang was captured by the Tubo Post last year, and he still has no idea of ​​his life and death."

"Then why not report it to the court?"

"The county is nothing, and it doesn't matter whether he is here or not, so we didn't report it. If someone scrapes the ground, everyone will suffer."

Zhang Huan nodded, and he waved his hand and smiled, "Tell the people that now everyone can go home and the team will turn around!"

Amid the cheers, more than 10,000 people in Tianbao County turned around and drove slowly towards their homes.

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The sky gradually darkened, and the team came to a canyon. The canyon was about three miles long and was the most dangerous place to enter Tianbao County. It was difficult to walk on the night road. Zhang Huan decided to camp here. The soldiers began to unload the tents from their horses, and the white tents began to support them, like mushrooms emerging after the rain.

The people stared blankly at the busyness of the soldiers. They had no tents and could only curl up in the carriage.

The temperature dropped sharply at night, and the coughs in the crowd were heard one after another, and the crying of children. Zhang Huan sighed secretly, called County Magistrate Li, and told him: "I will let my soldiers squeeze in and you can divide half of the tents. You can arrange for women, children and the elderly to live in. If there are sick people, they can live alone, and I will order the military doctor to treat it."

County Chief Li was overjoyed and turned around to make arrangements. At this time, Pei Ying quietly walked forward and whispered: "You can think of giving half of the tent to the people, I am really happy for you."

Zhang Huan slapped his forehead suddenly and regretted, "I gave them the tent, where will I live?"
Chapter completed!