Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 330: The way to govern Long, the Zhang family

The edges were dyed orange by the setting sun, and the clouds were gorgeous and floating in the sky.

A cavalry of nearly a thousand riders marched along the river valley, with flags flying in the wind. Because they were here to surrender Han Sui, the knights were chatting and laughing, their tones full of satisfaction.

Zhang Yu pulled the reins and spurred his horse, looking at Shi Yi beside him and asked, "You led the cavalry to defend Pingxiang, why are you now in Xingguo?"

Shi Yi bowed and said, "I sent cavalry to investigate and learned that Han Sui led his troops to flee to Xingguo, and that you were chasing him. So I led my cavalry to Xingguo, hoping to lend a helping hand to you. So I split my troops into two groups. One group sent 500 cavalry to Xingguo via another route, and the other group led by me and 400 cavalry went up the river valley. On the way, I learned that you had defeated Han Sui, so I went to the river valley to intercept them in order to capture the defeated soldiers."

Pingxiang is not far from Xingguo, about two hundred miles away. One is located in the Zuli River Valley, and the other is located in the Huachuan River Valley. Both are roads from Lueyang to Jincheng.

Compared with the Huachuan River Valley, the Zuli River Valley is more remote and cannot directly reach Jincheng. It is necessary to cross a mountain road that is more than 100 miles long, or to reach the Yellow River first and then go west against the Yellow River. Therefore, Han Sui knew that Shi Yi cut off the Huachuan River, and now he dared not take the shortcut when withdrawing his troops. He could only try to reach Changli River, and then turn to Xingguo and Zuli River.

Although Shi Yi is now at the Huachuan River, he has exerted his subjective initiative to the extreme since he led 2,000 cavalry to attack. He not only plundered military supplies, but also assisted Zhang Yu in defeating Han Sui as much as possible. That is why he led his troops to block Han Sui's way.

After learning what had happened, Zhang Yu was greatly impressed and said, "I led the army to the west to attack Longyou. Besides the fact that Han Sui surrendered, I was also pleased that you were so smart in using troops. With a little more experience, you can become a great general!"

"Don't dare!"

Shi Yi smiled shyly and said, "I am very satisfied to be able to kill the enemy under your command and spy on the enemy for you!"

"A man must have the ambition of an eagle!"

Zhang Yu had been communicating with Shi Yi in Hu language. He patted Shi Yi on the shoulder and said, "We have known each other for many years. Now that I can use you, how can I tie you down under my tent?"

Shi Yi was filled with gratitude and said, "I was captured by you and used like a beast of burden. If you want to conquer the world, I will be your pioneer."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu laughed a few times, spurred his horse and urged everyone to return to the camp.

Now that Han Sui has been subdued, there will be no major harm to the counties in Longyou. Apart from the appointment of counties and prefectures, only the Qiang people will need to be looked after and pacified by the general.

Historically, even though Cao Wei had pacified Longyou, it still rebelled from time to time. It was not until Guo Huai governed Longyou that Cao Wei could barely say that Longyou was stable. Now Guo Huai is still young, only in his early twenties, and cannot bear the responsibility of sitting in Longyou. If Zhang Yu wants to pacify the Han and Qiang in Longyou, he needs to select another general to sit in charge.

After talking with Shi Yi, Zhang Yu gradually came up with the idea of letting Shi Yi serve as the Protector of the Qiang. After he led his troops out of Long, he might be able to cooperate with Man Chong to wipe out the powerful generals and evil Qiang forces in Longyou.

On the way back, Zhang Yu met Zhang Xiu who came to look for him.

Zhang Xiu saw many Long army soldiers captured in the crowd, and asked happily: "Did you capture and kill Han Sui?"

Zhang Yu pointed his whip at Han Sui in the crowd and said with a smile: "Shi Yi helped me to block the way, and now I have captured Han Sui!"

"Congratulations, my lord, for your outstanding achievements and your power in Longyou!"

Zhang Xiu was overjoyed and shouted to his men, "Hurry back to the army and tell everyone that you have captured Han Sui!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Xiu, who was smiling, and asked, "How is the war in Xingguo going now?"

"A great victory!"

Zhang Xiu rode his horse to the left of Zhang Yu and reported the victory with a smile: "Song Jian was killed by General Gao Shun and his troops, Cheng Yi was defeated in the army, Agui and the Changli Qiang surrendered, Yan Xing and Fan Chou surrendered with more than 3,000 soldiers, and the Qiang King Yang Qianwan fled with his troops."

"Where are Yang Qianwan and his troops?" Zhang Yu asked.

"About west of Gaoping and east of Changli River!" said Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then had Han Sui brought in and asked, "Yang Qianwan is acquainted with the Lord of Han. Do you think we can send troops to pursue him?"

"Report to Duke Ming!"

Han Sui was reluctant to offer advice to Zhang Yu, but for the sake of his livelihood, he could only tell the truth: "Yang Qianwan and Agui's troops each have more than 10,000 tents, which is the largest in Hanyang County. Your Excellency has defeated all the troops in Longshang, and the two troops have suffered heavy losses."

"So now that the Xingguo Di have surrendered, why not send someone to persuade Yang Qianwan to surrender, and let him lead his tribe to offer food and surrender, so as to stabilize the Hanyang counties. When the Hanyang Qiang tribe surrenders, the Longxi and Jincheng tribes will feel at ease, and then there will be an endless stream of people surrendering to you, my lord."

The conflict between the Han and Qiang peoples existed during the Western Han Dynasty, but the contradictions were not serious. Firstly, the Western Han Dynasty used relatively gentle methods to govern the Qiang and Di tribes; secondly, the Han people lived in the Guanlong area, and the Qiang people had not yet migrated eastward on a large scale.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the sharp decline in the population of Guanlong, the Qiang people migrated eastward on a large scale. The Eastern Han Dynasty used harsh methods to govern the Qiang, Di and Hu tribes, such as repeatedly conscripting the Hu tribes to march west to Hexi. In addition, the county officials in Guandong were seriously corrupt. Under the oppression of the government, the Qiang, Di and Hu tribes finally rebelled.

After the first rebellion, as the contradictions intensified, the war between the Han and Qiang became more and more intense, and the war even spread to Hebei. The Han Dynasty relied on the continuous blood transfusion from the Central Plains to suppress the rebellious Qiang tribe in Longyou.

Although the rebels led by Han Sui and Wang Guo had a large number of Han soldiers and generals participating in them, the figures of Qiang, Di and Hu people could also be seen among them. Otherwise, Han Sui would not have been able to repeatedly send tens of thousands of troops to fight against foreign enemies with only Jincheng County.

Therefore, the strength of the Qiang and Dihu people in Longshang is still strong. Zhang Yu cannot devote too much energy to Longyou. It is the best strategy to follow Han Sui's strategy of surrender.

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "What Mr. Han said makes sense. We will return to Xingguo to reorganize our army first, and then send envoys to persuade Ma Teng and Yang Qianwan to surrender."

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Soon, when the moon was above the treetops, Zhang Yu led his cavalry back to Xingguo.

Today, Xingguo looks different than before. Gao Shun leads his troops to control the city. The Di people build tents for Zhang Yu's troops and transport meat and grain to the camp for the victorious Shanxi army to enjoy.

Seeing Zhang Yu leading the cavalry back, generals Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Zhang Ji and others came out to greet them.

"Congratulations, my Lord, on your successful return!"

Zhang Yu dismounted and said with a smile, "I am in armor, so there is no need for you to be polite!"

Although his face was full of fatigue, Zhang Yu still kept up his spirits, talked to the welcoming generals one by one, and praised their bravery on the battlefield.

"Yan Xing, A Gui and Fan Chou are waiting for you in the big tent. Would you like to meet them now?" Zhang Liao asked.

"See!"

Zhang Yu handed the iron whip to the attendant and said with a smile: "I have heard that Yan Xing is brave and valiant for a long time. Now that he can lead his troops to surrender, it is a happy event!"

On the way to the big tent, Zhang Yu saw wine in the baggage provided by the Di tribe, and warned Zhang Liao, "Wenyuan, the Di people have just surrendered, and we don't know the depth of their situation. Don't let the soldiers drink, so as to avoid unrest tonight."

"Yes!" Zhang Liao restrained his expression and bowed.

Although the Di people of Xingguo surrendered, Zhang Yu did not dare to believe it. If the soldiers were drunk and the Di people attacked the camp at night, Zhang Yu would have nowhere to cry. As the war was approaching the end, the more cautious the better.

After being welcomed to the big tent by the generals, Zhang Yu soon met the surrendered generals such as Yan Xing, Fan Chou, and A Gui.

Seeing a man with a beard that went down to his chin and dark skin, Zhang Yu knew it was Fan Chou who had fled from Guanzhong to Longyou. So he grabbed Fan Chou's beard and laughed, saying, "Fan Chou, the bearded man, fled from Guanzhong to Longyou. He will not flee anymore. Do you really want to surrender to me?"

Although Fan Chou was frightened by Zhang Yu's action, the discomfort he had felt before disappeared, and he pretended to beg for mercy, saying, "My lord, if you can capture my beard, I will never run away again."

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu loosened Fan Chou's beard and said to the surrendered people, "Fan Chou was my enemy during the conquest of Guanzhong in the past, and now he is my enemy again during the conquest of Long. Logically, I could kill Fan Chou, but I have no intention of killing him. If you surrender to me, I will forgive you for the past. If you rebel again, I will kill you."

Fan Chou said humbly, "I did not recognize your majesty's divine power and led my troops to resist. This was a serious crime. I am grateful to you for not killing me!"

"Thank you very much for not killing us!" Agui and Yan Xing responded.

Zhang Yu looked at Agui and asked, "You command thousands of Di tribes and are the king of Xingguo. You are not at ease. Why are you rebelling against me?"

Agui hesitated and said, "The Han people ruled Long, and corvée conscription was frequent, and officials were corrupt, so we had to send troops to occupy it."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, and said earnestly, "The Han people ruled Longyou harshly, but I will treat Han and Hu people equally. Di people can divide the land and do business, and can join the army and become officials. You can live in peace and not worry about military affairs. If I rule Longyou for one day, you can rule Xingguo."

The Di people are not a nationality but an ethnic group. The Di and Qiang people have a common ancestor and differ only because of their different methods of production.

The Qiang people were mainly nomadic. In the early Western Han Dynasty, when the Xiongnu was strong, the Qiang people submitted to the Xiongnu and fought against the Western Han Dynasty together. When Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty launched a northern expedition against the Xiongnu, he ordered Huo Qubing to take the Hexi Corridor in the west. The initial purpose was to cut off the connection between the Qiang people and the Xiongnu.

The Di people mainly engaged in farming. As the Han people frequently came into contact with the Hu people in Longyou, in order to distinguish them from the nomadic Qiang people, they called the Rongdi people who lived in the river valleys and lowlands the Di people. The word Di means low, referring to the Rongdi people who lived in the lower terrain.

Because the Di people and the Han people both engaged in farming and textile production, the economic exchanges between the Han and Di people were closer. In Zhang Yu's eyes, it was easiest to integrate the Di people into the Han people.

Of course, this is also true in reality. For example, the Former Qin Dynasty established by the Di people Fu Jian was not a conflict between the Han and Di people, but a conflict between the Di people and the Xianbei, Qiang, and Xiongnu people. The demise of the Former Qin Dynasty was the result of the joint efforts of the Qiang and Xianbei.

Therefore, if one wants to assimilate the Di people, learning from the Ming and Qing dynasties' policy of reforming native officials to officials might be a good choice. First, entrust native officials to rule the country for generations, assimilate the Di people, and then appoint officials to govern them, which would be a natural progression.

Hearing this, Agui bowed and kowtowed, saying respectfully: "Your Excellency is so magnanimous that no one in the world can match you. There is no Han surname in my clan. If your Excellency does not abandon it, the Di people of Xingguo are willing to take Zhang as their surname for generations!"

Agui was able to command 10,000 tents and 60,000 to 70,000 Di people, so he had his own unique skills. Seeing that Zhang Yu was willing to pacify him, Agui was not polite and climbed up along the pole given by Zhang Yu. After all, if they could use the Zhang family name, the Han officials would give them some face.

Seeing that the Di people understood his meaning, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "From now on, you will be called Zhang Gui!"

"Thank you for your grace, sir!"

ps: I have something going on at home, so the second chapter will be late.

(End of this chapter)