The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 145 The Hexi Corridor and the Northern Desert
It was springtime, the season for cultivating fields in Longxi. Groups of Xirong people were driven into the fields by Qin soldiers to work.

“To educate barbaric tribes, we cannot rely solely on propriety and benevolence; we must also use whips and instruments of torture,” Zhang Han said solemnly to Gongzi Gao.

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher." Young Master Gao bowed respectfully.

"This humble general is unworthy of being called a teacher by you, young master."

“My elder brother once said that the quality of a teacher is not determined by which master or school one studies under, but by who one learns from. Back then, my elder brother regarded Han Fei as his teacher when he read Han Fei’s books, even though Han Fei is no longer alive.”

Zhang Han nodded.

Li You came to report: "General, the troops in Longxi at the front are ready."

Zhang Han turned to look at Gongzi Gao, Zhang Ping, and Lou Jing, and solemnly said, "Longxi is now in your hands, Gongzi Gao."

Gongzi Gao replied, "General, rest assured."

General Zhang Han's army led the remaining 30,000 Western Rong people away from Longxi and headed towards the Hexi Corridor.

The young master said in a low voice, "The general will probably be very busy from now on."

Zhang Ping said, "Yes, brother has endless things to do."

Gongzi Gao sighed, "My elder brother also has endless things to do."

After returning to his residence in Longxi, Gongzi Gao continued reading books, and the construction of Longxi was mainly based on the Dushui River.

Therefore, after arriving in Longxi, Gongzi Gao's life was relatively easy, except for managing the volunteer teaching affairs.

After the general left, Du Shui Changlu came with a scroll and said, "Young master, this is the newly established twenty-four solar terms of Xianyang."

Gongzi Gao said, "I know about this."

"I intend to cultivate the land according to the twenty-four solar terms in this book."

"it is good."

The young master left all matters of farming to Du Shuichang, trusting him completely.

The people of Qin believed in letting professionals do professional work, and this was especially true of Prince Gao, who grew up in Weinan County.

"Young master, a letter from the princess."

After Du Shuichang withdrew, Gongzi Gao received the letter. His younger sister, Yin Man, moved into Xianyang City, which was formerly Lü Buwei's residence, now renamed Shuge.

My younger sister, Yin Man, lives in this huge library. She went to Jingye County to visit her teacher and Mr. Fu Sheng. In her letter, she also mentioned what was happening in Xianyang and sent many books over.

After reading it, Gongzi Gao wrote a reply and had it sent to his sister.

After Zhang Han's army crossed the Wushaoling Mountains, they entered the Hexi Corridor once again. The Hexi Corridor is still garrisoned by Qin troops, and the wetlands and grasslands along the way are excellent places for raising horses.

For the Qin Dynasty, having controlled the northern lands and Hexi, there is no shortage of warhorses at the moment.

Wu Shi Luo originally thought that his situation would be better after leaving Xianyang and coming here. He looked at the Qilian Snow Mountain in the distance, which had stood there for thousands of years.

Now, Wu Shi Luo realized that he seemed to have no other use here besides eating food.

In that case, the Qin general would surely kill him.

At this moment, Wu Shi Luo, walking in the ranks, could already sense that the Qin soldiers' gazes toward him had begun to turn unfriendly.

"You! Come with me to see the general!"

The words that had been uttered startled Wu Shiluo, who was already anxious. He replied, "I am useful. I will not eat the food for nothing. I can help the general."

"go!"

The soldier shouted an order and kicked him.

Wu Shilu strode to the front of the army and faced General Zhang Han. Feeling that standing was inappropriate, he simply knelt down on the ground, appearing extremely sincere.

Sitting on his horse, Zhang Han gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains and asked, "Do you know which place in the Western Regions has the most slaves?"

Wu Shilu nodded repeatedly.

"Do you know where the nearest place with the most slaves is?"

Wu Shilu nodded.

Zhang Han beckoned Lou Jing over and ordered, "Lieutenant Li, take a troop of soldiers and lead this man to capture slaves."

Li You replied, "This subordinate obeys the order."

Chen Ping hurriedly stepped forward and said, "General, may I go with Commandant Li?"

Zhang Han snorted coldly, seemingly understanding Chen Ping's intention, and said, "If you go, I'm afraid you'll become the ruler of the Western Regions and refuse to come back. If you sleep with the woman of the ruler of the Western Regions, what am I supposed to write in the military report?"

"Hahaha!" Lou Jing laughed three times at just the right moment.

Ignoring Lou Jing's laughter, Chen Ping hurriedly said, "I will not leave the Hexi Corridor. I will simply build a house at the foot of the snow mountain and devise a plan to assist Commander Li. I want the slaves to know that the Qin army is saving them. If this is done, the hearts of the people will be won over."

Lou Jing's laughter and Zhang Han's worries were justified. Chen Ping had privately inquired a lot about the beauties of the Western Regions. He had heard that the beauties of the Western Regions were very docile and did not like to wear cloth. A piece of silk could be exchanged for several beauties of the Western Regions.

It's normal for men to be curious about beautiful women, but military discipline is strict, and Zhang Han would not allow beauties from the Western Regions to appear in the army.

He didn't want Chen Ping to lead the way in seeking out beauties from the Western Regions, thus corrupting Li You and disrupting military discipline.

Zhang Han said in a deep voice, "Remember your words, if you leave without permission..."

Chen Ping declared loudly, "Military law will be applied." Despite Chen Ping's statement, Lou Jing remained suspicious, feeling that Chen Ping was cunning and that military law might not be able to control him.

……

While it is springtime in Guanzhong, it is still the dead of winter in the northern desert. The wind and snow howl across the grassland, making the cowhide tents flutter as if they are about to be blown away by the wind.

Several Xiongnu leaders were sitting inside the tent, with Modu, the son of Touman Chanyu, sitting at the head of the table.

After the Loufan and Baiyang tribes were completely wiped out by Meng Tian, ​​the remaining Xiongnu tribes fled north. Among them, several Xiongnu leaders did not go to the North Sea to find Touman Chanyu, but stayed on the grasslands of the northern desert.

"Touman Chanyu is a weak man! We don't want such a weak Chanyu!" another Xiongnu leader shouted angrily.

"Yes!" someone else chimed in, "We must avenge the Qin army! But we don't want Touman Chanyu to command us anymore. We are not yaks, we are fierce wolves."

“Touman Chanyu was transformed from a yak, we should kill him.”

"It was because of Touman Chanyu's weakness that we suffered such a crushing defeat. Hundreds of my brothers were killed by the Qin army!"

……

Looking at the Xiongnu people before him who were swearing revenge, Maodun thought to himself: My foolish father fled to the North Sea but had no Xiongnu leader to follow him. What use is such a Chanyu? Now all the tribes want the Qin army to take revenge, but my father only hides in the North Sea.

"Touman Chanyu has been terrified by the Qin army. He has failed our fallen brothers!" someone shouted.

Maodun toyed with a necklace made of wolf king teeth in his hand, and facing the resentful words of the crowd, said, "We must avenge ourselves against the Qin army!"

"Great!" someone immediately agreed.

"We need men, we need warriors, warhorses!" someone else shouted.

Maodun looked out of the tent with a gloomy face and said, "But I am not the Great Chanyu. My father is the Great Chanyu supported by the grasslands."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent again.

"If the Great Chanyu dies, we will enthrone Maodun as the Great Chanyu."

"it is good!"

"I'm going to fight my way back and tear down the Qin army's Great Wall!"

"it is good!"

Having spent many years in the Western Regions and fought his way out of the Yuezhi tribe, Modu looked at these old northern leaders and suddenly felt that they were very useful.

Maodun was also a Xiongnu king appointed by Touman Chanyu. He usually roamed the Western Regions and often occupied the Altai Mountains area.

When the various tribes joined forces to attack the Qin army, Modu was also one of the old Chanyu's tribes and a Xiongnu king in the army that attacked the Qin army.

However, Modu did not hand over his cavalry to the old Chanyu, but instead harbored selfish motives and wanted to first occupy the Qilian Snow Mountain of the Western Rong people.

Unexpectedly, the Qin army came to the aid of the Western Rong people. Coupled with the great defeat in the north, this disappointed Modu Chanyu, who was in the Western Regions, and his plan failed.

In Maodun's original plan, regardless of whether his father succeeded or failed, he had to take over the Hexi Corridor, which was the best opportunity to take over the Qilian Mountains. However, the Qin army seemed to know his intentions and arrived at the foot of the Qilian Mountains first.

Therefore, Maodun learned about the two great generals of the Qin army, Meng Tian and Zhang Han.

According to Maodun, Meng Tian and Zhang Han were not only leaders of the Qin army, but also generals who had served Prince Fusu.

Maodun also knew that Prince Fusu was very young, almost the same age as himself.

This made Maodun even more curious: how did Prince Fusu, who was far away in Xianyang, know the plans that Maodun was thinking?

This Prince Fusu also wanted the river valley of the Western Rong people, and even renamed that river valley the Hexi Corridor.

Maodun had been plotting for many years, and had finally managed to wipe out the Western Rong people, but Prince Fusu beat him to it.

Modu offered everyone the fine wine from the Western Regions. After everyone was drunk, he found the Golden Crown Arrow there. He took the Golden Crown Arrow with him and led his cavalry all the way north.

Before the Great Battle of the North, Maodun had the fewest cavalry, and that remains true today. Although the number of cavalry is small, each one is a loyal and elite force.

Beihai is a large lake, and the elderly Touman Chanyu is using a sharp stone to scrape the scales off a large fish.

The sound of horses' hooves came from afar. Touman Chanyu, with his white hair and beard, threw a large fish into a wooden bucket beside him. When he looked up again, the galloping cavalry had stopped in front of him.

Upon seeing Maodun, Touman Chanyu laughed loudly and said, "Haha! My son."

Maodun dismounted and embraced his father, his smile somewhat stiff. The women by the lake assumed that Maodun's face was frozen, which was why his smile was so stiff.

Touman Chanyu raised his hand, which smelled fishy and was a little dirty, and gently patted his son's cheek, saying, "Haha, my good son."

Maodun wanted to draw his sword and kill his foolish father right now, but if he could hand over the position of Great Chanyu, there would be no need to kill him.

Before the Great Battle of the North, Modun always remembered his cowardly, narrow-minded, and foolish father.

He gave his son to the Yuezhi people, wanted to kill him, and stripped him of his right to inherit the position of Chanyu.

Maodun held a grudge against these things.

And this foolish father thought that his abandoned son had returned to help him?
And what about his other sons? Maodun did not see them.

After Touman lost the most fertile grasslands south of the Gobi Desert and was defeated by the Qin army, his sons had already left him.

Standing before him now was the son he had once abandoned and feared.

(End of this chapter)