The spring breeze of March has blown into the Hetao, and the earth is beginning to reveal the greenery of early spring. Helian Bobo and his entourage galloped for more than 130 miles, looking at Guocheng in the distance. The setting sun was casting its last rays on the gray-brown earth walls.
Seeing Guocheng, Helian Bobo breathed a sigh of relief. The white horse he was riding on made a short neigh, and fell to the ground with its front hooves. Helianbobo reacted quickly and jumped off the horse, standing firmly on the ground.
The knights behind him cheered loudly, and Helian Bobo looked at the fallen horse with sadness in his heart. This white horse was obtained when he attacked and killed his father-in-law, Wu Yiqian. He followed him for ten years and witnessed him establishing the Xia Kingdom from scratch. He did not expect to die outside Guocheng today.
The setting sun had set, and the clouds in the sky were like blood. Helian Bobo couldn't bear his heartbreak and said: "From now on, Guocheng will be renamed Baimaliu." Lu Town, where Ningwu City in Ningxia is today) commemorates this horse."
After entering the city, Helian Bobo sent people to the Yellow River to check the ice conditions. Half an hour later, the reconnaissance rider reported that the river ice had not melted and it was passable.
At around nine o'clock the next day, Helian Bobo was awakened by a huge "click" sound. He hurriedly ran up to the top of the city and looked at the Yellow River not far away. There was a reflection on the Yellow River, and a reconnaissance horse came rushing to report, "Sweat, the Yellow River began to melt last night."
Helian Bobo ignored his meal and rode his horse to the river. He saw that a wide area of ice had been squeezed and piled up, and the sound of "clicking" could not be heard. The horse was neighing on the bank and did not dare to move forward.
Helian Bobo urged his horse to gallop forward for more than ten miles. When he saw the ice cracking one after another, he forced his horse onto the ice and galloped towards the other side. The sound of cracking continued, and the newly replaced war horses were frightened and stopped moving forward. Helian Bobo had no choice but to return to the east bank.
The "clicking" sound gradually turned into a deafening crashing sound, and the roar of the thawing Yellow River was like thunder. Helian Bobo looked up to the sky and sighed, saying: "I will die here."
At that time, the reconnaissance cavalry came to report that Yong's army was only ten miles away from Baimaliu (Guocheng). Helian Bobo knew that the city was low and difficult to defend. Once trapped by Yong's army, there was only one way to die, so he took the remaining Qingqi out of the city and fled north along the Yellow River.
Half an hour later, Yang Anxuan led his light cavalry into Guocheng, looked for the people in the city and inquired about the Xia army heading north along the Yellow River. Yang Anxuan sent Shen Qingzhi and Liao Hui each with a thousand cavalry and three days of dry food to chase Helian Bobo, while the other troops rested in Guocheng.
Three days later, Shen Qingzhi returned and brought back the heads of Helianyoudidai, killing more than 200 Xia troops. Liao Hui discovered Helian Bobo's whereabouts and led his army in pursuit.
Helian Bobo led more than a hundred remaining soldiers and rushed to Meishui (today's Yusi Tu River, "Grease River" in Mongolian). Behind him, Yong Qi was only 200 steps away, and the sound of galloping horse hooves could be heard clearly. Helianbobo was forced to ride his horse into the river, trying to wade through the water.
Liao Hui led his army to chase Xia Qi to the river. Seeing Xia Qi struggling in the beautiful water, he ordered to shoot arrows. Thousands of cavalry and thousands of arrows shot out like rain, and most of the Xia cavalry were struck by arrows and fell into the water.
In early spring, the river was cold, and Helian Bobo was hit by two arrows in the back, which penetrated deeply through his armor and fell into the river. After struggling for a while, he was finally carried powerlessly downstream by the river and disappeared into the long river of history.
When the last Xia Qi fell in the river, Liao Hui jumped off his horse and faced the direction of Anding City, crying: "General Fu's spirit is not far away. I will avenge you."
After learning that Helian Bobo was dead, Yang Anxuan put aside his worries and decided to abandon Guocheng and lead his army back. Guocheng is too far away from North Yongzhou and across the Qin River (to the west), so the garrison is of little significance and it cannot be defended by a single army.
After reuniting with the resting troops at Black Salt Pond, Yang Anxuan led the Yong army to march slowly southeast along the Great Wall, demonstrating against the Hu tribes along the way, and returned to Fenglin City at the end of March.
Yang Anxuan ordered people to spread the news of Helianbobo's defeat, let all tribes submit to the Yong army, and allowed them to graze and farm on their own in the Hetao area. In advance, Yang Anxuan notified the caravan to come to Fenglin City with ceramics, tea, cloth and other goods, and invited people of all ethnic groups to come and trade. .
When Helian Huang learned that Helian Bobo had died in Meishui, he established himself as a khan in Tongwan City. He killed Ali, the official who resisted him, and made Wang Maide the prime minister. At Wang Maide's suggestion, he used the royal collection to recruit nomadic tribes from the Wuding River (actually it should have been called Sheyanshui at that time), Diyuanshui (today's Yulinshui), Heishui, and Wanshui (Tuwei River), and won two More than 100,000 Xiongnu, Xianbei and Qiang
, Wuwan, Jie, Di and the Han tribes surrendered, and more than 30,000 soldiers were recruited from them. There were nearly 50,000 soldiers and horses in Tongwan City.
In the battle of Mugen Mountain, Yang Anxuan defeated the light cavalry led by He Lianlun. He Lianlun fled north to Baiyanchi. Taking advantage of Yang Anxuan's return to Fenglin, he occupied Bogulu Town, Fuping, Licheng and other places to capture the defeated army and The surrounding tribes have more than 10,000 cavalry and more than 100,000 tribesmen.
When Helian'an of Xichuan City saw Yang Anxuan leading his army northward, he did not sit and defend the isolated city. Instead, he opened the city gate three days later and fled westward, fleeing all the way to Qin Qifu Chipan (west). Qifu Chipan placed him in Yuzhong City (now north of Yuzhong County, east of Lanzhou City).
The two brothers Helianyan and Helianchang escaped in the name of hunting and ran to Dailai City (also known as Yueba City, in today's Jungar Banner and Dalat Banner of Inner Mongolia). At that time, Helian Bobo's father Liu Weichen was granted the title of Xidanyu by Fu Jian and stationed here to supervise the various tribes in Hexi. Helianyan and Helianchang also returned to the place where their ancestors lived.
After hearing the news of Helian Bobo's death, Helianyan established himself as a great chanyu and named his younger brother Helianchang the Xian King of Zuo. He gathered various tribes and gained more than 30,000 troops and more than 180,000 tribesmen.
Helian Ding and Helianman were buried in the beautiful water along with Helian Bobo. The other disciples Helian helped, Helian said that Yidai and others did not go out because they were young, so they moved to Tongwan City with the Wangting tribe, and Helian Bo Bo's brothers, Helian Youdidai, Helian Ruomen, Helian Chiyida, Helian Aliluoyin and others were killed in the chaos. Helian Yidou and Helian Weifa escaped across the Yellow River and fled ( North) Wei State.
The overall situation has been decided, and Yang Anxuan discusses with Wang Zhene, Meng Longfu and others how to deal with the divided Xia Kingdom. Meng Longfu suggested that all the troops should be used to attack Tongwancheng, the nominal capital of Xia State, and occupy Xia State once and for all.
Wang Zhen said evilly: "The army has been fighting for nearly half a year. The soldiers and horses are exhausted and cannot fight anymore. Although Helian Bobo died, there are still many soldiers and horses in the Xia Kingdom. Helian Guang, Helian Lun, Helian Yan and others have established themselves as khans. , each has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, rather than annihilating them one by one, it is better to sit back and watch the fight."
Shen Qingzhi smiled. Wang Zhene's plan coincided with Yang Anxuan's, and said: "This is the story of the internal fighting among Yuan Shao's disciples after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao."
Wang Zhene nodded and said, "Hongxian is successful in reading. He hit the nail on the head."
Yang Anxuan withdrew his eyes from the map and said: "The land of Qiang and Hu has been inhabited by various ethnic groups since the Spring and Autumn Period, and was later controlled by the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu tribe mostly migrated for water and grass, and had no permanent residence in the city. They made a living by grazing. Qin Yi unified After the fall of the empire, the Xiongnu were driven to the north of Beihe (today's Wuga River), and people moved inland to enrich the Hetao. They connected the Great Wall of Qin and the Great Wall of Zhao, and built Chidao to connect Guanzhong and the Hetao."
Everyone listened quietly to Yang Anxuan's explanation of the origin of the Qiang and Hu lands. Shen Qingzhi and Meng Longfu were filled with admiration. Their lord was really knowledgeable and talented. Wang Zhen evil-hand twirled his beard and nodded secretly, remembering that his grandfather once said that to truly occupy a place, he had to deal with this. I know something about the history, customs and customs of the place, and it seems that my lord is very interested in it.
"Qin fell, Chu and Han fought, and the Xiongnu reoccupied this place. The emperor of the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu and encountered the siege of Baideng. For the next seventy years, the Xiongnu was left alone, and the land of Qiang and Hu became a place for the Huns to herd horses."
Yang Anxuan slapped his palm on the map and said: "When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty retook the Hetao area, established five vassal states, and resettled the surrendered Huns herdsmen. In order to control the Huns, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty moved the Qiang people here from Longyou. Afterwards, people continued to immigrate to Shibian, and the Hetao area gradually became a city based on military fortresses, forming a stable pattern in which the Han people centered on the town and the Hu people settled down and grazed."
Wang Zhene said: "Wang Mang usurped the Han and humiliated the Huns. The Huns rebelled again and occupied the Hetao. It was not until the 26th year of Emperor Guangwu's founding (the 50th year) that the Southern Huns attached themselves to the Han, and peace returned to the Hetao. After that, the Hetao was located. It was used by the (Eastern) Han Dynasty to attract foreigners and stabilize immigrants. Gradually, the population of the Hu people here became more and more, with the Qiang and Xiongnu being the majority, while the Han people became a minority. In the late (Eastern) Han Dynasty, the Qiang people rebelled frequently, and the Hetao got out of control. Since Cao Wei, the imperial court has been unable to rule this place, and even now."
"The land of Qiang and Hu has been in chaos for a long time, and it is impossible to stabilize it in a short time." Yang Anxuan said in a serious tone: "Liu Yu intends to usurp, and Wei is watching. Yu cannot concentrate on running this place at this time, so the only plan now is to use barbarians to control barbarians. Use the barbarians to contain the barbarians, and then pacify the Hetao when the time is right."
Shen Qingzhi's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "My lord wants to let the wolves free themselves."
Fighting, no time for him to care. "
Meng Longfu glanced at Shen Qingzhi and sighed: "It seems that Yu also wants to find someone to read history and talk about ancient times. Hongxian makes Yu Shen feel that the future is formidable."
Wang Zhen evil said: "The three sons of Helian Bobo each established themselves as Khans, and each has tens of thousands of light cavalry under their command. If they want to forcibly pacify Helian Guang and others, they will most likely unite, so it is better to leave temporarily and let them fight with each other. Helian Bobo He treated other tribes very harshly and killed them at every turn. The Lord used the market exchange to win over them in order to divide the Hu people."
Yang Anxuan nodded and said: "Yu plans to gather all the tribes in half a month to form an alliance and make a pact to trade with each other and not attack each other. We can even build water conservancy for them, and let the Agriculture Department send people to teach herdsmen how to farm and promote Yang Jiali."
Wang Zhen smiled evilly and said, "My lord, you might as well let these tribes attack He Lianhuang and others. One head is exchanged for ten stones of corn or property. I believe many tribes' warriors are willing to exchange the heads of the Xia army."
Yang Anxuan laughed and said: "Which tribe is willing to rely on Yu, you might as well give more benefits in the transaction. You can appoint officials according to the size of the tribe. Warriors who are willing to fight for Yu will be treated as Yong's army. If anyone can capture Tongwan City, let him It doesn’t matter if he is the Lord of Xia.”
"We cannot allow the barbarians to be autonomous. Fenglin City should have heavy troops stationed there." Wang Zhen'e suggested.
Yang Anxuan said: "Yes, Fenglin City is like a nail wedged into the land of the Qiang and Hu people to intimidate the Hu people. You intend to build four more small cities around Fenglin City, which can be used to trade with the Hu people and protect the Fenglin people. Lin City. In the future, more small cities will be built in the Qiang and Hu lands, gradually allowing all ethnic groups to live in the city and convert herding into farming."
Wang Zhene praised: "Wonderful, this is a century-old plan."
Shen Qingzhi really wanted to garrison in Fenglin City, so he volunteered and said, "My lord, I would like to lead my army to garrison in Fenglin City. Hu Qi will never dare to go south to herd horses."
Yang Anxuan said with a cold face: "Uncle Wen has been a hundred days old and has never met your father. Why don't you go back and see your son?"
Yang Qiu gave birth to a son on the 6th day of the first lunar month. After receiving the letter, Shen Qingzhi asked Yang Anxuan to name his son Uncle Wen. When Shen Qingzhi heard Yang Anxuan mention his son, he smiled and stopped talking.
Yang Anxuan thought for a while and said: "Anding County Sima Liao Hui is brave and resourceful in battle. He can be appointed as General Ningshuo and Colonel Protecting Qiang. He will be stationed in Fenglin City and 12,000 troops and horses will be left at his disposal."
The time for the alliance was set in mid-April. Yang Anxuan hosted a banquet outside Fenglin City for the tribal leaders who came to the alliance and concluded an alliance with the leaders. For this reason, Yang Anxuan also arranged many festivals, including opera performances, horse racing, archery, and sheep wrestling. The winners would receive generous prizes.
Yang Anxuan planned to make this alliance a festive and peaceful one, and at the same time, he wanted to show off the power of Yong's army and intimidate all tribes.
However, an urgent report forced Yang Anxuan to entrust everything to Meng Longfu, and took Wang Zhene, Shen Qingzhi and others to return south to Xiangyang.
Liu Yu raised troops.
