Chapter 500 Ekin’s Concubine
Where is Yun Heng's Qinling family? The snow embraces the blue and the horse stops moving forward. -------Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty "Moved to Languan from the Left to Present to His Nephew Xiang"
Speaking of Chen Long and others*, the pursuit of Li Ru, who kidnapped Diao Chan, inevitably went deep into the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains, and also into the vast Xiliang controlled by Han Sui's troops and the Qiang and Di people. The first large Xiliang city on the upper reaches of the Wei River was Tianshui. When Chen Long was planning to seize Zhang Lu's Hanzhong, he used the strategy of encircling three and missing one, scaring away the then defender Liang Xing, and briefly occupied this place as a supply base for the attack on Hanzhong. But later times changed, and although Hanzhong was captured, Han Sui was unwilling to lose Tianshui. After several tug-of-wars, Tianshui returned to the hands of Han Sui's army. Chen Long had no strategy for Xiliang for the time being, and he had no skills in other places. Therefore, after Han Sui's army occupied Tianshui, they had been at peace with Hanzhong and Chang'an for several years.
The defenders of Tianshui were replaced by Zhang Heng and Candidate. Because it was an important border town, it was equipped with 20,000 defenders and 10,000 elite cavalry. Throughout his life, Han Sui fought against the Han Dynasty, Ma Teng, Dong Zhuo, and finally Cao Cao. Unfortunately, he fell into the trap of alienation and died at the hands of Xia Houyuan in the official history at the age of seventy-one. As the leader of the Qiang and Hu rebels, Han Sui's subordinates were also full of talents, the most famous of which were the eight generals. Who are these eight generals? Liang Xing, Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Ma Wan, and Yang Qiu.
Han Sui himself had always been stationed among the Qiang and Di tribes, thinking that he was the safest. With Cheng Gongying, a native of Jincheng in Liangzhou, as his military advisor, his son-in-law Yan as his arm, Qiang kings Cheliji and Midang, and Di kings Yang Pu, Qiang Duan and Lei Ding as his minions, they continued to rule Xiliang without declining for decades.
In the official history, Han Sui and Ma Chao seemed to have the same ending, both died in poverty, but in fact they were different. Han Sui retained the hope of making a comeback until his death, while Ma Chao finally relied on others. Although Ma Chao also mobilized more than 10,000 Di soldiers during the Battle of Hanzhong, it was Liu Bei who responded, not himself. Ma Chao has since chosen to rely on others. From that moment on, he was no longer a dominant prince, but could only be a subordinate general who relied on others. When Liu Bei raised his troops in Zhuojun, he was much weaker than Ma Chao and Han Sui, but he was perseverant, fought in many places, and suffered repeated defeats. In the end, he divided the world into three parts and achieved imperial hegemony. He relied on his strength heart. Living in troubled times, it is easy to obtain soldiers and horses, it is easy to obtain land, but it is not easy to keep ambitions alive. Before Ma Chao died in depression, he told Liu Bei: "All the more than 200 members of the Chenmen clan were killed by Meng De. Only my younger brother Dai should be the blood successor of the Weichen clan. I deeply trust your majesty, and there will be no more left." Word". Ma Chao, who seemed to have died a happy death, was a powerful hero in the West. Before he died, he no longer thought about separatist rule or revenge for the family. The last will he left was just to ask Liu Bei to take care of his cousin. The end of the hero is really disturbing. People lament that this is an off-topic topic, so let’s not mention it.
Now that Chen Long and others had determined their target, they naturally headed straight for Tianshui. When we arrived at the south bank of the Wei River, we saw that this section of the river was clear and graceful, with green water reflecting the green mountains, and grass growing along the river, and orioles flying. It felt like we were in a land of fish and rice, which made people forget to leave. On the grassy slopes by the river, the green grass is like a emerald carpet, dotted with white sheep and red horses. It looks like a fairyland on earth, and it really fills the south of the Yangtze River.
Chen Long and others were amazed when they saw it. Zhuge Jin said: "I never thought there are such great rivers and mountains here! It is a good natural pasture, no wonder it can raise good horses!" Zhong Hui pointed to a place in front and said: "Look! There should be a village there, you can see the smoke curling up from the cooking pots?"
Chen Long was overjoyed. A group of people rode horses and came closer. They found that it was not a village, but a family. A low courtyard wall was built with earth and stone. There were several small adobe houses in the middle, and a simple stable was built next to it. There are two bad horses in the same tank.
Chen Long restrained everyone, dismounted and went to the courtyard alone, and said in a deep voice: "Is the head of the family here?"
The door of the hut where cooking was being done opened with a loud sound, and a man in his thirties, with a strong build, a narrow-sleeved beard, thick eyebrows, a high nose, and brown eyes came out with a mouthful of beard. Yin asked in Chinese: "Who are you? I don't have much food here."
When Chen Long saw that he was a foreigner, he hurriedly raised his hands and saluted, saying: "We are Han people from Chencang County and have never traveled far. We wanted to go to Tianshui to do business, but we didn't know whether the Wei River was navigable, so we came to explore the way. What do you call this strong man?" Can you please guide me to a clear path?"
The man's eyes were suspicious. Chencang was indeed not far from here, but because it was located between Tianshui and Chang'an, it was a no-care zone for the time being, with only the local security team training. Seeing Chen Long's majestic appearance, he replied: "My humble name is not worth mentioning. I also fled here because of a severe drought in my hometown, but I took a raft down the river last month. The Wei River is shallow and difficult to navigate, and many of my fellow tribesmen are hungry." He died and drowned, but Zhiyuanduo and I narrowly escaped death and went to this place to raise a few livestock to make a living, so we had something to eat."
The speaker was unintentional, but it sounded intentional. Chen Long's heart moved and he asked: "Why don't you two stay in Tianshui? It is a big city with abundant resources and people. It must be able to support a large number of nobles! But I don't know which tribe the nobles are from?"
The man shook his head and said: "If the Lord of Tianshui City was willing to keep us, why would so many clan members die? They were the ones who put us on the raft and let us drift along the river. Life and death are determined by our will."
Chen Long understood that if he was worried about Li Hu from the Di tribe snatching food from Hanzhong, General Tianshui would also encounter the issue of refugees fleeing famine. It seems that Tianshui is heavily guarded and even the refugees cannot gain a foothold in the border areas. I'm going to Tianshui, so I'm afraid I'll have to put on makeup in a low-key manner. While thinking about it, he asked: "But I don't know which clan the nobles are from? Can I borrow the raft?"
The man said: "People call my people Lu Shuihu. The rafts are all rotten by the river, and you can help yourself." He turned around and went back to the house.
When Chen Long heard the words "Lu Shuihu", his brain began to search for information quickly, and suddenly he was shocked and said: "Just now you said that your companion's name is Zhi Yuanduo? Then are you Ekin's concubine?" Xing suddenly paused, then turned around, but there was a shiny short knife in his hand.
It was a bow-shaped scimitar, quite similar to the shape of a small Persian knife. When the Persian cavalry was fighting, they would hold the knife flat and use the rapid horse power to cut off the enemy's head. This was due to the huge curvature of the blade. , the advantage of long blade action distance when cutting head-on. However, the one in this person's hand is much shorter. The blade is folded down, and the handle and the handle form an obtuse angle. It seems to be unsharp, but in fact it is unstoppable and can perform chopping and slashing perfectly.
Chen Long raised his hands to show that he had no ill intentions and said, "What a great knife! I have something to say, why don't you listen to it before making a decision?"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
