"Xilulu" pulled the reins in his hand, and the hummer raised its front hooves high under the force of the reins. Yang Ji's eyes fell on the distance not far away, where there was a large river with rapid water and rolling eastward.
"General Manager, the big river in front is Baishui." Liangzhou Li Cao Wei Yunqi pointed at the river with the horse in his hand and introduced in a loud voice: "Baishui is also called Huanshui. It originates from Xiqing Mountain and flows from northwest to southeast. The way passes through the southern part of Taozhou and the central part of Danzhou, and reaches Fujin County in Wuzhou. Directly to the south, it is a very important river in the Sui Dynasty. This river has rapid water flow and flows all year round, even in the coldest winter. It will freeze. It protrudes nearly a hundred miles to the north in Taozhou, thus becoming the natural 'moat' of Hechuan County on the south bank. Hechuan County is nominally under the jurisdiction of Taozhou in the Sui Dynasty, but it has been owned by the Qiang people since the Han Dynasty The world is now also a gathering place for party items.”
After Yang Ji listened to Wei Yunqi's introduction to Baishui, he pointed to the dark mountains in the distance and asked, "Is that the Xiqing Mountain?"
Regardless of family background and other factors, his group of subordinates are all capable of both civil and military affairs. One or two of them are capable of running the army and the people. Under this common ground, they each have their own characteristics and distinct personalities. For example, his brother-in-law Xiao Yu, Yu Shinan, Yang Shanhui, and Li Daliang are all examples of the sultry type. Underneath their handsome, elegant appearance, there is bad water that is rotten to the bone.
The character of Wei Yunqi in front of him is completely opposite to that of Xiao Yu and others. Although he is also sinister and malicious, he is a person who is very good at chatting. As long as you don't interrupt him, he can keep talking and keep talking; and what he said What he said was well-founded and logical, and even if it was a lie, people could not help but believe him. It was precisely because of his existence that the hundreds of thousands of Qiang, Hu, and The Sogdians burned their villages one after another and happily accepted the government's policy of dispersion and separation.
Wei Yunqi's method of dealing with the ethnic minorities within the territory was actually to "return the land to the locals". On the one hand, he encouraged the people to rebel against the chiefs, and then asked the state soldiers to follow the people's will to kill the chiefs and his direct descendants. On the other hand, he used successful cases to Forcing the chief to lead the tribe to surrender. The whole process requires the use of troops, but does not rely exclusively on the use of troops. We use force to deter the situation and strive to use political means to solve the problem.
Rather than "reforming the land and returning it to local people", what they did here was to disperse all the "subjects" of the "chiefs" and then let these "subjects" live in various states and counties. It effectively avoids the breeding of a new generation of "chiefs", reduces the factors of rebellion, strengthens the government's rule over ethnic minorities, promotes the prosperity of ethnic minority people, and at the same time shortens the time spent in the process of ethnic integration.
"It's Xiqing Mountain!" Wei Yunqi said, "It's just that the Qiang people always call it Black Mountain."
"Oh!" Yang Ji nodded and carefully looked at the nearby terrain.
This section of the White Water River is only six to seven feet wide, but the water is very fast, and the other bank is about four or five meters higher than here and is very smooth washed by the perennial running river. It is almost impossible to take a pontoon bridge across from the north bank. Although it is not as good as the Yellow River, Yangtze River and other natural chasms, it is more precipitous here.
Several bridges across the white water have also had their boards removed, leaving only bare bridge piers. Although it can be bridged from this side, the other side that is dug to be level with this side is lined with arrow towers, and at the end of the steps rising straight up is a This stone village gate is as strong as a fortress. Although there is no city wall, the terrain above this side is more solid than the city wall.
However, you can also use crossbow arrows to suppress the arrows on the other side, and then build a pontoon bridge across the other side. However, the casualties of the storm will be surprisingly high, and logs are also placed on the shore upstream of the bridge piers. These logs are not only rolling logs, And once it rolls into the river, the turbulent water can break the bridge piers.
The second method is to build a dam to block the river downstream, and at the same time build the dam on this side to be as high as the other side. When the river water rises, the chasm will become flat, and then use chain boats and chain rafts to throw the army into the river. Send it over. However, this is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also very dangerous. If things go wrong, once this scumbag project collapses, the downstream area will be flooded.
The third method, which is also the simplest, most time-saving, and most labor-saving method, is to choose a place to cross the river upstream, establish a beachhead on the other side, and then kill along the river bank.
As for the fourth method, it is to provoke internal conflicts; after all, strong castles are often breached from the inside, and Dangxiang Qiang is a tribal alliance, so it has the conditions to sow discord and divide it. The forces headed by Tuoba Ningcong may be willing to fight to the death with the Sui Dynasty, but other forces may not be willing to die for Tuoba Ningcong. If one or two of them are conquered through coercion and inducement, it will be much easier to defeat Party Xiang Qiang.
Thinking of this, Yang Ji looked at Wei Yunqi and asked: "Wei Licao! If I remember correctly, Dangxiang is composed of ten major tribes. I think since they are not one tribe, it is inevitable to have disputes. Yes, is this the real situation?"
"That's right." Wei Yun started to say: "The ten tribes of Dangxiang are divided into three major forces. The first is Tuoba clan, Feiting clan, Mi Qin clan and Pochao clan, headed by Tuoba Ningcong. These four major tribes are headed by Tuoba Ningcong. Through marriage and sworn brotherhood, they advance and retreat together, and share weal and woe. They monopolize 50% of the population of Dangxiang Qiang; 70% of the troops destroyed by the general manager in Weizhou were their people; followed by Yelizhan, who are mainly The Yeli clan, the Quli clan, and the Xifeng clan account for about 30% of the population; the third party is the three major tribes of the Black Qiang, Xueshan Qiang, and Baishui Qiang. Due to encroachment, the population has been reduced to less than 20%."
Yang Ji heard the differences between the three major forces from Wei Yunqi's introduction and asked: "Is the reason why the local forces can't defeat others because they don't have an outstanding leader?"
Wei Yun nodded, and then told him all the information he knew.
It turns out that the Black Qiang, Xueshan Qiang, and Baishui Qiang are the indigenous people here; in terms of combat effectiveness, their warriors are recognized as brave and good at fighting. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the best in Dangxiang and among the Qiang in the southwest. But for hundreds of years, they have never had a leader who could unify the three factions.
Not only that, these three tribes of equal strength have been at war for a long time, but after hundreds of years of fighting, no one can conquer the other, and no one can do anything to the other, so that each other's strength is in the process of fighting. Consumption step by step. It wasn't until the Seventh Department of Party Headed by Tuoba Ningcong moved southward that they realized they were united and united with the outside world. However, they had too many old grievances and didn't trust anyone; secondly, they didn't have a "leader" who was consistent in his words, so They would rather believe in external forces than old grudges; and after Tuoba Ningcong took advantage of their contradictions to gain a foothold, he began to deal with them.
However, after these three tribes suffered heavy losses, they also learned to stick together for warmth and treat the outside world as one. But today, with only 20% of their population remaining, they are simply unable to defeat the two major forces bent on annexing them.
At this introduction, a trace of nostalgia flashed in Wei Yunqi's eyes: "I studied here in my early years and had some connections with the Black Qiang and Xueshan Qiang. In order to persuade them to respond to the imperial policy and leave the mountains to settle down, I contacted them."
He glanced at Yang Ji and said with a smile: "The Qiang people live in a harsh environment, cooperating with poisonous insects and beasts for generations; the cruel jungle life, the ruthless ones eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled who cannot adapt, but The vast mountains also gave them inexhaustible food. Therefore, their main crisis was not the lack of food, but the poisonous insects, poisonous weeds, beasts, miasma, plague, etc. that were hard to guard against in the jungle. Exactly. Because of this, many Qiang people admire Han culture and live among Han people."
"It's a pity that during the period of confrontation between the North and the South, the emperors of the Northern Wei, Western Wei, and Northern Zhou Dynasties only wanted to use the Qiang people to help them fight the war; and the government here only wanted to take the Qiang people's wealth as their own, and let the local government use their wealth After the plunder was completed, they began to ask for women again. Some officials went too far. When they could not squeeze out any wealth, they forced the Qiang people alive to rebel. Then they used the heads of the Qiang people to go to the court to receive rewards and used them to "quell the rebellion." ' method to obtain promotion. These Qiang people suffered a lot, so they began to worry about gains and losses. On the one hand, they now wanted to integrate into the imperial court and become a member of the Sui Dynasty, but on the other hand, they were afraid that the imperial court would make excessive demands during the war. After the war, they brutally exploited and killed good people for meritorious deeds."
Wei Yunqi couldn't figure out Yang Ji's thoughts at this time. Seeing him coming with a large army in a menacing manner, he thought that he was angered by Tuoba Ningcong's ambush in Weizhou and was now preparing to use cruel methods to bloodbath Dang Xiang Qiang.
Although Dang Xiang Qiang has nothing to do with Wei Yunqi even if he dies, the bloody suppression and killing will inevitably ruin Liangzhou's good situation, and at the same time make all their previous efforts as Li Cao in vain. , the Qiang people who had already settled in the mountains were frightened and ran back to the mountains.
It was precisely in view of the worries in his heart that Wei Yunqi spoke out about the relationship between the Qiang people and the former government. The implication was that the current situation of mutual distrust between the Qiang people and the imperial court had deep historical reasons, and the fault was not entirely theirs. On the Qiang side, even previous dynasties and local officials have to bear the main responsibility.
If Yang Ji knew that Wei Yunqi regarded him as a murderer who only knew how to kill, he would be furious.
As a time traveler, Yang Ji's racial prejudice is far inferior to that of the native Sui people. The objects of his hostility were the Turks, Tuyuhun, and Goguryeo, who were ambitious and attempted to invade the Sui Dynasty, rather than the ethnic minorities within the territory.
In Yang Ji's eyes, there is no difference between these ethnic minorities living in the Sui Dynasty and ordinary people in Daxing City and Ganzhou. As long as they abide by the law, accept and support the imperial decrees, he can treat them equally.
Even if it was Dang Xiang, the people he was hostile to were only restless elements like Tuoba Ningcong, and those he wanted to kill were only these restless elements and their children.
"I just want the Qiang people to integrate into the Sui Dynasty, not to kill them all; and they live in the poor mountains and rivers, leading a precarious life. What good is this? We let them go down the mountain. Do it for their own good, not harm them.”
Yang Ji believed that if the policy of dispersion and separation was implemented, it would speed up the process of ethnic separation. A hundred years later, there would no longer be distinctions between Han, Qiang, Hu, and Sogdian people in Liangzhou.
It's just that the dispute between the three major parties in the party mentioned by Wei Yunqi is obviously not for this.
After hearing these words, Wei Yunqi also grasped the bottom line in Yang Ji's heart, and immediately felt completely relieved. He energetically handed over his hands and asked for orders: "In that case, please allow me to sneak into Hechuan County and meet with the Black Qiang, If the chiefs of Xueshan Qiang and Baishui Qiang can be persuaded to be loyal, then we can cooperate internally and externally and break up the party."
Yang Ji frowned and said, "Is it necessary to take this risk?"
"Actually, there is no danger at all." Wei Yunqi said with a smile: "The General Manager has beaten them painfully and scared them in Weizhou. Now the General Manager only needs to station troops here to intimidate the other side with a powerful force. I believe this trio will make the right choice.”
Yang Ji thought for a moment and said, "Okay! Since you are familiar with these three parts, go and test them out."
"Thank you, Chief Manager, for your trust. I will be able to convince them with my humble position and let them become internal agents of our army." Wei Yunqi was overjoyed.
"Yeah!" Yang Ji nodded and said to Zhu Can next to him: "Zhu Can."
"The humble post is here!" Zhu Can looked solemn and stepped forward to salute: "Please give me your instructions, Master."
"You lead a team of elite soldiers to escort Wei Shicao into Hechuan County." After arranging the task, Yang Ji emphatically reminded: "You must protect Wei Shicao and listen to his arrangements in everything. You must not make decisions without authorization."
"Don't worry, young master, I will definitely bring Wei Shicao back intact." Zhu Can promised loudly.
Wei Yunqi saluted gratefully: "Thank you, Chief Manager, for your kindness."
Yang Ji patted Wei Yunqi's shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Dangxiang is the largest force in the territory and has a strong influence among the Qiang tribe. If Dangxiang comes out to settle down, it will definitely have a very sensational effect. It will be much easier to conquer other tribes in the future, so Lao Weishi Cao will take care of this matter."
"I understand your humble position." Wei Yunqi bowed respectfully, and he and Zhu Can headed upstream towards the white water with dozens of guards.
Yang Ji turned his attention to the other side of the crowd of figures and ordered: "Set up camp on the spot and prepare for a strong attack."
"General, I obey." Several generals around him responded loudly and went to prepare according to the order.
. . . . . . . . . . .
To the northwest of Hechuan County is the residence of the Black Qiang.
The name of the Black Qiang chief is Yang Lie. He has admired Han culture and yearned for a family life since he was a child. The name Yang Lie is the Han name he chose for himself, which means that he is moving closer to the Sui and Yang Dynasties.
As the chief of the Black Qiang, Yang Lie's life was not easy. While he wanted to send a large amount of the fruits of his labor to Tuoba Ningcong as taxes, he also had to send a steady stream of tribal warriors to Tuoba Ningcong to serve as soldiers. The tribe's strength was gradually weakened by Tuoba Ningcong's excessive taxes and militarism. The resulting problem was that the tribe had not enough food and clothing, and the tribe's people also thought that he was helping outsiders to deal with themselves, which made him The prestige is getting worse day by day.
Caught in the middle, Zhou Lie was in a dilemma. If he didn't agree to Tuoba Ningcong's conditions, the tribesmen would die in various accidents one after another. For the sake of the safety of the tribesmen, he could only agree to Tuoba Ningcong's conditions. Cong had a series of harsh conditions, but as a result, raising tigers was a danger. Once the tiger Tuoba Ningcong became stronger, he would definitely annex the Black Qiang without mercy.
The only difference in this dilemma is between dying early and dying late.
"Father!" In the evening, a young man with broad shoulders, round eyes and beard walked into the hall and said angrily: "Tuoba Ningcong has gone too far. We were kind enough to take them in, but they were not grateful. Instead, he wants to weaken us and annex us, and today he wants us to transfer all our warriors to do his bidding, and he also said that if we don’t agree, he will destroy us first.”
Zhou Lie sighed, looked at his son Zhou Tie, and said bitterly: "It's all our fault for raising tigers in the past! Now they are powerful, and we, the Black Qiang, are really not their enemies."
"Father!" A flash of anger flashed in Zhou Tie's eyes, and he said sternly: "Tuoba Ningcong is mediocre and incompetent, how can he defeat the Sui army? If my father sends warriors to help him fight again, we Black Qiang warriors will die."
After hearing this, Zhou Lie had a strong look of regret on his face: "I know everything you said, but why am I not as strong as others?"
"Father..." Zhou Tiegang wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps.
A Black Qiang warrior broke in, handed a letter to Zhou Lie, and said: "Uncle, a group of businessmen came outside the village. One of the Han people claimed to be your good friend. He said that he came this time. It’s to help the chief solve problems.”
"Oh?" Zhou Lie took the letter and read it again, his eyes suddenly burst out with a look of surprise, and he said to Zhou Tie overjoyed: "Son, we are saved!"
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