The carriage, accompanied by a group of people, sped away. Under the gaze of many people, Su Qi'an and his party left the city.
Suburbs of Xizhou City.
Su Qi'an got off the carriage, cupped his fists and said to Luo Qingyuan, Qin Huai, Xue Muchiu, Lin Yuanzhi and others.
"Everyone, teacher, after seeing you for thousands of miles, we need to say goodbye eventually. Let's say goodbye here."
Everyone nodded and spoke one after another.
"Qi'an, take care on the road, I'm waiting for your good news in Xizhou."
"Brother-in-law, take care. My brother-in-law will not betray your trust. He will definitely run the business well. When you come back, we will definitely be your backing."
"Su Qian, don't forget the agreement you made with me. I'm still waiting for you to return to Xizhou and share some of my work. If those rubbish in the capital get rid of you, it will be a huge disappointment to me. .”
In response to everyone's instructions, Su Qi'an smiled and nodded, then his eyes turned and fell on Li Hu and Zhao Da, who were silent beside him, and said,
"Brother Hu, Brother Zhao, I'm sorry that I didn't have a good time with you when I came back this time. I know all your hard work."
"I won't say any more sensational words, but the only request for you is to train well, protect yourselves, and fight for the sake of those brothers who have passed away."
"While I'm away, keep an eye on Tieniu and the others for me when you have time. I'll leave it to you."
Su Qi'an's words greatly moved Li Hu and Zhao Da, and their eyes suddenly turned red.
Whether it was Su Qian's title to them or his request to them, in fact, it was out of the idea of protection.
No matter how much Su Qi'an's status and identity have changed over the past few years, for these low-level brothers who initially followed him.
Su Qian's affection for them has never changed.
This was what touched them the most. They knew that now was not the time to cry. Not only did they not embarrass Su Qi'an, they also wanted to avoid embarrassing themselves.
The two of them tried hard to control their emotions, their eyes were red, and they clasped their fists at Su Qi'an.
"Please don't worry, sir. We are following your orders. We will take good care of the village and Tieniu and the others. Please take care of yourself, sir. We are waiting for you to come back."
Su Qi'an nodded solemnly and said softly, "Everyone, take care!"
Then he turned around and got on the carriage. After a while, the carriage turned. Xie Cang and Su Yong were riding horses, following a group of soldiers. They quickly followed the two carriages and disappeared from everyone's sight.
This time, there were only two carriages and a group of guards of about ten people.
For the rest, no large troops can be seen anymore.
It was not that Su Qi'an deliberately kept a low profile, but to facilitate travel, the assembled first divisions of the Split Mountain Army and the Dongshan Army had already set off in advance three days before leaving Xizhou City.
Taking one step ahead of Su Qi'an, according to the agreed place, he was probably waiting at Hanzhong County in the north.
As long as you pass through Hanzhong County, even if you leave Xizhou and continue northward, you can reach Kyoto in five or six days.
With two of the most powerful armies taking the front stand, Su Qian's convoy will basically not encounter any major problems when it sets off.
Therefore, this trip to Hanzhong County went very smoothly.
The convoy had just left the outskirts of Xizhou City. Xie Cang, who was accompanying them, looked at them and Su Yong on the other side quickly understood.
With a greeting, the guards accompanying him on both sides spread out in all directions, keeping a little distance apart, seemingly to give Su Qi'an space to be alone.
After being with Su Qi'an for so long, Xie Cang could almost guess some of Su Qi'an's thoughts.
After bidding farewell to Li Hu, Zhao Da and the others, Su Qi'an was obviously in a low mood.
He knew what Su Qi'an was thinking. People like Li Hu and Zhao Da were the first people to follow Su Qi'an. They were considered old brothers.
Along the way, over the years, only Li Hu and Zhao Da have survived. Most of the others have passed away and are buried in the Heroes Cemetery in Dongshan Village.
Like the Tieniu mentioned by Su Qi'an, Xie Cang heard from Tong Zhan that these people were Su Qi'an's old brothers. Unfortunately, there was a traitor inside, which led to Tieniu's death.
Xie Cang has been able to understand the death of an old brother for so many years as he has led the army.
As he ascends to a higher position step by step, how many of the old brothers around him are left? Xie Cang didn't dare to think about it.
For a person like Su Qian who values love and justice, it is understandable to have some emotions at this time.
This may be the result of one general's success, so it's better to give Su Qi'an some time to digest it slowly.
Su Qi'an, who was sitting in the carriage, felt a little depressed. As the carriage started to move, he gradually digested it and gradually returned to normal.
Su Qi'an knew that as his status rose, his men had more and more troops and territories, and the responsibilities on his shoulders became greater and greater.
In order to better protect their old brothers and families, Su Qi'an transferred all the underground village protection teams that Qin Ziyin and Lu Xiaowan had formed in Xizhou for three years to the ground and directly integrated them into the newly formed Xizhou soldiers.
Among the 30,000 New West Prefecture soldiers, at least 10,000 were from the original underground village protection team.
Li Hu and Zhao Da are in charge of this village protection team of 10,000 people. Only in this way can they better protect themselves by having an upright and legal identity.
Moreover, if you want to mobilize this army, you must obtain the consent of the three heads of the trading company, Qin Huai, Lu Xiaowan, and Qin Ziyin.
Otherwise, even Luo Qingyuan cannot be mobilized at will. This is not out of Luo Qingyuan's distrust, but just a means of self-protection.
Just as Su Qi'an transferred all the remaining Dongshan troops remaining in Xizhou back to Jiaozhou, it makes sense.
When people are doing things, no matter what, even if they are facing good allies, they must leave a way out for themselves.
The second division, the third division, and the cavalry division totaled 23,000 people. This was Su Qi'an's last asset.
Rather than staying in Xizhou, it would be safer to transfer back to the Jiaozhou base camp.
As for the control of Xizhou, in addition to the 10,000 private soldiers commanded by Li Hu and Zhao Da, there was also the barbarian Heilu army of the chief in Nandu County and tribal areas.
The strength of this army is obvious to all. Although there are currently only 20,000 people, if they really fight, with their strength, there is no way they can be defeated without 30,000 or 40,000 people.
Therefore, the northwest border of Xizhou was stable, and Su Qi'an was very bold and confident to hand it over to them.
As for whether this militant barbarian Heilu might be suspected of betrayal, Su Qian was not worried at all.
Behind them, that is, the area separated from the clan land, bordering Xiacang County in Jiaozhou, the indigenous troops of the two elders had already been deployed behind them, monitoring every move at any time.
The Warchief is a wise man who knows what to do and what not to do.
In addition to the Dongshan Army that has withdrawn to Jiaozhou in the rear, Xizhou in the front cannot be disrupted no matter what. Even if it is chaotic, the Dongshan Army can stabilize the territory of Jiaozhou in the rear.
Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that this arrangement was to guard against Luo Qingyuan.
After Su Qi'an formulated it, he did not hide it from Luo Qingyuan and informed him directly.
This is not a provocation, but an attitude.
He and Luo Qingyuan have a cooperative relationship, and their ultimate goal is for the development and stability of Xizhou.
If both parties have no bad intentions, Xizhou will be prosperous in the future.
Once either of the two sides dares to take Xizhou's idea, neither side will be polite to the other, and the end result will definitely be a lose-lose situation.
This attitude can be regarded as a kind of joint supervision by both parties. It does no harm to Luo Qingyuan or Su Qi'an.
Just because he saw the pros and cons, Luo Qingyuan had no objection to Su Qi'an's personnel arrangement.
In the final analysis, both of them are staunch defenders of the contract. All the fanciful claims made by their allies are not bound by the actual legal contract.
People are selfish, and no one can guarantee whether they will be shaken by the temptation of huge benefits in front of them.
Rather than this, it is better for the two sides to supervise each other, and Su Qian's Dongshan Army supervises every move in Xizhou.
Similarly, Luo Qingyuan only used 20,000 new soldiers in Xizhou to supervise the Wanggui Trading Company in the territory.
This kind of mutual supervision is much stronger than any verbal commitment. Under this kind of supervision, no one on either side dares to have any selfish intentions. There are only benefits and no harm to the development of Xizhou.
Sitting in the car, Su Qian's mind was like a movie, with scenes about Xizhou passing by quickly.
Over the past few years, the ultimate goal of everything Su Qian did was to stabilize his rear areas of Xi and Jiaozhou.
The original idea was to protect relatives and friends, but now it seems that it has been achieved.
It can be said that Su Qi'an now no longer worries that his backyard will catch fire if he leaves Jiaozhou or Xizhou.
He can focus all his attention on the powerful people in Kyoto, and his rear base camp, with these capable assistants, will only develop better and better.
As the carriage moved forward slowly, half a day passed, and the convoy finally arrived at Hanzhong County in the north of Xizhou.
Regarding Hanzhong County, Su Qi'an was still very interested. Xizhou had been captured for so long, and he had not taken a good look at Hanzhong and Nandu in the north.
Now that he was leaving Xizhou and happened to be passing through Hanzhong County, Su Qi'an naturally wanted to take a good look.
Su Qi'an's motorcade was on the outskirts of Hanzhong County. The Hanzhong County Sheriff had received the news early and had already come to greet him with his officials.
Looking at Su Qi'an's carriage, the Hanzhong County Sheriff quickly stepped forward and stood beside the carriage.
"I am lowered to the post of Hanzhong County Governor Wuchuan and pay my respects to the Marquis and all your lords."
Su Qi'an didn't get out of the car. He hummed slightly, glanced at Wuchuan, and then said.
"Well, Mr. Wu is interested, but this time I come here and I don't plan to stay in the county for a long time. I will only stay for a moment or two."
"In order not to cause a commotion, Mr. Wu should take all the adults away. I will be protected by these people around me, so there will be no problems."
Wuchuan nodded, but there was a look of hesitation on his face. He was silent for a while and then said hesitantly.
"The Marquis should know that the security within the two counties of Hanzhong and Nandu has not been very good. Even if the Marquis is passing through, if he encounters any danger or makes any mistakes, I can't explain it to Lord Zhou Mu."
"For the sake of safety, it is better to be accompanied by county soldiers all the way. This way, the subordinate will feel more at ease."
