"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Outside Hanzhong City, in the Jin army camp, the shouts of killing were heard loudly.
The people passing by have long been surprised.
Since Huan Xi selected soldiers, he has never relaxed the training of his soldiers.
At noon, cartloads of wine and meat were delivered to the military camp. The soldiers, who were sweating profusely from drills, smelled the aroma of the wine and meat, twitched their index fingers and couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
The drums sounded, and the soldiers gathered under the general platform.
Wine and meat are right in front of you, but due to military discipline, no one dares to step forward to grab the food.
Deng Xia shouted loudly as usual and asked:
"Who gave you the food you eat?"
For Liangzhou soldiers, this is already a commonplace, and the soldiers shouted in unison without thinking:
"This is all given by Duke Huan!"
Deng Xia asked again:
"Who gave you these clothes?"
"This is all given by Duke Huan!"
Deng Xia asked again:
"Who gave you this military salary?"
"This is all given by Duke Huan!"
Deng Xia finally shouted and asked:
"Gong Huan has given you food, clothing, and salary. How should you repay me!"
The soldiers of the three armies shouted in unison:
"You must serve Duke Huan to the death!"
...
In a corner of the military camp, Huan Xi and Wang Meng watched the soldiers' roars that shook the mountains and rivers.
Huan Xi asked proudly:
"Sir, do you think the military morale is available?"
Since Wang Meng surrendered, Huan Xi has always addressed him as sir. Wang Meng also declined several times, but Huan Xi refused to change his words.
Wang Meng laughed and said:
"My lord, this method has never been heard of by lower officials, but it is very effective.
"What's even more rare is that these ten thousand elite soldiers under the lord's command are all rare warriors. If they can be deployed properly, they will be invincible."
Wang Meng didn't mean this as a compliment. The soldiers under Huan Xi's command were warriors carefully selected by him.
After forming an army, they trained diligently and provided meat every day to strengthen their bodies. Looking at the whole world, they were considered to be rare strong soldiers.
However, in terms of shortcomings, Huan Xi's elite army also suffered from a common problem of the southern army. The cavalry force was too weak.
Among the 10,000 soldiers, there are only a thousand cavalry even if they are full of enemies.
Hanzhong naturally produces horses, but the breeds are quite special.
Although they have the advantages of being able to tolerate rough feeding, being thirsty and hardworking, adaptable, easy to train, have a high reproductive rate, have strong disease resistance, and are good at walking on mountain roads, etc.
But there is only one fatal flaw that makes it difficult to become a high-quality war horse, that is, it is too short.
The horses produced in Hanzhong, also known as Ningqiang ponies in later generations, were the breed left behind when the ancient Qiang people went south from Qinghai nomads and entered Ningqiang County before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
The Ningqiang pony's adult body height is between 90-106cm, which is obviously unqualified for a war horse.
Huan Xi also searched everywhere and obtained a thousand qualified military horses. Therefore, the cavalry under his command were all single horses and did not have the ability to run long distances.
At first, Huan Xi did not think about developing foreign trade to purchase good horses.
However, Qiu Chi, a small country to the west, was extremely afraid of Huan Xi. Although the country's power was weakened, it did not dare to invade with troops, and it was also unwilling to conduct military and horse trade with Huan Xi.
However, Qianliang, which had always had a close relationship with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was blocked by Later Zhao. Even if the Zhang family of Qianliang was willing to trade horses with him, it was impossible to cross the border of Later Zhao and send the general's horses to Hanzhong.
Improving horse breeds is an extremely long and complicated matter. Rather than hoping to improve Hanzhong horse breeds, it would be better to occupy Guanzhong early, open up connections with Qianliang, and pursue Hexi horses.
After leaving the military camp, before Huan Xi entered the city, a personal entourage came to report the news.
"My lord, there is someone who claims to be Lueyang Quanyi. He specially offers Yongzhou to the lord. He is waiting in the mansion now."
Huan Xi smiled and said:
"It's really interesting that he, a native of Lueyang, Qinzhou, came to offer Yongzhou to me."
When everyone heard this, they all laughed out loud.
Huan Xi thought to himself and said:
"If you have nothing to do today, you might as well meet him."
With that said, Huan Xi looked at Wang Meng and said:
"If you have time, sir, you might as well come with me and see what this Lueyang Kuangsheng is capable of, and how dare he make such arrogant remarks."
Wang Meng was also very curious about the claim that he would offer the power of Yongzhou to Huan Xi, and said:
"Being respectful to your subordinates is worse than obeying orders."
On the way back to Zhenglu General's Mansion, Huan Xi still had some small expectations in his heart.
Different from the previous appearance of knowing nothing about Quan Yi, Huan Xi actually has a certain understanding of him.
The mastermind of the Yao Qiang Group, who surrendered to the former Qin Dynasty, was one of the three important Han ministers under Fu Jian's command along with Wang Meng. He opposed Fu Jian's attack on the Eastern Jin Dynasty and firmly requested that Murong Chui be killed.
These are Huan Xi's impressions of him, but that's all.
"My lord, have you ever heard of this person's name?"
In the carriage, Wang Meng, who was riding with Huan Xi, was very keenly aware of the slight changes in Huan Xi's face and said doubtfully.
Huan Xi nodded and said:
"To be honest, sir, Huan has indeed heard that this person is quite resourceful. Although he is not as good as sir, he is still talented."
Wang Meng laughed out loud and said:
"Could it be that my lord thought that Wang would be jealous of this, so he added an extra sentence?"
Huan Xi said seriously:
"These are my sincere words. I have been friends with Mr. Huan Xi ever since. Every time I have a long conversation with Mr. Huan Xi, I always gain something. Mr. Huanxi is so talented. It is expected that only a few people such as Jiang Shang, Guan Zhong and Zhuge Wuhou can be as good as him." between."
Huan Xi's words are not unreasonable. When later generations evaluate Wang Meng, they always like to sum it up in one sentence:
The first person to outdo Zhuge.
Of course, the two people live in different eras and backgrounds, so they cannot be compared simply.
As soon as Huan Xi finished speaking, Wang Meng shook his head and said:
"My lord is too humble. Being able to have friendship with my lord will benefit a lot from being a subordinate. I only wish I had not come out to assist my lord earlier."
For a moment, in the carriage, the two masters and ministers looked at each other and smiled.
Wang Meng did not ask how Huan Xi knew that Quan Yi was still alive in this world. After all, Wang Meng lived in seclusion in Huashan and was invited out by Huan Xi.
He could only guess that the Huan family father and son had eyes and ears in the Kansai area, specifically looking for talented people.
The carriage arrived at General Zhenglu's Mansion. Huan Xi and Wang Meng got off the carriage one after another and walked into the mansion surrounded by their attendants.
Quan Yi had been waiting in the main hall for a long time. He saw a young man with an impressive appearance and his head held high as he walked in. He was sure that this person was Huan Xi.
"Lueyang Renyi, meet the general."
Huan Xi is now eighteen years old. He is no longer the young boy he was before. He walks with a certain air of magnanimity.
He sat down on the main seat, raised his hand and said:
"Your Excellency, you are Quan Ziliang? No need to be polite."
Quan Yi was shocked. He had given his name before asking for a meeting and did not mention his cousin. Now Huan Xi actually called out his cousin directly. Quan Yi said in disbelief:
"The general actually knows that there is power in the world!"
There is a bit of pride in the words. There are a few people in this world who can truly achieve the goal of not seeking to be heard by the princes. They are bustling around for more than just fame and fortune.
Huan Xi smiled and said:
"I have eyes and ears in Lueyangbu. I often hear Ziliang's name, and I have long been interested in meeting him."
Wang Meng on the side heard this and thought to himself: It is indeed as I expected.
But when he thought that Huan Xi paid attention to so many people in Guanxi, but up to now, they just couldn't wait to invite him out. Even Wang Meng couldn't help but feel happy about Huan Xi's attitude towards him.
After Huan Xi exchanged pleasantries, he went straight to the topic and asked:
"Ziliang claimed that he would offer Yongzhou to me. I don't know why?"
Quan Yi calmed down a little, cupped his hands and said:
"Quan is here as a lobbyist at the invitation of Yongzhou scholars.
"Shi Bao wanted to use his troops in Guanzhong to march eastward to conquer the world. The Yongzhou scholars also asked the general to make preparations in advance.
"If it comes out to the east, the pass will be empty and easily accessible."
Huan Xi did not agree directly, but muttered:
"Huan had a lot of discord with the nobles in Liangzhou, and there were a lot of complaints among the scholars. Could it be that the Yongzhou nobles had not heard about it, so why would they take the initiative to invite me to go north? Wouldn't this be causing trouble for myself?"
Quan Yi was startled and was about to explain when he heard Huan Xi continue his analysis:
"I heard that Shi Bao went on a killing spree in Chang'an because his subordinates were unwilling to support him in sending troops. Thinking about it, this must be because the Yongzhou nobles were afraid of Shi Bao and were unwilling to send troops with him. They were worried that Shi Zun would blame him, so they invited Zi Liang to come. Be a lobbyist.
"If I go north, Shi Bao will definitely stop his troops, and Huan will not be able to threaten Guanzhong with his few soldiers. It can be said to be the best of both worlds."
Quan Yi had broken out in a cold sweat. He now suspected that Huan Xi's insider was among the people at the Yongzhou gentry gathering that day.
While the Quanyi organization was making remarks, Huan Xi laughed loudly and said:
"Hahaha, this is just Huan's guess."
After saying that, Huan Xi said seriously:
"The Guanzhong elders looked south to Master Wang. Year after year, they experienced too many disappointments.
"I think whether I agree or not, Yongzhou scholars will spread the word that I will send troops.
"Huan doesn't want to disappoint the Guanzhong elders again. Yongzhou has been occupied for many years, so it's time for Master Wang to go!
"I, Huan Xi, have always taken it as my duty to save the common people. Now that I have been warmly invited by the scholars of Yongzhou, how can I stand still?"
When Quan Yi saw this, he couldn't help but be shaken by Huan Xi's concern for the country and the people. He couldn't help but persuade:
"If the general does not move, Shi Bao will eventually be able to find out the situation. Knowing that the general has no intention of sending troops, Shi Bao will definitely move east. By then, it will be easy to capture Guanzhong."
Huan Xi shook his head and said:
"Shi Bao, slaves and talented people, I regard them as dolphins and dogs. If they are not born with a good life, they are just pawns. An Neng is a general.
"I have determined to go north, defeat the enemy, subjugate the soldiers, and use them for my own use.
"How can he be allowed to send his troops from Guanzhong to the east, causing the people of Guanzhong, parents to mourn their sons, wives to lose their husbands, and children to lose their fathers!"
In the final analysis, it is still a question of population.
After years of war in Guanzhong, people's livelihood has declined.
It is conceivable that Shi Bao must go out in force to fight for the Central Plains. Once he takes away too many young people, it will be extremely difficult to restore the vitality of Guanzhong.
Of course, Huan Xi despised Shi Bao from the bottom of his heart, and his determination also infected Quan Yi.
I saw Quan Yi cupping his hands and saying:
“Those who have achieved great things in ancient and modern times have always put the people first, put the people first, and put the people first!
"Quan Yi has been looking for the Ming Lord all over the place, and today I am lucky enough to meet the general. If the general does not give up, Quan Yi is willing to serve the general!
"It's a mess, no matter what!"
