The new wind howls, the white grass breaks easily, and as we step into the winter moon, the northwest has quietly entered the ice and snow, and the cold wave has almost solidified, sweeping across the entire Northland.
Guide Castle, located in the heart of Hengshan Mountain, is an important road from Yulin to Guan Nei. The two officials spent a lot of effort and employed tens of thousands of people. They relied on swords and axes to cut out a trunk of more than 60 miles. Later, even though a large amount of gunpowder was used, the bones of thousands of prisoners were still buried underground.
Guide Castle was built on this main road, with two hundred garrison troops stationed there. Hengshan, stretching from east to west, belongs to the transition zone from Yulin Grassland to Guannai Loess Plateau, and is also the dividing line between the two.
In Yulin at this time of year, there is not much flying snow, but the cold wind is very strong, and the blowing on the face is like a knife. In the strong atmosphere of chilling, a cavalry group slowly traveled northward along the Guide Road, and did not stop until it reached the front of the fort.
Tall and tall, with black armor and red robes, everyone is wearing silk-bottomed cotton robes, scarves around their necks, and windproof masks on their heads. Officers above the captain level have all kinds of fur goods. This is the great man. The treatment of the border officers and soldiers, in this winter, at least there will be no shortage of cold-proof materials.
This army, with about 5,000 cavalry, is a joint cavalry with different sources. It includes the guards of King Zhao Liu Fang and related garrison troops. Of course, the most important one is the "Liangzhou Horse" from Qinlong, including A troop of Wen Moqi consisting of a thousand people.
The imperial court's transformation of the Wenmo people was successful. Under the leadership of Zhebu Sizhong, the leader of the Liugu Valley, this force of Tubo and Han survivors has been completely integrated into the Han Dynasty, adding a lot to the Han civilization.
There are many ethnic groups in the Han Dynasty, but in the eyes of Han officials, only a few are truly accepted and regarded as one of their own. There are Miao Yao in the southwest and Wenmo in the northwest.
Just like the Pingqian army formed by the Miao and Yao people in the south, the Wenmo cavalry in the northwest were also among the regular soldiers of the imperial court. This time, only one of them followed Liu Fang north to Yulin. The general he led was named Pan Luozhi. The rising star in the Liugu tribe had a reputation for bravery and quick wits. When Liu Fang was stationed in Hexi, he took a fancy to this person. In order to suppress the rebellion, he specially transferred him to his subordinates.
Because it is deep in the mountains, Guideburg is different from many forts all over the place. It lacks the attributes of a town and functions more as a military checkpoint and a post. However, the town general's residence and official offices are still relatively complete.
When King Zhao arrived with his army, he naturally swept the couch and welcomed him warmly. The fort was too small to accommodate the large army. The army was temporarily stationed outside the fort, while Liu Fang was welcomed into the fort.
Whenever he was in battle, Liu Fang always ate with the soldiers in the same uniform and never left the army. This was his habit. However, this time he entered the fort because there were some situations that needed to be understood on the spot.
Nearly a month has passed since the Yanzhou rebellion and Yulin chaos. After receiving the edict from Tokyo, Liu Fang set up a bandit-suppression camp in Chang'an and dispatched troops and generals within the authorization.
Even now, the government and army's counterinsurgency has not really started and is still in the preparatory stage. The main focus of the camp is on the mobilization and equipment of troops and horses, the raising of military supplies, and the maintenance of the stability of the pass.
Of course, in this regard, Liu Fang stepped into the role very quickly. After all, he had already prepared for it. Emperor Liu's original intention of transferring him from Liangzhou to Chang'an was clear to Liu Fang himself, which was to go north to take charge of the overall situation at any time. For this, he We have known each other for a long time.
This time, he led his army northward, not to suppress the bandits and eliminate the rebels in one fell swoop. That was unrealistic. The weather was the biggest difficulty. However, as the anti-rebellion commander designated by Emperor Liu, it is not easy to stay in Chang'an all the time.
In view of the fact that the situation in Yulin has become worse and worse in the past month, and there are even signs of collapse, he has to go north first in order to stabilize the situation and boost confidence. His elite cavalry was just an advance guard to erect King Zhao's banner in Yulin.
During this period, the rebellion in Yulin expanded as expected by the court. More and more party members actively or passively participated in the rebellion. It can be seen from the massive intelligence that it started from Lingzhou in the west and ended in Xia in the east. Prefecture, as far south as Suizhou, all the eight tribes of the original party gathered again to plot rebellion and resist the rule of the Han Dynasty.
The thieves are inflating like balloons. The exact number is still unknown, but from the confrontations between officials and thieves in the past month, it is known that the rebels are divided into several groups, ranging from more than ten thousand to thousands.
These rebels attack towns
, killing officials and people, relying on looting and coercion to grow stronger, and what's more, they tried to launch an attack on the big city. Although they didn't succeed anywhere, the momentum was completely increased.
Once the grievances that had been accumulated for more than 20 years were released, the whole Yulin was boiling, as if it had become a nightclub for party members to party. Turmoil and killing had become the main theme of Yulin Road. Naturally, the government and the army would not sit idly by and ignore the rebels. The clear instructions from the imperial court gave them direction. Both the bureaucracy and the army repented at the time of the great changes and began to unite closely under the command of the imperial court. Try your best to deal with the traitors.
In times of peace, one may not feel too deeply, and one's mind will inevitably be dizzy. Only in times of crisis, those with vested interests in the ruling order of the Han Dynasty discovered the importance of the banner of the Han Dynasty.
Just think of the party Hulu who rose up and came like a tidal wave. Of course, the same goes for the Han people who participated in the rebellion.
In the face of the spreading rebellion, the government and army were not unresponsive. After a short period of chaos, both Xia Sui and Ling Yan organized a crackdown and achieved some results, but they could not affect the overall situation. The rebels More and more, the strength of the Yulin army has not been expanded in a short period of time, and there are more places to take care of.
By the end of October, Yulin's officers and soldiers could only maintain the defense of major cities and important checkpoints and forts. They even had to shrink and give up some strongholds. Only in this way did they stabilize the situation. Of course, this also has the effect of instructions from the bandit-suppressing camp.
Before Liu Fang went north, Wang Qian was still presiding over the overall situation in Xiazhou. His whereabouts had already been decided, and he probably felt that he had lost his temper, maybe because he was anxious, or maybe he had woken up.
Without waiting for further instructions from the court, he released Meng Xuanzhe, apologized, and gave him troops and horses to lead to quell the rebellion. He wanted to make another effort to alleviate Liu Fang's sins before Liu Fang went north.
However, the situation in Yulin has completely changed from that of more than a month ago. The rebellion in Yanzhou is like a raging fire, completely igniting the firewood of the rebellion, which can be said to affect the whole body.
The situation in Xiazhou has also plummeted compared to before. Li Jiqian finally joined forces with the Yelibu, and officially received the full support of the Yelibu. The momentum was greatly increased, and the strength of the soldiers and horses increased several times. Huang Yangping, the former bandit-suppressing outpost, also fell. Under threat of life, the mayor Zhang Yan chose to join the rebellion and was worshiped as a general by Li Jiqian.
Obviously, this has become another stain on Wang Qian. After all, Zhang Yan has a close relationship with him. Of course, there are many people like Zhang Yan. They often face a choice, either to choose to be loyal to the court but be directly killed by the rebels, or to participate.
For many people, it is not difficult to choose. Even if they are still alive, at least they will not die immediately if they participate. In the border areas, they struggle with the harsh environment all year round. Survival has become everyone's instinct. As for moral loyalty, Yes, for the powerful and reckless, there is really not much restraint.
With the support of the Yeli tribe, Li Jiqian's strength greatly increased and he was reborn. The party members who defected to him poured out like a flood after a bursting of a dike. Li Jiqian finally let go of his wariness. After all, at the beginning of the rebellion, Yanzhou was even more powerful than him. A small fight in Xiazhou is much bigger.
Li Jiqian began to regard himself as the leader of the Anti-Han Dynasty. He sent four envoys, invited heroes, awarded officials and titles, and even sent an order to Yuan Ke in Yanzhou, intending to bring the rebels in Yanzhou under his command.
How could Yuan Ke agree with this? He was the one who stirred up the storm in Yulin. How could he let Li Jiqian pick the peaches? Although they would not turn into enemies, in this place of rebellion, various rebels in Yulin fought for leadership. The problem has already given rise to discord.
Meng Xuanzhe's attack on Li Jiqian naturally did not have much effect. Although some were captured and thousands of rebels were killed, due to the weather and the number of thieves, they had to retreat to Xiazhou in the end. Wang Qian His plan finally came to nothing. He was careless before, but now he is powerless.
Due to the changes in the situation in Yulin, Liu Fang finally moved from Chang'an.
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