Yang Qing and his party stayed in Huangxiang for five days and inspected several pavilions. Not only did they see that the fields in each pavilion and village were cultivated, but each household also raised chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and other livestock.
In general, due to the vast land, sparsely populated areas, fertile land, light taxes, and few strongmen running rampant in the countryside, the lives of the people in Huangxiang are still okay.
If there is no danger of barbarian intrusion, then this place can really be called a pure land.
After leaving Huangxiang, Yang Qing set off for the next place, Pingxiang, which was also the last place on this spring trip.
This township is located at the junction of Yueqi County and Hanjia County, adjacent to the Qingqiang Guli Tribe. Therefore, the number of households is far less than that of Huang Township, with only more than 1,800 households.
Although there are few people, the land is also large. Each household has at least fifty or sixty acres of land, but it is not as fertile as the land in Huangxiang.
"Qixian Cheng, why haven't you seen the people from Pingxiang yet?" Yang Qing asked Qi Xiu beside him on horseback.
After everyone entered the boundary of Pingxiang, Yang Qing ordered Qi Xiu to send someone to inform the local officials of the arrival. However, after a long time, no local officials such as Shifu and Sanlao showed up.
The officials sent by Qi Xiu had not returned yet, and he did not know the reason. When he saw the prince asking questions, he did not know how to answer for a moment, so he could only say hesitantly: "I think the people in Pingxiang know that the prince is here, and he is solemnly attending the ceremony." Get ready for things to come before you’re done yet.”
After hearing this explanation, Yang Qing couldn't help but just hummed.
Qi Xiu saw that the prefect looked a little unhappy, so he secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He cursed in his heart that the people in Pingxiang didn't understand the rules. He dared to have no one to greet him when the prefect came. He was so tired that he lost face. He was going to be in trouble later. Teach a lesson.
Yang Qing didn't blame the people in Pingxiang for not coming out to greet him. He just felt a little strange that almost no one was home in the scattered houses he encountered along the way. Could something have happened?
Just when he was about to send someone to check again, two figures appeared on the road ahead. One of them, Yang Qing recognized, was the official sent by Qi Xiu to pass the news. The other did not recognize him. From a distance, he looked like someone. A fat old man and the two were trotting over.
"I've met you in my humble position... I've met the king of the government." As soon as the clerk stood still, he gasped and said, "This... is from Pingxiang... Three…Three old men.”
It turned out that this old man was the third elder in this village. Seeing that he was also panting, Yang Qing said, "Don't be anxious, old man. It won't be too late to talk after your breath is relieved."
The old man smoothed his chest with his hand and felt that he had calmed down. Then he saluted and said, "Xia Jing, the little old man, has met Mr. Fu."
Yang Qing had already dismounted, stepped forward to help the old man who looked to be sixty or seventy years old, and said with a smile: "Don't be too polite, Mr. Xia, please get up quickly."
“Mr.
Xia Jing said: "So that the Lord of Fu and the Prime Minister of Qixian will know that most of the people in the village have gone to Shuangping Canyon in the west to compete with the Qiang people for water?"
"What?" Qi Xiu was surprised: "What's the situation like now?"
"We are still fighting, and neither we nor the Qiang people have any intention of giving up."
When Qi Xiu heard that there was a fight, he felt even more anxious. He couldn't help but stamp his foot and said, "How could it be like this?"
"Feng Chong, please quickly lead the cavalry to stop him. I will arrive soon." After hearing the old man's report, Yang Qing quickly gave the order.
This Feng Chong was also an elite member of the Chinese army who went south with Yang Qing. He was from the Tiger Cavalry Camp and was used to riding and shooting, so Yang Qing made him the main cavalry and commanded more than a hundred cavalry.
"No." Feng Chong didn't hesitate, asked for the route, immediately ordered his cavalry and galloped away.
Gu: "Xia Gong, let's talk about the details as we walk."
Fortunately, Duke Xia was a horse rider, so the speed of the chase was not slow. After Xia Jing's explanation on the way, Yang Qing finally understood what was going on.
It turns out that there is a canyon in the west of Pingxiang. It is named Shuangping Gorge because the peaks on both sides are shaped like screens. There is a small stream running through the middle of the canyon, also named Shuangping River, which is the main water source here.
This canyon also divides the people of Pingxiang and the Qiang people. The east side of the stream is where the Han people live, and the west side of the stream is where the Qingqiang Guli tribe lives. The two families share a stream to draw water, and they usually live in peace, which is rare. Big conflict.
However, in the past two months, the county sent several new plows and dump trucks to the countryside. In order to divert water for irrigation, people in Pingxiang set up two dump trucks and drove them to Shuangping Creek. This greatly increased the water intake. As a result, most of the water in Shuangping Creek is used by Pingxiang.
As a result, the Qiang people were unwilling and asked Pingxiang to remove the overturned cart or give half of it to them for use. Of course, the people of Pingxiang were not willing to hear such requests.
The two sides had constant conflicts because of this. In the past, there were mostly verbal abuses and occasional fights. But today, for some reason, a Qiang man severely injured a man from Pingxiang, which triggered a conflict between the two ethnic groups. of weapon fighting.
Understanding the reason, Yang Qing knew the urgency of the matter. Once the situation intensified, it would probably lead to a war between the Han and Qiang tribes, which would be very detrimental to the current situation in Yuexi and even the entire Nanzhong.
Thinking of this, he ordered everyone to speed up their pace, making sure to calm down the dispute before it expanded.
Shuangping Canyon is about 30 to 40 feet wide. The terrain on the east side is relatively low and gentle, mostly flat and low hills. Han people live here farming and farming.
To the west, the terrain gets higher and higher towards the west. Past the canyon is a dense forest of continuous peaks, where the Qingqiang tribe has lived for generations.
They either plant rice and vegetables, or graze cattle and sheep in the lowlands, while they make a living by hunting in the mountains and forests. Although the conditions are somewhat difficult, they have been passed down from generation to generation.
Shuangping River is only more than one foot wide, and the water level is very shallow. A person standing in the deepest part of the stream can only reach his waist. At this moment, people from both Han and Qiang groups were wading into the water and rushing towards the opposite side.
When Feng Chong arrived, he saw people on both sides of the canyon and in the stream fighting with each other with hoes, rakes, sickles and even wooden sticks. Many people were injured and lying on the ground.
Seeing this, Feng Chong ordered his soldiers to raise their spears and shout to stop. Thousands of Han and Qiang people discovered that there were more than a hundred cavalry here, and they were all robbed of their energy. The two sides couldn't help but stop fighting, and looked at Feng Chong and the others in astonishment.
After a while, a middle-aged man ran over and asked politely: "Li Chun, a humble official who traveled to Pingxiang, has seen this general. I wonder who the general is?"
Feng Chong nodded and replied: "I dare not call you a general. I am Feng Chong, the chief horseman of the county governor. I came here to stop you and others from fighting on the orders of Governor Yang of this county."
"Ah, the prefect has come here?" Li Chun was surprised and happy, thinking that the matter would be solved when the prefect came.
Feng Chong said: "That's right, the governor is behind and will be here in a moment. You quickly rescue the injured people and treat them, and go to the Qiang people to send a message to their leaders to come and greet the prefect together."
After finishing speaking, he remembered something and said again: "By the way, why are you alone? Where is the local stingy man?"
Li Chun replied with a depressed look: "Shi Shang, a local stingy man, was unfortunately hit in the back of the head while trying to stop a fight between the two clans. He is still in a coma." Feng Chong nodded and sighed: "That's all. You go do something."
After a while, Li Chun came over and replied: "The Qiang people heard about the arrival of the prefect and have gone back to the tribe to invite the clan leader. The place where the Guli tribe lives is still several miles away from this canyon. We still need to wait patiently for a while."
"It doesn't matter, this matter can only be resolved by the leader of the Qiang people."
