Because he had to return to Chengdu to present victory to the emperor, Zhuge Liang only planned to stay in Hanzhong for five or six days. Naturally, Yang Qing, a hero of the Northern Expedition, would also return to the court to meet the emperor.
And he is still the prefect of Hanzhong, and he has to make decisions on all county affairs. Therefore, in addition to enjoying a moment of leisure at home on the first day after he came back, he was so busy that he forgot to eat and sleep from the second day on. It's late at night.
"Your Majesty."
On the south bank of Mian River, in the military tent of the Wudang Feijun camp, Wang Ping, Guliza, Badi and other generals were saluting Yang Qing on the throne.
Yang Qing looked around at everyone and said with a smile: "You don't have to be polite, just sit down." Today he was busy with the affairs of the county. Seeing that it was still early and there was still one afternoon, he came to the south bank camp to deal with military matters.
After everyone took their seats, Yang Qingchao asked Wang Ping, who was on the lower right, "General Zijun, have the remains and ashes of the soldiers been sent to their respective homes?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the general has sent people to deliver all the remains and ashes of the fallen soldiers at the end of the day before yesterday. Except for other counties that are far away and there is no return, all the family members in Mianyang have received it." Wang Ping replied with clasped fists. .
Yang Qing nodded: "That's good. Have you finished registering the rewards and pensions for the soldiers?"
"Your Majesty, the civil servants are working hard to compile the records according to their merits. It should be completed before Prime Minister Zhuge returns to the court."
Yang Qingdao: "That's good. Tell the people below that they must check clearly and register truthfully. There must be no omissions, concealment of reports, or false reports. Everyone should write down the credit for what they deserve. There must be no fraud. Once Discovered and engaged in military law.
In order to revive the Han Dynasty, the soldiers stayed away from home and fought desperately. We must not let them feel cold. "
"Don't worry, sir, we will strictly supervise it." Wang Ping and others said in unison.
Yang Qing added: "After the registration is completed, rewards and pensions can only be allocated after review by the Prime Minister's Office and approval by the court. Therefore, it will take a while. You must appease the soldiers and their families and let them wait patiently."
"promise."
"However, most of the officers and soldiers in our rear army are Qingqiang people from Hanzhong, so I, the parent officer of Hanzhong, must also express my gratitude to the soldiers from my hometown.
He has ordered the county to allocate a batch of money, grain, and silk cloth as rewards and pensions to the soldiers. Although it is not as good as the imperial court's share, it can still be regarded as the county's sincerity. "
Wang Ping and others were all overjoyed when they heard this. They looked at each other and said in unison: "On behalf of the officers and men, I would like to thank you for your great kindness."
"What is this? As the commander-in-chief of the rear army, I should try my best to win rewards for my soldiers. Why do I need to say thank you?"
Yang Qing smiled and then told Wang Ping: "After the book is completed in two days, make a copy and give it to Demao. The rewards and pensions from the county are basically in place and will be available soon."
"promise."
Yang Qing continued: "After the rewards and pensions are distributed, the recruitment of troops will be put on the agenda. Now our rear army only has more than 6,000 people, which is 4,000 short of the 10,000 troops. A lot of Qingqiang warriors died in the Northern Expedition. "More, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to produce another four thousand men for this conscription."
Speaking of this, he looked at Guliza, Badi and other Qingqiang generals and saw that their faces were a little heavy. Yang Qing knew that this Northern Expedition had caused heavy casualties to the Qingqiang tribe who had moved north to Hanzhong. In recent years, I'm afraid it will be difficult to recruit a large number of soldiers from among them.
So he continued: "Therefore, this recruitment is not limited to the Qingqiang tribe, but can also be recruited from tribes such as the Sou people, the Zhi people, and even the Han people. Anyone who is good at crossing mountains and is skilled in bows and crossbows can join us." Feijun. At least 4,000 are recruited. The more those who exceed, the better."
"Yes, we understand." Wang Ping and others responded hurriedly.
Yang Qing finished arranging several major events, and responded to everyone's reports one by one. Finally, he said: "I am going to visit the leader of the Gulichi clan, Guliza and Badi, you two will come with me later." .”
"No." Guliza and Buddy accepted the order with fists clasped.
The Qiang soldiers sacrificed a lot during the Northern Expedition. As the rear governor, Yang Qing commanded the Wudang Flying Army. He was also the person who facilitated tens of thousands of Qingqiang tribesmen to move north to Hanzhong. He had to go to the Qingqiang tribe no matter what.
A visit to express condolences to the deceased and condolences to the living.
When Yang Qing returned home and was close to his baby, Xia Houyue had already fallen asleep. He didn't want to wake her up, so he ran to the study to rest.
Yang Qing returned to the city after having dinner at the Guli tribe. In the afternoon he visited several villages where the Qingqiang people lived. What surprised him was that the Qingqiang people had no reaction to the large number of people who died in the battle. It was as heavy as he imagined.
They have experienced too much killing in the harsh environment of Nanzhong and have long been accustomed to seeing life and death. Although they are still sad about the departure of their loved ones, they are well prepared for this day to come.
What's more, the government has promised to issue a large number of rewards and pensions. These things will allow the living to continue to live or even live better. What else do they have to resent?
And when Yang Qing slightly revealed that he would continue to recruit warriors to enrich the Wudang flying army, these Qingqiang people did not feel any rejection, and even went to tell each other, call friends, and enthusiastically pierce blood, in order to Glory.
This was unexpected by Yang Qing. Only after asking Gu Lichi did he find out that they were very satisfied with their life in Hanzhong in the past two years.
The government not only provided seeds, cattle, and farm tools, but also sent people to teach them the most advanced farming techniques, and established schools to teach their children to read and write, allowing them to live a life of ample food and clothing.
Moreover, the prosperity of the Han people's cities is far from that of the remote places in southern China. The colorful life makes them satisfied, so everyone among the Qiang people feels it.
In addition, the Qiang people are known as warriors. When they saw their predecessors defeating the Wei army in the north, they couldn't help but yearn for the glory. Therefore, they all competed for the first place and were willing to continue to die for the Han Dynasty.
This attitude of the Qiang people made Yang Qing feel relieved, so he drank, ate meat, sang and danced with Gulichi and others until late at night before returning to the city.
Two days later, Zhuge Liang arranged everything in Hanzhong and left Gao Xiang to stay in Hanzhong. He only led the Hubu Middle Camp back to Chengdu. The rest of the army, such as Gao Xiang's left army, Zhao Yun's right army, and Yang Qing's rear army, all stayed in Hanzhong. Of course, Yang Qing and other officials and generals who returned to the pilgrimage still accompanied him.
"Xi-kun, can you still bear it?"
A military column was winding along the official road of Zitong County. In the middle of the column was a carriage with three people sitting in it. Yang Qing and Xia Houyue were sitting side by side, with Mulan in front of them on the left. At this time, Yang Qing saw that the carriage was bumping more and more violently, so he asked Xia Houyue with concern.
Xia Houyue said: "Husband, don't worry, Yue'er is not a weak woman, she can still bear this bump." After saying that, he opened the curtains and looked outside and asked: "Husband, where are we?"
"We're almost at Jiameng Pass, and it's still early to leave Chengdu." Yang Qing said with a smile.
Xia Houyue also smiled: "I'm not in a hurry. I also hope to walk slower and spend more time with my husband." Yang Qing felt warm in his heart when he heard this, shook her slender hand, and nodded slightly.
After Yang Qing returned to pay homage to the Holy Spirit, he would go to Longyou to serve as the governor of Yongzhou. Xia Houyue could not go with him. The couple had to part ways soon after they met, so Xia Houyue also followed him back to Chengdu this time, just because he wanted to know more. Get together some time.
The same is true for Yang Qing. In order to make up for his debt to Xia Houyue, he did not ride on horseback these days, but sat in the car and talked with her. Although the road to Shu was difficult and the boat and carriage were tiring, he and his wife were at ease.
After more than ten days of traveling, Zhuge Liang and others finally returned to Chengdu. That morning, flags were fluttering outside the north gate of Chengdu and crowds of people were crowded. Emperor Liu Chan invited civil and military officials to personally go out of the city to greet the triumphant army.
