Chapter 1152 New Soldiers and Old Acquaintances

The weather in spring changes at any time. Yesterday it was a cloudless and beautiful day, but today it turned into a cloudy and rainy day. Although the rain was not very heavy, it was still annoying enough. It started raining at midnight yesterday. , I haven’t listened until now, just like a sad woman sitting in front of the window, with tears in her eyes, not crying loudly, but twitching from time to time.

Just like the refugees approaching Chang'an now.

Although normally speaking, people's walking speed is not very slow, after all, the refugees are not all strong people, there are also most young and old, and those with families are even slower. Either this one has something wrong, or that one has something. I needed to stop from time to time to do something. In addition, it was raining and foggy, and the road was muddy after being trampled by many people, making it even more slippery and difficult to travel. Therefore, the overall traveling speed was slow.

The refugees were struggling on the muddy road in confusion, carrying the pitiful pieces of cloth or belongings, even rags, on their backs, as if doing so could bring some psychological comfort.

During the march, although there were cries from time to time, more people were numb and silent, subconsciously moving forward. Not far from both sides of the refugee queue, there were Qiang Huqi.

These people were holding weapons, either on horseback or on foot. In order to prevent their leather robes from getting wet, many people simply wore Gebu clothes or even went shirtless. There was no queue at all. They were also moving in the mud, and everyone was moving in the mud. Muttering about the horrible weather, these strong Qiang men turned a blind eye to the miserable refugees on the side. Instead, they would often grab two refugees who still had some strength to spare and carry all the things they should have carried on their own horses. Put it on their shoulders and backs...

Behind these 40,000 to 50,000 refugees were tens of thousands of soldiers and horses gathered by Ma Chao. They waved a banner called "One Hundred Thousand People" and marched these refugees forward.

Naturally, the refugees didn't know much about military law, and neither did the Qiang Huqi, so the queues in front and behind were a bit chaotic. Ma Chao didn't take it seriously. Anyway, during the march, anyone who walked around and bumped around would be dragged out. If they were pinned down in the mud and either whipped or killed, they would be honest.

As for military discipline, Ma Chao doesn't care.

Anyway, when he was in Xiliang, it was like this most of the time. As long as he could obey the command when he went into battle, Ma Chao didn't care what extra money or other activities his subordinates did.

As for sophisticated equipment, sufficient baggage, fine team coordination, changes in details on the battlefield, etc., Ma Chao didn't even consider it.

In Ma Chao's heart, having tens of thousands of people like this is enough to sweep Guanzhong.

Even if most of these are new recruits to Ma Chao and they have to get used to each other, Ma Chao also believes that this is not a big problem.

Besides, it’s not like the Qiang Hu Qi didn’t have any special coordination or tactics before, so didn’t they fight in the same way? Anyway, while fighting, you can naturally grind and eliminate them. Isn't this the case in such troubled times?

Of course, Ma Chao is not completely ignorant of how to lead troops. Like his father, he does some things by himself, such as parading in and out of the military ranks, scolding this and praising that, anyway. Always make yourself available to your subordinates at all times, so that every soldier can feel your presence, unconsciously establishing their majesty in the army, and knowing that Ma Chao is paying attention to them all the time. , commanding them.

Therefore, after marching for two or three days, this piece of army probably has some appearance.

Riwoji from Baima Qiang, Li Gude from Shenlang Qiang, and Lu Yao from Ran Jianqiang were following Ma Chao's queue, watching Ma Chao running back and forth. The three of them were silent, watching Ma Chao. I was shaking on my back, not knowing what I was thinking about.

Behind the three people, there are some small Qiang tribes, such as Qingyi Qiang and so on, but these Qiang tribesmen have no concept of regular soldiers. For tribes like them, those who can mount a horse to kill, Even if he is a warrior, let’s talk about the rest...

Ma Dai followed Ma Chao, looked back at Hu Qi, a Qiang man on the left and right, and whispered: "Major General, although I haven't found anything wrong with these guys in the past two days, I always feel that something is wrong... But again I can’t tell…”

Ma Chao snorted, pointed forward with his hand, and said: "Chang'an is right in front of us, only three or four days' journey away! I don't care what these guys are thinking, as long as they don't hinder me from taking Chang'an! We have won Chang'an." , all supplies and supplies are taken seriously! As long as they hold all these supplies in their hands, they won't be able to make much trouble..."

Ma Chao turned around, glanced at the leaders of the Qiang people, and said with some disdain: "These guys are all people who follow the wind. Aren't they here just to rob people and food? They took Chang'an." , we will have money, food, and goods. Otherwise, if these poor people in front of us are just a few more mouths to eat, what is the use? Therefore, the goal of capturing Chang'an is more or less the same for us and for them. ’s... they won’t refuse this piece of fat..."

Although Ma Chao is young, he has some keen intuition. He also understood that he would not be able to gain the unconditional support and love of the Qiang people all at once, and he never thought that he would be able to command the White Horse Qiang's Riwoji, Shenlang Qiang's Li Gude, and Ran Jianqiang's people forever. Lu Yao and other Qiang people who are not closely related to Hu Qi just want to use the current momentum to gather strength. Over time, they can use the materials in Guanzhong to expand the size of their troops, even if they cannot hold it in the end. , you can be calm when you retreat!

Therefore, Ma Chao doesn't care what happens to Guanzhong in the future. Anyway, under the current situation, the more chaotic Guanzhong is, the more beneficial it is to him. Only in this way can he have the opportunity to profit from the chaos.

Ma Dai thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "What the young general said makes sense!"

Ma Chao smiled faintly and said: "My father...my father said before, why do people have long legs? They are used to walk, run, and move. If you only know how to stay in one place, you will never have long legs." From birth to death, what's the difference between that and a piece of grass stuck in the soil and unable to move, it will be cut off and eaten at any time, just like now, isn't this the case for these farmers in Guanzhong who only know how to cultivate?"

Of course, there was another half of Ma Teng's words, about why people use their hands. However, this second half was inevitably a bit heartbreaking, so Ma Chao did not finish his words, but pointed at the people marching ahead with his riding crop. The refugees continued: "Look at these idiots. They should be free and willing to stay in one place for the rest of their lives, like cattle and sheep! Ha, you deserve to die! Come on, speed up the journey. Go straight to Chang'an! Those who are lagging behind and those who deliberately delay will be killed by me!"

…………………………

In the rain and fog, Fei Qian reined in his horse and stood.

The rain had soaked Fei Qian's cloak, and it clung tightly to his armor, making him very uncomfortable. Although there were also oilcloths, the oilcloths of the Han Dynasty were not as completely waterproof as the rubber ponchos of later generations. The rain and fog that drifted slantingly like now were helpless.

Beside Fei Qian, groups of cavalry heading south were being repaired. They were all veterans who had come from Yinshan Mountain. They were already familiar with daily marches and the control of military disciplines. Basically, they came here. There is no need for Fei Qian to put any extra thought into it...

While loosening the girth of the war horses, these soldiers took Gebu to wipe away the eye mucus and muddy water from rainy days. If they were camping at night, they would even wash the war horses clean and cover the whole body with dry cloth if possible. Just wipe it clean from top to bottom. Although horses can swim and walk in shallows without any problem, horses like clean and dry places to rest well.

After a while, Huang Xu said from one side: "Junhou, please dismount and rest. The front and rear are properly arranged."

"Okay." Fei Qian looked around, took a look, and nodded. Then he dismounted, threw the reins of the war horse to the guards, and then, accompanied by Huang Xu, walked under the awning set up aside. , took off the wet cloak.

As for Pang Tong, he had already taken off his wet robe inside the awning, and was sitting on a bench, struggling to collect water...

The temporary rain shelter is very simple. Find a flat ground that does not accumulate water, use a spear to stick on the ground as a support, and then use a rope to fix the curtain, and it becomes a simple and convenient temporary rain shelter.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, Fei Qian does not need to talk a lot, but he must take action first.

When setting off, Fei Qian will be the first to stand up, and when resting, Fei Qian will be the last to dismount. Although such actions are simple, they can let the soldiers know that such a commander is accompanying them. Naturally, I felt a little more at ease and a little less complaining.

Being able to do this is already very good. As for things like stirring food with the same horse spoon, it can only be done occasionally and cannot be done every day. After all, there are differences between top and bottom, and who should do what they want. This is Fei Qian. I learned a kind of helplessness from the Han Dynasty.

The Chinese people of the Han Dynasty inherited most of the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty. In this era, as a superior, it would be very scary to say thank you or thank you for your help for small things...

Because these words, or these "courtesy", are only for people who are close to equal status, and they are only used between each other. If you have these polite words and actions with people who are in a subordinate status around you, it will not only cause panic. There will be no other effects other than reaction.

This so-called path of equal human rights has not been fully achieved even by later generations, let alone the Han Dynasty, which was only half-out of the slave system at the moment?

The courtesy is not as good as that of common people, and the punishment is not as good as that of officials.

Zhao Yun and Xu Huang, who had arrived at the awning earlier, stood aside and bowed their hands: "Your Majesty."

Fei Qian handed the wet cloak to Huang Xu, then greeted him and said, "Sit down, everyone. How about it? Can you keep up with the food, grass and baggage?"

This time when he went south from Yinshan, Fei Qian left Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Lie in Yinshan to take charge of military affairs; he transferred Chang Lin, who was originally in Yongan, to Yinshan to take charge of civil affairs, and took Zhao Yun and Xu Huang with him. return.

Although Chang Lin is not as full of tricks as Jia Xu or Pang Tong, he is not bad at being calm and sophisticated. Therefore, the threats around Yinshan have been reduced, mainly controlling environmental sanitation, preventing the outbreak of plague, and coordinating the resettlement of refugee production. In fact, it's more than enough.

Chen Rui of the original Puzi County seat was transferred to Yong'an City as the county magistrate, while in Puzi County seat, a descendant of the Taiyuan Wang family who had performed outstandingly in educating the Hu people during this period, named Wang Ling, was appointed as the county magistrate.

Fei Qian even wanted to transfer Cui Jun from Xihe to Taiyuan...

Although Cui Jun has not yet given a formal reply, it is estimated that the problem is not a big one. After all, it is clear which one is better or worse between Xihe and Taiyuan. However, Xihe has fewer gentry children and many barbarians, while Taiyuan has a large number of people. There are many noble families. How to balance and adjust the family such as Wang and Wen is more of a test of their ability to govern.

As for Zhao Shang, he is so capable that he will be transferred back to Pingyang first to serve as the academy's liberator and improve his grade by one level...

What Cui Jun considered was to switch from the official position officially appointed by the court to the official position appointed by Fei Qian. In other words, to formally merge into Fei Qian's faction. Of course, Cui Jun was actually originally Half of the body has stepped forward, so it is only a matter of time before they are fully integrated.

As for the position of governor of Xihe, Fei Qian considered letting Du Yuan take a leave of absence for a while before deciding. After all, Du Yuan has been in charge of the logistics affairs of Feiqian for a period of time, and basically there has been no mistakes. Moreover, he had to deal with barbarians in Pingyang, and he should not feel any discomfort when he arrives in Xihe. The most important thing is What's more, with Du Yuan in Xihe, Fei Qian can expand the people's livelihood and political affairs, the education of barbarians and other affairs without any process loss...

Jia Qu is still there for the time being, just removing the word "fake" from his original name. After all, Shangdanghu Pass is an important entrance and exit of Taihang Mountain. Without a more reliable person in charge, Fei Qian can't rest assured.

Xun Chen and Zao were only in Pingyang, coordinating and directing the people's livelihood and political affairs in Pingyang. As for matters on the Guanzhong front line, naturally Fei Qian, Pang Tong, and Jia Xu...

Well, I thought of Jia Xu, how could there be no news of this big turtle sneaking out?

Submerged?

This guy.

Xu Huang said: "Thanks to the foresight of the monarch and the improvement of officialdom, the vehicle and baggage can still keep up, but the consumption... If there is no supplement, based on a certain calculation, it can last for up to ten days..."

Fei Qian nodded and said: "I have sent Zuo Fengyi to pass the cavalry and asked Yuan Zhi to prepare it. Don't worry about this. Zuo Fengyi's disciples can still get the food and grass very happily to protect themselves from being looted by the refugees." ...In addition, some grain and grass from Pingyang and Hedong will be dispatched, but it will take some time to turn around..."

When Wang Yi, the prefect of Hedong, saw that Dao Feiqian had taken care of Yang Biao again, he hurriedly raised some food and supplies to be transported over, saying that it was for the labor force, but basically everyone understood the meaning.

Xu Huang nodded, indicating that he understood. After staying in Yinshan for a while, Xu Huang gradually became the prototype described by later generations, a little less impetuous and a little more calm.

"What about the scouts?" Fei Qian turned to ask Zhao Yundao.

"For the record, sir," Zhao Yun said with cupped hands, "No abnormalities have been found yet... However, the scouts reported that the flow of people migrating east and south from Guanzhong has increased significantly..."

Fei Qian was silent and looked towards Chang'an. In order to maintain the concealment of his troops and to resolve the battle as smoothly as possible, Fei Qian did not raise a flag with great fanfare. Therefore, the people in Guanzhong did not know that Fei Qian had gone south, but did not see the situation. Wonderful, it is inevitable that people will run for their lives to avoid disaster...

At this moment, several cavalrymen came from the front and slapped their horses. They stepped on the road and splashed rain and cement. They turned over and dismounted. They hurriedly took a few steps to the awning and worshiped: "Your Majesty, I encountered a group of twelve people sixty miles away." This person is said to be an old acquaintance of the monarch, and he came to visit the monarch..."

As the scout spoke, he took out the Ming Ye he had brought with him and presented it to him.

"Old acquaintance?" Fei Qian frowned and accepted the greeting, "How did Guanzhong come to be an old acquaintance?"

Pang Tong, who was wearing a wrinkled robe that had just been twisted, stretched his head over curiously. After taking a look, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Haha, Lord, a happy event has come..."