Logically speaking, Fei Qiang defeated the Qiang people in Longyou and Longxi, and the long-standing chronic diseases of the Han Dynasty were eliminated. This kind of thing should be something to be happy about. However, this news was suppressed until the general Cao Cao came to Qing. After Xu Jian achieved a stage victory, Fang mentioned it briefly.

It's like the victory of the hussar general is just a foil to Cao Cao's majestic achievements.

Overall, Cao Cao's results in Qingxu were quite good. He had one fish and three fish, and benefited from all sides. As Jiangdong's army retreated, Cao Cao was not in a hurry to return to the army immediately, but took some time to relax in Qingxu. Xu Jian made some further adjustments, promoted Man Chong to Xuzhou Biejia, and left some soldiers and civilians for Man Chong to rebuild the defense line between Qing and Xu. He also had two or three in-depth talks with Man Chong and felt that After Man Chong really understood Cao Cao's intention, he led the army back.

The news of Cao Cao's victory spread wildly everywhere.

The children of the Jizhou gentry naturally got the news immediately, and they couldn't help but be shocked when they heard the news. Just like the leader doesn't like the employees who are idle, the employees will also feel that the leader is too idle and it is difficult to handle. I heard that Cao Cao was in Guangling in one day. He took the strategic county town where Jiangdong soldiers were stationed, and also defeated Jiangdong's navy under the city, beheading thousands and defeating tens of thousands of enemies. Sun Quan, the youngest son of Jiangdong, was defeated in Yangzhou. Cui Yan was shocked at that time and hurriedly summoned the messenger and asked for details. .

Cui Yan was more or less a man who knew the military. He didn't believe that he could conquer the county in one day. After all, it was too unbelievable and seemed like bragging. But thinking about it, he felt that Cao Cao would not do such a thing. Lies come. If the true lies were exposed, wouldn’t it be ten times a hundred times more embarrassing?

After asking in detail, Cui Yan was stunned for a long time, and then he sent someone to call Li Pan and others to discuss.

"This is a great victory for the general..." Cui Yan stroked his beard, "Maybe it's not a lie... So how do you and I deal with it?"

This sentence is somewhat confusing, but Li Pan can understand it.

"In this case... I have recently heard that the people in Jizhou are suffering and there is no shortage of food... and there is a little surplus food in the warehouses, so we can give it back to the people to avoid instability... After all, if there are bandits, it will be difficult to kill them..." Li Pan whispered As he spoke, a slightly cunning look flashed between his eyebrows.

Li Cheng put his hands on his hands and said, "This is a wonderful strategy! The general must be worried about the country and caring about the people, so he should commend this move!"

Everyone here is not a fool, and they all understand what this means.

Public opinion is often not the true "public opinion".

Shen Rong also said from the side: "Brother Li's words are quite subtle... I have another plan, but..."

"Please tell me, there's no harm in speaking out!" Cui Yan nodded and said.

"This..." Shen Rong stretched out his hand and pointed slightly southward and said, "The general is returning to the court... this... It is better to present a memorial to commend the general's service. Only when the emperor and the general live in harmony can we resist foreign enemies. , To govern and revitalize the country, we must not cause the emperor and the generals to get into trouble because of the words of villains..."

After Cui Yan heard this, he couldn't help but look at Shen Rong carefully.

Shen Rong lowered his eyebrows and looked down, with a look of loyalty and honesty on his face.

As expected, people cannot be judged by their appearance...

"That's how it works!"

Cui Yan made the final decision.

Because of the Battle of Qingxu, Jizhou was also a little worried. After all, the previous relationship with Mr. Cao was not very friendly...

Even if Cao Cao and Cao Cao reach a consensus and achieve a certain degree of cooperation, it does not mean that peace will last forever. With Cao Cao's return, it is very likely that he will use the momentum of his victory to do something.

matter.

There is not really any sworn hatred between the children of the Jizhou gentry and Cao Cao. If we can all make a fortune together, of course it will be good for you, me or him, but if you want to be ridden on your neck by a bunch of Yuzhou children,

, and the poop is thin and sticky and cannot be removed. It is a lifelong resentment and enemy.

Did Jizhou and Yuzhou fight because of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao?

Obviously not.

So……

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jizhou and Yuzhou could put aside their long-standing grudge against each other and work together?

Of course it's wonderful.

pity……

If you really want to let it go, wouldn’t the Han Dynasty, or the Eastern Han Dynasty, have already let it go after more than a hundred years?

What's more, the current estrangement and confrontation between Jizhou and Yuzhou was not what the people of Jizhou and Yuzhou wanted at first, but a situation deliberately created by some people. How can it be said that it will be eliminated now?

of?

It's just that Cao Cao still needs to go to Yuzhou first, and then hold a ceremony of sacrificing prisoners in Yuzhou, and then have time to return to Jizhou. He probably won't arrive in Yecheng until the autumn, so he should hurry up before the autumn harvest...

So now I still have two months to prepare, uh, wrong, it’s coordination.

Jizhou's current situation really has nothing to offer. After Yuan Shao's death, his status has plummeted. He finally had a fight with Cao Cao and was still worried. He did it through Mi Heng's name. I was really afraid of losing it.

Cao Cao was so angry that he bloodbathed Jizhou.

Cao Cao endured it last time, but this time, who can guarantee that Cao Cao can endure it? What should he do? Wait for death? It's like those who pay first and then pay later, they just ask for a place, and those who pay first

Even if they don't want to, they want to cause trouble, not to mention that now Mr. Cao is asking these Jizhou prepayers to hand over their power?

While people in Jizhou were discussing countermeasures, the prisoner sacrifice ceremony being prepared in Xu County was also going on in full swing.

Although a lot of Hu soldiers and Qiang people were killed on the Husband's side, it was impossible to transport all the heads to Xu County, so they sent some heads of Qiang leaders, and some were selected from prisoners of war.

The rebellious men and old and weak soldiers were brought to Chang'an.

As for those strong Qiang prisoners of war, Fei Qian of course kept them for himself...

So in fact, the number of prisoners who arrived in Xu County was not large, only about three or four hundred. As a result, they stayed in Yangcheng for a long time. Some were injured, old and weak, or were not accustomed to the environment, or

Angry and worried, with no hope of any treatment, many died one after another, and in the end only more than two hundred and less than three hundred were left.

This number is naturally much less than the number of prisoners of war offered by General Cao Cao.

If the number is small, of course the momentum will be small.

Is there strength in numbers...?

Of course, the common people don't know the specific difference between the battle between the hussars and the generals, nor what the specific situation is. Anyway, they just watch the excitement. Of course, if there is excitement there, they think it makes sense, just like after certain incidents.

Flowers appear suddenly as do fresh eggs.

If they are really dissatisfied and want to vent their anger, will the truly simple, diligent and thrifty Chinese people be willing to use flowers and fresh eggs?

Keep the rotten eggs and plant flowers and grass to fertilize your fields!

If you have that time, you might as well make two more trains, weed two more grasses, and earn a little more money! Then why bother traveling all the way to a certain place and spend money to express your "anger"?

?

Therefore, the prisoner sacrifice ceremony that had been planned and prepared for a long time in Xu County did not attract much attention from the people at all. Of course, it was not that no one came at all. After all, some people were relatively easy to be incited, especially idlers.

If those people are really busy and under the pressure of life, and if they don't do anything for a day, they won't eat for a day, they won't be able to spare time to participate in any ceremony.

Unfortunately, here in Xu County, these people who are forced to be busier and harder work account for the majority. Therefore, although the prisoner dedication ceremony is held, it is to stabilize the hearts of the emperor, officials, and even the soldiers and civilians around Xu County.

, but there were actually very few people who came to watch the ceremony. If some problems had not been discovered in advance and the surrounding counties had quickly recruited some villagers or something, it would have been extremely embarrassing on the spot.

The overall ceremony was quite decent. All the officials gathered around the emperor and arrived at the altar in the eastern suburbs. They watched the general Cao Cao, dressed in military uniform, return to the altar. The emperor and the general held hands to accept the congratulations of the officials, and then watched the soldiers.

The prisoners of war were escorted to the altar, and the ceremonial officer announced the crimes of these prisoners of war. After burning and offering sacrifices to three animals, they beheaded the prisoners of war and offered blood sacrifices to heaven and earth. Finally, the emperor returned to the palace to perform the ceremony of suing the temple to thank his ancestors.

shelter……

The ceremony was certainly grand, but it was a pity that there were only a few spectators and it was not lively enough.

At least Liu Xie thinks so. He has been looking forward to this day for a long time. He is like a bird that has been locked in a cage for a long time, imagining how beautiful and vast the outside world is. Finally, after finally flying out for a day, he encountered

It was windy, raining and hailing. Not to mention flying between heaven and earth, almost all the feathers of the bird were wiped out. I was almost exhausted, and I didn't feel the excitement in my heart. The physical fatigue was secondary, but mainly the inner feeling.

tired.

Of course, in the entire ceremony, General Cao Cao's victory in the Battle of Qingxu was the focus of the commendation. Even at the beginning, the tone of scolding the envoy from Chang'an was thought out.

For example, "How can he be an important minister of the country if he is as fussy as a country urchin and so narrow-minded?"

Another example is "The land of the Han Dynasty is not divided into east and west, and people are not divided into north and south. How can one be more important than the other?!"

In the next half month, the news of Cao Cao's victory over Jiangdong gradually spread. The prefects and magistrates of various counties under Cao Cao all hurriedly sent envoys to Xu County to congratulate them. They have always been like this. Once Cao Cao's army wins, no matter it is a big victory or a big victory.

A small victory would inevitably reveal a "loyal minister" face that moved the world and was inexplicably excited. However, whenever Fei Qian's side won some victory, he would remain calm and silent, as if everything on Guanzhong's side was completely unknown.

It's a trivial matter not worth mentioning.

At the beginning of May of this year, Fei Qian's third group of envoys entered Chang'an City to report the news of the rebellion of the Sichuan and Shu Di people in Chuping in Hanzhong. This time the envoy's status was slightly higher, and he was Fei Qian.

Zhuge Jin, a lieutenant under his command, met with the emperor and submitted the memorial. Zhuge Jin openly asked and said that the news of the Hussar General's victory in Longxi had been sent to him a long time ago, and even a prisoner dedication ceremony was said to have been held.

Come on, why don't you see the imperial court issuing an edict to commend Duke Fei?

Of course, Cao Cao did not bother to answer this question, but Xun Yu, as the minister of state, had to respond, saying: "The Hussar restored Jingping in Longyou, so he should be commended."

Immediately, he dug a hole for Zhuge Jin and said, "I wonder what Qiaoqi wants?"

Zhuge Jin replied neither humble nor arrogantly: "Master Fei just wants to expel the Hu bandits and redefine the country. He has no desire at all. However, when the country is in chaos, rewards and punishments must be clearly defined to stabilize people's hearts. Since the Qiang rebellion of the late Emperor, Wang Shi has been unable to do so for a long time.

Repeated setbacks have continued to cause damage to this day. Without Fei Gong's planning, the Han Dynasty's face would still not be preserved. Previously, the achievement of reaching the Western Regions was not rewarded, but now it has wiped out the Han Dynasty's long-term illness, making the government and the public

Up and down, you are proud and proud, you do not bend your knees before the barbarians, and you do not give up an inch of land owned by your ancestors. If these achievements are not commended by the court, how can they inspire loyal ministers and righteous men to serve the emperor?"

Xun Yu pondered for a long time, but finally had nothing to say. He could only say perfunctorily again: "The court will finally make a decision, but you can wait for a few days..."

Speaking of which, Fei Qian completely quelled the Qiang rebellion that had been going on for thirty or forty years in the Eastern Han Dynasty, wiped out the upper-class Qiang tribe leaders headed by Beigong, and completely dispersed and gathered the Qiang people.

While it completely solved the hidden danger of the Han Dynasty in Longxi and Longyou for many years, it also made the Shandong gentry a little embarrassed.

It was precisely because the Jizhou and Yuzhou people in the court of the Eastern Han Dynasty were too weak, they only knew how to recruit mercenaries for foreign wars, and were stingy and refused to give money, which eventually led to the rebellion of the Qiang people who continued to have their blood drawn, and the Southern Huns...

…

The Eastern Han Dynasty strategy that had to adopt the mercenary model was because Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was not sure about the force of Bingzhou and Liangzhou, and deliberately suppressed and restricted it, making the military strength of the local frontiers weak...

In the summer of the first year of Emperor Yongchu of the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty government sent the cavalry captain Wang Hongzheng to send the Qiang people to garrison in the Western Regions. The Qiang people were afraid that they would not be able to return, so most of them fled. The Han Dynasty overreacted to the Qiang people's desertion and immediately sent troops to encircle the Qiang region.
To be continued...