"Let's talk about it after we go back. We can't travel all night and have to be out in the cold wind!"
What Xu Huai wanted to do in Shuozhou next, there were so many arrangements that he wanted to do, and he couldn't explain it clearly for a while. After all the four hundred soldiers were settled in the military camp, he and everyone went to Cao Shixiong's former governor.
Go to the house.
If you look at Hedong Road and Khitan Xijing Road as a whole, you can see the importance of Shuozhou.
Shuozhou borders Pianguan on the right, Yanmen on the left, and Ningwu on the south. It is geographically located among the three fortresses, and there are also relatively convenient roads to the three fortresses. In addition, it is also connected with Datong and Yingzhou.
They are all located in the Huihe River Valley, and are the lips and teeth of each other.
The various Tibetan tribes that have inhabited the north and south of Yinshan Mountain for thousands of years have always gone south along the Cangtou River (Shenhekou), a tributary on the north bank of the Huihe River, and Shuozhou is the place they must pass through.
Since history, Shuozhou, located on the bank of the Hui River, has witnessed countless bloody battles, and its city has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.
At this time, Shuozhou City was fourteen miles in circumference. The city wall was built with rammed earth. It was four feet wide at the bottom, three feet wide at the top, and three feet high.
Although Shuozhou City is still much smaller than big cities like Datong and Taiyuan, after all the Han people in the city moved out, only three to four thousand soldiers and horses remained, and the city was vast and sparsely populated.
Of course, after the main force of Tianxiong's army and tens of thousands of Han people moved south, the city was not completely devoid of people except for more than 3,000 Tongbai Mountain soldiers.
Cao Shixiong sent troops to the south of Shuozhou City. Almost all the adult males of the Khitan and Tibetan tribes in the city were slaughtered. The remaining fish that escaped the net basically escaped from Shuozhou, but there were a total of more than 4,000 Hu tribesmen before and after.
Women and children were stranded in the city.
Wang Zhen, Wang Fan, Cao Shixiong and others led tens of thousands of Han people to retreat south, but it was impossible to bring all the more than 4,000 Hu women and children with them. When Xu Huai returned to Shuozhou, the first thing he had to deal with was these Hu women and children.
Keeping these Hu women and children under centralized custody requires providing them with food, which puts too much pressure on the Tianxiong Army's logistical supplies.
When Zhu Hang was still in Shuozhou, he lifted the centralized detention of these women and children and released them individually.
However, the houses of the Khitan people and other Tibetan tribes in the city had been turned over many times. These women and children returned home with little food and clothing, and now that the city was closed due to heavy snow, they were unable to even escape from the city.
Xu Huai and others walked from Nancheng Barracks to the Governor's Mansion. Along the way, they saw several old Hu women freezing in the streets and alleys, not knowing whether they were alive or dead.
When he walked to the governor's office, Xu Huai saw many women and children of the Hu tribe coming from behind in fear.
Apart from the barracks, the Governor's Mansion was almost the only place where they could beg for food. However, they were afraid of the ruthless soldiers in front of the Governor's Mansion, so they huddled in the streets on both sides and did not dare to rush forward.
"How much grain is left in the warehouse?" Xu Huai asked Su Laochang.
"Before Zhu Kang left, he left us all the grain he had accumulated. In addition to more than 8,600 stones of grain, he also had more than 1,200 sheep, and he also left us more than 500 oxen and horses.
"Su Laochang said, "At present, the food supply is sufficient, but we have to consider whether things are not harmonious!"
Xu Huai nodded and pondered.
If the imperial court cannot accept the fact that the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain are gathered in Shuozhou, the first step will inevitably be to cut off their logistical supplies and force them to submit.
To prepare for the worst in everything, they must first ensure that the soldiers have enough food and clothing.
More than 8,000 stones of grain and grain, as well as some meat supplements, may seem like a lot, but if they are to be fully supplied to the army, they may not be able to sustain them for three months.
The next three months are a very critical time.
If they can survive three months in Shuozhou, they may be able to force the court to make concessions first.
The Tianxiong army fought so badly that the situation in the northeast of the river suddenly deteriorated.
The soldiers of Tongbai Mountain who have gathered seem to be few in number, but they are no longer a dispensable chess piece between Dayue Hedong and Khitan Xijing Road.
The more intrigues and intrigues a group of ministers have, and the better they are at plotting against others, the more likely they are to turn against the enemy.
Even if Xu Huai and others did not have the support of Wang Zhen, Zhu Hang and others, at this juncture, the possibility that other officials would dare to forcefully force the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain was very low, and they might not dare to cut off Shuozhou's three-month supply of food and grass.
Xu Huai could see that Wang Fan was dissatisfied with them, but didn't he just let them go back to Shuozhou without saying anything?
And even if everyone in Cai Clan is sure that Xu Huai is Wang Xiaocheng's son, and even if everyone in Tongbai Mountain has a grudge against Cai Xi, they cannot openly review the old case, so they may not dare to openly force the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain to rebel.
The Tianxiong army was defeated in Datong City, and now the assassination of Ge Boyi by Yue Hailou has occurred. The Cai clique's butt is getting dirtier and dirtier now. Do they dare to take responsibility for the further deterioration of the situation in Hedong?
"Perhaps the worst-case scenario we were worried about before will not happen," Xu Huai said with a frown. "Ge Boyi's current rhythm is to kill Yue Hailou's collaborator first, but secretly encourage the government and the opposition to point the finger at Cai
Collar, so that the Ge family could shirk the blame for the defeat of Datong as much as possible. Liu Shizhong and Cai Yuanyou sent people to forcefully ask the West Route Army to defend Shuozhou at this time. I am afraid they expected this situation, and the East Route Army followed up in Yan
There may be some action on the door. These fools don't have the guts to fight hard, but when it comes to fighting among themselves, they are all very shrewd. Besides, Ge Boyi may also rely on us..."
"It would be better for everyone if those guys like Ge Boyi fall down early!"
In the past, Xu Xin'an, Tang Pan, Xu Wukun and others were somewhat in awe of those superior generals, but the Tianxiong Army's defeat in Datong had completely shattered this awe in their hearts.
Hearing Xu Huai mention the possibility of doing business with the Ge family in the future, Xu Xin'an and Tang Qing both disliked it.
"...That's what I'm saying. I'm just telling you that the situation we face in the next year may not be as dangerous as everyone is worried about," Xu Huai laughed and said, "There are so many Hu women and children in the city, we still have to all
Take responsibility! From this moment on, all generals must realize that we will be a unique army. In addition, there are many old bachelors in the army. If they are willing to marry Hu women, we
We must also promote it, but one thing we must pay attention to is that there must be no forced marriage, and if you marry a Hu woman, her young children must also be raised together and treated as your own!"
"How can this be done? Previously, the Qing Shun Army and the Tianxiong Army went on a killing spree in Shuozhou. Almost all of these Huru women and children had their fathers and brothers killed by the butcher's knife. I think we should give them porridge for two or three months and wait until they get through it.
This winter, let them go out of the city to make a living. If they really want to match each other, there is no guarantee that some women and children will harbor resentment, which may be a big hidden danger!" Su Laochang frowned, feeling that Xu Huai had arranged for soldiers to marry Hu.
There are many things wrong with women's affairs.
"Let's go in first. Just give the porridge and let the people below do it. We don't need to stand here and blow the cold wind!"
Xu Huai and others walked to the Governor's Mansion. After sitting down in the warm living room with a brazier, he rubbed his frozen hands and explained to Su Laochang and the others,
"There is a lot of killing among the Hulu tribe, and it is common practice to rob women and children to fill the population. In short, you are robbing me or I are robbing you all day long. Women and children are like cattle and sheep, they are all vassals. Therefore, there are no women or young sons on the grassland.
The tradition of revenge between father and brother, even if they are kidnapped, most of them can be content with their new clan..."
Even though Xu Wuqi, Xu Wukun, Zhou Jing and others once served as officials in the Jingsheng Army and had many confrontations with the Khitan and Dangxiang people, Su Laochang was also framed and exiled to Jingzhou as a prisoner. However, due to inertial thinking,
However, there is a lack of in-depth research on the customs and traditions of their Tibetan tribes.
Many officials also used to regard them as "barbarians", but they had no intention of delving into the more fundamental issues.
Although the memory fragments that clearly flashed in Xu Huai's mind were very short, like a puzzle that could not be understood, but along with these memory fragments, various understandings of the Chihu people seemed to be innate, and they also followed.
What emerged was even more concrete and profound than he imagined.
The current three to four thousand women and children are not only the few population resources that they can directly control at present, but more importantly, after the Khitan was destroyed by the Red Hu people, he wants to further absorb the remaining forces of the Khitan. This will be a very good opportunity.
Foundation.
How could he avoid doing things because of unnecessary worries and troubles?
Digesting and absorbing these three to four thousand Hu women and children was what Xu Huai had decided on on his way back north. At this time, he patiently advised Su Laochang, Xu Wukun and the others:
"One more thing, what do the many killings in Shuozhou and Datong have to do with us? When we were in Shuozhou, in order to enforce military discipline, Xin'an and the others executed six guards in the street. In Datong, we did not do this even more. At this time, we did not hesitate to crowd in.
Giving up precious food rations to save women and children - these may not convince the tribes outside the city. Can't we still convince the women and children in the city who are waiting for food to believe this? Of course, we are not trying to deceive anyone. What we are going to do next is
It is indeed necessary to reshape our soldiers for a period of time, so that they can truly become an elite force that cares about the country and the country, and understands from the heart that the army and the people are interdependent. There are too many things to do here, and everyone here may be aware of it.
It's very confusing, so we can start discussing it internally; only if we all realize it internally can we really implement it. However, don't be too anxious about everything. Let's give porridge today, and we should have a good meal.
