It's May, the summer is scorching, Anxi, Guocheng.
After several years of development, this city, located on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and on the south bank of Zhuhai (Issyk-Kul Lake), has become one of the most important cities under Anxi's rule.
It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a pleasant climate and abundant water and grass. It has unique geographical conditions, and agriculture and animal husbandry have prospered. As the first big city captured when the Western Expedition entered the hinterland of the Black Khan, it was liberated early and had good public security.
Better, in terms of stability, it is higher than Suiye City, which is the temporary capital of Anxi. After all, it is "cleaned" more cleanly.
At the same time, in these years, driven by the "Western Expedition Sect", a trend of westward migration has formed in the northwest of the Han Dynasty. The movement is not small. The scale of immigrants guided by the government and spontaneously formed by the people has exceeded 250,000.
Of course, most of them are from the Hu ethnic group. Although Han people are still the majority, their proportion is not too high.
Regardless of Hu Hanmin, after arriving in Anxi, his first choice of residence was undoubtedly Guocheng. Those farmers and herdsmen were unwilling to go further to see the fertile soil and water, and they were unable to move forward.
Move your legs.
Population is the basis for all prosperity and development. The arrival of a large number of "Han people" has changed the local population structure and brought culture and technology. In just seven or eight years, Guocheng has become the most reliable rear area in Anxi. The population
The most, the most developed economy and the most agricultural and animal husbandry output.
Up to now, it has even provided nearly half of the military supplies of the Anxi Army. The basin on the south side of Zhuhai with Guocheng as the center is the most important granary of Anxi at the moment, and it is even unique.
The influx of a large number of foreign people naturally cannot avoid ethnic conflicts, and the public security situation is not good. Fighting is common, and everyone is infected with a barbaric temperament. But it is in this kind of wild development that order
Gradually established, the local rule of the Anxi Dudufu also gradually formed and stabilized. The past seven or eight years have been a process of consolidating the foundation of the rule.
But similarly, after such a long time, Guocheng was born. Even some sporadic towns and small towns scattered on the south bank of Zhuhai have riots from time to time. As for Suiye City, Liu Min's "extermination of religion"
The "purge" was completed successfully, but the sequelae gradually appeared. As the capital of Anxi, there had been constant turmoil all year round. Attacks on the Han army and incidents by the Han people occurred frequently. No matter how harsh the methods were, the resistance never subsided.
In fact, the security war that lasted for several years around Suiye caused more headaches for the senior officials of the Anxi Governor's Office headed by Liu Min than the subsequent Western Expedition. After the Battle of Talas, the YSL coalition forces were defeated again and again and fled.
Just like scattered sand, if the Han army's force at that time was used, not to mention Samadan (Samarkand), even the capital of the Samanid Dynasty, Puhualuo (Bukhara), might not be able to defeat it.
However, the Western Expedition also had its limits. With the Han army's tactics, being able to capture hundreds of miles west of Talas was a breakthrough in history. The instability in the rear was also a drag on its westward advance, so it chose to stop its troops and rest.
, there is nothing we can do about it.
With the launch of the Second Western Expedition, far away from the rear of the Han Dynasty and facing difficulties in logistical supply, the Anxi Army's more traditional Han Army tactics have undergone tremendous changes. The proportion of cavalry has further increased, and their mobile combat capabilities have greatly increased.
The magnitude has been strengthened, but the reliance on logistics has not been weakened much. Therefore, the rear is unstable, the logistics is not solid, and the constraints on front-line operations are also huge.
Even though the territory Anxi currently occupies is quite large, the areas where its rule is actually established are only those big cities and small towns on transportation lines, as well as key checkpoints. Even in this part, the so-called rule is extremely limited and weak.
To the northeast of Suiye, it was still the territory of the Tuqishi tribe. The Han army only controlled the place through a few towns and maintained basic tax relations. As for the west of Suiye, in addition to the control of cities such as Talas, even basic
Domination relationships are only symbolic.
To put it simply, there is a lack of "mass" foundation. Except for the Han army, they are all foreigners. As for the subjugated servants, trust is a big problem in the first place. These problems are becoming more and more serious as time goes by, and resistance activities in various places
There were constant outbursts, riots, and disturbances.
In the past, there was strong support from the imperial court, and Helong fully cooperated. However, since this spring, the imperial court has changed its tune and the Western Expedition has been completely reversed. A chain reaction has naturally occurred in Anxi.
One thing to say is that without the support from the imperial court, no matter how powerful the Anxi army is, it will not have a solid foundation in this foreign land densely populated by aliens. Although the imperial court's reforms are gradually progressing, limited support is still there
Continue, but it is inevitable to stop direct blood transfusion, and the impact on Anxi will be huge, even fatal.
In the past few months, the atmosphere in the upper echelons of Anxi has been very solemn. The garrisons in various places have raised their alert levels. The senior officials of the Anxi Governor's Office, headed by Liu Min, have held several meetings to discuss the current situation and future development of Anxi.
They all basically realized that Anxi has stood at a historical crossroads, and the next direction will directly determine the future and destiny of Anxi's 300,000 soldiers and civilians.
In an atmosphere that could barely be called moist and silent, a team walked along the Shanyuan Post Road from east to west towards Guocheng.
The size of the team is not small. At a glance, there must be hundreds of people, wearing Han costumes and speaking Chinese. The flag with the word "Han" is fluttering in the wind. The large and small vehicles are fully loaded, filling the bumpy dirt road. This is a heavy baggage team, and it is also a self-made team.
The last batch of military aid raised by the government came from Hexi.
The person leading the team was of high status as well. He was Yang Fu, the deputy commander of the army in Ganzhou and former Hexi chief envoy Wang Ming. This was also the third time he led a team to escort supplies to Anxi.
The journey from Hexi to Anxi is thousands of miles away. This escort job is not easy at all. Not to mention the transportation difficulties, there are also various accidents and dangers. Each round trip takes almost half a year to a year.
At this time, spring turns to winter and it is not a particularly surprising thing.
The only good thing is that the detention period is relatively lenient, otherwise the officers and soldiers who have overstayed their duties in recent years will not know who they are. Compared with the previous two times, this time, Yang Fu is more motivated, just because there is a clear notice
, after the escort mission is completed and returned to Ganzhou, he, the deputy commander, can straighten things up.
Therefore, Yang Fu was extra cautious on this trip to the west for fear of any accidents. Fortunately, there was no danger along the way. When he successfully climbed through the Tianshan Mountains and entered the Zhuhai Basin, he felt more relaxed.
Guocheng is already in sight, is Suiye still far away? Suiye City is basically the terminal station for the imperial court's Western aid supplies.