When I arrived at Guocheng three years ago, it was still a simple small city with a circumference of three to five miles. Three years later, although the area has not been expanded, the defense of the city has been significantly improved. The wall is nearly two feet high, the city is more than ten feet thick, and there are ditches around it. , forming a moat. Overall, this is a city full of grand style and Han architectural style.
After arriving in Guocheng and getting in touch with the garrison, Yang Fu and his party found a place to camp on the roadside outside the city. Everyone was tightly restrained. After all, it was a military management with strict requirements. Before the mission was completed, it was Unable to be lax.
After settling in for a while, Yang Fu ordered 100 officers and soldiers and 150 civilians, pulled fifty carts of supplies, and headed for Guocheng. Among this batch of supplies, some of the gunpowder and pig iron were destined for Guocheng. Factory use.
Under the city gate, in front of the suspension bridge, Yang Fu stood on horseback, looking up at the high city wall. On the top of the earth city, the word "Guo Cheng" in regular script looked upright and majestic, and the new chisel marks showed a sharp edge. , soldiers like Yang Fu felt a sense of iron and steel.
Yang Fu stared at the city head for a while, lost in thought. Suddenly his eyes lit up. He summoned a personal attendant and told him: "I will give you a task. Find me the best painter in the city. No matter the cost, as long as the best!"
"Painter? What is the purpose of the command?" the follower asked in confusion.
"Find him for me!" Yang Fu waved his hand impatiently: "I have my own uses!"
Yang Fu wanted to find a painter because he wanted to get a "Guocheng Scenery Picture" to show the scene of Guocheng today. The ultimate goal was to give it as a gift to Guo Yi, the then commander of the Hexi Horse Infantry Army.
In the past winter and spring, there were great changes in Hexi's military and political circles. Not only did the old chief envoy Wang Ming leave his post, but the military commander was also replaced by Guo Yi. The Yang family in Ganzhou was extremely disappointed with Guo Yi's appointment. Welcome, just because of the inextricable relationship between the Guo and Yang families.
Even if there is a relationship between the Ganzhou Yang family and the Zhending Yang family, Guo Yi can't help but look at the Yang family differently. How could Yang Fu's promotion opportunity not be supported by Guo Yi? Otherwise, escorting supplies once would be enough. It would be too easy to be promoted and promoted in advance
This year is also Guo Yi's 40th birthday. Maybe he can't make it in time for his birthday, but his thoughts must be sent. Previously, Yang Fu was still thinking about buying some treasures from Anxi, but after meeting Guo Cheng, he had A more meaningful thought.
The city in front of him is, after all, the core city of the Black Khan that Guo Yi led his army to conquer during the Western Expedition, and it was renamed "Guocheng" to commemorate his achievements. Yang Fu felt that a "Guocheng Scenery Picture" is far more valuable than any jewels. The utensil is more meaningful, and its commemorative significance to Guo Yi cannot be compared with other yellow and white objects.
In Anxi, there is no such thing as separation of military and political affairs. So far, most of Anxi is still in a state of military government. The chief officials of each town are shouldered by the military and political affairs. Here in Guocheng, the security is relatively stable. , the economy is more dynamic and the overall atmosphere is relatively relaxed
The current military and political leader of Guo Cheng is the defense envoy Kang Baode, the sixth son of the old commander Kang Zaiyu. The situation of the second generation of honors and the second generation of officials in Anxi is much more serious than within the empire. The civil and military affairs of various armies and cities The chief is either a high-ranking official in the country, or an Anxi military lieutenant colonel and his sons.
Regarding Yang Fu's arrival, Kang Baode, who had received the news early, went to the city gate to welcome him in person and showed great joy and intimacy. The first words he said when they met was to express his gratitude, saying that the supplies Yang Fu brought had solved his urgent need.
When asked, Kang Baode explained that Suiye was urging for a batch of armaments, and the factories in Guocheng were unable to supply some iron materials. Of course, Yang Fu didn't quite believe this statement, and just regarded it as a polite comment.
, instead of chatting, I asked about the current situation of Guocheng and Anxi.
That night, Kang Baode hosted a banquet for Yang Fu in the defense envoy's palace. The conversation was very pleasant, and the host and guest enjoyed themselves. When he learned that Yang Fu was looking for a painter, Kang Baode immediately took care of it.
After resting for a day and two nights in Guocheng, the next day, Yang Fu just led his team to break camp and continue westward to Suiye. He left a team of people behind to look after the empty vehicles and livestock, which were valuable assets of the transport team.
After passing Guocheng, it was not far from Suiye. Logically speaking, the rest of the journey should be easier, but on the contrary, Yang Fu became more nervous and issued strict orders, asking his subordinates to cheer up and be on alert.
The control of civilian husbands has also become stricter.
At the Defense Envoy's Mansion, Kang Baode once reminded him to be careful. Although the words were a bit vague, all the defense envoys in Guocheng said so, and Yang Fu did not dare to be careless.
The road between Guocheng and Suiye does not look like it has been repaired, but is more like a road made by people and cars. It is bumpy and uneven, and it is difficult for people to walk, let alone the heavy vehicles, that is, it is on a flat road, otherwise it will have to
difficult.
What's even more rare is that it hasn't rained for four consecutive days. In this area, there is still enough rainfall in summer. Just after entering the Zhuhai Basin, it stopped for three days due to heavy rain.
From Guocheng to the west, the climate becomes drier, the population becomes sparser, the environment is deserted, and the surroundings are a vast and primitive scene. Many people even have the illusion that the prosperous people in Guocheng are nothing.
It's generally fake.
Yang Fu still remembers that in the early years, Han immigrants were distributed along the south coast of Zhuhai. At their peak, there was a village every few miles. But this time, they only encountered two large strongholds on the way, Minyi Fort.
As for gathering, labor and production, their scope of activities is obviously restricted.
After inquiry, we learned that since the destruction of the country, the remnants of the Black Khan have repeatedly caused troubles, and many rebels (mainly religious people) have gathered in chaos, hiding in the surrounding mountains and forests, and coming out of the mountains from time to time to attack the Han people.
After Suiye's "extermination of religion" operation, the situation became even more intense.
In the past few years, the governor's office focused on the fight against the YSL coalition forces, and did not pay attention to the riots in the rear. It only maintained limited maintenance, resulting in the collapse of public order. It was not until the Battle of Talas that the Anxi governor won a decisive victory.
The government finally freed up its hands and really started to solve the rear problems, mobilized heavy troops, wiped out the "religious bandits", and plowed the entire coast of Zhuhai, so that the bandits could be contained.
However, the originally scattered Han villages developed into their current state of agglomeration under the crisis-ridden situation. The prosperity in Guocheng is almost impossible to replicate in the southwest of the Zhuhai Basin.
Even now, those "religious bandits" have not been wiped out. It is not that they live a good life in the mountains and forests, nor that the officers and soldiers do not try their best to suppress the bandits. It is just that there are still black Khan remnants who cannot stand the enslavement of the Han people, let alone Liu Min's belief.
Choose to join the bandits.
Every busy farming season, especially the harvest period, is often the time when "religious bandits" are most likely to cause trouble. Right now, it is the time for the summer grain harvest.
The journey was uneventful until we reached Jile Town on the west side of Zhuhai. Unfortunately, we encountered a riot. A group of "teaching bandits" emerged from nowhere and were besieging Jile Town. As an important traffic artery,
The stronghold of the checkpoint, Jile Town, has deep ditches and strong walls, and there are a hundred well-equipped Anxi sergeants stationed there, so it is naturally not something that can be captured by bandits who lack the equipment to attack fortresses.
However, the people living around Zhendian were in trouble. The task of the garrison was to guard the town fort. There was not much spare rescue force, and the accommodation space in the town fort was also limited.
And when this happened, Yang Fu naturally had no reason to sit back and watch. Of course, he couldn't ignore it. After all, his escort team in the wild was obviously more dangerous than the Jile garrison defending the fort.
Yang Fu had a family background and experienced actual combat. Faced with the rebellion caused by the "teaching bandits", Yang Fu made a decisive decision and calmly sent two hundred officers and soldiers to rescue after the attack. This was 80% of his combat power. As for him,
He took the remaining group of officers, soldiers and civilians to guard the supplies.
There were not many bandits, and the Anxi and Hexi frontier troops were mostly elite, especially the Anxi army. If the two sides attacked from both sides, it would be difficult to have an unexpected result. Soon, the "religious bandits" were defeated, and two hundred people were beheaded.
Remaining level.
However, compared to this victory in counterinsurgency, Yang Fu was more puzzled that on the shores of Zhuhai, "religious bandits" could actually attack towns on a large scale?