The geographical concept of Shuofang refers to different places in different historical periods. Sometimes the scope is larger, sometimes smaller, but the basic scope is mainly in the Hetao area.
The Shuofang we talk about nowadays mainly refers to the area where the Sheyan River, a tributary of the Yellow River, flows through. Shuofang County is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Sheyan River and is part of Dongxia Prefecture.
Although Shuofang County is subordinate to Dongxia Prefecture in terms of administrative division, because there are almost no large-scale household registration in the territory, some county officials are mostly Jisi officials, held by various Hu chiefs in the territory.
"This is Wei Ping City? Are you not leading the wrong way?"
In the wilderness, Li Mu pointed to a city in front of him and asked, half in surprise and half in suspicion: "After all, it is governed by a county. Why, how can it be like this..."
Li Tai, who was traveling with him, also felt a little funny when he heard this. Who are you asking? You yourself are the governor of Dongxia Prefecture, and Wei Ping is a city under your governance. You don't know it yet?
It's no wonder that Li Mu was so surprised that he couldn't believe it. The city in front of him was really too shabby. It was more like an earthen fence than a city. The outer wall of rammed earth had already weathered into disarray and almost collapsed.
Half of it, only a bottom wall half as high as a person is left.
The buildings in the city are also dilapidated. At first glance, there are almost no intact and large-scale buildings. The entire city has a strong smell of dilapidation from the inside to the outside, and there is no visible anything at all.
Crowded.
"Mr. Wu'an, this is indeed Wei Ping City. The earthen dam in the north of the city was built when the Sheyanshui River flooded in the old years. In the seventh year of Datong, the last general once marched with the army and camped here to rest and replenish his supplies.
Supplies. This city used to be ruled by the Qi Nu clan, the great chief in the territory, but now the Qi Nu clan seems to have moved to the vicinity of Tongwan Town to make a living."
Li Dao, who was in the team, looked at the terrain carefully and then replied that his family was originally a powerful chieftain in Xiazhou, so he was no stranger to the geographical conditions here.
Li Tai had been secretly criticizing Li Mu for neglecting his duties. After hearing Li Dao's answer, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. This governor really enjoyed being a governor. Not only did he not know the city he was governing,
Where the city is located, the sentiments of even the officials and the people are so great that they immediately rush to neighboring states to take advantage of the situation.
Hearing Li Tai's laughter, Li Mu couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. He forced himself to explain: "The situation here is different from that in Neizhou. The people gather into tribes, and all the kindness and power come from the chief.
I don’t know that there are other government agencies. Yuwen Xiazhou is a hero in his hometown and is widely supported by the people. I entered the state not long ago, and I have no intention of competing with him. I only share the Boshan Mountain and the Blackwater River, so the people in the north don’t really know.
deep……"
Li Mu's explanation was not unreasonable, but seeing the embarrassment on his old face, Li Tai couldn't help but feel secretly happy. Although this guy was a lot older, he was not as thick-skinned as his son Li Ya.
The jurisdiction of Dongxia Prefecture is vast, and the conditions in different regions are very different. Since Li Mu entered the prefecture, he has mainly operated in the south of Qingshui, while the north of Qingshui is mostly managed by Yu Wengui of Xia Prefecture. The Hu chiefs here
I was still used to listening to the orders of the local chief, and I didn't think much of Li Mu, a guy from Gaoping.
However, due to the lack of support from the locals, the two of them felt a bit blind when they led their troops to this area. Just like the dilapidated Wei Ping City in front of them, it was originally an important station after they planned to advance north, where they could garrison and wait.
If accurate news comes from the other two states, we can attack and eliminate them along the Sheyan River.
But at the moment, this city doesn't even have any personal smoke or bird feathers, so it is obviously not suitable as a base camp for this attack. Fortunately, they did not bring many vanguard troops, only more than 2,000 light cavalry. If the army really attacked together,
It is inevitable that he will be blinded even more. Of course, Li Mu knows his own affairs, so he will not let this happen.
Although Wei Ping City has long been abandoned, I have to say that the geographical environment is really good. It is located in a flat valley. The Sheyan River flows around this sloping valley. Of course, the river is already frozen now.
However, traces of large areas of land reclamation can be seen around the city.
It can be seen that a few months ago, this place must have been a scene of lush water and grass, and hard work and pastoralism. However, after the winter, the environment became harsh, and there was no longer a powerful tribal organization to protect it with considerable force, so the people had to move away.
This state will not return until next spring when the flowers bloom.
"It's a pity. If it could be developed..."
Li Tai is now obsessed with the idea of farming development and increasing his strength. Seeing that such a large area of river valley land with good conditions cannot be continuously and effectively developed and utilized, he feels that it is a waste of natural resources. The Hu tribes in this situation are a bit unknowingly blessed.
Fortunately, if we can't establish ourselves in such a good geographical environment and develop steadily, why would we need a bicycle to go to other places?
A group of scouts first went into the city to inspect and clean up, scared away and shot some wild beasts lurking in the city, and also found dozens of Hu men and women. After a short interrogation, they asked about the residence location of some nearby Hu tribes, but
Whether it is accurate or not cannot be guaranteed. After all, a large number of thieves and soldiers marched through this area a few days ago, which will inevitably bring some impact and changes to the personnel in the area.
Search and contact the nearby Hu tribe for their own scouting operations. After entering the city, a large group of troops cleared an area and used the supplies they carried to cook.
In the evening, the scouts who went out returned one after another. Some found nothing, while others brought back some local tribe members.
When they learned that Li Mu, the governor of the state, was passing through the border, the Hu chiefs were also enthusiastic and attentive. While they came to see him in a hurry, they also brought a large amount of materials produced in the pastoral areas, including some cattle and sheep, and finally gave Li Mu
Mu, the governor, showed some respect.
Li Mu was quite satisfied with the attitude of these people. He first inquired about some regional intelligence, and then talked about his hope that they could send troops to jointly pursue and suppress the bandits.
When the Hu chiefs heard this topic, their expressions were very unnatural. Some even gave various excuses with embarrassed faces, while others directly wrote their reluctance on their faces. It can be seen that although Li Mu, the governor, has
Face, but it's limited. It's just a meal and a drink, but the further step is to have an interview.
Seeing these people's excuses, Li Mu suddenly felt uncomfortable and was too lazy to argue with these Hu chiefs. However, after rejecting everyone, he couldn't help complaining to Li Tai about Yu Wengui from Xiazhou: "Shuofang people,
I look up to Yuwen Xiazhou. Nowadays, the territory is uneasy and thieves are rampant. Yuwen Xiazhou is really to blame! Our army has bravely advanced here. If Xiazhou does not provide proper countermeasures and the thieves get lost, I will definitely report to the Lord.
Above, we will never gloss over our faults!"
Yu Wengui also didn't mention it without thinking. Early the next morning, before the team had time to set off, Xiazhou's messenger had already found this place, rode into the city, and sent Yu Wengui's reply.
In the letter, Yu Wengui agreed with the pursuit plan discussed by Li Tai and Li Mu, and hoped to take this opportunity to carry out a rectification and purge of the Shuofang Hus in the Sheyan River Basin, and stated that the material consumption of the two troops after their entry would be
Xiazhou raised part of it to compensate for the losses caused to them by the thieves who went south.
Seeing Yu Wengui's attitude, Li Mu felt calmer. However, when the messenger led them to the next campsite arranged by Yu Wengui, his mentality suddenly became a little unbalanced.
This is a large tribe with tens of thousands of people, located near a tributary of Sheyan River. In order to welcome the arrival of Li Mu and others, almost the whole family came out to welcome Li Mu and others, and prepared a sumptuous meal. However, the chief's emotional intelligence was a little anxious, so he said
They hinted inside and outside that they hoped they could put in a good word for him in front of Xiazhou Yuwen, but they ignored that Li Mu was their nominal superior.
In his own land, he actually had to rely on other people's reputation to get around and drink. No matter how thick-skinned Li Mu was, he couldn't stand it, so he got up and left the table directly because he was tired from the journey.
Li Tai was holding a roasted lamb leg that was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and was cutting it with a knife. When he saw Li Mu getting up and leaving the table, he sighed inwardly. It's not like you only knew about this situation on the first day, so why can't you see it?
If one day Yu Wengui goes to Yuanzhou to become an official, wouldn't it also depend on your brothers' faces?
The state officials formally appointed by the imperial court and the hegemony were not as prestigious as the local powerful chiefs in the territory they governed. This was also a reality in the current politics of the Western Wei Dynasty.
Although Li Mu was a little resentful, he had to admit that with the help of these local snakes, their next steps would go much more smoothly. Soon a local Hu tribe sent them information and informed a team of
The route of the defeated rebels.
Li Mu was so eager to make a contribution that he did not wait for the troops behind him to catch up. Dangjie led his vanguards to pursue them all the way. He soon encountered the bandit army in the wilderness and successfully sniped and captured more than a thousand bandit soldiers.
, swept away the previous decadence and depression, exhaled greatly and raised his eyebrows.
Li Tai doesn't have much desire to fight anymore. When things have developed to this point, the threat of the three-defense city has been lifted, and his goal of going north has been basically achieved. The next step is to lend Li Mu his troops in the hope that he can
Continue to expand the results.
Yu Wengui from Xiazhou has also sent troops, heading east from Tongwan City along the upper reaches of the Sheyan River. While marching, he is wiping out those Hu tribe forces who have been reluctant to obey along the way.
Although the Sheyanshui River was winding and long, it could not withstand the full push of the east and west sides. Ten days later, the two sides met in Huazheng County in Xiazhou.
After experiencing several defeats of the rebel army and the pursuit and raids of several Shuofanghu tribes who colluded with Li Shihu, Li Mu swept away the dejection of the city that had been besieged before. After the two armies merged, he ordered his subordinates to capture the city.
All the captured people and materials were laid out, and there was still a secret intention to compete with Yu Wengui.
Compared with Li Mu's massive capture, the troops led by Yu Wengui were much simpler, with only a few thousand soldiers under his command.
When Li Mu saw this scene, he couldn't help but became happy. He pointed at the prisoners and said with a smile to Yu Wengui, not without the intention of showing off: "These thieves are indeed rampant, but if they blindly engage in killing, there will be consequences."
It hurts Tianhe. Therefore, under the punishment knife, the legal net is open to one side. Those who are too vicious must not be allowed to stay. These timid thieves who are left begging for mercy are left. I hope they can change their past mistakes. I entrust you to go eastward, and what will you encounter?
There is no one among the thieves who can make you feel kind and forgiving?"
After Yu Wengui heard this, he smiled and said: "All the battles were fought within the territory, and the prisoners captured in the formation were directly distributed to the tribes that assisted in the battle, so that the military planes could not miss the scheduled departure. Wu'an Gong is indeed not known for his bravery. The captured thieves
It’s quite impressive.”
After saying this, he crossed over to Li Mu, clasped his fists towards Li Tai and said with a smile: "Li Zheng, you're fine! Thank you very much for leading the army to the north this time, giving the rebels a head-on blow and allowing our two states to calm down."
Pursue the remaining bandits. After all the thieves and bandits in the territory have been wiped out, I will definitely speak to you, Your Majesty, and perform meritorious deeds!"
After Li Tai heard this, before he had time to answer, Li Mu next to him had already started laughing again and said: "Boshan came north for me. Let's leave it behind. On the day of victory, I will hold the bridle and praise him, but that's fine."
There is no need to treat Yuwen Xiazhou Jiayan specially."
Li Tai knew that along the way, Li Mu had accumulated a lot of resentment towards Yu Wengui. He didn't want him to continue to quarrel with Yu Wengui, so he looked at Yu Wengui and asked, "Everyone else can talk about it later. I'm curious about something.
May I ask whether Shijun Yuwen has received any message from Shijun Yang of Xi'an Prefecture?"
As early as when he sent troops to the north to rescue Li Mu, Li Tai had already sent a letter to Yang Zhong to describe his situation, hoping that there could be some coordination between the two realms. When Guangwu City was resting, he sent another letter to tell the story.
He told Li Mu about his plan to pursue the north and invited him to accompany him.
However, they had not received any news from Xi'an Prefecture all the way here. Li Tai had no idea what Yang Zhong's attitude was and how he acted, making the place there like a black hole of information.
This can't help but make Li Tai feel strange. Although he and Yang Zhong don't have a deep friendship, they are not completely speechless because of the medium of Duguxin. After repeated letters, what kind of person is Yang Zhong?
Such thoughts should be informed at least.
When Yu Wengui heard Li Tai's question, he shook his head and said that he had not received any message from Xi'an Prefecture.
But this is nothing. With the elimination of the Hu tribe who were disrespectful to the territory, Yu Wengui's authority in the territory was once again established and promoted. All the tribes dared not to obey all the orders, and they could mobilize most of the troops at any time.
.Coupled with the troops commanded by Li Tai and Li Mu, it is enough to fight a big battle.
At present, several people from Shuofang Hu who were deeply involved in the incident and the rest of Lishi Hu's tribe have gathered on the bank of the Yellow River in the northeast of Huazheng County. There are probably tens of thousands of Hu people. Even if Yang Zhong cannot arrive in time, they can still deal with it.
The remnants of the bandit army launched an attack.
But Li Tai still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He didn't expect that the cooperation with Yang Zhong would be so unsmooth for the first time. If the other party deliberately distanced himself and did not respond to him, then he would have to carefully weigh the future relationship.
.
After several parties joined forces, they took a short rest in Huazheng County to prepare for the final encirclement and suppression battle. However, at this time, the scouts under Yu Wengui introduced the Xi'an Prefecture messenger into the camp. After meeting Li Tai,
Then he reported: "After my lord defeated the thief in the territory, he received a message from Li Lang. He immediately led his personal followers to go to this territory. He has already explored the thief's nest and is waiting for Li Lang's army to arrive."
Sorry, I have to take a day off tomorrow. I have to give my mother a hundred days of burial. I'm sorry...