Central Sichuan is surrounded by mountains, and its geographical location is very isolated, but it does not have any communication with the outside world. The road to Sichuan is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky, but there are roads that can pass through it.
People who are familiar with "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" can easily tell the names of the Jinniu Road, Micang Road and other familiar Shu roads, and explain endlessly the magnificent war stories that happened on these roads.
The Yangba Road located in the northeast of Bashu is less famous than the previous Shu roads, but its other name is familiar, that is, the Lychee Road that became prosperous in the Tang Dynasty.
"Book of Jin" records of Emperor Xuan state that the emperor opened a road from Xicheng Mountain to attack Shu. It tells the story that Sima Yi opened the road to conquer Shu, and Xicheng was the Ankang of later generations. Li Qianzhe always followed this road to enter Shu when he went to and from Shu, crossing Daba Mountain.
This road is also the main channel for communication between Ankang area and Bashu.
Of course, in this era, there were no nobles in Chang'an who would invest a lot of manpower and material resources at all costs just to eat a lychee from Fuling, so these rugged roads have not yet been named the Lychee Road.
It's just that in the small area between Bashu and Sichuan, a new name for Shuangtang Road has gradually become popular. Although this is not as mouth-watering and full of fragrant associations as Litchi Road to future generations, in today's world
In the minds of Bashu people, they still feel that frosted sugar road is sweeter and more attractive!
White as frost and snow, crystal clear, sweet and delicious frosting sugar, who doesn’t like it? Who doesn’t indulge in it?
There are a large number of Ba people living between the northern and southern foothills of Daba Mountain. These barbarians have different levels of civilization. Each of them occupies a territory in the mountains and fields and strives to survive and develop.
Even the Ankang Li family of the famous Shannan clan actually has part of the Ba people's ancestry. However, as their clan grows stronger, they rarely mention this origin. However, there are still some connections with the barbarian tribes in these mountains and fields.
Deep or shallow connections.
In the early years before the collapse of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Wei Dynasty competed with Nanliang for the space between Bashu and Shu. In addition to directly deploying troops to attack and fight, they would also recruit the barbarians in these mountains and fields for their own use, using various methods.
The most common method is to establish Jizhou County and appoint those barbarian chiefs as governors of the states and counties.
This is a benefit at no cost to a political power. Anyway, the official positions of these Jisizhou counties will only be effective within their territories. If the barbarian chiefs leave their respective territories, it will be up to them. And those barbarian chiefs will not be able to do anything.
The chiefs are also happy to accept such wooing, which is also a way for them to gain regional prestige.
Therefore, although this mountainous area is uncivilized in the outside world, if you get to know the barbarians a little bit, you will be surprised to find that the barbarian chiefs each have the title of governor, general title, or even title of governor of Nanliang or Northern Wei Dynasty.
Nobility. Of course, it is inevitable that there will be barbarian chiefs who are good at dancing and have the titles of both countries.
This situation lasted until Nanliang captured Hanzhong, and Bashu had the geographical protection of Shannan, Hanzhong, and the internal situation stabilized. The frequency of conferral of various supervisory official positions was also greatly reduced, and the good days of the barbarians gradually improved.
It's over.
However, with the fall of Hanzhong, the atmosphere of the past gradually recovered.
The forces of the Wei State once again entered the Hanzhong area, and these mountain barbarians once again lived a life of being able to have both sides. It's just that the style of the Wei State today is different from previous years. Although the words are nice, the actual rewards are not
But it was very shabby, which naturally made the barbarians uninterested.
The Wei State was very stingy, and King Wuling of Nanliang, who was in the middle of Shu, was also not generous. He also issued conscription orders one after another to recruit the young men of the barbarian tribes. Some of the barbarian tribes outside the mountains and even the young men of the tribe were conscripted, leaving only a few.
The old, weak, sick and disabled cannot even make a living, which is sad to see.
Therefore, some other barbarians who had not been affected or were still only slightly affected were sighing with emotion while annexing the tribal territories that Dingzhuang had lost in large numbers.
Although these barbarian tribes do not belong to the mainstream of society, as long as they live in this world, it is difficult not to be affected by external trends. Every change in the external situation will also bring changes to their order of survival.
Some barbarian tribes with less ability to resist risks will inevitably perish, while tribes that survive by chance can only strengthen themselves through repeated plunder and mergers, so as to survive repeated dangerous attacks.
Li Qianzhe has been busy with the tasks assigned by General Li in the past few years. When he returns home occasionally, he just passes by. After a short rest, he will rush to Mianbei or south Bashu. He is relatively unfamiliar with the development of family affairs.
This time he returned to the General Manager's Palace and received a new assignment from the General. He was also promised that as long as he successfully completed this mission, he would no longer need to handle these affairs and could directly step onto the stage and gain the opportunity to preside over military and political affairs.
Moreover, General Li has created a very good personnel foundation for him in advance. Although most of the actual operations were completed by Li Qianzhe himself, if General Li had not pointed this out, he would have done it anyway.
Unexpectedly, even if he has been in the game for several years.
Li Qianzhe was naturally very excited about this. In order to ensure that this trip was foolproof, he said after Ankang that he would lead more elites from the clan south this time, and also inquired about the development of each of the affairs at home.
"What? There are tens of thousands of people in the family!"
When he heard this data reported by his brother Li Xian, who served as the governor of Jinzhou and stayed in the countryside, Li Qianzhe couldn't help but exclaimed in shock.
Seeing his brother's shocked look, Li Xian smiled reservedly and said, "Actually, I didn't expect that the family's power would develop so fast. In the past years, even though there were people who came to my family to live with their families, there were still thousands of them throughout the year, and they all came and went. Really
Not many can stay, and even fewer are in their prime.
But now since the rebellion in central Shu, many tribes have been greatly affected. My family originally had a good reputation in Shannan, but now it has been tolerated and valued by General Li, and it is famous in Shannan. In addition, brother, you travel back and forth between the two sides.
Thousands of people come to invest every month, and even if they are just selected young men, the growth rate is very gratifying. If this momentum continues, it won't be long before my family alone can recruit tens of thousands of soldiers!"
Li Xian was very proud when he talked about this matter. After all, his brother was married outside the family, and the elders in the family had not yet adapted to the changes in the situation. The entire family had developed rapidly under his leadership. Although he did not
I owe it all to myself, but the joy is beyond words.
But after Li Qianzhe heard this, there was no obvious joy on his face, but his brows furrowed deeper.
The Ankang Li family was originally a wealthy family in Shannan. When they helped Li Tai regain Hanzhong, they could easily recruit 3,000 soldiers, which shows how powerful they are.
Compared with other Shannan and Bashu tycoons, the Ankang Li family has another advantage, which is that it controls gold resources. The value of gold is not only because of its preciousness and scarcity, but also reflected in its currency function in transactions.
The wealthy families in Bashu in Shannan, especially the barbarians, have very limited production skills and natural resources. They cannot be basically self-sufficient like the wealthy and large estate owners in traditional farming areas. Therefore, they need to communicate frequently with the outside world.
Only by trading can you obtain enough survival resources.
Since frequent transactions are required, currency is needed as an intermediary. However, the iron money of Nanliang is not qualified for cross-regional circulation at all, and the Western Wei Dynasty does not even have legal currency. However, silk brocade and other products with relatively high market recognition
Silk fabrics were also not produced by these barbarians, and the channels for obtaining them were very limited, so trading with precious metals such as gold and silver became one of the few options.
With the gold mine in hand, the Ankang Li family naturally has the initiative to communicate and dialogue with these barbarians, and it is an absolute initiative. Therefore, among the barbarians in the north and south of Daba Mountain, the Ankang Li family has a very powerful
His influence was one of the reasons why Li Qianzhe was able to travel freely in Bashu.
Nowadays, the Western Wei Dynasty has shown insufficient sincerity in wooing these local forces. It had previously moved the Hanzhong clan into Guanzhong. However, the prestige of Shuzhong has been greatly reduced due to the chaos in Nanliang. Now it is shocking to see all kinds of extortion and extortion.
The Ankang Li family, who was famous and had a stable hometown, became the target of many people's defection.
"Don't accept these people anymore. If they come later, they will be transferred to other state and county governments. These people are not allowed to stay in the country. If they have no support, they will definitely cause chaos in the countryside!"
After pondering for a while, Li Qianzhe said: "It is good to recruit disciples and increase the momentum, but it cannot be without scale. Everything is too much, and the current amount of people is beyond the control of my family. Quickly
Please ask the General Manager to send someone to compile the register and transfer it to another place!"
"But these people all came here out of gratitude. If my family is turned away, they will definitely be disappointed! And many of them have already settled down. If they are expelled again, it will be really..."
Hearing his brother open his mouth and denying the business results that he was proud of, and even seeming to regard this as a crisis and trouble, Li Xian felt a little aggrieved and couldn't help but argue: "Brother is worried about General Li
Or maybe you are jealous? This should not be the case? You must know that my brother sacrificed his life to help him, and my family has always obeyed orders since we returned.
The general will obey his advice..."
"Shut up! Misfortune can happen elsewhere, but you can do it in the countryside!"
Seeing that Li Xian was still so stubborn, Li Qianzhe immediately lowered his face and said: "Although my family in Shannan has a shallow reputation, I have never dared to boast that I can become king based on it. There are so many disciples who have come to join me now, so you can see
There is no shortage elsewhere. Those desperadoes from other places cannot be accommodated in my home. If they want to survive, I am afraid they will take desperate measures.
Can you guarantee that all those who have come to join me will be treated fairly and that there will be no resentment? If some people are angry at my family for treating me poorly, once trouble breaks out elsewhere, they will probably be unable to hold back and rise up. At that time, it will be me and not
I, can you argue clearly? Even if the general is tolerant and lenient towards my family, he will probably have to make a painful decision when it comes to disaster!"
"This, this... I didn't expect that, brother, I just think there is strength in numbers, and I just want to run the family business properly..."
Hearing Li Qianzhe's stern words, Li Xian couldn't help but change his face. He didn't dare to be stubborn anymore, and looked at his brother in fear.
"You are a wise man who only knows the slightest thing. Even if you say that this was not the case in the past, why don't you think deeply that now is an extraordinary time? In extraordinary times, you need to be more cautious than usual in dealing with things, and you must observe the benefits and harms.
clear!"
Li Qianzhe saw that Li Xian had already realized his mistake, so he stopped questioning him. After all, this younger brother had already started to establish a family, and he had to save some face for him. Moreover, depending on the general's wishes, he would still use him in the future.
Besides, this younger brother still needs to take more responsibility in family matters.
After pondering for a while, he then said: "I blame you today. Don't feel that it hurts your self-esteem, let alone that General Li is defensive. Ask yourself, do you want to escape into the mountains and become a barbarian chieftain who roars proudly in the mountains and forests?
Want to be a noble nobleman who is respected both internally and externally? The Liang family is at the end of its tether, and if there is any trouble, it will just be a desperate struggle.
The power of Yuwen Daxingtai in the State of Wei has long been established, and there are many people under his sect who are his minions and confidants. My brother is only a strong member of the Shannan Wuzong, and even if he surrenders to him, it will be difficult for him to become his confidant. Fortunately, I met General Li who was plotting Jianghan, and my family
Only by following the subordinates of the government can they complement each other and show off their attachments.
Now Shannan is the core of General Li's plan. Since my brother wants the position of confidant, he cannot focus on his own interests. If you gather thousands of troops in the countryside, can you win against the elite of the general manager's office? Especially if you can't recruit them.
Misfortune, let these variables interfere with General Li's plan. Otherwise, no matter how great the past kindness is, it will eventually come to an end! Since we are in the same boat, but our efforts are not the same, what is the use of leaving it alone!"
"I was wrong, brother, I was really wrong! I only thought that the stronger the power, the more General Li would respect him, but it was not as far-reaching as brother thought. But now that the mistake has been made, what should we do?
"
When Li Xian heard this, his head drooped further, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Shall I go to the general manager's office first to apologize? Brother, you travel frequently, and I handle all household affairs in my hometown. Even if General Li wants to blame me, I don't think so.
I will not anger my brother."
"It's not too late to make amends. Fortunately, there is no trouble between Liang and Han at the moment. Your advance team will report this matter to the General Manager's Office, and then reorganize the troops to standby. If the General Manager's Office sends more troops to guard, you must do something
Great response!”
Li Qianzhe was more resourceful and experienced than Li Xian, and he also had a clearer understanding of the atmosphere between the General Manager's Office and the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office. While thinking about how to handle his own affairs, he also thought about the pair of General Managers.
It’s not a bad thing for the government.
Although Hanzhong is nominally under the jurisdiction of the General Administration of Jingzhou, in fact it still directly takes orders from the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office. If some personnel turmoil occurs at this time, the General Administration can use the name of quelling the chaos to send troops to Hanzhong. While quelling the riots, Hanzhong will be officially
Take it over.
When Hanzhong is in hand, the Jingzhou General Manager's Office will undoubtedly have a higher say in the subsequent plan to conquer Shu. Without the cooperation of the General Manager's Office, the Chinese and Foreign Governments will not even be able to send troops into Shu!
Li Qianzhe didn't know whether the general was aware of this, but since he thought of it, he immediately wrote down his idea with a pen and wrote it down, and told Li Xian to send someone to the general manager as soon as possible.
Mansion.
After completing these things, Li Qianzhe then led a thousand elite troops to cross the Daba Mountain along the Lychee Road and headed for Bashu.