Chapter 410 Encouraging Zhuge Liang to Lead the Army
Chapter 410 Encourage Zhuge Liang to lead troops
Author: Playing with Basilisk
In the second half of the third year of Zhangwu's reign, Shen Chen summoned Qiang commanders from all the major tribes and held a meeting of Qiang commanders in Xianqin County, Tianshui County. He made it clear that not participating would be considered a rebellion against the imperial court.
With such a statement and Shen Chen's "little reputation" throughout the Han Dynasty, Qiang and Di commanders from all over the world arrived one after another.
The participants were all large tribes with a population of tens of thousands, with as many as twenty or thirty people, such as Dangui, Kewu, Erhe, Shaoyi, Fatong, Mozhechu, Yao Kehui, Qiangduan, Biti, Tang He, Mi Dang and others are all Qiang Di from Liangzhou.
At the meeting, Shen Chen implemented a new policy, requiring the Qiang and Di to pay taxes, join the army, and do corvee labor. The government would give the Qiang and Di the corresponding rights and interests of the Han people, and at the same time, these large tribal leaders would receive rewards.
Under close coercion and inducement, some were noncommittal, some weighed the pros and cons, and some clearly opposed it. In the end, only a dozen families were willing to accept Shen Chen's suggestion and divided the tribe among their sons and brothers. They were cut into several small tribes and themselves were Grant an official position.
Afterwards, Shen Chen did not liquidate the opponents, but asked them to go back. It was not that Shen Chen was merciful, but that when the big problems had been solved, there was no need to dwell on the small problems and let Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi Just go and do it.
The Qiang and Di people were still very weak at that time. Once they met a Han official who treated them well, they would often be grateful. Gai Xun, the prefect of Hanyang during the Ling Emperor's period, and Fu Xie, the captain of Anding, were among the best.
When Gai Xun was the governor of Hanyang, he treated the Qiang and Hu people equally and the Huns were very good friends.
Later, the Qiang people rebelled. Gai Xun sent troops to fight and was defeated, but the Qiang people did not dare to kill him. The leader of the Qiang people, Dianwu, said that he was a wise man and killing him would be punished by heaven, so he sent people to send him back to Hanyang County. Don't dare to do harm.
Fu Xie (xie) first served as the governor of Anding, and then succeeded Gai Xun as the prefect of Hanyang. Like Gai Xun, he implemented a policy of ethnic integration. He not only taught the Qiang and Hu people to farm, but also punished those who made mistakes in Han-Qiang conflicts. Appreciate what makes sense and never take sides, so he has a high prestige among the Qiang and Hu people and the Huns.
It happened that Wang Guo, the leader of the Liangzhou rebels, attacked Fu Xie. Among his troops were thousands of Qiang and Di Xiongnu cavalry from Beidi County. They all knew that Fu Xie was an upright man, and in order to repay their kindness, they all kowtowed outside the city and asked Fu Xie to surrender. Being willing to guarantee Fu Xie's safe return to his hometown of Beidi County shows his reputation.
Therefore, as long as the government can be fair and just and reward and punish appropriately, the Qiang and Di people are not unwilling to submit to the court. However, there are many wealthy families and corrupt officials in Liangzhou who oppress the people and treat the Qiang and Di people like chickens and dogs. , which triggered conflicts between Han and Qiang, leading to rebellions.
After Shen Chen arrived in Liangzhou, he ordered Deng Zhi, Pang Qiao and others to rectify the officialdom, and transferred a large number of officials who had entered the imperial examination from Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yizhou and other places to serve in Liangzhou to promote moral education and become the Qiang king. , so that most Qiang Di are sincerely convinced.
Now most of the Qiang Di in the four counties of Longyou are willing to accept Shen Chen's policies. Only the Qiang Di in Beidi County and Anding County are still hesitant. For die-hards, they have their own weapons and weapons to serve them, so there is no need for them to continue to worry about these things.
Now he has to solve more problems, one is the problem of new equipment, and the other is the problem of grain transportation.
There was a large-scale grain production in Hanzhong, but again, the road to transport grain from Hanzhong to Guanzhong was difficult and dangerous, and the distance was so long that it was impossible to transport grain, let alone attack Chang'an.
So Shen Chen stayed in Liangzhou for a year, visited various places to inspect the public situation, gained a deep understanding of the local situation, and put forward solutions and guidance. After that, he quickly returned to Hanzhong and began to address the issues of grain roads and cavalry training.
There is still no complete solution to the problem of grain transportation, but Shen Chen remembered Zhuge Liang's wooden ox and stray horse, so he wrote to Zhuge Liang, hoping that he could come to Hanzhong to see if he could solve the problem of grain transportation.
Zhuge Liang quickly replied and told him that he would come over early next year to inspect the Bashu land in person.
In March of the fourth year of Zhangwu, Zhuge Liang arrived in Hanzhong.
Guixu Township, north of Chenggu County, is rumored to be the place where Shun lived. Because there is a vast plain to the north, Shen Chen chose it as a place for cavalry training. He established a military camp and a military craftsmanship supervisor, and sent a large number of craftsmen to it. Move here and conduct secret experiments.
The experimental site is an absolute secret. The ten-mile radius is classified as a military area and no one is allowed to approach it. The soldiers are fed, housed and trained in the camp, and the craftsmen are not allowed to leave until the official Northern Expedition the year after the following year.
At this moment, outside the military camp, Zhuge Liang, accompanied by former general Huang Zhong, Hanzhong prefect Li Yan and others, arrived at the military camp, and Shen Chen came out to greet him personally.
"Welcome the Prime Minister to visit Hanzhong and guide our work."
Shen Chen led ten cavalry generals including Ma Dai, Li Yue, Lei Ding, Dou Mao, Niudan, Yang Qun, Ma Yu, Jiang Yuan, Ren Shen, Yan Zhi, Ding Li, Bai Shou, Liu He and Deng Tong. Others came out to greet him.
Most of these people came from wealthy families in Yizhou and Liangzhou, and some of them were Qiang and Di leaders who had surrendered in the early days. Now they led the tribes and became Han people, and gradually became generals.
When Zhuge Liang's carriage slowly arrived at the gate of the military camp, Shen Chen took the lead in applauding and warmly welcomed Zhuge Liang's arrival.
"Snap, snap, snap, snap!"
The applause was warm.
Zhuge Liang reluctantly got off the carriage, and Shen Chen went up to hug him, which made Zhuge Liang want to roll his eyes.
According to Han etiquette, everyone bowed and raised their hands.
But Mr. Shen Chen feels that the hand-over gesture creates distance, so he likes to hug those close to him.
"Let the Prime Minister tell you a few words."
After the hug, Shen Chen clapped again and engaged in formalism.
Zhuge Liang had no choice but to look around at everyone and said: "The cavalry is the most important cavalry of the country. I hope you can work hard and train hard, so that you will not let your Majesty's heavenly grace go down."
"only."
All the cavalry generals responded.
Shen Chen then said: "We will train as usual today. Let the Prime Minister take a look and get ready."
"yes."
Everyone then returned to camp one after another.
Shen Chen took Zhuge Liang, accompanied by Huang Zhong, Li Yan and other senior civil and military officials into the camp.
Entering the camp, the first thing you see is a huge school field, covering an area of more than 400 acres. There are barracks on the left and right sides. In the middle, facing the school field, there is a reviewing stand and a two-story building where generals hold meetings. .
To accommodate tens of thousands of cavalry, 20,000 to 30,000 horses, and nearly 20,000 personnel, the space required is very large. This is only the front school field, the back school field is more than ten times larger than this.
The front camp is where small-scale cavalry charges, flanks, and formations are trained. The rear camp is where horses and personnel live. It is also a training ground for large-scale cavalry. It is equipped with a canteen, teaching, and craftsmen's departments. , barracks, weapon rooms, stables, feed yards and other facilities.
Shen Chen took Zhuge Liang to inspect the front camp first and watched a tactical drill of 500 cavalry, such as the front cavalry feigning a frontal attack, the left and right cavalry outflanking, the pincer tactics attack plan, and the knights riding and shooting. , challenge, forward charge, etc.
Especially mounted shooting.
With the addition of stirrups and high-bridge saddles, the cavalry can use the power of the horse to run and shoot at the same time. They can even draw their bows left and right and shoot arrows backwards while running like a kite.
In the past, only the top generals of Han Dynasty with extremely good riding skills could do this.
For example, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and Liu Bei are all recorded in historical records as being proficient with bows and horses, and good at riding and shooting. However, ordinary cavalrymen do not have stirrups and high-bridge saddles, so it is difficult for ordinary cavalry to hold the horse's belly tightly with their legs to ensure that they do not lose their balance. A running and shooting style of play.
Zhuge Liang felt very satisfied after reading it, and then Shen Chen took him to the back camp for inspection. They were walking. On the way there, Zhuge Liang said to Shen Chen: "Your Majesty has not been in good health recently."
"Your Majesty is also very old. In his early years of fighting in the north and south, he suffered many wounds on his body. Could it be that his old illness has relapsed?"
Shen Chen frowned.
Liu Bei was not as lucky as Zhao Yun and had never been injured in his life.
In fact, Liu Bei almost died in battle several times. For example, during Zhang Chun's rebellion, Liu was recommended by Liu Ziping, a native of Pingyuan, to join the army of Qingzhou governor to fight against Zhang Chun's army.
As a result, during the chaotic battle, Chuang Yang died in the preparation. After the thief left, the old friend carried him in a car and was saved.
After that, he went through countless battles and suffered countless minor injuries. There were too many injuries on his body. For the generals, they were both an honor and a life-saving talisman.
In history, countless famous generals died due to the recurrence of old wounds. This shows the level of medical treatment at that time and the great impact of injuries on people.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "The imperial doctor has already looked at it. It is indeed due to an old illness. Xiaoqing said that when people get old, their body functions decline seriously. This may be the reason. In addition, His Majesty has been thinking about the Northern Expedition. "
"How are the preparations for things between the South and the North?"
Shen Chen asked.
Zhuge Liang said: "General Guan is constantly training soldiers in Yangzhou, and he has visited Hefei City several times to inspect the enemy's situation. Zhang Liao cannot stop him."
"Yun Changgong is still so brave."
Shen Chen praised it.
Historically, Zhang Liao died of illness in the second year of Zhangwu, which was last year.
But his death was closely related to his frequent travels to Luoyang and the rampant plague in the north.
Now that Guan Yu was in charge, Cao Pi did not dare to transfer Zhang Liao to the rear, nor did he dare to call him back to Luoyang to report on his duties, so he kept him guarding Hefei.
So the good friends Guan Yu and Zhang Liao are currently facing each other in Hefei.
Zhuge Liang continued: "The people in Huainan have been relocated. There is no human habitation for thousands of miles, and it is difficult to replenish food and grass. General Guan can only go north through Ruxu River to fight Zhang Liao in Hefei. When the Northern Expedition officially begins, he will probably surround Hefei and coordinate Nanyang."
"Um."
Shen Chen walked and asked, "What's going on in Nanyang now?"
"Your Majesty ordered General Chariot and Cavalry to reorganize military affairs in Nanyang, but General Chariot and Cavalry, you also know that Xu Yuanzhi is basically taking care of these matters. However, Nanyang and Xiangyang are close at hand. Even if General Chariot and Cavalry is not good at military affairs, there are still Your Majesty and many others. If the general helps, it won't be too bad."
Zhuge Liang said with a smile.
Now after the establishment of the empire, Shen Chen switched from civil service to military service. The four highest-ranking generals are General Guan Yu, General Shen Chen of Hussars, General Zhang Fei of Chariots and General Ma Chao of Guards.
Below are the four generals on the left and right. Due to his military exploits in the Battle of Jingzhou, Huang Zhong was promoted to former general. Zhao Yun himself had military exploits in the Battle of Jingzhou and killed Cao Chun in Dongxingti, so he was promoted to general on the left. Wei Yan and Pang De defeated Wu For meritorious service, he was promoted to General of the Right and General of the Rear respectively.
The rest include the Four Expeditions General, the Four Towns General and the newly established Si'an General and other important general positions.
Now Liu Bei has a lot of talents under his command. The generals of Four Expeditions and Four Towns and Four Ans include Gan Ning, Huang She, Zhang Xiu, Lu Chang, Wen Pin, Wu Yi, Wu Ban, Gao Xiang, Dong Jue, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, and Zhang Ren. and others, there are dozens of remaining mid-level and senior generals, such as Meng Da, Kou Feng, Liao Hua, Huang Quan, etc., who are already the backbone.
What is more pity is Gan Ning.
Although Gan Ning followed Shen Chen in the north and south in his early years, he had been a general of Liu Biao's group before. His qualifications in joining Liu Bei's group were relatively junior and he had less credit in the later period, so he was ranked below Wei Yanpangde and others. Otherwise, he would have been the same. Front, back, left and right levels.
However, compared to ordinary generals with heavy titles, Gan Ning was not only the leader of the generals in the Four Expeditions, Four Towns and Four Ans, but he was also given the title of Marquis of the Countryside, the title of Lord Protector, and the title of Honorary Officer, as a token of recognition for his early military exploits with Shen Chen. affim.
The other generals are not so lucky. The honorary officers are usually used to place those people with high status and seniority who are incompetent and should not hold real power, such as Xu Jing, Mi Zhu, Huang Zhu and other Yuan followers.
Even Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Chen Chen and Zhuge Liang were not awarded honorary titles, and their titles were only rural lords, so Liu Bei still treated Gan Ning very well in terms of honors and favors.
Shen Chen continued: "Nanyang is the main force of our army, and Cao Wei will definitely put a large number of troops in Henan to fight with us in Nanyang, Huainan and other places, which will just cover my attack from Guanzhong. Now I order Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to pacify the west "Liang, once the foundation of the rear is stable, everything will be safe. The only problem left is the transportation of grain and grass."
"Um."
Zhuge Liang said: "I will help you take a look at this matter and find a solution. In addition, when I come to Hanzhong this time, in addition to walking around the four roads of Hanzhong and observing the grain transportation, I also want to go to Nanzhong."
"Nanzhong?"
Shen Chen wondered: "Is there another rebellion in Nanzhong?"
Nanzhong is the southern part of Yizhou. This year, two new states were drawn from the north and south of Yizhou, one is Yizhou and the other is Ningzhou, which means "Ning" in Jianning County.
However, Ningzhou is the official name. Due to customary issues, people still call the southern part of Yizhou Nanzhong.
Today, there are seven counties in Nanzhong, namely Zangke County, Yuechu County, Zhuti County, Jianning County, Yongchang County, Yunnan County, and Xinggu County. Among them, Yunnan County is in the Dali area of later generations, and Jianning County is in the Kunming area of later generations.
Liu Bei set up Ningzhou Mu and Nijiang Commandery here to take charge of civil affairs and military affairs, and implement Zhuge Liang's policy of pacifying the Yi and Yue in the south.
The former Commander-in-Chief of the Subjugation and Governor of Zhu Ti, General Anyuan Deng Fang, was a man of great prestige and a man of great prestige. The local barbarians were very convinced of him. Therefore, in the past few years, Nanzhong has been very stable and there has been no rebellion.
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Deng Fang died of illness this year. His Majesty planned to appoint Li Hui as the new governor of the surrender. But before he left, there was a rebellion by the powerful tribes and barbarians in the south. I planned to go to Nanzhong to have a look. I would like to know Let’s see if the reasons for their rebellion can be cured and their worries can be resolved.”
Shen Chen smiled and said: "My suggestion is, brother, go and see if it's okay. It's best to lead the troops to fight in person and pacify them. Brother is a great talent, but he has been leading the rear for so many years, but he rarely touches military matters. , isn’t it overkill? It’s time to lead the army once.”
"Well"
Zhuge Liang thought for a while, nodded and said, "Well, what Xiaoqing said makes sense. I'll stay in Hanzhong for a while. After Li Hui arrives and gathers his troops, I'll go south."
While the two were talking, they had already arrived at the back camp.
The rear camp is vast, with huge pastures and slopes, as well as various hills, mountains, and forests to train cavalry in fighting in various environments.
It was March in spring, and a group of people walked slowly along the tree-lined path on the right side of the school grounds and arrived at the south corner of the rear camp.
I saw thousands of cavalry in the distance, rolling towards the distance with the force of wind and thunder. There were even heavy cavalry with horse and armor among them, rushing into the enemy camp made of straw. They were invincible, like a flood. Sweeping across the land, the scarecrow formation instantly collapsed. After rushing over, the place was in a mess.
When Zhuge Liang saw this scene, his heart suddenly surged, and he laughed happily and said: "Hahahaha, your majesty has this iron cavalry, why worry that the mighty Yan Han cannot prosper three times! My ambition is to restore the country of the Han people for your majesty and all the people. See you This is enough! It gives me some comfort!"
Seeing his happy look, Shen Chen also smiled and said: "The iron cavalry of the Han Dynasty must not only gallop on the battlefield of Cao Wei, but in the future they should gallop in the vast grasslands of the north and the vast deserts of the Western Regions. Only in this way can they show the power of the Han Dynasty!"
With stirrups, saddles, and horseshoes, the mobility of the cavalry will be greatly improved again, and the horses' galloping range and endurance will also be able to run farther.
The Han people will eventually let out their roar again in this world!