Since ancient times, Xizhou has only been a general regional division. According to the organizational structure of the Qianyuan Dynasty, the land of Xizhou is referred to as Sanfu, Sandao and Sanguzhou.
Sanfu is a folk name, which generally refers to the prosperous area that can still be seen after Xiguan.
In this area, the city can still retain the appearance of the divine capital. The ancient city and town are only used, the population is relatively dense, commerce and trade are developed, and freight and shipping are prosperous.
Sanfu is about a few hundred miles away, and there are three roads beyond Sanfu.
The road here is different from the administrative divisions such as Jiangdong Road and Jiannan Road. The road here is purely a local name in Xizhou.
It means that there are three ways to go to the frontier land further west.
Each road has its own characteristics, and what you see and hear along the way is completely different.
Sanguzhou is the name before Naxi Prefecture became a territory in the Qianyuan Dynasty. It can also be considered as the original name of the three prefectures of Xizhou, which are Yongzhou, Liangzhou and Anzhou.
Among them, Liangzhou is still the fiefdom of King Liang, the younger brother of the emperor today.
Among these three states, Yongzhou is the closest to the divine capital, Liangzhou is the second, and Anzhou is the farthest.
The farthest point of Anzhou reached the border of Qianyuan.
It is also the most bitter and tiring place. Right General Qin Hu has fought here before, and many of the soldiers and horses in his army are from the residents of this place.
For example, Guo Quan, whom Cao Su met, was also a resident of Huaxian County, Anzhou.
The city wall in Huaxian County is very short, only about one foot high. Such a city wall can even be made of adobe.
Hua County is also very small, with a population of just over a thousand in the city. Most of the people living in this city are poor people who later migrated here, or simply children of military personnel who have been guarding the border for generations.
Such a poor place now looks even more dilapidated.
Since the reign of Zhengguang for six years, the Qianyuan Dynasty has been in turmoil, the people have been in dire straits, the Central Plains has been in chaos, and the frontiers have been unstable.
Residents living in Hua County have always been on tenterhooks.
The government army sergeants guarding the city wall always kept the border army sergeants vigilant.
On this day, the autumn wind stirred up the desolation in Hua County, and the air was mixed with the roughness from the northwest.
The sergeants hid in the wall stacks to rest to avoid being blown away by the yellow sand wind and causing more vicissitudes to their skin.
In fact, they don't care about their skin. They are getting older anyway, and they can't care about it even if they don't have enough to eat. But when the yellow sand wind blows, they really can't open their eyes.
A few dozen sergeants guarded the city wall of Hua County.
The land of Anzhou is bitterly cold, and many of the defenders have guarded this city for their entire lives and have never been to other places.
The sergeants leaned against the wall and chatted, avoiding the yellow sand and wind.
At this moment, a rumble of thunder was suddenly heard.
Although the yellow sand sky is bad, where does the thunder come from?
The sergeants were puzzled and stood up and looked outside the wall.
I saw a black line suddenly appearing in the long yellow sand sky.
That's the cavalry.
"Qiang cavalry!"
The old sergeant roared.
I saw countless cavalry galloping from a distance, emerging from the yellow sand in the sky.
The Qiang people on horseback charged toward the low adobe city with strange roars.
Such a city wall was naturally unable to stop the Qiang cavalry, especially the Qiang leader, who was holding a large octagonal hammer and threw it towards Huaxian from a distance like a brick.
The hammer probably weighed hundreds of kilograms. It was like a meteor in the air and hit the city gate of Huaxian County with a bang.
The wooden city gate was smashed into pieces in an instant.
The tall and strong Qiang horses rushed in from the city gate, while the Qiang horse archers in the distance fired wildly at the soldiers peeking out of the wall.
More than a thousand people in Hua County were caught off guard and were charged and killed by Qiang cavalry.
The entire Huaxian County was instantly plunged into a sea of fire, with Qiang cavalry everywhere burning, killing and looting.
No one in Qianyuan could resist.
The Qiang are a nomadic people who want to go west and north in Anzhou. For a long time in the past, the Qiang people have been harassing the Qianyuan border and using their cavalry to invade the land of Anzhou.
But this time, the scale of Qiang harassment was even greater.
The cavalry that rushed into Hua County alone could break through a thousand people.
Huaxian is just a small town, what about other than Huaxian?
.........
.........
Late October.
Cao Su led 3,000 elite troops under his command, broke out from the city of Shendu and headed for Xiguan.
Before leaving, Captain Changshui met with Cao Su.
Changshui Captain Huang Hao is a middle-aged scholar-like man. He is holding a book in his hand and burning incense and making tea in the camp. He seems to be relatively leisurely.
"Cao Zhaowu has entered the fourth rank at a young age and will become a martial saint in the future."
Cao Su studied in the Imperial Academy for several days, and he also knew that the martial sage mentioned by Huang Hao had a strong background in the history of the Qianyuan Kingdom.
He was the former great general under Emperor Gaozu, a man who stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Cao Su quickly excused himself modestly.
Huang Hao didn't come to Cao Su just to praise Cao Su.
He asked Cao Su to sit down and asked with a smile: "Do you know how to play chess? Would you like to play a game with me?"
I'm leaving now, what's the game?
Cao Su declined politely and said, "Forgive me, Colonel Changshui, but I won't do it."
Huang Hao just said it casually and smiled brightly when he saw that Cao Su still looked stiff.
"Cao Zhaowu doesn't have to be cautious. You and I are both members of the emperor's imperial army. We are members of the same family. The higher your ability, the more likely you are to be appreciated by the emperor in the future."
The emperor’s appreciation?
Cao Su had no hope at all. He shook his head and neither said yes nor no.
Huang Hao probed: "I wonder if Cao Zhaowu has ever heard about the army's rations and pay?"
Cao Su frowned and said, "The army's rations are paid out every three months, and now they are in arrears for more than a month. I already know about this, and there are a lot of complaints from my soldiers."
"Yes, the reason for joining the army is to eat the imperial rations. But now, the imperial rations have been delayed again and again, from being paid once every month to being paid once every three months. This food and salary matter is of great importance, and the people in the Ministry of Revenue said that the treasury
It’s really heartbreaking to have no money.”
Huang Hao's tone was cold and he scolded the Ministry of Household Officials angrily in front of Cao Su.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Cao Su didn't know how to respond, so he remained silent.
But after seeing Huang Hao's questioning and probing eyes, he agreed: "That's true."
"That's right. What's even more annoying is that although there is food and salary, it is not paid to us."
Huang Hao's words surprised Cao Su. He asked: "Where is the food and salary?"
"The food and wages are in the national treasury."
Cao Su didn't understand: "The officials of the Ministry of Revenue are telling lies?"
"How could the Ministry of Revenue tell lies? If the Ministry of Revenue says there is no food and salary, then it means there is no food and salary."
Cao Su was confused: "Then what is the salary that the Lord is talking about?"
"It's food and salary that exists in the national treasury, but it was not given to our Imperial Army. Instead, it was given to the Yulin Army, to the craftsmen who repaired the West Garden, and to the people of the imperial palace."
Huang Hao sneered and said: "We, the Forbidden Army, are ranked last."
Cao Su was silent, the matter of food and salary had been going on for a long time. Even the Eighth Colonel could not solve this matter. What did Huang Hao mean by telling him about it today?
Huang Hao glanced at Cao Su and found that Cao Su was very calm and had a calm expression on his face.
This surprised Huang Hao. Before coming here, he had already gotten to know Cao Su. He knew that Cao Su was a powerful general in the "Hundred Cavalry Robbery Camp" and his personality should be reckless and impulsive. He didn't expect that the real Cao Su would be like this.
He is calm and does not look like the person who did the "Hundred Cavalry Robbery Camp" incident.
Huang Hao saw that Cao Su was silent and did not express his position, so he said no more and his expression calmed down.
"I am telling you this just to reassure the soldiers under your command. Although the food and salary are late, it is only a little late. Moreover, your department has now switched to defend Xiguan. There will be other food and salary delivered to Xiguan in the future, so there is no need to worry."
Huang Hao comforted Cao Su with some kind words.
Cao Su naturally thanked him politely and then left Huang Hao's camp.
After Cao Su left, a young man walked into Huang Hao's tent.
This young man, Cao Su, also knew Rongsheng, the son of Taiwei Rong, whom he met in the Imperial College before.
Rong Sheng, wearing a military uniform, suddenly appeared in Huang Hao's military camp.
"Brother Huang, how is this person?"
Rongsheng asked in a low voice.
Huang Hao shook his head helplessly: "This person is not good, he is too calm."
Rongsheng didn't understand: "Didn't you say that this man is so brave that he can rob a camp with hundreds of horses? How can he be so calm?"
"I don't understand either, but after just contacting him, I don't think he is a good candidate, but he is a young man, and we can win him over. The only trouble is that this person comes from a poor family, and there is no one in his family...
..."
"Forget it."
Rong Sheng snorted coldly: "A poor family is just a poor family after all."
"In the past and present, who has achieved great things from a humble family? Now, I, the fourth and third prince of the Rong family, Enjia Zenei, how can I allow such an unknown person to come and cause trouble?"
"Wouldn't it make people laugh if you became known as a prince?"
There was still a sense of superiority in his words.
Huang Hao, who was also from a famous family, thought it was understandable, so he stopped forcing it.