The deserted salt pond is shrouded in morning light and mist.
The rammed earth Great Wall is looming, starting from the Lingzhou Yellow River in the west, winding all the way east, passing through high loess slopes and desert edges, and going straight to the Yulin Yellow River in the east.
More than sixty miles southeast of Wucheng and forty miles northwest of Wuyuan City, a new plaque was hung at the Great Wall pass between the two cities.
"Zhenbianbao!"
Su Lie was training his troops and horses in the morning light. Wu Huaiyu took Wei Siren, Du Wen, Wen Fu, Li Dezhai and others to welcome the arrival of Xue Wanche and Doulu Huairang.
Xue Wanche led his army deep into the sea, raided the northeastern area of Lingyan, appeased the Qiang, Hu, and small Turkic tribes here, and established the three counties of Yan'en, Guide, and Huairen. Then he went south to Yanzhou and conducted an armed parade.
, fully frighten those little Hu tribes.
"Brother Wu!"
Doulu Huairang rode a horse and greeted Huaiyu from a distance. After the new emperor came to the throne, the prince-in-law was ordered to restore the surname Doulu and came to Lingwu from Longyou. Doulu Huairang was very happy and accepted the order.
Just come.
Doulu Huairang was very happy to see his old friend.
Wu Huaiyu saw him riding a flowered horse, wearing a purple robe and a rhinoceros leather armor, looking very carefree.
He also stepped forward to greet him with a smile. Doulu Huairang jumped off his horse and gave him a big hug.
"It's been a hard journey, Brother Doulu."
"It's not hard work. The scenery in the north is better than that in Longyou." Doulu Huairang pointed to the soldiers and horses behind him and said with some pride, "We have gained a lot from this trip."
The gain he was referring to was that being with Xue Wanche in Youzhou was not only about recruiting the Qiang, Hu, Turks and Jihu people, Xue Wanche was not the kind of polite person.
This General Xue Meng was very ungrateful in martial arts. He first deliberately sent only a few petty officials to various places to ask the barbarians to visit Lingzhou and also asked them to pay tribute and taxes.
No one from any tribe paid attention to him.
So Xue Wanche ordered all his troops and horses to make a sudden attack and swept all the way. Those Xiaohu tribes couldn't do anything better than Xue Wanche and the elite soldiers of Lingzhou, so they surrendered one after another.
There were some tough ones, so Xue Wanche beheaded the leader rudely, captured the men and women of the tribe as slaves, and took away all the cattle and sheep.
Many tribes were directly delisted.
Xue Wanche came here and beheaded more than a thousand people, captured more than 2,000 people, and seized tens of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses.
It was indeed a lot of money, and everyone in the Lingzhou Army was very happy. They used to do this kind of thing, but this time, led by the new Governor Xue, they suffered the least casualties, captured the most, and took the shortest time.
Doulu Huairang, who was the Sima of Lingzhou Dudufu and the governor of Youzhou, although he only accompanied him all the way, he had a lot of benefits.
Of course, although Wu Huaiyu did not participate, Xue and Doulu also left a share for him, because Wu Huaiyu had reached an agreement with Li Daozong and the others before and also left a share for them. The land alone is ten hectares per person, and there are
The silver ball and copper sea are worth more than 2,000 gold.
"More than two thousand people have been brought here. I heard that Liang Shuo moved away all the people in Yanzhou and there is no one left in Yanchi. We have brought all these people here, just in time to resume the salt production in Yanchi."
Doulu Huairang was the kind of person who stayed back when fighting, but he was actually quite good at logistics, and he was even more capable of reaping benefits for himself.
The two men worked together, with Xue Wanche leading the charge and attacking those who refused, while Dou Lu Huairang persuaded and appeased them from behind. They had a tacit understanding.
On this trip, they not only beheaded more than a thousand people, captured more than 2,000 people, and seized tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, but they also succeeded in frightening and recruiting many Hu people. For these small Hu tribesmen who surrendered, it didn't matter whether they were hundreds or dozens of people.
, the family welcomes those who come to join the family, and they are included in the vassal register, become vassal people, and become familiar with Hu.
Some young men were even recruited from among them to serve as soldiers in the city, and the leaders were also given some official titles to rule.
The territory of Youzhou is very large, it is mostly to the north of Yanzhou, to the west of Lingzhou, and as far north as the Kubuqi Desert on the south bank of the Yellow River in Fengzhou. Most of the territory is desert and Gobi. The land here is large and desolate, but right now
The ecological environment is much better than that of later generations, so there are also many Hu people who are nomadic.
What Xue Wanche and others said about setting up three counties was actually to leave three strongholds and fortresses there to garrison troops as a buffer zone with the Turks at the end of Hetao Yusheshe Ashinamo.
This time they brought many captives and livestock, and they were also heading for the salt from Yanzhou.
Although Xue Wanche and others are new here, they are also very aware of the unspoken rules of Lingwu, and they naturally have to continue to maintain them.
Later, Xue Wanche also arrived.
Suddenly, the border fortress of Changcheng Town (now the seat of Yanchi County) became particularly lively.
Three thousand Lingzhou soldiers and horses, plus the accompanying thousand united militiamen, and more than a thousand subordinate Tibetan soldiers recruited by Lingyou followed, and then they escorted more than two thousand prisoners, as well as many cattle and sheep.
These prisoners, cattle and sheep have basically been distributed.
The Lingzhou Governor's Mansion took part of the government, and then Xue Wanche and Wu Huaiyu, the officials leading the troika, took 20%. The remaining 50% was directly distributed to the soldiers who participated in the conquest, uniting and even attaching Tibetan soldiers.
, those with high merit will get more points, those with less merit will get fewer points, Han soldiers will get more points than Tibetan soldiers, and Fu soldiers will get more points than native soldiers.
This is also the usual practice, and everyone is very satisfied.
However, this time Doulu Huairang proposed that although these prisoners were assigned to different names, they would not be separated for the time being, but brought to Yanzhou to build a salt farm here to produce salt.
It is equivalent to everyone buying into a partnership with their own slaves, and then the profits from the salt farm will be divided into dividends.
Even the confiscated cattle, horses and sheep were arranged and sold by Doulu Huairang, and then the money was divided.
Xue Wanche was also very enthusiastic when he saw Wu Huaiyu.
Before the others came, Wu Huaiyu got him ten hectares of land and more than two thousand dollars, not to mention such a big business as the Lingzhou Dudu Mansion. He got him a good share. For this, Xue Wanche was quite satisfied.
Not to mention that he still remembers that Wu Huaiyu came to the rescue when he was assassinated in Chang'an.
"The three of us are reunited again."
Xue Wanche also came up and gave me a bear hug. This guy is very strong.
He pointed at the prisoners behind him and said proudly, "I knew there was no one in the salt pond, so I brought these here specially. If it's not enough, I'll catch some more."
This guy is pretty crazy.
But as soon as he took office, he gave the surrounding barbarians a powerful show of power, which was indeed very powerful.
"The newly built three-sided castles in Anbian, Zhenbian and Dingbian in Yanzhou are quite good." Xue Wanche, with his professional military vision, admired Wu Huaiyu's ability to regain Yanzhou in a short period of time and build three-sided key defenses.
Outside the Great Wall, by the Wubai Pond, Wucheng was replaced by the Anbian Castle Garrison Battalion, and the Baicheng Garrison Battalion was stationed in the state. The two cities watched each other, and in conjunction with the surrounding beacon towers, they had a solid stronghold outside the Great Wall.
Along the line of the Great Wall, there are two gates: Zhenbian and Dingbian. The town soldiers are stationed in the forts at Zhenbian, Dingbian is also a state city, the town soldiers are stationed in the fortress outside the city, and the state soldiers are stationed in the city.
Along the line of the Great Wall, the fortresses were garrisoned and guarded. Even if Liang Shidu and the Turks attacked again, they would not be afraid.
Anbian Town in Yanzhou has Dingbian on one side, three battalions of town soldiers on three sides, and two battalions of state soldiers stationed in Baicheng and Wuyuan cities.
It's just that we haven't recruited 2,000 united troops yet, so we're short of people.
"When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was in power, he built five Great Walls, three of which were the Shuofang Great Wall from Lingwu to Yulin. Although decades have passed, the Great Wall passes, fortresses, and beacon towers are still very complete. Today there are
The sage planned and dispatched, but he was just following orders," Huaiyu said with a smile.
Although Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty repaired the Great Wall several times, it was all done in the early Sui Dynasty when Jiangnan was not yet settled, but it must be said that the repairs were still very systematic.
The Tang Dynasty had not made much progress in the Shuofang area before. Even Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng took the initiative to abandon Feng and Sheng and move the people inland. They also kept Liang Shidu in control of Xia Suiyin, but they just had no intention of fighting the Turks at that time and concentrated on the Central Plains.
.
Now that the imperial court really wants to go all out to the north, and if the troops, horses, money and food are in place, everything is really not a problem.
Even if Master Liang could move people away, there are not many people in Yanzhou. There are more Hu people than Han people, and there are more raw Hu people than familiar Hu people.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that although the Turks have launched a series of large-scale invasions in the past two years, and even entered Guanzhong twice and once marched to the Wei River, they still cannot change the fact that Tangtu's offense and defense have changed shape.
This time, Liang Shidu retreated without a fight, and all the barbarians in Yuzhou were scattered. In fact, the most important reason was that the Tang Dynasty became stronger and the Turks were timid. In addition, due to the snow disaster on the grassland, the Turks had no time to take care of themselves and even started civil strife.
Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty sent disaster relief and condolence supplies to his sworn brother Tuli Khan, and at the same time asked Youzhou to open mutual trade to provide Tuli with help in times of need.
But ignore Jie Li, Yu Sheshe, Sha Bo Luo She and so on.
But he turned around and sent an envoy to Mobei to consecrate Yi Nan, the leader of Xueyantuo who had moved eastward, as a Khan, give him a drum, and even ask him to marry him.
Originally, the Mobei Tiele tribes were relatively scattered and were severely suppressed by the Turks. In this disaster, the Mobei tribes also suffered heavy losses. However, Jieli still wanted to guard Yugushe in Mobei and expand their troops to the Tiele tribes.
The Ministry of Commerce imposes heavy taxes and transfers losses.
Under oppression, the young and ambitious Yi man came to the East and received the support of the Emperor of the Central Plains. Naturally, he was very motivated and directly contacted the Tiele tribes to set up a flag to fight against the rebellion.
Now Jieli had to face the rebellion of the Mobei Tiele tribes, and also had to fight against his nephew Tuli. It could be said that he had internal and external troubles, and he had no spare time to take care of other things.
Furthermore, Lingwu and Shuofang have always been Yu Sheshe's sphere of influence, but Jieli's nephew, like his cousin Tuli, has long had conflicts with Jieli. Now the Tang army is in Yusheshe's territory
When things happen, Jieli doesn't bother to take care of them.
"Let's go, I have prepared the best Yanchitan sheep for you to catch the wind and wash away the dust."
The fort on the edge of the town is the Great Wall, but it is not too big. It has three gates: east, north, and south. The east-west wall is 1,100 meters long, and the north-south wall is 1,050 meters long. The bottom is 10 meters thick, and the top is 1,000 meters thick.
It is 6.5 meters thick and 10 meters high. Although it is just a rammed earth city wall without bricks, it is still very majestic here.
Wu Huaiyu used Yanchitan sheep to catch the wind for them.
The fur of these Yanchitan sheep is as white as snow, and the mutton has a delicious aroma, tender meat, no smell, and delicious taste. Although Yanzhou has many saline-alkali sandy lands, the mutton produced is the best. This may be related to the various Chinese herbal medicines found all over Yanchi.
Relatedly, eating these Chinese herbal medicines and drinking weak alkaline water can achieve this delicious taste.
There is no need for complicated cooking methods. Cut into pieces and soak in cold water to remove the blood. Bring the cold water to a pot over high heat to remove the foam. Simmer over low heat and add ginger and green onion. Finally, add Lingzhou specialty wolfberry. Before serving, add Yanzhou green wolfberry.
Salt, you can also add some hob cubes and radish to stew together.
When it comes out of the pot, sprinkle some chopped green onions to make the meat fragrant.
Doulu Huairang said it was delicious, "This reminds me of our days in Zhangxian County. The sheep from Yanzhou and the tofu from Zhangxian County are amazing."
Xue Wanche wolfed down the food and had no time to chat.
"Don't worry, there are also hand-caught mutton, pan-fried lamb chops, cumin mutton skewers, and grilled Tan mutton legs. We specially prepared it for you, Yanzhou Tan mutton whole lamb feast."
