The journey was inconvenient, and it was already dark when Yang Hu arrived at the Xiju Bamboo House. Dozens of bright-horned lanterns illuminated the small campsite as brightly as day.
Yang Hu's personal guards were stopped from waiting outside the camp, and Yang Hu was taken to the Xiju Bamboo House.
It was unbearably hot outside the mountain, but it was cool inside the mountain. After nightfall, Han Qian put on a thin shirt over his short coat.
Seeing Yang Hu walking in accompanied by Feng Liao and Gao Shao, Han Qian put Xin'er, who was playing on his lap, on the ground, asked Zhao Ting'er to take it away, and motioned to Yang Hu and the others to sit down and talk.
After the maid made tea, Han Qian asked "concernedly" about Sizhou's situation:
"I heard that there is not much peace in Sizhou recently, and I don't know how far the situation will develop?"
In addition to the farther and more remote states in central Guizhou, the four states of Chen, Xu, Si, and Ye, as the Jizhou state attached to Da Chu, now except for some symbolic tributes every year, as well as the state of emergency
Except for conscription, military and political affairs in peacetime mainly depend on autonomy and are not directly restricted by the Chu court.
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the central court has adopted more checks and balances strategies for tribal disputes between and within Jizu Prefecture, and it does not even object to tribes in Jizuo County killing each other.
The winner in tribal disputes would often be newly canonized by the central imperial power and become the new ruler of Jizhou County.
In this kind of environment and atmosphere, as long as he doesn't get burned, Han Qian is now eager to cause more monsters in Sizhou. It is really a normal mentality.
Even if he didn't know the real inside story, Yang Hu knew how cheap Han Qian's so-called "concern" was, so he said in an understatement:
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Marquis. I caused some minor disturbances but haven't caused any serious trouble. My father has already led his elite troops down the Chen River and entered Jinhe County to take charge. I believe that within three to five days, the rebellion will be suppressed.
"
Sizhou is adjacent to Xuzhou, but among the famous Yang family figures in Sizhou, Han Qian has been in contact with Yang Hu a few times. Regardless of the calculations inside, he was still very polite on the surface and said with a smile: "Everything is with Yang Hu."
It's really good that the governor is under control. I don't have to rush to Gaoyiyu to add more troops to prevent the chaos from spreading to Chenzhong County. I don't know what the young master's needs are when he comes here this time. Please feel free to put them forward.
"
On the pretext of missing the civil unrest in the state, Han Qian had sent reinforcements to Gaoyiyu with 300 elite soldiers to build a camp the day before yesterday.
However, in the short term, unless Sizhou directly lends troops to assist in the suppression, or the court issues a transfer order, otherwise, Han Qian will not further send additional troops from the border area of Si and Xu because he does not want to cause Chenzhou and Yezhou to react violently.
reason.
Seeing that Han Qian deliberately changed the subject to borrowing troops to help suppress the war, Yang Hu swallowed hard, thinking to himself, how stupid would the Yang family be to do such a stupid thing as luring a wolf into the house?
Yang Hu hesitated for a while, sorted out his words, and said:
"My father asked me to come to see Mr. Hou mainly because he heard that the bandit leader Tan Yuliang and his family settled in Gaoyiyu, Chenzhong after he deregistered from Tanyang County. Tan Yuliang led his nephew to sneak into Jinhe to help the salt lord Gaotai.
After waiting for someone to escape from prison, he occupied Nanhuang Village and named himself General Tianping. He really deserved to die. I heard that his children should still be in Gaoyiyu. I hope Xuzhou can help arrest him..."
"It's easy to say. Tan Yuliang occupied Osprey Village in Xuzhou in his early years and caused trouble. I thought he was the number one figure at first. After capturing Osprey Village, I just expelled him from Xuzhou to end the trouble. I didn't expect that he would not change his evil intentions and ran away again.
If Sizhou causes trouble, I will definitely send someone to arrest and imprison his family," Han Qian said. "However, desperadoes like Tan Yuliang dared to commit evil deeds of breaking out of prison and rebelling, so they probably did not think of taking care of their children.
Life or death."
Whether it is protection, or taking Tan Yuliang as a hostage, or Zhao Zhixian not to have other delusions, Han Qian will detain the women and children of the Tan and Zhao families, but no matter what Yang Hu says, he will not be able to detain the women,
Just hand the children over to Sizhou.
What's wrong with Xuzhou's bad mind?
As the leader of Xuzhou, he should have evil intentions and take advantage of the situation.
When he said this, Han Qian narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Yang Hu's face, without any hint of guilt.
Yang Hu pondered the meaning of Han Qian's words and knew that it would be unrealistic to ask Xuzhou to hand over the bandit leader's family to him and take him back to Sizhou. He then said: "There are still more than 800 village slaves working in Xuzhou in Sizhou. I
Father is worried that if the news spreads, they will be unstable. If I come here this time, I may be able to take them back to Sizhou and keep them under strict supervision. I will also ask the Marquis..."
Han Qian smiled slightly, thinking that if the eight hundred village slaves really asked Yang Hu to take him away, as long as he promised a generous reward and a heavy promise, they would soon become a bargaining chip in Yang's hands to suppress the rebels. How could he easily agree to Yang Hu's offer?
He asked perfunctorily:
"As the news spreads, the instability of people's hearts is indeed a big problem, but please rest assured, young master, Han may not be able to help Sizhou in other aspects, but he will definitely keep a close eye on these 800 village slaves, and if that doesn't work, he will kill them directly
Imprison them. Young Master, please don’t worry about what evil moths these village slaves will cause in Xuzhou! However, Young Master will take them back to Sizhou now. If they cause trouble and rebel on the way, they will be caught off guard.
It might make the situation more serious, which is inappropriate, inappropriate..."
Seeing Han Qian's hypocritical look, Xi Rong and Zhao Ting'er took Wen Xin's little hand and walked to the next room to avoid laughing out loud.
Before Yang Hu came over, some people said that Han Qian was always treacherous and cruel. Even if Xuzhou hadn't done anything beforehand, Xuzhou would have taken advantage of Sizhou. But when they heard that Han Qian was so shameless that he wanted to directly detain Yang.
The village slave of the family, his face still twitched uncontrollably several times.
After a while, Yang Hu finally suppressed the anger in his heart and asked:
"Sizhou still has a working payment of more than 10,000 shi of grain and grain that has not been settled with Xuzhou. When I set off from Jinhe County, my father hoped to use this working payment to buy some crossbow equipment from Xuzhou. I wanted to come to Marquis
Do you also find this difficult to do?"
Han Qian said in embarrassment: "The work payment can be settled at will. The young master can just send someone to collect it. But the young master also knows that in order to support the Jinling war, Xuzhou filled in all his family assets, so that the soldiers, crossbows and weapons of the state camp were
They are all seriously insufficient. It is really difficult to squeeze out more supplies for Sizhou! Apart from these, what other requirements does the young master have?"
Yang Hu felt as if Han Qian had forced several balls of thatch into his chest, and he was choked and speechless, but he knew that he was not qualified to show off his face to Han Qian.
Han Qian met with Yang Hu in person, mainly because he wanted to see what kind of request Yang Hu would make when he rushed over this time, so as to more accurately judge the situation of the Sizhou soldiers and the rebel army. Now that the purpose has been achieved, he is too lazy to continue talking to Yang Hu.
After perfunctory, he said to Feng Liao:
"Young Master has been tired from the journey. I'm afraid he is tired. Feng Liao, please arrange for Young Master to stay in the camp first. Whenever Young Master needs anything, you will take good care of him."
"I dare not disturb the Marquis. Yang Hu has to rush to Chenyang to see Lord Xiying, the governor of Chenzhou. The Marquis will not force Yang Hu to stay, right?" Yang Hu stared at Han Qian sharply and asked.
"What did you say, Young Master? The military situation is urgent. Young Master is rushing to see the governor for help. I'm just ashamed that I can't be of much help. Why do you insist on leaving you in Xuzhou?" Han Qian said with a smile without any hesitation.
, signaling Feng Liao to send someone to escort Yang Hu and the others down the mountain.
When they sent someone to monitor Yang Hu and the others as they went down the mountain, Feng Liao met Guo Rong and walked back to the bamboo house together. He saw Han Qian frowning and looking out the window at the deep night and asked:
"Although we have not received specific information, judging from Yang Hu's non-stop rush to Chenzhou, the momentum created by Tan Yuliang and others in Panlong Ridge may have alerted the slaves in Renshan and Shiqian, making Yang aware
When the crisis becomes serious - of course it is also possible that the Yang family is extremely wary of us, so Yang Hu's three requests are really a test for us?"
Guo Rong just learned about the situation of Han Qian's interview with Yang Hu. It may not be a good thing that Tan Yuliang built such a huge momentum in Sizhou in a very short time. It is said that his rise was sudden and his defeat was quick. The momentum developed too fast.
On the one hand, Yang was vigilant early, and on the other hand, the rebels had no time to digest and consolidate their foundation. There would be a lot of internal problems and no time to sort them out.
Guo Rong thought for a while and said: "Even if Yang can't be sure that we have done something secretly, at this time we can still be sure that we have bad intentions and want to take advantage of the situation - of course, Yang Hu went to Chenzhou to ask for help, and Xiying and his son
They are also deeply afraid of Xuzhou, and they will most likely send people to Yueyang or Jinling to report the matter non-stop. To a certain extent, our goal has been initially achieved!"
"After recapturing Jinling, Emperor Yanyou immediately asked Xiying's two sons to lead the battalion back to Chenzhou. He must have used the Xi clan to monitor Xuzhou." Feng Liao frowned and guessed, "If Xiying has something in his hands,
It is not surprising at all that Emperor Yanyou gave him the secret decree to use it cheaply!"
No matter how vigilant and fearful the Chenzhou Xi clan is towards Xuzhou, even if they sense something is wrong, they will not dare to take any sudden action against Xuzhou. But if they have the secret decree of Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu, it will be completely different.
.
Although in the early stages of the war to reduce the vassal state, the Chenzhou Xi clan was severely beaten by the Xuzhou camp, which was reorganized into the Wuling Army at that time. Xiying's three sons died in the war, but we have to admit that after the war in the middle and late stages of the vassal reduction,
, tempered by the battles to recover Jinling, the combat effectiveness of Chenzhou Fanying has been greatly improved.
Whether it was Yang Yuanpu's direct support or Chenzhou Fanying's outstanding military exploits and deserved to be rewarded, its embarrassing situation of shortage of soldiers, armor and weapons has also been completely improved - Yang Yuanpu even exiled some prisoners of war and their families to Chenzhou, which was against
Chenzhou Xishi was strengthened.
In addition to the Chai Jian headquarters on the other side of Xuefeng Mountain Post Road, Chenzhou Fanying can also be said to pose a certain threat to Xuzhou.
Guo Rong and Gao Shao both looked at Han Qian. Although Feng Liao didn't fully explain what he said, his meaning was quite clear.
Since they can quickly achieve the goal of knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger, they should not take any more actions for the time being, lest they really give someone a leg up.
Otherwise, Xuzhou will fall into isolation. Even if the Chaizhou Construction Department of Chenzhou, Yezhou and Shaozhou cannot pass through the Xuefeng Mountain Post Road and pose a substantial military threat to Xuzhou, as long as the waterways upstream and downstream of the Yuanjiang River are blocked, the
Xuefengshan Post Road, Xuzhou will become extremely uncomfortable.
After they achieved their goal of knocking down the mountain and shaking the tiger, they waited to see how the situation in Sizhou would develop. Even if the Yang family succeeded in suppressing the rebellion of the Tianping Army, their vitality would be damaged to some extent, and the situation was extremely favorable to Xuzhou.
In Feng Liao's view, this is the ruthlessness and decisiveness that a hero should have.
Han Qian was sorting out the messy desk, but he didn't seem to understand what Feng Liao was saying. He said to himself: "If you can't say that you have achieved the goal of knocking down the mountain and shaking the tiger, you can leave Tan Yuliang and the others alone."
Feng Liao glanced at Gao Shao and Guo Rong, thinking that he had said everything that needed to be said. The final decision rested with Han Qian, and he would not argue with Han Qian.
Han Qian glanced at Feng Liao and asked, "Are you a bit dismissive of my words?"
"Feng Liao doesn't dare." Feng Liao said.
"When I, Han Qian, mentioned the idea of waiting for the noble or the humble, some people would definitely think, since everyone is waiting for the noble or the humble, how can I ask others to obey my orders?" Han Qian stood in front of the window with his hands folded and said leisurely, "Yes, if I am right
Others just take advantage of me and treat them as dispensable pawns at my mercy. They dare not take responsibility. I am really embarrassed to ask others to take orders from me."
Feng Liao, Gao Shao, and Guo Rong were shocked. They really had not considered such a profound issue.
Han Qian had no intention of dwelling on this issue and continued: "We have never had direct contact with Yang Xingfeng. In fact, it is not that simple - we still need to study more about this person."
The fact that the Yang family sent village slaves to work in Xuzhou does not explain the stupidity of Yang Xingfeng, Yang Hu and his son. It was mainly caused by historical limitations.
In addition to the fact that Sizhou was too poor and closed-off and needed money and food from Xuzhou before he could join forces with Yuzhou to open the Qianjiang Channel, more importantly, who could have imagined in advance that he would be so radical in revolutionizing his own life in Xuzhou?
, directly abolish the old system of slaves?
Now looking at Yang Xingfeng's reaction, although it is very likely to help Xuzhou achieve the goal of knocking down the mountain and shaking the tiger, Yang Xingfeng paid so much attention to the rebels in such a short period of time, and he also maintained enough vigilance against Xuzhou, and used traditional methods to
By the standards, it is still quite powerful and tricky.
If they don't provide additional support, Tan Yuliang and others may not be able to withstand the next wave of blows from the Yang family because their foothold is not stable.
Feng Liao, Guo Rong, Gao Shao and others no longer regarded the Tianping Army led by Tan Yuliang and others as chess pieces that they could abandon without care. When they studied the situation again, they found it deeply difficult and complicated.
Feng Liao frowned and said: "If the Yang family can't hold it back, please ask Yuzhou to send troops to help suppress it, but things will be simple..."
The states of Chen, Xu, Si, and Ye were all affiliated to the Jizhou of Chu. Whether dispatched by the Chu court or invited by Sizhou, the three states of Chen, Xuye, and Chen were just and obedient to send troops to assist in the suppression, but they were not
With Chu Ting's permission, Sizhou asked Yuzhou to send troops without authorization, which was a betrayal, and Xuzhou had an excuse to intervene.
"The Yang family may not make this stupid mistake, but Wang Yong, the Marquis of Changxiang, may not miss the opportunity to intervene in Sizhou." Guo Rong's eyes lit up and he said.
"Yes, as long as Yuzhou soldiers cross the border, we will have an excuse." Han Qian nodded, indicating that he could consider setting a trap for Changxiang Marquis Wang Yong from this direction, and said, "Immediately order all counties to seize Si
The state slaves were transferred to Chenzhong for three days, and Xi Faer, Kou Rong, Han Bao and others were responsible for training the formation..."
There are currently 800 slaves in Sizhou working in various places in Xuzhou. Han Qian will definitely not let Yang Hu take these people away easily, but he will not simply supervise or imprison these people. He will still have to organize them.
Strict training.
When the time comes, no matter which party he hands these people over to, he must ensure that they can be quickly mobilized as effective combat forces.
…………
…………
Yang Hu left the north slope of Longya Mountain that night, crossed the Chen River, and, surrounded by dozens of guards, traveled at night along the post road on the north bank, and arrived at the foot of Chenyang City at dawn.
Unlike Sizhou and Yuzhou, which belong to two countries, the Si, Chen, Xu, and Ye states are all attached to the Jizhou of Da Chu. As long as the Chenyang city gate is opened normally and Yang protects Sizhou's photo, it can
Enter Chenyang City with a limited number of armed guards.
However, in order to show respect for the Xi clan, Yang Hu sent people to the city first to report.
Chenyang serves as the key point where Chenshui flows into the Yuanjiang River, especially the upper reaches of the Chenshui River Valley centered on Jimingzhai. After being taken away by Xuzhou to establish Chenzhong County, Chenyang served as a key node connecting Ruanling and Xupu.
Meaning becomes more and more important.
Xiying not only moved the state government offices and halls to Chenyang City to handle state affairs, but also Xishepeng and Xishesheng returned with Chenyang Fanying, and the garrison in Chenyang City was also greatly increased to 2,000 elite troops.
In comparison, Xuzhou's garrison in Chenzhong, the Ma Bujun Jia Shui Camp, only had 1,200 people.
Of course, soldiers and horses are not simply a matter of numbers. In addition to the Xuzhou soldiers' better armaments and better training, no one dares to ignore the Xuzhou soldiers' mobilization ability.
When Han Daoxun implemented the land reform, the population of Xuzhou was as high as 200,000. During Han Qian's rule in Xuzhou, the rate of population inflow slowed down, but it did not stop.
In addition to annexing nearly 10,000 aborigines in the upper reaches of Yuanchenshui River, they also continued to force residents to migrate out of the mountains and old forests in the upper reaches of the canal. Xiying believed that the population of Xuzhou should have exceeded 220,000.
In comparison, Chenzhou Dingkou suffered greater losses in the early stages of the vassal war - especially the losses among young adults. A piece of the upper reaches of the Chenshui river valley was dug away. The total population was only 120,000 to 30,000, and there were quite a lot of them.
The population is all village slaves from the other six surnamed clans except the Xi clan.
In addition, the total population of Sizhou and Yezhou together may only be about 140,000 to 140,000. This also includes the result of Sizhou annexing some of the Wu Liao fan villages.
Just from the perspective of population, Chenzhou, Yezhou, and Sizhou combined have slightly stronger military potential than Xuzhou.
In any case, even if there is no excuse to block the Ruanjiang waterway, Xiying believes that no matter how sober and vigilant he is against Xuzhou and the ambitious Han Qian, it is necessary.
Xiying knew about a series of events such as prison robbery and civil unrest in Sizhou almost immediately.
However, after the upper reaches of the Chenshui River Valley were delimited by Xuzhou, the border between Chenzhou and Sizhou was located in the deep mountains and old forests in the north of Panlong Ridge. It was extremely inconvenient for the two sides to communicate from that direction.
Before Yang Hu came over, all Xiying could do was send people to Hujian Pass to find out the news.
Yang Hu rushed to the gate of Chenyang City, and Xiying had just woken up. He immediately invited Yang Hu into the mansion behind the state government office.
In addition to Xishesheng, the eldest son of Renzhou Sima, and other direct line generals, Xiying also invited Cao Xiushi, the chief historian appointed by Jinling, to come over for discussion.
No one is a simple and ignorant boy. Civil unrest broke out in Sizhou. The bandit leader Tan Yuliang escaped from the hard labor camp and lived in Chenzhong for a while. His family is now under the control of Han Qian. He has always been hostile and wary of Han Qian's wolfish ambitions.
How could Xiying not think about the possibility that Han Qian was behind it?
The problem is that just guessing is useless.
The princes in the court will not just ignore it based on speculation, without considering the consequences, and support Chenzhou to join forces with Sizhou, Yezhou, and Shaozhou to launch a military blockade against Xuzhou and cut off all channels for Xuzhou to communicate with the outside world.
It was impossible for Emperor Yanyou to declare to the Chu people that Han Qian, the imperial master who had just been granted the title of Marquis of Qianyang and had made great contributions to the Chu, was a traitor based on mere speculation and regardless of the consequences.
"How serious is the matter?" Xiying asked with concern.
Although the Yang family also had old grudges with the Chenzhou Xi family, after the upper reaches of the Chenshui river valley was captured by Xuzhou, the Yang family more or less understood the principles of distant relations and close attacks.
Facing Xiying's inquiry, Yang Hu no longer concealed anything, and his address became more affectionate: "Three or five days after the prison robbery, the villages in Panlongling were greatly shaken. The bandit leader launched an attack in the name of abolition of slavery and equalization of land.
It is said that at least three thousand women and children were bewitched and traveled through mountains and rivers to gather in Nanhuang Village. Among them, there were eight or nine hundred young and strong people. Nearly ten villages on the left and right sides were also destroyed. There are even some reports that people in Renshan, Shiqian and even Yezhou were destroyed.
There is a rumor among the slaves in the territory. Yesterday when my nephew, my nephew, came from Jinhe County, Renshan County intercepted more than 70 escaped slaves heading to the southern end of Panlong Ridge. First, in such a short period of time, the momentum was so great. It was unprecedented.
See, my father is worried that if the delay continues for a few more days, it will become more and more out of control. Secondly, my father is worried that such a huge momentum will erupt in such a short period of time. Someone behind the scenes is deliberately doing this..."
Even if Han Qian rejected Yang Hu's three requests with bad intentions, he could not just name Xuzhou and say there was a problem.
"..." Xiying also took a breath after hearing this. The informants he sent out only saw turmoil in Jinhe County, but they did not expect that there was also turmoil in Yezhou, south of Sizhou.
Yang Xingfeng's response was quite timely, but the problem was that regardless of the steep and rugged terrain at the northern and northeastern foothills of Panlong Ridge, if Chenzhou wanted to send troops and materials to reinforce Sizhou, it had to go through the area that had been occupied by Xuzhou at this time.
It reaches the upper reaches of Chenshui River Valley and enters Sizhou via Hujian Pass.
Unless the court clearly issued an order, even if Han Qian agreed, Xiying would not dare to rashly send Chenzhou Banying to borrow the road from Chenzhong to Sizhou - if Han Qian turned his back and refused to admit it, they would be deducted from sending troops across the border without permission.
After removing his hat, he brazenly sent troops to attack the Chenzhou camp that was passing by. Could he have dragged Han Qian into a lawsuit at that time?
"Immediately send envoys to accompany the young master to Jinling to see your Majesty and report the civil unrest. As long as your Majesty has the decree, Chenzhou soldiers can enter Sizhou territory at any time to suppress the civil unrest!" Xiying said.
No matter how loud the civil unrest was, Yang Xingfeng and Sizhou were immediately alert and mobilized. They believed that there would be no problem if the situation of suppression did not worsen within a month or two. When the time came, Jinling sent the edict and sent troops to Shaozhou and Chenzhou.
The troops and horses borrowed the road from Xuzhou to Sizhou to suppress the civil unrest. I believe Han Qian would not dare to have any objections!