The original expedition outside the Great Wall may have been just a pure military training in the eyes of the Emperor, but now, the development of the war has completely exceeded the Emperor's expectations. First of all, the number of enemies outside the Great Wall, originally thought to be 20,000, suddenly increased.
The number has become 80,000, and together with other possible aids, the number is nearly 100,000. With this number, the North and South armies that were not fully dispatched need to think twice before acting.
After all, the Han army now has 21,000 troops outside the Great Wall, with 21,000 Southern troops and 23,000 Northern troops. It seems like a lot of people, but these are new soldiers who have not received training, and the climate is extremely harsh.
These people are not all cavalry, so they have a huge disadvantage. Their advantages lie in the advancement of their ordnance and the abilities of their generals.
In the cold winter of the 18th year of Yankang, Guan Yu pursued the main force of Xianbei. On a learning plain, the two sides fought. After Guan Yu suffered about 1,000 casualties, he successfully defeated the main force, killed more than 16,000 people, and captured
Thirty thousand, the rest of the thieves fled in all directions, but were captured by many generals of the Northern and Southern Army and brought back to Yangcheng in Hezhou, where the prisoners would spend the cold winter.
At best, this may be the easiest winter for them to survive, and they can survive without looting. At this time, the emperor wants to withdraw his troops, but it is no longer possible. Guan Yu's great victory stimulates
When the generals of the Southern Army arrived, especially Zhang Liao, who had achieved nothing, the Southern Army launched an unprovoked conquest against the surrounding barbarians, which caused a shock in the temple.
The war gradually became a competition between the northern and southern armies. Both sides were frantically gaining military exploits and trying to outdo each other. In just four months, the southern army actually wiped out seventeen tribes outside the Great Wall, including Xianbei people and Uzbekistan tribes.
The Huan people, the Huns, and even the honest Sushen people did not let go. Such behavior made the minister in the court furious.
The Northern Army also failed to hold back. Cao Situ's son with a yellow beard and two thousand cavalry actually captured four cities of the Sushen people. They were notorious outside the Great Wall. They were dispatched continuously, along with the reclamation of the Great Wall.
, after the Overseas Government received the order, Fa Zheng personally escorted these "coolies" and rushed to Ningzhou Port in a steady stream. These "coolies" were naturally "bandits" suppressed overseas.
Even Xizhou transported these manpower to Hezhou from the northwest through Guishang and other states further away. Sima Yi was mainly responsible for these matters, while Zhuge Liang was responsible for mobilizing corvees and working with horses.
They all surveyed the terrain together and were responsible for the construction. When Zhuge Liang discovered that these coolies were coming, it was already too late.
Different from the original agreement, during the negotiation in the Houde Hall, Zhuge Liang proposed that 1.4 million people should be used as corvees, supplemented by 200,000 coolies, to start the construction together. However, the number of people sent to Ningzhou now is
There were already more than 400,000 people, not to mention those who would follow from Xizhou. Based on this calculation, Sima Yi actually planned to transport more than one million people to the border.
When Zhuge Liang, who was in Bingzhou to discuss when the local corvee expedition should be carried out, heard these things, he was furious and hurriedly wrote to the temple.
In the Hall of Houde, Liu Xi looked at the letter sent by Zhuge Liang, and his face became more and more gloomy. Obviously, he was very angry, and Sima Yi was sitting in front of him, with no trace of guilt at all. Liu Xi slammed the letter on the
On the case, Sima Yi stared at the side and asked coldly: "Zhongda? What's going on? Didn't you agree to mobilize 200,000 people? How did it become one million?"
Sima Yi did not panic, looked at the emperor calmly, and asked: "Are you angry because I sent one million slaves to build the city, or are you angry because I made a private decision?"
"Haha...what do you think?" Liu Xi's eyes were particularly cold.
"Your Majesty, if you want to transfer one million people from Hebei, it will cause huge damage to Hebei, whether it is agriculture or other fields. The governance of Hebei by three generations of emperors since Emperor Xiaokang,
I'm afraid it will be destroyed in one day. This time, I would rather bear the bad reputation myself than ruin this prosperous age!" Sima Yi said seriously.
"Hahaha, so I have to thank you for taking the initiative?" Liu Xi laughed angrily.
"I have never had such an idea, but I will not put my own emotions above my family and country. If I thought well, Zhuge Liang would definitely advise your majesty to mobilize the people as much as possible and move the people of the Han Dynasty to these areas.
Instead of using those slaves to fill the outside, is this right?" Sima Yi asked.
Liu Xi narrowed his eyes and then nodded.
"Zhuge Liang thinks this way entirely because his master is just a barbarian. Therefore, he values those barbarians so much. Your Majesty, do you think it is the people of the Han who are more important, or the prisoners who are more important?
? Sacrifice is also needed, why not let those prisoners sacrifice?" Sima Yi asked, he said angrily: "As a minister, I do things without considering the big man, I can take my place!"
Liu Xi was silent for a long time, looking at Zhuge Liang's documents on the case. He didn't know what he was thinking about. The atmosphere was quite depressing. After a long time, Liu Xi just raised his head and said displeasedly: "Such a thing can never happen again.
This time... I’ll fine you three months’ salary!”
"Sincerely!" After hearing the emperor's words, Sima Yi felt relieved immediately. He bowed to the emperor, but a smile appeared on his face. Villager Zhuge, this is your own stupidity. Don't blame me.
Ah, in this position of minister, I can do it better than you!
.....
"What?? Everything is the same as before?! I just fined him three months' salary?!" In the study, Zhuge Zhan, who came to Bingzhou with his father, shouted in surprise. Zhuge Liang sat not far away, frowning.
Frowning and saying nothing, Zhuge Zhan looked at it carefully for a moment and then said: "Father, it seems there is no way to change this matter. What the emperor said is not unreasonable..."
"We have already sent them here. If we send them back again, wouldn't it cost more?"
Zhuge Liang was still speechless.
Zhuge Zhan felt helpless and sat next to his father, and persuaded: "Father... I know about the master, but these people are different from the master. They are prisoners and prisoners of war. Anyway, we need people to come."
Pay it forward and let these people come..."
"Shut up!!" Zhuge Liang suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhuge Zhan sternly, with a bit of disappointment in his eyes. He asked: "Do you also think that I am a person who cares about my feelings and can sacrifice my country?
"
"Of course not...then...why is my father so opposed to it?" Zhuge Zhan lowered his head, not daring to look at his father, but he still asked cautiously.
"Alas... I ask you, I beat you, scold you, if one day you become strong and I get old, what will you do?"
"Of course I love to honor my father... and support my father..." Zhuge Zhan said.
"Yes, but what do you think will happen if I rob a child, beat and scold him on weekdays, and one day, I am old and weak?" Zhuge Liang asked again.
Zhuge Zhan was stunned, and immediately understood what his father was thinking, and said in surprise: "How is this possible? The Han Dynasty has experienced three generations of wise kings. It is so powerful and has only a few million captives. What can it do? My father is too worried.
It’s over!”
"I hope... the big man will always be strong... but... alas... I am not the one who ignores his family and country for his own sake. On the contrary, Sima Yi is a thief who ignores his family and country for his own future...
.", Zhuge Liang said angrily.
"Then, what do you think, Father, how should we raise this other people's children?"
"Raise him as your own child, teach him propriety, justice and shame, and let him learn filial piety...or...eliminate the roots and kill him while he is still weak.", Zhuge Liang said, his expression getting darker and darker.
Uneasy and helpless, I sat down, looked into the distance, and slowly fell into a trance.
"I just hope that there won't be a day when I am old and weak..."
"But...is it really not possible?"
"His Majesty..."
In the cold winter of the 18th year of Yankang, countless poor people in fear landed on the land of Ningzhou. Amidst the sound of long whips piercing the air, these people wiped their tears and limped towards the outside of the Great Wall.
People often die on the road. They miss their life abroad very much. They remember the young governor who made countless beautiful promises to them.
As long as they worked hard, he promised to give them a house and treat them as human beings. However, after they worked hard for a whole year, they were hidden in the cabin like animals, and suffered heavy casualties along the way.
, after arriving in Ningzhou, they, dressed in ragged clothes, had never seen the cold winter, and saw their hell for the first time.
Everyone was extremely frightened, looking at the snowflakes and feeling the biting coldness of winter. This was probably the world after death?
Ma Jun personally came to the outside of the Great Wall and designed sixteen cities. These coolies didn't even get a moment's rest before they put on heavy shackles and went to work. An order from the emperor could sometimes kill countless people.
In order to achieve political achievements, the officials constantly spurred them and made them work every day and night. In this cold winter, more and more people became sculptures.
Sure enough, in the summer of the 19th year of Yankang, many prototypes of cities had appeared outside the Great Wall. The Northern and Southern armies had not left. They were still arresting people outside the Great Wall and monitoring these prisoners. Their daily drills
, can shock the coolies here, so that they know that the officials here are fully capable of destroying them all, and if they want to survive, they must be obedient.
Even in the face of such a powerful military force, the eyes of these people who died in the cold winter sparkled with hatred.