Pei Zilie couldn't help but slow down his horse and looked at the surrounding scene with some surprise.
Xu Deyan was both proud and a little regretful: "If it weren't for the Tuyuhun people looking for trouble, there would have been two or three times more people in the market. Now more people are just purchasing goods, preparing to enter the city behind closed doors or divert traffic according to the arrangements of the defending army.
Go to the surrounding towns. The scene that the Duke saw may no longer exist tomorrow."
After sitting in a stable position for so many years, Xu Deyan naturally has deep feelings for the city and the land he built with his own hands. At this time, seeing that everything has been reduced due to the upcoming war, he is naturally regretful and angry.
Pei Zilie said in a deep voice: "At least now we can control the war on the front line of Wuwei. Even if the Tuyuhun people break through Wuwei, they are still far away from stability, so there is no need to regret Xiuyuan. The situation has not deteriorated to this point."
Xu Deyan sighed and said: "Having said that, we still have to prepare for a rainy day. Moreover, the Duke does not know that as soon as the war broke out, there were many rumors among the people in the northwest that the sky was about to fall and the Han Dynasty was unable to stop Tuyuhun's attack, so everyone should flee for their lives. I am here.
In the past few months, apart from mobilizing food and troops, a lot of energy has been devoted to quelling rumors and appeasing the people."
Pei Zilie said with a smile: "It has only been a few years since the northwest re-entered China, and one generation is still not enough. Moreover, the northwest has been trapped by the Turks and Tuyuhun for many years. Although the people are all from China, it is reasonable for them not to have much confidence in the Han Dynasty.
You have to be patient and patient when you are going a long way.”
Of course, Pei Zilie knew that Xu Deyan had been in the northwest for such a long time, and the human customs and scenery he had seen were not as good as those in Jiangnan. After the Jin Dynasty crossed south, Jiangnan had not been disturbed by the Hu people - if Hou Jing had not surrendered first and then rebelled,
If you think about it - so there is quite a sense of Chinese orthodoxy. Looking at these barbarian dynasties in the north, it is natural that they feel that their names are not legitimate and it is not suitable.
As for the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Hebei and other places, although they have been under the control of the Xianbei people for a long time, the Xianbei people have always promoted sinicization, so the people in these places at least know what Huaxia is and know that they are descendants of Huaxia.
The people of the Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties, as the Han army moved northward, these people were naturally willing to submit to the Han.
But the northwest is different. Here in the northwest, when the Wuhu invaded China, they had already been killed by the Qiang and Di people. Except for Wuwei and a few other state capitals affiliated with Liangzhou, which were preserved, the rest of the place was empty.
Later, in order to stabilize the northwest, the Northern Wei Dynasty and others did move people and repair border fortresses. However, these were naturally only a drop in the bucket and did not play a big role in restoring the vitality of the northwest.
Therefore, the northwest that the Han took over was a land where barbarians and Han people had been living together for who knows how many years. The people had basically lost the concept of nation or country, and simply pursued food and clothing, without caring about anything else. Of course, having said that,
There is no way to guarantee even food and clothing, and we cannot expect these people who have been separated from the orthodox Chinese cultural circle for too long to understand the concept of protecting their homes and country.
At that time, when the Han Dynasty established its foothold in the northwest, not to mention ordinary people, even the local aristocratic families were on both ends of the spectrum. They almost stabbed the Han Dynasty in the back during the bloody battle with the Turks. After that, the Han Dynasty abandoned their previous grudges and brought advanced production technology.
As well as business and other development ideas, this allowed the Northwest family to be willing to obey the orders and dispatches of the Han Dynasty.
However, in just a few years, these aristocratic families can develop rapidly due to their huge profits and have a sense of loyalty and belonging to the Han Dynasty, but it is far from enough to implement this emotion and thought on every common person. Especially
The people in the northwest have already mixed blood. Many people are Han and Qiang. After mixing, it is naturally impossible to recognize China and be loyal to the country. If you really want to cultivate this kind of emotion, you can only start from
Catching the baby means placing hope on the next generation.
Fortunately, Pei Zilie had learned before that Xu Deyan had already begun to promote the construction of the Northwest Academy, plus the positive response from local aristocratic families - although business can bring in money quickly, in the eyes of most aristocratic families, it is only an emergency measure, so that children can accept it.
It would be great to receive an orthodox education and take the imperial examination in order to be able to enter the Han Dynasty as an official one day in the future, and thus be able to speak on behalf of the entire family, and even represent the entire northwest people.
However, due to the impact of the war, this matter may have to be postponed again. Fortunately, families with a little financial resources have now begun to send their children to Chang'an for education. However, this is still a long way from what the Han Dynasty finally wants to achieve and has even achieved.
There is still a big gap between the universal education achieved in Jiangnan and other places.
Xu Deyan sighed: "The northwest is unstable because there is Tuyuhun outside. When will our great men be able to defeat the Tuyuhun and advance directly into the Western Region? At this time, the northwest will not be the front line but the rear. Then the northwest will be stable."
Pei Zilie smiled and said: "I, the Han Dynasty, are invincible in our battles from north to south. How difficult is it to defeat a mere Tuyuhun?"
Xu Deyan looked at Pei Zilie. The tense battle situation in Wuwei put a lot of pressure on the civil and military officials in the northwest. Everyone knew that once the front line collapsed and the nest was overturned, there would be no eggs left. Xu Deyan did not know how many days he had been tossing and turning.
.
Now Pei Zilie's bold words made him feel refreshed.
Yes, when I have been in the northwest for a long time, all I have seen is how the Han Dynasty struggled to hold on under the strong oppression of Tuyuhun, but I have forgotten that the reason why the Han Dynasty had to adopt such a posture in the northwest is because the main force of the Han Dynasty has been concentrated in the Central Plains.
, fighting for the unification of the world. Now that the main force of the Han Dynasty has been liberated from the flames of war, how difficult is it to defeat Tuyuhun?
Xu Deyan bowed his hands to Pei Zilie: "The situation in the northwest depends entirely on the Duke."
Pei Zilie shook his head: "There is something wrong with what Xiu Yuan said."
Xu Deyan raised his eyebrows.
Pei Zilie cupped his hands toward the southeast: "The people of the world care about the northwest, and your majesty takes the northwest as the main focus of the Han's future conquests. Therefore, the situation in the northwest depends on your majesty's overall arrangements."
Xu Deyan couldn't help but be overjoyed: "That's good!"
Your Majesty has already attached great importance to the battle in the northwest, so the Han Dynasty will definitely devote all its national strength to it. There is nothing to worry about in the northwest station. Stabilizing the northwest is really just around the corner.
"Reinforcements will arrive in a few days. How to arrange the deployment, you have to listen to Xiu Yuan's advice then." Pei Zilie said with a smile, "I just hope Xiu Yuan has not forgotten all his strategies."
With that said, the two people had arrived outside the government office.
The governor of the northwest and the governor of Liangzhou actually worked together. Sun Sheng, the chief governor of Liangzhou, was in Jincheng at this time, so the civil and military officials who came to greet him were mainly focused on stabilizing the state.