Cars rattled, horses rustled, and pedestrians carried bows and arrows at their waists.
On the northeast side of the West Sea (Qinghai) where the Shaodang Qiang people were entrenched outside the territory of the Han Dynasty, a caravan of more than a hundred people was moving slowly.
Unlike other caravan guards who make jokes and laugh while escorting, these hundreds of knights are silent and always alert to unknown dangers. When one sees it, one can guess that these must be soldiers who have been marching for a long time.
This is the convoy of Han Dynasty Da Honglu, captain Wuji of the Western Region, traveling to Chu.
As for why he, as a court official, dressed up as a merchant and appeared in the habitat of the Shaodang Qiang species, it was Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's plan for the Zhang family in Dunhuang due to the exhaustion of Bashu.
Before planning to send troops to Liangzhou, the prime minister asked You Chu to be transferred to Longyou. He originally planned to treat him as a "horse bone" of Hexi people who was well-received by the court, so as to reduce the resistance of Liangzhou heroes to returning to the Han Dynasty.
Later, with the statement of the Dunhuang Zhang family, the prime minister saw another possibility.
Although, the Dunhuang Zhang family has reached an agreement with Zheng Pu and is willing to stand under the banner of the Han Dynasty again.
But this has a prerequisite.
If the Han army's expedition to Liangzhou was unfavorable, or due to natural disasters and other factors, they were unable to reach Dunhuang County before the main force of the Wei Guanzhong was sent out, then the Zhang family would inevitably void this agreement.
The big man couldn't blame him for this.
After all, the Zhang family is now the ministers of Wei State.
Therefore, the Prime Minister wanted to make some plans for the worst outcome.
Let You Chu pretend to be a merchant and take a detour to Dunhuang County with Sichuan brocade, tea and other supplies in demand for the Silk Road trade.
On the one hand, trade can help the court accumulate money and food for war, and it can also help the small countries in the Western Regions to become friendly with the big Han. Now that the Silk Road is cut off, only the big Han can send trade materials, which can make them feel that the big Han is better than the Han.
Wei Guo is more trustworthy and reliable.
The other is to prevent the Zhang family from contributing to Wei's conquests.
After traveling to Chu and arriving at Dunhuang, he will leave the customs as a captain of the Wuji School in the Western Regions and establish a Protectorate.
Through the distribution of trade materials, those small countries were integrated. When the Wei State asked Dunhuang County to send troops to assist in the war, they took the soldiers and horses of the small countries in the Western Regions to wander around Yumen Pass, Yangguan and other places.
Let the Zhang family shirk Wei's conscription on the grounds that the Western Region is in turmoil and they leave troops to guard the people.
It also reduced the resistance of the Han army.
Will the Dunhuang Zhang family be upset if they behave like this?
This is nothing to worry about.
In other words, the Zhang family is happy to hear about this.
From the moment they sent envoys to meet Zheng Pu privately, they were unwilling to fight for Wei.
Moreover, trade must pass through Dunhuang County. Just the tariffs paid along the way are a large amount of income, not to mention that if trade prospers, it will also make the people in the county prosperous.
The only thing that needs to be considered is that the western route of the Silk Road needs to cross the Qilian Mountains from Zhangye County and enter the Hexi Corridor.
Nowadays, there are three valley roads connecting Zhangye County with the Huawai Qiang region.
They are Biandukou (Minle County), Baishiya (Shandan County) and Pingqiangkou (source of the West River).
For example, a few years ago, when the combined troops of Ma Dai and Shaodang Qiang attacked the Shandan Horse Farm of Wei State, they took this section of the valley road at Pingqiangkou.
With this past, Cang Ci, the prefect of the Wei dynasty, would definitely take strict precautions and station troops for garrison.
Therefore, the prime minister's original intention was to ask Zhang Hua, the governor of Wei Xihai County (Zhangye's Juyan state), to dispatch one or two thousand soldiers and horses to guard a valley road on the pretext of assisting in defense.
Subsequently, he took advantage of the monthly opportunity to transfer the ordnance and food needed by the garrison to escort the Han's Silk Road supplies to the Western Regions.
As for how Zhang Hua persuades Cang Ci, this is not within the scope of the prime minister's consideration.
After the work is completed, the Zhang family will also share the benefits of Runsil Road, so why worry about them not doing their best?
Furthermore, the Zhang family of Dunhuang had been dominant in Xichuan for many years, and had the authority of two governors. If they could not handle such a small matter properly, then their value to the Han Dynasty would also decrease.
At least, when the Han Dynasty regains the Hexi Corridor, many people will think that the conditions previously promised by Zheng Pu are too generous.
If the Zhang family does not want to be dismissed or rejected by the court officials and subordinates, they must first lay a solid foundation for returning to the Han Dynasty.
Rights and benefits are not static.
In fact, as the prime minister expected, the Zhang family's envoy responded quickly after informing You Chu that he had left Longyou.
Zhang Jiu, who was in Dunhuang, used the remaining power of his late father Zhang Gongjiu, who served in the Western Regions, to contact the caravans of various small countries; and the two thousand cavalry sent by Zhang Hua had already marched to Wulan County in Zhangye County!
The reason why they moved so quickly was because the messenger who informed Zhangye Prefect Cang Ci was in front, and the troops were quietly following behind.
The difference between the two schedules was only one day, so Ling Cangci didn't even have a chance to stop them.
However, Cangci couldn't stop it.
The man who came to supervise the troops was Zhang Hua's eldest son.
Its identity is determined. If there is a bloody conflict between the two sides, Zhangye County will definitely usher in the revenge of Dunhuang and Xihai County.
Another reason is that Cang Ci sent most of the garrison troops to Wuwei County and returned to Hexi Governor Jia Xu to dispatch them to fight the Han army. The remaining county soldiers were scattered in various counties and could not be gathered in a hurry.
We cannot stop this army from entering.
There is another obscure reason that makes Cang Ci reluctant to have a quarrel with the Zhang family.
He is not from Hexi.
After the Wei State's policy of "people on the border governing the border" was implemented, all powerful right-wing officials or leaders of the Qiang and Hu tribes in Zhangye County were secretly eyeing him, the out-of-town governor.
I hope that one day I can find an opportunity to replace it.
Now, it is a good opportunity for Zhang Hua to send troops and horses to enter the country.
Once there was a conflict between Cang Ci and Zhang Hua's eldest son, those right-wing men would lead their private armies, use the excuse of "bullying by outsiders" to stir up the common people and have Cang Ci executed.
Later, they jointly signed a letter with powerful right-wingers from various counties to frame the crime and put all the blame for this incident on Cang Ci.
There is no need to question whether the common people in the county are following the chaos.
They were more willing to trust the Zhang family, who had praised Xichuan for decades, than Cang Ci, who had served as governor for several years.
There is no need to question whether Luoyang Temple, Yongliang Governor Sima Yi, Yang Fu, Jia Xu and others believed it.
At the beginning of the war between Han and Wei, no one would throw the rear into turmoil for the sake of a governor who was massacred by the common people in the county, thus tipping the balance of victory or defeat in the war.
Therefore, even though Cang Ci was so angry that his fingernails dug deeply into his palms, he still acquiesced to Zhang Hua's shameless act.
If the Zhang family is willing to guard the valley road, then go ahead and guard it!
I, Zhangye County, will not provide a grain supply!
Cang Ci was indignant.
Immediately, my mind changed again.
The Zhang family came here because Yang Shijun and General Jia had previously asked the Zhang family to send troops to resist. They used the unrest in the county and the Huqi from the Western Regions to knock off the pass as an excuse for not coming. They were worried about being criticized for accepting the country's favor and not being loyal to the king and serving the country.
Therefore, if you find a quiet place to defend yourself this time, do you think you should cover up your shame?
Well, maybe.
After thinking about this, Cang Ci felt a little calmer.
He also wrote some ink and sent a messenger to Gu Zang of Wuwei County to inform Yang Fu and Jia Xu of the Zhang family's actions.
