The Prime Minister sent an order to Liao Hua, the prefect of Dunhuang County, and ordered him to lock Yang Pass and Yumen Pass.
Even You Chu, the captain of Wuji School in the Western Regions, was on his way back to Hexi. The prime minister thought that he was a Wuwei man and could win the hearts of scholars and common people, so he asked him to be transferred to the post of Jiuquan Prefect and command Li Li to guard the Hulu.
commit.
The biggest reason for this decision was that the Silk Road trade materials such as Yizhou's Shu brocade and tea were collected by the government and exchanged for war horses traded with Jiangdong.
The treasury is already empty. Silkworm rearing, weaving and tea picking and making tea all depend on the season. How can we connect to the Western Regions now?
Things are rare and valuable.
The supply of Sichuan brocade and tea has been temporarily cut off, so we can raise some prices when the connection is resumed in the future.
Furthermore, with fewer merchants coming and going, it would be easier for the counties and counties in Hexi to maintain their borders and defend themselves. Before there were enough cavalry to attack Huanglong, the best option was to clear the country with strong walls to deal with the nomadic tribes who had strong mobility.
As for the severance of the Silk Road, will it cause dissatisfaction among the Yizhou wealthy families who settled in Longyou and Liangzhou?
There's no need to worry.
It only took half a year for Liangzhou to be restored. They moved here and built forts to live in, purchased cattle, sheep and horses for pasture to make a living for the small family in the future, and adapted to the environment in Hexi. They were busy enough for a long time.
Moreover, the Silk Road was not cut off forever.
At most, in one or two years, the imperial court will open the door again in order to raise funds for the war.
Regardless of whether the Xianbei and Southern Xiongnu were repelled by then.
Without him, I would be poor!
Naturally, the strange thing is that Qiang Wang Mangzhong cannot figure it out.
But he knew that if the Silk Road was cut off, then his tribe, which had finally achieved a life of sufficient food and clothing, would slowly return to its former state of half-starved and half-fed, and would starve to death and freeze to death when the white plague raged.
It is easy to go from simplicity to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
Therefore, as soon as Zheng Pu finished speaking, Qiang King Mangzhong and the tribal nobles present were all shocked.
"Why so?!"
Immediately, Qiang King Mangzhong suddenly asked a question.
But it was just a question. He seemed to have thought about something, so he tried to ask again, "Mr. Zheng, I have recently heard that Xianbei and the Southern Huns are about to invade Hexi. Is this the reason?"
"Yes, alas~~"
Zheng Pu sighed sadly, and said with some regret, "The leader also knows that merchants on the Silk Road need to pay customs duties to pass through the pass to leave the Western Regions. This can help make up for the lack of military expenditures of the imperial court, and I, the Han Dynasty, are not willing to close it. But he rebelled against the Wei Dynasty.
We will drive out the Xianbei and Southern Xiongnu invaders, and Hexi is a newly restored land. For now, we can only protect the territory and the people with strong walls and clear fields, and it is difficult to think about anything else."
But soon, he calmed down again, smiled and said comfortingly, "Hey, why am I telling the leader this? This matter has nothing to do with the leader's people, and closing the Silk Road is just a temporary solution. Treat me as a big man
After defeating the Xianbei and Southern Xiongnu and forcing them to flee thousands of miles away, everything will be as before. Come, leader, let's drink together!"
After saying that, he raised his wine cup and invited me to drink.
But how could Qiang King Mangzhong still be in the mood to drink?
How can we say we don’t want to do his business if we are in seclusion and cut off the Silk Road?
Furthermore, don’t look at Zheng Pu’s attack on the Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei, which he said was very easy, but he knew that the Han Dynasty had few cavalry.
A few days ago, Gein learned that Ma Dai was training cavalry at Shandan Ranch in Zhangye County. Relying on their friendship, he sent someone to ask Ma Dai if he could place one or two of his nephews in the army.
Needless to say why.
Who among the Qianghu tribe in the northwest would not want to steal even a fraction of the famous Xiliang Iron Cavalry in the past?
But Ma Dai refused. The reason was that Xianbei and the Southern Huns were invading, and he was about to rush thousands of miles to fight. He was afraid that once the Qiang King Mangzhong's nephew joined the army, he would not be able to return to the capital without his body.
The story of Emperor Xiaowu's attack on the Xiongnu in the former Han Dynasty made everyone know that if you want to permanently eliminate the intrusion from the nomadic tribes on the grassland, you can only use cavalry against cavalry. Now the Han Dynasty has few cavalry and wants to expel the southern Xiongnu and Xianbei from Hexi. I don't know.
It’s the year of the monkey and the month of the horse! At least Qiang King Mangzhong thought to himself that the Han Dynasty had not achieved five or six years of achievements, so he should not think about it!
But can his tribe endure the Silk Road being cut off for five or six years?
"call"
At the invitation, he raised his cup and drank it all. He let out a sigh of relief and asked, somewhat confused, "Mr. Zheng, why don't your army recruit more cavalry to attack? It's difficult to make achievements if it's against Xianbei and the Southern Xiongnu.
Your army should have a clear idea of what to do. Moreover, there are countless people in the Hexi region who can use bows and horses, so there should be no shortage of soldiers to choose from."
"Haha~~~"
At this time, the wry smile on Zheng Pu's face was very sincere, and he spread his hands and said, "I am a big man who has been fighting continuously for many years. It costs too much money to set up the cavalry. Do you have enough food to recruit evil?"
Well!
The Qiang King was speechless.
His tribe lives on the edge of Xiping County and knows the wars of the Han Dynasty in recent years very well.
Therefore, after being silent for a while, he turned his head and raised his eyebrows gently at the tribal nobles who were having a banquet with his eyes full of inquiry.
Those who met the nobles at the banquet had a tacit understanding and began to whisper among themselves about things such as inviting cups and sharing meat. After a while, the leader nodded his head gently.
It also made Qiang King Mangzhong's eyebrows widen in an instant, and he raised his lamp to Zheng Pu with a smile again, "Zheng Jun, our army has been a vassal of the Han Dynasty for a long time! We have never fought for the Han Dynasty. Now there are bandits in Hexi, and our army should send troops to help.
Show your loyalty! I don’t ask for rewards from the imperial court, but I hope that the imperial court will treat me with kindness and kindness!”
"Can An be like this?"
Hearing this, Zheng Pu was "shocked" for a moment, and hurriedly waved his hands and said, "The leader first joined our army in attacking the traitor Tang Fan at the head of the river, and later sent troops to help our army attack Zhongcun and Shenlang Qiang. This can already show his loyalty.
You have fulfilled your duty as a vassal! Now, in the war in Hexi, it is our army's duty to protect the common people. How can you send your troops to fight for life and death again? No! Absolutely not! I, a great man, have always preached benevolence and righteousness."
At this point, Zheng Pu seemed to have noticed something, and his words suddenly stopped.
After his eyes glanced back and forth at Qiang King Mangzhong and the tribal nobles present, he said with some regret, "The leader said this because I brought some rituals, so he thought I came to ask for troops? I
I came here with sincerity, but I didn’t expect the leader and the gentlemen to regard me as a treacherous person~~~Oh, that’s it, that’s it! There is no joy here, I will just go home.”
After saying that, he stood up and strode away.
A sudden change occurred, which shocked Qiang King Mangzhong and everyone else.
By the time they reacted, Zheng Pu was already more than twenty steps away.
"Zheng Jun, please wait!"
Quickly, Qiang King Mangzhong chased after him with great strides. He could not say anything but swear a blood oath to make Zheng Pu believe that they did not regard him as a treacherous person.
When we sat down again, everyone was naturally chatting and laughing.
However, Zheng Pu still did not agree to their request to send troops to help the war.
Instead, he explained with an expression of embarrassment, "Chief, your department's sending of troops to assist in the battle is related to the imperial court's deployment against the enemy. It is not my decision! When I return this time, I can only express my loyalty to your department.
The Prime Minister has made his decision, and I hope the leader will forgive me."
You're lying, how can you reveal your flaws just before the thing is done?