Chapter 223 Rest and recuperate (Ma Chao's first formation)

When wolf smoke spread everywhere in the Central Plains and all the princes began to fight each other, the horse butcher was resting and recuperating.

The Northern Plain is the Yinchuan Plain.

The Yinchuan Plain covers an area of ​​nearly 20,000 square kilometers, and the river (Yellow River) runs across it, with a flow of nearly 400 kilometers. During the Warring States Period, Qin began to dig canals on the North Plain and irrigate them by Zhangshui. In the Western Han Dynasty, Han canals were dug on the basis of the Qin Canal, making the irrigation system of the North Plain more perfect.

Later, the Yinchuan Plain was even more famous as "The Yangtze River on the Frontier", becoming the intersection of various parallelisms such as Central Plains culture, Hetao culture, Islamic culture, and Xixia culture. It ultimately created its unique historical and cultural environment and occupied an important position in ancient Chinese history.

However, the Qin and Han dynasties had a very limited development of the Northern Plains. Even during the heyday of Emperor Huan of Han, the total population of the Northern County was only more than 18,000. These populations were scattered in Fuping, Lingwu, and Lian County, and the development and utilization of the entire plain area were minimal.

It was not until Ma Yue moved millions of people in Guanzhong to the north that this vast plain ushered in vitality and eventually became the largest granary in the Fortress and even the north.

In April (189) of the second year of Jian'an (189) of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty (the lunar calendar), after nearly half a year of digging by hundreds of thousands of civilians, the outline of the Juju Canal (the name of the canal that Juju was responsible for digging) began to appear. The Juju Canal is divided into two sections, south and north, which run across the south and north banks of the river, almost enclosing the entire northern plain into the irrigation range.

However, at this time, heavy rainstorms were falling in the upper reaches of the river, and the river basin began to enter the annual flood season. The rising river water level posed a fatal threat to the wheat fields on the plains on both sides of the river.

Ju Su faced a dilemma. To protect the wheat fields on both sides of the river, he had to mobilize civil servants to strengthen the river embankment. In this way, there would be no time to repair and clear the canal. Once the river water was backflowed, the canal would be blocked by a large amount of silt, which would be considered to be wasted.

If you need to repair and unblock the canal, you will not be able to keep the river dam. Once the river water breaks, the wheat that is about to mature on both sides will be flooded, and millions of Guanzhong immigrants will cause famine due to food shortage.

The scorching sun is in the sky, and the earth is ruthlessly moxibustioned.

The sky is vast and cloudless.

The yellow sand is vast and silent without wind.

A heavily armed heavy infantry was standing quietly in the uncovered desert. The yellow sand that thousands of miles of miles was already hot, and there was a faint heat simmering on the rolling sand dunes, hazying the vision of all soldiers. The air was filled with suffocating heat, and the air sucked into the lungs was hot.

Gao Shun was wearing heavy iron armor and stood in front of the team like a hard stone sculpture.

The dark iron armor absorbed the heat of the scorching sun with thrilling sun, like an airtight steamer, firmly wrapped around Gao Shun's majestic body. Crystal beads of sweat slid from his face and dripped gently on the hot breastplate. With a slight sound, the drop of sweat had already turned into a piece of water vapor, and only a small white spot was clearly left on the dark iron armor!

"puff!"

A soldier finally couldn't hold on. He shook his left and right for a few seconds and fell to the ground, letting the boiling sand hurt his face, but he no longer had the strength to struggle and move. He got up from the mist of the sky, and without breakfast, he carried dozens of kilograms of heavy iron armor on the desert for a long distance of fifty miles. Then he endured two hours of exposure under the noon sun. The soldiers' physical strength was seriously overdrawn.

The two soldiers next to them were about to bend down and help their companions up, when a majestic figure had already appeared in front of them, and a cold and muffled groan suddenly sounded: "Don't help him!"

The two soldiers retracted their steps awkwardly.

"Now he has fallen, you can help him up, but if he dies in battle on the battlefield, can you die for him?" Gao Shun's firm eyes slowly flew over the soldiers who were still gritting their teeth and insisting, and said in a deep voice: "You must understand that war is not a game, but a fight that takes one's life to win. Losing on the battlefield means death!"

In the desert that was still silent and windless just now, suddenly the wind blew, and sand and stones flew.

But no one cared about the flying sand that was slamming towards him, and all the soldiers' eyes were focused on Gao Shun's face.

"Only soldiers with the strongest body and the strongest will can survive to the end! If you don't want your head to become the enemy's spoils, you must undergo the harshest training and endure the most painful experience! Be hotter and tired, what are you afraid of? As long as you can survive on the battlefield, you will be better than anything else!"

"You may not be a soldier, but since you have chosen to be a soldier, you must be a good soldier!"

"Not for anything else, just for the egg under your crotch. If it is a man, just stand up straight and don't lie down!"

The wind blew, and the dark clouds gathered.

April, the child's face changed as soon as he said it was changing. It was clear sky just now, and it was already raining heavily in a blink of an eye. Gao Shun straightened his body straight, letting the cold rain wash the iron armor on his body to wash away the heat that had accumulated for the whole morning. In his hazy vision, the dark heavy infantry in front of him still maintained a rigorous formation.

Half a year of hard training has finally not been in vain. These five thousand heavy infantry soldiers have already become a new age. They are well-trained and well-equipped, and at least they look quite like that. Now, they are lacking in the baptism of war! No matter how well-trained the recruits are, they can only be recruits. Without the baptism of iron-blooded war, they will never grow into an iron-blooded veteran.

"Report~~" Suddenly a fast horse galloped over and howled in the heavy rain, "Mr. Ju Shu, please invite General Gao Shun~~"

The day is like night, and the rain is like rain.

Ju Ju Zuo wore a straw raincoat and hurriedly came down from the river embankment.

When Gao Shun saw Ju Su for the first time, he couldn't believe his eyes. He could hardly recognize Ju Su! Ju Su's originally gentle and white face was already dark at this time, which was as good as Dian Wei. His face was still fading from skin, which looked particularly terrifying.

Ju Su's already extremely thin body looked even thinner. His straw raincoat looked wide and big, which made people worry that a gust of wind would blow him away.

"Mr. Jushu."

"General Gao Shun."

After the two of them held their fists and greeted each other, Ju Su was not polite and pulled Gao Shun to the river embankment, pointing to the river water surface that had almost spread to the edge of the embankment and said worriedly: "The general has seen that the river water level has risen to an extremely dangerous height, and the embankment is at risk of collapse at any time. You can watch the celestial phenomena at night. This continuous heavy rain will probably last for half a month."

Gao Shun looked back at the south bank of the river and saw a continuous wheat field in the wind in the storm. He couldn't help but take a breath of air conditioning and said in a deep voice: "If the river breaks the dam, the south bank will immediately become a country of marsh, and the wheat that is about to mature will be gone."

Ju Shu said: "If the embankment is not reinforced and the embankment is raised, it is inevitable that the river water will break the embankment."

Gao Shun's expression was solemn, and he said to Ju Shu with a serious face: "If you have any words, please say it bluntly. As long as you can, Gao Shun will obey his orders."

Ju Shu said: "The 200,000 civilians need to hurry up and repair the canals and strive to clear the canals before the maximum flood season of the river. Otherwise, once the river water forms backflow, the canals will be blocked by silt. In this way, the nearly half-year hard work of the 200,000 civilians will be wasted!"

"Yes." Gao Shun nodded, "I will understand this at the end."

Ju Shu said: "So, the river dam and the thousands of hectares of wheat on the south bank can only be handed over to the general!"

Gao Shun said sternly: "The general understands it! Please rest assured Mr. Ju Su that as long as Gao Shun is not dead, as long as the 20,000 troops under Gao Shun are not dead, the river dam will never collapse, and the wheat on the south bank of the river will never be flooded by the river! Millions of immigrants will never cause famine due to shortage of food."

"If you have this general's words, I'll feel relieved." Ju Su held Gao Shun's hands tightly and said emotionally, "Please let the general."

At the beginning of the second year of Jian'an (189), the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou rose up again, and more than 50,000 people entered Yanzhou, killed Zheng Sui, the prime minister of Rencheng, and then attacked the territory of Dongping. Many people along the way had hoped for the scenery to follow. In just over a month, the Yellow Turban thieves grew to more than 100,000, and they helped the elderly and the young to rush to the northern country of Ji.

Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, believed that the Yellow Turban thieves lacked food, grass and supplies, and it was difficult to last for a long time. He advised Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, to strengthen the walls and clear the fields and hold the city. In this way, the Yellow Turban thieves could be defeated within a few months. Unfortunately, Liu Dai did not adopt Bao Xin's strategy, but led his army to attack. As a result, the initial battle was unfavorable and was defeated by the bandits, and he died in the chaos.

In the first month of the second year, the court appointed Cao Cao, the prefect of Qiao County, as the governor of Yanzhou, and led the army to attack the Yellow Turban bandits, officially kicking off the prelude to Cao Cao's entry into Yanzhou.

Yanzhou, Taishan County.

In the central camp of Cao's army, Cao Cao was summoning his civil and military personnel to discuss the plan to defeat the enemy.

At that time, more than 100,000 Yellow Turban bandits stationed in Schiqiu, Jibei, and built a fort to defend themselves. Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, failed several battles, and the morale of the official army was low, but the bandits were in awe.

Staff member Guo Jia said: "Our army has few soldiers and the bandits are very powerful. He defeated Zheng Sui, Liu Dai, Bao Xin and other officials one after another. It was a time when our army launched a frontal attack at this time, it would be difficult to have a chance of victory. Therefore, Jia thought that we should avoid the real and attack the virtual, and use a surprise to win."

Cao Cao said: "How to win by surprise?"

Guo Jia said: "The bandits will inevitably lack military rations when they travel back and forth, and there is no military baggage. The cost required by the army depends entirely on robbery. If the supply can be cut off, the bandits will collapse without fighting!"

Cao Cao said: "How to cut off its supply?"

Guo Jia said: "The lord can order the six generals of Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Zangba, and Li Dian to lead 500 elite soldiers, divided into three teams, and took turns to attack Snake Hill day and night. If the bandits advance, they retreat, and if the bandits retreat, they advance, and if the bandits advance, they will beat drums, and when they retreat, they will sound gold, which will make the bandits upset and be confused and dare not let the soldiers go out to loot. If this is not done for ten days, the bandits will be exhausted and will be defeated."

"Okay!" Cao Cao said, "According to the plan of filial piety, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Tibetan Ba, Li Dian obeyed the order!"

Xiahou Dun and other generals stood up and lined up in front of Cao Cao and said sternly: "The last general is here."

Cao Cao said: "According to Mr. Guo Jia, each of them leads five hundred elite troops, divided into three teams and constantly raiding Snake Hill, and there must be no mistakes."

"Abide by the order!"

The six generals of Xiahou Dun agreed to the promise and took the order and left.

Mobei.

The butcher Ma brought three thousand elite soldiers from Hedong to the Wanhu Old Camp in the right side of Zhoucang.

When he was conquering Liangzhou, Ma Butcher made a promise to 5,000 Hedong elite soldiers and 6,000 Bingzhou elite soldiers that as long as they could conquer Liangzhou, each of the alive soldiers would be rewarded with ten women! Ma Butcher Ma has always been generous to his own troops, and would not break his promise.

The Ma Butcher fulfilled his promise, and in the end, the three thousand Bingzhou soldiers who survived went to the ten thousand households of Guanqi (Guan Hai's lasting son), while the three thousand Hedong soldiers followed the Ma Butcher to the ten thousand households of the right (the division of the three ten thousand households of the right (the division of the three ten thousand households of the right is based on the southern Central Plains, so the ten thousand households of the right (the right) of Zhou Cang is close to the Western Regions).

After nearly a year of bloody conquest and barbaric plunder by the Xianbei people in the central region and the Dingling people in the north, by the beginning of the second year of Jian'an of Emperor Xian of Han, the right ten thousand households of Zhou Cang's right had developed into a large tribe with a population of nearly 100,000. Among the three thousand old subordinates of the horse butcher, one thousand followed Zhou Cang, and these thousand people have now become all big and small lords on the grassland, with most thousands of slaves, thousands of cattle and sheep, and at least more than a hundred slaves.

Fang Yue killed Ke Bineng, the most talented and strategic tribal leader of the central Xianbei in Langjuxu Mountain. The central Xianbei never recovered from then on. The most powerful and most populous Xianbei people in the past became slaves at the bottom and became the targets of slavery of the Han people, the Huns, the Wuhuan people and even the Qiang and Hu people.

Due to the existence of the Xianbei enslaved tribe, the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Yuezhi, Qiang and Hu people were all able to settle down in the status quo and willingly become the minions of the Han people. Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao only had three thousand old Han subordinates, but they could firmly control the grasslands in the central northern desert, which was inseparable from the strong support of these nations.

However, the support of these nations is only temporary. As time goes by, with the thriving generation of the next generation of the three thousand old subordinates, and with the foreign invasion and expansion of these three thousand households, these nations will continue to die and be continuously integrated. The grassland in the north of Mo will eventually only belong to the Han people!

From then on, the northern nomadic peoples will no longer exist in the Far East. At that time, the nomadic people living on the grassland were the grandsons of Yan and Huang, and in the end, whether the people of the Central Plains ruled the desert or the desert ruled the Central Plains, the world will still be dominated by the Han people.

However, the horse butcher now has no time to think about it. He is busy injecting "fresh blood" into the ten thousand households in the right side of Zhou Cang. The integration of three thousand elite soldiers from Hedong will greatly consolidate the dominance of the Han people in the central grasslands. The loose tribal alliance of Xianbei in the east and west can no longer pose a threat to the tribes under management in Zhou Cang.

Zhou Cang Big Account.

After the big ceremony, Zhou Cang first welcomed Ma Yue into the main seat, and then he sat down next to Ma Yue. The other six thousand households also sat down one after another. The female slaves served horse milk wine like flowing water and roasted the whole lamb. The strong milky wine fragrance and the smell of mutton instantly filled the tent.

With his former former subordinate, the butcher Ma seemed very relaxed. He reached out and pulled off a fat lamb leg and chewed it comfortably. While chewing, he cursed vaguely: "His grandma, Zhou Cang, you know me, I'll be fine with this bite. Hey, how long hasn't eaten such authentic roast lamb? It's so fucking satisfying."

Zhou Cang and the six Qianhu laughed at the sound of this. The leader Ma, who used to regard his subordinates as brothers, was willing to fight for his subordinates, but also killed people in a desperate situation, which made the official army frightened. It seemed that he was back.

Suddenly, Zhou Cang and his brothers seemed to have returned to the years when the eight hundred bandits swept across the Central Plains.

Although life was a bit hard at that time, there were no beautiful ladies sleeping with their brothers. There was still the danger of dying on the battlefield anytime and anywhere. However, when I look back, I still tempted the nerves of these veterans like poison! If time could go back, they really wanted to go back to those years that make people remember.

A thousand-husband wiped his mouth and said to Ma Yue: "Big leader, you are now a prince of the Han Dynasty. When bandits swept across the Central Plains, it is impossible to do anything. However, when horse thieves flew into the desert, they can do everything possible. Did you order the old brothers of the central ten thousand households and the left ten thousand households to gather together?"

"Yes, Big Head, my brothers haven't fought under your command for more than a year." Another Qianhu cheered, "If you don't have Big Head, you will be able to hold the battle, and even if you kill someone, you won't feel like you used to."

Zhou Cang was also eager to try and say, "Big leader, brothers are right. Hou San just sent back a secret letter. The Derivative Department of the Western Xianbei Riyu Department was not open to his eyes and actually gathered 20,000 cavalrymen to attack us. This time, we will come to the door and kill him first."

"Zhou Cang, I'm asking you to say this this time, and that's exactly what I mean." Ma Yue said this, his eyes were cruel, just like the face when he thought of a vicious idea when he was a bandit. He continued, "But this time, this leader will no longer direct the brothers directly, and the opportunity must be given to the young people."

"Huh?" Zhou Cang said in confusion when he heard this, "Young man? What young man?"

Ma Yue slapped his hands and said loudly outside the tent: "Ma Chao, come in."

"Abide by the order!"

A clear promise sounded outside the tent, and a majestic figure was already in the tent curtain. When Zhou Cang and Liu Qianhu looked at each other quickly, a young general was already standing in the tent, with long sword-browed eyebrows and starry eyes, a face like a crown and jade, a lion-headed ghost-faced helmet on his head, and a light fur and bright silver armor. He was very outstanding, but who else could have been there if it wasn't Ma Chao?

Ma Chao clasped his fists and bowed in groups, "Ma Chao will see you all the generals."

Zhou Cang and Liu Qianhu stood up and returned their greetings, saying in unison: "The last general and the last general will meet with the major general."

Ma Yue waved his hand indifferently, signaling Zhou Cang and others to sit back to the original seat, and asked Ma Chao to toast everyone one by one. Then he said: "Zhou Cang, although Ma Chao is young, he has obtained Dian Wei, Xu Chu teaches martial arts and literary harmony, and Gongze teaches military strategies. This is a small achievement. What he lacks the most now is practical experience."

"The last general understands." Zhou Cang nodded, "Master can teach his disciples martial arts and military tactics, but cannot teach them the practical experience of fighting on the battlefield. These practical experiences cannot be taught by people's education, and can only be accumulated bit by bit on the battlefield. The Xianbei tribe in the western region is loose and has poor strength, so it can be used to practice for the major general."

"That's what it means." Ma Yue said, "The three thousand old brothers were brought by this leader from the Central Plains, and the three thousand Hedong brothers are also very powerful veterans. Have you never seen any scenes? Even if Ma Chao is careless, it will not cause a disaster. If Ma Chao is given to you, this leader will definitely feel at ease."

Zhou Cang said in a lost voice: "Big leader, why don't you go to war with your brothers?"

Ma Yue shook his head and said, "Of course, this leader will go out to war with his brothers. The brothers missed their lives when they broke into the Central Plains. Why don't I want to? Moreover, this leader promised that each of the three thousand Hedong brothers would reward ten women. Now you have only three thousand female slaves without a master, and only one is enough for everyone. What should I do? Of course I have to rob it."

“Hahaha~~”
Chapter completed!