Although the Han army had solved the Wuhuan tribe among the three major Hu people's forces, Liu Jing was not very satisfied. The Wuhuan people were not his target. His target was the five Hu tribes, including the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di. In history, the Five Barbarians invasion of China caused by these five major Hu tribes almost killed the Han people to destroy the clan and the race, and this period of history was about to come ninety years later.

But it is not easy to solve these five Hu tribes. The Hu tribe caused by the weakening of a century in the late Han Dynasty cannot be solved in a day or two, nor can it be expelled from the Central Plains in one or two battles. The Huns and Xianbei are far away in the grasslands, the Jie people depend on the Huns, and the Qiang and Di are very wide. To solve the Hu tribe's forces and reverse their trend of going south to the Central Plains, it requires long-term combat.

The first step Liu Jing had to take was to recover Anding County, Beidi County and Shang County, and solve the threat from northern Guanzhong. Now Liu Qubei temporarily retreated north, but his strength was not damaged and he would still go south at any time. More importantly, he had formed a bloody feud with Liu Jing, and he would definitely fight back to take revenge.

Therefore, before Liu Qubei came back, Liu Jing must consolidate the occupation of the three counties within the pass as soon as possible, and move all the Wuhuan people and some of the farming Xiongnu people into the mainland. In addition, Liu Jing must also prevent it from joining forces with the Xiongnu from joining forces with the Xiongnu. Although it is not the time to use troops against the Qiang and Hu, it does not mean that Liu Jing is indifferent to the Qiang and Hu generals.

That afternoon, a team of merchants from Longxi slowly arrived in Lingzhou County. The group of merchants were redesigned by Deng Ai and Wei Jin. They were sent by Liu Jing, the King of Han, to Shuofang County to perform a special mission, and the group consisted of ten people.

In addition to Deng Ai and Wei Jin, the other eight people were elite selected from the Eagle Strike Army. When they were in Tianshui County, they selected three Qiang soldiers from the Tianshui County army to follow.

They drove hundreds of mules and horses, loaded with porcelain and silk that were loved by the Qiang people. They went from Guanzhong to Longxi first, then headed north, and finally arrived in Lingzhou County. Unlike the nomadic Qiang people in Hexi and Longxi, the Qiang people distributed in the Helan Mountain area have gradually settled, semi-herding and half-agricultural, and are slowly developing towards the formation of a regime and founding a country.

This is what Liu Jing is most worried about. Nomadic peoples have no foundation in the Central Plains, come and go like the wind, and are easily expelled. Once they establish a regime in the Central Plains, it means they begin to take root. It is not easy to expel them, so they can only take the path of destroying the country and extermination.

Although Liu Jing welcomed the Hu people to farm, the premise must be to disperse and disperse them all over the Central Plains, live with the Han people, and finally be gradually transformed into Chinese.

A place where Hu people live together to achieve farming means that the founding of the Qiang people is about to come, but the Han army was restrained by the Huns and could not carry out large-scale battles against the Qiang people in Shuofang. They could only use some special means to prevent the Qiang people from joining forces with the Huns.

Lingzhou County is located in the irrigation area of ​​the Yellow River. It is full of light and fertile land. During the Han Dynasty, the imperial court immigrated on a large scale for irrigation and development, making this area a famous grain-producing area. However, like other areas in the pass, the Han Dynasty was weak for a century, and Hu advanced and Han retreated. This area has been occupied by the Qiang people in Hexi and became a prosperous place for the Qiang people.

Outside the county town, Wei Jin introduced the situation to Deng Ai, "Although there are many Qiang people in this area, they are relatively scattered, with more than a dozen tribes of all sizes. They determine their strength based on the number of cavalrymen. The largest tribe is called the Yeding tribe, and the leader of the tribe is called Yeding. There are about 8,000 cavalrymen, and the rest of the tribes are thousands of cavalrymen, and there are more than 1,000 cavalrymen. However, there are 30,000 to 40,000 troops, mainly cavalrymen, which is quite powerful."

Deng Ai pondered for a moment and asked, "How is it compared to Wuhuan?"

"The strength should be stronger than the Wuhuan. After all, they are not controlled by the Huns, and the Huns are quite afraid of them and have never violated the rivers."

Wei Jin pointed to the county town and smiled: "This county town is the old nest of the Yeding tribe. Yeding is their clan surname. The Qiang king is named Yeding Ayan. He is a very talented and wise monarch who is determined to unify the Qiang tribes. He has four sons and ordered each son to marry a daughter of a chief of each tribe as his wife."

Deng Ai frowned and said, "Isn't this a way to cause trouble? If this Ah You dies, who can inherit his position with these four sons? If one of them ascends to the throne, will the other tribes be convinced?"

"Brother is right. This is indeed a big problem for them. The four sons rely on the support of their tribes behind them to fight against each other's power. However, Ah Huan should have his own ideas. He wanted to unify the Qiang tribes when he was in power, and his four sons would enfeoff all directions and expand territory for him."

Deng Ai nodded, "It seems that Brother Wei is very familiar with the situation here."

Wei Jin smiled slightly and said, "Actually, I have only been here twice, but before I set off, I asked many merchants and had a full understanding of this place."

Deng Ai couldn't help feeling ashamed. Compared to Wei Jin's intentionality, he was much more confused. Wei Jin glanced at him, couldn't help laughing, patted his shoulder and said, "Brother Deng, I am ten years older than you, and I am a scout. It's normal for you to think carefully about such small things. Don't take such small things to heart."

Deng Ai also smiled and said, "Follow Brother Wei, I have gained a lot of knowledge along the way and gained a lot."

At this time, the group came to the city gate, where there were crowds of people, with Hu and Han mixed together. The road was filled with stalls selling vegetables. Dozens of Qiang soldiers stood at the city gate, checking the pedestrians one by one. This made Deng Ai feel a little worried. Will they be found with illegal weapons?

Wei Jin smiled, "I have already experienced it when the crows are all over the world."

The caravan slowly stepped forward and immediately attracted the attention of the Qiang soldiers. Seeing that they had a large number of mules and horses, full of goods, they were obviously a powerful caravan. The leading centurion stepped forward and asked, "Where did the merchant come from?"

Wei Jin replied in Qiang language: "We come from Jincheng County."

The centurion took a photo of their bags, "What goods are you carrying? Open it and let me see."

Wei Jin winked, and his subordinates immediately opened a bag of goods. The Crown Lady's eyes lit up. It turned out to be silk and porcelain. This was a good thing! In his eyes, the caravan suddenly turned into a fat sheep. At this moment, a team of cavalry came out of the city, with about hundreds of people. The leader was a young Qiang general, a war horse Gao Jun, dressed quite gorgeously.

"The third prince is here!"

A soldier shouted, and the centurion was so scared that he quickly retreated aside. The young Qiang general was the third son of Qiang King Ah Suang, named Zuo Dan, and also the favorite son of Qiang King Ah Suang. Although his strength was not as strong as his elder brother, he was also ambitious and determined to inherit the position of Qiang King.

Zuo Dan also saw the caravan, and he urged him to come forward and asked, "Where did the caravan come from?" He actually spoke Chinese, which was quite fluent, which is normal. The nobles of the Qiang people have learned Chinese since childhood, and the important official documents of the Qiang people are also written in Chinese.

Wei Jin hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "We came from Tianshui County, we are the caravan of the Jiang family!"

After saying that, Wei Jin took out the Qiang clan's business card and presented it. The Jiang clan in Tianshui was known as the largest clan in Longxi. They were also Qiang people, but they had long been Chinese. Despite this, the Jiang clan still had close ties with the Qiang people.

The Jiang family owns a large amount of land in the Weishui Valley in Tianshui County, and also monopolizes the trade between Longxi and Qiang people. It is normal for the Jiang family caravans to appear in Hexi or Heshuo areas.

When Zuo Dan saw that it was their Jiang caravan, his face relaxed a lot. At this time, he saw Deng Ai and eight followers again, and was immediately attracted by them.

He saw that Deng Ai and the eight guards were all very skilled in martial arts and their bodies were extraordinary. When he saw that they had only ten people, they could escort such a huge caravan. Zuo Dan thought to himself: "If they could use it, it would be a chance."

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "I have always had a great relationship with the Jiang family. Since you are the Jiang family caravan, I will do my best to be a landlord, so you can live in my house! I have bought all your goods and will not let you suffer any losses."

Wei Jin and Deng Ai looked at each other, and the two understood each other, and Wei Jin smiled happily and said, "Then I'll disturb the third prince."

Zuo Dan was overjoyed and quickly ordered: "Take them to our mansion first and serve as guests."

Several personal soldiers led Wei Jin and his group into the city. Deng Ai looked around and the county was bustling. The houses were mainly civil buildings. Pedestrians came and went, with many Han people's faces, shops, many taverns opened by Han people, and iron shops. If it weren't for the Qiang people on the street, Deng Ai would have thought he had arrived in the Central Plains.

However, this made Deng Ai even more alert. His Highness the King of Han was not wrong. The development of the Qiang people in Guannei far exceeded that of Hexi and Hehuang. Hexi and Hehuang were still extremely backward nomadic peoples, but here has entered the era of farming. Once Ah Yan completes unification, the next step is to establish a regime.

Deng Ai sighed softly. Compared with the Xiongnu, the Qiang people in Shuofang County were a big problem.

Zuo Dan's mansion covers an area of ​​100 acres. It was originally a house of a Han merchant. It was surrounded by high walls. It contained exquisite buildings and large grasslands. It was built with a dome tent. It was half a beggar and half a man. There were a group of slaves in the mansion. They were placed in the guest room, unloading goods, and leading mules and horses away. They finally settled down.

Seeing Deng Ai worried all the way, Wei Jin smiled and comforted him, "Although it was a strange thing, it was more helpful for us to complete the plan. I think it was God's will, and God wants to help us succeed."

Deng Ai understood what he meant, pondered for a moment and said, "What does Brother Wei think this third prince mean?"

Wei Jin thought for a while and said, "I was observing the words and expressions at that time. Although he claimed to be close to Jiang, this was obviously just an excuse. I found that when he saw you and the eight elite soldiers, his eyes lit up, and he had an unconcealed expectation. I think he must have liked you."

"I like us, what's this?"

Deng Ai couldn't help laughing, but he could understand that he followed Zhao Yun to study martial arts hard for many years and had already mastered a strong martial arts. As for the eight soldiers, they were all elites of the Eagle Strike Army. They could fight against a hundred, and they had a strong murderous aura that could not be concealed. It was completely reasonable for Zuo Dan to take a fancy to them.
Chapter completed!