Chapter 24 Zhou Yang’s Plan

"It is difficult! It is difficult! It is difficult!" Zhang Piqiang took his beard and pondered.

"It's very difficult! It's very difficult!" Zhou Yang nodded slightly: "If we can't lure the Huns to the south, we will lead a large army to chase into the desert, and it will be difficult to find the Huns."

"Yes!" Zhang Piqiang looked worried: "The Huns are vast and not under the Han Dynasty. If you really want to avoid my edge and find a place to hide, it will be difficult for us to find it."

"It is unlikely to lure the Huns to the south. However, there is not no way to deal with the Huns." Zhou Yang's eyes flashed.

"Oh!" Zhang Piqiang was interested, excited and asked, "What's the solution?"

"Second Uncle, guess." Zhou Yang didn't say anything and kept it a secret.

"Yes!" Zhang Piqiang's eyes were shining with bright eyes: "Are you talking about weakening the Huns?"

"That's right! The second uncle has such agile talent!" Zhou Yang praised: "I have been thinking about this for a few days, and you will think of it in a blink of an eye, it's amazing!"

"You plan ahead, this is the real awesomeness!" Zhang Piqiang smiled and said, "If you don't mention it, I will still think deeply. Tell me, how do you weaken the Huns?"

"I think that if the Huns do not fight us but choose to avoid my edge, we will have to weaken the Huns." Zhou Yang pointed to the map and smiled: "Zhongchang said he was a smart man, but his vision was too narrow, and he only stared at Longcheng. He did not expect that the Huns had more important places besides Longcheng..."

"That's the Hetao place!" Zhou Yang and Zhang Piqiang said this at the same time, and their fingers pointed at the Hetao place on the map at the same time.

This is what the heroes see. They looked at each other and smiled slightly, with their eyes full of praise.

"Longcheng is the burial place of the Xiongnu Shanyu in all dynasties. It is very important to the Xiongnu and is a holy land. However, for us, even if Longcheng is destroyed, what can we get? Nothing can be obtained!" Zhou Yang began to analyze: "It is too far from the territory of the Han Dynasty. The weather is cold, so it is not suitable to shepherd war horses and accumulate combat power. However, the Hetao area is different, and the land is fertile and beautiful, which is a good pasture. If we recover the Hetao area, we can shepherd war horses here and accumulate military strength. To the north, let alone Longcheng, even the Mobei area, we can chase. To the south, the Hexi Corridor is under our control. Once we take over the Hexi area, we can still go west and conquer the Western Regions."

Zhang Piqiang smiled happily: "Haha! It's easy to plan! It's easy to plan! Recover the Hetao land, destroy Longcheng, take down the Hexi Corridor, and then capture the Western Regions. How many places are left of the Huns? It's just Mobei. After we recover Hetao, we can build a city in the Hetao land. As a support, it's much easier to go to the expedition to Mobei!"

"Qin Shihuang wanted to build a city in Hetao, but it was not done. It was necessary to build a city." Zhou Yang agreed with his statement.

"Then we have to report to the emperor now to prepare to attack the Hetao area, and we must mobilize food, grass and weapons first." Zhang Piqiang's foresight.

"This is not necessary. In the Hetao area, we have food, grass and weapons." Zhou Yang smiled mysteriously.

"What's the secret?" Zhang Piqiang is a very smart person.

When Zhou Yang said that there was food and grass hidden in Hetao, Zhang Piqiang was so happy that his smile on his face folded layer by layer: "Haha! God bless China! God bless China!"

"We can act like we want to capture the Hetao land. I think the Shanyu will definitely lead his army. He can give up Longcheng, but he cannot throw away the Hetao land and have to face the battle." Zhou Yang said what he thought: "In the Hetao land, as long as we block the three major intersections, the Huns will be unable to fly!"

"We don't have to mobilize food and grass, as long as the soldiers move in quietly. When the Shanyu finds out that he has a trap, he has nowhere to escape!" Zhang Piqiang smiled very happily: "Haha! Such a beautiful thing can be encountered in a thousand years!"

"Of course, we have to find a way to lure the Huns south." Zhou Yang raised his eyebrows: "This is called a two-pronged approach!"

"Yes! It should be like this!" Zhang Piqiang deeply agreed.

"Second uncle, how is Donghu managed?" Zhou Yang asked.

"If you want to manage a new place well, it will take a lot of time. If you don't need it, it will take several years." Zhang Piqiang shook his head and sighed: "But, it will be almost done in another three or two months."

"Okay, two months later, we will be in the training!" Zhou Yang shook his sore neck: "By then, the weather will turn cold and he has to go back. The garrison here of Donghu will transfer some troops from the mainland to train some Donghu people."

The new army is to be used to fight the Huns, and it is impossible to garrison here for a long time. Zhang Piqiang nodded and said, "In another three or two months, the Donghu people who are recruiting will be able to go to the battlefield!"

"Great!" Zhou Yangda was relieved: "You must do your best to get the land, and you must use the people's strength. Only when the Han Dynasty fights, the Han Dynasty can become stronger and stronger. Otherwise, relying on the mainland of the Han Dynasty alone would be a heavy burden. The Donghu people's riding and shooting were so great, and with them, it would be much easier to defeat the Huns."

"You must do your best to get the land, and you must use the people's strength. It's well said! It's remarkable!" Zhang Piqiang deeply agreed.

xxxxxxxx

The West Sea is now Qinghai Lake. It is a rare place with abundant water and grass on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Xianling Qiang is located on the shore of the West Sea. It is well-known in the territory and has strong strength. It is a famous clan of the Western Qiang, and its leader is the King of the Western Qiang.

Surrounding the West Sea, there are many tents, one after another. I don’t know how many there are, but at first glance, I can’t see its head.

The mountain is flat near the West Sea, which is a rare grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is the favorite pasture for herders. The herders here almost settle here and do not live by water and grass.

This is not because the Western Qiang did not live in the habit of pursuing water and plants, but because the most beautiful place on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the grassland where the West Sea is located. If you live in the water and plants, you will lose the roots and the end.

Not far from the coast of the West Sea, there is a huge tent, which is the tent of the King of Xiqiang. A golden eagle on the top of the tent is lifelike, flapping its wings into the air, as if it is about to fly through the sky.

In front of the king's tent, a flagpole was hung with an eagle flag embroidered with golden thread. It was the king's flag of the King of Western Qiang, which was rolling in the wind and making noises.

"Get it!"

A burst of rapid hooves sounded, and a group of Hun soldiers surrounded a Hun envoy and were galloping towards the king's tent.

In the king's tent, the King of Xiqiang sat on the throne and was drinking with his ministers.

The King of Xiqiang was a man in his fifties. He was tall, like an iron tower, with a wide mouth and a huge mouth, a tiger's eyes and copper eyes, and looked very powerful. He sat upright on the throne and was extremely majestic.

His throne was made of pure gold, shining with golden light, and three golden eagles were carved on it. Two smaller golden eagles were particularly shiny on the left and right armrests because they were touched too much. On the backrest, there was a large golden eagle. Three golden eagles were as vivid as they were.

The King of Xiqiang had a disheveled hair, wearing a fur coat and a fur hat, and was wearing a whole sheep in front of him, with warm horse breasts, tearing her legs with big mouthfuls and drinking her breasts with big mouthfuls. Isn't it happy?

Next to him was a young man sitting at the top of him, eight feet tall, extremely heroic and extraordinary. He was no one else, but Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo slowly cut mutton with a golden knife.

Like the Xiongnu, the Western Qiang did not have strict military regulations and military orders, nor did they have heavy national affairs. The affairs of the King and Minister of the Western Qiang were pitifully small, and they could not pass the time, so they could only rely on a banquet to spend it.

The ministers fought against the mutton hard, drank horse breasts in big gulps, and the oil and water splashed everywhere, and the tent was filled with loud chewing sounds.

"Mr. Xifang, how do you think we can get the land of Longxi?" The King of Xiqiang stuffed a piece of mutton into his mouth, picked up the horse's breasts, and looked at Dongfang Shuo.

When Dongfang Shuo came to the Western Qiang, he did not say his real name, but his pseudonym Xifang Shuo.

"Longxi!" As soon as the land of Longxi was mentioned, the ministers were angry and resentful: "The Han people are so hateful that they don't let us get involved in Longxi."

Although the land of Longxi is poor and desolate, it is extremely important in geographical location and is a barrier to Guanzhong. If Longxi is lost, Guanzhong will be exposed and Chang'an will be threatened. How could the Han Dynasty allow the Western Qiang to be invaded?

It is precisely because the land of Longxi is extremely important that Qin Shihuang once sent Li Xin, the ancestor of Li Guang, to be defeated by Xiang Yan, who was stationed here, and defeated the Western Qiang, and defeated him in the wind.

"I think that although Longxi is good, it is not as good as the Hexi Corridor." Dongfang Shuo said slowly.

"Hexi Corridor?" The King of Xiqiang's eyes flashed with a scorching meaning: "Hexi Corridor is a piece of fat meat. Yanzhi Mountain can be grazed. The soil and water are beautiful. It is a rare pasture. If we get it, our strength will increase sharply, and our cattle, sheep, and horses will be numerous."

The Hexi Corridor is a narrow and long land, and it is the only way to connect the Central Plains to the Western Regions. The famous "Silk Road" passed by from then on. There are Yanzhi Mountain and plump grasslands here. The Western Qiang has been trying to capture it for many years, but it has not succeeded.

"It's a pity that it was the land of the Huns, and we can't afford to offend it." The King of Xiqiang felt very sorry.

The Huns were powerful, and even the Han Dynasty, which was rich in land and wealth, was suppressed and beaten. The Western Qiang dared not to stroke the Huns' tiger beards, so they could only sigh.

"Times have changed, and the situation is different now." Dongfang Shuo smiled slightly and said, "Once the Huns were defeated by the Great Wall and then by the Donghu, their strength has dropped greatly, and their national strength is no longer as good as before. If the king wants the Hexi Corridor, it will be the right time!"

"Oh!" The King of Xiqiang suddenly realized and slapped his forehead: "This is indeed a rare opportunity. However, even if the Huns were defeated by the Han Dynasty, it would be difficult for us to seize the Hexi Corridor. Not to mention anything else, the Loufan, Aries, and Xiu Tu tribes on the Hexi Corridor were very strong. They held more than 200,000 troops, so we were not opponents."

"Don't worry, the King. If it's not bad as expected, the envoy of the Huns should have arrived." Dongfang Shuo was still so slow.

"No?" The King of Xiqiang did not believe it: "I admire Mr. Western, great talent. But why did the Huns send envoys to come?"

"Report to the King, the Huns envoy asked for a visit!" As soon as the King of Xiqiang finished speaking, a personal guard came in to report.

"It's a god!" The King of Xiqiang raised his thumb and praised him: "Mr. Xifang, are you a god descending to earth? You can calculate and calculate."

"Where, where." Dongfang Shuo smiled and shook his head: "This is an obvious thing. The Huns were defeated by the Han Dynasty and their national strength was not as strong as before. Only when they found friends would they remember the king. If the king wanted the Hexi Corridor, it would be the right time!"

"Will the Huns give it?" The King of Xiqiang was a little confused.

Dongfang Shuo smiled and said, "King, if the Huns don't give it to you, won't the King go and fight?"

"But we can't defeat the Huns. Even if the Huns were defeated by the Han people, we are no match. We can't deal with the more than 200,000 Huns in the Hexi Corridor." The King of Xiqiang had no confidence.

Although the Western Qiang occupied a large area, it was mostly high mountains and dense forests, with a small population, and there were too few grasslands that could be grazed, and its strength was very weak. Even if the Huns were defeated by the Han Dynasty, not to mention twice, even ten or eight times, the Western Qiang could not do anything to the Huns.

"Don't worry, let me tell you about this." Dongfang Shuo's bright eyes rolled, and a smile passed by.

"Since that's the case, then Mr. Xifang will be here." The King of Xiqiang had absolute confidence in Dongfang Shuo, and was very happy. He waved his right hand with a greasy wave: "Call him in!"

Under the leadership of his personal guards, the Huns envoy walked in quickly, his eyes falling on Dongfang Shuo, and he was very surprised and secretly ridiculed the Huns that there were Zhongxing, and there were Han people in the Western Qiang. It seemed that the Han people like to be spies, and Han dogs were really pitiful.

"I've seen the king!" The Hun envoy greeted the King of Xiqiang.

"Forget it! Forget it!" The King of Xiqiang had absolute confidence in Dongfang Shuo and was in a good mood. He waved his hand and said, "Sit up! Come and drink!"

The servant responded and was busy setting up seats for the Hun envoys and putting mutton and horse breasts on them.

The Hun envoy thanked him, sat down, tore the mutton and ate it in big mouthfuls, drank the warm horse's breasts, and praised: "The mutton of the Qiang people is as delicious as the mutton of the Great Hun people! What a pity, the dignified Qiang people actually hid in the dense forests of the mountains!"

The ridicule in this sentence was already very obvious. The King of Xiqiang looked cold: "Hmph! Although our Qiang tribe has a foothold in the mountains and dense forests, there is no risk of defeating the army. I don't know how many soldiers and horses were lost when the Great Huns fought against the Han Dynasty? How many cattle and sheep? How many grasslands were? "

The Hun envoy originally wanted to arouse the King of the Western Qiang, but unexpectedly, he said something like a knife and answered speechlessly, making a big blush.

Dongfang Shuo thought it was almost done, so he took the conversation: "Listen to the envoy of the Huns. If you are sincere, don't need to ask for a cheap word. Just tell me your purpose! If you want to ask for a cheap word, we are not in a hurry, just be afraid that your cheap word will not be obtained, and the army of the Han Dynasty has headed straight to Longcheng!"

The reason why the Xiongnu envoys came was to reduce the burden on the Xiongnu. The pressure of the Han Dynasty could not be borne by the Xiongnu. When he heard that, the Xiongnu envoys had to admit his mistake: "It's mine, it's not, Mr. Xie's teachings! I don't know the name of Mr. Gao?"

"This is a Western gentleman. He is very talented and knowledgeable. He is many times higher than your eunuch. He is very happy." The King of the Western Qiang was very happy and pointed at Dongfang Shuo to introduce him to the Xiongnu envoy, and did not forget to say something.

"Haha! It turns out that it is Mr. West, and he is polite." The Hun envoys would also turn to the wind and salute Dongfang Shuo: "When it comes to Zhongxing, he is extremely talented, not inferior to the great talents of the world!"

Although he was very dissatisfied with the Bank of China, he had to say something good to the Bank of China for the sake of the face of the Huns.

"The Bank of China said that it was originally a priest from the Han Palace, the kind of thing that was thrown on the streets that no one wanted. You Huns are really scarce, and they even used this kind of thing that no one wanted as a treasure! It's ridiculous! It's ridiculous!" Dongfang Shuo's words were like a knife, and it was far beyond the reach of people.

The envoy of the Huns knew that if he wanted to argue with Dongfang Shuo, there was no hope of winning. He hurriedly said: "I am here to come to pay homage to the king, hoping that the Western Qiang and the Great Huns will be friends forever."

"In this world, good things will not fall from heaven, and this friend has done nothing. Tell me, what is your price?" Dongfang Shuo took the conversation.

"Mr. West, can you represent the king?" The Hun envoy wanted to talk to Dongfang Shuo, and he would lose a lot, so he hurriedly ran Dongfang Shuo with his words.

"What Mr. Western said is what I said!" The King of Xiqiang hurriedly affirmed.

"Uh!" The Hun envoy grinded his teeth and thought to himself that something was wrong: "Since that's the case, I'll offer the price. The Huns are willing to give the king 10,000 cattle, 100,000 sheep, and 3,000 horses. As long as the king sends troops to Longxi, it's enough."
To be continued...