Chapter 414

Hanyang Commandery, Long County.

Hanyang Commandery governed twelve counties, including Ji County, Shanggui, Huandao, Chengji, Wangyuan, Long County, Lueyang, Pingxiang, Xianqin, Aiyang, Yongshi, and Xi County.

Long County is the area of Zhangjiachuan today.

In the first year of Yongchu, during the Yongchu Qiang Rebellion, the old King of the Dianling Qiang sent troops from Long County to Yi County, fought against Ren Shang, who was under the command of General-in-Chief Deng Zhi, killed eight thousand Han soldiers, and defeated the main force of the Han army in one fell swoop.

From then on, the Yongchu Qiang Rebellion, which lasted for more than ten years, began.

Liangzhou is vast and sparsely populated.

Especially the Han Chinese.

In Liangzhou alone, the number of Qiang people exceeded two million.

But the number of Han Chinese was no more than five hundred thousand.

Hanyang Commandery, as the seat of Liangzhou, governed twelve counties, with a total population of no more than twenty-seven thousand households, and the registered population did not exceed one hundred and forty thousand.

But the number of Qiang people was a multiple of this number.

Further west, in places like Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Jincheng, the population of the Qiang tribes was several times that of the Han Chinese.

Liangzhou had twelve commanderies, but there were dozens of Qiang tribes.

Ranging from a thousand to tens of thousands, scattered throughout Liangzhou.

And governing the Qiang had always been the most important part of governing Liangzhou.

Since the Yongchu Qiang Rebellion, the Han Dynasty spent hundreds of billions of *qian* on military expenses in Liangzhou every year.

This did not even count the manpower and material resources.

A day later, at night.

At this time, Gao Shun and Qu Yi had already led their troops to outside Long County.

Gao Shun was from Bingzhou, and Qu Yi was a local of Liangzhou, so both were very familiar with the Qiang tribes.

The range of activities of the Dianling Qiang was near Qinting outside Long County.

"Because of the mixed living of Han and Hu, the Qiang tribes in the interior have also begun to build their own city-states," Qu Yi, lying on a hillside, looked at a place that looked like a city fortress surrounded by stone walls below and said: "Except for the Qiang tribes in places like Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Dunhuang, most of the Qiang tribes now are half-farming and half-herding."

"I estimate that at this time, some of the Dianling Qiang are still out herding."

"Most of the people here are those who stayed behind to farm."

Gao Shun lay to the side, listening to Qu Yi's words and nodding slightly.

Gao Shun and Qu Yi were similar in stature, both very burly.

In this battle, Gao Shun was the main general, and Qu Yi was the vanguard deputy general.

But considering that Qu Yi was a local of Liangzhou and Duan Yu had specifically instructed before departure that Qu Yi had a separate set of methods for fighting the Qiang, Gao Shun listened very humbly to Qu Yi's introduction.

"Then how do you think this battle should be fought?" Gao Shun looked at Qu Yi.

Gao Shun's question made Qu Yi stunned.

He looked at Gao Shun with a somewhat dull expression.

"General... wants to listen to my strategy?" Qu Yi looked at Gao Shun in disbelief.

Gao Shun looked at the Dianling Qiang fortress below with a blank expression and said: "Choose the good and follow it, and beauty will naturally return to oneself."

"You and I are both under the Lord's command, there is no distinction between us."

Qu Yi was shaken all over.

This battle was the first battle since entering Liangzhou, and it was also the best opportunity to obtain military merit.

Gao Shun being able to hand over the matter of formulating strategy to him was equivalent to giving the first military merit to him.

A general who does not snatch the military merit of his subordinates is already very rare.

For Gao Shun's humility, Qu Yi felt an unprecedented sense of belonging.

"General Gao, I..."

"Tell me your strategy." Gao Shun interrupted Qu Yi's thanks and said: "If this battle is won, I will naturally ask for merit for you; if we lose, then you and I will naturally be punished."

Qu Yi nodded forcefully and said: "The Qiang tribes are as good at riding and archery as the Xiongnu, and they are fast."

"Although the Lord gave us all cavalry for this trip, I observed that there should be some infantry under your command, General."

Gao Shun nodded.

These infantry were trained by Gao Shun when he was in Jinyang, numbering about five hundred.

"General Gao, it is easy to break this place, but if you want to wipe them all out, it will be difficult because the Qiang cavalry is fast."

"So... I have a strategy."

Qu Yi whispered in his ear.

Gao Shun nodded as he listened: "Good, just follow your strategy."

"The soldiers have been marching for a day; let them rest well tonight, and we will launch the attack early tomorrow morning."

The next morning, the sun rose as usual.

Thick smoke began to rise from the simple earthen houses in the Dianling Qiang fortress near Qinting.

Because more than ten days ago, the old King of Dianling took away more than a thousand young and strong men.

At this time, the proportion of young and strong Qiang men in the fortress was clearly not high.

Qiang women and children wandered in the fortress.

Near a stone and yellow mud house on the edge of the fortress.

A Qiang woman walked out carrying a wooden basin.

Behind her followed a boy of about seven or eight years old.

The thin boy followed behind the woman and asked: "Mother, why hasn't Father come back yet? Father promised that in a few days, when it's my birthday, he would take me hunting."

The Qiang woman stopped, turned her head, stroked the boy's messy hair with her hand, and smiled: "Soon, your father will be back in a few days."

"By then, my son will have his own horse and will be a man of the tribe."

The Qiang boy sniffed hard and nodded happily upon hearing this.

Just at this moment.

The sound of hoofbeats suddenly rang out in the distance of the fortress.

"It's Father, it's Father who has returned."

The boy ran excitedly to the edge of the stone wall of the fortress, lay on the half-person-high stone wall, and looked outside.

However.

When the Qiang boy saw the figures of the cavalry rushing from afar clearly, his eyes widened instantly.

Then he turned his head and shouted in shock: "Mother, it's the Han cavalry, it's the Han cavalry!"

*Clang! *

The wooden basin in the woman's hand fell to the ground.

Then she grabbed the back of the boy's collar.

"Quick, run!"

The Qiang woman pulled her son, her gaze sweeping over the black mass of Han cavalry rushing toward them.

The war between Han and Qiang had been going on for more than a hundred years.

It had never stopped since the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

Either the Han people slaughtered their way into the Qiang residences, or the Qiang tribes slaughtered their way into the Han city-states to plunder.

Back and forth.

Therefore, the Qiang tribes had long been accustomed to the surprise attacks of the Han army.

And precisely because of this, when the mother and son saw the cavalry led by Gao Shun, their reaction speed was extremely fast.

A low horn sound also immediately rang out in the Qiang fortress.

The young and strong Qiang men mounted their horses, ready to rush out of the fortress to meet the enemy.

And most of the Qiang people drove their own livestock to flee toward the distance.

"Kill!" ===== CHAPTER 416 =====

There were also a large number of Qiang tribespeople driving their livestock and fleeing toward the distance.

"Kill!"