Three Kingdoms

In the Western Regions, it’s not that there are no talented people, and it’s not that no one has ever imagined forming a unified country. However, with the different interests of various states, it is not that simple to unify them. .

The people of the Western Regions, like the people of most other countries, find it difficult to form a unified consciousness. Even if they are separated by a river or a mountain, there may be friction between them that has accumulated over the years and eventually lead to The basis of natural union is lost.

At the same time, among the countries in the Western Region, no powerful country similar to Qin has emerged, so until now, there has been little chance to reach the threshold of unification. After all, the Qin State was blessed with three or four consecutive shrewd and wise kings, so that it could seize the fleeting opportunities in the long history. However, the royal families of the Western Regions obviously did not have such good conditions.

but……

Just like brothers who often fight with each other, but after encountering foreign enemies, they put aside their disputes and work together to deal with the outside world. Now it seems that there is another opportunity in front of the countries in the Western Region.

This is not the first time that the Western Regions have resisted the Han people.

Not all countries in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of China can have a good inheritance of three generations of kings like the Qin State. The Protectors of the Western Regions also have good and bad, strong and weak. Figures like Zhang Qian or Ban Chao are only a few after all, and In the era of Ban Chao's son Ban Yong, because of the Eastern Han Dynasty's attitude towards the strategic issues in Guanxi, and even cut off his own arm to suppress political opponents, the Protector of the Western Regions was once changed to the Chief Historian of the Western Regions, and he lost control of the army.

It is obvious that in a place like the Western Regions, where there is no military control, the so-called chief historian of the Western Regions is like a staff officer without a chief, and has no power at all in speaking. And those officials in the court of the Eastern Han Dynasty never considered how much backlash would arise after the collapse of the order in the Western Regions that was finally established.

Ironically, Kushan, who originally instigated the countries in the Western Regions to rebel against the Han, saying that unified order was rubbish and that freedom was more precious, now began to advocate the benefits of unification...

The memory of the people in the Western Regions is always short-lived.

Because the people in the Western Regions do not have writing.

No matter how vivid and vivid the pictures are, they cannot carry the power of inheritance like words. And for some reason, the pictures handed down in the Western Regions are often of religious themes, and few are truly used for folk experience or reflection of wisdom.

It's a pity that Busen didn't realize this. The so-called secret scroll is the fundamental reason why he can gain the respect of the countries in the Western Regions and settle down. How can he spread the words or the history of the Western Regions?

People who are not smart enough often think they are smart people.

In the end Busen agreed to Taksa's suggestion.

Maybe the painted pie is very sweet, or maybe the moth can't help but still fly into the fire...

Some rumors spread quickly.

Darkness will eventually be driven out and light will eventually come.

Buddha's final test was about to come.

The devil is coming, and we can only deal with it by joining hands...

These somewhat meaningless words spread among the people of the Western Region. When these people were discussing the tragedy in Cicheng in Qizi Qiu, and lamenting the difficult times in the Western Regions, etc., they would add these two sentences at the end, and then their expressions would become a little intriguing.

Especially with the endorsement of "Buddha".

This is the power of religion.

In many cases where the explanation is not clear, just saying that this is the true meaning of the Buddha can silence those who have questions. It's like the mysterious "top document" of later generations.

I haven’t seen it yet, but there it is.

I can't get the file out, but it's there.

I don’t know the details, but there it is.

Therefore, the people in the Western Region seem to be under the influence of these rumors. Although there is no basis, everyone is convinced that such days will never last long, and a change will come soon.

Immediately, from Qiuci outward, the cities, villages, and tribes in the Western Regions were filled with an unusual atmosphere.

In those ordinary mornings and evenings, people in the Western Regions grazed cattle or worked as usual on the surface, and then went home to rest after sunset. However, these people's hearts were turbulent and restless. These people will take out their lost swords, guns and arrows, sort them over and over again, and then put them in their most advantageous positions.

It seemed like everyone was waiting for something.

Looking forward to something.

But what they actually don't know is that their eager hearts are beating with unwillingness to be mediocre, and their thoughts of waiting are the accumulation of resentment from being oppressed for many years.

Nervous dark clouds shrouded the entire Western Region, getting thicker and darker. It seems that the smell of war has been brought out in the sky, between the clouds, and in every piece of land where the wind blows.

The Kushan people are still gathering strength, but this smell has already reached Xihai City first.

In Xihai City, there are not only Han people, but even in some places, Hu people make up the majority.

I don’t know when it started, but something happened in Xihai City...

The barbarians in the Western Regions began to consciously speak loudly and quietly in barbarian around the Han people. Before, these barbarians did not speak barbarian when communicating with each other, and they were even more proud of speaking Chinese with correct accents.

In some dark corners and alleys, there are Hu people who are staring at the lone Han people. And when night falls, there are Hu people who are running around in the dark. Before, these Hu people were more guarded than the Han people. rule.

In the shops in the city, some Hu people openly took things from Han shops without paying them, and then they were caught and beat up the Han shopkeepers, claiming that it was the Han people who discriminated against them... ahem, after so many years of oppression, And now he just takes back a little bit.

Among the vassal troops in the camp outside the city, the Hu vassal troops also began to become arrogant. Suddenly, these Hu soldiers began to become unpredictable. They no longer obeyed orders and became very bad-tempered. For such a trivial matter, the Hu soldiers dared to brag and glare at the Han military academy, and even cursed.

There were also more and more frictions between the Han and Hu soldiers.

Fights and fights are also constantly escalating, and the cause may be just a simple word, a look, or a collision. However, in this atmosphere, the tense antagonism between the Hu and Han soldiers continued to heat up, escalate, and become more and more intense.

Bloodshed eventually occurred.

During a quarrel over the order of queuing, several Han soldiers fought with the Hu soldiers. In the chaos, a Hu soldier was stabbed to death with a knife for no apparent reason. Blood flowed out, and another Hu soldier was killed on the spot. The soldiers began to shout, and then more and more Hu soldiers heard the sound and came from all directions.

At first, it was just a fight between a few people, but it soon evolved into dozens, hundreds, and then the entire vassal military camp became commotion...

Fortunately, Menghua still had some sense. He ordered the Han and Hu military sergeants to separate and mix with the soldiers, and barely maintained order. However, the Han and Hu soldiers were confronting each other, and they were obviously concerned about the situation. Menghua was not satisfied with this decision. Although Menghua temporarily delayed the deterioration of the scene at that time, the situation in the military camp outside the city actually became worse.

The Han and Hu people inside and outside Xihai City were isolated from each other, did not talk to each other, and ignored each other. The Hu people do not dare to go to places where there are many Han people. Similarly, the Han people do not dare to go to areas where the Hu people are the majority.

Meng Hua and Han Guo were comforting and urgently reported the current tense situation in Xihai City. Both of them knew very well that in this part of the Western Regions, the number of Han people was not very large, and most of them were barbarians. Even though order could be maintained in Xihai City, the Han settlements outside Xihai City were... It may not be guaranteed.

It was under such circumstances that Lu Bu and Zhang Liao returned to Xihai City with their troops.

If you are defeated, then of course the most important thing is to escape with your life. Nothing can stop you from escaping. However, Lu Bu and Zhang Liao, especially Zhang Liao, do not want to turn the entire army into a lost dog. They only know how to escape and do nothing else. Regardless, they were relatively restrained and cautious in the process of returning to Xihai City. Of course, this also made their return take longer, but the benefit was that the troops were more complete.

The downside is that even rumors can run faster than them.

The morale of the soldiers has collapsed, and it is difficult to think quickly.

There was some chaos in the beginning, with insufficient military rations and pay, but in the end, we encountered a situation where our own people beat our own people and lost a general. Under such a situation, if the morale can still be maintained strong and not fall, then it will really be Weibo fucking opened the door to Weibo.

Or is it a purely undead force, unaffected by morale?

Once morale collapses, no matter how good the equipment is, it will be impossible to continue fighting. After all, it is people who use the equipment, not the people who use the equipment. Therefore, Zhang Liao took over the up and down affairs of Xihai City in almost a hellish situation.

In terms of people's livelihood, supplies are in short supply, prices are skyrocketing, and the shortage of many things has led to meaningless looting by the people.

That's right, looting, looting by the Han people themselves.

Han Guo's original idea was to use part of the official reserves to calm some market prices and ease people's emotions, but what he didn't expect was that when he took out these supplies, he did not achieve the desired results. As soon as these materials appeared on the market, they immediately triggered a rush for these materials by the Han people.

Of course, this does not mean buying for zero yuan, but crazy buying regardless of one's own demand. Even if you don’t need it temporarily, you still have to buy it and keep it. This makes people who are really in urgent need not get it later...

This only caused greater panic.

Because the shops representing the government were all sold out and closed.

Later, Han Guo learned his lesson and adopted a small-batch limited-sale model. Each person could only buy a little. Although it did solve part of the shortage, it did not alleviate the tension in the city and instead increased panic. The first thing all people do when they open their eyes every day is to queue up at various stores. After one round of queue, there is the second round...

And those who still have some supplies at home can't help but get involved in such a situation, so there are always queues on the streets, and there are various secondary problems caused by long queues. Conflict broke out under the instigation of some people, intentionally or unintentionally.

If the city inspection team hadn't arrived in a hurry, the shops would have been smashed and the shopkeepers would have been beaten to death on the spot.

This is the case in the city, and the military camp outside the city is even more tense.

The confrontation between Hu and Han soldiers has become very obvious. The Han people do not believe in the Hu people, and the Hu people do not believe in the Han people. Although there are some Qiang people from Longxi among the vassal troops outside Xihai City, these Qiang people are even more embarrassed. They are between the Han people and the Hu people. In this period, they will neither gain the trust of the Han people nor the recognition of the Hu people.

As for Meng Hua, being able to barely control the riots in the military camp was already the best he could do. As for reconciling conflicts, resolving disputes, unifying the morale of the army, etc., he was really powerless.

At the same time, in various parts of the Western Region, the wave of resistance against the Han people that was gathering gradually became more and more intense, and even began to spread to the military checkpoints around Xihai City...

The gentle, harmless Hu herdsmen who were originally around the checkpoints now looked at the Han people like cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. After the lone soldier died outside for no reason, the number of scouts dispatched by the checkpoint increased from the initial five-person team to twenty or thirty people before dispatching, and this also entailed certain risks.

As for the scouts who are mainly responsible for detecting surrounding movements at the checkpoint, they originally needed concealment and long-term detection. Now that the number of people has increased, the concealment has been greatly reduced, and the number of detection rounds has also dropped.

The situation is already obvious. Although the various states in the Western Region have not officially turned against the Han people, they have actually begun to reject the Han people, and a full-scale war may break out at any time.

And under such circumstances, Lu Bu, as the Protector of the Western Regions, locked himself in the Protector's mansion and refused to meet anyone...

This is certainly very Lu Bu.

In addition to Lu Bu surpassing the boundaries of mortals in terms of martial arts, in other aspects, he is basically still in the category of mortals. It may even be because he added too many points to the martial arts value that he had to lower the points in other aspects. To balance it out.

The same was true in history when Lu Bu was besieged by Cao Cao in Xiapi.

At this moment, Lu Bu's problem of escaping from reality broke out again. He huddled in the yamen of the Governor's Palace. He neither expressed his opinion on Zhang Liao's previous execution of many officials of the Governor's Palace, nor did he have anything to say about the current situation in the Western Regions. idea. Lu Bu didn't see anyone and locked himself in the room. Even when Zhang Liao went there, Lu Bu kicked him out.

As a last resort, Zhang Liao had no choice but to stand up and take on this responsibility.

The first order Zhang Liao issued was to ask the Qiang leader of the vassal army, Ajie Sha's former subordinate, Aima'er, to come and meet him.

"Aima'er, now I need you to take all the Qiang soldiers to build an escort channel from Xihai City to Yumen Pass to protect the evacuation of the people..."

After Zhang Liao met the Qiang leader, he said straight to the point: "The Western Region is already very dangerous now. I have ordered to gather these Han people scattered in the fields outside the city. I need you to take your men and send them to Yumen Pass as a guard first." ! 』

Aimaer was stunned for a moment, "General, are you going to... give up the Western Region?" 』

Zhang Liao said: "What to do next still needs to be decided by the Hussars General, but the Han people outside are already facing threats, and they must temporarily avoid it before the situation completely deteriorates." I can't spare the troops I have, so can you do this? Safely transport these people to Yumen Pass? 』

The Qiang people and the Hu people in the Western Regions are still somewhat distant and distant from each other. After all, the Qiang and Han people have been in love and fighting each other for so many years. After Beigong's death, there are not many hard-line Qiang people left, especially people like Aimaer. Basically, it can be said that they cooperate well with the Han people. If it weren't for this Lu Bu was just too messy once, and he wouldn't have caused so many problems.

But from another aspect, the Qiang people are Qiang people after all. If under any special circumstances, if there is a little hesitation, or if there are any problems with cooperation, then it will undoubtedly be a problem for the current shaky situation in the Western Regions. It's like a hidden bomb. It may not explode from beginning to end, but if it does explode, it will make things worse. Therefore, after overall consideration, it is better to let these Qiang people escort a group of Han people to evacuate the Western Regions first, which can be regarded as reducing part of the pressure on people's livelihood and military.

Seeing that Zhang Liao had already made a decision, Ai Ma'er didn't say anything more. He simply took the order and went down to prepare.

As a Qiang person, Ai Maer actually noticed that the atmosphere in the Western Region had changed. Now that Zhang Liao's orders were in place, he could avoid this whirlpool. Why not do it?

Menghua watched Aimaer leave, still somewhat confused, "General Wenyuan, why did you let them leave?" 』In Menghua's view, although the Qiang people may not be completely trustworthy, if a war does break out, it is still possible to serve as some auxiliary work, and the military strength of Xihai City is not very sufficient, so let these Qiang people leave. , doesn’t it reduce one’s own strength?

Zhang Liao looked at Menghua, was silent for a while, and decided to explain it to Menghua. After all, he learned a lot from this Lu Bu incident. In fact, it was just a small matter at the beginning, but without explanation and communication, it will often turn into "Most of the Qiang people are from Longyou and Longxi, so they really don't mix with these Qiang people in the Western Regions... But Longyou has only been pacified not long ago. If a large number of Qiang people die in the Western Regions, what will happen next?" This is not a good thing for Longyou governance. 』

Meng Hua suddenly understood, but he was still worried, "General Wenyuan is very worried...but these Qiang people have left, and the camp outside the city..." The troops are small, and if they make trouble again, they may not be able to suppress it.

Zhang Liao nodded and said: "I was just about to say this...these Hu vassal troops, let them choose themselves, either to return to Yumen Pass with the Qiang people, or to disperse on their own..."

"lay off? ” Menghua’s eyes widened in disbelief.