Chapter 370: Strong Army and Strong Horses

Chapter 370: Strong Army and Strong Horses

The issuance of a conscription order from the Tai Mansion in early May immediately changed the entire atmosphere in Guanzhong.

Governments in various places were busy raising supplies to cooperate with the levy order, and people from all walks of life were also busy gathering together. Although the common people were not involved in the conquest order, they were still worried. All kinds of speculations and rumors were noisy, making the entire Guanzhong filled with a tense atmosphere.

But no matter what the civil atmosphere is, the recruitment of troops and preparations for the parade are proceeding in an orderly manner. As time enters midsummer in June, people from all over Guanzhong gather towards Xianyang one after another.

In late June, a mighty team of tens of thousands of people marched eastward along the Weishui River. Such a huge team of men and horses is really rare. Wherever they go, there are many villagers looking at them from a distance, and the bandits and wild beasts retreat one after another. It is really impossible to offend such a huge team that looks terrifying.

This was Li Tai and his party who entered Guanzhong from Longyou. The Longyou disciples led by Li Tai alone had thousands of meritorious soldiers who entered the court and were rewarded in the battle with Liangzhou. In addition, those who moved to Guanzhong from Liangzhou There are more than 5,000 households, forming such a huge team size.

If only Li Tai and his party were to enter the customs, they would be able to reach Chang'an in a few days with sufficient supplies and sufficient supplies. However, because there were thousands of households walking together, the speed was slowed down. After walking for more than half a month, they still had not left Qizhou.

Fortunately, the helpers arranged by the Taiwan government had arrived, and the group stayed in Qizhou for two days before the immigrants were delivered.

Li Tai couldn't help feeling relieved. He really didn't want to go with these Liangzhou immigrants anymore, not because he saw these people as a drag, but because in the ancient context, this large-scale migration of people was simply a purgatory on earth. Ordinary scenes, what you see every day are scenes of life and death, full of negative energy.

Although Li Tai was not kind, he felt extremely miserable after seeing such scenes too many times every day. Because the administrative capacity of the Western Wei regime was insufficient, in order to weaken potential local threats, it forcibly drove people away from their homes and families to migrate long distances. A large amount of people's wealth and lives were consumed during this migration, which was really terrible.

He had no ability to stop this kind of thing, so he could only calm down his mood and turn a blind eye. After handing over these people to the officials responsible for settling them, he led his troops and continued without stopping for a moment. Head towards Chang'an.

Within Xianyang, a large-scale camp area has been delineated on a plateau between Jingwei and Jingwei, and more than half of the camps have already gathered people.

For such a large-scale camp planning, it is inevitable that there will be differences in location. Whether it is shaded and ventilated, or whether it is completely uncovered and close to a water source for coolness, or whether it is directly exposed to the scorching sun on the top of the plateau. Although it is not a matter of life or death, it is It greatly affects the living experience of the camp soldiers.

Especially this year’s parade is a full season ahead of schedule, and the weather is unbearably hot. If the campsite is not in a good location, it will be miserable.

As people from all walks of life continue to gather here, some campsites with better locations have attracted attention and competition from people from all walks of life. Usually, those with lower potential naturally avoid those with higher potential, while those with equal potential will engage in various military skills competitions to decide who belongs.

However, in this year's parade, the trend of ranking based on seniority was not very strong. Trying to use power and position to dominate people often does not work well.

One reason is naturally that because the weather is hot, people can't help but become more irritable and less awe-inspiring. The second reason is because of a role model. Li Boshan, who defeated Zhao Gui in the Baishui Parade last year, not only won great fame and great favor from Daxingtai, but also won the favor of Du Guxin, the Duke of Hanoi, and became the general. The woman in the household promised it.

Although more than half a year has passed since the incident, people still talk about it with great interest. The power of role models is endless, so this year these generals are more or less smelling of gunpowder, especially some young generals who just want to find a few old people to vent their anger.

The Grand Parade has not officially started yet, but the soldiers here have already made fights. Several fights of varying sizes are held every day, which can be said to be very lively. As for the camp, which is the main bargaining chip in the fight, except for some important areas that have been divided in advance by the Tai government, other better-located camps have already had several changes of residents.

On the west bank of Jingshui River, there is a sloping valley that is several miles long and covers an area of ​​more than ten hectares. The vegetation on both sides of the valley is dense. It casts a large area of ​​cool shade in the flat slope valley, and there are several clear channels between the terraces. The spring stream runs through the valley, and the cool and moist river breeze is constantly blowing in from the east side.

But even such a place with an excellent location and environment, which can accommodate thousands of people to stay and rest, is still not occupied by anyone. Even though the nearby and cramped forts had changed owners several times, this area was still demarcated by simple fences and ditches, and no one was stationed in it.

"The camp here is so comfortable and livable, why are there no people stationed here?"

Such a strange situation naturally arouses curiosity. It is inevitable that people who are new to this place will be looking for a place to stay, and they can't help but start thinking about this place.

Some of the camp soldiers who arrived earlier replied: "I heard that it was the camp that was drawn up by Prime Minister Yuan Dazai, the king of Guangling."

Although the power of Guanxi belongs to the Bafu, after all, the Wei family still has a rightful name. As the elder of the clan with a transcendent status in the clan, Wang Yuanxin of Guangling is also respected and dare not be disrespected. When they heard that this place was actually a camp reserved by others, most people immediately gave up the idea of ​​occupying it.

But some people were still dissatisfied. Seeing that this place had an excellent environment but was being left idle, they couldn't help but angrily said: "The King of Guangling does not control the military aircraft. Even if he participates in the parade, he is just a guest on the high platform. Why should he seize the excellent camp?" !”

Hearing this argument, the people around him were afraid that the world would not be chaotic and encouraged others to take possession of it. However, that person did not dare to offend easily. He just said bitterly: "I don't dare to offend the majesty of the famous king, but I can't bear it." Sulky. We will have a fight after the soldiers arrive here!"

Hearing this, the onlookers also applauded and applauded, which shows that there are many who hold similar thoughts.

After Li Tai and his party set off on the road quickly, it only took more than a day to cover the rest of the journey and arrived at the parade venue near Xianyang.

"Boshan, here, here! I have been waiting here for a long time!"

Next to the intersection ahead, Li Licheng stood on the high frame of the vehicle, with his palms on his eyebrows looking towards the dusty road. When he saw Li Tai, who was walking at the front of the team, he immediately waved his hands enthusiastically. shouted.

Li Tai was also very happy to meet again after being separated for several months, and immediately rode towards Li Licheng.

But Li Licheng had no time to reminisce with him. He looked at the extraordinary green horse under his crotch and clicked his tongue: "Good horse, really good horse! Although I am not good at bow and horse games, I can't restrain myself when I see this horse." I want to go for a ride!”

When Li Tai heard Li Licheng's praise, he felt even more proud. He turned around and pointed at the huge team behind him and said with a smile to Li Licheng: "It's rare that a filial piety is not afraid of the scorching heat and comes here to welcome me. I will allow you to join the team later and select a few horses."

"This, these are all your troops?"

Li Licheng's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the mighty cavalry team that could not be seen to the end. When he saw Li Tai nodded with a smile, he was excited again. He grabbed the horse's bridle with both hands and hung it in front of the horse's head, and repeatedly He sighed: "Boshan, didn't you lead all Longyou's army back to Guanzhong? The Duke of Hanoi is really partial to you! With such a powerful man in my family, who else in the world should I be more afraid of..."

Seeing that this guy was a little carried away with his joy, Li Tai quickly raised his hand to stop him from continuing to brag. The conductor brought a free horse, and then led Li Licheng to the team to greet Yang Kuan who was traveling with him.

Yang Kuan was a little tired after running from Longyou, but he still cheered up and responded. When he learned that Li Licheng had already served as Sima and Taifu Shaoqing of the Guangling Palace at such a young age, he looked at Li Licheng again. He was very enthusiastic and pointed at the two of them and sighed: "With such talented heirs, why worry about the family not being able to prosper for a long time!"

The returning Longyou disciples led by Li Tai will directly participate in the next parade, but Yang Kuan is going to return to Beijing to report on his duties. Li Tai saw that he was very interested in Li Licheng, so he motioned to Li Licheng to escort Yang Kuan back to Chang'an. .

Li Licheng was a little unhappy in his heart, but he still had the heart of a young man. Seeing that Li Tai's soldiers were so strong, he wanted to follow him to the parade venue to show off his prestige, but when he saw Li Tai's glare, he quickly agreed and left a few more people behind. The domestic slave showed Li Tai the way, and then accompanied Yang Kuan to the ferry to cross the river.

After arriving at the Xianyang camp, Li Tai looked at the soldiers in the camp with great interest while riding his horse. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the military construction of the Western Wei Dynasty had also made visible progress. What he saw now The atmosphere of the camp was completely different from what I saw when I first participated in the parade in the ninth year of Datong.

Soon the group arrived at the camp that Li Licheng had reserved for them in advance. Li Tai walked around the camp and was quite satisfied with Li Licheng's arrangements, so he ordered his troops to dismount and set up camp.

However, while the subordinates were busy setting up camp, many onlookers gradually gathered outside the valley.

Li Tai originally thought that they were just curious about where such a large cavalry group came from, so he didn't care. Instead, he sat on the ground under the shade of a tree and introduced Guanzhong to Linghu Yanbao, who came to Guanzhong for the first time. Human relations and customs.

After a while, more onlookers gathered outside the valley, and some people made strange and provocative sounds into the valley. After Li Tai saw this, he suddenly felt unhappy. He was about to establish an authoritative image in front of his subordinates, so how could he let these bored bastards make trouble and slap him in the face!