Chapter 733: Knowing the Small Things

Chapter 733: Knowing the Small Things

Sichuan is surrounded by mountains, and its geographical location is very isolated, but it is not completely without any communication with the outside world. The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky, but there is a path that can be passed after all.

People who are familiar with "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" can tell the names of familiar Shu roads such as Jinniu Road and Micang Road, and explain the magnificent war stories that happened on these roads endlessly.

The Yangba Road located in the northeast of Bashu is less famous than the previous Shu roads, but its other name is familiar, that is, the Lychee Road that became prosperous in the Tang Dynasty.

"Book of Jin" records of Emperor Xuan state that the emperor opened a road from Xicheng Mountain, which tells the story of Sima Yi opening a road to conquer Shu, and Xicheng means the well-being of future generations. Whenever Li Qianzhe went to and from Sichuan, he would follow this road to cross the Daba Mountain and enter Sichuan. This road was also the main channel for communication between Ankang area and Bashu.

Of course, in this era, there were no nobles in Chang'an who would invest a lot of manpower and material resources at all costs just to eat a lychee from Fuling, so these rugged roads have not yet been named the Lychee Road.

It's just that in the small area between Bashu and Shu, a new name for Shuangtang Road has gradually become popular. Although this is not as mouth-watering and full of fragrant associations as Litchi Road to future generations, in today's world In the minds of Bashu people, they still feel that frosted sugar road is sweeter and more attractive!

White as frost and snow, crystal clear, sweet and delicious frosting sugar, who doesn’t like it? Who is not addicted?

There are a large number of Ba tribes living between the northern and southern foothills of Daba Mountain. These tribes have different degrees of civilization. Each of them occupies a territory in the mountains and fields and strives to survive and develop.

Even the Ankang Li family of the famous Shannan clan actually has part of the Ba people's ancestry. However, as their clan has grown stronger, this origin has been mentioned less and less. However, there are still some connections with the barbarian tribes in these mountains and fields. Deep or shallow connections.

In the early years, before the collapse of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it competed with Nanliang for the space between Bashu and Bashu. In addition to directly deploying troops to attack and fight, Jisi would also win over the barbarians in the mountains and fields for his own use. The most commonly used method was to establish Jisi prefectures and appoint those barbarian chiefs as governors of prefectures and counties.

This is a benefit at no cost to a political power. Anyway, the official positions of these Jisizhou counties will only be effective within their territories. If the barbarian chiefs leave their respective territories, they will not be able to do it. And the barbarian chiefs were happy to accept such wooing, which was also a way for them to gain regional prestige.

Therefore, although this mountainous area is uncivilized in the outside world, if you go into the barbarian tribes and get to know it a little, you will be surprised to find that the barbarian chiefs each have the title of governor or general awarded by the Southern Liang or the Northern Wei Dynasty, and even Knighted. Of course, it is inevitable that there will be barbarian chiefs who are good at dancing and hold the titles of both countries.

This situation lasted until Nanliang captured Hanzhong, and Bashu had the geographical protection of Shannan, Hanzhong, and the internal situation stabilized. The frequency of conferring various official positions has also been greatly reduced, and the good days of the barbarians are gradually coming to an end.

However, with the fall of Hanzhong, the atmosphere of the past gradually recovered.

The forces of Wei State once again entered the Hanzhong area, and these mountain barbarians once again lived a life of having both sides. It's just that the style of Wei today is different from that of previous years. Although the words are nice, the rewards in reality are very shabby, which naturally makes the barbarians less interested.

The Wei State was very stingy, and King Wuling of Nanliang, who was in the middle of Shu, was also not generous. He also issued conscripts one after another to recruit the young men of the barbarian tribes. Some of the barbarian tribes outside the mountains and even the young men of the tribe were conscripted, leaving only a few. The old, weak, sick and disabled, unable to even make a living, makes people sad to see them.

Therefore, some other barbarians who had not been affected or were still only slightly affected were sighing with emotion while annexing the tribal territories that Dingzhuang had lost in large numbers.

Although these barbarian tribes do not belong to the mainstream of society, as long as they live in this world, it is difficult for them to be affected by external trends. Every change in the external situation will also bring about a change in their order of existence.

Some barbarian tribes with less ability to resist risks will inevitably perish, while tribes that survive by chance can only strengthen themselves through repeated plunder and mergers, so as to survive repeated dangerous attacks.

Li Qianzhe has been busy with the tasks assigned by General Li in the past few years. When he returns home occasionally, he just passes by. After taking a short rest, he will rush to Mianbei or Bashu in the south. He is relatively unfamiliar with the development of family affairs.

This time he returned to the General Manager's Palace and received a new order from the General. He was also promised that as long as he successfully completed this mission, he would no longer need to handle these affairs and could directly step onto the stage and get the opportunity to preside over military and political affairs.

Moreover, General Li has created a very good personnel foundation for him in advance. Although most of the actual operations were completed by Li Qianzhe himself, if General Li had not pointed this out, he would have done it anyway. Unexpectedly, even if he has been in the game for several years.

Li Qianzhe was naturally excited about this. In order to ensure that this trip was foolproof, he said after Ankang that he would lead more elites from the clan south this time, and also inquired about the development of each of his family's affairs.

"What? There are tens of thousands of people in the family!"

When he heard this data reported by his brother Li Xian, who served as the governor of Jinzhou and stayed in the countryside, Li Qianzhe couldn't help but exclaimed in shock.

Seeing his brother's shocked look, Li Xian smiled reservedly and said, "Actually, I didn't expect that the family's power would develop so fast. In the past years, although there were wandering and homeless people who came to my family, there were still thousands of them year-round, and they all came and went. Really Not many can stay, and even fewer are in their prime.

But now since the rebellion in central Shu, many tribes have been greatly affected. My family has a good reputation in Shannan, but now it has been tolerated and valued by General Li, and it is famous in Shannan. In addition, brother, you travel back and forth in both directions. Thousands of people come to invest every month, even if it is just a select few. Strong, the growth potential is also very gratifying. If this momentum continues, my family alone will be able to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers before long! "

Li Xian was very proud when he talked about this matter. After all, his brother was married outside the family, and the elders in the family had not yet adapted to the changes in the situation. The entire family had grown rapidly under his leadership. Although he did not fully attribute it to himself, his joy was beyond words.

But after Li Qianzhe heard this, there was no obvious joy on his face, but his brows furrowed deeper.

The Ankang Li family was originally a wealthy family in Shannan. When they helped Li Tai regain Hanzhong, they could easily recruit 3,000 soldiers, which shows how powerful they are.

Compared with other Shannan and Bashu tycoons, the Ankang Li family has another advantage, that is, it controls gold resources. The value of gold is not only due to its preciousness and scarcity, but also its monetary function in transactions.

The wealthy families in Bashu in Shannan, especially the barbarians, have very limited production skills and natural resources. They cannot be basically self-sufficient like the wealthy and large estate owners in traditional farming areas. Therefore, they need to communicate frequently with the outside world. Only through transactions can sufficient survival resources be obtained.

Since frequent transactions are required, currency is needed as an intermediary. However, the iron money of Nanliang was not qualified for cross-regional circulation, and the Western Wei Dynasty did not even have legal tender. As for silk fabrics with relatively high market recognition, such as silk brocade, these barbarians cannot produce them either, and their acquisition channels are very limited. Therefore, trading with precious metals such as gold and silver has become one of the few options.

With the gold mine in hand, the Ankang Li family naturally gained the initiative to communicate and dialogue with these barbarians, and it was an absolute initiative. Therefore, among the barbarian tribes in the north and south of Daba Mountain, the Ankang Li family has a very strong influence. This is one of the reasons why Li Qianzhe can travel freely in Bashu.

Nowadays, the Western Wei Dynasty has shown insufficient sincerity in wooing these local forces. It had previously moved the Hanzhong clan into Guanzhong, and Shuzhong's prestige had been greatly reduced due to the Nanliang Rebellion. Now it is shocking to see all kinds of extortion and extortion. . The Ankang Li family, who was famous and had a stable hometown, became the target of many people's defection.

"Don't accept these people anymore. If they come later, they will be transferred to other states and counties. These people are not allowed to stay in the country. If they have no support, they will definitely cause chaos in the countryside!"

After pondering for a while, Li Qianzhe said: "It is good to recruit disciples and increase the momentum, but it cannot be without limits. Everything is too much and too little is too little. The current amount of people is no longer within the control of my family. Quickly Please ask the General Manager to send someone to compile the register and transfer it to another place!"

"But these people all came here out of gratitude. If my family is turned away, they will definitely be disappointed! And many of them have already settled down. If they are expelled again, it will be really..."

Hearing that his brother opened his mouth and denied the business results that he was proud of, and even seemed to regard this as a crisis and trouble, Li Xian felt a little aggrieved and couldn't help but argue: "Brother is worried about General Li Or maybe you are jealous? You should know that my brother sacrificed his life to help him, and my family has always obeyed orders. The general will obey his advice..."

"Shut up! How can trouble happen elsewhere? You are here in the countryside!"

Seeing that Li Xian was still so stubborn, Li Qianzhe immediately lowered his face and said: "Although my family in Shannan has a shallow reputation, I never dare to boast that I can become the king based on it. There are so many disciples who have come to join me now, so you can see There are also many desperadoes from other places who cannot be accommodated in our home, and if they want to survive, they may have to take desperate measures.

Can you guarantee that all those who come to join me will be treated fairly and that there will be no resentment among them? If someone is angry that my family is treating me poorly, once trouble breaks out elsewhere, they may be unable to restrain themselves and rise up. At that time, it will be me and not me. Can you argue clearly? No matter how tolerant and tolerant the general is to my family, he will probably have to make a painful decision when it comes to disaster! "

"This, this... I didn't expect that, brother, I just think there is strength in numbers, and I just want to run the family business properly..."

Hearing Li Qianzhe's stern words, Li Xian couldn't help but change his face. He didn't dare to be stubborn anymore, and looked at his brother in fear.

"You are a wise man who only knows the slightest thing. Even if you say that you were not like this in the past, why don't you think deeply that now is an emergency? In extraordinary times, you need to be more cautious than usual in dealing with things, and you must observe the benefits and harms. clear!"

Li Qianzhe saw that Li Xian had already realized his mistake, so he stopped questioning him. After all, this younger brother had already started to establish a family, so he had to save some face for him, and depending on the general's intentions, he would still use him in the future. In addition, this younger brother still needs to take more responsibility in family affairs.

After pondering for a while, he continued: "I blame you today. Don't feel that it hurts your self-esteem, and don't feel that General Li is too defensive. Ask yourself, do you want to escape into the mountains and become a barbarian chieftain who proudly shouts in the mountains and forests, or do you want to be a powerful leader?" Do you want to be a respected nobleman both internally and externally? The Liang family has exhausted its strength and will only struggle to survive if there is any trouble.

The power of Yuwen Daxingtai in the State of Wei has long been established, and there are many people under his sect who are his minions and confidants. My brother is only a strong member of the Shannan Wuzong, so even if he surrenders, he will not be able to become his confidant. Fortunately, I met General Li, who was plotting against Jiang and Han, and my family followed the government, so that we could complement each other and show off.

Now Shannan is the core of General Li's plan. Since my brother desires the position of confidant, he cannot focus on his own interests. If you gather thousands of troops in the countryside, can you defeat the elite of the general manager's office who have fought in hundreds of battles? In particular, we must not take the blame and let these variables interfere with General Li's plans. Otherwise, no matter how great the past kindness is, it will eventually come to an end! Since we are in the same boat, but our efforts are not the same, what is the use of staying together! "

"I was wrong, brother, I was really wrong! I only thought that the stronger the power, the more General Li would respect him, but it was not as far-reaching as brother thought. But now that the mistake has been made, what should I do? "

When Li Xian heard this, his head drooped further, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Should I go to the general manager's office to apologize first? Brother, you travel frequently, and I handle all household affairs in my hometown. Even if General Li wants to blame him, I don't think so. I won’t offend my brother.”

"It's not too late to make amends. Fortunately, there is no trouble between Liang and Han at the moment. Your advance team will report this matter to the General Manager's Office, and then reorganize the troops to standby. If the General Manager's Office sends more troops to guard, you must do it Great response!”

Li Qianzhe was more resourceful and experienced than Li Xian, and he also had a clear understanding of the atmosphere between the General Manager's Office and the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office. While thinking about how to handle his own affairs, he also thought about the pair of General Managers. It’s not a bad thing for the government.

Although Hanzhong is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Jingzhou Governor's Office, in fact it still directly takes orders from the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office. If some personnel turmoil occurs at this time, the General Governor's Office can use the name of quelling the chaos to send troops to Hanzhong. While quelling the riots, Hanzhong will be officially Take over.

Once Hanzhong is in hand, the Jingzhou General Manager's Office will undoubtedly have a greater say in the subsequent plan to conquer Shu. Without the cooperation of the General Manager's Office, the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office would not even be able to send troops into Shu!

Li Qianzhe didn't know whether the general was aware of this, but since he thought of it, he immediately wrote down his idea with a pen and wrote it down, and told Li Xian to send someone to the general manager as soon as possible. Mansion.

After completing these things, Li Qianzhe led a thousand elite troops to cross the Daba Mountain along the Lychee Road and headed for Bashu.