The next day, Zhu Li tested Zhou Dewei's martial arts and was very satisfied.
He didn't expect that in the dilapidated and declining Shuozhou, there would be such a powerful general. Zhou Dewei had already broken through the heavenly barrier and was actually an unparalleled powerful general. This made Zhu Li overjoyed.
Among the five generations of fierce generals, Zhou Dewei can definitely be listed among them. It’s just that Zhu Li in the previous life always paid attention to the ones at the forefront, so he overlooked his existence. In fact, Zhou Dewei is not only outstanding in martial arts, but also prudent in using troops, good at attacking and defending, and often wins by surprise. He is not only a fierce general, but also a famous general.
Zhou Dewei, as the Sima of the Governor's Office, was an official of the fifth rank. Given Zhu Li's status, he could not give him a higher official position, so he had to change his rank and appoint him as the Commandant of Yueqi, with the title of Lieutenant General.
Let him first serve under his command as the chief general of more than 4,000 Yue cavalry. As Zhu Li is the governor, he might be the only one to command these Yue cavalry in the future. It goes without saying that Zhu Li trusts him.
(The governor's office usually has a Jia, a Changshi, and a Sima. The governor of an upper prefecture is a fourth-rank official, so Jia, Changshi, and Sima are also fourth-rank officials; while the governor of a lower prefecture is a fourth-rank official, and Changshi and Sima can only be fifth-rank officials. The assistant officials of the governor of a lower prefecture are mostly not complete, so Shuozhou also lacks a Jia.)
After everything was ready, Zhu Li began to implement their established plan in Beikou, infiltrating and eroding the Dangxiang. At the same time, in order to solve the problem of food and fodder, he had to pretend to be a horse bandit and rob the Khitans.
The Dangxiang, descendants of the Qiang people, are known as the Dangxiang Qiang. The most famous Dangxiang tribe near Shuozhou is the Dangxiang people headed by Tuoba Sigong, the governor of Youzhou.
Tuoba Sigong's sphere of influence included Xiazhou, Suizhou, Youzhou, Yinzhou, Jingzhou, and even affected Shengzhou, which was close to Shuozhou, northwest of Shuozhou.
If they want to encroach on Shengzhou, they must find a way to cross the Yellow River. The closest place to the Yellow River in Shuozhou is Piantou Fort, which is about 20 miles west of the Yellow River. (Tanglong Town will be called Piantou Fort from now on, and the checkpoint will be built sooner or later)
The place occupied by the Dangxiang people is too good, Shuozhou is too poor, and Zhuli is even poorer. If they can encroach on the Dangxiang and then annex Hetao, it will be natural to use the rich products of Hetao to support the people and the army.
In July, Zhu Li selected a thousand men from the auxiliary troops and gave them to Shi Yan, asking him to build a ferry along the Yellow River. He and Zhou Dewei began to implement Guo Qizuo's strategy, leading their men across the Great Wall and starting their career as "horse bandits".
They set their first target on a Khitan tribe of about 2,000 people near Yinshan Mountain, because scouts found many Han slaves in the tribe. The Khitans captured Han people and forced them to do heavy labor if they were men; if they were women, the beautiful ones became playthings of Khitan nobles, while those with average looks had to do heavy chores like men.
After the target was determined, they rode their horses to the vicinity of the destination. Zhu Li and Zhou Dewei discussed it and decided to take action at dawn the next day. So they hid their men in a secluded depression. After a hearty meal, they told the Yue cavalry to rest and wait for the time to come.
----Dividing Line----
It was said that a few days ago, after Zhu Li and Zhou Dewei led their men to set out the day before, three people came to the gate of the governor's mansion in Shuozhou the next day. The first one was riding a red horse and a silver helmet, and his appearance was comparable to that of Song Yu. He carried a whip and a sword, and was very suave. However, his eyes were murderous and his face was cold, as if someone owed him money and had not paid it back.
The two people behind her were both wearing black horse helmets and had thick and sturdy pythons.
There were two men, one of them was holding two huge axes in both hands, and the other was holding two huge hammers in both hands. At first glance, the two men looked about the same, so they should be brothers.
One of the guards in front of the governor's mansion recognized the young general in the silver helmet and hurried forward to greet him, "Greetings, Miss Yuchi. Are you here to see our envoy?"
This person was none other than Yuchi Jin. She was very happy when Zhu Li took office as the governor of Shuozhou. In fact, she had some fantasies in her mind. She had even suggested Zhu Li to go to Yuchi's residence, but the other party was stunned and ran directly to Shuozhou.
After all, in ancient times, it was common for girls to give birth to children at the age of fifteen or sixteen. Although Yuchi Jin was only a fourteen-year-old girl, she had already been looking forward to future happiness.
As the saying goes, ideals are full and reality is skinny. She waited eagerly, and the little girls under her command were almost turned into waiting stones by her, but the first one didn't come, and the second one didn't show up either. Now Yuchi Jin was furious. What do you mean, Zhu Li? You just have a little future, have you forgotten about me? She didn't listen to Mrs. Yuchi's advice at all, and after angrily dressed up, she took two close generals and rushed to the governor's mansion in Shuozhou.
The guards at the gate of the governor's mansion recognized her, which made Yuchi Jin's expression calm down a lot. He said in a gentle voice, "Yes, where is your envoy? Do you want to go in and report it?"
The guard didn't hear the teasing in Yuchi Jin's words, and still said respectfully: "My lady, the envoy left for the battle yesterday, and only Miss Ning'er is in the mansion."
The guard still regarded Yuchi Jin as one of his own, so he spoke very calmly. However, he suddenly thought of something and continued, "By the way, Captain Guo also lives in the mansion. If you have any questions, you can go and ask him. Miss Ning'er is studying with the teacher and learning to read, so I'm afraid she won't be available."
"Going to war? Are the Khitans coming? Or are some military governor attacking here?" Yuchi Jin was shocked. The anger in his phoenix eyes disappeared in an instant. A trace of worry immediately appeared, but he was full of guesses.
Upon hearing this, the soldier smiled helplessly and said, "I don't know about this, but Captain Guo must know."
"Okay, please take me to see Mr. Guo." Yuchi Jin's murderous aura was instantly lost to Java. When he heard that the guy was going to the war again, he urged the guards.
"Okay." The guard was very straightforward. He turned around and took the three of them into the governor's mansion.
The Governor's Mansion was large but empty, seeming to lack people. The three of them walked for a long time but did not see a single person in the huge Mansion except for the guards. They walked into the inner courtyard and approached the attic on one side, only then did they see Guo Qizuo up there.
"Mr. Guo, where has your envoy gone?" Yuchi Jin climbed up to the attic without asking the guards to inform him. He looked at Guo Qizuo who was writing and drawing there, and asked.
Guo Qizuo looked up and saw that it was Yuchi Jin. He quickly put down his work and asked the three of them to sit down. Then he hesitated for a moment and said, "The envoy went to the north of the Great Wall yesterday, um, to 'hunt'."
"Hunting?" Yuchi Jinfeng narrowed his eyes and looked at Guo Qizuo with an unfriendly look. Do you have to run so far to hunt? Running to the north of the Great Wall to hunt, isn't it obvious that he doesn't want to tell the truth
Guo Qizuo seemed to sense that Yuchi Jin's expression was not right, and he continued calmly: "Madam Yuchi, you don't know that Shuozhou is really poor, and it can't be said to be desolate, but such a large state has less than 6,000 households and a population of just over 30,000.
The 15,000 troops brought here by the government cannot be supported by the taxes paid by the people, so they can only find ways to solve the problem of food and silver by themselves. "
"Is that why he went hunting north of the Great Wall?" Yuchi Jin looked suspicious when he heard this, but then narrowed his eyes and said with a dangerous look: "Is he going hunting or hunting Di?"
"Hahaha, my lady is really smart. The Yunshuo area has always been plagued by wars. But who made the rule that only the Hu people can rob us Han people, but we Han people are not allowed to rob them?" At this point, Guo Qizuo's eyes became fierce, as if he himself wanted to rush forward with a knife and kill a few Hu people.
However, this expression only lasted for a moment before he recovered and continued, "Guo has received news that the Khitan nobles are fighting for power and attacking each other, so I suggest that you go north to attack the Khitan, eat away at their manpower, plunder their cattle, sheep, property, and women, and rescue the Han people who are trapped in their hands. This will not only solve the problem of food and silver for the army, but also fill the population of Shuozhou. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"That's perfect. That's perfect." The big man holding two axes echoed after hearing this. His name was Xie Tian, one of the generals under Yuchi Jin.
"Well, that's right. This is a good idea. If I were under the envoy, I would also go and kill those barbarians." The big man holding two hammers also said repeatedly. His name is Xie Di, and he and his elder brother Xie Tian are loyal to Yuchi Jin.
Yuchi Jin looked at them helplessly. These three angry young men were really hopeless. He said solemnly, "What's the point of saying 'ok'? Sir, have you ever thought that if you do this, the Khitans will target your envoy?"
Yuchi Jin asked back. Seeing that Guo Qizuo seemed to want to explain, she did not wait for him to speak and continued, "I know that with your plan, you will definitely not expose the whereabouts of the Shuozhou army, but do you think that conquering the Khitans can be accomplished by killing them alone?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Qizuo frowned and thought for a moment. He naturally knew that conquering a powerful nation could not be accomplished by killing alone. The reason why he came up with this strategy was, first of all, because of the severe situation he was facing; secondly, he had been with Wu Dao for a long time, and everyone would be more or less influenced by him. Even Zhu Li was no exception. Wu Dao, the Heavenly King, the creator of the Killing the Hu Order, was full of contempt and hatred for the Hu people in his bones. When encountering such a thing, the first thing they thought of was to retaliate.
Seeing Guo Qizuo in deep thought, Yuchi Jin said, "Sir, if I guess correctly, your plan is to deal with them just like the Khitans dealt with us Han people, is that right?"
"Yes, don't you think it's inappropriate, young lady?" Guo Qizuo asked curiously.
"The strategy of cannibalizing the Khitans is correct. The Khitans are very powerful. If they unite, they will become a major threat to the Central Plains. As an important border town, Shuozhou will inevitably bear the brunt. Now is a good time to implement the plan while their tribes are busy fighting for the throne of Han. They have no time to pay attention to your little tricks."
"But the Khitans can be subdued. For those who resist to the end, we can just kill them. But for those who are willing to surrender, we don't need to kill them all. It is still easy to move their families inland and control these surrendered Khitan warriors. As long as we disperse them, incorporate them into the army, and let their families live among the people of Shuozhou, we don't have to worry about them being fickle again."
After hearing what Yuchi Jin said, Guo Qizuo fell silent.