"Sir Sun, this is Shidaoliangzi. Beyond here is the territory of Lanzhou. We can only escort Sir Sun here. If our Ganzhou army enters Lanzhou without permission, it will be a violation of military discipline. I hope you will understand!"
"Captain Guo and all the soldiers have worked hard along the way..."
"It is an honor for us brothers to be able to protect you, sir!"
Three hours after leaving Shizhai County, Yan Liqiang and his party finally arrived at the border between Ganzhou and Lanzhou. The cavalry that had escorted Yan Liqiang and his party all the way completed their mission here.
The captain of the Qubu army who led the 600 cavalrymen, a serious-looking officer named Guo with thick hair and beard, said goodbye to Sun Bingchen at the border between the two states.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang was next to Sun Bingchen, watching Sun Bingchen talking to the officer, and his eyes were looking around at the surrounding environment.
Looking around, everything in front of me can only be described as desolate.
Shidaoliangzi is a hillside with only gray-brown stones. There is a dry riverbed under the hillside. Several old poplar trees are standing stubbornly by the river. Just beside the road where Yan Liqiang and his friends are talking, there is a weathered boundary marker. The three characters "Ganzhou Territory" can still be vaguely seen on the boundary marker...
There were still eagles circling in the sky. Yan Liqiang had been carefully observing the birds in the sky all the way, and comparing them with his own feelings. He wanted to see if his feeling of being spied on had any intrinsic connection with the appearance or absence of those birds. But what puzzled Yan Liqiang was that after the feeling of being spied on disappeared, the birds in the sky came and went, and there seemed to be no pattern to follow.
This situation made Yan Liqiang extremely depressed, and he almost suspected that he was just being too nervous.
After a few words, General Qu, whose surname was Guo, clasped his fists towards Sun Bingchen on horseback, turned the Rhino Horse's head, and whistled, "Brothers, let's go!"
Like a violent storm, almost all of the 600 cavalrymen turned their horses around and, with the thundering sound of hooves, ran towards the road that Yan Liqiang and his men had come from. In just a moment, they disappeared behind a hillside.
…
"Sir, I will go ahead to explore the way..." Liang Yiji said to Sun Bingchen as soon as the group of cavalry left.
"Okay, go ahead!" Sun Bingchen nodded.
Liang Yiji raised his hand, rode on a rhino horse with four guards, and ran forward first. Soon after, Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang and the rest of the people and vehicles followed slowly. Before, they had the protection of 600 cavalrymen, and they were in Ganzhou, so they had a smooth journey and would not encounter any trouble at all. But now that they had entered Lanzhou, they had to be careful on the road.
Although the troops had entered Lanzhou, there were mountains all before them and no official roads beneath their feet. There was only a dirt road with some ruts extending beneath their feet. Yan Liqiang clearly felt that after entering Lanzhou, Sun Bingchen and his party had become more alert. Many of the accompanying guards had already taken the bows that were originally hanging on the saddles in their hands. Yan Liqiang also secretly became more alert.
"Li Qiang, do you know why, although Ganzhou is a border state, its population is larger than that of Lanzhou, and its city is more prosperous than that of Lanzhou?" Sun Bingchen, who was riding on a rhinoceros horse, glanced at Yan Liqiang who was riding behind him, and asked.
After hearing Sun Bingchen's question, Yan Liqiang shook the reins and made his horse, Wuyun Gaixue, trot forward a few steps, just one head behind Sun Bingchen, so that he could answer Sun Bingchen's question.
Yan Liqiang organized his words a little before answering, "When I was in the National Martial Arts Hall, I heard from my teacher that the reason why Ganzhou is more prosperous than Lanzhou is because in the past hundred years, in order to strengthen the border, the court spent a lot of effort to migrate a large number of people from the surrounding states to Ganzhou. Ganzhou is nourished by the snow melted from the Qiyun Mountains, and has rich products and abundant water resources. In addition, there is normal trade with the seven tribes of Shatu and the Black Jie people. This is how Ganzhou, although a border state, is richer than Lanzhou!"
"Yes, Liqiang, you are right!" Sun Bingchen smiled and looked at Yan Liqiang with admiration. "Then do you think the Seven Shatu Tribes are beneficial or harmful to our Han Empire?"
"This is a national affair, and you and the officials in the court are responsible for its concern. My knowledge is extremely shallow, how can I compare with you?" Yan Liqiang smiled, scratched his head, and pretended to be stupid.
"Li Qiang, don't be so cautious. I know you must have your own opinion on this matter!" Sun Bingchen saw through what Yan Liqiang was thinking at a glance. "Let's just chat casually today. Just be bold and say what you think about this issue. If you are wrong, I won't blame you!"
Seeing that he really couldn't avoid it, Yan Liqiang could only smile bitterly and expressed his opinion. "Whether the Seven Shatu Tribes are beneficial or harmful to us depends on our situation. If the Han Empire is strong and prosperous, the Seven Shatu Tribes will definitely serve as a barrier between us and the Black Jie people in the west. If we have problems internally, for example, if there is a civil strife in the empire in the future, or if we encounter other unpredictable things, as long as the Han Empire has problems and shows signs of weakness, the Seven Shatu Tribes will definitely become a major concern for the northwestern states of the empire, and they will turn around and rush towards us with knives raised! At that time, the northwestern states will surely be devastated and the people will suffer!"
As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he found that Sun Bingchen's eyes when he looked at him became strange again. It seemed that he was admiring him, but it also seemed that there was something else hidden in his eyes.
"Now that the seven Shatu tribes have taken root in the northwest, the fait accompli cannot be changed. So, Li Qiang, how do you think we should deal with these Shatu people?"
"Does your Excellency really want me to tell you?"
"Go ahead?"
Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and said, "Then we should take advantage of the fact that the empire has not shown any signs of weakness yet and strike first. We should take advantage of the contradictions between the seven Shatu tribes and the Black Jie people, unite with the Black Jie people, attack from both sides, and completely uproot the seven Shatu tribes. We must at least inflict heavy damage on them so that they cannot recover within a hundred years and force the seven Shatu tribes to retreat to the desert!"
"The conflict between the Han Empire and the Black Jie people is no less serious than the conflict between the seven Shatu tribes and the Black Jie people. So why would the Black Jie people join forces with us?"
"Promise the grasslands and pastures currently occupied by the seven tribes of Shatu to the Black Jie people. The Black Jie people are short-sighted and will definitely agree!"
"Then what's the point of driving away the seven tribes in the Sand District?"
"After driving away the seven tribes of Shatu, we can find a chance to retake the pastures and grasslands occupied by the Black Jie people. This will be much easier than taking them back directly from the seven tribes of Shatu..."
(End of this chapter)