No matter what Zhang Gu and Yang Hezhi were discussing with Zhang Shao, Zhao Xing had no way of knowing.

Early the next morning, Zhao Ran led the headquarters first, and Zhang Shao led the main force to set off later.

Although the cadres of Zhao Ran only left the camp not long earlier than the main force of Zhang Shaobu, but because their troops are all Tiefu Huns, they are accustomed to eating cold food such as Hu cakes and buttermilk, and the horses they ride are not the kind of good horses with high load, fast speed, courage and good character ridden by the Taima Battalion Armor Horse, most of them are the earth horses of Shuofang and Guanzhong real estate, and in the middle of May at present, the grasslands on the foothills of Helan Mountain and the banks of the Yellow River are connected in patches, and the pasture suitable for such horses is everywhere, and they do not have to carry it, so they basically do not bring any grain. They only carried a few days' rations with their horses, and in terms of armament, they were all light horses, and each horse carried only a few pots of arrows, a few spare bowstrings, and a simple small tent for every three or four horsemen to stay in for the night, and nothing else, because they were much faster than the main force of Zhang Shao's department, which carried chariots and baggage carts, and was followed by a large number of camels.

Helan Mountain is majestic and continuous, in the season of May, there is a high altitude on the peak, there is still the snow of last winter and this spring, it is the foot of the mountain, the shade, in the morning, there is still a cold air rising, and the surrounding loess is wet.

Zhao Rangan rode first, and more than 700 Tiefu light horses scattered into a fan, following closely behind.

From a distance, I saw that between the mountains and the desert, in the long and lush grassland, these hundreds of whistling knights were like a whirlwind of black and brown, and where they passed, birds flew up and wild sheep fled. Such a magnificent, desolate atmosphere, not to pick the literal meaning, just from the artistic conception, it is really the day when Qu Yuanguang stole to see Wen Shilan, and heard Wen Shilan sing in the tent The same as described in the ballad: The sky is like a dome, covering the four fields. The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep.

However, Zhao Rangan, who was in this scene, did not have the strong and generous feelings of Wen Shilan when he sang this song, and he was full of only one thought: "It is necessary to complete the task of crossing the river pioneer!" We must not give Bo the slightest chance to compete for the majority of our troops. "There is still a thought in the depths of my heart, "Xin Gong is the Marquis of Linrong, Linrong is one of the old counties of Shuofang, and when Shuofang is laid, does Gong Xin want to keep Bo Bo in Shuofang?" It's not going to happen! Shuofang is the hometown of our department, and the one who stays in Shuofang can only be me! If Gong Xin really proposes this proposal, I must do everything possible to persuade him to change his mind. ”

There is no father-son and brotherhood in the face of power, and this is true of the Tang people, and the same is true of the Hu people. Even compared with the developed civilization, the importance of filial piety, the inheritance of the eldest son has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, even if the struggle for power, can often be controlled within the orderly range of the Tang people, the Hu tribe of the struggle for power, is really more chaotic, and also more barbaric and bloody. Zhao Rangan had this thought, fearing that his young and outstanding brother might become a threat to his power, but it was not purely because he was suspicious.

For Xiner and Dingxi, this is a good thing.

Zhao Rangan's previous subjugation to Dingxi was just a last resort, in order to survive, and now after the emergence of Zhao Xing, a strong competitor who is not inferior to him in terms of bloodline or reputation in the Tiefu Xiongnu Tribe, Zhao Rangan's "last resort" attachment, unconsciously, in order to consolidate his own position in his own headquarters, has become an "active" dependence.

There is a lot of credit for this.

Although Xin Er repeatedly ordered and reiterated that the governors of various counties and counties in the country must treat all the Hu tribes under his rule as if they were the Tang people, not to bully, and to be based on faith and benevolence, but to be honest, such a policy is good and effective when used to treat the ordinary herdsmen in the Hu tribe, but it is not so good to use it to treat the chiefs of the various Hu tribes.

Thinking about those chiefs, the sky was high and the emperor was far away, in their one acre and three points of land, they were kings, they could do whatever they wanted, although the days were more bitter than the nobles of the Tang people, but as chiefs and nobles of the Hu people, the shepherd slaves under their hands were as few as dozens, and as many as hundreds of thousands, they were also not short of food and clothing, and how comfortable they were? But suddenly there is more control on the top, and they will inevitably feel restrained and unhappy. Like Qu Yuanguang, he is bent on "restoring the glory of the past". Zhao Rangan and Zhao Xing are also the same in essence. Therefore, the treatment of the chieftains, is not a single "faith, leniency" to govern, through practice, Xin Er after all still embarked on the previous Qin Dynasty, Cheng Dynasty of the border of the military and political governor of the old way to govern the territory of the Hu Department, is the word differentiation.

Of course, Xin'er's overall policy is still very different from those border officials before him.

One difference is that, adhering to the analysis method of contradiction, in accordance with the principle of "who is our enemy, who is our friend", in other words, who is our own person, Xin Er insists on treating Hu Mu at the bottom without discrimination and never oppresses. Not only are the county magistrates not allowed to oppress, but if the chiefs and bullies of the Hu tribe are accused of oppression in the county, they will also be dealt with impartially. - This latter article, is a provision of Xin Er's idealization, Hu Mu lives very scattered, in the summer season, within a radius of a few miles, or even more than a dozen miles, there may only be a tent of Hu people to live, they do not have the concept of the government, as of now, basically there has been no complaint to the county temple, but although it is idealized, but when the time is ripe, Xin Er still intends to vigorously promote this article, because otherwise, it is difficult to completely change the old tribal form of the Hu people, and it is impossible to truly implement Hu Mu as a household and a people.

Another difference is that in the treatment of those chieftains, they will be divided into divisions, but firstly, they will not deliberately provoke them to engage in vendetta and infighting, and secondly, on the surface, they still treat each other with faith, as the border general did in the previous Qin Dynasty, in order to avenge his comrades-in-arms, he deceived dozens or hundreds of Qiang leaders, and then poisoned them in wine, and poisoned one of them to death.

Finally, there is one of the biggest differences, that is, Xin Er called the Confucian scholars in Longdi, headed by Yin Shi, not to forget Confucius's teaching of "education without class", and instructed them to open schools in places where Hu tribes gathered, and recruit Hu Mu's young people and children to enroll in school. Not only Confucianism, but also martial arts schools, all those who have excellent grades in the martial arts school, can directly participate in the martial arts examination that is now changed to once a year, and those who are admitted, the same as the Tang people, are immediately awarded the corresponding rank of the medalist, and the corresponding honorable officer should be promoted to the rules, welfare and all enjoyed. As for the tuition fees of Confucianism and martial arts schools, Hu Mu, who has money, wants to give it, but does not refuse, and asks for more, and if the poor family has no money, he will not collect it, and all the missing funds will be made up by the imperial court. Because Dingxi is not rich, and this system has only just begun to be implemented, so these Confucianism and martial arts schools are not many at present, and the total number of students enrolled is not much, but take your time, Xin Er believes that in the near future, there will be great gains.

Let's not talk about the school for a while, let's go back to "differentiation".

This is true of the Tiefu Huns.

On the one hand, Pu Mao gave Zhao Xing the title of "Tiefu Darate", Xin Er did not admit it, but did not specifically deny it, as if there was no such thing, and at the same time treated Zhao Xing well, asked the court, and named him the Marquis of Linrong; On the other hand, he continued to reuse Zhao Rangan, and also specially asked for an order to bring Zhao Xing to Dingxi's Tiefu tribesmen, and gave a part to Zhao Rangan to strengthen his own strength.

Don't say that Zhao Xing is Zhao Rangan, and you can also see the meaning of Xin Er's differentiation of his two brothers.

But so what?

Xin Er did not do anything untrustworthy, and secondly, he loved and valued both of his brothers, and set aside a first-class pasture for his two people, and the court rewarded his two brothers constantly, and all kinds of practices made his two brothers have nothing to say.

Knowing that it was dividing, such as that Zhao Dying, he could only jump into this pit willingly, at most, he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, and when he thought of it, he stretched out his thumb and secretly praised Xin Er's clever means convincingly.

The combination of grace and power, power, not by killing people, clever means is a manifestation of power. No matter how high his heart is, but Shangguan's means are always better than his own, no matter how he tosses, he will eventually be in the palm of his hand, just imagine, who is changed, can he be afraid of such a Shangguan? Fear for a lifetime, and Shangguan's prestige will come out.

Xin Er's prestige in the Dingxi Kingdom and the army now depends not only on his fighting, the results of the war are only the basis for prestige, there are many victorious generals, not everyone has a unique prestige, and more, it depends on the political methods he learned from Linghu Feng, Song Hong, and Pan Kuan, as well as some of the power and tactics he learned through what he saw and heard in his previous life.

Tang Ai and others privately discussed Xin Er's method of governing the Hu department, thinking that if compared with Pu Qin, although Pu Mao is known as the royal road, but he is full of self-confidence, and he is blindly lenient to the subordinate Hu tribes, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is accommodating, but it is really "Xiaoren", and Meng Lang is full of conspiracies and tricks, and he will want to get rid of the Yao family and the Zhao family and then be fast, but it is not as good as Pu Mao, it is an out-and-out killing path, and what he implements can be called the government of the royal road and the righteous and righteous conspiracy.

With such a heart, Zhao Rangan led his troops all the way north.

In the afternoon of the next day, we crossed Helan Mountain and arrived at the boundary of the desert area west of Shuofang.

Just when Zhao Ran was stationed on the horse, pondered for a while, and chose the direction to go, whether to go north, enter this desert area, or turn west, and first go to the edge of the Yellow River, in the desert a few miles away, behind a sand dune, two pigtails and unkempt heads poked out.

The two men looked out of the desert from afar.

The unobstructed terrain, coupled with their sharp eyes, made them quickly see the small army led by Zhao Rangan. fate

The two glanced at each other, whispered a few words in a soft language close to Xianbei, and then quietly led the horse away from the sand dune, walked for a while, then got on the horse, whipped the horse, and hurried towards the northwest of the desert.

Behind their horsetails, weeds and branches were tied, and the marks of the horses' hooves on the sand were swept clean.

These two are scouts of the Ryunokoma Division, and to the northwest is the location of the small oasis where the Ryunokoma is currently stationed.

On the way, he met several groups of other scouts from the headquarters, so he told them about the military information he had discovered, and these scouts scattered along the way, guarding the necessary place to enter the Shuo side, waiting for Zhang Shaobu's arrival, and then reporting again.

The two people in front of him are one of these scouts. Before them, after getting rid of the earliest scout, there were already two groups of scouts waiting for Zhao Ran's cadres, and they rushed through here one after another, rushing back to report Long Wuju. - It is precisely because of the march of Zhao Ran's cadres that they have been completely controlled by the Long Wuju Division, and it is these two scouts that can find them so timely.

Zhao Rangan, who was dazed and didn't know his whereabouts, and was already exposed under the noses of Long Wuju and Wen Shilan, sat on his horse, looked forward at the desert for a while, turned his eyes to the west, and looked west for a while, and made a decision.

He raised his whip and pointed forward, and said, "Even if we enter the desert ahead, we still have to turn west, so let's just go west!" ”

From the horsemen near Zhao Rangan, there was a Tang scholar of about forty.

When the Tang scholar heard this, he said, "Be bold and wise. It's just that if we go west from here, do we have to send someone to send a message to General Zhang? ”

This Tang Shi was the Du Lang who had represented Zhao Yanli and sent an envoy to Meng Lang's army under Zhao Yanli's account that year. He had accompanied Aliluo, who had been selected as a proton, to Dingxi, and he coveted Dingxi's "wealth" and "comfort", so he did not go back to Zhao Yanli. Later, Zhao Ran joined Shuo Fang, relying on his identity as Zhao Yanli's son-in-law, and forcibly demanded him from Aliluo. Zhao Rangan didn't know much Tang characters, and Du Lang was now a scribe under him, responsible for some official documents, entertainment, and other literary work.

Zhao Rangan said: "That's nature. ”

Du Lang said: "I don't know who you want to send to report the news? ”

Zhao Ran looked at him dryly and asked, "Lao Du, what do you want to say?" ”

Du Lang said with a dry smile and flattery: "If there is no other candidate, the villain is willing to suffer some hardships and run for the sake of the big one." ”

"You don't want to suffer a little bit, you don't want to follow me across the river, do you?"

"How can you say this!"

"You fuck, when you returned to the tent the night before, Lao Tzu told you that you should be the vanguard ordered by General Zhang, and were ready to take you to cross the river first, at that time you were full of reluctance, sad face, when Lao Tzu didn't see it? Since you left the camp yesterday, you have sighed from time to time, haven't you heard it? Lao Du, why are you so greedy for life and afraid of death? In vain my father's former instruments are more important than yours! ”

The horsemen on the side laughed out loud.

Du Lang blushed, said solemnly, and said, "Big rate! What do you call that! Although the villain is a scribe, but for so many years, he has followed the old man to fight in the east and west, when have he been afraid? Have you forgotten the chance? On the day when Meng Lang and Gou Xiong surrounded our Shuofang, they were villains, and they only brought a small slave, with long sleeves, and they went out alone and entered their camp! If the villain is greedy for life and afraid of death, how can he dare to do this? ”

"Really?"

"Yes, big rate! The villain volunteered to be willing to turn back to General Zhang for the sake of Da Yuan, all because the villain pondered that the villain was a little more eloquent, and when he was able to report, he would be able to describe the hard work of Da Hui as the vanguard of the army this time, and Da Rate's respect for General Zhang. If you can't trust the villain, you don't need a villain for this report! ”

Zhao Rangan nodded, picked out a person from the left near horse, and said, "You go, General Zhang, and say that we are going west from here!" Every ten miles along the way, I would leave a few knights behind to act as answers. ”

From the riding promise, he immediately turned his horse and went back to find the main force led by Zhang Shao.

Du Lang looked at the ride away, and said in his heart: "One wrong step and one wrong step, why did I covet some small wealth that year and voted for Zhao Yanli?" I knew that today, I would not have ...... then."

knew that today, Du Lang would still have joined Zhao Yanli at that time.

At that time, Shuofang, including the current Shuofang, the number of Hu Mu was far more than that of the Tang people, and the power of life and death was the great rate of the Hu people. Generally speaking, Meng Langzhi has to be used in Pu Mao, and Zhang Shizhi is in favor of Hun Evil, also for the same reason. is only different from Du Lang is that Meng Lang and Zhang Shi have excellent intelligence, and Meng Lang has great ambitions.

……

Zhao Rangan led his troops westward, arrived at the edge of the surging Yellow River, and went straight to the crossing of the river that was suitable for the army to cross the river.

Because he didn't know whether there was a Qin army stationed at the ferry, he was on the way to it, and he was very hidden about the whereabouts of the troops.

Hexi desert area, in the northwest of the small oasis.

Long Wuju, who was strong and white-skinned, blue-eyed and bearded, received a report from the scouts, and he suggested that "the Dingxi light cavalry that went to the desert and turned west was only a few hundred people, and they were not worn by the Tang people, and they should be the remnants of the Tiefu Huns." Generals, why don't we do our best, rush to the back road, and annihilate it on the bank of the Yellow River first? ”