Tianshui County.

Zhao's Dock Fort.

The counties surnamed Zhao mainly include Tianshui County, Zhuo County, Nanyang County, Xiapi County, Yingchuan County and so on. Among them, Tianshui County and Zhuo County are the most famous, as for Changshan Zhao, hehe, it is just a branch of Tianshui Zhao, and it does not enter the stream.

After Qin broke Zhao, the nobles of Zhao fled to the dynasty and embraced Zhao Jia as the king, called the acting king. Later, the Qin army was destroyed again, and the Zhao state was destroyed. After the death of Zhao, the descendants of the surname Zhao were mainly divided into two branches, one was the Tianshui Zhao family of Tianshui County; The other is the Zhao clan of Zhuojun.

The leader of the contemporary Tianshui Zhao family is Zhao Rong. Zhao Rong, whose character is childish, is listed as the "Eighth Captain of the West Garden" with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, and is the "Captain of the Left Captain of the Auxiliary Army", but with the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty and the fall of Jian Shuo, Dong Zhuo moved into Luoyang, and the Eighth Captain of the West Garden fell apart, and the scenery was no longer there.

After Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he incorporated and adjusted the forbidden army of Luoyang, and Zhao Rong transferred it to Dr. Guanglu, which was considered to be completely out of military power, so when the capital was moved, Zhao Rong simply "moved" back to Tianshui from Luoyang in one breath.

It may not be very nice to say, Zhao Rong is in Luoyang, although he once served as the left lieutenant of the auxiliary army, but his reputation is not high, in the eyes of many people, he is almost a fart, even if it has some taste, it will be dispersed after a while, and it will not leave too many deep memories.

And in Tianshui, Zhao's county is really powerful, more than ten large and small dock forts, from Xixian to Xinyang, from Shangtai to Hanyang, from Xianqin to Chengji, there are Zhao's dock forts, within each dock fort, vassal of Zhao's guests, tenants, protégés, former officials, apprentices, etc., or five or seven hundred people, or two or three thousand people, echoing each other from afar, helping each other, forming a huge network of contacts, even Jiang Yin's Tianshui Jiang family, although it is also a county wang, but it is still a cut behind in strength, and it cannot be compared.

In addition, the Zhao family originally had some knowledge of the soldiers, so they knew some ways and means to deploy the team to train the soldiers, and the private soldiers who were rectified were quite the same, so although the Xiliangqiang people since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty rebelled or surrendered, and there was constant trouble, but for the Tianshui Zhao family, the impact was not very big, how to live or how to live, even when the momentum of Bianzhang Beigong Boyu was the strongest, the Zhao family was just superficially obedient, and did not suffer any great damage.

Attack Zhao's Dock Fort?

Don't think too much, if the Zhao family is forced to be anxious, it will be able to make up twenty or thirty thousand troops, plus these private soldiers who are attached to the Zhao family, most of them have been several generations, whether it is loyalty or dependence, the Zhao family is really going to play with their lives, these private soldiers must also be dragging their families to fight together, until the loyal generation is all wiped out in the war, the Zhao family will also be completely decayed.

And in this way, the people who attack the Zhao clan will also have to pay a considerable price, so unless it is absolutely necessary, it is really impossible to fight it, and ordinary people will not easily provoke the Zhao clan.

A situation like the Zhao family is the same in many places in the current Han Dynasty China. As a result, even the emperor of the Han Dynasty repeatedly emphasized in his edict that the local tyrants were not allowed to bully the officials sent by the imperial court. Emperor Zhen of the Han Dynasty once issued a clear edict "...... The state and county despise the constitutional defense...... or expel the chief officials with joy and anger ......", Emperor Heng of Han also issued an edict to all localities, "...... The state and county shall not coerce the expulsion of the chief ......".

Therefore, after the manories of the Jiang family and the Yang family in the southern suburbs of Tianshui were attacked, although Zhao Rong of the Zhao family paid attention to it, he did not regard it as a major threat, and still drank wine and danced......

Of course, it is also possible that he deliberately jumped to Jiang Jian to see.

"Brother Jiang Xian......" Zhao Rong pointed out the whirling dancers in the hall, and said with a smile, "This 'square dance' is okay?" ”

In the Xiliang area, because of the strong influence of Qianghu and the Western Regions, the dance is not like the dance in the hinterland of the Central Plains with cloud sleeves, and many times it also does the dance of Hu Xuan, or called Hu Teng, or also called Tuozhi and so on. The one-person dance is called the 'white dance', and the four-person dance is called the 'square dance'.

Jiang Jian stroked his palms and praised: "The skin is like jade, the paulownia cloth is light, the long belt is fluttering, the Xuan Xuan is soaring, the sleeves are stirred, the eyebrows are raised, the circle is urgent, the bead hat is biased, the people are beautiful, the dance is the leader, Brother Zhao is really elegant......"

Zhao Rong laughed, obviously a little proud, and pointed his finger casually and said, "If the virtuous brother is interested, you might as well choose a warm bed...... This woman on the left hand has greasy and tender skin, and there is no fragrance, and when the red sweat communicates, it is even thicker......"

Jiang Jian smiled slightly and said: "Looking at these four women, although the boots are weak, leaning east and west, one after another, they have always wavered and echoed each other, it is the time they have been together, and the tacit understanding has been for a long time, how can they mess up the beauty of these four people's brocade clothes because of selfish desires?" ”

Zhao Rong's smile did not change, but his eyes moved, and with a wave of his hand, all the musicians and dancers in the hall understood, and after Ying Ying bowed, he slowly retreated.

"Brother Xian said this, but he said that he disregarded the friendship of the four surnames?" Zhao Rong looked at Jiang Yin, his smile was still the same, but there was some coldness in his eyebrows.

Jiang Jian arched his hand and said, "How dare the little brother." Brother Zhao was a handsome man at that time, and his actions naturally followed the will of heaven and responded to current affairs, how could such a layman and ordinary man speculate. But...... The book says, 'Tree virtue is like nourishment, and there is no end to the disease', I don't know if Brother Zhao is at the moment, is it 'Shude', or 'go to the disease'? ”

Zhao Rong stroked his beard, slowly retracted his smile, and said, "The virtuous brother may as well speak up, and the foolish brother listens." ”

Jiang Jian said: "In the past, he poured and killed and poured water, and after he was pregnant, he gave birth to a young Kangyan, and Yi Zhulun, Youtian Yicheng, and a brigade of people, can Buqide, and Zhao Qimou, and finally destroy Ge." Today, the small officials of Xiliang are in the same soil as us, cooperating with the people, ungrateful and hateful, robbing and acting recklessly, resisting the reckless life, violating the will of heaven, and plotting disobedience. If you don't take it, you will grow long, and the decline of Ji will also be in the future. ”

Zhao Rong listened to Jiang Yin's words, smiled disapprovingly, and then said: "I heard that the manor in the southern suburbs of Tianshui was robbed by bandits?" Could it be ...... Hehe......"

Jiang Jian did not deny it, but continued: "The younger brother is stupid, he doesn't understand the scriptures and righteousness, and he only knows people's reason. Although most of the adults in Xiliang started from the grass, the Jiang family did not shorten the number of gifts, and the spring gifts and autumn gifts were all missing. Now, the Jiang clan has no troops to correspond, and no funding for the expedition to the west, just to transport grain and grass, and do some business things, but to make the difference and earn some subsistence money and grain...... And the little official of Xiliang actually acted fiercely, disregarded friendship, killed my people, burned my Zhuang He, dare to ask Brother Zhao, such an act, can half of the people be reasonable? Such a wolf and eagle seeker, ignorant of ethics, kill the Yang family and the Jiang family today, if we all swallow our anger and let it do it, how can the tiger and wolf not kill others in the past? ”

"Hmm......" Zhao Rong was silent, frowned, and after thinking for a while, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "In this matter, the people of Xiliang have also gone too far...... Virtuous brother, are you not a lobbyist for the expedition to the west? ”

"Lobbyist, haha......" Jiang Jian said with a smile, "If it is beneficial to our four surnames of Tianshui, why not be a lobbyist?" What's more, the Yan family is now attached to the Han family, crisscrossing the countryside, and there is a state of latecomers dominating, is Brother Zhao willing to let the virtuous not succeed? ”

The flesh on Zhao Rong's face jumped suddenly, glanced at Jiang Yin, and then said: "Xiliang officials are always old acquaintances, do you want to conquer the West...... Do you know that it has no intention of being on the right side of Long? What if the front door rejects the wolf and the back door enters the tiger? ”

"Haha, haha......" Jiang Jian smiled, "Brother Zhao...... A man who has a dead man, and the son of his neighbor who intends it, depending on his steps, steals it; color, stealing also; Words, stealing also; Action attitude, inaction and not stealing...... Now the expedition to the west sits in the north, collects the Yin Mountain, sets the pass, takes the Hanzhong, sits on the world's wealth, and wants to take Brother Zhao's sword? Not to mention...... Hehe, since there are tigers and wolves, why not drive tigers and wolves? ”

Zhao Rong smiled, nodded and said, "In this way, Fang is a serious word." What do you think about the virtuous brother, you might as well talk about it in detail......"

Seeing that Zhao Rong finally moved, Jiang Jian leaned forward slightly and said softly, "This...... Forgive the little brother for trespassing...... Brother Zhao, you might as well ...... like this"

………………………………

A plan suddenly came to mind...... If you lead the army to the west, you might as well ...... like this" Jia Xu smiled, leaned closer, and said to Xu Shu and Pang Tong.

Fei Qian, the general of the expedition to the west, encountered an encounter and naturally needed to lead the troops. After all, Xu Shu has been in charge of Zuo Fengyi for a long time, whether it is Tongguan or Wuguan, he is relatively familiar with it, and these passes are very important, so for the sake of safety, he can't leave without permission.

And Pang Tong is relatively young, whether it is in terms of how the commander and soldiers serve the public, or in terms of specific arrangements for marching experience, there are some deficiencies, so the most suitable candidate must only be Jia Xu.

Before leaving, Xu Shu and Pang Tong sent Jia Xu to Shili Pavilion, but they didn't expect Jia Xu to walk a few steps, but he came back and said such a paragraph.

When Xu Shu heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said, "This plan is a bit risky...... If you are not careful, it will become a prairie fire......"

Pang Tong laughed and said, "This plan is excellent!" ”

Xu Shu looked at Pang Tong and then at Jia Xu, and after thinking for a while, he finally nodded and said, "That's it, it's the autumn fu, and you can do it in parallel......"

Jia Xu laughed, and didn't continue to explain anything, because he knew that since Xu Shu and Pang Tong had understood what he meant, it would definitely not be a problem in execution, so he arched his hand on horseback and patted the horse forward.

Xu Shu looked at Jia Xu's distant back, and suddenly sighed and shook his head for a long time. Jia Xu's strategy is aimed at the weakness of human nature every time, but basically it will receive miraculous results, but people are often like this, even if they know their own ugliness, but they don't want others to point it out, and even for those who uncover the ugliness, Jia Xu's strategy is extremely powerful, but if these people know that it is Jia Xu's strategy in the future, it is indispensable to provoke hatred......

………………………………

For those who dare to uncover their scars, they naturally hate it, but if they see some scars on others, ordinary people often can't help but uncover them......

Night has fallen.

The dock wall not far away was tightly closed, and a circle of butter torches was inserted in the wall, and the night wind pulled the flames long, reflecting the shadowy human figure.

The dock fort is too small, and there are too many people coming, so these ordinary soldiers of the Xiliang departments naturally can't enter the dock fort to rest, but not far from the wall near the water, sitting on the ground, a large pile of bonfires has been raised, where soup and porridge are boiled, plus some meat and bones, it is already excellent.

The large animals were gathered in the distance, naturally cared for, and the rest sat around the campfire, with their blades within reach, and the figure of the Sentinel Wandering Rider loomed in the darkness in the distance.

For these Western Liang men, the bitter cold may have become a habit for them.

The sentinels roaming around the periphery suddenly heard a sharp whistle sound, and the Xiliang men beside the bonfire were stunned for a moment, so they immediately grabbed their blades and stood up one after another.

"It's from the Ma family!"

After a while, the sentry sent the news over, and everyone relaxed one after another, thrust their blades to their side, sat down and continued to chat, but this time, most of the topic turned to Ma Chao and others......

"You said it was the Ma family...... This guy seems to look a little good on weekdays, but it doesn't seem to be very successful in battle......"

"But isn't it, his Ma family can be regarded as blood mold, the pillar of the Ma family is gone, and then this one, if it is a coward, it is really ......"

"Not necessarily, I also hunted with the people of the Ma family last time, and I saw it from a distance, it seems that it is okay?"

"Come on, you're hunting! Can hunting be the same as fighting? This man is not a rabbit, there is a guy, have you ever seen that rabbit come up with a knife and a gun and fight with you? ”

"That's right...... The Ma family was seriously injured this time, and it is said that the Ma family Saburo was also poisoned by fire, alas......"

Most of the Xiliang men are cooking tonight's food on a bonfire, and being idle is idle, so naturally they are talking nonsense. For what happened to the Ma family, some people regret it, some people are happy, and they have different attitudes, but no matter which one it is, it almost uncovers the scars in Ma Chao's heart, and then smears a handful of salt, or the worst kind of inferior rock salt that contains more sand than salt.

Ma Chao got off his horse in front of everyone's eyes and arrived in front of his tent.

The Xiliang men of the rest of the surrounding tribes either discussed, sneered, and were presumptuous, and pointed at Ma Chao and others, full of contempt.

Seeing this, Pang De, who came out of the tent, couldn't help but be angry, and took a step forward, but was pulled by Ma Chao.

Ma Chao ignored the strange eyes of these people, just lowered his head and said: "It's not appropriate to make trouble, it's important to take care of the third brother...... After speaking, he turned his head and entered the tent.

Pound stomped his foot in anger and entered the tent as well.

That day, Ma Tie rushed into the burning camp and saved Ma Chao, but he was burned by the flames on his shoulders and hair, and now he was lying on the felt blanket in a daze.

Ma Chao took a few steps forward, knelt beside Ma Tie, and then motioned for the guards to mash the newly collected herbs.

"Water ......," Ma Tie groaned in confusion.

"Quick! Fetch water! Ma Chao said immediately.

Pound hurriedly handed the water bladder to Ma Chao.

Ma Chao carefully lifted Ma Tie, carefully opened the water bladder, and then put it on Ma Tie's lips.

Ma Tie gulped a few sips, seemed to be sober, opened his eyelids, glanced at Ma Chao, and said, "Big ...... Big brother ......"

"Third brother, I went to pick some herbs again...... You'll be able to ...... well soon," Ma Chao comforted Ma Tie.

"Hmm......" Ma Tie didn't seem to have much energy, and after answering in a daze, he closed his eyes again and stopped talking.

"Young Commander, the herbs are ready...... Pound De took the herbs from the guard's hand and said.

Ma Chao stretched out his hand to take it and said, "I'm coming!" ”

Pang De knelt on the side, watched Ma Chao carefully dressing Ma Tie, sighed slightly, stood up and said, "Young commander, go to the surrounding area to find some food...... After speaking, he took the guards out of the tent.

Ma Chao carefully smeared the herbs on Ma Tie's burned wounds, which seemed to be the coolness of the herbs, and Ma Tie's originally frowning brows soothed a little.

Inside the tent, the torches flickered, reflecting the figures of Ma Chao and Ma Tie, swaying, big and small.

"Third brother......" Ma Chao looked at Ma Tie and was silent for a long time, "...... Third brother, why did you save me? You...... Aren't you supposed to want me to die soon......"

Ma Tie was groggy and did not answer.

"Third brother, brother owes you a life!" Ma Chao choked up and said, holding Ma Tie's hand tightly, "You have to get better, you have to get better......"

A tear fell on Ma Tie's arm and splashed a little bit, like a small transparent flower. Ma Tie's arm seemed to be burned by this hot tear, and twitched slightly......