Although it is not harmful to be cautious when the army is on the march, the hundreds of Qiang and Rong who cautiously approached the Qin army are not here to offend, but to ...... Kneeling and licking.

Looking at the man who was worshipping at Li Xin's feet, wearing a military uniform and having braided hair, Heifu glanced at the imperial mulberry wood, motioned for him to hide the high saddle stirrups, and asked Qiang Huang on the side softly:

"Could this person be a vassal monarch who is subordinate to Qin?"

Heifu knew that he was one of the "pawns" of the Nine Qings of the Qin Dynasty. It is specifically "in charge of the righteous barbarians", and the "pedestrian administration" under it is equivalent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in later generations.

The Xiongnu, Donghu, and Yueshi, the overseas Jizi Korea, the Hao State, the various barbarians outside the southwest, the Minyue, Ouyue, Nanyue, and Xiyue in the southeast coastal areas, and the various ethnic groups that have established contacts but have not yet been attached to the Qin Dynasty, will be contacted by the Pedestrian Bureau, and there are also personnel who specialize in translation work.

In addition, there is also an organization called the "Pawn State" under the pawn, which is responsible for the "Barbarian Ruler". That is, it has surrendered to Qin, and in the territory of Qin, but there are still independent forces of the Qiang barbarians, which is equivalent to the United Front Work Department in later generations.

Like Yuzhang's Ganyue, Huiji's Yuyue, and the Ba people in Ba County Nan County, they are all under the jurisdiction of the "canonical country". The imperial court called them "the chief of the courtiers" and "the princes of the courtiers", a bit like the Tusi of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

After praising Li Xin's "flying general", Qiang Huang seemed to see Heifu a lot more pleasing to the eye, and responded:

"However, in the more than a year that the general has been the county lieutenant, he has not been idle, and within more than 100 miles of Taoshui and more than 100 miles east of the water, seven or eight tribes have surrendered to Daqin under the general's 'persuasion'!"

"How to persuade, persuade with a strong crossbow and a sharp sword?" Heifu looked at the trembling appearance of a vassal monarch, but he didn't think that Li Xin would talk to him kindly.

Qiang Huang said with a smile: "The right chief is right, the general went out of the plug to beat firewood once, and after eliminating a big tribe that has repeatedly rebelled, these Qiang Rong are much more honest, and they have asked to be attached as vassals." ”

From Qiang Huang's mouth, Heifu learned that Qin Luli gave preferential treatment to these attached "vassal princes", so that they and their children could enjoy the treatment of the title of "Shangzao".

If he commits a crime because he does not understand the law, he shall be sentenced to a sentence of imprisonment or more, and he may pay money to atone for his sin. And because these Qiang Rong people like to rob each other by nature, if the "crime of group robbery" occurs to rob other monarchs, they will also be punished lightly, and sentenced to death as a ghost salary. If you want to be punished by corruption, considering that it is a great humiliation, you can also be sentenced to "ransom", pay money to atone for your crimes, and if you don't have money, pay off the cattle and horses in the tribe.

Of course, if they robbed the Qin people without their lives, then the judges and the officials of the subject countries would have to be punished severely......

Ordinary people who belong to the Qiang and Rong states are regarded as the heads of the Qian, and have no legal privileges.

These preferential treatments are like grass that tempts goats into the circle, and once they are in the circle, don't think about going out.

The decree also stipulates that those who belong to the ethnic minorities of Qin who are dissatisfied with their chief and want to go to Xia will not be allowed. What does it mean to "go to summer"? If you want to leave the territory of Daqin, it is called "going to Xia".

This is equivalent to restricting the power of the people of the Qiang and Rong states to migrate, and if you are not willing to submit to the Hao chieftain, you can also apply to be a Qin householder, and the government will place you elsewhere, starting as a hired peasant. But you can't leave the country, if you move the tribe, it's even more like a rebellion! will be killed as a group of thieves.

In addition to paying tribute for cattle, sheep and horses, when the war came, the Qiang and Rong states must also send cavalry to join the Qin army.

In fact, the Qiang Huang family is also the head of the Qiang people in Beidi County, but he has entered the Qin Dynasty for four generations, and the language and diet have been assimilated. Now the whole family has regarded themselves as Qin, not Qiang.

Thinking about it this way, Heifu found that the Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall, in addition to preventing the invasion of the people by the Rong Di outside the country, but also the role of the sheepfold fence, which will raise the Rong Di livestock in the territory, so that they will be with the Qin people for a long time, from the birth of the Rong to the maturity of the Rong, and finally complete assimilation.

"After all, as long as there is a Qin person on both parents, the children are the 'Xia Zi' system of the Qin people, and with the intermarriage of immigrants, there will only be more and more Qin people, and there will be fewer and fewer Qiang Rong Zhai people in the territory......" He looked at the Rong people who were driving cattle and sheep and looked at the Qin army from a distance, and thought secretly.

This system was mentioned by Heifu many years ago. At present, it seems that Qin's assimilation policy is successful, and there are a large number of Qinhua Rong people in the garrison of the three counties of Guanxi, and he remembers that when he visited the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in his previous life, there were also many Qin soldiers with foreign appearance characteristics in the exhibition.

However, outside of the Great Wall, the sheepfold fence has not been circled, and if the prince wants to escape from Qin's rule, it should not be difficult, right?

"Let's go? They don't want to go. ”

After Heifu asked, Qiang Huang pointed to the grassy Taohe River valley and said: "Diqiang is a matter of hunting, but also raising cattle, sheep and horses, planting some grain, outside the mountains are not suitable for grains, but along the Taoshui coast, there are some flat valleys, not only can grow grains, but also convenient for grazing livestock, they don't want to leave this fertile land, go to Hehuang, Qiang and compete with the more arrogant Qiang tribes for food." ”

Heifu knew that from here, the farther west, the higher the terrain, the worse the natural conditions, and the fewer people who could be fed, and the rich Hexi Corridor was occupied by the powerful Yue Clan, and the small tribe of Qiangrong, which was fragmented, was no opponent at all.

Instead of going to the poor mountains and bad waters, it is better to continue to stay here and be a dog for Daqin......

What's more, Longxi County also used trade as bait, which made the princes and governors even more reluctant to leave.

Heifu heard from Qiang Huang that as early as the beginning of spring, Li Xin had sent people to set up a sentry post at the confluence of the river and Lishui, a place called "Caohan", and agreed that the surrounding unattached Qiang Rong tribes could drive cattle and sheep to trade in Caohan in spring and summer.

"That's why I carried a lot of cloth, salt, sugar, grain, and ......."

Heifu understood, and it was no wonder that Li Xin very much agreed with Heifu's strategy of "westward expansion", which was what he had been doing for more than a year, and similar things, the Qin people had already played very skillfully.

After a short time, after bowing and worshipping, knowing that Li Xin did not take the army out of the fortress to "collect firewood", the prince of the vassal state breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the Tao River they called "Luqu" and swore that he would never betray Qin, and also sent the Qin army five yaks to the labor army......

……

That night, when camping on the west bank of Taoshui to rest, the Qin soldiers set up a bonfire, slaughtered large pieces of yak meat on wooden sticks, roasted until seven ripe, sprinkled with the green salt brought, it was also a delicacy.

While feasting, Heifu also had an in-depth exchange with Li Xin, mainly about high saddles and stirrups.

"Although I am a southerner and have only fought in foot combat, I have also heard that the criteria for the Qin army to select knights are those who are under the age of forty and above seven feet and five inches tall. Must be strong and strong, and act quickly and quickly surpass ordinary people; Able to ride a horse and shoot arrows with a bow on a horse, can fight freely in all directions, front and back, left and right, and is skillful in advancing and retreating; He can ride his horse over ravines, climb hills, cross obstacles, and cross waters. In this way, you can chase a strong enemy on the battlefield and outnumber, this kind of person is called a martial knight! ”

In the era when there were no high saddles and stirrups, knights could only make up for it with more intensive training, which is why there were such demanding standards.

"Dare to ask the general, among the hundreds of horsemen on this trip, how many can be worthy of the name of 'martial knight'?"

Of course, Li Xin knew what level his subordinates were, and said without thinking: "There are no more than fifty people, all of whom are above the knights." ”

The Qin military system has five cavalry and one chief, ten cavalry and one official, one hundred cavalry and one rate, and two hundred cavalry and one general. In the world-beating Longxi cavalry, only about one-tenth are elite "martial knights", and the riding skills of the others are not bad, at least better than Heifu......

The chariot soldiers also have similar selection criteria, called "warrior charioters", Heifu knows that Zhao Gao is a martial charioteer, and he is also a strong martial artist.

According to these two standards, Heifu will not be qualified for another five years of training, and the southerners who only learn to ride horses when they become adults will never be able to compare with the northerners who have been rolling on horseback since they were teenagers. It is incomparable with a three-year-old sheep rider and an eight-year-old horseman, and everyone can hold a strong bow.

Heifu asked again: "But if you are equipped with high-saddle stirrups, how many people under the general's command do you think can become martial knights?" ”

Li Xin has experienced the convenience of the high saddle stirrup today, and the high saddle makes it more comfortable and stable for him to ride. The stirrups made him feel like he was on the ground, and his legs hung empty on both sides of the horse's belly, without any support, and he had to clamp his legs the violently limping horse to keep himself stable.

The hands were completely freed, and the galloping and shooting, which was very difficult to do in the past, was also much easier to advance and retreat in front and back, left and right, and in a circle.

It is conceivable that if it had been used by his riders, it would have had a similar effect.

After a little muttering, Li Xin said: "In that case, at least half of the five hundred horsemen can be called martial knights!" ”

"Exactly!" Heifu slapped his palm, and sure enough, let Li Xin take a test ride once, which was much better than his empty vernacular description.

In addition to making the strong stronger, when training, the high saddle stirrup can also greatly shorten the training cycle of Qin cavalry, and three years later, tens of thousands of cavalry entered Hexi, and it was not a dream to take the Hetao.

The westward extension is not as good as the southern expedition, and it must be fought in coordination with the chariots and horses, especially the war against Hexi and Hetao, which requires a long-distance march of more than 1,000 miles at every turn, and it is almost impossible to do without high-saddle stirrups.

This is also the purpose of Heifu to show Li Xin these two things.

"I would like to ask the general to go up with me, and propose to build a cavalry in Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun, and Neishi, and recruit the good sons of good families who are skilled in archers and horses in Guanxi to enlist in the army, equip them with high-saddle stirrups, and train secretly in Neixian, so that everyone will be a martial knight! In three or five years, it will be of great use! ”

If Heifu, a southerner, holds a stirrup with a high saddle and proposes it, I am afraid that he will be said to be "a southerner speaks of a horse, and a northerner waives a horse"! Even if they are approved by the emperor, those arrogant three-county riders may still want to be like Qiang Huang, because of their pride in their riding skills, they refuse to use it, and they will make some trouble in plain water.

But it's not the same with Li Xin.

The generals who are the best at playing cavalry in the world all say yes, who can have any objections?

Of course, Li Xin was happy to see this kind of good thing like a tiger with wings, but he noticed the words "secret training" that Heifu said.

"Does the right chief think that this thing should not be leaked lightly?"

"Yes! This is a weapon of the country, and it cannot be shown to outsiders! It must be hidden and then used, and after three or five years, Hu Rong will be caught off guard again! After the high saddle stirrup shines, Qin's sheepfold fence can be extended thousands of miles away, enclosing Hexi, Henan, and Hetao, and the fertile pastures are all occupied by Qin. ”

Heifu said: "At that time, there will only be two choices in front of Hu Rong. ”

Li Xin was clear, the general's eyes were full of brilliance, handed a piece of yak meat to Heifu, and said with a smile: "Is it to be a sheep to be slaughtered in the pen, or to go to the Gobi tidal flats to be a hungry wolf?" ”