Starting from Dadingfu, passing through Gaozhou, crossing the Cang'er River, and arriving at the territory of Fengzhou. Fengzhou is subordinate to Zhangshu Palace, and like Gaozhou, it is a military state under the head of the Khitan and Luduo. This is the case in many places near Linhuang Mansion. The military state was the private land of the Khitan princes and nobles, and the officials and taxes were in charge of them, and they were not subordinate to the Khitan court. In a sense, this is the feudal legacy of ancient times, and the Central Plains have long disappeared.

The nine Huluduo had already been wiped out in Dading Mansion, and the number of troops they had left under their rule was insignificant to the Song army. Almost without bloodshed, the Song army entered Fengzhou. The nearby states and counties also contributed to the city.

Entering the city gate, Du Zhongxiao raised his eyes to watch. Seeing that there are few pedestrians on the street, it seems a little deserted. A small number of shops on the street are closed, most of them are still open, and there is nothing unusual about it. It's just that although the shop is open, the business is not good.

All the way to the state office, Du Zhongxiao sat down. Jia Kui brought two officials over to greet Du Zhongxiao.

After the ceremony, Jia Kui pointed to a person: "This is Yelu Aci, the governor of Fengzhou, my army has arrived, and I will open the door to offer the city." ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and asked Ah Ci: "When I entered the city, I saw that the city was deserted, what happened?" This is an official road, and it should be extraordinarily prosperous. Most of the shops along the street are open, but there are not many customers. ”

Ah Ci arched his hand and said: "Back to Taiwei, I heard that the army is coming, and many nomadic tribes in the vicinity have gone to the mountains. I've heard that some tribes have to migrate north to avoid the imperial army. Originally, the city was inhabited by Han and Khitans, and many Khitans fled, and most of the remaining people in the city were Han. The number of households has decreased a lot, and it has naturally become deserted. ”

Du Zhongxiao said strangely: "Did the Khitans escape?" I haven't heard of it along the way. ”

Ah Ci said: "The land here is close to the north, and there are many nomadic people everywhere, so it is naturally different from the south. Where can the people who cultivate the fields flee to if they can't take them away? Unlike nomads, they can migrate wherever there are aquatic grasses. ”

"I see." Du Zhongxiao nodded. After crossing the Cang'er River, farming became less and less, and nomadism gradually increased, which was completely different from the area around Dadingfu. Only there is some arable land near the city, which is mostly cultivated by Han and Xi people. The Khitans were mostly landlords and hired people to cultivate the land. Or they live in groups and graze cattle and sheep on the meadows. Grazing was much freer, and the area was mountainous, and many tribes fled into the mountains.

After asking some more about the city, Du Zhongxiao asked Ah Ci to leave and called Zhao Zi and Wang Kai.

The four of them sat down, and Du Zhongxiao said: "After Fengzhou, the further north you go, the more nomadic tribes will be. The governor of Fengzhou said that many nomadic tribes, hearing of the arrival of the army, fled to the mountains. There are even tribes that want to migrate to distant places. ”

Wang Kai said: "Where can they move to?" We occupy Linhuang Mansion, within hundreds of miles of the surrounding area, all under the control. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "This is not the Central Plains, and hundreds of miles is not a remarkable number." Nomadic people, who move hundreds of miles a year, are not a big deal. In fact, without control over their tribes, these herders are unmanageable. ”

Zhao Zi thought for a while and said, "Captain, in this way, even if we occupy the state army near here, there is no way to take the herdsmen?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In the past, various dynasties, in these places, relied on the internal tribes to manage, which naturally makes sense. The herdsmen are nomadic and do not rely on their tribes, and it is impossible to organize households and people like the Central Plains. How we do it, we have to find a way. ”

Jia Kui said: "All the way to the north, there are also tribes who surrender. Taiwei, do we also rely on the tribe and are in charge of various places? ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "It's not that simple. By the tribe, it is necessary to divide the tribal leaders and give them wealth and power. The years of peace are naturally easy to say, but when there is chaos, how can these people manage it? Moreover, the tribes are a combination of soldiers and people, and those who have knives in their hands are not good for the court if they do not say a word and draw their swords. Successive dynasties, after occupying these places, have faced this problem. If the imperial court wants to bother less, it can only allow the Hu tribe to be attached internally, and give benefits to the attached tribe. They are united with the soldiers and the people, and they suppress the locality. But once there is chaos in the Central Plains, these attached tribes can contribute less and make more trouble, and it will be difficult to say at that time. ”

Jia Kui said: "If you are too captain, what should you do?" Our army is here, and we can't let the local people leave it alone. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I don't want to repeat the mistakes of my predecessors, I have peace for a while, and I will leave a disaster for future generations." Fundamentally, if you want to make this place stable, you still have to organize the people together, otherwise there will be no change after all. But for a while, the people can't do it, so wait a while. These days, wherever our army passes, except for the scouts, they are gathered in the city inns along the road, so as not to harass the herdsmen. and those who want to migrate, let them go. When it comes to breaking the sky, how many herdsmen can be accommodated in a place, the difference in numbers will not be too much. If they're willing to give up the place, that's the best. ”

Zhao Zi said: "Taiwei, these herdsmen move to other places and won't occupy other people's places?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Grazing is different from farming, the grassland is not your family's, you can graze, and I can too." Who it belongs to, after all, you have to fight to know. Therefore, the migration of grassland peoples often causes a chain reaction, which reaches thousands of miles away. Unlike those who farmed in the Central Plains, no matter who came, the land was still there, and even if they left, they had to come back. ”

In fact, the people of the Central Plains are not gone and come back. Since the Wuhu Chaohua, the people of the Central Plains have gone south many times. But unlike the grassland peoples, Jiangnan was not developed before, and the Han people went to the developed places. When there is no more vacant land, the contradictions will increase, and it will be difficult to go south. The great migration of the steppe peoples may not be as large as that of the Han people going south, and the distance is much farther. The Han Dynasty developed the Western Regions, and the Xiongnu moved westward, and they were afraid that there would be no thousands of miles away.

After the destruction of the Khitan, the occupation of the territory of the Khitan by the Song Dynasty will inevitably cause a chain reaction in the steppe. When the Khitan and Xi people moved westward, some of them would definitely merge into Tatar, and some of them would go all the way west. Where can you go as far west? God knows.

To the north from Linhuang Province, the vast Asian savannah connects Europe and Asia. The northward expansion of the Song Dynasty inevitably led to the westward migration of a large number of steppe peoples. The original steppe tribes were affected by it, and no one could say whether they absorbed these people or were driven westward by them. And the Tatars to the west are rising, and this change has happened, and who knows what will happen.

Du Zhongxiao couldn't say clearly. Before the rise of the Mongols, the pattern of the steppe was disrupted, and the Song Dynasty advanced northward strongly, which had never happened in history. Can Mongolia still rise? At this time, their strength is insufficient, and if they go west, who will be unlucky? Don't say such a big force, after the Khitan was destroyed by Jin in history, Yelu Dashi brought a small number of troops to Central Asia to establish Western Liao, and the power to move west at this time can be much greater. If they go all the way to the west, will the forces of Central Asia be able to stop them? There are no answers.

Shaking his head, even if he added the knowledge of later generations, Du Zhongxiao couldn't say why. The expansion of the Song Dynasty's power must have a boundary, and the farthest is to occupy the old land of the Khitan. Later, with the construction of a new railway, it was nothing more than the extermination of the Tatars and other Hu people. Far away, the whip is beyond reach.

With the help of railways, the Song Dynasty could certainly advance westward. But what's the use of taking those places? The population of the Han people is only so large, and they can't immigrate even if they occupy the place, so why bother to cause trouble? History has shown that you don't take up places, those places are yours. Historically, even if you don't talk about their home countries, only North America and Oceania have really occupied the places occupied by whites. Elsewhere, as the colonies rebelled, they eventually vomited out. It is useless to simply occupy space, and the most important thing is to develop yourself.