Hanzhong is close to the Qinling Mountains in the north and the Pingba Mountain in the south is shallow, with abundant products and is known as Tianshui.

When the Li clan controlled Bashu, Hanzhong was subordinate to the Bashu sphere of influence, when the old marquis of Jinyi led the army to attack Shu, the Northern Han also felt that there was a good opportunity to take advantage of it, and intended to go south to capture Hanzhong, fortunately, at that time, the Shu generals stationed in Hanzhong blocked the main roads of the Qinling Mountains, although the troops were weak, but several important roads in the Qinling Mountains were all dangerous places that could not be opened, when Li Hongxin submitted the surrender table to the Great Chu, the Northern Han army still did not be able to step into Hanzhong.

After Li Hongxin declared himself a vassal to the state of Chu, the Hanzhong guards did not continue to resist, and handed over Nanzheng to the old marquis of Jinyi, but he was also greatly praised by the imperial court.

It's just that because after all, it was from Li Hongxin's subordinates, so the guard was transferred to the capital and given enough glory and wealth, but it was not reused after that, and the guard general passed away many years ago, and the younger generations still enjoyed the benefits of the imperial court.

Since then, three guards have been transferred to Hanzhong, all of whom were sent by the imperial court, and now Ban Yun, the guard general stationed in Hanzhong, was also one of the generals who followed the old marquis of Jinyi to attack Shu.

After Ban Yun conquered Shu, he followed the old marquis and also went north to fight with the Northern Han Dynasty, and later the old marquis of Jinyi personally recommended Ban Yun to the imperial court, and Ban Yun was transferred to Hanzhong as a taishou to preside over the defense of Hanzhong.

Although Chu and Han have been fighting small battles for many years, the Qinling front line has always been calm, and Qu Yuangu, the general of the Han army stationed in the northwest, has never taken the initiative to attack Chu Jing, and Ban Yun has been in Hanzhong for many years, and he has not crossed the Qinling Mountains.

Hanzhong is a strategic place, and Ban Yun was originally a military general, but after staying in Hanzhong for many years, the reckless aura on his body has disappeared a lot.

It is located in a military location, but over the years, Hanzhong has become a fertile land with abundant food and clothing, and the people of Hanzhong are full of gratitude to this Taishou Lord.

At this moment, Ban Yun was dressed in armor, leading a team of men and horses, waiting twenty miles south of Nanzheng City.

Yesterday, I got a flying report that the protector of the country was about to come to Nanzheng in person.

Ban Yun has been fighting on the battlefield for many years, and has been an official in Hanzhong for many years, he is already an extremely experienced cadre, of course he already knows that the Chu army went north, crossed the Huai River, and is fighting with the Northern Han Dynasty.

The sun is setting, the climate in Hanzhong has been quite cold, suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves, Ban Yun was in good spirits, looked at the past along the official road, and saw a team of cavalry is galloping towards this side rapidly, Ban Yun immediately stepped forward, the team of cavalry is not much, but a hundred or so people, but quite imposing, galloping to the close, when the first person restrained the war horse, swept Ban Yun and others, Ban Yun saw that the person was less than twenty years old, a brocade clothes on the body, immediately understood, stepped forward and arched his hand: "Xiaguan Hanzhong is too guarded Ban Yun, please see the lord!" He knelt down on one knee, and everyone behind him fell with him.

The young man was naturally Qi Ning, turned over and dismounted, stepped forward to help Ban Yun, and said with a smile: "Ban Taishou doesn't have to wait here." ”

Ban Yun got up, but there was a kind look between his eyebrows, and he said with a smile: "The lord is here, and the lower officials should welcome him from afar." ”

Qi Ning smiled slightly, swept the entourage behind Ban Yun again, and chuckled: "These soldiers under Ban Taishou's hands are full of energy, and at a glance, they know that they are brave soldiers who can fight well. ”

Ban Yundao: "Being on the front line, the lower officials dare not be negligent, the soldiers and horses in Hanzhong, everyone is practicing three times a day, never stopping." After looking back, he continued: "There are 3,000 soldiers and horses in Hanzhong, but when the lower officials came to Hanzhong to take up their posts, they made a suggestion to the imperial court, which was supported by the old marquis and approved by the imperial court. ”

"Suggestions?" Qi Ning was interested: "What suggestions?" ”

"The equipment and food of the soldiers in Hanzhong have always been not weak, although they are not as good as the defenders of the capital, but among the imperial border troops, they are second to none." Ban Yun is nearly fifty years old, although he is wearing armor, but he does not have the courage of ordinary generals, and he speaks slowly and logically: "The lower officials give them the best food and the best equipment, but they also give them the most rigorous training, three practices a day, the four seasons remain the same, and everyone's training will be reported, and a review will be conducted every month. ”

Qi Ning let out an "oh", and Ban Yun continued: "Every month, thirty or forty people are ordered to quit the army, but the soldiers in Hanzhong, almost all of whom are natives of Hanzhong, can only stay in Hanzhong to cultivate the fields after leaving. The salary of being a soldier is good, and it is not difficult to recruit soldiers in Hanzhong. ”

"Thirty or forty people a month, after a year, aren't three or four hundred people ordered to be discharged from the army?"

Ban Yun bowed his head and said: "That's right, over the years that Xia Guan has been in Hanzhong, there are thousands of people who have been ordered to quit the army. ”

Qi Ning smiled: "You are doing this, aren't you worried that these soldiers have a grudge against you?" ”

"Orders and prohibitions, rewards and punishments are clear, there will be no such worries." Ban Yun said with a smile: "Whoever goes and who stays depends on their own ability, and no one is unconvinced." He lowered his voice and said: "So the soldiers and horses in Hanzhong are all elite soldiers who survive the fittest, not only that, but those soldiers who have withdrawn from the army, once the situation in Hanzhong is critical, they can be called back at any time, these people have been trained by the military, and they know how to fight better than ordinary people." ”

Qi Ning sighed: "In this way, these retired soldiers are the reserve army of Hanzhong." ”

"What the lord said is very true." Ban Yun said: "Although Hanzhong can't be a soldier for all people, it is not a bad thing to store a group of reserve soldiers. He raised his hand and said, "Sir, please!" ”

Everyone got back on their horses and returned to Nanzheng.

Nanzheng is the heart of Hanzhong County, after Qi Ning entered the city, see people coming and going, although compared to the prosperity of Chengdu is not the same, but orderly, the people who come and go are very calm, it seems that they have been accustomed to a quiet life, to be able to have such a situation on the front line, it can also be seen that Ban Yun will Hanzhong governance is really not bad.

In the Taishou Mansion, Ban Yun asked people to serve tea, so he sent everyone back and stepped forward and said: "Wei Assassin Shi Feishu sent a message, saying that the lord is going to Hanzhong to suppress bandits, I don't know .....?" ”

"Now that I'm here, there's no need to hide it from you." Qi Ning said: "Ban Taishou, in Hanzhong, can there be bandits?" ”

"Back to the lord, when Xia Guan took over Hanzhong, there were indeed bandits here." Ban Yun Zhengse said: "Those are all locals in Hanzhong, robbing houses and houses, because they are familiar with the terrain of Hanzhong, once the government encircles and suppresses, they will take advantage of the terrain to hide in Tibet, and they often hide in Daba Mountain, which stretches for hundreds of miles, once hidden in it, it is really difficult to find." It took more than two years for Xia Guan to completely exterminate that gang of bandits, and now in Hanzhong, although it is not peaceful, bandits are already very rare. ”

"You can privately reveal to your subordinates that a group of bandits fled from Chengdu to Daba Mountain, harming the people, and in order to completely eradicate this banditry, the Assassin Mansion sent soldiers and horses to encircle and suppress it." Qi Ning lowered his voice and said: "Let those generals spread these news inadvertently, at least let everyone know that the officers and soldiers were transferred to Hanzhong to encircle and suppress the bandits." ”

Ban Yun bowed his head and said: "The lower official will arrange it immediately, it's just that the lord is going to Hanzhong, but there are other things to tell the lower official to do?" ”

"The encirclement and suppression of Daba Mountain is to hide people's eyes and ears and show it to the Northern Han people." Qi Ning said: "Do you know the situation over there in the Northern Han Dynasty?" ”

Ban Yun immediately said: "Xiaguan has already sent spies to operate in the northwest, I heard that after Beitang Huan's death, several princes competed for the throne, Beitang Feng fled to Xianyang, and took refuge in Qu Yuangu, two or three months ago, Qu Yuangu had already sent troops from Xianyang, commanded the elite of the northwest, and stationed in Tongguan, but in Tongguan has been stationary, look at that, it is until several other Northern Han princes fight to the death and lose both, Beitangfeng and Qu Yuangu will take the opportunity to enter the pass to seize Luoyang. ”

"What is the situation of the defenders in Xianyang now?"

"Qu Yuangu has two sons, but they are both wine-colored people, and they are inferior to Qu Yuangu." Ban Yundao: "But after Qu Yuan Ancient Town guarded the northwest, he was afraid that someone would peep into his power, so he was nepotistic, and his two sons held great power. ”

"Qu Manbao?" Qi Ning smiled: "It seems that this Qu Da General is very fond of treasures. He asked, "How is Qu Manbao a person?" ”

"This man has an arrogant temperament and behaves perversely." Ban Yundao: "His father is the lord of the northwest, and his aunt was the favorite concubine of Beitang Huan, the Qu family was once very glorious in the Northern Han Dynasty, this Qu Manbao is naturally unscrupulous, lawless in the northwest, but this person is also very brave, it is said that he once killed a leopard with his bare hands after drinking, there should be some means." After a pause, he continued: "This person's biggest weakness is that he is greedy and lustful, and it is said that he has to drink ten catties of wine every day, and he is not happy with any woman. ”

"No girl, no joy?" Qi Ning was thoughtful.

Although Qi Ning hadn't said the plan yet, Ban Yun had already guessed a few points in his heart, but since Qi Ning didn't speak, he didn't speak easily.

He has been running Hanzhong for many years, even if Xichuan Thorn Shi Wei Shutong does not dare to point fingers at him, but now that the small Guogong of the Jinyi Qi family is here in person, he still maintains enough respect, and he knows very well in his heart that since the Xiaoguo Gong is coming, no matter what decision Qi Ning makes, he can only fully cooperate.

"I heard that the defenders of Hanzhong are mainly deployed in the four mountain roads of the Qinling Mountains." After a long while, Qi Ning said, "How many soldiers and horses are there on Nanzheng's side?" ”

"In fact, the four roads of the Qinling Mountains are all narrow roads, as long as you set up a checkpoint in a dangerous place, it is enough to resist the incoming enemy." Ban Yundao: "Xiaguan has set up three checkpoints in each narrow road, and arranged a hundred people at each checkpoint, and the total number of troops distributed in the four narrow roads is more than 1,000 people. Whenever the first checkpoint finds the enemy's traces, it will immediately light the beacon smoke, and the distance between the next two checkpoints will not be too far, enough to notice the beacon smoke in front, and the beacon smoke will soon spread to Nanzheng, and several lines of defense can buy us enough time for support. ”

Qi Ning frowned and said: "We have set up checkpoints in the four roads, so of course the Northern Han people will also set up checkpoints in the narrow roads." ”

Ban Yun said: "Exactly, if you want to pass through any of the four narrow roads of the Qinling Mountains, whether it is going south to Hanzhong or north to Xianyang, you must pass through the checkpoint, otherwise you can only cross the Qinling Mountains, but for the soldiers and horses, it is absolutely impossible to cross the Qinling Mountains." ”