According to historical records, Liu Bei died in the third year of Guangwu of Shu Han. For example, although he did not suffer the blow of the defeat of Yiling, he still fell ill in Chang'an.

And with the arrival of spring, the reinforcements of Bashu have also completed the assembly. Zhuge Liang mobilized 20,000 horses from Jiangzhou Zhangren, 30,000 from Chengdu, 20,000 Wuxi barbarians, 20,000 private soldiers from Gaoding and Nanzhong counties, and 50,000 people from the 21st Nanban Cave led by Meng Shu. Together, there are 140,000 people.

Then Zhuge Liang requisitioned 100,000 people from each to ensure the supply of logistics grain and grass. Although Yizhou has a large population, it can't withstand such consumption, and Yizhou at this time is doing its best. Therefore, this battle is not allowed to be defeated.

The soldiers who are ready to go out of the Meridian Valley with Adou are all the elites selected from the barbarians, and they are still being trained, and the Zhuge crossbow and Zhuge spear that have been created are also the first to be trained and used by these 30,000 vine armor soldiers.

In Liangzhou, people have also sent troops, and Xiping and Jincheng have also been captured by the Qiang coalition army, and in the entire Liangzhou, only Guzang City is still under the control of the Han army. Guzang City is guarded by Ma Chao, and it can still block the attack of the Qiang coalition army for the time being.

The Qiang people, the people, the Bei and the Han people in Liangzhou lived together, because they had their own people, so the Qiang coalition army did not carry out a massacre like the clan, but only robbed some food and other daily necessities.

The people found some grain and grass from the captured city, and barely survived the winter, but in the early spring, they still encountered a food shortage, and the people tightened their belts and tried every means to save grain and grass. People are a farming nation, spring is the season of sowing, people were blackmailed twice by the Qiang and Qiang people, the lack of grain is not good for another farming, I am afraid that there will be a danger of extinction, so at this time the people outside the city of Guzang have retreated.

Outside the city of Guzang, Qiang Daying.

Wang Fujian lowered his head and stood cautiously beside him, while Qiang Wang Cheriji sneered and looked at; Key.

After a long time, Cherrigi spoke: "Say that you people want to withdraw from the army? ”

"The King. We're on our own. It's planting season. And the young and strong people of our clan are all here, and they do not return to the army. The farmland in the clan is uncultivated. We don't have anything to eat. ”;; Key explained.

"You people have no food to eat. What's the matter with me! I said it before. We marched together. Now you are afraid to escape the door! ”

"The King. We are not cowards, and this year we gave the king and the clan 100,000 grains and grass each. The grain and grass in the clan were already in short supply, and the spring plowing was delayed. If there is not enough food to eat in the coming year, we are afraid that we will be wiped out! ”

"Extermination? I can't see it......" Cherrigi sneered. Then he said, "I've seen you steal a lot of food before. ”

"The King. That's just a drop in the bucket! Snatch the little food from the land. It's just enough for my front-line military. Now there is not much left! Fu Jian explained.

"There is land in Guzang City in front of me, and it is grain. Capture Guzang. Isn't there bread? Cherrigi said.

"The king, Ma Chao, the guard of Zangcheng City, was brave and fierce, and he was called the general of heaven in Liangzhou back then! This Guzang is also an important town in Liangzhou, and I am afraid that it will not be able to be captured in a while and a half. I'm afraid our people won't be able to break the city. ”;; Key said with a sad face.

"Can't take it? I don't think you're doing your best! Cherrigi said with a squint.

"King, you have wronged us, our entire clan is waiting for the grain and grass in Guzang City to save our lives, how dare we not do our best!

At this time, Yadan, the prime minister next to Cherrigi, walked out and said to Cherrigi: "King, I think; What the key said should be true, if their clan does not go back to spring ploughing, I am afraid that there will really be no grain and grass next year. I think it's better to let people go back first, and then lead the troops after the spring ploughing is over. ”

Cherrigi glanced at Yadan in puzzlement, only to see Yadan slightly glance at Cherrigi. Cherrigi immediately understood that the old fox of Yadan probably had some plan, so Cherrigi changed his words and said, "In this case, ;; key, you can lead the troops back for the time being! Wait until the spring ploughing is over, and then lead the troops to come. ”

"King Xie!";; The key hurries up and thanks. Then;; The key turned around, and he was about to go back to tell his people the good news.

"Wait!" Yadan's voice came, and Fu Jian stopped.

"May I ask what else Prime Minister Yadan commands?"

"Fu Jian, you guys have withdrawn, leaving us Qiang people here alone to face Ma Chao, should you give us some compensation to the Qiang people?" Yadan said with a smile.

Seeing Yadan's smile, Fu Jian felt a tightness in his heart, listening to Yadan's meaning, he was ready to knock himself hard.

;; Jian asked helplessly: "I don't know what compensation Prime Minister Yadan wants?" ”

"When autumn comes, you will harvest the grain, give us 200,000 hu!"

"Two hundred thousand!"; Jian was shocked, this Yadan is really a lion's big mouth, if the 200,000 Hu grain is sent out after the autumn harvest, I am afraid that the clan will run out of food again.

"Prime Minister Yadan, isn't 200,000 Hu too much, can you reduce it?" Fu Jian asked.

"Then 150,000 Hu!"

"Prime Minister Yadan, this is still too much. We can't really take it out. ”

"Hmph, Fu Jian, for the sake of our friendship for many years, I will give you some reduction, 100,000 Hu! If there is less, we won't say yes! Yadan said with a cold light in his eyes, and a trace of hideousness appeared on his face.

"Alright!";; The key gritted his teeth and agreed. At this time;; Jian also felt that 100,000 was probably the bottom line of the Qiang people.

And 100,000 pieces of grain and grass, people can still afford it. Send out 100,000 husks of grain and grass, although people will live a tighter life, but they will not starve to death.

Looking at Fu Jian's departing figure, Cherrigi asked Yadan puzzledly: "Prime Minister, why do you want to let people go?" ”

"King, just now; What the key said is the truth, if they don't go to spring ploughing, I'm afraid there will really be a disaster of extermination. Yadan said.

"Of course I do; The key is telling the truth, but what do they have to do with us when they exterminate the race? Cherrigi said disdainfully.

"King, you can't say that, the Han people have a saying that a dog jumps over the wall. Those tribesmen have now reached the point where they will not go to spring ploughing now, and they will definitely starve to death in the coming year. Counting the closest to the clan, it is our Qiang tribe that if we really force those clansmen to be anxious, the clan is likely to come to us for trouble, and then we will lose more than we gain. Yadan said.

"Trouble us Qiang! They dare! Cherrigi snorted coldly: "If Fu Jian dares to trouble our Qiang people, I will destroy their clan!" ”

"King, don't underestimate when you go

The surviving nation. Instead of forcing people to be anxious, it is better to eliminate them slowly," Yadan said confidently.

"Kill people, how to spend them?"

"O king, remember that I just asked to; The key asked for 100,000 grains and grass. Now that people are short of food, even if there is a bumper harvest this autumn, there will not be much grain and grass left. If they give us another 100,000 grains and grass, their people's grain and grass will only be enough at most. Yadan explained.

Cherrigi nodded thoughtfully, and Yadan continued: "If the Great King is too powerful, it will inevitably threaten our Qiang tribe, so we must not let the people become strong." The only thing that those people are stronger than us is that they can grow food, so as long as they can choke people's food, that person will not be strong, and can only obey us forever! As long as people obey our Qiang people's orders, we will be able to get grain and grass from people every year. ”

Cherrigi also understood Yadan's intentions. Although the Qiang people can also farm, they are not very good at people, and they are still used to a nomadic life. However, the level of human farming is no worse than that of the Han people, if this group of people can be brought under the rule, the people of the tribe will provide food for the Qiang people every year.

……

;; Jian returned to the camp and told everyone the news that Cherrigi allowed people to go back to spring ploughing, and also told everyone the news that the Qiang people wanted 100,000 grains and grass.

"This Cheriji is too ruthless, he just asked for 100,000 yuan of grain and grass from us last year, and he still wants it this year!"

"Insatiable man!"

All the people present and the chiefs all opened their mouths to condemn Cherrigi, but everyone only condemned it. After all, the Qiang people are much stronger than people today, so even if Cherry Ji is clearly bullying people, the clansmen can only endure it.

Next, Fu Jian ordered some of his chiefs to return to the camp to reorganize their troops, and all the chiefs returned to their respective stations one after another.

Pu Lin went to his tribe's camp with a depressed face. As soon as Cherrigi opened his mouth, he asked for 100,000 pieces of grain and grass, and even if the whole clan had a bumper harvest next year, the grain might not be too much to eat.

"Big brother, I caught a Han spy!" A big man next to him walked up and said.

This big man is Pu Lin's younger brother Pu Wei.

"Spies? What spies? Pu Lin asked casually.

"It's a Han person, and I've been asking if there is anyone surnamed Pu among our Yuzhi people, isn't the surname Pu in our clan our brother, this Han person must be inquiring about us, so I arrested him." Pu Wei said.

The ancestors of the Pu brothers did not actually have a surname, and later Pu Lin's grandfather grew a kind of cattail in his house. It is five zhang long, and the five knots are like embroidery, and the locals call their home Pu's family, so Pu Lin's grandfather is also Pu.

However, at this time, Pu Lin was worried about Cherrigi's request for food, and he didn't have the heart to care about any spy at all, and now that the army was about to be withdrawn, even if he was a spy, he couldn't hear any useful news. Therefore, Pu Lin also felt that there was no need to interrogate this spy.

Pu Lin shook his head casually: "Let him go first, we have to withdraw the army anyway, even if he is a spy, I can't hear any news." ”

……

Gradually, the time flickered to March, and the reinforcements in Hanzhong had been prepared, so Zhuge Liang personally led 110,000 troops out of Qishan and went straight to Yongzhou. And Adoushuai's 30,000 Tengjia soldiers stayed in Hanzhong, preparing to go to Yongzhou via Meridian Valley in April.

The armies of the Xianbei and Xiongnu still surrounded the city of Chang'an. Chang'an City has Pang Tong in charge of the overall situation, and there is no problem with security for the time being. However, as time passed, the grain and grass stored in Chang'an City were also rapidly consumed. Chang'an City is one of the largest cities in the Han Dynasty, and the population in the city is very large. Coupled with the people who fled into Chang'an City when they heard that the Hu people were attacking, Chang'an City is now three times as many as usual, and the consumption of grain and grass is naturally three times faster.

In order to solve the food problem, Pang Tong had to find those big families in Chang'an City, hoping that these big families could come up with grain and grass. There are many big families living in Chang'an City, many of which have been inherited for hundreds of years, and their family foundations are very rich.

If it was a war between the princes on weekdays, these great families would definitely be reluctant to take out the food they had accumulated, but now that the Hu people have invaded, the situation is different.

These big families and wealthy families know that the Hu people are ferocious and cruel, and they do everything evil to burn, kill and loot. If Chang'an City is attacked by a certain prince, these wealthy families will definitely adopt a gentle strategy to calm people's hearts, but if Chang'an City is broken by the Hu people, all the property of Chang'an City will be robbed by the Hu people.

Everyone understands this truth, the more the big families with a lot of property, the more worried about the destruction of Chang'an City, all the wealthy families unanimously fully supported the Shu army to defend the city, these wealthy families not only took out food, but also sent private soldiers and donated materials. On the contrary, it was those ordinary people, because they had no long things, and their enthusiasm for defending the city was far less than that of the children of wealthy families.

On the other hand, as Kebineng expected, the clansmen had not won a battle since they attacked Tianshui City. Instead, Jiang Wei took the initiative several times and killed several generals.

But the people of the Qiang did not give up. The people of the Qian tribe have a strong sense of revenge, especially when the strength of the defenders of Tianshui City is far inferior to the army of the clan, of course the clansmen will not give up attacking Tianshui. At the same time, Shi Yong once again issued an order to slaughter the city, and slaughtered the city for three days after capturing Tianshui City.

Time slipped by slowly, and finally it was April. At this time, Zhuge Liang's army has been set off for a month, and according to the calculation of time, it will not be long before Zhuge Liang will appear in the land of Yongzhou.

At this time, Adou also led 30,000 vine armor soldiers and set off into the Meridian Valley.

The Meridian Valley is 660 miles long, but because of the rugged roads in the valley, even people who are very good at walking mountain roads, in good weather, it will take 20 days to get out of the Meridian Valley, and if it is rainy, the road is easily blocked by mudslides, and it is normal to be trapped on the road for ten days and half a month.

In April, it is the turn of spring and summer, and Adou also deliberately chooses to travel after the rain. Because it is not yet the height of summer, it is not yet the rainy season, but in May, the heavy rain will slowly come, in order to avoid being trapped in the Meridian Valley, 30,000 vine armor soldiers must get out of the Meridian Valley within a month, that is, in May.

Weishui is relatively short of water in winter, and only in summer can there be a very sufficient amount of water, and Adou's plan to flood the Hu people can be realized. And all this, for the grasp of time, there can be no mistakes.

———————

Tomorrow the Yongzhou War will officially begin.