Crossing the Yellow River, the expedition team led by the deer entered Henan.

Henan, that is, the Hetao area in later generations, generally refers to the east of Helan Mountain, the west of Luliang Mountain, the south of Yinshan Mountain, and the north of the Great Wall. It includes parts of the Yinchuan Plain (Ningxia Plain) and the Ordos Plateau and the Loess Plateau, which now belong to Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Here, the Yellow River first goes north along Helan Mountain, then goes east because of the Yinshan block, and then goes south along Luliang Mountain, forming a zigzag area of "several", so it is called "Hetao".

The topography of the Hetao is unique among the major rivers in the world, and it has always been known for its abundant water and grass, providing rich living resources for the Chinese nation living here. The surrounding areas of the Hetao, including the Huangshui Basin, the Taoshui Basin, the Luoshui Basin, the Weishui Basin, the Fenshui Basin, the Sangqian River Basin, the Zhangshui River Basin, and the Hutuo River Basin, all have relatively good natural environmental conditions.

The Hetao area has been a place of mixed ethnic groups since ancient times.

In the pre-Qin period, the Hetao was occupied by the Xiongnu; During the Warring States Period, King Wuling of Zhao extended his territory to the Yinshan Mountains and established Yunzhong County; After Qin unified the Central Plains, he sent the general Meng Tian to expel the Huns from the Hetao, move the people to the border, and place Jiuyuan and Yunzhong counties; The Western Han Dynasty Weiqing defeated the Xiongnu King Loufu and the Aries King in Izumo and occupied the Hetao, and the Han Wu Emperor placed Shuofang, Wuyuan and Xihe County, and the Han people raised horses in the Hetao area as a base for attacking and defending the Huns, and diverted the Yellow River water for irrigation, and the local agriculture developed rapidly and the economy gradually prospered.

However, the war in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty led to a significant reduction in the population of the north, and the Hetao area was not spared. Soon after the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu who belonged to the Han Dynasty were placed in the sparsely populated Hetao area, and after the Northern Xiongnu were defeated, more Xiongnu tribes went south to join the Southern Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu population in the Hetao area increased greatly.

With the decline of the Eastern Han court, the Xiongnu tribes gradually broke away from the control of the court and became de facto independent. At the same time, the Qiang people, who were far more numerous than the Xiongnu, moved inward and continued to fight with the Eastern Han court, resulting in a large number of Han people in the Hetao area moving to the Kanto. At that time, the Han Chinese were more densely populated, and the Guanzhong and Hexi corridors, which were on important communication routes between the East and the West, had not yet been fully controlled by the central government, and they did not have the energy to take care of the vast and sparsely populated Hetao area, which was located in a remote corner.

After the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court lost the last remaining control of the Hetao, and the vast area known as "Saishang Jiangnan" was completely occupied by various Qianghu tribes.

The Luling Territory marched into the Hetao with the intention of creating a second special territory in this alien-occupied area.

The so-called "nail plan" is to lay a nail in this land occupied by aliens!

The architectural drawings of the special territory, which can be built in any suitable location within the Shenzhou area, are extremely deceptive, and it is easy to think that they refer to the thirteen states of the Eastern Han Dynasty that were actually controlled by the imperial court. In fact, the scope of "Shenzhou" is much larger, and the Hetao, an area that historically belonged to China and temporarily lost control, must be included.

The second special territory is located in the Loop, which looks a little crazy.

This is a decision made after repeated weighing.

The benefits of establishing a stronghold in the Loop are many.

First of all, the Hetao produces horses.

In the era of cold weapons, war horses were valuable strategic resources, and Gongsun Chan was able to crisscross the Youzhou territory, and the elite cavalry under his command gave him enough confidence. With the help of Gongsun Zhan, the ant caravan opened the war horse trade, and the profit was considerable, but with the help of Gongsun Zhan's channel to carry out trade, after all, there was no need to directly root the war horse origin insurance, and it was easy to make the trade unsustainable due to changes in the general environment. If the deer leader can gain a firm foothold in the Hetao, he will obtain more stable war horse resources and higher profits!

Secondly, the overall layout of the territory.

In the principle of site selection of special territories, the role of strategic fulcrum is a very important consideration, so that the territory can project influence on a larger scale and obtain strategic opportunities. Zhulu is in Ba County, Feiyu is in the Bohai Sea, and is located in the west and east of Shenzhou, all of which deviate from the traditional sense of the center, and the second special territory is settled in the Hetao, and the south is the Sili area, which makes up for this shortcoming. At the same time, the Hetao stronghold can also play the role of a connection point between the Zhulu Collar and the Flying Fish Collar, and the three bases are roughly completed in a triangular layout, making it easier to project influence externally.

Third, strategic location.

The geography of the Hetao is very important, to the east can reach Bingzhou and Jizhou, to the west is the boundary of Liangzhou, to the south, is the Guanzhong Plain, which is very important to the Han Dynasty, Chang'an, Luoyang line, are in the south of the Hetao, it is not difficult to see the strategic position of the Hetao area. In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was ready to take the Hetao area for so many years, and moved people to each region to defend it, that is, he used the Hetao as a barrier in Guanzhong, so as to prevent foreign races from easily going south from the Hetao and running to the Guanzhong area to plunder.

From a military point of view, whoever occupies the Hetao will have a natural advantage in attacking the pass.

Yu Buzhi is only a lord player, and he doesn't have those ambitions, but if he sets up a stronghold in the Hetao area, he also hopes to enjoy the dividends brought by the region's superior strategic location. Not to mention anything else, in case a large-scale conflict breaks out in the Guanzhong area, escalates to a faction confrontation mission or battle scale, or there is a celestial event like the Phantom Wolf Plague, the Zhulu Leader will at least have the opportunity to send troops to participate in the battle nearby.

Fourth, economic returns.

There are many Qianghu tribes in the Hetao, and the output of the tribe can often be transported to the Han area to obtain higher profit returns, and in the same way, some items of the Han people can often be sold at a good price when they are transported to the Hetao. Due to the frequent mergers and fights of the Qianghu tribes in the Hetao, the order is chaotic, and it is quite risky to do business in the area, so the bilateral trade is at a low level, and if the leader can gain a foothold in the Hetao, it is expected to earn rich returns if it can create conditions for the ant caravan to enter the Hetao.

In addition to the prospect of trade, there is another unique advantage of having a presence in the Loop: duty-free!

The central government temporarily lost control of the Loop, and of course did not have to pay taxes. Don't underestimate these taxes, they add up to a considerable amount over time, and the better the development of the special territory, the more taxes will be saved, which is a benefit that cannot be ignored in the long run.

The above four points are all based on rational considerations and are related to practical interests.

There is also a less rational reason: to expand territory.

Yu Buzhi asked himself if he was not a narrow-minded patriot, but the "plugged Jiangnan" in the game was occupied by the alien race after all, and as a member of the Han Dynasty, he had the opportunity to lay a nail in the alien occupation area, and Yu Buzhi was very willing to do something. In the game, he opened up territory for the country, even if he knew that he was just having a good time, he was willing to try his best.

For Yu Buzhi, entering the loop is a bold attempt based on practical interests.

But the soldiers and civilians don't think so, for them, this is to expand the territory!

Everyone in the expedition was thrilled by this.