Zhuge Liang's strategy is actually similar to what Zhang Xi thought.

The situation of the Qiang people is different from that of the Nanzhongyi people, there is no possibility of fighting while collecting the heart, and in terms of the character and living habits of the Qiang people, simple means of collecting the heart are not of much use, and they must be beaten first.

Since Zhuge Liang did not have unrealistic illusions about the Qiang people, Zhang Xi naturally had nothing to say.

After the arrival of Captain Pang De, Zhuge Liang did not grind, and directly made strategic arrangements.

The first step in counterinsurgency is to set off from Shangtai as soon as possible, open up the passage between Tianshui County, and pick up Jiang Xu, Ma Dai and others who should hold on to Tianshui County.

Tianshui County has been holding on for almost two months, and we must not sit idly by and watch Tianshui County fall, otherwise Zhuge Liang will not come to quell the rebellion, but to clean up the mess, and this is very unfavorable to the people in the northwest.

Therefore, this march is not only to compete with the Qiang rebels, but also to compete with God for time, to rescue Tianshui County before the heavy snow falls, to stabilize the hearts of the people of Qinzhou, and let them know that the imperial court will not give up on them.

Time waits for no one, and Zhuge Liang is fast enough to send troops.

With Zhang Xi and Pang De as the vanguard of the front, each led 10,000 people, and the soldiers were divided into two ways to rescue Tianshui County.

Zhuge Liang himself led the remaining 20,000 northern troops to slow down and support the two armies.

According to the pacification strategy agreed by Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, although a quick victory was required, there was no idea of putting the rebellion in one battle.

Before the snowfall, it is already a preliminary goal to be able to rescue Tianshui County and ensure the safety of the last county in Qinzhou.

The rest of the Qiang rebelled, and after the beginning of spring, Zhuge Liang settled accounts with them one by one. There is no way, the weather in Qinzhou has been so bad in recent years that no one dares to guarantee when the heavy snow will fall in Qinzhou.

In such extreme weather, it is difficult to use troops in winter.

If it weren't for the fact that there was also Jiang Xu of Tianshui County and the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people in Tianshui County hanging over there, even Zhuge Liang would not necessarily be in a hurry to send troops now.

Now, Zhuge Liang can only hope that the snow in Qinzhou will not fall so quickly, or not too much at once.

The combat effectiveness of the Qiang people is not too strong, with the combat power of the Han army, even if it is infantry against the rangers, it will not necessarily suffer, and the two military horses are sent together to ensure the strength of the rescue.

Even if one group of people meets the main force of the Qiang soldiers, whether it is Zhang Xi or Pang De, with their ability to command the troops, they are sure to drag down the Qiang soldiers and buy time for the other group to rescue Tianshui County.

But. The development of things seems to be a little different from what Zhuge Liang thought.

Zhang Xi and Pang De each led 10,000 troops, starting from Shangqi and advancing all the way to the outskirts of Tianshui County, almost encountering large-scale Qiang soldiers blocking the road.

It's not that I haven't encountered Qiang soldiers, but the number is really small, and they are Qiang soldiers, they are all a little raised, they are just some Qiang tribesmen, and they don't even have decent weapons in their hands.

As for the Qiang rangers, whether it was Zhang Xi or Pang De, the two of them together did not encounter a few times, and even if they saw the Qiang rangers, the number was very small. At this point, the Ranger will also play a harassing role if he dies.

In this kind of advancement, Zhang Xi and Pang De were keenly aware that something was wrong.

Where did the main forces of the Qiang go?!

His own group made it clear that he was going to rescue Tianshui County. Even if these Hu people don't have brains, there's no reason why they won't even block it head-on, right?!

Zhang Xi and Pang De, neither of them is a brainless person, especially Zhang Xi, who is cautious to the point of being almost timid, and such an abnormal behavior of the Qiang soldiers makes Zhang Xi hesitate in his heart.

If it weren't for the scout's report that the Qiang people were still storming the counties of Tianshui County, Zhang Xi would have wondered if there was some kind of trap in this, and whether he would have stopped the march on the spot, just in case.

But it's a pity that Zhang Xi also knows that he can't stop, how long Tianshui County can hold on, no one knows, he must go to Tianshui County as soon as possible to support Jiang Xu.

But in such an abnormal situation, Zhang Xi couldn't ignore it, and immediately sent scouts in the army to inform the main force behind him of the situation along the way, so that Zhuge Liang could be vigilant.

Pang De also did the same thing, so when Zhuge Liang received the military report from the two, he did not dare to slack off, and immediately found Pang Tong and Wu Yi, and the three of them discussed countermeasures together.

Pang Tongyi looked at Zhang Xi and Pang De's military reports, and compared the information on the Qiang people's action routes transmitted back by the scouts recently, the more they compared, the more strange Pang Tong felt.

"Could it be. Is it a trick to lure the enemy in?! ”

Pang Tong muttered, but after saying that, he shook his head.

The reason why the Hu people are Hu people is because they don't have so much so-called cultural inheritance, and their understanding of war is still at the level of "attacking together, retreating and running separately".

These Hu people may set up an ambush, but such a large-scale plan to lure the enemy into the depths is really not something that the Hu people can come up with.

No matter how much Pang Tong overestimated Hu Ren's IQ, he felt that this was unlikely.

Luring the enemy deep is a technical job, especially this kind of luring the enemy deep through the mobilization of troops, unless the enemy commander is a genius who controls the overall situation, it is impossible to do this at all.

If the Hu people have such a genius, then the first thing to do is to unify the tribes and concentrate on doing great things, instead of launching a rebellion in such a hurry.

On this point, Zhuge Liang also expressed his agreement. Judging from the current situation, the Hu people really do not have such a strategic vision.

So, since this is the case, then what is the purpose of the Hu people, why did they indulge the Han army to approach Tianshui County so easily, aren't they afraid that the Han army will relieve the siege of Tianshui County and wait until the beginning of spring to ease up and then send troops to recruit them?!

Or, are they sure that they can have a decisive battle with the Han army in Tianshui County and win the battle?!

When did Hu Ren have such fantasies?!

The soldiers Zhuge Liang brought this time are the elite Northern Army of the Han Dynasty, the armor covering rate, the number of bows and crossbows carried, the little rangers of the Qiang people, can withstand a few rounds of salvos from the Northern Army? !

To tell the truth, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong really couldn't figure out what the Qiang people were doing.

But no matter what conspiracy these Qiang people are playing, after all, their own side has the advantage in combat power, as long as they are careful, they will not be cautious in response to all changes, and they will not be wrong.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang gave Zhang Xi and Pang De an order to let the two enter Tianshui County, first join forces, and under the unified command of Zhang Xi, go to rescue Tianshui County and Zhiji County.

And Zhuge Liang's headquarters soldiers and horses also began to speed up, marching to Ji County as soon as possible, striving to gather troops in Ji County, and then make plans.

After getting the new military order, Zhang Xi immediately sent the scout fast horse in the army to contact Pang De's department, and the two spent three days to complete the division in Xixian, and then under the leadership of Zhang Xi, they advanced in the direction of Ji County.

At the same time, the leaders of the five Qiang tribes besieging the Tianshui counties also gathered together at this moment to discuss their next actions.

The five tribes of the Qiang people refer to the five most powerful tribes among the Qiang tribes.

And this Qiang rebellion was also provoked by the temporary alliance of the leaders of these five tribes.

It's not really that they have any ambitions, it's that they really can't help it. These years have been almost every year of natural disasters, and life is really impossible to live.

In winter, the cattle and sheep that had been fed down with great difficulty froze to death and starved to death one by one, and because the tribesmen did not eat, some small tribes even had the phenomenon of cannibalism.

In a year or two years, relying on the reward for sending troops to the Han people to cheer and the relief of the "Shenweitian General", everyone can barely survive, but it has been like this for four or five years in a row, and even the "Shenweitian General" has nothing to do.

Not to mention, two years ago, "General Shenweitian" passed away, and in the two years since, Qinzhou has changed owners, and their relief is not as good as a year.

The leaders of the five major tribes gathered together and discussed it, thinking that instead of waiting for death, it was better to fight, and maybe they could fight a way to live.

Even if they fail in the end, the Han people do not have enough horses, and they will not be able to chase them to the grassland, at most they will lose a few clansmen. In this way, there are fewer people, and there are fewer people who share food, and maybe they can survive this winter.

Wait until the spring, and then send someone to convince the Han people's emperor, ask for forgiveness, and then ask for relief, maybe it can support it for another two years. Something that can't be helped.

Therefore, at the beginning, the leaders of the five major tribes discussed the rebellion, and the essential purpose was to survive, and there was really no special ambition.

But. None of the five of them expected that this rebellion would go so smoothly.

First of all, the four counties of Qinzhou, at the beginning of the rebellion, those Han people who lived in the county town were vulnerable, and they easily broke the city and occupied three counties.

And the grain snatched from these three counties actually saved some food, which was enough for their subordinates to survive this winter.

But. If you stop at this time, then you won't be a Hu person.

This winter can be dealt with, but what about next winter?!

Again, the chain effect of this rebellion of the five major tribes did not expect that almost all the Qiang people in the entire northwest region responded to their call and began to attack the cities of the Han people, and it was not so easy to end at this point.

Therefore, the leaders of the five major tribes had to continue to fight, and at the same time, some ambitions in their hearts were also stimulated at this time.

The ancestors of the Qiang people did not fail to achieve such glory in the war with the Han people, and even forced the Han people to give up the northwest for a time, why can't they regain the glory of their ancestors.

Once they occupy Qinzhou, then even if they have a place to live, and if they plunder some Han people to help them farm, then they may not have to suffer from the white plague every year in the future.

Therefore, the leaders of the five tribes of the Qiang people united and besieged Tianshui County, striving to occupy the entire Qinzhou.

According to the Qiang people's thinking, the weather in the northwest has been very cold in recent years, and it should be snowing heavily in November, and if the Han people want to send troops from Chengdu in the south to rescue, at least after the beginning of spring.

This time was enough for them to break through Tianshui County.

After the Qiang people took possession of Qinzhou, and then persuaded the Han families in Qinzhou to cooperate with them and launch a puppet to govern the place, the Qiang people then united to apologize to the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, expressing their willingness to submit to the Han Dynasty, and persuading the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty to allow them to occupy Qinzhou.

A hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Qiang people did just that, and they almost did it.

But. No one expected that the reinforcements of the Han people would come so quickly, and before the heavy snow fell, they were already close to Tianshui County.

Aren't these Han people afraid that after the snow closes the road, they will starve to death in Qinzhou?!

Obviously, the matter has reached the side that the leaders of the five major tribes are most unwilling to see, and it is impossible to sue for peace, so they can only fight hard.

If the battle is won, the Qiang people may still have the opportunity to go south to herd horses or even farm, but they will lose. If you lose, it's a big deal to run back to the grassland with your troops.

Although the Han people are indeed very powerful, but the Qiang people are not numerous, this fight, as long as the operation is better, if you want to die, you will first die those Qiang people of small and medium-sized tribes, or those Xianbei and Di people who see that there is a advantage to take advantage of. If they had suffered heavy losses, they would have swallowed up their women, children, cattle and sheep, so that they could survive the winter.

Regardless of victory or defeat, the people of the five major tribes will definitely survive.

(End of chapter)