The imperial court talked about the merits of Pingshu, and wanted to seal Huan Wen with Yuzhang County. Shangshu Zuo Cheng Xun Rui said: "If Wen Fuping River and Luo, how will he be rewarded?" "So Gawen conquered the general of the west, Kaifu Yi and the three divisions, and sealed the prince of Linhe County; Former general of King Wuji; Yuan Qiao worshiped General Longxiang, sealed Xiang Xibo, Ming King was named Marquis of Linxiang with the first merit, worshiped the general of Zhenbei, led the Liangzhou Assassin History, and the imperial court responded to it, but changed to worship Sima Xun as the General of Anbei and the Sizhou Assassin History, and moved from Wudang to Nanxiang.

------- excerpt from the introduction

Tens of thousands of troops marched in a hurry, and of course the speed could not be fast, so Zeng Hua unceremoniously handed over the brigade to Mao Muzhi, and naturally unceremoniously led more than 300 people in the pro-military camp, advanced quickly, and went straight to Liangzhou.

A few days later, Zeng Hua arrived at Fucheng (present-day Mianyang, Sichuan), the county of Zitong County, and was greeted by Yang Qian, a general of the conquest, and Xiao Jingwen, the protector of Zhenwei, who were stationed there.

"Come, Captain Zeng, you and I will drink this cup to the full!" Yang Qian, the general of the conquest, raised his glass enthusiastically and saluted. Zeng Hua can feel Yang Qian's affection, firstly, this general was originally an outgoing and straightforward figure, and secondly, now everyone knows that the first hero of this western expedition is this Captain Zeng, everyone understands that he must be the general of Zhenbei and the assassin of Liangzhou, plus a marquis title that can't run away, just waiting for the official edict and reward from the imperial court.

Speaking of fighting, Yang Qian still admires this Western Expedition striker. Zeng Hua was as brilliant as a star in this Western Expedition, and his fame was shocking the world through his military exploits, and he was undisputed as the first general under Huan Wen. As Yang Qian, who was only transferred from Jingxiang in the later stage of the Western Expedition, he naturally had to be humble in front of Zeng Hua.

"Thank you General Yang for such warm hospitality, it really flattered Zeng, there is nothing to say, do it first for respect!" Zeng Hua didn't say a word, he looked up and took a dry mouthful.

Yang Qian was overjoyed, this Captain Zeng was really a character, not only was he not arrogant, but he was very humble, and he spoke very straightforwardly, facing Yang Qian's temper.

Since then, the wine glass can't be put down, Zeng Hua and Yang Qian have come and gone, and they will soon be called brothers, like a pair of good brothers. Suddenly, Yang Qian turned around and saw Xiao Jingwen, who had been silent there, and suddenly remembered in his heart. This Brother Xiao is extremely keen to get acquainted with the powerful, and has long admired Zeng Hua, a rising star, but today he was too enthusiastic and occupied the whole scene, and Xiao Jingwen had to drink because he was not good at stealing his limelight.

Yang Qian immediately said: "Captain Zeng, Xiao Hujun has actually admired you for a long time, and he has long wanted to toast you, but he was stopped here by me, who is not interested. Come on, Xiao Hujun, come and pay a salute to Captain Zeng! ”

Xiao Jingwen raised his glass and stood up when he heard this, and said with a smile on his face: "I have heard for a long time that Captain Zeng has made outstanding achievements, his fame moves the world, and he is relied on by Lord Huan as his arm. ”

Zeng Hua looked at this handsome and elegant Zhenwei Protector, and smiled secretly in his heart, this Lord Xiao is a smiling and power-loving figure, he can't be easily offended, he is more difficult to deal with than Lao Yang!

Zeng Hua hurriedly raised his wine glass and said politely: "Xiao Hujun is so polite, it really makes Zeng feel ashamed. Zeng Mou only relied on luck and Lord Huan's support, which made some small contributions, which is not enough to worry about! ”

Hearing Zeng Hua say this, Xiao Jingwen nodded with a smile, stopped talking, and raised his glass to drink.

The host and guest drank happily until late at night.

Zeng Hua stayed in Fucheng for a few days, and with the help of Yang Qian and Xiao Jingwen, he recruited more than 100 craftsmen and doctors, plus hundreds more family members. Anyway, Zeng Hua now has the granary treasury accumulated by the Li family for decades as a backing, and there is no embarrassment when Yonghe fled south in the first year.

Just as Comrade Zeng Hua was preparing to continue to move north, he sent an official edict from the imperial court to reward him.

Huan Wen worshiped the general of the west, opened the palace and the three divisions, and was named the prince of Linhe County; Sima Wuji, the Taishou of Nanjun of the King of Jiazhen, was a former general; Yuan Qiaobai Longxiang general, Feng Xiang Xibo; Zeng Hua's first meritorious minister to the west was named the Marquis of Linxiang, worshiped the general of Zhenbei, and led the history of Liangzhou Assassination; and Zhou Fu worshiped the general of Zhenxi, and led the history of Yizhou Thorn; His son Zhou Chu worshiped General Yingyang and led Qianqian as the Taishou; Mao Muzhi worshiped General Yangwei and led Hanzhong Taishou; Che Yin worships General Weiyuan and leads the long history of Liangzhou Thorn.

As he wanted, Zeng Hua was satisfied with the edict handed over by the envoy, this western expedition was finally "successfully ended", he finally did not work in vain, this official position and base area were finally defeated, and the Long March of 10,000 miles finally took the first step.

Yang Qian and Xiao Jingwen sent Zeng Hua, an upstart, out of the north gate of Fucheng for ten miles, Yang Qian's smile was full of enthusiasm and joy, but Xiao Jingwen's smile was a little jealous. Zeng Hua said goodbye to the two of them one by one and headed north.

When the team was about to arrive in Fucheng, Zeng Hua had already reached Jinshou. This used to be the Liangzhou seat of the Cheng Han Dynasty, after Li Han captured Hanzhong, he moved the people and most of the Hao clan back to Yizhou in the south, basically giving up, leaving a Hanzhong Taishou there to manage the remaining people and the northbound refugees who fled south, because Cheng Han did not dare to directly contact with the "mighty" Hou Zhao, so he simply artificially created a "buffer zone".

Jin Shoucheng heard that Zhang Qu and Che Yin were leading the front army to come, and they reorganized a little, leaving a battalion of garrisons and administrative officers before continuing north. When Zeng Hua came here, it couldn't be calmer anymore.

It is still relatively prosperous here, with tall cities, neat streets, and pedestrians coming and going, so that Zeng Hua, who is standing on the city tower, has a sense of satisfaction. This is already regarded as its own jurisdiction, from the imperial court edict division, his own Liangzhou Thorn Shi jurisdiction Hanzhong (Zhinan Zheng), Brazil (Zhilangzhong, including Danqu County), Shangyong (Zhishangyong), Jinshou (Zhijinshou), Ba County (Zhijiangzhou), Fuling (Zhifuling) six counties. Originally, according to the old system of the Jin Dynasty, there should also be three counties of Badong (Zhiyufu - now Fengjie), Guanghan (Zhiguanghan) and Zitong (Zhifucheng), but one of these three places has long been under the direct jurisdiction of Jingzhou Huanwen, Zeng Hua is embarrassed to ask for it, and the other two estimate that it will be peaceful for a while and a half, Zeng Hua pretended not to know, and left it to Yizhou Zhoufu to let him "manage" it.

Today in Zeng Hua's heart, there is still a gloomy sigh in his heart. Looking at this peaceful Jinshou City, Zeng Hua couldn't help but think, I'd rather be a peaceful dog than a troubled world, and the common people can only pray to God like this after several wars. But God doesn't have eyes anymore, and after the people of the world slowly pacified the troubled times with blood and corpses, they congratulated each other, thinking that the peaceful and prosperous era had begun again. But how long can this costly era of peace and prosperity last? Everything is just the beginning of another cycle, ready for the next troubled times. As Mr. Lu Xun said, there are only two kinds of Chinese history, one is when you sit firmly as a slave, and the other is when you want to be a slave but can't.

Why can't the Chinese see through the essence of history and try to find a new direction? Thinking of this, Zeng Hua couldn't help but feel depressed, and couldn't help but pat the female wall in front of him.

Zeng Hua was so angry, but he frightened Liang Ding, who was accompanying him. He was originally a homeless from Sizhou, but because he had studied with the young master for a few years, he became a clerk under Zeng Hua. Later, he followed the Western Expedition and showed good talents, and now he has made up the history of the head of Jinshou County, and temporarily took care of Jinshou, which is the time for great prospects. This time, I received the benefactor Zeng Hua, and I have been carefully accompanying him, inspecting and inspecting everywhere. I began to see that Zeng Hua was very satisfied with Jinshou's orderliness, and he was in a good mood, but when he went up to the city tower and climbed to a look, he didn't know what was wrong, so he actually let Zeng Daren be in a daze there, and finally he was in a bad mood.

Liang Ding was both respectful and afraid of the Zeng Master in front of him. As an official who came out of the ordinary homeless people, he knew Zeng Hua's status in the hearts of the people, and he also knew the methods of this Zeng lord. He loves his relatives like a loved one, hates the evil like an enemy, the bodhisattva's heart, and the thunderbolt means, this sentence from Che Yin is the best evaluation of this Zeng Lord.

"My lord, I don't know what my subordinates are doing badly, please give me advice, so that my subordinates can change their ways." Liang Ding gritted his teeth and stepped forward, "Please sin." He, like the officials and people in Tunzhong, knows the temper of this Zeng Lord, it is not terrible for you to do something wrong, as long as you have the courage to admit and dare to take responsibility, Zeng will not punish you too much. But if you hide and hold on, then you know what a thunderbolt is.

Zeng Hua was stunned by Liang Ding's words, and it took him a long time to understand, he couldn't help laughing, and then shook his head and said, "Liang Changshi is too worried." I'm not dissatisfied with your governance, you're doing a great job. I'm just thinking about some other issues, so I'm a little distracted, and you don't have to worry about it. ”

Only then did Liang Ding settle down and secretly wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, this Zeng seemed to have this habit and often liked to wander.

At this time, a herald ran up to the castle tower and shouted, "Your Excellency! Hanzhong urgent letter! ”

Zeng Hua opened the letter and looked at it, and it turned out to be good news. This news was mainly sent by Zhang Shou and Zhang Qu.

After Zeng Hua led the Changshui Army to the west with the army, Gan Rui and Zhang Shou immediately formed a "reserve Changshui Army" of more than 5,000 people, and under the pretext of following the orders of Lord Huan, they assisted in the defense of the upper reaches of the water and moved north from Fuzhong to garrison Changwei south of Xincheng County and County - Fangling.

Shi Fan Wang, the general of Anxi who was ordered by Huan Wen to sit in Xiangyang, was worried that his troops were not enough, so why not do it now that he has another army? In addition, this army is trained by Zeng Hua, the confidant and favorite general of Lord Huan and the world-famous captain of Changshui, and his loyalty is absolutely assured, it must be his own family, and his combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated, it is definitely a big help. Therefore, Fan Wang officially sent a letter to Xincheng County, asking them to provide grain, grass and baggage to prepare for the Changshui Army.

Just after the New Year, the 60,000 tun people under the general Dian Nong Zhonglang began to circulate a rumor, saying that after the completion of the western expedition, Zeng Daren would definitely be rewarded to other places, and these 60,000 tun people had been planned by the imperial court, and they would either be assigned to the wealthy families as a trilogy, or they would be disorganized and divided into various counties in Jingzhou.

This "news" came out of nowhere, but it was coming violently, and it was said with noses and eyes, and the people couldn't help but believe it. The tuners panicked. To be a part is to be a slave to others, and who will take this step unless it is absolutely necessary. If he is reorganized and assigned to each county, then he will definitely become a "vulnerable group" in each county, he will definitely be bullied by the old local residents, and the local government will not "let himself go", I don't know how to squeeze himself.

After more than a year, the residents have developed a strong sense of identity with Zeng Hua's governance. They saw that their lives were not only better than before, but also that the inhabitants of the nearby counties could not be compared. Agricultural systems such as mutual aid groups allow them to plant more land and harvest more food; The large number of inspectors made them feel that they had a place to be reasonable, and they did not have to worry about favoritism and oppression by officials at all levels; Zeng Hua's domineering and partiality made the tun people raise their heads high among the residents of various counties, even if they saw the local officials, they were not frightened.

Now that this "good life" is coming to an end, how can this be accepted by the 60,000 people who are used to living a good life? At the instigation of some people, 60,000 people began to form a group to clamoring and shouting the slogan "Wherever Master Zeng goes, we will follow"! These are all displaced people who have fled south after nine deaths, in order to live a good life, even if they move again, what are they afraid of, will it be more difficult than when they fled south?

They went up the petition level by level, and all the way to send the "Book of All People" to Fan Wang in Xiangyang. At the beginning, Fan Wang didn't dare to react, after all, he was temporary, how could he dare to talk casually about such a big thing?

Seeing that Xiangyang did not react, the movement of the 60,000 tun people became even greater, and they began to form groups, "Trying to misbehave!" And the senior officials at all levels of Tuntian know the "insider", the middle-level ones hear the rumors, and the low-level ones feel that they are still an official among the tuntian, and if they break up, it will be ****. So they turned a blind eye, and some even secretly supported it. In addition, there are still people who continue to agitate, and this movement is a bit loud.

Fan Wang was anxious all of a sudden, now that the battle situation of the Western Expedition army is unknown, it is a critical moment, if Jingxiang makes any big trouble, the court and Lord Huan will not be able to spare himself. In addition, these 60,000 tun people are the top of the hearts of Zeng Hua, the lieutenant of Changshui, and this Zeng Daren is famous for protecting his shortcomings and domineering, not to mention to suppress the tunmin riots, he just sits back and doesn't care what mistakes the tunmin have, and this Zeng Daren dares to chase and kill you two streets after he comes back.

Fan Wang hurriedly found Gan Rui, who was sitting in the tunmin, and asked "Lord Gan" to come forward to reconcile, but Gan Rui told him that he was in a mess and didn't know how to serve these "tunmin uncles", and he was also afraid that the tunmin would be in trouble, and Lord Zeng would clean him up when he came back.

Gan Rui and Fan Wang, who were "sympathetic to each other", gathered together, stroked their cheeks and thought about countermeasures, and finally Gan Rui came up with an idea, first use money, food, and property to calm down the people, let them "calm down", and then concentrate them in Xincheng County, which is remote, not the hinterland of Jingxiang, or there will be no big loss if there is any chaos. When they got there, Gan Rui stabilized them first, and everything waited for Lord Zeng to come back, as long as Lord Zeng came forward, what were you afraid of not being fair?

Fan Wang hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and agreed to this countermeasure. Of course, money, food, and property naturally have to be transferred by Fan Wang from Xiangyang and Jiangling, and he still has this power for the time being.

After getting a batch of grain, cloth, ploughing cattle, and farm tools, Gan Rui didn't know how to use to let 60,000 Tun residents move to Tun Xincheng County smoothly, and Fan Wang breathed a sigh of relief temporarily.

At the beginning of March, Kuaima sent the good news of the fall of Chengdu and the great victory of the Western Expedition, and the news was not only sent to Jiangling, Xiangyang, and Jiangxia by two routes, but also sent to Jiankang and Changwei of Xincheng County in two ways. Of course, it was Huan Wen who went to Jiankang to report the good news to the imperial court, but to Changwei was Zeng Hua's confidant, who followed the herald and messenger down the river from Chengdu, and went to Jiangling to find out the current location of Gan Rui and Zhang Shou, and then hurriedly came north.

Gan Rui and Zhang Shou received an urgent report from Zeng Hua and immediately took action, and the 5,000 reserve Changshui army went out to the west from Xincheng County, first conquered Fangjieting, and then took Shangyong County to govern Shangyong City (now Zhushannan, Hubei) in one fell swoop. At this time, Gan Rui sat in Shangyong, organizing 60,000 Tun people to move westward, and at the same time swept through the semi-autonomous Shangyong County. After Zhang Shou left 2,000 men and horses, he led 3,000 elites to continue westward.

First conquered the two counties of Wuling and Weiyang in the west of Shangyong City, and then took Shanglian, and finally conquered the important town of the upper reaches of the river and Weixing County - Xicheng (now Ankang West, Shaanxi, Hanshui North). At this time, Sima Xun, the assassin of Liangzhou stationed in Wudang, reacted that someone had grabbed his own territory first.

Sima Xun is a great grandson, the great-grandson of King Hui of Jinan. When he was more than ten years old, in the last years of Emperor Chu, Chang'an was trapped. Liu Yao's generals ordered Fox Ni to be raised as a son. When he grows up, he is skilled in archers and can shoot left and right. In the sixth year of Xianhe (331 AD), he came back from Guanzhong, claiming to be "the great-great-grandson of the Great Changqiu, the great-grandson of the champion general Jinan Hui Wang Sui, and the son of the Taishou of Luoyang".

In the first year of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty (343 AD), the former governor Jiang Jingsi, Yongliang Yi, the military of the six states, the general of Anxi, the history of the Jingzhou thorn, the false festival, and the uncle of the Xiankang Empire, Yu Yizhen, Xiangyang, intended to go on a northern expedition, and the Liangzhou thorn Shi Huan Xuan died, and asked Xun to replace him. At the beginning of the western city, Cheng Han and Northern Zhao occupied the two counties of Weixing and Shangyong, and then retreated to Wudang.

After Huan Wen succeeded to the Jingzhou Assassin History, Sima Xun was co-opted and thrown into the Huan Wen sect. But although he is brave and martial, he is not a strategic person, and his special identity is not reused by Huan Wen, so he led more than 3,000 old troops to continue to squat in Wudang.

When Sima Xun heard that Gan and Zhang had occupied Shangyong and Xicheng, he was depressed. I am the real Liangzhou Thorn History, Shangyong, Xicheng and other places should be under their own control, how can a group of "peasants" suddenly occupy it? Just as Sima Xun was reorganizing his troops and horses and preparing to regain his own territory, he received the official battle report of the Western Expedition announced by Jiangling.

Sima Xun took a closer look and was immediately startled. Zeng Hua led the Changshui Army from Badong, fought for more than 10,000 miles, always as the vanguard, engaged dozens of large and small battles, without any defeat, and defeated the annihilated Shu army of no less than tens of thousands. is so violent, it can be compared with Zhao Zilong in Changsakapo. (Sima Xun loves to listen to the story "Three Kingdoms" passed down by the Tunmin, and he also admires Changshan Zhao Zilong the most)

I have 3,000 weak soldiers, how can I fight with others! It is estimated that even those armed people can't beat them themselves, but there are 60,000 people, and one person can drown himself with a mouthful of foam.

Sima Xun had no choice but to stop, continue to "squat" in Wudang, and let Zhang Shou lead the army from Xicheng to continue westward, taking Ankang (now southeast of Shiquan, Shaanxi) and Xixiang (now Xixiang, Shaanxi), and approaching Hanzhong. However, Sima Xun prepared an official document and prepared to fight a lawsuit with Zeng Hua in the imperial court to snatch his territory back. But in the end, the reward of the imperial court made him fail, and Zeng Hua's first meritorious minister to the west was officially awarded the history of Liangzhou Thorn, and he rightfully sat on those positions. Fortunately, he is still a clan, and the court does not treat himself badly, so he gave himself a general Anbei number, reassigned the history of Sizhou Thorn, and finally gave Nanxiang this territory, although it is small, it is the front line of anti-Zhao. Sima Xun had no choice but to lead his troops out of Wudang and move to Nanxiang.

Zhang Shou and Gan Rui's plans and actions were all planned by Zeng Hua and everyone in advance, and the territory they took was all the territory of Cheng Han or the "semi-autonomous borderless land" between Northern Zhao and Jin, so they would not provoke Northern Zhao, who could not be provoked until now.

When Zhang Shou led his army to Chenggu (now Chenggu, Shaanxi) east of Hanzhong, Zhang Qu of the South Road also led his army to Chuyang (now Mianxian County, Shaanxi) west of Hanzhong.

After Zeng Hua received the "good news", he immediately set off from Jinshou and went straight to Hanzhong City.