Danqu County, the capital of the ancient country, has a huge jurisdiction, including a large area of Dazhou City and Bazhong City in the later world, with an area of about 50,000 square kilometers.

And in this vast land, there are people who live in the area.

The people and the Han people have lived together for many years, integrated with each other, and they are also sinicized, such as the surname of the seven surnames Yiwang, and now they are all Han surnames.

Their living habits, food customs, and clothing are often no different from those of the Han people.

The only difference is that it still retains the culture of the past, such as the funeral culture of the boat coffin, as well as the national character of being brave and ruthless, singing and dancing, and relatively backward production equipment.

Liu Bei took a boat along the river to the north, the mountains and forests on both sides of the river are steep, the cliffs are thick, and the Huaying Mountains extend all the way to the south, as if people are in the depths of the mountains.

On the cliff wall on the right, you can still vaguely see the suspension ladder and suspension road built on the mountain, which seem to have been dilapidated by vicissitudes.

"Big brother, look."

Zhang Fei had good eyesight, pointed to the mountains and forests in front of him and said, "There are people over there." ”

Liu Bei and Guan Yu looked intently, and sure enough, they saw that in the middle of the mountain forest, on the edge of the cliff, more than a dozen heads emerged, looking at the river below.

Because of the distance, it is not clear to see, only vaguely hear the sound of birds in the mountains on the left and right, rippling back and forth between the canyons.

"This is the local Yang family."

Zhou Lin introduced: "From Mengtou north all the way to Danqu and Hanchang, there are hundreds of thousands of tribes living on both sides of the river, and the seven surnamed Yiwang are only seven of the larger ones, and the rest of the small tribes are also countless. ”

Liu Bei asked, "They are lying in ambush in the mountains, will it be against us?" ”

"Don't worry, my lord."

Zhou Lin smiled and said, "Ah Chong." ”

One of the servants beside him stood up and said, "Master." ”

"Tell them I'm coming."

"Yes."

Ah Chong walked to the bow of the boat, put his right hand in his mouth, and in an instant there was a crisp bird's cry.

This bird's cry is a common way of communication.

Not only the people, but also the Ba people, like Gan Ning's Jinfan thieves often use this way, sticking bird feathers on their heads, saying bird language in their mouths, and communicating with secret signals.

Soon the sound of birds was heard throughout the canyon.

Zhou Lin explained to Liu Bei: "My lord, in the past, when merchant ships came to buy goods, we did not go one by one, but first sent people to notify them in advance, so that they could prepare the goods, and wait until the appointed time, and the fleet would go to Danqu or Mengtou Township to collect the goods in a centralized manner. ”

"According to Xiaoqing's words, this is called a buyer's market."

Zhou Lin added a sentence at the end: "Xiaoqing said that although the business industry buys low and sells high, it has damaged the people, but it is also the foundation of the country, Guan Zhong made the country strong and prosperous in the early years by doing business, as long as it can make small profits and quick turnover, after deducting the cost, it can make some money, and make less money, which is beneficial to the country." ”

He's getting a vaccination.

When the family is seeking to seize the land of the people, do they know that it is harming the interests of the country?

Of course I do.

The harm caused by land annexation has been explained as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

For example, one of the Shang Dynasty reforms changed the Jingtian system, because the Jingtian system seems to be state-owned, but in fact, most of the best fields are occupied by the big nobles, and the people at the bottom must cultivate the rest of the land after the big nobles can cultivate it.

This makes the people's enthusiasm for cultivation not high, and after the Shang Dynasty changed the law of private land, the fields belong to the people themselves, and their enthusiasm is naturally mobilized.

It's just that although Shang Yang broke the land annexation of the great aristocracy, after the privatization of land, the rich merchants and the powerful bureaucratic class will also annex the private land of the people at the bottom through various means, and the situation of land annexation will be formed again.

Therefore, in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the serious land annexation, Shi Dan, the minister of the central government, put forward the idea of "limiting land and restricting slaves" in order to alleviate the increasingly intensified class contradictions. Later, due to the opposition of the aristocracy and bureaucracy, it could not be implemented.

From this point, it can be seen that there is no shortage of people with insight in history who know the dangers of land annexation. Therefore, in all dynasties, there were different changes to restrict the large landlords from annexing land.

In the same way, businessmen are aware of the state's repression of them.

The Shang Dynasty Reform Law directly stepped on the social status of merchants to the bottom, and the order of Shinong Industry and Commerce was fixed at that time. On the contrary, Guan Zhong affirmed the status of businessmen in "Guanzi", believing that Shinong industry and commerce are indispensable and are the pillars of the country.

It's just that the national policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce in the Han Dynasty has not changed much, so Zhou Lin is still cautious.

After all, when Liu Zhang was in charge of Xichuan, due to the serious lack of control, it even caused civil strife among the Yizhou family, and he almost didn't dare to suppress the Yizhou family.

And Liu Bei is ambitious, very strong, and also controls the Yangtze River, an important commercial waterway, if he suppresses the merchants, then the wealth accumulated by their Zhou family will be much less in the future, so they have to ask tentatively.

Liu Bei has been running around for many years now, and he is old and sophisticated, so he naturally heard this, and after thinking about it for a while, he said: "Since it was Xiaoqing who said it, it is naturally right." Xiaoqing also once told me that there are many laws to strengthen the country, and that Shinong and industry are all pillars of the people, and the country also needs to establish commerce to reassure the people. ”

"Xiaoqing's vision is still very long-term."

Zhou Lin didn't hear the meaning, he just thought that Liu Bei would not attack business, so he breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the north and said: "Lord, the front is Mengtou, and General Zhao is stationed here now." ”

Liu Bei looked from afar, and saw that the banks of the vast Qianjiang River in the distance gradually opened up, and the two banks were originally dense hills and high mountains, but now they have become a vast plain.

This is the later Qu County of Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, and further north is the ditch, where the battle of the ditch fought by Zhang Fei, the jaw treasure, took place here.

At this time, there was still a garrison of Zhang Lu in Danqu County, so Zhao Yun did not directly attack Danqu County, but stationed at the Wakou Pass here.

Soon, the appearance of the ship attracted Zhao Yunjun to blow the whistle near the scouts, but the flag on the bow of the ship indicated its identity, and after a while, Zhao Yun took a small boat to take a boat south at Mengtou Wharf and came to greet him.

】

"Lord!"

After the two ships met, Zhao Yun saluted Liu Bei.

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Go to the barracks." ”

"Yui."

Zhao Yun waved his hand, the ship turned around, and took Liu Bei's several big ships to Mengtou.

Mengtou is actually a township under the ditch, there are a large number of people living on both sides, pastoral villages, and many murals are floating and withering.

There are relatively few people living on the plains, and most of them live in the hills and forests on both sides.

In later generations, there is a saying about the cave of the king.

Therefore, when Liu Bei's fleet crossed the Qianjiang River, there would be so many bird cries in the mountains and forests on both sides, proving that there were many sentries watching them.

Zhao Yunjun did not clash with these ethnic minorities, and the well water on both sides did not interfere with the river water.

People are not stupid.

The seventh surnamed King Yi was coerced and lured by Zhang Lu to help him defend the city, just defend the city, there is no need to take the initiative to provoke a strong enemy.

Therefore, both sides maintain a state of non-interference.

Zhao Yun's military camp was stationed in the field southeast of Mengtou, and he did not enter the village pavilion to harass the local people, and the attitude of the people towards them was mainly to monitor and be vigilant, and they did not attack.

However, according to Zhao Yun's reconnaissance these days, he still found that the other party had mobilized a lot of troops to deploy in the Dangshi area in the north.

From this point, it can also be proved that the inference of Fazheng is correct.

Because Zhao Yun had already sent an An Min list, he had already sent people to greet the nearby people and the Ba people and Han Min, saying that they would not attack the people.

But the people still gathered their soldiers and horses.

It can be seen that if Zhao Yun continues to attack the ditch north again, he will be attacked by them.

After Liu Bei arrived at Zhao Yun's residence, a meeting was held.

Liu Guanzhang, together with Zhao Yun, Zhou Lin, and the accompanying middle-level officers Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and others gathered in the tent.

After a brief discussion, Zhou Lin went out to make arrangements.

According to past experience, when Zhou Lin spread the news that he had come, the King of the Seven Surnames would send someone to Mengtou to discuss with him.

When the time comes, he will invite the seven surnamed Yi kings to come over.

This process lasted six days.

The main reason is that the place where the people live is extremely remote, and Mengtou Township, Dangshi Township and Danqu County belong to the mixed residence of Jia, Han and Ba.

The main tribes of the people live in the depths of the mountains on both sides of the river, and as far north as Bazhong, the tribes get the news, and then send people over, and it does take time to go back and forth.

Soon six days passed, and the tribes communicated with each other, and sent people to tell Zhou Lin that they would not go to Mengtou, and if they were sincere, they could go to Dangshi.

"Lord, you can't go."

When the news came back, Liu Bei planned to come in person, but Zhou Lin hurriedly dissuaded: "How can you be in danger with a thousand times?" I'll do it for you. ”

Liu Bei smiled: "It's okay, I believe that the people will not be so stupid and really make enemies of us, and I am here to dispel their concerns." What's more, I have two brothers and three disciples, Uncle Long, by my side, so why should I be afraid of them? ”

"This ......"

Zhou Lin hesitated.

"Alright."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "Where is Uncle?" ”

"The end will be."

Chen, who was standing guard outside the door, came in and gave his hand.

Liu Bei said: "You can take a thousand guards to go with me." ”

"Yui."

"Where is Wen Chang and Dexin?"

"The end will be."

Wei Yan and Gao Xiang, who had been promoted to mid-level generals because of their military exploits, stood up.

"The two of you will lead the headquarters to respond."

"Order."

"The rest of the people stayed behind to keep the lemon head."

"Yui!"

The crowd was amazed.

In fact, not many people came to Liu Bei this time.

Zhao Yun had 8,000 soldiers, and Liu Bei simply only brought more than 1,000 personal guards.

But the momentum is quite huge.

After all, in addition to the less than 10,000 soldiers, there are also 20,000 auxiliaries and civilians, a total of quite a few.

Therefore, it frightened the people and made them dare not act rashly.

And this time, Liu Bei went to Dangshi to meet with the seven surnamed Yi Wang, and he didn't bring so many soldiers and horses.

With the addition of the pro-guard and Wei Yan Gao Xiang's 3,000 people, it was less than 5,000.

In this way, they continued to go north by boat, and in the afternoon, they walked more than thirty miles and arrived at Dangshi Township.

This area is where Zhang Fei and Zhang He confronted each other.

The mountains on both sides of the river, the upstream river channel is becoming narrower and narrower, and it is difficult for large-scale ships to navigate.

Moreover, Dangshi Township is still in the mountains and forests on the left bank, to cross the canyon, the terrain is extremely dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, Zhang Fei also sent people from other trails to intersperse the past, only to defeat Zhang He, it can be seen that the terrain here.

Liu Beijun's team arrived in the mountainous area of Dangshi Township, and the sound of birds cries one after another in the dense forests of the mountains and mountains was endless, and the sound of rustling was constantly heard in the mountains and forests on both sides.

But fortunately, the people did not take the initiative to attack.

Until I got close to the canyon in front of me, I saw a series of camps. At the gate of the camp, there are still hundreds of people waiting.

Seeing this scene, Guan Yu first broke out in a cold sweat.

The other party has indeed gathered troops and is ready.

The people were too hidden in the mountains and forests, and if he followed Pang Tong's plan and went north directly along the river, it would be impossible to find the people.

Once they attack Danqu or Hanchang, the troops of the people will come from all directions, and the retreat will be cut off at that time, and tens of thousands of troops will be wiped out in an instant.

Fortunately, there is a law to correct, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"My friend!"

When everyone came closer, a strong man in the distance had already rushed out and ran towards Zhou Lin.

The man was more than eight feet tall and extremely athletic, it was the height of summer, he wore only a pair of brown linen pants on his lower body, and his upper body was shirtless, revealing bronzed muscles, and many hideous scars on his body.

He came to Zhou Lin's side and hugged Zhou Lin.

"Big Black!"

After Zhou Lin hugged him, he introduced Liu Bei with a smile: "Lord, this is my friend Li Hei, the leader of the Li clan. ”

Liu Bei nodded.

Zhou Lin told him before coming.

They are brave and good at fighting, among which the Li family is the most powerful, they are brave and ruthless, worship the strong, take pleasure in fighting tigers and wolves, and are proud of having scars on their bodies.

In particular, Li Hei, the leader of the Li clan, is brave and strong, and he is the strongest among the people.

It's a pity that although the Li clan is full of martial virtues, because of the smallest population, it lacks the right to speak in the entire tribe.

After all, you only have 10,000 people in a tribe, but there are more than 100,000 people in your tribe, no matter how powerful you fight, it is difficult to defeat four hands with two fists, and a good tiger can't stand up to many wolves.

Therefore, the Li family ranked low among the seven surnames, and could not decide whether to ally with Liu Bei because of its relationship with Zhou Lin.

However, before coming, Zhou Lin was also ventilated, and Li Hei would fully support him.

The main reason is that the Li family is brave and ruthless, the production capacity is insufficient, and there is also a lack of weapons and equipment, so they are very dependent on the Zhou family to do business, and they must fully support Zhou Lin because of their interests.

In this way, at least one internal division has been divided in advance, which is good news.

"Big Black."

Zhou Lin introduced again: "This is General Zuo, Jingzhou Mu, and Uncle of the Han Emperor. ”

Li Hei's eyes widened, and then he hurriedly bowed and said, "Li Hei, a man of the mountains and wilderness, meet the imperial uncle!" ”

Liu Bei's fame has been heard of in the land of Bashu.

"No courtesy, no courtesy."

Liu Bei waved his hand.

"Hahahaha."

The rest of the surnamed Yi Wang, who were watching in the rear, immediately couldn't sit still when they heard Liu Bei's name.

The person at the head is named Du Hao (huo), who is the leader of the Du clan.

The Du clan has the largest population, with more than 200,000 people, and is the largest tribe in Bazhong.

They originally only thought that Liu Bei sent Zhou Lin and Zhao Yun to negotiate, but they didn't expect Liu Bei to come over in person, which surprised them very much and hurriedly came out to greet them.

"Leader Du, Leader Park, Leader Yuan, Leader Yang, Leader Wang, Leader Gong."

Zhou Lin introduced them one by one.

In the Qin period, these seven surnames were "E, Luo, Pu, Zan, Du, Xi, and Gong", and in the Han Dynasty, they gradually evolved into "Du, Pu, Yuan, Yang, Wang, Li, and Gong." ”

Their leaders were named Du Hao, Pu Hu, Yuan Yue, Yang Che, Li Hei, Wang Gui, and Gong Sou.

Everyone came to Liu Bei and bowed and said, "Du Hao, Pu Hu, Yuan Yue, Yang Che, Wang Gui, Gong Sou, meet the emperor." ”

Liu Bei said with a smile: "Everyone, I came here, but I bothered you." ”

Du Hao praised: "Uncle Huang is so courageous, he only brought thousands of soldiers and horses to Dangshi Township, we originally thought that Zhou Lin and General Zhao came, but we were not ready to greet him, and asked Uncle Huang to forgive him." ”

Liu Bei said: "It's okay, I also decided to come temporarily." ”

"Uncle Huang, please!"

Du Hao stretched out his hand in the direction of the tent inside.

On the side, Guan Yu immediately stood up and prepared to stop Liu Bei from entering, but he didn't expect Liu Bei to stop him, shook his head slightly, and then said: "The leader is kindly invited, how can you not go, wait outside the camp, the second brother and the third brother Ji Zhizi Long Shuzhi, you go with me." ”

He only brought five people, including a literati Zhou Lin.

When many people saw Liu Bei's courage, they also admired it even more in their hearts, and they didn't dare to do harm.

It was because Zhang Lu defeated Cai Mao and saw that he was about to destroy Liu Zhang, so he was submissive to him, and now he is even more ruthless, so he naturally does not dare to make a mistake.

The most important thing is that Liu Bei is very sincere, originally thinking that if Zhou Lin and Zhao Yun come over, they will negotiate and negotiate a good condition, but now Liu Bei is coming over in person, which naturally flatters them.

After all, Zhang Lu's status can't be compared with Liu Bei, and now Liu Bei has obtained the entire Jingzhou, whether in terms of fame, strength or status, he is much stronger than Zhang Lu.

Soon the group came to the camp of the people.

There are a lot of soldiers and horses, and the seven large and small tribes can have a total population of six or seven hundred thousand, and even if one-fifth fights a war, they can get together a hundred thousand horses.

The problem is that the weapons and equipment of the people are very backward, most of them are bronze, and iron tools have not yet been popularized.

Therefore, they could not defeat the Han people, and could only submit to the strong Han people.

After entering the tent, Du Hao did not dare to sit on the main seat, but sat opposite Liu Bei, with six people on the right and seven on the left.

After everyone sat down, Du Hao asked, "I don't know what Uncle Huang is here for?" ”

Liu Bei said in a deep voice: "I know that you are following Zhang Lu's orders and helping him to garrison Danqu and Hanchang, and I came here this time to ask you, why do you want to serve Zhang Lu and not contribute to the imperial court?" ”

Du Hao smiled bitterly: "Zhang Lu is powerful, since he defeated Cai Mao the year before, and now he is attacking Chengdu, we don't want to be an enemy of Uncle Huang, but Uncle Huang is in Jingzhou, Zhang Lu is too close to us, if we don't obey him, I'm afraid our tribe will be difficult to preserve." ”

Liu Bei said with a smile: "You don't need to worry, I Jingzhou has set up a large army to attack Zhang Lu in the west, and the main forces of Zhang Lu are in Chengdu at this time, if you let us pass, I will capture Hanzhong, and then go south to destroy the main army of Zhang Lu, and everyone will be safe and sound." ”

Pu Hu said: "It's easy to say, Zhang Lu has been operating in Hanzhong for many years, and there are so many people stationed in the nest, once you don't capture it, Zhang Lu will return to the division, and the first one to eliminate it will be us." ”

Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "I naturally know that you have concerns in your hearts, but Zhang Lu can't become a big deal, I believe you know better than anyone else, this time to send troops, there is a great chance to eliminate Zhang Lu, do you just miss it?" Unwilling to contribute to the imperial court? ”

"Forehead ......"

Du Hao thought for a while and said: "We know General Zuo's sincerity, but since he wants to serve the imperial court, he should always have a name." ”

"It's not difficult, Zhou Lin."

"Yes."

"Take the table."

"Yui."

Zhou Lin took out a letter from his bosom and put it on the table.

Liu Bei looked around left and right and said: "If you send troops to help me capture Hanzhong, I will go to the court and show him as the Taishou of Bazhong." ”

Du Hao and Pu Hu and Yuan Yue suddenly became short of breath.

They were indeed threatened and lured by Zhang Lu, but Zhang Lu just gave them some gold and silver, how could they be too powerful?

At that moment, Du Hao did not hesitate, and was the first to get up and speak: "The villain is willing to serve the imperial uncle." ”

Pu Hu and Yuan Yue took a step slower, and also said busily: "The villain is also willing." ”

"I wonder how much you two are willing to send troops?"

Liu Bei asked.

Du Hao immediately said: "I am willing to send 30,000 troops." ”

Pu Hu said: "I am willing to send 20,000 troops." ”

Yuan Yue also said: "I am willing to send 10,000 troops." ”

"Okay."

Liu Bei laughed and said: "The three leaders have the heart of serving the country with their fists, I already know that if they can capture Hanzhong, I will show the leader of Du as the Taishou of Bazhong, the leader of Pu as the Taishou of Badong, and the leader of Yuan as the general." ”

He did not mention the Basir Taishou and the Banan Taishou.

Because there are many plains in Brazil and Banan, the population is very large, and it is the territory of the Han people, and it is definitely necessary to appoint Han officials.

On the other hand, the Bazhong and Badong regions are dominated by ethnic minorities such as the people and the Ba people, and the leaders of the people are regarded as razing and razing.

After finishing speaking, Liu Bei looked at Yang Che, Wang Gui, and Gong Sou again.

Du Hao, Pu Hu, and Yuan Yue can use their power to win them over, while Li Hei has long made it clear that he will support them, and now there are only three of them left.

Yang Che said: "I also want to serve the emperor's uncle, but the tribe is poor and struggling to survive. ”

Liu Bei looked at Zhou Lin.

Zhou Lin said: "Uncle Huang has an order, if each tribe sends 5,000 troops, the bounty will be ten catties, fifty catties of silver, and five million dollars. Those who send 10,000 troops will receive a bounty of 50 catties, a hundred catties of silver, and 10 million catties of money. Like Leader Du, Leader Park, and Leader Yuan, those who sent more than 20,000 troops not only served as officials in the imperial court, but also gave 100 catties of gold, 200 catties of silver, and 20 million dollars. ”

Yang Che and Wang Gui were overjoyed: "We are willing to send 10,000 troops." ”

They've all taken care of their families.

Among the seven surnames, the Du family has the largest population, followed by the Park family, and the rest of the tribes are as few as 10,000 people as the Li family, and the Yuan, Yang, Wang, and Gong families range from tens of thousands.

Therefore, the Du clan and the Park clan can send two to thirty thousand soldiers, the Li clan can contribute one or two thousand at most, and the other clans can contribute up to ten thousand.

"What's the difficulty of Chief Gong?"

Liu Bei looked at Gong Sou again.

Gong Sou said: "The tribe lacks expensive weapons, and there is not enough food and grass. ”

"Huh."

Zhou Lin said with a smile: "These imperial uncles have already thought about it for you, if you are willing to serve the imperial uncle and serve the imperial uncle, the imperial uncle will not only appoint you as an official in the imperial court, but also give you money, grain, grass, and weapons to help you get out of the mountains and make contributions." ”

Gong Sou also arched his hand and said: "That is the case, then the Gong family is also willing to send 10,000 troops to fight against Zhang Lu for the emperor's uncle." ”

"Good!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed, got up and said: "Everyone, please rest assured, no matter whether you are a Han person or a Han person, I will treat everyone equally, and they are all my Han people." In the future, if I can put an end to the troubles, I will not be willing to help others. ”

"Meet my lord."

Everyone got up and bowed their hands, learned what Zhou Lin had called Liu Bei before, and saluted Liu Bei and called him the lord.

The seven surnamed Yi Wang returned to obedience, which suddenly gave Liu Bei nearly 100,000 more soldiers and horses.

Of course.

These 100,000 soldiers and horses are actually empty shelves.

A group of bronze-wielding, unarmored savages fought with the regular army of the Han and the regular army with steel weapons, and they were dead.

So when it comes to the battlefield, the combat effectiveness of these people is not necessarily higher than Liu Bei's 20,000 troops.

But the main point of making them obedient is to weaken Zhang Lu's power.

In the fierce battle in the field, they were certainly not the opponents of Liu Bei's tens of thousands of troops, but they obeyed Zhang Lu's orders to garrison the cities of Tangqu and Hanchang, and guarded the pass of Micang Road, so it would be difficult for Liu Bei to attack Hanzhong, and there was also the danger of being attacked by the enemy on his back.

Therefore, after the seven surnamed Yi Wang returned to Shun, Zhang Lu's Hanzhong no longer had an important force to defend, and Liu Bei could drive straight into the Yellow Dragon.

In addition, in the future, to pacify Bashu, the people can be good at fighting, and they can also train and rectify.

It's like the Wudang Flying Army.

Once these brave minorities have the same sophisticated equipment as the Han people, the effect will be very amazing.

Therefore, it is of great value to subdue people, both now and in the future.