The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 171 Volume The Emperor with Fantastic Ideas
If we take 5,000 elite soldiers and 5,000 supplies of food and march straight out of Baozhong, east along the Qinling Mountains, and north at Ziwu, we can reach Chang'an in less than ten days.

——"Wei Lue"

……

How to take Hanzhong?

Liu Xie has been thinking about this problem.

There are only three routes to take Hanzhong.

First, take the Luogu Road, Baoxia Road, Chencang Road, or simply take the Qishan Road to attack Hanzhong.

But no matter which path they take, there is an absolutely tough nut to crack waiting for the imperial army, and that is Yangping Pass, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The second option was to go out of Wuguan from Chang'an, pass Nanyang, and attack Guanzhong from Shangyong.

This route is rugged and difficult to travel, but no one in their right mind would choose this route.

Moreover, whether going from the east or the west, it would consume a huge amount of grain, which was obviously unacceptable to the current court.

In this case, there is only a third route -

Ziwu Road!
The ancients regarded "Zi" as due north and "Wu" as due south.

The fact that it is named "Ziwu" just shows that this road is actually the straightest road in the Qinling Mountains.

But it's also a trap.

Although the Meridian Road is the straightest, it takes more time to pass through it.

The reason why the Baoxiade Road and the Chencang Road are tortuous is that their roads deliberately avoid the large mountains in the Qinling Mountains and open up small paths that are passable in flat areas as much as possible.

However, the Ziwu Road is much wilder, and in many places one has to cross mountains and hills to pass, so it is generally not chosen to march along this road.

According to historical records, Wei Yan, the Northern Zhen General of Shu Han, offered advice to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, wanting to launch a surprise attack on Chang'an from the Ziwu Road in order to take Guanzhong!

However, due to various considerations, this brilliant strategy was rejected by Zhuge Liang, who instead took the Qishan Road to begin Shu Han's future Northern Expedition.

Liu Xie was staring at Ziwu Dao at this moment. The more he looked at it, the more tempting it seemed to him!

"Short roads mean less food consumption."

"As for the difficulty of traveling on the mountain roads... Fengxian will definitely capture a large number of Qiang people when he goes to Liangzhou this time, right?"

Liu Xie touched his chin and muttered to himself.

"And the biggest fear when walking on mountain roads is rain, but now we don't have to worry about it."

There is a severe drought in Guanzhong. How can any rain fall from the sky?

In other words... the strategy of seizing Hanzhong from Ziwu Valley seems feasible?

Liu Xie told Jia Xu his idea, and Jia Xu looked at the emperor in surprise.

"The Ziwu Valley Plan? Leading the Qiang people, crossing the mountains and heading to Hanzhong?"

It sounds like it's really reliable!

Liu Xie pointed at the map excitedly: "There's more!"

“Even if some soldiers really went through the Ziwu Road and reached Hanzhong, if there are too many soldiers in Hanzhong, I’m afraid it will be difficult to capture this place.”

"Therefore, if you want this surprise force to succeed easily, you have to make some preparations!"

Liu Xie pointed to the west and said, "But there was a false news that the imperial court was preparing to attack Hanzhong from Qishan Road, forcing Zhang Lu to deploy troops to the west."

"Even if we don't transfer the soldiers out of Hanzhong, as long as we move them to the Yangping Pass area and leave their rear empty, we will have achieved our goal."

"In addition, we can also let Liu Biao bluff and make him pretend to attack Shangyong, and then attract some of Zhang Lu's troops to make Hanzhong even more empty!"

"In this way, we can mobilize Zhang Lu's troops to both sides and completely expose the weak point in the middle, so that we can win with one strike!"

……

Jia Xu had nothing to say.

It was hard for him to believe. Could it be that the current emperor was not the reincarnation of Emperor Gaozu?
No, it’s not Gaozu. I’m afraid it’s Sun Wu or Han Xin who were reincarnated into the emperor?

"The ancients who were good at using the military were able to make it impossible for the enemy to reach each other from front to back, for the many to rely on each other, for the noble to help each other, for the upper and lower to help each other, for the soldiers to be separated and unable to gather, and for the troops to be united but not in unison. They act when it is advantageous and stop when it is not."

The ancients who were praised for their skill in using troops were able to make the enemy's front and back lines disconnected, the large and small units unable to rely on each other, the officers and soldiers unable to rescue each other, the superiors and subordinates unable to be in charge of each other, the soldiers scattered and unable to gather, and even if they gathered, they could not act in unison. They acted immediately when it was in their own interests, and stopped when it was not in their own interests.

A good warrior like Han Xin is not only able to command his own soldiers at will, but can also mobilize the enemy's army through strategies and arrangements. This is the key to winning every battle.

And the current emperor has obviously achieved this.

It is not only about mobilizing your own army, but also about making the enemy's army go where you want it to go, then exposing your own weaknesses and winning with one strike.

Previously, when Jia Xu heard the Grand Tutor praising His Majesty for having "accomplished his mastery" in the art of war, he thought it was just the Grand Tutor's humble words, or maybe the Grand Tutor wanted to be lazy just like him...

But now it seems that the Grand Master's words are really from the heart. Now, in the art of war, even the Grand Master may not be able to teach the Emperor much.

Jia Xu congratulated him and said, "If so, I'm afraid we can really capture Hanzhong."

Jia Xu had no objection to the attempt to capture Hanzhong.

As the Shangshu Ling who was in charge of government affairs, he was hoping for a windfall to help the court and Guanzhong survive this natural disaster.

Hanzhong is obviously the source of this windfall. The only problem now is...

"Your Majesty, are you sure you want to use the Qiang people to attack Hanzhong?"

"After all, the Qiang people were just defeated. I'm afraid they won't be willing to submit to the court. How can Your Majesty guarantee their loyalty?"

"Hanzhong and Guanzhong are separated by the Qinling Mountains. If the Qiang people are allowed to enter the Ziwu Road, they are likely to flee and scatter, ruining the emperor's plan."

"Therefore, the timing of attacking from Ziwu Valley may have to be postponed."

According to Jia Xu's strategy, he had to at least tame the Qiang people before implementing this strategy.

However, Liu Xie was obviously unwilling to wait.

"Wenhe, the autumn harvest is coming soon."

Several months had passed since Lu Bu set out on his expedition to Liang Province.

This year's harvest in Guanzhong is destined to be a disaster.

Not to mention that the people in the Longyou area whose farmland was destroyed by Zhang Lu's troops still needed relief from the court.

If we delay any longer and the weather turns cold, I’m afraid many more people in Guanzhong will freeze to death or starve to death.

Therefore, Jia Xu's strategy of "waiting a while" may be safe, but the opportunity is fleeting. If he does not use troops quickly and cannot get food from Hanzhong as soon as possible, who knows how many people in Guanzhong will die in this natural disaster.

"How to keep the Qiang people loyal? Actually, this is very simple."

Liu Xie knocked on the table.

"Fengxian must have captured a lot of Qiang soldiers this time."

"I heard that most of the Qiang people who went on this expedition were young and strong from the tribe."

"In this case, we should let these Qiang people move their wives and children who are still in the mountains and forests out and reunite with them. However, in order to make these Qiang people feel at ease, their wives and children should be settled in counties close to the Han border to live."

"Afterwards, these Qiang people were registered as common people and recorded in the register."

"When you register the household, remember to change all these Qiang people's surnames to Han surnames. The Qiang people originally came from the Jiang surname, one of the eight ancient surnames. They are descendants of the Xia people. Don't be reluctant to give them names."

Liu Xie was quite dissatisfied with this.

"You can use surnames like Xie, Ji, Qiu, and Lu that evolved from the surname Jiang! Don't the Qiang people worship sheep? There's nothing wrong with changing it to Yang! If Taiwei Yang Biao has any objections, just let him come to me! If you can't bear to give it up, then the surname Liu can also be granted! You are so stingy, and you have to call people such messy names as Qiangduan, Agui, etc. Are you afraid that people don't know that you are Qiang people?"

"In addition, transfer a few teachers who teach soldiers to read in the military camp! Teach them to learn Chinese characters and etiquette! Do not let Qiang children speak Qiang language or believe in their gods! Including the myths and legends about the origin of the Qiang people, they are not allowed to talk about them! They are obviously descendants of the Chinese, but they insist on making up their own set of myths and legends. Isn't this a betrayal to the ancient kings of the Chinese?"

Liu Xie chattered on and on, saying a lot of things in succession.

The Qiang people must be killed!

The Qiang threat must be suppressed!
But if we become Han people, all Chinese people will be one family, then it will be a different story!
As Jia Xu listened, he became more and more ashamed.

Although the emperor's words were warm, there was not a single bloody word in them.

But after hearing this, Jia Xu couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling...

There is no mention of the country's destruction and genocide in the words, but the words are full of it!
Cut off their language and sever their heritage.

If this continues for only three generations, I'm afraid these Qiang people will be no different from the Han people in Liangzhou, right?
However, Jia Xu still felt a little uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, isn't it a bit too much to give them Chinese surnames? Moreover, they are all well-known surnames... I wonder if they can be replaced with uncommon surnames?"

Jia Xu still didn't want to have the same surname as the Qiang people.

"what?"

Liu Xie didn't expect that even Jia Xu was full of this sense of superiority.

Yes!
The Han civilization is so glorious, so there is nothing wrong with having some sense of superiority.

But now the rise of the Five Barbarians is unstoppable. It is impossible for the Han Dynasty to really take up a butcher knife and search the mountains and seas to wipe out all the barbarians, right?
The weapons of the various states are not just spears and leather, but also poetry and books!
If these Qiang people are not forced to change their surnames to completely Han surnames, will they change them to surnames like He Liuhun, Puluru, Tuoba, Erzhu, etc.?
"It's settled! I will definitely make sure that these Qiang people look... at least in name, no different from the Han people from now on!"

Liu Xie glared at Jia Xu unhappily.

"That's right! Many young and strong men from the Qiang tribe must have died in this battle, and there are many widows in those tribes after all."

"It just so happens that many of the soldiers under the Grand Tutor's command are also old widows. Why not just distribute these Qiang widows to them!"

"Widows are so good! They can give birth! They are healthy! They are caring! If they all marry Qiang people, I don't believe they will give their children a Qiang name!"

"..."

Jia Xu was already full of admiration!
God knows where the emperor gets all these wonderful ideas.

but……

Through the emperor's last words, Jia Xu gradually confirmed another thing -

The emperor really loves his wife!

It is indeed similar to Emperor Gaozu.

Very good! Very good!

(End of this chapter)