Chapter 175 Brothers
Two days later, Hei Xiong and Sun Qian arrived at Tongguan.

On the only gate tower in Tongguan, Black Bear and Gan Ning cooked mutton and beef face to face.

A copper-forged double-cooked cauldron is used, which can cook two kinds of soup bases at a time.

Gan Ning prefers beef slices to mutton.

Dip the palm-sized beef slices in the soup pot, and when they change color slightly, take them out and dip them in the sauce.

Gan Ning was a little unhappy and just kept eating meat.

He was also well aware of the importance of Tongguan, and the troops from Guanzhong were mobilized for the expedition against the Hu people in Xihe and Pingyang.

Even if there is damage, the foundation will not be shaken.

Seeing Gan Ning hesitate to speak after drinking a glass of wine, Black Bear took the initiative to say: "I know how Xingba feels. My family is not happy about my personal expedition this time. Countless people have written to me privately to advise me."

"Don't worry, Commander Qu. I know the seriousness of the situation."

Gan Ning put down his chopsticks, his expression twisted: "But even if the officers and soldiers in the army asked to fight, they missed the battle of Weibei and lack merit. If they miss the battle of Xihe, won't the people of Guanzhong catch up later?"

He looked up at Black Bear and said, "General Qu, if we don't have military merit, how can we old people of Jingzhou suppress the people of Guanzhong? There are more than 100,000 young and strong people in Guanzhong. After the household registration is completed, there will be nearly 200,000. There are only more than 20,000 old people in Jingzhou. When the people of Guanzhong rise to power with military merit, how can there be room for us?"

Seeing that Black Bear was silent, Gan Ning pointed to the southwest and said, "Have you not seen what happened to Liu Jiyu and his son in Yizhou? We are the Dongzhou soldiers of his commander!"

Gan Ning and others rebelled and established a new governor, but were suppressed and expelled by Liu Zhang, who was supported by the Yizhou clans and them. Subsequently, conflicts broke out between Liu Zhang and the Yizhou clans, and Liu Zhang led the Dongzhou troops to suppress the Yizhou clans.

Gan Ning was concerned about military merit, which is very important to individuals and means distribution rights and dominance to the collective.

Black Bear nodded: "I know Xingba's concerns. In my plan, only the 3,000 cavalry under my command can fight all the way. Even if we promote meritorious men, they will be promoted from the 3,000 cavalry under my command. I will not let the old people in Guanzhong raise their heads or turn over."

"So after this battle, the old people from the ten tribes in Guanzhong will not achieve any achievements. Without achievements, they will not be able to speak loudly."

"This winter, I hope Xingba can improve the reading and writing skills of the soldiers in the camp. Most of them are old people who followed Xingba, and most of them are poor and have no family. I hope they can be qualified for the positions of village chiefs and pavilion chiefs in the future."

"And I should be able to capture at least 50,000 women this time. I can promise Xingba that after I return, each of Xingba's troops will be given two wives."

"We have discussed this before, and I still hold the same view. After we take Guanzhong, we should retreat and recuperate. Men and women today are suffering a lot, so it is better to leave the task of pacifying the world to the younger generation."

Gan Ning was surprised when he heard this: "How can there be 50,000 women?"

"Just a little more."

Black Bear continued, "Xingba has been in the south for a long time and is not familiar with the customs of the barbarians. A household in a county in the interior is similar to a tribe of barbarians, but there are also differences. It is rare for a family to have three generations living together. But the barbarians live wherever there is water and grass. In a tribe, there is a head of the household, and under him are his wives, concubines, children, and several slaves."

Gan Ning listened and frowned in thought. He heard the key difference, which is that the average population of a tribe must be more than one household.

In this era, the selection of filial and honest officials was based on the virtues of being harmonious with brothers, keeping the family together, and being friendly and respectful to each other; the reason for this was that such things were rare.

If one wants to support a family through farming and has animal power, a couple can complete the farming and weaving work on dozens of acres.

As a nomadic couple, it is difficult for them to survive together and they have to stick together.

Therefore, once a population settles, there must be at least three or four strong laborers, and at least the ability to protect themselves from small groups of horse bandits and wolf packs.

The nomadic living environment is extremely harsh, and the fighting between them is very cruel, and often the men on the losing side will be eliminated.

This further distorts the gender ratio, resulting in a larger number of women in each village.

Also because of the harsh living environment, giving birth for women is like going through a tribulation.

The first time you overcome a tribulation is the most difficult, but after you have overcome it, the rest will become much easier.

This results in all women of childbearing age in nomadic tribes having to go through the tribulation, and those who survive after the first batch is eliminated can all continue to have children and live normally.

Disease, natural disasters, and famine have similar impacts on the male and female populations, but war targets men, and as women continue to survive, their numbers will only increase.

Without much thought, Gan Ning believed Black Bear's judgment.

The nomadic tribes had a large number of women who were capable of bearing children. These women, like herds of cattle and sheep, were fought over by the Xianbei and the Xiongnu.

This is also the source of development of the two major Xianbei tribes in the central and western regions, whose fathers were Xianbei and mothers were Xiongnu, and whose fathers were Xiongnu and mothers were Xianbei.

When a woman loses her fertility, in order to save resources, she will soon be naturally eliminated if she does not have a special status or special skills.

As long as they defeat the enemy, they can snatch women away like they did during the war between the various Hu people.

In addition to the women, there were also half-grown children.

The Hu people did not kill children during their war, so there was no need for us to kill them either.

If we capture 50,000 women, we will have at least twice as many children. After a dozen years, if we remove the children who died in infancy, we will have at least 30,000 reliable soldiers!
The Xiongnu and Xianbei people were all short, not because they were born that way, but because they had not had enough to eat since childhood.

If we take them back to Guanzhong to raise them, even if there are some children with bad natures, how many of them can be stubborn?
These children will be an excellent source of soldiers for future expeditions against the Hu people.

The army and civilian households coming from Jingzhou needed to supplement and allocate women; there was also a great shortage of women in Guanzhong.

The contemporary men in Guanzhong are young and strong. They still have the strength to go out and rob, and when they come back they have the strength to have children and raise children.

If we really wait another ten years, the new generation of the Hu people will grow up and the current generation of men in Guanzhong will age, and it will be difficult to reverse the population.

So how many people in Guanzhong would object to the Huns' plan to rob Xihe and Pingyang this time?
Perhaps only those who only care about the imperial court would choose to ignore the importance of this war.

This was the first foreign war after the unification of Guanzhong. The power of example is infinite.

However, no matter how much Gan Ning understood the importance of this war, it was difficult for him to convince himself.

Seeing Gan Ning's frustrated look, Black Bear said, "I will persuade Zhang Sheng to surrender. If he obeys, I will place him in the Huayin area. You, him and Li Yi will recruit officers and soldiers, and retire the old soldiers before next spring. I will give you five battalions."

All soldiers over the age of 30 from Gan Ning's and Li Yi's armies will be laid off as planned. After completing literacy training before layoff, they will be deployed to various places in Guanzhong to strengthen the grassroots.

Seeing that Gan Ning was still somewhat depressed, Black Bear was not going to persuade him anymore, and said, "In the early spring of next year, Cao Cao will definitely raise a large army to march towards Liyang, and a decisive battle in Liyang is inevitable. Hongnong Linghu Shao will build boats east of Shanjin so that our army can reinforce Liyang." "Does the commander want me to supervise the navy?"

"There are probably two naval forces. One will go in by boat, aiming to clear out the enemy in Henei. This is Xingba's mission. The second will be mainly responsible for transporting food and fodder. I will dispatch Xuanliang to the north when the time comes."

Xuan Liang cannot be left in Wuguan Road for a long time to be in charge of the Danshui water transport. This position is too critical and it can be done by taking turns to send someone to be in charge.

Gan Ning was relieved after hearing this and asked again: "What about Luoyang? Last time at Bowangpo, Xiahou Dun escaped. If we can besiege Luoyang this time, we will definitely be able to capture him alive."

He now has one foot on Cai Mao's head, and the other foot is still missing a heavy-duty pendant.

Xiahou Dun is a perfect fit, enough to make him a famous general of the time.

Black Bear tilted his head and thought for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks and started to simmer the lamb slices: "Xiahou Dun... How can I describe this person? I like dealing with acquaintances like him who are gentle in their approach."

A smile appeared on Gan Ning's face, but he felt that given his experience and the grievances he had suffered, he shouldn't smile, and it seemed a little unserious.

Gan Ning endured it again and again, grinning and saying: "Yes, I am short-sighted."

"Don't worry, Luoyang is yours, and Xiahou Dun is yours too."

Black Bear made a promise and put the lamb slices dipped in chive sauce into his mouth.

At Fengling Ferry outside Tongguan, a boat slowly approached.

Sun Qian came to greet them personally, and Wang Xiu, who came from a prominent family in Beihai, walked out quickly from the dock.

When Zheng Xuan lived in seclusion in Beihai and taught, there were up to a thousand disciples attending his lectures.

Coincidentally, Sun Qian also came from a prominent family in Beihai and was a disciple of Zheng Xuan. Before following Liu Bei, he was acquainted with Wang Xiu.

What surprised Sun Qian even more was that the person following Wang Xiu was actually Cui Yan, the prefect of Hedong County. Even though Cui Yan was wearing servant's clothes, he had a thick beard and looked around with a staring expression.

Unable to hold back any longer, Sun Qian hurried over to greet him: "Brother Ji Gui!"

Cui Yan smiled and stretched out his arms to hug Sun Qian tightly. Then the two held each other's hands. Cui Yan looked Sun Qian up and down: "Gongyou, you are still so enthusiastic!"

Cui Yan came from a prominent family, but when he was young he liked fencing and being a knight-errant. He was also dull and did not like to talk.

He started to study hard at the age of 23, and even went to Beihai to study under Zheng Xuan, making him one of Zheng Xuan's more experienced disciples.

But he is still a little worse than Sun Qian, who is a close disciple that Zheng Xuan keeps by his side and teaches at any time.

Sun Qian turned his head and looked at Wang Xiu again: "Shuzhi, why did it come to this?"

In terms of real strength, Wang Xiu's family is still the strongest. At least in the fight between the three families, the Wang family has stronger military and financial resources.

He was very puzzled as to why Wang Xiu gave up his huge family business and followed Yuan Tan to Sili to start a business.

Wang Xiu thought about this question seriously and said to Sun Qian: "Yuan Sili treats me sincerely, so I should also serve him sincerely."

He smiled as he spoke: "Now that Gongyou is here, Yuan Sili has nothing to worry about. When this matter is over, I will return to Beihai."

Sun Qian nodded and smiled at Cui Yan, who was slightly taller than him. "Brother Ji Gui is here too, so this will definitely work. But why is Brother Ji Gui dressed like this, and why did he sneak here?"

"Planning should be done in secrecy."

Cui Yan blinked his eyes and said, "Only when I see Black Tiger Fang with my own eyes can I convince the people of Hedong. Gongyou, there are rumors in Hedong that this Black Tiger Fang was taught by an immortal. How does he compare to Zhang Jiao?"

"Brother Ji Gui and Shu Zhi, please move over and we will talk in detail in the car."

"it is good."

The two immediately followed Sun Qian out of the dock and got into the car.

However, the car was a little crowded for three people. Sun Qian and Cui Yan squeezed together, just like when they were in class and were crowded together with other classmates.

An armored soldier drove the carriage, and the accompanying knights separated the front and rear vehicles, isolating a relatively hidden space for conversation.

Sun Qian observed it again and said, "Black Tiger Fang's skills are far superior to Zhang Jiao's. It is said that he has the ability to control ghosts and gods."

Seeing Wang Xiu frowning, Sun Qian observed Cui Yan's profile before saying, "First, in the battle of Bowangpo, more than 500 soldiers from various armies were seriously injured and nearly died. After Black Tiger Fang was taken back, they were taken to Nanxiang for treatment, and more than 400 people recovered."

They have all seen the world and know what the seriously injured people Sun Qian refers to are.

Wang Xiu nodded slowly: "Life and death are unpredictable, who wouldn't be worried? I also heard that his subordinates are fearless and brave, so is it related to the treatment and recovery of the wounded?"

"It's more than that."

Sun Qian was particularly serious: "What I said about controlling ghosts and gods is by no means an exaggeration. Ghosts and gods decide people's life and death. He can connect with ghosts and gods to make dying people not die, so he should be able to control the dead."

Wang Xiu felt a little suffocated. Cui Yan frowned and said, "Life and death are nothing more than the gathering and dispersal of breath. What is the basis for controlling the dead?"

"Taishi Wengong."

Sun Qian lowered his voice as much as possible: "Since I met Taishi Wengong, I have never heard his words, nor have I seen his face. Not only me, but others also don't know Taishi Wengong's face."

"Resurrection of the dead? Or control of ghosts and gods?"

They all lived at the foot of Mount Tai, and were familiar with the legends of various ghost riders and ghost officials.

Cui Yan frowned and said, "Gongyou, this is nonsense. There is no need to elaborate on it. I don't want to make the current situation more complicated."

Sun Qian nodded and went to see Wang Xiu: "We are both studying under Master Zheng. Although we are in different places, we have similar interests, so we have the friendship of classmates and brothers. I saw that Shuzhi wanted to return home, so I mentioned this matter."

"First, we hope to send Yuan Sili to Jingzhou as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. Second, we hope Shuzhi can stay in Guanzhong and work for Black Tiger Fang. In this way, all parties can form an alliance and work together to punish the traitors."

(End of this chapter)