Chapter 217 Detailed Division
On the morning of the sixth day, the sun was as bright as ever.

Today is the last day for the entire army to inspect heads. Except for the Wuhuan heads piled up on carts, all heads captured near other battlefields are on display and for inspection.

Liu Bao subconsciously slowed down his horse as he passed by, stopped his horse and watched the busy Wuhuan captives.

If the Wuhuan people and Yu Digen had not wanted to take advantage of the situation, the fate of the Wuhuan people would have been the same as that of the Xiongnu people.

It was these Wuhuan people who blocked the attack for the Xiongnu.

Liu Bao and the nobles who accompanied him had mixed feelings, but they could not express their gratitude. All they felt was relief and contempt for the Wuhuan people.

After walking another five or six miles to the east, we saw more than 20,000 young and strong people from Taiyuan and the Black Mountain Army chiseling the frozen soil, gathering ice and snow, and building a high platform.

Liu Bao dismounted and walked quickly towards Black Bear, who was standing with his hands on his hips, looking at the construction site. He caught a glimpse of Liu Bao and asked with a smile, "A Bao, do you think this earthen platform will collapse when the ice and snow melt in the spring next year?"

"Next year, the young king will personally lead his people to build an earthen platform and cover it with bricks and stones so that it will last for ten thousand years."

"Well, a high platform of sand, soil, bricks and stones will also work."

The black bear continued to squint at the construction site. This was an earthen platform, but it was actually also a huge grave mound.

All the dead bodies that could be collected around the battlefield have filled the bottom floor.

If you want to be quick, you can pile up the wall with ice or snow, but by the spring of next year, a large number of rotting corpses will be exposed on the wilderness, which will cause big problems.

So in the past few days, we organized manpower to transport all the bodies to a depression composed of earthen platforms and ridges on the east side of the battlefield.

Frozen corpses mixed with ice, snow, and sand were piled up layer by layer, and on top of that were layers of compacted sand, snow, and ice.

In this way, even if the ice and snow melt in the spring of next year, there will be enough soil to cover the corpse.

Even if it rains heavily, it will not wash away the soil, allowing the various substances dissolved in it to pollute the Fen River.

The bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle were cremated together and their ashes were brought back to Mount Li for burial.

Seeing Liu Bao's determination to rebuild and maintain the earthen platform, Black Bear thought for a moment and said, "Since Liu Bao is so determined, this place will be called Yuetai from now on. Yue is Taiyue Mountain, and Tai is the platform where you and I swore our oath."

A new clerk behind Black Bear began to take up a pen and record the conversation between him and the Chanyu.

This clerk was a talent selected from the prisoners of the Black Mountain Army. He was a senior Taiping Taoist. The real backbone of the Taiping Taoist almost all came from the scholar group.

Scholars of low birth were unlikely to be valued when the Taiping Dao was developing in its early stages.

Many scholars joined with capital, and the Taiping Dao also initially paid attention to family background and origin.

Liu Bao readily agreed to Black Bear's proposal, and took the initiative to ask: "General Daqu, where should the three divisions of the royal court be stationed in the future?"

"The Chanyu's royal court is in Lishi, the left royal court is temporarily settled in Fushi to the north, and the right royal court is in Gaonu. This is the royal court when it moves inland for the winter. After you and I join forces to conquer and eliminate the Xianbei and Qiang in the central and western parts, the Chanyu's royal court will return to Meiji, the left royal court will suppress the Xianbei and Wuhuan in the east, and the right royal court will temporarily settle in Helan Mountain."

Black Bear said calmly, "This world is huge. Three royal courts will not be enough in the future. Please explain this to the other nobles. I may expand your courts to seven. I only want two. The kings of these two courts will be inherited by your relatives from generation to generation."

Liu Bao nodded and said, "General Daqu, Yunyang Ganquan Mountain is the sacred place for our tribe to worship. Last night, I discussed with the nobles of our tribe and wondered if we could choose Ganquan Mountain for the autumn sacrifice in the spring and autumn. If General Daqu agrees, our tribe will use gold to cast a golden statue of the God of War and worship it in Ganquan Mountain."

"Yes, but the number of people participating in the sacrifice cannot exceed 10,000 per year."

Black Bear immediately agreed: "I will also live in Ganquan Mountain for many years to come until the border troubles are eliminated."

Ganquan Palace on Ganquan Mountain was like a political capital during the Western Han Dynasty.

Liu Bao was now satisfied. He restrained his smile and asked carefully, "General Taishi Wengong is invincible and brave. All the nobles and tribesmen in my clan respect him. Can we make a golden man in the image of Taishi Wengong?"

"Okay, after I withdraw my troops and return to Guanzhong, we will do this together in the summer."

Black Bear had no reason to object: "I will rebuild the palace and temple dedicated to the golden man. You provide the gold and I provide the technology."

As he said this, Hei Xiong turned to look at a personal soldier, who delivered an urgent letter to him. Hei Xiong handed it to Liu Bao: "The northern barbarians took advantage of my absence from Guanzhong to send troops to harass me. My father-in-law Ma Shoucheng led the troops and captured and killed more than 4,000 Lushui barbarians."

Are more than four thousand levels a lot?
Liu Bao, who had experienced the torture of the battles of Pingyang and Taiyuan, was no longer surprised by the results of this battle of more than 4,000 levels.

But it is also clear that for the ten commanders of Guanzhong to fight alone, capturing and killing more than 4,000 people is already a certain limit.

Because the scale of the attacking Lushui Hu was limited. If the scale was larger, the ten generals of Guanzhong would choose to hold on and avoid fighting.

If the scale is smaller, the Lushui Hu or other Hu Lu will only focus on looting and will withdraw at the slightest sign of trouble.

Therefore, capturing and killing more than 4,000 people was equivalent to completely annihilating a certain mixed Hu coalition force that advanced alone and deep into the country.

Based on Liu Bao's understanding of the mixed Hu people, he knew that Ma Teng must have used a smaller force in this battle and wiped out the entire enemy.

After reading the victory report, Liu Bao asked, "Does the commander of the Great Canal intend to use his troops against the barbarians in Shangjun, Beidi, and Anding counties? If so, I am willing to fight to the death for you."

The Xiongnu suffered such heavy losses that they could recover quickly by eating the mixed Hu people.

Otherwise, we will be at a great disadvantage and be passive when competing with the Hetao tribes for pasture in the spring of next year.

The dozen or so high-ranking nobles following Liu Bao were also staring at the black bear with eager eyes.

"Yes, I have a plan to go around Xihe and attack Shangjun from the side."

Black Bear glanced at the distant north and said, "When I have dealt with the affairs of Taiyuan and Hedong, I will lead the troops to Zishi and enter Lishi. After the oath is over, you will evacuate first and go back to investigate the information of the various Hu garrisons. We will meet in Lishi at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month and the joint forces will wipe out the various Hu."

Liu Bao choked up inexplicably and nodded: "My people should do their best!"

"Ah."

Black Bear responded calmly, and could not help but sigh: "Since I entered Guanzhong, I have been fighting for days, and I am really tired of it. I may arrive in Lishi in the latter part of this month, or in the early part of the twelfth lunar month. Regardless of when I arrive, I will lead my troops to withdraw to Guanzhong around the 20th of the twelfth lunar month."

"So in this battle, we have to focus on the majority of the mixed Hu tribes in Shangjun and Beidi counties. If we defeat the majority of them, it won't be difficult to pacify the smaller ones."

Liu Bao felt very uncomfortable after listening to Black Bear's words.

If he can keep winning like this, how could he stop?
He had to bite the Xianbei and kill them directly.

After seeing off Liu Bao and his gang, Black Bear returned to Nandaying.

The houses in the surrounding cities and villages also began to be demolished, and the good wood was taken out to build more sleds.

The next snowfall was when the cavalry army would charge straight at Lishi. After a round of inspection, Black Bear returned to the tent and looked at the densely packed official documents, which made him feel overwhelmed.

Now the entire army has been roughly organized into teams of 1,000 men. After the oath is completed, Liu Bao can probably take away 20,000 cavalrymen to join other troops guarding Zishi and the west bank of Fenshui. Liu Bao can only bring back more than 30,000 men to Lishi.

After selecting 7,000 young men from various units of the Black Mountain Army, they were all ordered to retreat. The Yu Digen, Guo Xian, and Yang Feng units all returned along the same route, totaling more than 50,000 people.

After these two forces withdrew, the Taiyuan and Hedong rebels found it difficult to rely on external forces.

As Qian Zhao said, if the land could be taken away, the powerful people in the two counties would have wanted to take away 90% of their land.

As for the powerful people who participated in the rebellion, 90% of their wealth was confiscated.

Gold is not important. What is important is the large amount of bronze utensils, skilled craftsmen, and food and fodder.

The existence of the sled caravan can ensure that the team sent out to rob houses can have enough food to feed themselves, while also being able to transport supplies to the camp and make more simple sleds with the confiscated materials.

On the second day, Qian Zhao, Shentu Bei, Shang Yao, Cui Yan and Gan Ning arrived almost at the same time.

A huge sled team consisting of various heads loaded onto the trucks also set off southwards, and would be transported to Fenglingdu and dropped into the huge wooden fence on the east side that looked like a bird's nest.

With the arrival of these men, a post-war distribution meeting was held.

Qian Zhao had dark circles under his eyes and looked tired.

He sat in the second seat to the right of Black Bear, and Gan Ning was the first seat to the left.

Gan Ning attacked Pingyang City, seized the Chanyu's royal court, cut off the Hedong rebels' retreat, and rescued Cui Yan.

Before Gan Ning captured Pingyang City, the Hedong rebels on Han Xinling Official Road surrendered.

However, Black Bear did not agree with Jia Kui and did not trust the people of Hedong, so he did not take any action for a long time.

The meeting was held today, and Black Bear was the last to take the seat. After he sat down, he said, "This battle was too dangerous. It was not my intention, but it was my own fault. I cannot blame anyone else. On the contrary, it was I who implicated Lord Qian and Lord Cui and brought them to this point."

Qian Zhao responded immediately: "It was because I didn't know people well that I was harmed by the traitor. It was not the general's fault. If I had cooperated with the general earlier, we wouldn't have come to this point."

Cui Yan only glanced at Qian Zhao and said to Black Bear, "Hedong and Taiyuan were never part of Hebei. Now the rebels have been defeated by the general. I will listen to your instructions on how to settle them."

At this time, Black Bear went to see Shentu Bei instead: "Lord Shentu, do you want to obey orders from the west or the south in the future?"

Shentu Bei bowed and said: "The South has always been committed to pacifying the Wuhuan, which has greatly pleased the Wuhuan. As a result, the men and women of this county have suffered greatly from the Wuhuan. Whoever can drive out the harm caused by the Wuhuan and other Hu people from this county will be the leader of this county."

He looked at Qian Zhao again, and then looked around at everyone: "Now it seems that the officials and people of this county are leaning towards the west, and I cannot change that."

Black Bear smiled at this and looked at Qian Zhao: "The heavy snow blocked the road and the general's envoy failed to arrive. Now the matter is urgent and there is no time to delay. I will make my arrangements. If the general agrees, Hebei will still be my ally. If the general is not satisfied, you can also send troops to negotiate, and we will discuss the superiority on the battlefield."

Qian Zhao said in a gentle tone: "I am willing to listen to the general's instructions."

"Then I said, most of the counties in Bingzhou were invaded by various Hu people, and Hebei was trapped by Cao Cao's conquest, and there was no way to relieve Bingzhou's difficulties."

"Now that I have suppressed the rebellion in Taiyuan, the people of Yanmen are loyal to me. This month, I intend to march to Xihe to wipe out the various Hu people in Shangjun and Beidi. Therefore, I ask Qianjun to give up the post of Bingzhou Governor. In return, I will recommend Qianjun as the Protector of Wuhuan."

Black Bear turned slightly to look at Qian Zhao: "From now on, whenever there is a dispute between the Wuhuan, if you ask me for help, I will never refuse."

Qian Zhao looked dejected, but it was expected, so he asked, "General, can you explain it more clearly?"

"What I mean is, if you conquer the Wuhuan and ask me for help, I will send troops to help you. From now on, all the Wuhuan east of Taihang Mountain will be under your jurisdiction. But if the Wuhuan dare to cross Taihang Mountain, I will wipe them out."

At present, most of the Wuhuan belong to Tadun and are subordinate to the Yuan family, while some Wuhuan follow Xianyu Fu, Tian Yu, Yan Rou and Tian Chou.

The commander appointed by the imperial court to protect the Wuhuan is Yan Rou, who is even more supported by the Wuhuan people.

Qian Zhao was silent for a moment, and without refutation, he said: "Yuan Tan left Qingzhou, and I lost Bingzhou, so I am afraid that the people of Hebei will be in turmoil."

Yuan Shao was known to have a territory of four states, including Ji, You, Qing; Cao Cao also had a territory of four states, including Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu.

In terms of external and internal publicity, the two can be considered to be on par with each other.

Although Yuan Shao never actually controlled the core areas of Bingzhou, the Bingzhou signboard cannot be discarded casually.

In particular, it must not be lost in Yuan Shang's hands.

Qian Zhao expressed his political concerns, and Black Bear nodded: "That makes sense. There is no use for me to have this governorship. How about this? I will recommend Ju Hu as the governor of Bingzhou. From now on, he will stay in Shangdang and will not interfere in the affairs of Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Xihe."

Qian Zhao and Cui Yan looked at each other and then bowed, "As you wish, General."

Black Bear then looked at Cui Yan and said, "I said before the war that I have no intention of occupying Hedong and Taiyuan. I am too busy to manage them. It's just that Wang Yun and I have a great hatred for each other, and Cai Zhaoji was abducted. I am really filled with righteous indignation and it is difficult to control myself."

Cui Yan smiled calmly: "Now that things have come to this, we are willing to listen to the general's arrangements."

"Please ask Lord Cui to take charge of Taiyuan temporarily."

Everyone was surprised, and Black Bear signaled his personal soldiers to bring up the seal of the Taiyuan County Magistrate. The unfortunate puppet county magistrate died in the chaos.

Before Qian Zhao came, he was a puppet; when Qian Zhao came, he was still a puppet; after the Taiyuan tyrants rebelled and expelled Qian Zhao and welcomed Wang Ling, the county magistrate was still a puppet.

During the war, the puppet county governor lacked guards and was beheaded by an unknown group of knights.

The county magistrate's official seal was placed in front of him. After a moment's consideration, Cui Yan took it.

Just as Qian Zhao worried, these Hebei people held official positions and could strengthen Yuan Shang's power on the surface and prevent it from collapsing.

Then Black Bear's eyes fell on Gan Ning again: "Xingba has come at the right time, but the Fen River is about to freeze over, so it is inconvenient for us to stay for long. Please ask Xingba to lead the governor of Hongnong County and supervise the transportation of the spoils and evacuate first."

Gan Ning also looked calm and bowed: "Yes."

Finally, Black Bear looked at Shang Yao and said, "There are many rumors that I am suspicious of powerful families. This is true, but not entirely true. I hope Shang Jun will be the governor of Hedong County. Cooperate with Guanzhong and relocate those who followed the rebellion in Hedong to enrich Guanzhong."

Shang Yao had never expected that a man who was standing still on the edge of the battlefield could get such a huge bonus. He was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and said, "Yes, I am willing to move my entire family to Guanzhong to set an example."

Upon hearing this attitude, Black Bear took the initiative to stand up and took out the silver seal of the Hedong County Magistrate from the wooden tray brought by his personal soldiers, and handed it solemnly to Shang Yao with both hands.

(End of this chapter)