Chapter 385: Planning for the Xianbei
Two days later, we arrived at Hexi.

The north wind was blowing hard, and there was still a little snow left in the corners of the camp.

After breakfast, more than a thousand soldiers went out of the camp to observe and learn. Several relatively simple underground caves and dugouts had been dug here.

One of the caves was very warm. There was a stove burning inside and the smoke was discharged out of the cave through a flue built with stone slabs.

The flue was right next to the wooden bed. After observing and thinking, Black Bear said to the general who was in charge of the construction of the cave, "Your smoke exhaust method may seem to be a trick, but it is still dangerous. I mean to put the stove near the cave entrance and exhaust the smoke inside through the fire bed. Dig a smoke exhaust duct at the innermost part, leading vertically to the ground. If the smoke exhaust is not smooth, build a fireplace."

The hundred people grabbed the charcoal in their hands and painted on the loess wall: "Yes, I will make improvements later. I will ask you to inspect it again after the kang is dry."

The black bear just nodded and went to check other underground caves and dugouts nearby.

In addition to stationing elite soldiers, larger caves are also used to store various military equipment and supplies.

The dugouts where ordinary officials and soldiers lived were much simpler, just enough to keep them from getting damp and cold in winter.

After the inspection, Black Bear and Yang Fu drove back to the camp.

The camps built in border counties outside the Great Wall have always been built with earthen walls. If there are forests nearby, they will cut down trees to build wooden camps.

But there are also people who dig caves, mostly in mountainous areas and on slopes. Even if there are holes or pits dug in the ground, they are all small-scale activities.

The entire army promoted the technology of digging caves and pits to resist the cold, naturally in preparation for the future direct attack on the Western Regions.

Marching into the Western Regions is bound to be a complicated project.

Only after setting up camps from the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions and forming a complete supply and transportation line can we be considered ready for the expedition.

In places suitable for building camps, they would use traditional methods to build camps and store grain; in places not suitable, they would dig a large number of caves and dugouts underground so that the army could rest during future movements and save time on camping.

Such transportation line stations should not only extend to the Western Regions, but also extend to Liaodong through Yunzhong and Daijun.

On the chariot, Black Bear stretched out a two-foot-long cowhide scroll and said with deep emotion, "There is a shortage of manpower."

Yang Fu, who was sitting opposite him and holding the guardrail with one hand, advised: "Your Majesty, it is too far to look to the Western Regions at the moment."

"I didn't think about solving the problem of Xichui once and for all."

Black Bear also knew what Yang Fu was afraid of. The expedition to the Western Regions was a complicated, massive and heavy military project. Even during the reign of Emperor Wu, half of the world's population was wiped out, let alone now.

Driving the Qiang people to leave Hehuang voluntarily is the most critical link in the development of Liangzhou.

Don't think that the situation in Liangzhou can be stabilized by the surrender of the Hehuang Qiang people.

If he wanted to establish his authority in governance, he had to trample on the corpses of the Hehuang Qiang people. There was no other way because only the Hehuang Qiang people had the size and influence to do so.

After the Qiang tribes were defeated, the Han people in Liang Province would be unable to resist even if they wanted to when implementing policies in the future. They would be like a tree without roots and would find it difficult to attract external forces.

The powerful people in Liangzhou are easy to deal with, but what is difficult to deal with are their good neighbors.

Therefore, if one wanted to make everyone in Liangzhou, from the powerful to the common people, obey the government's orders, one had to start with the Qiang people in Hehuang.

This will reduce the military burden and allow more resources to be invested in reproduction, thereby stimulating production enthusiasm and efficiency.

The Hehuang Qiang had two choices: don't leave or be attacked by a joint attack and become the food for Liangzhou's recovery.

If he leaves, he will leave some troops behind to establish his authority, and then use the main force to disrupt the Western Regions.

As for when the Han army will be able to send troops to the Western Regions?

If fast, five years.

This is Black Bear's optimistic concern. If the purpose is just to plunder and kill people, it would be appropriate to send troops in two or three years.

As for the distribution of city-states and nomadic countries in the Western Regions, he would destroy one country in one battle, and destroy wherever he went. For him, it was just a matter of traveling.

But population is precious after all, and the Western Regions are indeed too far away.

Only after Guanzhong was completely stabilized were the conditions for launching the Western Expedition available.

During this period, we just need to restore Liangzhou's productivity and build one transfer station after another.

Black Bear explained and looked down at the map. Looking at Budugen marked in Dai County, he couldn't help but frown.

He was somewhat familiar with the name Budugen, but he was more familiar with a name called Kebineng.

Comparing what we have seen in the past two lives with our current understanding of the Eastern Xianbei, it can be confirmed that Kebi Neng must be a more powerful person than Budugen.

This strength is not only about the strength of the tribe, but also about ability and appeal.

Budugen was able to become the nominal king of the Xianbei because he was the grandson of Tan Shihuai. His brother and cousin were killed by him, so Budugen was able to become king.

Kebi Neng is different. He is a great leader elected under the military democracy system. If he develops well, he may become the next Tan Shihuai. In terms of personal ability, Kebi Neng's six-dimensional attributes are above 90 on average, which is not comparable to Budugen.

Therefore, Budugen is still needed to maintain the unity of the western and central Xianbei.

If Budugen is defeated and the central and western Xianbei are broken up, it is very likely that another "Kebi Neng" will emerge.

However, he lacked tolerance for the Xianbei in personal feelings. The Han and the Xiongnu infiltrated each other, and the Xiongnu headquarters was highly sinicized. As long as the Central Plains was strong, the Xiongnu people would willingly consider themselves nephews.

The Xianbei were different. The newly emerging Xianbei tribal culture was complete and pure, and they lacked the motivation to naturalize.

If possible, the Xianbei should be guided to migrate westward.

If the 200,000 Qiang households migrate westward, perhaps they can still coexist there; but if the Xianbei are also sent there, there will be an immediate uproar.

The Han and Qiang peoples have the same origins. During their westward migration, the Qiang armed forces were certainly reluctant to leave behind the houses, fields, and jars of various city-states.

The Southern Xiongnu also had this habit. If they were allowed to migrate westward, they might have managed the conquered city-states by grazing so that they could be harvested regularly.

The Xianbei people were very pure, and all they brought with them was pure integration.

Therefore, troops must be sent to Liaodong within three years to severely beat the Xianbei and Wuhuan people in Liaodong. Only in this way can the Xianbei in central and western China decide to move westward and hide.

Because of the existence of the grassland trade route, the Xianbei people also had knowledge of the distant westernmost land.

When this place becomes unsuitable for survival, they will naturally migrate westward and live in another place.

Seeing that Black Bear was thinking silently, Yang Fu did not dare to disturb him, so he dealt with the various new official documents and classified them.

He would judge the importance of official documents by just glancing at the contents. When he saw Gan Ning's victory report, his first reaction was disbelief, but he still put the document at the top according to the principle of importance.

At this time, Black Bear closed the map and asked, "When will Budugen come to Hexi?"

"There are still three or four days left."

Yang Fu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has ordered this man to lead 8,000 volunteers to prepare for battle. In three or four days, he will lead a front team of 3,000 cavalry to Hexi, and a rear team of 5,000 cavalry will arrive within half a month."

After hearing this, Black Bear nodded slowly. Add to that the Qiang cavalry mobilized by Ma Chao and Ma Teng, the knights of the Du Liao Camp, and the 20,000 cavalry of the Southern Xiongnu.

The number of cavalry mobilized from all sides alone was close to 50,000. For this kind of favorable battle where they could take advantage of the enemy's misfortune, the powerful people in Liangzhou could squeeze out 30,000 infantry and cavalry.

The prerequisite is that this is really a favorable battle, and only then can the 30,000 infantry and cavalry in Liangzhou be fulfilled.

Therefore, the Qiang people in Hehuang were under great pressure. They had to either migrate westward as soon as possible before the main forces of the Xiongnu and Xianbei gathered and arrived, or rely on the terrain of Hehuang and hold on tenaciously.

However, with the precedents of the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and the Qiang and Hu in the north, the probability of the Hehuang Qiang holding out is not high.

No matter what they choose, this year is destined to be a long winter for them.

After asking about the Huns' mobilization situation, Black Bear picked up Gan Ning's battle report.

I didn't feel any emotional change after reading it, I was just a little worried that Cao Cao would be defeated.

If Cao Cao collapsed, Yuan Shang would sweep across the Central Plains.

Like himself, Yuan Shang still recognized and used the Jian'an era name and did not agree with the new emperor of Huainan.

But now the Central Plains is already in ruins. It would be better to fight for Qingxu than to fight for the Central Plains.

At least there is still population and output in Qingxu.

Looking at this battle report, Black Bear became concerned about Yuan and Cao joining forces.

It seems that an overt convergence is unlikely to happen, but strategic mutual cooperation is inevitable.

From the moment we supported Liu Bei in taking over the six counties of Youzhou, we had fallen out with Hebei and betrayed the alliance, which was all it took for a war.

It depends on Youzhou, whether Liu Bei attacks Yuan Xi first, or Yuan Xi attacks Liu Bei first.

However, given the courage of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, the chances of them taking direct action are slim.

Therefore, there is a high probability that they instigated the Wuhuan to invade and attack the counties under Liu Bei's rule.

After thinking for a while, he said to Yang Fu, "Yishan, tell General Wenyuan to come see me."

He picked up Gan Ning's battle report and shook it: "Draft a military order and order Sima Zhang Ding to dispatch a thousand cavalry to escort two hundred large white geese from Ganquan Mountain as a reward for Gan Ning."

If there were two hundred more white geese, Gan Ning could defend Mianchi to the death and kill at least three thousand Cao's troops.

Mianchi was a small city, and Cao Cao could not continue the attack after 3,000 people were killed or injured in the attack.

(End of this chapter)