Chapter 196 Ma Zheng's Followers
This is the purple follower that Su Ze obtained again after a month after he "sucked dry" Madam An.
There are two purples, four blues and five greens in total.
[The Shepherd Supervisor who is good at breeding]
Grade: Purple;
Effect: Good at breeding; placing it in the [Horse Farm], [Cowshed], and [Sheepfold] buildings can increase the probability of breeding.
Comment: "A thousand miles of marriage is tied by a thread."
Price: 500 wen tai and 20 baht coins, and a maintenance fee of wen tai and baht coins is required every month.
This is a very effective purple follower. This type of purple follower in life professions can play a good role as long as it is placed in the right position.
[A Uighur horse slave who is good at judging horses]
Grade: Purple;
Effect: Good at horse herding; placed in the building [Horse Farm], can identify excellent horse breeds.
Comment: "The Turks are good at iron smelting, and the Uighurs are good at horse breeding."
Price: 500 Wentai and Wuzhu coins. No maintenance fee is required after summoning, but sufficient meat and dairy products need to be provided.
Sure enough, near the Hexi Horse Farm, all the followers that appeared were related to horse politics.
Speaking of horses, this is the problem that has always been a headache for Su Ze.
Su Ze has always wanted to expand the armored cavalry team, but the most lacking thing is good war horses.
There are only two ways to get this kind of excellent horse.
One way is to have more horses. For example, during the reigns of Emperor Daowu and Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were large numbers of armored cavalry. They relied on the huge base of horses in the country and selected those excellent mutant individuals from millions of military horses.
This is equivalent to some big countries participating in sports events, selecting the most powerful group of roller coasters from their huge population base, and naturally they will win gold medals.
The horses used by Su Ze's armored cavalry were also pieced together in this way.
Some of them were selected by his sworn brother Erzhu Rong from the tens of thousands of horses at home, some were good horses awarded to Princess Chenliu by the royal family, and there were a few horses generated by the system. All of these horses had to be carefully taken care of.
Another way is to introduce better horse breeds and produce better war horses in a stable manner.
Emperor Wu of Han did this in the past.
At that time, Emperor Wu of Han sent envoys to Dayuan, offering gold as valuable as the horses themselves to buy Dayuan horses, but the offer was rejected by the king of Dayuan. So Emperor Wu of Han led his army to attack Dayuan, killed the king, and stole three thousand Dayuan horses from Dayuan.
After a long journey to the Western Regions, only one thousand of the three thousand Dayuan horses returned to Hexi and were placed in the Shandan Horse Farm in Zhangye.
This horse played a huge role in the war against the Huns in the late reign of Emperor Wu of Han, defeating the Huns.
This is equivalent to some small countries participating in sports events and taking advantage of the physical advantages of their own race to win gold medals in certain events. This is racial advantage.
Compared with the former method, the latter method can obtain more stable war horses.
But this road is even more difficult than the previous one.
Emperor Wu of Han snatched back a thousand Dayuan horses, which continued to degenerate during the process of hybridization with local horse breeds. The excellent war horses had to be castrated before going to the battlefield. The frequent wars during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han meant that these Ferghana horses were not able to leave behind a sufficient number of populations, and were completely consumed on the battlefield.
This horse had disappeared since the end of Emperor Wu's reign, and when the Dayuan horse appeared again in history books, the Han Dynasty had already perished.
The Han Dynasty fell, but the Dayuan Kingdom, which had presented Ferghana horses as tribute, still existed. During the Western Jin Dynasty, it even sent envoys to offer Ferghana horses as tribute.
However, the 3,000 Ferghana horses that Emperor Wu of Han imported were not able to leave a population. The few Ferghana horses that the Western Jin Dynasty offered as tribute were nothing more than court playthings and disappeared after the war.
If you don’t raise it yourself, it’s very difficult to buy it.
According to Madam An, Dayuan is now under the control of the Hephthalites, and the Ferghana horses, as Dayuan's most important specialty, are strictly prohibited from being smuggled out of the country. All Ferghana horses must be handed over to the Hephthalite king.
The best war horses are important strategic materials. The Hephthalites are also a people on the grassland, and they also understand this principle.
Stable high-quality war horses are not a problem that Su Ze is considering now. His current territory is less than a state, and he cannot afford to support a large number of armored cavalry.
Looking at the Shandan Horse Farm in the distance, Su Ze's eyes were full of greed.
It’s a pity that now is not the time to take action. When the world really becomes chaotic, we should seize this horse farm first!
Su Ze summoned two purple followers. [The Breeding Supervisor] was a middle-aged eunuch with a humble look and dressed in the black clothes of an ordinary eunuch. Su Ze named him Su Pei.
[The Uighur horse slave who is good at judging horses] is a young man whose appearance is somewhat different from that of ordinary grassland nomads. He has slightly curly hair and deep eye sockets, and is somewhat similar to Lady An's people.
Su Ze looked at the purple follower crawling on the ground and said, "Stand up. From now on, your name will be Su Hui."
"Thank you, Master!"
Uighurs. Su Ze then remembered this northern nomadic nightmare that had tormented the Tang Dynasty together with Tubo.
The people who now ruled the grassland were the Rouran and Gaoche people. By the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Rouran people were replaced by the rising Turks, who became the new generation of grassland overlords.
After Heavenly Khan Li Shimin defeated the Turks, the Uighurs replaced the Turks and became the new overlords of the grassland.
However, in this era, the Turks are still a tribe of craftsmen descended from the Rouran people, and the Uighurs are also one of the Gaoche tribes, mainly responsible for raising horses for the Gaoche people.
According to historical records, the Uighurs may be the ancestors of the current Uyghur people. The blood relationship between the Uighurs and the "Za" and "Ba" may be even closer than that of Madam An.
The summoned followers have memories related to their identities and backgrounds. Su Ze asked Su Hui:
"Where is your tribe?"
"In reply to the master, our tribe is south of the vast ocean."
The vast sea is Lake Baikal. Su Ze remembered that the Uighurs did originate in the northern desert grasslands.
With the desert as the boundary, the grasslands south of the desert are relatively warmer and have more rainfall, so the grasslands south of the desert are the winners in the competition for the king of grasslands.
The losers either went north and were squeezed into the northern steppes to survive, or went west and swept into Central Asia to dominate.
The Uighurs were now just a tribe under the Gaoche people, and the only pastures allocated to them were in the northern desert.
Thinking that the Uighurs were good at raising horses, Su Ze asked, "How many horses do you have in your Uighur tribe? What breeds are they?"
Su Hui said, "My Lord, the horses raised by my tribe are called Uighur horses, and there are 2,000 of them."
Su Ze nodded. It seemed to be a medium-sized Uighur tribe.
The Uighur horse is small in size, sturdy in body and has great endurance. Although this kind of horse cannot be used as armored cavalry, it is still very good for light cavalry.
During the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the Uighurs and Tibetans competed with the Tang Dynasty for the Western Regions. During the An-Shi Rebellion, Emperor Suzong of Tang hired the Uighurs to quell the rebellion in order to suppress An Lushan, and finally allowed the Uighurs to loot the city of Luoyang and return.
The combat effectiveness of the Uighur cavalry could compete with An Lushan's Yeluohe, which was enough to show that their horses were still good.
Unexpectedly, Su Hui said, "In addition to the Uighur horses raised by the tribe, the tribal chieftain will also exchange with the Guligan people north of the Hanhai for a kind of Guligan horse." Su Ze was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Does the Guligan horse you are talking about have a large frame and a sturdy body, with thick and wide mane?"
Su Hui said quickly: "Guliganma is just as the master said."
Su Ze couldn't help but stand up in joy. How could he have forgotten about Guli Ganma!
How could I forget that the Tang Dynasty, the dynasty that loved horses the most, once marked war horses with horse marks according to their breeds.
This is the earliest compilation of a horse register, and it also illustrates the advancement of horse policy in the Tang Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, horses were roughly divided into six categories, namely, Guligan horses, Dayuan horses, Uighur horses, Khitan horses, Huxue horses, and Southern Turkic horses.
Especially the first two types, Guligan horses and Dayuan horses are the most valuable.
The Dayuan horses were the Ferghana horses obtained by Emperor Wu of Han, and the Guligan horses were the horses presented by the Guligan people north of the Hanhai. When Emperor Taizong of Tang saw these horses, he was overjoyed and selected the ten best horses and named them the Ten Horses.
This kind of horse lives near the vast sea (Lake Baikal) and is a superior horse breed in high-altitude and cold areas.
Cold-resistant and with strong endurance, it is a BMW that is no less powerful than the Dawan horse!
Su Ze said to Su Hui: "If I give you people and money, can you return to the tribe and buy Guligan horses from the Guligan people?"
Su Hui shook his head and said, "My lord, there is no currency in the vast sea. If you want to buy a horse, you still have to prepare furs."
Su Ze said quickly: "I will send a group of people to escort you to the vast sea. Tomorrow I will find Su Suan and ask him to get some furs from the treasury!"
Su Ze then instructed: "You must choose fertile male and female horses. The more the better!"
Su Hui knelt down and said, "Yes!"
After the two followers retreated, Su Ze looked at the remaining four blue followers with a happy mood.
[Corrupted pastor], [ordinary veterinarian], [hard-working horse breeder], [alert shepherd].
Green followers are also related to the ranch, and Su Ze also bought them.
Su Ze was satisfied. The next day, he took another reluctant look at Shandan Ranch. As long as the time was right, he would definitely take over the ranch!
Traveling day and night, Su Ze's team grew in number and finally arrived at the city of Guzang.
Yuan Yu, the governor of Liangzhou, personally welcomed Su Ze outside the city of Liangzhou.
This Yuan governor was indeed as Gao Hui had described, an elegant and generous elder, without any of the arrogance and domineering temperament common to the Northern Wei royal family.
Su Ze quickly dismounted and saluted Yuan Yu with the etiquette of a son or nephew. Yuan Yu then pulled Su Ze side by side into Guzang City.
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Xiao Baoyin's army finally passed through Tongguan and entered the Guanzhong area.
Xiao Baoyin's army suddenly ran into the envoy sent by Cui Yanbo, the governor of Qizhou, who was asking for help.
Upon hearing that Yongcheng, the capital of Qizhou, had not yet fallen, Xiao Baoyin was overjoyed and immediately summoned his men to hold a military meeting.
Su Liang spoke first: "Grand Commander! Since Yongcheng has not been lost, our army should immediately head west to Chang'an to support Governor Cui in fighting the bandits!"
Su Liang's words were supported by quite a number of his staff. Yang Kan, who was summoned by Xiao Baoyin, also nodded slightly. Qizhou was the gateway to Chang'an. Since Cui Yanbo was blocking the door, the army could go to Chang'an first and use Chang'an as the center to support the actions of suppressing the rebels in various places.
"No!"
Liu Kai, a member of the Hedong Liu family and Xiao Baoyin's secretary, suddenly spoke up. He cupped his hands and said to Xiao Baoyin:
"Grand Commander, the situation in Guanzhong is unclear. Chang'an has no strategic location to defend. Our army has not yet established a firm foothold. How can we defend Chang'an? If Chang'an is defeated, the morale of the government troops will be low, and the enemy army will immediately sweep across Guanzhong."
"Our army should enter Huazhou (Weinan). Huazhou is located in front of Huashan Mountain, and is adjacent to Jingwei in the back. It controls Tongguan on the left and blocks Lantianguan on the right. It has always been an important place in Guanzhong."
After listening to this, Xiao Baoyin felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
Liu Kai was not a useless son of aristocratic family. He let the army advance into Huazhou first out of prudent military considerations.
There was actually nothing wrong with the strategies of both sides, and everyone's attention was on Xiao Baoyin.
This time Xiao Baoyin hesitated.
From a safety perspective, of course, we should follow Liu Kai's advice and enter Huazhou.
However, it was unreasonable for Cui Yanbo to fight the enemy in Qizhou without sending troops to rescue.
More importantly, Su Liang and other young men from Guanzhong were anxious to put down the rebellion because their hometowns were in the midst of war.
Su Liang requested the army to enter Chang'an, perhaps with the intention of rescuing his hometown.
If he did not enter Chang'an and the rebels became more powerful, it would also affect the base of the Guanzhong scholar leaders.
Looking at both sides, Xiao Baoyin finally said: "Then continue to set up camp and send people to investigate the situation in Guanzhong before making a judgment!"
Su Liang was about to open his mouth to persuade him again, but Xiao Baoyin had already left the tent. He could only sigh and leave.
After the military meeting was over, Su Liang came to Yang Kan's tent, and the two naturally talked about today's military meeting.
Su Liang complained, "Liu Kai is not from Guanzhong, so he is naturally not in a hurry to suppress the rebellion! If Qizhou is lost, Chang'an will have no defenses. If the rebels bypass Qizhou and attack Tongguan, how will the commander-in-chief face the court?"
Although Yang Kan was not from Guanzhong, his father had served as the governor of Liangzhou. He also grew up in Guanzhong when he was young and had many old friends in Guanzhong.
Of course, he knew what Su Liang was thinking, and he consoled him: "Chief Cui has been defending the city alone for so long, it won't hurt to defend it for a few more days. I also know Liu Lang's character, he is acting out of public interest."
Su Liang sighed and said, "I know Liu Lang is motivated by public interest, but other people in Guanzhong don't think so. Before this expedition, there was a fight between Guandong and Guanxi, and now there are many internal conflicts in the army."
Yang Kan knew the situation in the army. Su Liang and other young men from Guanzhong formed a faction. They were fighting for their hometown. They were the pro-war faction and had a strong will to fight.
There is another faction, the children of the aristocratic families in Guandong who come to take advantage of their qualifications. They do not seek to make achievements but only to avoid mistakes. Even if Guanzhong is reduced to a barren land, as long as they can put down the rebellion in the end, they will be promoted when they return to the court. Therefore, they advocate steady progress and are the steady advance faction.
Although Su Liang trusted Liu Kai, the Guanzhong people in the army had long hated him.
Su Liang sighed and said, "I just hope that Governor Cui can hold on for a little longer to give the Grand Commander some time to think."
Yang Kan comforted him, "The messenger said that there is no shortage of food and water in Yongcheng, so we should be able to hold it."
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Qizhou, Yongcheng.
Cui Yanbo looked at the rebels challenging him from the city walls and sighed in his heart, thinking that Yongcheng might not be able to be defended.
Feiniao has seen everyone’s suggestions, and will continue to add more chapters in the future.
I have not been in good shape recently and I really don’t have the energy to update more.
Once the plot is written smoothly, I will add chapters and updates for you.
Thank you for pointing out the errors in the book review section. Some of the reviews disappeared after the errors were corrected, but I would like to thank these readers.
I will list the list of readers who have pointed out mistakes here in the future, thank you.
(End of this chapter)