Chapter 620: Recruitment
Amid the heavy snow, a group of knights stopped far away.
The leader was about forty years old, with rough weather marks on his face. Looking at the manor several miles away, he hesitated.
I had been here a few months ago, and I didn't feel scared at all then. After all, Wang Jun was already a toothless tiger. What could he do to them?
But it’s different now.
Jicheng has a new tiger. This tiger is in its prime, ambitious and full of energy, but is much more dangerous than Wang Jun.
Perhaps sensing the owner's uneasiness, the horse kept snorting and digging at the snow with its hooves.
After a while, several riders came running out of the vast snowfield and stopped about ten steps away.
“Bless you.” The visitor dismounted and shouted.
The forty-year-old man also got off his horse, forced a smile and said, "Liu Fudu."
"Just call me Liu Da." Liu Da said with a smile: "Why, your manor is right in front, why are you hesitant to move forward?"
"I'm afraid that Mr. Chen will kill me." Zhiyou said very bachelorly said.
He and Liu Da only met a few times.
Liu Da was still under Shi Le's tent at that time. On Shi Le's orders, he sneaked into Youzhou and recruited and surrendered the Jie people tribe scattered outside. It didn't work out for various reasons, so the matter was shelved.
This time when old things were brought up again, Liu Da changed his allegiance to Shao Xun, a figure who had risen rapidly in the past ten years, which made him very emotional.
As one of the top tribes in Youzhou, Zhiyou also fought several battles for Wang Jun. After Wang Jun was imprisoned, he followed the principle of collecting money to do things, went south to Jizhou, fought the last battle, and then returned to his pasture in Guangning County.
During this period, someone from Tuoba Xianbei from Dai County came to win over him. He was somewhat moved and discussed with them for a long time. Unexpectedly, the matter was not kept secret and spread out.
Chen Gong sent Liu Da to appease him. He was a little scared, but after thinking about it, he decided to come and have a look.
By the way, the manor Liu Da mentioned belongs to his family. It is not far north of Jicheng, but it is empty now.
Mr. Chen is waiting for him there. Should he go or not?
"Mr. Chen has always been true to his word and has never broken his promise to enrich himself. If you come with me, nothing will happen. Zhi Xiong is already an official under Mr. Chen." Liu Da advised.
Zhiyou is still very hesitant.
Although his surname is Zhi, there are many Jie people with the surname Zhi. Anyone who is a descendant of the Da Yuezhi people may have the surname Zhi.
Who is Zhixiong? They were probably from the Dayue clan, but Zhiyou didn't know him.
Jie is a man-made tribe, which was once called "Zahu" - correspondingly, the five Xiongnu tribes in the Han and Wei Dynasties were called "Zhenghu".
In other words, as long as they are not from the five Xiongnu tribes, they can be called "Miscellaneous Hus", which can be roughly divided into two types: "Saiwai Hus" and "Western Region Hus".
Most Jie people are Hu from the Western Regions. The word "Jie" originally means "Warriors" (Chakirs) in the Western Regions. After being conquered by the Huns, they were reduced to slave tribes and remain to this day.
This is very complicated.
There are descendants of the Da Yuezhi, descendants of the Kangju people who were plundered by the Huns, and descendants of other small countries or tribes in the Western Regions. In short, any place that has been conquered or plundered by the Huns is likely to be their hometown.
So, the Jie people are not monolithic, let alone such a strange tribe that has been separated for many years.
They only have two things in common.
One is the high nose, deep eyes and curly beard.
The second thing in common...
Zhiyou finally made a decision. If you come, just go, or you may die.
A group of dozens of horsemen quickly arrived outside the manor. After negotiating with the sergeant, the entourage stayed outside. Several leaders took off their weapons and went inside, led by Liu Da.
Before entering the manor, Zhiyou turned his head and looked at a cemetery in the distance.
That is the cemetery of his family members, many generations are buried there.
The Jie people have a custom of cremation - after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shi Le ordered that "(the people of the country, that is, the Jie people) should be burned as if they were their own people."
If you are a noble person, you like to have a "hidden burial" (burial in secret) after cremation, and then have a "fake burial" in the open, so that no one knows the true location of the cemetery.
But the cemetery of Zhiyou's family is real. The traditional sarcophagi from his hometown are used in it. It can be regarded as a model of the integration of Hu and Han cultures.
He felt relieved that the cemetery had not been damaged and followed Liu Da inside.
Everything in the manor remains as before.
The most conspicuous building in the courtyard is the "Ting Liao".
Zhiyou paused here, silently looking at this torch plate that was several feet high - the reason why it was called "Ting Liao" was because it was specially found in the "Book of Songs" in order to adapt to the culture of the Central Plains. name.
When he was at home, there were several slaves living in the small room inside the Ting Liao building all year round, called "Shi Liao", who were responsible for lighting the sacred fire.
At this time, the holy fire has been extinguished, and they are getting further and further away from Hu Tianshen. It is so sad - in fact, this is the second thing he and Liu Da have in common, they both believe in Hu Tianshen (Zoroas Dejiao, that is, Zoroastrianism).
Zhiyou sighed and continued walking forward.
When they came to a magnificent hall, Zhiyou was stunned. It turned out that there were so many people here. And not all of them are Jie people, there are also Wuhuan, Xiongnu, and Xianbei.
They prostrated themselves at the foot of the steps and saluted Duke Chen together.
"What are you doing standing still? Prostrate yourself." Liu Da reminded him, and then prostrated himself on the ground.
Zhiyou was stupid, I just came to take a look, I didn't say I wanted to join Chen Gong. However, when everyone prostrated to the ground, he and several of his entourage were still standing, which was indeed too eye-catching. After some struggle, he prostrated to the ground with his entourage.
"Everyone, get up." Chen Gong sat on the bed and said majestically.
A large group of people stood up and entered the hall, lining up on the left and right.
Zhiyou stood beside Liu Da and looked up intently.
When I saw it, I suddenly felt good about it.
It turns out that Mr. Chen is not that kind of fair-faced and weak scholar, but an extremely majestic and sturdy man.
The expression on his face is resolute and majestic, and his hands are extremely rough. At first glance, he looks like he has been wielding swords, guns, and bows and arrows all year round.
Zhiyou praised him repeatedly in his heart, and his resistance became much less.
Beside Mr. Chen, there is a woman sitting, tall and cool.
Zhiyou is also very friendly, and without any other, he looks like a descendant of Kangju and Yuezhi.
She wears a golden acacia hat on her head, which is obviously made of Persian brocade - since ancient times, there have been wild silkworms in Persia and the Punjab region of India. The silk is thicker and the craftsmanship is relatively backward, so the quality of Persian brocade is not as good as that of Central Plains brocade.
Zhiyou was even more excited when he saw this golden acacia hat.
Hu Tianshen’s canon records that Xerxes, King of the Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia, gave the people a crown intertwined with gold. From then on, this kind of hat became popular and spread everywhere.
This woman who is favored by Mr. Chen is wearing this hat. Isn’t it one of our own? Thinking of this, Zhiyou had already made a decision: instead of joining Tuoba Xianbei, it would be better to join Chen Gong.
There are thousands of Jiaji people in Guangning and Shanggu, and there are more than ten thousand Luoji people in Dai County. If they can all be lured to join Chen Gong, they may be able to create a new path. road.
"Everyone who can come here today will be rewarded. Those who make military exploits in the future will be rewarded by me." Mr. Chen spoke from above again.
The woman in the acacia hat was afraid that everyone would not understand, so she said it again in Jie language - Jie language is a language that is a mixture of words from other ethnic groups and originates from the East Iranian language branch.
"Duanbu Xianbei, you are no strangers." Chen Gong said: "I have called you many times, but no one came to meet you. He has a way to die. After the new year, I will conquer, At that time, all the tribes will send troops to accompany you. Do you have any objections?"
"I will obey Duke Chen's order," everyone responded.
Zhiyou pretended to respond, with some doubts in his heart: Could it be that all these people came in advance? Did you already know what was going on?
Liu Da turned to look at him and whispered: "I'll tell you later."
Zhi You nodded slightly.
In fact, he is no longer reluctant to seek refuge with Chen Gong.
Tuoba Xianbei kept wooing him, trying to reach into Youzhou. He was hesitant at first, but now he felt that his brain was broken and he turned to Tuoba clan.
Not only was he poor, but he also had no sense of intimacy.
Moreover, Chen Gong seems to be short of cavalry, while Tuoba has almost all cavalry and not many infantry. From the perspective of doing business, you should also know who is more suitable to turn to and who can sell at a better price.
Mr. Chen spoke from above again, but Zhiyou didn't listen very carefully, silently thinking about his thoughts.
After a while, Liu Da pulled him and said, "It's time to go to the banquet."
Zhi You hummed and followed him silently.
******
In the empty hall, Shao Xun personally peeled a pomegranate taken out of the ice cellar and gave it to Liu Ye to eat.
Liu Ye took it happily.
Shao Xun gently touched her face and whispered: "Liu Ling doesn't even dare to mention the Celestial Master's Way in front of me, and you should stop talking about Zoroastrianism in the future."
Liu Ling Ye Na was stunned for a moment, and then agreed without hesitation.
Seeing her like that, Shao Xun suddenly felt a little heavy.
This woman's eyes are all about him now, making him a little breathless.
“That’s all, you can do whatever you want.” Shao Xun sighed.
In fact, Zoroastrianism cannot compete with Buddhism and Taoism. Without human intervention, it will decline.
Its heyday should have been during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Wei Dynasty once visited Mount Song. Hundreds of her followers including the wife, nine concubines, and princesses were raised to the top. All obscene sacrifices were abolished, but Hu Tianshen was not an exception.
In the last years of the Northern Qi Dynasty (Gao Wei), he offered sacrifices to ghosts other than his own, but instead encouraged himself to serve Hu Tian.
The Northern Zhou Dynasty wanted to attract the Western Regions, and also worshiped the Hu Tianzhi. The emperor personally followed the Yi customs.
The Northern Wei, the Eastern and Western Wei, the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou all recruited a large number of Hu from the Western Regions of the Jie people to the Central Plains to serve as soldiers and fight. For this reason, they were shameless. The emperor and the queen mother personally worshiped the God of Hu. Even when the obscene priests were being eliminated, Hu Tianshen was spared.
But this is also its last glory.
This religion, both in the East and the West, has finally declined.
Liu Yena put down the pomegranate, sat in Shao Xun's arms, and whispered: "I listen to you."
Shao Xun didn't know what to say.
You are so kind to me, I am embarrassed to play with Cui.
He has lived in Wang Jun's house for more than ten days, and he has never touched Ms. Cui. The strange thing is that Mrs. Cui has not left, and has been living in the house without embarrassment, obviously for some purpose.
If he stayed here any longer, Shao Xun felt that his innocence would be destroyed.
So far, he has only been touched by two women, one is Jing, and the other is Cui.
Jing has been severely punished by him several times.
It seems that Cui also wants to be punished.
"Are you going to go on an expedition after the Chinese New Year?" Liu Ye asked, holding Shao Xun's neck.
"Yes." Shao Xun said: "Before I arrived in Youzhou, Duan Mobo took his men and ran to Peiping. He was invited to come and submit, but he was doubtful. It seemed that he had to Give them a fight."
"Duan Bu is quite capable of fighting. Shi Le was afraid of them before." Liu Ye was a little worried.
"Don't worry, I have a way to rectify the Duan tribe." Shao Xun comforted the woman and said: "One hundred thousand tribesmen are cramped in Beiping. To the east is Liaoxi County where Murong Xianbei is based, and to the north is Yuwen Xianbei, I am to the west, and there is the Silver Spear Army to the south. In such a dangerous situation, what room does Duan have to struggle? The cavalry is a force of separation, but now Duan lacks room to detour, I don’t care how he attacks. , I went straight to the pasture and raided his lair to see if he was hiding!"
"It's really bad luck for these tribes to meet you," Liu Ye said with relief.
"You can't say that, I gave them a chance to make progress." Shao Xun shook his head and said: "If Duan Bu comes to surrender now, what if a few town generals are banned? Now that there is not enough money and food, I don't want to Even if we fight, we won’t be able to mobilize many people.”
"I heard that there are still more than ten thousand Luojie people in Dai County. If they are willing to come to surrender, I will not begrudge the official title. If you are not willing or unable, I will think of a way to send some reliable people to the west to lure their tribesmen to come and join them. Tribe." Shao Xun hugged the woman on his lap and said.
Liu Ye said hum.
The man has been doing very well recently. He knows that she doesn’t like coquettish bitches, so he stays with her every day.
The two of them shared a quilt and slept in each other's arms at night, which must have made that bitch Cui mad, so now she agrees to whatever the man says.
Furthermore, what if you are pregnant? She had to think about the future.
“I hope Duan Bu will know more about each other.” Shao Xun finally sighed.
As a ruler, how could he be willing to see his cavalry force dominate?
Whether it is Jie people, Xianbei, or any other tribe, it is best to keep each other in check.
If Duan Bu Xianbei can save a lot of strength to throw, he can also suppress some Jie people.
Shao Xun held the Jieren woman in his arms and was already thinking about how to cross the river and burn the bridge in the future.
On December 30, the last day of the year, the angel, the prince (Sima Quan) and his wife Liu Bai (the son of Situ Liu Tun) arrived in Jicheng.
He brought two edicts.
One of them was to dismiss the general shogunate of the town army and confer Shao Xun as the shepherd of Yanzhou, and the other was to grant Wang Jun's death.
Lao Wang’s life has entered a countdown.
(End of this chapter)