Han Shizu

Chapter 1655 Suppressing Bandits in the Northwest
Yulin Road, Lingzhou.

The majestic Helan Mountains, like a mighty warrior, traverse east and west, overlooking the Hetao Plain.It also seems to be a huge fence separating Shandong and Shanxi into two worlds.

In the east of the Helan Mountains, where mountains and rivers intersect, with the imperial government taking over, batch after batch of inland Han people moved in. While changing the local ethnic population structure, it also brought about rapid economic development. No matter where they are, The Han people are always hard-working and good at management.

In the 20th year of Kaibao, in Lingzhou alone, more than 7 Han people moved here and there, distributed along the Yellow River, farming, reclamation, grazing and breeding.

For this reason, Huai, Shun, and Ping counties were added under the Lingzhou rule, forming a large area of ​​Han people's settlements around Lingzhou City.And there is a completely unavoidable problem that the immigration of a large number of Han people also brought serious ethnic problems.

After all, it is a land that has long lost its kingship. In the long time of hundreds of years, too many Hu people have taken root here and regarded it as their clan land.Coupled with the fact that the big Han adopted many radical measures in the process of recovering, and the policy of suppressing Hu after the opening of the treasure, this contradiction was exacerbated.

However, the contradiction between Han and Hu and ethnic conflicts have always been a chronic problem affecting the security and stability of the Northwest region.In comparison, the situation in Lingzhou is still good. The imperial court has been operating for a long time, and for three generations, it has never given up control of this important town in the northwest.

However, there is an essential difference between the Han Empire and the practices of previous generations. What the imperial court pursues is complete control, rather than maintaining a fragile balance. It caused a huge impact, which also caused a lot of dissatisfaction.

The stability of Lingzhou is also maintained by the strong power of the imperial court and the strong combat power of the Han army.Earlier, it was not only the problem of the Hu people, but also those Han people and criminals who were forced to move to the border. It also needs the blessing of the imperial court, and the grievances have just been resolved, but it is also limited.

But no matter how many problems there are, the prosperity of the Lingzhou area in recent years is visible to the naked eye. As an important city in the northwest, it means that the imperial court has a lot of support and various preferential policies. The ties, especially after the Kaibao Northern Expedition ended, the relatively peaceful and stable environment also stimulated the prosperity of Lingzhou, as can be seen from the endless stream of business caravans.

Compared with Shandong, Helan Shanxi is more desolate and poor.The barren land and the vast desert are destined to be desolate and backward. The vast land of the Han Dynasty almost covers the entire Northwest, including the vast area in the west of Helan Mountain.

However, for some people and forces, being desolate and backward also has its benefits. It means that the imperial court does not pay attention to it, and it can even be said that it is a land outside the law. This land will inevitably become a hotbed of crime.

For example, the horse bandits who have harmed the Northwest all the year round are often active in the west of Helan Mountain. Bandits, large and small, also occupy the water pools and oases between the Gobi and the desert, especially the area near Helan Mountain.

The reason why the imperial court's law and order and chaos have been suppressed repeatedly is also because of this, without a large investment, it is impossible to do it at all. Even if you make up your mind, you may not be able to do it thoroughly.

However, in the past six months, the bandits in the Northwest have had a hard time. After the incident of the Black Khan Mission broke out, the court was shocked, and Long Yan was furious. The civil and military officials in the Northwest and the garrison were also furious. , once again launched a severe clean-up campaign against the security of the Northwest.

All people of all ethnic groups and types who are suspected of being bandits will be exterminated, and the steel sword will open the way, and the killing will be the first.For a moment, the entire northwest border was shrouded in a tinge of blood.

Especially those horse bandits are the key targets. This time, even if they hide in the desert and high mountains, it is still difficult to avoid the attack from the army. The emperor was angry, and His Royal Highness Zhao also lost face. Wanting to keep their official positions through law and order and suppressing bandits, the soldiers are also eager to make meritorious service, so they work extra hard from top to bottom.

When the government and the government army began to do their best, the thieves and bandits would naturally be unlucky. Those who fled, scattered, and hid. As for resistance, they didn't have the guts at all. The Wan cavalrymen showed all the energy they had used to fight Khitan back then.

In this regard, when the bandits resented the officers and soldiers for their ruthlessness, they could not help but yell at the bandits who stabbed the hornet's nest. The authority of the imperial court, this is completely a disaster.

Under the continuous attack, the horse bandits who have been rampant in the northwest for more than ten or twenty years have ushered in an unprecedented blow. By the end of September, according to reports from various bandit suppression officers and soldiers, a total of hundreds of large and small horse bandits have been killed. , Eliminate more than ten thousand bandits.

Such a result, even the local military and political officials in the Northwest, are a little speechless. They don’t seem to have too deep feelings at ordinary times. They never expected that under the rule of the Han Dynasty, there are so many bandits in the Northwest. Flow thief.

The results of the battle were huge, and the gains were not small, but when reporting such results to the imperial court, many people hesitated instead.Based on Zhao Wang Liu Fang's understanding of Emperor Liu, the uploading of this kind of report may not be credited.

Liu Fang could almost imagine how Emperor Liu would ask, so many thieves and bandits were running around in the northwest, causing harm to the region. What were they, civil and military, doing in the past?Is it connivance, raising thieves to be self-respecting, or dereliction of duty, neglect of the king's affairs, or even collusion between soldiers and bandits!

After the Hexi case and the Lu case broke out one after another, the imperial court's actions to clean up the Northwest, especially Hexi, were very serious, and the attitude and methods were so severe, which made the civil and military personnel in the Northwest very sensitive.

However, no matter how hesitant he was, he dared not report it, or even concealed it at all. After all, this was an explanation to the court, that is, Zhao Wang Liu Fang, and Emperor Liu's warning to him was passed on to him verbatim. middle.

And Emperor Liu's reaction, as expected, was shocking. After watching with a sneer, he uttered some heartbreaking remarks.Of course, considering the large-scale rectification of Hexi and the performance of civil and military forces in the Northwest, no substantive actions were taken in the follow-up.

On the contrary, the soldiers who have made great contributions to the suppression of bandits were also rewarded, rewarded with rewards, and promoted with promotions. This made the civil and military personnel in the Northwest breathe a sigh of relief.Emperor Liu's mind is still not confused, and there is a limit to rectification. It can't hurt the root cause and shake the rule of the Han in the northwest. The security of the northwest still depends on those civil and military officials.

However, in the large-scale suppression of bandits by the Han army, some bad phenomena still appeared, and many innocent people were injured, especially those Hu people, such as Uighurs, Dangxiang, and Tubo, many of whom were directly beaten as bandits up.

At the same time, the most important point is that the bandits who daringly robbed and killed the Black Khan Mission have still not been found.

Wu Desi, who was in charge of investigating this matter, also felt a lot of pressure. Although it was confirmed that the "Singing Sand Bandits" were responsible, they disappeared without a trace since then.And the more this happened, the more it meant there was a problem and the situation was serious. If there was no conspiracy behind it, Wang Yinwu wouldn't believe it, let alone Emperor Liu.

In particular, after learning that his sincere mission had been massacred, and the Han court gave an extremely perfunctory reply, the Black Khanate began to feel restless.

Judging from the news sent back to Tokyo in the past three months, the Black Khanate began to invade the merchants of the Han Dynasty, levied additional taxes, and even directly extorted and extorted. The King Liu Min of Wei, who was in Anxi, also reported the same, and the Black Khanate army began to provoke quarrels at the border. trouble.

It seemed that after ten years of rest, the Black Khanate seemed to feel that he could do it again. Emperor Liu, who had received the news, remained strong and gave Liu Min a stern instruction.

(End of this chapter)