Han Shizu

It's May, the summer is scorching, Anxi, Guocheng.

After several years of development, this city, located on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and on the south bank of Zhuhai (Issyk-Kul Lake), has become one of the most important cities under Anxi's rule.

Surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a pleasant climate and abundant water and grass, it has unique geographical conditions, allowing agriculture and animal husbandry to flourish.As the first big city captured during the Western Expedition into the hinterland of the Black Khan, it was liberated early and had better public security. In terms of stability, it was even higher than Suiye City, which was the temporary capital of Anxi. After all, it had to be "cleaned" Cleaner.

At the same time, in recent years, driven by the "Western Expedition Sect", a trend of westward migration has formed in the northwest of the Han Dynasty. The movement is not small. The total number of immigrants guided by the government and spontaneously formed by the people has exceeded 25.Of course, most of them are from the Hu ethnic group. Although Han people are still the majority, their proportion is not too high.

Regardless of Hu Hanmin, after arriving in Anxi, his first choice of residence was undoubtedly Guocheng.The farmers and herdsmen were not willing to go further, and they could no longer move when they saw the fertile soil and water.

Population is the basis for all prosperity and development. The arrival of a large number of "Han citizens" has changed the local population structure and brought culture and technology. In just seven or eight years, Guocheng has become the most reliable rear area in Anxi. The population The most, the most developed economy and the most agricultural and animal husbandry output.

To this day, it even provides nearly half of the military supplies of the Anxi Army. The basin on the south side of Zhuhai, centered on Guocheng, is the most important granary of Anxi at the moment, and is even unique.

The influx of a large number of foreign people naturally cannot avoid ethnic conflicts, and the public security situation is not good. Fighting is common, and everyone is infected with a barbaric temperament. However, it is in this kind of wild development that order Gradually established, the local rule of Anxi Dudufu also gradually formed and stabilized.The past seven or eight years have been a process of consolidating the foundation of governance.

But similarly, after such a long time, a Guocheng was born. Even some sporadic towns and small towns scattered on the south bank of Zhuhai have riots from time to time.As for Suiye City, Liu Min's "Cleaning of Religion" was carried out successfully, but the sequelae gradually appeared. As the capital of Anxi, there has been constant turmoil for many years, and attacks on Han troops and Han people have occurred frequently, no matter how cruel they are. The methods and resistance have never subsided.

In fact, the security war that lasted for several years around Suiye caused more headaches for the senior officials of the Anxi Governor's Office headed by Liu Min than the subsequent Western Expedition.After the Battle of Talas, the Yisl coalition was defeated again and again, and fled like scattered sand. If the Han army's military strength at that time was considered, not to mention Samadha (Samarkand), it was the capital of the Samanid Dynasty, Puhualuo (Buha). Pull) may not be impossible to defeat.

However, the Western Expedition also had its limits. With the Han army's tactics, being able to capture hundreds of miles west of Talas was a breakthrough in history. The instability in the rear was also a drag on its westward advance. It chose to stop the troops and rest. , there is nothing we can do about it.

Since the start of the Second Western Expedition, far away from the rear of the Han Dynasty and facing difficulties in logistical supply, the Anxi Army's more traditional fighting style has undergone tremendous changes. The proportion of cavalry has been further increased, and its mobile combat capabilities have been greatly improved. The magnitude has been strengthened, but the reliance on logistics has not been weakened much. Therefore, the rear is unstable, the logistics is not solid, and the constraints on forward operations are also huge.

Although the territory Anxi currently occupies is not small, the areas where rule is actually established are only those big cities, small towns on transportation lines, and key checkpoints. Even in this part, the so-called rule is extremely limited and weak.

Northeast of Suiye, it was still the territory of the Tuqishi tribe. The Han army only controlled the place through a few towns and maintained basic tax relations.As for the west of Suiye, except for the control of cities such as Talos, even the basic governance relationship is only symbolic.To put it simply, there is a lack of "mass" foundation. Except for the Han army, they are all foreigners. As for the conquered servants, trust is a big problem in the first place.These problems are becoming more and more serious as time goes by. Resistance activities continue to break out in various places, and riots and disturbances continue.

In the past, there was strong support from the imperial court, and Helong fully cooperated. However, since this spring, the imperial court has changed its tune and the Western Expedition has been completely reversed. A chain reaction has naturally occurred in Anxi.

There is a saying that without the support from the imperial court, no matter how powerful the Anxi army is, its foothold will not be reliable in this foreign land densely populated by foreign races.Although the reform of the imperial court was gradual and limited support continued, it was inevitable to stop direct blood transfusions, and the impact on Anxi was huge and even fatal.

In the past few months, the atmosphere among the upper echelons of Anxi has been very solemn. The garrisons in various places have raised their alert levels. The senior officials of the Anxi Governor's Office, headed by Liu Min, have held several meetings to discuss the current situation and future development of Anxi.

They basically realize that Anxi has stood at a historical crossroads, and the next direction will directly determine the future and destiny of Anxi's 30 soldiers and civilians.

In an atmosphere that could barely be called moist and silent, a team walked along the Shanyuan Post Road from east to west towards Guocheng.

The size of the team is not small. At a glance, there must be hundreds of people, wearing Han costumes and speaking Chinese. The flag with the word "Han" is fluttering in the wind. Vehicles of all sizes are fully loaded, filling the bumpy dirt road. This is a team carrying heavy supplies, and it is also a self-made team. The last batch of military aid raised by the government came from Hexi.

The person leading the team was of high status as well. He was Yang Fu, the deputy commander of the army in Ganzhou and former Hexi chief envoy Wang Ming. This was also the third time he led a team to escort supplies to Anxi.

The journey from Hexi to Anxi is thousands of miles away. This escort job is not easy at all. Not to mention the transportation difficulties, there are also various accidents and dangers. Each round trip takes almost half a year to a year. At this time, the passing of spring and the return of winter is not a particularly surprising thing.

The only good thing is that the detention period is relatively tolerant, otherwise the officials who have overstayed their duties and escaped over the years would not know who they are.Compared with the previous two times, Yang Fu was more motivated this time, just because he had a clear notice. After the escort mission was completed and he returned to Ganzhou, he, the deputy commander, could straighten things out.

Therefore, Yang Fu was extra cautious on this trip westward for fear of any accidents. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. When he successfully climbed through the Tianshan Mountains and entered the Zhuhai Basin, he felt more relaxed.

Guocheng is already in sight, is the broken leaf still far away?Suiye City is basically the terminal station for the imperial court’s Western aid supplies.