After destroying more than 100 acres of wheat fields outside the city, Tang Mi, who "went to King Hulai", asked his subordinates to stop.There are no words, but there are epic poems passed down by the leaders of the past dynasties.Their ancestors originally lived in the land of Hehuang, but eventually got tired of the life of the Zhuqiang tribe for several generations of plundering and vendetta against each other for the sake of the big and small elm valleys, and resolutely moved west.The tribe braved the snowstorm and followed the Qiangzhong Road, passing through plateaus, salt lakes and glaciers, passing through the Altun Mountain Pass, and arriving at the southeast corner of the Western Regions, a land of snow-capped mountains, deserts, lakes and grasslands.The plateau lakes are clean and clean, countless herds of Tibetan antelopes and wild asses can be hunted, and on the plateau, when the snow and ice have not melted and the grass has not yet grown, you can still walk to the lower places, and the closer you get to Lop Nur, the more abundant the water and grass.It was here that Wuqiang and the Loulan people met for the first time.Since the Qiang people moved west, they have dealt with Loulan for more than 100 years, and they have robbed them for more than 100 years, and they have developed a tacit understanding: a city needs a hundred loads of wheat noodles, not more, no less, after all, they will come next year, and they have to do things for a long time, instead of trying to be happy for a while, and leave when they get food, and never stay.The Qiang people consider themselves to be very trustworthy."
It is the rule not to kill the ewes and lambs when you hunt, and it is also the rule to eat grain without killing people indiscriminately."
They won't do this kind of thing by breaking the city and entering it, first, the entire tribe will be five or six hundred, and unnecessary battles will deplete the population, and secondly, even if the city is defeated, then what, stay here to rule?
The Qiang people have no interest in any land that is too low at an altitude, because the yaks they rely on for their livelihood cannot stand the heat here, so they are only suitable for hunting here in the spring with the wild donkey herd, grazing the sheep by the way, and returning to the mountains in the summer.Therefore, even if Tang Mi asked his clansmen to destroy the wheat fields outside Haitou City, it would be in moderation, just to let the Loulan people in the city think clearly, is it cost-effective to have a hundred loads of grain, or is it cost-effective to have no harvest this year?
But the people of Loulan did not give an answer, but in the afternoon, Haitou City suddenly erected more than a dozen yellow flags!
The younger generation of Wuqiang people didn't know what this meant, but Tang Mi'er squinted his eyes and remembered that more than twenty years ago, when the army passed through the southern road, the entire road was full of bright yellow flags.It was also a major mistake by the Qiang, first the Xiongnu sent people to let the Qiangs attack the grain team that followed the army, and as a result, the Qiangs robbed three or five carts, and were pursued all the way by a fierce cavalry, either killed or captured.Since then, the Qiang people have a long memory, just like a good wild donkey when hunting, but why do they go to provoke the angry brown bear?
Later, when I saw the mission with the yellow flag, they only watched from afar on the rocks, and never provoked it.And when the Xiongnu sent someone to contact again, Tang Mi, who had just become the leader at that time, made a decision: kill the Xiongnu envoy and send the head to Yangguan The territory of the Qiang people is distributed along the northern foot of Altun Mountain, the west reaches the end and the east is connected with Yangguan, and the distance between them and the Han Dynasty is closer than Loulan.Tang Mi'er's judgment was right, the Xiongnu were separated by Loulan, and they were helpless against the Qiang people, but the Qiang pleased the Han Dynasty and got a lot of grain, cattle and sheep as a reward, plus a title of "Go to Hulai King": Go to Hulai and belong to the Qiang King of the Han Dynasty.So theoretically, Wuqiang is also a subject of the Han Dynasty, although they have never paid tribute, because soon after that, the Han army retreated to Yumen Yangguan, rarely out of the west, and the dazzling yellow has never been inserted into any of the cities in the Western Regions.These things, the younger descendants of the tribe are not very clear, but as the first generation to go to Hulai King, Tang Mi remembered it very clearly, he had a feeling that this time he came to Haitou City to search for grain, I am afraid that it will not go well.At this moment, the gate of Haitou City slowly opened, and immediately closed, and only the three horsemen walked out slowly.In the center is a Han official in a soapy hat, young, riding a red mare, with only a diamond-shaped white spot on his forehead, fast and light-hoofed, and seems to be very relaxed.On his left and right was a somewhat nervous Phifa Guiyi Qiang man, who was shouting loudly in Hexi Qiang dialect, saying that they had come to make peace.The other was a Han soldier dressed in iron armor, riding a black horse and holding a yellow flag with the word "Han" written on it.This is the only Chinese character that Tang Mi knows when he is a child, because he has seen it too many times, from the Han army on the expedition to Dawan and from the Guancheng of Yangguan.This is undoubtedly confirmed, and it is indeed Han Chinese.Tang Mi immediately raised his hand and stopped the young subordinates from drawing their bows and raising their spears."
It's a guest, not an enemy, let them come."
Ren Hong is very glad that no matter which Ming, yellow cloth is easy to obtain, because among natural plants, the yellow pigment that can become a dyeing material is actually the most abundant source, and the pomegranate skin used to dye Luobu linen cloth in Loulan is locally.The color dyed is autumn yellow.Therefore, in addition to the pole around him, Ren Hong can erect so many yellow flags.Han Dangdang, who was holding the flag for him, looked at the unkind Qiang man in front of him, and muttered: "Ren Jun, Ren Jun, although I, Han Feilong, say that it is no problem to have one enemy and three enemies, but there are three or four hundred horsemen on the other side, is it really no problem for us to go over like this?"
”Najia, a Guiyi Qiang man who acted as a translator next to him, also turned his head, looked at Lu Jiuyu who was shrinking his head on the city wall, and scolded: "Lu Jiuyu can't speak Qiang, is this true or false, is he afraid?"
”Ren Hong was fearless: "Fu Gong told me some things about Wuqiang, although Wuqiang often plundered Loulan, but the Han delegation passed through the northern edge of its territory, and it was never looted, and its king said to go to the king of Hulai, and it was also to kill the Hun envoy to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and I heard the city lord say that they leave immediately as soon as they get food every year, maybe they can talk." ”Having said that, looking at the three or four hundred Qiang men in front of him, there was still a feeling of stepping into a wolf's den.Unlike the Xiongnu, these Qiang people generally do not wear hats on their heads, they have long thick black hair, although they also have black eyes, but their noses are high, and they are all wearing sheepskin felt clothes, in the cold plateau, they can't leave their bodies all year round, with a belt around their waists, and a sword with a wooden sheath stuck in front of their abdomen.Now that the weather is a little hot, they all take off their felt clothes and wrap them around their waists, revealing their naked and red bodies inside, which are full of the smell of yaks and horses in addition to the smell of sweat.Surrounded by the Qiang people was their "King of Hulai", an old man with gray hair and braids, a necklace made of yak bones hanging around his neck, and a white yak with long hair covering his eyes, panting in his nostrils."
Yaks are colorblind like cows, so they're not interested in red."
Ren Hong then remembered that he was red, and he could only sit up straight on the horse, and he couldn't dangle it and bump into it.Tang Mi patted the white yak under him, looked at Ren Hong, and said a long string of Qiang words.Naga was stunned for a long time before translating: "Go to King Hulai and say, I haven't seen the Han envoy for many years." ”Such a long passage was translated so simply, which made Ren Hong look at this guy suspiciously, Hexi Qiang and Wuqiang can communicate with each other, right?
But now there is no way to do it, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Please tell King Hulai, from now on, he will often see the Yellow Flag and see the Han envoy, because the Han has returned to the Western Regions!"
”Ren Hong pointed to Haitou City behind him and said: "Loulan has become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, and Haitou City has naturally become the territory of the Han Dynasty. ”Nonsense, there are Zhao Han'er and Lu Jiuyu in the city now, and there is nothing else.Tang Mi looked at the city for a long time, and said with a smile: "More than ten years ago, Loulan and Wuqiang belonged to the Han at the same time, but Wuqiang came to eat grain every year, and the Han never took care of it, why do you have to take care of it now?"
”Ren Hong replied: "Because at that time, the two families of Loulan were not loyal enough to Han, but now they are dedicated to Han." ”Tang Mi had dealt with the Han Dynasty before, shook his head and said: "Since Han is a kingdom, you can't favor one over the other, little Han envoy, I sent people to wander outside the city for a few days, and I saw you and other five people entering the city, and there was no Han army in addition." ”Now the old bottom has been exposed, and Han Dangdang was covered in a cold sweat, only thinking that this was really a bad idea, what should I do now, do you want to hold this old Qiang man riding a yak hostage.Fortunately, although Tang Mi saw through it, he didn't embarrass them, but said without humility or arrogance: "Little Han envoy, now you have planted Han flags in all the cities of Loulan, and ordered Wuqiang not to attack, then Wuqiang will have a lot less food every year, and the children will starve to death, who will care?"
”"I'll take care of it!"
Ren Hong didn't just want to relieve the siege of Haitou City, what he was waiting for was this sentence, and he responded directly."
This year's food will be given by the big man!"
Tang Mi shook his head immediately: "The little Han envoy should not talk nonsense, in Wuqiang, the promise cannot be fulfilled, but the vulture will peck away the tongue!"
”Ren Hong said with a smile: "Dare to ask King Hulai, take his troops to eat grain in Loulan Zhucheng, spend more than a month, walk around the north and south, how much grain can you get at most?"
”After Tang Mi thought about it, he reported a little more: "1000 stones." ”This food, enough for the entire tribe to feed for a month, can help them survive the most difficult times."2,000 stones!"
Ren Hong stretched out two fingers: "Give you 2,000 stone of grain, and in three months, it will be delivered in Yangguan." ”This is really not much, the reward that Ren Hong deserves for his envoy to Loulan this time, plus the previous deposit, is nearly 200,000, which is just enough to buy 2,000 stone of grain, even if the court does not admit it, he can grit his teeth and put it on.This time, it was Tang Mi's turn to suspect that these Han people were all ghosts, so they couldn't be fooled: "Little Han envoy, what do you want us to do?"
Just no longer besieging Haitou City, there are so many benefits?
”"Of course it's more than that, but it's not that hard."
Ren Hong pointed to the north: "You only need to go to King Hulai with hundreds of knights from Wuqiang, follow me to the edge of Loulan City a hundred miles away, and slip a horse!"
”