I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 691 Friends of the Qiang people

Liu hoped that Dong Zhuo could help him communicate with the local Qiang people on behalf of Zhang Fei, Liu Biao and others so that they could establish good relations.

Of course, it was impossible for Dong Zhuo to refuse this request, but the situation on the Qiang side was very complicated. Their survival time in Liangzhou was much longer than the time when the Han Dynasty ruled here.

As far as Dong Zhuo knows, there are probably hundreds of Qiang tribes living in Liangzhou. These tribes range from large to small, ranging from thousands or even tens of thousands to dozens of people.

Dong Zhuo could not tell how many Qiang people there were in Liangzhou.

But according to Dong Zhuo's inference, there are at least more Han people than those registered in the local household register in Liangzhou.

When Dong Zhuo was young, he was also famous among the Qiang people.

In Longxi County, Hanyang County, and Jincheng County, many Qiang tribes have good relations with Dong Zhuo.

In particular, there are several leaders of the Qiang tribe with tens of thousands of people, who are considered brothers to Dong Zhuo.

No wonder Dong Zhuo had such a good relationship with the Qiang people.

The laws of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to cattle farming. Ordinary households were prohibited from slaughtering cattle. Only beef that died of illness or accidental death was allowed to be divided and eaten after reporting.

Under the premise that the slaughter of beef was prohibited, many dignitaries in the Han Dynasty often lied to the government about cows dying of illness, traffic accidents, or even falling off cliffs in order to eat beef...

In short, in the Han Dynasty, cows died in all kinds of strange ways, and the probability of cows dying in accidents every year was much higher than that of humans.

Those who fell to death, drowned, were knocked to death, bumped to death, or even died of depression.

Although many wealthy families in the Han Dynasty used these methods to falsely report the death of cows, these dead cows were usually used for family banquets or to entertain very important guests. They rarely used beef to entertain unfamiliar people. people.

At least in Liangzhou, many powerful people are not willing to entertain the Qiang people with cattle that have died in various ways.

But Dong Zhuo's behavior is different from ordinary people.

He often used the cattle that died in his home to share with the Qiang people.

In Liangzhou at that time, almost no one else could do such a thing.

Dong Zhuo gave great respect to the Qiang people.

Yes, it's respect.

The Qiang people in Liangzhou also said that the reason why the Han government, which had been conquering them, was not trusted by them was because the Han people in the Han Dynasty did not give them enough respect.

This is an objective reason why the Qiang people rebelled repeatedly.

Liu Jian then asked Dong Zhuo what other Qiang tribes he was currently in contact with.

Dong Zhuo roughly counted on his fingers a dozen Qiang people from Hanyang County, Jincheng County, Longxi County, etc. He said that the leaders of these Qiang people were young brats who followed him around, and now they are all He became the head of the Qiang tribe.

Although he, Dong Zhuo, had not seen them for a long time, as long as he sent people to write letters and carry tokens, these Qiang leaders would still give him great respect.

After hearing Dong Zhuo's confident words, Liu Jian immediately felt relieved.

He smiled and said to Dong Zhuo: "Master, can you let me have a banquet in your mansion today? Let's talk about the Qiang people together."

Dong Zhuo was stunned when he heard this.

Although he is now the Imperial Tutor, most of the affairs in the court have nothing to do with him, and he wanders around Chang'an City all day long.

Although he lived a life of good food and drink, he had few friends.

Only his younger brother Dong Min, Hua Xiong and some of the old troops of the Xiliang Army who are still in the Xiliang Army in Beijing occasionally come to take a look.

For someone like Liu Jian who is busy every day, Dong Zhuo would not even think about having a chance to have a drink with him.

It was rare that Liu Jian actually asked to drink with Dong Zhuo today.

"Since it is the invitation from Prime Minister Liu, I will naturally do everything I can. I will order someone to prepare a banquet."

Later, under Dong Zhuo's banquet, Liu Jian and Dong Zhuo started a banquet in the living room.

The meat Dong Zhuo served Liu Jian today was very special. It was also beef.

Liu Jian was a little stunned when he saw beef placed on the living room table.

"Why would Taifu serve me beef? Beef is precious in this world now, especially when farming is in full swing everywhere."

"As the chief officials of the imperial court, you and I should set an example. We should not eat the oxen that plows well."

Dong Zhuo stroked his beard and laughed.

"The Prime Minister misunderstood. This beef was not killed by me, but the cattle in my town accidentally lost their teeth and died, so their meat was transported here for us to eat."

"Prime Minister Liu, don't worry, the sources of my beef are all reasonable and legal."

Liu Jian's eyelids jumped when he heard this.

He even fell off a cliff and died...

Although he sneered at Dong Zhuo's remarks, Liu Jian still didn't say much. Instead, he patiently drank with Dong Zhuo and asked him about the Qiang people.

For Liu Jian, learning more about the Qiang people and how to make good friends with them is the top priority now.

As for Dong Zhuo eating cows without permission, that's all, he is not as experienced as this old guy.

"I heard that Taifu traveled among various Qiang tribes when he was young. He was known as a heroic warrior and had good relations with various Qiang leaders. Even if he is from Liangzhou, he can have such good relations with the Qiang tribe. I’m afraid it’s just the Tutor.”

After listening to Liu Jian's inquiry, Dong Zhuo said proudly: "Compared with the Prime Minister in other aspects, there is indeed a big difference between me and the Prime Minister, but when it comes to making friends with the Qiang people, haha, I have decades of experience."

"Well, I have mentioned some details now, so it doesn't matter. But in my opinion, the most important thing about making friends with the Qiang people is to make the Qiang people feel that you treat them as the same existence as yourself."

When Liu Jian heard this, he seemed a little confused: "What do you mean by treating them as beings like yourself?"

Dong Zhuo pointed at the beef on the table and said, "When I was in Liangzhou, I interacted with various Qiang people, and I never kept any secrets. For example, the beef that I am hosting today for the Prime Minister's banquet is a treasure in my house."

"The Prime Minister is here. What I feed the Prime Minister is beef. But if the person sitting opposite me at this moment is a Qiang leader, what I feed him will also be beef."

"The biggest problem of the Han people is that the food they eat on their own table is beef, but the food for the Qiang people is pork. Although it is still meat, in the eyes of the Qiang people, it is not the same thing, and the Han people themselves think they can provide Eating meat is a great kindness to the Qiang people, but for the Qiang people, sometimes meat is not the problem."

As a later generation, Liu Jian naturally understood what he was saying.

"I understand what the Grand Tutor said. It seems that it is not enough to treat the Qiang people just by giving them benefits."

"The Qiang people live on the border of Liangzhou all year round, and their ideas are very different from those of us Han people. In addition, the imperial court has repeatedly conquered the Qiang people over the years, which has long made them rebellious and hostile."

"Furthermore, people in the imperial court have always had a condescending attitude towards the Qiang people. Perhaps for these strong men, if the Han people can treat them fairly, that is the most important thing to them."

Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and said: "I think what the Prime Minister said is right. However, I can't tell the Prime Minister the specific secrets. I can only tell how I made friends with the Qiang people and what happened with the Qiang people." Tell the Prime Minister everything."

"The Prime Minister will go back and have a good exchange with Zhang Yide." Liu Jian arched his head and said: "In that case, Liu will be here today to listen carefully to the Taifu's detailed account of the events of the past, and also let Liu criticize the Taifu. The heroic appearance of my youth.”

Dong Zhuo immediately began to think about what happened when he was young, and he recalled what happened between his youth and the Qiang people one by one.

The two of them drank one glass after another. The more wine they drank, the more excited Dong Zhuo became, and Liu Jian also had a rough understanding of what he had done back then.

Through Dong Zhuo's past deeds, Liu Jian also understood a little about how to get along with the Qiang people.

……

After bidding farewell to Dong Zhuo, Liu Jian immediately returned to his prime minister's residence.

He asked Liu Ai, his chief historian, to write down in detail what Dong Zhuo told him today. At the same time, he asked Liu Ai to visit Dong Zhuo on his behalf to check for any omissions and complete what Dong Zhuo said today in detail. information.

After completing it, Liu Jian quickly sent the material to Zhang Fei in Liangzhou.

In addition, Dong Zhuo asked Dong Min to personally go to Liangzhou on his behalf and meet up with Dong Huang who was assisting Zhang Fei there.

On behalf of Dong Zhuo, the two of them introduced the leaders of the three major Qiang tribes in Hanyang County to Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei is now a man of both wisdom and bravery. After reading the materials Liu Jian gave him, he understood Liu Jian's intentions. He carefully read Dong Zhuo's deeds back then and roughly understood the reason why Dong Zhuo was so popular among the Qiang people in the local area. Heart reasons.

Finally, under the introduction of Dong Min and Dong Huang, Zhang Fei made friends with the local Qiang leader in Hanyang County.

As the saying goes, repeating old tricks, Zhang Fei felt that since he wanted to make friends with the local Qiang leader in Hanyang County, there was no need to come up with any new tricks.

Since the path Dong Zhuo had traveled and the things he had done had proven useful, he could definitely follow his routine again.

There is no need to engage in so many innovations.

So Zhang Fei also got a cow that suddenly died of depression while plowing. After killing it, he shared the food with the three Qiang leaders. They feasted, drank heavily, and ate large pieces of meat.

Although it was the first time for the three Qiang leaders to make friends with Zhang Fei, they found that Zhang Fei was as cheerful as the Dong Zhuo they knew back then.

Among other things, it is said that the newly appointed governor of the Han Dynasty is building farming in the local area, and the production and construction corps led by Zhang Fei is also practicing semi-farming and semi-military training.

This cattle is extremely important to them.

But Zhang Fei was actually able to use farm cattle to eat with the Qiang leaders they had just met, which shows that this person is a person with a generous temperament.

The three of them were very moved. In the eyes of the three Qiang leaders, although it was just a simple cattle feast, it represented Zhang Fei's importance to them.

Zhang Fei really regarded these three Qiang leaders as his buddies.

After finishing the meal, Zhang Fei became inseparable from them. Although they had not known each other for a long time, their relationship was very close.

In particular, Zhang Fei was so devoted to making friends with him, and these Qiang leaders also recognized Zhang Fei's strength.

After all, he had more than 20,000 elite troops in his hands, and he had wiped out seven prominent local Qiang families some time ago, and even Ma Chao's troops were defeated by him in one battle.

The Qiang people also respect the strong very much. Zhang Fei has proved with his strength that he is a new dark horse in this land.

At the same time, he also proved with his actions that he did not despise the Qiang people, and was also willing to make friends with the Qiang people on an equal footing.

With such a great hero, how could these three Qiang leaders be unwilling to establish friendship with him?

Finally, the three Qiang leaders asked Zhang Fei what his purpose was in Liangzhou this time.

Zhang Fei told the three Qiang leaders that he came here to govern Liangzhou for Prime Minister Liu, but Liangzhou's foundation was too weak to govern.

Especially in Liangzhou, there are local snakes like Ma Teng and Han Sui who are always causing trouble for the court, so Zhang Fei wants to start step by step. He is not in a hurry to deal with Ma Teng and Han Sui first. He just I hope that after I can gain a firm foothold, I can develop the local industries in Liangzhou and at the same time drive the Qiang people so that they can work together with me to become prosperous.

Zhang Fei told the three leaders that the imperial court was currently recruiting high-quality war horses to expand the cavalry camp. He could obtain enough shares for the three Qiang leaders to gain wealth, as long as the three Qiang leaders could provide war horses.

For a long time, Hebei's war horse business has formed an effective mechanism.

Because Youzhou and Bingzhou raised war horses and sold war horses at the same time under the management of Liu Jian Trade Association.

The horse business is already a mature interest chain in Hebei. In addition, the Xiongnu, Xianbei and Wuhuan are now controlled by Hebei, so the main area for horse supply in the Han Dynasty has always been northern Xinjiang.

Liangzhou Station to the west can be said to have lost a lot of market share since seven or eight years ago.

After all, in terms of size and scale, Liangzhou and Youzhou are no longer comparable.

Now that Liu Jian has occupied the imperial court, according to everyone's guess, the war horse channels from Youzhou and Bingzhou will definitely enter the imperial court and monopolize more resources.

In a place like Xiliang, although horses are produced, the people who raise war horses are the Qiang people who work in their own way. How can they compete with the systematic horse sales in Hebei?

Being able to supply war horses to the center of Chang'an is something that none of these Qiang leaders dare to imagine.

But now that Zhang Fei has promised them, as the adopted brother of the current Prime Minister Liu, he will not deceive them with his lies.

The three Qiang leaders followed Zhang Fei's instructions and prepared their war horses.

In fact, Zhang Fei did not let them down. Soon, the imperial court's first order for war horses arrived.

The imperial court was very generous and purchased the war horses at market prices without any deductions.

Of course, if these Qiang people want supplies, the imperial court is also willing to exchange grain or items for the value of war horses. If they want money, they want money, and if they want things, they want things.

Two hundred Xiliang war horses were taken away from the three Qiang leaders by the imperial court, and the tribes of the three Qiang leaders received generous horse-buying supplies from the imperial court.

The three Qiang leaders immediately became excited.

Xiliang was originally a difficult place to survive, but Zhang Fei now gave them a new way to survive, allowing them to exchange war horses for supplies with the court... This was simply their great benefactor.

With this incident as a foreshadowing, these Qiang leaders in Hanyang County had no choice but to be friends with Zhang Fei.

In addition to these three Qiang leaders who were introduced to Zhang Fei by Dong Zhuo, other Qiang people in Hanyang County also began to come to show their kindness to Zhang Fei. After all, they heard about Zhang Fei's behavior and felt that this person was a A warrior with benevolence and righteousness is worthy of respect.

Zhang Fei also received them very warmly and asked the local Qiang leaders to build horse farms locally according to his instructions.

What Zhang Fei means is that although Xiliang war horses are majestic, their nomadic breeding is not systematic.

As for Hebei, since the Xiongnu, Humble and other tribes have all surrendered to the Hebei local government, and the Hebei local government has been operating the raising of war horses and cattle and sheep as a systematic business over the years, so Zhang Fei wanted to use this experience to Bring it to Xiliang.

The Qiang people live a very difficult and precarious life.

Although they also farmed, their farming methods were relatively backward. Although they were good at raising war horses and sheep, they were not systematic or large-scale.

Now, Zhang Fei wants to use Hebei's planting experience and animal husbandry experience to help these Qiang people, form effective planting, reclamation, and enable them to establish horse farms, and gradually transition from nomadic to manor economy.

This will help them integrate with the Han government in the future, and will also help the Han government control them.

Of course, their lives will also undergo earth-shaking changes.

(End of this chapter)