"Giddy up! Giddy up!!"
Soon, a small team of three Imperial Guard cavalrymen, carrying Liu Hong's approved memorial and an imperial edict, left Luoyang and sped towards Liangzhou.
As they passed through towns along the way, these Imperial Guardsmen continued to shout the two passionate slogans of the three men.
The young people of this era had almost no resistance to the emperor's two slogans. They all wished they could take up a three-foot-long sword, flatten the barbarian lands, and let them see what the might of the Han Dynasty was all about.
"Roar~ I'm fired up!"
Upon hearing these two slogans, a burly man who was clearing wasteland was filled with fervor. He roared, pushed aside the slowly moving oxen, slung the plow and harrow over his shoulder, and strode forward, pulling the plow and harrow along.
The boys training in the Imperial Guard Camp, upon hearing the instructors' loud shouts, were energized and trained even harder!
"Roar! Kill!!"
Especially those who were in combat training felt a surge of adrenaline rush to their brains after hearing the emperor's two slogans. After a loud roar, they mercilessly swung their wooden swords at their opponents.
"You damned Wen Chou, you actually tried to kill me!!"
Seeing his companion groaning beside him, one of the boys couldn't help but yell at Wen Chou opposite him.
Wen Chou looked at his opponent lying on the ground, glanced at the broken sword in his hand, and said apologetically, "Uh... I'm sorry, I got too excited just now and didn't control my strength!"
"you...."
"Creak~"
Ah~
Just as the boy was at a loss for words, sounds of weapons breaking and screams of the wounded rang out from other battlegrounds on the training ground.
"Quickly! Get the injured to the medical school immediately!"
Seeing the injured students being carried out, Xu Rong, who was supervising from the side, waved his hand, and the newly organized stretcher team immediately carried them towards the medical school.
At this moment, those who were injured were no longer as resistant as before to being carried to the medical school. They had been through a lot and gotten used to it!
Furthermore, after such a long period of learning and exploration, the overall quality of the medical students has improved a lot, their techniques are no longer as rough as before, and they can no longer endure much suffering.
...
In Liangzhou, at the border between the Han and Qiang peoples, the vanguard of the Liangzhou army, numbering five thousand, has broken camp and begun its advance into the territory of the Eastern Qiang.
After traveling slowly for half a day, the group arrived at the border and gazed at the distant lands.
"keep going!!"
With a loud shout from the deputy commander in charge, the vanguard ignored the boundary marker not far away and went straight into the territory of the Qiang people, heading towards the tribe of Mayi.
As they walked, the lieutenant waved to the guards beside him.
"General?"
A guard rode up to the deputy general's side, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Deputy General Zhang Qiao said in a deep voice: "Send dozens of scouts over there, raise the 'Han' flag, and have them loudly proclaim that our Han army has come to demand the return of the criminals!"
"Have Ma Yi personally deliver those people within three days! Anyone who harbors or condones them will be dealt with by me personally, leading five thousand iron cavalry!"
After saying that, Zhang Qiao remembered something very important and continued, "Oh, and... tell them that when they encounter ordinary Qiang people, they must remember to maintain the bright and majestic image of our Han army!"
"Don't worry, General. General Duan has taught us everything. The brothers know what to do!"
Zhang Qiao nodded. "That's good. Go on then!"
"promise!"
The guard responded loudly, then turned his horse around and galloped towards the scouts.
Soon after receiving orders, the scout teams broke away from the main force and dispersed into the territory of the Qiang people.
The next morning, as dawn broke, the vanguard slowly made its way towards the northwestern Mayi tribe. Seventy miles away, the herders of a small tribe were also up early, beginning their busy day.
This tribe used to belong to the Shaohe tribe. Not long ago, their leader was defeated by Ma Yi, so they now belong to the Shaodang tribe. In order to win over the people, Ma Yi did not allow his men to burn, kill, and plunder. As a result, this small tribe was not affected by the war and lived a relatively peaceful and comfortable life.
The men in the tribe wake up early and ride on horseback, driving the cattle and sheep out of the tribe to graze, while the women and children stay in the tribe to gather hay and prepare food for the day.
On the outskirts of the tribe, in a dilapidated courtyard, a six or seven-year-old child, carrying hay, followed behind his mother with a somewhat dazed expression. From the swollen cheeks of the mother and son and their slow, weak movements, it was easy to see that they had not consumed salt for a long time.
Although the powerful people of the past had brought back some salt and grain when the Han Dynasty opened up trade routes, it was only enough to sustain their own tribes and families. It was impossible for them, as peripheral herders, to receive such supplies.
As for the Ma Yi, it's good enough that they don't rob them, so naturally they won't waste their precious salt on them.
As the mother and son were walking, the sound of horses' hooves reached their ears. They turned their heads and saw a dazzling banner with the Chinese character "汉" (Han) in the morning sunlight.
Although the woman was illiterate, she had seen the same flag last year when the Han army came to conscript her husband.
Beneath the banner, several cavalrymen clad in armor and with long swords at their waists were galloping toward them.
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