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Returning to the old Pingyang city, gazing at the crumbling walls before him and the distant, desolate mountains, Fei Qian remained silent for a long time. He knew he was facing another choice, but all his previous choices couldn't offer much help for this one, because past experience and success wouldn't necessarily apply or guarantee success this time.
Just like the ground beneath his feet, which a century ago held beautiful palaces and halls, but once choices went wrong, it became the present patch of yellow earth. Fei Qian looked up and saw the heavy leaden clouds had disappeared, revealing the azure, clear sky behind.
The serene blue sky was such a beautiful existence, yet in Fei Qian's heart, it felt as if those heavy leaden clouds from the sky had fallen into his own mind.
He truly stood at a crossroads again. After a moment of silence, Fei Qian self-deprecatingly smiled and shook his head, then turned to look at the busy A-da beside him.
A-da had come when Fei Qian was recruiting soldiers at Beiqu. This time, coming to support Hedong, Fei Qian brought these Hu people along. Most had gone with Ma Yue to White Wave Valley, leaving about a hundred or so around Fei Qian.
Because clearing the ruins of old Pingyang city had been quite laborious for the soldiers over the past two days, Fei Qian ordered a few of the sheep brought with the army slaughtered to reward the troops.
When it came to preparing mutton, naturally Han people couldn't compare to these Hu people. So the Hu people enthusiastically demonstrated their skills, setting up wooden spit racks, swiftly slaughtering sheep, skinning them, and roasting them one by one.
The Hu people were generally cheerful; they even sang while roasting mutton. Though the language was unintelligible, the joy in the song was perceptible.
Gradually, the aroma of mutton began to spread, slowly permeating the entire Pingyang county town, also lending a touch of worldly atmosphere to this long-uninhabited city.
This city originally had no human presence. Even with some trees and weeds, it felt devoid of vitality. But now it seemed as if even the trees and grass gained a touch of vibrancy; even the new buds on treetops appeared more tender and green.
Sheep fat sizzled under the flames, emitting faint popping sounds like the most enticing accompaniment. The Hu people proudly tilted their heads, humming tunes, while Han people sat in circles, watching the Hu expertly turn the mutton, swallowing saliva.
Even Huang Cheng and the personal guards nearby watched A-da, though their eyes focused more on the mutton over the flames…
Fei Qian slightly tilted his head, whispering to Huang Cheng beside him, "Look, people live to eat, whether Hu or Han…"
Huang Cheng nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, thinking about it, it really is just for a bite to eat."
"With land, you can grow crops, herd animals, have food. So people fight desperately for more land, better land. But one day you suddenly realize there's only so much land…"
"..." Huang Cheng remained silent.
"Looking at our current troop numbers, they're like duckweed. To feed nearly ten thousand soldiers and horses, we need to control at least three county towns' territory, and even then it'll be tight…" Fei Qian calculated.
Han Dynasty farming techniques were too backward, limited by missing and non-standardized tools. For example, plows: there were good iron plows, bronze plows, and poorer people even used wooden or stone plows. Plowing depth had no standard, often relying on farmers' inherited experience. Planting spacing and fertilizer application also lacked fixed methods.
One could say Han Dynasty agriculture still had much room for improvement.
Around the old Pingyang county town site, there were flatlands suitable for farming.
The Beiqu location served as an outpost and trading market. The smelting operations currently at Beiqu were ultimately too high-risk and hard to keep secret. Sooner or later, they needed relocation; perhaps White Wave Valley was a good choice…
Of course, all these matters depended on getting through the current hurdle first…
Because of the Xiangling incident, the news of his changed marching direction had been sent to the Beiqu camp. Now it was a test of patience.
Fei Qian already felt immense pressure feeding his soldiers' mouths; how much more for the White Wave Army?
Back in Luoyang, when Fei Qian offered strategies to Li Ru, he said the hungrier people are, the harder it is to control and plan. When obtaining food supplies, they often panic and gorge uncontrollably.
It was true Yong'an county town had some grain, but the White Wave Army definitely lacked the ability for effective grain distribution and control. So mostly, whoever grabbed it kept it. In such a situation, White Wave Army members would instinctively eat as much as possible, desperately stuffing themselves, even when full. Grain that could have lasted a week, even ten or twenty days, might be panickingly consumed down to almost nothing in two or three days…
Then one morning after taking a dump, they might discover nothing to eat except piles of excrement…
And once tasting sweet millet rice, who would willingly go back to gnawing tree bark and boiling grass roots?
Therefore, without suffering major setbacks, the White Wave Army would surely head south for another round of plundering.
Following the Fen River south offered two routes: one passed Xiangling on the east bank, the other traveled along the west bank. On the west bank, they must pass the old Pingyang county town site…
Comparatively, Fei Qian preferred the White Wave Army taking the east bank. The east bank's terrain was narrow, not ideal for large troop movement, especially for a mixed farmer-army like the White Wave Army with families, elderly, sick, and weak. If their advance got blocked, the entire force could get stuck in the narrow, strip-like terrain. Hmph…
Completely abandoning the east bank for the west bank was also inadvisable. True, the west bank was flatter, facilitating movement. But if someone attacked Yong'an from the east bank, the White Wave Army's retreat would be completely cut off. Returning to the Lüliang Mountains would be harder than ascending to heaven. They'd be forced into a decisive battle with Hedong Commandery troops on the Fen River's west bank…
But the White Wave Army obviously weren't fools. So the most likely scenario was advancing along both banks simultaneously. Of course, this would split their originally concentrated force into two parts, weakening their strength. But nothing in the world offers both advantages; it's about weighing pros and cons, choosing the lesser evil.
Fei Qian just couldn't calculate who would go to the east bank and who would come to the west bank. While pondering, under Huang Cheng and the guards' intense gazes, A-da cautiously approached Fei Qian, bowing almost to the ground, holding a small knife high with both hands, muttering a few words in his language.
An old soldier who understood Hu language explained: he was inviting Fei Qian to cut the first slice of mutton. On the grasslands, custom dictated the Hu chieftain perform this task. But now there was no Hu chieftain, so naturally they came to invite Fei Qian…
So that was it. If it were other Han Dynasty officials, they'd probably impatiently shoo A-da away. In many Han people's minds, Hu people were barbarians. As scholar-officials, even speaking with commoners felt condescending, let alone dealing with barbarians?
So how should he act?