The Turks were finally driven out of Youzhou. Although Yang Gao desperately wanted to attack the desert north to avenge the people of Youzhou, and many Sui soldiers were also filled with indignation at the Turks' atrocities in Yuyang, Yang Gao had to face it. to reality.
First of all, since the Sui army entered Hebei and fought thousands of miles away, the whole army was exhausted. In fact, it had reached the end of its war effort.
The second is the consumption of the national treasury. Youzhou and Hebei are newly settled areas. They have experienced wars for a long time and are in urgent need of large amounts of food relief. They are no longer able to supply the Sui army for large-scale operations.
In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang's hundreds of thousands of troops in Hebei are entrenched in Boling and Zhaojun, threatening the Sui army's flanks. Yulin Pass is also still in the hands of the Jurchens led by Wanyan Aguda. If the main force of the Sui army goes north to the grassland, these two enemies will He must take the opportunity to cause chaos behind the Sui army.
The most important point is that winter is coming soon. Once it snows, thousands of miles of grassland will be covered with snow. Traveling through these hundreds of miles of snowy fields, there are too many unpredictable dangers, which is not conducive to Advance troops.
Therefore, Yang Gao gave up the idea in his mind, secretly remembered this blood debt, and turned his energy to internal affairs, recuperating and waiting for his strength to recover.
The first is the appointment of personnel. Yue Fei was promoted to Duke Mu, the Marching Marshal of Hebei Province, and was based in Hebei. Han Xin granted Zhuguo the title of General Manager of Youzhou and took charge of Youzhou. Because Han Xin was relatively junior, he did not have a title yet.
Yang Gao each assigned these two frontier officials the next task. Yue Fei was responsible for wiping out Zhu Yuanzhang entrenched in Hebei, while Han Xin was responsible for capturing Linyu Pass.
Qin Qiong conferred the title of Marquis of Licheng and made him the general of Wuwei on the left. Di Qing conferred the title of Marquis of Fenyang and made him the general of Wuwei on the right. With the recovery of Hebei, Youzhou and other places, there was no need to station a heavy army in Qingzhou. With a stroke of his pen, Yang Gao ordered Qin Qiong and Di Qing to lead their troops south to assist Li Jing in counterattacking the Tang army.
However, the troops were now tired, and because of his trust in Li Jing, Su Dingfang and others, Yang Gao ordered Qin Qiong and Di Qing to lead their troops to rest in Hebei and wait until spring before heading south.
Zhang Xun conferred a title on Deng Guogong, rewarded him with thousands of pieces of silk, and transferred him to Jiangdu to be responsible for Jiangdu's security. Qi Jiguang was awarded the title of General of Zuo Ling and Zuofu and paid homage to the governor of Qingzhou.
The Japanese colluded with Li Jiancheng to invade Qingzhou and massacre the people. Yang Gao would never forget this debt. This time, he appointed Qi Jiguang as the governor of Qingzhou to take charge of Qingzhou. Yang Gao ordered him to train new recruits with the backbone of his five thousand soldiers, who were replicas of the Qi family army in history. In preparation for going to sea to conquer Japanese pirates in the future.
Fu Youde was promoted to General of the Left Guard and appointed the Governor of Huaizhou. Shi Dakai was promoted to General of the Right Guard and appointed the Governor of Weizhou. The two of them served as Yue Fei's right-hand men and stationed in Hebei to fight against Zhu Yuanzhang.
Wang Zhongsi was promoted to General Youwuhou and appointed governor of Yingzhou. As Han Xin's deputy, he was mainly responsible for the training of the newly formed cavalry.
"The training of new recruits is one thing, but without actual combat training, they cannot be considered elite after all. I think you can form a small group of cavalry to go out from time to time to attack the barbarian tribes, and use these barbarians to train elite soldiers!"
"Your Majesty, do you mean to imitate the Turkic barbarians in clearing grass and valleys? Will this damage our reputation of benevolence and righteousness in the Sui Dynasty?" A minister suggested cautiously.
Yang Gao retorted unceremoniously: "Benevolence and righteousness are for my people in the Sui Dynasty. These barbarians have been plundering the border all the year round, and the people on the border have suffered greatly. How can they ever say the slightest bit of benevolence and righteousness? Kindness to the enemy is a sign of kindness to the enemy." Despite my own cruelty, only those who submit to me, the Sui Dynasty, can obtain the benevolence, justice and etiquette of my Great Sui Dynasty."
The training of cavalry was finalized under Yang Gao's leadership. In addition to Wang Zhongsi, Yang Gao also arranged for six generals, Yang Zaixing, Lu Wenlong, Pei Xingyan, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Zhang Liao, to assist Wang Zhongsi, and each united the cavalry department. Responsible for leading the team to attack the Turks in the north.
"Your Majesty, although I am old, my arms can still hold a three-stone bow, and I still have the strength of a thousand pounds. I would like to ask your Majesty to also let me go to Youzhou to assist General Wang Zhongsi in training cavalry to go to the north of the Great Wall to attack the Turks."
Originally, Yang Gao planned to transfer veteran Yang Ye to Yang Lin as his deputy, but Yang Ye, a clinker, went to Youzhou instead. Yang Gao was worried that Yang Ye's status would be respected and it would be difficult for Han Xin and Wang Zhongsi to command them.
"Your Majesty, don't worry, General Han, I understand General Wang's abilities. I am willing to go to Youzhou as a general and obey the command and dispatch of the two generals. In my early years, I was stationed on the border, and many of my sons died in the battlefield. I have some differences with the Turkic barbarians. There is a deep blood feud between us, and I only want to kill more barbarians and traitors when I leave, that's all."
Unable to withstand Yang Ye's pleas, Yang Gao finally agreed to Yang Ye's appointment. Zhuo Yangye and his son Yang Yande also commanded a cavalry force like Yang Zaixing and others.
The other generals were also promoted and rewarded based on their merits. Gao Chong, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, He Yuanqing, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Xu Qing, Shi Wengong, Tang Bin, Duan Xiushi, and Xue Wanche assisted Yue Fei in garrisoning Hebei. Ma Lin, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, Han Yanzhi, and Xiong Kuohai still stayed in Youzhou, while Zhang Yu, Gan Ning, Zhang Jue, and Guo Zhiyun followed Qi Jiguang out of Qingzhou.
Yu Qian was appointed as the prefect of Youzhou, Wen Yanbo was appointed as the Sima, Yao Chong was appointed as a farewell officer, Wang Anshi was transferred to Hebei Province to inspect the local area, Yang Shiqi was appointed as the Zuopu She of Hebei Xingtai, and Zhang Shuye was appointed as the Shangshu of Hebei Xingtai. The three were responsible for checking and rectifying the Hebei farmland. people's livelihood.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Your Majesty, there are many people outside. They have been surrounding His Majesty's palace, asking to see Your Majesty!"
Although the personnel arrangements in Youzhou have been finalized, there are still many wastes waiting to be done. Some county magistrates and other officials dispatched by the Ministry of Civil Affairs are still on the way. Yang Gao also plans to stay in Youzhou for a while. On this day, Yang Gao had just returned from practicing martial arts in the martial arts field, and was about to discuss with Liu Bowen and others the Tang Dynasty's attack on Bashu, when Yuwen Chengdu suddenly came in to report.
"Let's go out and take a look!"
Yang Gao frowned slightly and immediately took Liu Bowen and a few others out with Yuwen Chengdu.
"The common people see your majesty. Your majesty has great military virtues and has defeated the barbarians. This is really a blessing to the people and a blessing to the Sui Dynasty. Your majesty should love the people like a son. Now that the barbarians have retreated, please return the people's wealth to the people and do justice to the common people."
A fellow villager at the front said tremblingly, "The common people are Pan Xing of the Pan family of Zhuojun. The fifty acres of fertile land twenty miles north of Zhuojun city belong to my Pan family. But a few days ago, officials came to clear the land. All fifty acres of fertile land have been distributed to nearby villagers, and your Majesty is asked to make decisions for the poor people!"
A cold light flashed in Yang Gao's eyes, and just after everyone drove away the Turks, these squires came to pick fruits. He glanced at Pan Gui lukewarmly and said calmly: "Since you said that the fifty acres belong to your Pan family, what evidence do you have?"
