"The art of war is strange! What is imaginary is real, and what is real is imaginary." Although it refers to the art of military use, it is also used to describe the relationship between the two countries. Aren’t the exchanges between the two countries a combination of fighting and conspiracy? But whether it is the use of troops or the friendship between the two countries, sometimes the stronger party makes its conspiracy clear, and the other party can do nothing about it. This is the conspiracy of a shameless rogue.
The characteristic of conspiracy is to use power to bully others, and even if the enemy sees through it, it is unable to resolve it. What Yang Ji used to deal with Tuyuhun was a rogue and shameless conspiracy.
He first hoarded troops at the strategic passages leading to Tuyuhun in Taozhou, Langzhou, Shanzhou, and Ganzhou, and then ordered Mai Tiezhang, the general manager of Guazhou, who had already expanded his army to 30,000, to station in Yangguan, and Yang Ji was dispatched from Ganzhou. There are 20,000 elite troops, and there are 50,000 troops in the Yangguan area alone.
To the west of Yangtze River, you can attack the ancient Shanshan Kingdom occupied by Tuyuhun and the small countries in the Western Regions controlled by Tuyuhun along the western foothills of the Altyn Mountains; marching to the southeast, you can enter the Qaidam Basin from the Dangjin Pass.
The Dangjin Pass is the junction of the Qilian Mountains and the Altun Mountains. The pass is in the shape of a "V", with a width of more than 70 miles in the north and more than 50 miles in the smallest part in the south. If the Sui army with sharp crossbows marches through the Dangjin Pass , it is possible to directly enter the core area of Tuyuhun. However, Tuyuhun is extremely unpredictable and has no way to defend itself.
It can be said that the 50,000 troops in Yangguan alone were enough to make Tyuhun Khan Murong Fuyun restless.
If we also count the five garrisons at Mulei Mountain in Ganzhou, Dadou Bagonan Valley and Changning Chuanshui in Shanzhou, Lianyun Mountain in Kuozhou, and Xiqingshan in Taozhou, then the Sui army on the border between the two countries has reached 100,000 people. , if the state soldiers are also included, it would be even more.
Such a large army did not pose much of a burden to the Sui Dynasty, because in addition to the 20,000 soldiers that Mai Tiezhang expanded in Guazhou, the armies of Ganzhou, Shanzhou, Kuozhou, and Taozhou were originally in Guazhou. The defense of the Turkic Khanate in the north is now just moving south. The loss of military supplies has almost remained unchanged from before, and the transportation cost has even been reduced than before.
In order to cooperate with Yang Ji's rogue tactics, the imperial court appointed Mai Tiezhang as the general manager of the march on Yangguan Road, Zhang Xutuo, the general manager of Ganzhou, as the general manager of the march on Ganzhou Road, Liang Mo, the governor of Shanzhou, as the general manager of the march on Shanzhou Road, and Murong Sanzang, the governor of Kuozhou. Zhang Jun, the governor of the state road march and the governor of Taozhou, was the chief march commander of Taozhou. Even Zhang Jun, the governor of Hezhou and Li Qiong, the governor of Lanzhou, who were in the interior, also took up the post of chief marcher.
"March Commander" is a title awarded by the imperial court to the generals of the army in wartime. It is filled with frightening evil spirits. The Sui Dynasty appointed so many March Commanders in the direction of Liangzhou, which immediately gave people a sense of the Great Sui Dynasty. To get rid of the feeling of tuyuhun.
Although the Sui Dynasty did not immediately attack Tuyuhun, the Yangguan garrison of the Sui Dynasty was an important place that cut off the east and west of Tuyuhun, and Mulei Mountain, Dadou Bagonan Valley, the source of the Changning River, Lianyun Mountain, and Xiqing Mountain were the two The six places are the strategic commanding heights of the country's watershed. All the initiative in the war lies with the Sui Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty has the final say on when to attack and when to launch the war.
To put it bluntly, these troops threatened Tuyuhun's border security almost all the time, causing it to be in constant panic; if Murong Fuyun had sent equal forces to confront the Sui army, Tuyuhun would not be able to afford the horrific military expenditures. If he did not send troops, What if the Sui army invades Tuyuhun? If you take the initiative to start a war, you don't have the aura and strength. Therefore, the only good way to break the situation is to resolve it through diplomatic channels, and then let the Sui Dynasty blackmail him. However, what Yang Jian wants is the entire Tuyuhun, which is four thousand miles from east to west and two thousand miles from north to south, rather than as simple as a few horses.
In order to achieve this strategic goal, Yang Jian has closed the "diplomatic window" and has not allowed any Tyuhun people to enter any inch of territory outside Liangzhou. In other words, he has completely unified the military, political, diplomatic and other affairs of the Sui Dynasty and Tuguhun. Leave it to Yang Ji, who knows his intentions.
When to fight and what to do were all decided by Yang Ji.
As for reconciliation, it is naturally possible, provided that Murong Fuyun surrenders the entire Tuyuhun with both hands, but everyone knows that Murong Fuyun cannot be so obedient, so Yang Jian told Yang Ji: If any envoy from Tuyuhun arrives in Ganzhou, just humiliate He hummed and said "please ask the imperial court" until Murong Fuyun couldn't stand it anymore or the Sui army adapted to the plateau climate.
It was almost the end of the year, and Yang Ji and the governors of various states were going to Beijing to report on their duties. However, due to a series of big actions in Liangzhou, Yu Shinan and Zuo Er (secondary minister) of the states were appointed as the envoys to the court to represent Liangzhou in the pilgrimage. Report on work and submit Liangzhou planning proposal. Of course, the main purpose was to represent Yang Ji when he entered the court to cry out for poverty, and to ask the court to open the door to convenience in terms of weapons and equipment, money, food and materials, taxes, etc.
After arranging everything, Yang Ji planned to go to see the construction progress of the five counties in Tingzhou, and also to avoid Ganzhou.
Recently, due to land issues, Ganzhou and Lanzhou aristocrats and Qiang tribes have been quarreling fiercely. Some things have been difficult for the people, criminals, supervisors, and judicial officials of various states to do because Yang Ji is in Ganzhou. These three When it comes to land distribution and land annexation, the department originally acted in a bad light and suffered infamy.
However, if the wealthy families and Qiang people in the two states have something to do now, they always bypass the officials at all levels and go straight to the General Manager's Office. Yang Ji can't ignore it, but he can't be as selfless as the Min Cao, Xing Cao, and Supervisory Office. Sometimes He had to make appropriate compromises, so he simply left the land issue to the three major departments and asked them to remain unselfish until the end.
In terms of law enforcement, Yang Ji has to admire his brother-in-law Xiao Yu. This guy is really selfless. If you talk to him about favors, it's like playing the piano to a cow. If you dare to bribe him, he will post your name and the amount of bribes in all states. In a conspicuous position, you will be criticized, and then the dirty money will be returned to the public. How to punish you will be punished according to the law.
When Yang Ji handed over the Liangzhou (Dazhou) case to Xiao Yu, this guy felt that Yang Ji had given him unreserved trust. He was so excited that his eyes were red and said, "I will never let down the trust of the general manager. I will definitely Maintain a cautious mind, punish evil, praise goodness, establish righteousness, and bring all lawbreakers to justice."
After this incident, Yang Ji finally discovered that this brother-in-law whom he disliked had a cute side. Since he had such a strong backbone to take the blame and bear the reputation, he was naturally very happy. After praising and encouraging him, he took his sister on a patrol. .
. . . . . . . .
Yizhou borders the Hexi Corridor to the east, Chishi Mountain to the west, and the rolling Shiluoman Mountains to the north. The entire state's territory includes Hami and the eastern part of the Turpan Basin. Across the border mountain, Chishi Mountain, is Gaochang State.
After Yizhou was occupied by Yang Ji last year, the imperial court established Rouyuan and Zhenyuan counties here. Rouyuan County is located in the Liugu River area. It is a county seat built on the basis of Rouyuan Military Town. There are endless grasslands and forests within the territory. Because it was previously dominated by Huhua Han people, there are large areas of farmland around the county. After the move With the addition, there are already more than 5,000 Huhua and Han households in the county.
The newly built Zhenyuan County is located in the northwest of Yiwu County. It was an important garrison town as early as the Han and Jin Dynasties. It is stuck in the middle of two official roads. When the north road passes through, there is a gap in Luoman Mountain and reaches Tingzhou; while the south road is Enter the ancient Silk Road of Gaochang State.
That afternoon, Yang Ji led 3,000 elites and 1,000 personal guards to escort a long grain convoy toward Zhenyuan City in the northwest. He pointed to the crimson mountains in the distance and said with a smile: "That is the Flame Mountain, commonly known as Red Rock Mountain. The Iron Fan Princess and the Bull Demon King I talked about last night live in the mountain."
The woman behind him looked around and saw a red mountain range stretching across the vast sky and earth. The sun shone on the mountain range, making the entire mountain range seem to be burning with blazing flames. She couldn't help but marvel.
Yang Ji's inspection this time was half-official and half-vacation, so in addition to the military maids, he also brought Xiao Ying and his servants out to enjoy the mountains and rivers and see the exotic scenery. As for my mother, Dugu Min, she feels that it is really boring for an old man to hang out with a group of young men and women. Instead of being embarrassed on one side, it is better to open more commercial outlets in Ganzhou and Guazhou counties.
Xiao Ying's master and servant were not good at riding, so they sat in a large carriage, with their concubine Liu Rumei accompanying them in the carriage. Zhang Chuchen, who was dressed in fiery red, and Murong Xianyue, who was dressed in grass and green, rode with Yang Ji.
Liu Rumei, Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue and others went out with the army last year. Naturally, they had seen the "Flame Mountain" and knew that the red Yiwu New City had stones collected from here. They didn't think there was anything strange about this mountain at first. But once Yang Ji was crowned with a mythical character, I felt that Huoyan Mountain was full of mysterious fairy atmosphere.
Zhang Chuchen let out a long sigh and asked leisurely and fascinatedly: "Sir, can Princess Iron Fan's banana fan really blow people thousands of miles away?"
"Of course!" Yang Ji said seriously: "If you are too lazy to walk, you can go to Bajiao Cave to find her, and she will send you thousands of miles away with just a fan."
Liu Rumei couldn't help laughing and said: "Chuchen, you don't want to borrow a banana fan, do you?"
"I'm not the Supreme Treasure." Zhang Chuchen said with a smile.
Yang Ji saw Xiao Ying sitting in front of the carriage thoughtfully and asked, "What are you thinking about, madam?"
Xiao Ying thought hard and said: "I was thinking that both the Bull Demon King and the Supreme Treasure liked Princess Iron Fan at first, but they both abandoned her one after another. And in order to forcefully marry Fairy Zixia, the Bull Demon King even wanted to marry the powerful Iron Fan. Princess Shan was no longer afraid, but Fairy Zixia was chasing after the Supreme Treasure, but she tried every means to avoid her, and devoted herself to finding Hua Qiangu. She really didn’t know how beautiful Hua Qiangu was. However, Hua Qiangu liked The flower-picking thief Tian Boguang would rather die for Princess Iron Fan than accept Hua Qiangu. Their relationship is so messy and complicated. It’s also very inexplicable.”
"The world of demons and gods cannot be judged by common sense." Yang Ji looked at Xiao Ying's soft and smooth face like mutton fat and jade, and said with a smile: "The Bull Demon King has not seen the lady, otherwise hundreds of Zixia fairies, he will not Will want it."
Xiao Ying's pretty face was suddenly filled with blush, her starry eyes were full of lingering love, and her charming tone revealed a strange firmness: "I have a husband, a hundred bull demon kings, one I don’t want a hundred supreme treasures.”
"Ah! Me too!" Yang Ji felt her deep affection, and there was an inexplicable throbbing in his heart, so that he, who had always been sharp-tongued, could only turn it into such a ridiculous sentence.
Xiao Ying smiled and looked at him with a pair of smiling eyes: "Mr. Lang, the Bull Demon King and the Supreme Treasure are men."
"..." Yang Ji was speechless and didn't know where to start. It wasn't because of the Bull Demon King and the Supreme Treasure, but because he had Liu Rumei and was not qualified to say to Xiao Ying, "I have a wife, a hundred Zixia." I don’t want fairies, a hundred flowers or a thousand bones.”
Xiao Ying understood Yang Ji's embarrassment, smiled sweetly, and said softly: "It is natural for a man to have three wives and four concubines. If a man watches a woman's life, he is called worthless."
"..." This was a life-threatening topic. Yang Ji really couldn't chat happily with Xiao Ying.
He looked at the sun that was about to set, and saw that due to the special climate environment in this area, the grasslands were covered with green grass. A small river meandered into the distance, and there were hills where sentry towers could be set up in the west, south and north. This is a good place to go to the village. He was afraid that if he missed this place, he would never find a more suitable place, so he ordered: "Send the order and camp here to rest today!"
"As commanded."
"Woooooooooo..." The order to set up camp spread. The soldiers stopped marching, unloaded supplies from the carriages, and began to set up camp. Tents appeared on the grassland.
…
"Your Highness, there is a defeated army outside. Judging from their attire, they must be Yizhou scouts." In front of the Chinese army's tent, just when Yang Ji was about to ask Xiao Ying to go out to practice riding skills, Xue Ju, who was patrolling in the west, rode his horse to report.
"I know!" Yang Ji said helplessly to Xiao Ying, "I wanted to teach you riding skills, but it seems I have to go and get busy."
"Riding is a trivial matter. It doesn't matter whether I learn it or not." Xiao Ying smiled softly: "You should put national affairs first."
"State affairs, family affairs, world affairs, everything is important. You go to the army tent to rest first." Yang Ji watched Xiao Ying and the other girls leave, and then asked Xue Ju, "How many people are there?"
"Twenty-seven people, and all of them are injured." Xue Ju bowed.
"Let their leader come to see me. The others will monitor him closely and don't let them move around at will." Yang Ji walked into the tent and waited.
After a while, Xue Ju brought in a bloody and embarrassed young man.
"Xue Wanjun of the Yizhou Scout Battalion is here to meet the chief manager." Xue Wanjun bowed and his voice was hoarse.
"Are you Xue Wanjun?" Yang Ji looked down at the other person in surprise. After a closer look, he found that he looked somewhat similar to Xue Shixiong. He knew that Xue Wanjun fought very bravely. What was the situation now?
Xue Wanjun cupped his hands and replied: "It is a humble position!"
Yang Ji asked suspiciously: "Didn't you go to Tingzhou with General Manager Xue to fight? How did you end up like this?"
"Back to the general manager, my father was worried that he could not teach Beizhi well, so he asked Beizhi to serve as a scout team leader under Sima Wang Wei. Beizhi was ordered to find out about Gao Changguo, but unexpectedly he encountered a Turkic army!" Xue Wanjun said sadly: "A group of soldiers There are only twenty-seven people left.”
"I understand!" Yang Ji nodded and asked, "What is the relationship between Gaochang and the Western Turks?"
The Gaochang State was already the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty in the Western Han Dynasty. However, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty until the unification of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains was in constant civil strife and was unable to manage the Western Regions. Therefore, the descendants of the military households who guarded the borders of the Han Dynasty established the Gaochang State. The country has since They had always sought protection from the Central Plains Dynasty since its establishment, but when the Central Plains Dynasty weakened, they could only rely on other powerful tribal forces. Prior to this, Gaochang had formed four Han political regimes: Kan's Gaochang, Zhang's Gaochang, Ma's Gaochang, and Qu's. The current king is called Qu Boya. Now he is dependent on the Western Turks and has been exploited by Ni Chuluo Khan.
Originally, like Yiwu before, Gaochang State only had tax collectors from the Western Turks. However, as the Sui Dynasty entered the Western Regions, Nichuchuluo Khan stationed troops in Gaochang State to prevent the Sui army from continuing to advance westward.
Yang Ji also prevented the Western Turks from advancing eastward, so he ordered the Yizhou General Administration to send additional scouts to go deep into Gaochang to find out information. It was obviously because of this order that Xue Wanjun encountered the Western Turks' army.
"The relationship between Gaoming Kingdom and the Western Turks is quite bad." Xue Wanjun explained, "Bizhi entered Baili City of Gaochang Kingdom many times as a businessman and established a relatively friendly relationship with the city lord Ma Jinwen. He told Beizhi personally more than once that they were From the king to the common people, everyone hopes that the Sui Dynasty will invade the Gaochang Kingdom."
Yang Ji asked curiously: "Why is this?"
Xue Wanjun said: "The taxes imposed by the Western Turks are too heavy. In our words, the tax is 60% for ten sheep and ten cattle. Gaochang State has to pay a tax of one million for sheep and cattle every year." They were miserable, just like the Yiwu Kingdom in the past, so poor that they could not even repair the palace. In the past, when they were loyal to the Central Plains Dynasty, they only had to symbolically hand over some sheepskins and gems every year, and then say a nice word, and the 'rewards' they received A thousand times more, they wish they could enter the court once a month. Because of this, they hope that the Sui Dynasty can enter Gaochang and drive them away from the Western Turks."
"..." Yang Ji and Xue Ju looked at each other speechless. Damn it, Gaochang State actually regarded the Sui Dynasty as a big fat sheep. But throughout the ages, the Central Plains dynasties have done this to satisfy their vanity.
Let alone a feudal society.
Even the new dynasty——
Alas, it’s all 404!
Yang Ji thought for a moment and sneered: "After you go back, let Wang Wei continue to contact Ma Jinwen, the lord of Baili City. It is best for you to be responsible. During the contact, you 'accidentally' told him: The Sui Dynasty also wanted to march into Gaochang and help Gaochang drove away the evil Western Turks, but we don’t have an accurate topographic map of Gaochang, so we can’t help.”
"Is the chief manager going to attack Gaochangguo?" Xue Wanjun asked happily.
"The time has not come!" Yang Ji said in a deep voice: "Our army has now occupied Yizhou and Tingzhou, which has aroused the vigilance of various countries in the Western Regions, Western Turks, Xue Yantuo and other foreign races. It is not appropriate to be too aggressive at this time. I am not prepared to continue to advance eastward. .”
The top priority is Tuyuhun. Only by getting rid of this roadblock can the road back be open forever. Regarding the Western Regions, Yang Ji is not prepared to push too hard. He will digest Yizhou and Tingzhou first. If he swallows Gaochang without doing his job properly, he will not Speaking of pressure from the outside, he can't cope with it just from his internal political opponents who are waiting for him to make mistakes.
"I understand, I understand. If the chief manager doesn't give me any instructions, I will resign first." Seeing that Yang Ji had no other instructions, Xue Wanjun bowed and left.
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