The Great Lakes area is surrounded by four dangerous fortresses outside and thousands of miles inside. It has been a famous grain-producing area and high-quality livestock breeding area for northern nomads since ancient times. Its value is no less than that of the Great River Basin.
As for the Dahe Basin, it refers to the Saling Water Basin between Yudujin Mountain and Kent Mountain. This is a vast river valley grassland with abundant water and lush vegetation. The Xiongnu Royal Court, Rouran and the Turkic Northern Khan Court are all located in it. Here, you can reach Beihai by going north along the Soling River, which is the essence of the entire grassland.
The Great Lakes Region can be compared with it. Its wealth, potential and strategic value can be imagined.
Although the territory that Murong Bei took over from Yang Ji was only in the central and southern part of the Great Lakes area, and many of the tribes inside were wiped out by the Sui army, resulting in a sharp decline in population and no longer the prosperity of the Bujia Khan period, it still had Turkic roots. The strong foundation left by the Khanate, so after two years of annexation and elimination of dissidents, he not only expanded his territory, but also cultivated 50,000 warriors who were good at fighting.
In fact, when he was conquering Xue Yantuo in the north, he also sent a letter to Yang Ji asking for instructions in advance. Once he defeated Xue Yantuo's ambition to go south, he would wait for an opportunity to attack the rear of Ashina Huaide or Qimin Khan. This plan got Yang Ji's approval. Set’s acquiescence. But soon, Murong Bei discovered that Xue Yantuo's main force was restrained by Nipu Chuluo Khan. The army remaining in the northern part of the Great Lakes region had been crippled by Ashina Huaide's shaman army. Now he wanted to deal with this army. It was not difficult for the remnant army, so they took advantage of the battle between Ashina Huaide and Qimin Khan to drive Xue Yantuo's remnant army northward step by step.
Looking back at the Sui Dynasty, Murong Bei found that the Sui Dynasty was also in chaos. First, the founding emperor Yang Jian died, and then Yang Liang launched an army to rebel. As for Liangzhou, Yang Ji was in Bingzhou. To suppress the rebellion for the king, the Liangzhou army was restrained in the south by Tuyuhun.
This situation in the Sui Dynasty made Murong Bei, who was blinded by victory, mistakenly believe that Yang Ji's acquiescence was that he was powerless, so his ambition began to expand, and he couldn't help but stretched out his claws again, driving Xue Yantuo's army from Lake Kyrgyz to the It reached the northwest of Ubud Sunol Lake and took into its possession 89% of the territory of the Great Lakes area.
Murong Bei received generous rewards one after another, and his greed and courage made a qualitative leap. Just when he was planning to completely wipe out Xue Yantuo's army, Ashina Huade and Qimin Khan almost unanimously reached out to him. With an olive branch, Ashina Huaide ordered people to send him 200,000 sheep, which relieved Murongbei's urgent need for the northern expedition. Qimin Khan also sent him 10,000 sets of Sui-made equipment, so that Murong Bei had 10,000 elite cavalry wearing iron armor.
With the support of Ashina Huaide and Qimin Khan, Murongbei, who thought that the Sui Dynasty would fall into a long civil war, refused Yang Ji's order to send troops to support Ashina Huaide and decided to use the entire Great Lakes region as his In order to obtain a high position and independent capital, after repeated consideration between the Eastern and Turkic tribes, he decided to give priority to Qimin Khan, but the condition was that he could pay taxes to Qimin Khan, but he must have full decision-making power in the Great Lakes area. Otherwise he would surrender to Sui.
Qimin Khan was overjoyed and immediately named him Mohe Dushe, set up a tent in the Great Lakes area, and ordered him to temporarily let go of Xue Yantuo's army, first march eastward along the Saling River, and attack Ashina Huaide from behind.
Murong Bei's large-scale march eastward caused panic in Ashina Huaide's army, which aroused the conflict between Ashina Huaide and Greedy Khan, causing them to perish in internal fighting.
After the two divided the war results and reached an offensive and defensive agreement, Murong Bei returned to the Great Lakes area without stopping. He ordered his son Murong Yan to lead an army of 20,000 to escort the prisoners and livestock back to his old nest. He led an army of 30,000 to go north to annihilate Xue Yantuo and realize the unification of the Great Lakes area. .
"Rumble~" The thunderous sound of horse hooves sounded in the wilderness, and the earth began to tremble slightly. On the distant horizon, a black line continued to creep forward and thicken, and a murderous aura suddenly rushed towards the face.
This is a team composed of 30,000 elite cavalry. The uniforms of this army are complicated. Some wear leather armor and some wear cloth. The weapons are also varied, some hold spears, some hold long knives, and some hold long knives. Some people hold scimitars, and some hold datewood maces with iron nails...
But Murong Bei was surrounded by five thousand elite cavalry. These soldiers were dressed in armor, had bows and arrows on their backs, swords hanging on their waists, and held spears and shields in their hands. If they didn't look different, people would definitely think that they were a Sui army.
These were weapons and equipment given to Murong Bei by Qimin Khan. There were 10,000 sets of weapons and equipment. Murong Bei gave the equipment to his own elite soldiers. Five thousand of them had followed Murong Yan south, so Murong Bei only had five thousand people around him. . The reason why Qimin Khan obtained such sophisticated weapons and equipment was because the Sui Dynasty funded it during the Kaihuang period, so that he would be able to fight against the powerful Bujia Khan.
Murong Bei rode his horse in front of the team with a gloomy face. He knew that it was in the interests of the Sui Dynasty to keep the Turks divided, so Changsun Sheng supported Qimin Khan to deal with Bujia Khan during the Kaihuang period; so Yang Ji After annihilating Bujia Khan's army, he did not kill Ashina Huaide, who inherited Bujia's great cause, and suppressed Chuluo Khan in the Western Turks, supported himself in the Eastern Turks, and made good friends with Xue Yantuo in the northern part of the Eastern Turks. .
Given the Sui Dynasty's hostility and vigilance towards the Turks, they would not have known that they had formed an alliance with Qimin Khan. If the Sui Dynasty knew that they recognized Qimin Khan's rule over the Eastern Turks, would they have thought that the Eastern Turks were a unified nation? country? Will he destroy himself first? And when he was attacked, would Qimin Khan, who had surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, send troops to help?
Do you regret it?
That's not the case, after all, his alliance with Qimin Khan not only received real benefits, but also provided security in the east, allowing him to safely go north along the Katon River to compete with Xue Yantuo and Qi Gu. Jianshui basin.
The only thing that worries him is that if he expels Xue Yantuo's forces from the country, Yang Ji will be angry. With Yang Ji's methods, if he leads the army north again, he may cause another bloody storm in the Great Lakes area.
"Great Khan, do you think the Sui Dynasty will send troops to attack us?" Murong Bei's general Pu Guchong asked worriedly.
Pu Guchong was a member of the Pu Gu tribe in Tiele and the chief of the Pu Gu tribe in the Great Lakes region. He wielded a spear, was highly skilled in martial arts, and was astute. He was one of Murong Bei's most capable generals.
Murong Bei said: "The Sui Dynasty may send troops north one day, but they will never attack us."
"Why?" Pu Guchong asked puzzledly.
"The Central Plains dynasty looked down on the barren and cold northern grasslands, so since ancient times, they have led their troops north when they felt that the north was threatened. As long as they defeated the threat, they would retreat instead of occupying the grasslands." Murong Bei smiled. , continued: "Compared with the behemoth of the Sui Dynasty, we are really inconspicuous. If the Sui Dynasty sends an army to attack, it will also attack Qimin Khan, who poses the greatest threat to them. As long as they defeat Qimin Khan, There is no need to worry about the rest. The rest do not dare to be enemies of the Sui Dynasty. It does not matter whether they fight or not. If the Sui army retreats, no one among us will submit to anyone, so we will start fighting among ourselves. This is exactly in line with the situation. The interests of the Sui Dynasty require it.”
Murong Bei knew that the grievances between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks could be traced back to the beginning of the establishment of the Turkic Khanate. During these more than fifty years, the two sides had been in the midst of aggression and counter-invasion. "The word "Turk" carries the most profound vigilance and fear. As long as there are still people using the banner of "Turk", then "Turk" will overshadow all the tribes on the grassland in the minds of the Sui Dynasty people. Of course, this is nothing to "Turk". A good thing; but for other tribes, including the Xianbei, the "Turks" were a shield that absorbed the attention of the Sui Dynasty, but it was an umbrella under which everyone could develop silently.
The top priority is to capture the entire Great Lakes region before the Sui Dynasty objects, so that he can go north to the Jianshui River Basin and have the political bargaining chip to negotiate with the Sui Dynasty.
As for the influence and consequences of the alliance, as well as the concerns and fears of the Sui Dynasty, it was the powerful Qimin Khan who could handle it.
After hearing these words, Pu Guchong felt a little disapproving, but there were some things he didn't dare to ask, so he had to follow Murong Bei silently.
At this moment, several messenger soldiers rushed over from a distance, shouting from a distance: "Khan, something big has happened."
When Murong Bei saw the panic on the faces of these soldiers, his heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling arose spontaneously. He rode up to meet them and asked, "What happened?"
"Young Master ordered us to report to the Great Khan that tens of thousands of Sui troops have been discovered in Guge Lake. They have approached Xiongnu Lake and are heading towards the depths of the Great Lakes area. All nearby ministries are calling for help urgently!"
Murong Bei was shocked when he heard this and broke out in cold sweat.
The northern part of the Great Lakes area was owned by Xue Yantuo, which made the central part less safe, so the southern part close to the Sui border became his military supply area. Since he had friendly trade with the Sui Dynasty, he only deployed five thousand soldiers in the southern area. Now the Sui Dynasty The Sui army actually came in tens of thousands of people. How could this be the opponent of the Sui army?
What frightened him even more was that even his son Murong Yan was still in the central region. If the Sui army took advantage of Xu to advance north, they could directly sweep into the central region. By then, how could he continue without his important logistical base?
Thinking of all the consequences, Murong Bei was in a state of confusion: What should we do now?
Next to him, Pu Guchong said anxiously: "Great Khan, since the Sui army is coming, we should try our best to rescue the south. If we go to fight Xue Yantuo's remnant army now, we will not only miss the opportunity and lose the fundamental important ground, but it will not take long. Xue Yantuo became what we are now, and the Sui army became what we are now."
"Well!" Murong Bei tried hard to force himself to calm down, and called for a centurion, who was a soldier. He took out a golden arrow and handed it over: "This is Qimin Khan's golden arrow. Wherever the golden arrow hits, it will be like this." I am here in person. You should go to the Turkic Northern Khan Court Ashina Qilifushe and ask him for help. Tell him that the Sui army will attack the Great Lakes area in a big way. If they don't want to lose an ally and if they still want the taxes from the Great Lakes area, they can do it immediately. Send troops to help!"
"As ordered!" The centurion took the golden arrow and galloped away with a group of guards. Pugu Chong looked at the soldiers' retreating backs and asked with great concern: "Great Khan, will you come?" Rescue?”
"This is an opportunity for the Turks to get the Great Lakes Region. Ashina Qilifushu also knows the value of the Great Lakes Region. He does not want it to be controlled by the Sui Dynasty, so he will definitely come to help in a big way," Murong Bei said, and then Issued an order to Pu Guchong: "Order the army to turn around and go south to intercept the Sui army!"
Murong Bei had actually thought about this serious situation, and even communicated with Qimin Khan specifically about the matter and expressed his attitude. He knew that if the Liangzhou Sui army was not angry and sent troops to fight, he would not be his opponent at all. , once he was defeated by the Sui army, the Sui Dynasty would definitely support a more obedient dog again, allowing the Sui Dynasty's power to penetrate deep into the prairie. Although it was Murong Bei who suffered the direct damage, in the long term, it would not be a good thing for the Turks. Therefore, Qimin Khan promised him that as long as the Sui army attacked him, the Turks would send troops to join the war in Murong Bei's name.
The second son of Qimin Khan, Ashina Qilifu, was stationed in the northern Turkic Khan's court. On the one hand, Qimin Khan strengthened his control over the central area of Eastern Turks, and on the other hand, he prevented Murongbei from advancing eastward and the Sui Dynasty. The army marched north, but at the same time, they were also protecting Murong Bei.
. . . . . . . . . .
Regarding the Sui army, Yang Ji also received important military information from Murong Bei. When he knew that all Murong Bei's troops were deployed in the northern part of the Great Lakes area, he decided to push the front line to the central and northern parts with lightning speed.
In order to occupy the central and southern areas as soon as possible, Yang Ji returned to the idea of the last battle and divided the army into three groups. He led 20,000 elite troops to continue northward against the Yudujin Mountains and swept away the tribes loyal to Murongbei from the east. At the same time, he also shouldered the responsibility of To defend against Turkic interference.
The Central Army was led by Master Cui and Shi Huaiyi. In addition to the 3,000 Weizhou troops, there were also 2,000 Qiang people from nearby ministries who were invited to assist in the battle. Shi Huaiyi was the scout general during his last expedition to the Great Lakes area, and he was responsible for this area. He is relatively familiar with it. Master Cui has his assistance, which at least saves him a lot of trouble. At the same time, Yang Ji ordered Li Daliang to lead a thousand elite soldiers as the liaison army between the three armies. This was a return to his old business.
As for the left army's leader, Li Jing and his deputy, Ben Wangxing, are also marching into the Great Lakes area. They will lead 10,000 Tingyi coalition forces and Wei Yunqi's 10,000 Qiang soldiers to move northward against the Jinshan Mountains. Then the three armies joined together to launch an attack on Murong Bei's troops.
But Yang Ji also knew that the battlefield was changing rapidly, and the changes in fighter planes could not be expected in advance. Moreover, Murong Bei was not waiting for them to encircle and suppress the puppets, so Yang Ji gave Cui Shi and Li Jinglin the right to change fighter planes, allowing them to make changes according to the changing situation. Adjust the tactics. If the center army and the left army need to fight together, then the chief general will be Li Jing, and Cui Shi will be demoted to deputy general.
Yang Ji did not encounter any abnormal situation. He had made a great name in the Great Lakes District last time. When the troops standing in front of him heard that Yang Ji was fighting in the Great Lakes District again, they ran if they could and surrendered if they could not. But Yang Ji This time Ji did not focus on killing. He tried to appease the surrendering tribes and said that he was here to deal with Murong Bei and had nothing to do with the tribes. If anyone made great contributions in the war, then he could be the new master of the Great Lakes Region. The surrendering tribes were firstly afraid of Yang Ji, secondly they were dissatisfied with Murong Bei who had been fighting and extorting excessive taxes, and thirdly they were tempted by the "new master of the Great Lakes Region", so they responded to Yang Ji's call and sent young men to join the war.
Under the combination of favor and power, Yang Ji's army pushed to the Muchagan Lake area without even fighting a battle, and the servant army led by General Yuchigong also grew to more than 6,000 people.
The speed was so fast that even Yang Ji could not expect it.
The Right Army of the Northern Expedition benefited from Yang Ji's evil reputation and had no surprises, no dangers, and no war. But Li Jing's left army encountered an abnormal situation. To be precise, he should have discovered the best fighter opportunity.
Li Jing received a report from the scouts that Murong Bei's base camp only had 3,000 defenders. Murong Bei's main force was far south of Ubusu Lake, and Murong Yan's 20,000 army had just arrived in the central area of Haer Lake.
In terms of time, they arrived at the base camp a day and a half earlier than Murong Yan, and it looked to the Harwusu Lake and Dele Lake to the north, the Wusanghetlin Mountain to the east, and the prairie of Jinshan Mountain to the west. If you take it, you can keep Murong Yan out of the middle part.
More importantly, once Murong Bei's base camp was captured, Murong Bei's logistics center was controlled, depriving tens of thousands of troops of crucial supplies. However, the Sui army could rely on Murong Bei's large amount of logistics supplies. At that time, even Ashina Qilifushe came to help or cut off their retreat, and the Sui army, which had sufficient food and grass, was in an invincible position.
If the news of the loss of the base camp reaches Murong Yan's army, then his army will be in chaos without fighting, eventually providing the left army with an opportunity to annihilate him. If Murong Yan comes to seize the base camp, the left army can beat him and wait for work. Annihilate them in You Dou.
Li Jing immediately divided his troops into two groups and ordered Wei Yunqi and Wang Xingben to lead 10,000 Qiang soldiers directly to meet Murong Yan's army to delay his march south. He also told them that if they encountered a situation where they had to fight, they could contact Master Cui. Let him come to help in the battle. He himself and Achi, the commander of the Yizhou Army, led an allied force of 10,000 to kill Murongbei's army.
