General Achi accidentally fell into the enemy's trap. Li Shimo had no choice but to retreat five miles as ordered. He discussed with several officers and unanimously decided to attack Bayan Town at night to rescue Achi.
Everyone quietly approached Bayan Military Town, but unexpectedly they heard Achi yelling hoarsely from the top of the town: "Li Shimo, you stupid donkey, go find General Li Jing quickly, you are no match for Qibi's Yiyi" !" Then Achi shouted loudly: "You guys, leave quickly, don't come here!"
Everyone looked at each other, wondering how long he had been shouting, and even his voice became hoarse.
Taking a closer look, under the bright firelight, you can clearly see the stripped Achi, who was hung upside down by the enemy on a wooden stake at the top of the city. There were several big men guarding him with spears, their gleaming spear points pointed at him. It seems that whenever he sees any movement, he will stab Achi to death.
An officer let out a long sigh and asked Li Shimo in a low voice. "General Li, what should we do now?"
Seeing that the other party was prepared, Li Shimo knew that a night attack was impossible, so he had no choice but to wave his hands: "Let's go back first and ask General Li Jing for advice! See if he can break this deadlock."
"That's all we have to do." All the generals nodded.
Li Shimo smiled bitterly and said, "Retreat!"
"Here!" With an order, hundreds of Sui army elites fled quickly in the night.
Seeing the Sui soldiers walking away, the defenders on the city put Achi down, picked up his legs and dragged him down the city until they reached the entrance of the Chinese army's tent. Then they put a pair of trousers on him and pushed him into the tent. account.
Achi was dragged all the way and his nose was bruised and his face was swollen. When he saw Qibi Zuoyi, he shouted: "Qibi Zuoyi, after all you were my guest back then. I have never treated you badly, but you have It would be a bit unjust to strip me naked and hang me upside down, wouldn’t it?”
"If I hadn't been righteous, would you still be alive today?" Qi Bi Zuoyi snorted coldly and ordered to the soldiers: "Untie him and let him sit down and talk."
Qibi Zuoyi's attitude made Achi secretly happy. After the soldiers were loosened, he took Qibi Zuoyi's robe from the wall and put it on, then sat down carelessly.
When he saw a wine lid and a cup placed on the table, he was moved. He poured a glass of wine into the cup and said to Qi Bi, "You used to drink from a big bowl. When did you become gentle?" Like King Wei, you drink from a cup instead?"
Qi Bi Zuoyi's eyes flashed and he asked calmly: "From your tone, it sounds like you are very familiar with Yang Ji?"
"Of course!" Achi drank the wine in the cup and said: "There are many famous generals in the Sui Dynasty, and it is almost difficult for low-level generals and soldiers to be promoted. In terms of martial arts, riding and shooting, I am far inferior to Wei. Xue Ju of the Royal Palace; in terms of merit, I have not made any achievements in the Sui Dynasty, but now I am the Zhonglang General and the deputy director of the Yizhou Military and Horse Inspection School. What do I rely on? The reason is that I am familiar with King Wei."
Qibi Zuoyi nodded. He somewhat believed Achi's words. Although Achi was the prince of Yiwu, the country of Yiwu was not as big as a county in the Sui Dynasty. Until Yang Ji destroyed the Chuyue tribe and occupied Puleihai. With its surrounding grasslands, Yiwu, which was renamed Yizhou by the Sui Dynasty, expanded. Therefore, Achi, Prince Yiwu, was nothing in the Sui Dynasty. At most, he could be regarded as the son of the governor.
There were many people like him in the Sui Dynasty. If Yang Ji hadn't valued him, how could he have become the Sui Dynasty's Zhonglang General and the deputy director of the Yizhou Military and Horse Inspection School?
Seeing Qibi doing Yi, Achi was thoughtful, so he changed the topic and said: "Brother Qibi, I might as well reveal a secret to you. In fact, our Sui Dynasty had three armies going north. King Wei led 20,000 elite troops to The right route army moved northward along the Yudujin Mountains, responsible for cutting off Murong Bei's retreat into the East Turkic grasslands; the center route army's leader Cui Shi headed north from the south, with the purpose of containing Murong Yan. As long as our left route army captures the Xianbei Grand Grassland, we will quickly advance eastward, and with the Central Army, we will annihilate the disorganized Murong Yan army, and then expel Murong Bei eastward. And over there, King Wei is besieging us, so none of you can escape."
"Really?" Qibi Zuoyi believed that what Achi said was true. He couldn't make up this tactic yet. Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to deceive himself for long, because this tactic couldn't withstand investigation. As long as he They sent out scouts to investigate and found out that the Sui army entering the country couldn't hide it from their own eyes and ears.
"Of course!" A Yi said: "King Wei even wiped out the hundreds of thousands of troops of Bujia Khan, and the little Murong Bei overestimated his own strength and made an enemy of the Sui Dynasty, which is tantamount to seeking death. Qibi Brother, even if you are not thinking about yourself, you should think about your people, right? If you insist on following Murong Bei, your Qibi tribe will be robbed, killed, and burned by King Wei because of your stupidity. You Why bother?"
Qibi Zuoyi was shocked and sweat appeared on his forehead! After Yang Ji's bloodbath in the Great Lakes area, he considered returning to Qi Bi Ge Leng's command, but his westward journey was already owned by the Sui Dynasty. No matter how he went, he would have to pass through the territory of the Sui Dynasty. How could the Sui Dynasty allow him to do so? He brought the army through? At that time, the East Turkic Prairie was in the midst of a struggle between Qimin Khan, Ashina Huaide, and Xuexue Cang. With the situation unclear, he did not want to rush to join anyone. Fortunately, Murong Bei treated him well. Yes, not only did he not annex his tribe, but he was entrusted with important responsibilities.
However, although Murong Bei treated him well, his biggest weakness was that his army was weak and mixed. Except for a small number of soldiers from Murong's tribe, most of them were Turks, ancient Qiang, Tiele, Sogdians, and Hus. People...that's all. The key point is that all the tribes in the Great Lakes area are afraid of being killed by Yang Ji. Once they know that Yang Ji has killed in the Great Lakes area again, they are afraid that all Murong Bei's soldiers will abandon their weapons and surrender and turn against each other.
How could Murong Bei be a match for the Sui army with only his direct lineage?
If the situation gets out of hand, I'm afraid as Achi said, his Qibi tribe will be doomed.
Achi originally wanted to persuade Qibi to surrender, but he already had a plan in his mind. Seeing that Qibi was wavering in the transaction, he added more force: "You are more capable than me, if you are willing to surrender to Sui , I, Achi, will take you to see King Wei. King Wei is a wise king who values talents and does not care about his origin. Even if you do not get the position of general, you will definitely be able to achieve enough to become a general with your own abilities in the future. No matter how bad it is, we can still ensure that your tribe will not be massacred by the Sui army! What do you think?"
Qibi Zuoyi was finally persuaded. He knew that in addition to the 2,000 soldiers in his own hands, there were only more than 1,000 people in the Xianbei Prairie. These soldiers and horses could not stop the Sui army from marching north. Even if he killed Achi now It will not help, but will anger the soldiers of the Sui Army who are so powerful. At that time, the Sui Army will definitely vent their anger by bloodbathing the Qibi Department.
He glanced at several of his close associates, and they all nodded to him, expressing their approval of raising troops to surrender to the Sui Dynasty. Seeing Yi's situation, Qibi made up his mind, and said to Achi in a deep voice: "Okay! I'll go with you to see him. King Wei."
Achi was overjoyed when he heard this: "If you want to get a high-ranking official, you have to show your sincerity. It is always not good to go empty-handed."
"I know!" Qibi Zuoyi nodded slowly and said: "I will hand over Bayan Town and Chele Town to you, and there are only a thousand defenders in the Xianbei Prairie. The captain of a thousand soldiers once fought side by side with King Wei. However, as long as the Sui army enters it and ensures that his headquarters is not harmed, he will definitely surrender after hearing the news."
"You can rest assured about this." Achi patted his chest and said: "The Sui Dynasty was worried that another ungrateful Murongbei would appear in the Great Lakes area, so we, the Sui Dynasty, decided to maintain a military presence here. In the future, you will too The people of the Sui Dynasty will not be bullied as long as they accept the rule of the Sui Dynasty and all government decrees."
"That's good." Qibi Zuoyi breathed a big sigh of relief. Last time, his tribe was not affected by the iron hoof of the Sui Dynasty. Instead, he got a lot of benefits when cleaning up the mess. But just because he saw too many Qi Bizuo Yi was somewhat frightened about Yang Ji's corpse.
At this time, when A Chi said that the Sui generals would garrison here, he felt relieved. After all, they would all be people of the Sui Dynasty in the future. How could Yang Ji, the king of Wei, kill as much as he did last time?
. . . . . . . .
Qibi Zuoyi, who was guarding the Xianbei Prairie, knew that he could not stop the powerful Sui army. Under the persuasion of Achitoncanlianhua who fell into his hands, he decided to lead his army to surrender to the Sui Dynasty. Achi immediately sent for Li Shimo and handed over to him the defense of Bayan Town and the recruitment of surrendered troops. He and Qibi rushed to Chele Town overnight under the protection of dozens of cavalry.
In the afternoon of the next day, a group of people entered Li Jing's camp. Before they arrived at the Chinese army's tent, Achi shouted loudly with joy: "General Li, I have made great achievements and come back."
Li Jing had just received an urgent military message from Li Shimo, saying that Achi had accidentally fallen into the enemy's hands. He was worried about himself, but unexpectedly heard that he was back. Li Jing was surprised and happy, and rushed out to welcome him. When he saw Achi striding towards him, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Achi, weren't you captured by the enemy? Why did you come back all of a sudden?"
Achi laughed loudly and said: "Although I fell into the trap of the enemy, fortunately they did not kill me, but took me to Qibi for exchange, so I took the opportunity to exchange Qibi for exchange." After being convinced, he is willing to lead his army to surrender to us in the Sui Dynasty, and you don’t need to fight Chele Town."
"Well done. This great achievement is yours. I will definitely give you my credit truthfully." Li Jing was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't want to know the process. How he was caught and how he persuaded Qi Bi to make changes was not important. What was important was Ah Chi said that surrendering Qibi for trade was not only a great achievement, but also allowed them to enter the Xianbei prairie without spending a single soldier. If it works well, it can wipe out the entire Murong Bei clan, young and old.
"General Li, Qi Bi is highly skilled in martial arts, both civil and military, and has a very high reputation in the Great Lakes region. He originally served Murong Bei as the leader in order to protect his tribe. It was precisely because his tribe was small and he could not succeed. No matter what the climate, Murong Bei regarded him as a confidant. He is still worried about my bloodbath of his tribe, so the condition he proposed is to surrender to the king, and he will only be relieved if he gets the king's promise." Achi approached Li Jing and put himself on the road He whispered what he had learned about, and after the introduction, he added: "General Li will take him to see the king. General Li, please write a letter! Tell me about the importance of Bayan Town and Chele Town. If Qi Bi Zuoyi saves a little face, he will definitely be able to make him completely devoted to our Sui Dynasty, and he will be able to better serve our Sui Dynasty in the future."
"This is simple." Li Jing looked at the sky and asked, "When will he surrender?"
Achi looked back at Chele Town in the distance and saw the gate open. A group of soldiers slowly walked out with white flags raised. Behind them, there was another group of unarmed defenders. He smiled and said: "Isn't Qibi Zuoyi here?"
Soon, Qibi Zuoyi was welcomed into the big tent by Li Jing and A Chi. Everyone took their seats respectively. Li Jing smiled and said: "General Qibi abandoned the dark and turned to the light. It is a blessing to both armies. With the general's talent and the achievements he has made today, , will definitely be reused by the king."
"In the past two years, our department has been doing business with the Sui Dynasty. We learned from the merchants that King Wei was a man of merit regardless of his origins. It is my honor to be able to surrender to the Sui Dynasty today."
When it was mentioned that meritocracy should be respected regardless of one’s origins, Qi Bi Zuoyi couldn’t help but glance at A Chi, who laughed: “I am also a great talent with great talent, otherwise, how can I convince you to surrender? "
"That's right." Qibi Zuoyi was speechless upon hearing this. If the Sui Dynasty hadn't been at its peak and unstoppable, how could he have believed A Chi's words and led his army to surrender?
He saluted Li Jing and said, "General Li, I am willing to help your army to pacify the Xianbei Prairie as soon as possible."
Seeing how knowledgeable he was, Li Jing smiled and saluted, "In that case, I'll leave everything to General Qibi! Please tell me everything you know."
Qi Bizuo Yi thought for a while and then told the information he knew: "Before King Wei's bloodbath in the Great Lakes Region, Murong Xianbei's strength barely ranked fourth, and the top three were Tujue, Tongluo, and Pugu. After the war, all the Turkic people were wiped out. Tongluo and Pugu were intimidated by the power of the Sui Dynasty. Seeing that Murong Bei was on good terms with the Sui Dynasty, they had no choice but to respect him as their master. After King Wei left, Murong Bei The remnant forces that originally belonged to the Western Turks came under his command, which enabled his strength to develop rapidly. If today's Dahu District is divided into five parts, then Murongbei has two parts in terms of strength, and Tongluo and Pugu each have one part. The other portion is collected by small tribes like us.”
Li Jing pondered for a long time and asked: "According to what General Qibi said, Tongluo and Pugu obeyed Murongbei's orders because they were afraid of the Sui Dynasty. If the Sui Dynasty and Murong Bei were at odds with each other, do you think they would be able to respect the orders of the Sui Dynasty?" ?”
"Murong Bei has ruled the Great Lakes Region for a very short time. He has always regarded Tongluo and Pugu as a threat, and has devoured Tongluo and Pugu's peripheral forces time and time again. Everyone dares to be angry with him but dare not speak out." Qi Bi stopped. After a while, he added: "The important thing is that Pu Guchong, the chief of the Pu Gu tribe, is unwilling to surrender to Qimin Khan. If General Li and King Wei persuade him, he will most likely abandon Murong Bei and surrender to the Sui Dynasty."
"Wait a minute." Li Jing said in a deep voice: "What does this have to do with Qimin Khan?"
Qibi Zuoyi was surprised and said: "Don't you know that Murong Bei has already surrendered to Qimin Khan?"
"I don't know." Li Jing's face became extremely solemn. He realized that his side had made mistakes in intelligence. Although Yang Ji had prevented Ashina Qilifu from sending troops to interfere before sending troops, no one went to Sui Dynasty or Sui Dynasty. Think about it from the perspective of an all-out war breaking out; if Murong Bei surrendered to Qimin Khan, then Ashina Qilifushe would not only interfere, but even break out a bloody war with the Sui Dynasty.
"Murong Bei was appointed as Mohedushe by Qimin Khan. In the future, he only needs to pay some taxes to Qimin Khan. In addition, the two parties also reached an important agreement." Qibi Zuoyi glanced at Li Jing , continued: "The agreement is that if Murong Bei is attacked, Qimin Khan will raise troops to help."
Li Jing was silent for a while and asked in a deep voice: "General Qibi, do you think Qimin Khan will send troops to the Great Lakes Region?"
"Definitely!" Qibi Zuoyi said without hesitation: "Qimin Khan and Ashina Huaide both tried to win over Murong Bei many times. In order to win over Murong Bei, Qimin Khan did not hesitate to give him 10,000 pieces of armor. . He is even prepared to betroth his daughter to him, which shows that Qimin Khan attaches great importance to the Great Lakes region."
Li Jing nodded slightly, he had realized that this battle was no longer against Murong Bei, but most likely a fierce confrontation between them and Qimin Khan.
Thinking of this, he slowly said to Achi: "I don't think you need to go to the king."
"Why?" Qibi Zuoyi and Achi asked in unison.
Li Jing said to the two of them: "The reason is that it is very likely that a war will break out between us and the East Turks, and in order to cope with the sudden change of the situation, we must gather our troops in the shortest possible time."
Qibi Zuoyi "knows the elegant meaning of the string song after hearing it", and suddenly realized: "General Li, do you mean to let us conquer the Xianbei prairie?"
"General Qibi's words are absolutely true!" Li Jing nodded appreciatively: "I will now join forces with Wei Yunqi and Cui Division to concentrate the power of the left army and the middle army to annihilate Murong Yan. Then we will join forces with the king. One place. So here, I can only leave it to you two."
At this point, Li Jing assigned the task. He said to Achi: "Although there are only a thousand defenders in the Xianbei Prairie, this is Murongbei's lair after all, so it should not be underestimated. You will send our own soldiers and General Qibi's soldiers He combined all the way and must conquer it in the shortest possible time. After that, escort the food and grass to the front."
"General, I will obey your orders." Achi obeyed solemnly.
Li Jing said to Qibi Zuoyi again: "General Qibi, as long as you complete this task, it will be a great achievement, but it will be much more useful than going to see the king now. When rewards are given based on merit, the reward given by the king must be far more than Now."
"Please rest assured, General Li, the general will understand!" Qi Bi Zuoyi nodded solemnly, he still knew which was more important and which was less important.
For him, the credit for capturing the entire Xianbei Prairie is far greater than leading his headquarters to surrender now; and at this critical moment, this credit will be infinitely magnified.
