It was almost dusk, and the sky was filled with magnificent sunset. The sky seemed to be dyed with colorful pens, and Lake Idel was also sparkling and magnificent under the setting sun. The newly established camp of the Sui army is located in the southwest of the lake.
In the war that lasted from last night to today, Yang Ji never went into battle to kill the enemy in person; at this time, he was waiting in the Chinese army's tent for the generals to collect prisoners, while looking at the northern terrain map.
For the Sui Dynasty, the Great Lakes region had an extremely important strategic position. It was also the strategic depth and rear area of Liangzhou. Whether Yang Ji could confidently command his troops to attack Tuyuhun and whether he could disarm in the future all depended on who owned the Great Lakes region. So no matter what, we can't give it up to Qimin Khan, who is looking at him.
In his strategy for the Western Regions, Murong Bei was undoubtedly a losing chess piece. He originally thought that Murong Bei would be grateful and in awe of the Sui Dynasty, and then feed the Sui Dynasty in return. However, Murong Bei's wings were not hardened yet, so he tried to Breaking free from the shackles of the Sui Dynasty, it even introduced the power of Qimin Khan into the Great Lakes region.
Looking back now, the reason is that he, Yang Ji, took human nature too simply, underestimated the ambitions of foreigners, and underestimated Murong Bei's ambition to restore the country. Although Murong Bei was the person he supported, it could not change the wolf nature in his heart. When his career improved slightly, he showed his ferocious fangs.
Fortunately, Murong Bei was expelled, and the Great Lakes region was still in the hands of the Sui Dynasty. He could still rearrange the layout, and use the Moxi Governor's Mansion to control the military in the Great Lakes region.
However, this mistake made him now have to face the counterattack of Qimin Khan; although Yang Ji also understood that the fight with Qimin Khan would cause a series of consequences and even change the world structure. But it is a fact that Murong Bei surrendered to Qimin Khan, and Murong Bei successfully escaped at this time, so the only thing he can do now is to face reality and block Qimin Khan to the east of Dujin Mountain. Its expanding claws.
Of course, Yang Ji could also use diplomacy to get the court to put pressure on Qimin Khan, but it was just too late. Secondly, there is diplomatic pressure. It is impossible to defeat Qimin Khan's ambition. Even if he appears to obey the court's orders and settle down for a while, secretly he can still send people to attack the Great Lakes area and northern Liangzhou. Once the court held him accountable afterwards, he would at most likely blame the opposition and then use the power of the Sui Dynasty to eliminate the opposition, ultimately allowing his forces to remove impurities and refine them into steel during the battle.
Therefore, the best way is to teach them a severe lesson and use war to cut off their ambitions, weaken their power, and destroy their prestige.
"Sir, the generals are back." Liu Rumei, who came in to report, interrupted Yang Ji's thoughts.
Although Liu Rumei was Yang Ji's concubine, considering that her superb illusion and disguise skills might come in handy, Yang Ji still took her with him and let her continue to manage the Suzaku Guards accompanying the army with Zhang Chuchen and Murong Xianyue. .
This time there was no need for the Suzaku Guards to spy or assassinate, Yang Ji let them serve as army doctors. Today, the Suzaku Guard, known as the Medical Battalion, has gained quite a reputation in the military and has won the love and admiration of its lieutenants. This also prompted Yang Jisheng to have the idea of establishing a female medical corps.
As for the source of female medical soldiers, he has also thought about it, that is, women/slaves from the grassland.
These women have been working as cows and horses on the grassland for a long time, living a life worse than pigs and dogs. As long as they have not died in the cruel environment, they are all strong and powerful, and they can not only ride horses and archery, but even dare to kill people; Yang Ji doesn't expect them to learn superb medical skills, but simple disinfection with strong alcohol, suturing wounds, applying medicine, and bandaging are completely out of the question.
"The last general will see you, Your Majesty." During the march, there were not so many rules. Soon after Liu Rumei's announcement, the generals filed in with smiles on their faces and saluted Yang Ji who stood up to greet him.
"No courtesy, no courtesy!" Yang Ji walked up to Wei Yunqi and said, "General Wei first helped me destroy Tuoba Ningcong, and then led a new army to make great achievements at Dangjin Mountain Pass; it can be said that he abandoned Wen He is a model of martial arts, and I feel honored for my original support.”
After a pause, he then said: "This time, you led 10,000 loyal and brave soldiers to perform extraordinary feats in Bailangyuan, allowing all armies to respond calmly. General Wei should be ranked first in the merits of this battle."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the commendation!" Wei Yunqi's face turned a little red. He was not used to this kind of praise in public. When he thought of the many soldiers who died in battle, his eye circles turned red, and he whispered to Yang Ji: " Your Majesty, if the soldiers were not brave and loyal and everyone sacrificed their lives, otherwise the last general would not be alive today."
"I know this!" Yang Ji said: "When we return to Ganzhou, I will announce your deeds to the whole of Liangzhou; at the same time, I will choose a geomantic treasure place in Zhangye and build a hero memorial hall. I will tell all the wars The names and achievements of the heroes who died in the war are all engraved on the Heroes Monument for generations to come to admire and worship, so that future generations will know that peace is hard-won and inspire future generations to always maintain their bravery and enterprising spirit. Among them , including the soldiers who died in Bailangyuan."
With a "boom", the big tent exploded. All the generals in the army praised Yang Ji for his wisdom and praised him as a wise king.
For people like them who are not short of money, the position and the amount of money may not be the most important thing, but the honor and posthumous reputation that will go down in history and be passed down from generation to generation are very valued and cared about.
At this moment, they could not wait to tell all their subordinates the good news and let them know: Our Sui Dynasty and Liangzhou have a "Heroes Memorial Hall"; our Sui soldiers and Liangzhou army have a hero who will go down in history and later generations. A place where people look up.
After being excited for a long time, Li Jing brought Qibi Zuoyi forward and said to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, this is General Qibi Zuoyi."
Qibi Zuoyi cupped his fists and saluted, and said in blunt Chinese: "Qibi Zuoyi pays homage to the king, and is willing to serve the Sui Dynasty for generations to come."
Yang Ji comforted him gently: "I feel very sorry for Murong Bei's behavior, but getting General Qibi, I think this is the greatest blessing among regrets! I have already felt your loyalty; and your loyalty makes me If the army wins without a fight in the Xianbei Prairie, I will definitely go to the saint and ask him to grant the general the proper duties he deserves."
Qibi Zuoyi didn't expect that Yang Ji would give him such a high evaluation, and even go to the saint to ask for merit for him. He was surprised and happy, and said excitedly: "Thank you for your love, your Majesty. I only hate myself now." If I didn't meet the king and didn't serve the Sui Dynasty as soon as possible, I wasted several years in vain."
"General Qibi, don't be upset. Everything has just begun. There will be many opportunities to make contributions to the Sui Dynasty in the future." As a superior, Yang Ji knew that generals and foreign warriors care most about glory. This glory is not only reflected in money and official positions, but also in high positions. The verbal respect given by others also gives them a kind of honor.
But no matter what, he had learned Murong Bei's lesson after all, and no matter what, he would not support Qibi to make Yi or someone else to become the lord of the Great Lakes Region. He can now allow Qi Bi Zuoyi to become a powerful force in the Great Lakes region, but there will be many such powerful people in the future. For example, Pugu Chong, Che Le Liao, Murong Yan, and the remnants of the Jinshan Qiang who fled to the south... can all thrive in the Great Lakes area, but no one can dominate the family. Once a conflict arises between tribes, it must be mediated by the Moxi Governor's Office, rather than annexing other tribes and strengthening itself during the conflict.
Violators will be killed without mercy.
Next, Yang Ji praised the generals one by one, and then asked Yu Chigong, who was responsible for chasing Murong Bei, "Has Murong Bei been caught up?"
"I'm ashamed of myself!" Yuchi Gong said shamefully: "I led my army in pursuit for more than fifty miles, and only captured some defeated soldiers. According to the prisoners, after Murong Bei left the battlefield, he divided his troops into two groups and let the miscellaneous soldiers stay. Attracting pursuers from behind, he and Murong Sheng led their direct soldiers eastward along the Idel River and fled to the East Turks." Gu Guan
"It doesn't matter! I can't blame you for this." Although Yang Ji felt regretful, he also knew that Yu Chigong couldn't be blamed for this. Just because night fighting has one advantage for the defeated side, that is, when the war is unfavorable, the enemy general can escape under the cover of night. The victor's line of sight is blocked, making it difficult to accurately calculate the enemy general's escape route; if he is lucky enough to capture the enemy general, , either agents and spies have been arranged around the enemy general, or the pursuers are just out of luck.
But Yuchi Gong obviously has neither.
After comforting Yuchi Gong, Yang Ji introduced to Li Jing, Wei Yunqi and other partial division commanders: "I have received information halfway, saying that Ashina Qilifushu personally led the army to leave the northern Turkic Khan's court and marched from the cavalry. Judging from the speed, they have crossed the Punu River today and are marching towards the Guqishui area. It can also be seen that Qimin Khan is determined to win the prosperous Great Lakes District, but the Great Lakes District is the protrusion of Liangzhou and is not suitable for us. It is extremely important. As long as we hold on to the Great Lakes area, not only will Liangzhou have strategic depth, but we can also maintain an offensive posture against the East Turks, West Turks, and Xue Yantuo, and grasp the initiative in the war instead of passive defense, so it is ten thousand Never give it to Qimin Khan."
After talking about the importance of the Great Lakes region, Yang Ji continued to talk about the strength of both sides: "It is said that Ashina Qilifu set out to send 60,000 troops. These 60,000 troops were the 30,000 elite troops given to him by Qimin Khan, and the northern Turkic troops. The Khan's court has 10,000 new shamans and 20,000 miscellaneous soldiers. In terms of military strength, Ashina Qilifushe has a great advantage, but when it comes to the army's combat power, fighting spirit, morale, equipment, mental outlook, and general command In terms of ability, they have no advantage. If we put aside the imperial court and Qimin Khan, purely based on the strength of us and Ashina Qilifushe, this will be an evenly matched battle."
"If you want to occupy the Great Lakes Region, you have to see who can perform better. Factors other than the battlefield such as intelligence, food, military morale, and people's morale are all keys to victory that cannot be ignored. Medicine Master, I want to know where Murong Bei will stay. How much grain and grass is there in the Xianbei Prairie? And where are they stored?"
It is also the responsibility of the army commander and general to count, register and seal the spoils after the war. Otherwise, it will be a huge dereliction of duty. At least the merits and demerits will be offset, and at the most serious, the head will be lost. Li Jing will naturally not make mistakes on this issue. After listening to Yang Ji's question, he immediately answered: "Reporting to your Majesty, the official grain of the Xianbei Prairie totals more than 86,300 shi. The grain is mainly wheat and highland barley; there is also a little rice, but it is extremely rare, and they are all It was food bought from Liangzhou for the nobles to eat. Among them, Murongbei's palace had 40,000 stones, and the remaining 46,000 stones were scattered in military fortresses in various strategic locations. As for the horses and cattle scattered throughout the prairie Since there will be no time to count the sheep one by one at the end of the day, I gave Cui Shi the full authority to count the sheep, and he will also take care of the grain, dried meat, milk wine, gold, silver and jewelry in the warehouse."
Qibi Zuoyi also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, in addition to what General Li said, Bayan Town and Chele Town each have 15,000 shi of highland barley rice."
Yang Ji nodded slowly. The number Li Jing and Qi Bi Zuoyi mentioned was close to 120,000 dan. If they include the food stored in some strongholds, it would be at least 200,000 dan. And they still have more than 36,000 elite soldiers and more than 2,000 Qiang soldiers. If we add the 6,000 surrendered soldiers and 3,000 Qibi troops recruited by Li Jing, their strength will be even more than the 43,000 before departure. seven thousand. As for the 38,000 captives Cui Shi brought to the Xianbei Prairie and the more than 30,000 captives here, Yang Ji planned to send them to Liangzhou for labor reform, which would not only increase the labor force in Liangzhou, but also weaken the Great Lakes District. The military strength is also conducive to Cui Shi's rule here.
In addition to the food needed for the prisoners to go south and the food needed for the garrison at the Governor's Mansion, there are at least 140,000 to 50,000 shi of food as military rations. If meat food is also included, it is enough to feed an army of 40,000 people for a year, so his food is very sufficient. , there is no need to worry about food at all.
Seeing that there was abundant food, Yang Ji had the idea of forming slave soldiers to serve as cannon fodder. However, slave soldiers were easy to form and their loyalty and combat effectiveness were rare. It was not a day's work. In addition, Ashina had already advanced to the Great Lakes area. , so the top priority is to deploy troops and contain Ashina Qilifushe in the south to prevent him from causing greater damage to the Great Lakes region.
At the same time, Xue Yantuo's remnant army in the north must be cleared as soon as possible, because Xue Yantuo has accepted the canonization of the Sui Dynasty and pays a large amount of property every year, and must not fight in the name of the Sui Dynasty; and the current situation in the Great Lakes area is unclear, and it is This is a great time to take action. If he goes to fight in the name of Murong Bei, even if Yi Shibo knows what he is doing, he will have no choice but to admit it. If he tries to expel him after he has stabilized, it will be a breach of trust for the Sui Dynasty. Who will dare to do it in the future? Be loyal to the Sui Dynasty?
Yang Ji thought for a long time and asked Qibi Zuoyi: "General Qibi, where are the remnants of Xue Yantuo's army now?"
"Their military camp is located in the northwest of Wubusu Lake. There is a Katon River there. As long as they go north along the river, they can bypass Jinshan and return to Xue Yantuo's old lair." Qibi Zuoyi thought for a while and added: "Your Majesty , when Xue Yantuo’s army attacked the Great Lakes area, they took this road, and it was also the only road leading to Xue Yantuo’s lair.”
Yang Ji asked again: "How many troops are left in Xue Yantuo's remaining army?"
"Report to the king!" Qibi Zuoyi said respectfully: "There are about fifteen thousand people left, half of them are Xueyantuo people, and the other half are herdsmen around Ubusu Lake."
"Hmph! Yi Shibo wants to stay here and not leave." Sima Yang Shanhui sneered when the march came, stood up and cupped his hands to Yang Ji and said: "Your Majesty, I think this is an excuse for Yi Shibo to enter the Great Lakes area. As long as After his army has been in the Great Lakes area for one day, it will be able to use rescue, confrontation and other reasons to fight for the Great Lakes area. To avoid wrangling in the future, I suggest that this remnant army be defeated immediately to completely cut off its ambitions and excuses."
"Coincidentally!" Yang Ji smiled, took out a command arrow, and ordered to Wei Yunqi: "General Wei, you take those 6,000 surrender troops and 3,000 Qibi troops northward. In the name of Murong Bei, Annihilate this remaining army."
"General, I obey!" Wei Yunqi stepped forward to receive the order.
Yang Ji looked at Qibi Zuoyi who was delivering the message: "General Qibi, you will be the deputy general of General Wei."
Qibi Zuoyi was overjoyed and saluted, "Thank you so much for your trust, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's high expectations."
"Listen to me!" Yang Ji said to the two of them: "You have to go to the south to fight, so not only can't a single Xueyantuo person escape from the Great Lakes area, but you also have to end the battle in the shortest possible time. Go down and prepare!"
"Here!" Wei Yunqi and Qibi bowed to Yi and retreated.
Yang Ji thought for a while and then said to Li Jing: "Yakushi, you go south tomorrow and stop Ashina Qilifu's momentum for me. In addition to the 10,000 Yiting coalition troops and 5,000 Weizhou troops, I will give you another 10,000." Elite soldiers; Xue Ju, you also take your three thousand vanguard troops south to help in the battle."
Separated one by one in this way, Yang Ji only had a pitiful 8,000 elite soldiers in his hands, and the more than 2,000 Qiang soldiers in the Xianbei Prairie could not be moved for the time being; but now that he had become the rear army, he had these 8,000 elite soldiers to recruit and surrender. Soldiers are more than enough.
"General, I obey." Li Jing and Xue held a ceremony to receive the order. Li Jing glanced at Ling Jing and made a request to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, I humbly hope that Ling Sima can be my marching Sima."
"Yes!" Yang Ji laughed dumbly. It seemed that Ling Jing had gained the attention and recognition of the generals. This was exactly what he liked to hear and see happen.
Li Jing said happily: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
After the arrangements were made, Yang Ji said to Yang Shanhui: "Yang Sima, let's go meet with the captured generals."
"Here!"
7017k
