"Sage, King Wei has arrived." Outside the main hall of Qianqiu Palace, a chamberlain reported to Yang Guang.
Yang Guang smiled and said: "Let him come in!"
"I'm already here!" Before Yang Guang could finish his words, Yang Ji had already walked in. When he got close, he saluted Yang Guang.
"What's going on over there in Xianyang?" Yang Guang asked casually.
Yang Ji thought that Yang Guang was worried about the military reform, so he called him back to ask, and quickly replied: "It's okay!"
Yang Guang was stunned for a moment, then sat down again, glanced at Yang Ji angrily, and pretended to be angry: "What do you mean it's okay? Be more specific."
"For now, the most dangerous stage has been passed; next, as long as the problem of resettlement of the elderly and the weak is solved quickly, and the appointment of Yongxian follows suit quickly, there will be almost no chaos."
Yang Guang asked: "Vajra slave, the entire army has actually done such a terrible thing. Do you have any ideas about what's next?"
Yang Ji said with a smile: "Military reform is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. Now that you have reached this stage, no matter how difficult it is, you must grit your teeth and go on; otherwise, all your previous efforts will be wasted, and if you want to restart military reform in the future, you must come from the court. Various obstacles, from the military and from the people, are bound to be a hundred or a thousand times greater than they are now. It’s just that it was too radical before, making the resettlement seriously unable to keep up. If the tailoring and resettlement are seamlessly connected, there will be no danger of the day, and there will be no danger. There are no complaints, so in the next step, safety should be the priority.”
Yang Guang nodded and said with a smile: "Vajra slave knows me. Although there are twists and turns in the military reform, the direction is still right. Learn this lesson, be careful and be careful again."
After pondering for a long time, he asked again: "How is Yang Qing doing in the Binzhou Army? Can you let go?"
"Actually, he is responsible for the details. I just served as a military advisor for a while. Now the Binzhou Army has entered normal training. It's the same with or without me." After Yang Ji finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask : "Do you have anything else for me to do?"
"Read it yourself!" Yang Guang handed the military newspaper to Yang Ji.
After Yang Ji read the military report, he understood why Yang Guang had summoned him in a hurry, and asked if the Binzhou army could let him go. If he dared to let Liaodong deal with the Khitan, he thought for a while and asked: "Let Youzhou army Wouldn't it be faster if the general manager Li Zixiong or Brother Teng Wang sent troops?"
"Li Zixiong should be in Yingzhou now to assist in the defense. Binzhou will also lead his army northward, but their mission is to help you contain the main Khitan army, not the main battle army." Yang Guang looked at Yang Ji and said calmly Said: "This time the main force is Turkic, but the coach must be from the Sui Dynasty. After much thought, you are the most suitable."
Only then did Yang Ji understand Yang Guang's tactics of driving away tigers and devouring wolves and using barbarians to control barbarians. He stood up without hesitation and said, "I've done this! It's just a question of whether this battle will destroy his country and occupy his land, or just cripple the Khitans." ?”
"Just cripple it!" Yang Guang explained: "The relationship between our Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo is subtle, and our Sui Dynasty Yanzhou and Liaozhou are bordered by the Liaohe Plain occupied by Goguryeo, as well as the eastern part of Khitan. If we occupy Khitan, it means that the western part of the Liaohe Plain All are under the threat of the Sui Dynasty, which will make Goguryeo uneasy in the dormitory. And our Sui Dynasty is not ready for a decisive battle with Goguryeo. If we attack rashly, I am afraid the tragedy will happen again. When we repair the official road of the Liaodong Corridor, It’s never too late to shed the hatred of the past.”
"That's good!" Yang Ji understood, and then said, "But I want one person, and this person can be worth ten thousand troops."
Yang Guang asked curiously: "Who?"
"The second prince of the Turks, Ashina Qilifushe!" Yang Ji said with a smile.
Yang Guang's expression was ever-changing, and his eyes gradually brightened: Ashina Chilifushe originally had the strength and reputation to seize the throne, but he was beaten to the death by Yang Ji successively in the Great Lakes District and Madam Fan City. He was left with no way out, and in the end he was reduced from a powerful prince to an abandoned son. He must have been unwilling to accept it. Maybe even Qimin Khan hated him, let alone Ashina Duji.
If Ashina Jilifu established military exploits, he could restore some of his reputation and bring back some of his old subordinates. Maybe before Qimin Khan died, he could have grown up to a point where he could rival Ashina Duji. At that time, East Turkestan was very lively.
Thinking of this, Yang Guang suddenly slapped his thigh and said with a smile: "Wonderful!" Then he ordered Yang An: "Send someone to the post house to invite Ashina Qilifushe to me."
"Here!" Yang An responded.
"If you don't ask Qimin Khan to discuss matters, how can you mobilize the Turkic army?" Yang Ji couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry. In order to show his loyalty to me, Qimin Khan gave me a few more golden arrows to mobilize troops. Each of them can command the Turkic army. Since the opponent's military talisman is in hand, why let this old fox Come to blend in?" Yang Guang finished the introduction, and then said: "The Khitan dog is not very strong. At most, it is as big as a small country in the Western Regions, but it suddenly invaded the Sui Dynasty from the south. This unusual move is really unexpected. This What do you think?"
Yang Ji roughly guessed Yang Guang's intention. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Could it be Goguryeo who is behind this? After all, this has not happened once or twice."
Goguryeo has a history of more than 700 years since its founding in the Western Han Dynasty. During these more than 700 years, Goguryeo adopted different strategies to deal with the Central Plains dynasties in different periods. Once it encounters a prosperous Central Plains or a wise king, it will surrender. , when encountering troubled times or weak separatist forces, they annex surrounding territories and gradually strengthen themselves, so they can live well in troubled times and peaceful times.
As early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Goguryeo planned to make a profit, but Cao Cao came out of the blue. Goguryeo had no room to fight back and was almost completely destroyed by Cao Cao. Unfortunately, the Central Plains consumed too much of Cao Cao's energy, and he looked down on the bitter cold land. Therefore, after taking care of Goguryeo, Cao Cao withdrew his troops. However, after Cao Cao's death, Goguryeo took advantage of the civil strife in the Three Kingdoms to once again expand its territory.
In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Goguryeo made strong eastward advances again and again, intending to take a big hit. However, it was repulsed by the Yan State of the Murong clan of Xianbei and had to retreat to its own territory. After that, they advanced eastward many times and were pushed back by the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Northern Qi.
For a period of time after that, it mainly focused on unifying the peninsula, but it attracted its dependent country Silla and Baekje to resist vigorously. After many years of fighting, the powerful Goguryeo lost the rich Han River Plain. Among them, Baekje occupied the middle and lower reaches of the Han River plains, and Silla acquired the upper reaches of the Han River plains.
Goguryeo saw the situation and could not do anything, and once again changed its strategy of unifying the peninsula to the east and north; then divided Silla and Baekje, and bewitched Silla, who was looking forward to Shu, to tear up its alliance with Baekje, suddenly attacked Baekje, and occupied the middle of the Han River The lower reaches of the plain; and Baekje was originally the second among the three kingdoms of the peninsula, but since the Holy King of Baekje personally conquered Silla in 554 and died in the ambush, Baekje's strength has declined, and it has changed from the second to the third. However, Silla rose strongly and became the second among the Three Kingdoms, and continued to fight with Baekje.
As for Goguryeo, it withdrew from the disputes on the peninsula and encroached on the Liaohe Plain. At the same time, it subdued the Bodu Mohe, Sumo Mohe and other tribes with its strength. In the end, it became unprecedentedly powerful during the period of King Haoda, accounting for most of the Northeast and the Northeast. This peninsula became the overlord of the Northeast in one fell swoop, with much more territory, population, and military strength than Baekje and Silla combined.
The cause of the war between the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo that occurred in the 17th year of the founding of the Emperor was that tens of thousands of coalition forces led by Goguryeo once again marched eastward and launched a fierce attack on Liaozhou in the Sui Dynasty. It's just that the person who was the governor of Yingzhou at the time was Wei Chong. Wei Chong, a civil servant, was also an extremely fierce figure. With only a few thousand state soldiers, he killed the coalition forces with singing and dancing. After this battle, he also provoked revenge from the Sui Dynasty. , Although the Sui expedition suffered heavy losses due to weather, it also allowed Goguryeo to see the determination of the Sui Dynasty. Although it is now at peace, it does not mean that Goguryeo has ceased its activities.
In view of Goguryeo's past evil deeds, Yang Ji's first thought after hearing what Yang Guang meant was that Goguryeo was causing trouble in the Northeast again.
Yang Guang pondered for a moment and said: "Your suspicion is not impossible. But I think the possibility of the Guanlong noble is more likely."
After Yang Ji said this, he was stunned. After a while, he looked up at Yang Guang: "Is it possible?"
"Think carefully, the Guanlong nobles are indeed the most suspicious." Yang Guang sighed slightly: "Our military reform this time is obviously to weaken the strength of the Guanlong nobles. I estimate that there will be noble families among the Guanlong nobles. The rebellion of the Wannian Army seems to be Li Anqi's revenge, but look at his rebel generals, which one of them is not a descendant or family general of the Guanlong nobles? During this military reform process, the Yuan faction was suppressed. The most ruthless, and Yuyang Wang Yuangang's line in the Yuan clan has deep-rooted influence in Liaodong. I would not be surprised if the Yuan clan seduces the Khitan to invade the Sui Dynasty southward."
"In addition to the Guanlong nobles and Goguryeo, the Eastern Turks also have great dislike. After all, the Khitan has professed vassalage to us during the Sui Dynasty and also to the Eastern Turks. If Ashina Duji, who is temporarily in charge of the power of the Eastern Turks, uses war to establish his authority, he will not Accident."
"The Point Guard Is Here"
"In other words, this mission is extremely complicated?" Yang Ji asked.
Yang Guang chuckled: "If it wasn't so complicated, I could just send someone to fight. Why bother with you, King Wei?"
Yang Ji said calmly: "I like to hear this!"
"..." Yang Guang glanced at him and said, "So in this mission, in addition to crippling the Khitan, you also have to try to find evidence of guilt so that I can know the enemy behind it."
Yang Ji nodded and asked, "What if I accidentally destroy the Khitan?"
"If it is destroyed, then occupy it." Yang Guang said nonchalantly: "This move will certainly arouse Goguryeo's vigilance, but the border between Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo will also be doubled, and the places Goguryeo needs to defend will also be increased. An increase of twice as much. If we capture the Khitan, we can completely avoid the lower and lower reaches of the Liao River when we attack Goguryeo in the future. We can use the cavalry and infantry to directly attack the northern area of Goguryeo from the central and northern parts of the Khitan. This is much more labor-intensive than fighting across the river. ”
Having said this, Yang Guang couldn't help but glance at the "well-behaved" Yang Ji, thinking that with this guy's ability to make trouble, he might really destroy the Khitan. In this case, he must The best thing to do is to be fully prepared, so as not to be confused by him when things happen.
After thinking silently for a while, Yang Guang said to Yang Ji: "In view of your ability to turn trivial matters into big ones and make trouble even when nothing happens, I will give Bin Zhen and Li Zixiong instructions to obey your orders later. If you need them, then they He is your lieutenant general. In short, we still act according to the old rules - I will handle the rumors in the country and handle the supplies. As for the battlefield, you, King Wei, have the final say. Whatever is beneficial to the Sui Dynasty, you will take care of it. You can decide for yourself, if someone is disobedient, he should be arrested or chopped."
After the discussion, Yang Guang took out a golden arrow and handed it to Yang Ji: "This is Qimin Khan's golden arrow for mobilizing troops. This arrow can mobilize the Turkic army at will!" He paused and said in a more serious tone: "Khitan Dogs killed more than 10,000 people in my Sui Dynasty, so you have to kill tens of thousands of them. As for what I said before, it is all a follow-up matter and is not important. "
"General, I obey!" Yang Ji bowed solemnly and stepped forward to take the golden arrow.
"Also, you should take A'hai with you on this trip!" Yang Guang said: "I hope he will wash away his dandyism during the war and become a pillar of the Sui Dynasty, instead of just a bastard waiting to die!"
Recently, Yang Guang was also paying attention to Yang Jian and found that his bastard son seemed to have met his nemesis. Under Yang Ji's discipline, he became extremely honest; this also intensified Yang Guang's intention to dump Yang Jian to Yang Ji.
"Here!" Yang Ji agreed without hesitation. In his opinion, Yang Xian's abilities are beyond criticism, and the reason why he is such a jerk is simply because he has free time.
In short, they are just like the Khitan people - they are idle and unworthy of treatment.
At this time, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the palace, and a chamberlain rushed to the door to report: "Reporting to the saint, the second prince of the Turks, Ashina Lifushu, has arrived."
Yang Guang raised his hand and said to the chamberlain: "Xuan Ashina will pay an audience in Lifu!"
"Yes!" The chamberlain quickly retreated.
Yang Guang assumed the airs of an emperor, an unspeakable momentum surged out, and commanded Yang Ji majestically: "Sit down!"
"General, I obey!" Yang Ji heard this and immediately sat back on his seat, then straightened his body with an expressionless face, like a statue without human emotions.
Yang Guang: "..."
