The fierce reaction of the kings of Western Xinjiang is easy to understand.
Food can be produced, but in the worst case, we should tighten our belts and reduce three meals a day to one meal a day, as long as we don't starve to death;
The money can also be paid out, it is nothing more than shamelessly going to Emene to borrow it and mortgaging all the taxes for the next one hundred or even two hundred years.
Money and food are all external things and can be discarded, but people must not!
Population, especially the young and middle-aged population, is the foundation of a country! Planting land and harvesting grain, grazing cattle and sheep, fighting wars, and reproducing offspring all rely on people, and only people. If this foundation is shaken, no matter which country it is, it will be finished immediately!
Since Western Xinjiang rebelled against the Holy Tang, there have been several wars and the chaos has lasted for nearly three years. All countries have suffered serious losses in population due to the devastation of the war. The already stretched human resources are now used to fill the holes of the Eastern Expedition. This is tantamount to killing the kings of Western Xinjiang.
Even Li Jiangyao of the Xinjiang Army understands this truth. He never kills everyone in every battle. Instead, he agrees to exchange money for people. It is better for the Turks, who will cut off the roots of Xijiang as soon as they come up!
Alik Jiang hesitated again and again, and finally couldn't help but said: "Your Highness, let me say a few words for everyone, please don't be angry. We, the Western Xinjiang Alliance, have 10,000 approvals for the Turks' crusade against Shengtang, and we will do our best. Support. As long as we have it, the Great Khan can take it. The people of Western Xinjiang are not stingy. However, you just said that these civilians plus the army will be a million people. If they are divided evenly among our countries, each family will have at least There will also be 50,000 to 60,000 people, I'm afraid..."
Ronya had no expression on her face and asked calmly: "What are you afraid of?"
Before Alek Jiang could speak, Geerhan next to him responded: "I'm afraid it will put too much pressure on everyone. After all, we have suffered heavy losses after fighting for three years, and we really can't afford it."
Ronya snorted coldly and interrupted Geerhan's words directly: "In terms of pressure, can you compare to the Turkic Empire? In order to completely defeat Shengtang, we almost sent out all our elite this time, and 550,000 troops left Leaving hometown and relatives, not even caring about the safety of the Western Continent. As Khan said yesterday, this time sending troops to fight against the Holy Tang is also for the long-term freedom of your Western Xinjiang. The Turkic soldiers will sacrifice their precious blood and Life is the price. Oh, are we just going to be sacrificed and you stand by and watch the fun?"
"Your Highness, it's not that we don't know how to be grateful," King Tajik of Shule quickly explained: "What King Loulan and King Chechi said is right. Years of war have brought the countries in Western Xinjiang to the point of running out of fuel. It’s hard to send people out. How about this? Let’s exchange the heads for money and use the money to replace the labor of the civilians. What do you think?”
Ronya smiled sinisterly and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, Tajik Highness, do you think you are sending away beggars? Who cares about your two poor money? Today, I will speak in front of all of you. It’s clear. Khan believes that Xijiang has successfully and completely got rid of the Holy Tang Dynasty and entered a new era. Therefore, it is necessary to build a new alliance now! The requirements I just mentioned are the conditions for joining the alliance. Are you willing to accept it? Those who accept it are our new allies of the Turkic Empire; if they are unwilling to accept it, that’s okay, he can develop freely as our enemy!”
The threat in these words is already very clear.
Simply translated, it can also be understood like this: Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish!
What does "free development as an enemy" mean? The kings all had earth-colored faces, but they all knew very well in their hearts. Hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops poured into the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang with great momentum. It is not yet known whether they can defeat Shengtang, but it is absolutely easy to destroy Loulan, Shule or Chechi, or even destroy the entire Western Xinjiang Alliance.
Faced with Ronya's showdown threat, Alekjiang sighed helplessly, turned to discuss with Tajik, Geerhan and others in a low voice, and then said to Ronya: "Your Highness, we all I understand. Xijiang is willing to continue to be a friend of the Turks, not an enemy. If the Turkic army needs anything, we will fully support it."
Ronya smiled slightly after hearing this, showing an expression that said "I knew it would be like this", and said happily: "Your Royal Highnesses, this is the right thing. The friendship between the Turkic Empire and you is the bloodshed side by side on the battlefield. The establishment is as strong and solid as the Keron Mountains, unshakable! How can we give up our friendship just because of this little effort?"
Aleck Jiangyan responded insincerely: "You are right. Compared with the great friendship, everything else is nothing. Facing the common enemy, we should fight side by side."
Ronya nodded and ordered: "Your Highness, Alliance Leader, I will leave this matter to you. According to the distribution ratio set by the Khan, all countries are urged to step up preparations. The first batch of materials and manpower should be completed within one month. Then they will all be sent to Metasequoia City to assemble."
"Methaquoia City?" Alek Jiang was confused when he heard this: "Isn't it occupied by Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army? How could it be sent there?"
"Hahaha, that's too slow." Ronya slapped the armrest and laughed loudly: "Can't you even understand this? When the Turkic army comes to Western Xinjiang, how can we still allow the clown to continue to run rampant? We are here Before the meeting, General Yun Qianxue had already led the Blood Guards to set off, aiming directly at the Metasequoia! In less than a month, that place will be back under the rule of your Western Xinjiang Alliance!"
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In fact, what Prince Ronya of the Temple said was not accurate. The troops Yun Qianxue brought to attack Metasequoia City were not the Blood Guard Legion, but the Blood Guard Cavalry Legion.
Although they are also the bodyguards of the Turkic Great Khan, the Blood Guard Corps is specifically responsible for protecting the safety of Ashina Zhijin and the Turkic royal family, similar to the Forbidden Army Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the Holy Tang Emperor; while the Blood Guard Iron Cavalry Corps is a An elite force with strong offensive capabilities, used for external warfare.
According to common sense, a mission such as sweeping Metasequoia City would not require the use of Khan's Blood Guard at all, not even elite main forces such as the Golden Legion and the Polar Legion. At most, it would be enough to send troops from Turkic tribes such as Yakut and Guidou.
However, Yun Qianxue, the distinguished young master of the Yunhe tribe and general of the Blood Guard, firmly took over the job.
There are three reasons for this.
First, Yun Qianxue and Mohadi, who died in the hands of the Xinjiang Army, were both sworn brothers of the "Thirteen Iron-Blooded Eagles". Turkic Deputy Marshal Mohadi is the eldest brother, and Yun Qianxue is the fourth. Therefore, before he came to Western Xinjiang, he had made an oath to personally avenge his sworn brother.
Secondly, he had heard a report from Kunli Mingtai before, saying that Li Jiangyao and the ghost-faced white-robed army swept across the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang and defeated invincible opponents in the thirty-six countries, so he really wanted to meet this rumored powerhouse. .
The third reason, and the most important reason, was that Yinas was entrusted by him to go to Metasequoia City to find the whereabouts of Hesijia, but there was no news for a long time. Due to both emotion and reason, Yun Qianxue could not leave Yinas alone, so she naturally wanted to make this trip herself to find out the whole story.
Moreover, after successively capturing Pai, Daban, Iklu and Homnitz, the Turks secretly searched for traces of the princess, but to no avail. Yun Qianxue was even more suspicious that Hesijia was in Metasequoia, so she naturally focused all her hopes on that place.
Under the command of Yun Qianxue, the Blood Guard Cavalry Corps maintained its consistent combat style, and the distance of more than two hundred miles from the station to the Metasequoia was reached in a blink of an eye.
The base camp of the Zhenjiang Army, which has troubled the Western Xinjiang Alliance for a long time, is completely placed in front of the main Turkic force.
However, what Yun Qianxue didn't expect was that as soon as the Blood Guard cavalry arrived outside the city, the metasequoia defenders immediately rushed out of the city and formed tit-for-tat positions to face them from afar.
You must know that the wisest strategy is for the defenders to refuse to fight and rely on the fortifications to wait for work. What's more, Yun Qianxue and the others are all heavily armored cavalry. No matter how they look at it, they should not go to the plains to seek death.
However, Yun Qianxue did not laugh at the Zhenjiang Army's stupidity because of this. Years of fighting in the north and south have made him as calm as water, and he never dares to look down on any enemy.
Since the other party dares to come out, they must have their reasons.
Watching the formation process of the Zhenjiang Army from a distance, whether it was advancing or retreating, or cooperating with infantry and cavalry, it showed that this was a well-trained force. Yun Qianxue couldn't help but secretly admire it in her heart, and at the same time, she also mentioned something more. High alert. When he saw the formation on the opposite side, there was a general standing immediately at the front. Suddenly, he had a thought in his mind and rode out of the formation as well. He stepped forward and shouted, "Excuse me, is that Colonel Li on the other side?"
Li Jiangyao was wearing black armor and a white cloak on his shoulders. He responded loudly: "I am Li Jiangyao. I don't know what I call you?"
"Under the command of the Turkic Great Khan, Blood Guard General Yun Qianxue!"
Hearing this, Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Anyone who has dealt with the Turks knows the reputation of the "Blood Guard": the most powerful army on the Western Continent, the light of glory of the Golden Tribe.
Being qualified to become a Blood Guard and personally protect the Great Khan is the ultimate dream of all Turkic men. The handsome and heroic Turkic young man in front of him turned out to be the leader of the Blood Guards. Li Jiangyao couldn't help but feel a little impressed, and at the same time he was a little worried: the General of the Blood Guards was here in person, so this battle would not be easy to fight.
However, even though the battle that followed was very dangerous, he was not afraid at all and still smiled calmly: "It turns out that the General of the Blood Guard is here. I am disrespectful. So, the famous Blood Guard should be behind you, right?"
Yun Qianxue replied proudly: "You are right, the Turkic Blood Guard Cavalry Corps, under the orders of the Great Khan, is attacking Metasequoia City! Since you know the name of the Blood Guard, you should know what kind of people you are facing. situation. Lieutenant Li, out of personal respect for you and the safety of the Metasequoia people, I advise you to abandon your weapons and surrender immediately."
"Surrender...is there any benefit to me?" Li Jiangyao asked very seriously.
Yun Qianxue was slightly stunned by his sudden question. Obviously, he had never considered this issue beforehand, and he did not expect that the leader of the Metasequoia Bandits, Li Jiangyao, would directly ask about the benefits of surrender. He came back to his senses and responded subconsciously: "Surrender is surrender, what else can be gained?"
"Nonsense!" Li Jiangyao said with a disdainful smile: "Why should I do something that is not beneficial?"
Yun Qianxue frowned slightly and pondered for a long time, not thinking of how to reply to Li Jiangyao's teasing.
Of course, you can't blame him. Before setting off, Khan Ashina Zhijin issued clear instructions: In order to avenge Mohadi and the 10,000 Turkic cavalry, and to establish prestige to the countries in the Western Xinjiang, after the capture of Metasequoia, the city must be massacred. The Metasequoia generals, including Li Jiangyao, all had to be quartered.
With this death order, what else could Yun Qianxue say?
Surrender to avoid death? Can't massacre the city?
This is obviously impossible.
The upright Yun Qianxue shook her head helplessly and waved her hand towards Li Jiangyao: "Forget it, Lieutenant Li, whether you surrender or not, the result will be the same. Just pretend that I didn't say anything just now. Please be ready, I The army is about to launch an attack!"
