The grassland in March is still cold and dry.
Although the heavy snow has melted, the vitality of spring has not yet emerged. There is not a trace of green on the vast grassland. It is still the dead yellow and the snow water flowing into the river.
The corpse fell casually in the grass, the beacon smoke burned out, and the broken weapons stood on the ground. A battle had just ended.
The military flag with the word "Wei" was flying, and the faces of the soldiers who had just left the battle were still full of excitement, and then under the command of the officers, they began to take care of the battlefield.
"There are fewer and fewer of these barbarians."
General Meng Chenglin of the State of Wei was riding on his horse, looking at the corpses with braids on the ground, and between them there were more corpses of barbarians and Wei people with different appearances, and he couldn't help but sigh. : "On the other hand, there are more and more people from the foreign races in the Western Regions."
As soon as the name "Western Region Foreign Race" is heard, it is completely different from the Kyushu people.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Those grassland barbarians, snowfield people, and southwestern barbarians, these foreign tribes on the edge of Kyushu, although their cultural customs are completely different from those of the Miao descendants of the Three Emperors of Kyushu, they still look similar and appear to belong to the same race.
Therefore, the people of Kyushu also regard them as human beings.
But those foreign races from the Western Regions have deep grooves and high noses, hair of different colors, thick body hair, rough skin, and a strong odor on their bodies.
This kind of person who looks completely different from the Kyushu Hmong people is simply a foreigner, not even a human being.
However, upon closer inspection, those alien races from the Western Regions are indeed different in blood from the Kyushu human race.
According to various immortal sect classics, the bloodlines of the foreign races in the Western Regions are indeed impure.
It was in ancient times, when spiritual energy was abundant and various monsters still existed in the world. Some monsters were expelled by the gods of Kyushu and rushed to the Western Regions.
After practicing cultivation, these demons were able to transform into human forms, and they gradually intermarried with some human races in the Western Region, gradually leaving behind the bloodline of humans and demons.
And this bloodline, after tens of thousands of years of reproduction and inheritance, and under the background of the decline of spiritual energy, has gradually deteriorated.
Gradually, the demon bloodline is hidden, and the human bloodline takes over. Except for retaining some strange characteristics of demonization, it is not much different from humans.
In appearance, he looks like a human being.
However, although it is not big, for this kind of appearance that is completely different from his own, as well as the legend about the demons of the Western Regions, the orthodox human race here in Kyushu still rejects the blood of those demons from the Western Regions and calls them aliens.
This is not even a human being, which shows the rejection of the people of Kyushu.
And those foreign races in the Western Region also know that they are not welcome here in Kyushu.
Therefore, for tens of thousands of years, he has guarded his own three-acre land and basically has no dealings with the human race in Kyushu.
Each side formed a large circle and a small circle. Everyone was doing their own thing, and no one bothered them except for occasional business transactions.
But this tradition, after tens of thousands of years, was finally completely broken by the current Kyushu Heavenly Change.
After the terrible earthquake in the Western Region occurred, it claimed the lives of countless foreigners.
Now these earthquakes have expanded even further, almost tearing the entire Western Region into pieces.
The aliens from the Western Regions living on this land had no choice but to migrate to safer places in order to survive.
That is to say, Yongzhou is still in a stable state now.
Different from the grassland barbarians in the north, they are nomadic and exist in the form of tribes.
The foreign races in the Western Regions had a lot of arable land, and they had established countries early and had their own systems.
Therefore, during this migration of aliens from the Western Regions, although there were a small number of tribes, the majority of them migrated on a country-by-country basis.
In terms of organizational form, foundation and system, or population, they are already stronger than those grassland tribes.
That's it.
Obviously, there are still a few million people left among those grassland barbarians, which is already quite a few.
But in this grassland where the barbarians are accustomed to live, what the Wei army saw and heard was that the majority were those alien races from the Western Regions.
Those grassland barbarians, faced with the huge wave of migration of foreigners from the Western Regions, could not put up much resistance at all, and were annexed in an instant.
"The aliens from the Western Regions who are active in the southern grasslands are said to be from the Huo Toluo Kingdom, a large country in the Western Regions with a population of tens of millions and strong strength.
Since arriving on this grassland, they have continued to annex the barbarians.
Now, in just over ten years, all the two to three million barbarians on the southern grasslands have been annexed by the Huo Toluo Kingdom, and these barbarians have become their slaves.
In this battle, there were many servants of the prairie barbarians. "
Next to Meng Chenglin, a Wei general who followed said worriedly.
This time, Wei State went out of the fortress and entered the hinterland of the grassland on a large scale, although it achieved many victories.
But in victory, Wei Jun's victory was not too easy.
As this adjournment said, the Huo Toluo Kingdom is not a small country, but a large country with a population of tens of millions. In terms of size, it is no less than the hegemonic country here in Kyushu.
After entering the southern grasslands, nearly three million grassland barbarians were subdued. The population base further expanded and became more difficult to deal with.
This time the Wei State sent millions of troops, which looked quite impressive.
But Huo Toluo is not bad either.
Facing the invasion of Wei, people also raised millions of troops to fight hard.
Everyone is the foundation of the hegemony. Even if the Wei State is stronger, the soldiers it trains are stronger than the Huo Toluo State.
However, taking into account Wei's financial difficulties in recent years, the deduction of military expenditures, and the fatigue of soldiers from long battles, the combat effectiveness of Wei's army has actually declined seriously.
Comparing the two sides, the gap between the soldiers is actually not that big.
Therefore, after the two sides fought, it was difficult to tell the winner for a while, and they reached a stalemate.
"We have been out fighting for a month, and we have only invaded more than 3,000 miles of the grassland. We can only circle around the periphery, and we have not even touched the core of the Huo Toluo Kingdom.
If we continue to fight like this, I am afraid that even if we fight until the end of the year and winter comes, we will not be able to break through the opponent's capital and then join forces with the Chu army in Yongxi. "
After listening to the deputy general's words, Meng Chenglin sighed, and then asked: "How is the Chu army's fight there? Where are they advancing now?"
The lieutenant general replied: "According to the news from three days ago, the Chu army has been out of Longshan for half a month and has captured the entire Longxi County and is currently moving towards Hexi County.
However, the Chu army had operations in Longxi County before, and controlled many military strongholds in the county. The number of foreign barbarians in Longxi County was not large, only two to three million.
The Chu army used a million troops to sweep them away, so it is understandable that the speed would be faster. "
"No matter how you say it, there are millions of people. They can conquer a county in half a month. They are really sharp soldiers."
Meng Chenglin waved his hand and said with emotion: "We, the Wei Dynasty, have been fighting for decades, but in the end our troops were blunted and our divisions were weakened. Our national power has declined greatly, and it is no longer as good as before."
Yes, it's just not as good as before.
If it were the Wei State thirty years ago, no, even the Wei State twenty years ago.
At that time, the Wei State only had to send millions of troops, let alone the core of the grassland.
In one month, it is not impossible to directly attack the capital of Huotuluo Kingdom.
During his Southern Expedition of the Wei Dynasty, didn't he disintegrate the Shuofang defense line in the northern part of the Zhou Kingdom in just one or two months, and the beacon fire burned directly to the city of Chang'an?
This is true for a state overlord like the Zhou Kingdom, let alone the Huo Toluo Kingdom.
But nothing.
The Wei State today is no longer the Wei State thirty years ago.
Thirty or even forty years of war, two or three generations, had already exhausted the energy of Wei.
There is a shortage of food, money, and even qualified soldiers, including generals...
War after war, devouring all the resources of Wei State, constantly pulling them into the abyss.
'So this time we go out, we must win. This Fire Toluo Kingdom must also be destroyed. '
Meng Chenglin's eyes flashed coldly, and he made up his mind.
To the west of Wei, there are two main threats.
One is the southern grassland in the northwest, and the other is the Yongxi River in the southwest.
In the southern grasslands, the active one is the Huo Toluo Kingdom. This hegemonic country with a population of more than 10 million has raised hundreds of thousands of troops every year, constantly launching eastward expeditions and invading the borders of Wei State.
In recent years, a large number of Wei's troops, horses, and resources have been tied up in this prairie country to the west, and they are entangled and unable to escape.
On the other side of the Longxi River in Yongxi, there are two big countries, namely the Bakhanna Kingdom and the Mojiluo Kingdom.
These two countries, like the Huotuluo Kingdom, both have tens of millions of people. They also migrated from the Western Regions. They annexed many small countries and tribes along the way, and finally established the foundation of today's hegemonic country.
Originally, these two countries were also a serious problem for the Wei State in the west. Even because of their size, they were even more difficult to deal with than the Huo Toluo State.
But after these two countries occupied Helong, the soldiers not only entered the pass eastward and harassed the capital of Wei State; they also penetrated southward into Hanzhong, hoping to enter the Chu State.
Everything changes.
With Lu Yuan's temper, it was naturally impossible for him to endure this kind of person who wanted to take advantage of his own territory.
It is also considered that long-term peace will cause the army to deteriorate, which is not conducive to survival in troubled times.
So one is to solve the border troubles, and the other is to have a place to train troops.
Therefore, after receiving reports from Hanzhong about the harassment of barbarians in the northwest, Lu Yuan sent hundreds of thousands of troops into Longxi County with a stroke of his pen, pushed the border hundreds of miles outward, and began the long-term expansion of the Chu State in the northwest. of military training and warfare.
that's all.
With the intervention of Chu State, most of the border pressure from the southwest was taken away in an instant.
Most of the troops of the Bahanna Kingdom and the Mojiluo Kingdom from the Yongxi region of Helong were restrained by the Chu State. The remaining ones who could penetrate into the Guannei County could not cause any trouble and could be easily solved by the Wei State.
So for Wei State.
With the Chu State here, the alien threat from the southwest can actually be ignored to a large extent.
Their real enemy is still only the Huo Toluo Kingdom.
Therefore, when they left the fortress this time, the Wei army did not pay attention to Longxi, but went directly to the southern grasslands.
"The current Wei State can no longer afford to fight. If we continue to fight, the country will be destroyed.
Dawei has reached the time when he has to recuperate.
So this battle out of the fortress is the last battle.
After this battle, our country, Wei, will disarmament, repair, restore production, and use peace to accumulate strength.
If you want peace, you have to inflict pain this time, or even destroy the Huo Toluo Kingdom, completely solve this major problem in the northwest, and gain more than ten years of peace for our great Wei Dynasty. "
Meng Chenglin looked at the generals around him, told them the court's thoughts, and then ordered: "Now is the time to gamble on the fate of the country. We no longer care about casualties or risks.
After my military order was passed, all the cavalrymen who originally guarded the logistics were summoned back.
The logistics escort of the army is mainly equipped with soldiers and civilian husbands.
The remaining cavalry and elites no longer had to worry about the harassing barbarians around them, and followed the general to rush straight into Blackwater City and kill towards the capital of the Fire-Tuluo Kingdom.
I'd like to see.
The country's capital is under threat. Can those guys who hide and seek all day long still sit still? "
After this month of fighting, Meng Chenglin also figured out the tactics of the barbarians.
They don't play head-on with you, they just use their advantage of having more cavalry to infiltrate into the rear to harass the Wei army's logistics.
As for the logistics, it was naturally impossible for the Wei army to advance with confidence, and they had to dedicate a large number of cavalry and soldiers to the back to guard the logistics and transportation.
And with a large number of elites sent to guard the rear, the forwards will naturally have less power to use.
As a result, the vanguard and the Huotuluo army fought. As a result, the two sides fought several battles, but neither could win or lose, and the front line advanced slowly.
Meng Chenglin could see clearly.
The Huotuluo Army's idea was to use this method of harassing logistics to delay time.
As long as it is delayed until September, when winter enters and the first snow falls on the grassland, the Wei army that has left the fortress will have to retreat.
A costly and massive Western Expedition ended in vain due to the weather, and the Huo Toluo Kingdom also defended its territory.
Only the State of Wei suffered a lot of injuries, a severe loss of vitality, and gained nothing.
How could Meng Chenglin accept this ending?
So if you want to resolve it, you must make changes.
Initially, he was still a little undecided, but after hearing the news that Chu State had conquered Longxi and was preparing to invade Hexi, he no longer hesitated.
This time when the Chu and Wei armies came out of the fortress, the Chu State made rapid progress, with overwhelming momentum along the way, and the barbarians were almost unstoppable.
Wei Guo suddenly invaded the grassland, and the advance was difficult.
Comparing these two sides, doesn’t it tell the world clearly that Wei is no longer good?
Yes, Wei's national power is indeed declining now and its strength is no longer good.
But the more this happens, the less Wei can show its cowardice.
Otherwise, if we see through the reality of the Wei State and there are many hungry wolves around us who covet the Wei State, why not swarm him and carve him up?
Zhao State in the north has only one Dongjun in Zhongzhou. Doesn't it want to capture Wei's Henan County, which is adjacent to Dongjun?
The Chu State in the south only has a small half of Xiangyang County in Zhongzhou. Could it be that it has no interest in Nanyang County of Wei State, which is adjacent to Xiangyang County?
If the Liang Kingdom in the east had the opportunity to take over Henan and Nanyang counties, would he not take action?
Not to mention the foreign tribes from the Western Regions in the west who invade Wei every year and covet Wei.
It can be said.
All around Wei State, there were wolves looking around, always wanting to come up and take a bite and tear off a piece of fat.
But why didn't they do this?
Isn't it because Wei is now the third most powerful country in the world and has a reputation for being prosperous in military and martial arts?
Now if the reputation of its prosperous martial arts is gone and it cannot maintain its position as the third most powerful country, Wei will not be able to deter other countries, and its own weakness will be exposed.
Then it is not far away from destruction.
So even if Wei wanted to recuperate and have peace, it had to fight a big war first.
The demise of a powerful country was used to gain such great prestige, which was used to intimidate surrounding countries, and to gain more than ten years of peace.
This is the significance of sending troops to the grassland this time.
Therefore, after discovering the purpose of the Huo Tuluo Army, Meng Chenglin had to adjust his strategy from defending the grain road to a strategy of completely ignoring and aggressively attacking.
This is dangerous.
But again, this works well.
As long as he can successfully break into the Huo Toluo Kingdom, the capital of Heishui City on the grassland, everything in front of him will be easily solved.
"Set off!"
Looking at the men around him who had cleaned the battlefield and gathered again, Meng Chenglin waved his whip and galloped his horse.
The flags are flying behind him, and thousands of horses are following him.
…
Longxi County.
Stepping into the former county capital of Jicheng, corpses of foreign barbarians can be seen everywhere on the streets.
The civilians who came with the army cleaned up the chaos in the city, and groups of soldiers entered the city to restore order after the war.
In the midst of this post-war triviality, Huang Xin walked up to the tower and looked far into the distance.
Outside is a river valley with countless fertile fields and crisscrossing roads, which once fed millions of people.
But now, after decades of war, the people living in this river valley have changed one after another, from Zhou people, to Tibetan people, to Chu people, to barbarians, to foreigners, and now they have changed again. Chu people.
Under the constant change of wars, the prosperity of Jicheng has also disappeared, completely disappearing.
Now that we pass through Bingxian, it becomes even more desolate and dilapidated.
"However, in fact, this is nothing. The people are like leeks, they are cut once, cultivated for tens or even hundreds of years, and then they flourish again.
The focus is still on natural disasters.
At the moment, some prosperity can still be seen in this river valley, but in a few decades, when the earthquake in the Western Region comes, this place will become an extinct place on earth, right? "
Huang Xin whispered to himself.
"General Manager, there is news from the grassland. Meng Chenglin, the commander-in-chief of the Wei army, summoned all the troops, gave up on guarding the logistics, and chose to lead a heavy force into Blackwater City.
Now he has led his main force of 500,000 people deep into the grassland, penetrated into the heart of the Huotuluo people, and cut off contact with the rear. "At this time, someone hurriedly came under the city tower and told the news.
Upon hearing this, Huang Xin turned around, took the letter and looked at it carefully.
After confirming that it indeed said that Meng Chenglin's army entered the grassland and had no contact with the rear army for half a month, he couldn't help but laugh.
"God is really helping me."
Huang Xin's face was filled with joy: "It has only been two months since we started the army. I didn't expect that the opportunity would come so soon. Pass my order and all the armies will gather here in Jicheng. We are about to go on an expedition."
"yes!"
After hearing this, the general next to him immediately took the order and left.
Huang Xin continued to stand at the top of the city, still looking at the valley in the distance.
It's just that in his mind, his spiritual thoughts have begun to communicate with his body, telling him that he is preparing to send troops to Wei.
At the same time, it also tells the main body that the time has come.
After the destruction of Wei, we can start the northern expedition to Liang.
