It is precisely because of this that the current Jin army can basically not help Yelu Abaoji except providing a group of paid soldiers.
At the moment, the only thing West Xianbei can really rely on is Dongxianbei.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Yi is not optimistic about the war situation between Yelu Abaoji and Temujin. Whether it is Western Xianbei compared to the Mongols in various aspects, or Yelu Abaoji compared to Temujin, there is a big gap between them.
The more Zhang Yi described the situation in West Xianbei at this time, the more Li Xiang felt that he could not expect too much from Yelu Abaoji. Now, Li Xiang can only count on Yelu Abaoji to cause as much consumption to Temujin as possible, so that even if Temujin finally captures Western Xianbei, he will have to recover peacefully for a few years.
Now, what Li Xiang really counts on to prevent Temujin from unifying the grassland is Tuoba Tao. Although Tuoba Tao's strength in all aspects is also inferior to Temujin's, he is much better than Yelu Abaoji.
Fortunately, while Li Xiang sent Zhang Yi to contact Yelu Abaoji, he also sent Li Hongzhang to contact Tuoba Tao. Thinking about it, by this time, Li Hongzhang should have had a result in Dongxianbei.
To be honest, if Li Xiang had some spare energy now, he really wouldn't mind leading his troops for a walk on the grassland to add to Temujin's troubles. But there is no food in the hand, and the heart is full but the heart is not enough!
If you want to send troops to the grassland, you need cavalry, and the cost of a cavalry is several times that of an infantry. If you want to support tens of thousands of cavalry in a campaign, Li Xiang really can't do it now.
Therefore, it is impossible for Li Xiang to send troops on a large scale, and he can only occasionally harass the opponent with small groups of light cavalry. But now, even small groups of Qingqi no longer dare to attack easily.
Li Xiang used hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Yongliang. The subsequent recovery of Yongliang and relief for the victims also required a large amount of money and food, which had almost consumed Li Xiang's accumulation in the past few years. The remaining reserves are for emergencies and cannot be used easily.
Therefore, the only thing Li Xiang can do now is to provide weapons and armor to Temujin's opponents.
Anyway, prairie people, if you pull it out, you can ride horses and shoot arrows on the battlefield. Even if a lot is lost in this process, the power of the grassland is lost, and the war potential of the grassland is also lost.
Moreover, the weapons and armor provided to the grassland forces for a fee were specially made by Li Xiang. Regarding this, it was naturally impossible for Li Xiang to hand over the equipment used by the Jin army to the grassland, but made a batch of relatively poor quality ones specifically for them.
Li Xiang now not only needs to support them to hinder Temujin's expansion, but also prevent the grassland from expanding to a certain extent because of his weapons and armor.
Apart from anything else, weapons and armor are not disposable items. They are useless after being used once. If Temujin could defeat Yelu Abaoji, he would certainly not be so stupid as not to know how to remove these soldiers from the bodies or corpses of the Western Xianbei soldiers. These things can be used again.
And if a batch of relatively poor quality ones is manufactured, even if Temujin can obtain this batch of weapons and armor after defeating Yelu Abaoji, the help to him will be very limited.
Because why the quality of this batch of weapons and armor is relatively poor is not because of the sharpness of the swords and guns, but because of their durability. In other words, this batch of weapon armor is more prone to damage than normal weapon armor and has a relatively shorter service life.
If these weapons collide with the regular weapons used by the Jin army, this loss will be even more serious.
In response to the current grassland situation, Li Xiang not only wanted to provide weapons and armor to Yelu Abaoji, Tuoba Tao also had a copy. However, because the situation at Yelu Abaoji was indeed urgent, and because Yelu Abaoji used the method of marriage, which was euphemistically called gifts and marriage certificates, Li Xiang relaxed a little on the price and did not die. Zaixi Xianbei.
But on Tuoba Tao's side, Li Xiang would not let Li Hongzhang do that. He was obviously supporting the opponent with the intention of killing him severely.
However, on the one hand, the situation on Tuoba Tao's side is not as urgent as the situation on Yelu Abaoji's side. Now Temujin is adopting a strategy of defending in the east and attacking in the west, taking a defensive stance against Tuoba Tao and concentrating more power. Use the offensive against Yelu Abao.
On the other hand, this time Li Xiang had two competitors, and with a wider supply of goods, Tuoba Tao naturally had more choices.
Li Xiang is not the only prince who borders the grassland. The territories of Liu Bang and Qin Zheng also border on the grassland. If the grassland is unified by one of the forces, it will be of little benefit to both of them. Moreover, from the perspective of these two people, it is natural that they cannot fail to see the stakes involved.
Therefore, these two people did not mind helping the weaker grassland forces to fight Temujin, a hungry wolf on the grasslands. Moreover, what they also thought of was to selectively sell to the grassland a batch of weapons and armor that they no longer needed.
Three sellers appeared, and Tuoba Tao naturally thought of using this relationship to lower the price. However, who is Li Hongzhang? The people sent by Liu Bang and Qin Zheng are not bad, how could he be used by the other party so easily.
The three of them came here to make some extra money in order to prevent Temujin's family from becoming the dominant family on the grassland. They did not come here to do charity.
Tuoba Tao himself was not in a hurry, and Li Hongzhang and the others were even less anxious. Anyway, if Temujin can defeat Yelu Abaoji, Tuoba Tao will be next. Tuoba Tao would not fail to see this, so when he compromised later, Li Hongzhang and the others would not mind waiting a little longer.
"Maybe we can add another Nurhachi!" Li Xiang put aside Tuoba Tao for the time being, and his thoughts could not help but shift to the last one among the four forces in the grassland.
During this period of time, Nurhachi has been relatively low-key and silent compared to the other three companies on the grassland. However, Li Xiang has not forgotten that Nurhachi's share has not been lost in the recent balances.
Thinking about it, Nurhachi has finally recovered some of his strength after licking his wounds for so long. When you need to use him later, it should be almost done.
It seems that once the Yelu Abaoji is no longer useful, it is necessary to find a way to promote the alliance between Tuoba Tao and Nurhachi. If these two people can join forces, then the fun can continue on the grassland.
Thinking of Nurhaci, Li Xiang suddenly thought that Wei Qing had brought back a large number of Manchu prisoners from the grassland, and he might be able to use his brains on these people.
