At the Sansha City Guards, Murong Zhao frowned and paced back and forth uneasily. Just an hour ago, a scout from the north sent an urgent military message, saying that the Sui Army in Yangguan suddenly opened the gate that had been closed for nearly a year.

At the city gate, Sui troops continued to move southward and set up three camps on the banks of Ganquan Lake, more than 70 miles away from Sansha City.

The three camps are horns to each other, and the unique terrain of Ganquan Lake makes the three camps form a whole. They use beacon towers and sentry towers to communicate with each other. No matter which camp is attacked, the other two camps will be affected.

All the battalions found out in time and provided timely assistance. What's more serious is that the Sui army was too good at selecting the location.

The military camp in the front points directly to Sansha City, while the one near the Qilian Mountains points directly to Dangjin Pass. If you enter Dangjin Pass from Sansha City, you must pass through the attack range of these two Sui army camps, and

If the defenders at Jinshan Pass head westward, they will be within the attack of these two camps.

As for the third military camp, it is located in the northwest. Not only is it far away from the front line of the war, but the soldiers in the camp can also assist the other two battalions in the shortest time. If Yangguan City due north is added, the Sui army's defense

The system will be more rigorous, with the absolute advantage of being able to advance and attack, and retreat and defend.

The sudden move of the Sui army to the south and the establishment of three large camps cast a heavy haze in Murong Zhao's heart. If the Shanshan army in the south could be considered the army of the Sui Dynasty, then Sansha City would be in an unfavorable predicament of being surrounded on three sides.

, and the only western part is the endless Sansha Moraine. If you rush into it rashly, you will obviously be in danger.

Although Murong Zhao did not know whether the Sui Dynasty was fighting or confronting, he himself could not and did not dare to take the initiative to attack the Sui army camp. Otherwise, he would have to bear all the consequences; if Tuyuhun arrived

In times of danger, even if Murong Fuyun trusted him again, he would have him tied up and handed over to the Sui Dynasty for the benefit of Tuyuhun.

Let's continue to defend passively like this. What should we do if we run out of food?

Even if Murong Fuyun supplied food from Dangjin Mountain Pass, wouldn't the Sui army ambush the food transport team?

If things got to that point, where would he, the soldiers of Sansha City, and the people go?

"Mr. Yuwen!" Murong Zhao pressed his aching temple and looked at Yuwen Qiancong who was thinking hard.

"What is your order, Your Majesty?" Yuwen Qiancong raised his head and asked.

Murong Zhao sighed and asked worriedly: "Is there any news about Da Gan? Has he come back?"

"No!" Yu Wen Qiancong shook his head and said with a wry smile: "According to the reply from the commanding officer, Da Gan read the king's military order and letter. Not only did he not retreat, but he accelerated his advance. The humble post has sent scouts to find out about him. It should be

There will be a reply soon.”

"I understand." Murong Zhao nodded. Although he was very worried about Murong Dagan, 10,000 of the 50,000 troops under his control had already been stationed in the south of Jinshan Pass to prevent Shanshan's army from moving north.

After being taken away by Murong Dagan, although there were still more than 30,000 soldiers in the city, he did not dare to mobilize them at will as the Sui army marched southward.

After a moment of silence, Murong Zhao said again: "Order all soldiers to be on heightened alert and try not to leave the city unless nothing happens. At the same time, we will send out scouts to closely monitor every move of the Sui army."

"Here." Yuwen Qiancong responded and was about to leave when suddenly there were rapid footsteps outside the door. A disheveled soldier broke in and shouted: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yuwen, something serious has happened."

Murong Zhao's heart tightened and he asked in a deep voice: "Why are you so panicked?"

"General Dagan's army is all dead." The soldier ran for a long time. When he arrived at his destination, his tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and he sat down on the ground weakly.

"What did you say?" Murong Zhao and Yu Wen Qiancong were shocked when they heard this. Murong Zhao stepped forward first, lifted the soldier up, and roared loudly: "All Da Gan's soldiers are dead? What happened? ?”

"Exactly!" The soldier took a quick breath and said miserably: "I am the scout sent by Mr. Yuwen to find out the news. We were ambushed by the rebel scouts forty miles north of Nuzhi City. More than a hundred people All brothers are dead."

"Then why are you still alive?" Murong Zhao roared.

"It was the rebels who let me come back to deliver the message. They told me that General Dagan's army was all dead, not a single one was left." The soldier said, "They gave me two horses so that I could come here. Send a message to the king."

"Where's Dagan?" Murong Zhao threw down the soldier and asked with a roar. He had no intention of provoking Shanshan's army. Unexpectedly, Murong Dagan not only opposed his decision, but also secretly took away 10,000 elite soldiers to fight south.

Thinking that ten thousand elites died like this, Murong Zhao had the urge to tear Murong Dagan into pieces.

The soldier glanced at Murong Zhao cautiously and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, General Da Gan... he was also killed in battle!"

"What!?" Murong Zhao's body trembled, he stared at the soldier in disbelief, and roared: "You are talking nonsense!"

"It's true!" the soldier said with a mournful face: "The rebel scouts gave me two horses, one of which was used to carry the body of General Daqian. It is now outside the house."

When Murong Zhao heard this, it was as if all his strength had been taken away from him. He sat down softly on the ground. Although he was very dissatisfied with this disobedient younger brother before, and just now he wished he would die in the hands of the enemy, but after hearing that his younger brother When he really died, Murong Zhao felt empty in his heart, as if he had lost the most precious thing.

"Your Majesty..." Yuwen Qiancong came to his senses and stepped forward to help Murong Zhao up.

As if grabbing the last life-saving straw, Murong Zhao grabbed Yu Wen Qian Cong and asked urgently: "Mr. Yu Wen, Da Gan and the ten thousand warriors are dead. Do you think we thirty thousand warriors can defend it?" Can Sansha City protect hundreds of thousands of old, weak, women and children?"

"It can't be defended." Yu Wen Qiancong shook his head bitterly and said bluntly: "Our soldiers are a group of fierce and brave wolves in the plains and wilderness; but when it comes to offensive and defensive methods, the defensive equipment... In fact, it is far inferior to the Sui Dynasty. If the Sui army launches a large-scale attack, we will not be able to hold on for long."

Murong Zhao tried hard to calm down the anger, sadness, and panic in his heart, and asked: "In your opinion, sir, what should we do?"

"Withdraw troops, retreat to Dangjin Mountain Pass before the Sui army attacks, and then join forces with King Xiantou to guard Beigu. As for Shanshan to the west of the mountain pass, we have no choice but to give it up." Yuwen Qiancong said decisively: " If the army is still there, there is still a chance to recapture it, but if the army is dead, there will be no chance again."

Although Tuyuhun lives a half-agricultural and half-pastoral life, it is still a country built by nomadic people. What they care about most is the real population, livestock, money and food. Their obsession with land is far less than that of the Central Plains people. Yuwen Qian Cong believed that Murong Zhao would eventually choose to withdraw his troops, instead of fighting to the death with the Sui Dynasty for the sake of Shanshan, which could not be defended at all.

Murong Zhao was silent for a while, nodded and said: "Okay, pass on the order, the whole army will prepare to retreat immediately, and let the soldiers in the new battalion be responsible for covering our withdrawal."

At this point, he has no other choice but to withdraw his troops. Although Shanshan and Qiemo are good, the army is him and the foundation of Tuyuhun. No matter what, nothing can happen again.

Together with the 30,000 warriors of the Immortal King Murong Tieyen, there are still 70,000 warriors, which is enough to firmly guard the Dangjin Mountain Pass. He does not believe that the Sui army, the "Shanshan Army" can bypass this army and fly over the Al Jinshan, and can also attack the heart of Tuyuhun from the west.

.......

The weather was good in Xiangmei County, Taozhou on the second day. The sky was blue and blue, and the whole city was covered with a light mist, like a beauty wrapped in a wisp of gauze.

When the first magnificent ray of dawn shone into the attic, Yang Ji slowly opened his eyes. It was the first time since he arrived in Taozhou that he slept so deeply.

These days, he has mainly visited various counties in Taozhou to understand the people's livelihood in various places. This is not because Yang Ji is pretending to be looking for trouble, but because although Taozhou is located in the most fertile land and the most convenient irrigation area in the Hehuang area, it has suffered from previous Tuyuhun, the place where the Dangxiang Qiang scourges, has left the entire prefecture with a very poor farmland foundation and very poor people's livelihood.

At the end of last year, the imperial court alone immigrated 60,000 households to Taozhou. Although these more than 200,000 people were all assigned fields, they, like the people of Tingzhou, had to start from scratch. Before they could harvest anything, they all relied on previous crops. Work-for-relief is used to feed the whole family. If any step goes wrong, someone will die. And just as the Liangzhou General Office is doing its best to develop Liangzhou's economy, a corruption case has occurred in the Taozhou officialdom headed by the former governor Zhang Jun, which has caused the city to suffer. The poor people's livelihood is even worse. Although the new governor Fang Gongyi is upright, honest, and good at internal affairs, and other officials who have taken up their new posts are also diligent in government affairs, Taozhou's basic conditions are poor and the food problem is stressful. In a short period of time, It is an unsolvable problem inside.

As the general manager of Liangzhou, if Yang Ji doesn't even know the most basic overview of Taozhou, how can he formulate policies and various provisions that are suitable for the times and benefit the people?

As for Yuan Shan, the general manager of Qinzhou, he also got the fate he deserved. Since Yang Ji did not have the power to take charge of Qinzhou at the same time, if he rashly gave the evidence to the court, he would be suspected of "supervising hundreds of officials" without authorization, which would not benefit him at all. , so the evidence of the crime was still passed on to Yongzhou Governor Yang Xiong by means of "flying knife summons" and "rogue warning". After Yang Xiong reported it to the court, Yang Guang, the superintendent of the country, immediately sent Sinong Temple and Yushitai to Qinzhou. Investigation, this investigation revealed another form of corruption, and the Qinzhou officialdom was also completely liquidated. Yuan Shan, who bore the brunt, was naturally executed, which could be regarded as putting an end to Yang Ji's worries.

When he packed up and came to the main hall, Song Zhengben and Hao Yuan had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing the joy on their faces, Yang Ji asked with a smile: "What happy event makes you so happy so early in the morning?"

"It's Guazhou." Song Zhengben said.

"Oh?" Yang Ji looked at Hao Yuan, who was responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence. Since the people who domesticated birds have raised a large number of flying eagles and pigeons, Yang Ji has set up intelligence points in Liangzhou states and established a distinct

As for the official intelligence agency, this agency is called Qilin Guard. They use birds to transmit messages, so the efficiency is naturally not comparable to that of the official post station.

This is not because Yang Ji has any evil thoughts, but because he wants to obtain first-hand information as soon as possible and does not want to expose the matter of the bird interrogation. Currently, Hao Yuan is mainly responsible for this aspect.

So strictly speaking, Xuanwu Guard and Suzaku Guard are sometimes his subordinates.

"The Guazhou Qilin Guards sent news yesterday: It is said that General Qian Shixiong has sent his troops out of the country on orders from the Young Master, and has established three camps near Sansha City and Dangjin Mountain Pass. Murong Zhao frequently mobilized troops in the city

, this person should be preparing to escape." Hao Yuan said calmly.

Yang Ji sat down and said to Hao Yuan: "Hao Canjun, please tell me the details."

The actions of Xue Shixiong, Mai Tiezhang, and Qian Shixiong in Shanshan were actually instructed by Yang Ji. However, Yang Ji never interfered with details such as the timing of combat opportunities, specific operations, and the time of dispatching troops. Everything was the responsibility of the three of them.

They cooperated by themselves. Whenever the three of them took any big action, they would send the latest military information and the latest decisions as soon as possible, so Yang Ji had a better understanding of the general situation in Shanshan.

"I obey my orders!" Hao Yuan bowed his hands and introduced: "Since General Xue Shixiong entered Shanshan, he and General Mai Tiezhang have won a series of great victories in Shanshan. Recently, they have not only achieved the record of annihilating tens of thousands of enemies, but also

They also used the same method that Young Master used against Dahu District in Shanshan. On the one hand, they massacred people in a cruel way.

On the other hand, they killed the Tuyuhun men and forced more than 200,000 old, weak, women and children to evacuate to Sansha City to serve as Jinshan Pass. The large influx of these people brought huge problems to the logistics and supplies of Sansha City. Nowadays, money

The generals mobilized in large numbers, and generals Xue and Mai came outflanking them from the south. Naturally, Murong Zhao couldn't sit still."

Hao Yuan paused for a moment and then said: "The army in Murong Zhao's hands is mainly composed of his own people. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is his own army. Of course, he is reluctant to use them all on the battlefield. Seeing that the situation is not good

, I felt like running away.”

"This is also a characteristic of the tribal dynasty." Song Zhengben added with a smile.

"It's not just the tribal dynasty?" Yang Ji said: "Aren't the military leaders of our dynasty like this?"

Song Zhengben and Hao Yuan nodded silently after hearing this.

The Sui Dynasty was actually a tribal dynasty in terms of military affairs, and the Guanlong nobles were the leaders of many military leaders. They sent their children and former disciples to control the troops of the Hussar General's Mansion, making the army the private army of the generals.

, these generals of the imperial army have absolute authority over the armies below.

If there were only one or two, Yang Jian would have killed them long ago and then unleashed a massive rectification.

But these military leaders are not just one or two, but all the soldiers in the world are in the hands of each military leader. The masters of the military leaders are the various clans of the Guanlong nobles at a higher level, and after the clan clans are the three Guanlong nobles

Big faction.

If Yang Jian dared to take action directly, he would be an enemy of the entire Guanlong nobles, and an enemy of the entire Guanlong nobles would be an enemy of most of the army.

During the troubled times in the north and south, there were many military leaders. The emperor did not necessarily have the final say whether to fight or not. Everything depended on the military leader's face. After Yang Jian unified the world, he also worked hard to eradicate these forces, but the effect was not great every time. Instead, they made them more hostile.

Yang Jian became increasingly vigilant.

Yang Ji returned to the topic and said with a smile: "If Murong Zhao escapes into the hinterland of Tuyuhun, it means that Tuyuhun can no longer defend it and Shanshan will become a world of 'horse thieves'. When the time comes, our Sui Dynasty will just recruit them. Tuyuhun himself has no power."

How can you blame me, the Sui Dynasty, when you only protect Shanshan?"

After hearing this, Hao Yuan couldn't help laughing and said: "I think it is better to beat the 'horse thieves to Qiemo', and then let Qian Shixiong follow them to eliminate them. After that, Qiemo will become our Sui territory. It is also a reasonable thing."

.”

Song Zhengben said seriously: "This is the territory that I, the Sui Dynasty, conquered from the horse thieves. It is natural and reasonable to take it as our own."

"That's fine." Yang Ji thought for a while and analyzed: "Murong Fuyun is just a young man, and he came to power through a coup. When he became the Great Khan, he also made those who supported him

'Military leaders' grow stronger when they cut off dissidents. These
To be continued...