It is precisely because of this that the current Jin army can basically not help Yelu Abaoji except providing a group of paid soldiers and armor.
Right now, the only thing West Xianbei can really rely on is Dong Xianbei.
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 are differences between them.
Not a small gap.
The more Zhang Yi described the situation in Western Xianbei at this time, the more Li Xiang felt that he could not expect too much from Yelu Abaoji. Now, Li Xiang could only count on Yelu Abaoji to cause as much consumption to Temujin as possible.
Even if Temujin finally captured Western Xianbei, he would have to recover peacefully for a few years.
Now, Li Xiang's real hope in preventing 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 Dong Xianbei.
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 without food in hand, he would be more willing than willing!
If you want to send troops to the grasslands, you need cavalry, and the consumption of one cavalry is several times that of one 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 out large-scale troops. He can only occasionally harass the opponent with small groups of light cavalry. But now, even small groups of light cavalry no longer dare to attack easily.
Li Xiang used hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Yongliang. Later, Yongliang recovered and rescued the victims, which also required a large amount of money and food, and Li Xiang's accumulation in the past few years has been almost consumed. The remaining reserves
, is to meet unexpected needs, and it is impossible to use it easily.
Therefore, the only thing Li Xiang can do now is to provide weapons and armor to Temujin's opponents.
Anyway, prairie people can ride horses and shoot arrows on the battlefield if they are pulled out. 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, those weapons and armors that were paid support to the grassland forces were specially made by Li Xiang. For this, it was naturally impossible for Li Xiang to hand over the equipment used by the Jin army to the grassland, but specially made a batch of relatively high quality for them.
Poor.
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 not be so stupid as to not know how to transfer this batch of armor from the Western Xianbei soldiers.
They can be ripped off from their bodies or corpses. These things can be reused.
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 the durability. In other words, compared with normal weapons and armor, this batch of weapons and armor
, are more prone to damage and have a relatively short service life.
If these weapons collided with the regular weapons used by the Jin army, this loss would be even more serious.
In response to the current grassland situation, Li Xiang not only wanted to provide Yelu Abaoji with weapons and armor, but Tuoba Tao also had a copy. However, because the situation on Yelu Abaoji's side was indeed urgent, and the Yelu Abaoji was out of use.
Using the method of marriage, euphemistically called it gift money and marriage certificate, Li Xiang relaxed a little on the price and did not kill Xi 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 adopts the strategy of defending in the east and attacking in the west, taking a defensive stance against Tuoba Tao and concentrating more strength.
Use an 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 are also bordered by 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, naturally
You can't fail to see the stakes in this.
Therefore, these two people do not mind helping the weaker grassland forces to fight against Temujin, a hungry wolf on the grassland. Moreover, they also think of selectively selling to the grassland a batch of weapons that they no longer need.
First.
Three sellers appeared, and Tuoba Tao naturally wanted to use this relationship to lower the price. However, who was Li Hongzhang, and the people sent by Liu Bang and Qin Zheng were not bad, so how could he be taken advantage of by the other party so easily.
The three of them came here to make some extra money to prevent Temujin's family from becoming the dominant family on the grassland, but they did not come here to do charity.
Tuoba Tao himself is not in a hurry, and Li Hongzhang and the others are even less anxious. Anyway, if Temujin can defeat Yelu Abaoji, Tuoba Tao will be next. And Tuoba Tao will not fail to see this.
, Therefore, when he compromises in the future, Li Hongzhang and the others do not mind waiting for a while.
"Maybe we can add another Nurhaci!" 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, compared to the other three companies on the grassland, Nurhachi has been relatively low-key and silent. However, Li Xiang has not forgotten that in the recent balances, Nurhaci has not lost his share at all.
Thinking about it, Nurhaci has finally recovered some of his strength after licking his wounds for such a long time. By the time he is needed later, he should be almost there.
It seems that once Yelu Abaoji is no longer useful, we have to find a way to promote the alliance between Tuoba Tao and Nurhachi. If these two can join forces, then the grassland can continue to play.
Thinking of Nurhaci, Li Xiang suddenly thought that Wei Qing had brought back a large number of Manchu prisoners from the grassland, and perhaps he could use his brains to draw inspiration from these people.