The Xueyantuo tribe is a major branch of the Tiele people, formed by the merger of the Xue and Yantuo tribes. The reason why they formed an alliance with the westernmost Tiele tribe, Qibi Geling, was to resist the former Khan of the Western Turks.
The tyranny of Chuluo.
Therefore, their two large tribes sandwiched the Western Turks in the east and west, and wars were frequent.
After Chuluo surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, the Shekui Khan who took over was even more ruthless and aggressive in his expansion, intending to conquer the old territory of the Western Turks. Tiele's Bige Lengjie couldn't handle it, so he canceled his title as khan and attached himself to Shekui.
.
And Xue Yantuo is almost there. Although he is not attached yet, Yishubo has voluntarily given up his title of Khan.
Shibi was commanded this time by 300,000 elite Eastern Turkic cavalry, which had already defeated Xue Yantuo's tribe. The leader Yishubo knew that he was no match for Shibi, so he retreated all the way to Sanmi Mountain in the Western Turkic Yazhang. On the way, he obtained
Only with the support of 20,000 cavalry from Qiuci State and Yanqi State (Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in Xinjiang), they managed to break through the encirclement.
Stationed at Sanmi Mountain in the royal court was Shekui's younger brother, Yehu, the Western Turkic junior khan. He had already brought 50,000 people to join Xue Yantuo and formed a confrontation with the Eastern Turkic army at the lower reaches of the Ili River (Ili River).
"They are waiting for the main force of Shekui." In Yiwu City, the rangers sent by Li Jing would bring back new military information every day. Li Jing carefully recorded the entire march from beginning to end as well as the major and minor battles in between.
Yang Yuanqing said in amazement: "The scale of this battle is unprecedented. When Shekui returns, there will definitely be a shocking battle around Sanmi Mountain. I can't wait to witness it with my own eyes."
He had joined the army at the border before, fighting against Turks, and had learned some simple Turkic languages. However, all he had seen were small groups of Turkic cavalry, no more than 2,000 people. This time, there were hundreds of thousands of cavalry.
Get together.
"It's not easy to unify Yehu," Xu Shiji pointed to the sand table in the house and said, "He has been in a stalemate with Shibi at the Yilie River for more than a month. Looking at the current situation, it seems that he can delay his return until Shegui. By that time
, both sides are evenly matched, and the outcome is unpredictable.”
Li Jing nodded: "The Eastern and Western Turks are of the same family. The decisive battle between the two Khans will definitely lead to an outcome. This is not good for us, because the loser will surrender to the winner. Once the East and West merge, our northern border will be invaded.
.”
"Then why don't we intervene?" Hou Junji said.
Li Jing explained: "If you intervene now, it will only prompt the two families to form an alliance prematurely. The imperial court should remain unchanged in response to changes, wait and see the results, and then make a decision."
At this time, a messenger from the capital came and brought the latest news.
After Li Jing finished reading, he exclaimed: "As expected of Mr. Pei, this plan is brilliant."
After reading it, Yang Yuanqing was confused and asked for advice: "Uncle Medicine Master, why don't I understand something? Aren't we unable to send troops? Why don't we send troops to the Western Regions instead of going to the Northeast? What's the use of that place?"
Yang Yinjiang always called her pharmacist uncle in private, and he naturally followed suit. After all, Li Jing and Xuangan were from the same generation, and Li Jing called Xuangan his elder brother.
"It's different," Li Jing explained with a smile:
"The Northeast is not suitable for management, but its strategic importance is unprecedented at the moment. Think about it, the last thing we want is a decisive battle between the Eastern and Western Turks, and Pei Gong's strategy will undoubtedly put pressure on the beginning and the end.
It may force him to withdraw his troops to the east and march through the northeast to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Sui Dynasty. I definitely don't want such a situation to happen. Otherwise, there will be Western Turks in the west and the five Sui Dynasty governors in the east. He will be
Caught between them, the only way to retreat is to the north, and the north is a bitter and cold land, which is not suitable for nomadic herding."
"That is to say, from now on, once the news is received, the troops may be withdrawn?" Hou Junji said.
Li Jing said: "It's just possible. Even if he knows that Pei Gong has gone to Zhuojun now, he won't be able to return to the army. After all, the distance is too far. But this will affect Shibi's choice and make him have worries and can't let go.
Fight with Shekui."
"The Eastern and Western Turks have similar military strength, but why does the general manager always think that the Eastern Turks have the absolute upper hand?" Xu Shiji asked puzzledly.
He really doesn't understand. He is just starting out now. He is a complete beginner when it comes to using troops, and he is worse than a hussar general in the army.
Li Jing said: "First of all, the Eastern Turks are the Orthodox Turks, and the Eighteen Tribes of the Grassland have always been relatively united, while the Western Turks are more chaotic. Their soldiers rely heavily on the major tribes affiliated with them. It is easy for problems to arise in scheduling, and those who have the upper hand
Fortunately, once there is a failure, it is easy to collapse. Furthermore, the Eastern Turks have had frequent trade with us during the Sui Dynasty since the Qi people. After all kinds of goods flowed in, their smelting and handicraft industries have made great progress. In recent years, the Western Region has been experiencing civil unrest.
Duo, after Chuluo surrendered, Shekui never stopped using troops abroad, and the national power must have been greatly consumed. Comparing the two, the Eastern Turks have the absolute upper hand."
Yang Yuanqing nodded and said: "I heard from my father that the Eastern Turks control 600,000 strings. Not all of them came this time. They were just the main force of the royal court and his younger brother Ashina Qilifu's cavalry. Others
Several of them didn’t come.”
"Of course they don't dare to come all," Li Jing said: "If they all come, it will be clear that they want to destroy the Western Turks. I, the Sui Dynasty, will definitely intervene. The number of people is smaller to avoid irritating us. However, three hundred thousand is enough.
"
Then, Li Jing added: "This letter from Yang Sili said to me that the prince ordered Xuanting, the governor of Anxi, to lead troops to Gaochang to buy cotton seeds. We must send envoys to the East and West Turks in advance to avoid misunderstandings between the two sides."
After saying that, Li Jing looked at the censor Wei Jie and Du Xingman, the censor who happened to be in Yiwu County, and said:
"It's just a trip for both of you."
The reason why Wei Jie came here was to inspect the trade routes. Yushitai would send people to inspect local areas every once in a while, and the customs duties in the Western Regions were undoubtedly the focus at the moment, so Wei Jie came.
Naturally, Sili Tai, another judicial department, also sent people. Du Xingman came with Wei Jie. The two were good friends, and Wei Duwei Du was almost a family.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! These two people are equivalent to the two inspection team leaders sent to the local area by the imperial court.
Wei Yijie bit the bullet and agreed.
There was no way, Li Jing had the prince's decree in his hand, and he had the power to exercise it in response to military and political affairs in the Western Regions. It was like Li Jing gave the order on behalf of the prince to let them go.
This had to be done. Historically, Comrade Wei Jie was very good at running. He had been to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. After returning to China, he wrote "Xishu Ji", which has been lost to later generations.
However, "Tongdian" written by Tang Dynasty historian Du You once described Wei Jie's deeds, confirming the authenticity of his mission to the Western Regions.
Is Yang Xuanting rich? Yes, but he did not bring him to the Western Regions. When doing business with the Western Regions, most people only accept gold and silver.
So he could only borrow it, and who could he borrow it from? The governor of Qilian City, his old subordinate Wu Jinglong.
Wu Jinglong was originally Yang Yue's disciple and participated in the siege and killing of layman Liu. Later, Yang Yue placed him next to Xuanting. He made military exploits against Tuyuhun and was named the Grand Governor of Qilian City.
Qilian City is not as prosperous as Yiwu County, but it is also a trade route. Most of the trade here is private, and officials rarely come here to do business.
But now, with the roads in the Hexi Corridor blocked, many caravans have begun to detour through the Qilian Mountains, then go to Zhangye to pay customs duties, and then enter the Central Plains.
The distance is longer, so the price of goods sold into the Central Plains is higher, because the loss is greater due to the long journey.
"The Governor wants to borrow more money from me, and it can only be gold," Wu Jinglong looked at his younger brother Wu Shihui with a wry smile: "The Governor's temperament, he won't cheat me with this money, right?"
"Probably not, the Governor has never done this kind of thing before," Wu Shihui said with a smile:
"We brothers relied on the Grand Governor to make a fortune. If the Grand Governor asks for anything, we should give it to him. But how much we pay has to be weighed. If it is too much, will the Grand Governor think that we have eaten too much in the past few years?
"
Wu Jinglong laughed loudly: "If it is the second master, I will pay as much as I can. He will not ask more questions, but the chief governor has been strictly restrained by the second master and has always been very tight. I am afraid that he will blame me."
"It's better to hand it over. Blaming is better than suspicion. We can't let the governor distrust us because of this trivial matter," Wu Shihui said: "I have two thousand gold here, and I will give it to you."
As for how much gold Wu Jinglong has, his brother doesn't know either.
Just as the two began to raise gold, two days later, Yang Xuanting arrived from Xiping County with 2,000 people.
"Where's the money? Are you ready?" Yang Xuanting asked directly after seeing the two of them.
The two brothers stood respectfully on both sides and nodded quickly.
"A total of 5,400 gold, what did the Governor use it for?" Wu Jinglong asked curiously.
Yang Xuanting did not hide anything from him and said: "The prince asked me to go to Qiuci to buy kapok seeds. I heard that one pound of cotton seeds costs five hundred gold. With the little money you have collected, I can only buy ten pounds."
"This is all the wealth I have accumulated over the years in my humble position." Wu Jinglong heard that Xuanting didn't think it was enough, and hurriedly said: "It took several groups of bandits to rob him to get so much."
"You can borrow some more from the wealthy businessmen in the city. Don't worry, I will repay you the money, and the court will pay it back to me in the future. You two will write an IOU to borrow it." Yang Xuanting felt that ten kilograms of seeds was really not enough for the prince.
"Hiss~~" Wu Shihui suddenly frowned and said: "Do the merchants in the city also have some kapok seeds? This thing seems to have been sold very fast in the Central Plains in the past two years. Recently, many caravans from the Western Regions have left Qilian City.
Maybe they have it."
"Then go find them," Yang Xuanting said happily: "Remember, I want them all."
Business is about exchanging what you have and what you don’t have, everyone gets what they need, and when there is a need, they buy and sell.
Sinong Temple's large-scale purchase of cotton seeds in Zhangye County has attracted the attention of many Hu merchants from the Western Regions, so kapok seeds have become a best-seller.
There are seven caravans carrying this kind of goods in one Qilian city, and Xuanting and the others will naturally not take advantage of them. They must pay attention to integrity in doing business, especially in foreign trade. If you dare to cheat, the court cannot get around you.
The best thing is to fix the price. Once integrity is lost, it cannot be picked up again.