Li Qing stretched and turned over to sleep for a while. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Zhu Zhanji walked in.
"Uncle Qing, wake up."
"What's the matter?" Li Qing stood up helplessly.
"Good thing." Zhu Zhanji looked excited, his bloodshot eyes and exhaustion could not conceal his joy, "There is information from the Oara tribe."
Li Qing was stunned for a moment, and then he no longer felt sleepy. "Tell me carefully."
Zhu Zhanji briefly explained the matter, "These are Arutai's capable generals. The information provided by Ahshitemur is correct."
"They all surrendered. Logically speaking, he shouldn't dare to provide false information." Li Qing nodded slightly, and then said, "By the way, how many cattle, sheep, and prisoners were harvested this time?"
Zhu Zhanji said, "The specific numbers haven't been calculated yet, but they are far less than expected. The total number of cattle and sheep should be around 13,000, and there are more than 2,000 camels..."
At this point, he also frowned deeply, "There is another strange place. They don't have many old, weak, women and children, only about 3,000 people."
"So, they should have moved a long time ago." Li Qing frowned, "But if that's the case, why did they still fight to the death and choose to break out and retreat after so many people died?"
"Yes, I also think this battle is strange. Many aspects cannot withstand scrutiny and are unreasonable." Zhu Zhanji scratched his head, "But it was our Ming army who clearly took advantage. The Tatars are
What are you picturing?"
Li Qing opened the quilt, put on his coat and shoes, "Is the Emperor up?"
"It wasn't there when I came over."
"Let's go, follow me to the commander's camp. Let's figure things out first." Li Qing pulled Zhu Zhanji and walked out.
~
"What? We captured Arutai's general, and we have information about Wala as well?" Zhu Di's anger disappeared instantly, and he rubbed his hands and said, "Hurry and collect the results of the battle, this time I will beat the rabbit in the grass, and I will also beat Wala with my hands.
A meal."
"Your Majesty, don't you think something is wrong here?" Li Qing asked.
Zhu Di asked back, "Wala invaded Hami, should we fight?"
Li Qing was speechless.
Zhu Di asked again: "Should we clean up Wala directly, or should we go back like this and come back another year?"
Li Qing was startled and nodded slightly.
To be honest, in his mind, the necessity of fighting Oara is greater than fighting Tatar.
However, after this battle was won, although the results were remarkable, they revealed all kinds of irregularities, and he always felt that he was not so successful.
"Your Majesty, why don't we meet with Ashe Tiemur first to prevent us from being deceived by the enemy." Li Qing suggested.
Zhu Di nodded: "This is natural. I have always been cautious in using troops. Zhanji, go and bring that person to me."
"My grandson obeys the order."
"Don't leave in a hurry." Zhu Di thought for a moment and then said: "Control the prisoners, tie them all up, and keep them under strict supervision. Only one of them will be allowed to go free."
Zhu Zhanji nodded and saw that he had no other instructions, so he handed over and left.
Li Qing didn't say anything about Zhu Di's arrangement. Perhaps the civil servants would say it was unbecoming of a great country, but he thought it was effective and it didn't matter.
Not long after, a bearded middle-aged man was escorted into the camp.
The middle-aged man was well aware of current affairs and bowed and saluted: "I pay my respects to His Majesty the Ming Emperor."
"Get flat!"
"Thank you, His Majesty the Ming Emperor." Ashe Tiemur stood up, keeping his head lowered.
Zhu Di took a sip of tea and said slowly, "I heard that you know the information about Wala?"
"This is a topographic map." Ashe Tiemur took the map out of his arms and held it up with both hands.
Zhu Zhanji stepped forward to take it and handed it to Zhu Di.
Li Qing craned his neck and took a glance, but due to the angle, he couldn't see anything.
Zhu Di looked at it for a long time, put away the map, stood up and said to Zhu Zhanji: "Take him down and treat him well."
Hospitality has two meanings: one is to let the person eat and drink well, and the other is to keep an eye on him and not make any mistakes.
Zhu Zhanji naturally understood these subtexts.
After Ashe Tiemur was taken away, Zhu Di threw the terrain map to Li Qing and said, "You should also take a look."
Li Qing took it, unfolded it, stared at it for a while, then looked up at Zhu Di.
"How?" Zhu Di asked.
"It doesn't look like it's fake." Li Qing said, "Wala Camp is probably in that area, but... I think there is something wrong with this person."
"What's the problem?"
"He has been afraid to raise his head, as if he was afraid that others would recognize him." Li Qing frowned and said, "Since you have chosen to surrender, there is no need to be secretive. It's weird."
Zhu Di sneered and said: "Yuan people are not accustomed to education, but they also know the most basic etiquette. What's more, he is a general and speaks Chinese, so naturally he dare not look directly at me;
Not to mention he is a prisoner, even in the court, who among the officials would dare to look directly at me?"
As he spoke, he glared at him dissatisfied.
Only Li Qing dared to do so. This guy hardly regarded him as the emperor.
Li Qing nodded: "That's right~"
When Zhu Di said this, he felt that he was overthinking.
However, he still couldn't understand why the Tatars fought like this.
…
…
The prisoners had no human rights. Their hands were tied, they were mixed with cattle, sheep and camels, and they were driven like livestock.
After these few days of rest, Yu Qian finally regained his composure and got used to the hard work of marching. However, this time he became addicted to alcohol during the march. He didn't take two drinks a day and felt exhausted all over.
"Tons, tons, tons..." Li Qing took several sips of wine, making Yu Qian swallow his saliva and feel embarrassed to speak.
Li Qing would give him a full pot every now and then, but his addiction to alcohol became more and more intense, and he drank it all early every time.
As a person, you must be content and not greedy... Yu Qian thought to himself, don't look away, out of sight is pure.
"Ha~ good wine." Li Qing's yawning voice sounded, "Two more sips."
Yu Qian scratched his heart with paws and swallowed secretly.
So greedy.
"Yu Qian."
"I won't drink as a subordinate." Yu Qian waved his hands and looked elsewhere.
"..." Li Qing smacked his lips and took off the wine bag that had been hung on the saddle, "It's hard to march, so let's take a few sips."
Yu Qian was moved, but still shook his head and refused.
Li Qing gave in again, but Yu Qian respectfully accepted the order and took two sips from the wine bag.
"for you."
"Keep it full and drink it." Li Qing stretched, "Drink slowly, there is not much wine in the army."
Yu Qian's face felt hot and he nodded.
"Li Shangshu, are you going to attack Wala this time?"
All the generals are aware of it, it is not a secret.
Li Qing nodded: "Last year, Wala invaded Hami. Although he did not dare to occupy it, he could not sit idly by and ignore it. If he is not taught a lesson, he will only become more unscrupulous in the future."
"That's the time to fight." Yu Qian suggested, "But it's best to calculate the time in advance and start the battle during the day, so that our army's combat power can be fully utilized."
Li Qing smiled and said: "The emperor has already made arrangements."
"That's good." Yu Qian relaxed, got closer to Li Qing, and said softly: "It is not a good idea to fight blindly. As you said, Lord Shangshu, it is almost impossible to annihilate all the enemies on the open grassland. Fighting is far worse.
Trade comes at a bargain;
There are also good things outside the customs, such as: ginseng, snow lotus, furs, war horses... These are all wealth. If the two sides can increase trade and exchange what they have, the Ming Dynasty will not only not have to spend money on sending troops, but it will make a lot of money."
"Well, you are right, but not entirely." Li Qing said, "It is true that the war is to make them conduct business in a more disciplined manner;
But if you only focus on profit, that won’t work;
You know, the Ming Dynasty is developing, and they are also developing. Excessive trade will help them develop rapidly. Once they become powerful, they will definitely invade the Central Plains again."
Li Qing sighed: "They regard robbery as a matter of course. Don't try to reason with these people. This is true whether they are Tatars, Walas, or Uliangha."
After a pause, "You must have heard the saying: Raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a while;
What is raising soldiers?
Is it just to let the soldiers eat? No, it is to keep them fighting!
Yes, a large army's Northern Expedition will cost a lot of money, but what you get is not just the visible results, but also many invisible but more important things."
Li Qing gave an example: "For example, fighting can improve the combat quality of soldiers; it can make the enemy fearful and even timid, so that they dare not invade the Ming Dynasty; it can cultivate generals...
With the implementation of the land clearing every five years, as well as the relocation of the land, the migration of people, and the reclamation of wasteland...the Ming Dynasty will definitely become more and more prosperous in the future.
However, if a country only has money but does not have strong armaments, how can it protect the country and even the wealth of its people?
The Song Dynasty is a good example!"
Li Qing said with a smile: "As I said before, those who have literary skills must be equipped with military equipment!"