In early July, the first batch of cattle, sheep and other livestock arrived in Beiting.
On the fifth day of the lunar month, Zhu Jin led his troops north to meet the enemy. He was shocked when he saw the overwhelming number of cattle, sheep and cavalry.
What shocked him was not this spectacular scene. In fact, he had seen it as early as last year. He was surprised by how thin these animals were. If they were allowed to run for a thousand miles, they would fall to death if the wind blew.
It’s too fast to rush!
"General Zhu!" Ba Yegu saw Zhu Jin from a distance, rode forward alone, and greeted him loudly.
He has never lacked respect for the mighty general. Even if he is old, he should still not be underestimated. If you really fight, he will probably finish you off in a few or two strokes.
"These cattle and sheep..." Zhu Jin pointed at the horse and said.
"The Great Khan spent a lot of money in deploying troops in the Western Regions. I expected that those poor devils would not be able to move more than two meters out of their homes, so I hurried slowly and came over with the first batch of cattle and sheep." Ba Yegu said.
Zhu Jin glanced at him suspiciously.
That's nice to say. I'm afraid you've heard some news and rushed over, right? Shao Yuanzhu, Lian You, Ah Chu and other lucky people have suddenly ascended to high positions, and the news has probably been spread back to the grassland. It seems that this guy is also good.
It is not impossible for a motivated person to rush to the saint in a hurry to flatter him.
"How many people have you brought here?" Zhu Jin asked.
Ba Yegu was stunned. Instead of asking how many cattle and sheep he had brought, he asked how many people he had brought. Did the saint want to recruit troops? But why did he recruit troops? He was defeated.
Ba Yegu's eyes flashed and he said tentatively: "We only brought three thousand people. The large army is still behind, and it will take about half a month to reach Beiting."
"Send someone over to convey an order to them to hurry up and arrive before July 15th." Zhu Jin waved his horse and said.
"This... okay." Ba Yegu called two of his nephews and asked them to go back immediately to deliver the order.
"Remember, the cattle and sheep can arrive later, but people must arrive as soon as possible." Zhu Jin added.
The two messengers nodded and left quickly.
Zhu Jin took Ba Yegu and his party to Qingzhen and arrived at Shuibo Wetland near the town on the morning of the sixth day.
There were a total of 150,000 cattle and sheep, some of which stayed near Qingzhen for intensive feeding, some of which were evacuated eastward to the Baiyang River Basin, and some of which were driven west to graze on both sides of the Yeye River.
Ba Yegu and other tribal chiefs were arranged to live in the inn.
Next to the inn is a huge hay warehouse, with bales of hay stacked neatly like a hill - no exaggeration, there is so much hay that it is as tall as a mountain.
But such a majestic forage mountain will melt as quickly as ice and snow under the scorching sun in the next few days.
Troops arrived one after another.
They wore furs, spoke a changed Uighur dialect and many incomprehensible languages, brought a large number of horses, equipment, and drove cattle, sheep, and camels. After resting near the forage warehouse, they continued westward.
I heard that they were going to the Huangcaobo area further west to graze, waiting for the next order.
The fodder mountain was depleted very quickly and had to be replenished.
Early in the morning of the eighth day of July, hundreds of warriors on horseback, leading a larger number of farmers, left Qingzhen Military City and headed north.
Ba Yegu looked strange and asked the post general: "Who are these people?"
The postmaster raised his head and took a look.
I saw densely packed carriages winding northward, filled with farmers holding sickles. On both sides of the convoy were fully armed knights, carrying swords and bows, escorting them all the way.
"Who else could it be?" The post general smiled and said, "It's the soldiers of the Qingzhen government. They took their troops and went north to cut the grass."
Ba Yegu vaguely heard last year that the sage had placed government soldiers in Qingzhen, but he didn't expect that it had been implemented.
He subconsciously looked around.
The location of Qingzhen is really good. The ditches dug in the former Tang Dynasty have been dredged and can be used to irrigate farmland. And those fields are full of wheat. Although the growth is not very good, it is a good start.
"It will be harvested next month, right?" Ba Yegu said with emotion: "Unknowingly, the saint's deployment in Beiting has become more and more perfect."
"Isn't it?" said the post general: "Last year, many people thought it was too risky to place two thousand soldiers in Qingzhen. Once the thieves break in, the achievements of the settlement will be destroyed. But Zhao Wang, Fu Gong, Zhu
The general was stationed here, but the thieves didn't come. They couldn't bear the loneliness and went to fight the thieves every day. Let's not talk about how many achievements they made, but just saying that the town has indeed stabilized and everyone praised it. "
"Why did the saint summon us this time?" Ba Yegu asked again.
"You don't know?" The post general was a little surprised: "This is not a secret in Qingzhen. Have you seen the Tibetan soldiers heading west in the past two days?"
I am also a "Tibetan soldier" - Ba Yegu secretly complained, nodded and said: "I saw it. A group of hundreds to two thousand riders, with many horses, cattle and sheep, grazing all the way to the west.
Are you going to grab pasture? The Geluolu people are disobedient?"
"It's better that the Geluolu people were disobedient. They just robbed them." The post general said: "We didn't go to rob the pasture. There was a rumor in the army that they were going to the west to rob the Persians. The Geluolu people were helpers this time and went out with them.
."
"How many people are there?" Ba Yegu was shocked and asked.
This is the second year that the Qibei and Qinnan tribes went on an expedition. Last year, they gathered about 20,000 people and did not fight too many battles, and then they went back. This year, they have almost the same number, bringing with them more than 500,000 cattle, sheep, and horses.
The camel crossed the grassland and arrived at Beiting.
They only have 20,000 horses, and I can't imagine how many more people will be dispatched.
"There are not many people in Beiting, but the imperial court has strict control. We generally know how many soldiers and horses each Yi Li Jin has. The chieftain who heard the story said that no matter what happens this time, we will have to mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 horses," the post general said.
: "If you also include the imperial army, there will be a lot of movement."
"Aren't you afraid that the Khazar Uighurs and the Xigas will take advantage of the situation and plunder the North Courtyard?" Ba Yegu asked.
The Khazar Uighurs lived in the Altai Mountains. The Uighurs did not leave when they moved westward, and later a large number of them were ruled by Pugu Junji. Last year, the saint walked through the grasslands and raided the Beiting. The Khazar Uighurs were severely attacked, and the tribe's old, weak, women and children were
After being copied, Ba Yegu and the others were also assigned some slaves, so they knew them very well.
During this trip westward, they encountered the Khazar Uighurs. Although there were not many of them and they stayed away from them, they were a threat after all. According to the slaves, these Khazar Uighurs were probably captured by the Yorgas.
Controlled, this is even more dangerous.
"The princes in the court should consider it." The post general was not sure.
While the two were talking, at the foot of the mountain to the south, another cavalry army of seven to eight hundred people was passing quickly.
Ba Yegu looked silently and saw that the outfits of this group of people looked good, and many of the knights were actually wearing leather armor.
"Those are the soldiers of the Abusi family." The post general said: "The saint won the battle and rewarded many soldiers with many weapons and equipment. Abusi got a lot of them, so his people look decent."
"War is really a very profitable thing." Ba Yegu sighed.
What the saint pursues is a larger territory, more people surrendering to him, listening to his orders, and his layout not being destroyed by anyone - just like the two thousand soldiers in Qingzhen, with six thousand households.
Qu, just like farming and grazing in peace and quiet.
As for those who followed the expedition, they were after goods, cattle, sheep, and slaves—weapons and equipment were also one of the goals.
The saint is generous. As long as you obey his orders, fight bravely under his command, and achieve his goals, he will give up a lot of gold and silver and reward them to his subordinates.
Absibu is a typical example.
Thinking of this, Ba Yegu's heart started to stir.
Follow the saint and grab his motherfucker!
******
In the countryside of Luntai County, Tingzhou, Wang Yanzhang had just returned from hunting.
When passing by a village, I saw the endless golden fields and stopped unconsciously.
He had been to this village last year. At that time, there were only a dozen households, and most of the young people were kidnapped by Tibetan soldiers in the Qibei Grassland, and their whereabouts are unknown.
There were about sixty or seventy people left, old and young, unable to do anything. I still remember a child I met at that time who was so hungry that he cried loudly. He gave him two vinegar cakes, and the child dragged him away.
He wears his clothes and wants to go out to fight with him.
What a nonsense! Wang Yanzhang’s lips overflowed with a smile.
The military situation was urgent, so he did not plan to stay in the village. Instead, he slowed down his horse and walked along the dirt road in front of the village, watching.
"There are many Bianzhou people living in this village." The Liaodong soldiers who followed him started chatting.
“How come Bianzhou people want to come here?”
"When I want you to come, I have to come even if you don't come."
"It's not just this village. I was in Tingzhou a few days ago. Along the foothills, there was a stretch of farmland, which was irrigated with snow water flowing down from the mountains. From the accent of the farmers, it seems that they are from Henan."
"The saint is restoring the fields in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains step by step. After this year's autumn harvest, the supply of grain and grass should be unimpeded, right?"
"Not even close. Before we go home, the food produced here is not enough to eat."
Hearing the word "go home", Wang Yanzhang's heart moved.
Last year I took two thousand Liaodong soldiers with me on the expedition. Before I knew it, a year and a half had passed. In another half year, it would be time to go home.
I've been away for two years, but my family is safe.
There are only two thousand soldiers, not 20,000 or 200,000. The imperial court can still afford it.
Over the past two years, they have received many rewards, such as cloth from Gaochang, cattle and sheep from Beiting, etc. The court issued military coupons, and when they passed through Beijing on their way home, they could collect the corresponding things with the coupons, which would be enough to make up for two years.
There may even be a surplus due to being away from home.
In addition, those who fought bravely were rewarded with one or two gold and silver items. This was a rare thing in Liaodong and made people envious. At the same time, they secretly encouraged themselves that if there was a war in the future, they must not fall behind others.
"One hundred thousand cavalry, sweeping across the Western Region, hey!" Wang Yanzhang pinched the horse's belly and walked away.
There are always tens of thousands of miscellaneous soldiers gathered under Fu Cun's account. After deducting the necessary left-behind personnel and including the Tibetan soldiers, even if there are not 100,000, there will definitely not be less than 80,000.
Eighty thousand people, riding horses and driving cattle and sheep, entered the grasslands of the west in a mighty manner. Who could stop them wherever they passed?
Since the Uighurs moved westward, the Western Regions must not have seen such a huge nomadic army for seventy years. When Pang Teqin called himself Ye Hu, even if he included the Gaochang Uighurs who nominally belonged to him, they were only twenty
Thousands of people, and then swept across the entire Western Region and Balashagon, Bakhanna and other places farther west, establishing a country and proclaiming it a system.
Wang Yanzhang has received the news that Fu Cunshen has just received a new title: North Road Youyi Attack Envoy.
The sage ordered him to enter Tuqishi's hometown and wait for an opportunity to attack the thieves.
Wang Yanzhang was not very clear about the specific "thieves" he was seeking. He only knew that the saints had many things to do in the Western Regions, such as immigration and settlement, but this required the consumption of a large amount of food.
If the person you are asking for is a poor person, the deal will be a loss and will not achieve the goal.
So, it is already clear where the saint wants to go.
If they did not penetrate into important Persian towns such as Talas and Whitewater City along the way, they would be judged as a failure and would not be able to recover their capital.
If you think about it carefully, it's quite exciting.
Wang Yanzhang subconsciously touched the iron gun in his saddlebag. As he was getting older, this was probably his last battle and he couldn't leave any regrets.
