2774. Chapter 2705 Iron Prime Minister Bismarck Loulan and Xiliang
Chapter 2705 Iron Prime Minister Bismarck, Loulan and the Queen of Xiliang
Chapter 2701: Iron Prime Minister Bismarck, Loulan and the Queen of Xiliang
The strongest among the fifteen countries in the Western Region are naturally the ten independent countries. As for the five vassal countries of Qin in the Western Region, even the five countries combined are not as good as the two weakest countries.
Any force with some strength cannot be willing to act as a vassal state.
Forces like the five major vassal states cannot survive in the fiercely competitive Western Region by relying on their own strength. They can only rely on more powerful forces and obtain protection by claiming vassalage and paying tribute. This is the way for small countries to survive.
Under Ji Xiaolan's leadership, the anti-Sui coalition forces of the fifteen countries in the Western Regions were formed, and then naturally they sent their own troops to fight against the Sui army.
This battle is related to the survival of the fifteen countries in the Western Regions, and the number of 100,000 Sui troops makes all the countries in the Western Regions breathless, so the countries in the Western Regions do not dare to hide anymore.
The five great powers, including Dayuan, Daliang, Xiliang, and Khotan, each dispatched troops ranging from 20,000 to 35,000.
Loulan, Shule, Qiuci and other five countries each sent troops ranging from 10,000 to 15,000.
As for the five major vassal states of Qin, the five states together mobilized a total of 30,000 troops.
In just two years, Bismarck helped Wang Bi form an army of 15,000 people almost out of thin air, repaired three abandoned cities, and restored the population of the three cities to 78,000.
, whose abilities and methods are rare even in Great Qin, and he is worthy of the name of the iron-blooded prime minister.
At this point, the total strength of the anti-Sui coalition forces of the fifteen countries in the Western Regions had reached 240,000.
In other words, the Qin Army in the Western Regions formed by Wang Ben was not officially recognized by the Qin Dynasty. It had neither military pay nor logistical supplies, soldiers, money and food, weapons and equipment, etc. It was all up to Wang Ben and Ji Xiaolan to think of themselves.
Find a way to solve it.
In Bismarck's view, Wang Ben seemed to have nothing on the surface, but in fact he had everything.
"...The alliance has been formed. From today on, we must work together and share weal and woe. The Sui army will not fall and the alliance will not be broken up."
Bismarck was in charge of making plans, Wang Ben was in charge of recruiting and training troops to suppress bandits, and Ji Xiaolan was in charge of lobbying various countries and plundering the wool of various countries in the Western Regions with one mouth.
The intercepted equipment was of course a benefit to the Sui State, which made Wang Ben feel distressed. However, the equipment that arrived was barely enough for the Qin Army in the Western Regions.
In addition to the above two points, the third point that worried Wang Ben was that the fifteen countries in the Western Regions would not obey orders.
In addition, you can also encircle and suppress bandits to train your troops.
Ji Xiaolan and Wang Ben were stunned after receiving Li Jing's reply.
Today's Queen of Xiliang and Queen of Loulan are both women, and both of them are beauties who have conquered the country, and their arrival has also alleviated some of the tension in this alliance.
Wang Ben became the commander-in-chief of the Fifteen-Nation Alliance, commanding an army of 255,800. However, facing the 100,000 Sui troops, with a strength advantage of 2.5 times, he still had no certainty of victory, and was rather worried.
This army can be called the worst army of the Qin Dynasty. Firstly, it does not have the formal establishment of the Great Qin. Secondly, it has no military pay and logistical supplies. Thirdly, its weapons and equipment are also very poor. Compared with the regular Qin army, it is worse than a beggar.
Among the fifteen kingdoms in the Western Regions, the previous kings of Xiliang and Loulan were both childless, but they both died in the war with the Sui Kingdom, so their eldest daughters inherited the throne.
Although the Queen of Xiliang and the Queen of Loulan are both women, they are soft on the outside and strong on the inside. There is no ambiguity in the two aspects of dripping blood and drinking blood wine, and they join the other kings without even frowning.
The blood wine was drained in one gulp.
Bismarck had no other choice but to ask Li Jing to secretly transport a batch. As a result, two of the five batches were seized by the Sui State.
The main reason for this situation is that the Western Regions and Da Qin are separated by the Sui State. The Western Regions are thousands of miles away, and Da Qin's logistics supplies cannot be transported at all. Therefore, all the supplies of this army rely on the fifteen kingdoms of the Western Regions.
support.
Bismarck stood on the altar and shouted, while the fifteen kings below also shouted in unison: "As long as the Sui army does not fall, the alliance will not break up."
This is an army of 255,000 people. Even in Great Qin, few people have commanded such an army, but now Major General Wang Ben has become the commander-in-chief of an army of 250,000 people.
Bismarck had obviously anticipated this, and he randomly gathered refugees in the Western Regions, rebuilt cities at the ruins of annihilated countries, reclaimed land to resume production, and also opened glaze, paper and other factories.
Wang Ben prepared to fight steadily and rely on his superior strength to fight a war of attrition against the Sui army, but he did not expect that he would be defeated just after the war started.
Bismarck had no way to expand his territory and increase his population, so the expansion plan naturally came to an abrupt end, which also made all the countries in the Western Region secretly relieved.
Short of money and food? It doesn’t matter, the fifteen countries in the Western Regions have it.
Da Qin has helped the countries in the Western Regions so much. Although it does not ask for compensation, shouldn't you be more conscious and pay some protection fees?
However, Wang Ben believed that without an army in hand, his back would not be strong enough and he would not have the confidence to speak out. The countries in the Western Regions would only be willing to follow the rules and go against the wishes, so it was urgent to recruit and expand the army locally.
But relying only on the tributes from the five major tributary countries and the wool collected from the ten countries in the Western Regions, when the number of troops in Wang Ben's hands exceeded 5,000, it was obvious that he was beyond his capabilities and could not afford it at all.
As the Sui State, as well as Ji Chang and Li Siyuan, completely established a foothold in the Western Regions, the Han people's power in the Western Regions became stronger and stronger. The local forces in the Western Regions did not want the Qin Dynasty to also become stronger and stronger in the Western Regions.
This number is quite large. Even among the ten countries in the Western Regions, it is not at the bottom. Not to mention that the Qin Army in the Western Regions has stronger combat power and equipment.
Lack of troops? It doesn’t matter, the fifteen countries in the Western Regions have them.
When Bismarck first came to the Western Regions, he was just the younger brother of Ji Xiaolan and Wang Bi, but now Ji Xiaolan and Wang Bi are Bismarck's leaders, and they are obviously completely conquered by Bismarck's various dazzling performances.
So many countries were lost in the Western Regions, and many of them were defeated armies and refugees. Aren't these ready sources of troops?
You, Ji Xiaolan, don't have iron teeth and bronze teeth. Go and persuade them to give out money and food. The dependent countries should collect more wool, and the non-subordinate countries should collect less.
Wang Ben wanted to expand his army in the Western Region, but he had nothing but three hundred elite cavalry guards and the banner of Qin.
The Sui Kingdom made its third expedition to the Western Regions and claimed to have dispatched a hundred thousand troops, forcing the fifteen countries of the Western Regions to join forces again and hold an alliance in the Tianshan Mountains. The person who presided over the alliance ceremony was Bismarck.
You don't give me any support, not even a stone of food and grass, so how can I build an army?
Bismarck used the goods produced in the factory to do business with the fifteen countries in the Western Regions, and even attracted businessmen from Kushan, Timur, Seljuk and other countries in Central Asia to purchase goods and then transport them back to their home countries for further processing.
Selling.
Bismarck earned a lot of wealth through trade and purchased grain from Central Asian countries to support Wang Ben's army expansion and maintenance, and eventually expanded the army to 15,000.
In addition, there were 15,000 Qin troops under Wang Ben.
The army in the Western Regions was already weak in combat strength, and there were no strong generals in charge. Now it was even less advantageous in field battles.
When Yang Su conquered the Western Regions for the second time, he almost won the battle thanks to Wang Ben's efforts to turn the tide. However, due to the failure of certain countries to obey the command, the good situation was wasted.
Bismarck saw the opportunities contained in the situation in the Western Region.
On the other hand, on the Western Region Allied Forces side, the only local famous general who could take advantage of him was Ling Xiao. The only foreign aid on the Great Qin side was Wang Ben, Wang Li and his son, and the civil servant Bismarck.
There are three main points that Wang Ben is worried about: first, the overall quality of the armies of both sides;
Wang Ben didn't want to make the same mistake again this time.
Under the auspices of Bismarck, a Chinese-style blood-based alliance ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner.
Weapons and equipment such as armor, bows and crossbows are not so easy to forge, and it is also extremely difficult to obtain war horses.
Wang Ben's 15,000 Qin troops, coupled with the 240,000 anti-Sui coalition troops of the fifteen countries in the Western Regions, the total strength of both sides reached an astonishing 255,000.
The second point that worries Wang Ben is the lineup of the generals on both sides.
Later, Bismarck discovered that the armor rate of the army was too low, the number of long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows was too few, and there was no cavalry, which greatly limited the army's combat effectiveness.
Ji Xiaolan felt that the mission of their trip was just to balance the forces in the Western Region and unite them to fight against the Sui State. There was no need to form another army.
In fact, when this army was first formed, Ji Xiaolan and Wang Ben had a dispute.
This 15,000-strong army was not mobilized from within the Great Qin Kingdom, but after the seven Western Regions voluntarily became vassal states of the Great Qin, Wang Ben relied on the 300 elite cavalry that had entered the Western Regions as the backbone to absorb the defeated armies of the countries that had perished in the Western Regions.
, the refugees and young people from the subordinate countries, as well as the new army formed by destroying the bandits and bandits.
The three of them each performed their duties, and with sincere cooperation, three hundred elite cavalry were eventually formed as the backbone, gradually forming a warworthy army.
I am afraid that no general will not envy this resume. Wang Ben is also extremely proud of it. The only flaw is that this army is all foreigners. It would be perfect if they were all replaced by Qin troops, but they are all Qin troops.
If so, it won't be his turn.
Just when Ji Xiaolan and Wang Ben were having a headache and even wanted to give up, Bismarck took the initiative to ask for orders to come to the Western Regions and helped Ji Xiaolan and Wang Ben solve their biggest problem.
It has to be said that Bismarck, who had an IQ of 98 and a Politics of 102, performed well in Yongliang but was not very outstanding, but his various performances after coming to the Western Regions were simply amazing.
Meng Bi, General Ruan Wengzhong, and Wang Xuance, who once protected Ji Xiaolan and Wang Ben when they entered the Western Regions, have all been transferred back to Daqin to participate in the Central Plains War. There are no strong generals in the Western Regions.
Normally, Wang Ben and Bismarck could lead their troops to fight against bandits and bandits, but if they really attacked any country, the other countries would definitely not ignore them.
If he can help him form an army, and if this army succeeds in the future war in the Western Regions, it will naturally be a great achievement for him.
Bismarck initially asked Li Jing to send him a hundred craftsmen to mine and forge weapons on the spot, but the efficiency was too slow. Only a small number of people could use Daqin equipment, and the vast majority could only make do with the old-fashioned ones from the Western Regions.
equipment.
Wang Ben understands military affairs and can train troops, Ji Xiaolan understands politics and is good at diplomacy, and they have the support of the Qin Empire. These are far more important than any material.
Although Wang Ben now has an army of 250,000, he can face an army of 100,000. If they are all elites of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, he really doesn't dare to confront the opponent head-on. After all, the troops are more elite than more numerous, and he may lose in a fight.
Sex is even greater.
What's more, Wang Ben's mission was to unite the countries in the Western Regions to contain the Sui State, not to annex the countries in the Western Regions, so naturally he could not attack his allies.
This alliance in the Western Regions was a matter of life and death, and none of the countries dared to neglect at all, so all the kings of the fifteen countries were present, including the King of Daliang, the King of Dawan, Lingyun of Dawan, the King of Khotan...
As the biggest opponent of the Qin Dynasty before the founding of the country, the Tang State lost more battles with the Qin Dynasty and won less, and even though the country has been destroyed now, its powerful combat power still wins people's hearts.
Under the attention of everyone, Wang Ben walked up to the altar and received the precious seal symbolizing the command of the allied forces of the Fifteen Kingdoms from the hand of the King of Daliang, who represented the Fifteen Kingdoms.
After Wang Ben's training, the armies of various countries in the Western Regions became stronger in combat power, but not by much. They were still far behind the Sui army, not to mention that not only the Sui army came this time, but also Ji Chang and
Li Siyuan's Tang army.
The Sui army not only had famous generals such as Yang Shuang, Ji Fa, and Yu Wentai, but also strong generals such as Gao Xingzhou, Gao Changgong, and Gao Gao. Even if it was not an all-star lineup, it was already quite luxurious. It was definitely good at commanding and dispatching the army.
There won't be any problems.
Lack of weapons and equipment? No... This is not that easy to solve. After all, the fifteen countries in the Western Region also lack weapons and equipment.
Due to the limitations of territory and population, if Wang Ben wanted to continue to expand his army, he would have to increase his population and territory, but the surrounding countries in the Western Regions were all allies of Qin.
The two reported their opinions to Li Jing, and after some thinking, Li Jing, although his heart was biased toward fellow soldier Wang Bi, he also knew the difficulty of building an army in the Western Regions, so he agreed without much hope.
, it’s just that it hasn’t been officially compiled.
The troops under Ji Chang and Li Siyuan were all elites of the original Tang Dynasty. They had fought against the main force of the Qin army many times, but they were still tenacious and were not completely defeated.
What Wang Ben was most worried about happened. The pig teammates in the Western Regions failed to withstand the temptation. They once again disobeyed the command and sent troops without authorization. As a result, the 30,000-strong army was defeated by Gao Changgong's 2,000 Sui troops, with nearly 10,000 casualties.
The loss of nearly 10,000 teammates was nothing to the Western Region Allied Forces, but it was a very bad start, which made the morale of the Western Regions Allied Forces, which was already extremely fearful of the Sui Army, even lower.
While Wang Ben was entangled with Yang Shuang Jifa in the Western Regions, Li Jing, who was far away in Guanzhong, also received news of the Sui army's western expedition and responded immediately.
"Everyone, the time has come to destroy the Sui Dynasty. It is our Yongliang army's turn to take action."