In this way, the master and the servant were walking and discussing. Before dusk, they had walked nearly eighty miles and arrived in Jian'an County, Licheng County, Xiazhou.
There is no human habitation within a hundred miles of this place, so it is a good place to divide your troops.
Li Liang said goodbye, took more than ten thousand civilians and a lot of food and grass, and headed westward overnight.
After he traveled about five hundred miles and bypassed the city of Bigan, he would be able to meet up with Li Chengxue who was meeting him in Daqi, and then escape to the West Sea.
At this point, plus Li Song's departure from Liangzhou, the number of people smuggled to the West Sea by him this time has reached nearly 30,000.
Now there are 50,000 men in Hexi. In time, these 50,000 men can start a prairie fire and become the capital for Li Chengzhi to aspire to world dominance when the time comes.
This is the fundamental reason why Li Chengzhi did not hesitate to resist orders and would rather fall out with the court than go to Beizhen...
He looked westward, until the sun set over the western mountains, the sky was getting dark, and he could hardly see anything in his eyes, he still sat as steady as a clock.
The climate in the north is changeable, with heavy snow yesterday and clear weather today, and the wilderness. Therefore, even though it is close to the beginning of summer, when night falls, it seems to be winter again, with biting cold wind.
Li Rui took a piece of fur and leaned over gently: "Mr. Lang, it's windy and cold. I asked the monkey to cook a bowl of hot soup. Why don't you go into the tent first and take a sip to warm yourself up!"
"That's fine!"
Li Chengzhi nodded slightly, turned the horse's head, and headed towards the camp.
After being stationed overnight, nearly ten thousand people slowly set off at 9 o'clock the next day. However, it was only a short five hundred miles away from the fertile fields, and Li Chengzhi walked for ten days...
……
North of Heli Mountain, by Juting Lake.
The black water meanders all the way north, forming a huge lake deep in the grassland.
This is Jutingze, also known as Xihai.
During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo once farmed here, and it became the territory of the Han Dynasty. In the later five years, Hua was invaded by the Han Dynasty, and it was once the territory of the Liang Dynasty. When Emperor Taiwu conquered the northern Liang Dynasty, he forcibly captured hundreds of thousands of Han people and brought them to Pingcheng. Although this place was the territory of the Wei Dynasty,
However, the Han people disappeared, so it became a grazing land for the Zahu tribe.
Until thousands of white-armored soldiers descended from the sky, either conscripted or driven out. In the past year, the barbarians wrapped in leather felt and braided hair have basically disappeared, until now...
To the north of the lake, there are endless felt tents like clouds. Countless cattle and sheep graze leisurely by the lake.
This was originally a grazing land for the remaining tribes in Hexi Province, but now it is deserted and the land is in ruins.
There are earthen beams left behind after the felt tents were dismantled, wooden fences left behind after the cattle and sheep were driven away, and some stone mills and stone troughs that cannot be taken away.
Several Hu soldiers lowered their heads, bent over, and searched for traces in the grass. From time to time, they would stop, writhe in the grass, or put something under their noses to smell it, or even taste it with their tongues.
Take a taste.
"Sir, the sheep dung has not dried completely, and the hoof prints are still deep, so the Han people should have evacuated not long ago, only five or six days at most!"
Five days?
If you bring your family with you, driving sheep and cattle, you can cover sixty or seventy miles a day at the fastest, but only five hundred miles in seven days, and you may not have passed Heli Mountain.
If you ride lightly, you can travel day and night and you'll be there in one day...
General Hu raised his eyebrows and said: "Leave the cattle and sheep here, and leave two thousand cavalry to guard them. The rest will follow me..."
"Yes!"
Following a few whistles, the horn sounded. Before long, more than ten thousand horsemen were crossing the border like locusts, roaring towards the south.
As soon as Hu Jun made a move, several pond riders suddenly emerged from behind the hillock about two miles away, and rushed southward like arrows.
Rouran people are here...
Li Song's face was pale, his beard was trembling slightly, and his clenched fists were filled with sweat.
He is not afraid, but regretful.
With Li's White Armor's current strength, they dare not say that they could kill all the more than 10,000 barbarians, but victory is not an issue.
But even if we win this time, what about the next time?
How can others be allowed to snore on the side of the couch? When the Central Plains and Beizhen are settled, how can the Yuan and Wei Dynasties let the Hexi Relics of unknown origins and strangely powerful people live in the West Sea for a long time?
Li Shixian's intestines are so sad.
If he hadn't acted in secret and made his own opinions, and wiped out the Du Lun tribe, Rouran would most likely not have sent troops, and naturally there wouldn't be the catastrophe that happened today.
So now they have only deprived him of his military power, and even if Li Chengzhi beheaded him for questioning, he would not be able to complain at all...
He felt extremely regretful to everyone in the hall, but Li Shiliang sat behind the case and stared blankly, as if he was stupid.
He originally thought that Li Chengzhi could suddenly become a prince and a relative of the emperor in a white body. God had opened his eyes and the Li family's ancestral graves were smoking.
Who would have thought that in just a year and a half, Erfang would have created such a huge foundation?
There are more than ten thousand strong soldiers, countless swords and armor, nearly one hundred thousand horses, more than a thousand hectares of fertile land, and millions of cattle and sheep.
What makes Li Shiliang most incredible is the tens of thousands of men Li Chengzhi stole from Guanzhong twice.
Fifty thousand men, with a little training, can become 50,000 war-ready soldiers. If the women Li Song kidnapped from the Du Lun tribe are matched with them as wives, over time, this will be a household of 50,000 people.
Before the Li family in Longxi surrendered, and when Xiliang was settled in Jiuquan, were there 50,000 households in the country?
This is all the capital to start a business...
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Li Shiliang couldn't stop trembling all over, and the nail leaves on his body were shaking loudly.
Li Shixian was on one side, feeling very unhappy seeing his elder brother so excited.
However, there were many retainers of the Li family in the tent. As the head of the family, he could only force himself to be reserved, keep a straight face, and pretend to be indifferent.
"Master, please come and report that Hu Qi has arrived fifty miles north of the mountain!"
"When it comes, the fight will begin!"
It was as if a cat had arrived. Li Shixian was very relieved, "Li Shi, Li Zhang, are you sure that the enemy is approaching?"
The two of them took a step forward together, knelt on one knee, and shouted loudly: "Master, if we lose this battle, the two servants are willing to raise their heads to see you!"
"Okay!" Li Shixian nodded calmly, "Then let's go!"
Seeing how calm he was, Li Shixian suddenly remembered an allusion: During the Battle of Feishui, Xie Anzhi's son Xie Xuan defeated Fu Jian's thirty-thirty Qin army with tens of thousands of Jin troops. When the news of the victory reached Jiankang, Xie An was leaving.
Chess, I only mentioned it in an understatement: The younger generation will defeat the thief!
Just like this, Li Shixian...
"Second brother is so kind!"
He sincerely praised him, and then said worriedly, "The second brother is called Hu Enemy. I don't know where they came from. How many troops are there?"
It's a pity that I don't have a fan at hand, otherwise Li Shixian would have fanned it: "It's Rouran who is invading, but there are only ten thousand soldiers and cavalry, which is not enough..."
Li Shiliang's eyes almost popped out.
Rouran...20,000 cavalry...
He also thought that they were the Lushuihu who were nomadic in Linsong, or the Uighurs and other small tribes in the north of Heli Mountain, with at most a thousand soldiers.
How did Li Shixian say this "not worth mentioning"?
"Brother, don't panic, I'm willing to follow my brother and see how the younger one can defeat the thief!"
Seeing Li Shixian standing up, Li Shiliang thought there was an echo in his mind...