When Yuan Cheng climbed high and looked far into the distance, he saw that the sky was high and the clouds were vast, boundless. The Qilian Mountains were still covered with snow, really like a jade dragon winding with no end in sight.
It's early summer, when the grass is green and green. Countless cattle and sheep are grazing in the wilderness. If you look around, they are as small as ants.
After looking at it for a while, Yuan Cheng sighed leisurely: "As far as the eye can see, the blue sky is getting higher and higher, and the jade dragon is winding and enchanting. The boundless greenery is supported by sheep herding, and a horse flies singing to drunken the night... If we talk about seven words, Li Chengzhi should be the best in the world. It's a pity.
Such a talented person!”
Li Chengzhi’s strengths are not limited to this one thing?
Regardless of everything else, if Li Chengzhi had not won a great victory at Chencang, annihilated and captured nearly 100,000 Tuyuhun and Nanliang troops, severely weakening their vitality. How could these two countries not have taken advantage of the chaos in the north and six towns to sneak in?
Plotting to Guanzhong?
It is a pity that the court did not know the person well, so Li Chengzhi suffered many injustices, was forced to have no choice, and finally revolted.
Li Xian thought to himself, but with a just right smile on his face: "What His Highness said is true!"
Upon hearing this, he knew that Li Xian was complimenting him. Yuan Cheng was neither happy nor disgusted, but just sighed secretly in his heart.
After Gaozhao's rebellion, the imperial court was wary of danger in times of peace and replaced all the friends and associates close to him, including Li Xian, who was then the pastor of Sizhou.
Li Xian was transferred back to Luoyang and served as Zhongshu Cheng and Sanqi Changshi. It sounds like he was appointed as a cardinal, with a high and powerful position, but in fact it was just a sinecure. At most, he was appointed as Shangshu Supervisor.
Just start with a beating.
And just like him, there were not a few important ministers who had their military power stripped of their military power, either because the Empress Dowager, Yuan Cheng and others suspected that they were too close to Gao Zhao, or because the court took precautions to prevent problems in the future.
The veteran, the famous and unparalleled general Li Chong.
Since then, these people have become more tactful, rarely presenting alone in any court meeting or discussion. Even when the Queen Mother gives an edict to each other, she listens more and talks less, and follows what others say. If she is forced to be anxious, she will kowtow and plead guilty.
At that time, the situation was unclear and it was difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. Gao Ying and Yuan Cheng were happy for these people to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
When Gaozhao surrendered, it was found out that Li Chong, Li Xian, Wang Xian and other former Gaozhao party members had not rebelled, so the court naturally wanted to re-enlist them. But the strange thing is that there were frequent cases of people refusing edicts.
Just like Li Chong, the imperial court originally wanted to relocate him as a general in the southern expedition and take charge of the Huaihe River. However, Li Chong reported that he had lived in the south for a long time and had long since suffered from paralysis (rheumatism) and was no longer able to walk. And he is now old.
Over sixty years old, he is too old and too dim to lead an army anymore.
Wang Xian even begged to become an official on the grounds that he was old and ten years older than Li Chong.
Just like Li Xian, he is now in his prime, and it is time to take care of the country's worries. He was reinstated as censor Zhongcheng, but he still made every possible excuse.
Although it was not stated clearly, a blind person could also see that these people were discouraged by the previous eviction and had rifts with the Queen Mother, Yuan Cheng and other important officials in the clan.
Asking himself, Yuan Cheng does not think that he and the Empress Dowager have done anything wrong. The so-called people's hearts are separated from each other. Yuan Huai, Yu Zhong, Yuan Ji, Yuan Li, etc. have learned from the past. It is difficult to guarantee that these people have not secretly colluded with Gao Zhao and made Ming Zhongzhong treacherous.
But they also did not expect that this move would make these people complain about the imperial court, and they would feel sad for Li Chengzhi: just like Li Chengzhi, the more loyal he is to the emperor and the country, the more he will make great contributions to the country.
, on the contrary, the more he became jealous of the Empress Dowager and the Yuan family, why not hide one's strength and bide one's time?
At least I don't have to be forced to fake my death to escape and raise an army angrily...
Yuan Cheng knew this very well, but if the Yuan clan still wanted to secure the country and use these people, or their clansmen, descendants, disciples, etc. to govern all the people in the world, it would be impossible to kill them all.
All we can do is make up for it, try to be graceful in every possible way, and try to warm people's hearts that have not yet cooled down.
Just like Li Xian, who was unwilling to lead the army, and when Cui Guang fell to Xihai and the minister was in exile for a long time, the Queen Mother ordered him to temporarily replace him and add him to the post of minister.
He was also gifted with two sons, who made him a noble scholar. But now it seems that he has had little effect?
Otherwise, with Li Xianzhi's tact, he should at least agree with himself and scold Li Chengzhi for a few words, instead of just saying "What your highness said is true" and just perfunctoryly say.
People's hearts are scattered...
Yuan Cheng sighed sadly and walked down the mountain: "That's all, I've seen too much and there's nothing new. Let's set off..."
His subordinates obeyed the order and quickly brought the horse stools and waited for the two of them to board the carriage. Li Xian supported the old man's waist, hesitated for a moment, and asked his subordinates to bring him a square of felt.
As he boarded the bus, he looked at the endless grassland, and Li Xian secretly complained in his heart: It's all Yuan Cheng's fault. Instead of taking the right path, he had to make a big detour, which cost an extra five or six hundred miles?
After a moment's thought, he complained about Li Chengzhi again: If it had not been for the great defeat at Chencang against Li Chengzhi, the Tuyuhun Khan King Fulianchou would have abandoned his old capital, Shudun City, like a frightened bird, and moved his troops westward to Fuluochuan, nearly two thousand miles away.
, it has already arrived.
That's all. If we enter Panghan and then follow the big river (Yellow River) to Mohechuan (the big city of Tuyuhun) and then to Fuluochuan, we will be thousands of miles away. It was Yuancheng who had a sudden idea and said that he wanted to follow the Tuguhun border.
Due to the military situation in Hexi, the mission could only march along the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains, which would take an extra five to six hundred miles.
Now, we are about to reach the middle section of the Qilian Mountains. Less than a hundred miles to the south is the Salt Lake (Qinghai Lake). Three hundred miles to the northeast is Wuwei County, with only the Qilian Mountains in between. If you go north, less than four miles
A hundred miles away is Zhangye County.
If we follow common sense, Yuan Cheng's plan is reasonable. After all, the battle with Xihai is imminent, so it is not surprising to take the opportunity to find out the strength of the enemy's army.
But the mistake was that he underestimated Li Chengzhi's vigilance.
As soon as they entered Tuyuhun a few days ago, Yuan Cheng sent scouts to cross the Qilian Mountains to spy, and even went as far as Wuwei City, which was very successful.
Since yesterday, some of the scouts have lost contact, and as of this morning, not more than half of the hundreds of riders sent have returned.
After asking, I found out that after passing Wuwei, the West Sea Rangers gradually appeared in the Qilian Mountains. The further west I encountered, the more I encountered them. With their armor and light horses, they came and went like the wind. In just two days, Yuan Cheng's guards came and went.
More than fifty were damaged.
Until then, Murong Xiaocai, the famous king of Tuyuhun (the leader of the Tuyuhun tribe, or the prince of the Khan's family, was called this) who greeted the delegation, said that since the beginning of spring last year, armored cavalry have been seen frequently in the mountains. If the Tuyuhun herdsmen did not cross the Qilian Mountains, they would
They live in peace and harmony. But if there is any overstep, whether they are humans or animals, they are like stones sinking into the sea.
Shudun Town did send armored cavalry to patrol, but they fought two battles and were defeated in both battles. The Hu soldiers suffered a loss of five to six hundred.
Later, for some unknown reason, the Khan's court suddenly issued a decree stating that all Tuyuhun troops and people were not allowed to cross the border without any reason.
When talking about this paragraph, Yuan Cheng and Li Xiancai later realized that when Emperor Taiwu destroyed Daxia and annexed the north, the monarch of Daxia, Helian Ding (son of Helian Bobo), fled to Tuyuhun and was later admired by the Great Khan of Tuyuhun.
He captured it and presented it to Emperor Taiwu.
Later, Emperor Taiwu annexed Hexi. Thinking of this, he did not invade Tuyuhun. He even made a covenant with Mu Huan at the foot of the Qilian Mountains: Mu Huan was given the title of King of the Western Qin, and everything south of the Qilian Mountains was a fiefdom of the Western Qin, excluding the Qilian Mountains.
However, after Emperor Taiwu moved all the households in Hexi to Pingcheng, Hexi existed in name only and gradually became a place for Tuyuhun to roam. Several generations of emperors later regarded Hexi as useless. As long as Tuyuhun did not send troops to invade and block the Silk Road, they would He closed his eyes and allowed his tribe to wander in the north of the mountain.
It's ridiculous to say that the imperial court doesn't care, but Li Chengzhi, a traitor, cares about everything and will investigate every inch of territory?
Yuan Cheng didn't understand why Li Chengzhi acted like this, but Li Xian was familiar with him, so he could guess a bit.
Li Chengzhi often said that people who are not of my race must have different minds. The Hu people are the people of Hua, and they are barbaric by nature, and they don’t know what benevolence, righteousness, and shame are. When they are weak, they will naturally be obedient, bow their heads and bow to their ministers, and when they are in power, they will show their horns. tooth.
So there is only one way: beat him until he is convinced.
It is true as he said, Tuyuhun is a mother if she has breasts, and has no sense of shame. Two years ago, she was in the same position as Yuan and Wei, but now when she heard that there was an advantage to be taken, she eagerly joined in.
Aren't you afraid of having your teeth chipped?
Li Xian secretly sneered and climbed onto the shaft of the carriage. When he entered the compartment, he accidentally looked over and saw that Yuan Cheng had changed his mount and was already on horseback.
After two months of walking day and night, a total of five to six thousand miles, even the iron body can be shaken apart. What's more, Yuan Cheng is already fifty-one, and his body is no longer in its prime.
However, he looks pretty good. I think he feels relaxed because he asked for reinforcements, as if a heavy burden has been lifted from his heart.
Cavalry A cleared the way, followed by the convoy. Although Yuan Cheng changed horses, he still walked with the convoy.
The speed was neither fast nor slow, just a little faster than an infantry march. It traveled roughly a hundred miles in a day. Just like this, after marching for dozens of miles, dusk was approaching.
The motorcade stopped at the place where the Mubu settled down. Li Xian opened the curtain and took a look at the letter banner of the armored cavalry station who came to greet him, and recognized him as a soldier from the northern part of Tianzhu (one of the Tuyuhun tribes).
Tianzhu is one of the major parts of Tuyuhun. There are more than 120,000 herders living in the south of the Qilian Mountains around the Salt Lake.
And because they live in the west, north and south of the salt lake, they are named after them.
But as soon as I got off the car, there was an extremely strong smell of salt in my nose, and the humidity was so heavy that it was like water mist hitting my face.
Li Xian was suspicious and saw that Yuan Cheng had also dismounted, so he hurried over to greet him.
"The smell of salt is so strong and the humidity is so heavy. Could it be that we are close to the edge of the Salt Lake?"
Yuan Cheng responded in a deep voice: "Zhong Gui is very knowledgeable. This is indeed the shore of the Salt Lake. Less than ten miles to the south is the Salt Lake!"
Shouldn't it?
Li Xian squinted his eyes and pointed to the letter flag not far away, "But I remember clearly that this should be the northern Tianzhu clan flag living at the southern foot of Qilian, on the banks of the Mole River. The sweat account should be two hundred miles to the north. Haruka is right?"
"That was before!"
Yuan Cheng paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth bitterly: "Since Li Chengzhi captured the Hexi racecourse, it has been decided by Shizu (Emperor Taiwu) that everything north of the Mojin River (one of the tributaries of the Yellow River) belongs to the racecourse. .Every herdsman crossing the border will be regarded as an intruder... Fearing more trouble, the northern part of Tianzhu moved two hundred miles southward last spring, and settled the sweat tent on the bank of the salt lake..."
Li Xian's eyes widened suddenly.
If it's just the north of the Qilian Mountains, that's it. Tuyuhun is vast, so it's just grazing in the south of the mountains, and there's so much pasture land that it's endless.
But the Hexi racecourse is different. It was when the two countries were on good terms, and Tuyuhun was presented to the Yuan and Wei dynasties like a tribute.
At the time of Emperor Taiwu, the Hexi Racecourse had over a million horses, so naturally the bigger the better. However, after Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, rebuilt the racecourse in Heyang, and moved 90% of the horses and livestock from the Hexi Racecourse to Heyang, the pasture land needed for the racecourse
Not even a cent is used.
Although there was no renegotiation with the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, the northern part of Tianzhu gradually moved northward, placing the Khan's Court north of the Mojin River while the Yuan and Wei courts turned a blind eye, which was equivalent to returning most of the horse farm to Tuyuhun.
Now that Xihai has made a comeback and restored the entire racecourse, Tuyuhun still tolerates it, which really surprises Li Xian.
Because the Hexi Racecourse is flat and wide, not only is it not blocked by mountains, but it also reaches the hinterland of Tuyuhun. If Li Chengzhi wants to invade, he can drive straight in regardless of whether he is riding or on foot.
As soon as Li Chengzhi entered the army, he became so powerful that even Tuyuhun had to avoid his edge?
Li Xian was faintly frightened and asked suspiciously: "How can we allow others to sleep soundly beside the couch? Li Chengzhi is so aggressive, how can Fu Lianchou tolerate such bad breath?"
"It has only been four years since the Li family fled from Jingzhou to Hexi. Even if Li Chengzhi has some accumulation, how can he be so arrogant that he makes enemies everywhere?"
Yuan Cheng laughed coldly and said: "But this thief is cunning and cunning, and he is full of tricks. This is just to deceive Lianchou into not knowing what to do, and to fake the power of the tiger!"
A dog pretends to be a tiger?
Yuancheng means that two years ago, Tuyuhun and Nanliang colluded with each other in an attempt to plot Guanzhong, but failed to steal the chicken and lost a handful of rice, and returned in defeat.
After that, Fulianchou was even more frightened and moved his troops westward to the depths of the grassland, fearing that the Yuan and Wei Dynasties would settle accounts and raise troops to attack him.
In addition, he was living in a remote area, his eyes and ears were blocked, and he did not know that Hexi had been occupied by rebels and was no longer the territory of Wei. Therefore, Li Chengzhi determined the old territory. He sent cavalry to patrol the Qilian Mountains, and sent troops to regain the old horse farm, Fulian
Caidu only regarded it as a means of beating him up by the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, so he swallowed his anger and restrained the herdsmen in every possible way to prevent them from crossing the border again.
Listening to what Yuan Cheng said, it seems reasonable?
But Li Xian always felt that something was wrong, and for a moment he couldn't think of a reason.
Seeing his frown, he thought Li Xian was worried. Yuan Cheng chuckled: "No matter how strong Li Chengzhi is, can he still be the enemy of the Three Kingdoms? Let him be rampant for a few days first, and when the armies of the three parties come out, he will be the leader.
At that time..."
This is true.
So much grain and grass, silk and linen, and armor were promised, as well as unparalleled weapons and armor forging methods. No matter Rouran Khan's ugly slaves or Tuyuhun Khan's Fu Lianchao, they were all ecstatic.
.
When the two of them returned from the Rouran Khan's court a month ago, Chou Nu had already conscripted various tribes, saying that they would gather an army of 400,000 to help the Yuan and Wei dynasties.
Fulianchou even vowed that as long as the armor-forging method was sent to the Khan's court, he could immediately raise 200,000 troops and point his sword at the west of the river.
Not to mention 600,000, even if it is reduced by half, the borrowed Hu soldiers are already 300,000, and the imperial court has given more than 200,000 soldiers to Guanzhong, which is an army of more than 500,000.