Chapter 626: One punch to open, a hundred free punches to come (2)
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.
Just imagine, how could Li Chengzhi resist?
…
Li Chengxue was tired and dusty, his face and head were covered with ashes. He didn't even bother to wash his face, so he came to see Li Chengzhi. This shows how urgent the military situation is.
"Second brother, this is a secret letter from Uncle Shi, saying that it must be handed over to you for personal acceptance!"
"Thank you, third brother!"
Li Chengzhi patted him on the shoulder, "Go and freshen up quickly, and then tell mother that you are safe!"
Li Chengxue agreed and stepped back. Li Chengzhi opened the envelope, scanned it hastily, and his pupils shrank suddenly.
One month ago, the imperial court ordered Xi Kangsheng to sit in Wuchuan and command the military in Beidi and the six towns. He would be responsible for reorganizing the surrendered troops and appeasing the townspeople.
Then he ordered Xing Luan to be commander-in-chief, Cui Yanbo to be deputy, Yuan Yi to be supervisor of the army, and Yuan Qin to be commander-in-chief. He raised 300,000 troops and stationed in Guanzhong.
As soon as he saw Xing Luan, Cui Yanbo, and Sima Yuanqin, Li Chengzhi knew that the imperial court had another heart problem, and was afraid that Xi Kangsheng, who had always been close to him, would betray him, so he abandoned him.
As for Yuan Yi, no matter how close he was to Li Chengzhi in the past, he would never be able to compete with the Yuan clan's own flesh and blood, who sat on the dragon's throne.
This is just the second thing. Li Shao's statement of three hundred thousand was not a claim, but an actual reference.
There were 150,000 soldiers from Xi Kangsheng's expedition against Gaozhao. They were stationed in Xiazhou, of which 70,000 were from the central army, and the rest were state soldiers recruited from Hedong and Guanzhong. The people were strong.
The remaining 150,000 are the old troops of Gao Zhao. Among them, there are 100,000 soldiers in the nearby town, and the rest are state soldiers and county soldiers from the five states in the north.
Since it is a newly surrendered army, it only needs to be reorganized on the spot and does not need to be recruited again. Therefore, it does not take long to form an army.
Li Shao estimated that in at least one month, that is, mid-May, the 300,000-strong army would be ready to leave.
A rough calculation shows that among the 300,000 troops, only 60% are capable of riding and walking, and are skilled in bows and horses. The remaining 40% are mostly state soldiers, not civilians who don't even know how to pull a bow. They can be called
For a powerful enemy.
And that's all. Li Shao even speculated: This time the imperial court spared no expense and did not know how many benefits it had promised to Rouran and Tuguhun. The envoys who discussed borrowing troops sent letters to Rouran and Tuguhun Khan's court, and the two parties successively
He sent an envoy to the capital, saying that he and the Yuan and Wei Dynasties were in the same boat, and it was their duty to send troops to help.
Then Yuan Cheng sent an envoy, first to Rouran and then to Tuyuhun, to finalize the details with him.
The exact amount borrowed is not known, but according to Li Shao's guess, the strength of both sides should be at least 200,000.
With the addition of 300,000 officers and soldiers, the military strength has exceeded 500,000.
However, Li Chengzhi was so aggressive that almost all the people in Xihai were armed with only 100,000 soldiers. What's more, the war was not based on who had more people, but only on logistics and national strength. How could the small Hexi Province be compared with the three major powers?
Even Li Shao, who had regarded Li Chengzhi as a man of heaven and had full confidence in him, is now dead and dying. There is one meaning in his words: if something cannot be done, it is better to make plans early.
What else to plan?
It's nothing more than surrender or escape!
It's a pity that there is no turning back when the bow is fired. The matter has come to this. If you don't even have the courage to live in ruins rather than live in ruins, how can you live a new life?
Whether it's life or death, victory or defeat, we can only tell after doing it once...
Li Chengzhi smiled, put the letter into the envelope, sealed it with wax again, and handed it to Li Xiaoxian: "Put it in the file and seal it!"
If he loses, that's all. But if he wins, this letter will be a reward for Li Shao and a certificate of official titles and titles for the Li family's descendants in Longxi, so there must be no mistakes.
Li Xiaoxian took the envelope, with worry on his face: "Lang Jun, my fourth uncle (Li Song) sent an envoy to report yesterday, saying that more than a month ago, the nomadic animal husbandry at the foot of Zhuoxie Mountain received a message from the Chou slave (Rou Xie).
Ran Khan) ordered him to send out troops on the same day and gather at Luhunhai (Rouran Khan Court, Harhe Forest).
Gu Zanghou also said that more than a month ago, the Queen Mother had issued an order to gather 300,000 troops to march in Guanzhong. If calculated this way, at least in mid-February, the imperial court had already agreed with Rouran on the strategy of sending troops...
And at that time, Guzang Houkankan had just returned to Guanzhong from the West Sea?"
This means that the imperial court has not yet received Li Shao's instructions, and the Queen Mother does not yet know whether Li Chengzhi will be favored or whether he will strike out with the imperial court to negotiate peace. The imperial court has not only dispatched a large army to the border, but has also established an alliance with the Hu people.
Collusion, wanting to attack from both front and back.
"It's just because the court has long expected that I will not be favored. It is also possible that even if I am willing to join, the Queen Mother and King Ren Cheng have also secretly made up their minds to get rid of this serious problem in my heart..."
Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely, "The two armies are confronting each other, and they are resorting to all possible means. Therefore, it doesn't matter if the court does not keep its word or it is a delaying strategy. It is useless to discuss it at this time. There is no need to say more. Now we can only sink the cauldron and fight with a last ditch effort...
…”
After a pause, he said coldly: "Send an order to Li Song and tell him not to act rashly. I think Hu Jun will not cause trouble and will not invade Dunhuang. Just order him to guard the city..."
He further ordered Li Liang to send out troops in three days and join Huangfu's troops, but he must remember not to make a big show or alarm Fu Lianchou.
Li Feng and Li Yongshou were then ordered to send more Tangqi to closely monitor the movements of the Rouran army. If the Hu army marched from the north of Junji Mountain, they should ignore it. If they marched from the south of the mountain, they would form an array in Yanhubei. Don't.
Just let Tuyuhun invade the territory while marching... It won't be too late to attack again when his army is halfway across."
Li Xiaoxian worriedly said: "What if Rouran wants to seize the opportunity as soon as she comes?"
"If this is the case, it means that Rouran Chuncuo did not take Xihai in his eyes. He only regarded me as a soft persimmon that could not be pinched. He thought that he did not need to be with the imperial court, let alone the Tuyuhun soldiers. He only relied on Rouran.
Then the army can pacify our Western Sea.
This is definitely not the intention of the imperial court. Otherwise, why would Yuan Cheng travel thousands of miles away and humbly promise so many benefits to Chou Nu? This also shows how arrogant the Rouran coach is and how he underestimates the enemy. This actually fulfilled the wishes of Lang Jun.
…”
Li Chengzhi responded in a deep voice, "Even a fool knows that the most powerful thing is to clench your fingers in one place and hit them out. Is it possible that the Rouran coach doesn't understand this truth? So don't worry, Hu Jun will never act rashly."
, even if Chen Bing lives in Yanhubei and wants to attack from the north, he will at least wait for the imperial court to send a pioneer to help him explore the way..."
"I hope it goes as I wish!"
"Don't worry, the sky won't fall... Well, if I ask Huangfu to give in, if Tuyuhun shows signs of sending troops, come and report to me as soon as possible. The sooner the better..."
Seeing that Li Chengzhi's face was getting darker, Li Xiaoxian felt worried and did not dare to say anything anymore. He quickly responded and went to convey orders to various ministries.
Li Chengzhi sighed, then turned to look at the map on the wall.
After staring for a long time, Li Chengzhi's eyes became colder and colder.
In this era where communication relies on shouting and transportation relies on walking, how difficult is it to mobilize an army of tens of thousands, let alone hundreds of thousands?
He did not believe that the imperial court, Rouran, and Tuyuhun could work in unison and work together to start a war.
There will definitely be a time lag in the middle, and there will definitely be huge loopholes to exploit.
Li Chengzhi was at least certain that even though Rouran recruited troops one month earlier than Tuyuhun, its territory was vast and its tribes were extremely scattered. It would take at least two months to gather all the troops, horses, livestock, and food.
Moreover, Rouran Khan's court is still two thousand miles away from the West Sea. No matter how fast it is, the march on the road will take at least nearly a month. Three months have passed. By the time his troops arrive at Yanhu, it will be midsummer anyway.
In June.
Therefore, Xihai still has at least two to three months of preparation time.
And these two to three months can be used to deal with Tuyuhun or the imperial army.
A great man once said: If you hit with one punch, you will avoid hundreds of punches. Therefore, the first punch is the most important.
As for who to hit?
There is no need to choose at all. Of course, pick the softest persimmon.
If you look at the map at this time, you will know that compared with before, there are many more arrows on it, some red and green, some coming and going. The two thickest ones suddenly point to Linsong and Shandan Racecourse.
Huangfu Rang, who was stationed at Linsong and Shandan Racecourse, took away a total of 20,000 soldiers and nearly 50% of the firearms and explosives in the West Sea. Now Li Chengzhi sent Li Liang to lead 30,000 new troops to assist, and the force had crossed the West Sea.
Half.
If he cannot win even this first battle, Li Chengzhi will have no choice but to flee with his troops.
…
As the saying goes, soldiers need to be quick, and Yuan Cheng is also a man who knows how to fight, so he naturally understands this truth. So on the third day after seeing Fu Lianchou, he urged Tuyuhun to send troops.
After all, he had gained a lot of benefits, and knowing that it was true as Yuan Cheng said, Rouran Khan's ugly slaves had issued an order to recruit troops to all his subordinates, it was natural that Fulianchou would not disown others without turning against him.
Because Chou Nu's reward was extremely generous, almost 50% of the silk and food promised by Yuan and Wei were used to mobilize various ministries. For a time, Rouran's ministries were full of people who responded. According to Yuan Cheng's estimate, Chou Nu could not assemble an army of 400,000.
, there should be at least two hundred thousand.
He also used this to persuade Fulianchou, asking him not to be stingy, but to be a little more generous like an ugly slave, so that he could make the soldiers in his tent use their lives.
But a well-fed man does not know how hungry a hungry man is, and Yuan Cheng had no idea how difficult it was for Fulianchiu. He did not dare to send any of the strongest tent soldiers under his command.
It's also because Fulianchou was greedy. He only thought he had a chance to win and was afraid of being taken advantage of by other tribes. Therefore, when he jointly sent troops with Nanliang two years ago, he sent only tent troops from the tribes directly under him.
But things went against expectations. Not only was the defeat too fast, but the defeat was not as bad as usual. Fully 30% of Fu Lianchou's troops were lost, and his strength was greatly reduced for a while.
Later, when he saw that nearly 100,000 troops from Nanliang had been surrendered in Chencang, Fulianchou was even more frightened. He ignored the dissuasion of various princes and cronies and resolutely moved westward.
And all this trouble, I don’t know how much food and grass was consumed. It happened that Li Chengzhi occupied Hexi, and in the name of the court, he used the power of a fox to pretend to be a tiger. Jin ordered Tuyuhun to return to Shannan and give up the old racecourse. I don’t know how many cattle and horses lost weight due to starvation.
How many lambs starved to death.
For a time, various departments complained and rumors spread. Among them, the three departments of Tianzhu complained the most.
Just because there is weak water in the north of the Qilian Mountains and the Mojin River south of the Shandan Racecourse, these two places have the most fertile water and grass. Therefore, the northern part of Tianzhu is growing day by day, becoming the tribe with the most pastoral tents and the most extensive troops among the three tribes of Tianzhu.
.
Fulianchao forced the northern part of Tianzhu to move southward, which undoubtedly cut off his retreat. However, he was frightened by his despotic power and could only move southward.
As a result, the western and southern parts of Tianzhu had to give up their old territory in the north. As the old saying goes, it is not about scarcity but about inequality, which naturally made these two tribes hate Fulianchou.
The three tribes were originally from the same lineage and were naturally close to each other. Now they share the same hatred and regard the Khan as his enemy, which is even worse for Fulianchou, who has greatly lost his strength. Even his position as Khan seems to be unstable.
But now the Yuan and Wei dynasties have come to the rescue in times of need. It can be said to be a timely rain. Why doesn't Fulianchou know how to take advantage of it?
Be it money, grain, silk or hemp, including soldiers and armor from the Yuan and Wei dynasties, he would naturally use part of it to induce the three tribes of Tianzhu to send troops.
It doesn’t need to be more, just 30%. The remaining 70% is used to win people’s hearts and strengthen themselves.
But in any war, there is no such thing as immortality. As long as the Tianzhu tribe sends troops, its strength will inevitably be weakened. After the battle is over, 90% of them will be unable to compete with him.
And since he rewards a lot of money and food, I think the resentment of the Tianzhu tribe will be dissipated a lot, so it can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
As for how many soldiers and horses the Tianzhu Department can gather and whether it can meet Yuan Cheng's wish, that is another matter.
Anyway, don’t let him send any personal soldiers...
I don't know what Fu Lianchou had planned, but knowing that Tuyuhun recruited the stronger Tianzhu Tribunal, Yuan Cheng was relatively satisfied.
There are more than 100,000 herdsmen in Tianzhu's three tribes, and it is more than enough to recruit 100,000 string-controlling soldiers. I dare not say that all the strong soldiers are available, but there should be 50,000 or 60,000. Then Fulian will help other tribes to gather together, at least
There are also 100,000, which basically meets Yuan Cheng’s expectations.
In addition, under Rouran and Xingluan's tent, there are 500,000 to 600,000 troops pointing to the West Sea. As long as the three parties work together and stay in camp step by step, there is no way Li Chengzhi can be invincible.
It was agreed with Fulianchou that his troops should be divided into two groups, with one group stationed at Salt Lake and the other group arriving at Shanshan Town (today's Ledu, Qinghai Province), which is only 500 miles away from Wuwei. Then they would wait for the right time and wait for Rouran's army.
When they arrived at Bogulu, they discussed with Xing Luan and Cui Yanbo before deciding how to fight.
Fulianchou agreed, but only told Yuan Cheng: As long as the army gathers together, Yuan and Wei must fulfill their promise and send grain, grass, soldiers and armor to Songpan.
Yuan Cheng said he would never break his promise and high-fived Fulianchou.
At this time, the Tianzhu tribe was planning to preserve its strength. They were thinking about how to recruit some old and weak people, how to prevent Fulianchou from being convicted, and how to fool Yuan Cheng...