Chapter 966 Pushing the envelope

Chapter 966 Pushing the envelope

After the first wonderful experience, the Turkic people, especially the Mugan Khan, were full of expectations for the subsequent gifts mentioned by Li Yunxin, and sent several waves of people to greet them.

Yang Zhong and his entourage also went to the Turkic army's garrison as planned. Compared with the batch of gifts sent by Li Yunxin, the materials escorted by Yang Zhong were not so flashy and gorgeous, except for a batch of property that continued to lure and deal with Turkic interrogations. In addition to the goods, the others are more practical grains and iron farm tools, as well as the armor underneath these goods.

Because Yang Zhong and his party had a large amount of goods, and they deliberately slowed down their journey to give the main army time to prepare for war, even though they had already entered the sight of the Turkic rangers, they were still traveling slowly.

And on the way, something very bad happened. That is, Yang Zhong sent a team to escort the goods first, but they disappeared without a trace on the way, including the goods they carried.

Not long after the Turks had grown stronger, there was no shortage of Hu tribes who were equally powerful and at odds with them. In addition, the Western Wei Dynasty's donation was really generous and the money was very impressive, so it is not surprising that this happened.

When this situation was reported to the Turkic Khan's tent, Mugan Khan suddenly became furious and sent his trusted troops to prepare for a thorough investigation. This incident is not only a loss of property to him, but also a direct challenge to his majesty!

However, according to the information provided by the envoy from the Western Wei Dynasty, a spring rain passed by shortly after the robbery, which washed away all possible traces in the environment.

The only ones that have a certain direction are the confessions of some soldiers of the Western Wei Dynasty who were robbed and killed but luckily escaped. However, due to unfamiliarity with Turkic personnel, these confessions are also very messy. Moreover, because of concerns about the existence of Turkic traitors, the Western Wei Dynasty also refused to hand over these soldiers to the personnel sent by the Khan to investigate.

Naturally, Mu Gan Khan did not feel that the Western Wei Dynasty had paid such a large price in terms of wealth and was just framed for false accusations. Moreover, the submissive attitude shown by the Western Wei Dynasty also made him unwilling to antagonize him easily.

Therefore, he strictly ordered the Hu tribesmen who were not direct descendants of the Khan not to leave the camp without permission, and sent his cronies to the camps of the powerful Hu chieftains for overt and covert inspections. At the same time, he also did not forget to send a troop of thousands of people to escort this group of Western Wei Dynasty soldiers. The troops headed north to eliminate the possibility of being harassed and plundered again.

Things went smoothly next. When the time entered early March, Yang Zhong and his party also arrived at the Turkic camp.

At this time, the atmosphere in the Turkic camp was a little more anxious than when Li Yunxin and his party first arrived.

Not only was Mugan Khan reluctant to distribute the goods donated by the Western Wei Dynasty to the masses, but also the restrictions and investigations on the tribesmen and horses during this period were also due to the fact that as spring came into season, the cattle, horses, sheep, etc. on the grassland Livestock must also gradually enter a breeding period, with production in spring and sufficient grazing in summer and autumn to maintain the size of the herd.

The nomadic life is inherently more fragile than farming. Although the climate change in recent years has also been reflected in the grassland, which has extended the pastoral period, the iteration of hegemony and frequent wars on the grassland have also changed the lives of the herders. The situation has not improved significantly. On the contrary, it is even more miserable than before due to frequent battles.

Although the Hetao area at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain is also a pasture with rich water and grass, the problem is that these Hu tribes were recruited to go out to fight. Most of the people who went out with the army were the strong men of the tribe, while the old, weak, women and children still stayed in their wintering places. The most important labor force has not returned, and the old, weak, women and children alone cannot complete the work of migrating and nomadic people. Therefore, there is a feeling of anxiety and longing to return home everywhere in the camp.

Mugan Khan can also be regarded as a generation of Turkic heroes. He did not forget his roots because of the growth of his power, and even ignored the most basic nomadic seasons.

He has also sensed the anxiety of the tribesmen, but compared to those short-sighted people who are only thinking about how many more cattle and sheep can be added to the stables, his mind is more ambitious, and he also knows clearly in his heart that he will expand his power to the Yin Mountains. The south is of great significance to the development of their overall Turkic power.

What is particularly rare is that the new ministers of the Western Wei Dynasty are not confident enough to fight against the Turks, and they have also donated a lot of property as bribes. Of course, Mugan Khan will take this opportunity to completely take over the Hetao area. , after making this an established fact, there is no need to worry about the recurrence of the situation.

When Yang Zhong and his entourage arrived to display the goods they had delivered, many Turkic tycoons were disappointed when they saw that they were just mediocre grains and agricultural tools, not as gorgeous as the first batch of gifts.

But Mu Gan Khan didn't mind this. Instead, he was overjoyed. He held the grains and laughed and said, "Seeing these gifts, I believe that Duke Tang of your country really hopes to get along with me! If he didn't have such respect, , how can we dedicate the Xia people of the Southern Kingdom to their own business? It’s just that our people only know nomadic farming and are not good at farming, so we need the Xia people of your country to do the work for us!”

Yang Zhong was not good at this kind of hypocritical response. Although he knew in his heart that this was just a strategy to paralyze the enemy, when he heard that Mugan Khan was asking for the farmer's mouth again, he couldn't help but trembled his eyebrows and surged with anger.

After staying in the Turkic camp for more than half a month, Li Yunxin, who had become familiar with these Turkic nobles, quickly stepped forward and said with a smile: "Even if my lord is sincere in cultivating, he still needs the Khan's discernment. Only ambitious people can see clearly!

The Hetao is rich in water and soil, suitable for farming and grazing. If we can develop all kinds of industries at the same time, we will never be disturbed by famine. Tang Gong also deeply hopes that the Khan can stay here for a long time, and they will respond to each other. Food, seeds and farm tools will be delivered first, and the serfs will arrive soon. A certain group of disciples burned the wasteland to prepare for cultivation. When the successors moved north, they could cultivate and sow immediately! "

Mugan Khan also smiled when he heard this, patted Li Yunxin on the shoulder and said: "I know that Xia people need to keep the farming season when farming. In order to avoid accidentally farming, and without further delay, I asked you to find suitable land for farming and cultivate the wasteland immediately. . If my army can eat new grains this autumn, I will give you a big reward!"

Li Yunxin naturally nodded in agreement, and immediately arranged for people to circle the land and start setting fire to the wasteland along the Yellow River to clean up the messy weeds and thorns growing along the river.

For a time, thick smoke billowed along the banks of the Yellow River, and many of the cattle, horses and livestock accompanying the army were burned by the fire and became restless. In order to ensure the smooth progress of land reclamation and farming, Mugan Khan ordered these livestock to be led to the foot of the mountain away from the river bank and imprisoned. They could only be fed close to the river at fixed times every day.

Of course, Li Yunxin and others would not honestly help the Turks to reclaim wasteland and farm. They just used this as a reason to point out the location of the Turkic army's camp for the main army under the eyes of the Turks.

At the same time, the large group of people led by Li Tai finally crossed the continuous barren moraine and arrived at the south bank of the Yellow River. At this time, the entire army was no longer bright and mighty. They were all covered with a thick layer of sand, including Li Tai. Not only his body, but also his mouth and nose seemed to be filled with sand, and his voice was hoarse and dry.

At this time, they did not know the exact location of the Turks. In order to prevent the Turkic scouts from knowing the movements of the large group in advance, Li Tai ordered his troops to temporarily stop at the edge of the desert moraine, and only sent a small group of troops close to the river bank to fetch water. Look left and right at the same time.

After more than a day of investigation, the Western Wei Dynasty scouts also located the Turkic camp through the fireworks caused by burning wasteland on the north bank. Before officially launching the attack, Li Tai led several generals to quietly sneak into the south of the Turkic camp, look at the distribution of the Turkic camps across the river, and formulate an attack strategy.

Looking from the south, Yinshan Mountain looks like a long dragon made of earth and stone lying on the horizon. The Turkic camp is located on the west side of Yinshan Mountain, close to the Houtao Plain. The terrain in front of the camp is flat and open, but there is a huge gap in the mountain behind the camp. This gap is called Gaoque. There is also a garrison located here, but now it is obvious that the Gaoque garrison is also under the control of the Turks.

Because of the existence of this gap, the Turkic army could easily evacuate to the north of Yinshan Mountain even if it was attacked and the war was unfavorable. The Turks themselves are mainly cavalry and have a large herd of horses. Once they retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain, there are no restrictions on the terrain. It will be difficult to encircle and annihilate them and severely damage them, and they can regroup at any time. Wu fought back.

After discussing with the generals, Li Tai decided to first send a group of troops to cross the Yin Mountain from the east along the mountain pass, then go around to the north of the Yin Mountain to ambush and block the Turks' retreat.

This task is naturally very arduous. Although the mountain road in Yinshan is not as dangerous as the Shu Road, the mountain is also rugged and difficult to navigate. And although it is spring now, the climate outside the Great Wall is still quite cold, and you can even see There are still patches of white snow on some mountain valleys in the Yinshan Mountains. But in order to create greater results, this was the only option.

After some discussions, Li Xian volunteered and led two thousand men and horses carrying a small amount of luggage. He first crossed the lower reaches of the Yellow River where the water flow was gentle, then bypassed the Turks' reconnaissance eyes and ears, entered the foothills of Yinshan Mountain, and then began the difficult journey. of climbing over.

In order to leave enough time for Li Xian and his party, and to allow the soldiers to get sufficient rest before the battle, Li Tai arranged the attack two days later.

During the past two days, while his troops were resting, he had been observing the enemy's activities in the camp opposite. Unfortunately, he did not have the opportunity to inform Yang Zhong and Li Yunxin on the opposite side. However, both of them are experienced generals. Once the attack is launched, they will definitely be able to coordinate operations in time.