The host is red and black, and the system can only chirp

With a loud crash, Yuchi Jingde knocked over the chair: "The Turks are invading our border?" The black-faced general turned around and asked, "Jingde, please rush to Wuyuan to help immediately!"

Xi Mingming didn't say anything, but looked at Yuchi Jingde with a speechless look.

Brother, where is your sharpness on the battlefield? Don't you see Gao Hongde leisurely drinking? If there is something wrong in Wuyuan County, Gao Hongde won't say anything, so how can Wang San not pass on the message?

Gao Hongde blew away the foam from the cup and said lightly, "When you came back, Wuyuan County City had already been captured. It's okay. I guess the Turks knew that the leader went south to suppress the rebellion, so they came here to test him."

Yes, the Eastern Turks had been deeply rooted in the Central Plains for a long time, and when threatened by the Xi leader, they simply withdrew their chess pieces from the border.

This is normal and expected.

"What's the specific situation?"

Wang San stood up and reported: "The Turks invaded the border, and General Li led the cavalry out of the city to fight them. He beheaded 500 people and captured more than 600 war horses."

Out of town?

Forget it, forget it. His name is Li Jing, and his judgment of the battlefield is definitely better than that of a former reporter.

Wang San then presented the detailed battle report written by Li Jing. Xi Mingming said he knew it but did not open it.

Wang San still stood and did not return to his seat. "Master, before the Turks invaded the border, Dingxiang County... surrendered to General Li."

You paused, does this mean you need to report something in private? What did Li Jing do? It's not surprising, it's impossible for Li Jing to fight the Turks in the front and worry about a sneak attack from behind, right?

Xi Mingming nodded. This is just the beginning. In the future, almost half of the territory of the Tang Dynasty was conquered by your General Li Jing.

She doesn't understand military affairs, but she trusts the people she employs.

Sect Leader Xi asked, "What happened to the fallen soldiers?"

Gao Hongde stood up and said, "Reporting to the patriarch, in the two battles in the north and south, a total of 76 soldiers from our side died in the battle. The pensions have been paid in full. Those whose wives, children and parents are able to work will be given priority to be arranged to work in collective workshops; those whose children are young or whose parents are old will have their education provided by the collective; the tablets of the soldiers will be enshrined in temples."

Speaking of wives, children and parents, how many elderly people could survive the Turkic invasion? How many children were left?

Xi Mingming initially took in 2,000 refugees, of which only 23 were children.

"At the end of the year, we will all come forward and hold a public memorial service, and this will become a regular practice in the future."

Seventy-six people, human lives have really become cold numbers in this era. Thinking back to the more than 10,000 people killed in Enping County that morning, Xi Mingming forced himself to suppress his fluctuating thoughts.

The world does not allow her to have too many emotions.

Xi Mingming asked calmly, "Is there enough money and food in the account?"

Speaking of settling accounts, Gao Hongde immediately became alert.

He concluded succinctly: "Originally, all parties invested heavily, and Hongde originally thought that life in the border city would be difficult before the autumn harvest. But General Li and General Yuchi each fought a battle; Loufan County and Dingxiang County came to surrender; the compensation signed by the Lingnan Song clan has been paid; Captain Zhang Shu has opened up several trade routes... Now, there is a little surplus."

Investments from all parties were mainly in weapons workshops and secret experimental bases for gunpowder, glass and porcelain, which really cost money like water.

Fortunately, Sect Leader Xi is good at making money and can still maintain the business.

If the funds are not enough, Sect Leader Xi will consider suspending the research and development of gunpowder.

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It is not difficult to make gunpowder these days, but the key is that the stability of gunpowder is difficult to maintain. Xi Mingming did not expect gunpowder to play much practical role on the battlefield, especially in the battle against the Turks.

According to the industrial foundation of this era, even if Xi Mingming gave guidance, the craftsmen could not improve their skills just by listening. When gunpowder came out, if it was not handled properly, would it blow up the enemy or yourself?

The Turks are strong in offensiveness and even stronger in mobility.

Xi Mingming invested in the research and development of gunpowder, but to be prepared, she could not completely ignore the upcoming melee in the Central Plains.

Honestly speaking, the gunpowder currently developed by the workshop cannot even match the damage caused by the shock wave from Master Xi's palm.

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Sect Leader Xi suggested to Gao Hongde: "Send all the armor that Dou Jiande paid for the land to Wuyuan County. Urge Hao Yun to ensure that all the elite soldiers under Li Jing are wearing armor and holding Mo Dao before the summer harvest next year."

Why was Li Shimin's Black Armor Army so powerful? The rate of wearing armor was high.

Gao Hongde was horrified: "Two thousand elite soldiers all wearing armor?"

The heavy cavalry, both the men and the horses were covered in chain mail, which covered them tightly from head to toe, leaving only their eyes open. Unless the enemy had a strong bow or a sharp sword, they could not cause any harm at all.

Such an army was certainly invincible in the era of cold weapons, but it had only one problem - it was expensive!

Not only is the equipment expensive, but if the armored heavy cavalry wants to improve their mobility, one horse per person is far from enough. Generally, one person needs two or three horses.

Two thousand elite soldiers, normally equipped with at least six thousand horses. The consumption of war horses by armored heavy cavalry is extremely alarming, and the cost of replenishing horses is needless to say.

Sect Leader Xi is really bold.

Most people can't afford to support such a group of people.

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Sect Leader Xi: Grew up in the Western Regions, fearless!

Ba Fenghan: As long as I can get a war horse for Sect Leader Xi, I won't worry about Sect Leader Xi not teaching me martial arts.

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After the meeting was over, Xi Mingming left Xiong Bing behind and said, "The soldiers brought back by General Yuchi must be questioned about their origins and cross-checked. Then they must be completely disbanded and reorganized. These people... must be strictly monitored."

"Bear soldier understands."

Soldiers who kill innocent civilians with butcher knives are not soldiers, they are bandits.

"Warn the border residents to be careful with their farming efforts. As for the soldiers... leave them to the border residents to guard, and speed up the dredging of canals, the reclamation of wasteland and the storage of land, so as to strive for a bumper harvest of wheat next year."

The border residents are the loyal followers of Master Xi.

"Subordinates take orders."

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The so-called "Su Mai" is the winter wheat that is sown in autumn and harvested in summer; the corresponding "Xuan Mai" is the spring wheat that is "planted in March and harvested in August".

Don’t always think that the ancients were backward. The "Qimin Yaoshu·Da Xiaomai" fully records the differences in wheat cultivation techniques between the south and the north.

In order to have a good wheat harvest in the north, the fields had to be plowed and sun-dried in May and June. Only after systematic research by later generations could we explain why the ancients did so.

When wheat was first introduced, the cultivation technology of millet was borrowed. However, although wheat is more cold-resistant than millet, it is not as drought-resistant as millet. The spring in the north is dry and windy, which is not conducive to the germination and growth of wheat.

This is how winter wheat came about.

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With the return of the Xi clan leader, the entire northern border once again had a backbone. The six counties devoted themselves to practical work, entering a period of rapid development from economy to population to military.

In the autumn of the twelfth year of Daye, the six counties had a bumper harvest of millet, beans, and sorghum.

The border town is full of crops and cattle and sheep.

The source of cattle and sheep, a certain unknown general named Li: You Turks are not the only ones who go south to raid grasslands, my cavalry are also good at robbing grassland nobles.

Was it in vain that I personally went to the Khan's court? Was it in vain that I drank so much wine? Was it in vain that the suzerain and the nobles chatted about everything, caring about the climate and water sources of the grassland over the years? Was it in vain that they cared about it?

Combined with the fact that our clan leader has an outrageous memory that is beyond that of ordinary people, there are dozens of tribes of all sizes on the grassland... It is not a trivial matter for the clan leader to draw the map with his bare hands and mark it clearly, right?