Cross the Sea in the Red Chamber

Jiang Yuan was sitting in the large tent of the Chinese army near Yanmen Pass, holding a letter from a golden eagle domesticated by the Yuezhi people in his hand.The further he read, the better his mood became, and he couldn't help laughing at the end.

His Majesty the Emperor, Situ Sheng, was also sitting at the main seat in the tent, and he didn't care about Jiang Yuan's disgrace in front of the emperor. He himself had just finished reading the letter sent by the golden eagle, and he was also smiling, which greatly discredited the king... There was no way it could be done, because the contents of the letter were too entertaining to hold back.

Civil strife broke out in the northern barbarian country.Isn't this good news worthy of their excitement? !

One of the strategies proposed by Jiang Yuan was very similar to Sun Li's.On the eve of the gathering of the tribes of the Muzhe Conference in the northern barbarian country, they poured medicine into the river along the Guna River!

After careful selection by some researchers who researched drugs, he chose a drug that is unique to the southwestern part of the Central Plains and is only effective for herbivores, which will gradually weaken their physique and make them prone to disease. .He also chose a pen to live with the livestock suffering from the plague, and the cattle and sheep that were most likely infected with the plague were discarded on both sides of the river bank as bait.

It was impossible for the herdsmen of the Northern Man State to let go of these seemingly healthy cattle and sheep, so they would naturally collect these unowned livestock scattered by the river into their own pens, and thought they had taken advantage of it.

But they didn't know that once these plague-infected livestock fell ill, all the livestock in the entire pen that had drank the Guna River water that contained special medicinal ingredients would become sick together.

Originally, the plague could never be so severe. How can one get sick immediately, and die immediately after death?But who made the physique of those cattle and sheep weakened by the effect of drugs?Weak and because the animal husbandry conference required a long journey, the animals with insufficient physical strength had lost their original resistance and could not withstand the torture of the plague at all, so a large number of livestock died in a short period of time.

Jiang Yuan originally thought that after the Muzhe Conference, time would enter October.In October, the weather in Beiman country will suddenly turn cold, and there may even be snow, so the herdsmen need to rely on livestock such as cattle and sheep to survive the winter.Once a large number of cattle and sheep die, the food and grass of the northern barbarian country will be insufficient, and its combat power will decline, and its fighting spirit will also decrease.

But he couldn't figure it out, because the water and grass on both sides of the Guna River were abundant, and the top-quality pastures were willfully distributed to the tribes of the Beiman tribe by the Great Khan of the Beiman, and other ethnic groups couldn't get anything at all. In the future, only the northern barbarians will lose a lot of livestock.

This is not a big deal, even the Yuezhi people who are more familiar with the Beiman country and the situation in the Beiman did not expect that the mass death of livestock would intensify the conflict between the Beiman tribe and the descendants of the Jingren, and even triggered a crisis. A war within the northern barbarians.The two tribes regarded each other as enemies, and they actually became a ball, which further increased the losses of the northern barbarians.

Xue Jin set the fire well.Because all the northern barbarians are used to surrounding the cattle, sheep and livestock in the center during the shepherd's conference. When the cattle and sheep are frightened, they immediately rush the surrounding tents into a mess, causing a large number of northern barbarians who are still asleep and have no time to react. died under the trampling of livestock.

Even if they reacted quickly and escaped from the tent, many northern barbarians could not escape the raging fire caused by the livestock.Some were burnt to death, and some were smoked to death. This group of people died in the chaotic camp before they had time to meet Xue Jin's subordinates' swords...

By the time Xue Jin led the Jing people's descendants into the camp, these northern barbarians, who were usually extremely arrogant and did not take anyone seriously, had lost the power to resist. They had no horses, no time to get weapons, and even Already injured... was killed by him and retreated steadily, with heavy casualties.

What was even more fortunate was that the army he led killed several leaders of the northern barbarians while taking advantage of the chaos, and the Khan of the northern barbarians was also seriously injured, almost killing him in the rebellion.

After this battle, the northern barbarians suffered nearly 45 battle-ready soldiers, and the battle damage reached 30% of the northern barbarian soldiers.The rest of the tribe and slaves lost are countless.This is only the casualties of the northern barbarians, not counting the tens of thousands of rebels who were taken away by Xue Jin.If all these are counted, the Beiman Kingdom, which originally had an army of [-], only has [-] soldiers left, and the loss has reached one-third of the entire army!

There are almost no people from other nomadic peoples among these losses, and most of them are almost all members of the northern barbarians. In this way, the difference between the combat power of the northern barbarians and that of the foreign races is not so great, and the two sides are almost equal.

What pleased Jiang Yuan the most was that countless livestock had already been sickened and died by the medicinal water from the Guna River.Those members of the northern barbarians who survived by chance lost all their livestock even if they did not lose their lives. They immediately went from being rich to having difficulty surviving, which brought the strength of the northern barbarians to the lowest point in the country.

Without their livestock or even their tents and blankets, how would they survive the cold winter of the northern barbarians?Jiang Yuan is very interested...

After Xue Jin attacked the camp of the Northern Barbarians, he took it in as soon as he saw it. He didn't try his best to kill them all. Instead, in order to preserve the strength of the tribe, when he was sure that the Northern Barbarians had lost the ability to chase them, he immediately led his people away from the Qingli Lake and hid in the into the mountains.

He made it clear that he wanted to hide in the deep mountains like the Yue clan, and then find a chance to take the cold and attack other tribes in the northern barbarians.He planned very carefully and took away the livestock and supplies of the tribe in advance. Although the northern barbarians hated Xue Jin so much, they had to think about how to survive the winter before seeking revenge on Xue Jin.

And after surviving the winter with all kinds of difficulties and dangers, they probably couldn't find Xue Jin's shadow for a long time.Maybe Xue Jin will continue to sneak attack.

The leaders or heirs of the various tribes of the Northern Barbarians reluctantly gathered the tribesmen under their banners, and the Muzhe Conference could not go on because of this rebellion. There was no more laughter by the Qingli Lake. Jing most wanted to see the scene.

"At first, I thought that putting medicine in the Guna River would only make the winter of the Beiman Kingdom more difficult. Who would have thought that it would not only be difficult for them, but they would not be able to survive this winter. I don't even know." Jiang Yuan smiled, "The forces of the Northern Barbarians have been severely damaged, and the most gratifying thing is that only the Northern Barbarians have been hurt, while the other alien races are safe..."

Situ Sheng nodded, he understood what Jiang Yuan hadn't said.Although the Beiman Kingdom is named after the Beiman tribe, it is not the only nation of the Beiman.In the past, the northern barbarians controlled only 25 soldiers and horses. In addition to other nomads and Jingren rebels who were attached to them, there were a total of about 45 soldiers and horses.

Now that Xue Jin has defected, the northern barbarians have lost about 5 battle-ready soldiers, and the rest are only [-] to [-] horses.And other nomads also control [-] to [-] people. Although the population of foreign races is smaller than that of the northern barbarians, and the number of slaves is not as large as that of the northern barbarians, the combat power between the two is almost the same. Can the northern barbarians still cover the sky in the country with one hand?Why do these alien races listen to the command of the northern barbarians?

Thinking about it, I don't want to.

Moreover, the northern barbarians lost almost all their livestock, rations, tents, and felts at this time, while the other aliens were almost unscathed. In this case, the northern barbarians were in a weak position because of the lack of supplies. Domineering, it is estimated that we will usher in the resistance of the aliens.

Jiang Yuan went on to say: "If it wasn't for Xue Jin's fire cow array, I would not have known that the internal conflicts in the Beiman Kingdom were so deep. Now that I have received a letter from the Yuezhi people, I know what the Beiman Khan has done before." stupid act."

"It's fine if you don't trust the descendants of those rebel generals. He is even more conceited and arrogant, and never takes other alien races seriously. Only the northern barbarians can enjoy those fat water plants, and only the northern barbarians can enjoy the benefits of war. The barbarians accounted for the majority, and sometimes the alien race sacrificed a lot of people but did not get the due reward. At this time, Xue Jin and the descendants of the Jing people were definitely not the only ones who were dissatisfied with the northern barbarians. I have an opinion."

Jiang Yuan's subtext is very clear, three years to learn well, three days to learn badly, these nomads living in the northern barbarian country are inevitably influenced by the northern barbarian culture.

Although they don't show it on the surface, they only succumb to the strong in their hearts, not far from being controlled by the weak, and they are very rebellious.The reason why they are willing to submit to the Northern Barbarians is because the Northern Barbarians are stronger and can lead them to gain more benefits.But now the northern barbarians have become extremely weak, and there are many conflicts between them and the northern barbarians. It's hard to say whether they can work together to tide over the difficulties together.Jiang Yuan felt that they might attack the northern barbarians behind the scenes!

Well...not maybe, but very likely.

Jiang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, the northern barbarians no longer have any resources and rations. Judging from the remaining supplies in their hands, even if they want to send troops to plunder the supplies of the Western Regions for the winter, it is unrealistic. From the map , Qingli Lake is not very close to the road to the Western Regions. Will the northern barbarians starve and freeze during this journey? Their food is simply not enough to support a long march."

Jiang Yuan's words hit the nail on the head.There is no way for the northern barbarians to endure the cold and hunger all the way to plunder the countries of the Western Regions. If they insist on sending troops, they will starve to death on the way before reaching the Western Regions.But they won't succeed if they don't fight the Western Regions, otherwise they will starve to death if they stay where they are.So what do the northern barbarians, who have no food themselves, rely on to survive this journey to the Western Regions?

The answer is simple, there can only be one source of supplies for the northern barbarians - the alien tribes gathered around Qingli Lake like them!

Before their remaining food is exhausted, only food supplies from foreign races can keep them going.As for whether these aliens are willing to give... these are definitely not something the arrogant northern barbarians are willing to consider.It is estimated that what they think in their hearts is that they have to give if they want to give, and if they don’t want to give, they still have to give!

Hmph, I also know that those foreign races absolutely don't want to give the northern barbarians supplies for the winter, and they themselves have many conflicts with the northern barbarians, and the final result can only be internal fighting.

"They haven't fought yet, but it's time to think about it." Situ Sheng pointed to the letter in Jiang Yuan's hand, "The Yueshi's information is very detailed, and they have found the exact information, the remaining rations of the northern barbarians At most, it will only be enough for a month, and now half a month has passed since Xue Jin's rebellion, and they will not be able to survive without an attack."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said seriously: "Your Majesty, it's time for Dajing to send troops!"

When the snipe and the clam compete, the fisherman benefits. This is the eternal truth.Since the northern barbarians and other nomads were destined to go to war, there was no reason for the Jing army not to take advantage of it.

The location where they are now stationed is only a few days away from Qingli Lake. If they are going to face the prosperous Beiman Kingdom, Jiang Yuan may not dare to make a move easily. In a barbarian country, he has absolute confidence in biting off a piece of meat.

"We still need to contact the Yuezhi people, and we need to use the power of the Yuezhi people to contact the rebellious Xue Jin, determine his location, and not let him become a new disaster. Judging from the strength we can mobilize, if we want to fight against Qingli It's impossible to leave all the Beiman people in the lake, but I will do my best to keep as many enemies as possible!" Jiang Yuan said with a bright glow in his eyes.

Situ Sheng very much agrees with Jiang Yuan's opinion. Once such a rare opportunity is missed, it will be difficult to find it. The opportunity is fleeting and must not be missed.He immediately ordered all the generals in the army to gather and discuss the matter of dispatching troops in the big tent.

"Send...send troops?!" Jia Lian almost sat down on the ground, and there was no place in his body that was not shaking.

It has been more than a month since these dudes of honorable backgrounds followed His Majesty to the northern border, but what they need to be responsible for is nothing more than eating and waiting to die, which is exactly what they want.According to the level of Xungui's children, without going to the battlefield, the journey from the capital all the way to northern Xinjiang almost killed them.

You can't comfortably ride in a carriage when marching in a hurry. The only way for these honorable children to travel is to ride a horse.

Just riding a horse is nothing, but all these dudes can ride a horse.After all, when they were in the capital, they often had to pretend to be both civil and military... But at most they were just riding horses for a spring outing, or going up to the mountains for hunting, to have fun, and so on. How could they have experienced the pain of long-distance marches on horseback...

After only one day of riding on the horse, the delicate skin on Jia Lian's inner thighs was worn out, causing unbearable pain when he moved even a little bit, and even because it stuck to his pants, he almost rolled in pain when he took them off.

It wasn't just him, the other dandies including his father were not much better, they were all in the same place, they all lay down in the tent and cried.If it weren't for the military order of the Ministry of War, delaying the march would be like fleeing the battle, and would be beheaded according to the military law. These Gaoliang children would have quit long ago, and they would definitely stay in the tent and not mount their horses.

Ahem, Jia Lian and Jia Amnesty were put on horses by the soldiers, and even tied to the horses with ropes by the soldiers, otherwise they might not be able to endure the pain of skin abrasion...

The skin is worn out until it is healed, and then it is worn out again. This painful cycle cannot stop.But Jia Lian reluctantly held back the pain, but what he couldn't bear was that the food during the march was so bad!

Even if Jia Lian and the others ate the dry rations prepared by themselves, instead of the more inferior food prepared by the Ministry of Household Affairs for the soldiers of the Northern Expedition, isn't that the same thing about the dry rations in the whole world?Where is it particularly delicious?

Hard pot helmets that can be used as shields, stone cakes that are almost as hard as stones, and steamed buns that have been dried out for a long time... If these foods are eaten right out of the pot, they taste good, but if they are left for half a month If you chew it again, you can choke people to death.

Where did these nobles suffer from such crimes? Jerky is too salty and thick, dry food is too hard and dry, not to mention tea powder, Jia Lian swore he had never had such a bad tea!This kind of thing that is not even as good as tea powder is really something that people can drink, and it can't be some kind of drug that he doesn't know about, right? !

No one will dry the bedding for him, mosquitoes and flies are often bitten in the tents that have been set up, and there are no servants and maids to accompany him when he is free, and he does not want to read a script or listen to an opera. There is no useful Gong bucket if it is convenient!

Where have these nobles seen such miserable days?When these people are at home, they are all uncle tempered, and a little trouble can cause headaches for the whole family, but this time, the biggest man in the world is also in the barracks, so even if they want to Don't even dare to complain.Why, His Majesty the Emperor can bear it, but you can't?Are you more honorable than His Majesty the Emperor?

But even if the days of marching are so difficult, no one hopes that the journey will be shorter.Because as long as they don't go to northern Xinjiang, they don't need to send troops to fight, but it's not necessarily the case when they arrive in northern Xinjiang.Their two brushes are very clear to themselves, there is no difference between going out to fight and going to die. If they hadn't run away and would be beheaded, or even bring disaster to the whole family, they would have run away long ago, so why would they stay here to die...

Finally arrived in Northern Xinjiang, the nobles received good news, because the Beiman Kingdom is about to hold the Herdsman Conference, all tribes will gather at Qingli Lake, so there is not even a herdsman on horseback in Northern Xinjiang , let alone the sergeants of the northern barbarians.

Don't say they are here, so what if it is Zhang Yuancheng's side?There is not a single businessman from the Northern Barbarian country in the city that is responsible for the transactions between the two countries. How can there be Northern Barbarians in other places?

Jia Lian was very excited, thinking that it would be enough for them to continue squatting at Yanmen Pass to eat and die.After all, without the northern barbarians, the battle would not be fought, and they could continue to spend time in the tent.He silently prayed in his heart that it would be best not to fight this battle for a few years. In order to save his life, he would definitely endure the unpalatable dry food and the miserable environment. He only hoped that His Majesty the Emperor would stop thinking about the Northern Expedition and stop letting him go. It's the battlefield...

He thought well, who knew that it was not that there was no war, but that the time had not yet come.Now is the time to send troops, His Majesty the Emperor ordered them to go deep into the northern barbarian land to fight!

... It's better to start a war in the northern border... There are still cities in the northern border for defense. Even if they want to run on the prairie, they may not be able to run.Based on their horse riding skills, can they escape the pursuit of the northern barbarians?

Even if it was disrespectful, Jia Lian couldn't help cursing Situ Sheng, His Majesty the Emperor, in his heart.What's wrong with being idle?Dajing has not been out of customs for so many years, how can you not follow the ancestral system? !Oh, you are not the one who needs to leave the customs, of course you can rest assured, but don't you care about the life and death of your soldiers?

The other soldiers in the army tent who needed to go to battle were more excited than each other, wishing they could sing and dance.

Since the Battle of San Francisco ten years ago, Situ Sheng has gradually changed the way soldiers are promoted and the rewards for killing the enemy and doing meritorious service, just as Jiang Yuan proposed.After ten years of hard work, Dajing's soldiers have become militant, good at fighting, and never afraid of fighting.

Because they know that war is not only for the country, but also for their own glorious future.Yan Ruyu, the Golden House, Qian Zhongsu... What these literati obtained through reading, they can also achieve through military exploits.They are completely different from those nobles who are afraid of death, they are willing to fight to the death for a glorious future.

In such a warm atmosphere, dudes like Jia Amnesty and Jia Lian seemed out of place, but His Majesty the Emperor specifically asked them to participate in this battle by name, forcing them to have no way out.In such a strange atmosphere, Jiang Yuan led the army out of Yanmen Pass.

As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Situ Sheng couldn't move easily. He needed to stay at Yanmen Pass to coordinate the command of all the troops in the whole war. However, Jiang Yuan, the deputy commander, didn't have so many demands. He could be sent to any place where he was needed. , Qingli Lake is of course no exception.

There are millions of northern barbarians gathered in Qingli Lake, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers. In such a rare war, even if they stand in the position of fishermen, they may not be able to take advantage of it. Just be careful.Except for Jiang Yuan, Situ Sheng didn't believe that other people could achieve the greatest results.

Jiang Yuan rode a tall horse and led the soldiers of the Gyeonggi camp to move forward quickly. From time to time, he looked back in the direction of the nobles to see if they had left the team.

And Zhang Dahai, who was walking aside on a horse, simply despised this group of dudes who couldn't even ride horses well.Incompetent, afraid of death, and unable to endure hardship... These guys are inferior to the recruits who have just joined the army, and Zhang Dahai's disdainful eyes are about to materialize on them.

"I can't even wear armor well... Sigh!" Zhang Dahai shook his head, sighing loudly.

Jiang Yuan raised the corners of his mouth amusedly, pretending not to understand his implication.This Zhang Dahai, it's not good to learn something. Over the years, he has learned to talk around corners in front of him.But what he said was too blunt, with all his thoughts written on his face, it would be difficult even if he couldn't guess it.

Zhang Dahai couldn't calm down in front of Jiang Yuan at all, and he had nothing but admiration for the Marquis of Guanying who led him to defeat the enemy.Seeing Jiang Yuan ignoring him, he didn't dare to make any more detours, and hurriedly said clearly, "My lord, the last general just doesn't understand, why did he have to bring this group of trash to the battlefield? Let alone follow them After killing the enemy, it would be good if he could not be killed by the enemy with a knife. What's the use? It is estimated that the enemy can run faster than a rabbit. Instead of letting them retreat, it is better not to take them at all."

Jiang Yuan smiled, "Don't say that, Dahai. Everyone has uses, but the uses are different. There is always something useful for them..."

How could it be useless?There are many places where they can be used!