Spring has returned to the earth, and the warm wind has blown green the endless fields east of the river. The wheat fields are covered with lush wheat seedlings, which have grown to one foot high. Groups of farmers are busy diverting water into the canals by the river. The mountains in the distance are green and lush. There are flocks of larks flying over the woods, and the breath of spring is particularly strong.
This is to the west of Taiyuan. After last year¡¯s severe drought, this year it seems as if God is trying to compensate the world. The weather is exceptionally smooth, the water is abundant, and the water in the small rivers is clear and green.
On the broad official road running from north to south, a group of about 500 cavalrymen was rushing in from the south. The sound was like thunder, stirring up billowing yellow dust. The leader was Yang Yuanqing, who had returned from Luoyang.
However, he did not return to Taiyuan at this time. Instead, he continued north to the grassland of Mayi County to welcome Li Jing and his 20,000 troops who returned in triumph.
At this time, the final decisive battle in Guanzhong has not started, and is still actively preparing. However, some peripheral battles have already started, such as Bashu and Hanzhong. Once the peripheral battles are over, the decisive battle in Guanzhong will be a matter of course.
The cavalry team pulled out a long line and rushed along the official road. In front of them was Sanqiao Town, which was also the intersection of the north-south and east-west official roads, forming a lively market town with many shops and merchants gathered in the town.
Arriving here, the cavalry slowed down and slowly passed through the one-mile-long street of the town. Today was a social festival, and farmers from all directions gathered in the town, causing an influx of people into the town. There are tens of thousands of people, men, women, old and young, and it is extremely lively.
There are various stalls one after another, and even the streets are full of them, mostly selling various fruits, game, and medicinal materials. Even some merchants in Taiyuan City have sensed business opportunities and came to set up stalls to sell some low-end goods. Several stalls selling cheap cosmetics were crowded with women from the countryside.
The cavalry slowed down and stopped running, passing slowly through the bustling crowd. More than a dozen soldiers guarded Yang Yuanqing in front and behind, watching for abnormalities on both sides with vigilance.
At this time, a broken gong-like voice suddenly sounded from the store in the distance, "Your Highness!"
Everyone looked back and saw a man rushing out of a shop selling cheap jewelry. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot. It was Cheng Yaojin.
The sudden appearance of Cheng Yaojin brought a smile to Yang Yuanqing's face. He hadn't seen him for several months, but after meeting him unexpectedly, he still thought he was quite cute.
Cheng Yaojin was extremely excited. He rushed out of the shop and knocked down four or five stalls in a row. He was so frightened that he apologized repeatedly.
"Heitan, aren't you in Yan'an County? Why are you here?" Yang Yuanqing asked with a smile.
Hearing His Highness call him Heitan, Cheng Yaojin felt very cordial. He stepped forward and saluted: "Reporting to Your Highness, my humble duty is to ask for leave to come back to visit relatives."
"oh!"
Yang Yuanqing nodded, took another look at the shop selling cheap jewelry, and asked with a smile: "Buy jewelry for your wife here?"
"She won't want the jewelry here!"
Cheng Yaojin scratched his head and grinned: "Buy toys for my little girl. She likes to collect all kinds of jewelry. Hey! Just like her mother."
The soldiers around him all laughed together. Cheng Yaojin was very popular and almost everyone liked him.
Cheng Yaojin asked again: "Is Your Highness going back to Taiyuan?"
After saying that, he felt something was wrong. This was the way to the north. The official road to the east of Taiyuan had already passed. Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly, "I'm going to Mayi County. Do you want to go and see it together? It's better for you to go back to visit your relatives first."
How could Cheng Yaojin miss this opportunity to travel with His Highness? His real intention in returning to Taiyuan was to join a liquor store and a brothel.
He quickly smiled and said: "I have nothing to do with my humble position. I am willing to go north with His Highness."
"Well, get on your horse and let's go!"
Cheng Yaojin's face turned red suddenly. He pulled out his horse from a low-end brothel diagonally across the street, which immediately caused the soldiers to burst into laughter. Yang Yuanqing couldn't help laughing and scolding, "You bastard, why are your taste getting worse and worse?" Oh, even in a place like this!"
Cheng Yaojin chuckled, "This shows that Old Cheng strictly abides by military discipline and did not go to the villages along the way to steal chickens and dogs."
"That's a good thing, let's go!"
Yang Yuanqing smiled and urged the horse to go. After a while, the group left the town, accelerated their speed, and rushed towards Mayi County
After the snow melted in the northern grasslands in mid-January, Li Jing, the general manager of Yanbei in the Sui Dynasty, led 20,000 cavalry into the grasslands to wipe out the remaining Turks. With the cooperation of 100,000 Uighur troops and Tiele coalition forces, the Sui army and the Uighur coalition forces totaled 120,000 people. , defeated 40,000 Turkic troops in the Turkic Yazhang, and Jieli Khan led thousands of remaining troops to flee north in panic.
Li Jing immediately ordered General Yang Wei to lead 5,000 Sui cavalry to attackHe pursued in the north and overtook the remnants of the Turks in the west of Beihai, and annihilated the last remaining Turks on the banks of Beihai Lake. Jieli Khan was seriously injured in the fierce battle and was captured. Unfortunately, he died of his injuries on the way back.
The Battle of the Grasslands lasted two and a half months, and the Turks were completely annihilated, and more than 100,000 Turkic nobles and subordinates were captured, as well as tens of millions of cattle and sheep, and countless war horses, cattle and sheep skins, tents and other materials. At this point, the East The Turks were officially extinct.
In early April, Li Jing's army returned to Qifubo in Mayi County and set up camp on the grassland.
On the grassland more than thirty miles away from Qifubo, five hundred cavalrymen escorted Yang Yuanqing and ran all the way. After several days and nights of running day and night, they finally arrived at Qifubo.
From a distance, Yang Yuanqing had already seen the endless camp. At this time, not only Li Jing's 20,000 cavalry, but also 15,000 Sui troops stationed on the border rushed to the Qifubo camp to assist Li Jing in managing the prisoners of war. .
At this time, a group of cavalry left the camp and rushed towards Yang Yuanqing's team. In a moment, the cavalry rushed over. The leader was Li Jing. Li Jing got off his horse and ran quickly. He knelt down on one knee on Yang Yuanqing's horse and said, "Military." Your Majesty, Li Jing, pays homage to His Highness the King of Chu!"
Yang Yuanqing turned over and dismounted, quickly helped Li Jing up, smiled and comforted him and said: "I have been waiting for news from the general manager. The general manager has made unparalleled military exploits and returned with a great victory. It is very gratifying."
"Wei Chen only went to wipe out the remnants of the Turks. The real merits of the war belong to His Highness. I am ashamed of myself."
Yang Yuanqing laughed, walked up to Yang Wei again, patted his generous shoulder, and said with approval: "Not bad, you didn't embarrass me."
Yang Wei is Yang Yuanqing's cousin. After Yang Yuanqing ascends the throne in the future, he will become a royal family. He is different from ordinary generals. However, Yang Wei is low-key and humble. He never regards himself as Yang Yuanqing's cousin and strictly abides by military regulations. The following is yours sincerely, He got along very well with everyone. When the reputation of "Desperate Saburo" was mentioned, everyone in the Sui army gave him a thumbs up and praised him.
Yang Wei¡¯s face turned red and he seemed to have something to say. Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly and said, ¡°What do you want to say?¡±
"Your Highness, I humbly request to participate in the Battle of Guanzhong."
Everyone laughed, eagerly because of this. Yang Yuanqing patted him heavily on the shoulder and chuckled: "Okay! I promise you."
After speaking, Yang Yuanqing raised his hands to all the generals present and said: "Generals, everyone has made great contributions in this northern expedition to the Turks. I will give you many awards to commend your achievements in the northern expedition to the Turks. I hope you will continue to work hard. Ensure the stability of Turkic prisoners of war.¡±
His brief speech won a round of applause from everyone
On the way to the camp, Li Jing briefly reported to Yang Yuanqing the progress of the Northern Expedition. Yang Yuanqing nodded and asked, "What is the attitude of the Xue Yantuo people?"
Li Jing smiled and said: "Xue Yantuo is a loyal lackey of the Turks, but he is also a cunning fox. During this attack on the Turks, the Xue Yantuo people always stayed far away and did not show up from the beginning to the end."
Having said this, Li Jing whispered again: "Your Highness, Pei Sa, the chief of the Huihe tribe, is also here."
"Is he here to show his merit?"
Li Jing sneered, "Not only that, he asked the Sui army to help him annihilate Xue Yantuo's tribe on the way. I didn't agree, I just perfunctory him. His Highness needs to make a decision. I guess he will make this request to His Highness."
"Why does he need the assistance of the Sui army? Can't he just destroy Xue Yantuo?" Yang Yuanqing asked puzzledly.
Li Jing shook his head, "The Uighur coalition only has a total of 120,000 troops, and Xue Yantuo left a hand in the last Sui Tu war and did not come with all his troops. They still have 80,000 troops in their hands. The two sides are evenly matched, and both sides are extremely hostile." , I¡¯m afraid there will be a battle for the grassland sooner or later.¡±
Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly, "This is exactly what I expected."
The two speeded up their horses, and soon they arrived in front of the camp. At the gate of the camp, Prime Minister Du Ruhui and Cui Junsu, who had arrived the day before, were already waiting at the gate of the camp. Yang Yuanqing turned over and dismounted and said with a smile: "The two prime ministers are one step ahead of me." ah!"
Du Ruhui and Cui Junsu came forward and bowed. Du Ruhui chuckled and said, "Manager Li has brought so much wealth of cattle and sheep from the grassland. How can we, who are blind to money, let him go so easily? Of course we have to come here to grab the wealth."
Everyone laughed knowingly, and the group entered the tent. Yang Yuanqing sat down in the tent. A dozen soldiers came forward and offered hot tea, and Yang Yuanqing drank it. After drinking tea, he asked Du Ruhui: "Have you finished counting them? How many cattle, sheep and horses are there?"
Du Ruhui shook his head, "The number is too huge. I am busy counting. I heard from Manager Li that there are more than 20 million cattle and sheep, and more than 300,000 horses. The keyThere are hundreds of thousands of Turkic captives, most of whom are women and children. In the future, Turkic herdsmen will continue to come to rely on us. How to arrange them? Your Highness, I think this is a big deal. "
Yang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and asked: "What is Ziwei Pavilion's opinion?"
"Ziwei Pavilion has specially discussed this matter. Some people are worried that if they are placed in the Central Plains, they will repeat the mutiny in the six towns. But if they are placed in the border area, they are afraid that they will become a disaster in the Central Plains, so it is more difficult to handle."
Cui Junsu said: "Weichen talked with the Uighurs. The Uighurs proposed to collect these Turkic prisoners of war and asked us to hand them over to the Uighurs. I did not agree. Weichen believed that they should be used to replenish the population of the Central Plains and be scattered and placed in various places in the Central Plains. They gradually turned to farming, which is actually the best way.¡± (To be continued)