Wentang

Chapter 820 The Western Expeditionary Army Arrives

Da Yue Clan's Protectorate, after several months of marching, Li Daozong finally led his troops to the destination, Ruimi City in Da Qinzhou.

Regardless of rest, Li Daozong ordered a series of tasks such as strengthening the city defenses, building fortifications, building barracks, and digging wells.

As for why the wells were dug when there was a water source...the purpose was to deal with the situation where the water source was intercepted.

For example, if the war fails and people surround it, or someone throws a corpse in the water to pollute the water source, etc., the well can be used to save lives in an emergency.

"Ask Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian to come and see me." Li Daozong ordered while looking at the map.

"Here." The herald called immediately.

"See Chief Manager." Soon Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian came to the commander's tent.

"Here we come? I will give you a task." Li Daozong said.

"Please give orders to the chief executive." Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian said.

"Look here." Li Daozong pointed to the map.

"Jiling City?" Xue Rengui said.

Li Daozong said: "This is a big city near the Persian sea in the Sassanid Kingdom. The key is that it lies between the Great Qin State and the sea. If we want to receive the supplies from the ocean-going fleet smoothly, we must pass through this city."

"That's why I reached an agreement with King Sassanid. This city will be temporarily under the jurisdiction of my Tang Dynasty. I will give you two [-] troops from the headquarters. Do you dare to garrison this city?"

Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian exchanged glances, and said in unison: "The last general takes orders."

Li Daozong said happily: "Haha... I knew you would agree. The two of you have one civil and one military, so it's best to cooperate. Well, don't be afraid of insufficient troops."

"This is behind the Sassanid Kingdom. The only Turkic Tocharian country that can threaten you is isolated in the northwest by our army."

"Your biggest enemies here are horse bandits and small tribes with evil intentions. 5000 people are enough to rule here."

"I also allow you to use part of the supplies to recruit no more than three times the number of followers of the headquarters to help you in combat and patrolling."

Xue Rengui, who had a higher status, said: "Thank you, Chief Manager, you will be able to swear to your death to complete the task in the end."

Li Daozong quickly shook his head and said: "No, no, no, don't swear to complete the mission. This is not the land of the Tang Dynasty but a place outside the region. We don't have to guard their land. If we can hold it, we will defend it. If we can't, we will run away."

Xue Rengui said in surprise: "Then this channel..."

Li Daozong explained: "This channel is only prepared to leave one more way out, it is not necessary, and it doesn't matter if you lose it for a while."

"The most important thing is that people are alive. If you can't do anything, retreat first and fight guerrillas, or come to the headquarters to ask for support and then take the city back."

Xue Rengui said if he had realized something: "You mean, this is bait?"

Li Daozong said: "Take it as bait. Before coming here, Xia Guogong said something to me. I think it makes sense. You can also refer to it."

"If you save land and lose people, you will lose all people and land; if you save people and lose land, you will save all people and land."

Both Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian's eyes lit up: "Duke Xia deserves to be a master of military affairs, and you can see it with just these sixteen characters."

Pei Xingjian added: "It's easy to be mistaken for a deserter and get a bad name."

Li Daozong said: "There is no one-size-fits-all art of war. They are all used for the sake of reality. For example, now, we are here to help others fight. Those who abandon the city and die are also people of foreign races. If they die, they will die."

"As long as we are looking for an opportunity to take the city back afterwards and win this battle, no one can say anything. The same is true for you stationed in Jiling City."

"But you must remember that you can throw away the supplies brought by the ocean-going fleet. You must not throw them away, and they must be sent back to the headquarters in time. Also, be careful of the people of the Sassanid Kingdom."

Pei Xingjian said: "Well, I will write it down at the end."

Li Daozong said: "Then rest for one night, and the Qi people will set off early tomorrow morning."

"Here." Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian left together.

Outside the tent, Xue Rengui cupped his hands and said, "I have heard about the famous name of keeping the promise in the capital for a long time. It is a blessing to be able to share the facts together today."

Pei Xingjian said respectfully: "General Xue's name is very famous to me. Xia Guogong personally recommended him. He has repeatedly made military exploits in the battle against Goguryeo and Xue Yantuo. He is highly regarded by the privy envoys and is known as a general."

"I'm just an educated person, and I've never been on a battlefield. I still need more guidance from the general. If there is something wrong, you must point it out."

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "I'm keeping the promise and being humble... let's go, let's talk as we go."

While chatting about their views on this time, the two walked towards the barracks. The more they talked, the happier they were.

Xue Rengui felt that although this person was born as a literati, he did not have the pedantic spirit of a literati. Instead, he wanted to be pragmatic and had a good understanding of military theory.

Pei Xingjian felt that although Xue Rengui was a military general, he was a Confucian general who spoke with reason and evidence, and he really had real talents and learning.In particular, he has deep insights into leading and employing troops, and his talent as a general is not in vain.

Two talented people hit it off, and the chat was a joy.

After entering the barracks, they first saw a place surrounded by white cloth. Seeing the medical staff coming in and out and the soldiers with sloppy footsteps, the expressions of the two of them became more dignified.

Xue Rengui said: "The biggest problem in marching and fighting is acclimatization. I have often encountered this kind of problem before, but it is not as serious as this time. Nearly one fifth of the people are sick, which is really scary."

Pei Xingjian said with deep approval: "Yes, thanks to the court's adequate preparations, the nursing staff and the medicines are sufficient, otherwise it would really cause chaos. I heard that this suggestion was made by Xia Guogong?"

Xue Rengui said: "It was suggested by him. Duke Xia often said that in the future wars will be about comprehensive national strength and logistics. I didn't quite understand the truth of this sentence before, but now I finally understand."

Pei Xingjian said enviously: "Xia Guogong has learned everything about heaven and man. I really want to listen to his teachings. The general's situation makes me envious."

Xue Rengui sighed: "Without Xia Guogong, I would not be where I am today. It's a pity that he has seldom taught in the past ten years, and I haven't been able to listen to him for a long time."

Pei Xingjian said: "It's a pity...it's just that he compiled many books, why didn't he write out his own art of war alone? It would be a pity if it was lost."

Xue Rengui smiled and said: "I also asked him this question. He said that using troops is a dangerous thing. He knows too little and needs to learn too much. It is not yet time to write military books. But before I set off, I heard that He's already started writing."

Pei Xingjian said in surprise: "Really? That's really great. I wonder if I can see his new book when I go back after this battle."

The two first went to the barracks to collect all the troops, had a good night's rest, and set off for Jiling City early the next morning.

Li Daozong continues to be busy building Ruimi City, which will serve as the residence of the Da Yue Clan's Protectorate, so defensive measures must be taken.

However, he didn't mean to build a city here. According to the plan he was making, this place was only a temporary foothold.In the future, Jiling City will be the residence of the Da Yue Clan's Protectorate.

It is close to the sea, and local support can be obtained through more convenient sea transportation.But Ruimi City can't give up, it will exist as a forward fortress.

However, these are all long-term plans for the future, and now it is better to gain a firm foothold and win the battle with the Arab Empire, so as to establish the prestige of Datang.

When the representatives of Datang arrived, the surrounding forces and countries would naturally send people to meet with them, and discuss how many people each family would send, how much food and grass they would send, and other issues.

In just seven days, more than 50 kings, chiefs, and chieftains arrived. Although some chieftains have a population of less than [-], their ability to survive locally is not to be underestimated.

Besides, if you accumulate less, you will accumulate more. If there are too many small forces, the power will be great if they gather together.So Li Daozong treated everyone equally, and he personally interviewed everyone when they first came.

Afterwards, these people were handed over to Wang Xuance, and he, a special diplomatic ambassador, was asked to talk to those people.

"My Tang Dynasty is the most fair in doing things, and will not let any allies suffer. Anyone who sends troops to support military supplies will pay corresponding revenge according to the amount."

"If you want money, we can give you enough coins. Of course, if you trust us, we can also ask for a ticket, a ticket from the Royal Commercial Bank.

"With the ticket, you can go to any imperial commercial firm in the Tang Dynasty to exchange for the corresponding products. Glass, porcelain, silk, tea, perfume, clocks... All kinds of rare treasures can be exchanged without queuing."

Hearing the invoice, the eyes of the leaders of many factions lit up. Porcelain, silk, tea, clocks and so on were all easy to talk about.

Perfume is sold in limited quantities. If you don’t queue for a month, you don’t want to get the goods. If you’re unlucky, sometimes you have to queue for three or two months.

And Liuli couldn't even get in the queue. The monthly release was only [-] pieces. Although the quantity was much higher than before, the supply was still in short supply and we had to go to the auction, and it depended on luck to get it.

And these two commodities are the most valuable, especially perfume, which is the favorite of the western aristocrats to cover and enhance the smell, and a bottle can sell for hundreds of gold coins.

Even if you only bring back a bottle of perfume and a piece of glassware from a trip to the store, you can earn a lot of money.The key is that you can use this thing to get online with the nobles, and the benefits are more than selling directly.

But in the past, they have been relying on luck to get the goods. If the goods can be picked up in Datang at any time as he said, it will be a big profit.

What, you said it would be too troublesome to go to Datang to pick up the goods?It doesn't matter, if you find it troublesome, you can sell the tickets to me for a premium. It's just a few pieces of paper, and it won't be tiring to take us with you.

It can be said that Datang has used this trick many times, and it never fails.The expeditionary army can easily obtain enough military supplies locally, and consumes only a few sheets of paper.

It is even more useful to bring this set to Da Yuezhi now. You must know that since the Han Dynasty, people here have been relying on the Silk Road to live as second-hand dealers. No one understands how popular Datang's goods are than them.

Therefore, all the forces were very active in sending troops and money, and quickly raised enough food to feed 10 people for half a year.

Originally only [-] people were going to be recruited, but the number of followers turned into [-]. There was no other way, and many forces forced them to send them over.

When the handsome tent accepted the people, they turned around and happily went to collect the goods tickets.Aren't they just human beings, after death they are reborn, so there aren't many opportunities to make money like this.

The Sasanian king Yi Sideng was so jealous that he almost went crazy when he heard about this. Before he invited these people to send troops to attack the big cannibals, each of them refused faster than one.

There are few people and few soldiers, and there is not enough food for any family. Anyway, they are changing their tricks and are unwilling to contribute. Now the Tang people have everything when they come.

But the good thing is that although he is an unknown person, at least he knows the gap between Sassan and Datang, and he dare not take his anger on Datang, instead he hates those forces.

Next, Li Daozong was not in a hurry to send troops. Firstly, the serious dissatisfaction needed time to recover; secondly, the newly recruited retinue had to be trained, at least to make them understand orders.

This exhausted Yuan Gai Suwen, this group of mobs, he almost pulled his hair out of worry.

But no matter what, after a month of stumbling, he was finally able to stand upright and understand orders.I can't say how much combat power it has, but it's okay to be a cannon fodder.

Another point is to wait for the artillery to arrive.

Such an important battle is naturally impossible without artillery, but it is too slow to transport such a big guy from land.

Opening furnaces and casting locally can easily lead to technology leakage. The biggest failure of the Mongol Empire’s western expedition in the previous life was to leave the technology of casting cannons and gunpowder to the Europeans. Otherwise, the dark Middle Ages would last at least hundreds of years.

Yue Shan would not make such a mistake. All the cannons were cast in the Tang Dynasty, and the gunpowder was the same, and they were all granular gunpowder.

Sea transportation is the most suitable method, so the cannons are transported by water and brought by the ocean-going fleet.

After Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian took over Jiling City, they quickly recruited an army to stabilize the place, and he led [-] local troops to quickly open the road from the sea to Ruimi City.

After the road was opened, Li Daozong sent an elite team to transport the artillery and gunpowder to the camp of Ruimi City.

At this point, the preliminary preparations for the Western Expeditionary Army have finally been completed, and they are already ready for the first battle.

The monarchs and ministers of the Sasanian Dynasty, who could not wait for a long time, were ecstatic when they heard the news, and immediately sent people over to discuss the matter of dispatching troops.

The army to attack there, which line to attack from, how to cooperate with the Sasanian army, etc., must be discussed in advance.

The Sassanid Dynasty meant to let Datang and the big cannibal fight a small-scale war to test the waters first, but Li Daozong vetoed their proposal.

He drew out his saber and stuck it at a point on the map, saying: "If you want to fight, fight a big battle, and choose this place for the first battle."

Seeing the target stabbed by the sharp sword, Sasanian's envoy turned pale with fright, because this is the Bahrain area, the third military base of the Great Food Kingdom on the front line.

This is no longer gnawing a hard bone, this is directly breaking off an arm of the cannibal.

It's just that if you win a fight, you will break the enemy's arm. If you can't win... If possible, they don't want to fight here in the first battle of Datang. It's too dangerous.

But it is a pity that Datang is the main force, and they only have the right to make suggestions but not the right to make decisions.When Li Daozong rejected their proposal in an unquestionable tone, they could only support it.

Then they returned to the country with great anxiety, and told the king of this plan.

(End of this chapter)