Emperor Sui Yang

The Xueyantuo tribe is a major branch of the Tiele people, formed by the merger of the Xue and Yantuo tribes. The reason why they formed an alliance with the westernmost Tiele tribe, Qibi Geling, was to resist the former Khan of the Western Turks. The tyranny of Chu Luo.

Therefore, their two large tribes sandwiched the Western Turks in the east and west, and wars were frequent.

After Chuluo surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, the Shekui Khan who took over was even more ruthless and aggressive in his expansion, intending to conquer the old territory of the Western Turks. Tiele's Bige Lengjie couldn't handle it, and had canceled his title as khan and attached himself to Shekui. .

And Xue Yantuo is almost there. Although he has not yet attached himself, Yi Shibo has voluntarily given up his title of Khan.

Shi Bi was commanded this time by 30 elite Eastern Turkic cavalry, who had already defeated Xue Yantuo's tribe. The leader Yi Shibo knew that he was no match for Shi Bi, so he retreated all the way to Sanmi Mountain in the Western Turk Yazhang, and got the turtle on the way. With the support of a total of [-] cavalry from the State of Zi and the State of Yanqi (Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in Xinjiang), they managed to break through the encirclement.

Stationed at Sanmi Mountain in the royal court was Shekui's younger brother, Ye Hu, the young Khan of the Western Turks. He had already brought 5 people to join Xue Yantuo and formed a confrontation with the Eastern Turk army at the lower reaches of the Ili River (Ili River).

"They are waiting for the main force of Shekui." In Yiwu City, the rangers sent by Li Jing would bring back new military information every day. Li Jing carefully recorded the entire march from beginning to end as well as the major and minor battles in between.

Yang Yuanqing said in amazement: "The scale of this battle is unprecedented. When Shekui returns, there will definitely be a shocking battle around Sanmi Mountain. I can't wait to witness it with my own eyes."

He had joined the army at the border before, fought against Turks, and learned some simple Turkic languages. However, all he had seen were small groups of Turkic cavalry, no more than 2000 people. This time, there were hundreds of thousands of cavalry. together.

"It's not easy to unify Yehu," Xu Shiji pointed to the sand table in the house and said, "He has been in a stalemate with Shibi at the Yilie River for more than a month. Looking at the current situation, it seems that he can delay his return until Shegui. By that time , the two sides are evenly matched, and the outcome is hard to predict."

Li Jing nodded: "The Eastern and Western Turks are of the same family. The decisive battle between the two Khans will definitely lead to an outcome. This is not good for us, because the loser will surrender to the winner. Once the East and West merge, our northern border will be invaded. .”

"Then why don't we intervene?" Hou Junji said.

Li Jing explained: "If you interfere now, it will only prompt the two families to form an alliance prematurely. The imperial court should remain unchanged in response to changes, wait and see the results, and then make a decision."

At this time, a messenger from the capital came and brought back the latest news.

After Li Jing finished reading, he exclaimed: "As expected of Mr. Pei, this plan is brilliant."

After reading it, Yang Yuanqing was confused and asked for advice: "Uncle Medicine Master, I don't understand why. Aren't we unable to send troops? Why don't we send troops to the Western Regions instead of going to the Northeast? What's the use of that place?"

Yang Yinjiang always called her pharmacist uncle in private, and he naturally followed suit. After all, Li Jing and Xuangan were from the same generation, and Li Jing called Xuangan his elder brother.

"It's different," Li Jing explained with a smile:

"The Northeast is not suitable for management, but its strategic importance is unprecedented at the moment. Think about it, the last thing we want is a decisive battle between the Eastern and Western Turks, and Pei Gong's strategy will undoubtedly put pressure on the beginning and the end. It may force him to withdraw his troops to the east and march through the northeast to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Sui Dynasty. I definitely don't want such a situation to occur. Otherwise, there will be Western Turks in the west and the five Sui governors in the east. He will be Caught between them, the only way to retreat is to the north, and the north is a bitter and cold land, not suitable for nomadic herding."

"In other words, from now on, once the news is received, the troops may be withdrawn?" Hou Junji said.

Li Jing said: "It's just possible. Even if he knows that Pei Gong has gone to Zhuojun now, he won't be able to return to the army. After all, the distance is too far. But this will affect Shibi's choice and make him have worries and can't let go." Fight against Shekui."

"The Eastern and Western Turks have equal military strength, but why does the general manager always think that the Eastern Turks have the absolute upper hand?" Xu Shiji asked puzzled.

He really didn't understand. He was just starting out now. He was a complete beginner when it came to using troops, and he was worse than a hussar general in the army.

Li Jing said: "First of all, the Eastern Turks are the Orthodox Turks, and the Eighteen Tribes of the Grassland have always been relatively united, while the Western Turks are more chaotic. Their soldiers rely heavily on the major tribes affiliated with them. It is easy for problems to arise in scheduling, and those who have the upper hand will Fortunately, once a defeat occurs, it is easy to collapse. Furthermore, the Eastern Turks have had frequent trade with us during the Sui Dynasty since the Qin Dynasty. After the influx of various goods, their smelting and handicraft industries have made great progress. In recent years, the Western Region has been experiencing civil unrest. Many, after Chu Luo was attached, She Kui never stopped using troops abroad, and the national power must have been greatly consumed. Compared with the two, the Eastern Turks have the absolute upper hand."

Yang Yuanqing nodded and said: "I heard from my father that the Eastern Turks control 60 strings. Not all of them came this time. They were just the main force of the royal court and his younger brother Ashina Qilifu's cavalry, and several others. None of them came."

"Of course they don't dare to come all," Li Jing said: "If they all come, it will be clear that they want to destroy the Western Turks. I, the Sui Dynasty, will definitely intervene. The number of people is smaller to avoid irritating us. However, 30 is enough."

Then, Li Jing added: "This letter from Yang Sili said to me that the prince ordered Xuanting, the governor of Anxi, to lead troops to Gaochang to buy cotton seeds. We must send envoys to the East and West Turks in advance to avoid misunderstandings between the two sides."

After saying that, Li Jing looked at the censor Wei Jie and Du Xingman, who happened to be in Yiwu County, and said:
"It's hard work for the two of you."

The reason why Wei Jie came here was to inspect the trade routes. Yushitai would send people to inspect local areas every once in a while, and the customs duties in the Western Regions were undoubtedly the focus at the moment, so Wei Jie came.

Naturally, Sili Tai, another judicial department, also sent people. Du Xingman came with Wei Jie. The two were good friends, and Wei Duwei Du was almost a family.

These two people are equivalent to the two inspection team leaders sent to the local area by the imperial court.Wei Yijie bit the bullet and agreed.

There was no way, Li Jing had the prince's decree in his hand, and he had the power to exercise it in response to military and political affairs in the Western Regions. It was tantamount to Li Jing giving the order on behalf of the prince to let them go.

This had to be done, and historically, Comrade Wei Jie was very good at running. He had been to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. After returning to China, he wrote "Xishu Ji", which has been lost to later generations.

However, Wei Jie's deeds were described in "Tongdian" written by Du You, a historian of the Tang Dynasty, which confirmed the authenticity of his mission to the Western Regions.

Is Yang Xuanting rich?Yes, but they did not bring them to the Western Regions. When doing business with the Western Regions, most people only recognized gold and silver.

Then he can only borrow it, who can he borrow it from?The governor of Qilian City, his old subordinate Wu Jinglong.

Wu Jinglong was originally a follower of Yang Yue, and participated in the siege of Layman Liu, and was later placed next to Xuan Ting by Yang Yue. He made great achievements in defeating Tuyuhun, and was named the governor of Qilian City.

Qilian City is not as prosperous as Yiwu County, but it is also a trade route. Most of the trade here is private, and officials rarely come here to do business.

But now, with the roads in the Hexi Corridor blocked, many caravans have begun to detour through the Qilian Mountains, and then go to Zhangye to pay customs duties before entering the Central Plains.

The distance is longer, so the price of goods sold into the Central Plains is higher, because the loss is greater due to the long journey.

"The Governor wants to borrow more money from me, and it can only be gold." Wu Jinglong smiled bitterly and looked at his younger brother Wu Shihui: "The Governor's temperament, he won't cheat me with this money, right?"

"Probably not, the Governor has never done this kind of thing before," Wu Shihui said with a smile:

"We brothers started our lives by relying on the Governor. If the Governor asks for anything, we should give it to him. But how much we pay has to be weighed. If it is too much, will the Governor think that we have eaten too much in the past few years? "

Wu Jinglong laughed loudly: "If it is the second master, I will pay as much as I can. He will not ask more questions, but the governor has been severely restrained by the second master, and his money is always tight. I am afraid that he will blame me."

"It's better to hand it over. Blaming is better than suspicion. We can't let the governor distrust us because of this trivial matter," Wu Shihui said, "I have two thousand gold here, all of which I will give to you."

As for how much gold Wu Jinglong has, his brother doesn't know.

Just when the two started to raise gold, two days later, Yang Xuanting came from Xiping County with 2000 people.

"Where's the money? Are you ready?" Yang Xuanting asked directly after seeing the two of them.

The two brothers stood respectfully on both sides and nodded quickly.

"A total of [-] gold, what did the Governor use it for?" Wu Jinglong asked curiously.

Yang Xuanting did not hide anything from him and said: "The prince asked me to go to Qiuci to buy kapok seeds. I heard that one pound of cotton seeds costs five hundred gold. With the little money you have collected, I can only buy ten pounds."

"This is all the wealth I have accumulated over the years in my humble position." Wu Jinglong heard that Xuanting didn't think it was enough, and hurriedly said: "It took several groups of bandits to rob him to get so much."

"You can borrow some more from the wealthy businessmen in the city. Don't worry, I will repay you the money, and the court will pay it back to me in the future. You two will borrow it with an IOU." Yang Xuanting felt that ten kilograms of seeds was really not enough for the prince.

"Hiss~~" Wu Shihui suddenly frowned and said: "Do the merchants in the city also have some kapok seeds? This stuff seems to be selling very fast in the Central Plains in the past two years. Recently, many caravans from the Western Regions have left Qilian City. They might have it in their hands."

"Then go find them," Yang Xuanting said happily, "Remember, I want them all."

Business is about exchanging what you have and what you don’t have, everyone gets what they need, and when there is a need, they buy and sell.

Sinong Temple's large-scale purchase of cotton seeds in Zhangye County has attracted the attention of many Hu merchants from the Western Regions, so kapok seeds have become a best-seller.

In one Qilian city, there are seven caravans carrying this kind of goods, and Xuanting and the others will naturally not take advantage of them. They must pay attention to integrity in doing business, especially in foreign trade. If you dare to cheat, the court can't get around you.

At most, it's about asking prices. Once integrity is lost, you can't pick it up again. (End of chapter)