"General, the atmosphere of preparation for war here is strong, and the soldiers and horses in the city are estimated to be more than 10,000. A general with two guns just passed by, and he was very majestic. The little ones saw that these soldiers and horses were waiting for an order to attack, and as for who they wanted to fight, the little ones did not know very well. An entourage whispered to Wang Xuan after looking left and right, and Wang Xuan couldn't help but nod in agreement with this statement. Judging from his perspective as a professional soldier, the Huo County garrison has entered a state of first-level alert, that is, the horse does not leave the saddle, the knife does not leave the hand, and there is not a single scattered soldier in the whole city, and the whole team is ready to go. This meeting surprised Wang Xuan.

According to Wang Xuan's old routine of listening to the news, his group stayed at the inn early. It's just that he couldn't wait for the sporadic soldiers to enter the inn to drink, so he had to call the young shopkeeper of the inn to ask.

"Shopkeeper, I am a passing merchant, I just crossed the border from Jinyang and came here, but I saw that there were many officers and soldiers in this city, and I looked like I was fighting, but I don't know why? Don't you want to go out of the city to suppress bandits? Wang Xuan invited the innkeeper to sit down and have a few drinks together, and asked by the way.

"Huh! Guest officers need not panic. This Huo County is under the rule of King Chitose of Jin, and the general who defends the city is a famous general in the Jin army, named "Double Gun General" Ding Yanping. General Ding has always been strict in governing the army, and his soldiers never disturb the people and are strong. The day before yesterday, he sent the following message, saying that he was preparing to send troops north to conquer the Turkic Desert. However, General Ding was not seen leading the army out, but he was on guard every day and did not relax. It really has nothing to do with the suppression of bandits, and the guest officers can rest assured that they can do business in our Hedong. After taking a sip of the wine handed by the merchant, the innkeeper politely answered the topics that the guests were concerned about. After saying that, he gave a salute and went back to the back kitchen.

"Oh? General, is this Hedong Army going to fight against the Turks, if so, it would be great. The escort whispered with a look of surprise, and the other relatives also looked happy.

"Huh! According to a certain opinion, how easy it is to talk about this matter, not to mention the expedition to the Turks, it is this Jinyang territory that will not allow his Hedong army to enter casually. I'll eat quickly, and I'll go to the General's Mansion with a certain person to meet General Ding Yanping and ask. Wang Xuan said.

Huo County General's Mansion.

Ding Yanping had just returned from the exercise ground with the 500 military academy, and all the way along the way were all non-commissioned officers returning from the school to their temporary military tents. There are even some narrow streets, which have caused a certain amount of congestion due to too many soldiers, but fortunately, the discipline of the soldiers under his command is strict, and it has not caused too much disturbance to the people.

"General, there is a person outside the mansion who is said to be the general of Wuyuan City who asks to see him, and this is the person's name."

"Oh? Wuyuan City is far away from my Huo County, and Wang Xuan, the deputy general of Wuyuan, is not there to defend the city to resist the Turkic Tartars, why is it here? Tell him to come in and speak. ”

Soon, the lieutenant of the Chinese military led Wang Xuan into the living room of the mansion.

"General Ding, the last general, the deputy general of Wuyuan City, Sun Sheng, has seen the general." As soon as he saw the majestic middle-aged general in front of him, Wang Xuan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

"Oh! General Wang, please sit down and watch the tea! ”

"Why did General Wang suddenly come to my Huo County? Isn't it that the five originals have been lost, and you are waiting to flee here? Ding Yanping looked at Wang Xuan and asked sharply, in his eyes, Wang Xuan estimated that Bacheng was a deserter.

"General Ding is fallacious! My Wuyuan City is guarded by the handsome General Changsun, how can a hundred thousand Turkic Tartars break it? The last general was originally ordered by the commander to go to Jinyang to meet Tang Duke Li Yuan, and originally wanted him to send troops to the Turkic flank to contain the Turkic Tartars, but he didn't want Tang Duke Li Yuan to have a private affair with the Tartars. It was impossible for him to send troops, so the last general went all the way south to Luzhou to meet the Jin King Chitose, told him about the situation of Wuyuan City and reminded Chitose to prevent Li Yuan from leading the Turks to attack. Wang Xuanyuan was a military general, and when he saw Ding Yanping's eyes, he knew that he had misunderstood himself and regarded himself as a person who had escaped from the battle, so he hurriedly explained.

"Huh! So that's the case, my lord had already expected that Li Yuan Lao'er had made a private alliance with the Turks, and he had already taken strict precautions against several cities such as Huo County and Pu County. However, General Wang, my lord is not in Luzhou now, and it is useless for you to go. ”

"Huh? This ---" Wang Xuan was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Huh! Don't worry, general. My lord is a Ming monarch, and he knew about the southern invasion of the Turks, and he has already made preparations. How can the expulsion of the Tartars be without the work of our lord? That's it! The general is still going to Luzhou, but you can ask me Luzhou Grand Sima Pei Shiju or Liu Wenjing, and they may have the information that the general needs. Ding Yanping smiled and comforted Wang Xuan.

"In this way, the last general will bid farewell to the general and immediately set off for Luzhou to meet Master Pei and Lord Liu." After all, Wang Xuan didn't want to stay longer for a moment, he just wanted to feel Luzhou as soon as possible.

"General, please." Ding Yanping saw that he was anxious and no longer kept him, got up and sent him out of the house after returning the salute.

Jinyang Tang State Mansion.

Li Yuan was slapping the table and roaring angrily at this time, and all the civil and military officers below the stairs also bowed their heads and remained silent, allowing Li Yuan to shout above the main hall.

"Could it be that if he Sha Bo Luo Khan does not return to the court for a day, I will raise his 100,000 troops here every day, and ask my father to pay him grain and grass several times. How do you say you can get away with this? On Li Yuan's desk was a letter sent by the Turkic Shabalu Khan asking Li Yuan to allocate 200,000 stone of military rations, and the words were extremely arrogant, which made Li Yuan unbearable.

"Tang Gong, cooperating with the Turkic captives is no different from seeking skin with the tiger, depending on the general, it is better to close the border and cut off cooperation with him." Liu Hongji proposed angrily. As a military general guarding the border of the imperial court, he always felt awkward about cooperation with foreign races, so he directly proposed to cut off the method of cooperation.

"No, Tang Gong's affairs today are inevitably not known to the Sui court, if you blame the Turkic Khan again, it is tantamount to being attacked on both sides, and now it is better to make a good alliance with the Turks." University scholar Wen Daya hurriedly spoke.

"Tang Gong, the Turkic army was blocked under Wuyuan City, and in the past half a month, they have repeatedly attacked the city and returned defeated, and the soldiers and soldiers were seriously injured. The defender of Wuyuan City was the famous general Sun Sheng, who had been stationed in Wuyuan for a long time, and the lower officials thought that Wuyuan City could only be besieged but not attacked, but persuaded Sha Bolu Khan to divide his troops and quickly cross the river to the south to threaten the center of the Sui court. Neshi Douwei suggested.

"If the Turks can't attack the Five Plains, then Sha Bo Luo Khan will run this trip empty, and he will work hard, how can he rest? Tang Gong should still send another batch of grain and grass over for the sake of the overall situation. However, it should be like Dou Neishi's plan, and persuade him to bypass the five plains and cross south. Shang Shu Pei Lin hesitated and proposed. He couldn't think of a good way to do both for a while, but he clearly knew that this time the Turks had already given Jinyang benefits, and if he returned in vain, it would not be good.

"Cross the river! Crossing! If he could cross the river, he would have divided his troops to cross the river and go south. If Ben had guarded the ferry, the ferry would have been scuttled long ago. Liu Hongji shouted.

Liu Hongji said a word, and the hall suddenly fell silent.

"Alright, all the kings, go home! It's not too late to discuss the matter. Alas! Li Yuan saw that the ministers had lost their words, and he also knew that Liu Hongji, the general of Rong Ma's life, had a word that hit the sore spot, leaving everyone helpless.

After the court meeting dispersed, the depressed Chai Shao returned to his own horse mansion. Before entering the inner house, I heard a burst of cheerful laughter. As soon as Chai Shao heard it, he knew that this was the inner man, the county lord of Pingyang, who was teasing the villain Li Shimin and playing. This Li Shimin is 7 years old this year, although he is young but extremely smart, and his mind is no less than that of a teenager.

"Shimin, why are you laughing again, let my brother-in-law hear it." Chai Shao walked over and took Li Shimin's little hand and asked, and sat down beside his wife.

"Huh! Brother-in-law! The eldest sister just said that she wanted to talk about a daughter-in-law for the younger brother, and she was talking about the granddaughter of Master Pei, and the little brother of the girl had seen it, and she still had a big snot! Li Shimin said while laughing.

"Shimin, this is not bad! In a few years, when you are older, you can marry the granddaughter of the Pei family, and let you have someone to take care of it. Hehe! Chai Shao also felt funny when he heard it, this sister and brother dare to say anything, there is no taboo, if it really reaches the Pei family, this matter will inevitably make the old Pei family worry.

The three of them laughed, and Chai Shao's face showed a sad look again. He was still worried about the use of troops by the Turks to the south.

"Husband, what are you discussing when you see your father today? Could it be that you have encountered a tricky problem? Could it be that the Turkic army was defeated? So fast! Xiuning, the county lord of Pingyang, asked Chai Shao in a low voice.

"Alas! Wuyuan City was undefeated in the first battle, but the battle was deadlocked. Attack and attack, and retreat and cannot retreat. Plain and white there consumes countless grains and grasses every day. Yuezhang was anxious about this matter, and the Manchu Dynasty had no idea. Chai Shao whispered to his wife about the court discussion.

"Since you can't take it, can't you bypass Wuyuan City? Do you have to die in one place? The county lord of Pingyang asked puzzled.

"There are sandbars outside the city of Wuyuan on his side, and there is no place north of the Yellow River to attack and profit. If you want to cross south to attack the rich land of the Hetao, but you don't have a boat to cross the army, you will be in a dilemma! There is nothing a husband can do about it. After Chai Shao finished speaking, he shook his head helplessly, thinking that no matter how smart his wife was, he couldn't.

The county lord of Pingyang really listened, and there was no good way for the time being. At this time, Li Shimin, who had been dancing around the two with a short wooden sword, suddenly stopped dancing the sword and laughed at the two, laughing and saying: "How easy it is for the eldest sister and brother-in-law to cross the river, Shimin can cross the river even if he doesn't have a boat." After that, he began to dance around the two of them with short wooden swords, looking proud.

"Oh? Shimin, do you have a good way? Quickly, if it is useful, the sword of my brother-in-law will be given to you. When Chai Shao heard Li Shimin's words, his eyes suddenly lit up. He knew that his little uncle was not a mortal and never spoke big. And when he saw him squirming, he took him by the hand and coaxed him to tell him what to do.

"Brother-in-law, you're so stupid! Since ancient times, it is better for people to cross the Yellow River with boats, and if there is no boat, they will not come and go? Who on the river doesn't have a sheepskin raft made of sheepskin! If more than a dozen sheepskin rafts are formed in one place, it is possible to cross 3 or 50 people. There are few trees on both sides of the river, but every family has sheepskin! Li Shimin shook his head and told the matter of the sheepskin raft used by the boatman he had seen.

Chai Shao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then laughed again. patted Li Shimin on the shoulder, got up and took off the saber hanging from his waist, and held it to the short Li Shimin with both hands. Li Shimin hurriedly threw away the small wooden sword in his hand, took it from Chai Shao's hand with his solemn hands, and opened his mouth in disbelief, with a look of surprise.

"Madam, the people of the world are very smart, and a joke has solved the dilemma of my Manchu Dynasty's civil and military affairs! For the husband, he went to see his father-in-law. With that, he turned around and ran out like the wind. When the county lord of Pingyang saw him go, he couldn't help shaking his head and chuckling, and took his younger brother Shimin by the hand and praised him softly.

Tang Gong Li Yuan was still walking back and forth in the study at this time, sighing lightly from time to time, obviously unable to solve the dilemma for a while, and anxious.

"Uncle Yue, the son-in-law has a way to let the Turkic military horses cross the river." Without being informed, Chai Shao ran directly into Li Yuan's study, and shouted loudly when he saw Li Yuan.

"Oh? Sichang, do you have a way so soon? Let's hear about it. Seeing his son-in-law suddenly running into the door, Li Yuan hurriedly asked.

"Uncle Yue, I can have sheepskins in the treasury of Jinyang Mansion, if there is no him, there must be more in the Turkic tent. The Turks had no boats to cross the river to the south, and they could use sheepskin rafts to cross the army. You don't need to cross too much, you only need to cross 3,000 elite soldiers at night to rob the Sui army ferry on the south bank. Chai Shao walked up to Li Yuan and said softly.

"Sichang, do you mean to use sheepskin as a raft to smuggle across the river at night and rob the boat on the south bank?" Li Yuan was afraid that he didn't hear clearly, so he asked repeatedly.

"Yes! Father-in-law, you can find a few fishermen who are proficient in making sheepskin rafts, send them to the Turkic tent, and within a few days you can make hundreds of sheepskin rafts. If 20 rafts sit together, 50 soldiers cross the river as if it were flat ground. I expect that the Sui army on the south bank will be defenseless. Chai Shao said excitedly.

"Good! Sichang will be responsible for this matter to you, and I have sheepskin and cowhide in my house, so you can use it as much as you can. Escort another 50,000 stone of grain to his army outside Wuyuan City, and this matter must not be spread outside. Li Yuan was in a good mood for a while, as if he had seen the Sui Court start to panic.

"Uncle Yue, is 50,000 stone military rations enough?" Chai Shao was a little surprised, it seems that the Turks are asking for 200,000 stone this time!

"Humph! The 50,000 stone of grain was enough for him to cross the river and plunder the granary of the Hetao. My Jinyang grain is not blown by the wind. Li Yuan suppressed his smile and said viciously. Chai Shao heard an epiphany, turned around and went out.

At the same time, in the depths of the desert in the Turkic backyard, the 20,000 White Horse Yicong elites led by Wu Yunzhao and Ling Jing had already started the mass killing mode. It took only three days to sack eight small and medium-sized Turkic tribes, and the adult men in these tribes were basically sent out on expeditions by Shabalu Khan, but all the Turkic young and strong people left behind were all killed, leaving behind mostly old and weak women and children, and a large number of cattle, sheep and horses.

Wu Yunzhao's army was like entering a treasure land, all of them looted all kinds of materials in a very high-profile manner, and tied the looted goods to the stolen horses, and the stolen wagons and ox carts were loaded with bound women and children. These are trophies, which the lord has specifically emphasized.

After the storm and clouds, those who remained in the original tribe were all useless old and weak. Wu Yunzhao didn't care about the lives of these people left behind, he just cared about grabbing one place and then went to the next place to continue robbing. At the same time, a small number of sergeants were arranged to transfer the looted supplies and people back to the Yin Valley, where they waited for the return of the army.