The news of Bailiyan quickly spread throughout the Central Plains and even the countries of the West Sea in a short period of time, and the reactions caused were also very different.

Ji Feng signed an agreement with Bailiyan on a profit-sharing contract that year, and later learned that Bailiyan was dead, Ji Feng was happy for a long time, since the person died, the profit-sharing clause in the agreement naturally did not need to be honored.

Now that the person is not dead, he has become a relative of Xianguo, and asking him Ji Feng to repay the money in the future is no different from killing him with a knife.

The shock caused by Baili Yan is still fermenting, under the pressure of internal and external troubles, it did not immediately set off much waves, the vassal states sent troops to the south, and the north and south of the country used troops at the same time, while sending troops into the Sun country, and at the same time sending troops to the south.

In March of 630, Jin Xuedi finally stopped and moved to repair after three months of continuous frenzied siege on a front of nearly 2,000 miles.

In March, as the temperature gradually rose, Cao Chi was actively deploying troops before the reinforcements arrived in the south, and the Xian army was adjusted to the main city of the Song State in the south on the eastern front, Yesui, and at the same time, Sima Shutong, the great master of the Song State, was adjusted to Yesui.

Duhui is the city of the Song Kingdom, the gateway of Yesui, and the situation is tighter than the two cities of Tiannan and Xutu, which are worry-free in the rear. Shutong was transferred to Yesui, which was not only to sit on the territory of the Song State, but also to deploy in advance the strategy of defending the east and attacking the west for the spring and summer offensive of the coalition army.

Unlike fighting with the barbarian army, fighting in the Central Plains, you can't avoid the real and attack its weakness, because the battle line is too long. While you attack the enemy's weak points, the enemy has enough time to watch your movements and thus attack your weak points as well.

From Xiaochi, Xutu, Tiannan, Duhui, and then to Yesui, the distance passed is more than 2,000 off the ground, which is still a straight-line distance on the map, and the actual distance is longer, and it is impossible to achieve timely and effective troop mobilization.

At present, the western front is concentrating more troops of the barbarian army, and the army of the Moon God King is stationed in the Nordsin Pass three hundred miles southwest of Xiaochi, and the first major battle in 630 is destined to start on the western front.

Bai Liyan arrived in Yesui on the 21st of March, and the wounded soldiers of the five battalions of Bao Tao, Long Wu, Xiao Cai, Weiwu, and Scout have been repaired for more than three months, and the strength has gradually recovered to more than 6,000 people, and nearly 1,500 more are moderately or severely disabled, and the rest are all killed.

The Yujian Battalion, the Xiaomin Army, and the Logistics Battalion arrived in Yesui on March 23, and the previous news was intermittent, knowing that the Tiannan Pass was a difficult battle, and the casualties were very large, but after the division, I learned that the Yujian Battalion and the Xiaomin Army had suffered more than half of the casualties, and there was just a respite in March, and a large number of wounded had not yet recovered.

The logistics battalion also suffered casualties, wounding more than 200 people and killing more than 80 people, including two Lang Zhong and a young man, who were pecked off by the flying eagle beast.

After the barbarian army attacked the city, the two hot air balloons in the city did not have time to be removed and were destroyed by fire. Without the threat from the air, the Eagle continued its unscrupulous day and night air raids, causing great damage to the coalition forces, especially the barbarian siege, the Eagle Beast faced the empty stones on the inner edge of the city wall, causing great shock and damage to the counterattack crossbowmen in the city.

At the end of March, the Xian army ran out of grain and grass, and Bai Liyan had to sell some of the empty equipment of the Xian soldiers who died in battle, as well as some of the tiger skins, wolf skins, feathers and other trophies that Cao Chi was distributing according to his work, in exchange for grain and grass from Shutong.

On the fifth day of the first month of April, the problem of the resettlement of the disabled soldiers was imminent, and at the same time the establishment was consumed, and the grain and grass were consumed, and Baili Yan drew a total of 500 veterans and 3,000 horses from the top of the army, escorting nearly 4,000 disabled soldiers to the north to return to China for resettlement, and at the same time bringing the spoils of war to the Xian King, so as to raise food and salary for the southern expeditionary army.

In April, the war calmed down, and the barbarian army took the initiative to withdraw Duhui to give up the siege, and Duhui was able to breathe, but the ensuing problems were soon placed in front of the princes' armies, and the spring ploughing in the south arrived.

The hoarding of grain and grass in the south could be used by an army of millions for two years under the extremely harsh conditions of agricultural shutdown. However, it is usually a combination of ploughing and warfare, fighting on the front line, and continuing to plough in the rear, which can barely last for another year and a half, so after three years, the external materials in the south have risen rapidly.

Since 628 of the Shengyuan Dynasty, the war in the south has been intermittent, and the Yuke and Song armies are increasing their troops, and a considerable amount of grain and grass has been consumed, coupled with the loss of seven cities on the front, a large number of arable farmland and storage have been occupied, and the grain and grass in the south will be in short supply next year, not counting the millions of troops of the vassal states that have arrived one after another.

And the real trouble has just begun, spring has just arrived, the volume of transportation and supplies has risen sharply, almost every time it has to be delayed for two days or even three or four days, the worst one is an unprecedented delay of seven days, Shu Tong is also good-tempered, and he is angry again and again, this time he can't bear it, and he killed the baggage transfer official in a rage.

At the same time, spring ploughing in various places is not going well, not to mention the front line, the problem lies in Mingzhou, Dunping, Bitian, Wanglu, Boyang, Zicheng, Feiyun, Jiaxu, Botao, Pingzhang and other middle lines.

As soon as the war began, all transportation and supplies required the consumption of civilian manpower, and just to supply the hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, nearly 1.5 million men and women, 400,000 donkeys and horses, and tens of thousands of vehicles were needed.

In fact, in the three months that the barbarian army attacked the city last year, hundreds of thousands of casualties were inflicted in Xiaochi, Xutu, Tiannan, and Duhui, which seriously weakened the vital forces on the front line, and the strategic intention of the barbarian army to storm the city gradually became apparent.

Bai Liyan began to worry that after the main force of the Central Plains Coalition Army moved south, the situation would not only not improve, but might even deteriorate further.

On April 11, Bailiyan returned to the camp of Yesui from Duhui. After the leg injury was healed, the shoulder injury has been unfavorable. He is also well aware that after the rotator cuff tendon injury, it has not been difficult to get good for a year or two, so he has rarely done anything with his left hand in recent months.

"General, how's Du Hui's condition?" Lu Zhao stepped forward and asked, leading Bai Liyan's horse over.

"There is no room for optimism, the siege lasted for three months, and half of the population was killed and wounded, so that not only could they not feed themselves, but they also needed to be supplied with food and grass from the rear. If this continues, the coalition forces will probably be dragged to death in Qianyue Mountain. ”

At this time, Sikong Nan answered:

"But if the Central Plains continues to maintain the current stable situation, it will barely be able to support the war on the front line."

Sikong Nan pinned his hopes on the current fragile and stable situation in the Central Plains, but Bailiyan poured cold water:

"Unrealistic, the Black Turban Army has been dormant for a year since last year, waiting for the main forces of the vassal states to go south, and now half of the main forces of the three kingdoms of Wei, Jin and Zhi are going south, and the Black Turban Army is bound to set off greater storms. At that time, the situation in the south will be extremely unfavorable under internal and external troubles. ”

Everyone said as they walked, and at this time, Jiang Zhan came in a hurry from the baggage camp:

"General, the king's secret letter has arrived!"

"Oh, show me!"

After taking the iron letter and confirming that it was intact, Bai Liyan and everyone came to the big tent, cut off the sealing line with a knife, removed the cover, and a volume of letters curled and lay in the iron letter.

The delivery of news from Xianguo to the south uses the good horses of Yuke, which gallops 800 miles a day, and the fastest in spring and summer takes 30 to 35 days, and it takes more than 40 days in autumn, and it is possible to send news to Qiguo in winter for three months, and even the news sent to Qiguo in winter can only be received in spring, which shows how far the road is.

The secret letters sent by King Xian did not arrive until mid-to-late March, and the contents were all about the political effects of the leak of his identity.

Bailiyan opened the secret letter of King Xian first, as expected, after Yu Chiguang arrived in Xianguo in February this year, it was really a lion's big mouth, it could no longer be called Huayuan, and he asked for 40,000 pieces of steel blades, 10,000 pieces of chain mail, 5,000 steel shields, 100,000 catties of steel, 20,000 pieces of soap, and 20,000 even archer crossbows. In addition, Cao Chi sent people to urgently add 500 telescopes and 100 hot air balloons halfway, and he was really not afraid of dying.

Five hundred telescopes are just that, after all, they are not technically rigorous products. And the hot air balloon, which is an extremely dangerous aircraft even in modern society, is a hundred pieces when you open your mouth, and it is really fearless for the ignorant, only to be afraid of life, not to be cheap, and to fall to death is not a serious matter.

Because it was expected that Wei Chiguang wanted the lion to open his mouth, Bai Liyan asked him to make a careful arrangement in the secret letter to King Xian, there must be no 40,000 steel blades, 10,000 chain mail, and even a shooter's crossbow, but there must be 200,000 catties of steel billets.

Over the years in Yongxing City, how much has been saved in the warehouse, Bailiyan is still clear. If it weren't for the lack of coal and craftsmen, the billet would have been transformed into a finished product.

In a secret letter to King Xian, Bai Liyan suggested that the billets of Yongxing City be transferred to Yu Chiguang for 500,000 catties and assigned to Zhiguo for processing.

First, the weapons and equipment produced from 500,000 catties of blanks are of little use in Yongxing City, and they can be used to meet the needs of Wei Chiguang. Second, the processing and production of 500,000 catties of billets is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it is impossible for Zhiguo to OEM for free, of course, it is impossible to refuse, and it is necessary to use steel as a price, negotiate with Wei Chiguang, so as to intercept part of the steel equipment Zhijun, a not weak Zhijun, obviously it will not be a good thing for Jin Guo.

Of course, the quality of the weapons is bound to decline, but with Zhiguo's production technology, it is basically the same as Jin Xuedi's ironware.

Finally, it can be used to open a steel trade and exchange more strategic materials from the vassal states to facilitate Wei Chiguang's trade and transport back to Qianyue Mountain.

As for the telescopes and hot air balloons, most of them will not be enough, especially the hot air balloons, before Bailiyan went south, a total of seven were produced, three were given to Zhao Xun, two were left in Yongxing City, and two were destroyed in Tiannanguan. Before leaving, he repeatedly blessed that he was not allowed to produce without authorization, and Wei Chiguang's wish was probably going to be disappointed.

However, these materials were not given in vain, and Wei Chiguang was bound to pass through Zhiguo and Xu on the way back to the southern border, so that he could sell the monopoly goods of Xianguo and raise grain and grass supplies for Bailiyan.

When reading the letter, the generals under the account were quite anxious, and when they saw Bai Liyan put down the secret letter, Lu Gao first asked:

"General, what is the king's will?"

Bai Liyan handed the secret letter to Lu Gao and said:

"See for yourselves."

Lu Gao took the secret letter, everyone gathered around, and Bai Liyan opened the letter at this time and continued to read more.