Yang Chong seemed to see it this way, so he showed great enthusiasm for Wei Jie's appointment, and then expressed his gratitude, and sent it to Chang'an in an eight-hundred-mile hurry, saying that the Hexi soldiers would prepare for a month and then choose to start the army; At the same time, Yang Chong made two small requests, one was to ask Chang'an to provide some grain and grass, and the other was to ask the garrisons in Yulin, Wuyuan and other places to obey the dispatch of the Hexi Army to avoid accidents.

In the evening, Yang Chong set up a banquet in the governor's mansion to entertain Wei Jie, Cui Zhen, Fang Xuanling, Du Yan, Ling Jing, Kou Jiuhui, Yang Ze, Yu hugged each other, Wei Jie was very particular about eating and drinking, so the arrangement was a whole sheep banquet, a total of 24 dishes, stewed sheep ears, sheep sandan, roasted sheep nose bones, sheep nose meat, sheep throat bones, sheep tongue tip meat, steamed sheep mouth**, fried sheep eye meat, braised sheep brain, mixed sheep tongue, steamed sheep lungs, fried sheep kidneys, braised sheep spinal cord, braised sheep trotters, lamb hemp tripe, braised lamb tendon meat, braised lamb tendons, braised sheep tendons, braised sheep intestines, Braised lamb chops, fried lamb tail oil, fried lamb heart, etc.

The dishes are full of color, flavor and flavor, and the wine is Hexi Daqu and wine that have been distilled three times. Wei Jie is a veteran of the social scene, talking and laughing, and enlivening the atmosphere at the table. Cui Zhen and the others knew that Yang Chong had sold the Yushan at the end of the year to the Wei family and the Yuan family, and now the relationship between the two sides was harmonious, and the mood was very relaxed, Wei Jie suddenly asked: "Chief Yang Guan, is there a candidate for the main general who will lead the Northern Expedition?" ”

The air was stunned, Wei Jie was actually exploring Yang Chong's bottom, whether he was really preparing for the Northern Expedition or delaying it for a month, Yang Chong smiled without changing his face: "Lord Wei is really a coincidence, I only learned two days ago that Yu Juluo is recuperating in Hexi, and he has sent someone to pick him up in Jiuquan, you see, is General Yu suitable?" ”

Yujuluo generation of famous generals, in the prime of life, when he served as the governor of Fengzhou, he once killed the Turks did not dare to graze horses on the plug, and when it came to fighting, Yang Chong's subordinates did not have a more suitable person than Yujuluo. Wei Jie didn't dare to say anything, Yu Juluo was the person Yang Guang was afraid to kill, Luoyang wanted to be wanted on the charge of escaping from the battle, if Yu Juluo was made a general, wouldn't he be slapping the face of the Holy Son of Heaven and the Luoyang Left-behind Division.

Cui Zhen and Yu Bao were all taken aback, Yang Chong and these people controlled the news strictly enough, Yang Chong continued unhurriedly: "Considering General Yu's body and unfamiliarity with the Hexi army, I am going to nominally still be my main general, but in fact, General Yu will command the battle." ”

"That's fine." Wei Jie breathed a sigh of relief, Yang Chong, as the head of the Western Regions Governor's Mansion, was justified as the chief general, and even if someone asked about Yujuluo in the future, he would have room to shirk. Wei Jie thought for a while and said, "I'm not familiar enough with the situation in the Western Regions, and I'm going to go to Jimo, Shanshan and other places in a few days to have a look." ”

Wei Jie said to Yang Chong that he would not make small moves while Yang Chong was away, Cui Zhen laughed and said: "Then the old man can rest assured, Xuan Ling, we are all business as usual." ”

Yang Chong appointed Yujuluo as the marching Sima the next day, the commanders Suo Yanshou and Wei Wentong were stationed in Huaiyuan City in advance, Xin Dade was the commander of Huaiyuan County, and Shan Xiongxin mobilized 2,000 government troops and 4,000 people from Wuwei County to start transporting supplies. Yang Chong sent another person to inform Wu Wei'er and dispatched 5,000 people to help in the battle; After Wu Duan'er and others discussed, Po Liuhan Bakui and Yang Yanshi led 5,000 Ma Bu troops north to Huaiyuan City.

Yang Chong himself set out half a month later, Ling Jing and Sima Fan were the chief and deputy chief historians, Yu Xuan and Li Zhengming, who had just arrived, were the staff officers of the army, and then Luo Shixin's 3,000 Beiwei troops and Yang Yanwu's 800 thunderbolt soldiers, Yin Hongshen and Xiang Yang were transferred to help. Xiang Yang commanded a crossbow army composed of 2,000 Wuwei County Army, equipped with 200 bed crossbows and 200 giant crossbows; Yin Hongshen is in charge of the people and building the trebuchet. Almost at the same time, Yang Guang set off from Jiangdu, and 200,000 troops gathered to tour the north again, and the situation inside and outside the Sai suddenly became tense.

Shibi Khan and Princess Yicheng convened a meeting of generals in the tooth tent, and it was not sure whether the Great Sui was preparing to go to war or demonstrate, although Shibi Khan had long wanted to teach the Great Sui a lesson, but there were few victories in the past few decades, so that the chieftains in the tooth tent felt numb when they heard about the battle with the Great Sui. He Lifushi suggested: "Let Du Bi be in charge of the Western Route Army and fight against Yang Chong; Whether to stick to the fertile field and the first line of the five plains, or to take the initiative, can let Du Bi choose independently. ”

Shibi Khan immediately agreed, since Gaochang and Yiwu were defeated in both battles, Kang Sheli and Yang Shanjing returned to the Khan Court successively, and the Tong Special Service and Hu Special Service both fell to Dubi, Wuyuan was already a situation where he listened to the tone and did not listen to the announcement, and it was not a bad thing to let Dubi have some blood, although Yang Chong only had 20,000 people, but if he wanted to defeat Yang Chong, Dubi's casualties would not be less than this number.

Yang Shanjing's handsome face was even more severe, and he frowned and said, "Dubi and Yang Chong are fighting hotly now, will there be fraud among them." ”

There is deceit, the Han people are cunning, and the Turkic people are also cunning, through more than a year of trade with Yang Chong, the Wuyuan Tooth Banner has piled up mountains of materials and armor and weapons. Shi Shu Hu Xi pondered and said: "Will it be a bluff to provoke the nerves of Khan and Sui Tianzi, and in the end we will have a lot of fun fighting in the east, and they don't really do it at all in the west." Both of them had big ambitions, and sometimes it was normal to give up one or two cities. ”

"How can they give up?" ”

Shi Shu Hu said calmly: "If we are defeated, we will give up the three towns of Woye; If the Great Sui was defeated and Yang Chong gave up Huaiyuan City, of course, all the materials were gone, and the empty city without residents had no value to garrison, just to make a note on the credit book for the other party. ”

Everyone looked at each other, what Shi Shu Hu said was really possible, when the time comes, Shibi Khan and Yang Guang will both lose, who can take care of these tricks they play. He immediately proposed: "Send Kang Sheli to supervise the army and put an end to this kind of petty action." However, it is better to inquire about the information and get accurate information. ”

Shi Shu Huxi smiled and said: "Pei Ju and I have been having news back and forth, by the way, to do some win-win business, Pei Ju has asked someone to send a letter, saying that he wants to buy and sell a batch of jewelry with me in Mayi, presumably Da Sui and us also want to know the other party's bottom line." If there is a chance, I may be able to make Du Bi and Yang Chong suffer a big loss. ”

When Yang Chong arrived at Huaiyuan City, he got all the depressing news, Chang'an refused to provide grain and grass on the grounds of its own food shortage, and the defenders in Yulin and other places received Pei Ju's order not to cooperate with the Hexi army's actions. Yang Chong was very surprised to learn that Pei Ju had arrived in Mayi in advance, and it was not until Shi Shu Hu Xi drove a large number of cattle and sheep to Mayi, Yang Chong figured out what was going on, and in another period of history, Pei Ju killed Shi Shu Hu Xi in this way, destroying the relationship between the Great Sui and the Turks.

(End of chapter)