Throughout the wind and snow, this Sui army never left a single person behind.:3w.し
They almost sacrificed the lives of the Goguryeo people to achieve this feat of almost crossing the land of Liaodong in winter.
Led by the captured Goguryeo people who could speak some Chinese, the Goguryeo settlements were left behind by them one by one.
Their hearts were frozen as hard as steel by the weather in Liaodong. In order not to reveal their whereabouts, they were noticed by the settlements in front of them. When they left, all the settlements became lifeless.
Therefore, the path they took was destined to not be a straight line, but twists and turns. When they came to the shore of Liao River, Liaodong City was actually far to the south of them.
This time there was no need to build any more pontoon bridges. They crossed the Liao River on the thick ice.
In fact, at this time, they had already entered the grasslands belonging to the Khitan tribes.
The team kept going westward.
However, Huaiyuan Town and Yan County are both in the southeast.
Because Li Bi and Li Po have already agreed not to go to Huaiyuan Town.
Because someone should have returned alive. There is no doubt about this. In addition to the Wei Wensheng tribe, the generals riding war horses can get support from the Wei Wensheng tribe as long as they are ruthless.
Like those generals who lead troops, no matter whether they want it or not, when an emergency comes, the guards around them will take them away from danger first.
What will they say once they go back? It's really uncertain. It's better not to look for trouble. Don't get caught and beheaded for no reason as soon as you enter Huaiyuan Town.
Furthermore, and the most important point is that once you enter Huaiyuan Town, you are likely to be left behind.
Li Bi and Li Po knew this very well. They used themselves to save others. No matter whether Huaiyuan was in short supply or not, the general leading the army would not let them go easily.
Unless there are other military orders arriving in Huaiyuan, they will be left in Huaiyuan and become part of the garrison.
In addition, even if they finally leave, pass through Huaiyuan, Yanjun, to Yuguan, and then enter Hebei. The circle is too big, and it is obviously a path chosen by a large army.
Since they were small in number, they could have walked half the distance because their destination was Mayi.
Of course, this is because both guys have a guilty conscience.
What Li Bi was thinking about was that if he offended the emperor and entered Huaiyuan, he could not help himself and what might happen.
What Li Po was thinking about was that the second Northern Expedition was about to begin. Going to Huaiyuan was completely making himself uncomfortable.
The two of them had the same ambition this time and decided to head east into the grasslands of the Khitan and Xi tribes and go to Feihukou.
This road is not very close, and it is still winter.
If it were anyone else, entering Huaiyuan Town would be the only choice, where you can get food and grass, find a place to rest. There are also Sui lands and so on along the way.
However, these two men decided to lead their army westward without even fighting, and would rather trek through the wind and snow to deal with the Khitan and Xi tribesmen than return directly to the Sui Dynasty.
In fact, this is the most direct proof of the consequences of Sui Emperor Yang Guang's first northern expedition to Goguryeo.
They did not discuss it with their subordinates. At this time, in order to be able to go all the way back to Mayi without causing any complications, they would not let anyone leave at this time.
In fact, no one wants to leave the team.
This team crawled out from the dead and traveled thousands of miles all the way out of Liaodong. After sharing weal and woe, they had gradually formed a very solid unit. At this time, even if the people from Hebei and Shandong were allowed to return south, they were unwilling to do so.
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Because they did not see the shadow of Huaiyuan Town, and there was only endless ice and snow in front of them, they did not dare to leave the group and move forward alone.
They would subconsciously leave their fate in the hands of the two people who led them and others out of Liaodong.
The mountains are faint, but the open grassland gradually appears in everyone's sight. Of course, the green grass that is everywhere in the summer is no longer visible. Everything is buried under the thick layer of snow.
Without much effort, Li Po led his people to find a small Khitan tribe.
After living on the grassland for five years, he has a very clear grasp of the habits of the grassland people, which is why he dared to suggest coming to the grassland from the west.
This Sui army received warm hospitality from the Khitan people in the tribe.
These Khitan tribes in the south are all affiliated tribes of the Sui Dynasty and are protected by the Sui Dynasty. If they are the same tribe as the Khitan people in the northeast, this may not necessarily be the case.
However, a team of more than a thousand people clearly exceeded the tribe's reception capacity.
Moreover, the food made by the Khitan people is extremely unpalatable, and all the beef and mutton are wasted. Medium-rare or medium-rare beef and mutton will make people feel sick when they eat it, not to mention the wine.
The only benefit may be that it allows the Sui army to have a warm tent to stay for one night.
The tents were packed with people. If the Sui army had not been too tired, no one would have been willing to enter such a place to sleep.
So, they rested here for a night, leaving five war horses behind. Under the leadership of a Khitan herdsman who could speak Chinese, they headed for the main part of the tribe.
They had been walking for two days, and when Li Po felt that he never wanted to see snow in his life, a large tribe finally appeared within their sight.
According to the guide, the owner of this tribe is a descendant of Rilian, one of the eight Khitan tribes. He has a very distinguished status. This year, he sent troops to fight with the Sui Emperor. Now all those who went have returned.
Li Po didn't know that the Eight Divisions of Khitan were not eight divisions. He listened to it as if it were a book from heaven. Soon, he learned the Khitan dialect from the Khitan guide and never tired of it.
Li Bi was much stronger than Li Po. She told Li Po contemptuously that there was no difference between these Khitans and the Mohe people they met.
The so-called Eight Tribes of Khitan were also defeated by the Northern Qi Dynasty a hundred years ago. Are they the descendants of the Eight Tribes of Khitan? Well, the leaders of each Khitan tribe said so. Just like the princes of the Han people, they just wanted to show how noble their bloodline was.
Moreover, a few years ago, it is said that the Khitans formed a coalition and took advantage of the death of the late emperor to attack Yingzhou, and were severely beaten by the border officers and soldiers.
Most of these tribes affiliated with the Sui Dynasty came from this.
If you imitate what they say, it will not only be useless, but once others know it, you will also be despised, which will not do you any good.
As soon as Li Po heard this, everything else fell on deaf ears. Only the words that he had only met the Sui people a few years ago made him wary.
Although for grassland tribes, serving the strong has always been their way of survival, which is nothing unusual.
But the common saying of the prairie people also says that since blood has been shed, hatred will definitely be generated. Guys on the prairie, it is quick to make friends, but it is even quicker to fall out.
Damn it, you won’t just leave the tiger’s den and enter the wolf’s den again, right?
Immediately, Li Po called for the brigade commander and ordered them to be more alert, not to eat or drink at the same time, to stay together, and to open one eye when sleeping. This was especially true in the Sui army.
It created a bit of tension.
The nobles of this tribe, which has a population of several thousand (plus affiliated tribes), obviously want to make friends. After receiving the news, they quickly left the settlement and rode on horseback to welcome the coming Sui Dynasty.
Military officers.
The arrival of the Sui army also injected endless vitality into this tribe of seven to eight hundred people.
There were more outsiders than people in the tribe, and they were all adult men, which actually made the owners of the tribe feel a little scared.
Looking at these Sui soldiers who were even dirtier and rougher than them, but exuding a dangerous aura from every part of their bodies, the bravest Khitan warriors also chose to offer wine and food first instead of going up to cause quarrels or fights.
The tribal leader was named Tuligu. He, his sons and relatives entertained all the Sui generals.
Because of the language barrier, I couldn't communicate well and could only keep drinking.
Although there are more people here than the previous tribes, the wine has not improved much. However, they were rewarded by the Sui Emperor with fine wines from Youzhou and Yanjun.
The leader painfully took out two jars, which was a sign of respect, and proudly boasted in front of the guests how precious the wine was and how generous the Sui Emperor was.
The wine was good, but from Li Bi on down, all the Sui army commanders felt that it was not good to drink.
The Khitan people were rewarded by the emperor and returned to their hometown, but they were still struggling between life and death. The emperor probably wouldn't even think about them.
Because they crossed the Liao River and saw no one waiting there to welcome them back, maybe they are all on the death list now?
But there are more than 300,000 people. Can they really find a place among the more than 300,000 people?
At this moment, the wine you drank became tasteless.
However, Li Po's worries were in vain. There was no danger. The Khitan people had obviously forgotten the blood shed a few years ago. They quickly adapted to the life under the protection of the Sui Dynasty and felt very satisfied.
They could now go south and trade with the Sui people. This was an advantage that their fellow tribesmen in the north could not enjoy, and it also made their tribe gradually rich.
The Khitan nobles asked about the experience of this Sui army, where they came from and where they were going.
Although the translation was a bit unclear, Li Bi still answered solemnly. Well, although there were some exaggerations, it was still true...
As a result, the Khitan nobles began to angrily condemn the Koreans. By the way, they offered their most sincere condolences and respect to the Sui people who had escaped death and fought all the way back.
Therefore, this Sui army also had the name of Khitan, Wuerhai, a warrior who emerged from blood and corpses.
As a result, the legend of the Urhai people has been circulating among the Khitan people for a long time.
Until the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were still people who claimed to be descendants of the Wuerhai people and continued to fight for the Tang Dynasty.
However, perhaps the blood of the Sui people still flows in them, because according to the custom of the Khitan people, they have wives and guests.