"...Twenty-four hundred prisoners of the Tianxiong Army are all here. When Yan Han returns from Jiangzhou, I will set up a camp alone and have him dig a mountain road to reach the riverside beach..."
After meeting at Berlin Mao and spending the night, Xiao Linshi and Xu Huai went north from Berlin Mao early the next morning. They reined up their horses and stopped on a long plateau running east-west. Xiao Linshi pointed to the valley below, saying:
Xu Huai looked at the situation inside.
The valley under the Changyuan is also extremely long and narrow, extending from the many hills to the east, with two to three hundred tents set up at random intervals. At this time, more than 2,000 prisoners were in small teams, half way up the valley.
The road was dug into the valley and extended to the west.
Khitan warriors were stationed on the surrounding hills.
Xu Huai and the others reined in their horses and stopped at a high place, where they could have a panoramic view of both sides.
At the west end of the long and narrow valley, separated by a low ridge, is the east bank of the Yellow River. On the other side, about two miles downstream, there is a stream that winds out from the mountains on the west bank and merges into the Yellow River. It is two or three miles wide.
The mouth of the creek is relatively open.
This is probably the most suitable location for opening a remote new ferry in this section of the Yellow River.
Xiao Linshi gathered more than 2,000 Tianxiong Army prisoners here to serve as road construction labor. At least he could claim internally that he was preparing to evacuate to the West Bank in an emergency; they had to prepare for the emergency situation, but the Gu family did not open the passage to Piantou Village.
Let them migrate south.
"Before Princess Yanhan returned, Xiao Shuai ordered that the prisoners of Tianxiong Army be restored to normal meals. After Princess Yanhan came back, in addition to slaughtering some emaciated animals to supplement the meat supply, she also lifted the isolation between military officials and soldiers, so that the capital
The team works here as a unit and now the soldiers and armor are returned, so they can basically go into battle." Chen Zixiao introduced the situation in the prisoner camp.
The remnants of the Khitan tribe, which number more than 100,000, are huddled in such a small area as Xishan. The ordinary members of the tribe are living an extremely difficult life. They would certainly not have treated the prisoners who invaded Yunshuo well. They would have given them some chaff to eat and forced them to work hard.
Three years of torture to death is considered quite polite.
However, after Chen Zixiao and Xiao Yanhan returned to Xishan, Xiao Linshi ordered to treat these prisoners well, in fact, to recuperate their bodies; to lift the isolation between generals, military officials and ordinary prisoners, and almost restore the normal establishment.
And these are all veteran soldiers and veterans. After their bodies recover and their weapons and armors are distributed, they can of course go directly to the battlefield.
"Although King Jing and Zheng Huaizhong may be among the heroes of the world, and the things you plan to support can be achieved, the situation is not without improvement, but there are only so many people left in Khitan, and the clan resents the two conquests of the Southern Dynasty for adding insult to injury.
Yuduo, I have no way to get my clansmen to join the war at this time, so I can only return the generals of the Tianxiong Army to you..." Xiao Linshi said a little lonely.
Xu Huai could understand Xiao Linshi's loneliness at this time.
Xiao Lin and Shi Tian used their talents, but they were born at the wrong time.
In the past twenty or thirty years, the Khitans were at the end of their rope, and the Red Husbands were rising like the rising sun. No matter how capable Xiao Linshi was, he could not stop the Khitan generals from falling under heavy constraints.
At this time, he wanted to protect the last remnant of the Khitan clan. Xiaoyi was not enough for everything. All his plans, skills and lifelong learning could only be wasted in this barren mountain. He also had to force all the unwillingness in his heart to go away.
And if you hold on to your ambitions, how can you not be depressed?
Xu Huai pondered for a while and said:
"The rulers and ministers in the court are ignorant and do not realize the dangers of death and coldness. They have been fighting at night and night, and the two attacks have done a lot of harm to the Khitans. However, many secrets cannot be revealed at this time. It is inevitable that Xiao Shuai's subordinates will not trust the Dai Viet court.
.However, I believe most of them know very well in their hearts that if the Yue is destroyed and the party surrenders, the Khitan will have no way out to the west. Is it possible that the Khitan will not send troops, but let the generals lead these troops to attack Taiyuan eastward?"
At this time, there were still too few elite soldiers and horses capable of fighting in Vietnam.
Xu Huai still wanted to try his best to bridge the divisions caused by the two northern expeditions to Yan, so that the remaining Khitan troops could truly fight to defend Guan and Shaanxi, instead of just setting aside an area from Guan and Shaanxi for them to live in the future.
And if Xiao Linshi sent Khitan generals to lead the captured soldiers of the Tianxiong Army to participate in the raid on Taiyuan, it would be a greater boost to the Gu family than if he brought more than 2,000 captured soldiers of the Tianxiong Army back to Fuzhou City.
Why did the Gu family hesitate? To put it bluntly, it was because they saw the powerful offensive of the Chihu people. The country was in danger of being destroyed. The Gu family had been based on this land for hundreds of years. If most of the people were unwilling to move south (Southern China)
Qian may not see expectations), can Gu Jiqian abandon it?
However, Hedong fell, the government and the public were in chaos, the Western Army was afraid of the enemy and fearful of fighting, and the Red Husbands entered the Hehuai River as if they were entering an uninhabited land. With only a few men and horses, how many struggles could they withstand the prominence of Guan and Shaanxi?
In fact, like Xiao Linshi, they had to act cautiously in order to survive the clan.
If the Khitan sends military generals to lead the army to join the war this time, the Gu family will see the possibility of truly uniting with the remnants of the Khitan clan. They will see that the Gu family and the remnant Khitan clan can abandon Fuzhou and retreat to the west bank of the Yellow River to rely on each other, or jointly use Fuzhou as a gateway.
Defending with the Shaanxi and Fanping screen will of course eliminate a lot of worries.
"Brother, Saruhe, Shi Hai and the others have too many worries, I am willing to be a general!" Xiao Yanhan said.
"Commander Xiao, I am willing to help the princess command the army!" Chen Zixiao said.
Xu Huai is right in what he said. After the Great Viet Clan was destroyed and Dangxiang surrendered, they led the remnants of the clan to go west. How far would they have to go to escape from the sphere of influence of the Red Husbands?
And how could there be no disputes with so many grassland tribes along the way west?
The Dai Viet court is so unbearable, but at this time there is a plan to support it, and there is still hope to form a confrontation with the Chihu people in Jianghuai. If they want to fight for a place and establish themselves, how can they stay out of the matter at this time?
"..." Xiao Linshi made up his mind and said, "Yan Han, Han Lun and the others are willing to fight for the Southern Dynasties. I believe Shi Hai and Sa Luhe will not stop them..."
…………
…………
After meeting Xiao Linshi in Bolinmao, Xu Huai immediately took Xiao Yanhan and Chen Zixiao back to Fuzhou to discuss the matter of them leading the captured soldiers of Tianxiong Army to join the battle.
"The princess is really willing to lead the captured soldiers of Tianxiong Army to attack Taiyuan together?" Gu Jiqian could not imagine that Xu Huai's trip would achieve such great results. He sat behind the table and leaned forward, staring at the soldiers in military uniforms.
, the heroic Xiao Yanhan asked.
"Eldest brother sent me over and said that if Gu Shijun has any doubts, we can also hand over all the prisoners of Tianxiong Army to the commander of Fuzhou..." Xiao Yanhan said.
"No, no, that's not what I meant..." Gu Jiqian waved his hand quickly and said.
Fuzhou only has such a large population, and the cultivated land is barren, so it cannot raise many soldiers and horses. Besides, if Fuzhou really wants to expand its troops, it can be recruited from the bitterly cold Guanshan area, and there will be no shortage of these two thousand people.
Fuzhou faces the enemies of Lanzhou and Shuozhou, and cannot figure out the intentions of the remnant Khitan clan. Only in the past year has the Gu family become more aware of the crisis.
Rather than accepting the more than 2,000 prisoners of Tianxiong's army, Gu was more anxious to see the clear positions of the remaining Khitan troops between us and the enemy. However, the ambiguity of the enemy and us being unclear at this time, and lying on the side of the bed, really made it difficult to sleep and eat well.
"These soldiers of the Tianxiong Army have been captured for two or three years, and the princess hastily led them. How can they be able to fight?" Gu Jian asked with some doubts.
Whether Dai Viet treats Khitan prisoners of war, or the Khitans treat their prisoners of war, it would be considered kind if they don’t directly behead them. They are usually used as hard labor, doing the most tiring physical work, and eating chaff to satisfy their hunger. In two or three years, the body will basically become weak.
Drag down.
It is hard to imagine what combat effectiveness the more than 2,000 captured soldiers of the Tianxiong Army could have if they were hastily organized and led by Khitan military generals.
"When South Vietnam attacked the Yan Dynasty twice, Commander Xiao sent people to send letters to the court, telling the truth. In the battle of Great Tong, although Commander Xiao had no choice but to defeat Tianxiong's army, he always treated the captured soldiers preferentially and treated them as hard labor very leniently.
We are not short of food," Chen Zixiao said, "Of course, it would be great if Gu Shijun could select some old officials of Tianxiong Army from Fuzhou to help us command these troops!"
"Okay, Xiao Shuai has a request. If Fuzhou can do it, how can he not comply?" Gu Jiqian agreed.
When Xu Huai retreated south from Fuzhou, Xie Zhongye, Liu Yan, Chen Yuan and Gu Jiqian's eldest son Gu Cong led his troops southward, and finally joined the Imperial Guards in the capital.
Generals Zhu Run and Lei Teng wanted to stay in Fuzhou at that time, but the small area of Fuzhou could not support so many troops, so they were eventually transferred to Yanlin Road as generals.
However, at that time, there were still many generals of Tianxiong Army and old officials of Lanzhou who chose to stay in Fuzhou.
Selecting some people from them will not only help the Khitan generals to better command the captured soldiers of the Tianxiong Army, but Fuzhou will also be able to better and more accurately grasp the movements of this army.
If there is any change in the Khitan in the future, with these people here, it will be difficult for the Khitan to force the Tianxiong army to capture soldiers and bring harm to Fuzhou.
Of course, this also shows the sincerity of the Khitan people from another aspect.
How could Gu Jiqian be unwilling?
"Since Gu Shijun has no objection, I will immediately write a secret letter and send it to Pu Ban to temporarily include this group of troops in the Xuanwu Army. Please report to the court that the wronged Princess Yanhan will be temporarily listed as the third general of the Xuanwu Army.
Du Yuhou..." Xu Huai said.
"It should be so!" Out of his own considerations, Gu Jiqian still hoped to settle the name early and completely tie the remnants of the Khitan tribe to their chariots. Someone brought pen and ink, and he said that he would use the Linfu road soldiers to
A secret handwritten letter was written in the name of Governor Madu and sent to Zheng Huaizhong...
