"Prime Minister, I just received a personal letter from the general. The letter states that he has lost his troops and only has about 100,000 troops. If we don't increase our troops, they will have no choice but to retreat.
However, all the towns of the three armies on the eastern front were burned by the enemy, and there was no danger to defend the east of the Ganges. They could only retreat to the west bank of the Ganges to garrison."
Vesudev I looked at the Prime Minister and directly said the meaning of Hariwan's letter.
"The situation has become like this?"
When he met Vesudeva I, Darawu was also depressed for a while. He thought that the matter would be serious, but he did not expect that it would be so serious.
"Well, what do you think we should do next?
War or peace?"
Vesudeva I nodded to Darau. The current situation is urgent. If you continue to struggle, you will have to be beaten step by step. It is time to decide whether to fight or make peace.
"What is your Majesty going to do?"
Darau frowned, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.
"My original intention was to negotiate peace with China, because if there was to be a war, a nationwide mobilization order would have to be launched to recruit young men and women into the army on a large scale. I was afraid that the military and nobles would take the opportunity to get bigger, and they would not be able to lose their tail."
Vesudeva I looked at Darau and expressed his true thoughts.
"Your Majesty, if it was the initial negotiation, I would agree with it, but now we have no idea what the general's situation is.
If we really want to negotiate for peace, with the appetite of the Chinese people, I'm afraid they will offer conditions that are unacceptable to us, and we will still have to fight when the time comes.
Rather than go to this point, it is better to bite the bullet and continue to fight them."
Darau has also made up his mind at this time. If they have the upper hand to negotiate a peace with China, they can say anything, but now there are only about 100,000 people left in the 300,000-strong army. If they are negotiating peace with others, China will definitely open their mouths.
Rather than go to this point, it is better to fight first and then talk. Only the winner has the right to speak.
If they want to negotiate a peace, they must at least fight a stalemate with the other party, otherwise the Chinese army will definitely march straight in, and it will be impossible to end it without destroying Kushan.
"Then you agree with the beating?"
After hearing Darau's words, Vesudeva I also understood what he meant. The reason why Darau didn't stand in line before was because he couldn't see the situation clearly.
Now the general has suffered heavy losses. If we increase the number of troops, the best result is to lose the east of the Ganges. If we are driven straight into it, the huge Kushan Empire may be destroyed.
"We must fight. A nationwide mobilization order must be issued. In addition, the vassal regions in the west must also recruit troops to support the battle on the eastern front. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will not be able to withstand the offensive of the Chinese Empire."
Darau glanced at Vesudeva I, now he had to grit his teeth and fight the opponent.
"But I'm afraid that the military and noble clans will take the opportunity to expand their strength. Even if they can block China, there will be problems."
Although he had decided to fight, Vesudeva I was still very worried. After all, this would shake his rule, and he had to guard against it.
"Your Majesty, the line of generals has suffered heavy losses. Many generals died on the battlefield, which is a huge loss for the military and nobles.
Even if it really increases its strength now, it doesn't matter. At worst, it will go back to what it was before.
What we have to do now is to block China's attack and not give them the chance to shake the empire."
Darau bowed to Vesudeva I. He would worry about so many things and would only waste time. In the end, it would be an advantage for China.
"Okay, then let's summon all the civil and military officials to discuss sending troops."
Vesudeva I made a decision. Even if the minister in charge objected, it would not help. The entire Kushan Empire entered a state of war readiness.
The major provinces recruited strong soldiers one after another, trained soldiers, and even hired nearly 20,000 rangers from the Parthian Empire at a huge cost, and also spent huge sums of money to form 10,000 heavy infantry in Bactria.
The war was suspended here, and Ma Chao also led Xuanwei's army to the battlefield. After resting for two days and waiting for the grain and grass to arrive, Jia Xu led his army out of Zhongxing City to attack the Kushan Empire again.
From here, Xianbei also achieved positive results. Zhao Yun and Xun You finally came together in one west and one east. The two sides' rounds also proved that the entire Xianbei grassland was already in the hands of China.
"General Zilong, thank you for your hard work."
Xun You glanced at the dusty Zhao Yun and others, and spoke directly to them.
"Sir, you are the one who has worked hard. Zhao Yun is a martial artist, with rough skin and thick flesh that can withstand wind and frost. It is already commonplace for him."
Zhao Yun shook his head. As a warrior himself, he could not withstand such a long battle on the grassland, let alone Xun You.
"Ahem, cough, cough, it's just a bit of wind and frost. Now everything has passed. We have captured the grassland. It's time to report the good news to His Majesty."
Xun You coughed a few times. It was indeed a difficult time in the grassland, but all that has passed. Xianbei was finally captured by himself, and his merits were considered complete.
"promise."
Zhao Yun clasped his fists and arranged for someone to report the news of occupying the entire grassland to Yuan Shu via telegram.
"Your Majesty, a telegram from General Zhao Yun."
Guo Jia is now in charge of the Ministry of War, so the telegram from Zhao Yun was naturally sent to him first. However, the other party directly reported to Yuan Shu without even reading the telegram.
"Zilong telegram?
Bring it to me quickly."
When he heard the telegram from Zhao Yun, Yuan Shu was also excited. Now that the telegram is coming, it must be that there is a new situation on the grassland.
"Your Majesty, what is the telegram from General Zilong?"
Seeing Yuan Shu's expression turn happy, although Guo Jia didn't understand what he was writing, it was definitely a good thing.
"Zilong has already turned around with Gongda. Their turn means the grassland war is over, and the entire Xianbei grassland belongs to us, China."
Yuan Shu looked at Guo Jia and directly told the contents of the telegram.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, our first step in capturing the grassland has been completed. Next, we will have the Jiankun and Dingling tribes in the north. As long as we capture these two tribes, we will not have any enemies in the entire north."
Although the Xianbei grassland has been captured by them now, there are still threats from the north. The Dingling and Jiankun people are also nomadic tribes.
These two tribes were conquered by Moton a long time ago, and then surrendered to Tanshihuai. Later, Tanshihuai died and Xianbei declined. These two tribes also broke away from Xianbei's rule and began to frequently invade the Xianbei grassland.
This is actually the reason why Chu Dugen was not afraid that Huaxia would annihilate him. Now that Xianbei has been destroyed, this task has been transferred to the new ruler of the Xianbei grassland, the Huaxia Empire.
"Well, Jian Kun and Ding Ling will take them down sooner or later, but now I think the focus should be on falling in love with the Kushan Empire."
Yuan Shu shook his head. Jiankun and Ding Ling couldn't even defeat Xianbei. They were just minor troubles. The key issue now was Guishang. Since the war had begun, the Guishan Empire must be knocked to death in one fell swoop. Even if it couldn't be destroyed, Yuan Shu shook his head.
Even if you defeat them, you must also cripple them and not allow the other party to get up.
"Well, what your Majesty said is absolutely true. Now that the Battle of Xianbei is over, we can mobilize our troops and horses to invade the Western Regions from Liangzhou.
You must know that the countries in the Western Regions are swinging between us and the Kushan Empire. We just took the opportunity to clean up those countries.
After we capture the Western Region, we can seize the opportunity to invade the Kushan Empire and coordinate with Lord Jia Xu, and we will definitely be able to destroy the Kushan Empire."
Hearing Yuan Shu's words, Guo Jia also nodded. You must know that the Battle of Xianbei involved a lot of energy in China. All the cavalry units in the country were gathered there. Now that they are liberated, they can directly enter the Western Region.
"It is too difficult to occupy the Western Region. After all, it is far away from China. Now we are developing the grassland and cannot initiate immigration to the Western Region. Therefore, we should mainly appease the countries there. As long as they can assist us in attacking Kushan, give them
Some benefits don’t matter.”
Yuan Shu also wants to attack the countries in the Western Region, but he really can't do so now. The Western Region is far away from China. Even if he can capture it, it is impossible to hold it. The supply line is too long and will collapse.
Entire country.
"Your Majesty, as you said, taking it now is not worth the gain. As long as we can overwhelm the other countries and let them join us in attacking Kushan, that will be fine. If we can really take Kushan, there will be no strong enemies in the surrounding areas.
Countries are no longer a problem."
Guo Jia nodded. He also knew the current situation. If he wanted to conquer the Western Regions with an expedition, he had to send a large number of immigrants just like the Xianbei grassland to ensure the rule of the Chinese Empire. Otherwise, suppression by force alone would not be a long-term strategy at all.
.
"Well, let's discuss this matter in the court tomorrow. One person will be short-term and everyone will be long-term. Let's discuss what to do next."
This is just the preliminary idea of the two of them. If it is to be truly implemented, it still needs to be discussed in the court. After all, if troops are to be sent to fight, Xun Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs, must pass.
"Your Majesty, please retire."
At the court meeting the next day, General Guo Jia once again brought up the news that the Xianbei grassland had been pacified. At the same time, he proposed to Yuan Shu the idea of attacking the Western Regions from Liangzhou and attacking the Kushan Empire through the Western Regions.
"Okay, if you have any ideas, you can express your opinions."
Yuan Shu nodded to Guo Jia, then looked at the important civil and military ministers below, asking for their opinions.
"Your Majesty, we have just pacified the Xianbei grassland. Beyond Xianbei there are Jiankun and Dingling. The war has not yet ended. Isn't it a bit too early to send troops out of Liangzhou to invade the Western Regions? Besides, there are many wastes waiting to be done in the country.
Money is needed everywhere. We just experienced the Jingzhou Incident and the national treasury is already empty."
Sure enough, as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, when he heard that Yuan Shu was going to open a second battlefield against Guishuang, he jumped out first. You must know that starting a war requires money, supplies, ordnance, pensions, and other messy things everywhere.
Money, he really can’t squeeze out the money from his breasts.
"It doesn't matter if the treasury is empty. Now we have officially started a war with the Kushans. This war cannot be fought. Even if we tighten our belts, we will defeat the Kushan Empire. You will solve the money problem. Do you understand?"
Yuan Shu naturally knew that everything in the country was in ruins, but he had no time to rest and recuperate. After all, Jia Xu's side had already started a war. If he started work, there would be no turning back. No matter how difficult it was, he would persevere.
The battle between countries is either the east wind overpowering the west wind, or the west wind overpowering the east wind. It cannot end until one of the parties completely admits defeat, or both parties are exhausted.
If you have to slow down your attack now because you have no money, then when the Kushan army comes to attack you, you will be the one in trouble.
"Xun Yu obeys the order."
Now Xun Yu understood that Yuan Shu must have known about Xianbei's situation in advance and had decided in advance to march to the Western Regions and Guishang. The reason why he proposed it at the court was just to improve the plan, not to decide whether to
