Li Xiang did not have the time to explain this to them. Seeing that there was only one day left before the date set by the general, Li Xiang asked his men to prepare actively. Although they were all exchanged from the system, they were no different from ordinary people after coming out. If they were not well prepared for the battle, they would still lose their lives on the battlefield.
However, Li Xiang also randomly selected one and found that most of them had a combat strength of more than five people. No wonder they were selected from the most elite troops in history. A small number of them had a combat strength of more than ten people. How could such an army not win on the battlefield?
The local officials all retreated. They still wanted to make use of their remaining energy. Anyway, they had been exhausted by Li Xiang. If they could take the opportunity to get on Li Xiang's boat, then the people and money they had spent would not be lost. Unfortunately, even if they were ready to sacrifice themselves, Li Xiang did not think of pulling these people on board. These people's mentality was already rotten to the core. If he pulled them on board, he would regret it sooner or later.
The famous general Huo Qubing, general of the Black Flag Camp.
The famous general Ma Chao, general of the Pudao Camp.
The famous general Li Guang, general of the archery camp.
Li Xiang paid money to buy all three famous generals. Huo Qubing was paid 3,000 strings of cash, and the other two were paid 2,000 strings of cash. This made Li Xiang feel distressed, but good soldiers need brave generals to lead them, so the money had to be spent.
I only have about 3,000 men under my command, while Tuyuhun has assembled an army of tens of thousands. If a war really breaks out, we may suffer losses, so we must be fully prepared. What's more, all Tuyuhun people are soldiers. If people nearby come to support us, I don't know how many troops we will have.
Historically, the Tang Dynasty had a conflict with Tuyuhun. At that time, it was found that the army was 20,000 strong, but in the end, it turned out to be 80,000 strong. Among them, 60,000 were just Tuyuhun civilians in the surrounding area, but they became soldiers once they mounted their horses, which really brought us considerable losses.
"Your Majesty, the entire army is ready and can set out at any time."
When the first ray of morning sunlight shone on the military camp, Huo Qubing had already assembled the entire army. At this time, Huo Qubing was just nineteen years old, which was the most glorious moment in his life. There was no plague on the grassland in this era, so Huo Qubing could serve Li Xiang longer.
Li Xiang nodded, and Huo Qubing immediately dodged away. The eight soldiers around him began to convey orders using flag language. This was what Li Xiang had just taught them, and he also found a group of special soldiers throughout the army to learn. In today's era, flag language should be the fastest way of communication.
The local officials breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Li Xiang's army leaving the area. This little evildoer was no joke. He had stayed here for nine days and plundered all the wealthy people in the city. Now they were no different from poor people, but at least they had saved their lives, which was a blessing in disguise.
Liangzhou City.
Because of the coming of war, the whole city was like being whipped, and everyone in the city became nervous. Many rich people began to flee to the interior with gold and silver jewelry, but many merchants also brought all kinds of goods from the interior, because they adhered to a principle, that is, the more dangerous the place, the higher the profit. As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought in danger. If you only stay in Chang'an City, how can you make a fortune?
"Meet the two great generals."
After a long journey of several hours, Li Xiang also arrived at Liangzhou City with his men.
Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin looked at each other, and neither of them asked Li Xiang about recruiting soldiers, because they had already received news that all the young people in the nearby prefectures had run away. Even if Li Xiang had the ability to go to heaven and earth, it would be impossible for him to recruit all of his more than 3,000 people, so they simply did not ask to avoid embarrassing Li Xiang.
"You've arrived just in time. We just received a battle report this morning. Our army has been in Liangzhou City for four days, but the Tuyuhun army has retreated thirty miles."
Qin Qiong pointed to a map on the table and said, "To put it nicely, it's called a map, but to put it bluntly, it's just like a heavenly book. The things marked on it are a mess. It took Li Xiang a cup of tea to understand it. If he is asked to fight against this thing, he might as well be killed."
"What do you think it means?"
Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong had been discussing for a long time, but they had not yet reached a conclusion. Li Xiang came over at this time, and the two wanted to hear Li Xiang's opinion. Although Li Xiang was not very old, he had his own unique insights on many issues and helped the emperor solve many problems. It was time for us to use his brain.
"Generals, in my opinion, they want to negotiate with us first, using courtesy before force."
Li Xiang saw through the Tuyuhun's trick at a glance. If they were going to fight, why would they retreat? They would definitely take advantage of the Tang army's arrival and launch an attack on Liangzhou City.
After hearing what Li Xiang said, both of them had admiration in their eyes. They were all veterans on the battlefield, so it was easy for them to see this. But this was Li Xiang's first time on the battlefield, and he could actually see the other party's intentions. It seemed that this kid was not idle at ordinary times, and had a deep understanding of some things on the battlefield.
"So what do you think their demands are?"
Qin Qiong continued to ask.
"It's nothing more than asking us to release Zat'erk and apologize to them for this incident. We also need to reduce the garrison in Liangzhou City. Finally, we need to compensate them for a certain amount of losses. Maybe we even need to marry one of their princesses."
Li Xiang said nonchalantly that there was nothing new in the demands raised by these nomadic peoples. They had been making the same few demands for many years, and they often threatened war to force the farming peoples of the Central Plains to surrender.
"Can they really have such a big appetite? You have to know that Tuyuhun is just a tiny country. They actually want to achieve such a goal with only 20,000 people. Aren't they a bit too bold?"
Cheng Yaojin said with some disbelief. Although he had long known that these nomadic peoples were quite courageous, if it was as Li Xiang said, then these people were not just courageous. They were simply full of courage. What did they take our Tang Dynasty for granted?
"If you don't believe me, General, would you dare to make a bet with me?"
Cheng Yaojin fought bravely, but when it came to understanding nomadic peoples, he might not be as good as Li Xiang, the time traveler. After all, he watched so many historical dramas!