Yuchi Baolin was really tired along the way, so he slept in the tent for a whole day and night. When he woke up the next day, many soldiers were still asleep. Li Xiang did not let his subordinates disturb them. Whoever woke up went to eat, and those who were not awake continued to sleep. After all, they created a miracle in this era, so how could they not be allowed to sleep?
"hey-hey……"
When in Chang'an City, Yuchi Baolin kept saying that Li Xiang had a bad physique. This time, Li Xiang finally made a fool of himself. When Li Xiang walked in from outside, Yuchi Baolin was still enjoying the roasted lamb.
"Pour me a bowl, I'll have a couple of drinks with you. It's been a while since we last drank."
According to the rules of the military camp, they are not allowed to drink alcohol, but Yuchi Baolin and his men have traveled a long distance, and if they don’t drink some white wine, they probably won’t be able to rest, so they were specially approved to drink some.
The two men clinked their glasses, then raised them up and drank them all in one gulp. This is how gentlemen should drink. Li Xiang also pulled over a piece of roasted lamb.
For people like Li Xiang who live in the grasslands and the Western Regions, roasted lamb is nothing new. It is only with the condiments that Li Xiang brought that the locals can eat more. If it were any other time, probably few people would be willing to eat this. It is just like the big pancakes in the mainland, which people have been eating since birth. Who would be willing to eat more?
Of course, this only applies to some wealthy families. If they are poor families, they have never eaten any good mutton. These things are for the rich to eat. They can only eat some leftovers or something, and even eat old sheepskins during famine years.
"Is everything alright in Goguryeo? Tell me about your experiences along the way. I've been in the Western Regions for a long time, and sometimes I really should go around and see the real situation there. There's always a discrepancy between just reading the memorials and the actual situation."
Li Xiang came to check on Yuchi Baolin's health and also wanted to know about the situation in Goguryeo. Counting the days, he had been away from Goguryeo for more than a year.
"Now the whole of Goguryeo is peaceful. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that it was a bloodbath. At that time, many people were dissatisfied, whether they were ordinary people or people in the government, and they would start uprisings at the slightest provocation. Now they have been defeated."
Yuchi Baolin was telling the truth. No nation wants to be a slave for life, so Goguryeo was always making trouble. Many people had already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but after being instigated by some conspirators, they immediately started to rebel.
"It didn't cause us much damage, did it? I only saw in the memorial that they were causing trouble, but I don't know the specific situation. We didn't ask for help from Chang'an City, so I guess the local people should be able to handle it."
Li Xiang told his men that if it is something you can handle yourself, try not to ask for help from other places, because when others give you help, they will also put aside their normal things, and then the losses will be a chain reaction, so it is best to handle some things by yourself.
"Of course there have been losses. In the past year or so, we've lost over 2,000 soldiers, and over 3,000 local soldiers. These were either converted by us or half-Tang blood. They formed the local army, and they suffered the most losses. However, the frequency of riots has decreased significantly in the past few months. When I arrived, there wasn't even one a month."
Yuchi Baolin wiped his mouth and made a brief report. In addition to our Tang army, the local area also recruited more than 40,000 Goguryeo troops. Some of these people have half Tang blood, and some are local friendly people. So in order to reduce our own losses, we armed these people. Of course, we will not give them our weapons and equipment, and they still use swords, guns, sticks and clubs.
"You guys are quite smart, but there's one thing you need to warn your men: those who are not of our race must have different hearts. We can use these people, but we must be vigilant. If they are infiltrated by those who resist, it will bring us great danger."
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang relied heavily on a large number of Hu generals. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, these Hu generals had already controlled a considerable amount of troops, posing a great threat to the safety of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, the court felt that these people were good at fighting and could be used by them, so they did not take them seriously.
As long as you are even a little bit lazy, it will definitely bring you serious consequences. The Anshi Rebellion during the Tianbao period was the result of the reuse of foreign generals.
Zhao Xin, a minor Xiongnu king during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, eventually rebelled against the Han Dynasty and brought us great losses.
Li Xiang's proposal now, especially when a major leader proposes this, will have a significant impact on the military generals of the entire Tang Dynasty. Although many people think that Li Xiang is worrying too much, but since Li Xiang has proposed this one after another, they will also keep this matter in mind.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. These people don't have any grand ambitions. They are timid in front of us. They dare not say anything against your will. They are also the first to surrender. If they dare to resist, I will twist their necks off."
If Li Xiang had not listened to Yuchi Baolin's words, he would not have been anxious, but after hearing this, Li Xiang knew what the front-line generals were thinking. If he had a place to stay, Li Xiang would never allow such a tendency to arise, but if he had no place to stay, it would really be out of his control.
"Someone come..."
Li Xiang knew that this matter could not be delayed and he had to remind his subordinates in the most stern tone. If he was a little less strict, his subordinates might open the loophole faster. When a big mistake happened one day, we would need to send troops to fight against it, and the losses at that time would be huge.
Yuchi Baolin put down the mutton in his hand and looked at Li Xiang in surprise. "When did His Royal Highness become so timid? Aren't they just a bunch of Goguryeo people? Do they think they can really do anything?" We have already defeated them and made them submit. These guys won't have any other ideas. His Royal Highness is too nervous.