Thousands of yurts and tens of thousands of shepherds. Just setting up camp took two and a half days.
On the afternoon of the third day, Moche's Khan Tent finally arrived. The huge Khan Tent was only completed in the evening. When the Khan's flag was raised, the sky had already turned dark.
The people inside and outside were still busy. A large bed filled with velvet was set up in the Khan's tent, and a stove was built next to it for heating. The Khan's many wives were also directing the slaves to arrange everything in their own tents.
The Khan Tent was divided into two parts. The front part was used as a meeting hall. This part had already been completed, whether it was the external setup or the internal construction.
Two-thirds of the Khan Tent was buried underground, and a large pit was dug. In order to prevent the soft sand walls from collapsing, a layer of sheep dung was spread around and on the ground. Other than fixing the walls, it could also greatly raise the temperature inside the tent.
After all this was done, the Khan Tent was set up. Tapestries were hung around it for both decoration and warmth. The ground was covered with soft wool blankets. The Khan Tent was only exposed to the height of a person, and the top of the tent was also covered with sheep dung. Therefore, when one entered the tent, it was like a different world from the cold outside. It was as warm as spring.
Moche was wearing a soft robe and sat cross-legged in front of the table.
Mu En, Zhu Tu, Chebekri, Su Mu, and several other important leaders had rushed over from their tribes and sat on his left and right.
"Crash!"
There was the sound of shattering utensils coming from the back of the tent, and then there was a whistling sound of whipping and painful pleas. Kedun whipped, cursed, and roared. A clumsy slave had broken her things, and from the way she cursed, it should have been her chamber pot that was broken.
Moche was not affected at all. He had long been used to focusing on his own matters in all kinds of noisy and chaotic environments.
Chebekri brought his scouts. Ever since he received Khan Moche's order, he sent people to infiltrate the Hebei Province as quickly as possible.
"After I arrived at Hebei Province, I carefully investigated for a long time. All the cities that I passed through were very peaceful. All the city gates were open and closed as usual. They did not close the city gates or forbid anyone from entering or leaving. However, to guard against the Khitan spies, they strengthened the interrogation and inspection. Fortunately, I speak fluent Chinese and I have a 'pass' that I bought from the border army at a high price, so I did not arouse their suspicion."
Momochi was not in the mood to listen to his hardships and risks. Interrupting him, he asked, "Is there any news of the Khitans?"
The scout said, "Everybody in Hebei knows about Li Jinzhong's death. Even a child playing on the street, if you ask him, he will know that Li Jinzhong died under Great General Li Duozuo's hand, he was killed by an arrow in the Battle of Horse City. The Khitans were indeed defeated in Ma City. It was said that more than thirty thousand of them died … "
Mochi raised an eyebrow and said, "Rumor?"
The scout smiled bitterly, "Yes! It is impossible for me to pass through the layers of defense to reach Horse City. I did hear it from someone else, but I passed through three cities in a row, and the people in the cities all said the same thing. In addition, I also saw a large number of Khitan captives in two of the cities. There are at least six to seven thousand people in total. "
Mu En stroked his beard and muttered, "The Khitans are brave and they are all cavalry. It is not easy to capture them alive. Furthermore, they have defeated the Zhou army twice. The hatred between the two sides is as deep as the sea. Once they win, the Zhou army will not take captives. Killing captives is a very normal thing. Under such circumstances, if there are six to seven thousand captives, then it is believable that more than half of them have died! "
Momochi nodded and lowered his gaze to ponder for a moment. He then raised his eyes and asked, "You said … if we need to pass through layers of defense to go to Horse City, what is going on?"
The scout said, "I pretended to be a blacksmith and wanted to hire people to do business at Thousand Gold Smelting Factory. In the end, the carriages and horses told me that it is impossible to pass through now. The Zhou army has already set up layers of defense and surrounded the Khitans. I was worried and specially tried. In the end, I only walked for about two hundred li to the east and it was difficult to advance any further. Even with the 'pass through' in hand, it was impossible.
I had an idea and bought some wine and food to treat the officer who set up the checkpoint. I asked him when he can do business at Thousand Gold Smelting Factory. He told me that Wu Youyi's northern army has already advanced to Mount Lulong and the front line of Stone City. Lou Shide has advanced to the Yutian area. Sha Chi Zhongyi has stationed his troops at the front line of Yongnu and Huangzhuangwa.
He told me not to worry. The Khitans can be annihilated at any time. However, the weather is cold, so it is easy to defend. If we press forward, it is easy for the Khitans to take the opportunity to break through. Therefore, we can only advance steadily and steadily. The Khitans will definitely be destroyed before spring at the latest! "
Momochi clapped his hands three times and summoned a guard. He said in a deep voice, "Go to the back and tell the Khitans to quickly bring me the map of Hebei Province that I have treasured!"
Listening to the cursing and whipping sounds behind him, Momochi frowned again, "Just execute that clumsy slave. Don't disturb this Khan's business!"
The guard hurriedly acknowledged and retreated.
Wu Zhou's side basically did not have a map of the Turks. On average, their tribes would move once every half a month. There was no place for them to settle down and there were no geographical landforms that could be used as landmarks. Even a map that was painstakingly drawn was not as useful as a half-baked guide.
It was different for the Turks. To them, the mountains, roads and cities of the Han were fixed and unchanged for thousands of years. Rivers rarely changed their routes. Only the maps of the Han territories were useful to them. Although their maps were as simple and crude as Li Duozuo's, they clearly marked the mountains, rivers and the names of the cities.
The sheepskin map was quickly brought over. The cursing and whipping sounds also stopped.
Spreading the map on the table, Momochi looked at it carefully and said, "Li Duozuo should still be around Horse City and Thousand Gold Smelting Factory! Wu Youyi's army is at Stone City, Lou Shide is at Yutian, Sha Chi Zhongyi's army is at Yongnu, Huangzhuangwa … "
When he spread out the map, Mu En and the rest squeezed to his side to look at it. At this moment, Xiao Mumu stretched out his thick finger and circled the map, saying in a deep voice, "Three sides are heavily guarded, one side is the sea, and there are only lakes and mountains in the surroundings. There is not a single big city. The Khitans are trapped here."
Seljuq said, "From the looks of it, the Khitan envoy lied. They want us to send our troops out of Hebei and use us to help them out!"
Momochi's expression was uncertain. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "There is also Wu Yizong. He has a hundred thousand troops under him. Where is he?"
The scout replied, "Wu Yizong has stationed his troops at Huai 'an, Zhuolu and Flying Fox."
Momochi lowered his head and immediately found these places on the map. Because the last time he left Hebei, he split his troops to attack from Huai 'an and Flying Fox, so he was especially familiar with these places.
Momochi sneered, "The Tangs are worried about us. They have stationed a hundred thousand troops here to prevent us from taking advantage of the situation!"
A hundred thousand Great Zhou troops. If they were fighting in the wilderness, Momochi would not be concerned. But if they were defending a city, it would be a headache. Although Wu Yizong was the pig-riding general and was famous for his escapism, if Wu Yizong received a death order from the Great Zhou Emperor that he was not allowed to retreat, then Momochi was not confident that he could take down the city with just a hundred thousand troops.
Zhu Tu said, "On the other hand, it also means that they have enough troops to encircle the Khitans. So, Wu Yizong has placed these hundred thousand troops here as a reserve force. They can resist our invasion to the west and send reinforcements to the east!"
Momochi nodded slowly.
Seljuq asked impatiently, "Khan, then what should we do?"
Momochi narrowed his eyes and said leisurely, "Tomorrow, summon the Khitan and Zhou envoys to my tent. All of you come too. We will discuss the deployment of troops!"
"Ah!"
A shrill scream came from outside the tent. The poor wretch who broke the Turkic Empress' urinal breathed his last in the cold wind …
…
The next morning, when Yang Fan saw the banner of the Khan being raised, he immediately came to seek an audience.
Momochi was having breakfast. When he heard that the Wu and Zhou envoys had come to seek an audience, he was surprised and hurriedly summoned Yang Fan. Yang Fan sternly reprimanded Momochi for delaying the implementation of his promise and complained about their poor food and accommodation. Finally, he insisted that Momochi immediately send men to escort them back to Hebei. They had had enough!
Momochi said with a smile, "Don't be anxious. It takes time to deploy troops. Every time you people from the Central Plains mobilize your troops, it will take half a month at the fastest and three months to half a year at the slowest. Even though my warriors on the grasslands are less burdensome and do not require large amounts of supplies, we cannot leave just like that! I have been preparing for the past few days and can deploy my troops soon. Haha, I will summon the leaders of the various tribes here to discuss matters. They have all arrived on my orders. Why don't you listen in! "
At this point, Momochi suddenly changed the topic. "That's right! The Khitans have also sent an envoy, and their words are quite different from yours. In a little while, there is no harm in having a confrontation. Otherwise, it will not be enough to convince my tribesmen to mobilize! "
As Momochi spoke, he stared unblinkingly at Yang Fan, observing the changes in his expression.
Yang Fan's expression did not change as he bluntly said, "The Khan's probing is very meaningless! This time, when your tribe was moving around and looking for winter nests, a group of people came to provoke us like madmen. At that time, we knew that the Khitans had also sent people over. I believe that your subordinates would have reported this matter to you.
What's true is true, and what's false is false. What's there to confront? The Khitans are vassals of our imperial court. They are traitors. The Khan has already formed an alliance with our imperial court, so he should kill the Khitan emissary to make his stand clear. He shouldn't let him confront us. They are not qualified!
Also, regardless of whether the Khan decides to send troops or not, we plan to go back! Without your country, we can still destroy them. Although it will cost more money and food to trap them, we can still afford it! If the leaders of your country are not willing to send troops, then the Khan should not force them. Probing again and again is very boring! "
Momochi smiled wholeheartedly and said, "No, no, no. Of course this Khan believes you! Otherwise, why would I agree to send troops? This Khan has already seen through the lies of the Khitans. In a while, when the leaders of the various tribes are gathered, I will explain this matter on your behalf. Hahaha, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Come, come, come, why don't you eat with this Khan! "
Momochi ordered someone to bring a breakfast similar to his for Yang Fan. With an unhappy expression, Yang Fan walked over reluctantly and sat down at the seat of honor!
…
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