Cheng Chumo and Changsun Chong were also convinced. They had heard that Lord Zeng was very powerful, but today they finally saw how powerful he was. In the eyes of these second-generation military generals, civil officials were useless. If they wanted to expand the territory, they had to rely on us generals. You civil officials would make random calculations in the court, and in the end, you would reduce the overall national strength of the Tang Dynasty for no reason.
But after seeing Lord Zeng's performance today, the two of them looked at each other and decided that we should change our views in the future. While we are needed to expand our territory, the plans of these civil officials are also very important. At least we didn't expect that those words just now would stifle General Huyan and make him suffer a loss.
The meal ended on an unpleasant note. General Huyan agreed to withdraw his troops and left without finishing his lamb leg. Before leaving, he looked at the artillerymen not far away. He wanted to draw his sword and kill all these people, but in the end, reason overwhelmed his hatred. If he killed these people, he might get more crossbows in return, and the pressure on the border area might be even greater.
"According to your estimate, how many of us can be killed by their forty ballistae?"
On the way back, General Huyan asked his staff.
"General, if we were to fight on the battlefield, we would have to suffer at least two to three thousand casualties before we could charge through. If we were to use crossbows, the casualties would probably be double or triple. If they were to launch a surprise attack on us, especially at night, our formation would likely be in disarray. We might not have many casualties from the explosions, but many would be trampled to death."
Just now when Lord Zeng asked the Tubo army to retreat, this staff member nodded to General Huyan. He also analyzed the advanced weapons on the scene and believed that it would be better for us to stay away from them. There was no point in guarding near the border, not to mention that the Tang army would not come to the border.
"Our people on the Tuyuhun grasslands reported earlier that the Tuyuhun army suffered losses from these crossbows, but their numbers weren't very large. Do you think the Tang Dynasty only has this many?"
General Huyan had a lucky mentality in his mind. If the Tang Dynasty only had this much, then it would not have much impact on them. At most, we can throw out 10,000 troops and let them bomb as hard as they can. After you bomb all these people, you will have no trump card left.
"It's hard to say. I once had the good fortune to visit the Tang Dynasty. The people there are extremely intelligent, and they have an incredible abundance of resources, much better than we have back home. If they already know how to make this kind of thing, why only build a few dozen?"
The general was completely frustrated by the staff's words. Come to think of it, they had so many supplies in their country, why didn't they produce more?
"General, what are you looking at?"
When everyone was about to move forward, General Huyan stopped his horse and turned back to look at the border river. No one knew what the general was thinking.
After a long time, the general turned back and urged his horse forward. The general had just thought of something. He originally thought that this was the beginning of Tubo's rule over the Central Plains, but now the situation has changed. The general even had a premonition in his heart that perhaps this was the farthest line we Tubo had ever gone. It would be impossible to cross this line in the future.
Of course, the general could only say this in his heart and must never speak it out loud. If he said it out loud, everyone would probably be even more terrified. When the artillery was fired in the morning, the ground was blown upside down. Many soldiers in the barracks saw it clearly, and perhaps they didn't want to fight against such an army!
After watching General Huyan leave, Midu returned to his tent. He felt like his brain was about to explode.
Ever since he separated from Li Xiang that day, he believed that everything he did was right, and he also had some ideas of his own, which was to let Tuyuhun gain a foothold on the grassland after getting rid of the rule of the Tang Dynasty. But unfortunately, no matter how smart he was, Li Xiang would eventually get ahead of him and would not give you the opportunity to escape from the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty.
Take Lord Zeng for example. We have just settled the expenses for the garrison, and now we are going to set up post stations on the grassland. In such a tiny place, you actually want to set up 52 post stations, and you want us Tuyuhun to pay half of the money. After paying the money, all the personnel and operations will be yours. Although we can use them, we have no autonomy. This kind of bullying made Midu Khan tremble all over.
But there is no regret medicine now. Midu Khan has a bad reputation on the grassland. He is called a treacherous minister who plotted to usurp the throne. Of course, people are not wrong. You did that yourself. If you had not killed the previous Khan, how could you have reached your current position?
Everything now is completely different from what he had thought at the beginning. He felt that he had entered a dead end. In the next period of time, he could only continue to sit in Li Xiang's chariot. As for the direction of the chariot and the fate of Tuyuhun in the middle, Midu Khan did not have any decision-making power. He was just an executor.
Two days later.
Except for the 150 guards around Lord Zeng, all the others had to return to Chang'an. These people were also loaned out by Li Xiang, and it was impossible for them to stay here. The guards in the border areas still had to be dispatched by the court, and Li Xiang would not let his people stay here.
Lord Zeng looked at Chang Sun Chong with some envy as he took the thousand men away. If he could have kept these thousand men with him, the imperial army would hardly have to come, especially the most advanced crossbow.
This kind of weapon is many times more advanced than that of the present era, so Li Xiang would not let them flow out at will. Except for the people in the system, Li Xiang would not leave it to any army. Although some were placed on the walls of the imperial city, the control of gunpowder was extremely strict. Even if Li Shimin wanted to find someone to imitate it, he would not be able to make it.
Li Xiang had already seen through all the technical barriers. On the surface, he seemed very generous, but in fact, everything was already in place. No one should think of taking advantage of it. All the advantages were still ours, such as the upcoming salt war...
