War can certainly make our victory more secure, but you also have to see where it is, especially in the Mobei steppe. If we rely entirely on fighting, then this war will not be over in two or three years.
The grassland was covered with thick snow. When Li Xiang got on his horse, Long San handed him a black cloth strip. He had to wrap it around his eyes to avoid hurting them. Otherwise, he would soon lose sight of the surroundings. People in this world didn't know how to explain it, but they knew how to prevent it.
Li Xiang knew that this was the so-called snow blindness, which often occurred in the snow. The other people around him also had their eyes blinded. Traveling in the snow was different from traveling on ordinary roads, so he had to be fully prepared.
"Your Highness, you should return. Although the snow has stopped and the sun is out, the roads are very muddy. If something happens, I won't be able to explain it to the court. They're just a bunch of surrendered people, right? I can just go and fetch them back. Seven hundred miles won't make a big difference anyway."
Su Dingfang said with some concern. Although Li Xiang also came back from the battlefield, Su Dingfang still felt that Li Xiang should not suffer this hardship. The generals under them were specifically responsible for this task. Why should the commander-in-chief follow along?
"I've never seen a grassland after snow, so I'll just go and see the scenery. What's more, if anything comes up, you won't have to ask me for instructions. I can reply directly. Nowadays, many things need to be done quickly. The distance is 700 miles, so even if I send a letter at the fastest speed, it might still delay the matter."
What Li Xiang said was true. Everyone knew the situation on the grassland. It took too much time to go back and forth, because the grassland was so big. So if you want to decide something important, you have to be on the scene.
Li Xiang brought only 3,000 cavalrymen this time, but Su Dingfang was not worried about Li Xiang's safety. We have already seen the combat effectiveness of Xueyantuo. With the 3,000 cavalrymen behind us, we can definitely kill them and ensure that they have no power to fight back.
"Our Highness is a kindhearted man. They are obviously a bunch of poor people, yet you still have to travel so far to pick them up. Just pass the order and prepare hot meals for them. It doesn't need to be too good, just enough to fill them up. We don't know what kind of people these guys are."
Looking at Li Xiang's leaving back, Niu Jinda also gave the order. In Niu Jinda's opinion, these people were really honored too much. Our Crown Prince is a very important person. He is the third most important person in the entire Tang Dynasty. You people are all untouchables from vassal states. How can you be compared with our Crown Prince?
With Niu Jinda's words, the cooks below knew how to prepare. As long as they could eat enough, there was no need to rack their brains to make them eat well. If these were our own soldiers, His Highness's order was still there. Not only did they have to eat enough, they also had to eat well. If the soldiers expressed too much dissatisfaction, you cooks should prepare to go home.
After walking for about an hour, Li Xiang felt his arms and legs were cold. The temperature here had reached minus thirty degrees Celsius, and everything was white. It was indeed very painful to travel in such a place, but Li Xiang had already followed the soldiers out, and he couldn't say he wanted to go back at this time, otherwise he would be ridiculed by the soldiers.
If we were in the Central Plains, if we worked overtime and traveled further, we might be able to cover the 700-mile distance in one day. But now we were on the grassland, and it was snowing heavily, so we only walked less than 400 miles that day. According to the news from the post station, the people on the opposite side had also walked 100 miles.
This means that they will be able to meet each other after walking another 200 miles tomorrow. Although Li Xiang has not yet controlled the entire Turkic steppe, after defeating the Xueyantuo people, Li Xiang sent people to set up guards in the border areas. In addition, he also built one post station after another on the Turkic steppe. These are like the blood vessels of the Turkic steppe, continuously collecting information from the surrounding areas.
The post station didn't have a lot of supplies, but these thousands of people brought food with them, and they also had various simple tents, so there was no rush that night. Everyone slept in warm tents. The post station only had to take care of Li Xiang's meals, and everyone else had to cook for themselves.
"Thank you for your hard work, more than a dozen people."
There are a total of fifteen soldiers in the post station. Li Xiang is having dinner with them tonight. Before the meal, Li Xiang raised his wine glass first. The foundation of the Tang Dynasty depends on these people, especially the vassal states. They are far away from the inland and guard the border for the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
These people were so excited that they were in tears. They had been stationed here for a month and had thought they might have been forgotten. Unexpectedly, His Highness was on a tour to the north and passed by their post station.
After finishing the glass of wine, everyone opened up and started talking. A few people seemed a little reserved at first, but they didn't expect His Highness to be so easy-going, so they became less nervous.
There are a total of seventy-one such post stations on the grassland. Their mission is to collect information from the surrounding area and represent the Tang Dynasty court here. In the past, we only owned this place in name, but after Li Xiang conquered it, he was ready to implement substantive management. Although we still have to rely on the heads of each tribe, we also have to let the herdsmen on the grassland know that there is an office in the lobby not far from you. The post station not only delivers letters, but also helps you file complaints.
The salaries of the soldiers working here are not low. According to the policy formulated by Li Xiang, they are paid 1,500 coins per month for guarding the border in such a place far away from their hometown, which is twice as much as the money earned by the inland post stations. In addition, their family members can also receive 20 kilograms of wheat every month, which is delivered directly to their homes by the local government office.
The reason why many people come here to work is because their families are short of money. Working here allows them to save money, not have to spend money on food and drink, and the salary paid by the court can be given in full to their families.
But working here is not so easy. There are not many letters exchanged every day, but there are nine tribes around. They have to regularly write news about these nine tribes into memorials and then send them directly to several government offices in Chang'an. It can be said that they have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty...
