"How many days are left until we reach the Xueyantuo Royal Court?"
The tribes in the southern region have basically surrendered, and the tribes encountered along the way are all deserted, so Li Xiang and his team have increased their speed a lot, and they have been marching for two consecutive days.
"Your Highness, if we ride a horse quickly from here, it will take at most two days. Since it is winter now, we can cross the river. If it were spring or summer, we would need to take a detour."
Bayannur is very clear about the situation here. This guy now knows what he should do. He was a little confused when he set out, but now he just wants to work hard for Li Xiang and let Li Xiang see his ability.
Li Xiang only knows the general situation here. We are rushing here from the east and south, so these people cannot escape from these two directions. We have not found the main force of Xueyantuo yet. According to what Bayan Zhuoer said, at least tens of thousands of cavalry can be assembled. If these tens of thousands of cavalry make any moves, we will definitely notice it in advance. Our current goal is to find them.
Sounding balloons are always in the sky, and the soldiers on them are rotated every one or two hours. If there is a large group of people around, there is no reason why we can't find them.
They proposed several locations along the way where Xueyantuo Khan might set up an ambush, but we unexpectedly managed to get through them all safely. Where did these main forces go?
Su Dingfang and his men had already made preparations for the battle, hoping to defeat Xueyantuo's reinforcements in one battle. However, no matter how well prepared they were, they couldn't find anyone there. On such a large grassland, if they wanted to play hide-and-seek with you, it would take a while. However, playing hide-and-seek in winter, their non-combat casualties would surely be very severe.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the Xueyantuo royal court, but they did not find anyone here except some old, weak and sick people.
"Your Highness, I have inquired clearly. Xueyantuo Khan led the last 30,000 cavalrymen westward."
Bayannur said with some concern that among the 30,000 cavalrymen there were some of his relatives. He had already asked for favors from Li Xiang. As long as they performed well on the battlefield, Li Xiang would pardon those people. Now those people ran to the west and followed a fool like Xueyantuo Khan. What good results could there be?
Li Xiang thought about it countless times in his mind and thought about the progress of the war here several times, but various methods were not used. Unexpectedly, Xueyantuo Khan took Ren to expedition to the Western Regions.
"Where is Huo Qubing now?"
Li Xiang thought of another group of people. He led his men to directly attack the Xueyantuo royal court, while Huo Qubing attacked the right commander.
"Your Highness, we haven't heard from General Huo in two days. However, according to our previous plan, if the Right Grand Commandant hadn't left, General Huo should have already fought him."
Su Dingfang looked at his own record book. Generals of this era did not have such things. This was also because of Li Xiang's words and deeds. A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. Therefore, the generals in the army also had their own record books, and wrote down all the important things in them to avoid being unable to find them when needed in the future. If there is anything that needs to be checked, these record books can also allow you to find it quickly.
"Does anyone here know the strength of the troops under the Xueyantuo Right Grand Commandant?"
We have already investigated clearly before. The right commander should have 20,000 cavalrymen under his command, but because of the snowstorm, at least 30% of them were reduced. But this is all our guess. Now we have arrived at the Xueyantuo's lair. There should be some people here who are familiar with the situation. Calling them should reveal the real situation.
"Your Highness, I have just interrogated several people. According to the results of several people, the Right Grand Commandant has a total of 20,000 combat-ready soldiers under his command. However, these people are scattered among more than a dozen tribes. If no one warns him, it will be difficult for him to gather them together."
Bayannur had seen Huo Qubing's ability to command troops. If Huo Qubing took his men there, it would be a pipe dream to gather these people together, and Huo Qubing would never give them this opportunity.
Li Xiang smiled when he heard the news. It seemed that the grassland favored Huo Qubing. This kid could find opportunities to make achievements in any era. He could do it in the Han Dynasty and he could do it now in the Tang Dynasty.
"Set up camp. We'll rest here for a while. Also, go find all the tribal leaders from the surrounding areas. From this moment on, this place belongs to the Tang Dynasty. Regardless of whether the Xueyantuo Khan returns in the future, the Beiting Protectorate will be established here."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty stood up instantly. They felt very proud. Almost all the protectorates established by the Tang Dynasty were due to Li Xiang's contribution. If there was no Li Xiang, how could the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty be so large?
"Your Highness, some of the tribal leaders around here are stubborn and unyielding. They are all old men who served the Khan. Some of them have even sent their sons away, leaving only these old bones here. It will probably not be easy to convince them."
Bayannur knew who the people here were. They were all old people around the Khan. It was almost impossible for them to betray the Khan, so he had to give Li Xiang a heads-up first to prevent him from getting angry when he saw these stubborn people.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you. Those who are willing to submit to the Tang Dynasty will remain tribal leaders. Those who are unwilling to submit to the Tang Dynasty can be sent to the west. We don't need such people."
Li Xiang looked at Bayannur with a smile and said, "Your hands are stained with blood. You will not be able to win people's hearts here. Even if this area is granted to your subordinates in the future, many of them will not obey you. You can only live by relying on the Tang Dynasty."
Su Dingfang and a few others immediately made way. Li Xiang had done similar things in other places. It depends on whether you are truly loyal to the Tang Dynasty. If you use your knife to cut a path for the Tang Dynasty, then your descendants will all be people of the Tang Dynasty.
