The gift to Yin Shishi was not free. After some conversations, Yin Shishi, who was a good character, still provided Chen Yingliang with a lot of useful information, so that Chen Yingliang had some understanding of the enemy Turkic team this time, and also Know the difficulty and importance of this war.
According to the information collected by Yin Shishi through various channels, the specific number of Turkic troops has not been determined, but at least it is more than 250,000. Among them, the main force surrounded Yanmen City was led by Turkic Khan Shibi himself. Shibi's younger brother Ashina formed an association to lead the commander, besieged Nao County, and was in charge of confronting the Sui army King Qin. There were more than 50,000 troops stationed in the Yuanping area in the southwest of Nao County, strangling the throat of King Qin's Sui army's arrival at Yanmen. It also blocked the main roads leading to Loufan and Kaiyang, forcing Yin Shishi to take the road of Xinkou Qinwang, and could not go straight to Yanmen from Loufanguan. Going south, so if the Sui army wants to rescue Emperor Sui Yang, they must first pull out the nail stuck in the throat of Ashina's association rate.
Regarding the composition of Turkic troops, Yin Shishi frankly admits that the number of cavalry is terribly large, and almost all soldiers have horses. Even the siege infantry is served by cavalry dismounted. They are very mobile, and they are good at riding and shooting. Using the tactics of a group charge, first shoot down the enemy with a stormy bow and arrow, and then launch a melee fight, and occasionally use heavy cavalry to directly charge and fight, but such cases rarely occur, and the pitiful Turkic barbarians The production capacity can't afford too many heavy cavalry, so Yin Shishi suggested that Chen Yingliang must prepare more long shields to cope with the Turkic arrow rain tactics.
After listening to Yin Shishi's introduction, Chen Yingliang first thanked Yin Shishi for his kind reminder, and then asked a rather mentally retarded question, saying: "Uncle, my nephew has a problem. Although Turkic territory is vast, its products are not abundant. The climate and environment are not suitable for growing food, so how did the Shibi Chieftain support such a large army? He could bring more than 250,000 cavalry to attack Shengjia?"
"You don't even know this?" Yin Shishi was stunned for a moment, and then explained: "The Turkic population is small, but they are a combination of soldiers and people. All adult men are soldiers. They are soldiers in wartime and form an army to fight. In his spare time, he works for the people and raises animals for a living, and all the men in the country are soldiers, so it is very easy for the Shibi Chieftain to mobilize 250,000 troops, as long as he wants, he can mobilize more troops."
"So that's how it is." Chen Yingliang nodded, seeing that Yin Shishi refused to continue, Chen Yingliang hesitated again, and then asked: "Uncle, then my nephew, I would like to ask again, have you ever found out that the Shibi thief How many attachments are there for the 250,000 chiefs? How many control strings and how many extensions?"
Yin Shishi glanced at Chen Yingliang again in surprise, and then smiled and said, "Little guy, you can pretend. You even know the words Fuli, Control String, and Tuojie. How dare you say that you don't know anything about the Turkic Army?"
"I only know a little superficial." Chen Yingliang said with a wry smile: "At first, my nephew wanted to ask you this question directly, but knowing this point is difficult to find out, I was worried that I would not be able to answer and embarrass my uncle, so I asked my uncle in a roundabout way. Uncle thinks it's too small. My nephew was stupid and refused to go on, so my younger nephew had no choice but to ask directly."
"In front of me, you don't need to beat around the bush. Just say what you have to say. I don't like people who talk about it." Yin Shishi reprimanded the junior, and then said: "You are right, I don't know, uncle came upstairs I haven’t had much time since I took office, and I know very little about the Turkic situation. Just like you, I only know that the Turkic army is composed of three types of soldiers. Controlling strings is equivalent to our auxiliary soldiers. Tuojie refers to Hu mercenaries, mostly composed of Zhaowu and nine surnames Hu, and their combat effectiveness is quite strong. How many, I really don't know yet."
The enemy's situation is so unknown, Chen Yingliang, who was trying to show his strength in this battle, inevitably frowned, but fortunately, Shishi Yin said: "You can go to Li Jing to inquire about these situations, he has been in Malayan since the first year of Daye Yi is the magistrate, and he knows the most about the Turkic situation, as long as he is willing to help you, you will definitely gain something."
Chen Yingliang nodded, and only then did he know that Li Jing had served as the magistrate in Mayi for eleven years, and after thinking for a while, Chen Yingliang asked: "Uncle, I have something else to ask for your help, can you help me with it?" The more detailed the climate records in Nao County and Yanmen, the better."
"Climate records? No way, we can't get them. Except for Yanmen and the two cities of Nao County, the forty-one cities in Yanmen County have been captured by the Turks. The official local records may have been burned to ashes long ago." Yin Yin Shi Shi replied casually, and then said: "Maybe Li Jing can help. He has lived here for eleven years, and he is considered a local snake. Maybe he can help you in this regard."
Chen Yingliang, who had an accomplice under his command named the evil Yuan Tiangang, was disappointed, but he had no choice but to thank Yin Shishi quickly, and then he left and went back to his camp to check the rest of the army. Chen Yingliang sent her out of the tent—of course, she didn't mention the matter of giving her beautiful daughter to Chen Yingliang as a concubine. And Chen Yingliang is not interested in studying Yin Shishi's beautiful daughter anymore. On the way back to the camp, his mind turned over and over again, thinking about Li Jing's problems...
"Would you take the risk to win over Li Yuan? By getting him in your hands, you can not only get a right-hand man who can play the leading role, but also play an important role in this battle of Qin King. It can kill two birds with one stone, but he is Lao Li's direct subordinate, Last night, I helped Lao Li cut off my information channels, and even simply lived in Lao Li's camp. With Lao Li's virtue and temper, if I go to Li Jing for help, I have to quickly insert Li Jing'an by my side To be a second-five son? It’s okay to be spied on by Lao Li to get some military information, but if Lao Li is a little bit darker and uses Li Jing to deceive me, then my loss will be too great.”
With this complicated thought in mind, Chen Yingliang quickly returned to his army, and after a night of peaceful rest, General Qiao Peng's physical strength has recovered a lot. Although his fatigue is still serious, he is not too tired to fight. , Chen Yingliang was satisfied after checking it, and ordered to take out the ham and bacon brought with the army to supplement nutrition for the soldiers, and at the same time ordered to distribute double rations for three consecutive days. Back in the big tent of the Chinese army, he discussed the military situation with Wei Zheng, Yuan Tiangang, Ma Sanbao, Cheng Yaojin and other civil and military confidants.
After a group of confidantes arrived, Chen Yingliang was not polite, and immediately introduced the situation of his negotiations with Yin Shishi, and said that Li Yuan deliberately transferred Li Jing's team to make himself unable to understand the enemy's situation. Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Kan Leng and other generals were all furious when they heard this, and they all scolded Li Yuan for being a despicable character, and even did such a dirty thing in order to grab credit. Changsun Wuji, who was familiar with the Turkic situation, sneered again and again, but Wei Zheng was a little confused, and hurriedly asked Chen Yingliang, "Deputy envoy, what do you want the climate records in this area for?"
"Let Mr. Yuan study the climate characteristics in this area, and try to predict the future weather in this area." Chen Yingliang explained: "The most terrible thing about Turkic cavalry is their cavalry and shooting, but when fighting in the rain, their bowstrings will be Soaked in water, unable to shoot arrows, and the power of cavalry shooting is greatly reduced, so we can take the opportunity to calmly defeat the enemy, so I want to fight for a big battle in the heavy rain."
At the same time Qiao Peng Wenwu suddenly realized, Chen Yingliang sighed again: "Unfortunately, the climate records in this area have long been destroyed. There are records in Yanmen and Nao County that cannot be obtained, so the prefect Yin can only ask me to go to Mayi County Li Jing, the prime minister, said that he might be able to help us."
"Vice Envoy Chen, why don't you go directly to Li Jing for help?" Qin Qiong asked suspiciously.
"Looking for Li Jing's help? Seeking death is about the same?" Chen Yingliang smiled wryly, and said, "We rushed ahead of Li Yuan this time, King Xinkouqin, who was stationed in Taiyuan, and let him lose face. How could he let us take down more How much credit? Li Jing is his direct subordinate, knowing that we need Li Jing's help, why don't we immediately promote Li Jing and join the golden beauties, let Li Jing come forward and kill us?"
General Qiao Peng Sui, who had already argued with Li Yuanming once on the way, all nodded, thinking that with Lao Li's narrow-mindedness and style of conduct, he would not miss this opportunity to plant traitors inside the army, and at the same time, they all believed that they would help Li Yuan cut off the enemy from the army. Li Jing from the intelligence channel was already unreliable, and he must have stood on Li Yuan's side. Only Yuan Tiangang said that he would seize the time to study the climate characteristics of Yanmen area, and try to predict the weather for Chen Yingliang in the near future.
It was also a coincidence that just when Chen Yingliang and Qiao Peng agreed that Li Jing had become Li Yuan's running dog, the soldiers outside the account suddenly came to report that it was Mayi County Prime Minister Li Jing who asked to see him. Agreeing to interview, Qiao Peng Wenwu reminded Chen Yingliang to be careful, and Chen Yingliang replied: "Don't worry, if you want to lie to me, he's still young, I have my own opinion."
After a while, Li Jing, who had already met Chen Yingliang, entered the big tent, and greeted Chen Yingliang as an official. Chen Yingliang was very good at returning the salute, and asked the guards in the tent to arrange a seat for Li Jing, and then asked about Li Jing with a smile. Regarding the intention of coming, Li Jing bowed his hands according to Li Yuan's instructions, and said sincerely: "I will not hide the truth from the deputy envoy, I am here to plead guilty."
"What is Li Juncheng's crime?" Chen Yingliang asked in feigned surprise.
"Last night, when the deputy envoy's army was resting, the subordinate officer led the army to guard the front camp, but suddenly led the army to leave, causing a breach in the camp defense, which almost caused a catastrophe." Li Jing confessed his crime very readily, and then He cupped his hands and said: "Although this matter was ordered by Ambassador Li himself, and the subordinate officials were forced to follow the orders, there were no consequences, but the subordinate officials still felt guilty about this, so they came here to plead guilty. I also ask the deputy envoy to forgive and understand. The difficulties of the subordinate officials."
"It turned out to be such a trivial matter." Chen Yingliang laughed heartily, waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, not to mention that there were no consequences, even if something happened, it has nothing to do with you. You are Ambassador Li's subordinate, and his order It is a military order, if you dare to disobey it, you will be killed, of course I can understand your difficulties."
Li Jing hurriedly thanked him, and at the same time looked at Chen Yingliang carefully. Chen Yingliang knew that he was watching his words and demeanor to judge whether he really trusted him, but Chen Yingliang didn't care, and just asked with a smile: "But Li Juncheng, can I ask about something, Li Juncheng?" Why did the ambassador mobilize the army at night last night, and transferred all your troops to live in his camp?"
"Ambassador Li wants to use the troops under his command to indirectly control all King Qin's troops." Li Jing's answer was astonishingly frank, which directly revealed Li Yuan's true intentions. But these soldiers are all people who have lived in the frontier fortress for a long time. Every soldier can speak Turkic, is familiar with various customs and habits of Turkic, and also knows the combat characteristics of the Turkic army. Turkic characters are the precious interpreters and guides that all King Qin’s troops need, without them, the King Qin’s army from the south would be deaf and blind, and if Ambassador Li held them in his hands, it would be tantamount to indirectly controlling all King Qin’s troops.”
After hearing Li Jing's words, Qiao Peng and everyone present were inevitably dumbfounded. They never thought that Li Jing would confess to this extent. They looked at Li Jing with suspicion, but Li Jing continued to say as if he didn't realize it: "Chen Deputy envoy, if my guess is correct, Ambassador Li should be aiming for the position of Commander-in-Chief of King Qin's army. He is the consolation ambassador in Hedong, Shanxi, and Yanmen County is his jurisdiction. Fighting in his jurisdiction, plus Now that he controls the interpreter team, even if he is not appointed by the emperor's will, King Qin's army can only publicly recommend him as the commander-in-chief."
Looking at Chen Yingliang again, Li Jing showed a little smile, and said gently: "Vice Envoy Chen, you are far away in Pengcheng, but you led the main force to King Xinkouqin first, and disgraced Ambassador Li who was stationed in Taiyuan. , Ambassador Li must be blamed—so, if your army is under his command, you have to be careful."
Qiao Peng and the others looked at each other even more, while Chen Yingliang put on a serious face, looked at Li Jing for a long time, and then suddenly asked: "Why did you tell me this?"
"Because, I..." Li Jing hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Because I am a subject of the Sui Dynasty, an official of the Sui court, and I must put King Qin's rescue first."
Chen Yingliang was slightly shaken by Li Jing's words, because Chen Yingliang clearly remembered that Li Jing was the one who first sued Li Yuan for treason in history, and also helped Daxing kill many of Li Yuan's sons. The last loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty. So after hesitating for a while, Chen Yingliang asked, "Then what are you going to do?"
"I will try my best to help you." Li Jing said frankly: "Mayi's team consists of 425 people, I am the one who is most proficient in Turkic language, I am the one who can write Turkic characters, and I am the one who is most familiar with Turkic conditions! The subordinate has no right to send an interpreter and guide to the deputy envoy, but if the deputy envoy can trust you, the subordinate official is willing to act as an interpreter and guide for you, and fully assist you in helping the king rescue you."
"Of course I can trust you." Chen Yingliang smiled more hypocritically than usual, and asked again: "However, Li Juncheng, do you know what the consequences will be if you do this? Ambassador Li is your immediate superior. If you want your head to fall, you can't do it." It's not difficult."
"Of course I know." Li Jing nodded and said with a smile: "But I'm not afraid, Deputy Envoy Chen, you are only nineteen years old, and you have already been in the twelve counties to arrest the Deputy Envoy. This time you led the army to King Xinkou Qin first, After success, the future will naturally be even more limitless—the official has been eating wind and drinking sand in the bitter cold of Mayi for eleven years, and he is already tired of staying there. I know, is the deputy envoy willing to give the next official this chance?"
Chen Yingliang was extremely hesitant. A genius like Li Jing might not even believe a fool if he said that Chen Yingliang didn't want to win over, but Li Jing is too smart, it's hard for a smart person to understand his mind, and of course it's hard to distinguish loyalty from traitors. At the same time, Chen Yingliang is also very clear that he His foundation is too shallow, and compared with a giant in Guanlong like Li Yuan, it is not an order of magnitude at all. Even if he can offer Li Jing, a high-ranking official and rich salary, he will certainly not be able to exceed the price Li Yuan offered, so Chen Yingliang is extremely tempted, It was also hard to immediately believe Li Jing's sincerity.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Yingliang still decided to give it a try. Confident that in this era, there is no other boy who can fool himself, a super boy who has been undercover twice in the poison nest, so he gritted his teeth and left the table in front of Li Jing. Jishou saluted and said solemnly: "Li Juncheng, if you can help me succeed as King Qin, please rest assured, and please believe that this junior will definitely not let you down."
"I believe in you." Li Jing returned the salute with a solemn expression as if it came from the bottom of his heart.
A secret covenant was concluded with Li Jing, and Chen Yingliang was not polite, and immediately asked Li Jing to help him obtain the weather records in the area of Yanmen Pass. To the surprise of Chen Yingliang, Qiao Peng and others, just after hearing Chen Yingliang's request, Li Jing immediately asked : "Deputy envoy, do you want to find the laws of weather and fight in rainy days?"
"How do you know?" Chen Yingliang blurted out and asked.
"The Turks are most afraid of fighting in the rain. The bowstring becomes soft in the rain, and they cannot use their riding and shooting skills. The official has lived in Mayi for a long time. Of course I know this." Li Jing replied calmly, and then smiled and said: "Deputy envoy, you have found the right person , if you ask someone else for this thing, they will definitely answer you that the 41st city of Yanmen has already fallen to 39th city, and only Yanmen and the second city of Nao County are still surrounded by Turks, even if you have it, you can’t get it. But You found the subordinate, but you found the right person."
"What does Li Juncheng mean by this?" Chen Yingliang asked doubtfully.
"The deputy envoy came from far away, so he doesn't know much about the local situation, and he probably hasn't had time to explore the specific terrain." Li Jing explained with a smile: "So the deputy envoy probably doesn't know that although Xiurong County to the south of Xinkou belongs to Taiyuan County, However, like Yanmen, Nao County and other places, they are surrounded by the same two mountain ranges, and the climate and rain are basically similar, with little difference... "
"Okay, I'll send someone to show off right away." Chen Yingliang said happily.
"No need." Li Jing stopped, and said with a smile: "Xiorong Dai has brought troops to King Qin of Xinkou before, and he has a small friendship with the lower official. In order to facilitate the reference of King Qin's army, the lower official has already asked for his The order allows, send someone to transcribe the records in the county, and bring back the rainwater records of last year and this year in Xiurong area, those records are currently in the hands of Xiaguan, and Xiaguan will send them to you in the evening."
Chen Yingliang was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly thanked Li Jing repeatedly, and asked Li Jing to send the weather records as soon as possible. Li Jing readily agreed, but reminded: "Deputy envoy, Yanmen Pass is surrounded by two mountains. The climate is changeable and the weather is difficult to predict. , and Xiurong's climate is somewhat different, so even if the official sends you Xiurong's rainwater records, it may be difficult to help you."
"It's okay, just do your best." Chen Yingliang said calmly, "Fortunately, it's August, and there should be some autumn rains at Yanmen Pass. I just need to catch one of them."
Li Jing nodded, and saw that Chen Yingliang had no orders, so he took his leave and left. At the same time, he also declined the gift Chen Yingliang asked his soldiers to give him, saying that he would receive the reward after he made contributions to Chen Yingliang, and he would not accept it, and Chen Yingliang did not force it. He just personally led Qiao Peng and the others to send Li Jing out of the camp. After Li Jing left, Changsun Wuji immediately rushed to Chen Yingliang, and asked in a low voice, "Brother, how is it? This Li Jing surrendered himself, is it true or not?"
"I can't be sure." Chen Yingliang shook his head, and said in a low voice with a serious face: "In short, we must use him, and we must be wary of him."
…
In this way, Li Jing went back to the Taiyuan Army Camp to talk to Li Yuan smoothly. He reported to Li Yuan the process of negotiating with Chen Yingliang, and directly pointed out that Chen Yingliang asked for the meteorological records of the Yanmen Pass area in order to find the most relevant information. The rainy weather fighters that are beneficial to the Sui army, Li Yuan quickly looked up at the sky after hearing it, and saw that there was no cloud in the sky under the setting sun, so he was a little relieved - if Chen Yingliang was allowed to win the battle first, Ambassador Li's face would be even more embarrassing. The place is put away.
After heaving a sigh of relief, Li Yuan asked, "Then do you think it should be given to him?"
"The lower official thinks it should be given." Li Jing said calmly: "There are two reasons. First, the lower official can see that Chen Yingliang hasn't trusted me yet. I have to show some loyalty to make him truly believe. Second, the Yanmen Pass The area is surrounded by two mountains, the wind direction and the climate change three times a day, even the locals have difficulty predicting the future climate, and those records are of little use to him.”
"Then give it to him." Li Yuan smiled and nodded, then patted Li Jing on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, I have long wanted to gain the trust of that kid. You have gained his trust."
Li Jing nodded again, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth again, Xiaoxiao smiled ferociously.