The first lunar month has passed, and there is still heavy snow flying in the sky at Yumen Pass, with three feet of snow on the ground.
The winter here is extremely long and extremely cold.
In the hundreds of miles of military camp, what the soldiers must do every morning and evening is to clear the snow. There is a small mountain northwest of Yumen Pass, with a radius of only more than 20 miles. It is about to be chopped down into a bald mountain. All the trees on the mountain are used to chop firewood for heating.
Even so, the army's training did not end for a day.
Three days of training in the summer and three days of training in the winter. After a month of hard training, the quality of the hundreds of thousands of troops has undoubtedly improved to a higher level.
Twenty days ago, after a series of hard and soft tactics, overt and covert coercion, the Tibetan general Gar Xiyuduo finally surrendered. The more than 28,000 Tibetan cavalry captured with them, including more than 6,000 Kunlun cavalry, also surrendered in despair.
Qin Mubai did not hesitate to integrate these tough Tubo cavalry into his Qinxunyi Mansion, and Xue Rengui was appointed as general to take charge of them. Originally, Qin Mubai brought 20,000 cavalry from Shanzhou, plus the 10,000 Western Expeditionary Army brought back by Xue Rengui, the number was only over 30,000. As soon as he arrived at Yumen Pass, Qin Mubai used thunderous means to devour Gaochang's 20,000 cavalrymen alive. Within half a month, these mercenaries, who had no loyalty or affection for Gaochang State, were completely assimilated by the Tang army and became Qin Mubai's direct lineage troops.
Now that the Tubo soldiers have joined, they are absolutely impeccable in terms of actual combat capabilities. Among them, the Kunlun Iron Cavalry is no worse than the elite Western Expeditionary Army under Xue Rengui in terms of individual combat capabilities. However, the identities of these people are relatively sensitive. Whether they can completely conquer their hearts is also a test for Qin Mubai.
In the future, we will definitely have to fight the Tibetan army in front of the battle array. If someone among them rebels or mutinies, it will be fatal - Qin Mubai thought about this problem for a long time and finally found a solution!
The method is actually very simple - remove the bone and cramps and leave them leaderless!
First of all, Qin Mubai was quite polite to the surrendered general Gar Sitayu, which made him a little flattered. After stabilizing him, persuade (rather than order and condemn) him to go to Chang'an to meet the emperor, who will confer titles and official titles. Sitayu was actually not stupid. He also knew that Qin Mubai wanted to get him away before attacking his army. But now he had no bargaining capital with Qin Mubai, so he had no choice but to negotiate with Gao Chang. Together, the Qu Wensheng brothers got on the carriage heading to Chang'an. Accompanying him were a group of soldiers and two Baiqi, Qin Mubai's confidants, carrying Qin Mubai's memorial to the emperor.
Qin Mubai was sure that if nothing unexpected happened, these three people would not be beheaded when they arrived in Chang'an, nor would they have the chance to stand up and lead the army to fight again. When the Tang Dynasty annihilated the northern Turkic kingdoms, their Khan Jieli and many of their leaders and generals were well-off and well-off in Chang'an. Many of them died in Chang'an, and their children and descendants took root here and became the great Tang Dynasty. A member of Tang people.
The Tang Dynasty's tolerant and kind treatment of surrendered generals and prisoners of war was more than ten thousand times stronger than Tubo's strict military laws - this was the reason why Sitayu surrendered.
Tubo's military laws were world-famous for their harshness. After such a huge defeat, even if he is born into a wealthy noble family and is a top general in the country, and even if his father is the prime minister and his brother is a marshal, he is still good this time. If he is demoted and demoted, he will never be able to get ahead. If he is unlucky, One thing, it is possible to be buried alive in a deep well with these prisoners!
In this way, it is better to stay alive and enjoy some wealth and peace in Chang'an than to be slaughtered back on the plateau. Due to this mentality, it is not surprising that Sitayu and the Tibetan cavalry, who are life-and-death enemies, would surrender.
After removing Sitayu, the "soul figure", the remaining more than 20,000 people can be dealt with easily. Qin Mubai ordered people to carefully investigate the "political background" of the generals and generals who surrendered the Tubo army. All high-ranking generals and officers who came from wealthy Tubo noble families were transferred away and did not stay in this army. Anyway, Qin Mubai is the general manager of the Guanxi Road March. There are dozens of military and military offices under the control of the Lanzhou Governor's Office. He has the right to make horizontal transfers in any military office or position.
Within a few days, Qin Mubai transferred more than 60 Tibetan noble generals to the military mansions in various prefectures and counties in Lanzhou to serve as military attachés such as school captains and brigade commanders. In a place like this, these people can't stand alone and have no power in their hands. Even if they have different ambitions and want to make trouble, they can't make trouble.
As a result, the remaining soldiers who surrendered to Tibet were basically all poor slaves and herdsmen. They were just slaves and war machines who were driven and enslaved. Such people have no ambitions and just obey orders. In the past, their biggest wish was to live longer, win battles and get some rewards, so that their lives would be a little better.
Qin Mubai felt that it was already easy to recruit such people. One principle is to be kind. The Tang Dynasty governed the country with benevolence and filial piety, but it was hundreds of times better than Tubo's hegemony and cruelty, and it was more capable of capturing people's hearts. Therefore, Qin Mubai is also convinced that given time, these people will not regret leaving Tubo and becoming "Tang people".
The reverse is not true. It was even more difficult for the Tubo people to recruit and surrender the Tang army. Because Tubo does not have the impressive heritage and charm of the Tang Dynasty! - In Chang'an City, more than 100,000 foreigners are working hard to obtain permanent residence status and are proud to be Tang people. This is the best proof.
If the previous recruitment of Gaochang surrender troops was a matter of eating them alive, then the recruitment of Tibetan surrender troops was a matter of careful consideration and a lot of trouble. However, the rewards are also quite generous. Tubo's surrendered troops are far more powerful and have higher military quality than Gaochang's soldiers and horses, and are even better than the Uighur cavalry!
Qin Mubai's troops expanded from 30,000 to 80,000 in one month! Moreover, they are all elite cavalry!
The two main royal divisions of the imperial court, the "Left and Right Weiwei", were originally under the jurisdiction of the Kansai Road Frontline Military Region. The generals were Qin Shubao and Xue Wanche respectively. In this way, the two generals were killed in battle, and the establishment of the two guards and horses was in name only. Since these 80,000 people were not the "guards" formally established by the imperial court, but Qin Mubai's pro-Xunyi Mansion, its establishment seemed relatively small. Xue Rengui served as the "General of the House of Masters" and directly commanded them. In terms of official position, this Zhonglang general is only from the fourth rank; but in fact, this small Yifu has more troops than a main guard of the imperial court!
Qin Mubai was called "Young Marshal", but his position as "General Manager of the March on the Kansai Road" was temporary. When the battle is over, it is called off. The original post of Governor of Lanzhou was also temporarily taken over by Li Daozong - so Qin Mubai actually lost his actual position and was left with only a temporary official position!
Many people are discussing that it is time for the court to give Qin Mubai the title of "General". The Twelve Guards of the Tang Dynasty, one guard and a third-grade general, are the real symbol of the military leader. With Qin Mubai's achievements and fame today, which general can compare with him
The implication is that it is time for Qin Mubai to "become a general and become a prime minister" and get involved in the center of the court politics!
Qin Mubai, Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang chatted about this matter after dinner. Xue Rengui said, even my official certificate has written "from the third rank Zuoweiwei General", Mu Bai should not be a general, this is really unreasonable. Su Dingfang also agreed, saying that the Guanxi Army had won consecutive battles, and the court would reward him based on his merits. It was time for Mu Bai to be awarded the title of general, and to receive honors and titles.
Qin Mubai's heart was as bright as a mirror, and he smiled and said to them, "Look, the imperial court will definitely not grant me the title of general. How big a reward will I be given."
Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang naturally didn't believe it. This was too inconsistent with "customization". Qin Mubai just said, "We'll see."
The lingering sound still lingered, and the imperial decree of reward came the next day. In fact, this imperial edict had been sent from Chang'an two months ago. Because the road was far away and blocked by heavy snow, the poor messenger had to walk for fifty or sixty days before reaching Yumen Pass.
As Qin Mubai expected, the imperial court only awarded Qin Mubai the second-class title of "Lantian Marquis", and the settlement was only a pitiful 200 households. It is estimated that Gar Sita was more than the "spiritual and civilized comfort" given to him after going to Chang'an. Award" will not be less than this amount. The money was rewarded quite a lot, including three hundred taels and five thousand guan of gold, twelve luminous pearls from the royal collection in the South China Sea, and two hundred pieces of high-quality Sichuan brocade.
The imperial edict made no mention of conferring the title of general to Qin Mubai, not even a third-grade general like Xue Rengui. In addition, the distinguished officer who symbolizes meritorious service is actually just a mediocre "General Yunhui". Although Qin Mubai was asked to take over the position of "Protector of Anxi" from his late father Qin Shubao, now that he has left Yumen Pass, not an inch of land actually belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and the "Protector of Anxi" is still in the hands of others!
All the soldiers fought against Qin Mubai, but Qin Mubai did not feel angry at all and accepted the reward with peace of mind.
"Distribute these money and silk to all the brothers in the army - even if each person can only get a few copper coins and a few inches of silk, that is what I, Qin, want!" Qin Mubai opened his mouth and spent money like water!
All the soldiers were delighted. Although the things each person received were really small, what made them happy was that the general would not take credit or be greedy for money, and could live and die together with the other soldiers, and share wealth and honor. In fact, ordinary sergeants have no ambitions. Many of them join the army just to support their families and make ends meet. Going to the battlefield, putting your head on your waist and risking your life with others, isn't that for some real benefit? Seeing the officers hiding behind without risking their lives and getting promoted and rich after the war, the soldiers could easily become unbalanced.
Otherwise, how could there be a general like Xue Rengui who takes the lead and wins the morale of the army and can convince the masses? In the same way, those who can equally share the rewards of their own merits with their sergeants are the ones who can win the hearts of the people the most.
Comparing one's feelings with one's own, not everyone will be willing to spend the money in their pockets and give it to others. Qin Mubai's generosity in borrowing flowers to offer Buddha statues won him a lot of hearts. The newly reorganized new army has unprecedentedly strengthened cohesion.
Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang were confused and asked why Qin Mubai was so at ease when the rewards given by the court were so small and seriously inconsistent with Qin Mubai's achievements.
"Could it be that you have truly cultivated to the point where you regard fame, wealth and wealth as something external to you?" The two of them had to ask.
Qin Mubai laughed and said: "If I had reached that state, I would have stopped hanging around here long ago. I would have become a monk and cultivated immortality. Is it really fun to lead troops to fight? This is hard work. It would be hard to stay in the military camp without fighting. Ah, how can I enjoy the comfort of being in peace and prosperity in Chang'an? Qin never flaunts elegance, wine, sex and wealth, but I like everything."
Su Dingfang thought about it for a while and said: "Looking at your situation, it seems that you have a tacit understanding with His Majesty the Emperor? Now that he has not rewarded you heavily, does it mean that it is not time to reward you based on your merits? In other words, this battle is still We have to fight for a long time; will there be a bigger battle later?”
"That should be it." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "We always leave some room for 'increased rewards' for His Majesty and the court, right? Now I have won two battles and made some contributions, but if The reward is over, what if I win another battle in the future? - Let’s not talk about this anymore, let’s just use our troops with peace of mind! If we think too much about these things, we will easily worry about gains and losses, and be burdened by false reputations!”
"It makes sense!" The two agreed together.
"The imperial court asked me to take over my father's position as the 'Great Protector of Anxi', which means that the imperial court has not given up on the Western Regions." Qin Mubai said, "If nothing else, there is still a big problem in Tibet that has not been resolved. After taking care of Tubo and the Western Regions, how much more needs to be done?"
"Having said that, I am really worried about the mainland of Lanzhou now." Su Dingfang said, "The heavy snow has not stopped. This year's Hexi Longyou is colder than previous years, with a lot of rain and snow. The heavy snow has blocked the transportation of grain and grass, and even the exchange of news It has also been blocked. It has been more than a month since Mubai led his army to aid Yumen Pass, and there is still no battle in Dafeichuan. After the defeat of Gar Qinling, I wonder what kind of actions he will take? I wonder what the situation is like over there at Hou Junji?”
"Calculating the time, the imperial court's reward envoy set out from Shanzhou more than 30 days ago and only arrived at Yumen Pass yesterday. It was indeed a difficult journey." Qin Mubai pondered for a while and said, "If there is any news from Dafeichuan, there will be news recently. It's time. Now that it's the middle of winter, it's not conducive for our army to fight, and we have few troops and no food and supplies, so I sent Hou Junji to guard Dafeichuan and let him use defense instead of attack to contain the Gar Qinling. There shouldn’t be much problem with his ability.”
Su Dingfang was silent for a moment and said, "But Hou Junji has never been a very cautious person."