The next day, Qin Mubai invited all the generals in the army, including the six generals of the Uighur Army and Xuelian, to a banquet at the temporary governor's house in the name of rewarding the army.
The Uighur generals only thought that it was Qin Mubai who hosted a farewell banquet for them, so they happily went to the banquet. As a result, after three rounds of five-flavored wine and five-flavored wine, Qin Mubai specially walked the cup in front of the six Uighur generals and said with a smile on his face: "Generals have traveled thousands of miles to lead troops to come to the rescue. Qin is very grateful! This Uighur tribe's loyalty is commendable Your hard work has been great, and Qin has already presented it to the court for commendation. His Majesty recently sent an oral message, specifically instructing Qin to entertain all the generals as a landlord. However, due to the war in Lanzhou, I have been unable to entertain you well."
Hearing these kind words, the Huihe generals felt very happy. They stood up and drank with Qin Mubai, saying polite words such as "Young Marshal is too polite".
Qin Mubai suddenly changed the topic and said: "I recently heard from His Majesty the Emperor that the Tang Dynasty has mobilized an army of 150,000 troops to help Lanzhou. This is really great news!"
"Yes, yes!" The Huihe generals echoed with smiles, wondering what Qin Mubai meant by this.
"In this way, Qin's hands will not be so short of troops." Qin Mubai still smiled and said, "Your army is my friendly army in the Tang Dynasty. It has been following Qin from birth to death. Qin is deeply uneasy. Therefore, Qin has ordered the Lanzhou Governor's Mansion to prepare two thousand jars of wine, five thousand cans of fresh milk, and transfer 30,000 cattle and sheep from Longyou Prison to reward and thank your friendly troops!"
When the Huihe generals heard this, their eyes suddenly shone and they were overjoyed - the hard work along the way was not in vain!
"In addition, Qin also took out part of the gold and silver silk and satin rewarded by His Majesty, plus the fine Huzhou silk and other items operated by his wife Wu's company, totaling three hundred taels of gold, sixty thousand guan of money, and three pieces of silk. One hundred horses, as a personal thank you gift to the six generals!" Qin Mubai raised his glass with a smile, "Some vulgar things are not respectful, so please accept them!"
Everyone present, including some of the Kansai generals, were speechless after hearing this - this gift was too expensive, and it was a blessing that someone like Marshal Qin could have such a rich family and generosity!
The faces of the Huihe generals changed after hearing this! Not to mention anything else, it was just the finest Huzhou silk. When the Han merchants transported it to the grassland, one piece of such silk could be exchanged for three to four adult, fine horses! Now Qin Mubai gave out three hundred horses in one breath, and each of them could get fifty horses - this is a huge wealth on the grassland!
"Thank you, Marshal! You are so generous!" The Huihe generals burst into tears of gratitude!
Xuelian sat aside and watched quietly, wondering what kind of medicine Qin Mubai Gourd was selling.
"You're welcome!" Qin Mubai laughed loudly and raised his hand, "Come here, bring up the gift!"
Dozens of military men carrying boxes and cages filed into the hall. Gold, copper coins and silk were filled with gold, copper coins and silk, which made people's eyes dazzled. Qin Mubai smiled and said to the six of them: "Generals, you might as well take a look, what is the quality of this silk?"
"well!"
The Huihe people swallowed their saliva and rushed to the pile of gifts. They didn't care much about the gold and copper coins packed in boxes and cages, but the fine silk from the Tang Dynasty had a fatal attraction for them. At that moment, these six people rushed to a pile of silk and grabbed it with their hands!
"this is mine!"
"This is so beautiful! Such perfect silk and color!"
"Don't grab it, this is mine!"
…
Many of the Tang generals present showed disdain, and Xue Lian's face didn't look very good either, and he felt that his face was dull. But Huihe's six generals didn't feel anything was wrong at all. They were all busy grabbing silks with glowing faces.
Qin Mubai played with the wine glass and smiled faintly as he watched them rob the silk. It was not until the three hundred pieces of cloth piled up on a hill were manually divided into six parts by them that he said: "Come here, carry these gifts to the generals' camps. "
"yes!"
The Huihe generals returned to their seats with peace of mind. They were very grateful to Qin Mubai and encouraged him to drink.
After drinking a few more drinks, Qin Mubai said: "Actually, this gift from Qin is nothing. If we go to Chang'an, all these things combined may not be able to exchange for three acres of paddy fields in the suburbs of Chang'an."
"Ah?" The Huihe generals exclaimed in surprise.
"Chang'an, every inch of land is really valuable! Qin is a little short of money now, otherwise, he could have given more things to the six generals. For example, each person has ten hectares of Chang'an fertile land."
"This!... You don't have to be too polite, young marshal! These are enough!" The Huihe refused while swallowing his saliva.
"Hey, that's right!" Qin Mubai said as if he suddenly understood, "When we arrived in Shanzhou just before, Qin wrote a list above, which specifically stated the great contributions of the six generals. Presumably, The reward from the imperial court is about to arrive."
When the six people heard this, their eyes shone with blazing light, and they quickly raised their hands in thanks.
"Generals, there is no need to be polite. Rewards and punishments are clear. This is what it should be!" Qin Mubai chuckled. "Because Shanzhou is located in a remote area, it takes a long time for envoys to travel. Therefore, Qin asked the generals to come to Shanzhou Stay a little longer so that Qin can fulfill his duties as a landlord, and secondly, he can wait for the reward from the court!"
When the six people heard this, they suddenly woke up - after walking around for a long time, it turned out that they wanted to "retain guests", not give us a farewell!
But... this benefit has been taken. As the saying goes, the taker is short-handed, how can I refuse now? ...Furthermore, the rewards given by the Tang Dynasty court must be a hundred times more generous than Qin Mubai's personal gifts! With so much wealth, I won’t have to worry about it for the rest of my life!
The wages of avarice is death!
"I feel the young commander's kindness, so I have no choice but to stay and bother you for several days!" The sixth general agreed happily.
"You're welcome, you're welcome." Qin Mubai said with a smile. Inadvertently, I glanced sideways at Xuelian and saw her drinking one glass after another, alone.
After the banquet was over, Xuelian found Qin Mubai and said angrily: "What do you mean by doing this? Are you trying to bribe me?"
"One is willing to give and the other is willing to accept. Giving is justified and accepting is justified. How can it be bribery?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.
"You are so bad!" Xuelian said bitterly, "Those Uighur generals have taken so many benefits from you. From now on, you say one is one and two is two. Just make it clear. When will you annex the Uighur army? When did we take away their military power?”
"What's 'annexation', what's 'seizing military power', don't use such harsh words." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "The most I can do is buy them with money!"
"Yes, you have money! Money can make all the difference!" Xue Lian was angry, but he didn't know where the anger came from, and he clearly felt helpless.
"I have a few bad guys who can do some small things." Qin Mubai continued to smile shamelessly and said, "What's more important is that the Tang Dynasty was rich and had rich and gorgeous products. On the other hand, why didn't the Huihe Ministry take Xue Rengui into his care at that time? Are you going to buy off the 10,000 elite soldiers?"
"Hmph! Show off!!" Xue Lian was speechless and turned away with a cold snort.
"Don't worry, I, Mr. Qin, always act according to my conscience and never treat others harshly." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "As expected, the six Uighur generals will be greatly rewarded by our Tang Dynasty court and go to Chang'an to receive titles. Land and title, and there will be official promotion. This is a legitimate title, how can it be better than the Tubo general and the Gaochang general. Moreover, the leader of Huihe, Tumido, has no reason to express dissatisfaction, because he also longs for great power. The Tang court gave him a reward - becoming a Tang citizen and having the right to live in Chang'an are what countless foreigners dream of, don't I need to say this? As for becoming an ordinary soldier of the Tang Dynasty! You will definitely treat me kindly, because even the surrendered troops of Tubo and Gaochang will be treated equally under Qin’s command.”
"You have taken over all the truth, what else can we say?" Xue Lian said angrily, "I just think you are unkind! The Huihe tribe came thousands of miles to help, so it would be better for you to annex all their troops!"
"Blood Lotus, do you really don't understand, or are you just pretending to be confused?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.
"What's the meaning?"
"These 40,000 soldiers and horses were originally used by Tumidu to invite favors and rewards, and they were also given as dowries for you and your sister. Now that you have sold Guaiqiao and made a favor, you still have to take it back. Is there any truth in the world like this? "Qin Mubai said with a smile.
Xuelian's face suddenly turned red, "What dowry? Look at your smile, you are so shameless!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed, "Xue Lian, it's not that I want to irritate you. Tu Midu is an ambitious man. He dedicated 40,000 troops and horses to Xue Rengui to help Lanzhou. His intentions were very far-reaching, not It's all because of you two sisters. It won't be long before Li Ji defeats Xue Yantuo. The Huihe tribe will surely rise up on the grassland and replace Xue Yantuo as the new overlord. You said, the cost of these 40,000 soldiers and horses was enough for him to invest. Is it worth it?”
"I understand this. Don't change the topic - what do you mean by dowry?" Xuelian asked Qin Mubai, looking closely at him.
"Isn't it the dowry for your sister to marry Xue Rengui, and for you to marry me in the future?" Qin Mubai smiled brightly.
"..." Xue Lian was speechless for a moment, angry and funny at the same time, "Thank you for being able to say it - who is going to marry you?"
"Hey, I've collected all the dowry. It's up to you whether to marry or not. Anyway, I won't lose anything!" Qin Mubai laughed loudly and strode away.
"...This bad man is so ignorant and shameless!" Xue Lian looked at Qin Mubai's back and stamped her feet in shame and annoyance. She felt a little beautiful in her heart, but a little aggrieved, but it was better than what she had guessed before. I guessed a lot more confidently, but I still have mixed feelings.
Qin Mubai had just taken a few steps when a soldier came over to report, "Young Marshal, General Pang Fei is back!!"
"What?!" Qin Mubai shouted in surprise, "Where is he?"
"We have entered the city! General Yuwen and others have already gone out to pick up people!"
"Call them to the palace!!" Qin Mubai rubbed his hands in surprise, "You brat, you're not dead, you're back!"
Xuelian looked curious, walked up and said: "Did a big girl fall from the sky? Look, you look like a fool for enjoying yourself."
"On the contrary, I didn't lose the big girl, but I lost a few grown men." Qin Mubai was in a good mood and grabbed Xuelian's hand, "Come on, come and take a look with me!"
Xue Lian was caught by him. She was startled at first, and then her heart was beating wildly and she was a little embarrassed. "Let go, who am I? You are holding my hand like this!"
Qin Mubai was startled for a moment, then laughed loudly and said: "The children of the grassland are indeed different from the women of the Han family!"
"If there's anything different, you should tell me." Xue Lian tilted his head and looked at Qin Mubai with both annoyance and amusement.
"The difference is that you... feel better!" Qin Mubai laughed slyly and still grabbed her hand, "Let's go, stop grinding!"
"Hey!..." Xuelian yelled, but he grabbed her hand arrogantly and couldn't break free, dragging her forward. My face felt very hot and my heart was beating fast. After struggling for a few times, she couldn't break free, so she just let him pull her and walked towards the front hall.
In the hall of the Governor's Mansion, a large crowd of people gathered around, all shouting and cheering happily. Qin Mubai pulled Xuelian into the hall, and someone shouted, "The young marshal is here!"
A loud shout immediately broke out from the core of the crowd - "Teacher!"
Sure enough, it's Pang Fei's voice!
Qin Mubai's heart palpitated, "Pang Fei! Your kid is not dead!"
The crowd separated, and Qin Mubai saw clearly that Pang Fei and the other seven people had been carried in on seven stretchers and were now placed in the hall.
Qin Mubai was stunned for a moment, still holding Xuelian's hand, "You... what's going on?"
But everyone looked straight at the hand he held with Xue Lian. Xuelian hurriedly broke away and stood aside.
All six people struggled to get up from the stretcher. Qin Mubai quickly stepped forward and squatted down, "Okay, just lie down and don't have to get up."
Only then did he see clearly that these seven people were almost beyond recognition - everyone was skinny and skinny, but their faces were covered with frostbite, bruises and bruises, and some places were broken and bleeding with pus and blood.
Pang Fei climbed a few steps forward and grabbed Qin Mubai's arm. He couldn't help but burst into tears on the spot, "Teacher! I will be willing to die if I can see you again!!"
"It's good to come back, it's good to come back." Qin Mubai hugged him tightly and patted his back, "Are there just... the six of you left?"
"Yes." Pang Fei let go with some embarrassment and bowed his hands. "Five hundred of us set out from Qinghai Lake. When we arrived at Golmud Tianchi to complete the blasting mission, there were only thirty-six of us left. Later, we were unable to return the same way, so we had to During more than a month of wandering around the Kunlun Mountains, another twenty or thirty brothers died. Later, General Hou Junji led his troops to the Golmud area. After hearing the news, we went to find him. We picked up fifty or sixty rescued Han slaves and escorted us all the way back to Dafeichuan. We just came to see our mentor today!"
"Hou Junji?" Qin Mubai's eyes suddenly widened, "He went to Golmud to kill?!"