Chapter 376 Intelligence Department
In the morning, we finally solved the problem of winter heating for the army, and unexpectedly obtained a large number of sideline products from the pastoral supervisor, which greatly improved the soldiers’ food.

In the afternoon, An Xinggui brought two Sogdian merchants to find Xiao Xia.

“Your Highness, these are the Cao brothers I mentioned. They are very familiar with the situation of Tuyuhun.”

The two merchants knelt down and saluted, “Mr. Cao and Mr. Cao pay their respects to His Highness!”

“You’re welcome, please take a seat!”

Xiao Xia then ordered Fang Xuanling, “Go find Zhang Liang!”

Xiao Xia discovered that Zhang Liang had a strong talent for intelligence. He was able to grasp the key points from all kinds of complex clues. His thinking was careful and foolproof, making him an excellent intelligence manager.

Xiao Xia decided to let Zhang Liang serve as the chief intelligence officer.

Soon, Zhang Liang arrived and Xiao Xia asked him to sit aside and take notes.

Xiao Xia then said to the Cao brothers: “We mainly want to grasp the distribution of some important tribes of Tuyuhun and their strongholds. For example, we captured Fuqi City, but the Tuyuhun king led a large number of nobles to escape. Where will they run to?”

The elder brother Cao nodded first, “This question can be answered. In fact, it is a commercial gathering point with enough population and materials to support them. As far as we know, in addition to Fuqi City, Tuyuhun also has three ruling centers, one large and two small. The large ruling center is Shanshan City, which Tuyuhun also calls Xidu. It is currently governed by Tuyuhun’s second prince Dayan Mangjiebo. There are abundant resources and food there, and eight tribes live there.

In addition to Shanshan, there are two other small ruling centers, one in the east and one in the west. The east ones are Jishi City and Chishui City in Heyuan, and the north ones are Mantou City and Shudun City. In fact, they were there to protect them. However, with the rise of the Dangxiang people, they have already captured Jishi City and Chishui City, so this small ruling center in the east has basically been abandoned.

To the west is Qiemo City, which is not far from Shanshan City, but of course not close either. It is several hundred miles away. Qiemo City is a backup for Shanshan City. Once Shanshan City is breached, they will definitely continue to flee to Qiemo City. “

Cao Gui added, “Your Highness, this is not a secret. The Sui Dynasty may not understand it, thinking that the Tuyuhun territory is so large that they can’t be found wherever they hide. But in fact, there are not many places for them to hide. They also need to eat and drink, and they need a lot of supplies to live. Once they flee to a remote place, they can’t survive.

So they also learned from the Han people and developed three burrows. Fuxi City, Heyuan and Shanshan were the three burrows, but now Heyuan is abandoned, and they added Qiemo City, which is still three burrows. This event is called “four burrows become three burrows”. The Tuyuhun nobles all know about it. If you deal with them in depth, you will also understand the three burrows of Tuyuhun.”

Xiao Xia was overjoyed. He took out a map and said, “There are also the main roads of Tuyuhun. Please mark them for me.”

………

Xiao Xia got the main intelligence, but the details still needed to be improved, so Xiao Xia handed the details to Zhang Liang to improve, including how many troops were stationed in Shanshan, how many troops could be supported, the distance from Fuxi City to Shanshan, how long it would take to travel, whether there were supplies on the way, or whether there were any lakes, how the Sui army should go to Shanshan, what season was more suitable for traveling, etc. These were all details.

In addition, Shanshan is the ancient kingdom of Loulan. History says that it suddenly disappeared around 630 AD, which was when the Tang Dynasty was destroying Tuyuhun. Hou Junji led his army to force Tuyuhun King Fuyun to death in Shanshan. Therefore, the people of Shanshan were either massacred or taken away by the Tang army, and the ancient kingdom of Loulan disappeared.

In fact, Xiao Xia also knew how to get to Shanshan City. First go to Dunhuang, then follow the southern line of the Silk Road to Puchang Lake, which is Lop Nur, and then follow the Qiemo River. It will take a few days to reach Shanshan City.

The biggest strategic mistake made by the Sui Dynasty was that it did not wipe out the Tuyuhun nobles. The four counties in the Western Regions established by the Sui Dynasty only lasted for a very short time before being taken back by the Tuyuhun king. The Tang Dynasty obviously learned the lesson of the Sui Dynasty and sent troops from multiple directions to wipe out the Tuyuhun nobles. This was actually also Xiao Xia’s idea.

Zhang Liang invited the Cao brothers to his tent for a detailed discussion. At this time, Fan Zigai found Xiao Xia.

“Your Highness, are you looking for me?”

Xiao Xia nodded, “Did you see the three-treasure cakes that were delivered to the military camp this morning?”

“I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard that it’s actually a fuel made from horse dung, sheep dung, and cow dung.” Xiao Xia laughed, “The description is not quite accurate. It should be said that it’s a fuel made from horse dung, sheep dung, and cow dung that have been naturally dried. The word ‘naturally dried’ is very important, because it means that the sour smell of dung is gone, and it’s a kind of fuel.

It is also possible to burn it directly like this, but without burning, it must be made dense again, so it is reprocessed and dried to become Sanzhen Cake, which is a very good fuel. The army will use it this winter, but there is still some left, and I plan to sell it to the people at a low price. “

Fan Zigai hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m afraid the people are still resistant and unwilling to accept the Three Treasures Cake.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you accept it or not. It was originally prepared as fuel for poor families. However, the prices of firewood and charcoal will rise sharply this year. I have prepared a way out for everyone. You can promote it by saying that the soldiers are using it, so that many people will accept it. Or you can demonstrate it on the street so that everyone can see it with their own eyes.”

“I understand!”

A few days passed in a blink of an eye, and Xiao Xia was about to set off for Longyou. Coincidentally, at this time, 30,000 troops arrived in Hexi, led by the generals who were none other than Shangzhuguo Qu Tutong and the deputy general Song Laosheng.

Following Qu Tutong came tens of thousands of carts. These carts actually had nothing to do with Qu Tutong. They were just encountered by chance on the road. They were 40,000 carts requisitioned from Longyou, and the laborers included were also from Longyou. Their duty was to transport war supplies from Jincheng Warehouse to Hexi.

The first trip transported 300,000 shi of grain and countless military supplies. After unloading the goods, tens of thousands of carts continued to transport goods to Jincheng Warehouse. They had to transport a total of three trips of war supplies, including 500,000 strings of money. Most of the money and grain supplies had to be delivered to Hexi before the heavy snow blocked the road.

The remaining part can only be transported after the beginning of next spring.

Qu Tutong also brought Xiao Xia an imperial edict, stating that the court actually sent out 70,000 troops this time. Li Jing, the Grand Marshal, was appointed as the commander of the Eastern Army, and Zhang Xutuo was appointed as the deputy commander. They led an army of 40,000 to Longyou.

As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, the once powerful generals began to gradually retreat behind the scenes. Wei Xuan died, He Ruobi was demoted, Yuwen Shu became a civil servant, Yang Xiong, Yang Da, Xue Shixiong, Yu Zhongwen, Yu Qingze and even Shi Wansui also resigned and retired.

However, the old generals Yu Juluo and Li Jing, who had been demoted before, were reused and transferred back to the court. Mai Tiezhang and Lai Huer were also transferred back to the court and named Shangzhuguo.

In addition, the new generation of Yuwen Chengdu, Qu Tutong, Zhang Xutuo, Zhou Fashang, Pei Renji, Yang Yichen, Song Laosheng, and Chen Leng all appeared on the stage and became the new generation of Lingyan Pavilion warriors.

Also arriving was Xiao Xia’s elder brother-in-law, Cui Huan, who was appointed by Emperor Yang Guang as the Chief Clerk of Zhangye General Administration Office, a fifth-rank official.
Xiao Xia specially met with Qu Tutong, who was appointed as the deputy general of the Western Route Army and Xiao Xia’s deputy.

“This is a humble post, Your Highness!”

Xiao Xia nodded, “General Qu Tu, please don’t be polite, please take a seat!”

Qu Tutong sat down, and Xiao Xia asked again: “Did the emperor receive you before you left?”

“The Emperor did receive us.”

“Did you mention the strategy to deal with Tuyuhun?”

“The emperor requires us to implement the strategy of His Royal Highness the King of Chu to the letter, so I want to ask His Royal Highness for advice. The same goes for General Li Jing. The emperor did not tell us clearly.”

Xiao Xia said calmly: “My strategy can be summed up in eight words: no surrender, kill everyone. Because the court has objections, the emperor did not tell you clearly, so I will tell you.”

(End of this chapter)