The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 905: Eight Hundred Thousand Cavalry

July, the eleventh year of Zhenguan
The grassland in summer is a vibrant picture, with bright sunshine, blue sky and white clouds that seem within reach.

The grassland is covered with lush vegetation and greenery, with various wild flowers blooming and dotted around like a colorful carpet. The herdsmen's tents are dotted across this vast land, and herds of cattle and sheep are leisurely eating fresh grass.

As the breeze blows, ripples appear on the sea of ​​grass, and the melodious tunes of pastoral songs in the distance make people feel relaxed and happy.

On the endless grassland southeast of Yu Dujun Mountain in the desert, the Baidarig River flows from north to south, forming a vast lake in the south, like a pearl on the grassland, quietly inlaid in the green land.

The royal tent of the Right Wise King was set up here. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops were spread out over an area of ​​dozens of miles around the lake. At first glance, the army's tents were like mushrooms on the grass after rain, densely packed and endless.

On a slightly higher ground to the north of the lake, there stands a golden tent that is no less large than the Khan's tent.

In the big tent, Li Yan, wearing a white robe, sat high up. Gu Rentu was reporting military information to Li Yan: "Your Majesty, since the 160,000-man Xueyantuo army was defeated by our army a month ago, Yi Nan has moved the Jinshan Grand Military Governor's Office in the Irtysh River Valley more than a thousand miles to the southeast."

"We set up a big camp in the north of Helan Mountain, west of the Yellow River in Lingzhou, close to the Tang Dynasty."

"Together with Fengzhou Jiuyuan of the Tang Dynasty and the Grand Military Governor's Office of Mo Nan, we formed a triangular defense formation, relying on Yinshan Mountain and the Yellow River to deal with the pressure of our army."

Li Yan smiled slightly. After three or four months of fighting, the Turks annexed Mobei, digested the territory of the Hebiheli, and won a great victory, severely defeating the Yi men who came to test them. With a series of victories, Li Yan's expectations were unprecedentedly high.

Gu Rentu and the twelve captains of ten thousand men worshipped the Right Wise King to the extreme.

Being Jie Li.
Yes, it was indeed the damned villain Jie Li who inhumanely abducted the five or six hundred thousand slaves from their old homeland in Liaodong to the grassland. After the careful guidance and training of Lord Youxian King, most of them have had their slave titles taken away.

He truly integrated into the grassland and was accepted by the Turkic people.

After defeating Biheli, they had more territory, and because of the war, there were many grassland women who had lost their husbands. As long as the war was over, these people could form new families with the locals and live happily on the grassland.

It’s just a pity that half of the people were left behind because they couldn’t adapt to life on the grassland, and Li Yan could do nothing about it.

However, with half of the people gone, the supply pressure dropped sharply, and the remaining half could barely be used.

All these made Li Yan sigh that war was the easiest way to solve the problem. So far, all strategic goals have been achieved, and Li Yan is very happy.

He said to Gu Rentu: "Although Yi Nan has some small ideas, he is not very brave and is just a rat. He originally accumulated more than 400,000 troops through five or six years of accumulation. The more than 100,000 troops in the Irtysh River Valley are not very strong."

"Its main force is still the 300,000 elite soldiers it has deployed to expand in the northwest."

"In a battle a month ago, 160,000 Northwestern warriors were surrounded by our 500,000-strong army. Less than 10,000 escaped. We killed 50,000 on the spot and captured 100,000. The general of the vanguard, Gu She, was even taken prisoner by us."

"This time, Yi Nan's ambition and courage were taken away. He dared not stay alone anymore, so he had to move south to rely on the Tang Dynasty to avoid the Turkic edge. This was predictable."

Gu Rentu talked for a while, and finally said with a heavy face: "My king, although we have won victory after victory, the army is now too large and the daily consumption is huge. What are your plans for the next step?"

"Uh"

Li Yan was stunned: "Didn't you say that the army has been fighting continuously, the division is old and the soldiers are tired, plus the annexation of many forces, the people's hearts are unstable, and it needs a period of rest and recuperation? It has only been settled for half a month, and you are rushing it again?"

"My king, wasn't it me who was in charge of the war before? Wasn't it Hermu who was in charge of all the logistical matters?"

Gu Rentu blushed and said awkwardly, "Now that you have become a hands-off manager, you have thrown all these things to me. I have to worry about the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the army. How could I know that there are so many things to do?"

"Haha, you used to look down on Hermu's abacus beads, but now you know how indispensable they are, right?"

"Without someone to take care of the rear for you, how can you have the energy to wantonly kill the enemy in the front?"

Gu Rentu scratched his head and lowered it with a guilty look on his face. He had never thought that with great power, the responsibility would be so heavy.

Li Yan frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "How many people do we have now?"

"Your Majesty, the original 500,000 or 600,000 Liaodong slave soldiers have been reduced by about half after the continuous fighting over this period of time, leaving less than 300,000. However, after many battles, the survival ability of these 300,000 has been greatly improved."

"Although they are not as experienced as our veteran soldiers, they are almost the same as the army composed of ordinary herdsmen." Gu Rentu said as he calculated: "After more than three months of fighting, our 200,000 cavalrymen of the Right Wise King's army have suffered very little loss because of the slave soldiers serving as cannon fodder in the front. They only suffered about 40,000 to 50,000 casualties, most of which were lost in the battle with the Xueyantuo's Northwest Warriors a month ago."

"Speaking of which, those soldiers are like wolves and tigers, and they don't care about their lives when fighting."

"However, after the defeat, these people have surrendered to our Turkic people. After a period of training, they can be incorporated into our army."

"Add to that the more than 100,000 troops from the Khanate that we annexed some time ago, and the 100,000 troops that came from the Khanate to take advantage of the situation when we set out on the expedition. In total, we now have an actual force of 800,000."

At this point, Gu Rentu's face was filled with a surge of pride, and he said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this is a real 800,000! As far as I can remember, except for the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty, I have never heard of any Khan on the grassland who can command so many troops?"

"Even the once arrogant Shibi Khan, who claimed to have an army of one million, only had 600,000 at most."

"Not to mention Jie Li, who always claims to have a million-man army, but in reality he only has 300,000 or 400,000 at most. In the past hundred years, the grassland has never had as many cavalry as you have today, Your Majesty."

"I can say without hesitation that you are now the de facto Great Khan, the most powerful person on the grassland!"

When Li Yan heard this, he was excited. It was too fast. He didn't expect that he would reach the top of the grassland so quickly. It was easier than he expected.

Then he took a deep breath and suppressed his inner throbbing. Power on the grassland came and went quickly. It could only be declared for a while, but could not be retained for a long time. There was nothing to be happy about. It might disappear again soon.

"Gu Rentu, during this period of rest, you should reorganize these 800,000 troops."

"My lord, how do you plan to rectify this?"

Li Yan tapped the table lightly and said thoughtfully, "From these 800,000 people, pick out the strongest, bravest, and most loyal 200,000 elite soldiers and make them directly subordinate to me."

"No, it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Khanate."

"The other 600,000 soldiers, whether they are slave soldiers from Liaodong or prisoners from Mobei and Northwest China, will all be mixed up and assigned to the 12 captains of 10,000 men. Let them each lead an army of 50,000."

"In the meantime, you tell them."

"I will grant them two captains of ten thousand men in each tribe, and let them reorganize their tribes. Each large tribe will be divided into three smaller tribes. Their tribe will command 30,000 men, and the other two captains will command 10,000 men each."

Li Yan shook his head. These former centurions were promoted too quickly, so he had to worry about how to manage the huge army under his command. If he didn't consider it well, he was afraid that they would end up making a mess.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Gu Rentu's leadership ability was not strong either, but he often accompanied Li Yan, and under his influence, he improved quickly. In the past, every time Li Yan went to war, he commanded an army ranging from 100,000 to 200,000, and Li Yan mostly gave orders.

Gu Rentu was in charge of the specific execution, and over the years he learned a lot of skills in leading troops.

Now that his troops had suddenly expanded to 800,000, Gu Rentu could no longer hold on, so he asked Li Yan for advice. With Li Yan's brief instructions, the 800,000 troops were dealt with simply and clearly, and Gu Rentu felt relieved after hearing it.

"By the way, these two hundred thousand must be given to the best of the best!"

Li Yan stared at Gu Rentu and said, "We in the grasslands can form an army when we gather together and become civilians when we disperse. We cannot gather such a large army for a long time. After the war, most people will be scattered all over the grassland."

"Even these 200,000 cannot be kept, but we can distribute these people in the grasslands near Urge. First, they can guard the Khan's court, and second, we can recruit them at any time. Among them, we can select 50,000 top-notch soldiers to serve as my direct guards and will not send them out."

Li Yan sighed with regret. All the people in the grassland were soldiers. It was too easy to pick out a strong violent machine. However, the nomadic economy of the grassland was too fragile to accumulate a large amount of resources. If they stayed, they could not afford to support themselves. So most of the people had to be dispersed to serve as civilians.

Gu Rentu's eyes lit up, and he clasped his fists and said, "Yes, my king, I know what you mean. I will definitely pick out the best people."

"Your Majesty is indeed wise and powerful. These ministers have never expected this."

"If you hadn't reminded me, I would still be worried that my former confidants would all stay in Urge and let Hermu guard the rear. I have too few capable people, and there are so many prisoners this time. I feel like I can't control them."

"With this reorganization, the entire army is in order."

(End of this chapter)