Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 295: The operation is not as good as before, the operation is not as good as before, how to fight?
The New Turks advanced eastward without encountering any significant obstacles.

It should be said that they encountered no obstacles at all.

Because the further east you go and the closer you get to the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence, the more the nomadic tribes there will lie low.

Not to mention resistance, they were too lazy to even look up at outsiders passing by.

Anyway, they have no wealth and nothing to steal. They only have a miserable life. The sooner they die, the sooner they will be reborn as Brahmins.

In a sense, he can be considered an "invincible person".

Qibi Heli had no intention of mobilizing them to go south to eat the rich people.

These literal trash are not even qualified to be coolies.

Apart from sitting there debating scriptures, he does nothing serious all day long. The only thing that is tough in his body is his mouth.

For Qibi Heli, who was deeply influenced by Chinese pragmatism, this unhealthy trend on the grassland made him feel very uncomfortable.

What made Qibi Heli even more worried was that the new Turkic tribes under his command were also affected by the "lie down trend" that was spreading across the grassland.

His troops were advancing eastwards more and more slowly, and their movements were becoming increasingly sluggish.

Even though the road was smooth and there were no significant obstacles.

Even though they relied on looting other powerless tribes along the way, they were able to eat enough and did not encounter any logistical problems.

Even the weather was good; this summer was not too hot, making it very suitable for marching.

However, even so, after crossing the Yin Mountains and with the Yan Mountains in the distance already clearly visible, the New Turks stopped completely.

It was like a giant with feet of clay, gradually sinking into the swamp and finally lying motionless.

"Keep going, don't stop! Hurry, the time agreed with His Majesty for the north-south advance is approaching!"

Qibi Heli was extremely anxious and shouted to his subordinates.

The subordinates were too lazy to pay attention to him and just stayed where they were to rest.

Tsk... Qibi Heli smacked his lips secretly, changed his words and continued shouting:
"Beyond Yanshan is Pingzhou, which has wealth beyond your imagination! If you want it, go get it!"

However, this pancake is not very useful.

The chief of the subordinate tribe replied lazily:
"It's already night, why rush?"

His answer was widely recognized by his subordinates, and everyone started to speak noisily.

"Yeah, it's not like that day is too late."

"Sharpening the knife does not delay the work of slaughtering sheep. A night's rest will give you more strength the next day."

"The other side is well-rested and waiting for us to get tired. We have to stay up all night to climb the mountain. If we run into them, we will lose miserably."

The noisy noise gave Qibi Heli a headache.

It can be said that the Turkic tribes were as greedy in the past as they are as Buddhist now.

Everyone was eloquent and left Qibi Heli speechless.

But no matter how correct their words sound, the actual situation cannot be changed by words, that is -

The advancement speed of the new Turkic troops was much lower than expected, and their combat effectiveness had obviously declined.

Not to mention the Tang army that was ready to attack from the north and south, and to make a beautiful double-bread cheese sandwich for the Ming Dynasty, and send all the traitors to heaven one by one.

Whether he could drag this army across Yanshan Mountain without collapse was a huge challenge for Qibi Heli.

"Tengriism, Tiandi Shen Religion, Zoroastrianism...what the hell is this!" Qibi Heli growled angrily.

Just like all the barbarian tribes he met along the way, his new Turkic people had become so listless because they had been eroded by these strange religions.

Qibi Heli had already noticed this trend.

He knew that his tribes were hoarding strange idols looted from conquered peoples.

He also knew that the tribal chiefs were secretly spreading their perverse ideas that encouraged obedience and resignation to fate to their own people behind his back.

But he was powerless to stop it.

Because the Turks pursue a "distributed decentralized command system", each tribe has a greater degree of autonomy. Once the leader's prestige is insufficient, it will be difficult to convince the people and enforce their orders.

The new Turks obeyed the Heavenly Khan, not Qibi Heli, which resulted in him having difficulty commanding his chieftains.

It's okay to rob together, but interfering with the beliefs of different tribes is a bit too much.

"No... this is not faith at all!"

Qibi Heli roared loudly at his troops who were giving up.

"Don't you find anything strange? We have been fighting from west to east and have encountered many people of different faiths.

“But don’t you realize that although the gods worshipped by these ethnic groups are different, their religious doctrines, especially the damn reincarnation and caste system, are all cut from the same mold?
"Don't you think that these religions were artificially designed and deliberately placed on the grassland?

"And have you ever thought about why this trend of faith becomes stronger the closer you get to the Pseudo-Ming?

"Is there a possibility that the pseudo-Ming was the initiator of these religions? They deliberately released these fucked-up doctrines onto the grasslands in order to poison us and weaken our will?!"

Qibi Heli roared with all his might until his voice became hoarse.

But the fanatical masses simply cannot listen to any rational voices.

As for the small number of nobles who deliberately spread the doctrine, they pretended to be ignorant even though they knew the truth, because this doctrine was so consistent with their ruling interests.

You can never wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.

The lower class and the upper class, two clearly distinct classes, tacitly ignored Qibi Heli's advice for very different reasons.

Qibi Heli was going crazy.

He watched his men walk towards the abyss, but no one listened even when he shouted at the top of his lungs. A despairing feeling of powerlessness gripped his heart.

"Cough cough!" Qibi Heli's throat was filled with rust from shouting, and he sat down on the ground with difficulty.

His heart gradually sank to the bottom, and his lips opened and closed.

Because his voice was hoarse, he couldn't make any sound. From the shape of his mouth, he clearly said -

"Li Ming..."

Qibi Heli suddenly figured it out.

Why did Li Ming neither go deep into the grassland nor deploy heavy troops to defend the northwest?

However, they could easily capture the two traitors, Ashina Simo and Moheduo.

At that time, the court was anxious to think of countermeasures and did not realize that it was strange that these two facts could appear at the same time.

How did Li Ming catch the two chiefs without enough force projection?
Now Qibi Heli figured it out.

Because there is no need to maintain a strong force on this cursed grassland.

The barbarians on the grassland have been completely corrupted by the distorted religion and are very weak.

Is it difficult to arrest a few chiefs and destroy a few tribes?
It's not difficult at all!

"Li Ming, this is all Li Ming's conspiracy..."

Qibi Heli felt a chill that penetrated his bones.

For the first time, he truly experienced the horror of his opponent.

He gradually realized that all the bizarre experiences he had encountered along the way were just a social experiment by Li Ming.

How to eliminate foreign border threats.

This was a common problem faced by countless generations of the Central Dynasty, but it was solved by Li Ming using an unheard-of evil method——

Using religion as a weapon and taking advantage of human greed and yearning for the afterlife, the entire grassland fell into depravity.

Although it does not involve swords or guns, it is more terrifying than swords and guns.

Kill invisible.

If the barbarians are subdued by force, the day when the force weakens will be the day when the barbarians will break free from their shackles and gather together to cause chaos in China.

However, if the barbarians are castrated by religion and allowed to degenerate, they will fundamentally lose their threat to the central dynasty.

Even after the new barbarians defeated the indigenous people and took control of the grassland, they were still inevitably corrupted by religion and fell into the quagmire of corruption along with the ruled, quickly losing their fighting power.

The soft knife of thought is more thorough than a physical sword.

With Qibi Heli's knowledge, he really couldn't think of any way for a nation trapped in this situation to escape.

The nation entangled in this caste system may still be resigned to its fate hundreds or thousands of years later.

In this way, Li Ming solved the barbarian border threat once and for all and pacified the vast grassland, without having to waste manpower and material resources on defense in this direction!
Because there will never be another enterprising force rising up here that can pose a threat to his Ming Dynasty!

He can now concentrate his strength and focus on dealing with the frontal battlefield in Central Plains!

"Not an opponent, not an opponent at all..."

Qibi Heli murmured silently, the despair in his heart gradually grew stronger, and he completely lost his fighting spirit.

It was as if an evil dragon was circling out from Pingzhou, stepping on the grassland with one foot and spitting out its tongue towards the heart of China.

He originally thought that the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were evenly matched rivals.

But now it seems that no matter in terms of pattern or ability, the two sides are not at the same level...

"Help!" A scream pierced the sky, waking Qibi Heli from his daze.

A small team wearing armor and red turbans took advantage of the dim light of dusk and sneaked into the New Turkic position at some point and began killing indiscriminately.

Red Turban Army.

In front of the well-trained Red Turban Army, these demoralized Turkic soldiers were no match for them.

After dozens of people were killed in the unexpected night attack, the remaining survivors immediately surrendered without any psychological burden.

For them now, surrender is not shameful.

"What tribe are you from? Where are you from? I have never seen you before!

"Are you their leader? Don't bow your head and confess!"

The leading Red Turban Army general rode on his horse, overlooking his defeated generals and shouting loudly.

He was dressed in a bright red general's robe, with an owl feather crown on his head, and his pair of big copper bell eyes were filled with pure fighting spirit.

"Ok?"

Qibi Heli inexplicably felt that the general's voice was familiar and subconsciously looked up.

The two sides happened to meet each other's eyes.

"Xue Wanche?" Qibi Heli blurted out.

Xue Wanche was startled, and narrowed his eyes. His expression changed into surprise for a moment, and then slowly calmed down:

"You are... my old friend, Qibi Heli?"

…………

In Chang'an, the Zheng Palace was established.

Li Chengqian was in a good mood. He sat at the desk and looked at the map that his father had left in the study.

In the north of the Tang Dynasty, starting from Liangzhou, an arrow pointed straight to the east and had reached the vicinity of Yanshan Mountain.

That was the new Turkic army led by Qibi Heli.

Although the advancement was slower than expected, the front line was moving eastward at least.

Just cross Yanshan... No, there is no need to break through the Yanshan defense line.

As long as this group of Turks can cause enough trouble in the rear of the Pseudo-Ming Dynasty and provide support to Li Shiji's army in the south.

He still has to fight this war with the Pseudo-Ming and Li Ming.

"His Majesty."

The eunuch came to report.

"An envoy from Pingzhou wants to see you."

Pingzhou? Pingzhou...

"The Pingzhou of the Pseudo-Ming Dynasty?!"

Li Chengqian slammed the table in shock, grimacing in pain from his lame foot.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" The eunuch hurriedly helped Li Chengqian and stammered:
"Yes, yes... The messenger said he had a message for His Majesty."

What message? Is Li Ming going to give in?

Li Chengqian's heart began to pound, making his chest feel stuffy and uncomfortable.

"See!"

…………

An hour later.

Liangyi Palace.

After Li Chengqian met with the envoy from Pingzhou, he lost his good mood and looked confused.

All the ministers under his seat were also frowning.

"My dear ministers, what should we do now?"

Li Chengqian asked questions to his trusted ministers in confusion.

The message brought by the messenger was not complicated, the gist of it was:
The new Turkic army you sent to steal chickens is now finished. The commander Qibi Heli was captured, and the remaining troops just "hidden" on the grassland near Yanshan.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, in accordance with his professional ethics of both killing and burying, informed the false Emperor of Tang of the news.

He also brought with him a handwritten letter from the surrendered general Qibi Heli, which roughly meant:

That’s right, our army was defeated.

Now I have to believe it.

"My dear ministers, how could we lose this battle so completely?
"There wasn't even one person to report back to Chang'an, and we had to have someone else tell us?"

Li Chengqian was completely numb.

The ministers were at a loss and no one dared to say a word.

The new Turkic expedition to the east has always been a concern for the emperor and his ministers.

This was the key move for the Tang Dynasty to break the impasse.

Li Shiji had already led his army to wait in the eastern capital Luoyang.

Just wait for the new Turks to invade Yanshan and disrupt the strategic layout of the Ming Dynasty, and then you can take the opportunity to launch a northern expedition.

However, after waiting for a long time, what they got was the bolt from the blue: the commander Qibi Heli was captured and the New Turkic tribe was defeated.

This news was beyond everyone's expectations.

Because the New Turks' journey eastward was clearly going very smoothly.

Although Qibi Heli's attitude was not very optimistic in the battle report he sent to Chang'an, the battle line does not lie.

The New Turks are advancing steadily, the New Turks are dominating all the tribes, the New Turks are unscathed, and the New Turks have a great advantage.

Then, the new Turks typed gg.

Isn't this a bit outrageous? They lost too quickly. It doesn't make sense at all!

Could it be that the Red Scarf bandits of the pseudo-Ming Dynasty were really that powerful? They wiped out all the New Turkic tribes without any effort?

"Gentlemen, what should we do next?"

Seeing no one responded, Li Chengqian raised his voice and asked again.

The ministers were usually very talkative, but now they all fell silent, with their heads down, like schoolchildren who were afraid of being called in class.

Li Chengqian glanced at the back of each head in despair, and his gaze stopped on the Crown Prince.

Li Zhi also lost his temper and wished he could bury his head in the ground.

These two major defeats, one was a currency war and the other was using barbarians to suppress rebellion, both originated from his bad ideas.

After suffering two setbacks in a row, he no longer dared to speak carelessly.

"Alas... aren't you usually quite talkative? Why are you all acting mute now that I ask you to speak?"

Seeing the cowardly looks of his ministers, Li Chengqian was furious.

But it’s not their fault.

The person sitting opposite is Li Ming.

The operation is better than theirs and the operation is better than theirs.

How can we fight this? Can we still fight this?

The Tang Dynasty is now in chaos.

Domestic inflation is high and foreign wars are a mess.

In just a few months, it was already in a miserable state of dying and imminent defeat.

The Ming Dynasty on the opposite side hasn't even taken any serious action yet!
"Speak up, speak up!"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but roar:

"Why, you guys are silent, do you want me to give up my ancestral kingdom, let the Tang Dynasty fall and be replaced by the Ming Dynasty?!"

Now that the leader has said this, the officials can no longer remain silent.

"Your Majesty." Ashina She'er spoke:

"Why not ask the Khan of Heaven for advice?"

Throughout the dynasties, emperors were like a revolving lantern, one after another.

But there is only one Heavenly Khan.

Li Chengqian's eyebrows were furrowed like a mountain:

"You want me to ask the emperor?"

(End of this chapter)