The Villain's Counterattack

What was Yang Guang's attitude towards Li Yuan, or Li Yuan's apparent construction of the plank road and his secret attack on Chencang, which appeared to be a passive defense in an attempt to capture Sichuan and Shu, but was actually attacking Tuyuhun?

Oppose? Hold back?

Do not!

Yang Guang's attitude was to fully support them, and he even called back the two brothers, Yang Yu, the King of Pingyuan, and Yang Jun, the King of Ancheng. He secretly ordered the four towns of Tuyuhun to fully cooperate with Li Tang's actions, even if it meant directly surrendering to Li Jing and Hong Funu.

Yes, Prince Pingyuan Yang Yu and Prince Ancheng Yang Jun!

After Yang Guang faked his death, the Sui royal family not only did not become divided, but became more united. At Yang Guang's instruction, the royal elders group semi-publicly acknowledged the existence of Pingyuan King Yang Yu, Ancheng King Yang Jun, Anping King Yang Yi, Xiangcheng King Yang Ke, Gaoyang King Yang Gai, Jian'an King Yang Shao, and Yingchuan King Yang Ying.

However, unlike the seventh prince who was rescued by his younger brother Yang Xuyan, Yang Guang said that he showed mercy, secretly preserved his brother's bloodline, and recognized their previous thrones.

Yang Guang played this trick very well, probably because he knew that after the world was truly unified, he would no longer be the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. The new Sui Emperor Yang Xuyan was more inclined to unify the Central Plains and enfeoff the land outside. The so-called throne now was nothing but an illusory thing and should not be taken seriously.

Why not use other people's things, even things that are impossible to achieve, to sell favors?

At this time, Yang Guang was not in Luoyang or Tongguan, but went to Mayi in person and set up a palace as the central military camp.

"Goguryeo's Gai Suwen and Fu Junqiang secretly met with the Mohe chieftain, Longwang Baiziting. The content of their conversation is unknown."

"The remnants of Baekje and Silla were summoned to Bai Ziting at Gae Su-mun's recommendation. Half of them joined Bai Ziting, and the rest received Bai Ziting's support. They seem to have some ulterior motive in recruiting soldiers."

"Shang Xiufang arrived at Longquan Shangjing, attended the banquet hosted by the mad monk Funanda, and performed a dance. Miaokong Mingzi Liexia, the leader of the Five Mingzi of the Ming sect, presented a Kucha music score, successfully establishing a connection with the upper echelons of the Mohe tribe."

"Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came into contact with the Mengwu Shiwei, Huihe, and Turpan Cheshi heroes, and established some friendships. Shuanglong entered Longquan Shangjing and had some contact with Shang Xiufang."

"Shuanglong is tracking down the dirty hand of Maji, and the clues lead directly to the Mohe chieftain Bai Ziting."

"Xu Ziling escorted the beautiful lady and the five-colored stone to Longquan Shangjing."

"Master Feixuan appeared in Longquan Shangjing and had a secret meeting with Bai Ziting."

"Hu Yanjin, Han Chaoan and other bandits gathered in Longquan Shangjing. The entire Longquan Shangjing was in turmoil, and various forces gathered together to form a complex and complicated situation."

"Jie Li Khan led 100,000 elite troops of the Golden Wolf Army to Longquan Shangjing, accompanied by Imperial Preceptor Zhao Deyan."

"Tuli Khan led 50,000 elite Black Wolf troops to Longquan Shangjing."

Intelligence from the grasslands trickled down to Mayi and was gathered by Yang Guang. "The Mohe tribe is quite strong overall. They have impressive manpower, equipment, and high-ranking military personnel. They also have close ties with many bandits. If they hold on to Longquan Shangjing, even a Turkic army of 300,000 men won't be able to capture them easily."

"But..." Yang Guang knew that this was unrealistic. Bai Ziting seemed to have a large number of soldiers and generals, but were those horse bandits really on the same side with him?

This is not the case. They are really fence-sitters who will side with whoever is stronger. The founding of Bohai by Bai Ziting may seem grand, but the Turks have dominated the grasslands for dozens or hundreds of years. Just one Golden Wolf Army is enough for them, not to mention the Black Wolf Army and other Turkic tribes. Not to mention a real war, just the presence of hundreds of thousands of troops is enough to scare away the mob.

Other people with ulterior motives like Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla would never stand on the same side as Bai Ziting. They came to take advantage and ask for help. They would never take the initiative to help, and might even bite back in a critical moment.

"It was my fault for allowing the Turks to dominate the grasslands. Fortunately, I will soon make amends for this mistake myself." Yang Guang sneered. "Order Shilong to go to Longquan with a special envoy from Liaodong. Sell Liaodong's unique city defense equipment at a high price. Special permission is granted to pay with cattle, sheep, horses, animal skins, herbs, and other grassland-specific items. This is just one time, and it will not happen again."

Special offers and discounts are the most tempting, especially high prices. If the price is low, Bai Ziting might not even dare to buy it. Only at a high price will he be more willing to buy it.

"Zhang Xutuo of Mayi led his 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry, ready to march."

"Song Jingang's troops from Liaodong, with 20,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry, left Zhuo County and arrived at their designated target."

"The Luoyang army's 8,000 cavalry, 10,000 naval forces, and 10,000 infantry have boarded their ships and are scheduled to arrive in Longquan in two weeks."

"Dou Jiande of Taiyuan has dispatched 100,000 troops to advance on Shuofang, and they are scheduled to arrive in ten days."

"Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin of the Tang Dynasty, has received Dou Jiande's plan of action and has sent a letter to Chang'an requesting reinforcements from Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty."

Simply controlling his subordinates and allies is not enough to demonstrate Yang Guang's strength. Even the enemies are under his control. As for the outcome, Yang Guang generally has his own guesses, and everything has to wait until the dust settles.

In addition to the above deployment, Yang Guang also brought the six brothers Yang Yu, King of Pingyuan, Yang Jun, King of Ancheng, Yang Yi, King of Anping, Yang Ke, King of Xiangcheng, Yang Gai, King of Gaoyang, and Yang Ying, with him, together with more than 50,000 elite troops under their command, and 18,000 royal guards of the Xiyuan royal family, to form the central army.

Unlike ordinary marshals who went on an expedition, Yang Guang habitually brought his harem with him every time he traveled. A harem naturally requires eunuchs and palace maids, and there were no less than three thousand of them in total. However, each of these people was extraordinary in their skills, and none of them was lower than second-rate. To be honest, these three thousand people were the most powerful under Yang Guang.

In addition, there is a tight network of heaven and earth to deploy, and Zhuo County can organize a cavalry of tens of thousands of herdsmen from outside the Great Wall at any time. Liaodong has never stopped its erosion of the grassland tribes, and most of the 500 miles around the market are under its control.

"I hope the Great Ming Sect will not let me down." Yang Guang always had more than one backup plan. He sent the entire Great Ming Sect to Longquan Shangjing. With the combined strength of all of them, even ordinary grand masters would have to retreat.

The Great Master Xu Kaishan's character is a little poor, but he is smooth enough. When facing a real strong man, he knows how to bow his head and rise and fall. First it was Yang Xuyan, and then Yang Guang, who were able to easily suppress him after becoming a grandmaster.

Xu Kaishan's strength is pretty good, and he is not the worst among the half-step grandmasters.

Next is the good mother Shafang, whose martial arts skills are derived from the "Medicine King Sutra" and "Light Sutra" in the secret text of the religion "Sabrakam". She was once the queen of Jianshijin during the time of the Uighurs. She is a martial arts expert and is responsible for spreading the sect and confusing people.

Since he defected to Liaodong, he has made countless contributions and was praised by Yang Xuyan as the future number one pillar of the Ming Zun Sect, but he surpassed the Great Master Xu Kaishan.

The five Mingzi of the Ming system are headed by Lie Xia, and Rong Jiaojiao is among them. Among the five types of dark magic, Shui Xinnaya has the highest martial arts skills, and is on par with Lie Xia. They are both masters and are the young masters that Yang Xuyan is most optimistic about (only for the Great Ming Sect).

Before joining Yang Xuyan, Xu Kaishan used the identity of a Northern Horse Caravan as a cover, trading with various tribes beyond the Great Wall, then selling his warhorses south for a huge profit. He also colluded with bandits to commit atrocities. He had close ties with many of the bandits on the grasslands, and although these people were despised by others, they were also used as pawns by Yang Guang.

In Yang Guang's hands, Xu Kaishan was even more useful than any other army under his command.

After all, not only would they be sad if their troops were killed or wounded, but they would also have to pay a large amount of compensation. However, they would not feel sorry for the wolf bandits and horse bandits who died, let alone the so-called compensation. There is no such thing among thieves.