Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2675 Longji's Envoy to Yuan, the Yuan-Jin War?
The people of the grasslands loved hunting, and for the Yuan Dynasty nobles, hunting was one of the most common outdoor activities.

Although Temujin was already old, over sixty years old, he had begun to retire behind the scenes, entrusting most of the affairs of state to his crown prince.

However, horseback hunting remained a regular activity for him.

Sometimes, even if he doesn't personally participate, he's happy to organize a group of younger generations to admire their agile figures on warhorses.

On the way back to the royal court from the "hunt," Temujin traveled slowly. His steed, restrained by its master, suppressed its galloping desires. His expression was heavy, his face indifferent, and his dark eyes revealed contemplation, as if he was still outlining his great cause in his mind.

Although the Yuan Dynasty had nominally unified the entire grassland, the last Qing Dynasty had nominally submitted to them and recognized them as its suzerain state.

However, Temujin was not satisfied with this. Although the Manchus nominally submitted to him and recognized him as their suzerain state, it was still uncertain whether they were truly sincere.

However, after destroying the Tuoba Wei dynasty, in order to protect the Li Tang dynasty, they temporarily decided to let the Manchus go, which ultimately led to this outcome.

Temujin's personal guards silently followed and protected him. Although there were only a hundred or so men, their daily training was ingrained in their very bones. As the army advanced, the roles of scouts, guards, and rearguard were clearly defined and coordinated in an orderly manner, displaying an elite and disciplined spirit.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Yuan Dynasty, the current Jin Dynasty!"

"In my view, it is like a tiger or wolf that has temporarily concealed its sharpness, feigning sleep with its eyes closed, but secretly sharpening its claws and teeth. Once its army is strong and well-equipped, it will surely turn its vicious claws and fangs towards His Majesty the Emperor's Great Yuan."

Li Longji's voice drew Temujin's attention back from his reverie.

Now, the southern part of the peninsula, the most suitable area for agricultural production, has completely fallen into the hands of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Without food, the Tang Dynasty would collapse sooner or later.

With its eastern and southern borders already blocked, the Li Tang dynasty could only seek a solution from the northern grasslands.

But what can be done on the grasslands?
This is no small sum!

Although Yuanmeng now has agricultural production areas, these are all areas that were originally Liangzhou and Xizhou, and they are quite barren with limited grain production.

The remaining agricultural production areas are further west beyond Xizhou. As for their native grassland areas, who farms the land?

Where is Li Tang located? Is this distance sufficient for transporting grain?
Ten cartloads of grain, and before even reaching their destination, they've already eaten nine and a half cartloads themselves!
Not to mention, although the lands they conquered to the west included agricultural production areas, they were not agricultural civilizations like those in the Central Plains, but rather a combination of agriculture and nomadic life.

Their grain production was also very limited, only enough to feed themselves, and there wasn't much surplus to give to the Li Tang!

Moreover, they did consider exchanging cattle and sheep for a batch of pig iron, as the iron ore resources in the Li Tang area were quite good.

However, the military academy of the Great Jin Dynasty adopted the same tactics used on the grasslands, constantly sending out small groups of men to plunder the grasslands, firing a shot and then leaving.

The troops they sent to Li Tang suffered heavy losses!
Originally, Li Longji's mission should have been handled by Kublai Khan.

However, since Kublai Khan had traveled south to Xizhou at this time, Li Longji didn't need to pursue him so far, so he simply came to visit Temujin directly!

After all, although Temujin has now begun to step back from the limelight, he has not truly abdicated; he is still the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.

"I am fully aware of the Tang envoy's intentions!"

"But the Tang envoy should understand that the Great Yuan is powerless to help the Great Tang in its predicament!" Temujin didn't beat around the bush; he spoke very directly.

The problem with the Tang Dynasty was that there were too many people, and the domestic grain production could not support so many people.

Moreover, facing a large Jin army from the outside, they had to maintain a large number of troops at all times, which further exacerbated the pressure on food supplies. However, while the Jin Dynasty could solve the food shortage for hundreds of thousands of people, the grasslands did not.

"Longji's trip is not to seek grain!"

"Instead, we request the Yuan Dynasty to send troops to attack Jin!" Li Longji shook his head and said.

They were well aware, of course, that even if they were short of food, they couldn't find a solution by coming from the grasslands.

Not to mention, starting this year, the Great Jin Dynasty has been promoting generals skilled in cavalry warfare, especially generals from the grasslands such as Wang Baobao, Ashu, and Houmochen Chong, who have been constantly sending light cavalry from Youzhou to harass the grasslands.

They not only achieved their goal of training troops through warfare, but also successfully disrupted the connection between the Li Tang dynasty and the grasslands.

Even if the Yuan Mongols provided grain, they might still be attacked by Jin cavalry during the process.

When Li Longji went on this mission, he certainly didn't expect the other party to solve their food crisis!

Even if they can solve the problem temporarily, can we rely on them forever?
Even if the other party were willing, it would only push both of you into an abyss.

Therefore, the one who tied the knot must untie it; we must address the problem at its root.

"Send troops to attack Jin?"

"Tang envoy, are you perhaps joking?"

At this point, if the Great Jin Dynasty wanted to take action against the Yuan Mongols, it would need sufficient time to prepare for the war.

But could it be that the Yuan Mongols are fully prepared to take action against the Great Jin?
"A battle between Jin and Yuan is inevitable sooner or later!"

"If the Jin army has stationed nearly a million troops in Liang, He, Bing, You and other places!"

"Furthermore, in the past year, the Jin army has been conducting large-scale cavalry training. Does Your Majesty believe this is for the sake of our Great Tang or the Great Yuan?"

"Not to mention, the horse breeding farms of the Jin people are no longer limited to Liang, He, Bing, Si, and You, but have expanded to all the prefectures of the Great Jin, further encouraging horse breeding among the common people!"

"In that case, how vast will the number of warhorses available to the Great Jin Dynasty be in a few years?"

"Your Majesty, all the clues, however subtle, indicate that the Jin army already harbors the intention to invade the grasslands. I fear they may become another Emperor Wu of Han!"

Li Longji's narration made Temujin's expression solemn; they were not entirely unaware of these circumstances.

Although relations between Jin and Yuan had deteriorated to the extreme in recent years, exchanges never ceased, and border trade was frequent.

Throughout this process, the Great Jin Dynasty never relaxed its focus on the grasslands, and the Great Yuan Dynasty never relaxed its spying on the military and political affairs of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Some things cannot be completely hidden, especially the construction of the Great Jin army and border defenses. Many things are out in the open, and those large-scale constructions simply cannot be concealed.

"Even so, the Yuan-Jin War will not be launched lightly before our Great Yuan is fully prepared!" Temujin firmly refused.

That's how things are, but they couldn't possibly start such an imperial war without being prepared.

If such a large-scale war were to actually break out, the number of casualties on both sides would likely be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. Could it have been started without proper preparation?
Moreover, it's about starting an imperial war for another country?
A man like Temujin has his own judgment!
If he thinks the time is right, he will start fighting even if no one tries to persuade him.

But if he believes the time is not right, no amount of persuasive talk will convince him.