Water Margin people

Chapter 1483: Hitting the Plateau

"What does your majesty mean?"

Wu Jie looked at Sun Lei in confusion. He didn't understand what Sun Lei meant.

"I mean why would anyone attack the Hexi Corridor!"

Sun Lei looked at Liu Qi and Wu Jie and asked.

"Your Majesty, these Tibetans and other foreign races have been plundering for years..."

Wu Jie explained that as people from the northwest, they were very clear about the situation in the northwest. The foreign ethnic groups on the plateau survived by plundering the trade routes.

"You mean they live by plundering, and I'll let them plunder?"

Sun Lei continued to ask back.

"Your Majesty, of course not. It's just that there is a gas epidemic on the plateau. When the Central Plains army reaches the plateau, they will feel dizzy and weak in their limbs. In worse cases, their faces will turn purple and their lips will turn black before they die!"

Wu Jie quickly said that as soldiers, how could they allow others to rob them? This was a shame for soldiers, but they could not fight back, so they could only defend passively.

"They can go up, but you can't?"

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and continued to ask.

Liu Qi and Wu Jie didn't know how to answer.

“Have you ever been to the plateau?”

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and continued to ask.

"Both of us are from the northwest, and have been to the plateau before, so the impact of the epidemic is not that great."

Liu Qi spoke.

"So if you can do it, why can't others? We are all human, and some are naturally weaker?"

Sun Lei continued to ask with a smile.

"Qi Yi just hasn't adapted yet. If you suddenly charge up on horseback and climb too high all at once, you will naturally feel uncomfortable. If you start a fierce battle right away, the reaction will be even more serious."

"But if we proceed step by step and slowly move forward, after a short period of adaptation, everything will be fine, just like you guys."

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and said.

"Is this okay?"

Liu Qi asked doubtfully. He still felt that it was a little too simple. The Qi epidemic had plagued the army for thousands of years. How could it be overcome so easily?

"Soldiers who are physically strong enough can adapt quickly. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are very rare, just like some soldiers who just can't learn to swim, but they are excellent in other aspects."

Sun Lei explained.

"You two are from the northwest and are familiar with that area. I have a mission for you now!"

"I have recruited a large army of local people in the northwest. These people live on the edge of the plateau, can adapt to the epidemic, and understand the plateau terrain."

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and told them the purpose of this trip.

"Your Majesty is going to fight on the plateau!"

The two looked at Sun Lei in surprise, they knew best how difficult it was to conquer the plateau. Even at its most powerful time, the Tang Dynasty had not really conquered Tubo. Instead, it was constantly harassed by Tubo, and even Chang'an was breached.

"Of course, I won't let people constantly harass the food supply. You may not understand me, but I like to solve problems thoroughly!"

Sun Lei looked at the two men and said that these two men had surrendered and did not know enough about the country today.

“It’s completely solved!”

Liu Qi and Wu Jie looked at Sun Lei in surprise. They had never thought about this before.

"Your Majesty, how many people are there in that army?"

Wu Jie looked at Sun Lei and saluted.

"Five thousand people!"

Sun Lei said that the population in the northwest is sparse, and it is not easy to gather a team of 5,000 people.

"Five thousand people!"

Liu Qi and Wu Jie were both a little disappointed. Such a team was not enough to completely eliminate the entire Tubo. You have to know that the area of ​​Tubo is not smaller than that of the Central Plains, and the population is not as large as that of Liangshan City. Those Tubo tribes only need to find a place to hide. Five thousand people will not be able to find it even if they search for several years. "Do you think it's a little too little?"

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and asked.

"Your Majesty, Tibet is too large, and 5,000 people are probably just a drop in the bucket!"

Liu Qi spoke.

"Haha, I heard that you are all reading military books. What did you understand from reading them?"

Sun Lei looked at the two of them and asked.

"This... the army is all-encompassing, and I and others..."

The two of them quickly shook their heads. They didn't dare to say what they understood.

"The art of war is about people. People need to drink water, eat, sleep and rest to survive! The plateau is very large and vast, but there are not many places where people can live. What you want is to clear these places and start from other places. If they can live by eating dirt and gnawing on stones in places where there is no grass, then I will accept it."

Sun Lei looked at Liu Qi and Wu Jie and said.

"Also, I can let you bring the old soldiers with you. We can fight and support each other. In a year, we will have an army of 10,000 or 20,000."

Sun Lei continued.

"Your Majesty, we two generals are willing to obey your orders!"

Liu Qi and Wu Jie looked at each other, knelt down and said to Sun Lei that after such analysis, they also understood the mission this time. They only needed to wipe out the alien races in the Qilian Mountains area so that they could not threaten the Hexi Corridor.

As for sweeping across the entire plateau, this needs to be done slowly.

"Very good, you are now deputy generals. If you can complete the task, I will promote you to chief generals and even let you form a battalion of soldiers."

Sun Lei looked at Liu Qi and Wu Jie and said that the military organization of Qi State had become complete and it would be impossible to form a new camp unless there was a great contribution.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The two men bowed excitedly and then walked out.

"Your Majesty, can we let them go? The lifeline of the army is of great importance!"

Zhu Wu looked at Sun Lei and whispered that the Hexi Corridor was related to the success or failure of the war, so he felt that he should send some trustworthy generals.

"Don't employ those you doubt, and don't doubt those you employ. These two are enough."

"As for the supply line, I have no intention of transporting food for a long time! The journey from Guanzhong to the Western Regions is thousands of miles long. How can we transport supplies for a long time? After the army goes out, they can only get food locally."

  Sun Lei said, Qi State is rich now, but money cannot be wasted like this. It is fine to transport military equipment over a distance of thousands of miles, but transporting food and grass is just looking for trouble. What's the point of transporting ten kilograms of food and less than half a kilogram is left? It's better to eat on the spot.

"Your Majesty, do you mean to rob?"

Zhu Wu looked at Sun Lei and asked.

"Where will the food come from if we don't rob? Do you really want to transport grain? Emperor Wu of Han emptied the treasury during his expedition to Dayuan."

  Sun Lei nodded and said, of course the army would go out to rob, otherwise what was the point of fighting?

"Also, we need to leave people to defend the city. One or two thousand people will be enough!"

Sun Lei pointed to the Hexi Corridor and said that a 100,000-man army was impossible, but an army of 10,000 or 20,000 was still necessary.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Wu nodded.

After leaving the palace, Liu Qi was so excited that he wanted to roar, but he restrained himself. He was still wearing a military uniform and had to pay attention to his image.

"Brother Wu, our chance to make achievements and stand out has come! Your Majesty is wise!"

Liu Qi looked at Wu Jie and spoke.

"I didn't expect that either."

Wu Jie sighed a little. He didn't expect that he, a surrendered general, could be trusted so much.

"But we still need to study it carefully. The terrain over there in Qilian Mountain is complicated..."

Wu Jie spoke.

"We are all locals. We can contact our relatives and friends when we go back. These are just small things!"

Liu Qi was not worried at all. These things were difficult for others, but very simple for him.