Chapter 1341: The Beginning Is the End

"Husband, you must return in triumph."

"I have charged in and out of enemy lines seven times; the battlefield is as nothing to me. This journey is to expand our borders and establish achievements and career, securing greater wealth and honor for our family. Ladies, live well at home and teach the children; I shall return within a year or two."

Before the gates of the Jiangning Duke's manor, Wang Yan, clad in tight-fitting martial attire, bade farewell to a large crowd of wives, concubines, and children; refusing their escort, he mounted his horse and rode off with twenty personal retainers.

Wang Yan had been elevated to the rank of County Duke, increasing his quota for personal retainers to over fifty men at present. Of course, the actual number of retainers was far greater; this was standard practice for military commanders, for which general did not have one or two hundred private soldiers under his command?

Moreover, without armed forces for protection, how would the great clans dare venture overseas to seek fortune?

However, Wang Yan did not bring so many men; having a few capable of delivering messages and handling affairs was sufficient, while the majority remained at home to manage tasks. His retainers were all battle-hardened killers, utterly reliable in their duties...

Upon reaching outside the city, he linked up with Li Jing and other second- and third-generation scions from various families; under Yang Guang's personal send-off ten li beyond the city gates, Wang Yan and his party spurred their horses to rush toward Yanmen.

Wang Yan's combat prowess was famously fierce, yet his casualty rates were notoriously low. Of the six hundred men who went out, more than three hundred survived to return; although many were wounded or disabled, those who recovered sufficiently to continue serving and fighting still numbered over two hundred.

A fifty percent survival rate and a thirty percent full-fitness rate—this was simply too exaggerated.

Of course, Wang Yan's success also stemmed from raising the Bi Tribe forces, but in the eyes of the high-ranking nobles of Great Sui, the Turks obviously did not count as people. Furthermore, Wang Yan's troop numbers were greater this time, replacing the Turkish soldiers; by the same logic, in the eyes of those high nobles, common foot soldiers did not count as people either.

Therefore, planning for their descendants, the high-ranking nobles sent their legitimate and illegitimate sons who could not inherit titles to serve under Wang Yan, following him into battle to earn merit.

Scions of noble families seeking advancement must also ride to war and slay enemies. There were always those unwilling to accept fate and unafraid of death; moreover, following Wang Yan greatly increased their chances of survival.

Wang Yan's battle plan had already been finalized; as long as they survived, everyone could secure military honors.

Thus, the great noble clans all sent their descendants to follow Wang Yan onto the battlefield to accumulate merit.

Of course, not just anyone could insert their people; one had to be a loyal member of the Crown Prince's faction. Nor could any single family insert multiple members; there were strict numerical limits.

According to Yang Guang, this list began to be coordinated and finalized immediately after the decision to deploy Wang Yan for the campaign was made.

After all, since these individuals were all ambitious, their martial skills and knowledge were adequate; they simply lacked extensive experience. If, within a force of twenty thousand, a huge number of second- and third-generation young masters were stuffed in as officers, one could say Wang Yan had already lost this battle.

Precisely due to their lack of experience, their handling of combat situations was inadequate. They also lacked the composure born of long campaigning, panicking at the first sign of trouble—a cardinal sin in the art of war.

These factors were reasonably considered; based on family background, these individuals were assigned to various positions. However, the highest rank any received was Assistant Regional Commander, serving as adjutant to a Captain of a Hundred, obeying orders.

Wang Yan generously left several spots open in his own guard unit, yet unfortunately, not a single person chose to follow him into the thick of battle...

A group of men riding swift horses, carrying only armor and weapons for light travel, reached Yanmen in just half a month.

Upon arriving here and taking command of the troops, it marked the moment Wang Yan, as the Yanmen March Regional Commander, possessed supreme authority here, with everything serving his will.

However, Wang Yan had no such eccentric habits as needing to execute a few officers before battle to establish awe and consolidate power; he truly had no need for such tactics.

Because he already enjoyed immense prestige here, the twenty thousand troops, ready for deployment, were already howling with excitement upon learning they would fight alongside him.

The rapid journey on horseback was something Wang Yan himself could adapt to, but it affected the condition of Li Jing and others. Thus, Wang Yan ordered a few days of rest and recuperation, during which he also inspected the various logistical supplies prepared for this great grassland campaign.

Mountains of dried meat, grain, salt, and other provisions; incense sachets Wang Yan had previously prepared for campaigns to repel mosquitoes and flies; various medicinal herbs; countless jars of strong liquor; needless to say, spears, swords, and halberds; and arrows gleaming with cold light, dense as rain. Production continued unabated, and supplies were constantly being transported to Yanmen.

Meanwhile, Wang Yan began studying intelligence reports received from all fronts and dispatched scouts to gather battlefield information in the area.

War is fought on logistics and information; having already battled the Turks for several months, the Yanmen trade market had been closed. The Bi Tribe, which had developed into a large tribe with over ten thousand warriors, was likewise sharpening its knives; Dulan could not possibly be unaware of these developments.

However, Yanmen, and indeed the entire Bingzhou region, was garrisoned with heavy troops. Several battles had been fought here previously, but after confirming Wang Yan's appointment as commander, forces had contracted back here to intensify soldier training, awaiting Wang Yan's arrival to fight fiercely.

This demonstrated extremely high respect for Wang Yan, as well as placing immense trust in him.

After all, strictly speaking, his combat record consisted only of that grassland campaign from years past, though admittedly that record was quite exaggerated...

Furthermore, the forces Wang Yan could deploy this time were not twenty thousand, but thirty thousand; it was merely that the ten thousand troops from the Bi Tribe did not count as people.

Wearing light, comfortable inner garments, Wang Yan gazed at the grassland map he had drawn years ago and continuously refined since, which marked all Turkish tribal movements gathered since the war began.

"Yaoshi, as the overall commander, how would you fight this battle?"

"Our Great Sui forces, combined with seventeen thousand cavalry from the Bi Tribe, will strike out in four directions to plunder populations, cattle, sheep, and horses; the remaining thirteen thousand will escort grain and military equipment, following at a distance to provide support. Once we acquire horses, infantry will transition to cavalry, sweeping across the land in this manner."

Li Jing was speaking of grand strategy; the specifics of striking in four directions pertained to operational methods and tactics, which required adjustment during actual command and could not be detailed in advance.

This was mainly due to the nature of the grasslands; the Turks were nomads possessing only tribes. Even if they had a few small towns, these were merely little earthen walls, not even comparable to a county seat in Great Sui.

Therefore, fighting on the grasslands could not be like fighting in the Central Plains, where one could meticulously deploy forces to attack specific cities or occupy strategic passes.

Fighting on the boundless grasslands was, in summary, quite simple: find the enemy, then destroy them. How to find them and how to destroy them—these were the crucial points.

Thus, Li Jing had not touched upon the core issue, nor could he have done so directly.

Wang Yan, however, nodded in strong approval and smiled: "That is exactly what I think. Infantry must never engage directly, or it would be suicide. Our cavalry cannot be fully committed, and the same applies to the Bi Tribe. We must guard against Turkish flanking maneuvers and protect tribal migrations. Therefore, of our seven thousand, four thousand will sortie; of their ten thousand, eight thousand will sortie. However, our military strength is not limited to these current numbers."

"Oh?" Li Jing expressed confusion.

Wang Yan took a sip of wine and smiled: "You speak of the Bi Tribe; have you forgotten how the Bi Tribe came to be?"

Li Jing suddenly understood, then slapped his own head: "Elder Brother's consideration is thorough, and his methods are superb. The Bi Tribe is the tribe most loyal to our Great Sui; truly marvelous, truly marvelous."

"There is nothing strange about it. They simply wish to live like human beings, to live better, that is all."

Regarding the Bi Tribe, Wang Yan felt very gratified; of course, it might be that the pressure he had imposed on them was too profound, combining great terror with great benevolence. Even as time passed, the wolf-like Turks still deeply remembered that divine, fierce, and cruel general blessed by the Eternal Heaven.

More importantly, Great Sui's handling of the Bi Tribe had accepted Wang Yan's advice, implementing economic control over them. Without excessively requisitioning the Bi Tribe's cattle, sheep, and horses, and leveraging the convenience of the trade market, the people of the Bi Tribe had enjoyed many years of good living.

They could eat grain and trade for many building materials; they built shelters, so that even when heavy snow sealed the grasslands in winter, they would not suffer losses as severe as in the past. Meanwhile, Wang Yan had also sent experienced personnel to work with them on researching how to raise more cattle, sheep, and horses, how to prevent livestock epidemics, and how to treat diseases.

At the same time, Wang Yan firmly implemented cultural education, bringing in numerous scholars from humble backgrounds to teach them reading and writing, thereby sinicizing them.

Furthermore, the local officials executing these policies did not excessively oppress the Bi Tribe; after all, with the trade market, they could all earn huge profits. Nor was the Bi Tribe giving something for nothing; they were a powerful army that had traversed the grasslands with Wang Yan, charging in and out seven times.

The local officials responsible for implementation naturally lacked the courage to provoke the Bi Tribe into rebellion. This was not merely a matter concerning the Bi Tribe; it involved Wang Yan, Yang Guang, and Great Sui's overall deployment against the Turks. Whoever ruined such affairs would surely be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.

Moreover, with numerous wealthy and powerful families making fortunes here, whoever ruined this business would not merely cause the death of a single local official; likely, their entire clan would be targeted and annihilated by those enraged magnates.

After all, cutting off someone's path to wealth is akin to killing their parents; this is a truly grave enmity...

In short, because the people of the Bi Tribe lived well, their hearts turned toward Great Sui; consequently, their tribe held great attraction for other Turks, causing many to defect from their original tribes. This was the reason the Bi Tribe had been able to grow continuously over the past decade.

Hearing Wang Yan's words, Li Jing nodded: "Indeed, the people of the Bi Tribe live more steadily and enjoy better lives than even the citizens of our Great Sui; this is all due to Elder Brother's achievements."

"Why does it sound as if you are insulting me?"

Wang Yan smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Li Jing, then said, "I understand your meaning. Go, transmit my military order: four thousand cavalry..."

Wang Yan immersed himself in the role of March Regional Commander and began arranging the mobilization of various troops and supplies.

It was not difficult; in summary, it boiled down to two points: first, all troops garrisoned at Yanmen were to advance forward to the Bi Tribe's territory, and all logistical supplies were to be transported there as well. Simultaneously, Great Sui's four thousand cavalry and the Bi Tribe's eight thousand cavalry were to assemble.

A particularly important point was that, despite opposition from everyone, Wang Yan still allocated military supplies to the Bi Tribe. Since the Bi Tribe specialized in mounted archery, Wang Yan provided them with large quantities of bows and crossbows, along with an astronomical amount of arrows, and also equipped them with light armor.

The purpose was to further enhance the combat effectiveness of the Youbi tribe while also preventing them from retaining a mercenary mindset, since after this campaign concluded, actual governance would be implemented on the grasslands without any differential treatment.

Simultaneously, to facilitate integration between the two sides, Wang Yan merged and dispersed all cavalry units, reorganizing them with a ratio of one Sui soldier to two Youbi tribesmen; officers were primarily from Great Sui, supplemented by Turkic officers.

Wang Yan personally led one thousand Sui troops and two thousand Youbi cavalry. The remaining ten thousand cavalry were divided into twenty units of five hundred men each, scattered deep into the grasslands to strike from all directions, while Wang Yan remained in the rear to provide coordination and support.

At the same time, he deployed numerous light cavalry scouts and dispatched a large number of messengers.

After the army marched out of Yanmen, Wang Yan's brain became like a multi-core processor; he had to coordinate the twenty scattered detachments, comprehensively analyze intelligence returned by scouts and the twenty units, manage rear logistical situations, and even disperse his own personal force of three thousand troops, considering garrison locations for every sector and supply issues for all personnel and horses.

After all, this was not a force of a few hundred, but twelve thousand men and nearly twenty thousand horses; while a few hundred could casually raid a settled tribe for supplies, doing so with over ten thousand was impossible, as a single supply sweep would leave no living creatures within several hundred li.

Therefore, Wang Yan naturally could not lead over ten thousand men in Mobile Corps Commander warfare, for lacking supplies was a path to death; yet he did not abandon Mobile Corps Commander tactics, as the forward detachments consisted of his old subordinates who had traversed the grasslands with him, knowing exactly how to fight and how to retreat.

Moreover, Wang Yan's personal commitment to charging into battle and never abandoning his men reassured the soldiers on the front lines that as long as their messages reached him in time, they would survive and win victories.

For Wang Yan, fighting battles was secondary; what mattered more was ruling the grasslands.

His mission as Marshal of the Marching Army was not merely to fight; accompanying him were many second- and third-generation nobles alongside numerous talented youths from humble backgrounds eager to forge a bright future on the grasslands, all destined to engage directly in governance.

Wang Yan issued regulations for managing the grasslands; while he fought and captured populations at the front, others behind him allocated and governed these people according to his prior instructions, and further in the rear, Great Sui civilians had already been mobilized to migrate, leaving their native lands.

Although no one intended to annihilate the nation, this war was being pushed toward the goal of destroying the Turkic Khaganate, or at the very least, crippling the Turks in a single campaign just as Wang Yan had promised in Daxing.

However, Wang Yan was in no hurry; the grasslands were too vast, and warfare had to be conducted slowly.

With his side fighting steadily and methodically, only the Turks would grow anxious, for the longer the war dragged on, the fewer their people and resources became, and even their military morale would disintegrate; after all, with their wives and children kidnapped by Wang Yan, what were they fighting for, and for whom? Unable to capture livestock or wives, the common Turkic soldiers would soon draw their knives to slash the heads of various chieftains, warriors, and Great Khans...

From the moment Wang Yan stepped onto the battlefield, it already meant that this national war had effectively ended; it was only a matter of time.

This was not Wang Yan's problem, but rather an issue of current productive forces and public infrastructure...

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(End of Chapter)