Twenty-Three Fire Burning Camps (Part 1)

  "Second brother, how have you been all these years? Looking at your rosy lips and white teeth, it seems like you've been living a life of luxury! Our ancestors are blessing you, this is indeed a case of turning disaster into fortune! Haha!

  On the military road, Su Dingfang and Su Ning walked side by side, marching while chatting. Su Dingfang led the vanguard of 500 soldiers to open the way, and Su Ning volunteered to follow him as his deputy. Longsun Chong also clamored to join them in making meritorious achievements, so he came along too."

  Su Dingfang didn't know how Su Ning had been doing all these years. He was certain that they were brothers for three reasons: one, they looked extremely alike; two, they were from the same hometown; and three, they shared the same surname "Su". Nothing else mattered. In ancient times, there was no paternity testing, and the so-called "blood recognition" was also a rare occurrence, so appearance became an extremely important identifying factor. Perhaps Su Ning had undergone a phenomenon of returning to his ancestors, looking too much like Su Dingfang.

  Zhang Sun Chong also didn't know how Gao Ren was refined, so he was very interested.

  "Ah, actually I'm not very clear about it either. Since I was a kid, I've been living with Master, wandering around everywhere. We've been to the icy tundra in the far north, the scorching hot rainforest in the far south, the vast desert in the far west, and the boundless ocean in the far east. We've almost traveled the entire world. We ate well, dressed well, and lived well, so I guess that's how I ended up looking like this." Su Ning casually made it up, but such things had indeed happened before. Every year during winter and summer breaks, the old man would take time off to bring him on trips, saying that men need to broaden their horizons, and that one can only understand more by seeing more.

  The old man was not stingy with his money on himself, although he never gave it directly. He spent no less than a million yuan on various expenses for Su Ning. When the old man got drunk, he said that Su Ning was his only disciple, and he had been teaching him personally for decades. The old man thought that all these things would belong to Su Ning in the future. Su Ning didn't care about money; as long as he had it, he spent it. This was very similar to the old man's own personality of spending lavishly and then recovering. However, Su Ning was particularly sentimental. He felt extremely heartbroken for not being able to attend the old man's funeral.

  So it's true that our family has no wealth, and it's also true that without the old man's words, I would be nothing. However, since becoming the old man's disciple, Suning has never admitted defeat because he is very confident. He inherited the old man's legacy, and as long as he had enough time, he would definitely become a figure no less than the old man. Unfortunately, before that day arrived, he came to the Great Tang, although he also became a noble with official positions, titles, and land, but Father doesn't know, Mother doesn't know, isn't all of this just like wearing brocade at night?

  But things are different now, suddenly there is a relative, although this must not be one's own relative, but it does not hinder Su Dingfang from recognizing this dead reason. Although I don't know where the real Su Erlang is, whether he is dead or alive, Su Ning doesn't mind taking the place of Su Erlang to fulfill his filial piety. It's just that whether he can truly become a member of the Su family still needs to be recognized by Su Erlang's mother, oh, his own mother.

  Su Dingfang and Changsun Chong's expressions changed greatly, Su Dingfang immediately asked: "Ice plain? Rain forest? Brother has seen the sea and desert, but what is an ice plain? What is a rain forest? How can one travel the world and still eat well, live well, and dress well?"

  Su Ning said: "The ice field, it's an extremely cold place. The cold there is several times colder than the coldest winter in our Central Plains. If you pour a basin of boiling hot water upwards, by the time it falls back down, it has already turned to ice! In the depths of winter, no matter what scalding thing, as soon as it leaves the house, it immediately freezes!"

  Chang Sun Chong listened with great curiosity: "Heavens! It's so cold, what about the Rain Forest? What is a Rain Forest?"

  Sunning said: "The climate there is very hot and humid, with heavy rain almost every day, so the trees and vegetation grow extremely luxuriantly, covering almost the entire land. This is now the location of Lin Yi country. Due to abundant rainfall, they don't have to worry about droughts at all. The climate is hot and humid, without cold winters, so crops can be planted throughout the year. Their staple crop is called 'water rice', which can be harvested three times a year! Although the territory of this small Lin Yi country is only about the size of one province, its annual grain production can reach that of the entire Tang Dynasty. In order to achieve this, they often plant for one year and rest for one year, but still have surplus grain that goes to waste!"

  This information was obtained by Su Ning using the divine machine to read the data of the surrounding countries of the Tang Dynasty. Su Ning decided that when there is an opportunity, he will persuade Li Er to take down the small country of Lin Yi. According to Li Er's extremely self-loving and boastful personality, as well as the arrogant and brutal nature of the Tang Dynasty's nobles and generals, the small country of Lin Yi will inevitably become a province of the Tang Dynasty.

  But Su Dingfang and Changsun Chong were shocked, their hearts churning like a stormy sea. Especially Changsun Chong, as someone who had been deliberately cultivated by Changsun Wuji as his successor, also had his own understanding of the country's major events. A single state's territory, with an output that could reach the entire Tang Dynasty's grain production! Paddy rice? Planted three seasons a year? What kind of situation was this? If the crops in the Tang Dynasty could also be planted three times a year, would there still be worries about famine?

  As for Su Dingfang, he had a more intuitive understanding of this matter. He used to be a farmer and had been farming for many years, so he naturally knew that the Guanzhong region and the vast areas of the north could basically only harvest one season! And also consider whether there will be droughts, where there is sufficient rainfall, temperature is sufficient, and planting can be done all year round! The most hateful thing is that they are so lazy! Not even planting grain for a whole year! And wasting grain! Hateful! Hateful!

  Chang Sun Chong's face turned extremely unpleasant: "A foolish commoner from a small country, unable to recognize such a treasure! How detestable! How detestable!"

  Su Dingfang's face turned extremely furious: "What a waste of heaven and earth! What a waste of heaven and earth! A group of ignorant people! Lazy bums! How detestable! Simply detestable! Such a place, my Great Tang doesn't even have it! Detestable! If we had such a place, the Great Tang would no longer worry about famine! We villagers wouldn't starve to death either! Detestable! Detestable! Just one state! Second brother, after this battle is won, I will ask His Majesty for an edict. With just 3,000 soldiers, I will definitely destroy the small country of Lin Yi and incorporate it into the territory of the Great Tang!"

  Su Ning smiled: "Big brother, second goods, that is the national policy, you can understand, and the officials in the imperial court can also understand. However, the difficulties of the southern expedition are unimaginable - mosquito bites, unaccustomed to the local water and soil, the dangers of malaria, the difficulty of transporting grain... these are all problems that need to be faced in the southern expedition. The land of Jiangnan has not been developed yet, and the road to war is extremely difficult, it's not something that can be accomplished with just three thousand soldiers."

  Chang Sun Chong was stunned, yes, he had been blinded by his own interests and hadn't thought it through as thoroughly as Su Ning. If the south was so easy to conquer, then why was it still a barbaric land now? Chang Sun Chong secretly sighed, he still had much to learn!

  Su Dingfang sighed: "Second brother, you really are thoughtful! No wonder the commander and general value you so much. You're so young and already enfeoffed as a noble, it seems you've learned a lot from your respected teacher! Our ancestors bless us, our Su family has indeed benefited from misfortune. I, your older brother, once opposed His Majesty, but later His Majesty didn't abandon me and let bygones be bygones, so I was able to serve again and fight wars for His Majesty. However, I understand that there are many people in the imperial court who suspect me, so my future is not very clear. I hope it won't affect your future, you're the hope of our Wuyi Su clan!"

  Su Ning was moved in his heart, this is a relative! So Su Ning said: "Big brother doesn't have to worry, since the emperor dares to use you, he won't be suspicious. As the saying goes, 'use people without suspicion, suspect people without use'. There are not a few people who opposed the emperor on the court in the past, isn't General that kind of person? Now aren't they still being reused? So as long as there is talent and loyalty to serve the Tang Dynasty, the emperor will not be stingy with rewards. Big brother doesn't have to worry about his future. As for me, I don't have so many thoughts, nor can I bear such a heavy responsibility. It's said that 'older brother is like father', since our father has passed away and uncle is no longer in this world, then some things are naturally up to big brother to decide."

  Su Dingfang burst out laughing: "Second brother, you're being too polite to your older brother! If we talk about battles and wars, I'm naturally the one who should take charge. However, when it comes to court affairs and family matters, I'm really not very good at them. Second brother, you've been studying with your respected teacher for many years, and I've seen your abilities too. From now on, whatever happens, you decide, and I'll absolutely listen to you! Haha!"

  Suning did not decline, he thought so too. Su Dingfang was a pure military general, later granted the title of Xingguo Gong, and lived a life of wealth and honor. As for himself, he didn't have such great ambitions, just wanting to make some changes, which were much more difficult than things in the army. Su Dingfang was not good at it and couldn't dominate, all of this still had to rely on himself.

  So Suning no longer hesitated about this matter, but instead started talking about other things, such as the idea of the Battle of Yinshan: "Big brother, second goods, now we only have 500 soldiers in our hands, while Yinshan has tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. If we fight hard, it's naturally certain that we will lose, but if we wait for the general to lead the main force to arrive, we won't have much credit either. It makes me feel very unhappy, big brother, second goods, do you want to take the first achievement?"

  Chang Sun-chung immediately revealed a hungry wolf-like expression: "Think, of course think!" Su Ding-fang was stunned, and then excitedly asked: "Second brother, you are a master strategist, with a hundred plans in your mind. What plan do you have this time? I will definitely follow it!"

  Su Ning revealed a gloomy and terrifying smile, Su Dingfang and Changsun Chong both shivered with a bad premonition, the two sensed that this time, the Turks would die miserably; they were not wrong, Su Ning was indeed preparing to deal with these Turks in a very cruel manner: "Big brother, on the battlefield, what is the weapon with the greatest power, the most lethal and the one that kills the most people?"

  Su Dingfang said hesitantly, "This... how can this be good? If we talk about the greatest power, it's naturally the catapult; if we talk about lethality, it's naturally the horizontal blade and crossbow, both of which have great killing power. As for what kills the most people, it's naturally the bow and arrow. Combining all three... I really don't know."

  Su Ning revealed a sinister smile, making Su Dingfang feel a chill: "As the saying goes, water and fire are ruthless, with the greatest power and destructive force, killing the most people, naturally it's water and fire!"

  Su Dingfang was suddenly shocked: "Second brother, you, are you thinking of a fire attack?" Zhangsun Chong also reacted: "Sanming, are you thinking...?"

  Su Ning nodded: "Now is winter, the weather is dry and cold, the river freezes, once a fire breaks out, it will be impossible to put it out. Not to mention that on Mount Yin, the trees are dense, and in winter, they are all dry wood. If there is wind, the wind will help the fire spread. Once a fire breaks out, the entire Turkic army camp will soon become a sea of flames! If the fire gets any bigger, the whole of Mount Yin will be burned to ashes. Will there be any Turks left alive? Big brother, just imagine it, the whole mountain is ablaze, what a magnificent sight!"

  Su Dingfang was suddenly shocked: "Second brother, you can't, the killings are too many, and it hurts the harmony of heaven! They are not beasts, they are human!"

  Su Ning looked at Su Dingfang strangely and said, "Big brother, who told you that the Turks are human? For survival, they will stop at nothing, even killing their parents, disloyal, unrighteous, and unfilial. Such beasts, can they be called human? Our family's teacher hated the Hu people the most, and the Turks are also Hu people. The Hu people are beasts, so the Turks are also beasts. I'm just setting fire to the mountain, roasting some beasts, it's nothing big, big brother, remember, the Hu people are not human, they're on the same level as pigs, cows, and sheep. Slaughtering pigs, cows, and sheep is a sin?"

  Su Dingfang was suddenly confused, are barbarians not human? The Turks are barbarians, so the Turks are also not human, so this is not a crime, is that right? Changsun Can had read many books and suddenly thought of an allusion, then fell into chaos...

  Suning thinks so, and the old man also thinks so. The old man is more radical than Suning, a nationalist who is full of hostility and contempt for all non-Han ethnic groups. Of course, Suning is much milder than the old man. For example, Suning's view is that those who listen will live, obediently assimilate into the Han ethnicity without bloodshed; those who don't listen will go to death, with rivers of blood and mountains of corpses, and those who don't die will become laborers, dedicating their own labor power, with no third way.

  Su Dingfang and Changsun Chong vaguely recognized Su Ning's reasoning, so Su Ning ordered his soldiers to prepare fire arrows. There was no other way; at this time there were no large cannons, the most powerful method was a fire attack. How could they use a fire attack? The only way was with fire arrows, so they prepared many fire arrows and burned down all of the Turkic people's tents. At that time, the wind was still blowing strongly, although it was somewhat small, but enough to be useful. With the help of the wind, the flames would quickly spread. In winter, water sources were frozen, and they fundamentally had no water to use to put out fires, so the Turkic people would certainly die a miserable death.

  At that time, another move was made to kill the Turkic camp, causing even greater chaos, disintegrating the Turkic army's morale, and defeating the Turkic army in one fell swoop! Sometimes, defeating a force of tens of thousands of soldiers is not difficult, as long as the heavens, earth, and people are all favorable. Now, Su Ning has all three advantages, it's clear that if he doesn't take advantage of this excellent opportunity, he would be letting himself down.

  Don't blame me, if you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being Turks, not Hans.