Chapter 102 Fighting

The last time Xue Chongxun came to the north was to quell Zhang Renyuan's rebellion. It was spring and summer at that time, the climate was not severe, but this time he really felt the chill on the grassland.

In fact, winter is not the coldest time, but Xue Chongxun also feels cold in the morning and night, and the wind is so strong that the climate is much sadder than Chang'an.

During the march, the soldiers breathed out white steam, which was because the air temperature was low and the water vapor condensed rapidly.

After Du Xian withdrew from Heisha City, he contacted the Central Army again. Xue Chongxun learned the whole story and concluded that the military order was intercepted and praised Du Xian's proposal.

The staff sighed: The tokens are all real, just using Chinese characters, and a little clue can be seen through General Du. It is really a human being.

Xue Chongxun smiled and said: It is not the clue that can allow Du Xian to withdraw his troops directly.

The civil servants asked curiously: What is that?

Xue Chongxun suddenly remembered the tacit understanding when playing with Du Xian, and he could always play in conjunction when he was out of tune.He smiled but said nothing, and the officials were puzzled.

At this time, the Mingguang army did not retreat westward to meet with the main force, but instead arranged it to the east as a predecessor to monitor the Khitans.

The Khitans are also brave and good at fighting. Now being ruled by the Turks is the cause. At first, the Khitans were the masters who dared to bother the Tang Dynasty and make decisions with the Turks. As a result, a joint attack between the Tang army and the Turks, the Khitans were defeated and forced to defect to the Turks.

However, they are still a force that cannot be ignored and can even affect the Libra.

Zhang Jiuling suggested: The Mingguang Army defeated the Turkic capital and shocked the whole world. The current situation is not optimistic about the Turkic people.We should send envoys to Khitan again to contact him, so that they can judge the situation and not be enemies with me.Even if they could not win the Khitans' coalition of troops to attack the Turks, as long as they remained in control of the Monan, they would be biased towards the Tang Dynasty.

Xue Chongxun agreed and ordered Du Xian to contact Khitan to win over.

More than 100,000 people and horses were heading towards Heisha City calmly with their supplies and food. Perhaps that city would be used as the place for the outbreak of the battle.

The Tang army was not in a hurry, and they marched slowly and set up camps and repaired them at night every day, and each army was closely guarding them.

The main force of the Tang army was divided into nine armies, and there were several nomadic coalition forces, of course, not crowded into a group, but arranged the marching formations in order. On the vast grassland, this army floated on the field like a fleet.

There were all Tang Dynasty troops in the middle, except for the Murong Xianbei people. They were on the side of the Shence Army. They would sit in Xue Chongxun's tent at night.

Xue Chongxun did not blame him for his failure in combat, but instead expressed relief. The relationship between the two was as good as before.

People often meet Xue Chongxun and ask the officials outside the tent what the prince is doing, and the officials shout: Play chess with King Tuyuhun Khan.

The calm life of the general can affect the morale of the army and give the soldiers a feeling of being confident.

During the days when Murong Xuan and Xue Chongxun were together, I also learned Go and it is often said that it is very interesting...

Of course, Xue Chongxun also found it interesting because it was difficult for him to find a novice like Murong Xuan to win among the bureaucrats.

On that day, Xue Chongxun was playing Go with Murong Xuan, and suddenly he reported to arrest several Turkic people, threatening that a Turkic tribe would come over and send someone to contact him.

When Xue Chongxun heard this, he was very interested. He wanted to make Mochuo betrayal and divorced from his relatives. He immediately ordered a meeting in person, and told Erling and several officials who were familiar with Turkic affairs to meet him at the tent.

After a while, several Turkic people with disheveled hair and leather armor were escorted into the tent by Tang army soldiers. However, seeing these people's panic and demeanor, Xue Chongxun frowned and thought to himself that he was probably not an important person.

Regardless of whether they are dressed, it is said that those upper Turkic people have seen at least a lot of things, and they will never be able to perform like this in public.

The official next to him asked in Turkic language: Do you know how to speak Chinese?

They hurriedly shook their heads, looking at a loss.These Turkic warriors were not on the battlefield, but they seemed very restrained in such social occasions because they had no experience.

So the officials said something to them in Turkic language and then waited for the translation to Xue Chongxun.

Unexpectedly, these men couldn't make a fuss for a long time and stood there without saying a word.

After a long time, one of them took out a wooden box and pointed at it and said in a silence.

The official turned around and bowed to Xue Chongxun and said: He said it was sent by Qi Telle, the "prince" of the Telle tribe, who wanted to join the Tang army. The box contained a letter written by Qi Telle to the King of Jin.

Take it up.

It took Xue Chongxun a long time to say something.

The slave who was waiting aside opened the box and checked it before putting it in front of Xue Chongxun, which contained two rolls of paper.

Xue Chongxun opened a volume and found it was a sketch. After reading it for a while, he didn't know what was drawn, so he threw it aside. He expanded the second page of the hooks and hangs like Turkic words, and he didn't recognize them anyway.

He handed it to the civil servant next to him and said, "Let someone translate it out and show it to me."

yes.The official responded and said, "There is indeed a Tsugu tribe in the Turkic State, who is a relative of the Khan Ashina clan."

Xue Chongxun nodded and glanced at the men, and said: These people couldn't tell anything, so they asked them to settle down first, and then I would find them when I see what was said in the letter.

He understood it until the official who knew Turkic writing translated the letter and handed it to Xue Chongxun.

It is probably said that a tribe of the Turks was dissatisfied with Mochu's rule and wanted to abandon the darkness and turn to the light and was willing to help the Tang army defeat the Turkic army as an insider...

Seeing the back, Xue Chongxun suddenly discovered Li Shizhi's name and immediately slowed down his reading speed.

It turned out that Qi Teller knew the origin of Li Shizhi. He was persecuted by jealous people and fled to the Turks. Qi Teller determined that Li Shizhi was also Xue Chongxun's enemy, so he specifically mentioned that it was better to die if he wanted Li Shizhi to fall into Xue Chongxun's hands.

This conspiracy gave Qi Teller some wisdom.

After seeing it, Xue Chongxun suddenly thought to himself: Yin Ci did not catch Li Shizhi in the three cities. It turned out that he had fled to the Turks and was still doing well...

This guy is indeed a bit capable.

Xue Chongxun believed the authenticity of this letter a little more, otherwise how could the Turks know that Li Shizhi was so clear?

Since Qi Teller who wrote the letter was a relative of the Ashina clan, then the Turkic princess Ashinazhuo in the army should know him. It would be better to find him to confirm it, at least to judge whether Qi Teller exists.

Xue Chongxun wanted to finish his mind and ordered someone to come and meet Ashinazhuo.

As soon as Ashinazhuo heard Qi Teller's name talk about it in the Tang military camp, his expression was a little strange, and then replied: There is indeed this person, he is the grandson of Zuoxian Wang Tengyugu.

Xue Chongxun nodded, observed Ashinazhuo's expression, and asked casually, "Is this person your lover?"

Ashinazhuo shook his head quickly: No!How could he be my lover?

Oh... Xue Chongxun asked again, what is your lover's name?

Asanar Zhuo blushed. Of course, she also knew the origin of Li Shizhi. She explained it clearly when she took Li Shizhi to the royal city.

She was naturally unwilling to betray Li Shizhi and told Xue Chongxun where Li Shizhi was, so she remained silent.

Fortunately, Xue Chongxun didn't ask the truth, so he gave up when he saw that she didn't say anything. It seemed that he didn't care much.

This was when she thought of the two Tang Dynasty men she met, she couldn't help feeling a little strange in her heart; at the same time, Li Shizhi and Qi Teller also couldn't stand each other, and it seemed that men were always having trouble.

However, Xue Chongxun and the Tuyuhun Khan in front of him looked good. I heard that they often play chess together, talking and laughing.

Perhaps because she was in the Tang military camp during this period, the person she thought about the most was no longer Li Shizhi, but Xue Chongxun.

Thinking of this, Ashinazhuo glanced at Xue Chongxun again, and saw that he had lowered his head and said nothing, as if he was thinking about something.

Xue Chongxun is far behind Yingjun and Li Shizhi, and she gives Ashinazhuo a little taciturn. This is why she is a little confused and curious.

Xue Chongxun suddenly looked up and asked: Since Qi Teller is a relative of your family, why did he betray Mochuo? The relationship between the two tribes is not good?

Ashinazhuo replied truthfully: Qi Teller's grandfather, Teller's grandfather, was Queter's father-in-law, and Queter was my brother, the son of former Khan Gu Dulu.Mochu Khan took over King Khan and had always been suspicious of Quetler and the people around him, so the Tsugu tribe and Mochu Khan were relatives but were not close.

You are not Mochu Khan's biological daughter.Xue Chongxun said.

Ashinazhuo nodded: He is my uncle and accepts me as his adopted daughter.

Xue Chongxun understood the relationship between the person who claimed to be resigned, so he stopped asking Ashinazhuo what he said. He then shut down some irrelevant officials and discussed the matter with several confidant generals.

Zhang Jiuling and others took the picture and studied it for a while, and figured out that the location of the Turkic army's troops was deployed, but they did not distinguish between authenticity.

No one dared to determine whether the Shiyugu tribe really surrendered, it was probably a trick of baiting and had to be guarded; but if it could really get internal responses in the Turkic army, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to the Tang army, which was unfamiliar with the terrain environment.

Xue Chongxun was moved and said: Qi Teller in the letter that we attacked at night and attacked the designated position, and entered the captive captive of the Turkic central army, Mochuo and the criminal Li Shizhi. He acted as an insider in the camp... As he said, we attacked the main force when the Turkic was caught off guard. Once we succeeded, we had the chance to win the entire army...

Wang Changling said: If we are never tired of deceiving the war, we will suffer losses if we break into the ambush.

Xue Chongxun thought for a while and said: There is this risk, but we can give it a try, put the army in front of the Turkic formation, rush in to take a look, and adapt to the situation.

……

In a few days, the Tang army had arrived at the banks of the Wujia River, not far from Heisha City.

Several camps echoed each other and slowly marched along the river bank water source, and the army was so crowded that it was crowded with people for dozens of miles.

As expected, Mochu Khan's main force is still active near Black Sand City, and it seems that a decisive battle in this place is inevitable.

At this time, Mochuo did not dare to give up Heisha City to avoid the Tang army's military front. Give up this means giving up control of the entire desert grassland. The situation is not to be on the weak side at the moment, so they can only compete for the battle.

Rangers were frequently active within their respective spheres of influence, and small-scale conflicts often occurred. Xue Chongxun's central army did not have the opportunity to get close to the Turkic army to find out its specific deployment. The only available information was the scribbled drawing sent by Qi Telle, who was not sure whether it was true or not.

What can be determined is the approximate range of activities of the Turkic army. It is not necessary to attack the decisive battle under such military information, but there is insufficient information to steal the camp.

The war was getting louder and louder, and there were no herders near Heisha City, only military activities, and those spies hidden among Turkic herders could not provide military information for the Tang army.

After thinking about the picture, Zhang Wulang and Yin Ci went to the central army's tent to make comments: According to the location indicated in the drawings, there were tens of thousands of soldiers in front of the Turkic central army. If our army suddenly attacked the large camp of the army, a cavalry must penetrate deep into the enemy's sphere of influence.If this is a plan, the front army will be besieged and destroyed; perhaps worse, the Turks predicted the trend of our main force and attacked the camp in the rear and burned supplies and food. How can our army last for a long time?Please think Xue Lang three times.

Xue Chongxun nodded and said: You are very reasonable, but the Turkic army deployed troops first and foremost and less. What if the Mingguang army in the east attacked the camp from behind?

The two generals looked at each other and said: The one who took the risk was the Mingguang Army.

Xue Chongxun pondered for a moment: The war that concerns the rise and fall of a country cannot be entirely gambled, nor can Du Siang die because of our strategic mistakes; but the warplanes are hidden, and we cannot miss the opportunity to defeat because of being too cautious.If you go down and think about a plan, you must be prepared and not miss the opportunity. Think about whether there is a complete solution.

In the afternoon, Xue Chongxun issued another military order, ordering the troops to set up camp along the Wujia River to defend and stop marching.

There is a water source in this place, and even if the river water is intercepted, a well can be dug, and the river bank can definitely be dug out of groundwater; at the same time, the army has sufficient supplies and food.

Therefore, Xue Chongxun’s central army believes that he can station here without any hassle.

After two days of repair, Zhang Jiuling and others formulated a combat plan and handed it to Xue Chongxun for his inspection.

It is planned to swallow food and grass before the fortifications on the river bank and deploy troops around to prevent the Turkic army from attacking the rear army; then use the main force to approach the Turkic army's range at night, but does not attack the large camps of the army, but divide the troops to test the attack on the military camps marked on the drawings to find out the reality and reality; at the same time, Du Siang's troops move westward. If the Turkic battalions are in the expected location, there will be no enough troops to deploy ambush and encircle them, and the Du Siang's troops can be ordered to immediately attack the expected Turkic central army and find a fighter to defeat the enemy.

If all this goes well, the attack of the Turkic Central Army will inevitably cause command chaos. The main force of the Tang army in the west will attack and fight again, with a great chance of victory.

This plan was discussed by several confidant civil and military officials, and they considered many possible loopholes and were relatively comprehensive.

Xue Chongxun thought for a while and then readily picked up the pen and signed the signature on it for archives, and decided to implement it.

Without further ado, the central army of the Tang Dynasty began to build fortifications, and sent people to send orders to Du Xian.

Military orders are naturally written in cryptic texts, and very few people are familiar with the combat plan. The idea of ​​attaching importance to information warfare is obviously beyond the world in this era.

After receiving the combat plan, Du Xian was not in a hurry to advance westward and exposed his purpose. He was still standing still on the spot, while paying attention to the movements of the Khitans.

I was afraid that if the Khitans were dispatched from the east, the Mingguang army would be in awkward situation.

The Tang envoy sent to the Khitan several times. In addition to persuading the Khitans to surrender, he also acted as a spy to monitor their movements. If the Khitans wanted to mobilize a large army, there would be some signs.

The Khitan leader was named Li Huo. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Khitan leader led all his tribes to ask for subordinates. The Tang court established the Songmo Governor's Office with his place, and appointed his leader Gu Ge as the governor. He was granted the surname Li in Wuji County.

At first, the Tang court had strong military power, and their descendants were all proud of their surname Li, so the surnames of this lineage were passed down.

From the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang to more than 60 years now, the Khitan has rebelled several times. After the latest rebellion, it was defeated by the Tang army and the Turkic and Xi forces. Most of its territory fell into the hands of the Turkic Khanate, so the Khitan also bowed to the Turkic Khanate.

But they are obviously not very reliable people to the Turks, and they are not a race at all.

Of course, they did not have much sense of belonging to the Tang Dynasty, but they always had to reconcile with one of them in order to survive when the surrounding powerful countries existed.

The Tang envoy came to recruit the amnesty. Li Huo and his ministers treated him politely on the surface, but he had nothing to say when he turned his back.

The ministers discussed that the Han people have never looked down on us and regard us as barbarians. What about the Khitans who surrendered to Hebei for survival?It’s not just the treatment of being a slave or a servant!

Is the lives of our Khitans not a life?Why should we work hard for the Tang Dynasty?

We can't just say that they are not. Li Tang is fine. The Li family princesses have also married a few of them. Some of the Khitans have become officials in the Tang Dynasty.

But don’t expect Xue Chongxun to be in power. He heard that the Tang Dynasty was going to marry a princess to Tubo, so he really snatched it back halfway!

Yes, Xue has nothing to count on!

Li Huo raised his hand to calm everyone's discussion and said: Xue's family is not a good bird, and the Turks are similar. They plunder our cattle and sheep every year. When will this be?This time we should be happy if we bite both sides.

The rabbit dies and the fox is sad. We have to guard against the Xue family after dealing with the Turks and will not give us a good face.

Li Huo sneered: If we hadn't been besieged from three sides last time, could we have been put in the hands of Tangren?It is not easy for them to use our swords!Besides, Mochuo sent troops to attack Huaqing Palace last year and offended Princess Taiping's family, and then encountered a great enemy. What does it have to do with our Khitans?If Xue goes crazy and moves troops everywhere, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Everyone felt that the leader was right and agreed. At this moment, the Turks had to end up with the situation. It was difficult for heroes to have many enemies. The tribes around the Turks had rebelled, and the capital was looted by the Tang army. It was not a wise move to follow the Turks one by one.

But it is really worth it to work hard for the Han people!

Li Huo smiled and said: The Han people don’t plan to rely on us. The purpose of sending people many times is nothing more than asking us not to help the Turks, just stand by and watch.Don’t worry about this. Didn’t we swallow Uluogu’s territory last time? It just happened to make the Han people admit this.When the war is finalized, we will send troops to act and occupy some Turkish pastures, and then ask for some official positions from the Tang Dynasty.

The ministers laughed: Yes, the Han people love this face.

Li Huo said seriously: We are not good at face, who would like to call someone else's master?But is there that capital?