"Let's guess again, why did the Supreme send us back to Chang'an this time?"
Zhang Lun asked while holding the wine cup. He was already slightly drunk and scratching his chin. He looked as rough as ever, but the people drinking with him would not be deceived by his appearance.
Zhang Lun's rise is very strong. He has been in charge of his own affairs in the past few years. Xue Wanche and Zhang Shigui have all served under him, and their seniority is no longer counted. When Li Xiaogong went to Shu to attack, Li Jing, the governor, and Yuwen Huo, the general manager of Kuizhou, all
Served under him.
Yu Chigong, who was ahead of everyone at that time, Bu Qun already pales in comparison with him.
After receiving the edict, they gathered in Luoyang, unified Wanjing and rode to Hongnong, leaving the army to rest in Hongnong for a month, because the army's food and grass would be sent from Mayi in the north, and there were eight more
Thousands of cavalrymen will join the ranks of the army.
Most of the 8,000 cavalrymen coming from the south were formed by the Turkic tribes within. They had been training in the north for several years, and they were all prepared to prevent the Turks from invading southward.
They have lived in Mayi for many years and intermarried with the locals. Not only have their lifestyles changed, but their beliefs are also different from those of the same people in the north.
At that time, Ashina Qingyun once preached among the Turkic captives and successfully deceived them, giving the Whip of the Gods a place under the God's Seat.
In recent years, a large number of Turks have changed their surnames to Han surnames, and the surname Li has even become exclusive to nobles, so they have become the most important source of recruitment for the contemporary cavalry.
After switching to speaking Chinese and using military discipline, many Turkic families have become no different from soldiers in the Central Plains. They graze at the Yunnei horse farm in their free time, pick up swords and guns in war, and mount war horses to form an army.
This is already a military force that cannot be ignored in the north. Whether it is Yu Wenxin, Chen Xiaoyi, Qu Tutong and others, they are very worried and strictly control their food, grass and ordnance to prevent the Wuhu story from happening again.
The war in the Central Plains has progressed rapidly in the past two years. Because large armies were stationed at key points and could not move lightly, Li Po finally began to use these reserve forces.
Yu Wenxin took some to Youzhou. Some of them have been transporting food, grass and weapons for various armies. Now he is using some to go to the northwest to participate in the war. This is also due to the increasingly relaxed relations with the Turks.
The army will be formed in Hongnong, rest and practice for a period of time, and then go to the northwest in the autumn. According to Li Po's prediction, large-scale fighting will begin next spring.
Zhang Lun and others didn't know this yet, so they gathered together to figure it out. It happened that Dou Gui, the Minister of War, was also in Tongguan. He had been traveling abroad for almost a year.
He has become a panacea for the Ministry of War. He goes wherever needed and is used ruthlessly. Among Li Yuan's former ministers, Dou Gui is undoubtedly one of the more miserable ones.
Now that he has returned to Tongguan, he is still responsible for transporting grain and grass, serving as a front station for the army coming from the west, and he can barely be regarded as a landlord.
At this time, it was he who held a banquet to welcome Zhang Lun and others.
Seeing these generals in the army who were still at their peak of vigor and vitality, Dou Gui felt a burst of envy and jealousy.
In the past year, he and Wang Qing, another minister of the Ministry of War, have become the logistics managers of various armies. Wang Qing is responsible for the transportation of grain and grass in central Sichuan, and he is the supporter of the east side. The hard work during this period is really not what outsiders can appreciate.
In fact, several other people envied him.
Dou Gui is a serious Kansai aristocrat, and he is from a cousin's family. How can he compare to Zhang Lun and others in terms of family background? Not everyone can possess that aristocratic temperament.
Several generals were ambitious and brave, but they still treated him cautiously and were not proud of their outstanding military achievements. Guys like Zhang Lun who had always wanted to marry into a wealthy family wanted to make friends with him.
His family background is such that he takes advantage, and there is no way to explain it.
So there was a lot of fun and enjoyment between the two. Xue Wanche and Dou Gui talked about Nian Geng. They were both members of aristocratic families, so there was no obstacle to their communication.
Zhang Lun and Zhang Shigui were far behind, but they were now generals in the army with heavy troops, and Dou Gui did not dare to neglect them.
After drinking half-heartedly as brothers, Zhang Lun began to speculate about his future. In fact, he was almost asking Dou Gui. The other two had played this kind of game with him many times.
Dou Gui's face didn't look good, mainly because he was seriously injured the year before last, and it took him more than half a year to recover in the capital. After that, he traveled back and forth again, and he never recovered much.
He naturally understood who Zhang Lun was asking, and simply shook his head and said: "I can't say for sure. With so many cavalry coming from the west, and being led by you, they must be of great use..."
At this point, a few people were a little disappointed. Dou Gui had to show off his skills, otherwise wouldn't they think that Fufeng Dou's family was nothing more than that?
I didn't tell the wrong person a few years ago, and now I can't even get any useful information. Isn't it already ruined?
So Dou Gui changed the topic and said: "But there are rumors in the capital now that the Supreme wants to form an alliance with the Turkic Khan. Isn't it possible that the troops will be sent back to protect him?"
Xue Wanche shook his head and said: "We have also heard about this. In that case, the army should rest in Jinyang and save on food and grass. It does not need to be stationed in Hongnong. Moreover, there will be 8,000 people coming from the north, and they will join us.
Temperance, it doesn’t look like you’re going north, does it?”
Zhang Lun and Zhang Shigui both nodded, and Zhang Shigui followed his old habit and said for fear of offending: "Shilang Dou may not know that our leaders are all elites who have been fighting for many years. If there is no big enemy ahead, we should not be needed."
.”
If it were Dou Cong, he would definitely retort, "Don't you think we have never led troops? Who are we showing off to here?"
Dou Gui was much more courageous. He smiled casually and said, "Speaking of which, there are quite a few places where troops are used nowadays. The only places where such a large cavalry force might be used are in the north and northwest."
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but think of the battle the year before last, where he probably had to deal with these people. The overwhelming cavalry rolled up smoke and dust that covered the sky and the sun, and the rumble of horse hooves could be heard in his ears.
The tens of thousands of troops he led were almost instantly submerged in a tidal wave of offensive in front of them. He led his men to fight to the death, was cut twice by others, and stepped on several times by horse hooves, almost missing.
Met the King of Hell.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be alive again. Today I can still sit and drink and laugh with these people. I don’t know how God arranged it, but things in this world are so wonderful.
Of course, there is nothing surprising. The Central Plains has been divided and the war has been going on for more than ten years. We have already been among you, and you are among us. Brothers may meet on the battlefield, let alone unrelated people like them.
Especially for the nobles, they serve one today, defect to another tomorrow, and rely on whoever is powerful. This is normal operation.
Just like Zhang Shigui and Zhang Lun were Li Yuan's ministers like him before, Xue Wanche served Luo Yi in Youzhou, and now they are ministers in the same palace, no one can talk about the other.
……………………
Zhang Lun didn't want to think so much, and pondered for a long time and said: "The mountains in central Sichuan are densely forested, and there is no cavalry to fight against the mountain barbarians. Moreover, we have to make an alliance with the Turks. If there is nothing in the north, maybe the northwest? If that is the case, it seems that a few of us
It’s time to eat some windy sand.”
Several people laughed. Except for Zhang Shigui, several other people here had fought in the northwest region.
For example, Zhang Lun once stationed in Qinzhou for a period of time, Xue Wanche went to Shuofang, and Zhang Shigui only went as far as Fufeng.
"Then we're going to fight Tuyuhun?" Xue Wanche asked.
The minds of several people couldn't help but become heated. Almost all the famous former Sui generals fought against the Turks and Tuyuhun. Especially Xue Wanche, who followed Li Po to the grassland and showed his skills against the Turks. If he can defeat Tuyuhun again, his qualifications
He is among the best in the military.
Dou Gui worked in the Ministry of War and was a serious nobleman. He was indeed better informed than them. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "I'm afraid Tuyuhun doesn't need a few generals to bother. Last year, General Pang defeated Tuyuhun's tribe in Liangzhou with thousands of people."
More than 100,000.
Tuyuhun has long been severely weakened. If so many soldiers and horses go to the northwest, it will definitely be either to fight with Tuyuhun, to open up the road to the west of the river, or to fight for a new tribe that has appeared in the highlands."
"Oh? A new tribe?"
Zhang Lun and others came to show interest.
Dou Gui nodded and said: "I heard that they are called Tubo. They are a tribe from the south of the highlands. They should be more powerful than Tuyuhun. If these generals really go to fight them, they must not underestimate the enemy."
Several people laughed. When it comes to winning in a war, it's easy to say anything, but they all have their own explanations for losing. They are all experienced in battles, so they naturally understand the truth.
If you win, it's called confidence; if you lose, it's called underestimating the enemy.
Xue Wanche said with emotion, "The Supreme Being often said that the world is so big, there is no shortage of opponents. It seems to be true... First it was the Turks, then the Tuyuhun and the Qiang people, and today it has been replaced by the Tubo. I don't know what will happen after the Tubo."
Which one is it again?”
Zhang Shigui laughed and said, "No matter which one is used to make meritorious deeds, we are lucky to be born at the right time. If we have no opponents, wouldn't it be extremely boring?"
Typical military thinking. With the end of the war in the late Sui Dynasty, the generals were a little confused. Yu Wenxin, for example, wanted to start a war with the Turks. Others were not much better.
No enemies means no achievements. After fighting for so many years, the generals can't stop. Even if the Tang Dynasty has no opponents, it is estimated that they can create some opponents.
After hearing this, several people laughed loudly and raised their glasses to drink together.
……………………
The Tibetan invasion in the northwest was not the only cause of noise in May. The Grand Governor Li Jing also added fuel to the fire.
In the middle of May, Li Jing summoned the prefects, county magistrates, Biejia, and county lieutenants from all Jingxiang counties to Jiangling to discuss matters. Before that, he transferred Yuchi Gong, who was stationed in Jiangxia, to lead his army back to Jiangling for rest.
These were all big moves, which clearly showed their bad intentions. The officials from various counties were frightened and gathered together to discuss it. Most of them believed that this was a Hongmen Banquet.
Of course, most people don’t dare to disobey. The reason why Hongmen Banquet is Hongmen Banquet is because you have to come...
This chapter has been completed!