Chapter 175: The importance of the rear army

Two hours later, the Yiwu army and the Tianshan army rushed to the camp. Han Zhi and Zhao Tingyu came in a hurry. It was not because of Li Qing'an's order, but because of the military supervisor, he was not afraid to come.

The first military meeting after Li Qing'an came to Beiting was held in the middle of spring hunting.

"After the emperor's order, attack Geluo."

Li Qing'an glanced at the big tent, and dozens of senior civil and military officials sitting in the tent, each with the same solemn expression.

"This attack will be conducted by Hanhai, Yiwu and Tianshan Army to send 15,000 troops, and then order Shatuo to send 3,000 cavalry to fight together. Do you have any opinions?"

Han Zhi and Zhao Tingyu's faces were both ugly, especially Zhao Tingyu. He did not expect that Chunli would evolve into such a result, nor did he expect that the emperor's hand order had arrived.

He quickly glanced at Cheng Qianli, but Cheng Qianli shook his head, meaning to tell him that it was irreversible, but Zhao Tingyu refused to be restrained. He snorted and said, "How many troops do we need to produce?"

This is the core issue he was concerned about. Li Qing'an took out a booklet and looked at it and said, "According to the emperor's instructions, I will dispatch troops as follows. Yiwu's army will produce two thousand people, Tianshan army will produce four thousand people, and the remaining nine thousand people will be sent from the Hanhai army. The two governors can lead their own troops or hand them over to the deputy envoy of the military and horses to lead the troops."

Zhao Tingyu's face suddenly turned red. He was unwilling to give up. He had only 5,000 troops in total, and he actually wanted to transfer 4,000 people away.

"Why do I have to send out four thousand soldiers? I can only send out two thousand at most."

Li Qing'an's face sank, slapped the arrows and talismans of the Beiting Jiedushi on the table, and said coldly: "Governor Zhao, are you trying to resist the order and refuse to obey?"

Wang Tingfang, the military supervisor next to him, was also unhappy and said, "Governor Zhao, this is Your Majesty's order. Everything is dispatched by General Li. If you don't listen, you may be guilty of deceiving the king."

Zhao Tingyu knew that as long as he said another word 'no', Li Qing'an would push himself out and behead him. He had no choice but to say helplessly: "Subordinate to the order of Deputy Envoy Li."

Li Qingan turned around and asked Han Zhi: "Governor Han, what about you?"

Han Zhi was very pleased and said with his fists: "I wish to listen to General Li's order."

"Okay!" Li Qing'an stood up and said, "The two governors will go back to mobilize troops immediately. Ten days later, our army will meet outside Beiting City and set out to fight against Geluo."

The Gelulu people who participated in the spring hunting were not embarrassed in Beiting. They rushed back to the Geluluo Ya tent. Along the way, they had already thought of countermeasures.

As the eldest prince of Gelu and the legal heir to the position of Chief Gelu, Massilo was not as stupid as he showed. His position determines his attitude. Massilo's position was to oppose the Tang Dynasty and be close to the Uighurs. In his bones, he was more inclined to the Gelu people in Wude Mountain. They defected to the Uighurs and became part of the Uighurs.

He has always been disgusted by surrendering to the Tang Dynasty. Of course, he did not disgusted with the women of the Tang Dynasty, especially when he saw the new Jiedushi of Beiting who was a few years younger than him, his disgust turned into hatred.

It is his instinct to follow his brother from afar and maintain a humble attitude in front of his elder brother anytime and anywhere. Unlike other brothers and sisters with pure Turkic blood, he is from a humble background. This humbleness makes him more tolerant and scheming than anyone else. No one knows what he is thinking and what he wants?

Three days later, they returned to Geluo's base camp.

"Father, Beiting asked us to give the Jinshan Ranch to the Shatu people."

To assassinate Luoduo immediately raised the conflict. He did not mention the fact that he shot and injured the leader of Shatuo, but pretended to be a victim.

"The new Jiedu governor of Beiting is biased towards Shatu people. He asked us to use Jinshan Ranch as compensation eight years ago and forced us to make a deposit. I firmly did not agree and came back."

Moushu Heishan was stunned when he heard this. How could it be like this? He was a little disbelief and asked other people accompanying Geluo. Everyone spoke in unison, just like Moushuluo.

Only the second son Sihan said nothing from beginning to end. He saw a clue when he wanted to stab Heishan. He ordered everyone to retreat and ask the truth of the second son alone.

Mousshe sighed and said, "Father, you should prepare! I guess the Tang army in Beiting will come to attack Geluo soon."

Miaoshu Heishan was shocked, "What the hell is going on?"

To assassin Sihan explained in detail what happened in Beiting, and finally sighed: "Beiting is indeed a bit biased towards Shatu people, but the elder brother's contempt for the Tang Dynasty is the source of trouble. If there are still differences within Beiting about the beating of Geluo, then the elder brother's move tore up the agreement and kicked over the table will undoubtedly make all the opposition disappear. I am sure that the Tang army is gathering."

Mouta Heishan's eyes widened wider and finally he was furious and slapped the table hard, "This bastard, how dare you deceive me."

He stood up!' and shouted loudly: "Come here, call the eldest prince for me!"

Mousshe knelt down and cried, "On the way back, my elder brother threatened me. If I dared to betray him, he would tear me apart. For the sake of the overall situation of Geluo, the child would rather be killed by his elder brother and ask his father to save me."

Together with the eyes of this lowly-born but rather smart second son, he nodded for a while and said, "Okay! Actually, I have been considering giving you a certain status. From now on, you will be the leader of the ten tribes that have returned from Kingsoft Ranch. Tonight, I will convene a Presbyterian Council to announce this matter."

Mausa Sihan was ecstatic, and he finally had his own foundation.

At this time, Mushiluo was taken into the camp by the soldiers. When he saw that there were only his father and second brother in the tent, he immediately understood. He stared at Mushisihan fiercely, with a fierce light in his eyes. This damn thing must be peeled off.

"Kneel down!"

Moutao Heishan shouted angrily, and stepped forward and slapped his son twice, slapped Moutao's hair so that his cheeks immediately became swollen.

"You dare to hide the truth from me, you are so brave!"

Miaoshuluo knelt down and raised his head and said, "The child is not deceiving his father. Beiting is protecting the Shatuo people and keeps saying that he will beat anyone who makes trouble. But the Jinshan Ranch is still in the hands of Shatuogou, but they don't mention it. If my father really doesn't want the Jinshan Ranch anymore, I will go to apologize to Beiting."

When talking about Jinshan Ranch, Toshi Heishan was slightly angry, but he was even more anxious. Seeing the Tang army attacking, he had no choice but to do anything. At this time, Toshi Sihan said: "Father, I will go to Beiting to apologize and ask Beiting to forgive my elder brother's rudeness. There is only one way."

Moussou Duo was furious and pointed at him and scolded: "Hangou, do you dare to betray me Gelu?"

He hurried to his father, "Father, we can also ask for support from the Uighurs to fight against Beiting."

Mousshe sneered and retorted: "Dirty, do you think the Uighurs will offend the Tang Dynasty for us? On the contrary, he will come to mediate and take the opportunity to annex us. My father has no choice but to apologize to Beiting."

"Will Beiting accept our apology? I think they are just trying to find excuses to suppress us, Geluo."

"Enough, shut up!"

The beg of Heishan was dizzy due to the argument between the two brothers. He yelled, and the camp tent suddenly became quiet. He walked a few steps behind his back. The eldest son said something reasonable. If Beiting was an excuse to attack Geluo, then apologized was useless. This matter was related to Geluo's life and death. He could not decide. Finally, he waved his hand and said, "Convene a meeting of the elders to discuss this matter together."

With Li Longji's handing over the golden talisman, the dispatch of troops was extremely smooth. Just four days later, 6,000 people from the Tianshan Army and Yiwu Army arrived in Beiting. Beiting had been in peace for many years, with abundant food and supplies. In just a few days after the war order was issued, all kinds of food and supplies were prepared, and the army also started. Li Qing'an divided his troops into the front and rear armies, the six thousand Han Navy and Tianshan, and two thousand Yiwu each, with a total of 10,000 people as the front army, and the remaining three thousand Han Hai Army and two thousand Tianshan Army were the rear army, led by Yang Fengche, the deputy guru.

In the morning, flags were waving outside Beiting City, and 15,000 troops were lined up neatly on the endless grassland like a huge black carpet.

Behind them were food and grass vehicles that stretched for miles, and four thousand civilians were requisitioned to drive horses and transport food and grass and military supplies.

The official road not far away was filled with dense military families coming to see him off. Since the first year of Changshou, Wu Zetian sent Wang Xiaojie and Wuwei General Ashina Zhongjie to lead his army to defeat Tubo and recover Beiting and Anxi, Beiting has not been in war for more than fifty years.

Although the Tang army just taught Ge Hu a lesson that despised the majesty of the Celestial Empire, the military families were still worried and came to see off their children.

Li Qingan was wearing bright light armor, an iron helmet on his head, holding a long spear in his hand, and a fire bow on his side. He was tall and even more majestic. He came to Yang Feng's car surrounded by hundreds of personal guards and bowed and smiled, "Brother Yang, I will hand it over to you the Five Thousand Erlang and the baggage brigade of the rear army."

Yang Fengche smiled bitterly and said, "You really know how to choose people. You can't find anyone, but you just look for me. OK! Since you trust me, I will be reluctant to do so."

"Brother Yang, don't worry, I will ask Brother Bai Xiaode to assist you. They know how to march and camp. Just ask them more questions."

After Li Qing'an finished speaking, he rushed towards the front army as soon as he bowed his hand. Along the way, the military subordinates waved to him enthusiastically. Li Qing'an bowed and returned the gift and said loudly: "Don't worry, parents and sisters, we will definitely return triumphantly."

The cheers became even more intense. At this time, someone was shouting not far away: "Brother!"

Li Qingan saw his relatives, Rushi Ruhua and Xiaolian. They couldn't squeeze in and were all standing outside. Suddenly, he saw the dance clothes. She was wearing a wide-edged hat, and a thin layer of gauze hung on the edge of the hat, covering her face. She was wearing a snow-white long skirt, with the hem of the skirt fluttering in the wind, and her skin was as jade as snow, as if a fairy had descended to the world. She was gently waving goodbye to him, and her faint smile could be seen through the thin gauze.

Li Qingan nodded to them with a smile, clasped his fists, turned around and whipped the war horse, and galloped towards the forward army.

The army set off slowly. On the tenth day of April 10th of the eighth year of Tianbao, the Beiting army marched towards Jinshan.

To the north of Beiting City is the vast Shatuo Desert. The army spans the sand sea from the narrowest part of the northeast desert. On April 20, the army entered the territory of the governor's office of Damo Prefecture, and from here they entered Gelulu's territory. The three thousand Shatuo Cavalry who came to help the battle had joined the army under the leadership of Prince Zhu XieJianzhong.

In the evening of that day, the army marched to a dirt city called Bazhayi. This was one of the few cities among the Gelulu people. The dirt city was very small, with only more than one hundred mud houses in the city, most of which were shops, and were basically opened by Sogdians. This is the commercial center of Nangelu. The Gelu people living on the grassland used fur, medicinal materials and golden sand to exchange for various daily necessities.

The arrival of the Tang army broke the peaceful life of this small town. The city was deserted and every household was closed with doors and windows, and no one could be seen.

Li Qing'an rode on his horse and looked at the small city. The walls were thin and low, only two feet high. This was not to defend against the enemy, but to defend against the wolves on the grassland.

"General, is it stationed in the camp?"

Li Qing'an looked at the sky and it was almost dusk. He waved his hand and said, "You can stay in the camp!"

The Tang army immediately set up camp and entered the Geluo people's control. They were particularly cautious, erected fences and dug deep into trenches. A large tent appeared one after another. Not far away, there was a small river. Hundreds of Tang soldiers drove ox carts to fetch water, and then buried pots to make rice. The camp was extremely busy.

Li Qing'an led more than a thousand people into the city. The city had been cleaned up and no abnormalities were found. At this time, more than a dozen soldiers brought eight or nine Sogdian merchants. These Sogdian merchants were obviously of the lower class. They did not have the temperament of Sogdian merchants. They all shook their timid and their eyes flashed. In front of the fully armed generals of the Tang army, they all knelt down, crawled and kowtowed one by one, shouting: "General, please spare your life!"

Li Qing'an sat down on a stone and asked them in Turkic words: "I'll ask you, how many Gelu people are nearby?"

Several merchants looked at each other, and no one dared to speak. Li Qingan pointed to a young Sogdian businessman and said, "You say!"

This was obviously a young businessman who had just entered the Taoist world. He looked fifteen or sixteen years old. He was frightened by Li Qing'an. He was trembling with fear. After a long time, he said: "General, there are more than a dozen Geluo tribes in this area, 30,000 to 40,000 people, and they have no place to live. They all live by water and plants. However, as long as the general walks along the river, he can find them. In addition, a few days ago."

As soon as the young businessman said this, an older Sogdian behind stabbed him. The young man was so scared that he immediately shut up. Li Qing'an's eyes were so sharp that he saw the Sogdian's small movements at first sight. He couldn't help but be furious. He stepped forward and whipped the Sogdian behind him and ordered: "Take me eighty sticks and burn his shop!"

He immediately rushed up to more than a dozen soldiers and dragged the Sogdian away like a wolf or a tiger. He was so scared that he begged for mercy, "General, spare me! I dare not."

The young businessman was so scared that he kowtowed repeatedly and cried: "General, please spare my father!"

Li Qing'an waved his hand and the soldiers paused. He sneered: "You Sogdians are ungrateful. I restrain the military discipline and ensure your safety. I dare to hide it. I dare to hide it for me. I will relax the military discipline immediately and let the soldiers rob all your property and kill all your people. Do you believe it?"

The Sogdians begged in unison, "General, we dare not hide it."

Li Qingan snorted and pointed at the boy with a whip, "Continue talking, what happened a few days ago?"

"General, a few days ago, I heard from several Geluo people who came to sell furs that they saw the Uighur cavalry."

"Uighur cavalry?" Li Qingan was stunned and asked quickly: "Where did you find it? How many people are there?"

"I don't know this. It seems that there are quite a few people. The Gelulu people who sell furs said they were going to move to Yibohai with the Second Prince, and all the assets that they could not take away were sold."

"What about you, how much do you know about the Uighurs?"

Everyone talked about it, which was similar to what the young man said. There were indeed some Uighur cavalry going south, and the number of people was unknown. The second prince of Geluo gained strength and led his tribe to Yibohai.

Li Qingan fell into deep thought. The second prince was plotting to assassinate Sihan. He had seen this person who was bullied by the great prince plotting Luodu. Now that he has gained strength, it means that there are differences within Gelulu. The Uighurs' people heading south will not be a decision made by the Uighur Khan. The journey and time are too late, and perhaps it is the support of a certain Uighur tribe.

Li Qingan couldn't help but sneer. He thought Geluo would come to apologize, but he didn't expect that Geluo people would fight against him.

At this time, a personal soldier rushed from afar and reported from afar: "General, Governor Zhao has something to discuss with the general and is waiting in the big tent."

"I got it, let's go back now."

He asked casually again: "Where is Governor Han? Is he here too?"

"Report to the general, there is only Governor Zhao, and there is no Governor Han."
To be continued...