The twenty-fourth year of the third year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty.
Yu Wenxin, the general manager of Youzhou and the pacification ambassador of Hebei North Road, led his troops out of Feihu Road and stationed in the west of Wuhui Mountains, specifically to defend against the 20,000 Xia troops who launched an attack from the direction of Feihu Road and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang army followed the marching route and successfully entered Shanggu County. The governor of Shanggu County, Wang Bo Xianyi County, moved towards Zhuo County, but Zhuo County had already raised the sun, moon and stars flag of the Tang Dynasty.
The army went all the way without any hindrance, including Anle County, Yuyang County, and Beiping County. Yu Wenxin almost spit out a mouthful of blood. At this time, he realized that there was not much military merit left.
The situation in Hejian County and other places in the south is probably similar. When he brought his troops, it turned into a military parade. Apart from taking over the city defenses in various places and arranging defenses along the Great Wall, there was not much use for them.
The soup left for him was dry and astringent, so he could only work on calming down the area and detecting Turkic movements.
But there was nothing he could do. Bu Qun, Li Nian and others had already exercised great restraint, because they had all the time to move their troops forward. After all, it would not take much effort to capture Dou Jiande and pacify northern Hebei.
And considering the overall situation, there is no obligation to wait for him to come over.
The imperial court ordered him to send troops to Youzhou, but in fact it was only to prevent Dou Jiande from fleeing north, and the other was to prevent the Turks from coming south to join Dou Jiande. If neither of the two happened, his troops would be idle.
Yu Wenxin was also a little confused. Dou Jiande had been entrenched in Hebei for a long time, so it was impossible for him to have no contact with the Turks.
Now that Dou Jiande was defeated, he did not come north, and there was no movement from the Turks. This is really suspicious. He had a lot of dealings with the Turks when he was in Daizhou.
But he didn't think that the Turkic Eastern Khan Ashina Duowen was a man who wanted to be a man of beauty, so after taking over Youzhou, Yu Wenxin immediately sent people north to inquire about the whereabouts of the Turks.
In May, Yu Wenxin sent a letter to the court, and the Turkic Turkic Khan Ashina Duowen summoned soldiers from various ministries to attack Liaodong City last autumn.
In other words, the Turks and Goguryeo are competing for control of Liaodong.
Under Ashina Duowen's military deployment for many years, the Khitan tribes, the Xi tribe, and the nine Shiwei tribes all came under the Turks' account. They were all descendants of Donghu Xianbei and were active in western Liaoning and some areas north of Hebei.
In terms of social structure, they are primitive and backward, and are a standard nomadic people. Among them, the Xi people are the most powerful. During the Daye period, they even surrendered to the Sui Dynasty. Now they are the first northeastern people to submit to the Turks.
When Li Po led his men to attack Youzhou, they also went to Feihu Ridge on the orders of Tuli Khan to enter Youzhou to plunder. Some Khitan tribes cooperated in attacking Juyong Pass.
A few years before that, they were still fighting under the banner of the Sun, Moon and Stars, and accompanied the Sui army to attack the Goguryeo people.
The appearance of having breasts means being a mother is in line with their nature and characteristics.
And there is no harmony between them. The Xi tribe and the Khitan are close to each other, and they often bleed for the pasture. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are feuding.
It's just that the Khitan tribes are still very loose, and no one has unified them. Therefore, although they are more numerous than the Xi tribe, they have always been at a disadvantage.
Shiwei are of the same origin and species as them, but they graze in the north of the mountain and have no conflict with the Xi tribe and Khitan.
However, there was heavy snowfall in the northeastern grassland in the past few years, and many of the cattle and sheep of Shiwei tribes were frozen to death. So the nine tribes of Shiwei moved south together, hoping to drive away the Khitan tribes and occupy their grasslands.
Seeing that something was not going well, the Khitan tribes formed an alliance and fought two battles with the nine tribes of Shiwei. They were defeated and returned, so they asked the Turks to seek justice.
Ashina Duowen had just initially quelled the rebellion in the eastern Turkic tribes and chopped off the heads of those who did not want to accept a woman as Khan.
At this time, he was also looking for something to do, so he sent troops to help the Khitan tribes expel the Shiwei people. Those years were the most turbulent times in the Northeast grasslands.
The Khitan people, the Xi tribe, and the Turks all shed a lot of blood on the grasslands, and at the same time they also planted countless hatreds again.
The nine tribes of Shiwei were driven back to the north of the mountain and were severely damaged. In desperation, they sent envoys to declare themselves vassals to the Turks. The Khitan and Xi tribes had already become vassals of the Turks.
Satisfied with his ambition, Ashina turned his attention to the Mohe tribes and Goguryeo.
The process of conquering the Mohe people was very difficult, because most of their tribes were located in the mountains, and some were along the mountains. They were very primitive and exclusive. Some tribes even retained the habit of cannibalism. They were the true savages of the Northeast.
tribe.
But in essence, they are no different from the Khitan, Xi tribe, or Shiwei. When they felt the power of the Turks, they successively accepted the Turks as their masters.
Although they sometimes still confused the situation and came out to arbitrarily rob the cattle and sheep of the Turks and Khitans, they did bow their heads to the Turks and recognized the Turks' rule over them.
During this period, Ashina Dawen spent a lot of effort. He killed many tribal leaders of the Mohe people in various ways, and his tyranny really made the Mohe tribes feel fear.
When the Mohe people became honest, Ashina Duowen's next target became the Goguryeo people.
He was very ambitious. When he won more and more victories, he finally realized his own strength and wanted to complete the great achievements that the previous Khans had never completed.
He was no longer in awe of the woman sitting on the throne of King Khan. He believed that as long as he remained so powerful, sooner or later he would become the master of the entire Turks.
This is obviously a curse that the Turks cannot get rid of. The small khan system makes the political structure of the Turks very unstable, just like the feudal system formed before the Central Plains Empire.
Once the central (harmonious) central government loses its authority, the princes immediately lose control, and it is easy to form a situation where the princes are divided.
The Turks' performance is more obvious. Whoever becomes stronger, the Eastern and Western Khans, will covet the throne of the Turkic Khans. In fact, this is not decided by themselves at all.
Ashina Erivo is like this, and Ashina Dawen is no exception. He will make great achievements to win the support of the nobles and spread his reputation to further places.
It has to be said that the ambitious Ashina Duowen did not have much interest in the Sui land in the south. This was obviously the experience and lesson given to the Turks by Shibi Khan's two southern expeditions.
The people in the south are very unfriendly to the Turks. When the Turks go there, they will encounter fierce resistance, there will be no spoils to speak of, and they will suffer huge damage. In the eyes of the Turks, it is the most stupid war.
And there are many cities in the south, which will make them suffer a bloody blow...
In addition, Dou Jiande has always been very submissive, which will not make people want to teach him a lesson.
The shortcomings of the Turks' lack of strategic vision are very concrete in Ashina Duowen, and his national characteristics also limit his imagination.
Therefore, today's situation was created. Dou Jiande's envoy for help arrived at Tuli Khan's tent, but was not received by Ashina Dawen at all.
As usual, the nobles in the sweat tent always ask for gifts from their envoys. Obviously Dou Jiande's envoys were not fully prepared, and the things they gave were difficult to satisfy their already full mouths.
One winter has passed, and Ashina Duowen himself has no idea that great changes have taken place in the south. He is making every effort to prepare to attack Liaodong City at the end of this autumn.
Goguryeo was already dying at this time, so it was a good time to attack them.
Liaodong City will become the royal city of Tuli Khan. Ashina Duowen is thinking about the bright prospect of capturing Liaodong City.
He had no doubt that he would become the master of Liaodong City, and it would even be possible for the King of Goguryeo to proclaim himself a vassal, because Liaodong City had become an isolated city.
Last autumn, if the heavy snow had not arrived early, he might have entered the city.
News from the north gradually reached Yu Wenxin's ears, and he undoubtedly felt the huge threat and the opportunities contained in the crisis.
The crisis is that once Ashina Duowen takes over Liaodong City, it will pose a threat to Youzhou that is several times heavier than it is now, which means that the Turks have a relatively stable ruling foundation in the vast land in northern Hebei.
The entire Northeast and northern regions are under the rule of the Turks. If they do not surrender to them, Hebei will become very conspicuous, and everyone outside the Great Wall will be their enemies.
Yu Wenxin thought over and over again and proposed to the court that he should stop Ashina Duowen's ambition. When he raised his troops in the autumn, he would use his retreat. Even if he could not severely damage the eastern Turkic tribes, he would still plunge the grassland into chaos.
Moreover, it happened that the army was deployed in Hebei, so it was better to take advantage of the situation and attack it to avoid future troubles.
This is the most obvious difference between the founding heroes and the ministers in peacetime. They were used to killing and were extremely aggressive. When dealing with the enemy, their first thought was never to compromise, but to attack.
……………………
Only in April, Yu Wenxin was still taking over everything in Youzhou, and the war in the world gradually calmed down.
Li Po ordered Wang Ze, the Minister of Rites, to be the general manager of Yangzhou, and led Liu Zhenghui, the Minister of Zhongshu, Li Daozong, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yu Shinan, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel, to serve in Jiangzuo.
This trip is a bit dangerous for them, but as long as they can pacify Jiangzuo, they will be in the ranks of the founding of the country. After a few years, when they return to the court, they will be able to advance a few steps immediately with their merits.
There are many people who want to serve in Jiangzuo, and many people, whether in the DPRK or at local level, are striving for it, because Jiangzuo is the most prosperous place in the Central Plains.
I heard that Du Fuwei has managed it well in recent years. It should be easy to achieve political achievements there, and it is similar in Jiangyou.
There are many descendants left in these two places, and there are not many positions left for people. The officials in Taiji Hall made a long list, and they were selected to take up official positions there.
This is a feast for the victors, and the meaning of sharing the fat is very clear. An old minister like Wang Ze from Conglong got the first bite and was appointed as the general manager of Yangzhou, which was a solid step forward in his official career.
When I return to the court in three to five years, my qualifications will be very solid, and I can consider the position of prime minister.
In sharp contrast, the positions in northern counties are difficult to obtain. Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places are desolate. Too many people have died. It is impossible to display your talents there...