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Chapter 1814 Great War

Li Po met with his father-in-law in the main hall of Tai Chi Hall. All the civil and military officials from the court were present, which was equivalent to a great court meeting.

Li Jing went up to the hall, bowed deeply, and then bowed and bowed.

The next procedure is to read out Li Jing's achievements in conquering Goguryeo in court and award the meritorious soldiers. In fact, since the beginning of this year, awards for last year's victory in the East China Sea have been awarded one after another.

But in the end, some were saved and prepared to be read out when Li Jing returned to court.

The main ones were Li Jing and Du Fuwei. In comparison, Li Jing was relatively easy to say. He was granted the title of Duke of Qi based on his merit, and was granted several acres of land, silk and satin, and a thousand households.

The position on the Lingyan Pavilion was moved forward, and Xu was ranked first. For his contribution to the destruction of the country, he was especially rewarded, which can be said to be full of honors and favors.

After that, there will be actual positions, and the position of prime minister cannot be left.

King Wu Li Fuwei had a bit of a problem. He was a rich man himself, the wealthiest among his peers, and his title could not be changed. He could only be rewarded with some land and 1,500 households, more than Li Jing, as compensation.

In addition, in view of Du Fuwei's good performance, knowing how to advance and retreat, his loyalty is praiseworthy, and his achievements are demonstrable, he was rewarded by being appointed Minister of the Ministry of War, specializing in shipbuilding and maritime affairs.

Regardless of the fact that the official position does not match his title, you must know that Du Fuwei was one of the princes in the late Sui Dynasty. You can imagine the difficulty of being able to hold an actual position in the new dynasty.

And this is also because other rewards are not enough to reward his efforts.

…………

It can be said that Chang'an was very lively at the end of August. In addition, the autumn harvest was in full swing everywhere. Most of the news reported to the capital was good news, which added to the joy.

But thousands of miles away, at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, smoke and dust were everywhere, and murderous intent was rising into the sky.

The internal strife among the Turkic people has reached its climax (harmony). The people of the Eastern and Western Turks are chasing each other, and their eyes are red with blood.

Ashina Qiuluo, the Western Khan of the Turkic Royal Court, led his troops westward and met in Mobei with 20,000 cavalrymen from Xueyantuo tribe led by Yinan Yehu Khan, plus the cavalrymen from Turkic and Tiele tribes who arrived in Mobei first.

More than 40,000 riders.

At this time, the size of the Turkic Royal Court's Western Expedition Army had reached 120,000 people. Even if it was not the strength of the country, the Turks raised their troops this time but also took out all their wealth.

At the western foot of Jinwei Mountain, the overwhelming cavalry group slowly moved forward, heading westward like dark clouds, covering all the grasslands, hills and Gobi.

On the north side of Sanmi Mountain, the old site of the Western Turks' Yagang, more than 100,000 Western Turks troops were already waiting in formation.

Ashina Qiuluo is the wisest commander of the Turkic royal court today. He led his army to defeat the army of Shegui Khan, making his name spread throughout the grasslands.

Today, I led my army to march westward. When I heard that the Western Turkic army was stationed in Sanmi Mountain and planned to guard this choke point into the Western Regions, Ashina Qiuluo was overjoyed.

Immediately, he ordered the Yi man Yehu Khan and the servant Suoloshe to lead 10,000 cavalry each to cross the desert and attack Qiuci.

It was supposed to attack Gaochang first, but the Turks had an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, and Gaochang was left to the Tang Dynasty to attack, which made Ashina Qiuluo very unhappy.

Gaochang is close to Yumenguan, close to Dunhuang and Shanshan. If it is handed over to the Tang State, it will become the tentacle of the Tang Dynasty extending to the Western Regions, which is no less strategic than Dingxiang County back then.

If it were him, even if he needed help from the Tang people, he would never make such an agreement with the Tang people. He would rather trade the entire Liaodong for Gaochang.

Of course, he has always been the Western Khan of the Turkic Royal Court, so he naturally doesn't feel bad at all when buying and selling the territory in the east.

Before the war really started, he had already regarded the entire Western Region as his own, and he was extremely heartbroken if a piece of it was missing.

…………

The 20,000 troops of Yi Nan and Pugu Soluo served as a partial division. The strategic goal was not just to capture Qiuci and cut off the retreat of the Western Turkic army in the northeast of Sanmi Mountain.

Ashina Qiuluo's purpose is to let them continue to sweep westward the nomadic tribes at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain after capturing Qiuci. If everything goes well, the army peak can be directed towards Suiye River.

During the war, the situation was changing rapidly, and Ashina Qura did not impose any requirements. In particular, it was unknown whether 20,000 people could walk through that desert safely.

Then, Ashina Qura divided the army into three parts: left, middle and right. He personally led the middle army and advanced on Sanmi Mountain, assuming a posture of engaging the enemy head-on and containing the main force of the enemy.

The left and right troops each had 20,000 troops, wandering on the left and right sides, harassing the enemy's flanks and rear.

…………

This battle took place from late August to early September.

It took almost a full month to get the results.

This battle also fully reflected the tactical characteristics of the nomads. It was a chaotic and huge battlefield space, with the enemy and ourselves intertwined, and accidental injuries occurred all the time.

In the northeastern direction of Tianshan, within an area of ​​several hundred miles, the two sides were chasing each other and competing desperately.

In the wars of nomadic peoples, frontal charges to defeat the enemy are almost non-existent, because everyone wears similar clothes and looks, and the nationalities are mixed, making it impossible to achieve unified command.

When there is a war between tribes, a row of cavalry usually comes forward to fight, while the remaining people on both sides watch indifferently, at most they cheer up their own people.

Wait until the winner is decided on the battlefield, and then move on to the next row, until one side can no longer bear the casualties, and finally escapes or surrenders, depending on how deep the hatred between the two sides is.

This is a more civilized approach, and the strength of both parties must be about the same.

More often than not, everyone would fight on horseback, trying to decide the winner. Each time it would take many days, and it wouldn't be over until one side abandoned the old, weak, women and children of their own tribe and fled.

The armies of the Central Plains dynasty fought with the nomads on the grasslands, and this was where they suffered. It was not obvious at the time. Most of the later Central Plains armies moved slowly, and it was very difficult to deal with the nomads' pulling tactics.

If you want to have a decisive battle with the opponent, but the opponent ignores you at all and chases you but cannot catch up, move forward. If the logistics route is too long, the prairie cavalry will seize the weakness and cut off the food route.

Just retreat. The other party is always clinging to you, making it impossible for you to retreat quickly. Therefore, during this pull, the army of the Central Plains Dynasty is often dragged down on the road.

Of course, most of the nomads would not be able to find a way to go south. There were many fortified cities in the frontier fortresses of the Central Plains. The cavalry of the nomadic people would often be beaten to death under the fortified cities.

In the former Sui Dynasty, there were many battles with the Turks. This was often the case. When the Turks came to harass them, the Sui army stayed behind closed doors. When the Turks retreated, they used cavalry to pursue them, which made the Turks very uncomfortable.

You must know that if the Turks cannot take advantage of their move south, it is equivalent to failure. Their weak population and national strength are not enough to support them in such a loss-making business.

…………

The internal strife between the Eastern and Western Turks was naturally much more intense than the tribal vendettas.

After more than half a month of fighting, the first people who couldn't stand it were the Western Turks...

In the large tent of the Western Turk army in the north of Sanmi Mountain, the commander of the Western Turks, Ashina Helu, smashed the silver bowl on the head of a Yehu Khan. Blood immediately came out of the opponent's head, but he didn't move.

Don't dare to move either.

Several big trees outside the tent were already covered with bloody heads, becoming terrifying decorations on the trees.

Ashina Helu, the younger brother of Yehu Khan, the ruler of the Western Turks, was comparable to his reputation for bravery because of his violent temper.

But now, Ashina Helu is as angry as a wild beast that wants to devour people, and the entire tent is filled with his anger.

"I told you to stop them in Buni Grassland, but now you come to tell me that you have abandoned Buni Grassland. Then why are you coming back if you don't apologize to the gods?"

Amid the roar, Ashina Helu waved his hand fiercely, and immediately a guard came forward, punched and kicked the man and dragged him down. The man was still struggling and shouting desperately.

"Ashi Nahelu, I am Yehu Khan of the Uighur people, and I am your brother-in-law... God, please spare me."

After a shrill scream outside the account, the Western Turks immediately lost a Yehu Khan.

Ashina Helu did not feel much better. After more than half a month of war, the Western Turks army was gradually weakened. On the battlefields surrounding Sanmi Mountain, the Western Turks were at a disadvantage.

The so-called Buni Grassland is an oasis on the west side of Sanmi Mountain. Five thousand people are stationed there, and the main force of the army is also providing cover there.

But that place was still lost, and the bastards in the east could pass through it and launch attacks on the various units at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. At the same time, they also cut off the support for the army on the north side of Sanmi Mountain from the direction of Suiye River.

To the north, the main force of the Turkic Royal Court's army is slowly approaching, and a decisive battle is imminent.

The most terrifying thing is actually that the strategic space of the Western Turkic Army is being compressed. As the war continues, Ashina Helu almost feels like he is surrounded by the enemy.

The last time Ashina Helu asked Wang Zhang for reinforcements was ten days ago. He didn't know where the reinforcements were now.

As for the help his brother Ashina Ke said about the help from the Tang Dynasty, he has yet to hear any news.

Ashina Helu stared with red eyes, drank two glasses of fine wine from the Tang Dynasty to calm down, and then regretted it a little. Zhagu Yehu Khan was his brother-in-law and the leader of the Uighur people.

He just cut off the opponent's head. What would those Huihe people think? Will they still fight desperately for him?

But the head has been chopped off, and even if the gods appear, Ashina Helu can only breathe heavily and order people to call the other two leaders of the Uighur people to comfort him.

…………

The next day, someone came to report that the powerful Yehu Khan led an army of 20,000 people to recapture the Buni grassland.

Ashina Helu was overjoyed, but with the arrival of Ge Luolu's powerful troops, he also brought bad news. The enemy had sneak attacked Kucha a few days ago, killed the leader of Kucha, and began to move along the route.

Attacking westward from the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, it threatened the king's account on Suiye River.

Tongyehu Khan Ashinako ordered Ashina Helu to fight the enemy as soon as possible, and tried his best to defeat Ashina Qiuluo while preserving his strength and returning to Kucha.


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