In July of the fourteenth year of Daye, Li Po led his army north to the grassland.
In the first battle, more than 20,000 Turkic elite cavalry were completely annihilated by the Turkic royal court, with extremely minor damage, creating a very classic battle example.
No matter what impact this war had on the Turkic Royal Court, for the Daizhou Army, it could only be said to be the beginning of the Daizhou Army's march north to the grasslands.
After the war, Li Po's cunningness in leading the army became apparent again.
After the war, without much hesitation, he led his army to the northeast, following the direction and traces of the Kru Guards' troops, heading straight towards the Yellow Flag Sea.
In addition to hiding the whereabouts of the army, what he wanted was the cattle and sheep left by the Kluhu tribe in Huangqihai.
The idea of a quick victory gradually faded from Li Po's mind. After removing a powerful enemy, Li Po estimated that the threat had been reduced to a minimum in the short term.
In fact, this was one of the most important reasons why he found the Krew Guard to start the war.
Because the Kruhu Troops are very similar to the Daizhou Army, with their light cavalry going back and forth, they are the Turkic cavalry that poses the greatest threat to the Daizhou Army on the Yunzhong Grassland today.
Once the Kluhu troops left, all the Turks could do was to summon tribal warriors to pursue and intercept the Daizhou army.
Even if Shibi Khan is still there, this will still take a certain amount of time, and it is already July, the winter of the grassland is about to come, and the Turks will feel very uncomfortable.
Especially at this moment, the new Turkic Khan has not yet ascended to the throne, so their reaction will be even slower.
Li Po didn't know whether this guess was accurate, so he left a thousand people wandering around the edge of Dingxiang County to serve as the eyes and ears of the army on the west.
And since the battle could not be won quickly, the Daizhou Army needed food and logistics. The Daizhou Army went north with more than a month's worth of food, which could be used almost until winter.
This is already the limit of the food that the cavalry army can carry.
Therefore, Li Po looked back and fell in love with Huang Qihai.
Huangqihai is a large lake with abundant water and plants. The most important thing is its location.
Huangqihai is almost a hundred miles east of Dingxiang County, northeast of Dali City, and not far from the Great Wall.
This place was very inconspicuous before, but now, it is a very good place for Daizhou Army to stay.
It almost chokes the way to Dali City in the east. Of course, when Ashina Boyu leads the Eastern Turkic tribes to the royal court, he does not need to pass through the Yellow Flag Sea, but as long as he stops in the Yellow Flag Sea, then Ashina Boyu leads the
The traces of the tribe could not be hidden from the scouts of Daizhou Army.
It actually makes sense when you say this.
When Daizhou's army marched north to the grassland, they had three main enemies.
Located in the south of Ake in Dingxiang County, the Kruhu Department stationed in Huangqihai, and Ashina Boyu.
These three parts constitute the three pillars of Ashina Elivo's struggle for the throne of Turkic Khan.
Obviously, this is not all his strength. There are countless tribes under Dongfang Khan's account, including the Khitans, Xi tribe, and Mohe people who are attached to the Turks. It can be said that Dongfang Khan is undoubtedly the most powerful person in the Turks today.
one.
But the fight for the throne of Khan is not much different from the fight for the throne in the south. In fact, it depends more on political maneuvering rather than how many troops you have.
In Li Po's view, the two Turkic Khans in the East and West were undoubtedly powerful. They were different from the vassal kings in the Sui Dynasty. They held military power and were authoritative and independent. They were more like the two powerful vassal states on the left and right of the royal court.
But they are also very fragile. The loose tribal alliance system makes these two vassal states bloated and slow to respond. The relationship between them and the royal court also makes the powerful Turkic Khanate full of crises.
Just like now, as long as the wings of Dongfang Khan Ashina Erivo are cut off one after another, the Dongfang Khan in the royal court will be more like the hostage left by the former Qin Dynasty in the Zhao Kingdom.
I have all the strength in my body, but I am blocked from it.
This is the time when Dongfang Khan is most vulnerable, and everyone understands this.
So next, the target of the Daizhou Army's attack was very clear, the westward-migrating tribe led by Ashina Boyu.
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The grasslands around Huangqihai are very peaceful.
Groups of cattle, sheep and war horses wandered on the grassland, gnawing on the sweet weeds.
Tents are scattered here and there. As the sun sets, unkempt slaves, driven by their masters, milk goats, slaughter sheep, light bonfires, and wisps of smoke rise into the sky, and then are blown away by the autumn wind.
No trace.
The owners drove the animals, gathered them around the tent, and entered the tent to enjoy the dinner served by the slaves.
This is the most common scene in Yunzhong Grassland. The only difference is that there are no women here.
And everything on this grassland belongs to Krushu. To be more precise, everything here belongs to the 20,000 Turkic knights.
They were part of the cavalry army. The main force of the army entered the royal court from the west. Due to their urgency, they left all the army's logistics and equipment in the sea of yellow flags.
There were originally three tribes here, but before the army arrived, they all moved north, leaving this exceptionally fertile grassland to them.
If nothing goes wrong, they will spend the winter here, a very nice place.
…………………………
From time to time, Kuqa dipped in the water from the nearby lake and sharpened his dagger with a small piece of whetstone.
This is a strong Turkic boy, with obvious traces of the Mobei tribe on his body. He has deep facial features, fair skin, and slightly curly hair. He is in the growth stage, and his hair has begun to become thicker.
Not far away from him, another young man of similar age was looking at the lake in ecstasy. But after a while, he frowned and looked back at Kuqa, who was constantly making noise, and roared, "Aku, it's not good."
Sharpen your knife again."
Kuqa was so focused that he didn't pay attention to the anger of his companions.
The young man snorted and turned his head helplessly, "Aku, how great would it be if you could live here forever?"
Kuqa finally raised his head, shined the sharply polished dagger into the sunset, and smiled with satisfaction, revealing a row of white teeth.
He responded casually, "Then you can stay here. Your surname is Ashina anyway."
His companion stood up, laughed and raised his arms, as if he wanted to embrace the entire lake.
"Yes, my surname is Ashina. God has given me the power. When I grow up, I will make this place my place. This place is so beautiful..."
As usual, Kuqa started to talk about his own reasons, while pouring cold water on his companions, "There are countless places like this on the grassland. Only scimitars and war horses can get us everything we want. My brother
, why don’t you understand?”
It is obvious that, having grown up together since childhood, they have increasingly different views on their future lives.
"Aku, wisdom is the most trustworthy thing for us. If we swing a machete at others, we will also be injured. What a beautiful place. You actually want to dye it red with your own and other people's blood. Then
It’s really too bad.”
Kuqa waved the short sword vigorously twice, put it back into the scabbard, curled his lips, and murmured: "But my surname is not Ashina."
His ancestors were slaves of the Ashina family. Later, they were freed from the status of slaves due to their military exploits and became a warrior. What he needs to inherit is not the pasture and cattle and sheep, but the glory of the warrior.
How could a descendant of the Ashina clan, who was born a noble, really become his like-minded brother?
"It's too late, let's go back..."
Kuche said and stood up, but then he looked to the west in confusion.
Without noticing, his companion walked up to him, beat his strong chest with his fist, and continued to say, "Aku, we can see the sea of ice this winter..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kuqa pushed him away, bent down and crawled to the ground.
After a moment, he raised his head slightly and said doubtfully: "The general is back with the warriors? I heard a lot of hoofbeats. How is this possible? Didn't they go to the royal court?"
His companion also scratched his messy hair and almost took off his fur hat, "Did you hear that right? Why did Cru Guard come back? I heard that they will stay in the royal court for the whole winter. Wait.
The Khan will have to become the Great Khan. At that time, it is said that a grand alliance will be held in the royal court. I wonder if we can make it?"
The two Turkic teenagers stood by the lake without much panic. In this place, there would never be a large group of enemies.
On the grassland in the distance, black spots first appeared in twos and threes. Both teenagers knew that they were the army's rangers. Gradually, a black line appeared in the distance. They were moving very fast, riding towards the sunset, letting them
He looks more like a warrior who came out of the Palace of the Sun.
"Are they wearing armor?"
Kuqa asked his companion in confusion, and his companion asked, "Is it the attachment of the royal court?"
Time passed in confusion, and the two teenagers lost the best opportunity to escape. When they finally realized something was wrong and wanted to go back to warn their fellow tribesmen, they were blocked by the lakeside by an army of rangers.
In fact, there is no need to deliberately encircle them. In front of such a large army, scattered individuals have neither the ability to resist nor the chance to escape.
The army rolled past without stopping, sweeping across the grasslands in the northeast direction.
A cavalry of several hundred people broke away from the army and came to a stop where the two teenagers stopped. A flag that the two teenagers had never seen before was planted on the ground.
The strong warriors dismounted one after another, and soon they felled several trees by the lake and quickly lit a bonfire.
The two teenagers who tried to escape have been captured.
Kuqa's nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and his head was bleeding. It was obvious that he was resisting fiercely.
His companion was much better, except that he had some dead grass on his body. This was when his horse was shot to death, and he rolled several times on the ground, that's all.