Chapter 499 Wu Huaiyu’s dangerous military move Tai Chi Palace.
Inside Zhaode Hall.
The emperor asked Li Jing, Secretary of the Ministry of War, and Qin Qiong, Heping Zhangshi, "Do you think Qingyang's plan is feasible?"
Qin Qiong bluntly said, "It's too risky."
Li Jing, on the other hand, gave his approval, "Wu Qingyang's plan has the two most critical points, one is Evil Yang Ridge and the other is Baidao, both of which have been key."
Qin Qiong reminded Li Jing, "Ke Huaiyu proposed a surprise attack on Evil Yang Ridge with two or three thousand elite cavalry in the freezing cold weather of November. This is crazy."
Wuyang Ridge is not far south of Dingxiang.
Dingxiang (Helinger), the Turkic Khan's court, is located on the edge of the Chile River in the Hetao Plain. The entire terrain is low in the north and high in the south.
To the northwest is the Hetao Plain, and to the southeast are the mountains bordering Shuozhou and Yunzhou.
Wuyang Ridge has a commanding position over Dingxiang and guards the road leading south to Shuozhou. To the north of Wuyang Ridge is the plain where the Dingxiang Khan Court is located. To the southeast, you can reach Shuozhou Mayi via Shahukou.
There is also Shanyang County and Shanyang Ridge there, and Yuchi Laohei is from Shanyang County.
If you can occupy Evil Sun Ridge, you will really be condescending and have the upper hand. The key to this position is that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. With two to three thousand people guarding it, even if you use a hundred thousand troops, there will be nothing you can do for a while.
However, the Tang army was not only able to monitor the Turkic army, but could even rely on dangerous points to attack calmly. There was a flat plain to the north, so they could attack at will.
Of course, Evil Yang Ridge is right under Dingxiang's nose, so it will definitely be difficult to capture it.
Wu Huaiyu proposed to send troops in November when Jie Li least expected, and to launch a surprise attack with light cavalry.
"Your Majesty, Sun Tzu's Art of War says: Those who face difficulties in military conflicts should use detours instead of directness, and use adversity to gain advantage. Historically, wars between the Central Plains and the grasslands have been based on southward invasions in the autumn and winter of the grasslands. At this time, the autumn is high, the horses are fat, and the rivers are frozen, which is conducive to nomadic cavalry.
, especially when the grasslands encounter white disasters, they are most likely to invade and plunder from the south.
When we attack the grasslands in the Central Plains, we often choose the spring and summer seasons, when the glaciers thaw and the grass does not grow well. At this time of the grassland, after a long winter, their cattle and sheep are thin, and their horses are also the thinnest, and they are the least effective.
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Because of this pattern, the Central Plains tends to be more vigilant about grasslands in autumn and winter, while grasslands tend to be more vigilant in spring and summer.
Wu Huaiyu chose to attack in the cold winter of November. How could the Turks have thought of it at this time? Not to mention that many nomadic tribes had to move to avoid the wind and snow. The nomads had less activities and it was harder to find the Tang army.
The fight was unexpected.
Li Jing praised Wu Huaiyu's adventurous plan, especially his first step, which was a surprise attack on Evil Yang Ridge, not Dingxiang.
Because although Dingxiang is a Turkic Khan, it is also a city. This city was built by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian when he asked Changsun Sheng and others to help Qimin Khan.
It is not easy to directly attack Dingxiang City with two to three thousand people.
One wave is difficult, so you have to master the rhythm.
First seize the strategically important Eryang Ridge, take the initiative, attack, defend, and monitor. The most important thing is that by occupying this place, the Tang army will later attack from Shuozhou and Yunzhou, and it will be safer to march in those dangerous valleys.
Even in the coldest month of December, when the Tang army occupied this area and only had two to three thousand horsemen, it was enough for Jieli to have trouble sleeping and eating. They had to assemble men and horses in the wind and snow to deal with it.
Therefore, even if the Tang army only relied on danger and did not attack, Jieli would have to mobilize at least 20,000 to 30,000 people to deal with it. In this cold winter, these Turkic cavalry would be quickly depleted of combat effectiveness, and the men and horses would be exhausted.
Or the Tang army could take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and divide their troops to go down the mountains to attack the nomadic tribes who were spending the winter on the grasslands. Their warriors gathered in Dingxiang and were attacked by a small group of troops in the rear. This would make it even more difficult for the Turks who were already struggling to survive the winter.
If you perform well, you can even scare the Turks every day. This winter will make things worse. If you can rob some of their livestock, cattle and sheep, it will be even more difficult for them.
You must know that the daily routine of the Turks in winter at this time was to move to winter pastures sheltered from the wind. During the day, they would drive their cattle and sheep out to graze. There was no grass to eat during this season. They would not be full if they came back to eat the fodder accumulated in the autumn. If the Tang army was hit by the evil sun,
Going to the mountains to plunder those cattle and sheep is very fatal.
Wu Huaiyu calculated that during this season, it would be difficult for the Turks to assemble too many troops, and they would not be able to consume them even if they did. It was impossible to say that they would be able to conquer the Evil Yang Ridge where the Tang army was defending in danger.
They could only wait for spring, or even summer, but Wu Huaiyu would not give them that much time.
First use a light cavalry to seize the Evil Sun Ridge, and then use harassment and diversionary tactics to tire out Jieli's troops. In this way for two to three months, until around the first month of the year, the follow-up Tang army will almost have reinforcements in place, and then you can choose a good time to attack Xiangyang City.
The tiger comes down the mountain.
But the worst thing about Wu Huaiyu is that he also offered suggestions. Here he stationed troops in Eryang Ridge and carried out harassment tactics. Over there he also sent people to drive a wedge between Jie Li and Tuli. He then sent envoys to Dingxiang to negotiate with Jie Li and give him a false impression.
, Tang Chao did not intend to really hit him, paralyze him, and then give him a fatal blow.
As for why we had to wait until around the first month to launch a fatal blow against Dingxiang, it was because another key deployment in Wu Huaiyu's plan was Baidao.
Baidao is behind Dingxiang and is the only way from Monan to Mobei and over the Yinshan Mountains. If this area is not blocked, Jieli may see the situation go wrong and lead his troops to flee to Mobei. Although Mobei is now
There are Xue Yantuo and others in the north, but the Turks still have strong power in Mobei.
Once they fled to Mobei, it would be difficult for Datang to win Jieli again.
So this hole must be closed.
One Tang army will capture the Evil Yang Ridge first, and then another army will go around the back to block the entrance to the Baidao.
In Wu Huaiyu's adventurous plan, the light cavalry heading towards Yangling naturally set out from Shuozhou, with Li Jing dispatching his troops to lead a surprise attack.
As for Baidao's cavalry, Wu Huaiyu suggested sending troops from Youzhou. He even decided on the candidates. He would be the chief general and Su Dingfang would be the deputy general.
As long as these two lines of light cavalry are deployed in place, even if Jieli abandons Dingxiang and flees when the general attack comes, he will not be able to escape the palm of his hand.
As long as he is blocked south of Yinshan Mountain, Jieli will be the turtle in the urn.
Of course, this whole plan sounds good, but Qin Qiong also said that it is too risky.
Every link is intertwined, but it also means that no mistakes can be made, otherwise the whole thing will collapse.
Whether it is sending troops to the Evil Yang Ridge, blocking the Baidao Road, or marching in the cold winter months, or chasing the Turkic army in the first month, it is not an ordinary difficulty. The first thing is to supply.
Even if Wu Huaiyu could prepare grain, grass, ordnance in advance and transport it to the front line with the method of opening up salt, he could only reach Youbin, Shuoyun, Xialing and other states. From these places, it was still very far away from Dingxiang and even Yinshan.
Logistics will be difficult.
Furthermore, the Turks mainly relied on cavalry. This time they were counterattacking the Northern Expedition and going deep into enemy territory. The Tang army did not have an advantage over the Turks.
Wu Huaiyu proposed a quick victory and beat the old master to death with random punches. As soon as the formal attack began, they would attack from all directions and pursue and beat Jieli blindly. He would not give Jieli a chance to gather or breathe. He would close the door and beat Jieli severely.
Jieli must be captured as quickly as possible, so as to break the Turks' fighting spirit.
It sounds simple, but every step is difficult to implement.
In the past, the Tang Army basically fought defensive battles against the Turks, with occasional defensive counterattacks. It was unprecedented that they had to go out across the border to counterattack, go deep into the enemy's holes, and engage in encirclement and annihilation battles like this.
Qin Qiong still felt that we should be steady and advance step by step. It didn't matter even if Jieli ran to Mobei. He would recover Monan first, and then join forces with Xue Yantuo to slowly deal with the Turks.
Li Jing supported Wu Huaiyu's adventurous plan. Although the tactics proposed by Wu Huaiyu were indeed his own, they were also learned from Li Jing's military thinking when he and Li Jing deduced the tactics of the Northern Expedition, which was to be quick, accurate, ruthless, and without delay.
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The two generals each have their own opinions.
Li Shimin looked at the map and fell into deep thought.
Wu Huaiyu's plan is very tempting. If it succeeds, it will be done once and for all, with the highest efficiency and the lowest cost.
If the current Tang Dynasty cannot succeed in one attempt, or if it continues to suffer Turkic attacks every year like in previous years, it will be a huge headache, and even the finances will not be able to support it.
But this plan is also relatively risky. If it fails, the consequences will be more serious. If it is like the Taigu battle in the seventh year of Taketoku, where the entire army of 70,000 to 80,000 people is annihilated, the entire situation may be reversed.
For a long time, Li Shimin did not make up his mind, but he still asked Li Jing to go back and lead the Ministry of War to come up with a more detailed and comprehensive plan based on Wu Huaiyu's idea. He had to turn the idea into a detailed strategy to test how feasible it was.
, what is the winning rate?
"It has been almost a year since Yuchi Jingde resigned from his post and is doing some self-reflection at home. His hometown is Shuozhou, and he is good at commanding cavalry in battles. I think I will let him serve under the pharmacist. He will not resume his official title for the time being and will continue to serve in vain."
Although the emperor has not yet decided whether to adopt Wu Huaiyu's tactics, he has already begun to make preparations.
Let Li Jing select three thousand cavalry in Shuozhou, led by Yuchi Gong himself, in preparation for a surprise attack on Evil Yang Ridge. Let Wu Huaiyu also select three thousand cavalry in Youzhou, led by Su Dingfang, in preparation to intercept Baidao.
The two cavalrymen gathered for training in advance. If Wu Huaiyu's tactics were adopted, then these two cavalrymen would be two sharp knives and should be used immediately.
After the meeting, the emperor took Qin Qiong and Li Jing to visit the Tai Chi Palace.
The Supreme Emperor has moved to Da'an Palace before the Mid-Autumn Festival. At present, the Emperor is still in the East Palace, and Taiji Palace is also under renovation.
However, the emperor sometimes opened a door directly in the East Palace to the Wude Hall of Taiji Palace, held court meetings in the Wude Hall, and sometimes summoned ministers in the Zhaode Hall of the Bendian Palace.
Walking in Tai Chi Palace, it feels really different.
At that time, Wude Hall was once the residence of Yuan Ji, but now things and people have changed.
Zhang Ananda came to Yuchi's house with a decree.
Yuchi Gong still lived in the original mansion, but because he had been deprived of his official title, he was no longer qualified to enjoy the previous standards. Not only was the door halberd taken away, the Wutou gate was also demolished, and the gates facing the street were also demolished.
It was demolished and sealed directly, and the door was opened inside the workshop, which was much smaller.
The chamberlain was suddenly sent to prison, and Yu Chigong, who was dressed in Taoist robes, had no time to change and hurriedly came to greet him.
When he heard that the emperor asked him to join Li Jing's army, serve in vain, go to Shuozhou Shanyang to lead three thousand elite cavalry training, practice Taoism, refine elixirs and eat elixirs, his eyes were red from eating them. Yuchi Gong cried.
Crying like a child, the emperor finally thought of him again.
It doesn't matter whether he is white or not, as long as the emperor can still remember him and let him go to the battlefield, it is enough.
He used to look down on Li Jing, but now he is no longer that unruly and unruly. Not to mention commanding three thousand cavalry, he is willing to command even three hundred.
"Your Majesty has something to convey to Duke Yuchi. If you arrive in Mayi and cannot obey Li Jing's military orders, you'd better leave as soon as possible."
