Now, the war between the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo has been going on for a whole year.
During this year, the Western Turks had the upper hand in the early stage and almost destroyed the entire Xueyantuo.
But later, Xue Yantuo suddenly reacted, pulled back the entire army, and then launched a comprehensive defense to resist the Western Turks' advancing momentum.
Although the Western Turks have mastered some of the technologies of the Tang Dynasty.
But it cannot really be used as freely as Datang.
After all, they don't have Li Chengqian.
Not to mention the unique tactics formulated by Li Chengqian regarding the use of firearms.
Therefore, Xue Yantuo soon began to take advantage of the favorable geographical location and two items to launch a counterattack against the Western Turks.
Even a large part of the territory occupied by the Western Turks in the early period was taken back.
The Western Turks are now like a wild boar stuck in a quagmire. They cannot move forward if they want to, let alone retreat if they want to.
After all, the fight has reached this level now.
If you can't bite off a large piece of meat from Xue Yantuo's body.
Then Zhao Youlin's leadership position will definitely be threatened.
And a smart person like Zhao Youlin would naturally not let this happen.
now.
Zhao Youlin no longer looked as high-spirited as before.
He sat in the Chinese military tent with a sad face, looking at the map in front of him, lost in thought.
At this time, Jia Yanzhang walked in from outside.
Jia Yanzhang said: "Your Majesty, the messenger below has sent us some news."
"what news?"
Zhao Youlin didn't even look back.
"Today, he has completely stabilized the situation on Longyou Road, and he has extended his hand to the Western Regions."
"Now, he has reached a trade agreement with that guy Qu Wentai, and Datang has started trade with Gaochang."
Jia Yanzhang raised his head and looked at Zhao Youlin: "Your Majesty, do you want me to send someone to beat Qu Wentai?"
"beat?"
"Does beating help?" Zhao Youlin shook his head and smiled bitterly, glanced at the map in front of him, and said: "Now that we have nothing to do, how can we care about them?"
"Then, should we just let them do whatever they want?"
Jia Yanzhang said: "If we keep letting it go, what if those vassal states that have surrendered to us see it and follow suit?"
"Just imitate it."
"Anyway, the money will be ours in the end."
"Don't you think that the richer they are, the more beneficial it is to us?"
Zhao Youlin curled his lips, looked at Jia Yanzhang, and said: "After all, robbing money is much easier than making money."
The Western Turks are nomadic people, and for them robbery is as simple and easy as eating.
What Zhao Youlin said was indeed reasonable, but he was still a little worried.
After all, their dominance of the Western Turks in the Western Regions has faded with the rise of the Tang Dynasty.
If they ignore the trade between Gaochang State and the Tang Dynasty this time, those vassal states that claim allegiance to them in the future will definitely follow suit.
What should we do if those countries all fall to the Tang Dynasty?
Therefore, Jia Yanzhang continued: "Although it is said so, I still feel that something is wrong."
"You."
"Didn't I show you many strategies of war and tactics?"
"Don't you know until now that there is a saying called retreat to advance?"
Zhao Youlin knocked on the table, narrowed his eyes and said: "Don't forget, the reason why we are dragged here into a dilemma now is mainly because we initiated this war on our own initiative."
"If we withdraw our troops hastily, it will inevitably damage our military prestige and cause internal turmoil."
"But if we have a reason to evacuate, do we still need to stay here?"
After hearing what Zhao Youlin said, Jia Yanzhang finally came to his senses.
He shook his head with some shame and said: "Your Majesty is still thinking in the long term."
"hehe."
Zhao Youlin stood up slowly, and while walking towards the outside of the tent, he said, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen this guy in person for a long time. I really miss him."
Hearing this, Jia Yanzhang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He said: "Your Majesty, this Li Chengqian is your enemy. What do you want from him?"
"You do not understand."
"Although we are enemies, we both understand each other."
Zhao Youlin narrowed his eyes and said, "Besides, this guy is the first person to appreciate my talent."
Looking at Zhao Youlin's back, Jia Yanzhang scratched his head thoughtfully.
Could it be that this is both an enemy and a friend?
…
Liangzhou government office.
When Li Chengqian was reading the dossier delivered today, Cheng Hualiang walked in slowly.
He said: "Your Highness, according to your instructions, we have sent all the spies into the territory of the Western Turks."
"Um."
Li Chengqian nodded without raising his head.
He flipped through the files and asked, "Are they doing anything special?"
"No."
Cheng Huailiang shook his head and said with confusion: "But this seems a little abnormal."
Hearing this, Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do you say this?"
"Of course the Western Turks' reaction was a little abnormal."
"After all, the countries in the Western Regions have been ruled by the Western Turks for many years."
"But now, we have extended our hands to the countries in the Western Region, and you even asked my father to expand the business to Shanshan."
"Logically speaking, they should react in some way no matter what happens."
"But now they seem to not see it and let us do whatever we want."
Cheng Huailiang looked up at Li Chengqian and said, "This... this is obviously a little abnormal." r> "Since you can see that this is abnormal."
"Then there must be something weird about this."
Li Chengqian smiled slightly, put down the file, and said: "Obviously Zhao Youlin wants to withdraw his troops from Xue Yantuo."
"ah?"
Cheng Huailiang looked at Li Chengqian with a puzzled face and said, "Your Highness, what does this have to do with whether Zhao Youlin withdraws his troops or not?"
"Of course it does matter."
"Ever since our war with the Western Turks, my father has tried every means to bribe many of the Western Turks' tribes."
"There are even several tribes that have secretly declared their allegiance to our Tang Dynasty."
Li Chengqian rubbed his chin and said, "A smart person like Zhao Youlin must have discovered this change long ago."
Hearing this, Cheng Huailiang asked with some confusion: "Then if he found out, why did he keep it secret?"
"This is easier."
"The reason why he has been holding back."
"The reason is nothing more than being tired from the war."
"The war between them and Xue Yantuo has been going on for too long."
"But the war was started by the Western Turks. They couldn't retreat first."
"After all, we have invested so much. If we withdraw without getting anything, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the people."
"When the time comes, let alone a few tribes betraying him, the whole country might be in turmoil."
"A person as smart as him would not have thought of these consequences."
After hearing Li Chengqian’s explanation.
Although Cheng Huailiang was slow to react, he also knew what was going on.
"So, His Highness thinks so."
Cheng Huailiang said: "He deliberately indulged us, mainly because he wanted to use the topic to withdraw troops from Xueyantuo?"
"You kid, you are really good at thinking about problems with your brain."
Li Chengqian stood up slowly and said with his hands behind his back: "Use retreat to advance, secretly infiltrate Chen Cang, Zhao Youlin is really good at this..."