That night, in addition to Li Shan, Cui Xin, Li Shimin and others, there were also people in Yuanzhou nearly a thousand miles away who stayed up all night.
In the quiet valley, the night wind blew through the treetops from time to time, making a rustling sound. Ashina Sheer stood on the hill and looked southeast, dozens of miles away to the north of Lingtai County, where the Tang army camp was located.
The terrain at the junction of Yuanzhou and Jingzhou is extremely complicated. On the one hand, there are steep mountains and dense forests, and the roads are narrow. On the other hand, there are loess and ravines, making it difficult for the cavalry to take advantage. This is why the Tang army chose to set up camp in the northern part of Lingtai County.
reason.
After two consecutive days of fierce attack, the Tang army resisted quite tenaciously. Ashina Sheer did not continue to urge his subordinates to continue the fierce attack, but temporarily withdrew his troops... Although he also knew very well that if he could break through Lingtai County and cross Jingzhou, he would be far away from Jingzhao.
It's not far away. This is actually the route I took from Chang'an to Wuyuan County more than half a year ago.
There was the sound of a horse neighing behind him. Ashina Sheer turned around and saw dozens of horses galloping towards him. Tuli Khan got off his horse and climbed up the hill. He asked with a smile: "If there is no head of the King of Handan, what will happen to him?"
I'm afraid that Brother She'er will have difficulty explaining things when he returns to the army."
Ashina She'er didn't say a word, but his wife, Princess Yicheng, said that this time the troops were sent out, Li Shan's head must be used to pay tribute to his brother... But now that the power is in his hands, Ashina She'er, although he
Respectful, but not obedient to everything.
"Let's give it a try." Tuli Khan smiled understandingly, "Are you going to march tomorrow?"
"Where is Longzhou?" Ashina Sheer asked.
"Liang Shidu's fellows are willing to attack with all their strength, but the casualties are heavy and the soldiers are not willing to go into battle." Tuli Khan said helplessly: "There are many checkpoints. So far, we have not been able to conquer even six rounds, let alone the following ones.
The winning pass is the Longshan Pass."
Ashina Sheer sighed softly, "Although this battle went smoothly, it was also a helpless move."
Turli Khan nodded in agreement. Generally speaking, there are three general directions for Turks to invade. One is Hedong. This is also the most common advance route for Turks in recent decades. Shibi Khan, Chuluo Khan, and Jieli Khan
They all entered through Yanmen Pass, east of the Daqiu River, and plundered property, food, grass and people.
The second is the Guannai Road. There are two routes to attack the Guannei Road. One is to go south from Lingzhou, Huizhou, Yuanzhou, and if you go further down, it is Jingzhou, Qizhou all the way to Chang'an, but this route is too difficult.
After the battle, there were high mountains and many checkpoints, and the Tang army was heavily deployed.
The other road is the Qinzhi Road, which has been in use for hundreds of years. It can lead from near Jiuyuan County to near Chang'an. It was built during the Qin Shihuang period and passed through Shuofang County. It is also a common marching route for Liang divisions in recent years. However, although
The road was good, but it was also convenient for the defenders to defend themselves, and Liang Shidu didn't get any advantage at all.
The third is the Longyou Road, attacking Liangzhou, heading southeast to attack Weizhou, Lanzhou, and Qinzhou, then turning east and directly attacking Longzhou. This was the route used by Xue Ju of the Western Qin Dynasty to start the war with Li Tang, who had just founded the country.
In the fourth year of Wude, the Turkic troops also invaded Longzhou along this road and captured Dazhen Pass, causing Chang'an to tremble.
Because the terrain inside the pass is dangerous, Yanmen Pass is guarded by Dai Guogong Li Jing, not to mention that the entire Shuozhou is under the control of the Tang army, so Ashina Sheer first wanted to start from the Longyou Road, but Liang Shidu unexpectedly captured it.
In the three states, Ashina Sheer took advantage of the situation... Unfortunately, it was too late to send troops. Jieli Khan was defeated that day, and the Tang army had already invaded Lingzhou.
"Try again tomorrow?" Tuli Khan also looked at the Tang Army camp in the south, "As long as Lingtai can be breached, the terrain in Jingzhou will be flat and can be used by cavalry."
Ashina Sheer hesitated, "It's not the right time."
Tuli Khan also sighed, "What a pity, what a pity."
Tuli Khan felt it was a pity, but Ashina Sheer did not feel it was a pity. He had no intention of taking control of the Central Plains, at least not yet. The grasslands are now in chaos. From last year to now, there have been defeats, snow disasters, famines, civil wars and
The fighting directly led to the decline of the Ashina clan's deterrence and dominance in the grassland. On the other hand, it also caused the power of the grassland tribes to decline greatly.
It is indeed not an opportunity to start a war... not to mention that there is this Tuli Khan beside him.
Ashina Sheer knew very well that the alliance with his cousin was only temporary, and he would have to fight it sooner or later.
Since the rise of the Turks, there has never been peace within the Ashina clan. Among them, there was the instigation of the Central Plains dynasty. The most typical ones were Pei Shiju and Changsun Sheng, who planned to make Dulan Khan kill his wife... The righteous princess of the Northern Zhou clan eventually led to
After many years of turmoil in the grassland, Qimin Khan joined forces and Datou Khan became independent.
But the main reason lies within itself, which is an inevitable flaw caused by nature... The internal fighting will continue and will never subside.
Even if Ashina Sheer kills the Turli Khan, it is impossible to unify the Eastern Turks. Someone else will definitely pick them out, and even the Nine Tribes of Tiele will establish their own country.
Therefore, Ashina Sheer did not have many intentions for this war. The purpose of plundering people, food, property, and livestock was to make up for the previous losses and to stabilize the Turkic dominance on the grassland first, not to mention even if
So what if we conquer Lingtai County? It is impossible to drink from the Wei River so smoothly.
After all, Jingzhou is too close to Chang'an, and it can be reached within three days by a fast horse. This did great harm to the Tang Dynasty's dominance in Guanzhong. The Tang Emperor could not bear it and would definitely mobilize a large army.
This was also the first reason why Western Qin was targeted after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the Xue family and his son sent troops from Qinzhou, which was too close to Chang'an.
Perhaps the Liang division could be supported to stay in Yuanzhou. Ashina Sheer thought in his mind that since he had captured most of Yuanzhou, it would be difficult for the Liang army to break through the Liupan Pass and go south to Longshan Pass. But on the contrary, the Tang army was also very difficult to break through.
It is difficult to break through Daxia Pass, Shimen Pass, Xiao Pass and go north to Lingzhou.
As for the other purpose of this battle, Handan King Li Huairen... Ashina She'er whispered: "Let's work together to attack again tomorrow. The Tang Army's reinforcements should not be far away."
Tuli Khan nodded clearly, "Even if we cannot conquer Lingtai County, we must force the Tang Emperor to negotiate peace."
At this time, in the Tang army camp, the two governors Qian Jiulong and Hu Yan looked at the young man in front of them expressionlessly. The former asked in a low voice: "Where is Duke Guan?"
"No... I don't know where." Liu Rengui, who once made many meritorious deeds, gritted his teeth.
The army was defeated that day. Liu Rengui and Ren Gui were dispersed by the Turks and dispersed into the mountains. Liu Rengui abandoned his horse and climbed the mountains before escaping back to Jingzhou. Who knew whether Ren Gui was dead or alive?
Hu Yan sighed and glanced at Qian Jiulong, "If the Turks attack fiercely and the Lingtai is lost, I'm afraid they will have to retreat to..."
Qian Jiulong said in a low voice: "Qianshuiyuan..."
Hu Yan and Qian Jiulong both participated in the battle of Qianshuiyuan that year, and they couldn't help but think that His Majesty would ask the King of Qin to come to the rescue this time.