Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

When Li Shan and Su Dingfang were stationed in Dali, Liu Heier led 6,000 Yanzhou cavalry to cross the Yellow River and marched very fast.

That night they settled in Hejin, Jiangzhou. On the morning of October 19, Liu Heier led his army northward to Cizhou. To the north of Cizhou was the Luliang Mountains and to the northeast was Gushe Mountain. The cavalry entered Jinzhou along Gushe Mountain. At noon, it was already Arrive near Fenxi County.

Just when Liu Hei'er was about to send men to contact the Tang army in Huoyi, which was dozens of miles away, smoke and dust rose in the east. Scouts reported that thousands of Turks came north from Zhaocheng.

This was an encounter on a narrow road, and Liu Hei'er was caught off guard. According to previous battle reports, three to four thousand Turkic cavalry had been circling at the border of Jinzhou and Jiangzhou, suppressing the Tang army's infantry stationed in central Jiangzhou and not daring to go north.

It may be that he discovered his cavalry taking a detour north, or it may be that the Turks were about to withdraw their troops back to Fenzhou and Bingzhou.

Although the terrain is flat, which is more beneficial to the Turkic cavalry, and Liu Hongji, who is stationed in Huoyi, does not dare to send troops... In the previous battle with Jiexiu, Liu Hongji was defeated and could only seize the city, but Liu Heier was not afraid and was even very capable. grasp.

Duan Zhixuan shouted excitedly, pointing to the northeast, "Seal the opening first!"

Although the left army was the first to set off, under Li Shan's arrangement, the right army led by Yuchi Gong was the main attack in the first battle. Liu Heier just started the attack and cooperated with Yuchi Gong to attack from the north and south.

But who would have thought that the Turks would suddenly move north and come face-to-face with the Left Army... As long as they blocked the entrance to Queshu Valley, they would have a chance to eat this Turkic cavalry and win the first battle.

Let’s see what else you, Yuchi Gong, have to say!

But Liu Heier did not make a decision immediately. Instead, with the help of his personal guards, he stood on horseback and looked at it from a distance, and then took out the map and looked at it carefully.

Jinzhou is mountainous in the east and flat in the west, with the Fen River passing through it. Huoyi is on the right side of the Fen River, but because there is a tributary around Huoyi, the route that led to the Turks' advance was on the west side of the Fen River. .

After making some calculations, Liu Heier loudly ordered that the six thousand cavalry be divided into two groups. One group was led by himself and retreated several miles eastward, stationed on the west side of the Turkic march route, facing the Fen River, and the other group. Led by Duan Zhixuan, the army detoured southward in an attempt to intercept the Turks' rear.

Liu Heier knew in his heart that the important thing was not to win the first battle, but to ensure that after the army advanced, they would not be attacked from both sides.

Looking from a distance, there was also a commotion in the Turkic formation. After discovering the Tang cavalry, the Turkic cavalry stopped moving forward, obviously hesitating.

Liu Heier chuckled and loudly ordered his troops, Hou Hongtao and Zhang Baoxiang, to continue retreating to the northwest.

Duan Zhixuan, who led the 3,000 cavalrymen who went south, did not fight the Turks, but tried to go around to the rear. Even when a small group of Turkic cavalry came to harass them, they did not stop. They endured a hail of arrows and retreated eastward, preferring to make a large circle. The circle must also go around the back of the Turks.

Liu Heier took out his binoculars and took a look, then said to Hou Hongtao on the side: "Alang once mentioned that Duan Zhixuan is handsome and talented, and it is true."

Ultimately, this is a psychological war.

Thousands of Turkic cavalry met 6,000 Tang cavalry on their way back north. This was a signal that couldn't be more obvious. The Tang army sent out troops in large numbers. As long as the DTZ people are not stupid, they should know that they were unscrupulous in Jinzhou and Jiangzhou before. , because the cavalry in the Tang army led by Qu Tutong and Qian Jiulong were all transferred back to Jingzhao, so that they could not attack.

And now the Tang army has freed up its hands... Although the Turks probably don't know the reason, they can be sure that if they don't run, they will most likely be defeated. The Turkic cavalry hesitated because they wanted to go north, and there was only Queshu Valley...and this was a piece of meat wrapped in poison, because thousands of Tang cavalry were blatantly stationed on the side, and they might charge at any time.

But when the Tang cavalry divided their forces and tried to go around to the rear, the Turks could no longer withstand the pressure. Once their retreat was cut off, the Tang army obviously planned to annihilate them.

Duan Zhixuan obviously understood, so he galloped around to put the greatest pressure on the Turks and gave the Turks the idea of ​​​​trying to encircle the Tang army.

For this reason, Liu Heier even withdrew westward again, leaving space for the Turks to tempt the Turks to continue heading north.

After a brief commotion, the Turks began to speed up, slightly away from the Fen River, and galloped northward... In other directions, as long as the Tang army blocked Queshu Valley, they would not be able to go north and flow through Jinzhou and Jiangzhou. More than a month later, the troops will be sent out again in a large scale, and there will definitely be a steady stream of follow-up troops.

At least it is still possible to walk through Queshu Valley now. Even though it contains poison, the Turks have to swallow it.

"Running so fast!" Duan Zhixuan scolded, turned his horse's head, led his cavalry to adjust its direction, and stabbed diagonally into the Turks' rear formation.

It was just a tentative charge, but Duan Zhixuan did not expect that the Turks were no longer as arrogant as they were half a month ago. At that time, thousands of Tang cavalry were entrenched in Linfen, supporting Huoyi from afar, but the Turks were so arrogant that they dared to go around. Go to Jiangzhou for a walk.

When Duan Zhixuan rushed into the formation with a spear and stabbed three Turks, he was stunned to find that no one came up to stop them. Instead, they all accelerated their horses and galloped towards the north crazily.

Obviously, everyone is not stupid. The key now is not how fast the horse must be to escape. The key is to run faster than your companions.

After a very simple battle, the victory of the Tang army was determined. Duan Zhixuan led his army in pursuit, while Liu Heier slowly went north on the side and went around to the north of Fenxi. He waited for some Turks to enter Queshu Valley before leading the three thousand Tang army. Get on top.

With a thunderous blow, hundreds of Turkic cavalry were cut off and forced into the Fen River. Duan Zhixuan from the rear urged his troops to catch up and work together to strangle them.

At this time, Liu Hongji, the Duke of Ren, finally arrived with his troops. Looking at the battlefield across the Fen River, he felt greatly relieved... Although the Turks never attacked Huoyi, they were at the forefront of the battle line, so the old man from Jinyang Under great pressure.

Especially after learning about the dramatic changes in Chang'an, Liu Hongji knew that Li Shimin would no longer lead the army, and he did not know who would lead the army to help.

The fighting on the other side was basically one-sided, with waves of Tang cavalry running back and forth across the battlefield, scattering waves of Turks, hacking them over, and then cutting off their heads.

Liu Heier led the troops with Hou Hongtao and Zhang Baoxiang. Apart from the previous charge, he did not take any action himself and kept watching the battle.

A quarter of an hour later, Liu Heier ordered Duan Zhixuan and Qu Hong to lead their troops into the Squirrel Valley to pursue them... Although the Squirrel Valley is narrow, it is very suitable for pursuit. After all, it is difficult for the Turks to turn around and resist. This was also what Li Shimin said back then. The reason why he can lead a weak force to fight eight times a day in Queshu Valley and win consecutive battles.