Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

About the same time that Yuchi Gong and Liu Heier defeated the Turks on the south side of Fenzhou and recovered the Lingshi, another war broke out in Lanzhou, thousands of miles away.

Just like Liu Heier's encounter with the Turks in Jinzhou, this was also an encounter that neither side expected.

On October 15, Yi Nan led Xue Yantuo's army back north quickly. His younger brother Li Zhehui retreated first from Jingyang, causing chaos. Li Shimin seized the opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, defeated 20,000 Turks, and trapped more than 10,000 Turks in Jingyang. The north side of the river.

From Qizhou and Longzhou to Qinzhou and Lanzhou... the Tang army had either been defeated or had been recovered to Jingzhao. Xue Yantuo's troops retreated very quickly. They arrived in Liangzhou at dusk on October 17th and continued to move towards North retreats.

The Turks were trapped on the north side of the Jinghe River. It was at the dusk of October 17 that they launched their final breakout. After paying an extremely heavy price, Dubu Khan and his more than 3,000 remaining soldiers were able to escape... But all Bu Khan was relieved after leaving Jingzhao because there were no pursuing troops.

Although as Li Huairen said, Li Yaoshi, the acting Duke, had the intention of making great achievements, the Emperor of Tang, the King of Qin and Li Huairen weighed the pros and cons and still let him go... A large number of Tang cavalry suddenly retreated, and did not block the front or rear. , obviously intentionally.

This is also what it should be. Without oneself, who would check and balance Tuli Khan?

Dubu Khan's guess was correct and logical, and it was also a last resort choice for Li Yuan and Li Shimin.

But things are so wonderful... On the evening of October 17th, Xue Yantuo's army returning from the north arrived in Liangzhou. Zhang Zhongjian of Mingsha Camp across the Yellow River naturally knew it. He had already sent scouts to Longyou Road.

On October 18, Zhang Zhongjian sent a large number of scouts across the Yellow River to investigate the military situation and confirmed that Xue Yantuo's army was indeed retreating north.

On October 19, Zhang Zhongjian led 3,000 cavalry across the Yellow River, wondering if he could gain anything... At this time, the battle report from Jingzhao had not yet reached the Mingsha Camp, but the Tang army's scouts also captured several prisoners. I know that Xue Yantuo was forced to retreat by King Si of Wei.

On October 20, Zhang Zhongjian went south from Liangzhou and met Dubu Khan on a narrow road outside Jincheng Pass in Lanzhou.

One side was prepared. Although Xue Yantuo's army had withdrawn south and Jingzhao should have been safe, 70,000 to 80,000 Hu cavalry invaded Guanzhong via the route of Liangzhou, Lanzhou, and Hezhou. Zhang Zhongjian naturally had to be cautious and hoped for something. reward.

Although the other side is not completely out of danger, on the one hand it suffered a huge defeat and its morale is low, on the other hand it has relaxed... If the Tang army wants to block the front and pursue it, it should be in Qizhou and Longzhou, not Longyou Road. .

Even when three thousand Turkic cavalry passed through Jincheng Pass, Huai'an King Li Shentong, who was hiding inside with his remaining soldiers, did not dare to stop them.

Therefore, when they met on a narrow road, Zhang Zhongjian, Guo Xiaoke, and Hou Junji were cautious at first and even led their troops northward. But soon, these battle-hardened generals saw that this Turkic cavalry had no desire to attack at all and only wanted to attack. They fled without any follow-up troops.

Therefore, Guo Xiaoke and Hou Jun gathered more than ten miles north of Jinchengguan, on the east side of Jianshui, and rode against each other. More than a thousand Tang cavalry intercepted three thousand Turkic troops.

More than a thousand Tang cavalry faced off against three thousand Turkic troops. The result was that... the Turks fled in all directions and could hardly organize any resistance. This made Zhang Zhongjian, who led two thousand cavalry as follow-up troops, dumbfounded.

Zhang Zhongjian was stationed at Mingsha Camp for more than a month. Although Dubu Khan failed to get any advantage from him, Zhang Zhongjian had to admit that the Turks had a strong desire to attack this time.

But at this moment, they had just engaged in battle, and the Turkic cavalry with superior strength had already scattered... Zhang Zhongjian was very sure that this was not a Turkic tactic, but that the Turkic army had collapsed.

The reason is very simple. Although it is on the east side of Jianshui, the terrain is flat and the Turkic cavalry has a lot of room for movement. Liupan Mountain is still far away from here. But the scattered Turkic cavalry almost had only one direction, avoiding the Tang cavalry's offensive and taking a detour to the north... not to cut off the Tang army's retreat, but to flee.

The collapse of the Turks was beyond Zhang Zhongjian's expectation, but in fact it was reasonable. Tens of thousands of Turkic troops, Xue Yantuo, marched all the way to Jingzhao with overwhelming force. They were only twenty miles away from Chang'an, but they suffered an inexplicable defeat. Trapped on the north side of the Jinghe River for two days, only 10% of the 30,000 Turkic troops escaped.

The morale of the Turks has reached rock bottom.

Not to mention, after escaping from Jingzhao, the Turkic cavalry fled almost non-stop. Even if the people were trapped, the key was that the horses were exhausted... and most of the food and grass were lost. It had snowed in Lanzhou and there was no grass. Endurance has dropped significantly.

When Zhang Zhongjian dispersed his troops into small groups and pursued them, most of the Tang cavalry were able to catch up with the Turks on the flat and wide plains, knocking them down one by one and knocking them over.

This kind of situation is difficult to happen when the Tang Army and Hu Qi are fighting... After all, Hu Qi has the advantage in speed. Li Shan has defeated the Turks several times before, and he has used mountains and rivers to limit the opponent as much as possible.

Dub Khan drove his horse wildly with a pale face, but was blocked when he was about to escape. He also knew in his heart that it could not be the order of the Tang Emperor or Wei Si Wang... The most likely reason was the Tang Army from the Mingsha Camp.

To this day, Dubu Khan still doesn't know that Duke Li Yaoshi and Zhang Zhongjian defeated the Turks in Lingzhou... The Turkic troops now entrenched in Huizhou and Lingzhou still exceed 10,000, but they have no intention of fighting and have even begun to return north. Snow fell in Lingzhou and Huizhou three days ago.

The chase lasted until dusk. Dubu Khan, who only led a few hundred cavalry, was chased to the foot of Guzang Mountain in Lanzhou and Liangzhou.

Looking at Tang Qi who were surrounding him from all directions, Dubu Khan finally gave up his struggle and led an army of 100,000 people southward, joining forces with Xue Yantuo. Who could have imagined that he would end up like this?

At this time, how could Dubu Khan not think of whose hands he would lose this battle... Xue Yantuo's sudden retreat must have been Li Huairen's handiwork.

Even Zhang Zhongjian, the general who had blocked him in Lingzhou for more than half a month and now besieged and killed him, was a member of Li Huairen's bodyguard.

Well, in fact, Zhang Zhongjian has not yet confirmed who is surrounded by him.

Scenes flashed before his eyes, including his father, Chuluo Khan, who died suddenly, and his younger brother, Yu Sheshe, who was beheaded in Mayi. But in the end, the one who impressed me the most was the young man he met for the first time outside Guantao City...

"Li Huairen, Li Huairen, Li Huairen..." Dubu Khan murmured a few times and smiled miserably.

Li Shan's climb to high positions step by step was almost based on the bones of countless people from the Ashina clan.

A quarter of an hour later, the war ended. Zhang Zhongjian, Guo Xiaoke, Hou Junji and other generals stared at Dubu Khan who committed suicide. Some people had joy on their faces... This is a great achievement!

But Zhang Zhongjian's mouth was a little crooked. He guessed that he might have gotten into trouble... Dubu Khan led at least 30,000 Turks to cross the Yellow River, but the number of Turks in this battle did not exceed 3,000.

If Dubu Khan was lucky, that would be okay, but if he was deliberately let go... Zhang Zhongjian would naturally not forget why Li Shan released Tuli Khan after the great victory in Jingzhou.