Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

If Li Shan learned at this time that Zhang Zhongjian actually intercepted and killed the Turks and forced Dubu Khan to commit suicide, he would definitely kick Zhang Zhongjian severely.

Isn't this making trouble? !

At this time, Li Shan still knew nothing, and was still thinking about how to control this speed against Tuli Khan. He must make the opponent pay the price, otherwise let alone the Daizhou army and the Qixian family who were defeated. Even Li Shan couldn't bear this tone.

But at the same time, Tuli Khan could not be pushed into a hurry, and the two sides exchanged real fire... The cavalry in Li Shan's hands was almost the last batch of cavalry in Guanzhong of the Tang Dynasty, and he could not afford to suffer too much losses.

As we all know, the main sources of troops in the Tang Dynasty came from Guanzhong, followed by Hedong, and the losses of Daizhou Army and Bingzhou Army were not small.

It was already dark, but the lights in Jiexiu City were brightly lit. Li Shan drove his horse into the city. When he saw Su Dingfang approaching, he smiled and said, "Is Duke Yi withdrawing his troops?"

Su Dingfang nodded, "Zhang Baoxiang and Chang He met the enemy on the south side of Zhang Nan Fort. The Duke of Houyi led his army and rushed to defeat them. They beheaded hundreds of people and dispersed the Turks."

"The Turks have abandoned Zhang Nan Fort. Zhang Baoxiang, Chang He, and Er Zhu Yichen led 2,000 cavalry to garrison. The rest of the troops have just returned to Jiexiu."

"That's good." Li Shan calculated in his mind. It may have been three battles, but in fact, yesterday's battle with Liu Heier was the only one that achieved some results. The results of the subsequent two battles with Wei Chi Gong and Qin Qiong were not great. Rather than defeating the Turks, it is better to say that the Turks took the initiative to withdraw.

Entering a large house, Qin Qiong was greeted by a young man. This young man was Guo Qizong, a descendant of the Guo family in Taiyuan. His ancestor was Guo Huai, the general of Cao Wei. His grandfather was Guo Yan, the former Zhendinghou of Sui Dynasty. His father, Guo Siben, was also of the Li Shimin lineage and was given the title Huai. The Duke of Ren County is now the governor of Bozhou, Hebei Province.

The Guo family in Taiyuan has Yangqu County as its ancestral home, but it has spread its branches in various places over the past hundreds of years, with Jiexiu being an important one.

"Meet King Si of Wei."

After listening to Han Liang's introduction, Li Shan held up Guo Qizong's arms and said softly: "The Turks have taken a break for half a month. Is there any attack?"

"Looting property, food, and population." Guo Qizong looked a little unnatural, "More than a thousand people were robbed, but the Turks did not kill them with a butcher knife."

"That's because they don't dare!" Qu Shiro snorted on the side, "Otherwise, the Ashina clan will have to use countless heads to fight back."

Guo Qizong's head hung lower, and Li Shan's face looked a little pale, "I will stay here for the night, please provide food and grass."

Guo Qizong complained in his heart, but he did not dare to respond.

Watching Guo Qizong leave, Han Liang smiled bitterly and said, "I have no choice."

Li Shan nodded slightly. He couldn't handle this kind of thing, and he didn't bother to take care of it. As a descendant of the same family, Pei Shiju could lead the Turks to invade for the sake of his family's lintel. After the Turks conquered Jiexiu, Guo Qizong naturally had to do his best to preserve his family. of.

Grain, grass, salt and iron, goods, and population, these are all urgently needed by the Turks... As long as they are supplied, the Turks will not raise the butcher's knife. This is the tacit understanding between the Turks who have been invading the east of the river for many years and these aristocratic families.

Li Shan guessed that even Qixian County, which had also been conquered, was almost the same. Almost all the Hedong sects had branches in Qixian County. It was estimated that Tuli Khan had made a lot of money this time.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Shan changed his strategy to use the cavalry first after learning that the Turks were trying to return north. He could not let Tuli Khan bring a large amount of resources back to the grassland so easily to grow.

In the hall, Li Shan sat at the top, and generals such as Su Dingfang, Qin Qiong, and Yuchi Gong, as well as staff such as Han Liang, Wen Daya, and Ma Zhou sat on both sides.

"Qian Jiulong and Liu Hongji will lead their infantry to the north tomorrow morning. Huoyi, Jiahu Fort, Gaobiling and Lingshi County will all stay behind to ensure that the food road is not cut off." Li Shan has already discussed with Han Liang, Su Dingfang and others. After passing, he said directly: "With Zhang Shigui as the main general and Li Keshi as the auxiliary, we will lead 3,000 infantry and cavalry to stay in Jiexiu." After a pause, Li Shan emphasized his tone, "Tomorrow, when the follow-up troops arrive, Qin Qiong will lead 2,000 cavalry. Go north and join Zhang Baoxiang's troops to go north. Yu Chigong and Liu Heier will lead the left and right armies to form two wings, and they will lead the central army to the rear."

Li Shan looked at Qin Qiong, "Is it possible that the scout is confirmed?"

Qin Qiong responded: "Five groups of scouts have reported back. There are no traces of Turks in Yong'an and Xiaoyi counties, and there is Wuchengbo blocking the west side of Zhangnan Fort."

Wuchengbo is a large lake located in the southwest of Pingyao. It is not small in size, but it has dried up in later generations.

"Okay." Li Shan nodded, "The infantry led by Qian Jiulong and Liu Hongji should be able to arrive at Jiexiu tomorrow. The number of troops will be about 20,000. If the battle goes well tomorrow, the infantry will continue to go north along the Fen River and cross Zhang Nanbao arrived at Pingyao County."

"I have heard for a long time that Duke Yi is brave and brave. We are the vanguard in this battle and must defeat the enemy." Li Shan made some calculations and said, "Tiao Hou Hongtao and Qu Silang will be the assistants."

Both of them were in the Zuo Army. Liu Heier remained silent, but Duan Zhixuan was a little dissatisfied. Both of them were called brave generals. Didn't this weaken the Zuo Army's strength?

After all, Hou Hongtao on the side joined Li Shan after he returned from Daizhou, but Qu Silang was different. He said with a smile: "The name Alang will be announced tomorrow, and the Turks must be panicked."

Ma Sanbao, Er Zhu Yichen and Li Kai all nodded in agreement. Li Shan's reputation for defeating the Turks three times back then was enough to shock the Turks.

Once it was known that Li Huairen, the successor king of Wei, was leading a large army to help, the possibility of the Turks choosing the main force for a decisive battle was really slim.

As long as the Turks do not dare to confront each other head-on, after passing Pingyao and Qixian, they can join forces with the Daizhou Army in Jinyang, Wenshui, Qingyuan, Jiaocheng and other places. Their strength will be replenished, and then Qian Jiulong and Liu Hongji arrived with his infantry. Not to mention how much advantage he had, at least they were tied in terms of military strength.

At this moment, in the camp located outside Yangqu County of Bingzhou, Tuli Khan had also received the battle report... This camp was originally a camp of the Tang army, and was seized by the Turks after the Bingzhou army withdrew southward.

"There has been no movement for half a month, and now I suddenly go north..." Tuli Khan thought suspiciously in his mind, "Is it such a coincidence?"

Just as he was beginning to transport batches of goods, people, and food back, the Tang army suddenly headed north?

Tuli Khan has been sitting in Bingzhou, sending troops to plunder everywhere, but he has always been wary of Jinzhou and Jiangzhou. After learning that King Qin led an army to help, he was nervous for a while.

But then, the Tang army stopped advancing in Jiangzhou, and a large number of Tang cavalry suddenly withdrew, which gave Tuli Khan some speculation.

As Li Shan thought, Tuli Khan and Dubu Khan had a tacit understanding... at least the latter vowed to meet again in Jingzhao.

Therefore, Tuli Khan guessed that Dubu Khan may not have invaded Jingzhao, but he must have made a lot of noise in the pass, so he forced the Tang army who came to Bingzhou to return reinforcements.

This is also the main reason why Tuli Khan has not withdrawn his troops.

Withdraw immediately?

Tuli Khan was a little hesitant, as there was still a large amount of grain, grass and goods that had not been transported in time, and it seemed that the Tang army did not have many troops heading north, at least only four or five thousand cavalry.

After hesitating for a moment, Tuli Khan looked at a general beside him and said, "Nishu, you rush to Qi County overnight, gather your troops, and go south to Pingyao to check the strength of the Tang army."

If it was really the King of Qin who led a large army to help, it means that Dubu Khan failed to succeed and simply withdrew his troops. If he just moved northward, he may not necessarily need to withdraw.