Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 1396 Gathering

October 22nd, sunny.

In the rare good weather, the sky was slightly bright. Huang Junhan led three thousand Tang cavalry from Jiuguan and headed westward very quickly. Scouts had been sent out last night to confirm that there were no traces of Turks in Shiai County.

Within half a day, the Tang army's cavalry marched nearly a hundred miles and occupied Shiai and Shouyang successively without encountering any resistance.

However, after arriving in Shouyang, the scouts sent by Huang Junhan reported that they had met the Turkic cavalry.

Huang Junhan did not act rashly. Sang Xianhe and Wang Xu had learned from their mistakes. He stayed in Shouyang County and waited for the follow-up troops.

At this moment, the area around Jinyang has become a mess.

When Huang Junhan set off from Jiuguan, Yuchi Gong led his army northward and entered Jiaocheng County cautiously but extremely quickly along the Fen River without encountering any Turks.

But soon the scouts reported that thousands of Turks were entrenched near Qingxu Town. Weichi sent Ma Sanbao and two thousand troops to continue northward and garrisoned Qingyuan County to prevent large groups of Turks from going south, while he led his right army to attack Qingxu Town. .

This time it was no longer a meeting between Dao and Zuo. Both sides knew the approximate strength of the other side through scouts, but the Turks still suffered a loss. Although the Tang army marched north from Jinzhou and advanced very quickly, the Turks did not expect that after the Tang army entered Bingzhou, it would It penetrated so violently and quickly into the hinterland of Bingzhou.

Of course, the most important thing is the terrain. This is what Li Shan is best at. He ordered Yuchi Gong to go north along the Fen River to ensure that he would not be surrounded by the Turks. He also designated Yuchi Gong not to cross Qingyuan County because of the terrain nearby. It is good for Tang cavalry, but not good for Turkic cavalry.

The reason is also very simple. Bingzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides in the east, west and north. The east is higher, and the middle and west are lower. The Fenshui River passes through the middle of Bingzhou. There are more than ten Fenshui rivers, large and small, near Jinyang and Qingyuan. of tributaries.

When the reinforcements sent by Tuli Khan arrived, they were faced with an army of more than 6,000 Tang cavalry that had already gathered strength.

When Tuli Khan arrived in person, he was faced with Li Shan, who had also arrived. After learning the battle report, Li Shan made a prompt decision and led Su Dingfang, Liu Heier, Qin Qiong and other troops to rush north and arrived at Qingxu Town. north.

At this time, Wenshui, Qingyuan, and Jiaocheng around Jinyang all sent troops. In addition to Yuci on the east side, Li Shan now had more than 20,000 cavalry under his command, and more than 10,000 infantry capable of field fighting.

With Hu Yan on the left and Li Mengchang on the right, Yuchi Gong led the center. When encountering the enemy, he attacked with all his strength. Fierce battles were staged again and again, with endless sounds of fighting and screams.

Although there were only more than 3,000 Tang cavalry and the Turkic troops were about 3,000 to 4,000, they were not at a disadvantage. However, the Tang army continued to attack fiercely, especially the hundreds of Xuanjia heavy cavalry mobilized from Tiance Mansion. Under the personal leadership of Yuchi Gong, almost It can penetrate the Turkic army every time.

Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan suddenly led more than a thousand cavalry out of the city and went south today, preparing to receive reinforcements. When he was at Dongwoyi Station, he discovered a small group of Turkic troops fleeing.

Qingxu Town is located in Qingyuan County, not far from Jinyang. There are three relatively small tributaries of the Xiangyu River, Wenyu River, and Jianhe River nearby. This makes it difficult for the Turkic cavalry to form a queue, but the Tang cavalry can move in a relatively narrow area. Concentrate the queue on the battlefield to take advantage of the impact.

After making inquiries, Li Daoxuan led his army northwest along the Xiangyu River and stabbed him hard from the rear. The Turkic army, which had been fighting for a long time, could no longer hold on and fled in all directions.

This time, Tuli Khan reacted quickly and immediately sent troops south to help. Unfortunately, before the reinforcements arrived, the Turks had already collapsed.

The most important thing is that, on the premise of ensuring that Jinyang was not lost, Li Shan led his army to join the Daizhou Army and the Bingzhou Army, so he was not too disadvantaged in terms of military strength.

"Huairen!" Li Daoxuan almost rushed over and held Li Shan's hands firmly, with an expression that was both grateful and ashamed.

I am grateful that Li Shan led his army to help at the most critical moment. I am ashamed that the Daizhou army founded by Li Shan is already in ruins, and Daichi must also be in a miserable state. "Brother Daoxuan." Li Shan looked up and down for a while and said with a wry smile, "Let's talk about it after the war."

Except for the general who led the confrontation, the other generals had gathered together. Li Shan asked Ma Zhou to take out the map and look at it carefully.

"Just now, the scouts reported that with the Fen River as the boundary, the troops from the east and west sides have rushed to the vicinity of Yangqu County." Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng, stared at the map and said quickly: "Tuli Khan has at least 60,000 troops. , but some of them should still be in Xinzhou, Daizhou and other places."

"It's hard to say." Qin Qiong shook his head, "In the three battles of Jinzhou and Fenzhou plus today's battle, more than 5,000 people were beheaded. Tuli Khan must have gathered his troops, and he should have sent troops south from Xinzhou, Daizhou and even Shuozhou. .”

Just now Li Daoxuan already knew when Li Shan was setting off, and he couldn't help being surprised that he was marching so fast.

The generals were all talking, and everyone had the same idea. They could not let the Turks retreat so easily.

Governor Shi Doujing added: "From October 15th to October 16th, the Turks successively broke into Shouyang and Qi counties, transported large quantities of grain, grass and goods in carriages, and plundered a large number of young men and women. They should not be able to leave." Far."

Su Dingfang shook his head and said: "If the Turks retreat, the march will be slow, but there are many dangerous places in Xinzhou and Daizhou. The Turks may set up ambushes or block attacks, making it difficult to break the formation."

It was already dusk. Li Shan, who had been silent all this time, stared at the map, pointed at the west side of Bingzhou, and marked an area, "Maybe troops will be stationed here?"

Dou Jing hesitated for a moment and glanced at Li Daozong, "It seems that Huang Danzhen is on the left and right."

"Not bad." Li Daozong clicked on the map, "On the south side of the Fen River, close to Huangdan Town, there are military camps, and there are several bridges to cross the Fen River."

Li Shan pondered for a moment, and a general came from the front to report that the Turks had withdrawn and returned north.

This is natural. Li Shan has 20,000 cavalry in his hands at the moment. Although the Turkic troops have the advantage, no matter the terrain or the time of day, it is impossible to start a war... Both sides do not want to fight at night, so it is certain to withdraw their troops.

Li Shan slightly nodded, hesitated for a while and then looked at Yuchi Gong, "You will lead the right army to garrison Huangdan Town. The Turks will concentrate their forces around Yangqu County, which should be north of the Fen River, but they still need to be dispatched first. Scout to investigate.”

Fenshui enters Bingzhou from the southwest, flows through Wenshui, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan in the northwest. It turns north at Jinyang in the heart of the center, and then goes west after reaching Yangqu, so the western part of Bingzhou is divided into There are two parts, one in the north, close to Yangqu, and the other in the south.

"If the Turks withdraw their troops tomorrow, Guhui will send men to light smoke on the Fen River. You can lead your troops across the Fen River and pursue them northeastward."

Yuchi Gong nodded repeatedly. He could also see that once the Turks retreated, they would definitely go to Chitang Pass.

Li Shan glanced at the generals and said with a smile: "Brother Wanche leads the Daizhou cavalry to assist, and is the deputy of Brother Jingde."

Xue Wanche, who had been silent all the time, nodded vigorously. After learning about the changes in Xuanwu Gate, he seemed to be a little taciturn, and his emotions were complicated and difficult to describe, but he also knew Li Shan's good intentions.

(End of this chapter)