Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 1408 Accident (Part )

Within two moments, Qin Wutong and Dou Jing finally arrived with 5,000 infantry. Duan Zhixuan led the cavalry to cover the infantry going north, set up formations on the north side of the Chinese army, and built temporary camps.

In less than two moments, it was not far from dusk. Li Shan was a little impatient. The dispatched scouts kept reporting back, and the convoys transporting grain, grass and goods from Dingxiang County continued towards Tanglingang.

Tuli Khan personally led the royal army to station in Xiurong County, and sent large armies back and forth to the north and east sides of Xiurong County. Dingxiang County is located in the northeast of Xiurong County.

"Can't wait any longer." Li Shan sighed.

Several staff members around him were silent, and everyone knew in their minds that according to the original plan, Su Dingfang should break through Yanmen Pass today. This direction is easy to say, and the failure to block Yanmen Pass can also be explained as supporting Liu Shirang and Li Shiji in Shuozhou.

But Cheng Mingzhen's attack on Feihu Trail in the other direction is difficult to explain. Combined with the news that Su Dingfang broke Loufan Pass and appeared outside Yanmen Pass, Tuli Khan will understand the Tang army's combat intentions.

According to the plan, Cheng Mingzhen should attack Feihu Trail at dusk today or even at night, and then seize Lingqiu County and block the Turks' route back to the grassland from Yuzhou north.

Li Shan no longer hesitated and asked his guards to summon Qin Qiong back. Throughout the day, Qin Qiong, Liu Heier, Duan Zhixuan and other generals took turns confronting the Turks. There were not one or two small-scale battles. Both sides were very restrained. Enough is enough.

"He was a brave general in the army in his early years, and later a hussar in Wagang Tent." Li Shan stared into Qin Qiong's eyes, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince regards you as his right-hand man in the army, and I will entrust you with everything in today's battle."

"I am willing to listen to His Highness King Wei Si's instructions." Qin Qiong's expression was relatively calm.

"Four thousand fine cavalry will follow Zhoushan to the east and bypass Xiurong County." Li Shan whispered: "Guhui will send Liu Heier and Duan Zhixuan to lead their troops to advance so that the Turks cannot stop them."

"Yes."

"Bypass Xiurong County and arrive at the south side of Dingxiang County." Li Shan continued: "Most of Dingxiang County is located to the north of the Muma River. You will be in charge of the movement of the cavalry."

"I just have one request."

"It is necessary to circumvent the chaos and settle Xiang." Li Shan emphasized, "Forcing the Turks to return north."

Qin Qiong was silent for a while. He knew very well that this meant that he would become the most critical link in the overall strategic plan. If the Turks could not be brought back north, Su Dingfang and Cheng Minzhen's fierce blockade would not have any effect, and instead they would be defeated one by one by the Turks. Defeat each one.

After a while, Qin Qiong responded and ordered his troops to set off.

Li Shan thought in his mind that after the Xuanwu Gate Incident in history, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Gong basically did not go to war during the Zhenguan years, and they mainly defended Chang'an and the Imperial City... This was largely because Li Shimin passed the There was a mutiny to seize the throne, so the most loyal generals were needed to be in charge of Chang'an.

In this life, perhaps Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong can open up territory for the Tang Dynasty.

However, to be fair, Li Shan no longer has much hope for his overall strategic plan. Even if he disrupts Dingxiang, even if the Turks move north, and even if he blocks Tanglingang with infantry, it is difficult to guarantee that he can defeat the Turks.

There don't seem to be many loopholes in the plan, but any accident may cause the plan to fail... Li Shan sometimes feels that he is still too confident, sometimes feels that Ashina Sheer is too useless, and sometimes feels that Zhang Zhongjian is really It’s crazy to think about making great achievements!

Frequent accidents not only occur in Xinzhou, but also in Yizhou, Hebei Province. Cheng Minzhen's face turned pale as he dismounted from his horse, and his right hand holding the riding whip had a tendency to be raised. Just before he arrived at the east entrance of Feihu Trail, three thousand Yu Huqi suddenly broke out and the Tang army was defeated. If Huang Junhan hadn't led the vanguard to come to the rescue immediately, the entire army would have collapsed.

"Scout report, all the way to the northeast." Huang Junhan whispered: "It should be the Khitan and Mohe tribes."

In his early years, Tuli Khan was in charge of the Khitan, Mohe and other tribes. The Khan Court bordered Youzhou. It was the cavalry of these two tribes that broke through Feihu Trail and defeated the Daizhou Army. "Where's the guard?" Cheng Minzhen asked with a gloomy face.

Huang Junhan and Shuang Shiluo looked at each other, and the latter whispered: "Yang Feng, the magistrate of Louting County, fled first and was defeated, but this person is from the Yang family of Hongnong..."

"Behead him!" Cheng Minzhen said sternly: "In this battle, Hebei was unable to stop the Hu soldiers from breaking Feihu Trail first, and then they were defeated in Bingzhou. If they can't break Feihu Trail, you two, even if they are the prince's old troops, will not be able to escape. crime!"

Huang Junhan and Shuang Shiluo stopped saying anything. They knew well that King Wei Si's plan might not succeed, but if they couldn't even attack Feihu Trail, then the blame would probably fall on the heads of the Hebei generals. ...The other generals in the army, who fought all the way from Jiangzhou to Xinzhou, only have merit.

Even though the Daizhou Army was defeated, the Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan who led it was from the clan after all... To put it bluntly, this pot was likely to fall on Cheng Mingzhen's head.

And Cheng Mingzhen also made it clear, even cutting off the heads of the Yang family's descendants from Hongnong to tell Huang Junhan and Shuang Shiluo... If I am unlucky, I will drag you with me.

Shuang Shiluo asked in a low voice: "Attack immediately?"

Cheng Minzhen took a few steps back and forth and asked, "How many troops did Hu Qi have when they broke Feihu Trail that day?"

"At most four thousand riders." Shuang Shiluo immediately responded, "I have tried twice before, but the stronghold on the west side of Feihu Trail is stable and difficult to break, and the troops are insufficient..."

Of course, the Turks had already invaded Bingzhou at that time. Cheng Mingzhen ordered Qi Shanxing, Shuang Shiluo, Wang Xu, Sang Xianhe and other generals to lead the army from Jingjing to Bingzhou to support the Bingzhou army.

"More than three thousand cavalry escaped today..." Cheng Minzhen licked his dry lips and waved his riding crop with his right hand, "Other Turkic troops should leave Shuozhou."

"That's right." Tian Liu'an, the general manager of Weizhou, said: "Now the west side of Feihu Trail should not be heavily guarded."

"Attack immediately?" Huang Junhan suggested again, paused and added: "We were in Jinyang that day, and we hope we can reach the east entrance of Feihu Trail at dusk today."

Cheng Mingzhen thought with a gloomy face for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Bury the pot to make rice, and send scouts to investigate."

"Night attack?" Tian Liuan asked tentatively.

Cheng Mingzhen nodded, "I personally led the troops as the vanguard, selected more than a thousand warriors from the army, marched on horseback, and attacked on foot ten miles away at night."

The total length of the Flying Fox Trail is sixty or seventy miles. It is impossible for the infantry to walk the entire distance. Otherwise, they will not have the strength to lift their swords after leaving the Flying Fox Trail.

"Huang Junhan added to the vanguard, Shuang Shiluo and Tian Liuan led the cavalry with torches as their signals. Once the barrier is broken, they will catch up immediately."

After Cheng Mingzhen arranged everything, he sat silently on a big rock. There was a cold wind blowing, but his palms felt wet.

Regarding Li Shan's plan, Cheng Mingzhen didn't think there was a high chance of success, but he also believed that Li Shan would not hold himself accountable if it failed.

However, as the general manager of Luozhou who controlled the armies in Hebei, Cheng Mingzhen knew very well that if he could not break through Feihu Trail and capture Lingqiu, his future would be slim.

(End of this chapter)