A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1099 Talking on Paper
"You were unwilling to go out to conquer Tuyuhun and Tubo before. Why did you volunteer this time?"

In the Hall of Wude,

The emperor looked at Wu Huaiyu. He had not seen him for more than two years. The emperor's temples were even more frosty white, but Wu Huaiyu seemed to have not changed and was still so young.

"Your Majesty, the situation in the Western Regions has gotten out of control. Especially Yugushe is now gradually gaining momentum to unify the Western Regions. The court must curb it. Gaochang is now only following Yugushe's lead and has become a vanguard bridgehead in the Western Regions against the Tang Dynasty. It must also be destroyed."

"This battle is of great importance to us, the Tang Dynasty, and we cannot afford to lose anything. The best candidate to coach the Western Expedition is Duke Wei, and Duke Qi is also good.

But now these two coaches are retiring at home to recuperate."

The implication of Wu Huaiyu's words was that he did not take the other generals seriously. Whether it was Li Daozong, Hou Junji, or the brothers Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun, Wu Huaiyu believed that they were not qualified to take command, or that they could not handle Yugu She.

The emperor twisted his beard.

If Wu Huaiyu was willing to lead the expedition, he would indeed be more reliable than Hou Junji, but the emperor was still hesitant.

"Do you think the situation in the Western Regions can improve? Is it really necessary to use troops? If we use troops, where will it go?" the emperor asked.

From then on, whether the imperial court accepted Yiwu's surrender, or whether it accepted King Gaochang's tribute from Chang'an,

And DTZ went to the Western Regions and successively established themselves as Khans, Dubu Khan and now Yibidulu Khan.

Over the years, Datang had a core strategy in the Western Regions, which was to never favor one side and to allow them to maintain a situation where the two Khans existed side by side.

but,

But this chaos is what the imperial court is very fond of.
Even Yibidulu Khan, who is now the dominant family in the Western Region, killed Zheli and defeated Yehu Khan,
That is the original DTZ Yugu design,

"I believe that the Western Region has reached the point where it is necessary to fight, and a big fight is necessary. A big fight can guarantee stability for at least twenty years. Otherwise, the Western Region may lose control at any time, and even become a serious problem."

In this way, from Shekui Khan at the beginning of Wude, to Tongyehu Khan, to Moheduo Khan, Siyehu Khan, and then Dulu Khan, Zhelishi Khan, Yehu Khan, The orthodox Western Turks have experienced seven great khans. Even if Mohedu is not included, there are still six.

Then Emperor Zhenguan consecrated Tong Yehu Khan's son Zheli Teqin as Yibibolasi Yehu Khan, and then sent envoys to mediate the attacks of Moheduo Khan and Siyehu Khan.
Even later, DTZ Jieli was defeated. Yugu She and Tuo She who were originally guarding Mobei were defeated by Xue Yantuo. After they were defeated in the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty sent envoys to appease and grant drums, allowing them to settle in the Western Regions.
To put it bluntly, the purpose is to make the Western Regions less peaceful, not to allow one family to dominate, and to make the Western Regions more chaotic, so that they cannot threaten the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty will be more aloof.

Then they started fighting again.

Nowadays, Yibidulu Khan and Yibisha Balaji Lisi Khan, and his successor Yibisha Baloyehu Khan,
No matter how the situation in the Western Region changes,

From Si Yehu Khan and Mohe Duo Khan to the original Dulu Khan Nishu and Dubu Khan Sheer,

In these short twenty years,
I broke out in nine profuse sweats,

Do you think the Western Regions can be free from chaos?

The Tang Dynasty would never support any party, but would just let them fight back and forth. Every time they were almost done fighting, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would send envoys to the Western Regions to mediate.

His rise all the way was inseparable from the overt and covert support of the imperial court. When he was defeated in Mobei and retreated to Gaochang, he was like a bereaved dog.
It was the imperial court who encouraged him, bestowed him with official titles and drums, and allowed him to establish himself in the Western Regions. He was asked to guard the Western Regions' gates for the Tang Dynasty and prevent the Western Turks from coming eastward.

The Tang Dynasty both utilized and guarded against the Western Turks, so when it had a little spare power, it also actively intervened in the Western Turks and the countries in the Western Regions, hoping to balance the Western Regions and prevent the Western Turks from becoming stronger and threatening the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the Western Turks have been experiencing constant civil strife in recent years.
From the time Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty agreed to Tong Yehu Khan's marriage proposal, to when Tong Yehu Khan's uncle Mohedu killed him and established himself as Khan,

The emperor asked Wu Huaiyu to continue.

The situation in the Western Regions is actually clear. From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court's strategy for the Eastern and Western Turks was to unite the Western Turks to fight against the DTZ, which is the so-called distant friendship and close attack.

Later, after Siyehu's defeat, Li Shimin canonized his brother Nishu as the new khan. When Nishu died of illness, he immediately supported his younger brother Tong'er and made him khan.

In fact, there is not so much friendship between countries, but only practical interests.

It’s just that after more than ten years, Yugushe has gained momentum, so the tail is too big to fall off. In other words, since Nishu died of illness, the younger brothers and nephews who succeeded him have all been worse than the last, and they can't even hold on to their basic base. The local snake can't defeat Yugushe, the dragon across the river.

To say that Yu Gushe is also floating.

Of course, Yugushe was his previous official position in DTZ, and he is now Yibidulu Khan. However, everyone in the Tang Dynasty now hates this disobedient guy, so they no longer call him Dulu Khan. They still call him the former one. In the official position of DTZ, Yugushe didn't even call him by his original name.

This is like Li Yuan becoming emperor, but the DTZ Khan looked down upon him and insisted on calling Li Yuan Duke of Tang.

"Do you think the imperial court will unify the Western Region if it doesn't send troops?"

Wu Huaiyu knew that the imperial court had seen Yugushe getting stronger and more out of control in recent years. In fact, it had done a lot of work.
I still hope to preserve Yehu Khan's thin cloth and allow the two Khans of the Western Turks to stand side by side, with the Ile River as the boundary, divided into the South Court and the North Court.
Let Yibisha Bolo Yehu Khan build a tooth in the north of Suihe River, which is called Nanting. The territory under its jurisdiction is bounded by the Ile River in the east. Qiuci, Shanshan, Qiemo, Tohuluo, Yanqi, Shiguo, Shiguo, Heguo, Muguo, Kangguo, etc. were all under his control.

And let Yugu build Yadaohuo Shanxi, called Beiting, and the west of the jurisdiction was bounded by the Yilie River. Jueyueshu, Baximi, Pioma, Jiegu, Chumukun and other tribes were attached to him.

Datang wanted to make the strategy of the Western Regions more stable.

Unfortunately, after trying so hard, it becomes increasingly impossible.

Bobu was defeated repeatedly, while Yugushe's army became stronger and stronger. Now many of Yehu Khan's subordinates have defected to Yugushe.

Countries in the Western Regions, such as Gaochang, are now all surrendering. Today, Yugushe no longer takes the Tang Dynasty seriously. The envoys sent by the Tang Dynasty to mediate were directly detained by Yugushe, and even led Gaochang to attack. Yanqi of the Tang Dynasty was even trying to seize Yiwu, the bridgehead in the Western Regions directly controlled by the Tang Dynasty.

This is already showing its fangs,

If the Tang Dynasty does not send troops, then Yehu Khan may end up defeated like his uncle Zhelishi Khan, and the Western Turks may also be reunified.
However, Yu Gushe and Datang have this attitude now, so this kind of thing must never happen.

We can only send troops, we must send troops.

There must be a reason to send troops.

We also have to consider the people of Xue Yantuo in Mobei.
But the emperor has basically made up his mind to fight,
It's just that the reason for this battle, how large it will be, and its ultimate goal have not yet been completely determined.

Hou Junji wanted to take command and send troops. His plan was to mobilize at least hundreds of thousands of Tang troops to expedition to the Western Regions. He would not attack Yugushe first, but only attack Gaochang.

The reason for sending troops was that Gaochang had previously attacked the Yanqi State, a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and also prevented the countries in the Western Regions from paying tribute to the Tang Dynasty.
Hundreds of thousands of troops attacked Gaochang. Hou Junji was confident enough to destroy the country in one battle, and then changed the Gaochang Kingdom into a state of the Tang Dynasty, just like the original Yiwu Kingdom was changed into Yizhou.

As for Yugushe, he thought that he should not rush to touch him first and cut off Gaochang first, which would also cut off Yugushe's arm. Even after the Tang Dynasty captured Gaochang and added Yiwu, he would have a real base camp in the Western Regions. ,
At that time, you can advance, attack, retreat or defend. You can even let Yugushe come to attack. You can rest and wait for work, and defend and wait for attack. The Tang Dynasty has an absolute advantage in defending the city.
Li Shimin was more supportive of Hou Junji's plan, because in this way the Western Expedition would be a limited war, leaving room for further expansion.
After all, it is the best policy to go on an expedition of thousands of miles and gradually encroach upon it.

When I first came up, I thought that Gaochang and Yugushe would be swallowed up by a whale, which was not realistic.

But now Wu Huaiyu proposed that the key to solving the problem in the Western Regions is not Gaochang, but Yugushe, capturing thieves and kings, shooting people and horses,
If you want to fight, go to Yugushe.

The emperor hesitated.

"How many troops do you need?"

"Two hundred thousand."

Li Shimin was stunned, thinking he heard wrongly.

"How many?"

"Your Majesty, I thought the imperial court sent troops worth two hundred thousand."

Hearing this, the emperor was stunned again and said two hundred thousand.

"How many troops will be actually sent?"

"Twenty thousand is enough!"

"You want to conquer Yugushe and Gaochang Kingdom. Are 20,000 people enough?"

You must know that the Tang Dynasty was only seven thousand miles away from the Gaochang Kingdom. Beyond Yumen Pass, there was still a sandy moraine two thousand miles wide. There was no water or grass on the land and the climate was abnormal. However, the valley was even further away.
This battle is not easy to fight.

Long-distance marches, coupled with logistical supplies, are big problems.

With 20,000 people, although the difficulty of logistical supply has been reduced, Yugu’s troops and horses are now strong, and it is not entirely exaggerated to say that there are 200,000 people who can control the strings.

The Gaochang Kingdom is a small country, but it has three counties, five counties and 22 cities, with a registered population of tens of thousands.

Although this kind of oasis country is small, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

"Your Majesty, we only need 8,000 Tang cavalry to be dispatched. The remaining 12,000 will be recruited from Shuofang, Hexi, Qinghai and other places to accompany the Tibetan cavalry."

"When we reach the Western Regions, we can call on Yiwu, Yanqi and other vassal states to send troops."

From the surprise of 200,000, to the doubt of 20,000, and now the shock of 8,000,

Li Shimin was scratching his head.
If it weren't for the speaker Wu Huaiyu, who once defeated Liang Shidu in Shuofang, defeated the Turks in Yehuling, defeated Beixi in Yanshan, defeated the Turks in Yinshan, and defeated the beasts in Lingnan, a man with great martial arts and outstanding military exploits,

The emperor really thought he was a guy who could only talk on paper.

But Wu Huaiyu had enough achievements and was even called a victorious general. He had never lost a single battle and maintained victorious battles in more than a hundred battles.

The emperor had to listen carefully to what he said.

"Tell me your plan."

"I think that both Yu Gushe and Gaochang Qu Wentai think that the Tang Dynasty will not go on an expedition of thousands of miles, and even if it is an expedition, they will think that the Tang Dynasty will send at least 100,000 or 200,000 troops, and will even attack Gaochang first.
They felt they had enough time to prepare and even fought a defensive battle with us in Gaochang.

But the army is unpredictable. We cannot fight according to the enemy's plan. We have to take the enemy by surprise. Eight thousand elite cavalry attack quietly and go straight to the valley. They first destroy the Khan's court and capture the wolf's head, and then order Yanqi Yiwu and even Ye from the Western Regions. Hu Khan and others sent troops to encircle Yugu and set up Beiting subordinates.

After finishing Beiting Yugushe, it won’t be too late to attack Gaochang. Gaochang only has a population of tens of thousands, and it only relies on its dozens of large and small cities, but we can ignore him for now..."

"Our Tang Dynasty has the Shenji Camp and the Shenji Firearms. It is actually not difficult to deal with those cities in Gaochang."

The emperor couldn't help but nodded frequently while listening to Wu Huaiyu's confident explanation.

Yes, why do we have to attack Gaochang first? Why do we have to carry out an expedition with 100,000 or 200,000 troops?
(End of this chapter)