A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 499
Tai Chi Palace.

Inside Zhaode Hall.

The emperor asked Li Jing, Secretary of the Ministry of War, and Qin Qiong, "Does Erqing think Qingyang's plan is feasible?"

Qin Qiong said bluntly, "It's too risky."

On the contrary, Li Jing gave affirmation, "Wu Qingyang's plan has two key points, one is Eiyang Ridge, and the other is Bai Dao, and they have grasped the key points."

Qin Qiong reminded Li Jing, "But Huaiyu proposed to surprise Eyangling with two or three thousand elite cavalry in the freezing November. This is crazy."

Eiyang Ridge is not far to the south of Dingxiang.

Turkic Khan Tingdingxiang (Helinger) is located on the edge of Chilechuan in the Hetao Plain, and the entire terrain is low in the north and high in the south.

The northwest is the Hetao Plain, and the southeast is the continuous mountains bordering Shuozhou and Yunzhou.

Eyang Ridge has a condescending tendency to Dingxiang, and guards its southward route to Shuozhou.To the north of Eiyang Ridge is the plain where the Dingxiang Khan Court of Yimapingchuan is located, and to the southeast via Shahukou, you can reach Mayi, Shuozhou. There are also Shanyang County and Shanyang Ridge. Yuchi Laohei is from Shanyang County.

If he could occupy the Evil Sun Ridge, he would really be condescending and take the lead.The key to this position is that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. With two to three thousand people guarding it, even if Jieli's 3000 troops can't do anything for a while, the Tang army can not only monitor the Turkic army, but also rely on the danger to attack calmly. , to the north is Yimapingchuan, hit it casually.

Of course, Eyang Ridge is right under Dingxiang's nose, so it must be very difficult to seize it.

Wu Huaiyu proposed to send troops in November when Jieli least expected, and it would be a surprise attack by Qingqi.

"Your Majesty, Sun Tzu's Art of War states: Those who are in trouble in military struggles should use detours as the straight line and take advantage of the adversity. Historically, the wars between the Central Plains and the grasslands have been invaded by the grasslands in autumn and winter. At this time, the autumn is tall and the horses are fertile, and the river freezes, which is beneficial to the nomadic cavalry. , especially when grasslands encounter white disasters, they are most likely to invade and plunder from the south.

But when I counterattack the grasslands in the Central Plains, I often choose spring and summer, when the glaciers thaw and the grass does not grow well. At this time, the grasslands, after a long winter, their cattle and sheep are thin and weak, and their horses are also the thinnest, which is the time when they have the least combat effectiveness. . "

Because of this rule, the Central Plains tends to be more vigilant against grasslands in autumn and winter, and grasslands are often more vigilant in spring and summer.

Wu Huaiyu chose to attack in the cold winter of November. How could the Turkic people think of this time, not to mention that many nomadic tribes had to move to avoid the wind and snow.

Hitting is unexpected.

Li Jing praised Wu Huaiyu's adventurous plan, especially praising his first step was to surprise Eyangling, not Dingxiang.

Because although Dingxiang is a Turkic Khan court, it is also a city. This city was built by Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, who asked Changsun Sheng and others to help Qimin Khan.

It is not easy to directly attack Dingxiang City with two to 3000 people.

A wave is difficult, so you have to master the rhythm.

First grab the strategically important Eiyang Ridge, take the initiative, be able to attack, defend, and monitor.The most important thing is that occupying this place, it will be safer for the Tang army to attack from Shuozhou and Yunzhou and march in those dangerous valleys.

Even in the coldest November and December, when the Tang army occupied this place, only two or three thousand riders could make Xieli sleepless, and they had to gather troops to deal with it against the wind and snow.

Therefore, even if the Tang army only took advantage of the danger and did not attack, Xieli would have to mobilize at least 3 to [-] people to deal with it. In this cold winter, these Turkic cavalry will be quickly exhausted and exhausted.

Or the Tang army could take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and divide their troops down the mountain to attack the nomadic tribes who had spent the winter on the grassland. Their soldiers gathered in Dingxiang and were attacked by a small group of troops in the rear.

If they perform well, they can even scare the Turkic people for a day, and this winter will make things worse. If they can take away some of their livestock, cattle and sheep, it will be even more difficult for them.

You must know that the Turkic people’s daily routine in winter at this time is to move to the winter grassland sheltered from the wind, and drive the cattle and sheep out to graze during the day. It is very fatal to go to the mountains to plunder those cattle and sheep.

Wu Huaiyu was counting on this season. It was difficult for the Turkic people to gather too many troops, and they couldn't afford to spend them, let alone conquer the evil Yangling where the Tang army was defending.

They can only wait for spring, or even summer, but Wu Huaiyu will not give them that much time at all.

First use a light cavalry to capture Eiyang Ridge, and then harass and contain the tactics to exhaust Jieli's soldiers and horses. After two or three months, when the Tang army is about to arrive in the first month, the follow-up reinforcements of the Tang army are almost in place, so we can choose a good time to come to Dingxiangyang City. The tiger went down the mountain.

But the worst thing about Wu Huaiyu is that he still offered advice. Here, he stationed troops in evil Yangling and engaged in harassment tactics. On the other side, he sent people to separate Jieli Tuli and the others, and then sent envoys to Dingxiang to negotiate with Jieli, giving him a false impression. , Tang Chao didn't intend to hit him, paralyze him, and then give him a fatal blow.

As for why it took around the first month to launch a fatal blow to Dingxiang, it was because another key deployment in Wu Huaiyu's plan was Bai Dao.

The Baidao is behind Dingxiang, and it is the only way from Monan to Mobei to cross the Yinshan Mountains. If this place is not blocked, then Jieli may see that the situation is not good, and then he will lead his troops to flee to Mobei. There are Xue Yantuo and others in the north, but the Turks still have a strong influence in Mobei.

Once he fled to Mobei, it would be very difficult for Datang to win Jieli again.

So this opening must be blocked.

A Tang army seized Eiyangling first, and then another army was about to detour around and block the opening of Baidao.

In Wu Huaiyu's adventurous plan, the light cavalry of Evil Yangling would naturally start from Shuozhou, and Li Jingtiao's troops would lead the surprise attack.

As for Baidao's cavalry, Wu Huaiyu suggested sending troops from Youzhou, and he has already decided on the candidates, he will be the chief general, and Su Dingfang will be the deputy general.

As long as these two routes of light cavalry are in place, when the general attack comes, even if Jieli abandons Dingxiang and flees, he will not be able to escape from the palm of his hand.

As long as he is blocked to the south of Yinshan Mountain, Jieli will be the turtle in the urn.

Of course, this whole plan sounds very good, but Qin Qiong also said that it is too risky.

The loops are intertwined with each other, but it also means that a little mistake cannot be made, otherwise the whole thing will collapse.

Regardless of whether it is sending troops to Evil Yang Ridge, or blocking the White Road, or marching in the cold winter months, or chasing the Turkic army in the first month, it is not an ordinary difficulty. The first thing is to supply.

Even if Wu Huaiyu was able to prepare food, grass, and military equipment in advance and transport them to the front line with the method of opening the middle salt, it was only to Youbing, Shuoyun, Xialing and other states. From these places to Dingxiang and even Yinshan, it was still very far away.

Logistical resupply will be difficult.

Furthermore, the Turks mainly used cavalry. This time they counterattacked the Northern Expedition and went deep into the enemy's territory. The Tang army did not have an advantage over the Turks.

Wu Huaiyu suggested that it is a quick battle, and beat the master to death with random punches. As soon as the official attack starts, he will go all the way, blindly pursue and fight, and will not give Jieli a chance to gather and breathe, close the door, and beat Jie hard. Li, you must capture Jieli as quickly as possible, so that you can disintegrate the fighting spirit of the Turkic people.

It's easy to say, but every step is difficult to realize.

In the past, the Tang army basically fought defensively against the Turks, and occasionally used defensive counterattacks. It is unprecedented to go out of the country to counterattack across the board, go deep into the enemy's nests, and fight encirclement and annihilation battles like this.

Qin Qiong still felt that he should be steady and advance step by step. Even if Jieli ran to Mobei, it didn't matter. He regained Monan first, and then he would unite with Xue Yantuo to slowly clean up the Turks.

Li Jing supported Wu Huaiyu's adventure plan. Although Wu Huaiyu's strategy was indeed his own, it was also Li Jing's way of using troops that he learned when he and Li Jing performed the Northern Expedition tactics together. .

The two generals have their own opinions.

Li Shimin looked at the map and fell into thought.

Wu Huaiyu's plan is very tempting. If it succeeds, it will be done once and for all, with the highest efficiency and the lowest cost.

If the current Datang cannot succeed at one time, if the Turkic crimes are committed every year as in previous years, it will be a headache, and even the finances will not be able to support it.

But this plan is also more risky. If it fails, the consequences will be more serious. If the [-] to [-] troops are wiped out like the Taigu Battle in the seventh year of Wude, the whole situation may be reversed again.

After a long time, Li Shimin didn't make up his mind, but he still asked Li Jing to go back and lead the army to come up with a more detailed and comprehensive plan according to Wu Huaiyu's idea. He had to turn his idea into a detailed strategy to test how feasible it was. , How much can the winning rate be.

"It's been almost a year since Yuchi Jingde resigned from his post. He is from Shuozhou, and he is good at commanding cavalry in battle. In my opinion, let him serve under the pharmacist's command. He will not be restored to his official rank for the time being, and he will still serve in vain."

Although the emperor hadn't decided whether to adopt Wu Huaiyu's tactics, he had already begun preparations.

Let Li Jing select [-] cavalry in Shuozhou, led by Yu Chigong himself, to prepare for a surprise attack on Eiyangling.Let Wu Huaiyu also select [-] cavalry in Youzhou, led by Su Dingfang, to block Baidao.

The two cavalry gathered for training in advance. If Wu Huaiyu's tactics were adopted at that time, then these two cavalry would be two sharp knives, and they had to be used as soon as possible.

After the discussion was over, the emperor took Qin Qiong and Li Jing to the Tai Chi Palace.

The Supreme Emperor had already moved to the Da'an Palace before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Right now, the Emperor is still in the East Palace, and the Taiji Palace is also being repaired.

However, the emperor sometimes directly opened the door in the East Palace to the Wude Hall of Taiji Palace, held court meetings in the Wude Hall, and sometimes summoned ministers in the Zhaode Hall in the side hall.

Walking in the Tai Chi Palace, the feeling is really different.

Yuan Ji used to live in Wude Hall back then, but now things are different.

Zhang Anan came to Yuchi's house with a purpose.

Yu Chigong still lived in the original mansion, but because he was deprived of official titles, he was no longer entitled to enjoy the previous specifications. It was dismantled, sealed directly, and the door was opened in the reform workshop, and the door was much smaller.

The internal guard suddenly came down to prison, and Yu Chigong, who was dressed in Taoist robes, had no time to change, so he rushed to greet him.

Hearing that the emperor asked him to serve in Li Jing's army for nothing, to lead three thousand elite cavalry to train in Shanyang, Shuozhou, to practice Taoism, make alchemy and eat alchemy, the red-eyed Yuchi Gong cried.

Crying like a child, the emperor finally remembered him as Old Hei again.

It doesn't matter whether he is white or not, as long as the emperor can still remember him and let him go to the battlefield, that's enough.

He used to look down on Li Jing, but now he no longer has that kind of unruliness, let alone command three thousand cavalry, even if he commanded three hundred, he would be willing.

"Your Majesty has something to pass on to Mr. Yuchi. If you cannot obey Li Jing's military orders when you arrive in Mayi, then you should stay away as soon as possible."

"Obey, I absolutely obey!"

(End of this chapter)