People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1776 Tell the Uighur Khan that I want to hunt with him on the grassland (2/2)

On the north side of Yinshan Mountain, numerous fires were burning boiling water. From time to time, someone would take out the boiling water and quickly pour it onto a huge rock at the outermost part of the cave.

Under the basins of hot water, the temperature of the rocks rose rapidly.

On other boulders around, people were also pouring hot water quickly.

Guo regretted standing far away and watched the old man standing on one side suddenly wave his hand. The next moment, a huge amount of cold water was poured directly on the boulder. In an instant, a crack appeared on the outside of the boulder, but it was only on the outside of the boulder.

"We have to continue." Guo Huihui turned to look at Ashina Gudulu and said, "Great Khan, it will take about three days to remove all the boulders outside, and it will take another half a month to completely open up the passage to the mountain. So the Great Khan only has one and a half months to mine the gold this time."

"One and a half months, about the same time as I estimated." Ashina Gudulu nodded, looked towards Chang'an, and said softly: "It would be better if the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was not the kind of Emperor who is accustomed to conquering people."

"The reason why King Peng was able to rise from a vassal to the throne was because of his long spear and the tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command." Guo Hui smiled bitterly and said, "If he had not happened to be on his eastern tour to Luoyang this time, the Khan would probably not have gotten the chance."

"Yes, if he were in Chang'an, he might lead his troops to attack us within three days, and this gold mine would be of no use to me." Ashina Gudulu's eyes fell on the mountain in front of him. He had always wanted to steal it before, but the reason he suddenly changed his decision this time was because Guo regretted bringing a large number of craftsmen who were good at mining.

With these people, the time required for Ashina Gudulu will be greatly reduced.

“When the Khan has reaped enough, he will seal the entrance to the cave completely so that King Peng will never find it again.” Guo’s regretful face was full of sneers.

"Yes!" Ashina Gudulu nodded in agreement, and then said: "But no matter what, we still need to find the gold mine first."

……

Luoyang, Qianyang Palace.

A huge sand table was placed in front of Li Xuan. Wang Dezhen stood on one side and explained to the ministers, "30,000 Turkic cavalrymen came from the northern grasslands. When they reached the Yinshan Mountains, they split into five groups. One group of 3,000 soldiers headed east, blocking the road from the Shanyu Protectorate to Yinshan. The second group went to Yinzhou, blocking the road from Yinzhou to Yinshan."

As Wang Dezhen spoke, he pointed at the corresponding position on the sand table.

"The third group went to Lingzhou, also with 3,000 people, and the fourth group went to Shuofang, also with 3,000 people." After a brief pause, Wang Dezhen continued, "On the north side of Yinshan Mountain, Ashina Gudulu left 8,000 people to dig for gold, and 300 miles behind, Ashina Mochu led 10,000 people to guard the rear."

"You are quite knowledgeable about military strategy." Zhang Da'an couldn't help but sneer twice.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "If they didn't know the art of war, they would have died long ago when Duke Jiang was chasing them. Otherwise, how could they have escaped death several times?"

"Die!" Zhang Da'an bowed and suppressed the contempt in his eyes.

"When will the Duke of Taiyuan arrive at Yinshan?" Li Xuan turned sideways and looked at Wang Dezheng.

"Three days later." Wang Dezhen bowed and said, "The Duke of Taiyuan will lead 3,000 troops on the first day, 6,000 on the second day, and 9,000 on the third day. When all the Turkic cavalry are entangled and the follow-up cavalry reinforcements arrive, the Shanyu Protectorate and the Anxi Protectorate will send troops at the same time to encircle the rear from the east and west sides."

On the sand table, all the Turkic cavalry were completely surrounded.

Li Xuan looked at the terrain on the sand table calmly. If nothing unexpected happened, the two brothers Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochuo would be dead.

But is everything really that easy?
Li Xuan raised his head and looked at the ministers. Finally, his eyes fell on Wang Jishan and he asked, "Minister Wang, you have led troops for many years. Do you think that in the current situation, the brothers Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochu still have room to escape?"

The ministers couldn't help but look at Wang Jishan.

Wang Jishan was once the General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard. Even Wang Dezhen, who had followed Li Xuan to conquer Tubo, was not as good as him in this respect.

Wang Jishan looked at the sand table in front of him seriously and was silent for a long time. He said uncertainly: "Your Majesty has made careful plans and detailed strategies. The two brothers Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochu have fallen into the trap. It will be difficult for them to leave, but this trap is not without flaws."

All the ministers suddenly looked solemn and couldn't help but look at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded in agreement unexpectedly, and said thoughtfully: "Please continue, Wang Qing. I also think there is something wrong."

"Your Majesty's trap is extremely thorough, so it is basically impossible to break it from the inside. So it seems that the only way to break this trap is from the outside?" When Wang Jishan said this, he couldn't help but look at Li Xuan.

"Uighurs!" When Li Xuan uttered these two words, all the ministers were shocked.

If the Uighurs intervene in the war at this time, the scale of the war will expand infinitely.

"Your Majesty." Lu Yuanfang couldn't help but look at Li Xuan with concern, and said, "Not to mention that the Huihe people are not in the path of my army, even if they were, my army's food and grass would not be enough to support a larger-scale war."

"I understand." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly and his gaze fell on the Mobei region. The Uighurs were his third target after the Turks and Silla.

Squinting his eyes slightly, Li Xuan said, "Send an order to the Duke of Taiyuan to send five hundred thousand cattle guards to the north of Yinshan Mountain a hundred miles away, raise flags and wait. If the Uighur Khan arrives, tell him that I want to hunt with him on the grassland."

"Yes!" General Qin Shandao of the Left Jinwu Guard immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Li Xuan continued, "Send an order to order the Right Guard General Li Gu to lead a thousand elite cavalry out of Shuofang to the Shanyu Protectorate to follow your orders."

"Yes!" Chen Ziang immediately bowed.

"Pass the order to cut off Yongzhou, Bingzhou, Shanyu Protectorate and all the roads leading to Mobei." Li Xuan clenched his fists tightly.

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang immediately bowed.

Li Xuan sneered and said, "If this is the case, and they still dare to advance to the foot of Yinshan Mountain, then I will personally lead the army to the grassland and destroy the Huihe!"

Li Xuan's words immediately reassured the ministers, and they all bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

"Found it!" A loud shout rang out at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, and countless excited voices immediately resounded throughout the area.

Asina Gudulu strode forward, and the Turkic people and Han slaves immediately made way for him, some even crawled on the ground.

Finally, a crack appeared in the mountain wall and appeared in front of Ashina Gudulu.

It is only one foot wide and leads directly to the top of the mountain. Looking down diagonally, there is no bottom in sight. There are only streams of mountain springs gushing out from below, bringing out the gold and stone underground at the same time.

Ashina Gudulu bent down and scooped under the spring water, and then a handful of golden sand was pulled out.

Ashina Gudulu fiddled with it, and a thumb-sized gold nugget appeared in the golden sand.

Ashina Gudulu's eyes turned red instantly.

"Something is not right." Guo Huiyue stood beside Ashina Gudulu, looking at the gold ore in his hand, and said puzzledly: "This shouldn't happen. Such a large amount of gold ore shouldn't be taken out."

"Whether it's right or not, we have to open the mountains and mine the minerals." Ashina Gudulu gritted his teeth.

Guo regretted what he wanted to say, hesitated for a moment, and then took it back.

Soon, more manpower was put into mining, felling trees, burning mountains, mining, digging tunnels...

Until late at night, the lights here are still bright and the mine is working all night.

At this moment, a burst of rapid horse hoof sounds came from afar, and a group of Turkic cavalry came galloping. A general wearing leather armor quickly dismounted, saluted to Ashina Gudulu and said: "Khan, something is wrong. The Tang people seem to have discovered something. There are already 3,000 cavalrymen heading towards Yinshan?"

"Where did it come from, how fast is it, and when will it arrive?" Ashina Gudulu immediately withdrew his gaze from the mine.

"Coming from Yinzhou, the speed is not fast. We can get here in half a day." The Turkic general stared straight at Ashina Gudulu.

Ashina Gudulu seemed to see through his desire and nodded, "Go ahead and kill them!"

"No!" Guo regretted his voice from behind. He quickly walked to the side of Ashina Gudulu and said, "Khan, we can't kill them, otherwise Yinzhou will react and the news will be sent to Chang'an as soon as possible. So, we can't kill them... attack them from all sides, delay their steps, and lure them to other places ahead..."

Ashina Gudulu was stunned for a moment, then his face became heavy. He looked up at the gold mine in front of him and nodded, saying, "That is indeed the case."

"Great Khan!" There was some unwillingness in the Turkic general's eyes.

Ashina Gudulu waved his hand and said, "Send an order. Send a thousand cavalry to attack from the front and back to delay their progress. The remaining two thousand cavalry will attack Yinzhou City directly, making it look like they are attacking the city, and then force them back."

"Yes!" When the Turkic general heard the word "siege", his expression became excited again.

Ashina Gudulu glared at him and said, "You can attack the city, but only for three days. After three days, you must withdraw immediately. This way, the Tang army will be reporting military intelligence and investigating back and forth, which will be enough to delay them for half a month. By then, even if they really mobilize a large army, it won't matter. This is enough to buy us two months."

"The Khan is indeed wise." Guo Hui thought for a moment and said, "In fact, if we retreat from Yinzhou City, we can lead them to the northwest Gobi Desert. After seven days, it doesn't matter even if we kill them all. As long as we pack up the bodies, they will be missing forever. Even if the false emperor investigates, it will take longer."

"Sir, you are indeed wise." Ashina Gudulu looked at Guo Huiyue in surprise, then looked at his generals and said, "Go and do as you say. Try your best to lead the pursuers from Yinzhou into the Gobi Desert. After seven days, you can slaughter them at will."

"Yes!" The Turkic general immediately lowered his head, and a trace of blood flashed in his eyes.

……

The strong smell of blood lingered around Ashina Gudulu, but it was too late for him to look back.

Behind him, countless Tang army pursuers were waving their swords and chasing him.

While fleeing in panic, Ashina Gudulu couldn't figure out what had happened.
The previous moment, he was at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, commanding his soldiers and working hard to quickly dig gold mines. The next moment, the Tang cavalry coming from all directions had already rushed over. Before he could react, countless Tang cavalry had completely destroyed his camp.

There are tens of thousands of Turkic warriors around.

What happened, what happened?
Ashina Gudulu was trying his best to figure out what had happened.

Tens of thousands of Tang cavalry suddenly rushed over from both sides of Yinshan Mountain, directly killed into his camp, and then launched a crazy massacre.

So what about the 3,000 cavalrymen who were supposed to stop them?

Ashina Gudulu suddenly remembered that the 3,000 cavalrymen he sent out were sent to harass Yinzhou City. At the same time, he forced back the 3,000 cavalrymen of the Tang people, and then led them to the northwest Gobi?
Mansion soldiers?

No, right?

Alarm bells were ringing wildly in Ashina Gudulu's mind. He was not mistaken. The troops that charged into the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountain from both sides were not the Tang people's palace soldiers, but the Tang people's elite Left Guards, who were supposed to be guarding Chang'an...

So what about the 3,000 Tang cavalry? What were they, palace soldiers or the Left Guard?
If it was also the Left Guard, then it meant that 13,000 elite Tang Left Guard cavalrymen had charged into the grassland.

How dare they do this without the emperor's edict?

With the emperor's decree, why would they only mobilize 13,000 elite cavalry?
That’s a Tang person!

Ashina Gudulu shuddered suddenly. At this moment, countless thunderous sounds of horse hooves rang out in the dark grassland ahead.

Ashina Gudulu was stunned for a moment, then the familiar sound of horse hooves told him that the person coming was a friend, not an enemy.

No, let’s go!
Ashina Gudulu suddenly urged his horse frantically, and when he saw the familiar general in the lead, he shouted frantically, "Turn back, turn back, turn back quickly, this is a trap, turn back quickly..."

Ashina Gudulu's shout echoed in the air. When the opposing general heard it, his face changed involuntarily. He was about to turn his cavalry around immediately, but at this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the northeast and northwest.

Ashina Gudulu looked up subconsciously and saw tens of thousands of Tang cavalrymen charging towards him from the east and west.

Among the Tang army's cavalry, many were even Turks.

No, that's Anxi, and the cavalry of the Shanyu Protectorate...

Finished!

……

"Go, go quickly, don't worry about me!" The miserable cry echoed in his ears, and the figure of the brother who turned around and killed the Tang cavalry kept appearing in his mind.

Ashina Mochuo frantically urged his horse to flee northward. In the darkness of the night, his heart was filled with regret.

If he had realized that it was a trap earlier, his brother and nearly 30,000 cavalrymen would not have been completely surrounded and killed by 100,000 Tang infantry and cavalry.

That was their last trump card, and they fell into the Tang people's trap.

He deserves to die, he really deserves to die.

Ashina Mochu felt infinite regret in his heart, and he couldn't help but raise his eyes and look further north, in the direction of the Uighurs.

Uighur, Uighur.

As long as he reaches Huihe, he will still have a chance to make a comeback.

At this moment, a white light suddenly appeared in the eastern sky.

Its daybreak.

Suddenly, Ashina Mochuo reined in his horse subconsciously.

Because just ahead, hundreds of Tang army flags were lined up in a row deep in the grassland.

Completely blocking his way.

Behind the Tang people were thousands of Uighur cavalrymen, led by a general who looked at Ashina Mochuo with a complicated expression.

The next moment, hundreds of Qianniu cavalrymen wearing Ming Guang armor were charging towards Ashina Mochuo.

In a blink of an eye, the thirty remaining cavalrymen were completely submerged.

Ashina Mochuo's head flew very high in the dawn light, with endless grasslands in his eyes.

Finally, it fell into complete darkness.

(End of this chapter)