Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 475 The Changing Situation

Although Lun Qinling could temporarily control Cheng Wuting and Heichi Changzhi had no way to stop him, the overall situation was under his control.

Their men in Fu'ai City trapped Xi Junmai, and his brother Zanpo blocked Cheng Wuting in Dilongjian, and he himself repelled Heichi Changzhi here...

The enemy was either trapped in Qinghai Lake by me, or blocked outside Qinghai.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be such a panicked small group of troops?
"Go and see who it is?"

He also thought that if Heichi Changzhi pursued him or continued to march towards Qinghai Lake, he would replace his tired and exhausted horses and fight another battle with the Tang army.

Now Heichi Changzhi was retreating, and for a moment he didn't know what to do next.

I just happened to encounter an unusual situation, so I'll wait and see before making a decision.

Lun Qinling kept looking to the north. When he found that his men were leading the other party and coming quickly, he felt even more uneasy. He did not wait there, but raised his whip and rushed towards the direction of the people coming.

The person was getting closer and closer. Lun Qinling recognized the identity of the person opposite him. His eyes changed from fear and shock to calmness.

The one surrounded by the soldiers was Chen Erhu. He was the most outstanding heir of the Chen family, one of the three highest nobles in Tubo, and also one of his trusted generals.

This time, they went south to be responsible for besieging the capital of Tuyuhun, Fu'ai City.

Now that he appeared here, it was obvious what it meant.

Lun Qinling had been suspicious of Cheng Wuting's slightly strange behavior, but he believed the information his father had obtained from Shanzhou, and was persuaded by Zanpo's words, so he suppressed his suspicion. Now Chen Erhu appeared, which just proved his previous suspicion...

He is very panicked now, but he cannot let anyone see that he is panicking. The more critical the situation is, as a commander, every move will affect the morale of the army.

No matter how dangerous the situation is, he cannot panic.

"Ru Shuai!"

Chen Erhu's entire body was covered in blood, and he was staggering on his horse, looking like he could fall down at any time.

Seeing Lun Qinling coming towards him, Chen Erhu yelled and rolled off his horse, saying, "The Tang army came from nowhere and attacked us from behind. Xi Junmai from the inner city took advantage of the situation and rushed out, attacking us from both sides. Your subordinates... your subordinates are powerless to resist and have retreated here. Please punish me, General Ru..."

Lun Qinling ignored him and asked, "Do you know who the other side's commander is?"

Chen Erhu knelt on the ground and said, "Su Dingfang!"

Lun Qinling took a deep breath and said in a dull tone, "Do you know where they are going now? How many troops are there?"

Chen Erhu said: "No less than 5,000, heading north to Qinghai Lake..."

Lun Qinling couldn't help but change color when he heard that. Going north to Qinghai Lake must be to support Cheng Wuting.

Although his younger brother Zanpo was extremely talented in military strategy, how could he be a match for Su Dingfang?
Lun Qinling was extremely anxious and shouted, "Quick, go to Dilongjian..."

Lun Qinling suddenly realized that his brother Zanpo was in danger and gave orders loudly.

However, just as he was about to whip the horse's butt, before the horse could start to gallop, he pulled the reins again, with an uncertain expression on his face.

Previously, he was worried and confused. When he heard that Su Dingfang was heading north to Qinghai Lake, he instinctively thought that the other party was heading for him, Cheng Wuting.

But on second thought, I had a new idea.

Lun Qinling still doesn't know how Su Dingfang appeared and how he deceived his father, but one thing is certain.

It is not easy for Su Dingfang to do all this...

No matter how powerful Su Dingfang is, he cannot transcend the scope of human power. Five thousand soldiers and horses are not a small number.

Eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping are all great goals.

It is impossible for Su Dingfang to go to war with Cheng Wuting and Heichi Changzhi. If they really wanted to go to war together, their scouts would not be completely clueless about the news.

The only possibility is to act in advance, and the troops mobilized are not from Longyou.

Since the action was taken in advance, it was impossible for Su Dingfang's army to know the movements of Cheng Wuting and Heichi Changzhi in real time.

Qinghai Lake is very large. How could Su Dingfang know where to send troops when he didn't know when they would send out troops, when they would defend against the enemy, and even less knew what the battle situation was like?

Even if they had an agreement before the war, they could reach a tacit understanding.

How could Su Dingfang blame himself...

How could he have predicted that he would choose to have a decisive battle with Cheng Wuting at Longjuling, and how could he have predicted that he would eventually retreat to Dilongjian and be trapped in Dilongjian?

Military communication in this era was extremely complicated. Only a few people could predict the general movements of their opponents and enemies with strategic vision, and it was impossible for them to judge the details of the battle, especially the details of the encounter.

So it was impossible for Su Dingfang to know that Cheng Wuting was trapped in the Earth Dragon Gorge...

The only thing he knew was that after rescuing Fu'ai City, he captured Tibetan surrendered soldiers and learned from them that after breaking through the Tang army's camp, he moved his troops to Dafeichuan. Then, based on clues, he judged that he should go find Cheng Wuting to fight first.

This is what Su Dingfang could predict...

But how can we predict the details of the battle between the two sides and the outcome of victory or defeat in a split second?

If Su Dingfang had deployed spies and scouts far and wide, and followed their whereabouts bit by bit, he might have been able to find traces of a great battle at Longju Ridge, and then find Dilong Gorge bit by bit.

How long will this take?

Would Su Dingfang do such a stupid and inefficient thing?
Su Dingfang went to great lengths to hide, would he waste his time in this place?
If Lun Qinling put himself in his shoes, he would find it impossible.

Su Dingfang made such a big move just to rescue Fu'ai City?
Why are you pretending to be sick?

Su Dingfang is safe and sound, how dare I attack Fu'ai City?

Wu Hai!

A flash of light suddenly appeared in Lun Qinling's mind, and he immediately understood Su Dingfang's real goal.

Their rear base is Wuhai. As long as they capture Wuhai City, their troops in Qinghai Lake will have trouble returning home and will be strangled to death by Heichi Changzhi and Cheng Wuting.

What about marching north? That was just a pretense by Su Dingfang, deliberately for defeated soldiers like Chen Erhu to see.

This is a deliberate attempt to confuse people...

"Everyone, take off your armor and weapons, and only bring 20 days of food..."

After he gave the order, he looked at Chen Erhu and said, "How many of you have left?"

"The main force was dispersed, and many soldiers were killed. Only 5,000 remnants were recruited. I came to report in a hurry. I don't know what the situation is now, but I should be able to gather 6,000 to 7,000. If... they haven't been defeated."

When Chen Erhu said this, he lowered his head with a bit of shame.

The troops they used to attack Fu'ai City were mainly infantry, totaling 20,000 people. Su Dingfang slaughtered them all, and the army was completely defeated and fled in all directions.

Chen Erhu and his followers gathered the remnants while fleeing.

Chen Erhu saw that there were many remaining soldiers, all of whom were infantry. In case they were pursued and unable to resist, he immediately ran to Lun Qinling on the pretext of seeking help.

Seeing Chen Erhu like this, Lun Qinling guessed what he was thinking. It was not the time to pursue the matter. After thinking for a while, he said, "You go back now and lead the troops to Po Luo Zhen Valley to meet up with Zan Po. All the actions from now on will be under Zan Po's command. If you can get to Wu Hai first, today's incident will be as if it had never happened."

Seeing Lun Qinling's stern expression, Chen Erhu gritted his teeth and said, "I will obey your orders!"

Lun Qinling immediately called his confidant and asked him to inform Zanpo of his arrangements.

After everything was arranged, the cavalry behind him had taken off their armor and followed him quietly.

Lun Qinling looked at the strongest elite of Tubo behind him and said, "Eagles on the plateau, to be honest, we are now in a desperate situation. The life and death of Tubo depends on our performance. Are you willing to fight to the death with me for Tubo..."

These strongest elite troops of Tubo enjoyed the highest material treatment, and their wives, children, and the elderly at home all enjoyed extremely high treatment.

The generous benefits also earned them their fearless loyalty and bravery.

After hearing what Lun Qinling said, the more than 4,000 soldiers, some of whom were seriously injured, still raised their arms and shouted, "Fight to the death, fight to the death!"

The morale is high and reaches the sky.
-
Nalu Posthouse!
There are still traces of the last fierce battle here...

Su Dingfang, with his hair and beard all white, sat on a mat to rest. Wang Xiaojie handed Su Dingfang a bowl of hot water. He stood in the upwind direction and tried to use his body to block the wind for Su Dingfang.

Su Dingfang smiled at Wang Xiaojie.

How could Su Dingfang, who had been in the world for more than seventy years, not know what Wang Xiaojie was thinking?

At first Su Dingfang was somewhat resistant. As a grown man, he didn't like this very much, so he didn't treat him well. He even thought that if Wang Xiaojie was a flatterer, he would expel him from the barracks to prevent him from corrupting the atmosphere.

It is true that Wang Xiaojie likes to scheme for personal gain, but he is also a man of real talent and knowledge. He is extremely brave and fearless on the battlefield, and has won many honors.

Su Dingfang also changed his opinion of Wang Xiaojie.

Wang Xiaojie is really good at taking care of people. He provides clothes when it's cold, water when you're thirsty, and even goes to the mountains to hunt tigers when you're sick. He is much more caring than his own son.

People are all made of flesh and blood, so Su Dingfang was naturally moved and treated him almost as half a son.

Wang Xiaojie looked at Su Dingfang and said worriedly, "Marshal, let me attack Wuhai for you... I am still strong. Give me ten days, and I will fight my way to Wuhai and capture it, and present it to you, Marshal."

Su Dingfang did not reply, but blew on the hot water in his hand, took a sip to test the temperature, drank a few mouthfuls, and finally let out a long breath, saying: "There is no rush for Wu Hai. The situation there is such that even if we take it down, we cannot defend it. Unless the time really comes, there is no point in Wu Hai."

Wang Xiaojie was a little confused and asked, "The Marshal has been planning for so long, isn't it just for Wuhai?"

Su Dingfang paused, drank a few sips of water, and then said, "It was Minister Chen who planned it, and I just followed his lead. If he hadn't seen through Tubo's intentions, there would be no such arrangement."

It turned out that after Chen Qingsi realized that Gal Dongzan and Lun Qinling, father and son, wanted to consume Su Dingfang's life and use Su Dingfang as a whetstone to hone Lun Qinling, he decided to kill them.

After seeking Su Dingfang's consent, he also reported his plan to Li Zhi.

Since Galdongzan and Lunqinling's goal is to kill Su Dingfang, they will certainly not be able to sit still once Su Dingfang falls ill.

They will not give Su Dingfang a chance to recuperate, so when the time comes, they will definitely come back again.

Lun Qinling's successive defeats against Su Dingfang had already had a certain impact on his reputation.

Therefore, when facing the Tang army not led by Su Dingfang, Lun Qinling would certainly be eager to prove himself and at the same time achieve the goal of forcing Su Dingfang to fight despite his illness, so that Su Dingfang would die on the battlefield.

In order to avoid this situation, Lun Qinling would definitely not be as conservative as he was when facing Su Dingfang. As long as he was unrestrained, the opportunity would come.

Under the command of Chen Qingsi, the soldiers in Guanzhong were divided into small groups and sneaked into Jishishan through the Nine Bends of the Yellow River.

Since the king of Tuyuhun was laid to rest, the relationship between the Tuyuhun and the imperial court has become extremely close, and a completely new business model has been formed...

The imperial court closed the two major horse farms in Longyou and used the people who raised horses for farming, while the people of Tuyuhun focused on animal husbandry.

The two sides exchanged grain and tea for cattle, sheep and horses...

Therefore, every once in a while, the two sides would conduct large-scale trade, especially before winter.

The pastures have dried up, the milk production of cattle, horses and sheep has dropped significantly, and food is needed to survive the winter.

This period was the peak time for grain to enter the grassland, and Chen Qingsi also transported grain to Jishishan at this time.

Wang Xiaojie was excusable for leaving the camp without permission to kill the tiger, but he could not escape the punishment and was put in solitary confinement. Su Dingfang was seriously ill and needed to recuperate in his mansion.

In order to conceal his tracks, Chen Qingsi specially found a sick old man who looked somewhat similar to Su Dingfang, and asked him to stay in Shanzhou instead of Su Dingfang.

Su Dingfang had been in charge of Shanzhou for some time, but he did not like living in the city. He lived in the military camp all year round with the soldiers.

When he occasionally went in and out of the mansion to work, he would wear armor and go in and out of the streets under the protection of his personal guards. Even if he met someone by chance, he would just watch from afar.

Without his armor, he looked so sick that people who were not familiar with him could not recognize him at all... Not to mention the famous doctors from other places who went in and out of the mansion to treat a sick old man, so they naturally thought they were Su Dingfang.

After some operations, Su Dingfang, Wang Xiaojie and the soldiers and food were hidden near Jishishan.

Chen Qingsi's judgment is that Tubo will take advantage of the cold weather to attack...

As winter was about to pass, Chen Qingsi thought he was going to make a fool of himself, and all his efforts were in vain.

However, they did not expect that the other side chose to launch an attack on New Year's Day, and directly captured half of Fu'ai City with thunderous force.

According to the original plan, Su Dingfang was going to launch a surprise attack on Wuhai, cut off Lun Qinling's retreat, and catch them off guard.

But now Fu'ai City is in danger. Even if they take Wuhai City, Tubo can still take over Fu'ai City.

In this way, they consume each other.

Although they trapped Lun Qinling, they were unable to eliminate them in a short period of time.

The Tubo people on the plateau would have enough time to react and arrange the soldiers guarding the royal city to counterattack Wuhai. Both sides would be caught in an awkward situation, and the Tang army would be at a disadvantage.

This kind of unpredictable change is the most real battlefield.

Any plan may deviate from the plan due to unexpected events. In this case, it is time to consider the commander's ability to adapt to the situation.

If Su Dingfang followed the original plan, he would inevitably fall into danger. He decisively rescued Fu'ai City first, ensuring that Fu'ai City was in his hands, and then turned to Wuhai.

But doing so inevitably gave Lun Qinling the opportunity to react.

(End of this chapter)