Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 543 Lure the Enemy
Compared with the huge military tent of the Arab Empire, the Tang army's general tent was much more exquisite.

The high-quality smokeless charcoal emitted a large amount of heat, baking the entire tent as if it were summer.

Li Ji was getting old, and he had been fighting for most of his life. His health was not as good as before, and he was afraid of cold, especially his hands and feet. The cold wind would make his hands and feet hurt. Only in this big tent did he feel much more comfortable.

Li Ji was listening to Pei Xingjian's report.

"The Qarluk tribe has retreated to the main camp and sent people to report the military situation. They tried to sneak across the river from the lower reaches in the snowstorm to attack the food supply route of the Arab Empire. But when they were quietly crossing the river, their whereabouts were exposed and they were blocked by the Arab Empire. They were repelled by the enemy's bows and spears."

Pei Xingjian showed a hint of anger between his brows.

Li Ji said calmly, "I understand."

Pei Xingjian said, "Mr. Ying, I think there is something fishy about the attack by the Karluks this time. They shouldn't be discovered so easily."

One of the tribes of the Karluk Tiele people, they were not peaceful in their early years and followed the Western Turks to make trouble in the Western Regions. It was not until Su Dingfang's Western Expedition that they were subdued and obeyed his orders obediently.

They have been active near Yaoshashui and Tokharistan for a long time and are very familiar with the surrounding terrain and environment.

The Karluks were a brave nomadic people with geographical advantages. The Yaosha River stretched a thousand miles from north to south, and although the Arab army was stationed along the river bank, it was not an easy task to block the entire river.

After years of beating by China, the nomadic peoples have a deep understanding of the tactic of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak.

This time, the Qarlugs were ordered to attack, but their tracks were discovered by the Arab Empire too early and they retreated.

This behavior made Pei Xingjian suspicious.

The Karluks were the most cunning. In this war, the Karluks performed very well overall and made many contributions. But when the news of Li Zhi's death reached the Western Regions, the Karluks' performance became unsatisfactory. They were slack in every aspect and did not fight the enemy as hard as before.

Pei Xingjian felt something was wrong when Li Ji arranged Gelulu for this military mission. Now Gelulu's failure was inexplicable, and Pei Xingjian had a feeling that Gelulu was putting on a show.

Li Ji looked at Pei Xingjian with admiration and said, "Shou Yue really has the demeanor of a great general. This trip to the Western Regions has broadened my horizons. I even felt like I was back forty years ago."

Li Ji was talking about the spurt of talent in the Western Regions. In the early days of any dynasty, there were many talented people, like ministers crossing the river. If you pick a few of them at random, they can take charge of their own affairs. But as the dynasty develops, there will be a lack of successors.

This was most obvious in the early Tang Dynasty. Perhaps it was because Li Shimin was too good at using people, which led to Li Zhi relying too much on the team left behind by Li Shimin. The most famous battles of Li Zhi's reign were all commanded by 70-year-old veterans Li Ji and Su Dingfang.

As the top military official, Li Ji knew this best.

But now in the Western Regions, Li Ji finds that there are many useful people around him, not to mention Pei Xingjian, there are also more than 20 civil and military ministers such as Wang Fangyi, Heichi Changzhi, Li Duozuo, Tang Xiujing, Lou Shide, Zhang Qianxu, etc., each of whom has performed extremely well.

Li Ji used it very skillfully, and with their help, he fought many beautiful battles.

In other words, the opponent was the Arab Empire, a powerful country, and a local defeat would not cause serious damage.

With these cards in his hand, Li Ji would have been able to defeat any enemy the Tang Dynasty had faced in the past.

Pei Xingjian also knew what Li Ji was talking about, and he exclaimed in admiration: "Mr. Chen's ability to employ and identify people is truly unique. Since he started preparing for the war in the Western Regions, my life in the Western Regions has become much better."

Pei Xingjian did a good job in the Western Regions and was recognized by the kings of the Western Regions. However, he had limited helpers and was overwhelmed by many things. However, since Lou Shide, Wang Fangyi and others arrived in the Western Regions, Pei Xingjian's work became easier. The Tang court's influence on the Western Regions also became more stable with the gathering of these talents.

Even though the Tang court is currently unstable, the coalition forces of the Western Regions have not been greatly affected.

Li Ji did not refute. He knew Chen Qingsi's abilities very well.

"It's just..." Pei Xingjian was a little distressed. He and Pei Yan were one scholar and one warrior. They were the most outstanding generation of the Hedong Pei family. They were naturally valued by the family and had a certain amount of exchanges with each other...

As a member of the Pei family, it is reasonable for Pei Xingjian to make some contribution to the Pei family within his ability.

The two of them work together seamlessly...

It was only during the conversation that Pei Yan suggested that he return to Chang'an, implicitly asking him to contain Chen Qingsi's influence in the military.

Pei Xingjian had a great liking for Chen Qingsi because of Su Dingfang's relationship, and they could be said to have known each other for a long time. He did not want to get involved, so he did not agree. He just knew his cousin's attitude towards Chen Qingsi, and the generally accepted attitude of the Eastern Palace.

Among the three assistant ministers, two were unfavorable to Chen Qingsi. Pei Xingjian did not understand the situation in the capital, and with only two against one, he did not think highly of him.

Only by being in the Western Regions and understanding the Arab Empire can one appreciate its madness and horror.

What is terrifying is not strength, but cultural exclusivity.

It's not that Chinese culture has not withdrawn from the Western Regions, but since Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions, a spark of Chinese culture has been left in the Western Regions. Even if the Central Plains army loses control of the Western Regions due to the weakness of the Central Plains, as long as the opportunity comes, this spark can still set the prairie on fire.

But if the Arab Empire really took over the Western Regions, the exclusive doctrine of Arab law would extinguish the spark of high hopes.

Pei Xingjian hoped that Chen Qingsi would win, but as he was far away in the Western Regions, he could not influence the situation.

Whether it was Li Ji or Pei Xingjian, they were far away in the Western Regions and naturally did not know that Li Zhi's will was fake, let alone that Chen Qingsi had already stabilized the court.

Li Ji saw Pei Xingjian hesitated to speak, and understood what was going on. He sighed, "The sudden death of the late emperor has had a greater impact than I imagined. The late emperor was wise all his life, but he is confused at this moment!"

He sighed, then said with a serious face: "Since you have noticed something strange, I will not hide it from you. The Arabs are different from all the opponents we have encountered before. If we don't get strong support from the rear, even if we can win temporarily, it will be difficult to win in the end. The current unrest in the army is a sign."

There was some reluctance in his eyes, but his tone was unusually calm: "We can't win! If we lose, we can't lose face, and we can't face the three previous emperors of the Tang Dynasty... We can't win, and we can't lose. We can only seek peace through war. Use a big war to make the Arabs retreat."

"But the Arab Empire also has capable people! They are now taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the death of the previous emperor and the ascension of the new emperor to deliberately avoid fighting and wait for our army's morale to rise..."

When he said this, a hint of understanding flashed in his wise eyes.

understood!

Li Ji used this to his advantage, taking advantage of the unstable morale of the army and the nomadic people's greed and pursuit of small profits, deliberately exposing flaws and luring the enemy to attack.

(End of this chapter)