Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 551: This is the first move

Tang army camp.

Li Ji watched his military commander Tang Xiujing report on recent developments.

Li Ji was already old and did not have enough experience to review the details of such a huge war. He needed someone to help him organize all the information sent to the central army from the front and rear, and report the important results to him after coordinating and organizing them.

This task is extremely important. The candidate must not only be loyal and careful, but also have strong coordination ability and military theory.

Whenever Li Ji went on an expedition in the past, he was always very cautious in selecting the person to take on the position of military commander.

But when he came to the Western Regions this time, he found that there were many suitable options. Pei Xingjian, Wang Fangyi, Lou Shide, and Tang Xiujing were all qualified to serve as his military commander. Even a brave man like Heichi Changzhi had the potential to be independent and could assist him in his work.

In the end, Li Ji chose Tang Xiujing, not because others were not suitable, but because others were more suitable for other positions.

Wang Fangyi and Heichi Changzhi are both wise and brave generals, suitable for leading the front line.

Pei Xingjian was not good at martial arts, but he had already gained prestige in the Western Regions and was able to win the support of the people.

Lou Shide is meticulous, sincere and hardworking, and is more suitable for logistics work. Although Tang Xiujing also has the ability to take charge of a situation, he became famous in Liaodong, and now in the Western Regions. The fame he gained in Liaodong is obviously not effective in the Western Regions.

As a result, Tang Xiujing became Li Ji's deputy, assisting him in organizing and coordinating important military strategies and secrets.

"Our plan has been successful. The Caliph of the Arab Empire has rearranged the battle line and transferred Hussein to the upper reaches of the Yaosha River to fight General Wang Fangyi."

Li Ji laughed when he heard this and said, "This Muawiyah is quite sinister. I think he wants to flatter Hussein so that he can't refuse. But Hussein may not fall for this trick now."

Different generals lead soldiers with different styles, which will have different effects in fighting.

Just like Heichi Changzhi, Heichi Changzhi has extraordinary insight into the battlefield, can quickly and accurately sniff out opportunities, and then strike successfully. Another example is Pei Xingjian, he has a strong sense of the overall situation, is also proficient in astronomy and meteorology, often integrates weather changes into military tactics, and is unpredictable.

Wang Fangyi also has his own style, and his style is stability.

Wang Fangyi was born in a good family, the Wang family of Taiyuan, but he was not born into a military family and did not know any famous generals. He learned his military strategy by studying military books and war examples by himself, from which he accumulated a lot of military concepts. It was not until he became an adult that he gradually got the opportunity to verify his military concepts through practice.

Due to lack of practice, Wang Fangyi played it safe in everything, first establishing himself in an invincible position and then defeating the enemy.

If Heichi Changzhi is a cunning wolf, then Wang Fangyi is a steady turtle.

This kind of person is the most difficult to deal with. If you try to bite him, you will definitely break all your teeth. But if you ignore that, that will be terrible. The moment a turtle bites someone is the most annoying.

Since the beginning of the war, the performance of the various armies has been more or less up and down due to various force majeure reasons, so it is not surprising that they have suffered some minor losses.

Only Wang Fangyi could only end up in a tie at worst, and he had never suffered a loss in battle, making him the toughest nut to crack among all the troops.

It was obvious what Muawiyah's intention was when he let Hussein face off against Wang Fangyi.

Tang Xiujing nodded and said, "You are wise, Lord Ying. Hussein has changed from seeking war to avoiding it. We sent people to try to lure him out several times, but he just stayed put. I think he realized that Muawiyah would not give him the opportunity to make a name for himself. Not only did he not give him the opportunity, he also wanted to wear down his strength. We don't have to worry about the 20,000 strong soldiers in Hussein's hands. It's just..."

He paused and said, "The Arab Empire was not affected by this!" There was some regret in his tone. The 20,000 soldiers mentioned by Hussein were the team inherited from the lineage that was loyal to the Prophet Muhammad. In terms of combat effectiveness, they were better than the guards under Muawiyah. As for their belief in the Arab law, it was even higher.

Originally, they planned to take advantage of the fact that the Arab Empire was missing 20,000 elite troops to launch a larger all-out offensive and actively seek an opportunity to win a decisive victory.

As a result, Muawiyah transferred Abu Awal first to fill the gap in Hussein's elite troops.

Li Ji had no way to deal with this, and this was the most difficult part of this battle.

Both countries have their own backgrounds, and their commanders are no ordinary people.

With them in charge of the central army, even if problems arise on the front line, they can reverse the disadvantage and maintain the situation through reasonable deployment and strong national support.

They had more than one chance to win in the chaos of battle, but the opponent was able to save the situation through dispatches from the rear.

The same goes for the Tang army. After a long war, there will be times when they relax and times when the enemy seizes the opportunity.

Li Ji's military experience was even better than Muawiya's, so he would naturally send troops to support as soon as possible.

The atmosphere was somewhat dull. Tang Xiujing said with a hint of worry: "The rebellion of the Karluks did not cause much loss to us this time. But the morale of the army was still affected, especially the many tribes that were friendly with the Karluks. Some people were panicking. If the war drags on and there is no hope of victory, their war-weariness will be further intensified. It will be disadvantageous to us..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. At this point, we have done everything we can. The key to the next step is not with us."

He looked towards the Central Plains and had figured something out.
-
Chang'an, Secretariat.

Chen Qingsi met Di Renjie in the government office.

"You have a heavy mission to accomplish on your way to Haidong. If you have any requirements, just let me know. As long as I can do it, I will definitely satisfy them."

Chen Qingsi is now in charge of the Tang Dynasty's government. He has promoted and employed many people. Among them, the two with the best performance are Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi, who were also given important tasks by Chen Qingsi.

Haidong now lacks someone to take charge of military and political secrets. After much deliberation, Chen Qingsi decided that Di Renjie was the best choice.

Di Renjie said, "Thank you for your trust, sir. I dare not make any extra requests. I will obey you."

"Haha!" Chen Qingsi laughed and said, "I knew you would say that. I have no doubt about your ability. Haidong has been peaceful under the governance of Zhengze and Rengui in recent years. But the situation was urgent and they left in a hurry, resulting in no time for a normal handover with you. There will be some trouble. I will assign a few people to you. Other things can be put aside. Haidong's shipping cannot be interrupted. The silver mountain on the Japanese island is very important to the current court and cannot be affected."

Di Renjie nodded and said, "I understand!"

Chen Qingsi said: "Get ready and take up your post immediately."

Di Renjie bowed respectfully and took his leave.

Chen Qingsi escorted Di Renjie out of the gate, returned to his office, and came to the huge map on his right hand side, lost in thought.

The victory or failure depends on this one move!!!

(End of this chapter)