On the tenth day of October, in the Tang army's camp, Li Shan waited silently for the combined forces of Tujue and Xue Yantuo. A large number of Tang cavalry dispersed in hundreds of cavalry to kill possible enemy scouts, but no results have been obtained so far.
Li Shan was not in a hurry, or even in a hurry to send troops. Daying was at odds with Liquan County and Wugong County. They were only seven or eight miles away from each other. They had the shelter of the two places. When the enemy's main force was discovered, he It was too late for the camp to send out more troops.
"Something feels wrong..." Ma Zhou on the side murmured: "Dubu Khan rushed in with little force... It seems that he knows what happened in Chang'an..."
Su Xu thought for a while, "Maybe he saw the emptiness in Hezhou on the way, or maybe he even learned that Prince Yan had rebelled?"
Ma Zhou turned to look at Li Shan and asked tentatively: "Xue Yantuo's large-scale march south should be Pei Hongda's method, right?"
Li Shan's silent attitude represented acquiescence.
"Why did Pei Hongda do such a thing? What benefit can Xue Yantuo go south to the East Palace?" Although Su Xu believed it, he was puzzled.
Ma Zhou pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "The deposed prince's rebellion... probably wasn't a sudden move. Pei Hongda may have spread the news."
"So, Dubu Khan may know that Jingzhao's troops are insufficient." Li Shan said calmly: "Therefore, there must be some gains in the first battle, otherwise Dubu Khan will use this to persuade Yi Nan, Xue Yantuo's tens of thousands of troops will attack regardless Or surround and attack..."
"Knowing that Jingzhao's troops are insufficient, that's why they rush in with light troops?" Ma Zhou calculated the time in his mind, "But the situation in Hedong has taken a turn for the worse. It has only been six days since the battle report arrived in Beijing, and Dubu Khan may not know it."
"An enemy should be lenient." Li Shan sighed. In fact, he originally thought that if Li Shimin came forward in person, he might be able to reconcile with Xue Yantuo... But since Dubu Khan came in person, there was no such possibility.
The only one to blame is myself. The Turks have been killed too harshly in recent years.
"It should be time for the trial soon." Su Xu whispered: "Hu Qi probably won't arrive today...it may be that Dubu Khan was defeated and was cautious."
"This is a good thing." Ma Zhou responded: "One more hour, maybe one more support force."
At this time, the sound of horses neighing outside the tent, Fan Shiyi quickly stepped into the tent, "Alang, thousands of barbarians have arrived around Qishan."
"Finally here." Li Shan stood up and his eyes fell on the hanging map.
Fan Shiyi continued: "But the main force probably hasn't arrived yet. When we climbed up and looked over, we saw a large number of cattle and sheep, but no smoke or dust."
Li Shan stretched out his hand and made two gestures on the map, "Qishan...Xiegushui...Xixian."
After a brief silence, Li Shan ordered: "General Qin Qiong will lead the Chinese army and advance ten miles westward."
Ma Zhou stared at the map. The Chinese army advanced ten miles westward, roughly parallel to Liquan County and Wugong County.
"Order Wei Chigong to lead a thousand cavalry to attack Qishan, lure the enemy deep into the army, and lead Hu cavalry to the surrounding areas of Yi County."
"Order the cavalry chief Su Dingfang to lead his troops to set up an ambush north of Yi County."
The relevant plans were all discussed by Li Shan with Dou Gui, Su Dingfang, Yuchi Gong, Qin Qiong and other generals last night, but there were many plans prepared.
Er Zhuhuan and Wang Junhao went out to rectify the personal guards. Li Shan looked back and said with a smile: "What a coincidence!"
Su Xu still didn't quite understand, but Ma Zhou nodded, "It will be around dusk when the Chinese army sends out troops and sets up their formation. If Zhao Guogong cannot defeat the enemy, he can return to the army calmly. Hu Qi rarely fights at night."
Li Shan took a deep breath. This might be his most arduous battle. Although he was not in a desperate situation, he didn't have any confidence in his heart.
Striding out of the central military tent, he saw people shouting and neighing. Li Shan said to himself that with Su Dingfang leading the troops, he would definitely win the first battle.
But in fact, in this huge battle that stretched thousands of miles from east to west, from Longyou Road, Guannai Road, Hedong Road, and Hebei Road, the first battle broke out not in Jingzhao, but in Xiazhou, thousands of miles away in the north.
On the seventh day of October, Dubu Khan led 30,000 cavalry across the Yellow River to join Xue Yantuo's army, leaving 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry to counterbalance the cavalry of Mingsha Camp. Some of them went north to bypass the Anle River and invaded Yanzhou.
There is no doubt that Dubu Khan already knew a lot of information at that time. Although he did not know that there were only three thousand elites of Yuchi Gong in Jingzhao, he knew that the situation in Hedong took a turn for the worse.
Dubu Khan was very sure that the Turkic and Xue Yantuo coalition forces could quickly sweep through the Longyou Road and attack the Guannai Road from Longzhou... Therefore, he sent partial troops to Yanzhou and Xiazhou to prevent the troops from the Yanzhou Road from going south to support .
It cannot be said that Ashina She'er has no strategy, nor that Ashina She'er's intelligence is not accurate enough. His only oversight is that the commander-in-chief of the march on Yanzhou Road is one of the top five famous generals in history, and is called the Great General by later generations. Li Yaoshi, the acting Duke of the Army God of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Jing's fighting style is consistent with his own personality. He does not waste time in fighting, is not good at fighting, and does not take risks. But once he makes a decision, he makes up his mind and makes up his mind one after another, as fast as thunder.
It can be said that Li Jing is the general who best understands "Sun Tzu's Art of War" in this era. He is as fast as the wind, as slow as the forest, as aggressive as fire, as motionless as a mountain, as unpredictable as the dark, and as moving as thunder. These can be concretely reflected in his command. .
On the eighth day of October, thousands of Turkic cavalry invaded Xiazhou. Zhang Gongjin, the general manager of Xiazhou, personally led the attack. Both sides suffered casualties.
However, the Tang army unexpectedly captured alive the leader of a small tribe among the Turkic cavalry. After interrogation, it was learned that Dub Khan led tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry to cross the Yellow River.
From September 15th to October 9th, the Lingzhou war raged for more than half a month. Li Jing, who had been staying in Yanzhou Mansion with his head down, finally took action.
It is not an exaggeration at all to describe Li Jing's action as quiet as a virgin and as active as a stripped rabbit.
After personally confirming that the information was correct, on the ninth day of October, Li Jing ordered Zhang Baoxiang, who had led 3,000 cavalry out of Xiazhou more than ten days ago, as the vanguard. He and Xiazhou general manager Zhang Gongjin led 4,000 cavalry behind, and suddenly sent troops westward.
In one day, Zhang Baoxiang led three thousand cavalry to gallop for hundreds of miles, fighting twice in Xiazhou and three times in Yanzhou. They only encountered a large group of Turkic cavalry near Yanchi.
After an hour of fierce fighting, Li Jing and Zhang Gongjin led 4,000 cavalry to help. The Turks were defeated. The Tang army beheaded 3,000 people and entered Lingzhou at dusk.
In other words, when Dubu Khan and Yi Nan led tens of thousands of troops to attack Lanzhou, Li Jing had already sent troops from Xiazhou.
When Dubu Khan's light troops rushed in and were defeated by Su Dingfang around Yi County, Li Jing defeated the Turks and entered Lingzhou.
The dramatic change in the situation of the battle left everyone who learned about it afterwards dumbfounded.
No one expected that after waiting for more than half a month, after the Lingzhou Army in the Mingsha Camp wiped out nearly 20,000 Turks, and after Dubu Khan led his troops to cross the Yellow River, Li Jing, who had been dormant for many days, launched an attack. A surprise attack that completely changed the situation of the war.
On the tenth day of October, when the main force of the Turkic and Xue Yantuo forces had entered the pass, and the vanguard was approaching Jingzhao, Li Jing had already appeared ten miles outside the Mingsha camp.
(End of chapter)
