Northwest of the Tang Dynasty.
Since Zhao Youlin led his army eastward and was defeated by Datang at Yumen Pass.
He then led the rest of his troops to retreat to their home base deep in the Western Region.
And during this period, he was not idle.
Because there was a guy in Chang'an City who kept sending him messages and even sent him a lot of good things.
So much so that his ambition, which he had just prepared to calm down, swelled again.
Although I hit a snag at Yumen Pass before.
But the loss of 50,000 to 60,000 horses was not a drop in the bucket for the Western Turks, but it was not a huge loss.
Therefore, after less than two months of rest and equipping the army with the new weapons sent from the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Youlin once again began to plan the future of the Western Turks.
Today, the Tang Dynasty is obviously full of morale and strong troops.
Even if Zhao Youlin was confident, he didn't dare to do anything to Datang openly.
After all, the last defeat had already destroyed most of the prestige he had finally established in Western Turks.
What he needs now is not a tough fight with Datang, but a hearty victory to boost the morale of the country.
But choosing an opponent is really difficult for Zhao Youlin.
After all, if he chooses an opponent that is too strong and loses the battle, it will be a greater challenge to his already unstable dominance.
And if this opponent is too weak, it will not be able to achieve the effect of boosting the morale of the whole country.
So after thinking about it, Zhao Youlin continued to set his sights on the east.
However, this opponent was not Datang, but Xue Yantuo who was further north of Datang.
Long before the Northern Desert Turks were destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, Xue Yantuo annexed a large area of the Northern Desert Turks' territory and many of their subjects.
The national strength and population are almost the same as those of the Western Turks.
To be honest, judging from the current situation, if one of the countries is selected as the next opponent of the Western Turks, then there is really no country more suitable than Xue Yantuo.
After thinking of this, Zhao Youlin made a decision.
But before that, of course, there's still something to do.
That's an excuse to start a war.
After all, fighting these days is all about one division being famous.
Otherwise, if you use swords and guns casually, you will definitely be defined as warlike and a tyrant by the people of the country.
Zhao Youlin has also been in a high position these years and is well aware of these machinations.
But I don't know if it was a coincidence or something, but just at this moment, the front line suddenly came to report.
Bloodshed broke out on the border between Western Turks and Xueyantuo.
The cause was that Western Turkic herdsmen did not enter the territory of a certain tribe of Xueyantuo when they were grazing.
You must know that in the hearts of nomadic people, compared with the country and the tribe, the 10,000 tribes are the most important.
If anyone dares to invade his own territory, let alone if he does not belong to the same country, so what if he does?
I should chop you down and chop you down.
The result is obvious. Almost all the herdsmen of the Western Turks were wiped out in Xue Yantuo's territory. They even lost their money and sheep, and they were all robbed by Xue Yantuo's people.
After hearing the news, Zhao Youlin was so happy that he almost didn't sleep all night.
…
Early the next morning.
Zhao Youlin summoned all the ministers of the Western Turkic King's Account to the King's Account to discuss matters.
Before Zhao Youlin entered the king's tent, the Western Turkic ministers in the king's tent were already quarreling.
Someone said: "Now our army has just fought against the Tang Dynasty. The army has lost more than 50,000 people, and the people are tired. It is not appropriate to be at odds with neighboring countries. Therefore, it is best to resolve the matter in a gentle way."
After hearing his words, at least half of the generals in the king's tent cast disdainful glances at him.
The leader of the Daqi tribe, Daqi Yada, even spoke directly and mocked: "If you are timid, then you are timid. Where did you get all this nonsense?"
"If you don't dare to go to war, just stay in the king's tent over there, and I will go and avenge my people."
It was the members of the Daqi tribe who suffered this time. As the patriarch of the Daqi tribe, he wanted to seek an explanation for the tribe.
Otherwise, how could he convince the public?
After he said this, half of the generals present also spoke.
"Chief Daqi is right. Now Xue Yantuo has come to bully us at the door of our house. If we don't fight back, won't we have to look at their faces in the future? So we must teach them a lesson this time."
"Yes, we must let them know who is the king of the desert!"
Accompanied by such sounds.
Zhao Youlin walked in slowly.
Upon seeing this, everyone immediately stopped quarreling, turned to Zhao Youlin and said, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Youlin walked slowly to the throne, turned around and sat down, waved his hand and said, "Is the quarrel you just had about the border issue?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The guy who wanted to negotiate for peace was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, our army just had a battle with Datang a few months ago and suffered heavy losses."
"I feel that we must not act out of impulse now, but must use a gentle policy to resolve this matter."
"fart!"
"It's not your clan members who are dead in love!"
Daqiyada jumped out and said: "My people died tragically with Xue Yantuo, and all our goods were looted by Xue Yantuo's thieves. Do we still want to coexist peacefully with those dog thieves who killed my people?"
The guy who wanted to negotiate for peace was so yelled that his face turned red.
Then, he gritted his teeth and said to Daqiyada: "I am considering the overall situation. After all, a war is not just a matter of one tribe or two tribes, but a matter of the whole country."
"You are not the only Daqi tribe in our Western Turks, there are many other tribes."
"So many tribes, so many tribesmen, all need to eat and live..."
"Have you ever thought that if the two countries were to fight, it would be better if our army had the upper hand and defeated the other side?"
"But what should we do if our country is dragged into the quagmire by the other side and enters an endless war of attrition?"
"Don't forget, there are more than two countries in this world: Western Turks and Xueyantuo. We have Sasanian Persia to the west, and the Tang Dynasty to the east. Even in the south, there is a newly rising Tubo who is eyeing us."
"Once our Western Turks fall into decline, these people will inevitably attack in groups. What will you do then?"
"Is your Daqi tribe more important than the life and death of the entire Western Turks?"
This guy's words really hit the key point in every word.
The people next to him couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Yes.
If the Western Turks were at war with Xue Yantuo, it would be more than just friction between the two tribes.
That would be a national war.
It would be fine if the Western Turks could win, but what if the Western Turks were restrained by Xue Yantuo?
How could the Tang Dynasty, which had long been in deep sorrow with the Western Turks, sit idly by and ignore it?
Maybe, by then the Western Turks will be in a situation of one versus two, or even one versus three.
But Nadaqiyada obviously still couldn't swallow this breath.
He poured out all his anger on the other party and said mockingly: "Things who are as timid as a mouse are obviously frightened by the Tang thief and are beginning to fear war."
Then, he turned around and looked at Zhao Youlin and said: "Your Majesty, this kind of person is not worthy of being a minister of our Western Turks, let alone standing in our golden-domed tent of the Western Turks."
These guys were having a heated argument.
Little did he know that deep down in Zhao Youlin's heart, he was already laughing so hard that he was going crazy...
