Li Daozong led an army of 30,000 people and took ten days to arrive at Suoyang City.
Suoyang City is a city built in the Sui and Tang Dynasties after the Yumenguan and Yangguan were abandoned in Han Dynasty. It is located 70 miles southeast of Guazhou County, and the seat of Guazhou is Dunhuang County.
When Suoyang City was first established, it took the place of Yumen Pass in the Han Dynasty. This place is actually closer to the junction of Longyou Road and Tuyuhun, but now that Tuyuhun has become Tang Xizhou, the location of Suoyang City is naturally lonely, and it is not considered a border city.
The reason why Li Daozong rushed here was because if the army went to Dunhuang County, the news might leak due to the number of merchants coming and going from Dunhuang County.
And An Xinggui also rushed here.
"Captain Li."
"Dong Liangguo."
The two of them bowed to each other, exchanged greetings, and then sat down.
"What do you think Duke Liang Guo has learned from this combat mission?" Li Daozong asked after sitting down.
"The combat effectiveness of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions is actually not very strong. Our army is strong enough to capture them in a suppressive manner. Even the difficulty of siege is not high. The biggest trouble here is Gaochang and the Western Turks. The Western Turks The current situation is unstable and the attitude is ambiguous. According to Gao Chang... it is actually not difficult to win it. Ju Wentai... is really just a grassroots." An Xinggui has been in Longyou Road for so many years, and he has no idea about the situation in Longyou Road. Nature is extremely clear.
"Indeed, before dispatching the troops this time, we probably discussed it first and decided to divide the troops into three routes: the south route, the middle route, and the north route. The 10,000 troops will take Nuoqiang and Qiemo as the routes, led by generals Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche. Advance all the way to the Shule Kingdom at the foot of the West Kunlun Mountains. The other route is also separated from the South Route Army with 10,000 troops from the Nuoqiang Kingdom. As the middle route army, it is limited to Yanqi and other countries, and advances all the way to the GuqiU Ci State and then goes straight to The Yili (not a typo, the Yili River in Tang Dynasty was called Yili River) River area was led by Niu Jinda and Li Daliang."
"The remaining 30,000 troops will serve as the Northern Route Army. We will set out from Yiwu to capture Gaochang, Cheshiqianguo, Cheshihouguo and other Western Region countries, and capture the entire north of the Tianshan Mountains." Li Daozong probably took the previous analysis.
"There is a problem here." An Xinggui thought for a while and said, "The overall problem of branching is not big. The strength of these countries in the Western Regions is average, but how should we deal with the Western Turks involved?"
"Currently, the Western Turks are divided into three khagans, bounded by the Ili River. One of them is YibipidUO land, located to the west of the Ili River. It controls the largest land area of the Western Turks. The west and north are both controlled by Yili. He was hostile to the Tang Dynasty. Zhedieli Shi Khan, who was east of the Ili River, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Of course, the surrender given to him was only to find external support, which involved Yibidulu - he mainly controlled the Ili River and beyond. East, and some of the thirty-six countries in the Western Region.”
"The third khan is Ashina Shilu. It is said that he was born from the Ashina family of the Western Turkic royal family. He currently controls the part west of Tianzhu that stretches to the Ili River. This person has a neutral attitude, which means that he is based on the Ili River. As the center, the world is divided into three parts. The eastern and southeastern parts of the Ili River are out of control, and the west and northwest of the Ili River are Yibidulu."
"The southern part west of the Yili River is controlled by Ashina Shilu. Without this Ashina Shilu, our caravan would not be able to cross the territory of Yibidulu." An Xinggui was a little helpless. He spoke.
"Um, Ashina is a donkey? What are these names..." Li Daozong was speechless.
"The names of the Turks are like this. They all have other meanings. We are just transliterating them. The focus now is, if we want to attack, what should we do if we lose? Our target strategic location is the territory where we lose. "An Xinggui smiled and shook his head.
"If we attack directly, it is very likely that the loss will be pushed to Yibidulu." Li Daozong thought for a while, "But their war has affected our trade with the Western Regions. If these two people have a very serious attitude toward us, If it’s good, then there shouldn’t be any problem in joining forces with them to directly destroy this Yipi Duolu.”
"In this case, our early advancement must be done quickly. The key point is that after taking these countries, we cannot divide our troops. If we don't divide our troops, will the nobles of these small countries who stay in the local areas... get up? Heart?" An Xinggui looked at Li Daozong and asked.
"Actually, I think it is better for us to take advantage of the road after annihilating Gaochang, go straight to the Yili area, negotiate with the two remaining Khans of the Western Turks, and destroy the Yibidulu, and then destroy the Yibidulu. If the region is handed over to Zheli, then the so-called thirty-six countries in the Western Region will be within our control." An Xinggui put forward another suggestion.
Li Daozong looked at the military map, pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's okay. Gaochang must be destroyed. After Gaochang is destroyed, if our army completely destroys Yibiduulu, it means that we control these few If we can cross the pass of the West Kunlun Mountains, then with the mountain range as the boundary, all the countries within the pass are just turtles in the urn of our Tang Dynasty."
"When the time comes, I'm afraid we won't need to take action, they will surrender directly on their own."
"Speaking of which, Governor Li, I wonder if the order given by His Majesty to you contains instructions on how the kings and royal families of these small countries should deal with it?" An Xinggui looked at Li Daozong and asked. Li Daozong was the leader in this battle, and An Xinggui was the assistant, so there were some things that were only explained to Li Daozong.
"Are they going to follow the previous method and submit a letter to profess their vassalship, directly appoint their king as the local Protector, establish a Protector's Palace, and submit to the rule of the Tang Dynasty, or is it?"
"In the future, this will be my Datang Xinjiang Road! These are the territories of my Datang!" Li Daozong answered simply.
A Xinjiang Dao, An Xinggui understood, there is a big difference between the Dao and the Protectorate. The Protectorate is more like the various alliance countries of the Soviet Union in later generations. Once disintegrated, they will become their own countries.
But in terms of Tao, it is a province of the Tang Dynasty! No matter what, this place will be my inherent territory of Datang!
There is a big difference between the two!
"What about these royal families?" An Xinggui asked after hesitation.
"Negotiating with them, in His Highness' words, is to call on these kings to learn from King Jiang Quhu of the Nuoqiang Kingdom." Li Daozong said calmly.
Okay, once he heard about Jiang Quhu, An Xinggui understood that Jiang Quhu was famous in the Western Regions. After all, although Nuqiang is a small country, it once belonged to Shanshan Kingdom at least along with Yanqi, Loulan, etc. Shanshan Kingdom was still very powerful at the beginning.
But Jiang Quhu made a clever move and directly sold the entire country...to Datang, and he even went to Chang'an City to enjoy it.
This thing...how should I put it, the kings of the small countries in the Western Regions were shocked. This is such an outrageous operation.
And his reputation in the Western Regions... is mostly ridiculed anyway, and they all use examples from Chinese history to ridicule him, saying that he does not miss Shu. Just for pure enjoyment, forgetting the people of the entire country.
