Five days later, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, Li Jiangyao walked out of his study and convened a meeting of the generals in the city guard mansion.
"Everyone, our chance to regain the Ghost Desert in Western Border has finally come!"
His first words aroused the curiosity of everyone present. No one quite understood why the general suddenly made such a decisive judgment just when he had just surrendered to the powerful fighting power of the Turks.
In the face of everyone's doubts, Li Jiangyao patiently explained: "The reason why I say this is precisely because the Turkic army was deployed in full force, and its troops were pointed directly at the Holy Tang Dynasty. Such a rare opportunity in a century, invisibly gave the West The best conditions for great changes in Xinjiang. Brothers, the rebellion in Western Xinjiang three years ago was the precursor of this great change!"
After hearing this, the generals couldn't help but think of the rebellion of the vassal state, the fiasco at Crescent Bay, the two Turkic camps, etc. Suddenly, everyone felt that what Li Jiangyao said was true. There were indeed many things behind these events. inevitable connection.
Li Jiangyao continued to preach confidently: "If we think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find that the Turks are playing a very big game. Their goal is not only to capture thousands of miles of Western Territory, but also to He has the appetite to devour the entire Holy Tang Dynasty. He will use all the troops in the country to attack the most powerful empire in the Eastern Continent. If he says that he does not have long-term and sufficient preparations and plans, no one would believe it!"
"What you say makes sense!" Xie Tanzhi agreed: "The Turkic Empire is not monolithic. In addition to the Eight Pillars of the Turks, they also have many tribes, many of which are powerful and covet the imperial power. In addition, Persia, Dashi, and Arabia , many countries are hostile to the Turkic Empire and are eyeing it. The Turks are like desperate gamblers. Once they fail to swallow the Holy Tang, there is a risk of fire in the backyard. Therefore, the Turks should have enough Only when we are prepared can we start taking action.”
Xu Youchang nodded: "Yes, even as your Excellency said a few days ago, there may be treacherous ministers in the imperial court who colluded with them to act as internal agents and provide cooperation. For such a long time, Shengtang has not sent a single soldier. Xijiang, it can be seen that it is trapped by something more difficult."
"There was a Tiele rebellion within the Turks before, and Ashina Zhijin had to send out a large army to suppress it. The war lasted for a full year and a half." Yudra analyzed: "If it hadn't been for this unexpected situation, I'm afraid the Turks would have appeared long ago. I’m in the Western Frontier.”
"You are all right. The Turks' eastward expedition was not a spur of the moment." Li Jiangyao said with certainty: "They had planned it for a long time. That Ashina Zhijin Khan was very ambitious! "
Xie Tanzhi thought for a moment and asked: "But sir, now that the Turks have freed up their hands and mobilized hundreds of thousands of elite troops to come to Western Xinjiang, why do you say that the opportunity to regain Western Xinjiang has come?"
Li Jiangyao smiled slightly and answered confidently: "The key lies in one word in your sentence. You can say that the Turks have 'came' to Western Xinjiang. But from my point of view, the Turks have 'passed by' Western Frontier.”
Seeing that everyone did not fully understand what he meant, Li Jiangyao continued: "Such a grand chess game can be said to affect the whole body. Whether it is the Turks or our Holy Tang, if neither side makes any move, then the one caught in the middle will Western Xinjiang will be like a quiet lake, unable to make any waves. On the contrary, as long as any party has an agenda, the original delicate balance may be broken immediately, and shocking waves will follow."
"I understand!" Xu Youchang said: "Just the loss of Western Xinjiang may be reluctantly accepted by the imperial court with internal problems. No matter how much the Turks do in Western Xinjiang, Shengtang will temporarily tolerate it and concentrate on dealing with the internal affairs first. Question. But once the Turks show their claws against Shengtang, the imperial court will not be able to sit idly by. At that time, in order to fight against the Turkic invading army, Shengtang will also gather its forces and fight out of Zijin Pass!"
Li Jiangyao shook his head: "What you said is just a possibility, but I am not that optimistic. Judging from the current situation, the main battlefield in the future should be east of Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan, close to the capital. Even the imperial capital!”
Everyone was a little unbelievable when they heard this. Du Jian said in astonishment: "The situation can't be so bad, right? Can the Turks attack the imperial capital?"
Li Jiangyao smiled bitterly and said: "I didn't even say that Ashi's huge horse hoof might step into the hinterland of the Central Plains, and I scared you like this. But to be honest, my judgment will probably come true. You know, the location of the imperial capital is relatively remote. In the west, from the perspective of political security, Tongguan, Wuguan and the Jinhe water system have always been used as barriers, and the main defense direction is the vast area east of the Kanto. As for the west, except for the Yongliang Corridor, there is almost no danger to defend. Turks As long as we can successfully break through the northwest defense line and advance eastward along the Yongliang Corridor, our troops can advance straight to the imperial capital unimpeded."
Most of the people present were soldiers, so it was easy to understand Li Jiangyao's analysis, and they couldn't help but worry about the prospect of war.
"You don't have to worry too much." Li Jiangyao smiled slightly, and suddenly said in a relaxed tone: "Although the Turks have taken the lead, the court will be very passive when they come up, but sooner or later there will be a way to deal with it. We are beyond our reach, and our strength is too disparity. , even if you want to help, you can't help. And according to my analysis, when the war reaches the imperial capital, it will be about the same."
Ma Mu didn't know why and asked: "Why do you say this, sir? Why do you say that it is enough to defeat the imperial capital?"
Li Jiangyao smiled and said: "Have you been to the Central Plains, Lao Ma? Oh, I haven't been. I will take you there next time. Have you ever thought about what is the most powerful thing about Shengtang? Let me tell you, the most powerful thing about Shengtang is There are three things that are powerful. The first is the large population, the second is the strong national power, and the third is the tenacity of the people. Together, these three things can drag the Turks into an endless quagmire."
Xie Tanzhi stroked his beard gently, smiled and nodded: "Your Excellency, you are right. Although Xie has never been to the Central Plains, he knows a little about the situation there. In the early days of the war, the imperial court may have been caught off guard by the Turks due to lack of preparation. , so that they suffered consecutive defeats. But as long as they can withstand the opponent's offensive, it will not take long before the strong national power and huge population can play an unimaginable role. In critical moments, it is definitely not a problem for Shengtang to mobilize an army of one or two million .”
"Well, I agree with what you said." Xu Youchang continued: "As long as the imperial capital relies on high walls and deep ravines to block the Turkic army, then northern Hebei, the Central Plains, Lianghuai, Jiangnan, Jingxiang, Western Shu, and even Lingnan will King Qin's army from the Eighteen Prefectures will arrive soon to support them. By then, it will be a question of whether the Turks themselves can escape safely!"
Li Jiangyao smiled lightly and said: "Whether the Turks can escape safely depends on whether we can close the door behind him!"
These words immediately made the generals' eyes light up, as if they suddenly understood something.
"The Turkic army passed through Western Xinjiang and attacked the Holy Tang Dynasty. It was not only the best strategic choice, but also a failure of planning." Li Jiangyao analyzed for everyone: "Western Xinjiang is the springboard for the Turks' eastward expedition and the rear base for the national war. From At this point, Ashina is actually betting. He bets that the countries in Western Xinjiang will always be scattered and will not cause strategic problems to his army. Unfortunately, he ignored our existence, and even more He underestimated the fatal threat to him from the Zhenjiang Army!"
Xie Tanzhi thought quickly. He nodded first and said: "The Turks let us go so easily for the sake of Princess Hesijia, which indeed laid the foundation for their own defeat. More importantly, the resource consumption caused by the Eastern Expedition has become The boulder crushing Western Xinjiang. According to intelligence, all the countries in Western Xinjiang are complaining because they bear the Turks' war expenses. And this is just the beginning. Once Shengtang resists in full and the intensity of the war continues to escalate, this pressure will inevitably double. improvement."
Prince Shenhua Kuliban echoed: "Our tribes in various places are extremely dissatisfied with this matter. In many places, they have even lost their rations and are forced to pay taxes and tribute to supply the Turkic army."
"If this continues, it will be strange if the people don't rebel!" Holia, the princess of Nanhua County, said angrily.
Li Jiangyao smiled: "The opportunity I just mentioned is exactly this! Western Xinjiang has been in war for years, and the people are in dire straits. At this time, the Turks are still trying to expropriate and extort money. It's like pouring oil on a dry woodpile and setting fire to it. It won't burn until the sky is dark and the earth is dark. ? As long as we can make good use of this situation, we can definitely take the opportunity to take back the entire Western Xinjiang!"
The generals immediately became energetic and nodded in agreement. Xu Youchang stood up and shouted: "Sir, what do you want to do? We all listen to you!"
Li Jiangyao raised his hand to signal everyone to quiet down, and then said: "The first thing now is to find a way to restore the strength of the troops. The soldiers of the four main armies need to be replenished as soon as possible."
Heishan responded angrily: "Sir, our Fourth Army of Divine Flowers will be fine. Just call more men from the tribe!"
Kuriban discussed with Samor next to him, and then said: "In addition to the fourth army in Montenegro, we can also recruit some more tribesmen to supplement the other three armies. In the previous battles, your Excellency cherished us, so the troops invested by the family did not Not much, most of the effective forces are still there.”
Xie Tanzhi continued: "Although we have lost several big cities and the population loss is obvious, Metasequoia City itself has a very sufficient number of soldiers of suitable age. In order to resist the Turks attacking the city some time ago, I asked Lord Mamu to recruit a large number of garrison troops. Now they have all been transferred to the regular army, about seven to eight thousand people."
"We in Shanshan have also gathered a lot of teams back!" Holia said excitedly: "Sir, I dare not say there are more, 20,000 people!"
"There are also several small countries that have good relations with Shanshan," Paletahong added on the side: "They have been keeping secret contact with me and expressed their hope to join our Xinjiang Suppression Army."
Situ Wushou smiled and said: "There is still a group of people we can consider. Those large caravans that specialize in business going back and forth from the Central Plains. Due to the suspension of business, the armed guards are worried about their livelihood every day. I think we can recruit them too."
Everyone was talking about it, counting with their fingers, and found that by piecing together like this, they could actually produce 80,000 or 90,000 new recruits. On average, each main force could maintain a size of 20,000, plus The commander's battalion of white-robed troops numbered hundreds of thousands, more than before the Turks came.
Li Jiangyao felt a big stone fall in his heart and couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, I didn't expect that more and more people were beaten. Okay, the problem of soldiers is taken care of, and then there is the problem of money."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a delicate voice rang out: "I'll take care of the money!"
