Xie Tanzhi knew that the commander was very resourceful and often used strange tactics on the battlefield, so he asked enlighteningly: "The so-called must-save when attacking the enemy refers to strategic places like Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan Pass. However, what if Gemma sees through us?" Or is this guy simply not aware of our army’s intention to attack Zijin Pass, and is unable to send troops to respond in time? If that’s the case, what should we do next?”
Xu Youchang clicked his tongue and analyzed to himself: "On the battlefield, nothing is impossible. Although the problem that Lao Xie is worried about is quite extreme, it must be taken into consideration. If the enemy fails to do what we expected, If we send troops to support Zijin Pass like that, should we take advantage of the situation and capture it?"
Before Li Jiangyao could speak, Holia said quickly: "If we capture Zijin now, we will easily be attacked by enemies from both inside and outside the pass. Moreover, Zijin Pass is far away from Metasequoia City and lacks supply convenience, so we will suddenly become a lone army!"
Yuduoluo continued: "The princess is right. Zijin Pass is now a hot potato. It is not difficult to defeat it. The difficulty lies in whether it can be defended. In the humble opinion of a humble position, instead of taking the risk to seize the pass and defend it, If we become a lone army, it is better to temporarily withdraw our troops and return to Metasequoia City."
Li Jiangyao shook his head when he heard this, and his tone was extremely firm: "I know that it is indeed not the best time to capture Zijin Pass now. However, if Gema can really resist the pressure and categorically ignore the serious consequences of losing Zijin Pass, life or death If you don't take advantage of the trap we set, then we will change the feint attack into a real attack, and at the same time send troops to occupy Shengyuguan, completely blocking the connection between Western Xinjiang and the Turkic army."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this and looked at Li Jiangyao curiously, waiting for him to continue speaking.
Just listen to Li Jiangyao continue to say: "First pacify the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang, and then regain control of the two passes. This is certainly the safest plan. However, there are also many uncertain factors. For example, if the Turks' eastern expedition army Suddenly dispatching troops back to Western Xinjiang to help defend the Yakut Army in Gema will inevitably make it more difficult for our army to regain the lost territory. After all, as long as Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan are still in the hands of the enemy, the opponent will dispatch troops, The situation of freedom of movement will not change. On the contrary, if Gema really ignores our attack on Zijin Pass and allows our army to control this chokepoint, even if the Turkic supply traffic is cut off for a short time, it will It will definitely cause Ashina Zhijin's uneasiness. At that time, even if the enemy forces inside and outside the pass attack at the same time, we will still have enough time to retreat calmly and return to Metasequoia City to stand ready, but Gema's life may not be guaranteed."
Xu Youchang thought about it for a while, nodded and said: "I understand what you mean. To seize the pass is to seize the pass, but it does not necessarily have to be defended. Although this is different from the plan we agreed on before, it also involves the Turks to a great extent. The strength of the people's eastward march is still very beneficial to the entire war situation. Just attacking Zijin Pass in advance will somewhat scare the snake, making the Turks no longer dare to take the two passes lightly, and it will also make it difficult for us to re-capture the two passes in the future. more difficult."
"It's not afraid to scare the snake away." Xie Tanzhi said with a calm smile: "Our strength in Western Xinjiang is growing day by day. Sooner or later the Turks will be on guard. It is impossible to leave Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan alone. This time we suddenly attack them After a while, maybe we can take the opportunity to secretly bury some tricks in it, leaving enough foreshadowing for the next victory."
Li Jiangyao thought the same as him and said happily: "Then let's divide this battle into two levels. The first step is to pretend to attack Zijin Pass, attract Gemma and Yakut reinforcements, and ambush them halfway; if this If the plan fails, then use the trend to attack the city directly, occupy Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan, leave a small number of mobile troops to garrison, and the rest of the main force will quickly return to the division, and then look for another opportunity to fight Gema."
After hearing this, all the generals also expressed their agreement.
Li Jiangyao nodded, pointed at the map and continued his analysis: "Starting from Ulan City and following the Silk Road trade route to Zijin Pass is closer than walking from Metasequoia. Gema received news that our entire army is marching eastward. After that, most of them will send troops quickly in order to get there first. At the same time, because the combat effectiveness and loyalty of the reorganized army in Western Xinjiang really worries him, it is very unreliable to deal with the main force of the Suppressing Xinjiang Army, so Gema will definitely order the troops from the west. The reinforcements coming from the mainland are advancing rapidly, either to strengthen the defensive power of Zijin Pass, or to launch a surprise attack from behind our army."
Xu Youchang and Xie Tanzhi looked at each other and nodded together.
Li Jiangyao's eyes were blazing and he said loudly: "I order, Xu Youchang..."
"The humble position is here!"
"You command the First Army, the Second Army, and the Fourth Army to form an attack corps and advance towards Zijin Pass. Along the way, you must make a loud noise and a big fanfare, and constantly attack cities and territories to put heavy pressure on the enemy!"
Xu Youchang performed a standard military salute: "Yes!"
Li Jiangyao turned to Huoliya and ordered: "You are responsible for leading the Third Army, as well as the newly formed Fifth Army and Sixth Army, to coordinate the defense of Metasequoia City and Yarumqi Mountain, and to closely guard against enemy sneak attacks."
"I understand, sir, please rest assured." Holia responded solemnly.
"Yuduoluo, from now on, the Intelligence Department will start two things," Li Jiangyao continued to order: "On the one hand, specifically target Ulan City and the main vassal court to spread the news that our army is about to attack Zijin Pass; on the other hand, , do your best to collect the orders and movements of the enemy's units, and report them to me in a timely manner without any mistakes!"
Yuduoluo handed over his hand: "Yes! I will set off tonight and lead the elite forces of the Intelligence Department to Ulan City to ensure that all important news can be delivered to the Lord as soon as possible."
Li Jiangyao nodded and said to Xie Tanzhi: "Lao Xie, are you interested in going to the battlefield with me? How about we lead the white-robed army to fight an ambush?"
"Hahaha, since you are so elegant, I will naturally accompany you in my humble position." Xie Tanzhi said with a hearty smile.
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Ulan City, Shanshan State, Governor's Palace of Western Xinjiang.
Between the large tents, the alluring aroma of roasting beef and lamb wafted everywhere. The hot-figured Orchid was singing and dancing to the music, or chasing and playing with the soldiers in the camp with wine in her hands.
The reason why this place is so lively today is because it is a day of double happiness for Gema Khan, the governor of Western Xinjiang.
Firstly, today coincides with his sixtieth birthday, and all the generals came to celebrate his birthday in a noisy manner; secondly, the reinforcements that Gema had been waiting for for a long time finally entered the territory of Western Xinjiang smoothly.
Whether it is facing the provocation of the Xinjiang Suppressing Army or suppressing the unstable factors within the Xijiang Reorganized Army, Gema is now confident again.
The Yelun tribe troops ordered to rush to the rescue this time totaled more than 69,000 people, and they were all pure cavalry troops. This army was commanded by Gema's younger brother, Duke Belen. After a long journey of more than a month, it crossed Kanas Lake three days ago and entered the hinterland of Western Xinjiang to hide secretly.
Gemma Khan issued an order to let Belen and the others take a short rest, and immediately divided the troops into six columns, using the northwest military town as the fulcrum to launch a large-scale raid and clearing battle nearby.
Using cavalry against cavalry and maneuver against maneuver, the target is the light cavalry of the Zhenjiang Army, striving to completely eliminate this annoying guerrilla force within one to two months.
Gema is very confident about this clearing campaign.
He summed up the lessons and believed that the reason why the Xinjiang Army was able to frequently succeed and gain the upper hand some time ago was mainly because there were intelligence spies everywhere in Western Xinjiang. Those abominable spies were keeping a close eye on the Yakut Army and the Western Xinjiang Reorganized Army stationed in the Twelve Army Town. If he made a slight move, the other party would know in advance, and they could fight or flee and deal with it freely.
It’s not that his men are incompetent, it’s just that Li Jiangyao is too cunning!
Moreover, due to the internal conflicts in the Xijiang reorganized army, Gema was somewhat constrained when using troops. Sending all the weaklings from Western Xinjiang into battle is not enough to fill the teeth of the light cavalry; sending all direct Yakut warriors into battle, and worrying that one of them will not pay attention and start a fire in his own backyard.
If the two parties act together, they might have to start a fight before they encounter the Xinjiang Army.
But now, the situation has finally changed.
Nearly 70,000 fresh troops have arrived in Western Xinjiang. As long as they do not enter the city, do not station themselves, and deliberately conceal their whereabouts, it can be guaranteed that the spies of the Xinjiang Suppression Army will not find any trace within three to five months. Moreover, this support force is an elite force that has been battle-tested for a long time and is well-trained. If you let go and attack the Zhenjiang light cavalry, it will be as easy as hunting on the grassland.
"Using the high mobility of the cavalry to fight on the run and on the move, we Turks are the true ancestors!"
Gema Khan smiled confidently: "I want the remnants of the Holy Tang Dynasty to take a good look at how the people on horseback play!"
This firm confidence immediately made Gema feel a lot more relaxed, so he took advantage of his birthday to invite all his trusted generals to the king's tent to have a great time.
At this moment, Gema Khan was half lying and half leaning on the soft felt cushion, hugging two beautiful orchids on the left and right, waiting with his mouth open for the beauty to feed the barbecue and fresh fruits into his mouth, while admiring the tent with a smile. Song and dance performances inside.
The Hu beauty on the right held the wine in her mouth, moved it to Gema's big mouth and slowly poured the wine into it, and then took advantage of the opportunity to tease her with her tongue. This operation immediately made her drunken. De Gema couldn't control himself. He laughed loudly, got up, held the beauty in his arms, and shouted to the other generals: "You guys drink first, I will do some errands in the back, come as soon as you go!"
The generals knew that he was up to no good, so they whistled and shouted that Khan did not need to avoid it, he could just stay here. Hearing this, Ge Ma couldn't help grinning and scolding, while Hu Ji shyly buried her head in his arms.
While they were laughing and joking, a guard general hurried into the tent from outside, pushed away a few dancers who were blocking the way, and then shouted sternly: "Khan, it's not good! The Zhenjiang Army has made a sudden move! The target may be It’s Zijin Pass!”
