Later historians usually like to call the "Battle of Wuguan" a key turning point in the entire Turkic war of aggression to the east.
Because the victory of this battle means that the initiative to attack the imperial capital has returned to the hands of the Shengtang army.
Although Wuguan is not as famous as Tongguan and Hulao Pass, it also has immeasurable value as the gateway to the southeast of the imperial capital. Once this city gate is captured, the road to the imperial capital will be undefeated and smooth.
Therefore, from the moment Wuguan was recovered, Shengtang's comprehensive strategic counterattack officially began.
The meaning behind this is naturally self-evident.
However, when people carefully study that period of history, they often make an extremely surprising discovery: the Jingxiang army that made the first contribution did not actually encounter a particularly tenacious resistance at Wuguan.
For such a strategically important place related to the direction of the war, the defenders were actually second-rate tribal armed forces from the Turkic Empire.
The main army of the Golden Tribe, which is proud of the world, are all absent without exception.
People can't help but ask, why did the wise and powerful Ashina, who was sweating profusely, make such a low-level mistake? And where were those formidable elite Turkic troops?
Due to various reasons, the historians of the Holy Tang Dynasty received intentional or unintentional hints from the court when recording this past.
Either under pressure or out of helplessness, everyone looked away from the map and jointly avoided a place name that was both familiar and unfamiliar:
Zijin Pass.
The smoke has cleared, the waves have washed away, and so many heroic stories have swept away the sand.
No matter how fair the history is, it still cannot withstand the erosion of power.
If you want to unravel the mysteries of that year and explore the original appearance of history, you can only find fragments and clues in the enemy's historical materials, and then piece together the complete answer step by step.
It's sad.
However, history is created by people after all. How it is recorded in history books and how it is commented by later generations is actually not important to those who create history.
What matters is what choice you made at that time.
Li Jiangyao was faced with a choice problem at this moment.
The Jingxiang army captured Wuguan, and the vanguard troops have already marched towards the imperial capital. After receiving the urgent report, the Prince of the Temple did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered the entire army to set off and quickly return to Guanzhong.
At this time, what should the Zhenjiang Army do?
Heading east? Or stick to it?
Rationally speaking, Li Jiangyao does not believe that the time for a decisive battle has come.
First of all, the Turks still have at least 350,000 to 400,000 troops, with rich combat experience and high loyalty. The best way to face an opponent like this is to consume him piecemeal, drag him to the point where he is exhausted and lose all his energy, and then devour him in one gulp.
On the contrary, if we concentrate our forces for a strategic decisive battle at this time, it will play into the hands of the Turks. It's hard to imagine what kind of terrifying combat power an army of 400,000 tigers and wolves can produce when they gather together.
Secondly, the poisonous soldiers in the Central Plains region, the anti-kings in the Huaihe River region, and the Xuanjia Army entrenched in the south of the Yangtze River are all potential threats. Once he jumps out to cause trouble in the decisive battle, it will not be a hindrance, but a fatal backstab!
No matter what happens, we must coordinate enough forces to suppress these threats and prevent them from having the opportunity to interfere with and undermine the deployment of the strategic decisive battle.
The third question is also the most sensitive one: Who will direct?
For large-scale battles involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, a strong headquarters must first be established so that one person can command the troops like an arm.
Moreover, this person cannot be the kind of fool who only has a noble status but has no experience in fighting.
The general is incompetent and the army is exhausted.
But judging from the current situation, let alone the person who commands thousands of armies, even a simple headquarters may not be established.
Shen Lie had already told Li Jiangyao through the Nilin Division about the situation within the Jingxiang army. If Mr. Dong hadn't risked his life to coordinate, they would have fought each other.
Are you kidding me when such an army goes to decisively fight the Turks?
Li Jiangyao once thought about whether he should recommend himself and personally integrate the various armies and condense them into one force. However, he was also very aware of the urinary nature of the Shengtang military, and he also understood that in the eyes of those generals, this was absolutely impossible.
you? Li Jiangyao? With no background and no qualifications, why should a Western Territory warlord who was born as a seventh-grade captain be our commander-in-chief?
For this reason, Li Jiangyao even considered pushing Xu Youchang up.
His good brother was brave, resourceful and loyal to the Holy Tang Dynasty. The most commendable thing was that Xu Youchang came from a family of military generals. His grandfather Xu Lie was highly respected in the army and his disciples were all over the world.
If Xu Youchang is appointed as the commander-in-chief, he will probably be able to get the support of the generals.
However, Shen Lie wrote a letter directly discouraging Li Jiangyao's idea.
The top military officials are not fools. You are the Chief Protector and Xu Youchang is the Deputy Protector. He is from your Shantou faction. What is the difference between letting Xu Youchang be the coach and letting you, Li Jiangyao, be the coach? Nothing more than a puppet on a string.
Neither the left nor the right worked, which made Li Jiangyao feel again that the time for a decisive battle was not yet ripe.
Since the conditions are not in place, there should be no rush to take action.
At the high-level meeting of the Zhenjiang Army, Li Jiangyao put forward his own strategic concept: defend from the west and advance eastward, seize key areas, compress space, and encroach step by step.
Specifically, it is to try to avoid large-scale fierce battles with the Turks. While effectively preserving their strength, block Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan in the west, and wait for opportunities to seize strategic locations that are conducive to defense in the east, constantly squeezing the survival of the Turks. space, gradually consuming their vitality.
Until the day when the decisive battle comes.
This idea was supported by all the generals of the Zhenjiang Army. Everyone has fought against the Turks and knows that unless it is absolutely necessary, we should not take the risk of fighting to the death and give the enemy a chance to stand up.
Xu Youchang proposed that the strategic concept of the Great Protectorate could be written into an official letter and submitted in the name of all the soldiers of the Zhenjiang Army to the emperor Li Bing, the commander of the Jingxiang Army Ma Hongjie and the Yizhou court, asking them to cooperate fully.
Xie Tanzhi immediately agreed. After obtaining Li Jiangyao's consent, he personally wrote three official letters and sent the intelligence department to send them out of customs.
However, what surprised everyone was that the letters sent to the imperial court and the Jingxiang army were like muddy cattle entering the sea. They did not say approval or objection. In short, there was no response at all.
The news came from the emperor half a month later.
What Nilinsi sent to Zijin Pass was an imperial edict made of yellow silk.
In this decree of more than 200 words, Emperor Li Bing did not even mention a word about the strategic concept. Instead, he praised Li Jiangyao and finally issued a very specific order:
The main force of the Zhenjiang Army left the border as soon as possible, attacked eastward along Liangzhou, Yongzhou, Suzhou, and Shaanzhou, and joined Ma Hongjie's troops in the imperial capital!
After Li Jiangyao read the imperial edict, he smiled bitterly at Zhou Xing, who had made a special trip for this purpose: "Brother Shen, what do you think of this edict?"
Zhou Xing shrugged: "Master Chang Shi just said two words, nonsense."
Li Jiangyao nodded silently. Shen Lie was right, it was indeed nonsense.
According to Emperor Li Bing's idea, the army does not need to go to Suzhou. It will have to collide with the Turkic cavalry before passing Yongzhou. In the unobstructed Yongliang Corridor, fighting in the plains with the Turks, Ashina Zhijin went crazy with joy.
In the same way, although Wuguan is in hand, heading towards the imperial capital, you will see the Guanzhong Plain all the way. The war horses can run freely, which is most suitable for high-mobility cavalry to gallop freely.
The Jingxiang army all comes from the south, with more infantry and less cavalry. If they rush forward carelessly, they will be tortured by the Turkic cavalry to the point of doubting their lives.
Will he still study in the Imperial Capital? Join us with a hammer!
Li Jiangyao threw the imperial edict on the table and asked Zhou Xing: "You don't need me to kowtow and bow nine times to thank the Lord for your kindness?"
Zhou Xing smiled and said, "I'm not a eunuch who delivers orders. It's useless for you to ask me."
Li Jiangyao motioned for him to sit down, and then poured him a cup of tea: "Is there any new news from the east? Let's hear it."
"There are really new changes." Zhou Xing took a sip of hot tea and said: "Since the Jingxiang army declared its obedience to the emperor, the attitude of the Yizhou court has also changed. Some officials who originally questioned the emperor either stopped or were ostracized. , gradually disappeared. Instead, three provinces and six ministries wrote letters to express their loyalty to the emperor. What's more, many ministers left Yizhou and crossed the Yangtze and Hanshui Rivers, risking being attacked by poisonous soldiers, to run to the emperor. Be there for me."
Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "No matter what happens, there will always be adults with a keen sense of smell, right?"
Zhou Xing showed a disdainful expression: "A bunch of villains who follow the trend of others! If this had happened to the late emperor, Ni Linsi would have to deal with them!"
He put down the tea cup and continued: "The emperor valued the officials from Yizhou very much. He began to rely on them to handle many things. The weight of what Mr. Chang Shi said was obviously not as good as before."
Li Jiangyao heard the resentment in Zhou Xing's words and could imagine Shen Lie's current situation, so he couldn't help but ask: "Who are the more active people around the emperor at the moment? Can Murong Xue still be trusted?"
"General Murong is still the same as before, in charge of the military." Zhou Xing said: "He is the earliest official who followed the dragon, and he has been with the emperor through life and death many times, so no one can shake his position in the emperor's heart. As for the new officials who are favored, , I think there are three people who stand out the most.”
"Which three? Do I know them?"
Zhou Xing shook his head: "I guess most of the governors have never heard of them, because they are all minor officials of the fourth and fifth grades. Before the imperial court moved to Yizhou to avoid trouble, those three guys didn't do well in the imperial capital and were unknown."
He paused briefly, and introduced with his fingers: "Wei Zixuan, the Young Minister of the Taifu, Tian Mu, the Imperial Censor, and Gong Chengze, the Central Governor."
"Wei Zixuan, Tian Mu, Gong Chengze..." Li Jiangyao thought for a while: "Well, indeed I have never heard of them. How are the three of them? Do they have any talents?"
Zhou Xing curled his lips and said: "You have such a talent! You are full of bad intentions, each one is more of a bastard than the last!"
