Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 368 Sudden changes in the battle situation (1)

On the twelfth day of the ninth month in the third year of Xianheng, at four o'clock at four o'clock, the rooster sang, and the sky was quite dawn, but the sun had not yet risen, and the mist like a thin veil was blown by the breeze, curling up and relaxing. , giving people a dreamlike beauty, but a group of civil and military officials from Hexi who gathered outside the east gate of Lanzhou City obviously had no intention of appreciating this beauty, and looked at the east road with haggard faces. His eyes were full of anxious expectation.

"I'm coming!"

"Look, His Highness is here!"

While all the officials were waiting anxiously, smoke and dust rose suddenly on the horizon in the distance, and the officials who were waiting silently couldn't help but burst into commotion, even Qibi Heli, the head of the Wuhai Road Marching, and Dongzhou The faces of the two high-ranking generals, Gao Xun, the head of the Taoist Army, also showed a slight look of relief because of this. Although they were not as happy as the officials under them, the eagerness in their eyes could not be concealed. This is not surprising, because the person who is about to come is Li Xian, the governor of Hexi. All ethnic groups in Hexi had already been conquered by the Tang army, but nothing serious happened. However, after the rise of Tubo, they repeatedly violated the frontiers. He Li and Gao Yan have never seen each other very well, and it is difficult to say that there is a tacit understanding when they cooperate. Moreover, both sides have their own defense areas, and they are of equal rank, so it is really impossible to talk about unified scheduling, even if they want to cooperate tacitly. It's really a difficult task, usually it's fine, but now that the enemy is pressing down on the situation, the two veterans feel that the situation is not good, and they really want to cooperate in the battle, but they just want to think about it, but it's very rare to do it. It is because of the differences in temperament and character, and also because of the strict regulations in the military system of the imperial court - no one is allowed to transfer troops across regions without a military order. Now that Li Xian has arrived, this biggest obstacle has disappeared. Yes, the two veterans who felt the tremendous pressure had reason to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"The last general, Qibi Heli (Gao Yan), sees His Royal Highness the King of England!"

The cavalry came very fast, rushed like a gust of wind, and arrived outside the city gate. Sitting on a white horse with an unusually handsome appearance was Li Xian, King of England in golden armor. A little neglect, before the horse stopped, he led a group of people to meet him, bowed and greeted each other.

"You two old generals don't need to be too polite, and all the gentlemen are welcome. If you have to wait for a long time, Xiao Wang is ashamed, ashamed."

Seeing the officials saluting him, Li Xian felt impatient, but he didn't want to be rude in front of everyone, so he turned over and got off the horse, raised his hand, and gave an order with a smile on his face. It was quite peaceful, but his voice was hoarse and exhausted—after crossing the Yellow River, Li Xian, who had been exhausted on the pommel horse for days, originally planned to rest in Guangwu County for a night, but he suddenly received an urgent report It is said that Gar Qinling's army has launched brazenly and is attacking Shanzhou City. As a last resort, Li Xian had no choice but to drive all night. After running wildly all night, it is inevitable that people will be exhausted and horses will be exhausted.

"Don't dare, please enter the city, Your Highness. The last general has prepared a banquet to welcome His Highness."

Although Qibi Heli's official rank is the same as Gao Xun's, but his qualifications are higher than that. In addition, Lanzhou is his jurisdiction. As a landlord, he should arrange reception related matters according to the routine. It is not surprising that many people are polite Therefore, he proposed to invite Li Xian to the banquet to clean up the dust.

"General Qibi is determined. Now that the great battle has started, let's skip the welcome banquet. After the big victory, Xiao Wang will drink a celebration wine with the princes, and let's all leave first. Let's go to the camp with Gu to discuss matters."

Knowing that Qi Bi He Li and the others had good intentions, but now that the war is starting and everything is complicated, how could Li Xian have the heart to drink even the wind wine, so he declined with a smile.

"promise!"

In fact, the officials didn't really have any intention of drinking, they just didn't dare to break the etiquette. Since Li Xian didn't want to, they didn't dare to fight against each other. They bowed down and agreed, surrounded by Li Xian and went straight to the military camp in the west of the city. And went.

"General Qi Bi, General Gao, I think the two old generals have read the battle report, do you have any advice on this?"

Li Xian has always acted neatly and neatly. When he arrived at the barracks, he didn't put on airs. After entering the camp of the Chinese army, the first thing he did when he sat down was to read the battle reports. When he was on the road, he had already obtained the "Ming Di" certificate, but Li Xian still read it very carefully, with only a few pieces of paper, he read it for a whole stick of incense, and at the end, he casually put the battle report on the paper, Asked calmly.

"Returning to Your Highness, the last general and others have indeed read the battle report. The Tubo people are coming aggressively this time, with more than [-] troops pressing down on the border. It is really not to be ignored, but..."

Shanzhou is the place that Gao Xun should be in charge of. Now that the war is unfolding on its territory, it is natural for him to answer Li Xian's question first. Indecisive.

"General Gao, don't be nervous, it's okay to talk if you have something to say."

Although Li Xian had some dealings with Gao Yan and others, they were not familiar with each other after all. Seeing that Gao Yan was so nervous that sweat was dripping from the tip of his nose, he smiled and said in relief.

"Nuo, Your Highness clearly learned that the last general has had some dealings with Gar Qinling, and he knows that he is as cunning as a fox, and he is not easy to deal with. His command of the army is known for its deceitfulness. This time he used troops, but he was blindly using a strong posture, and the general thought there must be deceit!" Gao Xun is a veteran, and he has been on the border for many years. The marching is mainly based on stability, after some analysis, it also shows the demeanor of a veteran.

"Well, what does General Qibi think about this?"

Li Xian was not in a hurry to comment on Gao Yan's opinion, but looked at Qibi Heli who was silent and silent with a smile, and asked in a calm tone.

"Your Highness, the general also feels the same way. It's just that our land in the west of Hexi is narrow and narrow. Although it is narrow and narrow, it is also full of loopholes. If the enemy is trapped in a place, it will be very difficult to respond from the beginning to the end. If you are only defensive, you will always be passive. Fatigue, the last general is suffering from this, I wonder if His Highness has a good strategy to defend against the enemy?"

Qibi He Li is a talented general, experienced in many battles, although his official rank is the same as Gao Yan's, his combat achievements are several times that of Gao Yan's, his strategic vision is naturally higher than that of Gao Yan's, and he broke Hexi Difficulties of defense.

"What General Qibi said is very true. Hexi is a place of hundreds of battles. Since ancient times, it has been easy to attack and difficult to defend. If you are unwilling to defend, you can't do it. Now the Gar Qinling army stationed in Shanzhou must be a false move. I don't dare to say that, as far as the danger of Shanzhou is concerned, even if Gar Qinling does his best, it will not be able to go down in a few months. Now it is late autumn, and there is not much time to fight. Once the snow falls, The Tubo army will be in chaos if there is no food, there is no need to attack it, its army will be defeated, and the purpose of Tubo's invasion this time is not the ground, but in food, although Shanzhou is dangerous, the grain production is limited, even if it falls, Tubo will gain nothing. It is limited, and it seems that this kind of coolie does not gain much. With the talent of Gar Qinling, it is impossible to do it. The rush to attack Shanzhou is just a cover. If it is not bad, there are three places that may be close This is its true purpose!"

For Gar Qinling's way of using troops, Li Xian's understanding is obviously a level deeper than that of Qibi Heli, and the height of seeing the problem is also much higher than that of the old and young. After some analysis, the two old generals are not very different dissatisfaction.

"The last general is unknown, please give instructions clearly, Your Highness!"

Qibi Heli and Gao Xun are both arrogant and arrogant people, and they have never been convincing. Even if Li Xian made a big fuss about Tuyuhun and became famous in the first battle, the two generals were not completely convinced. After all, Li Xian was an individual Most of them were brave, but after listening to Li Xian's strategic analysis, the two generals' eyes lit up, and they immediately became interested. After looking at each other, they asked respectfully for advice.

"There are three people who think they can be attacked: one is Lanzhou, where we are now. If we can take this place, Hexi will become an isolated place, and there will be chaos without a fight; the second is Yumen Pass, where one If it is broken, the inside and outside of the pass have been cut off. With the strength of the Tubo army, it is not difficult to break through Anxi. The three prefectures of Fang are completely isolated. With the food and fodder of these four prefectures, Tubo can pass this winter, and when the spring comes, it will be able to compete with our army for the whole of Hexi and even Anxi. choose!"

Li Xian did not know how many times he had deduced the battle situation in Hexi, and naturally had a preliminary judgment on the whole battle situation. Although he was not sure where Gar Qinling would choose to break through, Li Xian firmly believed that the breakthrough point would not exceed this point. Three points, analyzed at this time, the meaning of self-confidence is beyond words.

"Your Highness is wise, the last general will be amazed!"

The two veterans have been leaders for most of their lives. Although they are not as thorough as Li Xian because of their vision, they do not lack basic strategic literacy. He took a look, and at the same time bowed and praised.

"The two old generals are invited, and I'm just talking about soldiers on paper. The truth is yet to be tested. I don't have many troops in Hexi. If we divide our troops everywhere, we will be weak everywhere. I'm lonely..."

Seeing that the two generals were already overwhelmed by him, Li Xian would not let go of this opportunity to strike while the iron is hot, so he planned to tell the strategy he had planned for a long time, but he didn't expect that before he finished speaking, he saw Lin Chengbin hurried in from outside the tent of the Chinese army, stopped talking immediately, and glanced at him suspiciously.

"His Royal Highness, urgent report!"

Seeing the displeasure on Li Xian's face, Lin Chengbin didn't dare to neglect, he hurriedly walked up to him, bowed, and handed a small brass pipe to Li Xian.

"Oh?"

Li Xian recognized the emblem on the brass tube with just a glance. His heart moved, he didn't care to ask, he reached out, took the small brass tube, unscrewed the hidden button, and took out a sheet full of words. Just looking at the little note, his face immediately became gloomy.

(End of this chapter)