"There are so many Di tribes. If we attack them one by one, we may not be able to destroy them or drive them away even if we spend our whole lives." After Guo Qizuo agreed to Zhu Li's plan, Guo Chongtao no longer objected and instead raised another difficult question.
This is indeed a problem, but before Zhu Li could think of a response, Guo Qizuo said, "It doesn't matter. For the Di people, we can also adopt the strategy of making friends with those far away and attacking those near."
"I have heard that the Bohai people are brave and good at fighting. Moreover, they are located in the northeast and are closely connected with the various Khitan tribes. General, you might as well win them over and try to provoke conflicts between such tribes and the Khitan. We can then profit from it. This way, we can save most of the time."
"What's more, the contemporary leader of Sumo, Da Xuanxi, is connected with Li Quanzhong. If the general makes friends with Da Xuanxi, he can not only resolve the crisis in Lulong, but also use him to launch a war against the Khitan." Guo Qizuo suggested solemnly.
"Su Mo?" Zhu Li was curious.
Guo Qizuo and Guo Chongtao were not surprised by his expression. After all, many people knew that it was divided into seven parts, but no one knew which seven parts they were.
Guo Chongtao quickly explained: "General, it is divided into seven tribes, and the two most famous ones are Su Mo and Hei Shui."
"The Black Waters were known for their bravery and were feared by the people to the north of Bohai. During the Shengli period, the leader of the Sumo tribe, Dae Jo-yeong, founded a kingdom in Bohai. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, he was granted the title of Prince of Bohai by the Tang court and became very powerful."
When Guo Chongtao said this, Guo Qizuo immediately interjected, "Yes, General, if you want to make friends, you should make friends with both of these tribes. It would be best for you to send generous gifts to the current Sumo leader Da Xuanxi and the Black Water leader Abulji, and make an agreement with them to attack the Khitan together."
Da Xuanxi was the 13th monarch of the Bohai Kingdom; Abulji was a descendant of the tribe of Chief Nishuliji. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, Chief Nishuliji was appointed as the governor of Bolizhou by the Tang court.
Although the Suomote and Heishui peoples came from the same ethnic group, they did not get along well with each other. Dae Jo-yeong's son, Dae Mu-yi, the second monarch of Bohai, once wanted to launch a northern expedition, which forced the Heishui people to seek political protection from the Tang Dynasty.
In the grasslands outside the Great Wall north of Youzhou, the most powerful forces are the Khitan, the Uighur, and the remnants of the Turks. Among them, the Tatars are the remnants of the Turks after their demise.
After listening to the suggestions of the two Guos, Zhu Li immediately decided to send Zhao Jing, who had just arrived in Shuozhou and had nothing to do yet, as an envoy. The brave general Gao Mian would lead hundreds of elite Yue cavalry to protect them along the way, and of course there would be ghost warriors to follow them in secret.
At the beginning of April in the fourth year of Zhonghe, the Central Plains was in turmoil with Hedong as its center.
Fengxiang Jiedushi Li Changfu was thwarted in his attack on Wang Chongrong and asked Yuanyan Jiedushi Zhu Mei for help. Zhu Mei immediately agreed and sent troops out of the state to attack Danzhou. Wang Chongrong was not one to sit there and wait for death, so he shamelessly asked Li Keyong for help, and Li Keyong actually agreed.
At the same time, Zhu Li selected 3,000 Yue cavalry and 10,000 guards from Shuozhou, and marched to Yinshan to start the expedition outside the Great Wall; Guo Qizuo and Guo Chongtao continued to stay in Shanyang, and transferred the former Sanggan general Lu Yong to station in Piantou Fort, while Yang Zaixing led his troops to stay in the center.
Going to Yinshan with him was the brave general Gao Siji, who was now
He suddenly became Zhu Li's general; of course there was another capable person, Shen Qiniang.
Shen Qinniang was no ordinary person. Her reputation for saving people with medicine was still recorded in later generations.
Zhu Li had promised to introduce this lady to Gao Su, but in the blink of an eye she ran off to Youzhou. This time when he goes to Yinshan, he will definitely reunite with Gao Su, and naturally he will bring this lady along.
The Yin Mountains, which start from Huashan in eastern Hebei in the east and end at Langshan in the west, are an ancient block mountain range.
To the north of the Yin Mountains is the vast Gobi Desert, an area that the Di people are unwilling to set foot in lightly. Naturally, it is not within Zhu Li's range of conquest. He plans to meet Gao Su in Fengzhou first, and then make plans after taking Fengzhou.
In the second year of Jinglong, the Tang court established three surrender cities near Yinshan Mountain. Now the Central Surrender City and the East Surrender City have been occupied by Gao Su, and only the West Surrender City is left, which is out of control.
However, Qi Zhang, the younger brother of Qi Ban, the former governor of Zhenwu Army, and Song Yao, the general of Tiande Army, surrendered with their troops when Gao Su attacked the front and rear plains.
After the two surrendered, Gao Su did not touch them. Instead, he ordered Song Yao to continue to garrison Zhongshoujiang City and Qi Zhang to garrison Dongshoujiang City. He then went to Jiuyuan alone to attack the coalition forces of Dangxiang, Khitan and Uighur.
Gao Su's military camp was stationed on a vast grassland. As soon as Zhu Li led his troops here, he felt his eyes brightened. Looking around, he saw the vast sky and the green grass, which made people feel relaxed and happy.
When Gao Su learned that Zhu Li was coming, he was overjoyed and rode his horse several miles away to meet him.
Hetao was conquered by Gao Su a long time ago. This was the first time Zhu Li came here. According to what he had learned, the Heshuo army had completely controlled Yunzhong County, which was the Houtao Plain in later generations.
"What's the situation in Fengzhou?" The two of them galloped on their horses across the vast plains towards Gao Su's garrison camp. Zhu Li turned around, looked at Gao Su, and asked directly.
"General, you've come at the right time. These Di people are too cunning. They bully my subordinates because they have few soldiers and generals. They divide the cavalry into several groups and harass me like hyenas. I dare not go far." Gao Su responded slightly depressed when asked.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li looked at the other person with amusement. This guy always liked to be at the forefront in everything he did.
There are many generals in the Hetao area, but he actually assigned each of them a garrison location, and yet he came alone to fight the Di people. I really admire him, "Who are the other side, and how strong are they?"
"There are almost 10,000 remnants of the Dangxiang people. The largest number is the Uighurs, with about 40,000 to 50,000 cavalrymen. The next largest number is the Khitans, with about 20,000 to 30,000." Facing Zhu Li, Gao Su answered every question and told him the truth.
"Uighurs?" Zhu Li narrowed his eyes and spoke suspiciously.
"General, don't you know the Uighurs? The Uighurs are also called Huihe. According to historical records, the Huihes once cooperated with Emperor Taizong to defeat the Xueyantuo. With the support of our Tang Dynasty, their power has gradually grown stronger."
"In the third year of Tianbao, the leader of the Uighurs, Guli Peiluo, proclaimed himself Khan and established the Uighur regime. In the fourth year of Huichang, the Uighurs and Gekun clashed. Four years later, Gekun defeated Guli Peiluo, and the Uighur regime was destroyed."
"After the fall of the Uighur regime, most of the people migrated westwards, such as the Gaochang Uighur Khanate, the Ganzhou Uighur Khanate, the Karakhanid Khanate, the Hexi Uighurs, etc.
They are all countries established by the remnants of the Uighurs. The Uighur cavalry that is confronting us now are the Uighurs from Hexi, coming from the area controlled by the Guiyi Army. "Gao Su explained patiently.
Zhu Li nodded and continued to ask: "What about the Khitans? Aren't they mainly concentrated in the northeast? How come there are also some here?"
"I don't know where this group of people came from. I only know that the leader of this group of Khitans is a woman named Yanmujin."
"Originally, our army was stationed in Wuyuan, and everything was going very smoothly. But starting from mid-February this year, this Yan Mujin suddenly led her troops to Fengzhou. As soon as they arrived here, this woman immediately contacted the remnants of the Dangxiang and reached an agreement with the Uighurs. The three parties united together and seemed to be ready to annex our army. As a result, my subordinates no longer dared to be stationed in Wuyuan, so they had to run to Jiuyuan." Gao Su said embarrassedly, a little ashamed.
After all, he was scared away by a woman, and it was embarrassing to tell others about it, but he did not hide it at all and spoke frankly.
"Yanmujin?" Zhu Li also looked very confused. "Did she say anything?"
After Zhu Li's reminder, Gao Su seemed to have thought of something and said quickly: "This woman is very aggressive, as if she has a deep hatred for her subordinates. Oh, there seems to be another female general beside her, her name is Yue Lixin. This woman is even more vicious, and she keeps shouting that she wants to kill everyone in Heshuo."
Zhu Li had no impression of either Yanmujin or Yuelicin, and didn't even have a clue. It seemed that he had to take it one step at a time and see what happened.
As the two of them talked, they arrived at Gao Su's military camp, where nearly 30,000 Heshuo soldiers were stationed, including about 12,000 Yue cavalry, followed by three groups of spearmen, sword and shield soldiers, and infantry and archers, each with more than 6,000 people.
Entering the general's tent, Zhu Li pointed at Gao Siji and said to Gao Su, "Brother Gao, this is Gao Siji, the general of Shuozhou, from the Gao family of Youzhou."
"Nice to meet you." Gao Su hurriedly bowed and said humbly to Gao Siji.
"Greetings, General Gao." Gao Siji did not dare to be negligent and responded quickly and humbly.
Zhu Li walked to the side of Shen Qiniang again, pointed at her and said to Gao Su: "This is our carpenter, Shen Youcheng."
Gao Su looked at Zhu Li in surprise, then looked at Shen Qiniang strangely, then he bowed and said, "I am Gao Su, nice to meet you."
Shen Qinnan had been secretly sizing up this mighty general from Heshuo since early morning. He was indeed as Zhu Li had said, very handsome and very healthy. However, she did not see that he was a hero.
After all, it was the first time she saw a strong general being scared away by two women. She bowed and said modestly, "I am Shen Qiniang, and I hope the general will tolerate me in the future."
Although Gao Su felt very strange about Shen Qiniang's gaze that seemed to see him inside and out, he didn't say anything.
Zhu Li looked at the two of them and suddenly interrupted, "Brother Gao, the future safety of Xin Youcheng is now in your hands. I invited this lady with great difficulty. Whether the crossbow can be reproduced in the future depends on her. There must be no mistakes. You might as well get closer to her."
Close, close, what does that mean? Gao Su was a little confused. Looking at Zhu Li's official look, he couldn't figure out what it meant, so he had to bow and accept the order together with Shen Qinnan.