"...Su Mou is lucky to have lived up to his command! The ten teams under the little Khan, with 90,000 people, have all fled the grassland and are now stationed outside the county town!"
At four quarters of Hai hour, in the Yunzhou camp in Yunzhong County, Su Dingfang, Ni Shutuo and others rode into the camp gate and went straight to the Chinese army's tent. Several people in the tent heard the noise and walked out quickly. The leader It is Tuli. Seeing Tu Li, Su Dingfang quickly stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"!! I have met the Duke of Ju! I have met the Duke of Dingyuan!!"
At this time, Su Ding just saw two more people coming out from behind Tu Li. One was Tang Jian, whom he had met before at the border army camp. The other was a majestic and handsome middle-aged general who had just fallen behind. Su Dingfang didn't notice it at first because of the sudden half step and the fact that the sky was dim and the light was bad.
The Duke of Dingyuan, namely Zhang Gongjin, was one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Gongjin was originally the governor of Wei under Wang Shichong. He came to the Tang Dynasty together with Cui Shu, the governor, and served as the governor of Zouzhou and Youwuhou. Later, on the recommendation of Xu Shiji and others, he became a staff member of the Prince of Qin's Palace. He assisted Li Shimin in launching the Xuanwumen Revolution, served as the governor of Daizhou, and granted the title of Duke of Dingyuan County.
Although Zhang Gongjin did not participate in as many wars in his life as Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and others, he did a very famous thing, which directly promoted the Xuanwu Gate change. , Determined to help the crown prince!”
In June of the ninth year of Wude, on the eve of the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin asked the wizard to burn the tortoise shell to divine a fortune. At this time, a general walked in from outside, picked up the tortoise shell and threw it on the ground, saying:
"Those who use divination will determine doubts and hesitations. Now that there is no doubt about the matter, how can there be any divination? Even if the divination is unlucky, it is inevitable. (Divination is used to determine doubtful things. Now things are very clear. Why do you still use divination? If the result of divination is unlucky, do you still have to stop (the coup)?"
This general is Zhang Gongjin!
It was precisely because of Zhang Gongjin's decisiveness that Li Shimin became more determined to launch the Xuanwumen Revolution. Therefore, some people in later generations said, "Without Zhang Gongjin and Yuchi Jingde, Taizong could not kill his brother."
During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, when Prince Li Jiancheng and Qi King Li Yuanji were killed, their subordinates Feng Li, Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang and others quickly rushed to Xuanwu Gate with two thousand elite soldiers and horses, preparing to avenge their masters. Zhang Gongjin was so brave that he closed the door alone, blocking Feng Li and others from the door. Feng Li and others finally collapsed.
Zhang Gongjin was also promoted to General Zuowuhou at the age of thirty-three because of his contribution to the Xuanwumen Revolution, and was granted the title of Duke of Dingyuan County. Such a speed of promotion was relatively rare in the Zhenguan Dynasty!
In the first year of Zhenguan, Zhang Gongjin served as the governor of Daizhou to control the troops and horses of Daizhou.
Under the influence of Li Zexuan, in April this year, Li Er ordered Chai Shao and Yuchi Jingde to lead an army to annihilate the Liang division capital. During this period, in order to prevent the Tang army from attacking the city, Jieli sent his Wolf Cavalry southward, brazenly invaded the border of the Tang Dynasty and rushed to the aid of the Liang division capital. . Fortunately, the Tang army had anticipated this. Chai Shao set up an ambush on the Wolf Cavalry's way to Shuofang City. He happened to encounter the celestial phenomenon of the Tengu eclipsing the sun. He used the terrain and first-mover advantage to defeat the Turkic Wolf Cavalry!
In addition, in July, the Turkic Imperial Guard secretly sneaked into the Yanhuang Academy, stole the academy's confidential information, defeated the generals along the way, and led 50,000 wolf cavalry to meet outside Longmen Pass, and a fierce battle broke out with the Tang army outside Longmen Pass!
Within a few months, Turkic wolf cavalry invaded the Tang Dynasty twice, which made Li Er realize that a national war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks would soon come. Many military official transfers and arrangements were also made, including the establishment of the Yunzhou Governor's Office!
(Historically, in March of the fourth year of Zhenguan, after the Tang army destroyed the Eastern Turks, Li Er established the four prefecture governor's offices of Shun, You, Hua and Chang, as well as the Dingxiang and Yunzhou governor's offices. Before that, Yunzhou does not have a governor's office or a governor, only 30,000 frontier troops. The course of history was once again deflected because of Li Zexuan)
Because Yunzhou is located on the border, it only has one county under its jurisdiction, Yunzhong County, and is adjacent to Daizhou. Therefore, Zhang Gongjin was "promoted" and was promoted to the governor of Daizhou, the governor of Yunzhou, and concurrently the governor of Daizhou and the governor of Yunzhou. Control the troops and horses of the two states and take charge of the government affairs of the two states!
At this time, Yunzhou's strategic position in the Tang Dynasty was almost equivalent to a "military buffer zone". Because it was located on the border and directly bordered the grassland, if there was a conflict between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, Yunzhou would be plunged into war immediately, so The land of Yunzhou is sparsely populated. In the past few years, the Turks have often gone south to plunder. Most of those who were able to move south have moved south to Daizhou, Shuozhou, and Bingzhou.
Yunzhou was used as a "military buffer zone" and a border army camp was set up here. If the Turks went south to plunder, the Tang army could keep the enemy out of the country, while Daizhou could serve as Yunzhou's logistical support, providing a steady stream of troops. Provide supplies and troops to the front line!
Li Er asked Zhang Gongjin to take charge of the military and government affairs of the two states, because he wanted him to command the power and resources of the two states and guard the country for the Tang Dynasty!
In the evening, after receiving the news from Su Dingfang's men in Daizhou Dudu Mansion, Zhang Gongjin hurriedly rushed to the Yunzhou camp, met Tu Li, and sent reinforcements to chase Su Dingfang to assist Su Dingfang in helping Tu Li from the grassland. The remaining troops were forced to withdraw from the grassland.
"Haha! General Su, there is no need to be polite!"
They are all of the same age (Su Dingfang is two years older than Zhang Gongjin), and they are both military generals of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Zhang Gongjin has a good personal relationship with Li Jing. Naturally, he has no ill feelings towards Su Dingfang. He stepped forward and patted Su Dingfang on the shoulder and said :
"Ding Fang, have all the 90,000 followers of the Little Khan withdrawn from the grassland?"
Su Dingfang nodded and said: "Yes! All the 90,000 troops of the Little Khan have withdrawn into Yunzhou and are now stationed outside the city. And on the grassland, we did not encounter the pursuers sent by Jieli!"
Tu Li, who was standing on the side, beamed with joy and said: "Okay! Great! Shibo will thank the many subordinates under his command for the help of General Su!"
These 90,000 tribesmen can be regarded as sudden "political capital". It is not that he plans to make a comeback, but that now that he has made up his mind to join the Tang Dynasty, the more people he has, the more he can get from the Tang court. The benefits were that, with the 90,000 tribesmen and the 10,000 Qingqi who followed him out of the grassland, he brought a total of 100,000 people to the Tang Dynasty. After joining the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely not be able to escape if he was awarded the title of a prince. And when the time comes, Li Er may still put these 100,000 people under his official system. Therefore, Su Dingfang has done Tuli a big favor!
"You're welcome, little Khan!"
Su Dingfang waved his hand. This time he went deep into the grassland for rescue. In fact, he didn't do anything. The process went smoothly beyond his expectation. He originally thought he would encounter Jieli's army on the grassland, but he didn't! Tuli's remaining 90,000 troops actually withdrew from the grassland unimpeded!
"Dingfang has worked hard all the way! Let's talk about it in detail after we get the account!"
Zhang Gongjin was not overly happy like Tu Li. After thinking about it for a while, he felt that something was wrong, so he looked at everyone and said.
Several people naturally agreed.
After a while, everyone returned to the Chinese army tent. Zhang Gongjin sat at the front seat in the middle. Su Dingfang, Tang Jian, Tu Li, and Ni Shutuo were lined up on the left and right. Zhang Gongjin asked: "Dingfang, you just said, what are you doing from here?" During the retreat from the grassland, we did not encounter a powerful army, but what is the truth?"
Su Dingfang clasped his fists and said: "It's absolutely true! Not only did the team led by the last general never encounter Jieli's army, but neither did the other nine teams. Therefore, none of the 90,000 tribesmen of the little Khan were retreating. There were casualties in the process!”
Tuli, who was full of joy, also came back to his senses at this time. He frowned and said: "This doesn't seem to be normal! Du must hate someone to the core, otherwise he wouldn't have encouraged Tiele's 300,000 troops to surround Ben Khan. In the afternoon, Ben Khan led his troops to withdraw from the grassland. Du must have received the news. With his character, he would definitely send wolf cavalry to chase him! Even if he could not catch up with the Qingqi under Ben Khan, the old and weak among Ben Khan's troops Wounded soldiers, they will definitely be able to catch up!"
Zhang Gongjin nodded and said: "What the little Khan said is what Zhang wanted to say! Jieli is a cruel man. The little Khan leading his people to evacuate the grassland is tantamount to defecting from the Turks in his eyes. With his character, he will definitely be poor all the way." Chase! You didn’t encounter a single pursuer during your retreat. This shows that... "
Having said this, Zhang Gongjin paused, a little unsure.
"This shows that Jieli must have a bigger plan, and it's tonight! So he doesn't have the energy to send troops to chase the little Khan's troops!"
Tang Jian twirled his beard, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He patted his eucalyptus and stood up.
"A bigger plot~?"
A strange look flashed in Zhang Gongjin's eyes, and the rest of the people in the tent also looked thoughtful.
Tuli thought for a while and analyzed: "Now the ten Tiele tribes have decided to unite to resist Dubi. In the afternoon, the ten troops retreated one after another. Only then did Ben Khan's men and horses break away from the siege and withdraw from the grassland. If there is more to Dubi, If there is a big plot, Ben Khan guesses that it is only possible that he wants to suppress the rebellion of the Ten Tribes of Tiele!"
Su Ding said with some doubts: "The Ten Tiele tribes just made a move to resist Jieli this afternoon. How could Jieli send troops to suppress it at night? Although the strength of the Ten Tiele tribes is not as good as Jieli's, they united together There are millions of people anyway, and Jieli wants to suppress them. If he doesn’t make preparations and make a plan before taking action, I’m afraid he will suffer heavy losses. I don’t believe Jieli would be so reckless!”
Tang Jian said flatly: "Based on common sense, it is indeed unwise for Jieli to send troops to suppress Tiele's ten tribes tonight! But Jieli clearly knew that the young Khan led his troops to withdraw from the grassland, but did not send troops to intercept, which shows that at this moment he We have no extra energy and don’t want to divide our troops! Tiele’s ten tribes combined have millions of people. It is indeed difficult to suppress them with ordinary methods, but what if Jieli uses unusual methods? We must not underestimate Jieli’s strength! "
Zhang Gongjin thought for a moment and said: "What Duke Ju Guo said makes sense! We can't underestimate Jie Li. We must be vigilant about this matter! Since Jie Li has no time to care about him tonight, I will take the opportunity to send a group of scouts deep into the grassland to find out the news. I will Let’s see what Jie Li does tonight!”
Su Dingfang thought about it and did not object to Zhang Gongjin's decision. Because Jieli did not send troops to pursue the remnants of Tuli, it means that Jieli is currently focusing all his energy on other things. Tonight, the outer perimeter of the grassland is 80% empty, which is just convenient for scouts to sneak in.
Seeing that no one objected, Zhang Gongjin paused and said:
"In addition, I have received news that in order to make Jie Li feel afraid and not dare to pursue and attack the young Khan's troops, your Majesty ordered Cao Guogong to lead two thousand elite light cavalry to come to the border of Yunzhou, from Yunzhou, Fifty thousand soldiers and horses were mobilized from the four prefectures of Shuozhou, Daizhou and Youzhou. They were stationed in the north of Yunzhou and drilled day and night to form a deterrent to Jie Li!
When His Majesty issued the decree, it was not known that the ten Tiele tribes had decided to resist Jieli, let alone that the young Khan had led his troops to withdraw from the grassland. However, in order to prevent Jieli from suppressing the rebellion of the tribes on the grassland as much as possible, he tried his best to In order to buy time for the imperial court to conquer the Turks in the north, it is still necessary to send troops to the Yunzhou border to act as a deterrent to Jie Li!
According to reports from scouts, Cao Guogong’s army is expected to arrive in Yunzhou before dawn tomorrow! The situation on the grassland has changed suddenly today. Before Cao Guogong arrives, we must understand the situation on the grassland as detailed as possible so that we can formulate strategies later! Tonight, I have to ask the little Khan to send a few people to assist our army and then sneak into the grassland! "
During the morning meeting today, Li Er informed the ministers about the frost in the grasslands yesterday, the people in the Turks were panicking, and the tribes were likely to rebel against Jie Li in the near future. The ministers were excited, and then Li Er ordered Li Ji to lead his troops to Yunzhou to mobilize the troops. Soldiers and horses from the four states of Yunzhou, Shuozhou, Daizhou and Youzhou were stationed at the border gates and drilled day and night to frighten Jieli and allow Jieli to allocate part of his energy to guard against the Tang army, so that all the troops would not be used to encircle and suppress Tuli and Heping. Rebellious!
This was a plan to divide the Turks that Li Zexuan had long planned, and Tang Jian had already completed the most critical part of the plan!
"Don't worry, Duke Dingyuan, the soldiers under this Khan are very familiar with the grassland environment, and they will definitely be able to help your subordinates sneak into the grassland smoothly!"
Tu Li responded quickly.
The more he cooperates with Zhang Gongjin now, the more likely he is to make meritorious deeds. Then the reward from the court will be more generous, right
This guy now thinks of himself as a Tang Dynasty person, thinking about making meritorious deeds all the time!
"Okay! Then there's Lao Xiaohan!"
Zhang Gongjin smiled and then said: "The little Khan led his troops all the way today. He must be exhausted. I will have someone send the little Khan back to the camp to rest!"
Tu Li had no problem with it. He had escaped for a day today and now he finally "found the organization". Once he relaxed his mind, he was really sleepy. Originally, he wanted to go out to visit the tribesmen stationed outside the city, but he was too sleepy. He didn't insist, and after saying goodbye to everyone, he left the Chinese army's tent!
"Dingfang, Duke of Ju, if Jieli really plans to lead an army to suppress the Ten Tiele tribes tonight, I would like to send a few light cavalry deep into the grassland to harass, what do you two think~?"
After Tu Li and Ni Shutuo left, only Zhang Gongjin, Su Dingfang and Tang Jian were left in the tent. At this time, Zhang Gongjin spoke in a calm and non-stop manner.
… … … … … … …