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In the imperial study, Yang Guang looked at Li Yuan's father, but he was not angry that he brought the two sons.

First, I heard from the prince that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin often trained in Dingxiang, which was an important border town on the border with the Turks, and out of Dingxiang County, it was the prairie. They certainly had something to know about the situation of the Turks.

Second, he had the idea of marrying Princess Luo Qi to Li Yuan'er. Just take a look at these two Li Jiazhi, which one is more in line with his heart.

In the study, in addition to Li Yuan's father, there are Pei Renji and his son Pei Xingyan, Laihu'er, Song Laosheng, Yu Juluo and others. Except for the generals who have led troops to Dunhuang, Hetao, Mayi, and Beiping. Here are all the senior generals of the expeditionary force.

"Generals, because I was in the main hall just now, it was difficult to discuss the battle plan, and now the generals here are all trusted by me. Everyone can speak their minds. Yang Guang looked around, smiled and asked Lai Hu'er, "General, what is the movement of the Eastern Turks now?" Where is Duji's army? ”

Lai Hu'er hurriedly said: "Back to Your Majesty, Du Ji has brought more than 100,000 troops to be stationed in the Yinshan area, because the Liaodong Army has entered the grassland, and there are fierce battles with Xue Yantuo, Murowei, Tiele and other departments, this tribe is defeated by the Liaodong Army, is retreating to the west, and at the same time asks the Turks for help. So Shibi Khan led an army of 100,000 to the east, ready to support. But when they arrived at Yinshan, they stopped, and did not immediately go to the aid of the department, according to the last general, Shibi Khan should have wanted to wait for the Liaodong Army and Xue Yantuo and other troops to fight for defeat before attacking. In this way, he can not only avoid annexing this tribe, but also inflict heavy losses on the Liaodong army, and even enter Liaodong in one fell swoop and become the new lord of Liaodong. ”

When Yang Guang heard this, he frowned and said: "Shibi Khan actually started the idea of Liaodong, then don't blame me for being ruthless to him!" ”

He originally thought that after scaring off the Turks with a false shot on the steppe and scaring off the Turks, he immediately swung his army into Liaodong. But if Shibi Khan was also fighting Liaodong's idea, then after the Sui army invaded Liaodong from the steppe, it was possible that it would be cut off by the Turks. Become a rootless pinch.

At that time, hundreds of thousands of Sui troops went deep into the Liaodong region, where the white mountains and black waters and the climate was harsh, and they were not familiar with the place, and the Liaodong army resisted in front of them, and the Turks pursued them later. After it is cut off, it will repeat the mistakes of the previous Sui army expeditions to Goryeo, and return with a disastrous defeat.

"Your Majesty, don't worry! The Turkic army is only 100,000, but we have an army of 500,000, and we are able to defeat them. It's just that the Turks are all cavalry, coming and going like the wind, and if they enter the steppe to fight, even if they are defeated, Duji can easily run away. In the opinion of the ministers, it is better to wait for Li Jing, Qu Tutong, Luo Yi and other generals to cut off the Turkic army, and then we will start the attack. Bae In-ki suggested.

"General Pei, it's not a good thing to wait like this!" Yu Juluo was worried: "My Great Sui is full of wars and disasters, and traitors are rampant, if the 500,000 troops have been stationed in the Hedong area to confront the Turks, it is not a good strategy. Now Henan Zhai Rang, Jianghuai Du Fuwei, Hebei Dou Jiande and Shandong Wang Bo are making chaos everywhere, if they are not exterminated as soon as possible, I am afraid that it will endanger the society of the country! ”

Yu Juluo's words made Yang Guang also fall into deep thought. His previous failed expedition to Goryeo not only lost a large number of elite soldiers, but also led to a fire in the north, which has not been extinguished so far. If a lot of time and troops were spent on the conquest of the Turks, it would indeed lead to internal chaos.

However, Song Laosheng did not agree with Yu Juluo's proposition. He got up and said: "Although General Yu's words are reasonable, Weichen feels that our army is good at defending the city and fighting on foot, and the Turks are good at horse shooting. Pulling the army to the steppe to fight them in a decisive battle is to attack the other with your own knowledge, and even if you win, you will suffer heavy losses. It is better to bring in the Turks to fight, the mountains and rivers in the east of the river are crisscrossed, and all the key roads are built with passes and fortified cities. It is the best policy to lead the Turks to attack our fortified city, exhaust their mental and physical strength, and then pursue them when their food is exhausted and retreat! ”

As a result, several generals also began to argue, some advocated a quick victory, some advocated luring the enemy to go deeper, and exchanging space for time, all of which had their own reasons. Yang Guang couldn't make up his mind for a while.

He then looked at Li Yuan, and seeing that he and the two looked like they were thinking deeply, Fang Ningsheng asked, "Regarding the current situation, the Li Qing family and the two dukes don't know if they have any ideas?" ”

After Li Yuan heard this, he didn't answer immediately, but looked at Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, and saw that both of them looked eager to try, Fang smiled and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the minister is old and frail, and he can only do some logistics things, and he has no experience in fighting. However, the dog often led the army to exterminate the bandits in Hedong. And the two of them often went in and out of Dingxiang and led the army to practice riding and shooting. I am more familiar with the situation of the Turks, and the people of Weichen can even speak Turkic fluently, so it is better to let them express their opinions! ”

Yang Guang nodded, his eyes turned to Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, and said, "I don't know what good countermeasures the two young generals can have?" You can speak your mind, and I won't blame you! ”

When Li Jiancheng heard this, Fang bowed his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the Turks went south to plunder because of the snow disaster and the lack of grain and grass in the tribe, presumably they will not bring much grain and grass." If they could find a place to store their grain and grass and burn it, the Turkic army would collapse without a fight. The last general and his second brother Shimin have been training in the area of Dingxiang for many days, and they are more familiar with the nearby terrain, and my two brothers are willing to lead 20,000 troops to reconnoiter the enemy's situation and burn the grain and grass of the Turks for His Majesty! ”

Li Shimin also stepped forward at this time, and said with a straight face: "The last general is willing to go north with his eldest brother, share the worries of the court, and hope that His Majesty will be fulfilled!" ”

"Good!" Yang Guang saw that Li Yuan's two sons were so self-motivated, and he was also happy in his heart.

He smiled and said, "The two young generals are so concerned about this battle, which also makes me very relieved...... Anyway, I will let you each lead 10,000 soldiers to the Turkic grain and grass camp, and whoever finds it first will be considered a great achievement. Not only did I promote him to the rank of Eagle General, but I also married my beloved daughter, Princess Loki, to him. The two youngsters can go back and prepare early! ”

The generals were all dumbfounded at this time, including Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, etc., who were also a little dumbfounded, but they didn't expect Yang Guang to carry out his daughter. When he really found it, he even burned the grain and grass of the Turks, and after making great achievements, he not only gained fame and fortune, but also married a princess. Becoming the emperor's son-in-law, where to find such a good thing? At this time, all the generals regretted why they did not bring their own people's nephews and young men to compete with the Li family brothers for the position of the horse.

"The last general obeys!" Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin responded in unison. The two brothers casually glanced at each other at this time, and their eyes were full of competition. Yang Guang and Li Yuan didn't realize that from this moment on, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin had the idea of overpowering each other and winning the favor of the emperor and their father.

……

Dingxiang County is the northernmost county of the Great Sui in the Hedong region, and it is also the dividing line between the Great Sui and the Turks.

Dingxiang County from the Western Han Dynasty, the original name Yunzhong County, after the Han Dynasty Emperor changed to Dingxiang County, the county has Chengle, Tongguo, Duwu, Wujin, Xiangyin, Wugao, Luo, Dingtao, Wucheng, Wuyao, Dingxiang, Fulu 12 counties.

In the first two years of Emperor Ping of Han, there were 18,559 households and 160,144 people in the county. After being invaded by the Xiongnu, the imperial court moved the population to Xihe County, and most of the twelve counties were also abolished. Since then, the Hu people in the northern steppes have become stronger and stronger, the Han people have become weaker and weaker, and the surname of Dingxiang has also continued to move inward.

By the time of the Great Sui, although the setting of Dingxiang County was still maintained, there were less than four households in the county at this time. It is more appropriate to say that it is a county, rather than a buffer zone between the Great Sui and the Turks. Most of the people stationed in the county were the border guards of the Sui Dynasty and their families. There are very few real surnames left.

In the early morning of this day, on the grassland not far from Dingxiang County, dozens of grassland cavalry wearing fur hats and animal skins roared past. They came from Dingxiang County, with undulating mountains behind them. These steppe cavalrymen were all men and two horses, carrying bows and arrows on their backs, and galloping on horseback.

After climbing a hillside, you enter a long, narrow valley with steep walls on both sides. After a period of galloping, the terrain changed abruptly, and there was no more hillside woodland. In front of them was a wide mountain valley.

The early spring sun shone warmly on the bodies of these steppe cavalrymen, shining the scimitars at their waists. The cavalry did not stop at the mouth of the valley, but headed straight for the middle of the valley. There, there were endless tents like clouds, in which countless Turkic soldiers were resting.

The group of knights rushed into the vast tent group without stopping, and galloped towards the big tent with a huge golden wolf's head printed on it in the Chinese army camp.

After a while, the knight turned over and dismounted, and then entered the big tent, and reported to the Shibi Khan in the tent: "Qi Qi Great Khan, we have penetrated more than a mile into the territory of Dingxiang last night, and found that the Sui army has retreated to Mayi County to garrison, except for some scouts in the entire Dingxiang County, there is no one soldier. ”

In the big tent, the leaders of the various tribes of the grassland gathered at this time. All of them were dressed in armor and with sharp blades at their waists, and at the fore stood the younger brothers of Shibi Khan, Churo and Jieli, and his son Tuli.

After hearing the news that the Sui army had retreated to Mayi County, all the Turkic nobles cheered, they waved their weapons and shouted excitedly: "It seems that the Sui army is also timid, and when they see our Turkic army pressing in, they retreat. This time, we will definitely let the banner of victory be planted on the land of the Central Plains! ”

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