In the second year of Xianqing (657 AD), February 13, the hour of Chen.

The crusade against the Western Turks, the army of the northern road of the imperial court, gathered at the west gate of Luoyang City. Li Jiu came to the city gate in person and arranged the departure ceremony for Su Dingfang to practice. Wu Kang and three hundred security guards were incorporated into the Su Dingfang Guards and listened to Li Jiu's teachings.

Xiaoqing and Mei Niang also came, tirelessly chattering, and they were not allowed to charge. Their words, if Li Jiu's ears are heard, will definitely be angry. Mei Niang repeatedly emphasized that the purpose of going out with the army was to mix some merits and play soy sauce gilding.

Come back to do a thousand cows, walk with a knife in the palace, and protect me closely. Even put aside the cruel words, if you dare to rush into battle, cut your right and wrong, and always be by my side. Wu Kang's scalp was numb, his crotch was cold, and he swore that he would go to make soy sauce.

Mei Niang obviously didn't believe it, so she temporarily sent a watcher, and Chu Shenke was incorporated into the guard. Immediately the speech ended, the tedious ceremony was completed, and the army marched on time. Visually less than 3,000, all ironclad cavalry, went to the west to learn scriptures.

In fact, the sixteen guards of the Southern Ya only lead the soldiers of the world from afar, and the general has no military power. In the event of a war, the emperor temporarily appointed the chief of the marching armies. The various forces of the national Zhichong Prefecture, the local prefecture and county magistrates, the sixteen guards of the Southern Ya, and the general manager of the marching army restrained each other, and no one could control the army alone. In this way, the scattered government soldiers were still under the direct control of the emperor.

An urgent official document was issued, and from Luoyang to Xinjiang, all prefectures and counties gathered government troops and stationed near official roads. The chief steward gathered along the way, like a snowball and a snake, and the team gradually grew. In March, when he arrived in Yongzhou, there was a surge of more than 30,000 people, and Wu Kang received letters from his mother's family.

Retaliation has begun, and Chu Suiliang, the governor of Tanzhou, was demoted to the governor of Guizhou; Li Jiu's third son, Li Sujie, was promoted by King Xu to King Xun. This is just a signal, he was born to Concubine Xiao Shu, and with Mei Niang's urine, it is estimated that he will be killed.

In the middle of March of the second year of Xianqing, Li Yifu, the secretary of the Zhongshu Province, served as the Zhongshu Commander of the Zhongshu Province, and concurrently served as the imperial historian of the school; Du Zhenglun, the waiter of the Yellow Gate, concurrently serves as the secretary of the Duzhi Shangshu, and is still the same as the three products under the Chinese book. Mei Niang frequently wrote letters, and there was nothing to talk about in the letters, and Wu Kang was flattered.

In May of the second year of Xianqing, the army went out of the inner road of the pass and entered Liangzhou, the right road of Longyou. At this pace, the army will arrive in Xinjiang for at least November. Ancient wars were too troublesome, and the transportation conditions were hard, and if there were railways and trains, the Western Turks would have been killed long ago.

The boring march relied on Mei Niang and Xiaoqing's family letters to pass the boring time. Bai stayed by Su Dingfang's side, learned the art of war and strategy, and did what he could. Such as grain and grass statistics, medical alcohol sealing, health monitoring and so on.

In August of the second year of Xianqing, more than 100,000 troops marched to Dunhuang County, Shazhou (Dunhuang City, Gansu Province). Yumen Pass on the Gobi Desert, there should be pretending to be forced here, Wu Kang shook his head: Why should Qiang Di complain about the willows, the spring breeze does not pass the Yumen Pass. The big guys climaxed, and Su Dingfang praised him and praised him for his civil and military skills.

After passing the Yumen Pass, he received the letter from his mother's family, and the political storm began. Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong, according to Mei Niang's instructions, reported Han Ying and Laiji. said that they colluded with Chu Suiliang, coerced Guizhou to use it, and wanted to do bad things.

Of course, this is slander, Li Jiu pushed the boat down the river and began to clean the valve of Guanlongmen. Han Ying was degraded to Zhenzhou Thorn History, that is, Sanya City, Hainan Province, and went fishing at the end of the world; Laiji was degraded to Taizhou Thorn History, that is, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, east of Wuzhou; Chu Suiliang was degraded to the history of Aizhou's assassination, which is the Thanh Hoa of Vietnam and the depreciation of New China.

At the same time, they were ordered to never return to the court, and Guanlong was a triumvirate of the three giants, and their political careers were over. The eldest grandson Wuji's henchmen have all been cut off, and he is isolated and helpless, which is the next target. Wu Kang was ecstatic, you also have today, and my revenge is being avenged.

The Wuzhou official robe cutting incident, you forced me to death, and now I will be punished. And that's not all, it won't be long before your lives are in danger. Three big mouthfuls of evil breath in a row, it is estimated that Mei Niang can't find the north at this time. The great hero Xu Jingzong was promoted to the provincial servant, and Du Zhenglun replaced the Zhongshu Order.

Happy events followed, and the general manager Su Dingfang allowed him to participate in the big guy's military meeting yesterday. Although they have no right to speak, they are only responsible for serving tea and pouring water, planting small flags on the sand table, etc., to cooperate with their military exercises. However, I also learned a lot from hearing and seeing.

became more and more intimate with Lao Su, and asked alone at night what he didn't understand. Lao Su also patiently answered, and asked him to tell a story, that is, in "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and "Speaking of Tang", the story of Su Dingfang, the one who was hacked.

appeared as a negative character, and the three generations of the old Su family were all against Li Tang. Su Dingfang fought against Jingbian Hou Luo Yi, and secretly shot Luo Yi with poisoned arrows. Outside the Zijin Pass, he lured Luo Cheng into a quagmire and shot the white tiger Luo Cheng with random arrows.

Lao Su laughed heartily, Luo Yi was not killed by me, and which one is Luo Cheng. The story was told quickly, the relationship grew by leaps and bounds, and on this day, in the internal account of the Chinese army, Lao Su received the official documents of the imperial court and sighed. Wu Kang was very puzzled, and asked tentatively: "What happened to the imperial court, and why is the teacher sad?" ”

Su Dingfang sighed, in the first year of the Western Turkic War, the court punished it. He was the commander of the former army, and he encountered 20,000 Turkic cavalry, and led 500 cavalry to meet the onslaught. The Western Turks were defeated, and the Tang army pursued for 20 miles, killing more than 1,500 enemies. This is the shining point of Lao Su, the famous one in the history books, Su Dingfang broke the formation with 500 pieces.

Later, when something dirty, Wang Wendu, the deputy director, gave Cheng Yanjin a bad idea: although he won this time, the officers and soldiers also suffered casualties, and they couldn't rush to chase the poor. It is recommended to form a phalanx by yourself, step by step, advance layer by layer, and wait for the enemy to attack.

In order to persuade Lao Cheng, he falsely claimed to have a secret decree of a saint, indicating that he was a prisoner of the army and controlled the war on the Western Front. Lao Chengxin thought it was true and ordered that he should not chase deeply, thus delaying the fighter. Our sergeants rode all day long, wearing heavy armor in the harsh winter winds, the supply of grain and grass was not timely, and the men and horses died of frostbite from time to time.

Wu Kang was dumbfounded, and he was sure that Wang Wendu definitely had no secret purpose, but was just jealous and jealous.

Su Dingfang sighed and said helplessly: "I think so too, and persuade General Cheng that the purpose of going out is to annihilate the enemy, not to sit in trap and defend himself." The saint regards you as a general, and it is impossible to give a secret edict to his deputy. Let's arrest him first, and then fly the watch to play, and it will be revealed. ”

Speaking of this, Lao Su smiled bitterly: "General Cheng didn't listen, the army arrived in Hengdu City, and thousands of Hu people surrendered. Wang Wendu went so far as to say that when they waited for the officers and soldiers to leave, they would inevitably rebel again. It is advisable to kill them all and seize the money and supplies. Tell me what is going on, we are officers and soldiers who beg thieves, not thieves who rob. ”

Who's to say it's not, damn Wang Wendu, a typical pig teammate. Wu Kang was a little depressed, and after a moment's consideration, he said: "Cheng Yanjin didn't listen to you, but listened to Wang Wendu, and sent soldiers to kill people and slaughter the city." When Ashina Helu heard this, he had no idea of surrendering anymore and fled with the remnants? ”

Su Dingfang nodded: "What I said is right, our army is short of supplies, so I have no choice but to return to the court." Wang Wendu should have been sentenced to death because of the edict, but the eldest grandson Wuji came forward to vouch. His life was saved, he was removed from his post and reduced to a common man. Cheng Zhijie was implicated and saved his life, but he also lost his official position and resigned. ”

Wu Kang recalled carefully, this Wang Wendu is not incompetent. He has made brilliant achievements, made several meritorious deeds, and his mind needs to be improved. Cheng bit Jin I's fame, and he ended up in the late season, which is sad and lamentable.

Suddenly thinking of something, the corners of his mouth pulled out a sly smile, and asked Lao Su tentatively: "Wang Wendu is pretentious, and with Cheng Biting Jin's shrewdness, it is impossible not to see it." Teacher, tell me, did he deliberately do this, defile himself to protect the family? ”

Su Dingfang frowned, and shook his head slowly for a long time, the saint is generous and benevolent, and there is no such thing as a meritorious master. Wu Kang also felt that it was, so he smiled and quipped: "Lao Cheng's glorious retirement is a godsend for teachers." Taizong does not reuse you, and this time you will destroy the Western Turks, and you will usher in the peak of your life. ”

The fact is that Cheng Biting Jin will not step down, and Lao Su will not be able to come to power. Su Dingfang also understood, and said angrily: "Sai Weng lost his horse, I don't know if it's a blessing, it's too early to say this." For the division to do everything in their power to destroy the Western Turks. It's not too early, go back and rest, and march quickly tomorrow. ”

Wu Kang bowed, went back to his tent, chatted with the brothers for a while, and pondered under the bed. It is believed that only by destroying the Western Turks can the Western Regions be stabilized and the Silk Road can be controlled. Without the Silk Road, the export of silk and porcelain would be blocked, and the economic reserves would be greatly reduced, and the Tang Dynasty would have declined.

The rest of my life is still the same, marching during the day, missing my wife and daughter at night, and the journey is quite boring. Ten days later, Su Dingfang ordered the army to speed up and reach the vicinity of Jinshan before the moon.

In October of the second year of Xianqing, it entered the Turpan Basin and bypassed the towering Tianshan Mountains. Finally, at the beginning of the lunar month, I came to the west side of Jinshan, which was the Altai Mountains in later generations. The grievances of this battle, the entire two years of Xianqing, were wasted on the march.

Less than 100 li ahead, there are five tribes of the Western Turks, including Chumukun, Huluwu, Sesheti, Turgish, and Ratnishi. The first to bear the brunt is the Mukun Department, nomadic in the Tacheng area of Xinjiang Province.

The front-line spies reported that Tong Jin (leader) of the Mukun Division, Lazy Dulu gathered 30,000 cavalry and waited for him fifty miles away. The first battle finally came, Su Dingfang ordered the whole army to rest and recuperate, and on the sixth day of the lunar month, a military meeting was held.

The participants were: the general manager Su Dingfang, Yan Ran all protected Ren Yaxiang, the deputy capital protected Xiao Siye, Hui Khan Yao Luo Ge Po Yan, and the right leader of the army Xue Rengui. and Wu Kang, who is a professional miscellaneous worker, responsible for serving tea and pouring water, and planting flags on the sand table.

After consultation, the bigwigs decided that tomorrow, the army would leave Jinshanbei (western Mongolia) and fight head-on with Chu Mukun. At the end of the meeting, Su Dingfang gave the order: "Xue Rengui, the leader of the right army, will lead your 5,000 elite cavalry as the left wing of the front army." ”

Xue Rengui promised, and Su Dingfang continued: "Yao Luo Ge Po Yan Khan, led the Hui Jing cavalry, as the right wing of the front army. The deputy capital of Weinan protected Xiao Siye and counted 3,000 cavalry as follow-up reinforcements; Du Hu Ren Yaxiang, commanded the infantry of the rear army, and steadily advanced. ”

Orders and arrows were issued one by one, and all the participants got up, and Su Dingfang made a final statement: "This is the first battle of our army, and I hope you will work together without any mistakes." The old man once again reiterated that he must win the first battle and must win. ”

Everyone promised to leave, Wu Kang cleaned up the venue, and when he saluted and said goodbye, he was left behind by Lao Su. The two sat down, Su Dingfang groaned, and said lightly after a while: "Han Feizi once said that the prime minister must start in the state and county, and the general must be sent in the army. I guess I understand what I mean. ”

Wu Kang was a little stunned, his face showed joy, and he nodded like pounding garlic: "An official who is not a magistrate is not qualified to be the prime minister; A general who is not a soldier is not a qualified general. The teacher's meaning is that he will send me to fight tomorrow, and that would be great. ”

Lao Su smiled kindly, sipped tea lightly and smiled: "Don't be anxious to change, I will send you to join the battle at the right time." You once commanded Wuzhou to quell the rebellion, and you took the lead in fighting the rebels. But the pattern is too small, commanding thousands of troops, you are still too far behind. ”

This could not be refuted, Wu Kang accepted it humbly, and Lao Su continued: "You are the uncle of the dynasty and my disciple, and your status is high enough. Before the disaster relief cut official robe, in the hearts of ordinary sergeants, there is also a lot of prestige. Let's start with a petty officer, I'll make arrangements, let's go back and rest first. ”

As long as there is an arrangement, not to travel, Wu Kang is happy in his heart, and respectfully salutes and leaves. The military order has been issued, the whole army has begun to prepare for battle, and the atmosphere is solemn. When they returned to the camp, they were surrounded by brothers, all of whom were bellongs.

The helmet is hung on a horizontal rack, the horizontal knife at the waist is removed, and the low couch is sitting, grabbing the roast leg of mutton, and eating first is full. After feasting, he took the sheepskin wine bag, poured a few sips of wine, glanced at everyone, and said angrily: "Look at your virtues, all of them have green eyes, so you want to join the war?" ”

Lin Pinglang smiled and nodded heavily: "Of course I want to participate in the war, we are all ordinary people, and we don't know a few big characters." If you want to get ahead, you have to fight on the battlefield, and you have to make war exploits. We're not far away, we're not here to play, right? ”

Everyone thought so, and they all screamed strangely, provoking the patrolmen. Qian Shun scolded a few words with a smile, and said with a lot of concern: "The queen asked you to take credit, you must not be happy, and you can't eat the food that comes from you." We are prosperous and secure, and we can earn credit by ourselves, and we don't need charity from others. The big guy gave an accurate sentence, will we go to the front line, will we join the war? ”

Without hanging their tastes, the wine bag was handed to Zhao Sheng, pondering for a moment and replied: "Tomorrow is the first battle, the teacher will definitely come in person, we are the pro-guards, so we will naturally go to the front line." As for whether he could enter the war, he was vague and said that it would be at the right time. ”

This is a perfunctory word, everyone was quickly discouraged, and Zhao Sheng was very dissatisfied: "At the right time, in my opinion, it's just a matter of cleaning up the battlefield." Our prosperous security is no worse than the elite of the government soldiers, why can't we fight? Otherwise, you can intercede and let us take the lead, and we will definitely not embarrass the manager. ”

Without waiting for Wu Kang to reply, Chu Shenke coughed dryly: "Forget it, the queen has explained several times, and the big guy is not allowed to rush to kill." The brothers all understand that our boss is the heart and soul of the queen. If something goes wrong, we'll all have to be buried together. ”

Qian Shun scoffed and mocked Chu Shenke: "The original Chu Shenke assassinated the big guy alone, but now he has become a soft egg." The big guy is not a weak scholar, he is an ancestor who kills, when did he not take the lead in the charge? I said Lao Chu, his courage is getting smaller and smaller, and he has been hollowed out by wine? ”

Chu Shenke snorted lightly, rolled his eyes and retorted: "It's not a joke, the queen is very powerful, from what she says to what she does." General Su is not an idle person, he will arrange it, and the entire northwest war situation will not be criticized by us. When the time is right, he will send us, don't be in a hurry. I said, brothers, do you really want the big guy to become a eunuch? ”

As soon as this remark came out, the hall burst into laughter, and the patrol soldiers were provoked. The soldier smelled the wine and looked directly at the sheepskin bag, saliva coming out. Wu Kang sneered, and threw the wine bag over: "It's okay to drink, don't drink too much, beware of military law." ”

The patrol thanked you again and again, and you howled as much as you wanted, and I will never come again. He left beautifully, Wu Kang chuckled, coughed dryly, and solemnly: "The queen loves me, I can't embarrass her, and you don't embarrass me." Lao Chu is right, if you want to ban it, if it affects the overall situation, I can't protect you. ”

Everyone responded to the promise, Wu Kang gathered his little brother, and whispered: "Eat and sleep enough, and arrange the equipment, especially the life-saving gold." If captured, buy your life with gold. Remember to me, no matter when and where, life comes first. Don't say much else, let's go and rest. ”

The brethren nodded, went back to their bunks, and slept under the covers. After drinking, the patrol came over to deliver the wine bags, and was stunned for a moment. The barracks are silent, and the swords and soldiers are neatly displayed, which is neater than the lady's boudoir. These Wuzhou soldiers can eat, drink and sleep, which is really enviable.

On the seventh day of the lunar month, the dull trumpet sounded, and everyone got up immediately. Putting on battle armor for each other, orderly and fast, they are all bright light battle armor. Fifty security guards were divided into two columns, and after receiving the order of the boss, they took weapons in turn and went to line up outside the camp tent.

Wu Kang wore a helmet, hung a horizontal knife on his left waist, held a flail stick, and slowly left the camp. Three hundred brothers, the formation is complete, and the three phalanxes are as tall as pine. Looking at the Tang Army camp again, there are several sparse military formations, all of which are disorganized.

Sure enough, there is no comparison, there is no crit, wine bags and rice bags, you guys. Wu Kang scoffed, turned to face the stable, and ran with a shout. The neat footsteps, the unfurled cloak, pulling the wind in the barracks. The soldiers of the government all looked sideways, no matter what their combat power was, and they looked pleasing to the eye.

Ran out of the stables, untied the reins, and galloped to the meeting place. The grassland was empty, there were only a few big guys, and the Wu soldiers were the first to arrive. Wu Kang stepped forward, clenched his fists at them, and said loudly: "The Wu camp of the Grand Guard, three hundred and one people, has all been fully equipped, please instruct the general." ”

The big guy nodded with satisfaction, Su Dingfang waved his hand, Wu Kang went to his side, and Wu soldiers guarded behind him. After a boring wait, the army finally assembled, and the marching order was given, with the cavalry marching in front and the infantry behind. Along the north of Jinshan, advance in an orderly manner, and enter the Mukun Division.

There are no people along the way, and the flags cover the sky and the sun, and the birds of Jinshan are frightened. The blue sky, the green grassland, the evil air that reaches the sky. I don't know how long I walked, a figure appeared in front of me, it was the Mukun cavalry, and the black pressure could not be seen.

The two sides were five miles apart, and the army stopped marching and began a pre-battle standoff. Wu Kang looked around, the gray enemy army was in formation, and there was a red shadow standing out from the crowd. At the front of the military formation, in the middle of the team, it should be lazy and quite sassy.

The three armies were silent, the horses were restless, and the hooves were kicked. Two clouds of evil qi, spreading in front of them, intertwined in one place, spreading all around, enveloping the circle. Half a quarter of an hour later, Xue Rengui left forward, Yao Luo Ge Po Yan right forward, and Xiao Siye was back. The front army is all in position, escorting the elite cavalry of the Chinese army, and the attack is about to begin.

Su Dingfang groaned, suddenly looked at Wu Kang, and said undoubtedly: "The rate of change is three hundred Wu soldiers, as well as the right Lang general's left Xuan Department, and the right guard Zhang Dingyuan's department, a total of two thousand cavalry. Can it be done as the vanguard battalion of the front army, allowing it to act cheaply and killing the front army of the enemy camp? ”

Wu Kang was stunned, and he really didn't dare to think that he would become a pioneer battalion. His breathing was fast and heavy, his face flushed for a while, his fist slammed into his chest, and he almost roared: "Please rest assured, I will live up to the trust and eat the former army of Mukun." ”

Su Dingfang nodded, ordered the arrow to pass on, and the vanguard quickly assembled. Wu Kang harnessed the dou skull, came to the front of the military formation, turned the horse's head and watched. In the middle is the Wu soldiers, headed by Chu Shenke; On the left is the Weinan soldiers, and Lang is the commander of Zuo Xuan; On the right is the right guard, led by Lang general Zhang Dingyuan.

immediately raised his voice, and shouted in the loudest voice: "My surname is Wu Mingkang, the disciple of the chief manager, the cousin of the queen, and the director of the pioneer battalion." From now on, your life is mine, and my life is yours. Brothers, for the sake of Datang, charge with me—"

The war drums then sounded, and Wu Kang took the lead and rushed to the front. Dou Qi Ma was too brave, and he took dozens of steps to drive the vanguard, but Chu Shenke couldn't catch up, and scolded his mother angrily. The big guy is still that virtuous, as long as he enters the battlefield, he is the master who does not want to die.

The distance was quickly drawn, the hot blood began to burn, and the corners of his mouth were torn out hideously. Adjusting to his best condition, Wu Kang arched his waist, pulled out the two-stone strong bow, and aimed at the red shadow. In the battle for the destruction of the Western Turks, the first arrow was fired.

The enemy camp mountain shouted a tsunami, surging like a tide, and thousands of horses galloped for a while. Wu Kang's brain turned sharply, and the feather arrow took the bow again, and threw it at the sky by feeling. The arrows on both sides were intertwined, and the wails sounded instantly, and the cavalry fell off their horses one after another.

At this moment, there is no distraction, calmly throwing the second arrow, and the strong bow is inserted into the lock sleeve. Raising the flail stick, spinning the hexagonal iron, stepping on the stirrups with both feet, shouting and roaring, to meet the cavalry impact...