In the middle of the night, the north wind was bitter and the rain was pouring down, and the cold was biting.

Xue Shao and his entourage secretly went out of the camp with six horsemen, looking to the east and quietly marching forward.

The large Turkic military camp of 50,000 or 60,000 people occupies an extremely large area. Against the camp of the Tang army, the ranger scouts patrolled day and night, and the lights of the arrow tower were not extinguished. No matter how capable the scouts were, it would be difficult for them to penetrate deep into his barracks. Therefore, it became a top priority to grasp the movements of their soldiers and horses.

Only then did Wu Yuan come to report urgently, saying that in the rear of the Turkic camp, there were suddenly many troops and horses frequently driving out. But their goal was obviously not to target the Tang Army of Nuo Zhenshui, but to the northeast. According to rough estimates, nearly 5,000 cavalry members set off from Yuanzhen's camp in batches within half a day.

Moreover, they are light soldiers who have died down, and the possibility of launching a surprise attack is quite huge.

This is so abnormal!

No matter how good a scout is, he can't replace his own eyes. Yu Xue Shao decided to go and investigate it himself.

After walking dozens of miles in the dark in the wind and rain, Xue Shao felt that he was about to stiffen, and only his eyes could move. Especially when lying on your stomach in a pile of dead grass soaked in muddy water, it feels ...... It's so cool!

As Wu Yuan said, the Turkic rear camp was lit up with soldiers and horses, and there were still many cavalry members setting off one after another, heading to the northeast.

Northeast?

Xue Shao secretly thought to himself in his heart, that was the direction of the Turkic people's own lair. Yuanzhen chose to send his men to the Northeast on such a rainy night, what can he do?

A quiet retreat in batches?

This is unlikely. Because the two armies are very tight against each other, unless Yuan Zhen gives up more than half of the soldiers and horses to die in the palace, don't think about slipping away. However, the battle situation has not yet evolved to the point where Yuan Zhen has to be withdrawn, and he will not take the initiative to make such a huge sacrifice stupidly.

Could it be that there is chaos inside the grassland and needs Yuanzhen's urgent help?

After thinking about it for a while, Xue Shao thought that this possibility was not too great. Now that the Turkic Khanate had stabilized internally, the tribes could no longer amass a limited resistance force. Otherwise, the Turks would not have invaded the south in a big way. Even if there were occasional sporadic rebellions, it would not be Yuanzhen's turn to send troops back from the front.

What else could it be?

For a moment, Xue Shaobai was puzzled.

"Young marshal, will you go back first?" Wu Yuan whispered, "This place is within the reconnaissance range of the Turkic rangers, and in a few moments, their cavalry will be routinely patrolling by." ”

"Okay, let's get out first!"

After retreating to the camp in the wind and rain, Xue Shao first soaked himself in a large bathtub filled with hot water. When the frozen body was about to recover, the thoughts in Xue Shao's mind gradually opened.

- Ambush!

The cavalry attacked lightly, either rushing to the aid or intercepting the ambush!

But to the northeast is where the Turks' lair is located, and how can Yuanzhen's enemies appear there?

Could it be that the Khitan and Xi launched a surprise attack on the Turkic rear?

Xue Shao's mind lit up slightly, although this possibility is small but not impossible, this is exactly the situation I am more eager to appear. But in terms of the current situation of the Khitan and Xi people, sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight is their most rational choice. If I had come forward to persuade Li Dayu, the prince of the Xi tribe, and Sun Wanrong, the commander of the Khitan soldiers and horses, the positions of the two tribes might have changed.

But the problem is that at present, I have not been able to get any contact with the Khitan Xi people, let alone reach a tacit understanding of military cooperation. Then, these two clans will definitely not attack without permission and easily involve themselves in this big war.

"In this way, the possibility that Yuanzhen is going to ambush the Khitan and Xi tribes can be ruled out again." Xue Shao muttered to himself, but another thought was gradually taking shape in his mind, "However, I can find a way to enlist the military assistance of the Xi and Khitan, invite them to attack from the flank, and form a joint flank attack with me, so that it is difficult for Yuanzhen to take care of both the head and the tail." ”

But the immediate priority remains...... What are you going to do?

"It's cold!"

Xue Shao Douran exclaimed, only to realize that he had been soaking in the bathtub for too long, and the water was cold. When I looked out of the tent, it was dawning.

All speculation can only be speculation. The best way to find out the enemy's intentions is to do a fire reconnaissance!

Xue Shao hurriedly dressed and armored, and went to the Chinese army to beat drums and gather generals.

The tent is raised, and the generals are gathered.

"We're going to fight. Who wants to be a pioneer? Xue Shao said straight to the point.

"Me!"

"I'll go!"

"I'll go, I'll go!!"

The generals have been invited and rushed to be the first.

The long-term confrontation has been dull for too long, and the generals have already panicked.

Xue Shao raised his hand to stop the quarrel among the generals, and said: "The three vanguard divisions, each with a thousand people, all rode lightly into battle. ”

The generals couldn't help but be stunned, and someone immediately said: "Young Marshal Xue, when General Wang commanded the battle before, our army had a fight with Yuan Zhen once. The war proved that if our army fought against the Turks with light cavalry, it would not have much advantage. ”

"The vanguard is only for attacking and luring the enemy, not for the entanglement of war." Xue Shao said, "If the enemy counterattacks on a large scale, the vanguard must lure the enemy deep after fighting and retreating; If the enemy is not able to defend itself, the vanguard must also withdraw to its base camp before sunset. ”

"I see!" The congregation will wake up and no longer doubt.

"In view of this, the commander will select three middle-level generals of Yue Cai to be the vanguard." Xue Shao said, "Now, the captains and captains who have invited the Yue cavalry from all provinces have come to the tent. ”

Middle-level generals at the rank of lieutenant and lieutenant are generally not qualified to participate in military meetings convened by the commander-in-chief. But whenever there was a battle, they had to personally lead their soldiers to charge into battle. They are the most important grassroots generals in the Tang army, and the most important battlefield commanders.

Due to the special nature of this battle, Xue Shao had to teach them face-to-face.

Not long after the order was issued, a small team of eighteen people stood neatly in front of Xue Shao.

The Anxi Tiger Division had an army of 50,000 and about 13,400 cavalry, of which 6,000 were cavalry. The 6,000 Yue cavalry were divided into six provinces, each of which had one lieutenant and two lieutenants.

This is definitely an ultra-luxurious configuration in the Tang army. Thinking back to the heyday of the Shuofang army, all the soldiers and horses exceeded 100,000, and the regular cavalry was only more than 10,000, of which the Yue cavalry was not more than half, which had already counted the 3,000 jumps of Xue Chuyu's department, a special "independent regiment" directly under the commander.

Xue Shao came to the eighteen people and personally selected the generals. Among them, Xue Shaodouran saw a familiar face.

Xue Shao stopped in front of him, "Name, position?" ”

"Zhao Yijie, Xun Yifu Yue Cavalry Captain!"

Xue Shao smiled slightly, "You are the first pioneer." ”

"Yes!!" Zhao Yijie straightened up and roared like thunder.

Apparently, he was excited.

A moment later, the vanguard of the three-way Yue cavalry set out from the Tang army camp and launched an intrusive attack on the Yuanzhen camp in the form of a trident. Immediately afterwards, 12,500 infantry and cavalry (the establishment of a whole army) led by Xue Shao left the camp and set off. The big shield was in the center of the front Mo knife and rode lightly on both wings, and the soldiers of the whole army brought enough bows and crossbows and arrows, ready for a big battle.

Xue Shao was thinking about "fire reconnaissance", but he couldn't let Yuan Zhen easily know that this was just a fire reconnaissance. In fact, such a fire reconnaissance could also evolve into a real war at any time. No matter what the purpose of Yuan Zhen's strange actions in the rear army was, Xue Shao was convinced that he would never do good deeds to learn from Lei Feng. Then it is necessary to create a little trouble for him, and he must not make it easy for him.

It's on.

The two armies were not far apart, and the three-way vanguard had just appeared in the Turkic sphere of influence when they encountered their head-on resistance. According to Xue Shao's advance instructions, the three-way vanguard first fought to kill the enemy, and then fought and retreated with the intention of luring the enemy to chase, and then Xue Shao would lead the main force to come forward to kill.

This tactical arrangement is very simple, and on paper it seems that there is nothing brilliant about it. But when it comes to the battlefield, everyone is fighting desperately, and it is difficult to calm down, and it is often easy to succeed in a lure and a chase. This largely depends on the personal ability of the battlefield commander, so Xue Shaocai has to personally choose the general.

The three vanguards executed their tactics very well, and the Turks caught up.

However, when the main force of Xue Shao's troops just appeared in their field of vision, the Turkic pursuers ran away without hesitation, without any intention of fighting.

At the moment of the enemy, the officers and men of the Tang Army let out an angry roar, waiting for a big battle.

But Xue Shao decisively ordered, blew the horn, and Mingjin withdrew his troops.

The purpose of today's fire reconnaissance has been achieved. It turned out that Yuan Zhen had already made adequate preparations for Xue Shao's surprise attack. Even the troops he sent to fight in response to the battle, like the three-way vanguard sent by Xue Shao, had already received clear instructions before the war - to resist the invading enemy, but absolutely not to fall in love with the war.

In this situation, if Xue Shao connived at the army under his command to chase and kill the past, he would inevitably suffer a head-on blow. Yuanzhen's pre-made preparations were unusually sufficient. The men and horses he sent from the rear army did not make him lose his strength greatly.

After withdrawing the troops and returning to the camp, the generals were either indignant or annoyed or unwilling, in short, none of them were happy. After holding back for so long to fight a half-battle, it's no wonder they are resentful.

"Rest easy." Xue Shao said to the generals, "Get ready for the upcoming Armageddon!" ”

As soon as Xue Shao said this, all the generals were suddenly full of energy and resentment, and they all hugged their fists and promised.

"Loose bills." Xue Shao ordered, "Let those three pioneer officers come to see me!" ”

The three vanguard officers soon arrived, each reporting the number of kills and casualties. Because it was only a small local battle, the results and casualties were not large. But what made Xue Shao feel a little surprised was that when the mid-lane vanguard was raiding forward, he captured two unlucky little scouts of the enemy army alive.

The pioneer in the middle lane is Zhao Yijie.

"You two stand down. Zhao Yijie, bring the captives! ”

Scouts are often the eyes and ears of the manager. Xue Shao really hoped that he could pry something useful out of their mouths.