Winter on the prairie seems to come very early.

The next day, after Xue Shao got up, he took the first breath when he walked out of the tent, and he felt a chill of autumn invade his lungs. He couldn't help but be stunned, turned his head and asked Guo An beside him, "What day is today?" ”

"General, today is the sixth day of the eighth month, and it looks like the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching." Guo An replied.

Xue Shao couldn't help blinking, time flies so fast, it's only a little more than a month before my wedding with Princess Taiping!

Wu Ming, who was nearby, seemed to see Xue Shao's thoughts, and said: "Son, it seems that we have to speed up the pace to solve the grassland problem, but we can't delay your wedding date because of this." ”

Xue Shao frowned, "Right now, we can only focus on military affairs. ”

Wu Ming nodded, and said again: "I think that Pei Gong also has such a plan in his heart, and he will not let the war delay your wedding." If the grassland problem has not been completely resolved a month before your wedding, his old man should make other arrangements. ”

"Then we'll talk about it then." Xue Shao said, "As soon as Japan does not step down, I will have a heavy responsibility for one day, and I don't have time to think about other issues." The battle of Yudu Jinshan is not the success or failure of the first battle, it is related to the entire Qianli grassland and the surrounding peace of the Tang Dynasty in the next few decades. My marriage is nothing compared to that. ”

Wu Ming hesitated for a moment and whispered: "Gongzi thinks like this, but I'm afraid that the people in the court don't think so." If the son delays the marriage and does not return for a long time, I am afraid that something will happen. ”

Xue Shao smiled faintly, what happened, did the princess want to withdraw from the marriage?

This thought flashed in his mind, and Xue Shao's mind suddenly became very complicated. In terms of personal feelings, he does have some feelings between himself and Princess Taiping, and he is willing to tie the knot with him and spend this life together; But in terms of interests and willingness, I never wanted to be a colt of the Tang Dynasty.

These two thoughts were almost as firm in Xue Shao's mind.

Very contradictory!

"Report - Xue Changshi!" A scout flew over and dismounted and reported, "The former army general has come to ask for instructions, when to launch an attack on Mt. Dujin?" ”

"What's the matter, the evil can't be stopped?" Xue Shao waved his hand, "Bring me the military book!" ”

The scout hurriedly sent the military letter, and Xue Shaozhan saw that it was a handwritten letter written by Cheng Wuting, the words were not very beautiful, and the language was very concise, just one meaning - the morale of our army is high, and the former army is actively asking for war!

Wu Ming said: "Childe, Cheng Wuting pretends to have power over you, and he will be the first to support your authority, and he will not force the palace to embarrass you." Since he sent such a military letter, it means that the generals of the former army are all eager to fight, and he cannot disobey the will of the generals and be forced to come to the war in desperation. ”

"That's right." Xue Shao breathed a sigh of relief, Lian Zhan Lianjie's morale was high, and the soldiers who had been on the expedition for a long time were eager to return home, and now it was possible to imagine how eager the soldiers of the former army were to invite them to fight.

However, if you want to hurry, you can't reach it, and now the enemy's forces in Yudu Jinshan are still on alert, and if you launch a general attack at this time, even if you win, the Tang army will suffer heavy losses. Moreover, what Xue Shao wanted to do most now was to wear down the fighting spirit and will of the enemy in Dujinshan. Only by defeating them by will and then defeating them with an army can we truly win. Otherwise, even if the Turkic people in Yudu Jinshan lost the first battle, they would not really be convinced!

Pacify the grassland, attack the heart first. This is the strategy that Xue Shao and Pei Xingjian formulated together at the earliest.

"Guo An, pen and ink waiting." Xue Shao said, "I personally replied to the evil general!" ”

"Yes!"

Xue Shao wrote a letter, asking Cheng Wuting to appease the soldiers and rest for a while, on the grounds that it would take time for the grain and grass to be transported, and continue to besiege the enemy in Dujinshan without attacking. In addition, you may wish to take out all the spoils and distribute them to your sergeants to calm their emotions and maintain their fighting spirit and morale. At the same time, Xue Shao promised that he would definitely take Yudu Jinshan within half a month, and the whole army could return triumphantly!

The scout went away with the book.

Xue Shao exhaled softly, and Wu Ming laughed on the side.

"What are you laughing at?" Xue Shao asked.

Wu Ming whispered: "Childe is wise, this military letter will definitely be able to stabilize the former army." ”

"How so?" Xue Shao smiled.

Wu Ming replied: "The reason why Cheng Wuting came to ask for war was only because he couldn't resist the invitation of all the generals under his command to fight together, and he was afraid of offending the anger of the public, so he shirked to Gongzi's side. It can be seen that Cheng Wuting himself actually supports Gongzi's decision and is not in a hurry to fight. Childe immediately gave a reasonable response here, a grain and grass transfer was not completed, and then the spoils of war were distributed, and the most important thing was to give a half-moon period of the decisive battle promise. With these three things, Cheng Wu is quite enough to hold down the generals under his command! ——The generals in front of the front are connected and cooperate closely, which is the key to victory! ”

"So what do you think I should do now?" Xue Shao asked intentionally.

Wu Ming hugged his fist and said, "The son has already been in his chest, so why bother asking me?" ”

"Work together, you can say it!" Xue Shaodao.

Wu Ming smiled and said, "Aren't those Tiele chieftains in the tent of the commander of the Chinese army all the pioneers of the death war recruited by Gongzi?" Regardless of whether they succeed or fail, their defection will be an extremely heavy blow to the Turks! - As long as the morale of the Turks is corrupted, the rest will be much easier! ”

Xue Shao laughed when he heard this, and couldn't help but think to himself that I had really ignored such an important talent as Wu Ming before, he was not only a scout expert with very rich experience in warfare, but also my retainer and more importantly, he was extremely resourceful - such a talent should stay by his side and act as my henchman and thinker!

"Wu Ming, in the future, you will be in charge of my military writings and ink, and you will serve you in the morning and evening." Xue Shaodao.

"Yes!" Wu Ming very solemnly hugged his fists and promised.

Later, Xue Shao and his party came to the tent where the chieftains of Tiele were imprisoned, and the people guarding the tent reported that these people had eaten and drunk so much that they had not woken up from a hangover.

"Where's Fu Nian?"

"He stayed up all night and is still sitting there."

Xue Shao walked into the tent and took a look, and sure enough, the tent was full of smoky wine, and the Tiele chieftains were drunk everywhere, snoring loudly. Only Fu Nian sat alone on the seat, his face expressionless and his eyes were cold, as if everything in front of him had nothing to do with him.

"The whole world is drunk and I wake up alone, Ashina Gong, it's really different." Xue Shao walked over, picked up a glass of wine and gestured, "Have a drink?" ”‘

Fu Nian didn't say a word, poured a glass of wine, and drank it with Xue Shao.

"Well, did you convince them?" Xue Shao smiled and asked, "Are they willing to surrender?" ”

"I didn't say a word to them." Fu Nian's voice was a little hoarse and low, but his tone was calm, "Actually, I don't need to say a word at all, these people also know what to do." ”

"You seem to be disappointed in them?" Xue Shao couldn't help laughing.

"There has never been hope, so naturally there will be no disappointment." Fu Nian sighed, "For the sake of the mountain, it fell short." It seems that it will take at least two generations of hard work and bloody struggle for the Great Turkic Khanate to rise. ”

"You're not dead?" Xue Shao couldn't help frowning.

Fu Nian suddenly laughed, "I have failed, but this does not mean that I have lost my will and ideals!" ”

Xue Shao took a deep breath, "You are indeed different from these Tiele people. ”

"So I don't want to say a word to them." Fu Nian stood up, "General Xue, please take me back to my original residence." ”

Xue Shao waved his hand, and Guo An and the others took Fu Nian away. When he was about to leave the tent, Fu Nian looked back at Xue Shao, and it happened that Xue Shao also glanced at Fu Nian sideways, and the eyes of the two collided in the air, almost like a dark battle of thunder and lightning handover.

In Xue Shao's heart, Dou Ran increased the pressure again.

In fact, the general trend on the grassland, Xue Shao knows better than anyone else, because he understands the trend of this period of history. The Tang Dynasty nominally ruled the steppe for fifty years, but the fifty-year policy of restraint also fed the Turkic ambitions for restoration. It grows like a weed in the hearts of the Turks, but the Tang Dynasty has never noticed it. The fact that the two steppe rebellions in succession became more ferocious each time, and the size of the rebels became larger and larger each time, was the result and proof of their ever-expanding ambitions. At present, even if he can kill all the rebels in Yudu Jinshan, he will not be able to completely eradicate the desire to restore the country that remains in the hearts of the Turks.

In the final analysis, the Turkic question is no longer something that the generals can solve. What kind of policy will the imperial court adopt to target the grassland, this is the key!

But such a major national policy is not only Xue Shao himself can't intervene, Pei Xingjian can't intervene, and no one in the Northern Expeditionary Army can intervene.

That's something that the two saints and the prime ministers in the government hall can decide.

If the appeasement policy of the imperial court is in place after this victorious return to the dynasty, the grassland may be peaceful for a while; On the contrary, if there is something wrong, the grassland will inevitably rebel. If there is another grassland hero similar to Fu Nian, or more powerful than Fu Nian, appears, the Qianli Grassland will be completely out of the control of the Tang Dynasty...... The revival of the Turkic Khanate is not a fantasy!

——In Fu Nian's eyes just now, this is the signal that was transmitted!

"General, did you wake them up?" The left and right guards came up to ask for instructions, interrupting Xue Shao's contemplation.

Xue Shao nodded, "Give some food to treat, and the wine will not be needed." Then I told them to come to the Chinese army account to meet me! ”

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, more than 30 chiefs and generals of the Tiele clan obediently came to Xue Shao's military tent. In front of the tent, there are many halberds and banners, and the left and right swords and axes are awe-inspiring, and these chiefs have changed the debauchery and rudeness of yesterday, and they dare not come out.

Envy and power, Xue Shao showed his mighty side today.

Without further ado, Xue Shao went straight to the point and expressed his intentions, "Leaders, what do you think?" ”

"We are willing to submit to the Tang Dynasty, swear allegiance to the two saints of the Tang Dynasty, and swear to follow General Xue to the death!!"

The leaders obviously discussed, not only in the same tone, but also in the same posture, even the movements of touching their chests and worshipping were so uniform.

"Those who know the times are Junjie, and the leaders are doing the right thing." Xue Shao smiled slightly and said, "There is no basis for your words, what do you use to prove your loyalty and obedience?" ”

The leaders seemed to have expected Xue Shao to ask this question, and one of them said first: "As long as General Xue can trust us, you can let us go back to pack up the soldiers and horses!" ”

The leaders immediately scrambled to shout, as if they were unfaithful if they spoke slowly—

"We are willing to be the vanguard and help General Xue break through Yudu Jinshan!"

"General Xue can appoint a Tang general to be our commander, and we are willing to join forces and obey the reprimand!"

"All the soldiers, horses, food and grass, we will prepare by ourselves, and we resolutely don't want General Xue to have a soldier or a grain of food!"

"I am willing to use the heads of the Turks as a gift for us to return to the Tang Dynasty to show our allegiance!"

……

Looking at the performances of these people in front of him, Xue Shao couldn't help but smile coldly, these Tiele people know some rules, and they also know that Lu Dao is on the list!

With a sudden slap on the desk, Xue Shao stood up proudly. The leaders of Tiele were startled, and instantly closed their voices collectively, looking at Xue Shao in surprise.

Xue Shaoha's big laugh twice, "Okay! - I will let Xue Chuyu, the Ghost Moon General who is most respected and feared by the grassland people, be your coalition general! He will lead your tribesmen and horses to attack the capital of the mountain! ”