The two generals, Xue Ne and Tang Xiujing, also attended the meeting, but they had a calm temperament and had been listening carefully all the time, and had not yet interjected.

"Be careful, Hugh Jing." Xue Shao politely addressed their cousins. Tang Xiujing's original name was Tang Xuan, with words.

"In!" The two generals stepped forward to promise.

"I order you to defeat Nanya in one go and recover Shan Yu Duhufu! If necessary, I will personally lead the army to help you! Xue Shao ordered.

"The last will be ordered!" The second will be generous in promise. They just waited for Xue Shao's order, and then they went on a big fight.

"But that's just the first step." Xue Shao said, "Just now you heard about the Western Surrender City and the Middle Surrender City, you must have guessed it a long time ago, and there is also the Eastern Surrender City. ”

Tang Xiujing said: "Does Xue Shuai want to rebuild the Shan Yu Duhu Mansion and build a surrendered city there?" ”

"Yes." Xue Shao said, "Over the years, there has been a little unrest in the north, and our Shan Yu Du Hu Mansion was the first to suffer, and the Turks had killed Shan Yu Du Hu Mansion Sima Zhang Xingshi earlier. This is not only a wound for the people, but also a great humiliation for the country. I don't want anything like this to happen again. Therefore, I will garrison and I will build cities. I want the Protectorate to be not only a yamen official mansion, but also a powerful military fortress. In addition, I will use beacon towers and elite soldiers to connect the three surrendered cities into one, so that it will become a new Great Wall to the north of the Great Wall. I want to push the battlefield between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks more than a hundred miles from our border! ”

When the generals heard this, they were all excited. After fighting with the Turks for all these years, regardless of victory or defeat, Datang's own cities and people have always suffered. If the three surrendered cities can really achieve the effect expected by Xue Shao, it will definitely be a blessing for the country and the nation!

Xue Ne, who has always been taciturn and moody, stepped forward and clenched his fists: "After the construction of the East Surrender City, the last general will ask for orders to lead the army to garrison!" ”

"No one is better suited than you." Xue Shao smiled, and said in his heart that my clan brother has always been "wooden" enough to be able to kill people in a hurry, but this time he is clever!

Tang Xiujing also wanted to take the initiative to ask for help, but seeing that Xue Ne had already taken the lead, he didn't say anything more.

Xue Shao looked around at everyone, "What questions do the generals have?" ”

"Nope!"

Xue Shao waved his hand, "Except for Guo Yuanzhen and Zhao Yijie, they are all scattered." ”

All the generals left, leaving only Guo Yuanzhen and Zhao Yijie.

Xue Shao said: "Zhao Yijie, I want to give you a special task. ”

"Please give an order to Xue Shuai!" Zhao Yijie clenched his fists.

Xue Shao said: "I want to go to Fengzhou with Guo Dudu to do something that you may not like to do." ”

Zhao Yijie blinked, "Please also ask the young marshal to make it clear?" ”

"I want you to go, hug your thighs." Xue Shao said.

"Huh?" Zhao Yijie was really stunned.

Xue Shao smiled and said, "At the beginning, I kicked you out of the Thousand Horses. Now, I want you to return to your hometown and return to the Imperial Guards. ”

"The last general...... Not too clear. Zhao Yijie was still confused.

Guo Yuanzhen laughed on the side and said, "Xue Shuai is asking you to curry favor with Li Duozuo, the general of Zuo Yu Linwei, who is now recuperating from his injuries in Fengzhou. This is what Xue Shuai said, hugging your thighs, right? ”

"Yes." Xue Shao smiled and nodded, "Nuo Zhenshui also suffered heavy losses in the first battle against Yu Linwei, including some important middle-level generals. Zhao Yijie, Li Duozuo will be a good thigh. ”

"But ......" Zhao Yijie seemed a little reluctant, and whispered, "The last general hopes to stay by Xue Shuai's side and charge into battle to defend against foreign enemies!" ”

Guo Yuanzhen patted Zhao Yijie on the shoulder, "Xue Shuai does things reasonably, you will understand in the future." Now you don't have to hesitate to ask, come with me! ”

"Okay......" Zhao Yijie nodded a little blankly.

Xue Shao walked up to him and said to him, "I might as well reveal a little secret to you." Sooner or later, we will meet in the capital. ”

Zhao Yijie's eyes lit up, "The last general understands!" The last general is going to pack his bags! ”

Xue Shao smiled and nodded, and Zhao Yijie hurriedly left.

"Your hands are beautiful." Guo Yuanzhen said, "The elite soldiers and strong generals have all been arranged in Monan by you, so as to prevent them from scattering in a hurry after returning to the court." ”

Xue Shao smiled slightly and said, "The three surrendered cities and the Thousand Miles Beacon Tower, plus the special weapons that will appear in the future, should be able to prevent the Turks from going south easily." Even if there is another war, I have pushed the battlefield forward by hundreds of miles, and our prefectures and counties and people will no longer be devastated by war as before. ”

"For the country and the people, this is your great achievement." Guo Yuanzhen frowned, "But have you thought about it, you have made such a military policy without asking for instructions, and you have also left the elite soldiers and horses outside and handed them over to your henchmen and subordinates." Empress Dowager Wu, what will you think? ”

"She's just trying to kill me, and I'm afraid this thought has been in her mind for a long time." Xue Shao spread his hands and said nonchalantly, "Then what does it matter if I do one or two more bastard things that make her unhappy?" ”

Guo Yuanzhen was stunned, "You are really not in a hurry to have a lot of debts, and you don't itch with lice!" ”

"Over the years, I have been careful to forbear. So far, I have summed up a lesson. Xue Shao said, "Appropriate caution is, of course, essential. But if you blindly endure without being afraid, you will not be able to accomplish anything. In the end, you have to be ridden on your head to and pee. ”

"Makes sense." Guo Yuanzhen smiled and nodded, "Then you have been bullying me, don't I have to endure it?" ”

"Yes, if you can beat me." Xue Shao stared at his panda eyes and sneered for a while, and said, "According to the system of our dynasty, after the Northern Expedition army returns to the dynasty, except for a small number of troops who will be left behind to garrison the capital, most of the other men and horses will be scattered everywhere. The generals will also return to the DPRK to take up their posts, or they will go to different stations to take up new official positions. If I don't spare a few hands, I will be a bare-chested general when I return to the court. Maybe someone will remember what I've done, or respect my reputation. However, no one is afraid of a general who has no prestige but no soldiers. ”

"So you left three surrendered cities. This can not only prevent the Turks, but also ensure that the elite of the Northern Expedition army will not disperse, and can also leave a family foundation and a back road for themselves. Guo Yuanzhen nodded, "The method is not bad." But if something happens to you in the capital, how can the three cities thousands of miles away save you? ”

"It's really at that point, don't talk about three cities, a hundred cities can't save me." Xue Shao smiled, "But don't worry, such a thing will not happen easily." ”

"I'm still worried." Guo Yuanzhen frowned and shook his head, "With the troops outside, you are invincible in the world." After returning to the dynasty, who are you the opponent of the Empress Dowager Wu? ”

"When it comes to power struggle, I am indeed no match for her." Xue Shao said, "But what is the core of politics? ”

Guo Yuanzhen blinked, "Governing the country." ”

"Yes." Xue Shao smiled slightly: "The core and ultimate goal of politics is to govern the country. All power struggles are just means. In this general direction, the goal of Xue and Empress Dowager Wu is unified. The key is that Xue has neither the bloodline identity of the imperial power, nor the ambition to bring chaos to the world. Therefore, I will not have a fundamental conflict with her. Even if there will be some open and secret battles in the future, it will be harmless minutia. ”

"This is also the reason why Empress Dowager Wu has repeatedly tolerated and compromised you, right?" Guo Yuanzhen asked.

Xue Shao nodded, "If it were a prince of the Li family who did something like me, he would have died eight hundred times long ago." Besides, she can be counted as one of my teachers. She knows all about my ambitions, my character. ”

"I'm much more relieved to hear you say that." Guo Yuanzhen breathed a sigh of relief, "Despite this, try to be as cautious as possible after you return to Beijing." There are many heroes and famous generals who have been killed by kings throughout the ages. ”

"Put a hundred hearts, I'm not tired of being alive yet." Xue Shao snorted angrily and said, "Besides, the conditions have not been negotiated, and I will not return to the dynasty easily if I don't get a little capital to settle down." ”

"That's good!" Guo Yuanzhen laughed, "You have a good talk, be a big official!" If you mix well, we can eat and drink spicy food! ”

Xue Shao smiled and said nothing, Guo Yuanzhen was not rough in his words. Now there is more than one Guo Yuanzhen, who is "eating mixed rice" with him.

"Now, I can go back to Fengzhou with peace of mind and be the commander of my feudal general!" Guo Yuanzhen said.

"Go ahead!"

After Guo Yuanzhen left, Xue Shao sat down and took a breath of lightness, thinking in his heart: Guo Yuanzhen's words should have spoken the hearts of many Northern Expedition generals. After returning to the court, whether I, Xue Shao, can live for a long time and whether I can gain a long-term foothold in the court will be directly related to their own life and death.

"I'm no longer alone. Rather, it represents, a military faction! ”

The next day, the two vanguards of Dugu Zhizhi and Sha Zha Zhongyi, and the front of the main force led by Xue Ne Tang Xiujing, the three teams of men and horses accelerated and rushed straight to the Turkic South Ya and Heisha City.

The battle soon began. Although there were not too many Turkic soldiers and horses, they sat on the "home field" to wait for work, and the resistance was very stubborn. In the face of the Tang Army's three-way attack, they seemed to have no plan to withdraw at all, and were only fighting desperately.

The Tang army had the upper hand, but it was difficult to win completely for a while.

Xue Shao led most of the main force to move forward steadily, and kept receiving battle reports from the front. He judged that the group of men and horses who were guarding the black sand were the dead cannon fodder after the bones were broken. Their purpose was to prevent the Tang army from delaying time, so that Gu Lulu would have more time to retreat to Mobei Laolai with a number of tribes and soldiers and horses.

So a general suggested that our army should quickly take Heisha, and then pursue the main force of Gululu at full speed. But Xue Shao vetoed the proposal. The reason is that the grassland is so huge and there is no fixed city, no one knows where Gu Lulu will flee. Even if we knew, by the time we crossed the desert through the black sand and caught up with him, our army was already sleepy and tired, and the enemy was waiting for work. That is tantamount to a sheep in the mouth of a tiger.

So, take it step by step, take Black Sand City first!