In the northwest, Yizhou is located at the beginning of the northern branch of the Silk Road after the Anxi region, and is also located at the boundary between the desert and the grassland. And the most important thing is that after the Silk Road was unblocked, not only all kinds of special products from the grassland gathered in Yizhou and were transferred to distant places, but also various products from the Central Plains began to accelerate the circulation, making Yizhou quickly prosperous after the Tang Dynasty occupied Guazhou and opened up the Hexi Corridor. Prosperous trade, coupled with the early development of local irrigated agriculture, led to a sudden increase in population, and in addition to the Uighurs, there were also a large number of Han Chinese, steppe Hu people, and Zhaowu people living in Yizhou. It's just that Yizhou is not far from Jiaohe City, the center of Gaochang Uighur rule, and is an important border town on the eastern border of Gaochang Uighurs, so it played a role as a bridgehead in the process of fighting against the Tiance army. However, in the previous ambush under the command of Wan Yi, the two Uighur armies were severely damaged here, and the Uighur army, which had lost its combat strength, simply relied on the city walls to hold on and wait for reinforcements. After the big victory of the Western Expeditionary Army, the main force went south to relieve the difficulty of the sandbank, and by the way, it was also necessary to pay attention to the southern front to recover Boxian Town and Khotan and other places, so the battle stalemate was not until April, as the Anxi Corps made significant progress in Khotan and made direct contact with the eastern sandbank, Wan Yi returned his attention to the Yizhou front line and planned the next stage of the strategic plan.

"Marshal, according to the urgent report from the dark guard, the two Uighur generals in Yizhou City have asked for help from the rear, and it is possible that reinforcements will arrive in Yizhou in the near future." After Wang Houchun left, Zhao Si also came to the Yizhou front line with the army and began to take over the command of the entire northern Xuanyingwei, so when Wan Yi held a high-level meeting of the Western Expeditionary Army, he first came out to report the information received in advance.

After Zhao Si finished speaking, Gao Siji and Liu Xuan walked to Wan Yi's side, and the two pointed to Yizhou and said at the same time: "Dashuai, our opportunity has come." After the two finished speaking, they looked at each other and smiled, Gao Siji nodded at Liu Xuan, who knew that Gao Siji was promoting and testing himself, and immediately continued: "The marshal might as well use Yizhou as a bait to attract the other party to come to help, and then send the main force of troops and horses to ambush on the main transportation arteries from Yizhou to Jiaohe City and Qiuci, and implement the siege and reinforcement plan." ”

Liu Xuan's words made everyone present nod for a while, the focus of the siege is on this siege, it is to encircle the city that the other party has to save, in order to attract the opponent's soldiers and horses to gallop to help, so as to run thousands of miles and annihilate the enemy's city. However, Wan Yi is obviously skeptical that Yizhou can play a role in this. After the two main Uighur forces were broken up by themselves, in fact, the strength of the Uighurs was close to the limit, and when the domestic army could not be transferred eastward on a large scale, they would inevitably drag down the entire battle situation if they clung to this important border town and hesitated to advance, and it was easy for the other side to win a respite after a long battle. Therefore, Wan Yi unconsciously rejected Gao Siji and Liu Xuan's proposal, and said: "According to the confession of Prince Halle, the main force of the Uighurs in Gaochang is only afraid that more than half of them will be defeated by us, and if the other side wants to gallop to aid Yizhou, there are only two ways, one of which is to sign that the young and middle-aged people of each department are enlisted in the army, but as far as I know, the Uighurs are basically on their horses as soldiers, and they are nomadic on horseback. That is to say, the young and strong can only be selected by selecting the children of other ethnic groups or sending the old and young to the battlefield, and they will not understand the hidden dangers in this. Another option was to rely on the Ansi Uighurs and get them to send troops in. Do you think that relying on the squattery relationship between the two Uighurs, the Uighurs of Qocho would be relieved to let the Anxi Uighurs enter in a hurry when their own forces were empty? ”

"So I think that as long as our army attacks Yizhou on a large scale, Hamoud and Jiamu and others in Yizhou City will definitely retreat as soon as possible and retreat to Xizhou." Wan Yi pointed to the location of Xizhou on the map and continued: "Xizhou is located in the east of Jiaohe City, the center of Gaochang Uighur rule, and it can be said that it is their eastern gate. Moreover, as long as we lead our army to Xizhou, it is equivalent to leaving our rear base for more than 700 miles, and there are areas under their control along the way, which is to attract our main force to leave the rear, and then harass our rear supply line with all our might, thus causing our army to fall into the predicament of lack of food and ammunition on the front line. ”

"What the marshal said is very true, our army is deep into the enemy's territory, and once the logistics supply line is attacked, it will inevitably make it difficult for us to continue, and we will even face the division of troops to protect the rear supply, and then rely on the superiority of cavalry to consume our forces halfway." Tuoba Siji nodded, and said with Wan Yi's analysis: "According to General Mo's opinion, it is better for us to directly occupy Yizhou, and then encroach step by step, and use anti-guest tactics to enter the other party's territory little by little." It's slow, but the results are visible. ”

"Although General Tuoba's method has few hidden dangers, the problem is the same, that is, it takes too long to give the other party a chance to breathe, and most importantly, our logistics will consume too much because of our slow movement." Chai Jia couldn't bear this kind of turtle speed march, so he said directly: "If I want to see it, it is better for us to change to cavalry, so that we can fight in a mobile way." With cavalry and infantry, fight a mixed battle in the northwest region, let the opponent retract the main force back to Xizhou between the dilemma, and then we will concentrate the main force to attack the city and take Xizhou, so that Jiaohe City will be completely exposed to our army. Chai Jia thought of a way to actually fight against each other, while the main force of soldiers and horses was advancing, he selected cavalry to fight against the opponent, forcing the other party to retreat to Xizhou for defense. The basis for the implementation of this method is that the Western Expeditionary Army fundamentally has no infantry in the real sense except for the Modao Battalion, and its main strength is cavalry, but it becomes infantry after changing clothes, and even Chai Jia's department can ride and gallop.

Tuoba Siji saw that the plan he had just proposed was vetoed by Chai Jia and was about to argue, but suddenly found that the plan proposed by the other party was more of his appetite, so he didn't care about anything else and hurriedly gave Chai Jia a thumbs up, obviously actively agreeing with the other party's opinion. However, before he finished speaking, Shi Jian beside him directly stabbed Tuoba Si and continued: "You two are planning to let our Modao Battalion act as coolies to attract each other's attention for you?" ”

Gao Siji had been thinking about Wan Yi's words, but when he heard Shi Jian's argument, he hurriedly waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. He was the deputy marshal of the Western Expeditionary Army, so everyone stopped talking, only to hear him look at Wan Yi and smile: "The handsome man is really smart, he found the weakness of the other party at a glance, and it took a long time to understand the mystery and admire it." ”

"Now that Brother Si has understood, I might as well tell everyone." Wan Yi was also deeply surprised that Gao Siji's mind was so quick, so he waved his hand to signal him to continue to explain to everyone. Wan Yi did come up with a similar, but not Yizhou-centric large-scale strategic idea, but after Gao Siji guessed it, Wan Yi also planned to test the deputy's strategic vision.

Gao Siji saw Wan Yi nodding at him with a smile and immediately continued: "The idea conceived by the chief of staff and me just now to attract the opponent to rush to help, and then besiege the city to help, seems to be difficult to achieve at present. Then the other towns in the Uighurs of Gaochang would certainly not be able to play such a central role, and their importance would not be important enough. Therefore, we need to choose an important town that the Uighurs have to save and then besiege the city to help, so that we can truly attack and save it. Gao Siji pointed to a map, it was Jiaohe City, and Liu Xuan smiled at his gesture: "The two marshals are really smart, Jiaohe City is the location of the royal court of the Gaochang Uighurs, if we besiege it, then the entire Gaochang soldiers and horses are bound to quickly concentrate towards Jiaohe City, and in the cold of the lips and teeth, the Anxi Uighurs should not sit idly by and watch us destroy the Gaochang Uighurs, so it is bound to attract the Uighurs of Gaochang to come, so that we can mobilize the entire Uighur soldiers and horses around Jiaohe City with Jiaohe City as the center." When the time comes, we are free to decide how to respond to the enemy according to the situation. After Liu Xuan finished speaking, he looked at Wan Yi, and a touch of admiration flashed in his eyes, this commander was clearly using this to let the entire Uighurs follow his baton, and the initiative of the Northwest Campaign had been unconsciously in the hands of the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army in front of him. In a short period of time, he was able to guess Wan Yi's thoughts, and Gao Siji also had an extremely sharp mind, and he also had his own thoughts about battle prediction. So Wan Yi looked at Gao Siji and Liu Xuan nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "What the two of you said is right, in this battle, we are going to mobilize the main Uighur force to move towards Jiaohe City, so as to choose the right terrain and timing along the way to completely annihilate the opponent's reinforcements, so that Jiaohe City will become the center of a whirlpool, and the surrounding Uighur armies are constantly trying to move the water in the center of the whirlpool, and what we have to do is to cut off these currents in the middle." After this battle, we will completely annihilate the living forces of the Uighurs, so that we can quickly pacify Yanqi, Qiuzi and other places and take Anxi completely in the next step. ”

"Don't worry, all the officers and men of the Western Expeditionary Army are ready and ready to be dispatched by the commander at any time." Gao Siji and Liu Xuan glanced at each other and stood up in unison and saluted Wan Yi, while behind them, Shi Jian and other generals also got up, with serious expressions.

"Very good, we have been marching into the northwest for almost a year and a half, and it's time to recover the whole of Anxi and report to the emperor." Wan Yi nodded, and said loudly: "The chief of staff immediately sent an order to Zhang Sheng's Anxi Corps, ordering them to lead an army to raid Shule in early May, so as to attract the Anxi Uighur forces to retreat, remember to tell them to make a pre-battle feint, and ask Xuanyingwei to cooperate in covering their strategic intentions if necessary." Gao Siji's initial order was far away from Khotan's Anxi Corps, and Zhang Sheng was given a month to make as many feints as possible to avoid being prematurely perceived by the Anxi Uighurs of his strategic intentions.

"Shi Jian and Chai Jia, leading the Modao Battalion and the Eleventh Corps as the main force to attack Yizhou with all their strength from tomorrow, and Yizhou City must be taken within three days." Wan Yi looked at the undulating walls of Yizhou City outside the tent and nodded: "If Hamoud and Jiamu lead their troops to abandon the city and flee, General Tuoba, you must lead the cavalry corps to strike along the way, and wipe out the other party along the way as much as possible, but if the other party escapes back to Xizhou, don't continue the pursuit, but instead move to the edge of the desert south of Jiaohe City, and do a good job of tactical feints." Wan Yi said to Tuoba Siji: "General Tuoba, your cavalry corps is the only formed cavalry corps equipped by my Western Expeditionary Army, so after you arrive in the area south of Jiaohe City, you must not find out to the other party, at least not easily expose it before the main army surrounds Jiaohe City." Wan Yi pointed to the location south of Jiaohe City and said, "When the time comes, I will ask Xuan Yingwei to assist you throughout the whole process, and convey the latest orders when necessary." ”

"The Seventh Corps needs to make a detour to the north immediately after General Tuoba's cavalry corps launched a pursuit, and hide at Daze north of Jiaohe City to wait for the enemy." Wan Yi saw that Tuoba Siji understood his intentions, and then turned to Gao Siji and nodded, "As for the specific tasks of the Seventh Corps, I don't think I need to say more, right?" ”

Gao Siji bowed his hand and said: "Please rest assured, the Seventh Corps will resolutely complete its mission, ensure that it will cut off the Uighur army's road of aid when necessary, and cooperate with the main force to complete the battle to encircle and suppress the Uighurs in Gaochang." ”

"Alright, the Modao Battalion and the Eleventh Corps can go and prepare for the siege." Wan Yi motioned to Shi Jian and Chai Jia to immediately prepare for the siege, and then said to Liu Xuan: "Chief of Staff go and cooperate with them to deal with the logistics and ammunition distribution of all roads, and prepare early." Tuoba Siji, Gao Siji and Liu Xuan saw that Wan Yi was about to go out after explaining the task, and when Wan Yi suddenly stopped Gao Siji.

"What else do you want to command?" Gao Siji was a little puzzled, but still asked with his hand down.

"Brother Si knows that there is another Shatuo tribe near Yizhou, right?" Wan Yi waved his hand and motioned for Gao Siji to sit down and said, "What I want to tell you is that Shi Jianjiao escorted Li Ke's youngest son Li Cunqiao from the grassland to Luntai, and settled in Yizhou all these years. In the last battle, Shi Jianjiao led the cavalry to rush to the aid of Cao Rengui, and was killed by the Third Corps near Shicheng. And Li Cunqiao fled back to Yizhou in the last ambush. ”

"Now it is imperative for Datang to recover the northwest." Wan Yi patted Gao Siji, who looked a little uneasy, and nodded: "Before, Xuan Yingwei had already reported Li Cunmiao's news to Chang'an, and the emperor instructed that as long as Li Cunmiao laid down his weapons and surrendered to Cheng at that time, Datang would not embarrass him." Back then, the battle for hegemony in the Central Plains was Li Keyong's business, and he was still young at the time, so he had little to do with this matter, so he would not blame him. Therefore, Brother Siji, I want you to try to intercept Li Cunxuan when the city of Yizhou is broken, so that he does not follow the Uighurs, otherwise the sword on the battlefield will be ruthless, and if you are injured by mistake, won't it make it difficult for you Shatuo brothers? ”

Wan Yi's words made the corners of Gao Siji's mouth twitch, but he still bowed respectfully to Wan Yi, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Dashuai, Siji will do his best in this matter." Although Li Cunqiao is the young master of Siji in the past, time has passed, and now Siji is a member of the Tang Dynasty, and his allegiance is also to my Tang Dynasty and the emperor. Thanks to the emperor's tolerance, he not only forgave Li Cunmiao's past sins, but also sympathized with the last general, and the last general was inexplicably grateful and would do his best at this time. But please don't delay the overall situation for the sake of my Shatuo clan, if there is disharmony, please don't scruples. In fact, Gao Siji also knew a little about Li Cunxiao, but he was a subordinate of Li Cunxiao in Li Keyong's time, and his loyalty to Li Keyong was better than his loyalty to Li Cunxiao, so he didn't pay much attention to this matter. But Wan Yi spread out this matter at this time, which shows that he did not suspect himself because of this matter, but put himself in his own shoes. Moreover, Li Xuanqing's place in Chang'an must have come to such an instruction because he came to the Western Expeditionary Army, so he specially explained that it was to make him feel at ease, so as not to embarrass himself when things came to an end. This kind of king and commander think about everything for their subordinates, and even be able to take into account their subordinates, this mood made Gao Siji particularly moved.

"Well, in that case, I won't say more, let's go and prepare for battle. The ordinary people of Shatuo are innocent, so I hope that no matter what Li Cunqiao is, you need to pay more attention to them after the war and integrate them into the big family of the Chinese nation as soon as possible and become a member of my Datang. Wan Yi smiled slightly.