At dawn, a round of tomorrow hung in the west of the night sky, and the 200,000 Northern Expeditionary Army was swearing to set off.

Shangguan Wan'er stood on the beacon tower of the Great Wall, watching the scene in front of her quietly from a distance.

"When the peach blossoms are all over the mountain, the bright moon shines on the Xiongguan." She whispered to herself, "In my lifetime, I'm afraid I won't have the opportunity to climb the Great Wall again." Looking at the Jin Ge Iron Horse, turn around and be prosperous like a dream......"

Yang Siqiao was the only one standing beside her. He didn't understand what Shangguan Wan'er was talking about at all.

Behind Yang Siqiao were two scouts like door gods. A little farther away, it was the Qianniu Guards brought by Shangguan Wan'er.

"Two generals." Shangguan Wan'er called softly.

The two scouts were not generals, but Shangguan Wan'er was obviously calling them, so the two stepped forward, "What do you command?" ”

"The two generals, when did they start following Xue Shuai?" Shangguan Wan'er asked.

"Crusade against Bai Tieyu." The scout replied simply.

"So long?" Shangguan Wan'er turned around and smiled at them, "Then can you tell me some stories about Xue Shuai's battle?" ”

Few men can resist Shangguan Wan'er's smile, and even fewer men can refuse her small request.

But Shangguan Wan'er encountered a strange thing today. The two scouts did not change their faces and their hearts did not beat, and they simply and brightly clenched their fists and replied, "Apologize, I can't." ”

Then they stepped back neatly and stood like door gods.

Shangguan Wan'er turned around, facing the vast expanse in front of her, and smiled bitterly, "Your world is so far away from me after all." ”

The 200,000-strong army advanced to the north, and the pace of the march was not too fast.

Dugu Zhizhi and Sha Zha Zhongyi are two pioneers, spying in front to open the way. Earlier, they thought that because they had served Wei and had a discord with Liu Youqiu and others, Xue Shao would settle accounts with them. But this time, Xue Shao's marching deployment completely dispelled their concerns - Xue Shuai still prefers and reuses the old generals of Shuofang!

Immediately followed by the two pioneers were Xue Ne, the general of the front army, and Tang Xiujing, the deputy. They led the traditional mixed infantry and cavalry units of the Tang Army, mainly infantry. Once a war is encountered, it is impossible for the 200,000 Northern Expeditionary troops to participate in the war at the same time. Therefore, the soldiers and horses at the front were actually the main battle troops in the early days before the full-scale war.

Xue Ne, as a general, is not as famous as his fifth brother Xue Chuyu. But Xue Shao has always been very clear that his talent is not the same type as Xue Chuyu. Xue Chuyu is undoubtedly the first general in the army and the enemy is terrified, while his eldest brother Xue Ne is steady and calm both offensive and defensive. Since Xue Rengui passed away and Xue Ne took over the helm of the Dingxiang Army, it can be concluded from his various performances that he can completely stand alone, and even rely on one side of the country.

Xue Ne's deputy, Tang Xiujing, is resourceful and brave in battle, and is a typical "Tang Dynasty Confucian general". Let him serve as Xue Ne's deputy, both as a military advisor and as a strong arm.

Tang Xiujing was originally a scholar who held a number of clerical positions and has been unknown. Later, because of the outbreak of the border war, he put pen to paper, and the result showed outstanding military talent. More than half of his military literacy comes from actual combat. At the same time, he also read military books, otherwise he would not be able to accumulate a lot.

Combining theory and practice, such a general has an extremely high gold content. In addition to being good at commanding battles, they are often strategic, and they can govern the army and the people. There are really many generals like this kind of "civil and military" Tang Dynasty, far from the ancestors of Li Jing, Li Tao and Pei Xingjian, and close to Lou Shide, Guo Yuanzhen, Tang Xiujing and Zhang Renyuan. In Xue Shao's view, a general who can read is far more valuable and promising than a general who can dance with knives and guns. Of course, people who can dance swords and spears to the realm of Xue Chuyu are another matter.

Except for the vanguard and the front and some rear troops and people who escorted the grain and grass, most of the remaining troops were led by Xue Shao himself and supervised as the central army. This is a simplified and compact marching army type, and Xue Shao would rather walk slowly than divide the team too far and stretch the battle line too long. Because this is a long-distance journey out of the pass to attack the enemy, Xue Shao doesn't want to be broken by the sudden enemy who is good at guerrillas.

On the third day of the army's departure, it had been more than 100 miles since it left Shuozhou, and neither the vanguard nor the front had found any trace of the enemy, so there was no way to start the battle. However, the battlefield scouts sent by Xue Shao had quietly sent back some important information.

The Turks, or the entire Turkic Khanate, were migrating north. They had no less than 30,000 troops left behind to defend Heisha Nanya, but most of the 200,000 main forces led by Gu Lulu had already withdrawn to Damoi, and it seemed that they wanted to flee to Mobei's old nest.

The "moraine" that the scouts refer to refers to the large desert north of the Black Sands. Xue Shao had been there before, and it was difficult to climb over the boundlessness. The Tang people often say that "desert south, desert north", the watershed is the "big moraine".

Obviously, Gu Lulu is running away from this big war. This was not unexpected by Xue Shao, and even when he was seriously ill before the Chinese New Year, when he learned that the Turks had also withdrawn their troops, Xue Shao had already expected this scene. There is no doubt that something has gone wrong internally in the Turks. And this problem is likely to be caused by Wonzhen's death or disappearance.

After learning the accurate information of the Turkic flight to the north, Xue Shao was finally able to implement his secret plan of "heaven must not be revealed". So, he called several important generals to his side and instructed them one by one.

The first person to take over this "secret plan" was Guo Yuanzhen, who claimed to be the commander of the feudal general.

"Guo Yuanzhen, you have earned, you are going to be developed." Xue Shao said to him, "You only brought fifty strong men to the battle, but now I want to give you five thousand." ”

Guo Yuanzhen laughed on the spot, "Say it quickly, who will you hit?" ”

"If you don't beat anyone, I have to let you go back to Fengzhou." Xue Shao said, "These 5,000 people were all brought out by me from Helong, and some of them are still your old subordinates. ”

"What are you going back for?" Guo Yuanzhen was very puzzled, "The big war is coming, why do you tell me to go back?" ”

"Build a city." Xue Shao only said two words.

The generals were stunned.

Xue Shao said: "Now that the main army of the Turks has withdrawn to Mobei, it is difficult for them to occupy Monan again in a short time. We will take this opportunity to consolidate our victory and move our line to the north. Fengzhou straddles the north and south of the Yellow River, and the Turks are often the first to conquer this place when they move south. The bridge over the Yellow River was burned and demolished, demolished and burned, and after all, it was not a long-term strategy to resist the enemy. Therefore, I want you to choose a good site about 100 miles north of Toyosu and build a new military town. Let it and Toyosu become the horns of each other. But there is an enemy attacking, and the front and back are fighting backwater, in order to annihilate the enemy on the north shore! ”

"Great idea!" Guo Yuanzhen took a deep breath and was greatly excited, "So, the five thousand centaurs just now will all belong to me from now on?" ”

"Of course." Xue Shao said, "They are all veterans of the rest of a hundred battles, and they are all expensive. In addition, the soldiers and horses of Yinchuan Juntun and Shuofang Old Town are also yours. Make good use of them, don't lose this banner of the Shuofang Army. Can it be done? ”

"Swear to the death to shake the guard, Shuofang banner!" Guo Yuanzhen hugged his fists and answered loudly. Rarely has he been so impassioned.

"When a new city is built, it will be called the city of the west to be surrendered." Xue Shao said.

"The Surrender of the West?" The generals were a little surprised.

"Yes. Treat it as if it were to accept the surrender of the enemy chieftain. Xue Shao nodded with a smile, looked at Zhang Renyuan who was standing aside, and said in his heart: This was originally a big project that would be presided over by you in a few decades. Now Xue has to go beyond the bounds and take a step ahead of you!

Zhang Renyuan was a little overwhelmed by Xue Shao's view, and looked left and right for a while, still confused.

"Zhang Renyuan!"

"In!"

Xue Shao pointed to a place on the marching map, "Whisk clouds, do you know?" ”

"The last general knows that it is a battleground for soldiers in the south of Yin Mountain." Zhang Renyuan replied, "When the Turks go south, they often take this way. They also built a shrine there, but they would go there to worship before they sent out their troops. Earlier, all the tribes of the northern grasslands went south from here to pay homage to the heavenly khan of our Tang Dynasty. Therefore, this passage is also known as the Road of the Heavenly Khan. ”

"Thoroughly." Xue Shao nodded approvingly and said, "The Heavenly Khan's Road is almost history. So what I want you to do is going to be very significant. ”

"Please give an order to Xue Shuai!" Zhang Renyuan was excited.

Xue Shao said: "All my 5,000 Chinese soldiers and cavalry will be given to you, and I will allocate you 3,000 foot soldiers and 3,000 civilian men and enough military funds." If you go and build a city of soldiers in the clouds, it will be called the city of surrender. I want it to be solid and don't dare to commit it, I want you to be a husband and a hundred people! ”

"Yes!" Zhang Renyuan screamed violently, and his face turned red.

Not only him, but everyone present was a little enthusiastic. However, it seems that except for Zhao Yijie.

Guo Yuanzhen's eyes can be regarded as poisonous, and his mouth is even more poisonous, and he immediately said: "Xue Shuai, you gave Zhang Renyuan all the Chinese army and Yue Qi, then Zhao Yijie will really become a bare-chested general." Why don't you send him and Zhang Renyuan to Zhuzhong to surrender the city? ”

"Nope." Xue Shao said, "Zhao Yijie, don't be unhappy. I'll keep you for another purpose. ”

"Yes!" Zhao Yijie promised.

"Guo Yuanzhen, Zhang Renyuan." Xue Shao said again, "After the surrender city of the two of you is built, the distance between them is about four hundred miles. In the intervening 400 miles, I want you to build more beacons and exchange information with each other. ”

"Between us, that's Yin Mountain." Guo Yuanzhen said.

"Yes, it's built on top of Yin Mountain." Xue Shao said, "I want the Turks to never think of taking a step over Yinshan again!" If there is, you let him die one by one, and die one by one. Die and die, and they won't come again. ”

"Good way. I like it! Guo Yuanzhen smiled.