The severe cold gradually receded, and the winter fur was put into storage.

To the north of the Great Wall, 100,000 troops practiced day and night.

Inside and outside Shuozhou, the battle flags are flying and the traffic is busy, and countless strategic materials are being transported from various states and counties in Hebei.

The decree of the Empress Dowager Wu has been promulgated all over the world. Xue Shao, the general of the right guard of the military department and the inspector of the school, was appointed as the general manager of the marching army of Shan Yudao, and the governor of Hebei soldiers and horses launched the third Northern Expedition against the Turks!

In the first two Northern Expeditions, the commander of the Tang Army was the late Wenxi Gong Pei Xingjian. Xue Shao personally participated in the Second Northern Expedition as a student of Pei Gong.

That war became a major historical turning point.

The Tang army won a decisive victory on the battlefield, but because of the mistakes of the government (mainly the execution of the surrendered Turkic leader Ashina Funian), it caused public outrage throughout the northern steppe. This laid a solid "mass foundation" for Ashina's resurgence of the bones.

In just a few years, Ashina Gulu started from dozens of horsemen, and with the strong assistance of Ashid Yuanzhen, after dozens of battles of iron and blood, he gradually conquered many tribes in the grassland, and launched many wars of aggression against the Tang Dynasty, plundering a large number of people, horses and wealth, thus quickly establishing a Turkic Great Khanate with the Turkic nation as the core, a vast territory and a strong army.

Therefore, some people say that the first two Northern Expeditions of the Tang Dynasty can be called "counterinsurgency battles". And now in the Third Northern Expedition, Datang is no longer facing a makeshift grassland rebel army, but a complete and powerful grassland country.

So, the Third Northern Expedition was actually a national war.

However, when the first two counterinsurgents were carried out in the Tang Dynasty, the first emperor Li Zhi was still alive, and the surrounding areas of the Tang Dynasty were generally peaceful, and the national strength was at its peak. The imperial court twice paid for the recruitment of mercenaries, both of which numbered 300,000. If the conscripted labor and the people were included, the number of people participating in the war would be no less than 500,000.

But now in the Third Northern Expedition, all the imperial court can give Xue Shao is a little strategic material that has not been robbed by the Turks in various states and counties of Hebei, and an order weighing less than half a catty. Most of the soldiers and horses needed had to be "self-helped". And when Xue Shao left Luoyang and went to the battlefield, there were only two hundred horsemen around him.

The world of Kyushu is widely spreading Xue Shao's war deeds and glory, narrating his bitterness and feats, and expecting him to defeat the Turks and revitalize the national prestige, and reproduce the glory of the Heavenly Khan when Zhenguan.

However, these are insignificant to Xue Shao. Because he has already gotten, what he wants most at the moment - Wu Zetian's compromise!

"Shan Yu Dao marching commander", the short number on the order is her compromise.

Xue Shao has calmly thought about it more than once, and the harm of the Turks is better every year. The Turkic feud is accumulating deeper and deeper. The crusade against the Turks is the will of the people. His series of actions were actually just an inducement, which induced and aroused the determination and fighting spirit of the people of the Tang Dynasty to fight against the Turks. At the same time, he can now rely on the strength in his hands to launch the Northern Expedition alone or in turn affect the political pattern of the Tang Dynasty.

Under such a big premise, Wu Zetian will no longer express her support for the Northern Expedition, unless she wants to step down and quit!

Fortunately, Wu Zetian can always make the right choice at a critical time. As for whether this choice is made willingly, it may be important for ordinary people; But for a full-fledged politician, it doesn't matter.

There is often only a paper between the shrewdness and the stupidity of the children of the common people. Because if you are too smart, you will become stupid.

But there is a world of difference between the shrewdness and stupidity of a politician.

As a woman, Wu Zetian is ambitious, has means, is very shrewd, and is also very vicious; As a politician, Wu Zetian is also shrewd and ruthless, but she is more politically far-sighted and sober about the overall situation, and she understands better than most male politicians of the same era that the essence of politics is not to prosper and perish, but to "compromise".

Only compromise is the real prerequisite for cooperation.

Xue Shao knew clearly in his heart that Wu Zetian's major "compromise" did not mean that she gave up and admitted defeat. On the contrary, this is a political investment for her, which means that she looks forward to better "in-depth cooperation" with Xue Shao, the commander of soldiers and horses, in the future.

This level of dialogue has nothing to do with any personal feelings. At this time, Xue Shao and Wu Zetian were no longer mother-in-law and son-in-law, Bole and Maxima, but two equal political figures.

However, with Xue Shao's understanding of Wu Zetian, she never looked forward to being on an equal footing with anyone.

So what will you face after returning to the DPRK after fighting a battle?

People often like to express all kinds of true opinions based on historical events that have already occurred, so as to believe that they are a hundred times better than the ancients in question. But when you are really in such a situation, who can guarantee that you will not fall into hatred for eternity?

Every time he thought of this, Xue Shao didn't bother to think about it anymore. Because every moment that follows will be a completely unfamiliar history for you, the traveler.

What history will do depends on how it will do it.

Xue Shao felt that this seemed to be very interesting.

……

The drums of war shook, and hundreds of miles were shocked. The horn breaks the sky, and the clouds fly away.

Xue Shao, the commander of the 100,000-strong army, finally rode his tall war horse again and appeared in front of his robed brothers.

Now they have a new military number, the Tang Northern Expeditionary Army!

And Xue Shao also has his new mount. The white horse captured from Yuan Zhen died of illness not long after, probably because the war horses of the Turks were not used to the horse feed of the Tang army. So the generals went together to find a new war horse for Xue Shao. In the end, they chose this tall and powerful war horse, with a golden body and a red tiger stripe on its head.

This is the baby that Cheng Wuting raised before his death. He did not invest in personal wealth all his life, but only loved to raise horses. Especially cherished this golden war horse, and treated it almost as if it were his own son. Even in the last battle of his life, he was not willing to ride.

Because it had a few locks of hairs on its two ears shaped like tiger teeth, Xue Shao named it "Tiger Teeth".

Xue Shao rode the tiger tooth and walked in front of the soldiers of the three armies, stopping in front of a huge handsome tent that had just been erected.

This is the largest handsome tent Xue Shao has ever seen, comparable to the main hall of the palace.

The sharp soldiers on both sides of the aisle are lined up, and the flags are distinct and the axes are strict.

Xue Shao dismounted, walked in from the middle aisle, and came to a handsome chair with a large bearskin.

"Xue Shuai!"

"Xue Shuai!!"

100,000 shouts, pneumatic mountains and rivers!

Xue Shao waved his hands, and the roar gradually stopped.

"Please, all the marching chiefs, marching commanders, marching horses, and generals of all armies with five grades or above, take your seats in turn!" Xue Shao spoke, and the next herald conveyed it layer by layer.

Xue Shao, the commander of the "Grand Commander" of the Shan Yudao Marching Army, also has the Commander-in-Chief of the Zhudao Marching Army, which is similar to the commander of each sub-theater or the commander of each field army under the front-line commander-in-chief in modern warfare.

Not long after Xue Shao's order, Dugu Zhizhi, Sha Zha Zhongyi, Zhang Renyuan and Yi Li Si led the group of heavy generals to enter, and took hundreds of generals and the chief Shi Sima and Lang generals of each army behind him, and lined up to enter the tent and sit down in turn.

Looking at them, Xue Shao smiled slightly, "Please, friendly generals and distinguished guests from afar." ”

Before Xue Shao's voice was completely silenced, a guy rode a horse and rushed to the gate of the Chinese army's marshal's tent, jumped down and shouted: "Tell me, am I the first to arrive?!" ”

The generals turned their heads in astonishment, and a tall and tall young man of Hu was recklessly rushing towards the marshal's tent.

"Where did you come from, unruly?" Someone whispered swearing.

Xue Shao laughed, "Let him in!" ”

The young man of Hu Ren strode into the tent, looked left and right at the generals in the ring, and said loudly: "Xue Fuma, can I call you a brother-in-law?" ”

Xue Shao made a straight face, "No." ”

"Oh......" Hu Ren's young man was stunned with an exaggerated expression, "Yes, serious, be serious!" ”

Xue Shao laughed, "But you can call me brother!" ”

The young man of the Hu people smiled, strode forward and bent his knees to his chest and knelt down on one knee, "Li Dayu, the commander of the soldiers and horses of the Xi tribe, led a hundred thousand good men of the grassland who can ride and shoot well, and came to follow my brother. Go to the soup and fight the fire, and never give up! ”

The generals were stunned - the reckless and rude Hu man in front of him was actually the prince of the Xi clan?!

"Good brother, please get up!" Xue Shao opened his arms and said in a loud voice, "Please take a seat!" ”

Li Dayu stood up and laughed loudly, "I'd rather sit in the most inconspicuous corner, so that no one can see my ugly appearance when I'm drunk - tell me quickly, where is the wine?!" ”

The generals laughed together, and Li Dayu picked a random place with a big grin, and sat down with a butt.

"Report - Governor of Yunzhou, General Xue Nexue has arrived!"

"Governor of Ulzhou, General Tang Xiujing Tang has arrived!"

The two generals obviously made an appointment to come together. The same Mingguang armor Chu red robe, both of them also have long hair. When the two of them walked side by side, everyone couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

Everyone has a love for beauty, and the style of Xue Ne and Tang Xiujing is a man among men in today's era, dignified and majestic, who is not envious!

"Xue Ne, the governor of Yunzhou, led 23,000 soldiers of the Xiang army to worship under Xue Shuai! ——Only obey the order, and move forward! ”

"Tang Xiujing, the governor of Ulzhou, led 12,000 soldiers of the Flying Fox Army to worship under Xue Shuai! ——Take the lead in breaking the formation, who else will I be! ”

"Good!!" Full house!

"Two generals, please get up!" Xue Shao opened his arms, "Please take a seat!"

"Xie Xue Shuai!" Xue Ne and Tang Xiujing took their respective seats.

Outside the tent sounded - "Khitan commander, Marshal Sun Wanrong Sun has arrived!" ”

Li Dayu, who was sitting on the ground, stuck out his tongue at Xue Shao and made a grimace, but Xue Shao was kind in his heart, but he could only pretend to turn a blind eye.

Sun Wanrong strode in in a military uniform, stood in the hall and bowed to Xue Shao, "Khitan Sun Wanrong, led 20,000 elite cavalry of our clan, and came to obey Xue Shuai's orders!" The military life is like a mountain, and the order is forbidden! ”

"Marshal Sun, it's just in time." Xue Shao nodded and smiled at him, "Please take a seat!" ”

"Xie Xue Shuai." Sun Wanrong saluted, turned his head to see Li Dayu sitting on the ground, and said with a smile on the spot: "Why is the prince sitting on the ground?" ”

"I'm comfortable, I'm willing." Li Dayu replied unconcernedly.

The crowd burst into laughter.

"That's a good reason." Sun Wanrong smiled, walked to the side, and sat in his seat.

"Almost, it's all there, right?" Xue Shao asked Guo An beside him in a low voice.

These people were all contacted by Guo An on the orders of Xue Shao.

"Well, that's all for now." Guo An replied in a low voice, "There are also some prefectures, counties, and military towns that are organizing people to raise grain and grass after receiving the imperial order. For a moment, they couldn't get there. ”

At this moment, a shout came from outside the camp - "Governor of Fengzhou, General Guo Yuanzhen Guo has arrived!" ”