Hexi Jiedu made Xiao Song and Longyou Jiedu envoy Zhang Zhongliang join forces with the Yellow River to attack the Tubo army to the south, and defeated the Tubo army in a place called the thirsty wave valley in the west of Qinghai Lake, the Tubo army fled south, Zhang Zhongliang led the army to pursue, captured the important base of Tubo Damomen City (now southeast of Qinghai Gonghe County), captured a large number of Tubo troops, and burned the Camel Bridge, an important liaison bridge in Tubo, and then withdrew.

At this time, the defenders of Guazhou heard the news of the Tang army's victory, so they opened the city gate and took the initiative to attack the Tibetan army and defeat them.

In August, unwilling to be defeated, the Tibetan army crossed the Qilian Mountains and attacked the city of Qilian, which was located at the foot of the mountain. Xiao Song sent the general Du Guest (the one who advised Xue Qu not to march into the Khitan in the second year of Kaiyuan) to lead an army of 4,000 people carrying a strong bow and arrow (strong crossbow) to fight, from the morning battle to dusk, the Tubo army was defeated, the general was captured by the Tang army, the defeated army scattered into the south of Qilian Mountain, the number of dead was huge, and the crying was everywhere.

After these two blows, the Tibetan army basically lost the ability to take the initiative to attack.

In contrast, the Tang Dynasty army began to take the initiative to attack, first in March of the 17th year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Zhang Shougui, the governor of Guazhou, and Jia Sishun, the assassin of Shazhou. It is the county order of the lonely city of Changle) joined forces to attack the Tubo Datong army and defeated the Tubo army.

Next, in the same month, the Tang army captured Shibaocheng, an important stronghold of Tibet (the First Battle of Shibaocheng, details of which are described in the previous chapter).

At this point, Tubo was unable to fight against the Tang Dynasty anymore, so he took the initiative to seek peace with the Tang Dynasty and return to obedience, and the battle on the Western Front in the middle of the Kaiyuan Dynasty came to an end for the time being.

After the war on the Western Front has been over for a while, let's look at the situation on the Eastern Front.

The main enemy on the Eastern Front was the Khitan tribe, and after the Khitan army defeated the Tang army in the second year of Kaiyuan, some changes took place within it.

Originally, the head of the Khitan was held by the tribal chieftain and held the main power, because when the Tang Dynasty set up a state to pacify the ethnic minorities in the northeast to pacify, the Khitan was subordinate to the Songmo Governor, so its leader was usually called the Songmo Governor.

After defeating the Tang army in the second year of Kaiyuan, there was an official named Ke Tuyu. Ben was a nobleman in the Khitan tribe, and he gradually grasped the power, and in the eighth year of Kaiyuan, he was the original Khitan leader. The governor of Songmo, Li Suogu, expelled him and later killed him.

Since then, Ke Yu has suddenly abolished the leader several times and has become a real powerful figure of the Khitan tribe.

Since Ke Yu suddenly took power, the Khitan has fought with the Tang army several times. However, the conflict was not big, and envoys were sent several times to sue for peace, but the Tang Dynasty gave cold treatment to the envoys sent by the Khitan because of their repeated invasions of the frontier, which made Ke Tu feel unhappy.

I don't keep my master here, I have my own place to keep my master", since you don't give me a good look, I'll just go find someone else. But when Tugan thought so, he attached himself to the Eastern Turkic Empire, and also coerced the Xi tribe.

Ever since Ashina was killed. The vassal states of the Eastern Turkic Empire have lost a lot, and when they pay tribute every year, they are "deserted in front of the door", and they are not deserted! Now, when the Great Khan heard that the Khitan and the Xi tribe were coming to join him, he was overjoyed and hit it off, and at the same time repeatedly sent troops to assist the Khitan in harassing the border of the Tang Dynasty.

The twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (733 AD). But suddenly, he led his troops to the border of Youzhou to plunder, and Xue Chuyu (the son of Xue Rengui and the younger brother of Xue Qu) sent his deputy Guo Yingjie, the deputy governor of Youzhou, and the deputy general Wu Keqin/Wu Zhiyi/Luo Shouzhong to lead 10,000 elite cavalry, as well as the soldiers of the Xi tribe who surrendered. Go in pursuit. When the Tang army chased to the vicinity of Yuguan, the Turkic reinforcements suddenly appeared, and the Xi tribe soldiers saw that the situation was not right and dispersed, leaving only the Tang army to fight against the Khitan Turkic coalition army, so they were defeated, Guo Yingjie. Wu Keqin was killed; Wu Zhiyi and Luo Shouzhong led their troops to flee, and there were still 6,000 troops left to continue to fight. The Khitans then showed them Guo Yingjie's head, but they still did not surrender, and in the end all 6,000 people were killed (tragically!). ）

Receiving the report of a great defeat from the front line, Li Longji couldn't sit still, the Khitan attacked repeatedly, and the two consecutive Jiedu envoys could not effectively resist the enemy, and they needed to select a capable fighter to defend Youzhou in the future. But who should be replaced, he remembered Zhang Shougui, a general who had an undefeated record, not only fought fiercely, but also had outstanding political achievements in governing the local area.

That's right, it's you, it's you! So Zhang Shougui was sent to Youzhou to serve as the governor of Youzhou and the governor of Youzhou, the governor of Yingzhou, and the deputy ambassador of Hebei Jiedu, integrating Hebei's military, civil affairs and supervision powers.

In the twenty-second year of Kaiyuan (334 AD), Zhang Shougui deserved to be an undefeated general, as soon as he took office, he gave the arrogant Khitan tribe a dismount, took the initiative to attack the Khitan army, and later made several consecutive expeditions, all of which achieved quite good results.

The reason why Zhang Shougui was able to achieve a greater victory over the Khitan in a short period of time, and the reason why the generals were invincible before, I think there is a very important factor Zhang Shougui has enough understanding of the local situation, such as the ambush and defeat of Xue Qu in the second year of Kaiyuan, the main reason is that the intelligence work is not done well, and the geographical environment is not familiar enough.

The innate advantage refers to the middle-level officer (Guo Yi) who has served in Youzhou for a long time; The acquired effort refers to the fact that Zhang Shougui attaches great importance to the collection of intelligence, and the so-called knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent and not being defeated in a hundred battles is very reasonable.

The place where the Khitan people were active was probably in the northern part of today's Hebei, the western Liaoning corridor, and the area of Chifeng in the southeast of Inner Mongolia, which had a large population, mixed ethnic groups, and complex terrain. To fight in this place, it is important to understand the terrain and terrain, and it is even more important to grasp the intelligence.

Zhang Shougui is very heavy on the use of "catching generals", before the war, they must be sent to the enemy to collect information and capture prisoners, and only when they get enough information will they march, Youzhou/Yingzhou is a place where Han and Hu people mingle,

Like An Lushan and Shi Siming, under Zhang Shougui's hands, both of them started as "life generals" and were reused.

Of course, as a general, the most important thing is to understand the changes in the environment and respond quickly, so let's see how Zhang Shougui grasps the opportunity and makes great contributions.

It is said that the Khitan tribe has not been able to live a good life since Zhang Shougui was transferred to Youzhou, and in the face of such a situation, the chieftain Li Qulie and the powerful figure Ke Tugan felt that they couldn't stand it, so they proposed to the Tang Dynasty to surrender.

Since the Kurgan had been going back and forth between the Tang Dynasty and the Eastern Turks for a long time, Zhang Shougui was also very skeptical that they really wanted to surrender, but he could not go without an answer. After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Shougui decided to plan and send an envoy to the interior to find out the truth.

Frankly speaking, this person is really not good, and he has to be clever enough. Be bold. You must know that if this envoy is known by the Khitans after seeing the clues, he will definitely be killed and killed, so Zhang Shougui can't be cautious, and finally he decides to send his own staff officer (Guan Ji). The resourceful Wang repented and went to the Khitan Tooth Tent (Songmo Governor's Mansion, in the northwest of present-day Wengniute Banner in Inner Mongolia), comforted and caressed, and proceeded by the way

In December of the twenty-second year of Kaiyuan, Wang repented and went to the Khitan tribe. Although the Khitans ostensibly made: "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome!" But its tent was still heavily guarded, and it didn't feel like it was about to surrender again. In addition, some of its tents were stationed in the northwest, and in the northwest was the territory of the Eastern Turkic Khanate, which was obviously ill-intentioned.

Wang regretted that he was in danger at this time, and if he showed the slightest clue that he understood the Khitan's intentions, he would immediately die without a place to be buried, and he would drag down the overall situation, and after thinking for a while. Wang Cheng decided to play dumb, and stayed on the grounds that he had never been to the Khitan camp and wanted to visit.

For Ke Tuyu, this is exactly what he wants, because his cooperation with the Eastern Turkic Khanate has not yet been negotiated, and if he clashes with the Tang Dynasty head-on at this time, it will be unfavorable to him, so he also wants to delay it for a while.

It was during this time that Wang Cheng found an opportunity to make a breakthrough.

It turned out that the Khitan chieftain had no real power at this time. However, the nobles in power are still divided into factions, but although they have the right to abolish the throne, they cannot directly control all the soldiers and horses of the Khitan, and there is also a second-in-command official Li Guozhu. He also has a lot of soldiers and horses, and he is usually dissatisfied with Ke Tu Yu, but Ke Tu is too powerful to openly resist.

Wang Cheng began to woo Li Guozhi, and the two gradually became acquainted, and Wang Cheng gave Li Guozhen a lot of gifts such as silk brocade from the Tang Dynasty. Li Guozhi's relatives were very happy, and they praised Wang Cheng in front of Li Guozhi, and the friendship between the two was also heating up day by day, and they were called brothers.

One day, Li Guozhu pulled Wang Cheng to a camp tent and said to Wang Cheng mysteriously:

"Brother, I think it's better for you to leave early"

"Why? Don't you welcome me? ”

"No, let me tell you, I privately heard that Ke Tu has already contacted the Turks, and he wants to secretly attack the Tang Dynasty by taking the opportunity of deception, and in order to avoid leaking the news, he will definitely want to kill you. For your own sake, you'd better hurry up! ”

Wang regretted thinking to himself, I expected it to be good, but I suddenly colluded with the Turks. However, Li Guozhi was willing to tell me the news, indicating that he really trusted me, and it seemed that something big was about to happen to this person. So he said:

"Big brother, I can go, but I'm leaving, but suddenly I must think that someone is tipping the news, and then the big brother will be in a place of suspicion."

"Don't be afraid of him! It's good if I just don't admit it, and he can't help me! ”

"Big brother, I have a mention, but before I bring it up, I have to ask you a few things!"

"Well, you ask!"

"Big brother, are you in favor of opposing the Tang Dynasty?"

"Of course I don't approve of it, in the past few years, even if we win the war, we will have to die a lot, and we will not take advantage of it at all, let alone defeat the war."

"Big brother, can you suddenly get everyone's support in the Khitan tribe?"

"It's okay in the past few years, but in the last few years, he has been tossing and turning, and many people are dissatisfied, but he controls most of the army, and everyone dares to be angry and dare not speak."

"Big brother, I have a mention, if it is successful, everyone will be prosperous and rich, needless to say, and more importantly, you don't have to look at Ke Yu's face suddenly, I don't know if my brother is willing to hear it!"

"Brother, say it!"

"Good! In fact, I came this time with the secret order of my marshal, if I can suddenly surrender not sincerely, I can act cheaply, in fact, there is already a Tang army deployed nearby to respond. My idea is that there is a banquet tonight, and we can launch a raid after the banquet to kill Kotu and his cronies. I will secretly order the Tang army to move to the periphery of the camp tent tonight, and then cooperate with you to surround the camp tent around and isolate the reinforcements that can be abrupt, so that the plan can be guaranteed to be successful, and I don't know if the eldest brother dares or not. ”

Li Guohui saw that Wang Cheng had arranged it so carefully, and thought that he had already planned it, so he agreed to implement it.

That night, according to the plan, Shun Lì cut off the heads of the Khitan chieftain Li Qulie and Ke Tuyu, and Li Guozhi led the Khitan tribes to return to Shun and presented the heads. Zhang Shougui led the army north to surrender and arrived at Zimengchuan (near the right banner of Bahrain, Inner Mongolia), where a grand military parade was held.

And Zhang Shougui's luck is really not just the Wang who called the puppy "Wangwang", nor is it the Wang that can be done by worshipping the "Wangwang" Xianbei. This prosperity is really to the extreme. Just a few days after the end of his military parade, a major event occurred in the Eastern Turkic Khanate, the current Khan Ashina Mo Thorn Company, was poisoned by his minister Meilu, although the Great Khan did not die immediately, and also commanded his subordinates to kill the traitor before hanging up. However, the unexpected death of the Han still caused the strength of the Eastern Turkic Khanate to weaken again, and Zhang Shougui lost a major opponent, and he was more at ease to sleep and eat.

Emperor Li Longji was overjoyed to hear such good news from the front. In the first month of the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan (735 AD), Li Guozhi, a soldier of the Khitan tribe (should be an official position temporarily held after the incident, in fact, Li Guozhi had become the military leader of the Khitan tribe at this time) came to Chang'an to present prisoners, and Li Longji named him the king of Beiping and the governor of the Songmo Military Region.

In February, the emperor summoned Zhang Shougui in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and praised him very much for his military exploits, and planned to make him the prime minister, but Zhang Jiuling, the secretary and prime minister, resolutely opposed it, so he changed Zhang Shougui to the right Yulin general and the imperial historian, and appointed Zhang Shougui's two sons as officials, and rewarded Zhang Shougui a lot, it can be said that Zhang Shougui was the first celebrity at that time.

Please remember that in the twenty-second year of Kaiyuan, this was a peak moment for Zhang Shougui and the great empire behind him.

But somehow, after that, the pace of both started to get a little messy.

In the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, Li Guozhi, the Khitan leader and who had just been named the king of Beiping, was killed by his subordinate Li Neli, and not only the leader, but a family! Only one son, Li Tingqian, escaped to the Andong Prefecture (stationed in Lulong County, Hebei Province) and survived.

The Tang Dynasty's way of dealing with this matter was to pardon Li Neli's sins, appoint him as the governor of Songmo, and then send a righteous and awe-inspiring letter to rebuke him without pain: "Qing Zhifan's law is more unrighteous than the monarch, since the past, I also know it." However, it is the king of Qing, and there is a vicious killing of him, so it is difficult for the king! But I am afraid that Qing is now the king, and the descendants will be the same. If you don't protect yourself, who wants to be king! We should also be careful about the future, so that we can not get the present as soon as possible. (To be continued.) )