It was not completely dark, the Tang army had already set up camp to rest, the temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down, and if you put a bowl of water outside the tent, it would definitely form a thick layer of ice when you woke up the next morning. Xue Chongxun stood outside the tent and looked left and right, and he was really surprised to find that there were no trees in this place, and there was not even a single tree in the wilderness. It is no wonder that it is found that cow dung is often burned after the march out of the fortress, and it is indeed a lack of firewood.

The surrounding fires shine from the tents, making the land seem to be a primitive city, with many people living in large groups without tall buildings, and the densely populated scene is indeed rare to see in the northwest wilderness. The starry lights shine brighter than the stars in the sky, and it is spectacular. Looking around, there is no end in sight, 200,000 horses gathered together to stand on the ground only have one feeling is more, but there is no way to have an intuitive outline, unless you stand on a high place and look down to see the panorama.

The dry and cold wind blew on his face, Xue Chongxun felt a burst of pain, and after staying here for half a month, his lips were cracked, and he entered the big fire. The sergeant brought his favorite wine, and sat around the cow dung heap with three or two soldiers to drink wine and keep warm.

In this kind of weather, the soldiers prefer to drink spirits made from grain, but Xue Chongxun only likes softer wines, and the glass cups in the night are crystal clear in the fire of cow dung, which also has a unique flavor.

After a while, a messenger came from the Chinese army, and as soon as Xue Chongxun heard that it was a letter from Chang'an, he tore it open and looked at it.

Zhang Wulang on the side asked, "What's the news in Chang'an?" ”

Xue Chongxun browsed it and said: "The letter from my mother said that the Huaqing Palace has been repaired and will be able to live in this winter." ”

Among them, he was also told to hurry up and return to Beijing after the battle, but Xue Chongxun did not say it. Because it was a private message, he didn't show it to his generals after reading it.

Someone next to him sighed when he heard Xue Chongxun talk about Chang'an: "This ghost place is really cold, Chang'an shouldn't be so cold now." ”

Everyone occasionally said a few words of nonsense, put their hands on cow dung to roast, and all of them shrunk their necks. There is nothing to entertain after a day's walk, and if you can still eat and feast, watch singing and dancing or play women in the city, it is obviously more boring on this road. Xue Chongxun was also a little bored, so he read Princess Taiping's letter twice, and somehow remembered the time when he threw himself into his mother's arms and cried bitterly in the kingdom, and the warm feeling was still fresh in his memory.

In a trance, he felt that he was not in this place where birds do not lay eggs, but in the prosperous Chang'an.

At this moment, suddenly a general called outside the tent, then opened the thick cotton curtain and walked in, clasped his fists and said: "Lord Yu, the scout has just come to report, and at noon today, I found that the dog Rong was fainting from the land of the Yellow River, and it seems that they are about to retreat!" The general glanced at the fire in the middle, and then went over and crouched down.

When the people in the big tent heard this, they all started talking, and Xue Chongxun was stunned and said, "We were about to fight, and they wanted to run away?" This Dezu praises him so badly|mother|I don't have the guts! ”

Wang Changling, who was tightly wrapped, said: "It is a wise move for the dog Rong to retreat, after all, they have taken a lot of risks than us, even if our Datang defeats the 200,000 troops, it will not be to the point of destroying the country, right?" ”

Zhang Wulang said: "Let's run for nothing this time, with this kind of marching speed, the dog soldiers have already run away." ”

Xue Chongxun frowned and said, "Young Uncle is right, although our chances of victory are not greater than those of Tubo, but the risk is smaller. It's a big deal for us to bet on the land of Helong, and it's hard to say whether the Tubo people will collapse if they are defeated! In that case, what are we afraid of? ”

Wang Changling was stunned when he heard this: "What ......does Xue Lang mean?"

"Now that the weather is fine, the light soldiers can catch up with the Tubo soldiers!" Xue Chongxun said lightly.

The generals looked at each other, and then turned their heads to look at Xue Chongxun. He said: "The tactics are very simple, with the main force of the Tang army lightly armed raid, rushing to the Tubo camp to fight a decisive battle, leaving the Tuyuhun people to take care of the baggage and find favorable terrain to build a fortress and hold on. ”

Zhang Wulang said: "There is no problem with our army rushing to attack, I am afraid that the power (front army) is too risky to be heavy and light, and the battle of Dafeichuan is ahead, Xue Lang thinks twice!" ”

Wang Changling also agreed with Zhang Wulang's words: "Tuyuhun has little heart to fight, but he was forced to follow us on the expedition out of desperation, not to mention that we have a new grudge with many Tuyuhun people, if they face a defection in the back, our army has no way to go before and and after and is far away from the border, what will happen to the party then?" ”

"It's not so easy to defect in battle, we don't have to doubt the heart of the Murong clan to the Tang Dynasty, and recently in the name of punishing the betrayers, we helped Murong Xuan get rid of most of the disloyalists, and all the military power is in the hands of the Murong clan's people. As long as Murong Xuan did not rebel against the Tang Dynasty and raised his heart of prevention, it was almost impossible to defect in battle. Xue Chongxun said while thinking.

However, the generals were still a little worried: "If the Tubo army divides its troops to attack our rear army, Tuyuhun will lose its baggage if the battle is ineffective, and it will also be a critical situation." ”

Zhang Wulang said: "The Tubo army has been stationed in Wuhai City for a long time, and I think their calculation is to lure the enemy deeper, and to maneuver around where we can't find a village in front of us and a store behind us. It should not be necessary for our army to advance now, knowing that it is hostile. ”

Xue Chongxun saw that most of the civil and military forces in the big tent were against the light cavalry attack, so he also fell silent and did not speak for the time being.

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and I don't know what to say after admonishing and admonishing, and slowly fell silent again, and the atmosphere became dull. At this time, Yin Ci said: "Let's just put forward the risks to Xue Lang everywhere, in the end, you have an idea, there is no perfect way on the battlefield, Xue Lang wants to attack, let's follow." ”

Zhang Wulang also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "A month ago, we could burn the king's tent with only 12,000 horsemen, if Xue Lang insisted on going, it would not be impossible for an army of 100,000 to attack now!" ”

Only Wang Changling still insisted on not fighting: "I will oppose the battle of the king's tent, although I win, it will be a narrow victory!" Now that we are far from the border, in the event of a defeat, it is impossible for reinforcements to arrive. ”

"I want to meet Murong Xuan, the king of Tuyuhun Han, overnight." Xue Chongxun said lightly, "It's better for me to go over by myself, and I seem more sincere." With that, he stood up.

The sergeant brought a thick fur coat, wrapped it around Xue Chongxun, tucked the collar around his neck and wrapped it tightly and walked out of the tent.

It's cold and dry outside, and the clear night sky is very windy, except for the low temperature, the weather is good, and the sun will be better during the day. The sergeant led the horse over, Xue Chongxun turned over on the horse, and let the horse lead him away, and he thought about it as he walked. Everyone advised him not to attack lightly, and he felt that it made sense, but intuitively thought that this was an opportunity, although it was a bit risky...... If you can't take the risk, then why come to the battlefield of Longyou? However, it is not necessarily completely safe in Chang'an, life is always adventurous. He hesitated, maybe the more things he had, the easier it was to wear out his sharpness?

After walking for a while, I heard the sound of horses' hooves behind me, and a voice said, "Lord Wang, please stay." ”

Xue Chongxun looked back and saw that it was the eunuch Yang Sixuan, this eunuch's face was thin and black, and his figure was not necessarily fat, but at this time, people who were too thick dressed turned out to be "fat".

Yang Siqiao clenched his fists and said: "I just said something in the big tent, but I didn't think it through, and it was inconvenient to say it in public. ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say it." Xue Chongxun said curiously.

Yang Siqiao said: "The prince wants to rush to pursue the Tubo army, and the people who are worried are only afraid that the rear will be unstable and lose supplies, so that they will be in a dilemma; If you give up running, you will be unwilling......"

Xue Chongxun smiled when he heard this: "It is said that people in the palace will ponder people's minds, but Yang Gong let me see it." ”

"In that case, why don't you compromise?" Yang Siqiao said, "Leave the Tang Army and the Tuyuhun people to camp separately, thinking that the horns are in line with each other, and each occupies a dangerous terrain to ensure the safety of the rear wing." Xue Lang led a light army to attack again, and the Tubo people did not expect us to attack like this, and when they heard that the Tang soldiers were coming, they must be unprepared, and they still have a chance of winning; Even if the battle was unfavorable, Xue Lang led the army to retreat to the big camp to fight and defend, and there was no worries. ”

Xue Chongxun pondered for a moment and was overjoyed: "This method is wonderful! At least give it a try, so as not to miss the opportunity to achieve great things in the future, after all, it is not easy to find when our army can gather elites from all over the world and happen to encounter the Tuboans, and the opportunity for me to happen to be in Longyou is even more difficult...... So between Yang Gong, how many troops are best to attack and how many troops are left behind? ”

Yang Siqiao said: "70,000 attackers and 30,000 remain, and the rear army has 100,000 Tuyuhun iron cavalry, which is enough to keep the heavy grain and grass safe." I have the same idea as Xue Lang, the Murong clan has gradually taken control of Tuyuhun's power, as long as he doesn't rebel, it is extremely difficult for him to defect. What's more, when the Tibetan army learned that our troops were attacking the camp, they had to take a long detour on light horses and take a long distance if they wanted to take heavy measures, and it was not easy to capture the heavily defended camp. ”

"Good!" The hesitation in Xue Chongxun's heart was thrown away all at once, and he immediately said, "I'll give you 40,000 horses to choose a place to hold on, and I will mainly lead the cavalry to attack south, and kill him by surprise!" ”

Yang Siqiao was surprised: "Miscellaneous...... How can the miscellaneous family be able to accept such a great responsibility? ”

Xue Chongxun said with a smile: "Suspicious people don't need to be suspicious, since I let Yang Gong take up the position, I can trust you." The past is gone, you don't have to worry. We are comrades-in-arms who are tested in blood and fire, and as long as I am here in the future, no one will be able to settle old accounts with you. ”

Yang Siqiao fell directly from the horse, fell down in the snow and said movingly: "The kindness of the King of Jin is unforgettable, the slave is willing to serve before and after the saddle, if there is a thunder and a ...... in the second heart."

Xue Chongxun hurriedly jumped off the horse and reached out to help, he realized that Yang Siqiao changed his words and called himself a slave, so he treated him as a house slave, so he comforted and said: "There is snow on the ground, hurry up!" Yang Gong's temples are gray, and he has dedicated his life to the Tang Dynasty, as a royal nobleman, there is no reason not to treat you well. ”

Yang Siqiao got up and wiped a handful of tears with his sleeve, where is there still the cruelty of Yin Wu on the battle array like that, and he is no different from other favored eunuchs. G