Chapter 169: The Wind Rises Outside
Hundreds of thousands of war horses on the prairie are like five-colored clouds covering the earth, gathering in all directions on the point military field in the west of Dingxiang City. **The leaders of the powerful tribes of the desert, such as the Turks, Khitans, Tatars, Uighurs, and Murowei, were all gathered in the tent of the military field. Everyone's faces showed a look of nervous excitement, which was completely different from their usual calm and composed, showing the importance of this mobilization of troops and horses.
The Uighur prince Bodhisattva anxiously paced in the tent, he was a fierce warrior on the battlefield with a fiery nature, although he was five short statures, but his arms had a thousand catties of divine power, and he could wield a big bow of a hundred stones, and swing a great axe of more than a hundred catties. His Chinese face was originally square and loyal, but the sideburns and beard on his face made this face full of murderous aura, and it made his small eyes more and more unfathomable and unpredictable. In front of his subordinates, as long as his tiny eyes glare, everyone would tremble with fear.
The leaders of the Murwe were the famous generals of the tribes on the banks of the Ergun River - the two heroes Bogutai and Zarja. The two used to be the most powerful opponents in the northern part of the country, but now they are united and conspire together. The cavalry team led by the two of them in the prairie, in addition to the Tiele light cavalry team of Tiele Xue Yantuo, and the iron cavalry flying feather team with excellent traditions under the first fierce general Mantuo can compete, and they have always been invincible in the desert. The martial arts of the two are even more superb, and they have killed more than 100 good players of the Divine Soldier Alliance in a battle in Lotus Mountain, even if they are against the amazing Peng Wuwang, they have not been injured in the slightest, which can be described as the essence of the battlefield warfare.
The leader of the Khitan was Abaojia, the chief of the largest tribe of the Khitan tribe. This person was born with a horse face, three goatees under his chin, and a beard raised high in the middle, which was very eye-catching. Everyone doesn't have a good impression of him, everyone knows that this Abaojia is the most two-faced character in the desert, Mingli and various tribes are doing legitimate business, in fact, secretly communicating with Khitan and several horse thieves in Murowei, and have done a lot of business without capital. No one has been able to catch him, and he has been at large ever since. However, this man was good at intrigue and intrigues, marching and fighting, and although he did not have great feats, he never suffered a loss, and caused a headache to all his enemies. At this time, Abaojia was constantly tapping his hand on the table, contemplating, not knowing what tricky plan he was thinking about.
The leader of the Immortal Warrior is the Great Chieftain of the Black Water Immortal Sect, the most extensive in the prairie, and the lord of the Ten Thousand Cities, Tie Fuyou. He was slender and slender, with a pale and delicate face, three brown hairs, and various ornaments on his beard and ears, which made his face look quite varied. This person is eloquent and strategic, and he is dedicated to unifying all the tribes of the Yan Dynasty, dominating the white mountains and black waters, and has made a lot of efforts for this. The caravans under his command cruised around the world and had frequent business contacts with Goryeo, Silla, Baekje and other Korean countries, and even the caravans of the Tang Dynasty also had several large-scale cooperation with him. Because of the success of the business, he has a huge amount of money, so the equipment of his army can be said to be the best in the prairie except for the elite white-spiked wolf army. But this man has not achieved much on the battlefield, and he has not yet had any chance to prove that he is a good general. At this moment, he was standing in the corner near the tent door, observing the traces of the clouds in the sky. Tie Fuyou's ability to view the sky can be called the crown of the prairie, and this is the only place where he can show off in this tooth tent where famous generals gather.
When Princess Splendid walked into the tent, everyone involuntarily stood up and gathered around her to pay due respect to the first talented woman of the prairie. Accompanying the splendid princess on both sides is the best of the best, the second famous general on the prairie, the second prince of the desert lion Fengjie and the first brave general Mantuo, who is famous for his invincible iron cavalry charge.
Feng Jie's face still had that amiable expression, but no one despised him for his modesty and courtesy. Everyone knows that since Fengjie was born, there have been more than 300 battles of all sizes, all of which have been completely victorious, and the generals on the desert are famous and frightened. Everyone is strange that the army he leads is neither strong nor numerous, and he often commands the ranks of different tribes. However, in every battle, the army, which had not been seen strong, suddenly turned into an invincible army, crisscrossing the battlefield and being invincible. The most famous battle was when Feng Jie led the reserve troops of ** Ji to escort grain and grass, and encountered the iron cavalry of Tiele Xue Yantuo to intercept grain. He actually gave up grain and grass, led a reserve team of good and bad to hide in the Gobi, and then covered the enemy's back, won six battles and six victories, and retreated more than 200 miles of Tiele cavalry, who had always thought he was the best in the world, with thousands of casualties, but the self-inflicted damage was only 500.
Mantuo is a hideous figure with a scarred face, a pair of big yellow-orange eyes, cold light, and an unbearable evil aura and terrifying smell of blood all over his body. Eight feet tall, like a blood-soaked mountain, he stood tall, his long hair floating behind his back, his hair curled like a monster, making people shudder. Mantuo inherited the wolf-like brutality in the blood of the ** Turkic people, and in the tribal war, every time they seize a place, they will slaughter all over the city, and no one is spared men, women and children. This is the first class means in the grassland competition, when the population of a tribe is completely reduced, no one grazes, no one produces, then the tribe has no way to continue, only defeat. Therefore, with this brutal means, Mantuo repeatedly wiped out the hostile tribal peoples for the Turks, and the Turkic lord Ji Li favored the third son, thinking that he was the hope of the future of the Turks. However, his brutality also led to a tenacious and courageous people like Tiele forever rebelling under the leadership of Xue Yantuo and forming the Tiele Alliance to fight against the brutality of the **Turk.
Mantuo entered the battlefield at the age of fourteen, and led the Iron Cavalry Flying Feather Team in the confrontation against the Tang Dynasty's heroes, once defeated the Tang Dynasty cavalry five times their own with a cavalry charge, and continued to fight for two days and two nights, breaking seven formations in a row, killing nearly 10,000 enemies, and making the Tang Dynasty's Changsheng Xiongshi suffer defeat. However, he was also overconfident, and was lured by Li Shimin to go deeper, and then used the strategy of clearing the wilderness to greatly reduce the strength of the Feiyu team under his command. Despite this, when he was pursued by Li Shimin's male division, he was still able to lead the Feiyu team to win all the encounters with the Tang soldiers, so that the Turkic army could retreat with all its might. This battle also made the heroes on the prairie look at him with admiration. He and the famous Fengjie are listed as a double master.
Seeing the three top figures of the prairie gathered here, the eyes of all the tribal leaders in the tent showed excitement. "I heard that the princess has been slightly ill recently, and the Bodhisattva has specially purchased some great supplements, which will be sent to the princess's bed later, and I hope the princess will accept it with a smile." As soon as the Uighur prince saw the beautiful figure of the splendid princess, he immediately couldn't help but be fascinated and hurriedly said. The mando snorted at the bodhisattva, but did not speak. For according to Uighur customs, when encountering beautiful women, men would often sing and dance, pour out their hearts, praise the woman's beauty, and hope to gain the woman's favor, which is the etiquette of this tribe. The Uighur prince and Bodhisattva did not sing on the spot at this moment, and had already reined in himself. So, even though these words seemed inappropriate, even the most irascible mandal could only snort at him.
"The prince had a heart, but Jinxiu was disrespectful, so he accepted it." Princess Splendid nodded politely to the Bodhisattva, and then said, "Everyone is here, then, time is precious, let's start deploying immediately."
Everyone had been looking forward to it for a long time, and at this moment, they gathered in front of the huge sheepskin map spread out in the middle of the big tent.
"I didn't expect that the noble Tiefu of the Divine Tale would also come from the chieftain, and this time we will be greatly strengthened." Seeing that the big chief of the black water, Tie Fuyou, was actually in the tent, Feng Jie could not hide the joy on his face.
"Well, hello Fengjie." Tie Fuyou saluted him, "The Venerable Princess Splendid told me that the first thing to deal with this time is Kuriya Daisakae, so it is exactly what I want, so I can't wait to come."
It turned out that the great Zhurong of the Limo tribe longed for the great power style of the Central Plains and Goryeo in his heart, and established a kingdom based on agriculture with Bohai as the center, and refused to join the alliance of the Yan tribe led by the Heishui Ya, intending to be a vassal to the Tang Empire, which had always been benevolent. The rise of the Bohai Kingdom monopolized all the trade with the Central Plains and Goryeo north of Shanhaiguan, and the national power rose rapidly. The business of the Titan Tiefuyu suffered huge losses due to the birth of the Bohai Kingdom, a competitor, and the Tartar tribe also began to split, and many people wanted to take refuge in the Bohai Kingdom in order to gain the favor of the Celestial Empire. Tie Fuyou's status deteriorated, so as soon as he heard that he was going to deal with the Bohai Kingdom this time, he immediately chose the most elite troops to come and defect.
Feng Jie looked at Princess Jinxiu, who couldn't see her expression clearly because the veil covered her face, and added a trace of admiration to her in his heart, and also gave birth to a trace of pity: Jinxiu is too hard.
Princess Jinxiu said in a deep voice: "Everyone, this time our tribes of the prairie have joined forces together, the purpose is to capture Chang'an, so that the newly emerging Tang Empire will collapse, so as not to fall back into the tragic state when the Sui Dynasty was in power. We will unite all our forces to fight for the glory and disgrace of the prairie."
Everyone nodded in response. When the Sui army conquered Goryeo three times, they slaughtered more than 100,000 people in the steppe, and everyone remembered the hatred of the year.
Princess Jinxiu seemed to be very satisfied with their reaction, nodded slightly, and said, "Because I have always followed the strategy of showing weakness to the enemy, I believe that the emperor of the Tang Empire thinks that ** is at the end of the road, and there is no longer the courage of the past. He didn't expect that our tribes would join forces and form an alliance. So, this time we've got a head start."
Feng Jie pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that above the court of the Tang Dynasty, there are famous ministers and good generals, if one or two wise men see through our plan to show weakness and propose to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, we can have a backup plan."
"Second Highness is really thoughtful." Princess Splendid nodded to Fengjie and said, "Actually, the Tang Dynasty Emperor has always been wise and unparalleled, and he has no last resort. However, the famous ministers and good generals in the Tang Dynasty, their shortcomings and strengths, I have always kept in mind, and when I use strategies, I will definitely estimate their reactions and deal with them calmly. However, no one in the Tang Dynasty knows my identity, and this time we have no intention of calculating or not, but we will win." After saying this, the heroes in the tent showed their readily agreed. Only Feng Jie was still frowning and silent.
"His Royal Highness is still worried that the Tang Dynasty such as Wei Zheng, Li Ji, Li Jing, Qin Shubao, etc., are thoughtful and steady, and those who have been successful in a hundred battles may guess this little trick of our ** Turk?" Princess Splendid asked softly.
"Well, even if they didn't guess it, Li Shimin should have guessed it." Feng Jie thought about it.
"Li Shimin?" Princess Splendid raised her hand and stroked her hair, letting out a soft, faint laugh.
Everyone's eyes were on her, waiting with bated breath for her to make her own judgment, even Feng Jie. In front of her, everyone had a wonderful feeling of a mountain looking up, as if all the clever schemes she could think of were beyond her reach.
"What kind of person do you think Li Shimin is?" Princess Splendid asked in a deep voice.
"He's a sinister, vicious, cunning, and shameless villain." A hoarse and gruff voice rang out. Everyone followed the prestige, and it turned out to be the first fierce general Mantuo who was speaking. A smile tipped into everyone's mouth, but no one contradicted him. It turned out that when Mantuo assisted Song Jingang to attack Taiyuan, the lair of the Li Dynasty, he was invincible in frontal combat, killing tens of thousands of enemies, but he was avoided by Li Shimin without fighting, and he was trapped under the city of Taiyuan with the strategy of clearing the wilderness.
Feng Jie held back a smile and thought for a while, "On the battlefield, Li Shimin can be said to be a flawless military genius. In the battle of Baiyuan, he showed weakness to the enemy, lured the enemy to go deeper, then burned all the grain routes, filled all the wells, burned all the villages, and resolutely implemented the policy of clearing the wilderness with strong walls, and finally forced Song Jingang and our Turkic strong army to return. In the battle of Luoyang, Wang Shichong sat in Jiancheng, Dou Jiande raided the tiger prison, and the ** team was trapped in the eastern capital and had nothing to do. And Li Shimin was brave enough to divide the soldiers into two routes, and firmly defended the tiger prison with the strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the wilderness, which made Dou Jiande chaotic and anxious for a decisive battle, and trapped Wang Shichong in Luoyang by reducing troops and increasing the stove, and trapping Wang Shichong in Luoyang. In the end, he used the strategy of herding Ma Xishan to Dou Jiande, so that he carelessly underestimated the enemy, and then penetrated Dou Jiande's main formation with a cavalry assault miracle, so that he was captured in a battle. In the end, Wang Shichong had no choice but to abandon the city and surrender. These two battles are enough to prove that Li Shimin is good at using troops, and he has both the sophistication of steadyness and perseverance, and the ruthlessness of resoluteness and bravery."
"This person is very powerful, and he uses soldiers like a god, so it can be said that there are no flaws to follow." After listening to Feng Jie's analysis, Bogutai said with deep feelings.
At the mention of Li Shimin's name, all the unruly tribal leaders in the tent showed a look of anxiety.
Princess Jinxiu chuckled lightly and said to Feng Jie, "Second Highness, why didn't you say that Li Shimin fought against Western Qin, and his performance in that battle was not bad."
Feng Jie was stunned for a moment, and said, "In that battle, except for the fact that Li Shimin once led thousands of light cavalry with Pang Yu, Liang Shi and other famous generals to defeat Xue Rengao and Zong Luohu, making Xue Rengao the head of Zheshu City is quite remarkable, there is nothing else outstanding. Because Xue Rengao was arrogant and arrogant, and Zong Luohu was brave and unscrupulous, they were not people who could fight for a long time, and under the circumstances at that time, anyone could defeat them."
Jinxiu shook her head with a smile and said, "Fengjie, don't you know that the subjects of the Tang Dynasty regarded this Battle of the Shallow Water Plain as a legendary example of Li Shimin's defeat of the hundreds of thousands of troops of Xue Ju's father and son with thousands of light horses, and the Battle of the Shallow Water Plain, the Battle of Baibi, the Battle of Luoyang and the Battle of the Tiger Prison are called the four classic battles in the annals."
"What a joke," Feng Jie said with a smirk, "When Western Qin was dominant, Xue Ju's father and son were arrogant and rude, offending our Great Khan. At that time, my father withdrew all the Turkic troops who had assisted Xue Ju, and had Xue Ju assassinated as punishment. In addition, the father and son of the Li family sent envoys to sue for peace, and promised to use their children's wealth to persuade our Great Khan to send Wuyuan County to Xue Rengao to suffer from the enemy, and half of the hundreds of thousands of troops were scattered, so that Li Shimin, who only had 80,000 thieves, won the battle. Otherwise, Li Shimin had already been seriously injured by the sword qi of the Qingfeng Hall Master at that time, how could he lead an army of 80,000 good and bad to defeat the hundred battles of Western Qin's Hundred Battles Heroic Division. This battle can only prove that the Li Dynasty is arbitrarily scheming and has nothing to do with their martial arts."
"Well said," Princess Jinxiu clapped her hands, "Second Highness has already hinted at Li Shimin's shortcomings just now. As a general, he has experienced a hundred battles and uses soldiers like a god, but the mistake is that he is also an emperor who works hard. Other generals, even if they have made great contributions, must always remind themselves to be cautious and cautious, and not to make mistakes that overshadow their achievements. As an emperor, he doesn't need to consider this, of course, the military exploits he has achieved with his own strength must be promoted, and the military exploits that he deserves should also be whitewashed, regarded as his own great achievements, and let the world worship, this is the ridiculous thing about all the emperors of the Central Plains throughout the ages. When they became kings of God, they often exaggerated their exploits and covered up their faults in order to promote their image of perfection. Over time, they will come to think that they are perfect, impeccable, and the chosen Son of God."
Feng Jie nodded slowly, and said in a deep voice: "I didn't expect that with a character like Li Shimin, it would inevitably be vulgar, which is indeed a pity."
"Do you know what Li Shimin regrets most in his life?" Princess Splendid asked again.
No one could answer, everyone listened intently to every word that came out of the mouth of Princess Splendid Fair, refusing to miss the slightest, at this moment, Princess Splendid Princess's soft words had grasped the hearts of everyone in the tent.
"Li Shimin's biggest regret is that he has never defeated our ** army on the upright battlefield. Every time he confronted the Guannai heroes, no matter how ingenious his tactics were, he had to rely on bribes to our Turks to ensure a complete victory. This is the case with Western Qin, this is true with Liu Wuzhou, and the same is true with Liu Heimin. The Battle of Weishui had to form a White Horse Alliance with us. Moreover, at the beginning of the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty, they once proclaimed their vassals to our Turks, which was a great shame for the Li father and son, and it also made them hate me to the core." Princess Splendid sneered, "What he wants to do most now is to wave his army and take Dingxiang City. Let our Great Khan kneel before him and submit."
There was silence in the tent, and after a long time, Feng Jie coughed and said, "Jinxiu, do you mean that Li Shimin will send a large army to attack Dingxiang?"
Princess Splendid nodded, and said, "So, our show of weakness is right in his hands. Believe me, as long as he has one reason that makes him think that he can send troops to Xiangcheng, he will never change his mind twice."
Feng Jie only felt a tingling all over his body, and cold sweat rolled down his back without restraint, he thought for a long time, and said: "Jinxiu, it turns out that the plan to show weakness is not only to relax your vigilance, but also to prompt Li Shimin to transfer his elite army away from the defense along the Chang'an line and attack Dingxiang City."
"Exactly." Princess Splendid said solemnly.
"Isn't that too cheap for us?" Mantuo's face was full of joy, and he said excitedly with his big hands.
"No...... Too likely, right?" Bogutai and Zarje looked at each other and said incredulously. Princess Jinxiu's inference made these two foreign generals, who were known for their calmness and composure, lose their usual demeanor.
In front of Ah Baojia and Tie Fuyou, it seemed that countless picturesque beauties on the streets of Chang'an Suzaku had appeared, and countless gold and silver treasures, and the two of them stood there dumbfounded, as if in a dream.
Only the Uighur prince did not feel any boldness in Princess Splendid Princess's assertions, but just looked at her infatuatedly, nodding his head frequently, without any objections.
"If the ** team really goes out to raid Dingxiang City, then Chang'an City is not in my pocket." Feng Jie's face showed a confident look.
"Wrong." Princess Splendid interrupted him and said solemnly, "Unless they go out of the fortress and attack Dingxiang City, we will be defeated in this battle."
This sentence is like a basin of cold water, waking everyone's sweet dreams. "What do you mean by that?" Abaojia couldn't help but ask.
"Li Shimin and a group of courtiers under his command are all famous generals who are rare in a century, soldiers use their lives, and the Han people have been running cities since ancient times, and their experience in attacking and defending cities can be said to be the best in the world, which our Turkic army cannot compete with in any case. The defense of Chang'an City and even the surrounding cities in the vicinity is impregnable, and it is worthy of the metaphor of an iron wall. If we don't cut their defenses in the city by half, we have no hope of taking it. If we can't capture Chang'an, sooner or later the tribes on our grassland will be pacified by the Tang Dynasty one by one." Princess Splendid said in a deep voice, "So this time I am determined to win."
After saying this, she glanced around the tent and found that everyone was listening with bated breath, and nodded with satisfaction, "Although we have made arrangements for more than a year, the confidentiality work has been done well. But just to be sure, I'm still going to have to do it."