Wu Chengsi stared at the official document and fell into deep thought again.
Li Jinzhong led the Khitan cavalry back to Khitan. There must be a civil strife in Khitan. Although the Khitan would be weakened even if he ignored it, he hoped to take this opportunity to hit the Khitan hard.
Within five years, the Tubo Dynasty will show its fangs to the Tang State, and by then the Tang State will have no time to take care of the Liaodong region.
If Wu Chengsi was still in Chang'an, he didn't plan to worry too much about this matter.
But now that he came to Liaodong, he had a large army in his hands. Everyone knew the historical trend better than him. He decided to take this opportunity to solve the Liaodong issue. In the future, when the Tang Dynasty dealt with the Tubo Dynasty, it would not have so many worries.
The first hidden danger to be solved is the eight Khitan tribes that will rebel sooner or later.
That night, Wu Chengsi wrote a letter to Li Ji telling him his plan to attack Khitan. Li Ji might not agree to this, but by the time his reply came, Wu Chengsi had already led the army and set off.
Wu Chengsi planned to send troops in the name of the Khitans detaining the Tang envoy, so that the court would not reprimand him too much when they found out.
This time when he came to Liaodong to attack Goryeo, he had been thinking about how to defeat the Khitan people, so he had already thought about it very clearly.
At present, the Khitans are likely to fall into civil strife, and after he attacks the Tiebei Pass, he can attack the Khitans by surprise from within Goryeo.
He was a well-known teacher, and the Khitans were beaten and speechless. Who asked them to detain the Tang envoy? With the strength of the Khitans, they do not dare to retaliate now.
Wu Chengsi knew these nomads very well. It would be useless no matter how much you tried to appease them. As long as they got stronger, they would bite you.
On the contrary, as long as they are weak, they will obey obediently and will never resist at all.
The opportunity to fight is fleeting. If you miss this opportunity, let the Khitans regain stability and weaken them in the future, which will get twice the result with half the effort.
Wu Chengsi had confidence in his own judgment, and after experiencing the Battle of Mercy Ridge, he also had confidence in his army!
…
Two days later, Pei Xingjian's army entered Nansu City. Wu Chengsi was in the city tower and summoned all the generals to discuss the use of troops against the Khitan.
"You want to attack the Khitans?"
Upon hearing Wu Chengsi's plan, all the generals were shocked. If Wu Chengsi had not just won a great victory, some people would have directly raised objections.
Pei Xingjian was also a little confused and said in confusion: "General, we are currently fighting against Goryeo. It is really not appropriate to divide our troops and attack Khitan again."
Wu Chengsi said: "General Pei, do you think we will have a good chance to fight Goryeo in the next few months?"
"The weather is getting colder. Considering the logistics situation, it is not appropriate to go deep into Goryeo this year." Pei Xingjian did not hesitate, and had obviously considered this issue.
"Then do you think Korea will counterattack Nansu City?"
"No, they don't have the energy now."
"In other words, we now have the power to use troops against the Khitan, right?"
Pei Xingjian's eyebrows raised: "General, why did you choose to attack Khitan now?"
"Do you believe that the Khitan sincerely surrendered to us, the Tang Dynasty, and will never betray us in the future?" Wu Chengsi asked.
"No, I don't trust the Khitans. But we can wait until the Goryeo War is over before fighting against the Khitans. Otherwise, the burden of using troops on two fronts will be greater."
Wu Chengsi said solemnly: "There are two great benefits to attacking now. Missing this opportunity will leave great consequences."
"The general is all ears."
"First, the Khitan has just had a coup. Li Jinzhong and Dahe Yuqian are likely to have a battle, which is a good opportunity to catch them off guard. Second, the Khitan has detained Tang envoys. Our divisions are famous, and we sent troops from the direction of Goryeo. The Khitan
No one will ever be on guard."
"What is the purpose of your battle?"
"Strike the power of the Khitans and weaken them."
Pei Xingjian fell into deep thought, and the other generals listened silently to the argument between the two, with thoughtful expressions on their faces.
"Then what are the hidden dangers you mentioned?" Pei Xingjian asked again.
Wu Chengsi said with a solemn expression: "Have you ever thought about what would happen if Tibet suddenly attacked the Hexi Corridor in the future?"
Pei Xingjian was shocked and stared at Wu Chengsi, thinking: "It turns out that he has also considered the hidden dangers of the Tibetan people. Although this man is young, his knowledge is higher than most of the generals of the Tang army."
He slowly exhaled and said: "General, I understand. The general is worried that after Tibet attacks us, we will have no spare power to focus on Liaodong."
Hei Te Changzhi, Russell and others all showed shocked expressions, and their thoughts could no longer keep up with the two of them.
"Do you think this possibility exists?" Wu Chengsi asked.
Pei Xingjian said in a deep voice: "It's very possible." He paused and said: "General, from a long-term perspective, your proposal may seem risky, but if you think about it carefully, it actually doesn't have much risk. If it's a war
If it goes well, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, and I will finally agree to attack Khitan!"
"With your approval, I have eliminated the last trace of my worries." Wu Chengsi smiled.
Pei Xingjian also smiled: "Even if I don't agree, I'm afraid you will continue to attack." The topic changed and he said: "But General, how are you going to solve the problem of food and grass?"
"That would be easier. There are so many cattle and sheep in the Khitan territory, aren't they enough to feed our army?"
Pei Xingjian shook his head and laughed, feeling that Wu Chengsi was the same as Su Dingfang in this respect, with a bit of gangsterism in him.
Wu Chengsi looked around and said loudly: "Black Teeth Changzhi, Wu Youji, Russell, Han Cheng!"
"The general is here!" The four of them raised their hands in unison.
"My general has decided to lead 10,000 cavalry to attack Khitan. You will come with me!"
"The last general takes command!"
Wu Chengsi turned to Pei Xingjian: "General Pei, I will leave Nansu City to you. I hope you will do two things. First, treat Koreans and Tang people equally. Second, soldiers must not disturb the people. In short, treat this place as a
I, the land of the Tang Dynasty, regard the Korean people as the common people of the Tang Dynasty."
"Then what if there are Koreans secretly helping Korea transmit information?" Hou Yanjing asked.
"Those who obey the Tang Dynasty are the people of the Tang Dynasty. Those who refuse to obey are the enemies. Just deal with them in the same way as you deal with the enemies." Wu Chengsi said coldly.
"General, I understand." Pei Xingjian said with cupped hands. He originally advocated that after the city was captured, soldiers should be strictly prohibited from looting. Even if Wu Chengsi didn't say so, he would have proposed this.
…
Early the next morning, Wu Chengsi ordered each soldier to bring three days of dry food, and the army left Nansu City and headed north.
Although there was still a large area of Goryeo territory to the north of Tiebei Pass, the troops had already been transferred to several major fortresses in the south, so they could not stop Wu Chengsi's power.
The further north you go, the terrain becomes flatter.
The Liaodong area is a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral area, and Korean herdsmen can be seen grazing in many places. Wu Chengsi strictly ordered the army not to disturb the people, and the army marched north in an orderly manner.
Half a day later, the army arrived at Gongzhuling. After passing this mountain, they entered the territory of Khitan.
When we reach the top of the mountain, the endless green plains and blue sky converge on the horizon. The autumn style in the north is extremely manic, and it feels like a knife scratching the face.
Looking at the magnificent scene in front of him, Wu Chengsi suddenly felt a sense of pride and ambition.
There is an ancient legend among the Khitan people: a god rides a white horse, and a goddess rides a green ox. They meet in Konoha Mountain and become spouses, and they have eight sons, which are called the Eight Tribes of Khitan.
In ancient times, the Eight Tribes were ruled by eight surnames. During the period when the Dahe clan was at its strongest, in order to gather the power of the Khitan people, the Dahe clan reorganized the Eight Tribes. The leaders of the new eight tribes were all headed by nobles of the Dahe clan.
Each of the eight tribes is composed of a large He clan as the main body, and three or four medium-sized tribes complement each other. Some medium-sized tribes are composed of several small tribes.
Because the leaders share a common surname, the fights among the eight tribes are reduced, they are united in dealing with the outside world, and their strength grows rapidly.
The total number of the eight Khitan tribes now totals between 20,000 and 300,000, with each tribe having around 20,000 to 40,000 people, which is less than one Shangzhou in the Tang Dynasty.
However, the nomads are all male soldiers, and they have many cavalry and strong riding and shooting capabilities. This is the reason why they can fight against the Central Plains dynasty despite their small number.
Although the total population is not large, as long as they are given time to mobilize, they can gather 100,000 cavalry.
What Wu Chengsi had to do was to take advantage of their scattered strength and defeat them one by one without giving them time to assemble.
This was the reason why Huo Qubing was able to kill 40,000 Huns and capture 40,000 Huns with 10,000 cavalry.
To deal with the nomads, you must be surprised, and strike quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly! Their population is sparse, and a single blow will prevent them from recovering for decades.