In mid-July of the seventh year of Yuanzhen in the Tang Dynasty, autumn had already entered on the grasslands, and the cattle and sheep were getting fatter.
The Turks do not have the custom of celebrating August 15th, but they claim to be the descendants of the Ashina she-wolf and have the habit of worshiping the moon. In addition, the Turks also have the custom of making fire.
Therefore, every fifteenth day of the full moon, the Turkic nobles would light a bonfire in the evening, look at the moon and worship, and then everyone would sing, dance, and eat and drink beside the bonfire.
This is a typical primitive worship, needless to say.
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In early July, the Turkic Khan Ashina Yanghuan returned to the Turkic royal court at the foot of the holy mountain.
At this time, the Turkic royal court was already very lively. The four tribes guarding the royal court gathered near the royal court, and on the periphery were Turkic tribal warriors who came one after another under the orders of the Khan.
The news that Khan was about to conquer the west had spread on the grassland. When the Khan's order was sent to various tribes in the grassland, the Turkic tribes in both the east and the west all took action.
Turkic tribes, large and small, scattered on the grassland, all responded to the call of the Turkic Khan. The young and strong men of the tribe took scimitars, carried bows and arrows on their backs, mounted war horses, and followed the nobles of the tribe to the royal court.
Gather into an army.
Ever since Ashina Yang Huan ascended to the throne, the grasslands have not been so lively for many years. Anyone who wants to get spoils of war will feel excited.
Ashina Yang Huan pressed a switch, releasing the warlike wildness of the grassland nomads. The honest-looking herdsmen who had been grazing on the grassland all year round showed their ferocious attitude the moment they picked up their machetes.
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Even slaves in the tribe want to change their status in the war.
As for the tribal nobles, war is one of their favorite things. Unlike the people in the south, they have no idea of achievement. They just want to see the enemy wailing in front of their eyes.
Conquering men, driving them like cattle and sheep to serve themselves, and taking away their wives, daughters, cattle and sheep for themselves and their descendants to enjoy, this is the most real idea of the grassland nobles.
The Turks, who had not had any large-scale foreign wars for many years, finally broke free of their shackles and burst out with a fiery enthusiasm.
In mid-July, more and more tribal warriors rushed to meet at the royal court. Tents were spread out at the foot of the holy mountain. Clouds of cattle and sheep were driven here to serve as food and fodder for the army's western expedition.
Before the war even started, the smell of blood was already filling the air at the foot of the Holy Mountain. A large number of cattle and sheep were slaughtered and made into dried meat, and milk wine was distributed like water.
An army of nearly 50,000 people is slowly taking shape. The wealth accumulated by the Turks for many years is also rapidly decreasing, becoming the food for the army, and arousing the barbaric animal nature of the soldiers.
Almost all the people who came to the royal court were talking about the wealth of the Western Regions and the enchanting beauty of those Western Regions beauties who had not been seen on the grasslands for a long time.
So the war hasn't started yet, but the Turks are already red-eyed.
If it were the officers and soldiers of the Tang Army, it could be summed up in four words: morale can be used.
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The Turks may not be very smart, but when they start a war, they are undoubtedly an extremely terrifying force, and no one can deny this.
The people gathered here in the royal court were only part of the Turkic Western Expedition. Many western tribes rushed directly to the foot of the world to join the warriors of the Tiele tribes headed by Xue Yantuo.
It is conceivable that the number of troops mobilized by the Turks this time will exceed 100,000.
Because of their good relations with the Tang Dynasty, some tribes in the southern Turks could also contribute their strength and send people to participate in this Western Expedition.
The tribes in the east were weakened due to Ashina Duowen's rebellion, but the leaders of each tribe still rushed to the royal court with a large number of affiliated tribes.
This was also the main factor why Ashina Yang Huan compromised with Li Po on matters in the east. She was not worried about Ashina Duowen who was shrinking in Liaodong City.
Some Turkic tribes were left to defend the grasslands to the east, and next year they would join the Tang army to attack Liaodong.
At this time, Ashina Luoheng, who was stationed in Dali City, also began to receive ordnance, armor, and some food from the Tang Dynasty, which were agreed upon in the alliance between the two countries.
It didn't take much effort. The three counties of Daizhou in the Tang Dynasty were the hometown where Li Po started his business. They were very well managed. There were large armies stationed there all year round, and all the food, grass and weapons were readily available.
Of course, the things given to the Turks were old things that had been eliminated over the years.
Starting from the fourth year of Yuanzhen, the Tang Dynasty began to equip various military units with new equipment on a large scale, mainly improved swords and bows and other items. There was no great technological leap forward, but the new ordnance was more sophisticated.
The frontier troops of the Tang Army were equipped with a large number of crossbows this time, and the number was still increasing. They were powerful weapons against various enemies.
The East China Sea War failed to catch up due to environmental and process reasons. The main reason was that the crossbows were easily deformed by moisture at sea and suffered too much wear and tear.
The cost of crossbows is much higher than that of bows and arrows. The Tang Dynasty had hundreds of thousands of frontier troops, and the number of crossbows allocated to various ministries in the past two years has also been uneven. It is estimated that it will take a while to recreate the glory of the former Qin Dynasty.
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It’s just that in the early Tang Dynasty, social activity became more and more intense, but the progress in craftsmanship has not yet been fully revealed.
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Most of the military supplies sent to the Turks were obsolete products, and most of the food was old grain.
But for the Turks, these are enough, and they can get strong support from the Central Plains Dynasty in the south in the war. How long ago did this happen?
Ashina Luoheng, who had been guarding Dali City for many years without moving, felt the warmth from the Tang Dynasty. He expressed his gratitude to the Tang army who escorted the military supplies to Dali City, and secretly sent a letter to Chang'an again.
He said that although he is a Turk, he is very willing to serve His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. If you have anything to do, just ask him. There is absolutely no reason why he should not agree...
It has been many years, but this fat man is still living a good life. He is extremely respectful to the royal court and is also in awe of the one in the south.
It seems that he is actually one of the people who least wants the two countries to be at odds with each other.
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On July 18th, the Turkic Khan Ashina Yanghuan summoned the leaders of various Turkic tribes to meet in the royal court. At the alliance meeting, Ashina Yanghuan prayed devoutly to the gods, listed the crimes of the Western Turks, and then issued a decree.
The Khan ordered to conquer the rebels of the Western Turks.
On July 20th, the Turkic army was ready to go.
The army was divided into three parts, each led by three Yehu Khans. The whole army was commanded by Ashina Qura, Khan of the West. They drove countless cattle and sheep and set off towards the west.
The horn of war is sounded at this moment, which also means that the war of unification of the Turks has begun...