That night, Jieli Khan Ashina Qiulu unified everyone's thoughts and mobilized before the war. Because we were getting closer and closer to the Sui Dynasty, a war might break out at any time, so everyone must cheer up.
Come.
It is also a last resort to choose to enter the Sui Dynasty from Yulin, because this is the closest way south to the Holy Mountain.
On the other hand, the Turkic royal court did not agree to use troops against the Sui people at this time, especially Li Po, who had been in alliance with the royal court for many years.
Therefore, this time Ashina Qiulu led his troops to the south. It was the strategy of the Western Khan to go alone. The old road from Yunzhong into Mayi was impassable. Even if he went south from Yulin, he was blocked by some nobles of the royal court.
Otherwise, the Western Khan, whose reputation is at its peak, will never recruit only these troops.
What made Ashina Qura even more annoyed was that the Eastern Khan was obviously very hostile to him. He had strictly ordered the tribes under his rule not to move closer to the Western Khan and sent soldiers to help him fight.
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At night, the moon and stars are scarce.
Ashina Qura was not sleepy at all, and he and the guide were confirming the route that the army would take over and over again, asking the guide to describe over and over again what places needed to be passed, and where tens of thousands of troops could stop and rest.
This place was too unfamiliar to both him and the Turkic generals. Few people walked on this road, because across the Gobi Desert, the road was bumpy and difficult, and it took a long way to reach Guanxi in the Sui Dynasty.
At the same time, he was also thinking about whether he should go to Wuyuan or Ningshuo. He preferred Wuyuan because the guide said that if you go to Ningshuo, you need to climb two mountains to enter the junction of Diaoyin County and Yan'an County.
Although the guide said that the mountain was not very high, enough for war horses to walk on it, and that more than 30,000 cavalry could be taken over the mountains and ridges. Ashina Qura felt that it was like taking a group of lions to fish, which was very unreliable.
Wuyuan is much better. It is very flat and very close to Lingwu County of the Sui people. Liang divisions can join the army and attack Li Po together.
Late at night, all the guides went to rest, and Ashina Qiuluo was also very tired, but he still couldn't sleep, so he simply called the guards and went out of the house to look for the Liangu garrison city.
"When I was still unable to ride a war horse, I followed my father to visit Yang Guang, the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. He was really a very majestic man. But when my father came back, he said that that man loved to talk big and always showed off his power to others.
He makes great achievements but never cares about the life and death of those around him. He is not a good Khan."
The leader of the vassals who followed him was his brother Ashina Shako, a Turkic Shipolo.
Maybe because the force value is too high, he doesn't like to use his brain to think about things. Like many times, he will act as a good listener. In fact, most of the time, he doesn't understand what Ashina Qura is talking about.
What.
"At that time, I was thinking about what a good khan should look like. Later I learned that a good khan should lead his warriors to rob other people's wealth, rather than resist other people's attacks...
You know, I envy Yang Guang very much. Even if he is not a good Khan, he can make the Sui and Turks kneel before his horse and offer their loyalty.
Father Khan can't do this, I can't do it, and our King Khan can't do it either..."
Ashina Shako, who had been silent all this time, raised his head and said with a tone of certainty and faith: "There is nothing that Khan can't do. God is watching you, and he will take good care of his most beloved one."
son."
Ashina Qiuluo patted his broad shoulders with satisfaction, and burst into laughter, but Ashina Qiuluo was saying in his heart that the god might have fallen asleep a long time ago, otherwise there would be no such thing as the god.
The whip appears.
Let alone a Sui man or a woman ascend to the throne of Turkic Khan.
Everything that happened at that small alliance meeting is still so clear to this day. Turk Ketun used her vicious tactics to make all the descendants of the Ashina she-wolf lower their heads, put reins on them, and allowed them to be driven, including him.
Ashina Qiuluo.
That is really a terrible woman, I am afraid she is the darling of the gods... Ashina Qura sighed in his heart...
The weather is getting colder and colder. Ashina Qura tightened his leather robe. When can we use troops in spring or summer? The season of late autumn and early winter is really too short and too cold.
"Khan, the generals are asking why you have to go to fight the Sui people..."
Ashina Qiuluo tilted his head and glanced at Ashina Shako. He couldn't see the other person's face clearly in the darkness. He turned around and thought, are there really many people asking this question? Not necessarily, maybe only those generals
We only care about this, they are afraid that I will be held back by evil wolves like my father.
"The enemy is the enemy. If we don't attack him now, sooner or later he will attack us like Shegui Khan. Now the Sui people are divided and are fighting each other. When a new Khan appears,
, maybe we will have to kneel in front of others’ horses like Qimin Khan.”
Far-sighted Turkic leaders are not uncommon in these days, but the fierce internal struggles among the Turks have left many people struggling to cope.
Of course, whether it was with the generals or with his own confidants, Ashina Qiuluo's explanation for this southward journey was too simple. He almost defied the Khan's order from the Turkic royal court and carried out this journey.
The reasons must be multifaceted. Apart from his previous remarks, the more important reasons are almost impossible to explain to others.
He could tell his subordinates that the number of Tuli Khan Ashina's well-informed tribesmen was increasing, and more and more people were speaking to him in the royal court. When the Great Khan divided the Eastern and Western Khans, he wanted to
Both sides restrain each other.
Once one party becomes powerful, if the other party cannot resist it, then what use does the King of Khans have for you, the Khan of the West?
Victory in war is often delicious medicine, and the tribes in the west need a large number of slaves to supplement their population losses...
Listen, does this excuse hold enough weight? And can you tell your subordinates directly?
In the desolate wilderness under the moonlight, the occasional neighing of war horses intertwined with the snoring of the soldiers, forming a true version of the march beyond the Great Wall.
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Early the next morning, as the evening mist gradually dissipated, the wailing horns sounded, and the soldiers began to pack their gear, mount their war horses, and head southward one after another under the leadership of the generals.
They have traveled a long way, and it seems that there is still a long journey waiting for them, but this is how the Turks fight, and they have war horses and are not afraid of such long marches.
Moreover, most of the tribesmen of the Western Khan had experienced the brutal war more than two years ago. They had been dealing with powerful enemies on the grasslands for several months.
After such training, this journey is nothing, but what is different from that time is that they do not seem to have any clear strategic goals, nor are they powerful enough to drive them to fight.
For the troops in the south, the Turks have committed many taboos, but for the Turks, these are normal. The tactics that the grassland tribes have been adhering to since the Xiongnu and Rouran are to fight when they can.
The strategy and tactics of dragging and dragging, running away if you don't win, and chasing after you win.
In their war lexicon, there are few words such as "one battle is the best".
………………………………
The cavalry of more than 30,000 people rolled up smoke and dust in the sky, and slowly and slowly moved south amidst the earth-shattering sound of horse hooves. After crossing the Tuwei River, they left Yulin County and entered Shuofang County.
Not long ago, these places were the lands of the Sui people. It is said that at its peak, the population of Shuofang County was more than 400,000, but now most of them have moved south. This is one of the benevolent policies implemented by Li Yuan to help the people who are isolated.
Moved within the Great Wall.
During the Daye period, there was only one northern patrol, and the number of people in Shuofang and Yulin dropped by two-thirds. Most of them fled after the emperor's northern patrol.
During the war in the late Sui Dynasty, Guo Zihe and others became the biggest scourge in Yulin, Shuofang and other places. They came and went like horse bandits, robbing the people of their property, food and young men.
Later, he defected to the Tang Dynasty because of livelihood issues. This angered the Turks who gave him an official position, so they sent troops to kill Guo Zihe. This was really a mistake.
At that time, in order to show that he was no longer an enemy of the Turks, Li Po sent 500 soldiers to express his intention.
So now, both Yulin County and Shuofang County have lost much of their population. In other words, from west to east, all the former Sui territory along the Great Wall has been lost, and many places have become ownerless lands.
Some villages and forts that were still inhabited were reduced to the ground under the iron heel of the Turks, taking away the last vitality of these places.
On the evening of the second day, the army marched to Yanlu City. This former capital of the Xiongnu had been repaired during the Daye Year. As an important stop on Yang Guang's northern tour, he recruited more than 40,000 civilians to repair it for three months, and barely allowed the city to be built.
The city has restored its old appearance.
Now more than twenty years have passed, and the isolated city has become a bit dilapidated, but it has become a resting place for the Turks. It can be said that the wind and water have changed, thirty years east of the river and thirty years west of the river.
There are still some people inside and outside Yangreen City, because the terrain here is flat and open, which is very suitable for farming. If there is no war, people can be self-sufficient. What's more, some caravans pass by and use it as a place to rest and replenish water.
But the Turks came. They were riding horses, covered with dust, and came over the mountains and plains. The boring march made them very irritable. Yangreen City didn't even have time to struggle, and it became a snack for the Turks.
.
Ashina Qiuluo wanted to rest here for two days. This would be the last stop before entering the Great Wall. I wonder if the Sui people were prepared?
News spread very quickly and slowly on the grassland. Some people could hear the enemy's hoofbeats in the sound of wind, and some people had their heads chopped off by the enemy while they were still sleeping.