Su Dingfang, who had been holding back his anger for almost a year, went crazy this time.
Originally he was the protagonist in pacifying the Western Regions, originally he was the majestic hero, and originally everything belonged to him.
But as the whole world attacked the Tang Dynasty, Su Dingfang, who originally held the strongest army in the Tang Dynasty, actually became the most aggrieved one.
We pursued them all the way to the foot of Jinshan Mountain, but we still couldn't catch those Western Turks who were running like rabbits.
Later, even if Huihe and Xue Yantuo came to attack from both sides, Su Dingfang was still confident of defeating them.
However, these tribes did not respect martial ethics and did not engage in direct battles. They just continued to harass and cut off his food routes.
Su Dingfang had no choice. Any army that was cut off from its food supply could only retreat first.
The fight with the Western Turks Uighurs and Xue Yantuo was like quicksand in the desert. All the strength I had was limited by the terrain and supplies, so I couldn't use it.
After retreating to the Ili Valley, Li Ermi sent a telegram asking him to stay here to hold back the three major tribes.
If it weren't for the fact that he had stocked up a batch of supplies in the river valley before going to Jinshan, and had plundered many tribes to obtain supplies such as cattle, sheep, and horses, Su Dingfang's troops would have had to catch rats.
Meat can be barely supplied, but the lack of fruits and vegetables has demoralized Su Dingfang's troops.
Even the alfalfa and bean cakes originally fed to the war horses were eaten.
Finally, when the reinforcements arrived and Li Er sent the order to attack, Su Dingfang, who was going crazy, led the Tang army, who was also going crazy, and madly swept through all the Uighur tribes.
Huihe, who encountered a sudden attack, hurriedly asked Xue Yantuo who was next to him to come to the rescue.
Xue Yantuo did come, but he came on a horse waving a sword.
Under the attack from both sides, the Uighur tribes were like rivers flowing into the desert, quickly disappearing without a trace.
Su Dingfang, who was red-eyed by the killing, was not willing to keep prisoners at all. The cruel killing even scared Xue Yantuo to the point where he trembled and did not dare to approach the Tang army, for fear that he would become the next one.
Originally, Uihe, which gradually took control of the Western Regions after the main force of the Tang army withdrew during the Anshi Rebellion, disappeared in the long river of history.
Li Yunze was not idle here either. First he directly attacked and destroyed the royal court of the Western Turkic Khan, wiping out his old camp and seizing hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep.
Then they dispersed and attacked in battalions and regiments, sweeping through all the Western Turkic tribes.
Compared to the red-eyed Su Dingfang, Li Yunze was much more merciful. He tried to capture as many prisoners as possible, especially the young ones.
After all, the technical conditions of this era were not good, mines where mining accidents often occurred, and plantations where diseases were rampant and the weather was hot continued to have a large number of manpower.
Women want it too. After all, the Western Regions have been conquered since the Han and Tang Dynasties, not just for those raisins. The beauties of the Western Regions are really beautiful.
As long as the Tang army went to the Western Regions this time and had some military exploits, they could bring home a concubine.
As for the young and old, of course it is of no use.
In addition to the young and old with status, old men can apply for Li Er's song and dance troupe, while those who are no taller than a wheel can be sent to the palace to join the service industry.
All other matters are left to the discretion of each ministry.
For those with a better mentality, just drive them away and let them fend for themselves in the vast world.
Those with a less gentle mentality should, of course, be dealt with directly.
The Western Turks, who once controlled the two powerful rivers in the Western Region, had their backbone broken in the First World War. Even if there are still some scattered tribes on both sides of Jinshan, they are all grasshoppers with no way out.
After eliminating the two powerful enemies, Li Yunze secretly cooperated with Su Dingfang, and both sides quietly gathered their troops to surround the two wings of Xue Yantuo's tribe.
The original intention was to conduct a surprise attack to completely resolve this little trouble.
As for Li Er's promise to reconcile with Xue Yantuo's tribe, that was promised by the emperor. We and other frontline generals did not know until we received the imperial edict.
It's a pity that Xue Yantuo's Yinan Khan was frightened by the Tang army's violence. He simply threw Tang Jian out, who wanted to follow them, and hurried north to Jinshan.
Yinan Khan ran too fast, and when the Tang army chased him, his royal court had even crossed Jinshan Mountain and fled to the far north.
It has already entered winter, and escaping to the north of Jinshan in this kind of weather is really a narrow escape.
After learning the news of the great victory in the Western Regions, the proud Li Er quickly made arrangements.
He used the Tianshan Mountains as the boundary, and set up the Anxi Protectorate in the south of the Tianshan Mountains. Cheng Yaojin succeeded Li Yunze as the chief protector of the Anxi Protectorate.
Li Er left 50,000 troops and horses for him, and his order was to keep an eye on the Tubo on the plateau, and at the same time go to take revenge on the big and small Bolu.
To the north of Tianshan Mountain was the Beiting Protectorate, with Su Dingfang serving as the Grand Governor of the Beiting Protectorate.
Li Er left 40,000 troops and horses for Su Dingfang, whose task was to monitor the two rivers and prepare to go deep into the two rivers to attack the nine surnames of Zhaowu.
It's not that Li Er didn't want to give more troops and horses, but that the railway line had only been built to Xizhou and Tingzhou at this time. There were still thousands of miles from here, and carriages were needed for transportation.
Before the construction of the railway lines on the north and south sides of Tianshan Mountain is completed, the limit of logistical supply is so much.
The rest of the Tang army returned to the court, first back to Gaochang Yizhou and other places, and then got on the train and returned to Guanzhong.
As the Western Turks and Uighurs were defeated, as Tubo suffered heavy losses and dared not go back down the mountain, and as Xue Yantuo fled far away, the world war that led to the worldwide attack on the Tang Dynasty was temporarily over.
The reason why it is said to be temporary is because Li Er has to deal with that loser next.
That's right, we're talking about Goguryeo.
Goguryeo also participated in the worldwide attack on the Tang Dynasty, but it was lingering on the border waiting for the opportunity.
If Datang falls during the siege, they will immediately turn into wolves and pounce on them to bite.
If the Tang Dynasty survives, they will send envoys to pretend to be peaceful.
This method is useful for dealing with faint kings and traitorous ministers. People like Zhao Gou and Qin Hui fell into this trap.
But Li Er couldn't tolerate sand in his eyes. He was ready to fight Goguryeo even before he jumped out, not to mention that he was one of the initiators of this world-wide attack on Tang Dynasty.
The only reason that restricts the Tang Dynasty from attacking Goguryeo is that the railway from Luoyang to Youzhou has not yet been built.
When the construction of this railway is completed, that will be the day when the Tang Dynasty cavalry arrives.
The train swayed forward, and the people who swayed were drowsy.
After leaving the battlefield, the Tang army seemed extremely lazy. Most of them fell down on their seats and slept. The few who were awake were joking and playing Shuanglu, Ye Zi and other fighting games.
Li Yunze sat on the chair and quietly flipped through the book, his eyes calm and serious. Anyone who saw this scene would praise him, "He is really like a general."
But what he was reading was an illustrated storybook, and it was written by a famous artist.
This is a picture album that he specially asked Yan Liben to artistically process according to the storyline he provided.
What I have to say is that Yan Liben is indeed the painting saint before Wu Daozi. The paintings in these albums are so lifelike and detailed.
Especially when the male and female protagonists interact...ahem.
"Swinging by the well to get water from the spring rain behind closed windows and rockery."
Li Yunze's mind was in a state of flux as he read the album. What was in his mind was that he would have to practice these postures after returning to Lijiazhuang.
"General." Xue Rengui came over and saluted.
Li Yunze closed the album without leaving a trace, smiled and nodded, "What's the matter?"
"General, I heard that your Majesty will attack Goguryeo this time when he returns to the court. I wonder if this is possible?"
"Do you want to go?" Li Yunze raised his eyebrows slightly. "Are you addicted to making achievements? I don't know exactly how it is now, but if you really want to go, I will definitely recommend you."
"Thank you, General!"
Xue Rengui was overjoyed and quickly saluted and thanked him.
During this expedition to the Western Regions, he was promoted from a white-robed captain to a powerful captain by virtue of his military exploits, and also received a knighthood.
Naturally, Shi Mui Zhi Wei wants to continue to work hard, becoming a general and a duke of the country or something like that.
Warriors in the martial arts era were always like this. They worked hard all day long to practice martial arts, and all they wanted to do was send troops and horses to conquer the surrounding enemy countries and make achievements.
Because of this, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, most of the Middle-earth dynasties sent troops to attack the surrounding areas.
But after the big turbans came to power and valued civility over military affairs, it became a situation where everyone went to study for the imperial examinations and wanted to be an official, and despised and despised military people.
As a result, the Central-Turk Dynasty came from all directions, and the Song and Ming Dynasties were destroyed as a result.
"What is the book of war that the general is reading?" Xue Rengui noticed the book in Li Yunze's hand and asked curiously, "Can I borrow it for the general to take a look at?"
"Oh Edo, cough." Li Yunze waved his hand, "This is my own art of war, but I haven't finished writing it yet. I will lend it to you after it is perfected."
"Thank you, General!"
The scenery outside the window gradually becomes more colorful, and it becomes even more green after entering Guanzhong.
It took several months for the Tang army to withdraw its troops and return to Guanzhong. By the time Li Yunze returned, it was already the time of spring again.
At this time, Guanzhong has not yet been destroyed to the point where the vegetation cannot be restored. It is full of emerald green and clear rivers. It is still a chosen place.
The population of the villages and towns along the way has gradually increased, and the people who are busy doing farm work in the fields have gradually become accustomed to the sight of the steel dragon roaring and galloping on the railway tracks, so it is not as shocking as it was at the beginning.
Apart from anything else, at least now there is basically no such thing as theft of railway tracks.
In addition to severe punishments and road protection teams, a very important point is that Datang's steel production soared, and the prices of iron products also fell rapidly.
Most of the people were already using iron farm tools at this time, and their farming efficiency was far higher than before.
Looking at the villages and towns along the way through the car window, most of the villages and towns are mainly made of bricks and tiles, and many of the houses are even made of glass.
This is also the benefit brought by Li Yunze.
Improvements in the technology of firing bricks and tiles, understanding how to control temperature and the large-scale use of coal have ensured the quality of bricks and tiles, and the output has increased rapidly, which is enough to meet the needs of ordinary people's homes.
As for glass, with technology, this kind of raw material is almost everywhere, so it is naturally not difficult to make.
Looking at everything in front of him, Li Yunze was very satisfied.
After all, my trip here was not in vain. At least it made the people of the Tang Dynasty in this world live better.
The passing geese leave their voices, and the passing people leave their names.
Although he will eventually leave one day, people in this world will never forget the changes he brought to their lives.
This time he didn't think about any imperial hegemony, but he was still very satisfied.
As his thoughts raced, the train began to slow down slowly.
The long-awaited city of Chang'an has finally arrived.