After the Turks were destroyed, the Mongolian, Khitan, Jurchen and other ethnic groups were born in the grassland.
It can be said that the nomads on the grassland are like leeks. After cutting off one stubble, a new one will grow out soon.
Qilaobaat'er's original idea was to annex the Tong'eshe tribe and then retreat to the depths of Mobei, annex the tribes there to regain their strength, wait for the Tang Dynasty to retreat, and then come back to destroy Xue Yantuo's unified grassland.
Of course, it is also possible that Xue Yantuo was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, and they directly became the overlord of the grassland without fighting.
The reason for this idea is that no matter how powerful the Central Plains dynasty was, it never really occupied the grassland, and there was no need to worry that the Tang Dynasty would not leave.
However, Yuan Qi's suspicion made him not reveal his original plan, but instead encouraged Yuan Qi to fight against Datang.
Yuan Qi didn't know this, but what Qilaobaater said was pretty much what he thought, and Yuan Qi's suspicion of him weakened a bit for a while.
"You've been lucky during this period. You can have a good rest in the tribe." Although Yuan Qi's suspicion of Lao Baater has weakened a bit, it has not completely disappeared.
Yuan Qi decided to put him under house arrest first and look at it later.
Qilaobaat'er originally thought that Yuan Qi was going to kill him, but he was stunned when he heard Yuan Qi's words.
"Thank you Khan!"
He naturally understood what Yuan Qi said, but his hatred for Yuan Qi did not diminish because of Yuan Qi's mercy.
If the Tang Dynasty wins, Yuan Qi will be the first to kill him. If the Western Turks win, although Yuan Qi will not kill him, he will not reuse him.
…
After a period of recovery, the soldiers who were slightly injured were almost recovered, those who were seriously injured and couldn't bear it were dead, and the remaining injuries were basically stable.
After several major battles, we still have about 120,000 infantrymen and more than 70,000 cavalrymen.
Added together, it's close to two hundred thousand.
Li Daozong was originally preparing to lead his troops to march towards the Tong'e tribe, but he received news that Li Shimin had sent Li Chengqian to reward the army, so he had to stay where he was and continue to wait.
On this day, Li Daozong was worried about the generals and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will arrive in dozens of miles. Please follow me to greet the Crown Prince."
Dozens of miles can be used to say whether it is far or close. If two parties are walking towards each other, one party only needs to walk a dozen miles to meet each other.
For the cavalry, if they sprint with all their strength, it would only take a stick of incense to cover the distance of more than ten miles.
Of course, this was not war time, so there was no need to rush. They set off and could meet Li Chengqian in about half an hour.
If someone else had come, Li Daozong would not go to greet him at all, let alone lead the generals. He would only send his deputy commander to greet him.
"yes!"
The generals looked excited, and Li Shimin sent the prince here to express his recognition of their achievements.
Moreover, when Li Chengqian came, he not only simply rewarded the troops, but also brought Li Shimin's rewards to them.
Of course, this reward is just an imperial edict, and the items will not be brought after the reward is obtained.
Even so, it was enough to make them excited.
Li Daozong led the generals and five thousand cavalry, and after walking for more than half an hour, he saw an army of twenty to thirty thousand people from a distance.
Li Daozong left five thousand cavalry waiting on the spot and led his generals to ride up to meet them.
When we got closer, we saw clearly that there were only about 10,000 soldiers in this army, and the rest were civilians transporting things.
Naturally, what the civilians transported were items to reward the troops.
"Your Majesty Li Daozong, please see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Li Daozong took the lead in saluting.
"I see His Highness the Crown Prince." The others saluted and shouted in unison.
Li Chengqian turned over and dismounted, quickly stepped forward to help Li Daozhong up, and said: "Uncle Wang, there is no need to be polite. Uncle Wang has made such a great contribution, so he should be the only one to thank Uncle Wang."
"I'm just doing my duty as a minister, I don't dare to claim my merits." Li Daozong said modestly.
Li Chengqian smiled and supported the generals behind Li Daozong: "You don't need to be polite!"
"Thank you, Your Highness." Everyone thanked them before standing up.
Lin Xuan looked at Li Chengqian. He didn't know if it was because he was traveling for days. Li Chengqian looked a lot darker, but his eyes were much firmer and he looked more mature than before.
Lin Xuan didn't know why Li Shimin sent Li Chengqian to reward the army. There was no such scene in history.
Of course, the Tang Dynasty launched troops against the Western Turks many years earlier than in history, so some changes are normal.
"Your Highness, the military camp is still more than ten miles away from here. Please move," Li Daozong said.
Li Chengqian nodded and mounted his horse again.
Li Daozong and his generals came to the rear of Li Chengqian, and the army continued to set off.
"Zhang Liang, it turns out you are accompanying His Highness to protect him!" Cheng Yaojin said happily when he saw Zhang Liang.
The two of them came out of Wagang Village together, and although their relationship is not particularly good, they are still very close.
"You guys have won a big victory this time, I'm a little jealous." Zhang Liang said with some envy.
Although Zhang Liang has been promoted many times since Li Shimin ascended the throne, he has never led an army on the battlefield so far.
For generals, the battlefield is not only a place where they can gain glory and wealth, but it is also a place where their value can be realized.
This kind of war involving hundreds of thousands of people is something that any general with ideals and ambitions longs for.
Moreover, this battle is against a foreign race, and it is very likely to leave a mark in history.
At this stage, their power has basically reached its peak, and what they pursue is fame.
"Haha, there will be a battle next. Although it is not big, it can make you survive. Do you want to give it a try? I don't know if you can still carry the knife now." Cheng Yaojin said with a smile.
"Do you think I have wasted all these years? Let me tell you, although I have not been on the battlefield, I have been practicing martial arts all these years without stopping!" Zhang Liang said dissatisfied.
"Haha, then we will compete to see who can kill more!" Cheng Yaojin laughed.
The reward to the army was not just a formality and then back. Li Chengqian needed to stay in the army for a period of time in order to be able to cash in on the emperor's grace.
Zhang Liang is responsible for protecting Li Chengqian, so he will naturally stay.
"Let's forget it. My duty is to protect His Highness, how can I leave privately?" Zhang Liang shook his head and said.
Cheng Yaojin was joking just now, so he didn't say much.
Lin Xuan heard the conversation between the two and looked at Zhang Liang curiously.
Zhang Liang's face was dark, but he didn't look like a military general. Instead, he looked somewhat elegant.
The fact that the Tang Dynasty was so powerful in the early days of the Tang Dynasty was inseparable from these civil servants and generals.
Compared to familiar people such as Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and Li Jing, Zhang Liang is not well-known, but Zhang Liang ranks sixteenth among the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion.
You can see his ability.
But such a person died unjustly in the end.
Historically, in the 20th year of Zhenguan, Chang Xuande, a native of Shaanzhou, wrote to the court to report his rebellion, claiming that Zhang Liang had raised 500 adopted sons who were brave and good at fighting, and was suspected of treason. Chang Xuande also vividly stated in the secret letter
Speaking of which, Zhang Liang once told the warlock Gongsun Chang that his name matched the prophecy and he was destined to be emperor; he also told the warlock Cheng Gongying that he had dragon scales on his arms. If he raised an army to rebel, would he succeed?
Li Shimin was already ill in bed at the time, and when he was suspicious, he became furious when he saw the secret letter, and immediately sent Prime Minister Ma Zhou Citou and others to check the matter. Of course, Zhang Liang refused to admit it, and even claimed that he had been framed. In fact, as long as he was normal,
Everyone knows that the content in Chang Xuande's secret letter is extremely absurd and cannot withstand scrutiny. Just imagine, if Zhang Liang really wanted to rebel, he would have prepared it in extremely secretive circumstances, raised 500 adopted children, and blatantly revealed it to the sorcerer.
Various actions such as disloyalty are by no means what a rebel should do, but rather seem like actively seeking death.
Of course, the truth has long been concealed in history and cannot be verified. This is just Lin Xuan's own guess.