Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Turk is also not a simple old man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. When he told the king of Tang that this expedition would have an army of 100,000 troops, he was already bluffing.

But in fact, the Turkic troops on this expedition were only a little over 70,000, and a considerable number of them were old and weak and women who were responsible for raising cattle and sheep and other logistical work with the army.

The Turks themselves were not a highly centralized feudal empire. The Khan was more like a tribal leader, and his control over the tribes was closely related to his own power and prestige. Some khans have high prestige and strength, so they have greater control over various tribes. However, even if the position of khan can be hereditary, it is difficult for this kind of control to be hereditary.

Uzun Khan did not come to the throne through normal succession. He was not even elected as a khan because he was strong enough. Instead, he was chosen by external forces. In addition, he was the youngest Ili Khan still alive. The eldest son, so his tribe members reluctantly recognized his position as khan, but they would not obey his orders too much.

When the news of Wei Qi's victory over the Western Wei Dynasty reached the grassland, Wu Zun Khan had the idea of ​​​​taking advantage of the situation to rob the Northern Qi Dynasty, and then ordered all tribes to gather for the expedition. However, until the army officially set off, there were still many tribes. The leader completely ignored the Khan's orders.

Wu Zun Khan had no choice but to hope that this expedition would be a complete victory and return with a full load. By then, this great victory would be enough to frighten the tribes who were disrespectful to him, and even bring down those tribes. Split and merge!

In fact, there are only more than 50,000 Turks who are willing to follow Wuzun Khan on the expedition, and the rest are Turks' vassals and servant tribes.

It's just that these servant tribes also obeyed Wu Zun Khan's orders and didn't respect them enough. Otherwise, if they had gathered people all the way to the east during the heyday of Mu Gan Khan, they might have been able to gather them when they arrived at the border of Northern Qi. One hundred thousand men and horses.

The defeat of Turkic Yinshan not only cost the life of Mugan Khan, but also the majesty of Turkic, the overlord of the grassland. Because of this defeat, not only did a large number of vassal forces defy Wuzun Khan, but some even broke away from the control of the Turks and came directly to the south of Yinshan Mountain to request submission to the Western Wei Dynasty.

Today, Wuyuan Dingbian Town, located on the Hetao Plain, is no longer the desolate scene it once was. There are many farmland and pastures along both sides of the river. In addition to the troops of the Western Wei Dynasty stationed here, there are also many grassland barbarians who have settled here.

Some of them still maintain the habit of nomadic herding, while others accept household registration and become residents of Dingbian Town. They engage in farming and herding while also gaining a more stable living environment.

In addition to these Han and Hu people who have settled here, there are also many caravans traveling to and from the Hetao Plain. Wuyuanding Border Town has naturally become their main gathering place. The arrival of these people has also made this place bustling and lively. It has become the gathering center of wealth and popularity south of Yinshan Mountain.

When the Turkic army passed by here, they could not help but be stunned and envious when they saw the densely populated and prosperous scene of goods gathering around Dingbian City. They deliberately wanted to get closer and see more clearly, but the Hu and Han soldiers stationed in Dingbian City had already galloped forward to drive them away, and they were vigilant and did not allow them to get closer.

"Don't be envious of the prosperity of the Han region! The Han people are accustomed to using sweet words and beautiful goods to seduce the barbarians. Once the barbarians can't bear the temptation and approach the Han land, they will be killed and enslaved! My brother Mugan Khan suffered because of this. You wait Only by living on the four sides of Gongcong Khan's tent can we save our lives, otherwise we will be enslaved and killed by the Han people!"

Buyi Khan, who was leading the army passing by here, saw the unconcealed envy of his followers looking at the prosperous Dingbian City, so he scolded him loudly with a straight face.

The Turks did not have a fixed city to confine and restrict their tribes. In previous years, when the tribes were advancing rapidly and their power was growing rapidly, they naturally united as one. However, as the rising momentum was thwarted, these tribesmen were no longer as loyal as before. Once the tribesmen felt rebellious, it would be impossible to prevent them. Therefore, they could only resort to settlements far away from the Han people and various intimidations. to control the people.

Fortunately, these Turkic tribesmen were willing to follow the Khan on the expedition, and their loyalty was guaranteed. They did not flee en masse during the expedition. On the contrary, some tribesmen could not help but said to Buli Khan: " The Han people are good at managing people and things. In just a few years, they have made the border wilderness so prosperous. When did the Khan lead his tribe's warriors to attack Dingbian City to avenge the Yinshan Mountains and plunder the goods and distribute them to the tribe's warriors... …”

"Don't talk nonsense...don't make such comments in front of others!"

When Na Buli Khan heard this, he immediately became angry. Even though he glared and yelled angrily, he actually had similar thoughts in his heart. The longing for the prosperous Han Dynasty is the lingering dream of these grassland tribes. Weak tribes will find ways to seek dependence and shelter, while powerful tribes hope to plunder and conquer!

Although the Western Wei Dynasty was not enthusiastic enough about the Turks sending troops this time, they finally provided some help. In addition, there was no shortage of water and grass supplies along the Hetao line. The group of troops led by Buli Khan could march directly with light equipment and a faster marching speed. Hurry up and soon arrive at Yunzhong, which is located in the northern territory of Northern Qi.

After arriving in Yunzhong, Buli Khan did not stop there. Instead, he sent people to Wuchuan Baidao to find and contact Wuzun Khan and his party, and at the same time dispatched scouts south to investigate the true and false situation of Northern Qi.

Although it was late autumn at this time, Northern Qi, which had just experienced a major defeat, still had not come out of the shadow of defeat. The most obvious manifestation was the emptiness and chaos on the border defense, which had not made any systematic adjustments to the defense deployment so far.

So when the scouts sent by Buli Khan went south to investigate, they found that they encountered almost no Qi army guards. There were no organized armed forces of the Qi army all the way to the Great Wall of Beishan.

Naturally, Khan Yiyi was overjoyed at this discovery, and immediately led his troops to attack the Great Wall of Beishan, hoping to break through the Northern Qi's defense line in the north with lightning speed.

The Northern Qi Dynasty had known about the Turkic invasion for a long time, but knowing was one thing, and actually making a defensive response was another.

Although peace talks have been held with the Western Wei Dynasty, the Wei army's forces have also entered the Hebei region. The Northern Qi Dynasty urgently needs to establish a new line of defense to guard the capital of Yedu. Due to the current domestic situation, it is difficult to deploy troops on two fronts. Now that the Turks are coming, no one can be sure whether they are colluding with the Western Wei Dynasty, so Qi Zhu Gaoyan does not dare to devote his main force to the front line in northern Xinjiang.

The Northern Qi people were timid and hesitant, but the enemy would not wait for them to make a decision and respond. Soon the Turkic Buli Khan led his troops to the front line of the Beishan Great Wall and launched an attack on the Great Wall.

Although there are still some garrison troops on the Beishan Great Wall, in the face of the raging Turkic offensive, it is difficult to garrison these troops alone for a long time. Once the Beishan Great Wall is breached, Jinyang will become dangerous.

When Qi Zhu Gaoyan asked the generals for advice, all the generals were at a loss to deal with this situation. Even if they had some suggestions, they would just send their troops to the border to rescue the emergency. But this is tantamount to completely exposing his back to the military front of the Western Wei Dynasty. If possible, Gao Yan would no longer have to hesitate so far.

In the end, Hu Luguang, who had recently returned to Jinyang, volunteered and was willing to lead five thousand elite soldiers to rescue the Beishan Great Wall and defeat the Turkic army. Gao Yan was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately appointed Hu Luguang as the governor of Sizhou and led his army northward for reinforcements.

Hu Luguang led his army along the way and arrived at Pingcheng first. However, he heard that the Turks had made a breakthrough in Shuozhou, and he became anxious.

But he did not lose control because of this. On the one hand, he informed the Shuozhou defenders that reinforcements had arrived and asked the Shuozhou defenders to stand still and wait for reinforcements. However, he himself gave up reinforcing Shuozhou and went straight to the north. Hengzhou, crossed the Great Wall from Hengzhou, and then detoured to fight back. While the Shuozhou defenders were waiting for reinforcements and trapped the Turks and horses in Shuozhou, they attacked the Turks and horses from both front and rear to defeat them.

The Turkic Buli Khan did not expect to be attacked on the back road, so he only led a few dozen cavalry to escape from the battlefield in embarrassment, and then fled to the rear. The Northern Qi army pursued them all the way, vowing to wipe out this defeated Turkic army that took advantage of the situation and expelled their sullen anger at being brutally tortured by the Wei army.

But when the Qi army chased to Shengle City, they encountered another group of Turkic troops fighting out of Wuchuan Baidao. The two sides met in the countryside outside Shengle City. Although the Qi army also killed many enemies, they were still outnumbered. They could only fight and retreat under the leadership of Hu Luguang, and returned to Shengle City to garrison.

After Wuzun Khan besieged this group of Northern Qi troops in Shengle City, he dispatched his troops around the territory to gather the defeated troops in the front. As a result, the military strength was restored, and he successively defeated several Qi army breakouts in the city. .

Since Shengle City itself is located outside the Beishan Great Wall and separated from the Great Wall defense line of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Shuozhou saw that Hu Luguang's troops had not returned yet, so they sent divisions and brigades for reinforcements. However, they were attacked head-on by the Turkic army and were defeated. Encirclement and annihilation in the field.

For a time, the Great Wall defense line from Shuozhou to Hengzhou was all exposed to the Turks' blades.