Tibet

In the end, the Tongluo army was not inferior to the Tang army, and suffered a disastrous defeat on the Shuofang battlefield. More than 8,000 Tongluo cavalry were killed and nearly 6,000 were captured. Abu Si disguised himself as a soldier and fled in defeat.

They killed three thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred self-inflicted losses. The Tang army also paid the price of more than four thousand casualties.

However, the war was not over. Li Chu ordered Lai Yi to lead an army of 5,000 to guard Lingzhou, and he himself led an army of 60,000 to continue north to Fengzhou.

Three days later, the Tang army took the lead in arriving in Lingwu County and set up camp in Lingwu County.

In the big tent, Li Chu was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his hands. In this campaign against Absi, Li Chu was only the deputy marshal of the three armies, but the real grand marshal was the prime minister Li Linfu. Li Linfu served as the envoy to observe the army and also served as the military envoy to Shuofang.

Even if Li Linfu only serves temporarily, the final political achievement still belongs to Li Linfu.

Li Linfu didn't do nothing. Li Linfu arranged only the financial expenses for this expedition, the allocation of materials and food, and the recruitment of civilians.

An Lushan even wanted to pick peaches and sent 30,000 troops to Shengzhou. It was Li Linfu's pressure that forced An Lushan to withdraw his army to Youzhou.

Of course, Li Chu also had a mission. Before he left, he promised his grandfather that he would dedicate Absi's head to the court. Now that Absi had escaped from the battlefield, he was really frustrated.

What Li Chu is most worried about is that Abu Si leads the whole tribe to escape into the grassland, and it will be difficult to catch him again.

Although Cheng Qianli led the Beiting Army to intercept in the Jinshan area, the prerequisite was that Absi had to flee to Jinshan.

In addition, his father Li Heng also gave Li Chu a task to test Li Linfu's sincerity in reconciliation.

Li Linfu's attitude was crucial to the prince's status, but Li Linfu was too cunning, and Li Heng would not dare to believe him if he could not see his sincerity in reconciliation.

The father and son discussed a way to use Cheng Qianli's secret of loyalty to the prince to test Li Linfu's sincerity. At worst, Cheng Qianli would be replaced by the emperor, but Li Linfu's true intention must be tested.

Li Chu suggested using Li Ye. He believed that Li Ye could represent Li Linfu's intentions, and Li Heng also agreed to his son's plan.

At this time, a guard said at the door: "Your Highness, Ambassador Guo is urgently seeking to see you!"

Li Chu nodded, "Invite him in!"

Not long after, the veteran Guo Ziyi walked in quickly, knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Guo Ziyi, of humble rank, is here to see His Highness King Guangping!"

"Old General, please wake up!"

Guo Ziyi stood up and said: "I have something important to report to His Highness."

"What's up?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, a Hu merchant from the grassland just now told me some important news. The hundreds of thousands of Tongluo tribes are no longer in Fengzhou, but in the Jinhe area, five hundred miles northeast of Fengzhou."

Li Chu quickly opened the map and found Jinhe, which was in the northeast of Fengzhou and had already crossed Langshan Mountain. Li Chu was surprised, "This is the territory of the Huihe people."

"We haven't completely reached Uihe yet. This is exactly the junction of Datang and Uihe."

Li Chu frowned, "Is Abusi going to defect to Huihe?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head, "Reporting to Your Highness, the matter may not be that simple. About ten days ago, another grassland Hu merchant came to Lingwu. He told me the news that Uighurs had assembled tens of thousands of troops near Yinshan Mountain. , I read the interrogation records today and found that the Tongluo tribe had close contact with the Uighurs before, and the Uighur envoys went to Fengzhou many times."

Li Chu pondered for a moment and said: "What the old general means is that the Uighurs want to annex the population of the Tongluo tribe?"

Guo Ziyi nodded, "That's exactly what I meant. I suspected that the Uighurs had set up a trap to lure the Tongluo tribe north to the Yinshan Mountains. Once they entered the territory of the Uighurs, they would swallow up the Tongluo tribe.

Abu Si must have sensed the ambitions of the Uighurs, so he made two preparations. On the one hand, he allowed the Tongluo tribe to go north and stay near the border; on the other hand, he went all out to occupy Shuofang. But now that they were defeated and unable to stay in Shuofang, They are likely to venture north to Uihe. "

Li Chu walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "I thought he would lead his troops to flee to the Geluolu tribe in the north of Jinshan Mountain. It is said that the two wives he later married were Princess Geluolu, and the Geluolu tribe would take him in."

Guo Ziyi smiled bitterly and said: "Abusi knew that Cheng Qianli would intercept him in the Jinshan area, and also knew that we would pursue him all the way. I don't think he would take this risk."

"But he would rather risk being annexed by Huihe!"

"Your Highness, Abusi should have a glimmer of hope for the Uighurs. Perhaps he thinks that the Uighurs will agree to his dependence and independence, just like the Sijie tribe and the Pugu tribe. But this is just Abusi's extravagant hope, unless he can defeat the Uighur army. , Huihe will compromise, otherwise it is absolutely impossible!"

Li Chu thought for a moment and said, "In the opinion of the old general, what should we do next?"

"I suggest that the army continue to march north. Even if the Uighurs annex the Tongluo tribe, they must make the Uighurs hand over Abu Si. We must put pressure on the Uighurs!"

Li Chu nodded, "Just follow the old general's advice, let's continue heading north!"

Early the next morning, 60,000 Tang troops set off to continue their march north. Guo Ziyi immediately organized a thousand large leather rafts to transport grain and grass to ensure the Tang army's logistics.

Li Ye returned to the command camp, joined the army as coach Li Chu, and continued to follow him north.

Of course, Li Chu's army was not limited to Li Ye alone. There were more than 20 people who were basically civil servants. They had their own responsibilities. There were those who were in charge of various Cao's affairs, those who organized documents and maps, and those who were military staff. , counselors in charge of intelligence joined the army.

Li Ye did not have any division of labor. He was the only general like him to join the army. In fact, Li Ye himself understood that his duty was to perform secret missions for Li Chu, but he had nothing to do for the time being.

In the past few days, Li Ye would practice martial arts in the water at night. He found that he had made rapid progress in practicing martial arts after participating in the war. In Chang'an, he could hold a breath for up to five swings at a time. The resistance was too great. Now the resistance is even greater, but he has improved to Thirteen or four times each time, the sense of control becomes clearer. War is the best catalyst for him to practice martial arts.

At this time, a soldier galloped over on horseback, clasped his fists at him and said, "Li joins the army. Your Highness invites you!"

Li Ye followed the soldiers to Li Chu's side, cupped his fists and said, "See you, Your Highness!"

Li Chu nodded and asked with a smile: "What does Li Canjun think will be the outcome of this trip to the north?"

Li Ye thought for a while and said: "Beizi heard that the Tongluo tribe went northward, but did not enter the Uighur territory. This shows that Abusi is also wary of the Uighurs. Beizhi feels that he will definitely hold a hand, and it is very likely that he will fight with the Luo army and the Uighur army. If he wins, Absi will occupy the magpie's nest; if he loses, he will take his tribe and flee to Geluolu."

"It makes sense. What do you mean, he will most likely flee to Geluolu?"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "Maybe the Uighur army underestimated the enemy and was defeated by the Tongluo Ai army, but this possibility is unlikely. There is a 70% chance of fleeing to Geluolu."

Li Chu pondered for a moment and said: "I want to give you a task!"

Li Ye knew that this was the real purpose of King Guangping summoning him, and he was going to give him a secret mission.

Li Ye quickly clasped his fists and said, "Please give me your orders, Your Highness!"

Li Chu took out a letter from his arms and said, "I want you to send a letter to Cheng Qianli for me!"

"Follow the order! I will go to Beiting now."

Li Chu shook his head, "He is not in Beiting now. He is leading his army in the southern area of ​​​​Jinshan, preparing to intercept the Tongluo tribe. I don't know exactly where he is. I need to find it myself."

"I understand the humble position!"

Li Chu handed Li Ye a flat iron box sealed with wax and said to him in a low voice: "The letter is in the box. This letter is half public and half private. It is of great importance to my father. If the situation is critical, I must Ruin it, remember!”

Li Ye nodded silently.

Li Chu handed him another gold medal and said: "This is given to me by the emperor. With this card, all the grassland ministries will provide you with convenience. Then I will arrange two guide soldiers for you. You go and prepare, and we will set off in the afternoon." "

"In this humble position, I will definitely fulfill His Highness's instructions!"

Li Chu watched Li Ye's back go away, and he was full of expectations. He had a good impression of Li Ye, and he hoped that Li Ye could hand over the letter to Cheng Qianli completely and not betray his trust.