Tibet

The distance from Qinzhou to Taozhou is about 500 miles. The mountains are overlapping and the road is dangerous. You need to pass through Qinzhou, Weizhou and Minzhou, all of which pass through the south of the three states.

Xin Yunjing was very familiar with the terrain of Longyou, but he still found a guide and passed by a road that could take a camel.

The next morning, Li Ye appointed Xin Yunjing as the chief general and Ying Yanglang general Zhang Bingquan as the deputy general. The two led 15,000 troops and 10,000 camels, and marched toward Lintan County in Taozhou.

Li Ye then ordered Li Baozhen as the chief general and Zuo Dazhi as the deputy general to prepare to lead an army of 10,000 to ambush the Tibetan army in Weizhou. He also ordered Lei Wanchun to be the chief general and Xu Jian as the deputy general to also lead an army of 10,000 to ambush the Minzhou army. of the Tubo army.

As for the Tubo army in Lanzhou, Li Ye personally led an army of 30,000 to deal with it.

Of course, they did not set off immediately. They had to wait until Xin Yunjing successfully attacked the Han prisoner-of-war camp and Qian Yi mobilized his whole body before they set off.

In the Chinese army's tent, Li Ye said to the four generals: "I have said everything that needs to be said. The rest is up to you to perform. Whether the enemy is counterattacking Qinzhou or rescuing Taozhou, it must be under your control." It is under control, so grasping the timing and being familiar with the terrain are the two keys to victory. Scouts and guides must be fully utilized.

In addition, everyone should not carry baggage. I will never blame everyone for normal casualties, and it is not necessary to ambush the enemy. It is normal to fight fiercely with the enemy, but I want to remind everyone of two points. First, the Tibetan army is very brave. , you have plenty of physical strength, and you must not underestimate the enemy just because your own army has a large number. The year before last, I fought a fierce battle with 2,000 Tibetan troops in Anxi with an army of 5,000, and almost destroyed the entire army.

Second, you must make full use of your own advantages to fight the Tibetan army. I will give each of your armies a thousand heavy armored infantry and a thousand heavy crossbow troops. I hope that you will make full use of your own advantages and try not to get into a fight with the Tibetan army. "

Li Ye glanced at everyone and said slowly: "That's all I have to say. I hope everyone is ready and ready to go at any time!"

The four of them bowed together and saluted, "Obey!"

The Tibetans occupied Longyou not long ago, only one year. They were far from familiar with the hinterland of Longyou. They basically stationed their troops in the main counties. They would only go to remote areas unless they were performing tasks. They will all stay in the central city. Only as time passes, three to five years later, or even longer, will Tubo truly confirm that Longyou belongs to itself and begin to establish its own government in Longyou to manage the land and people. It is still in the occupation and plundering stage.

Xin Yunjing led an army of 15,000 people to march along the southern edge of each state. Not to mention the Tibetan army, not even ordinary people were encountered along the way. The army marched towards Taozhou and stayed overnight. Five days later, they entered the territory of Taozhou.

That evening, the army temporarily camped beside a river to rest.

"General Zhang, judging from your accent, it sounds like you are from the Longyou and Hexi areas!"

Xin Yunjing's lieutenant was Zhang Bingquan, general Ying Yanglang, who was also one of the earliest people to follow Li Ye. His wife was also a Sogdian Shiguo native. She got married to a group of comrades in arms and became friends with a group of orchids who returned to Sogdiana.

Zhang Bingquan smiled and said: "I am from Zhangye. I was originally a personal soldier of General Pei."

Xin Yunjing understood that Li Ye was Pei Fang's nephew. Pei Fang must have given a group of personal soldiers to Li Ye, who took him to Suiye and made achievements in the Western Regions.

Speaking of which, Xin Yunjing and Li Ye also have a somewhat roundabout relationship. His wife is the Li family of Longxi, and the wife of Li Ye's uncle Pei Jia is the cousin of Xin Yunjing's wife. Therefore, Xin Yunjing and Pei Jia are brothers-in-law, but this relationship is It's also too far away, so it's hard to make a connection.

The only advantage is that because of his grandfather, Li Ye will be easily accepted by the wealthy families in Longyou and Hexi. After all, the Pei family is very powerful in Hexi, and there are extensive marriages between families, so they will have some connections.

"Has General Zhang participated in many battles in the river?"

Zhang Bingquan nodded, "In my humble position, I have participated in more than thirty wars, large and small, with the Turks, Uyghurs, Geluolu people, Sogdians, Great Eaters, Tocharians, Khazars, Tubos and others. The Yan army fought."

Xin Yunjing was in awe. He actually fought with so many ethnic groups. No wonder he could be promoted from a small soldier to an eagle and general. It was all based on his strength and his own efforts. "

"Can General Zhang read and write?"

Zhang Bingquan smiled and said: "I didn't know how to do it before. Then I studied at Suiye for two years. All the generals participated in the study. The great poet Wang Changling taught us. Now we basically have no problem reading and writing. Your Highness has requirements for studying, like Xu Jian and Yu Changyang, based on their qualifications, should be promoted to General Hu Benlang, but they are not good at reading and writing, so they are seen reading and practicing calligraphy every day."

"Reading is really important, otherwise you won't even be able to understand the information!"

Xin Yunjing became a little worried. His brother Xin Changwu couldn't even write his own name. He had to force him to read some books. Otherwise, how would he be promoted in the future?

Xin Yunjing smiled and asked: "General Zhang, how do you think the Tibetan army in Lintan County should be fought?"

Zhang Bingquan thought for a while and said: "His Royal Highness said that it is best for the Tubo army to think that we are the Qinzhou Army, so Beiji suggested that we split into two. Beiji would lead an army of 5,000 to attack the Han prisoner-of-war camp. The Tubo army would definitely come to catch up. The general leads an ambush halfway, and the humble officer turns around and fights back, we will definitely defeat the Tibetan army!"

Xin Yunjing frowned and said: "But there will be two problems in this way. One is that our process is too fast and cannot realize the function of bait. It has become a simple rescue. The other Tibetan troops have no time to mobilize. The second is the real strength of the troops. Then the Tibetan army will know that we are more than five thousand people."

Zhang Bingquan smiled and said: "We can directly occupy Lintan County, not rush to withdraw, and buy time for the enemy to support us. As for the strength of more than 5,000 troops, as His Highness said, it is not surprising at all. There are millions of refugees in Qinzhou .”

Xin Yunjing thought for a while, and if he wanted to defeat the pursuers, he really had to press the entire army, so King Qi asked them to carry the banner of the Qinzhou Army for this reason.

Xin Yunjing made up his mind, "Then let's do it!"

At this time, the scouts sent earlier came back to report and reported to them the situation of the prisoner of war camp and the Tibetan army.

"The prisoner-of-war camp is located in the east of the county, about ten miles away from Lintan County. It is built in a mountain. It is actually two canyons close to each other. Male and female prisoners of war are each imprisoned in a canyon. A trench three feet wide is dug in front of the canyon, which is about 30 meters wide. A thousand Tibetan troops guarded the prisoners of war."

"Is there an ambush to the east of the prisoner of war camp?" Xin Yunjing asked again.

"Yes! About five miles east of the prisoner of war camp, there is a large forest where the army can ambush!"