Chapter 290 You Can Leave Your Name Here

"This is Pei Xingjian."

Li Shimin couldn't laugh or cry:

"Even if you don't go in person, you should at least send someone to give him a ride."

Su Dingfang chuckled and speculated:

"The envoy was only a few dozen people, but they were able to quell the chaos and capture the thieves. They were even able to claim credit for their efforts by cutting stones. This shows how great the merit is."

Su Dingfang himself was quite tempted by these words.

In comparison, the Persian governor really gives away whoever he likes. Anyway, don't stop me from returning to Chang'an to express my merits!

"It only takes half a year to send people from the Western Regions to Tocharo and return."

Street sweeper Su Dingfang shook his head. When you come back, the emperor will not be able to summon you alone. He may have forgotten who you are.

Okay, Li Shimin expressed his understanding.

After all, this last royal family was just borrowing it to cover up others' eyes.

Although he also admired Pei Xingjian's strategy, Li Shimin was still a little puzzled:

"Is there no one in the four towns of Anxi?"

"The Western Region is remote, but the location is critical, so it should be guarded by good soldiers."

He had an impression that there were garrison troops after the destruction of Gaochang, and if the four towns in Anxi were placed, these four towns should certainly be the towns of the Fourth Army.

Although Pei Xingjian's strategy is worthy of praise, shouldn't he just send the troops from the four towns to kill the thieves to scare Xiao Xiao?

These measures are beneficial to the country.

But, it's not Li Shimin's style.

Whenever he encounters a question, Du Ruhui will simply look through the previous records, and then make a guess after comprehensive analysis:

"The war with Goguryeo lasted for thirteen years, I'm afraid..."

How to call Li Zhi made Du Ruhui a little worried for a while, and finally said vaguely:

"I'm afraid that in order to save money, the emperor withdrew the troops from the four towns of Anxi."

Li Shimin's eyes widened. After thinking for a moment, he remembered his son's hesitant attitude towards Tibet and his unclear behavior, and then he knew that Du Ruhui's guess was likely to be true.

"This Li Zhi is really irrational!"

Changsun Wuji nodded in his heart and thought:

Is there any way to stay in the palace and have a meal today?

Don't get me wrong, I just want to be close to my good nephew.

Moreover, I have to explain to His Majesty in private what "Changsun Wuji wields power" means.

Previously, he thought that his comeback would be quite smooth, but now...

The homophonic criticism made everyone dumbfounded. Among the people, only Li Shi𪟝 blushed.

It is known that Goguryeo impoverished the Tang Dynasty.

And it is known that the one who destroyed Goguryeo was Li Shi𪟝.

So please ask...

"The battle in Goguryeo is my responsibility."

Seeing Li Shi𪟝's expression, Li Shimin quickly took responsibility:

"When we personally conquer Liaodong later, we will inevitably advance by sea and land. It will be decided in one battle, so that we will not be embarrassed by our efforts."

Li Shi opened his mouth, as if he saw a feat that would go down in history grow wings and fly farther and farther.

Then, with a "snap", His Majesty waved it away.

Su Dingfang, who was sitting calmly, couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

[Master Ni Ni said it is difficult to criticize Pei Xingjian’s behavior, and there may be a lot of bad words to say.

For Li Zhi, it was an out-and-out surprise, because Datang was really short of handsome talents at this time.

In 667, Su Dingfang, who was guarding Hexi, died of illness.

Two years later, Li 𪟝 died of illness.

Immediately afterwards came the defeat of Dafeichuan, Tubo was furious, and the barbarians in the Western Regions were ready to take action.

In this case, Pei Xingjian's appearance finally made Li Zhi's face less ugly.

So in the same year that Pei Xingjian escorted the Western Turk rebels back to Chang'an, Li Zhi sent him out without stopping.

Because the East Turks are making trouble again.

But this time, Li Zhi, who relied on his famous general, directly raised an army of 300,000 and handed it over to Pei Xingjian to command.

This battle was praised by the "Old Book of Tang" as an unprecedented success.

But to be honest, whether it was Wei Qing and Huo Qubing’s great victory, or the consecutive destruction of several countries during the Zhenguan period, one main point can actually be seen:

When fighting against nomads, large numbers of people and small numbers are never the decisive factor. Too many soldiers may bring down one's logistics.

But fortunately, Pei Xingjian was strong enough and commanded an army of 300,000 in an orderly manner, which not only protected the logistics but also suppressed the Turks' scope of activities. The final battle was decided in Montenegro.

After this battle, the logistics were in crisis, and winter was gradually approaching, so Pei Xingjian had no choice but to shift troops.

The following year, Pei Xingjian led another army to the north. This time, he used a divorce strategy. The two rebel leaders of the Eastern Turks were instigated by Pei Xingjian to turn against each other. One of them had no choice but to leave his family and belongings in Jinya Mountain, intending to attack the Tang army to prove himself. clean.

As a result, Pei Xingjian's hometown in Jinya Mountain was attacked by Pei Xingjian as soon as they were on the road. The two rebel leaders completely turned against each other and wrote to Pei Xingjian respectively to accuse the other party. After receiving Pei Xingjian's promise not to kill anyone, they surrendered to Pei Xingjian respectively.

This East Turkic rebellion should have ended here, but an accident happened when he entered the court to show his merits.

Prime Minister Pei Yan said that the rebels surrendered because Cheng Wuting fought bravely and his retreat was occupied by the Uighurs, so he surrendered.

What achievements did Pei Xingjian have?

Li Zhi had little sense left, so he believed the prime minister's words without thinking, and beheaded the two Turkic leaders in public.

Pei Xingjian, who was expelled, sighed and believed that it would be impossible for the Eastern Turks to submit to the Tang Dynasty in the future.

The fact is as Pei Xingjian said, just two years later, the Turks rebelled again, and Li Zhi still ordered Pei Xingjian's general.

It's just that Pei Xingjian didn't give Li Zhi much face this time, and died of illness at home shortly after accepting the order at the age of sixty-four.

But someone has to smooth things over, right?

So Xue Rengui, who had been exiled for five years, was recalled and took command again.

The 69-year-old Xue Rengui was ordered to go to war. After meeting the seriously ill Li Zhi in the capital, he hurried to the front line of Yunzhou.

The Eastern Turks who rebelled again were relieved by Pei Xingjian's death. They thought that the Tang army would be defeated, but they didn't expect that the new commander would rush more fiercely than them.

The Turks sent someone to ask: Can you leave your name?

"Xue Rengui!"

The Turks didn't believe it: We all heard that Xue Rengui died in Xiangzhou after being exiled, what nonsense are you talking about?

So Xue Rengui rode alone again and took off his helmet in front of the Turks. This face made the Turks terrified and lost their fighting spirit.

Some Turks who had followed Xue Rengui to conquer Huihe Tiele even dismounted and bowed, and then turned their horses and left directly after bowing, unwilling and afraid to fight Xue Rengui.

After seeing the morale of the Turks fall to the bottom, Xue Rengui slowly put on his helmet again, and then led the army to attack without hesitation.

In this battle, more than 10,000 heads were beheaded, 30,000 were captured, and 30,000 cattle and sheep were obtained. The Tang army followed Xue Rengui to chase and kill for hundreds of miles before reluctantly returning.

For the Tang army, this kind of "Zhenguan-style" victory has not been tasted for too long. With such a god general in our Tang, how dare the bandits knock on the border?

But for Xue Rengui, who had a rough old age, this Yunzhou victory was just a flash in the pan. He died of illness on the front line only half a year after the victory.

This white-robed god general who was once appointed by Li Shimin but was not used, shone in the reign of Emperor Gaozong, and dragged his old body to draw a relatively decent end for the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong. 】

Upon hearing the news of his death, Li Shimin and Su Dingfang were very calm.

If you think that dying at the age of seventy is considered early, you might as well look at your Majesty.

If you think that dying of illness is not a good ending, you might as well look at Changsun Wuji and Hou Junji.

The two veterans who experienced the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty were extremely free and easy about this.

"I am very lucky to have achieved success and fame in this life."

Su Dingfang's emotion was simple.

Then he was taught another lesson by Li Shimin:

"If you can show what you have learned, you can open up the borders for the country, eliminate future troubles for your Majesty, and punish the Liao bandits for the Tang Dynasty."

"Such achievements are all due to your Majesty's persistence, how dare you take credit?"

Su Dingfang suddenly wanted to go out now and fight with Li Shimin in armor to vent his anger!

But unfortunately, Li Shimin didn't have time to care about these words at this time.

He just sighed:

"Three hundred thousand troops?"

The inner feelings were quite complicated, and he actually envied his son a little.

Then there was a huge confusion.

The civil officials, military officers, soldiers and lands are all clearly reserved for you, how can you still let people take advantage of you?

It takes 300,000 troops to fight against the Eastern Turks, who will farm the fields? How much reward should be given? How much deterrent effect can it have?

"For these Liao people, just support their pro-Tang lineage and wipe out those who have dissent with thunder and lightning."

"What's the difficulty?"

Li Shimin shook his head unconsciously:

"300,000 troops are all out, and people and horses are all taxes. When they come, the bandits retreat, and when they return, they will invade again. What's the use?"

Even Fang Xuanling nodded in agreement:

What's the use of having so many people? After you leave, they will still do what they should do.

The only thing that can deter those who are ready to make a move is the blood and heads of the Liao bandits!

And just thinking about 300,000 people, Fang Xuanling didn't dare to think about how much tax he would need to withdraw.

What's not good with so much money?

Moreover, seeing the experiences and endings of these veterans, everyone could see that this prince Zhi really didn't know much about fighting.

As for these two veterans, Li Shimin stroked his slightly curled beard and pondered.

Pei Xingjian seemed to be a talented general and had a lot of experience in military strategy.

But perhaps it was just because he was old at that time, and his old body made this general unable to ride on horseback.

After all, Pei Xingjian's brother Pei Xingyan was a famous general.

So while he was not old, if he was trained more, he might also be a god general!

And Xue Rengui was even more so. Li Shimin liked him more and more.

If his family had not fallen into decline and he was not a noble, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs had not checked the register, he would have wanted to summon him to the palace tonight to teach archery.

At the same time, Li Shimin also confirmed his previous thoughts:

"The emperor of Tang can choose not to lead the army in person, but he must understand the military formation."

"The major affairs of the country are sacrifices and military affairs. Blindly assigning people will not only waste money, but also damage the prestige of Tang. How can it be done?"

...

Fa Zheng sighed that this great Tang general was really amazing. He could still defeat the enemy at the age of 69.

On the other hand, he asked a question:

"Why do I feel that the Tang army seems to be getting weaker and weaker?"

Liu Bei changed his posture to make his calves feel more relaxed, and affirmed:

"It's better to say that it was too strong during the Zhenguan period."

Although Pei Xingjian's record and fighting style are still amazing, it is not incomprehensible.

In contrast, in the early Tang Dynasty, he rushed 3,000 miles to pursue and destroy Tuyuhun, and 3,000 cavalry raided and defeated the Eastern Turks in the snowy night.

Is this something a human would do?