Chapter 1201: King Tang’s Arrogance
Next, the Bafu had its own person in charge of contacting the Turkic envoys, and of course, Li Tai's instructions were indispensable.
The game with the Turks is a long-term process, and it is necessary to make a longer-term plan than the confrontation with the Northern Qi. In this process, it is not just the Turks that have to be faced, but the entire nomadic group in the northern desert represented by the Turks.
Li Tai was willing to borrow the Yinshan Mountain this time. Of course, he had the intention of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf, but he was more interested in the Turks.
Most of the fear comes from the unknown. The art of war also talks about knowing yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles. Strengthening the understanding of the Turks, even if it cannot directly change the comparison of the enemy's strength, at least it can be more psychologically facing the opponent, rather than being too afraid or contemptuous.
Although the Yinshan battle established the psychological advantage of the Western Wei army in the face of the Turkish army, this battle also had a certain amount of luck. Including Li Tai himself, he needed to have a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of the Turkic strength. By taking the Yinshan Mountain, it is also an opportunity to observe and understand the Turkic army's assembly, marching, supply and combat methods in all aspects.
At the same time, since the Hetao channel is under the control of the Western Wei, the Western Wei can also use this to influence and limit the rhythm and scale of the Turkic war, including the distribution and digestion of spoils.
After explaining the relevant requirements to the officials, Li Tai temporarily put the matter aside and turned to the review of the palace soldiers. The scale of this review is not large. It is expected that only more than 30,000 people will be summoned, and the cavalry will be the main force.
In the war with the Northern Qi that just passed, the Wei army performed well. Different terrains and different forms of battles are all remarkable, especially in the decisive battle of Tongdishui where the few defeated the many, which can be regarded as the highest level of positional warfare in the world.
It is no exaggeration to say that the current Western Wei palace soldiers are the best in the world in terms of combat effectiveness and fighting will. Both Northern Qi and Southern Chen were inferior to Western Wei in this respect.
Especially the Jinyang soldiers of Northern Qi, the decline in combat effectiveness and quality of soldiers was obvious. In his early years, Li Tai fought against the Northern Qi army, or was limited by his own strength and experience, and often had to take risks, and was even forced into very extreme situations. However, in several major battles in recent years, in addition to the growth of his own strength, it is obvious that the Qi army is no longer as brave as in his early years.
The main force of the Northern Qi army is the Jinyang soldiers, that is, the group of people led by Gao Huan Xindu Jianyi. Although there has been some development since then, the results are very limited. After so many years, the war damage and natural old diseases are enough to eliminate most of the original six towns.
Although the Northern Qi still retained the backbone framework of Jinyang nobles, the talents and qualities of the Jinyang nobles themselves are uneven. When encountering strong opponents, it is difficult to lead the entire group with just a few people. The second generation of soldiers are generally inferior to the first generation. From the generals to the soldiers, there are very few who can surpass their predecessors.
As for the Southern Chen, Li Tai did not fight directly with Chen Baxian's direct armed forces, but Chen Baxian had experienced a series of battles such as pacifying the Jiaozhou rebellion, breaking out from Lingnan, pacifying the Hou Jing rebellion, annexing Wang Sengbian, and resisting the Northern Qi. The combat effectiveness of his elite armed forces must not be underestimated.
However, the biggest problem of the Southern Chen is its congenital deficiency, and this disadvantage is magnified several times in the current time and space. If the two sides really want to turn against each other and fight, even if the Southern Chen can perform well on the local battlefield with its founding elite, Li Tai can also lock up the development space of the Southern Chen with his strategic layout ahead of others and trap it in Jiangdong.
Li Tai did not dare to hope that the combat effectiveness of the Guanzhong government soldiers could always remain at its peak, but just hoped to extend this rising period as much as possible and gain more results in the process.
At present, his sights are no longer limited to the battles between Northern Qi and Southern Chen. The Turkic and other border forces have long been included in their war preparedness plans, and some have even launched military operations.
Once the domestic unification is completed and the army steps out of the country, the combat environment and enemy habits and styles will be different, and the Wei army will also need to make corresponding tactical reserves.
The main force assembled in this autumn's military review is the cavalry, and the main training content is the cavalry's long-distance raid and deployment of troops under low logistics support.
Once the army goes out to fight, the experience of inland combat in the past is mostly inapplicable. Distance, logistics and mobility are the most important factors affecting victory or defeat. It is not easy to find military targets outside the Great Wall. The desolate and vast desert sand dunes, getting lost, lack of food, lack of water and other various accidents, any one of which may bring disaster to the army.
To counter or weaken the threats brought by these risks, the most effective way at present is to shorten the war cycle as much as possible. For example, the Western Wei and Northern Qi dynasties often fought for several months, which was not affordable even for Emperor Yang of Sui. Finding the right target, seizing the opportunity, and making a quick and precise strike is the correct way to conduct external operations at present.
For example, Li Tai's previous attack on the Turkic Mugan Khan was a typical example of a battle, in which elite armed forces quickly attacked and destroyed the enemy's command system in one fell swoop, carrying out a precise decapitation operation.
Of course, in actual battles, the Turks are actually more adaptable to the combat environment on the grasslands and are highly alert, so they may not expose too many loopholes. Once a large-scale attack and pursuit is launched on the grassland, the current combat effectiveness of the Wei army may not be able to defeat the Turkic army fighting at home.
Therefore, when selecting combat targets, you must first choose targets that are inconvenient to move in the short term, such as those affected by the climate, reserved for aquatic plants, or simply lured to a fixed location through mutual trading or other actions, and then move there Attack and kill.
If cavalry combat alone cannot break down the enemy's organization and resistance, then the Wei army needs to give full play to positional warfare, which is the strength of the Wei army, abandon the cavalry combat method, form an infantry battle formation with armor and weapons, and strangle the enemy!
During this military parade, Li Tai ordered Bafu's subordinates to create several active military targets in Jingzhou, and ordered the divisions and brigades to quickly attack and capture their respective targets.
In addition to rationing a certain amount of food and grass, the troops mostly used cattle and sheep as live animals, and no supplies from counties and counties along the way were allowed. This can be regarded as a simulation of the Turks' marching and combat methods.
Although the main scope of the martial arts performance is still in Guanzhong and is not a desolate area like the grassland outside the Great Wall, the relevant training must also be carried out step by step. After the knights of the imperial army gradually adapt, they can then be taken outside the Hetao for long-distance training.
When the soldiers of the Guanzhong Prefecture conducted special training for the combat environment of Turks and grasslands, Damu Special Agent, as the envoy, also completed negotiations with the Bafu subordinates and returned with an unsatisfactory result.
While dispatching Damu Special Agent to Guanzhong, the Turkic Wuzun Khan had also led his army to leave the Khan's court and came eastwards in a menacing manner. When Damutqin returned, the Turkic army from the east had also arrived at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain. When Damutqin met the scouts nearby, he was led directly into the Khan's tent.
"When Damu goes here, he must be well received by the Wei people, right? Li Boshan of Wei State must be very happy to know that I am leading an army south to attack his old enemy. How much support is he willing to give me?"
Seeing the dusty Damut Qin, Uzun Khan smiled and asked about the status of the diplomatic mission.
After Damutqin heard this, he didn't have much of a smile on his face. He just lowered his head and said: "Qi Khan, although I was entertained by the King of Tang of the Kingdom of Wei during my mission, I only discussed matters with his ministers. The Kingdom of Wei Only fifty thousand of our country's horses are allowed to go south to Yinshan, and we are only willing to provide food and grass for ten thousand horses..."
After hearing the results of the negotiations reported by Damu's special agent, Wu Zun Khan's face suddenly darkened. He immediately glared at his cousin and said angrily: "I am leading an army to help Wei attack the enemy. How could he be so rude and harsh? Yes?" It wasn't you who was too arrogant and offended King Tang, that's why..."
"I dare not. After I entered the Wei Dynasty, I have always been respectful and obedient, and conveyed the Khan's goodwill to the Wei State. But, it's just that the Tang King was too arrogant..."
Naturally, Damutqin did not dare to take the blame, so he hurriedly told the story of his experience as an envoy. Especially when talking about the arrogance of the Tang Dynasty King, he had to exaggerate it.
After listening to this, Wu Zun Khan's face became gloomy again, and he said angrily: "This Li Boshan is so arrogant! How dare you despise me like this when you bully me and can't hurt him. Sooner or later, I will always Make him pay the price!"
Although he had to be supported by the King of Tang to become the Turkic Khan, he had to rely on his own efforts to secure this position, and this so-called support was not sincere help. He still regarded the defeat of Yinshan in his heart. A great shame. It's just that his strength has not yet returned to its peak, and his reputation has not yet been established. There is a lot of dissatisfaction in his heart, and he can only suppress it for the time being.
Originally, in his calculations, the Western Wei Dynasty should be very happy to let the Turks go to war with the Northern Qi Dynasty, and he could also use this to ask for a lot of assistance from the Western Wei Dynasty. However, he did not expect that the Western Wei Dynasty would react so coldly to this. Instead of providing much support, he actually There are many restrictions.
But now that the army has marched here, it can't go back directly. However, the attitude of the Western Wei Dynasty also made Wuzun Khan couldn't help but be wary. After thinking about it, he summoned his younger brother Buli Khan and ordered: "You lead 30,000 Manan to Yinshan and march along the river. I will lead the others." Forty thousand horses, marching from Monan, we will meet at Wuchuan Baidao, and then enter the Qi Kingdom!"