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Chapter 1115: The Turkic Army Marches South (Part )

In history, nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu, Rouran, Xianbei, Turks, Uighurs, Khitans, and Jurchens were all particularly powerful when they rose to power. They constantly invaded the Central Plains. In addition to plundering more survival resources, this was also an important reason for maintaining the system.

Unlike the Central Plains dynasties, whose complete life cycle is divided into the founding period, development period, and extinction period, the real life span of a dynasty is reflected in the long and slow development period, while the founding period and extinction period at the beginning and end are both very short.

The "dynasty" of nomadic peoples only has a founding period.

This is a monster that can only survive by constantly devouring other forces. As long as it stops eating, it will disintegrate and collapse.

Genghis Khan was a hero who took this expansion method to the extreme, conquering almost the entire Eurasian continent and establishing the unprecedented Mongol Empire. Unfortunately, even though he was a genius, he had no way to maintain such a huge body.

As a result, after his death, the entire power was divided into several kingdoms. These regional countries continued to disperse and eventually disappeared in the long river of history.

In fact, the Chinese nation has produced many heroes like Genghis Khan, but they know that such a short-lived dynasty is meaningless, so they put more energy into continuing this system and defeating the long river of time.

If people were like Genghis Khan, who only considered fighting but not defense, and only pursued size and scale but not long-term sustainability, people like Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han would have been able to conquer the world.

The Jurchens of later generations lived in a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural environment. They sat in the northeast and looked at the world. To the south was a stable agricultural dynasty, and to the north was a powerful nomadic people.

This geographical environment determines their perspective, allowing them to clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of both.

They combined the advantages of both and established the Qing Dynasty, which had both powerful military force and stability that would last for a long time. They broke through the shortcomings of the Central Plains dynasties that were long-lasting but not strong, and the nomadic khanates that were strong but not short-lived.

However, the nomadic peoples did not have the strength to fight against the powerful civilization of the Central Plains. Those in power were afraid of repeating the old path of the Xianbei people who lost their national color by being sinicized. They were also afraid that, like the previous Jin and Yuan dynasties, their nation would end up with a "national destiny without a hundred years" because it was too independent.

So they adopted a compromise method, accepting the ruling culture, making Manchus and Han people one family, and maintaining the unified system of the dynasty. But they were very resistant to blood fusion, creating opposition between Manchus and Han people, in an attempt to maintain the so-called purity of blood.

This complex mentality and awkward operating methods cause them to be devoured and assimilated ideologically and excluded by the mainstream physically.

In addition, during the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, it was almost the only powerful country in the world, and there were powerful forces outside that could bring about the crisis of national destruction at any time. As a result, the rulers began to slack off, gave up the enterprising spirit of the previous monarchs in the founding period, and settled for pleasure.

In the end, it inevitably followed the old path of the Central Plains Dynasty. Fearing the loss of control over the dynasty, it took up the butcher knife, destroyed the Great Wall, and castrated itself. The entire dynasty became increasingly weak, and was finally shattered by the waves of the Age of Exploration.

Li Yan knew that the only one who could limit the development of a force was himself.

Being invincible is a disaster.

So he took advantage of the situation and gave the entire southern region of the east to the Tang Dynasty, but left the northern grasslands to the Turks. With the constant threat of the Turks in the north, the Tang Dynasty's rulers and ministers would always be on edge and could not let down their guard to enjoy life.

And now, the Tang Dynasty, which has enjoyed peace for nearly twenty years, needs the vicious wolves from the northern grasslands to remind it.

The nineteenth year of Zhenguan, mid-November.

After a short rest, the Great Turkic Khan Shiluodie, with the nine Tiele clans of Huihe, Pugu, Tongluo, Hun, Sijie, Bayegu, Qi, Abusi and Gulunwugusi as the core, drove the Mohe Boduo, Funie, Heishui and Sumo tribes.

Together with the southern tribes such as the Boshiwei and Shenmodashiwei of the Shiwei tribe, as well as a large number of young and strong people from the Khitan and Jurchen tribes entrenched in the northeast of Liaodong, they gathered 300,000 cavalry and marched south in a mighty force.

Following the route of the expedition against Goguryeo in the ninth year of Zhenguan, they marched southwards, breaking through a series of important towns in the Liaodong Plain, including Buyeo, Nansu, Baiya, Ci'an, Xincheng, Wugut, Huaiyuan, Shouzhuo, Yingzhou, and Liucheng, and heading straight for Pingzhou and Lulong areas.

In the valley west of the Bailangshui River outside Pingzhou City, an army of 300,000 soldiers secretly set up camps, staring at Pingzhou City 20 miles away.

A team of elite Turkic soldiers, escorting a figure in a wolfskin cloak, came to a mound five miles away from Pingzhou City to observe the "enemy situation".

Wuyun looks back at the north of Yanshan Mountain, where snowflakes are as big as a mat; the snowflakes are all over the ice, and what can we do when a strong wind blows!
In November, Liaodong had already entered the cold winter, with temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero, and water freezing into ice. The howling north wind mixed with snow kept hitting people's faces, and the cold wind penetrated into people's clothes.

The sight of desolation and bleakness makes people feel lonely from the bottom of their hearts.

This group of warriors from the Sumo tribe, who had grown up in the ice and snow, were fully armed. Their thick fur coats kept the wind and snow out of their bodies. They had long been accustomed to the cold winter that the Han people in the south were terrified of.

One of Li Yan's clones stood on the mountain and looked at the tall city opposite.

Yes, when Li Yan had enough points, he exchanged for another clone. This clone was very similar to Shi Luodie, with an even more exaggerated beard and his hair tied into a patchy braid, hanging behind his head. His tall and burly body was like a bear, and when he stood there, he exuded a murderous aura that had survived a hundred battles.

Li Yan had no choice. The grassland tribes were scattered and the structure was loose, and he did not dare to let Shiluodie lose control completely. For this big game, he exchanged this clone according to Shiluodie's appearance and went directly to the Khan's court of Urge.

Kill Shi Luodie directly and take his place.

Then, as the Great Khan, he summoned some elders of the Ashina clan and announced his intentions. These old people who were left over from the Jie Li period had been secretly accumulating strength, waiting for the right time to rebel against the Right Wise King and restore the glory of the Ashina clan.

Although Shi Luodie seemed to be indulging in alcohol and sex, he was actually secretly plotting the cause of revival.

With Li Yan's indulgence, the center of gravity of the Right Wise King's tribe moved westward, and deliberately left behind the former Jie Li guard commander Zhuo Libuhua to lead a large force to guard the Khan's court.

After a long period of infiltration, Shiluodi had already bribed Zhuolibuhua again, overcoming the biggest obstacle to the rebellion. After more than ten years of painstaking efforts, Shiluodi was 70% sure that he could take down Urge.

Just to make sure everything goes well, I'm still waiting for an opportunity.

Two months ago, an assassination occurred in the royal court of the Irtysh River. The whole world thought it was done by Shiluodi. In fact, Shiluodi was very cautious and did not send out assassins at all. However, the opportunity was rare, and after confirming that the Right Wise King was indeed seriously injured.

When Shi Luodie was preparing to start an uprising, Li Yan killed Shi Luodie with lightning speed in the dead of night.

From then on, this clone was Shi Luodie, and Shi Luodie was the clone.

Then he summoned many of Ashina's trusted followers and announced that the assassination was carried out by his own men.

Then Zhuolibuhua, who commanded a large number of troops, pledged his allegiance. The old generals of the Ashina clan also supported him. Some of the fence-sitters of the Right Wise King faction were very practical. They immediately changed their ways and joined the Great Khan's army. Overnight, they turned the world of the eastern grassland upside down.

Although the tribal leaders and veterans also noticed some changes in Shiluodi's figure, Shiluodi had been enjoying himself in the Khan's court for a long time, often showing a decadent attitude. Now he has regained power after years of hard work.

It is not surprising that his entire temperament and authority have undergone a drastic change.

The main reason was that the face was too similar. The simple herdsmen who lived on the grassland and often dealt with cattle, sheep and horses could not imagine the possibility of replacing a prince with a cat, let alone such a big living person.

Anyway, if the same appearance appears in the right place, everyone will subconsciously think it is the same person.

The clone took over Urge without any obstacles. From this perspective, the power of the grassland is as fluid as their lifestyle, and it is indeed a place that is difficult to control for a long time.

Afterwards, the clone assembled a large army and once again confirmed to countless tribes in the east that Shiluodi had regained power. After symbolically eliminating some stubborn elements, he led all the troops loyal to him westward, "intending" to eliminate the traitor Right Wise King and regain control of the entire Turkic Khanate.

In the Hengling area, the two sides fought a fierce battle. This battle was also very tragic. Both sides sent out more than 200,000 troops, killing each other in a chaotic and dark battle. Under Li Yan's careful control, the two sides were evenly matched.

They can only consume each other and perish together.

With each side losing 100,000 soldiers and still no hope of winning, some elders who were fed up with the situation finally stepped in to mediate. So they stopped fighting and tacitly divided the grassland into two areas, with the east going to Shiluodi and the west going to Youxianwang.

Li Yan felt sad that the grassland lost 200,000 young and strong men in vain in this battle.

But he had no choice. After all, he was the emperor of the Han people. After a long period of peace, the power of the grasslands expanded. The internal forces had become too strong to bear the burden, and the only option was to expand outward.

Looking around, only the Tang Dynasty can be considered a rival.

In recent years, the leaders of the major tribes with strong military forces have been rubbing their hands and expressing their intention to invade the south. After Li Yan delayed for a few times, some different voices have been spread privately, saying that he is a Han Chinese and will not let the Turkic army go south.

Of course, there were also many people among them who felt that they were powerful and wanted to seek a higher position, intending to replace the Right Wise King.

Li Yan simply used Shi Luodie's identity to launch a large-scale rebellion, dividing the unified Turkic people into two parts, which then consumed each other, indirectly reducing the population and the threat to the Tang Dynasty.

It just so happened that the Tang Dynasty also had such a need. Li Yan was doing three things at once: playing a big game and using war to adjust the forces of all parties.

(End of this chapter)