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Chapter 1163 Longxi Flying Cavalry
When the Turks were attacking and seizing cities in the southern part of Hebei Province, an elite cavalry also set out from Hexi Liangzhou.

Instead of entering the pass, they followed the Helan Mountains and the west side of the Yellow River, heading north directly, bypassing the Fengzhou and Jiuyuan areas at the northernmost end of the Yellow River. From the southern end of the desert grassland, they entered the western end of the Yanshan defense line, and finally entered the Youyan area through Juyongguan.

This cavalry was large and well-trained, with a total of 200,000 soldiers. Each cavalryman was a strong and muscular man from the northwest, and the war horses they rode were also fat and strong. Everyone was fully armored, holding a spear, and had all kinds of cavalry equipment.

Although it was not considered heavy cavalry, it was more powerful than ordinary cavalry. If Li Shimin saw it, he would also call it a great weapon.

This is the heritage passed down by the Guanlong clan since the Western Wei Dynasty, the Longxi Flying Cavalry.

The military system of the Longxi Flying Cavalry was very strange. It did not follow the military system of the Tang Dynasty, nor did it follow the system passed down by the Turks or Xianbei. It was simply called a general. Ten people formed a team, and any team with more than a hundred people was called a general.

There are generals of 100 men, 500 men, 1,000 men, 5,000 men, and the highest is the general of 10,000 men.

This cavalry unit has 200,000 generals, who are the core descendants of the 20 most powerful aristocratic families in Longmen. In order to avoid division, the generals under each 10,000-man general cannot be appointed from the same family.

Therefore, many of the officers under each general of ten thousand men were children of other aristocratic families.

For the convenience of management when entering the Central Plains this time, two men with ten thousand men were temporarily selected to lead the entire cavalry formation. One was Li Chongrui, a direct descendant of the Longxi Li family, and the other was Wei Deming, a direct descendant of the Jingzhao Wei family.

"Brother Rui, we have been traveling for more than ten days and finally entered Hebei."

Both men were in their thirties. Wei Deming was a few years younger and therefore had a more active personality: "I heard that the Turks were dividing land in Youzhou. I just sent scouts out to inquire about it, and it is true. All the land in the Guizhou area has been distributed to the people."

"Brother Rui, many cities are now undefended. I think the Turks have already moved south. Should we do anything about it?"

Li Chongrui shook his head with a heavy face. When he stepped into Hebei, he thought he would see broken cities, burned villages, corpses and devastation. This was the most standard appearance of the cities in the Central Plains after the Turks came south to ravage the city.

Who would have thought that the atmosphere was so harmonious? They seldom saw corpses, and the city had never been seriously attacked or burned.

Smoke from cooking fires rose from the village, and the people were all smiling happily. Although it was the coldest time of the year, it was a joyful New Year scene.

It seems that without the aristocratic families, life has become easier for the common people.

If these were achieved through the governance of the court, they would also be happy. However, this situation was brought about by the Turks. When the people saw them, they were not only not excited and expectant, but also had a hint of hostility and vigilance.

"How to manage it is not a matter of one family or one household, but the fundamental interests between the nobles and the people."

Li Chongrui sighed: "Now I understand why the clan leaders want to use our Longxi Flying Cavalry to eliminate this group of Turks. If they continue to burn this fire inland, the foundation of the Tang Dynasty will really be shaken."

"In that case, why don't we take back the land that the Turks gave us?" Wei Deming asked tentatively.

"The Turks gave them land, but we want to take it back. Who represents the court?"

Li Chongrui decisively rejected the idea: "Forget it. Our mission is to eliminate the Turks. These are not our business. The officials in the court will take care of them."

"Brother Rui, I heard that the Turks have already reached Hengzhou and Dingzhou. Should we head south immediately?"

"That's right, but that was five days ago. Now the Turks have already marched towards the borders of Jizhou and Dezhou on the north bank of the Yellow River."

Wei Deming was very excited. "Brother Rui, we have been training in Hexi, and none of us have been on the battlefield for several years. Although we should keep a low profile, we are generals after all. It is really frustrating that we have so many skills but have never been able to use them."

"It's a good opportunity to take advantage of this opportunity to have a good fight with the Turks."

"Why not go straight to Jizhou? The Turks are busy dividing the land now. If we concentrate our forces, we can annihilate them one by one."

Li Chongrui shook his head and said, "De Ming, don't forget that the court has appointed Prince Qi Li You as the General of the Eastern Expedition. We only have the power to command troops, but not the power to fight. Everything must be done according to the orders of the Prince Qi."

"The King of Qi is just a decoration. He has never even been on the battlefield. What qualifications does he have to lead our 200,000 cavalry?"

Wei Deming said with disdain: "Before we came, the adults said that Duke Lu and Duke Ying are the real leaders. We only need to follow their orders and ignore the King of Qi."

"That depends on the orders of the two dukes." Li Chongrui said decisively: "Call the brothers and go south along the Hedong Road to the southern Xingzhou area. The King of Qi and the two dukes will be in Licheng, Qizhou, waiting for our news. How to use the troops depends on their opinions."

After determining the next marching route, the army rested for a while, and then marched south day and night.

Li You, Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji left Tongguan, stopped for a while in Luoyang, and continued north along the Yellow River, passing Yangwu, Baima, Puyang, Fanxian, Yanggu and other cities. After eight days, they arrived at Jizhou City in Qi.

They only brought 5,000 men with them, all of whom were cavalrymen from the Northern Yamen Imperial Guard directly under the emperor. They were led by General Xue Rengui, the Zhonglang General of the Right Guard, who was responsible for protecting Li You.

The tens of thousands of troops at the departure ceremony were merely transferred from the Sixteen Guards to temporarily fill the scene in order to publicize the mighty military power of the Tang Dynasty and inspire people. After the ceremony was completed and they left the city, those people returned to their respective camps.

The Tang Dynasty had gathered 500,000 infantry in the north, south, and west of Hebei Province, as well as 200,000 elite Longxi cavalry. Shandong was not short of troops either.

In the third year of Zhenguan, Xue Rengui was entrusted by Li Yan to Cheng Yaojin to be taken to Dingxiang, and they fought side by side for a period of time. At that time, in order to show his favor to Li Yan, Cheng Yaojin treated Xue Rengui well and taught him very carefully for a while.

The Battle of Dingxiang gave Xue Rengui many opportunities to gain experience.

After defeating Jie Li, Cheng Yaojin was transferred back to Chang'an and later went to Hexi, while Li Ji was in charge of the Fengzhou front. Without Li Yan's interference, Xue Rengui believed that the general should make achievements on the battlefield, and followed Li Ji for a few more years.

It was not until the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks eased and the two sides managed the Western Regions that Xue Rengui was transferred back and went to the plateau for training again, still under the command of Cheng Yaojin.

Cheng Yaojin also particularly likes this young general whom he personally trained.

After more than ten years in the army, Xue Rengui has grown into a qualified general and is also very famous in the army. During the sixteen years when Li Yan was missing, Xue Rengui was also absorbed by Cheng Yaojin into the circle of old generals in the Qin Palace and trained as a reserve force.

The relationship between the two was good. Later, when Li Yan was not in Chang'an, Cheng Yaojin no longer participated in the fights among the princes. After Li Yan returned to Beijing to succeed to the throne, he also tried to win over Cheng Yaojin.

Xue Rengui was between the emperor and the meritorious veteran generals, just like Cheng Yaojin who straddled the two major power circles of the emperor and the aristocracy, and was able to get along well with both sides.

In Xue Rengui's eyes, Cheng Yaojin was definitely one of his own.

As for the hidden game between the emperor and the nobles, the generals and the imperial power, Xue Rengui didn't understand it very well. He was a pure warrior, and in his eyes, the situation in the court was very good. Before leaving this time, Li Yan just told Xue Rengui to protect Li You.

He was not specifically told to be on guard against Li You, Cheng Yaojin or Li Jing, so he just treated it as an ordinary expedition.

The four of them got along very well along the way, and Li You was also quite friendly to Cheng Yaojin, Li Ji, and Xue Rengui. Even though he knew that these people were not easy to win over, he still wanted to make good friends with them.

If I become powerful in the future, these people will be able to join me.

Li You also brought two people with him on this trip, one was his confidant Hegan Chengji, and the other was Shi Guirong, a Turk. In this eastern expedition, Li You wanted to leverage the power of the Turkic army to complete his own rise, so naturally he could not do without this messenger.

Carry it with you so that you can contact the Turks in time.

There were also many foreign people in the Tang army, such as the Shatuo people in the Western Regions, the Xianbei, Turks, Xueyantuo, Tiele, Uighurs and so on in the north. The Tang Dynasty indeed brought together populations from various forces and nationalities, truly achieving the goal of embracing all rivers and seas.

Therefore, the presence of Shi Guirong by the side of the King of Qi was not conspicuous. With Li You's endorsement, he easily became the guard of the King of Qi's palace.

In a restaurant in Jizhou City, Li You, Cheng Yaojin, Li Ji and Xue Rengui ate and drank happily. They had traveled for seven or eight days, and this banquet was a way to relax and get back to normal.

With the smoke rising, everyone started talking about the war.

Cheng Yaojin was the most senior, so he toasted Li You and said with a smile, "King Qi, you are the commander-in-chief of this Eastern Expedition, and Old Cheng and Lord Mao will listen to you. I wonder what your plans are for this battle, so we can have an idea."

"Yes, King Qi, the Turks are in Jizhou, Dezhou, and Dizhou on the north bank, separated from us by only the Yellow River. I can already smell the scent of a battlefield."

Li Ji also showed a slightly relaxed smile: "Now, Qizhou's 100,000 troops have been deployed on the south bank of the Yellow River. With just one order, they can cross the Yellow River. Luoyang's 100,000 troops have also been stationed in Xiangzhou. The cities in the southwest of Hebei Road are already impregnable."

"I think the Turks also knew about this, so they avoided this place and headed east. How should we fight this war next? Can the King of Qi give us some advice?"

(End of this chapter)