The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 841: Tang Army Crosses Liaoshui
"As long as the Tang Dynasty agrees, the vast land in the northern desert occupied by the Shibi tribe can be swallowed up by us. The power of the Khanate can be pushed westward, all the way to the Tianshan Mountains, and border with the Xueyantuo tribe in the west."

Li Yan pretended to glance at Jie Li casually and said, "This way, the Khan has recovered more than 80% of the territory of the former Great Turkic, and his strength is no less than when he was at his peak."

When Xueyantuo was mentioned, the smile on Jie Li's face froze instantly, as if he had thought of something bad. His face gradually turned cold, his eyes became fierce, the corners of his mouth drooped, and his entire facial features were twisted together, showing extreme hatred and anger.

After enduring for so long, Jie Li finally couldn't bear it any longer. With a 'bang', he slammed his fist on the table.

Then he stood up in a rage, his face was ferocious, as if all the blood in his body was boiling at this moment. He walked around in the tent like a lion whose reverse scales were touched, with a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Humph, this little bastard Yinan ruined my great cause in his hands. If I don't chop off his head with my own hands, I will die with regret."

Jie Li turned around suddenly, drew out the dagger from his waist, looked at the flashing knife, his eyes flashed with murderous intent, and said viciously: "Li Yan, when this matter is over, I want you to lead the Western Expedition in person."

"After you capture Biheli, attack Xueyantuo directly and capture Yi Nan for me. Remember, don't kill him. I want him alive and I won't let him die so easily."

"Don't you have a law called Lingchi (death by slicing) in the Central Plains? I want to do it myself. I will tie Yi Nan to a rack and cut off his flesh piece by piece with a boning knife. I want to see his miserable eyes before he dies and hear his painful cries."

"Let him regret betraying me, let him suffer all kinds of torture, unable to live or die, and finally die in despair."

Li Yan looked at Jie Li, who was swiping the dagger in front of his eyes in a somewhat neurotic manner, as if Yinan was standing in front of him.

Jie Li's ambition to unify the world was almost destroyed by Yinan. The enemy who once trembled in fear in front of him now looked down upon him. No wonder Jie Li hated Yinan so much. No matter who it was, they would not be able to let it go.
Li Yan sighed helplessly in his heart. At the same time, he was relieved about the fact that Jie Li dismissed everyone and had a private conversation with Zhangsun Wuji yesterday. Bi Heli was originally a core figure under Jie Li and had deep connections with the Turks.

Unlike the attack on Goguryeo, such matters really needed to be kept secret.

Li Yan immediately clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Khan. He Biheli is just a fool. When the time comes, let the prince take charge. I will be the vanguard and will capture this official and hand him over to the Khan for punishment."

"No, you must take action to attack the Hebiheli."

Jie Li's frantic mood gradually calmed down, and he shook his head slowly: "Although Shi Luodie is my son, I am still the Khan of the Turks. The two of you are the pillars of the Khanate. This trip southward has made Shi Luodie the center of attention."

"You are the Right Wise King, so I cannot be too partial to you."

Without waiting for Li Yan to give in again, Jie Li waved his hand righteously and said, "I know you don't care about these false names and want to highlight Shi Luodie. But even if you don't care, you are not alone. You also have a group of subordinates under your command who need to be appeased."

"If we keep suppressing them and not letting them fight, and if they don't have any military merit, they will become dissatisfied over time."

"You are still young and don't know the importance of this. In our position, we need to treat our subordinates equally. Even if we are biased towards some people, we must know when to stop. Otherwise, once these people become disloyal to the Khanate, it will soon fall apart."

Seeing Jie Li's insistence, Li Yan gave in and agreed: "I will remember the Khan's teachings in my heart. I will follow the Khan until my death."

Jie Li nodded in satisfaction and said cunningly, "The Tang Dynasty covets the land of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, so it will definitely give up the power of Mobei. Little do they know that once we conquer Mobei, it will be equivalent to taking over most of the grassland."

"Then the Tang Dynasty will lose its control over us. After defeating Yi Nan, we will be able to restore the entire grassland. By that time, our Great Turkic Khaganate will become the most powerful force in the world. It will be easy for us to march south and take back the throne for you."

Li Yan also showed an expectant look on his face, and he cupped his hands and flattered: "Khan is wise. I have long known that following the Khan is the best thing to do in my life. When the time comes, I will lead the army and people of the Tang Dynasty, serve the Khan as the leader, and treat the Turks as my subjects."

"Then the Khan will be restored to his former self, no"

"He is more noble than the Great Khan of the past, and is the most powerful emperor in the world."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Jie Li swept away the previous gloom, his eyes emitting an extremely excited light, and the whole person became very excited.

Seeing that Jie Li had revealed such a secret plan to him without reservation, Li Yan no longer worried about anything.

But Li Yan never dreamed that Jie Li, who was old, useless and dying in his eyes, would cause him a huge crisis not long after, and almost caused him to lose Jingzhou and fall into a dilemma.

The next day, the Tang army stationed on the south bank of the Liaohe River, under the command of Hou Junji, the commander-in-chief of the Liaohe Road, suddenly launched an offensive against the Turkic camp on the north bank.

The Tang army first pretended to build a bridge in the shallow water of the upper reaches of the Liaohe River to attract the attention of the Turks. Then, 5,000 soldiers secretly crossed the Liaohe River 50 miles downstream and launched a surprise attack on the Turkic camp from behind.

The Turks were caught off guard, failed to stabilize their position, and lost their camp.

Later, under the cover of the Tang army on the north bank, a large group of Tang troops crossed the Liao River calmly. When most of the Turkic troops in Huaiyuan City got the news and came to rescue, 100,000 Tang troops had already established their foothold on the north bank of the Liao River and formed a dense attack formation. Jie Li and You Xian Wang decided to avoid the attack and temporarily choose to retreat.

Unexpectedly, the Tang army was greatly encouraged by this situation and immediately launched a fierce pursuit of the Turks. The Turks were defeated in battle after battle and kept retreating; the Tang army was unstoppable. Within one day, they broke through three lines of defense of the Turks and forced them to retreat across the board.

Not only did the Tang army lose the camp, but even Huaiyuan City, which was thirty miles away from the camp, was captured by the Tang army.

As a last resort, the Turkic Right Wise King's troops retreated to Liaodong City, 300 miles away, and only then did they stabilize their position.

The Liaodong Campaign, which attracted worldwide attention, kicked off at lightning speed, and the first battle was a success with a great victory. For a time, countless people in Hebei praised Hou Junji as a famous general.

He became famous in one battle and was known all over the world. Hou Junji, who had been silent for a long time, once again became the object of everyone's admiration.

News of victory continued to spread throughout the Tang Dynasty, but the people only focused on the fact that the Tang army had repelled 50,000 Turkic cavalry. Few people noticed that in such a great battle with a total of more than 150,000 people on both sides, the number of casualties was extremely small.

After repelling the Turks, the Tang army built a bridge over the Liao River without stopping, and transported the countless strategic materials such as food, supplies, siege equipment, etc. stored in Yingzhou City to Huaiyuan City.

Changsun Wuji and Hou Junji stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the busy transport convoy below the city.

"Hahaha, congratulations! Jun Ji."

Chang Sun Wuji smiled and teased Hou Junji beside him: "During the previous battle of Dingxiang, you kept complaining that the emperor didn't use you and let you stay in the rear, and let Li Jing and Cheng Yaojin steal the limelight."

"This time, the Liaodong Campaign will be entirely yours to handle. With this one battle, you will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with those two men."

Hou Junji could only smile bitterly, and stretched out his finger to point at Changsun Wuji: "We all know what happened in this battle, so don't tease me anymore. When the news of the great defeat spreads back in a few days, and the people don't call me a useless general, I will be satisfied."

"Ha ha ha ha."

After Zhangsun Wuji laughed wantonly for a while, he rolled his eyes and said, "Jun Ji, if you treat me to a good drink, I will save you this time and avoid your reputation of being defeated."

"Well, this is a good deal, right?"

Hou Junji's eyes lit up when he was worried. "My Lord Changsun, you are the imperial envoy representing the emperor. I have to listen to you on the war in Liaodong. Please help me think of a solution. Don't just say one meal, even ten meals of wine will be treated to you."

The two of them were from the same line of the crown prince and had originally had a good relationship.

Although the crown prince was gone, Changsun Wuji's mentality had changed slightly. But there was still the crown prince's legitimate son, and Li Shimin did not drive the crown princess and her son out of the East Palace, so Changsun Wuji felt that it was possible for Li Shimin to establish a grandson as the crown prince.

Many ministers in the court, including Fang Xuanling, supported making the older prince the crown prince.

However, Changsun Wuji knew that who Li Shimin would choose to establish depended entirely on objective conditions and Li Shimin's physical condition.

If Li Shimin's life was in danger, he would naturally put the country first and make Li Ke or Li Tai the crown prince.

As long as Li Shimin was healthy, he would be wary of the older princes as he got older. The Xuanwu Gate Incident was just around the corner, and as a witness, how could he not know how anxious the princes were? Now they were fighting for the crown prince, and after winning the crown prince, they would be eager to ascend the throne.

The crown prince's legitimate son is only four years old this year, a baby who has just been weaned, and poses no threat at all to Li Shimin.

For at least twenty years, Li Shimin would not have to worry about guarding against the Crown Prince.

Now Li Shimin pretends to be ignorant of the prince's disappearance, which actually reveals his true mentality from the side. He does not really want to make Li Ke or Li Tai the heir.

Changsun Wuji also followed suit and looked favorably upon the crown prince's legitimate son, so naturally he had to improve his relationship with Hou Junji.

Seeing that Hou Junji did not treat him as an outsider, Changsun Wuji raised his hand and stroked his beard, and said confidently: "You are the general commander of the Liaohe Road appointed by the emperor himself. After this battle, you can withdraw to the south bank and garrison Yingzhou City. Why do you have to stay on the front line every day?"

"After the supplies from Hebei Province are delivered to Huaiyuan City in a few days, transfer Xue Wanshu, the governor of Yingzhou, to guard Huaiyuan. Let him perform the remaining scene. Wouldn't that preserve your reputation as General Hou?"

"And this victory and this defeat can only highlight your heroic spirit."

(End of this chapter)