The Villain's Counterattack

Chang'an, Guanzhong, the imperial palace.

Countless pieces of information came pouring in to Li Yuan. Even though this leader of the Tang Dynasty had the strength of a senior master, he felt exhausted by facing so many complicated affairs.

"Dugu Feng is leaving the pass and heading west. Dadazhi can accompany her. Xue Wanche is leading 500 Changlin soldiers to protect her in secret. Their target is Tuguhun!"

"The King of Qi led Mei Xun, Yan Li, and other elite warriors into Sichuan to support the Buddhist sect. They were intercepted by Dao Bichen, the sixth of the eight great masters of the Demonic Sect. The three battles ended in a draw."

"The King of Qin handed Xiliang over to the Crown Prince and led his troops north to defend Liangshidu. The Changlin Army basically controlled Xiliang."

"Tian Ce Mansion's generals Li Jing and Zhang Chuchen led 3,000 Black Armored Soldiers westward, with Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, and Zhangsun Wuji's 8,000 elite troops following closely behind. Their target is Tuguhun."

"Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi appeared on the grasslands. Martial Master Bi Xuan mobilized the Turkic tribes to encircle and kill him, mobilizing over a million men and over fifty thousand Golden Wolf soldiers, yet they were unable to succeed. Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi's whereabouts were erratic, and the entire Turkic nation was on alert. Harriers were dispatched, and finally, they discovered him in a valley. Nearly ten thousand cavalrymen attacked, but Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi stood high in the valley and, with a single flute tune, the entire Turkic cavalry was annihilated."

"The Turks sent a letter to the Tiele and Tuyuhun tribes, intending to mobilize the entire grasslands to surround and kill Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi. Martial Master Bi Xuan personally led 20,000 Golden Wolf soldiers in hot pursuit. Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi was never able to escape their pursuit, but he was never truly caught either."

Li Yuan's fingers gently slid across the map. It was he who planned Dugu Feng's journey out of the pass and westward. She had originally planned to return to Liaodong. It was he who contacted Dugu Feng and You Chuhong through various means, promising them many benefits and advantages, and finally persuaded Dugu Feng to go out of the territory.

The reason to convince Dugu Feng was simple. It was always the foreign races that came into the Central Plains to stir up trouble and show off their might. Why couldn't it be the Central Plains martial arts masters who showed off their might outside the region?

This reason impressed Dugu Feng more than the so-called actual benefits. In addition, with the help of Kedazhi, a skilled sparring partner, Dugu Feng hesitated for a long time and finally decided to go. However, the specific itinerary was not fixed, and when and where to go depended entirely on his mood.

Or, in other words, it depends on what kind of masters he meets and what kind of news he hears, and he just does whatever he wants. Li Yuan has no objection to this. Firstly, as long as he is in Tuyuhun, he can attract the attention and power of Tuyuhun's top leaders. Secondly, he has sent so many people, and they can completely convey the news and guide Dugu Feng's whereabouts.

Yes, it is to convey messages rather than forge messages. What messages to use and when, what messages can be transmitted and what messages cannot be transmitted, all depends on Li Yuan's thoughts.

He wanted the land of Sichuan and Shu, but when he found that the Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao, the four great monks and three thousand elite Buddhists were intercepted, Li Yuan knew that this place would not be easy to take. Even if he attacked it by force, it would be difficult to govern it. The hidden power of the evil king Shi Zhixuan far exceeded his expectations, especially the three thousand Yellow Turban strongmen, who were simply powerful weapons for marching and fighting. If he launched a large army to invade, he would surely be hit head-on.

It would be a waste of resources to use such a powerful weapon in fighting in the martial arts world. However, if it did not belong to him but to the enemy, then he hoped that the evil king would continue to use it rather than use it to deal with the Li Tang army. This was also the reason why he excluded King Qi Li Yuanji.

"Everyone thought the Li Tang were determined to conquer Sichuan and Shu. Everyone thought the Li Tang had just conquered Xiliang after a major battle and would not dare to expand rashly until Xiliang was completely rectified. Everyone thought the Li Tang were afraid of the Turkic wolf army and were worried that the Liang army would be slow to fall, so they would definitely focus on defense. However..."

Li Yuan slapped the Tuguhun map. "Time waits for no one. My cousin has never been a patient man, especially since he ascended the throne. He can't give me much time. If I can't take over enough territory before he truly exposes himself, the future..."

The Sui royal family occupied the eastern capital Luoyang, and its branch Liao Kingdom occupied Liaodong, Hebei, Shandong, and Mayi. Li Yuan could roughly guess what he was thinking, but he had no intention of stopping it, nor could he stop it.

The Buddhist sect's influx into Sichuan seemed to have been initiated by the Buddhist disciple Yin Zhao, but was his cousin Yang Guang behind the scenes instigating this? The mere fact that Mount Emei, the future Buddhist holy land, had already caused a fierce battle between the elite masters of both the Buddhist and Demonic sects. When he discovered this, not only did he not stop it, but he actually fueled the flames, demonstrating the brilliance of his cousin's tactics.

He knew that it was inevitable for Buddhism to choose Emei. He had never doubted the greed of Buddhism. Considering the selfishness within Buddhism, he understood that they had no other choice except Sichuan and Shu. The Central Plains had been divided up. Although it was now being encroached upon by the army of "Mr. Li Fan" led by his cousin, it was still difficult to intervene and establish a new Buddhist holy land. The local Buddhist forces would not allow it.

Not only the Central Plains, but even the Buddhist sects in Guanzhong were reluctant to see such a holy place appear on their territory. The Four Great Saints didn't mind, as they had personally trained Yin Zhao, the Buddha's disciple, and could have trained him as their successor. However, there was only one Buddha's disciple, and if he were to come to their territory, they would probably fight tooth and nail.

As for reclaiming wasteland, this is not what the lazy Buddhist disciples like. They only like to pick peaches and beg, so the Sichuan and Shu lands controlled by the Demon Sect became the first choice. Li Yuan absolutely likes to weaken Buddhism and the Demon Sect.

Li Yuan exerted his power to the fullest, and even ordered his eldest son and second son to fight against each other, and secretly gave them different promises. This led to Qin Wang Li Shimin handing over Xiliang to Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, thus getting rid of the endless government affairs and devoting himself to foreign wars.

Using Dugu Feng and Kedazhi as cover, Xue Wanche as bait, Li Jing and Zhang Chuchen (Hong Fu Nu) as vanguards, Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji and Zhangsun Wuji as the central army, they attacked Tuyuhun, and the marshal Qin Wang Li Shimin appeared in the front line against Liang Shidu in a swaggering manner. After that, as long as they left a substitute and quickly rushed to Tuyuhun, the strategy would be mostly completed.

leftover...

Li Yuan discovered that many of the methods he used were actually copied from his cousin Yang Guang. Tuyuhun had been defeated by his cousin before and has not yet been fully recovered. It is said that four towns have fallen into the hands of a branch of the Sui royal family. Not long ago, his good brother Yue Shan was still in charge there.

"The Mohe people are Bai Ziting, they are really good people. Grandmaster Xiaoyaozi, if you can conquer Tuyuhun, I will build a temple and a statue for you." Li Yuan knew that although the Turks were on good terms with Li Tang and supported Li Tang in unifying the Central Plains, they absolutely did not want to see Li Tang's external expansion. This was not in line with their expectations and would also seriously damage the interests of the grassland tribes.

But Li Yuan had no other choice.

Are the Turks scary?

The Wolf Army on the grassland is invincible except for the Liaodong Iron Cavalry. Li Yuan believes that he cannot deal with the Turkic cavalry, not to mention that the Turks also have a grandmaster, Wu Zun Bi Xuan. The Li Tang Dynasty still does not have its own grandmaster.

The wanderer Ning Daoqi has always been wandering outside the country. He is only ordered around by Cihang Jingzhai because he owes them. The Buddhist disciple Yinzhao only has the Central Plains Buddhism in his heart. Preaching and proving the truth in Chang'an does not mean he belongs to or is loyal to Li Tang. They are just a very shallow and fragile alliance.

If it weren't for the fact that Bai Ziting of the Mohe tribe wanted to establish the Bohai Kingdom, which affected the Turks' dominance over the grasslands, and if Grand Master Xiaoyaozi was not too powerful and aroused the murderous intention of Wu Zun Bi Xuan, the Turks' attention would not have been seriously distracted. Li Yuan might not have dared to be so reckless.

But I don't know if my cousin would be willing to see me do this? If my cousin interferes or hinders the attack on Chang'an, all my plans will be in vain.