The Villain's Counterattack

The horse thieves reveled for more than three months, and were then strangled by the Turkic army. They suffered heavy losses and fled everywhere. The safest place for them was not Longquan or Shangjing, nor the desolate mountains and wilderness, but the territory of the Han people.

Thieves have their own ways. The best place to sell stolen goods on the grassland is not to find tribes from the same grassland, but to find people in the Central Plains.

It would have been fine if ordinary horse thieves were selling the loot, but the influx of a large number of horse thieves would inevitably cause unrest, which gave Yang Guang an opportunity. He mobilized the troops in Mayi and Zhuojun to fight back, and in the name of the Duke of Liao, he angrily denounced the grassland tribes for their unjust invasion. Without giving anyone time to explain, he pushed the war onto the grassland.

Jie Li Khan, who was full of anger, actually wanted to take the opportunity to form another coalition, gather the defeated soldiers, absorb the remnants of the Turks, and recruit more cavalry to fight against the Han troops.

In his mind, the grassland was the territory of the Turks, the Turks were the overlords of the grassland, and the Turkish cavalry was invincible on the vast grassland. The reason why they were repeatedly defeated by the Han people before was more because of cities and offense and defense. If it really came to a head-on confrontation in the open field, he was not afraid of anyone.

But this time he miscalculated. During the more than three-month battle between Longquan and Shangjing, Yang Guang hid his troops on the grassland, ambushing the Turkic coalition from all sides and severely weakening the Turkic army. He almost killed Jie Li Khan, but finally escaped with the help of the national teacher Zhao Deyan.

This war lasted only one month, and more than 200,000 Turkic cavalry were killed or wounded. The losses were even greater than those in the Battle of Longquan and Shangjing. All the cattle and sheep that were used as food supplies were lost.

Not only did Yang Guang defeat the Turkic coalition and seize their baggage, he also reaps the rewards of three months of hard work by many horse bandits and robbers. It can be said that he reaped a great harvest, which was more than the two years' tax revenue collected by the Sui Dynasty court.

Wu Zun Bi Xuan is the Turkic people’s number one expert and the only grandmaster.

However, Wu Zun was not a god of war or a general, and leading troops in battle was not his forte. He was neither Jie Li Khan nor Zhao Deyan. The 100,000 elite Turks not only failed to hunt down Xiaoyaozi (Yang Xuyan), but most of them were killed. Among them, less than 20,000 were killed or wounded at the hands of Yang Xuyan, and most of the others died due to natural reasons, and some were even ambushed and killed by other tribes.

Tiele Flying Eagle Qu Ao was released back to the grassland. After Bi Xuan passed through the border, Qu Ao organized the Tiele cavalry to cut off the retreat of the Turkic cavalry and even cut off their news channels.

On the other side, Dou Jiande and Li Shimin joined forces to destroy Liang Shidu of Shuofang. After dividing the spoils of war, Li Shimin turned around and headed straight for Tuyuhun.

Dugu Feng and Kedazhi are indeed the few great masters among the younger generation. They are invincible in Tuyuhun. They have created their own momentum and captured four Han towns. With the help of the four towns, Li Tang's army has taken three cities in a row.

Li Jing and Hong Fo Nu were both highly skilled in martial arts and good at military tactics. The Xuanjia Army was well-equipped and well-trained, with sufficient supplies and accurate intelligence support. Li Jing was invincible and Tuyuhun was unstoppable. He rushed all the way to the capital of Tuyuhun.

Tuyuhun King Fuyun was never a truly strong man. Even though he had a vast territory and excellent geographical advantages, he still could not become king. He was no match for the evil king Shi Zhixuan, nor was he a match for the Sui Emperor Yang Guang.

Li Jing and his wife rushed all the way to the capital of Tuyuhun. Fu Yun was frightened three times a day and was terrified all day long, like a frightened bird. Fortunately, Prince Fu Qian had extraordinary skills and courage. He saw through the strengths and weaknesses of Li Jing's troops and assembled a large army to face the Xuanjia Army.

The Black Armor Army was the Tiance Mansion's ultimate weapon, and using it as a vanguard was a necessary evil. Li Jing's masterful use of the military allowed him to achieve maximum results with minimal losses. Every strike struck the enemy's vital points, defeating the strong with the weak with minimal losses. Using the weak to defeat the strong was not Li Jing's style. He immediately turned his horse and rode away, heading towards the cities near the Tuyuhun capital.

The capital of the Tuyuhun king was attacked, and so many letters were sent out asking for help. It was very likely that the Tuyuhun cities that had not been conquered would send reinforcements. After all, they were real letters asking for help sent by the real Tuyuhun king himself. At this time, most of the other cities were empty. Fu Qian immediately understood what was going on when he saw this, and led 30,000 elite cavalry in relentless pursuit.

Then...

After watching the Black Armor Army loot three small cities, the furious Fu Qian launched a beautiful ambush and annihilated more than 20,000 Turkic cavalry.

Yes, it was not the Tang army but the Turkic cavalry.

Li Jing and Xiaoyaozi (Yang Xuyan) cooperated with each other, using someone else's knife to kill someone else, and successfully consumed more than 20,000 elite Turkic cavalry. The Turkic cavalry who rose up in resistance also caused considerable losses to the 30,000-strong army led by Fu Qian.

At this time, Li Jing's Black Armor Army had already marched more than a thousand miles with Fu Qian's 30,000 cavalry. Li Shimin paid a considerable price and made the Shuofang give up most of their interests. He made peace with Dou Jiande and transferred all his troops to Tuyuhun, once again besieging the Tuyuhun capital.

Even though Li Yuan was not as capable as Yang Guang, he was still one of the most powerful men in the entire late Sui Dynasty. He stayed in the rear to dispatch food, fodder and troops, and mobilized the aristocratic families in Guanzhong, promising them a lot of benefits, including money, land, official positions, and even titles and fiefs. He successfully instigated those aristocratic families to rush in and flock to Tuyuhun.

For a time, the entire Tuyuhun was in flames, and Han people could be seen everywhere.

After his defeat by Sui Emperor Yang Guang, Tuyuhun had previously submitted to the Turks. Li Yuan's attack on Western Qin was a civil war among the Han people. His attack on Li Gui in Western Liang was tacitly approved by the Turks, giving Li Tang some sweet treat. His attack on Liang Shi in Shuofang was already an affront to the Turks, and would likely have incurred their wrath. A large-scale invasion of Tuyuhun would undoubtedly have touched the bottom line of the Turks. After all, Western Liang and Shuofang were still considered Han territory, while Tuyuhun was definitely outside their territory at the time.

Li Yuan was also a man of great courage. As soon as he discovered that Tuyuhun was weak, he immediately went all out to capture him regardless of the consequences. Qin Wang Li Shimin was in the front to capture cities and territories, and Crown Prince Li Jiancheng then took over the power and dispatched officials to govern drastically. Li Yuanji was also transferred from Sichuan by Li Yuan, and he brought a large number of martial arts masters to take charge of the aftermath and strangle the remnants of resistance.

After learning the outcome of the Battle of Longquan and Shangjing, Li Yuan showed a rare tough attitude towards the Turks and remained firm on the Tuyuhun issue.

In just a few months, the situation in the Turkic people deteriorated rapidly. Bi Xuan had considered returning to support them, but every time he tried to retreat, he would find clues about Xiaoyaozi, making him reluctant to give up, until today...

"What do you mean by that, Wu Zun?" Xiaoyaozi (Yang Xuyan) stroked his beard and smiled, "I am a secluded person and do not care about national affairs."

Bi Xuan, upon hearing this, burst into laughter. "It's no secret that the Five Hermit Elders have a close relationship with Duke Yang Xuyan of Liao. Dugu Qiubai has long resided in Liaodong City, and the Five Elders gathered for Duke Liao's wedding. Do you dare to say that your appearance on the grassland at this critical juncture is a coincidence? Do you dare to say that the Battle of Longquan Shangjing didn't involve Duke Liao?"

As for Li Tang's fight against Tuyuhun, Bi Xuan did not frame Yang Xuyan. After all, Yang Xuyan and Li Tang belonged to enemy countries, so it was impossible for him to have such great powers that he could decide the enemy's military and national plans.

"Your Excellency, you think too highly of me. The Mohe people established a state in Bohai and fought against the Turkic army. What does this have to do with Liaodong? Moreover, the Sui army was fighting against the Turkic coalition. The Sui army was not only from Liaodong, but also from Mayi and Luoyang. Didn't your Excellency think of anything?"

Xiaoyaozi looked at him deeply and said slowly, "After all, it's no secret to Wu Zun that the Sui Emperor is still alive. Isn't it normal for the Turks to be defeated by the Sui Emperor?"

Bi Xuan: I have a phrase called MMP, but I don’t know if I should say it?

Yang Guang: I take the blame for this, and I'm happy with it!