"Stop messing around. How can you make such a bet on such an important military matter?"
Qin Qiong saw that Cheng Yaojin was eager to try and was about to make a bet with Li Xiang, so he immediately put a stop to the matter. The two of them were of different generations, and no matter who won or lost, it would not be a good thing.
"According to what you said, Tuyuhun wanted to negotiate terms with us, but why has no one come here in three days since we retreated?"
Qin Qiong said with some confusion that they had been sending out scouts continuously in the past few days, but had not found any new moves from Tuyuhun.
"General, who doesn't want to raise their own status? If they come here in such a hurry, can we take them seriously? Let us leave them alone for a few days and let us spend a few days' money. The army here is not a small amount of money every day. When we can't hold on any longer, we will naturally send people to find them first."
Li Xiang's words made the two of them understand instantly. No wonder the Tuyuhun people were not in a hurry. Their homes were right here, and this was how nomadic people lived, so their expenses were not very high. On the other hand, we came from Chang'an, and the local food was not enough. All the food and supplies were transported from Guanzhong. I don't know how much the freight alone cost along the way. So every day of delay would not only lose our money, but also our fighting spirit.
"These bastards are really smart. We can't take the initiative to find them. If we do, won't we be at a disadvantage?"
Cheng Yaojin was so angry that he kept scratching his head. The army had only arrived for a few days, and hundreds of thousands of strings of cash had already been spent. With the army growing in number, if the other side continued to retreat like this, then even if we spent all the money, we might not be able to catch up with them.
"If you have a plan, just tell us now. Haven't you seen that Brother Qin and I are both getting our hair turned gray with worry?"
Cheng Yaojin slapped Li Xiang on the shoulder, almost breaking his bones. This old guy's hand was really strong. None of the generals of the Tang Dynasty were vegetarians. No wonder they could help Li Shimin conquer the world and step on so many heroes. They were really capable.
"Have all our people outside the city evacuated?"
Li Xiang couldn't make any rash suggestions before figuring out the situation clearly. This concerned the lives of hundreds of people. Liangzhou City was indeed the place where the Tang Dynasty had penetrated the deepest into Tuyuhun, but there were many temporary markets outside the city, and many Han people lived in them.
"When Tuyuhun started his rebellion, the Han people outside the city had already begun to retreat. Now most of them have returned. Does this have anything to do with this incident?"
Cheng Chumo is responsible for this matter.
"Then there's nothing to worry about. If we still have people outside, then my plan might be in trouble. Since we have no people outside, it will be easier for us. There are a total of 25 Tuyuhun tribes on the south and southwest sides of Liangzhou City, and we are familiar with their locations. At this moment, our army has not left Liangzhou City, and they are still stationed in their original places. We only need to send out a small group of elite troops to carry out precise strikes on these 25 tribes, and their army will be unable to stay. Whether it is peace or war, it will be beneficial to us."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, everyone present gasped. "Are you really only a teenager?" You're trying to devour twenty-five tribes. While the Tuyuhun tribes aren't very large, each one has hundreds or even thousands of people. If you were to swallow all twenty-five tribes in one gulp, the Tuyuhun people would probably be so angry they'd vomit blood.
The generals in the tent looked at each other. Although Li Xiang's strategy was bold, it had to be said that it was very useful at the moment. As long as we could follow the plan, the current situation would change instantly.
"If we were to mobilize the army to annihilate their twenty-five tribes, the farthest of which is about two hundred miles away, we would have to cause a great deal of disturbance. There's no doubt they have spies in Liangzhou City. Our actions would be greatly hampered, and our results would be limited."
Qin Huaiyu said with some concern that this guy was a pragmatist. When everyone was thinking just now, he had already marked out the 25 tribes and arranged them like stars in a dense network in the south and southwest of Liangzhou City.
"Brother Qin, what are you talking about? If we make a plan, does it have to be 100% successful? If that's the case, then we shouldn't do anything. There are risks in doing anything, but as long as there is more than a 50% chance of success in our favor, then we should do it."
Li Xiang no longer cared about seniority. Whenever he met the second-generation generals of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang basically called them "big brother". Everyone knew about Cheng Chuliang and Yuchi Jingde, so when Li Xiang said this, Qin Huaiyu did not feel that there was anything wrong. It was not that he had to pretend to be older and let others call him uncle.
"I love what you say. When we were fighting for our country with Your Majesty in the early years, we would jump at anything that was profitable. But these years, our reputation has spread, and the constant planning we put into everything has actually tied our hands. We may not be able to take down all 25 tribes, but as long as we can destroy a dozen of them and create panic in the border areas, their army will be unable to sit still."
Cheng Yaojin slammed the table and said loudly that he had long been unwilling to stay in the city. He had finally got a chance to fight. If he had to stay in the city every day, he might as well go back to Chang'an. Why bother to ask for this mission?
Qin Qiong nodded beside him. It was indeed as Cheng Yaojin said. The Tang Dynasty had become more and more prestigious in recent years, but people had more concerns when fighting and no longer had the courage they had in the past.
"Do you have any other opinions? If not, then we will take action later today. Each of us will lead a group of soldiers. We will leave the city at midnight and return at dawn. We will kill as many as we can."
General Qin Qiong thought about it for a while, and finally made up his mind after considering every detail.
"I obey your orders!"
More than a dozen generals present knelt down one after another. The first battle between the Tang Dynasty and Tuyuhun was about to begin. They had never thought of taking the initiative to attack. They originally thought they had to defend Liangzhou City, but they were led by Li Xiang to the grassland first.