"Oh, you don't need to lead the team this time. Your people have just arrived in Liangzhou City. Just take a walk around here. There are some border features here that you won't see in Chang'an City."
After everyone else left, Qin Qiong realized that he had not yet arranged anything for Li Xiang!
"General, I'm not here to enjoy the scenery. Like all of you, I'm here to serve my country. Furthermore, I've gone to great lengths to recruit the troops from the three prefectures. If I don't have a mission, how can I return to see them?"
After hearing Li Xiang's words, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin exchanged a glance, both certain they had heard correctly. Li Xiang had actually recruited over 3,000 men. Did he also bring in the elderly, the weak, and the disabled? If that was the case, then Li Xiang couldn't possibly leave the city. Fighting here was different from fighting in the interior. Without a warhorse, nothing could be accomplished. If you relied solely on your legs, let alone a surprise attack, just running all the way here would probably tire you to death.
"Are your men fully staffed?"
Cheng Yaojin said with some disbelief that he had sent out his spies along the way, and the surrounding villages were almost always vacant. The local land was barren and could not support so many people. Anyone with a little ability would have already run away to other places. Even if you offered the highest conditions, I'm afraid no one would come to join the army.
"I beg the General to review the departments under my command."
Li Xiang said this very seriously. Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin realized that Li Xiang was not joking. Could he be giving us another surprise? Qin Qiong waved his hand, indicating that Li Xiang should lead the way. Anyway, there was no combat mission at the moment, so the two of them went to check out Li Xiang's army.
West Parade Ground.
The two men finally saw the army under Li Xiang. Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin swallowed their saliva at the same time. Not to mention the combat effectiveness of the army, just the armor and war horses made the two generals envious.
With your equipment, the Northern Ya Imperial Guards are no match for you. If your fighting capacity is not strong, then he will have failed in this outfit.
Thousands of people stood on the parade ground, and no one made a sound. Just from this solemn atmosphere, the two generals could feel that the combat effectiveness of this army was no joke, and it was at least stronger than their own guards.
The two men absolutely did not believe that this was the army recruited by Li Xiang in Wuqing Prefecture, but they also did not want to find out where these troops came from. It might be related to some royal secrets. If they knew about it, it would not only not be a good thing, but it might also bring trouble to themselves.
"Are you confident in attacking the three divisions tonight?"
Looking at such an army, Qin Qiong said nothing. If he allowed such an army to sleep in the city, it would be a dereliction of duty for him as the commander.
"I am willing to issue a military order."
Li Xiang said very confidently that although he knew that his army was very powerful, it was his first time to carry out military duties, so it would be better to be careful, otherwise, let alone three tribes, ten tribes would be out of the question.
"Don't be nervous. With the men you have, attacking a few tribes is no problem. Even if it's their military camp, you can escape unscathed. When you attack them at night, have your archers fire a wave of rockets. You're familiar with this method. Didn't you burn down the Zat'rk in Chang'an? When they start to rebel, the cavalry will just charge in and kill them. It won't take more than half an hour to wipe out an entire tribe."
Cheng Yaojin said cheerfully, patting Li Xiang's shoulder vigorously with one hand. If he hadn't been able to hold on for a few more times, Li Xiang really wanted to jump three feet away. At the same time, he felt very sympathetic to the two brothers Cheng Chumo. How did you get through your life since you were little? You must have been knocked unconscious by your father, right?
"It's basically what Zhijie said, but you must place enough scouts on the periphery. If there is any change in the surrounding area, even if you don't complete this mission, you must retreat safely. You represent not only yourself, but also the power of the Tang Dynasty."
Qin Qiong also explained a few things. Just as he said, Li Xiang was not an ordinary general. If something unexpected happened, the loss of soldiers and generals would be the least of his worries. Li Shimin would be furious.
If the eldest grandson of the Tang emperor was captured, even if they conquered the entire Tuyuhun, it would not be considered a victory. At that time, even if Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin were not executed along with their entire families, their lives would basically be over, and they would not have any chance of promotion in the future.
So other small troops each have more than a thousand people. Li Xiang wants to take out these more than three thousand people. The Tuyuhun army has only about 20,000 people at most. As long as Li Xiang does not rush into the depths of the grassland, these more than three thousand people are enough to ensure Li Xiang's safety.
What's more, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin will definitely send hundreds of personal guards to follow behind. Once anything happens to Li Xiang, the personal guards will immediately rush to kill him. No matter what the mission is, they must ensure Li Xiang's safety.
"Please rest assured, Generals. I will definitely return victorious."
Li Xiang said confidently, "Isn't the purpose of coming to the front lines to gain military merit? Nowadays, let alone the emperor's grandsons of the same age, even the adult princes haven't achieved much on the battlefield. As long as I return with military merit this time, it will be a big step forward for them."
Li Zhi watched with some envy from a distance. This guy also wanted to lead the army to war, but unfortunately even his guards were killed. The emperor also gave him a Zhechoufu, but this guy had no money and no one to do the work under him. He could only have an empty title.
He was also a little puzzled. Why is this kid Li Xiang so good at everything, while I can't do anything here? He even took the opportunity to eliminate all his subordinates. Could it be that the Tang Dynasty is his? We are both descendants of the emperor. What does he have more than me?
The Tuyuhun army leaders did not expect that the Tang generals would actually adopt Li Xiang's seemingly risky method. It should be noted that the two countries had had many frictions in history. Most of the Tang generals kept their troops in place and gathered all the troops in the city. As for taking the initiative to attack, the Tang generals had never done so.
The main reason was that the deep grasslands were dangerous and unpredictable. Once outside the city, the grassland people would rule the land. Therefore, the Tuyuhun people had always felt that they were safe. However, tonight...