Li Xiang did not react so strongly this time regarding the King of Wu leading the troops. Li Xiang did not want the Tang Dynasty to depend on him alone. If something happened to him, the entire Han nationality might be in trouble, so having two generals was a good thing.
The reason why he fought with the King of Wu the last time was because it was necessary to fight. If Li Xiang did not stand up, what would his followers think? They would think they were following a coward, especially the generals in the army, so Li Xiang had to fight.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this time, Li Shimin was caught off guard. Moreover, Li Xiang had just won the victory in the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, so he had to share some of the credit with others.
Moreover, the court officials could also calculate that the land on the Goguryeo side was not fertile, but at least it could bring profits to the court. If the Xueyantuo were to be conquered, the land there would be even worse. What could it bring to the court?
The Tang Dynasty still doesn't know how to manage the grasslands. Even in places like Tuyuhun, it is still feeling its way forward and cannot say that it has taken full control.
Then again, the area of Xueyantuo extended all the way to the northern part of the desert, which was much larger than Tuyuhun. Huo Qubing chased them for two thousand miles but did not reach the northernmost part. If the King of Wu had a good fight here, it would have cost the Tang Dynasty a lot of money.
Another reason is that Li Xiang also wanted to test it out. It is said that this third uncle is good at fighting, both civil and military, and is the best among the princes of the Tang Dynasty, but he has never put it into practice. Li Xiang also wants to see how capable my king is.
After waiting for ten days, the imperial letter finally arrived. Everyone gathered in Li Xiang's tent to see what news the court had sent.
"This guy is really bold. His army has already entered the Eastern Turks. The Eastern Turkic army has been severely weakened by us in the past two years. When we went east to attack Goguryeo, there were still more than 4,000 people with us. So they were unable to stop the Xueyantuo cavalry. They have been badly defeated. Especially this Jichang Khan, he actually fled to Chang'an with his men."
Li Xiang threw away the letter in his hand, feeling extremely angry. The king of a country actually ran faster than the common people and abandoned his own people at the critical moment. Such a person was not worthy of being the Khan of the Turks.
"I've met this man before. He's a coward. Our court pushed him to the top for a reason. If someone truly ambitious were to emerge, would he be the one guarding our northern gate? Or would he keep us awake all night?"
Su Dingfang spoke the truth, saying that the Tang court had to find such a person, who was not brave enough. However, he did not expect that this guy had no responsibility at all. When he heard that the Xueyantuo army was coming, he led his 20,000 cavalry and ran towards the Great Wall.
When they arrived at the checkpoint, the Tang army would not let them in. This guy actually abandoned the remaining 20,000 cavalrymen and let them fend for themselves on the grassland. He took his family into the Great Wall and headed all the way to Chang'an City. As for the life and death of the remaining people, he seemed to have no idea about it.
"This is a rather difficult matter. It's not good to make the people of the vassal state too strong, nor too weak."
Niu Jinda didn't know much about politics, but he knew that this matter was difficult to grasp. Li Xiang did not blame Li Shimin for this matter. Even if he was in that position, it was impossible for him to see through everyone's hearts. These days, the most difficult thing to see through is people's hearts.
"Our people..."
"Our men are ready. Including the artillery, I've streamlined our forces to about 14,000 in total. No matter how large the enemy's army is, we can charge at any time and guarantee our combat effectiveness."
Su Dingfang reported the situation of his subordinates immediately without waiting for Li Xiang to finish asking. This guy picked some elite troops from the entire army and formed a rapid reaction force. Li Xiang was speechless. It was not that this guy was unreliable, but that what Li Xiang did became useless. In the past, Li Xiang dispersed the soldiers he exchanged from the system and distributed them throughout the army. Who knew that these people were found out by Su Dingfang? It was because these people performed well in normal times.
Of course, Su Dingfang did not intentionally show these people. To form a rapid reaction force, it must be the elite of the entire army. Su Dingfang has a very strong eye for soldiers, otherwise he would not have been able to win so many battles. After Li Xiang learned about what this guy had done, he really didn't know what to say.
"Take them for some long-distance training these few days. If nothing happens in the north, treat it as a drill. If something happens, we must rush over. We must not let the Xueyantuo people go south. The current situation is the best for us, and no one can break it."
Li Xiang slapped the table, and the rest of the people nodded. At present, the clans and powerful families in the Tang Dynasty are very weak, the whole country is developing normally, and the surrounding tribes are not our opponents. Once the Xueyantuo goes south, this good situation is likely to be broken. If we want to make it like this, we don’t know how much manpower and material resources will be wasted, so we have to do this even if we have to help King Wu Li Xiang.
Seven days later, news came from the front again. His Royal Highness the King of Wu had organized 50,000 border troops, and the troops brought from Chang'an City were rushing forward.
"In your opinion, what are the King of Wu's chances of victory?"
Li Xiang didn't know much about the Xueyantuo. Su Dingfang had led troops there before. Although they had never fought against each other, he had a general idea of their combat effectiveness. Whenever there was news from the court, these people would gather in Li Xiang's tent so that they could practice in time and respond to changes on the battlefield at any time.
"My Great Tang has tens of thousands of border troops constantly guarding the borders. Their fighting power cannot be underestimated. I am actually worried about the troops coming from the imperial court. If they become overly arrogant, we might be able to win this battle. But if they are anything like the troops we brought, then the Xueyantuo will have no chance of victory."
The Tang Dynasty's border troops have always been elite, even more elite than the imperial guards in the capital. They've fought wars both large and small. As long as the King of Wu doesn't lose his mind and the army in Chang'an doesn't stumble, victory is within reach...