Li Shimin thought about it seriously and thought that it was as Zhang Yang said. Master Liang could survive until now by relying on the Turks. Otherwise, he would have destroyed him long ago, and he would still be there, provoking and presumptuous!

As the only princes and transitional area between the Tang and the Turks, the Liang army wanted to continue to exist, so His Majesty let the war between the Tang and the Turks not stop, leaving both sides in a state of war and no time to develop, otherwise it would be the meaning of his existence.

Therefore, it was really possible for the Liang army to propose to the Turks to send troops to the Tang Dynasty, especially when the Tang Dynasty had not yet fully stabilized, this was a great opportunity for the Turks to invade the south.

If you couldn't even see this opportunity, then the Liang army would have been destroyed long ago. There would be the military advisor who repeatedly went south to attack the border and gave advice. A useless Liang army, the Turks, would not allow it to exist. So now it seems that this year, the Turks' south to attack the border is another unavoidable and neglected issue.

Although Zhang Yang proposed to ask his master Qin Shubao to go to the border to defend, after thinking about it, Li Shimin still planned to take Zhang Yang to see if he has the same talent in military affairs and can become a teacher!

"Xianxu, since you said that after the autumn harvest this year and before the winter comes, the Turkic Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan will definitely go south to the border to defend. If you have proposed to ask your master Shubao to go to the border to defend, then tell me your thoughts."

"Okay, your majesty, your son-in-law will talk about this time about the two Turkic khans who might lead their troops south to attack the border. Please borrow the son-in-law from the Tang Dynasty map, and your son-in-law will talk to your Majesty on the map."

Zhang Yang was waiting for this opportunity. After Li Shimin asked him again, he asked to look at the map.

Li Shimin would definitely agree with this request. He also wanted Zhang Yang to have any opinions on the Turks' southward attack on the border every day. He didn't rush to let the old man Li Yifeng, who was serving him, go out and call two eunuchs in. After finding the map of the Tang Dynasty and spread it on the ground.

Map was a rare thing in ancient times, especially in the large maps in the palace, which were not available to the court except the royal family. In ancient times, the maps were even more strictly military-managed items, and they could not be owned at will in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Yang was quite shocked when he stood in front of this entire map of the Tang Dynasty. In this era when there were not enough measuring instruments and equipment, it was very commendable to have such a relatively accurate map. For this map, I don’t know how much manpower and material resources the Tang Dynasty spent to draw this map to this level.

After being shocked, Zhang Yang still stood next to the map and pointed to the Guannei Road of the Turks, which was divided by Li Shimin this year, followed by the Guannei Road of the Turks, arrived at Longyou, Hebei Road and Hedong Road, and said to Li Shimin:

"Your Majesty, you still ascended the throne last year. The Turks harassed and fought many times against our Tang Dynasty. First in June, Jie Li Khan led the Turkic army to attack Lingzhou. In the summer of the same year, the Turkic attacked Xiangzhou and other places in the Tang Dynasty. In August, Jie Li Khan led more than 100,000 troops to plunder Shuozhou, and then was repelled by Li Daozong, the governor of Lingzhou. After the Turkic attacked Suizhou, Jie Li Khan sent envoys to ask Tang for retreat.

From this we know that the Turkic Guang harassed our Tang Dynasty several times last year, captured and plundered many prefectures and counties in our Tang Dynasty.

The Turks' environment this year is even worse than last year, and the environment in the Tang Dynasty was more chaotic than last year, making it easier for them to go south to attack the border.

Since several states were already plundered by the Turks last year, the short year of this year was a pledge, so the son-in-law was sure that the Turks would not be fighting against Lingzhou, Shuozhou and other places this year.

Also, since the Turks suffered too great losses in last winter, if I were Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan, I would plunder the enemy south and make up for the losses in last winter, with the advice of Liang Shidu, the rebel Liang, the target of his strategy was the Guannei Road, which had the capital and Jingzhao Prefecture."

When Zhang Yang mentioned the inner path of the Guan Internal Affairs, Li Shimin was quite shocked. The inner path of the Guan Internal Affairs is located in Jingzhao Prefecture, and the capital Chang'an City is located here. If the Turks really attack the Jingzhao Prefecture directly, the political situation of the Tang Dynasty may really change again. Even if they can't attack the capital, even those who have just attacked the Jingzhao Prefecture will have big problems.

So Li Shimin hurriedly asked Zhang Yang again, asking the question he was most concerned about now, why did Zhang Yang say that the Turks' goal of going south to attack the border this year was Guannei Road and Jingzhao Prefecture.

"How can you be sure that Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan's goal of going south to the border this year is Guannei Dao and Jingzhao Prefecture, not other places!

Even if they really come to the Guannei Road to plunder, they may not necessarily choose Jingzhao Mansion, which is heavily guarded. First, the Jingzhao Mansion has enough troops so that they can't take it. Now it is impossible for the Turkic Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan to conquer the entire Guannei Road and Jingzhao Mansion."

Zhang Yang had long known that Li Shimin would not believe that the Turks' target was Jingzhao Prefecture. After all, as the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, the entire Jingzhao Prefecture's defense strength can be said to be the strongest in the entire Tang Dynasty, and it is also the place with the best military quality and the most perfect defense measures. No one would believe that the Turks would use Jingzhao Prefecture as the target of the south to attack the border this fall.

But this is the fact that this year, the Turks went south to attack the border with the most unlikely Jingzhao Prefecture, and fought to the banks of the Weishui River. Li Shimin used a trick of suspicion to humiliately kill the white horses on the banks of the Weishui River to make an alliance. He compensated countless gold, silver and grain, and signed the "Weishui Alliance" which was a major stain in Li Shimin's life.

"Your Majesty, there is a basis for your son-in-law to say this. Please listen to me to tell you!"

"Okay, let me tell you, let me see what kind of reason you have to support you in guessing!"

"Your Majesty, just listen to me and tell you. You will know after listening.

You probably know the losses of the Turks due to snow disaster last winter. Then I won’t go into details, let me tell you why I think the Turks target Jingzhao Prefecture, the inner road of Guannei.

The Turks suffered huge losses last year, and they could not be compensated by plundering one or two states. Moreover, the prefectures and counties near the Turks have been harassed and plundered by the Turks in recent years. They have been suffering from a lot of wealth, and their food accumulation has basically been almost plundered by the Turks over the years.

Even if there is a bumper harvest in the prefectures and counties this year, due to the years of plunder by the Turks, the people in the prefectures and counties can run away almost all of them. Or they have been plundered by the Turks to the Turks, and most of the remaining ones are old and weak, so even if there is a bumper harvest this year, the Turks have not plundered much materials and wealth, and they are far from being able to make up for their losses in last winter.

Since there were fewer materials in one prefecture and county, the Turks had to plunder a few more prefectures and counties to make up for the losses in last winter. However, judging from the Turks' southward plunder last year, the Turkish Khan also knew that it was possible that he would plunder one or two states, or even three to four border prefectures and counties, but he really plundered three or four border prefectures and counties. Judging from the current material and wealth reserves of border prefectures and counties, it was not enough for the Turks to make up for the losses in last winter.

However, although the losses were not enough last year, the strength of the Turkic Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan is now the limit of their combat that can use all the troops that went south to the border. After completing the plunder of these three and four border prefectures and counties, the Turkic army also suffered a considerable loss. After all, the defense strength of the Tang Dynasty border army is obvious to all. Especially when it is passively defending and leaning against the city.

So if the Turks want to recover last year's losses at one time this year, it would be even better if they could make a big splash.

Then the Turks' target was the wealthiest Guan Nei Road in the entire Tang Dynasty. As long as it marched into Guan Nei Road and broke through the Helan Mountains in Lingzhou and the Great Wall defense line next to it, Lingzhou would be broken without attacking.

Next, as long as he leads his army south, he can successfully break through the defense line of Lingzhou, then pass through Qingshui and Tongxin, he can enter Yuanzhou. Then, he can march into Jingzhou, pass through Jingzhou, break through Qizhou, pass through Fufeng, and Wugong, and Jincheng can reach Xiwei Bridge, which means Chang'an is in sight.

The plan to break through to this Turkic journey to the border will be perfectly completed. At that time, Jie Li Khan will have to pay him much compensation, Your Majesty, you will really have to give it to him.

At that time, the advantages will be on the side of the Jie Li Khan and the Tuli Khan of the Turi, and our Tang Dynasty is completely at a disadvantage."

Zhang Yang took a break when he said this, and moistened it with a sip of tea. His mouth, which was probably dry because of the long discussion just now, also gave Li Shimin time to think about the Turkic march route he just mentioned.

Sure enough, after Zhang Yang finished drinking the bowl of tea, Li Shimin asked him:

"You are so sure that the Turkic Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan will use your offensive line to march and fight. You must know that it is indeed feasible to use your line to march and fight, but the risks along the way are also quite great.

When Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan attacked the Xiwei Bridge you mentioned, our army should have already reacted and gathered in Jingzhao Prefecture. As long as we were sending an army to seize the retreat, it might be possible that Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan would be wiped out in our Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, listen to me. Yes, if you are really prepared enough, it may be possible for Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan to be wiped out in our Tang Dynasty. But Your Majesty, you must know that the Turks are basically mainly light cavalry, and with their current speed of advancing.

As long as the Turks suddenly launched an attack when we were not prepared and broke through the defense of the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou, they would definitely march to Xiwei Bridge within a few days. After all, the distance between the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou in Chang'an City is only more than 1,000 miles (the straight line distance on Baidu map is less than 600 kilometers).

Although the Turkic army cannot all go straight, even if it is twice as far as it is, it is only more than 2,000 miles away. Your Majesty, you know the speed of the Turkic army. They are all light cavalry. Without a large amount of supplies and food, it is easy and normal to march 300 kilometers a day. Even if there is occasional war in the middle, it is not enough to see in front of its Turkic army of more than 100,000.

It is also Your Majesty, you don’t have to expect them to block the Turkic army for you. So when you summoned troops to defend Jingzhao Prefecture after you received the news of the Turkic army's attack, it might be too late, and maybe you have already attacked Chang'an City.

And even if you mobilize your army to Jingzhao Prefecture to defend, the Turkic army led by Jie Li Khan and Tuli Khan can not have to attack the front line of Jingzhao Prefecture to defend. As long as you plunder the wealthy Qizhou, Jingzhou, Longzhou, Ningzhou, Binzhou and other prefectures near Jingzhao Prefecture, it will be enough to make up for the losses they suffered last winter.

You should know that these prefectures and counties are defensive borders far away from the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou. They are on the second or even the third line of defense. The Turks have basically not attacked them, and their military defense strength is far from enough.

Usually used to suppress bandits, we have surrendered, and our Tang Dynasty implemented the system of government troops. The power of local military generals is not great, which is quite unfavorable for flexible military mobilization, especially when this is composed of light cavalry and the more than 100,000 troops led by the Turkic Jieli Khan and the Tuli Khan, it is impossible to block and pursue.

In particular, the other party had a purity of Liang Shidu, who was always paying attention to the news in the Tang Dynasty. This would be even more unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty.

So Your Majesty, my son-in-law, thinks that it is better for us to defend early. Instead of passively waiting for the Turks to break through the defense of the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou and catch us off guard, it is better to send troops in advance to strengthen defense at the Helan Mountain Great Wall.

Moreover, although Your Majesty has many soldiers in the Tang Dynasty, especially when the Tang Dynasty implemented the government military system, because it is the government military system, Your Majesty knows how high the quality of the government military personnel in ordinary prefectures and counties is.

And even if the quality of the soldiers is up to standard, the Tang Dynasty now has a population of less than three million households, but it has to defend such a large area. Moreover, the border line connecting with the Turks is long, which makes the Tang Dynasty's troops more scattered. This makes it more difficult to defend against the Turks' attack.

Moreover, Lingzhou and Hedong Road, which the Turks have been harassing for a long time, have very little harassment to the inner road of Guannei. As long as the Turks suddenly have details, they may be called before we can react.

As for the possibility of the Turks coming from other places, it is less likely to come from other places. After breaking through, the possibility of the Turks coming to Jingzhao Prefecture in a short time is quite small. Those places are too far from Jingzhao Prefecture.

The nearest one is to break through the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou, because this is the only one I came in on the border between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, and there is no desert surrounding it, not next door, and other places will have to be far away. When he hit Jingzhao Mansion, our defense was already ready, and he came in vain.

And Your Majesty, don't forget that Liang Shidu, the existence of this traitor, is half surrounded between Yanzhou and Lingzhou. Due to his long-term harassment of Yanzhou, the defense on the front line of Qingzhou in Yanzhou is in place, while due to the existence of the desert and Helan Mountain, the defense on the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou is quite empty.

It is impossible for Liang Shi to know about this, otherwise he would not have attacked Yanzhou frequently over the years. Even the Turks plundered the prefectures and counties near Yanzhou under his suggestion. Even the plunder of Lingzhou last year was a line of defense that was broken through from the direction of Yanzhou.

The purpose is to anesthetize us and concentrate our attention on the defense of the Yanzhou front line, while ignoring the defense of the Helan Mountain Great Wall in Lingzhou, giving them the opportunity to take advantage of it, so that the battle will return the Tang Dynasty to the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

In this way, our Tang Dynasty is not dangerous to Master Liang, and he can also capture more territory and develop it to make his life more prosperous. For such an opponent, Your Majesty, you should not underestimate his wisdom.

You should remember what happened to Mr. Chu Luo in those days. If it weren’t for his bad luck in Liang Shidu, and our Tang Dynasty had the help of heaven, he would have died in a bad life just two years after he ascended the throne. The plan of Liang Shidu could not be implemented, and if we don’t attack and destroy ourselves, we would not have been in a good situation, and we would not be as strong as we are now.

As for his repeated defeats in Yanzhou, don’t you find it strange!

Over the years, Liang's army has really fought three battles in Yanzhou, and three times were defeated by Duan Decao, the general manager of Yanzhou. Duan Decao can really be regarded as his nemesis.

But is there really no way for him, Liang Shi? Even if he can't defeat Yanzhou, there is still Qingzhou next to his territory! In addition, last year, the Turks captured Suizhou next to Yanzhou. Even if it was plundered by more than 100,000 Turks' army, it was still a large area of ​​territory. This was a territory that could be accepted by him without abandoning many soldiers, and he did not accept it.

It is obviously impossible to say that he is a stubborn man and stare at Yanzhou. If this is the case, he would have been destroyed when he was just rising. It is even more impossible to say that he is afraid of the Tang army and the attack and revenge of the Tang army after the capture of Suizhou. Now he is completely hostile to our Tang Dynasty. As long as our Tang Dynasty recovers, he will be the first to destroy it. It has reached the point of never stopping. How could he have a hand?

To sum up, it is that the Liang Shidu and the Turks are engaged in a major conspiracy. All the actions of the Liang Shidu before were made specifically to paralyze us.

After all, Mr. Liang lost only more than one thousand two people to Yanzhou's several attacks, which is not a big loss."

As Zhang Yang finished speaking, Li Shimin fully recognized Zhang Yang's analysis of the Turkish march route. After all, only in this way can the abnormal behavior of the rebel Liang Shidu in recent years, and the Turks' occupation of Suizhou for peace and withdrawal of troops last year...


Chapter completed!