"Khan, the Tang army is so bold that it takes the initiative to attack our Turks. We must not show weakness. We must give them some color!" In Jie Li's tent, a little Turkic Khan said loudly in anger.

Li Jing's army raided Xiangcheng and could go north to attack the Turkic royal court at any time, which caused great panic within the Turkic. Some nobles suggested moving north, while others suggested giving the Tang army a head-on attack. After all, the enemy had already found their doorstep. If they ran away without a single fight, it would be too embarrassing.

"No, since last year, we Turks have caused natural disasters and man-made disasters. This year, we have continued to quell the rebellion of the surrounding tribes, and our strength has been greatly weakened. Since the Tang Dynasty dared to send troops to take the initiative to attack, we must be prepared. We must not fight against each other!" At this time, a young Turkic general stood up and said, and he was about twenty or thirty years old, tall and thin, very strong.

"Zhi Shisi Li, you coward, you encouraged the Khan to escape without even seeing the Tang army. You are not worthy of being a Turkic person at all!" As soon as the young general finished speaking, he saw another Turkic general accuse him very angrily.

"I am a Turkic person and you don't need to say that the current situation is not good for me, the Turkic person, and preserving his strength is the best strategy. If you fight with the Tang army rashly, it may shake the foundation of my Turkic person. Can you bear this responsibility then?" Faced with the accusations from others, the young Turkic person named Zhishili responded without hesitation.

The name Zhishili is also well-known in the history of the early Tang Dynasty because he was one of the most famous alien generals in the Tang Dynasty. He was originally the leader of Zhishili and was Jie Li's confidant general. During the Battle of Weishui, Zhishili had gone to see Li Shimin as an envoy. He also knew very well about Central Plains culture and was quite strategic on the battlefield, which also made Jie Li even more favored.

Zhidu was very rational and knew that the Turks were at a disadvantage now, so he advocated avoiding the Tang army's edge. However, not all Turkic generals were as smart as him. Although the Turks were defeated by the Tang army several times before, in the eyes of the Turks, the main reason was that they attacked the Tang Dynasty themselves, and the Tang army mainly fought on the city, which made their cavalry suffer a lot. If placed on the grassland, they would definitely not believe that their cavalry would not be able to find the Tang army.

It was precisely because of the above idea that many Turkic generals wanted to teach the invading Tang army a severe lesson. Of course, some people supported Zhi's soul, so there was a quarrel in the big tent for a while. However, Zhao Deyan, who was standing next to Jie Li, did not say a word, and stood there with his head down, as if he was asleep.

"Stop quarrel!" As soon as Zhi Shili finished speaking, Jie Li, who had not spoken, suddenly interrupted the quarrel in front of him, and said loudly with anger, "Tang Jun has already hit our doorstep. You are still clamoring here, what's the point?"

Faced with Jie Li's reprimands, all the Turkic generals in the tent did not dare to speak anymore, and they retreated one by one with a look of disappointment. However, although Jie Li stopped the quarrels of the generals, he was also very troubled at this time because he was not sure of his own decision. Although he was a little conceited, he also knew that with his current situation, it was not appropriate to fight against the Tang army. But if he just ran away like this, he would be a little unwilling to accept it. And doing so would ruin his reputation. I am afraid that the entire grassland would make fun of him for this matter in the future, and it would be even more difficult to rule the tribe.

Just when Jie Li was in a dilemma, he suddenly saw Zhao Deyan standing on the right side of his head. This made him lit up his eyes, and then he said, "Zhao Qing, do you think we should be fighting or retreating now?"

When Zhao Deyan heard Jie Li ask him, he raised his head and respectfully bowed to Jie Li and said modestly: "You know Khan, I only understand government affairs and am not very proficient in military affairs, so Khan is the only way to decide this!"

"It's okay, I want to hear your opinions now!" Jie Li asked again at this time. Although he did not hand over the military power to Zhao Deyan, he knew that Zhao Deyan's gaze was long-term, and perhaps his opinions would inspire him.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Deyan seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then finally said: "Khan, I do not understand military affairs, but I want to ask, even if we defeat the Tang army, are we still confident of spending this winter?"

As soon as Zhao Deyan said, Jie Li felt enlightened. Yes, even if they could defeat the Tang army, they would definitely suffer heavy losses at that time. Moreover, at the beginning of the battle, it would definitely accelerate the consumption of materials. And now it is the time for cattle and sheep to gain weight. At that time, he organized troops to welcome the enemy, and no one to grazed the cattle and sheep, and they might not even survive in winter. This would cause them to suffer heavy losses. It can be said that no matter how successful or lost this battle, they would pay a heavy price.

Thinking of the above, Jie Li immediately made a decision in his heart, and stood up and said, "Li Jing dared to attack Xiangcheng with a lonely army. There must be a main army of the Tang Dynasty behind him, otherwise he would not have the courage to take the initiative to attack our Turks. With our current situation, it is indeed not appropriate to fight against the Tang army, so it is better to avoid the edge!"

"Khan is wise!" As soon as Jie Li said, Zhi Shisili and others immediately showed an ecstatic expression and said loudly. Although the other generals were a little dissatisfied, they did not dare to disobey Jie Li's intentions, so they could only lower their heads and stop talking.

"Zhao Qing, since you are going to retreat, I wonder where do you think it is better to retreat?" Jie Li was even happier when he heard the flattery of Zhi Shisili and others. Then he asked Zhao Deyan again. At this time, he trusted Zhao Deyan more and even considered that he could give him some military power in the future. After all, Zhao Deyan was just a Han man, so he didn't have to worry that he would threaten his status like the Turks.

"You are a khan, I think the royal court is best to retreat to the area of ​​Jikou and retreat to the area of ​​Yinshan. The terrain is complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is enough to resist the attack of the Tang army!" Zhao Deyan spoke again at this time, but his suggestion was not good, because he had already learned through Feinusi that the other two Tang troops had gone around their rear and were waiting to intercept Jie Li's army on the way.

"Haha~, Zhao Qing is the same as I thought. Yinshan is indeed very suitable. And even if the Tang army attacks Yinshan, we can continue to retreat northward. Even when the weather is warmer, we can temporarily retreat to Mobei. I don't believe that the Tang army dares to chase there!" Jie Li couldn't help laughing when he heard Zhao Deyan's words.

The discussion was decided, and Jie Li immediately issued the order. Zhi Shisili and others also took the order and called the tribe to whom they belonged to prepare to retreat north. However, Zhao Deyan did not leave, but stayed to discuss some things with Jie Li. After all, he was in charge of government affairs. Now that the royal court was about to retreat north, he had to discuss some things with Jie Li.

"Khan, we can retreat north, but what should we do if the King of Sui?" At the end of the discussion, Zhao Deyan suddenly asked. King of Sui Yang Zhengdao and Empress Xiao both lived in Dingxiang, which was close to Xiangcheng. It can be said that after Li Jing captured Xiangcheng, his next target was Dingxiang. If they didn't care, these former Sui remnants would definitely fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

When Zhao Deyan mentioned Empress Xiao and other former Sui remnants, Jie Li couldn't help but show a meditative expression. After a moment, he finally spoke: "The King of Sui and Empress Xiao and other former Sui remnants are useless to us, but I don't want them to fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty, so I'd better send someone to take them over and retreat with the army at that time!"

"Khan must not!" What Jie Li didn't expect was that Zhao Deyan stopped him when he heard his words, and then explained, "Empress Xiao and the King of Sui are not many or few, and most of them are old, young, sick and disabled. If they are asked to follow the army, it will definitely slow down the retreat of the army. Moreover, these former Sui remnants are useless to us. Khan just doesn't want these people to fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty. Since that's the case, why not directly send people to kill them? This is a way to kill two birds with one stone!"

When Jie Li heard that Zhao Deyan actually suggested killing Empress Xiao and other former Sui remnants, he couldn't help but look at him in surprise, and then smiled and said, "Zhao Qing's words are really beyond my expectations. I heard that Empress Xiao married her granddaughter to you. I didn't expect that at such a critical moment, you actually made such a suggestion?"

"I have reported to Khan, I have married these former Sui remnants to only strengthen their connection with our Turks to calm their hearts. However, now their existence has dragged down Khan, so don't blame me for destroying my relatives for the sake of justice!" Zhao Deyan said with a righteous face at this time, as if he was really willing to abandon his personal relationship for the sake of the Turks.

"Haha~, Zhao Qing is indeed a loyal minister of my Turkic!" Jie Li couldn't help but patted Zhao Deyan's shoulder with admiration when he heard this, but then he shook his head again, and then he slowly said, "Killing Queen Xiao and the others can save a lot of trouble. However, I thought about it carefully. Queen Xiao and the King of Sui seem to be useful to us. It would be a pity to kill them. Let's take them over. As for the others, let them die for themselves!"

"This... Khan is wise!" Sometimes no one can guess Jie Li's mind. Zhao Deyan hesitated for a moment and finally nodded, but then he suddenly said again, "Khan, Empress Xiao and the King of Sui will probably not abandon the former Sui remnants easily, so it's better to let me go and bring them back in person!"

"It's good, I don't want to use force against Queen Xiao and the others. It's better if you, your grandson-in-law, go!" Jie Li nodded almost without hesitation, without any doubt that Zhao Deyan had any other plans.
Chapter completed!