A huge sand tray was piled up in the conference hall of Wuling Hengbao. The mud blocks representing various terrain were densely arranged, which was enough to make patients with dense diseases feel numb all over their bodies.

Li Tong suddenly had a whim to do something like this, hoping to express the terrain and terrain around Qinghai more intuitively. Originally, he thought that with the rich picture materials mastered by the Tang army and the convenience of field investigations, the plane map could be presented in a three-dimensional way.

But when he really started, he realized that this was really too difficult and almost impossible to complete. He spent a few days personally leading a group of military officials to read classics and ask scouts, and finally he created such a pile of lumps, which was completely unreferenced. Even if it weren't for the concave representing Qinghai Lake in the middle of the sand table, which was quite eye-catching, no one could see that this was actually a map.

The terrain around Qinghai is too complex, with ravines and countless peaks and ridges, which makes the area completely without a geographical focus that can be regarded as a must-attack or defend.

No wonder the Tang Dynasty used troops to Qinghai before, but did not maintain any steady and steady pace of progress, but fast forward and fast attack. It was not because Xue Rengui, Li Jingxuan and others looked down on Tubo too much, but because there was really no strategic location worthy of key investment in the Haidong region.

This area is said to be without dangers, and there are strange and dangerous places everywhere. Placed in any place can be regarded as the focus of military offensive and defensiveness. However, because there are too many such places, it cannot highlight a strategic focus, just like a sieve that leaks air everywhere.

It is true that the sea and grass are abundant in the Haidong area, after all, it is surrounded by an excellent water source such as Qinghai.

However, those lands suitable for farming and pastoral farming are small plots of land alluvial alluvial water, scattered among many peaks, and it is very difficult to systematically garrison and guard. Compared with the Heyuan Army garrison opposite Chiling, the conditions for reclamation and pastoral fighting are simply from heaven and the other from underground. Compared with Longyou, it can be said that it is a piece of useless food and a pity to abandon it.

Therefore, when Tubo occupied this territory, he did not carry out systematic development, but only used it as a garrison base that invaded the Heyuan Army garrison on the eastern foot of Chiling.

Except for some pretty open regional circles such as Yuchichuan and Kubahai as ranchs for military support, the rest of the places were allowed to be scattered by the Hu people and regularly collected goods to serve as military supplies.

Therefore, when the Tang army entered this territory, they abandoned the place without any regrets and led the army to retreat, and did not engage in long entanglements here.

After all, the purpose of occupying this place was to invade Heyuan. Now that the Heyuan army has entered the Qinghai area directly, it is naturally necessary to lure the enemy into depth and gather superior forces. It is easier to defeat the invading enemy in one fell swoop.

Of course, it does not mean that this realm is completely worthless. In the past ten days alone, Tang Jun Youyi has swept out more than 10,000 tents of Hu people from all over the country. It can be seen that for the Hu people living in the old land of Tuyuhun, Haidong is still a handful of livable places.

But this is for those Zahu tribes who are weak and not enough to occupy a larger area of ​​land. The Tang army occupied the entire Longyou, and the Heyuan Army station alone reclaimed more than 5,000 hectares of land, and collected more than 5 million hu of land each year.

If you cross the mountains and ridges and attack across the border, you will only get such a useless place. Moreover, after the front line is advanced, the offensive and defensive situation is far less convenient than the Chiling line to wait for work. It can be said that it is not worth the effort.

No wonder Heichi Changzhi was worried that His Highness Yong would violate the previous plan and make the army advance rashly. To be honest, after Li Tong first learned about the geographical situation like Haidong, he felt a little boring and wanted to continue to advance to expand the results of the battle.

But he also understood that the battle with Tubo was a long-term strategy, and when the initiative was lost, he should not rashly seek temporary achievements. Even Qinling, the enemy who is now in charge of Qinghai, is just a preliminary boss on this front.

Without taking a single step, you can't reach a thousand miles. Although occupying the Haidong region is not enough to make the war situation between the two sides immediately reverse, it is always a progress.

Recently, as the news of the Tang army entering Qinghai gradually spread in the Haidong region, Hu chiefs who were active in the region took the initiative to come to pay their respects, thanking the Tang army for saving them from the oppression and exploitation of Tubo, and repeatedly expressed their willingness to follow the Tang army to withdraw back to Longyou and attach themselves to the Tang Dynasty.

Although these Hu tribes were very weak, with a large population of only more than a thousand people, and when the Tubo army stationed in Chiling evacuated Haidong, they plundered their cows and horses, leaving only the elderly, weak, sick and disabled people in the Tang army.

The resignation of these Hu tribes, in addition to providing the Tang army with some more detailed regional geographical conditions, had almost no increase in strength, but at least it also shows that Tubo's rule around Qinghai was indeed unpopular, although the value of this human heart was not great.

Li Tong did not agree to their requests attached to these Hu tribes. One was not credible, and the other was that the Tang army did not need to fund them.

Your cattle and sheep have strongly supported Tubo, and they have no choice but to live. They ran to the Tang army camp to bow and cry, and said a few respectful words, and wanted to get food to survive from the Tang army. There is nothing so cheap!

Of course, he did not allow these populations to fend for themselves, but instead divided the scattered tribes into a thousand tents and handed them over to the temporary commander of Murong Kang, who was forming the Tuyuhun Restoration Army, placed these populations near Yuchichuan, and temporarily set up a Qinghai Prefecture ban supervision.

After conducting a preliminary investigation of the Haidong area, the Tang army also selected the first place to build a city, which was Yinglong City built by Geshuhan on Longju Island in the center of Qinghai Lake in history after recapturing Shibao City. It is now temporarily named Hailong City.

Because Qinghai is surrounded by mountains and there are many mudflats in the west of Haixi, even if a city is built in the lake, it is not enough to directly threaten Fuqi City in Haixi. However, setting up a city in the lake is conducive to building beacons along the east of Haidong. No matter where Tubo attacks, he can directly increase troops from Hailong City to support, so that it can also echo the Chiling side and support each other.

At the same time, building a city in Qinghai Lake is also conducive to the development of Qinghai's natural resources, especially some fishing and hunting harvests. In addition to solving some of the military capital needs on the spot, it is also of great value to sell it into Longyou. There are also a large number of seabird feathers. If they are woven into feather brocade, they will definitely cause looting in the two capitals.

As for why Tubo did not build cities in the lake, the reason was very simple. They did not know how to build ships. If they did not have skilled ship skills and experience in building cities, the cost of investing in building cities in the lake would be absolutely unbearable to Tubo.

In Longyou, there are no relevant talents on a large scale, but Qinghai doesn’t have to hurry up. In any case, since it has entered the Haidong region, it is necessary to fight against Tubo in any case. Only after fighting a battle can the Tang army gain a foothold in Haidong and make a plan.

So at present, Li Tong just ordered the newly-educated Hu people in Qinghai Prefecture to collect logging operations around the east of Haidong and collect various city-building materials.

The natural resources around Qinghai are still quite rich, with countless woods such as spruce, round cypress, etc., which made Li Tong quite eye-catching. For example, in Guannei and Heluo, which have been fully developed, the generous wood has become extremely scarce. Chang'an City can be used as large woods worth thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, which is even more flooding between the mountains and rivers of the east of the sea than soil and rocks.

It’s a pity that the geographical conditions around Qinghai are really bad. Although these woods are flooded, they can only be cut down and applied on the spot and cannot be transported at all.

As the Tang army's activity range of Youyi in the Haidong area expanded, the army on the east side of the rear road Chiling was also continuously entering the Qinghai area through Chiling. From mid-April to early May, the Tang army gathered on the western foot of Chiling, and the Tang army in the Haidong area had reached more than 30,000.

Moreover, the Tang army's vanguard troops had arrived at Wang Xiaojiemizha. Yes, although Wang Xiaojie was not in Qinghai, there was always his legend in Qinghai. After all, this is a legend in Tubo that is almost a miracle.

During the Yifeng period, Li Jingxuan led his army to attack Qinghai. Although Wang Xiaojie was only the deputy general manager of the marching, for well-known reasons, the Tubo army in the Qinghai area still called the baggage camp built by the Tang army at that time Wang Xiaojiemizha, and the Tang army also followed this and retained the name.

Wang Xiaojiemizha is located between Kubahai and Dafeichuan. It is a relatively flat basin with mountains on both sides, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. After the Tang army advanced, it began to set up camps step by step and continuously transport the resources of the rear route to this.

After Heichi Changzhi was supervising the front camp, he arrived at Wang Xiaojiemi's gate, and the strategic goal of the first phase of the Tang army was initially achieved. Ninety miles away, it was Moliyi, the end of the eastern part of Dafeichuan. The terrain gradually became wider, which was conducive to the spread of the Tubo army and the siege. Once the Tang army continues to move forward, a major battle may break out at any time.

Of course, even if the Tang army is stuck, Tubo is very likely to be under pressure. But since Wang Xiaojiemizha can be used as the baggage of the army, the terrain is of course more beneficial to the Tang army's combat mode.

The Tang army paused and gathered heavy goods here. One of the purposes was to lure Tubo to take the initiative to attack. If Tubo did not come, the Tang army would continue to stay at Wang Xiaojiemizha, digest the Haidong region more carefully, and make it a more complete base for the autumn advance.

Just as the Tang army was still repairing various defenses of Wang Xiaojiemizha, the Tang army, who was exploring outside, also sent back the latest news. Thousands of Tubo troops gathered at Moliyi, but did not continue to move forward. Instead, its main force turned to the nine-curve place of the Yellow River.

Heichi Changzhi knew that Qinling was a difficult opponent, and he did not expect that he would force the opponent to be helpless based on his own pace of advancement this time.

But after learning the news, he was still quite surprised by Qin Ling's boldness and did not dare to be proficient. He hurriedly reported the news to His Highness Yong, who was in charge of the back road, and asked how to respond to Qin Ling's move.

Li Tong, who was in the Wuling Hengbao and was still worried about the mud-like sand table, was stunned when he learned the news, and then said to himself: "Is this guy crazy?"

Regarding whether Qinling will invade Jiuqu land, he actually discussed it with generals such as Heichi Changzhi before, and basically believed that Qinling should not do this.

The Nine Curves of the Yellow River are still nominally belonging to the Tang Dynasty, but in fact, their place is occupied by a group of Hu tribes who are used to eating food and food in the two families. Relatively speaking, Tubo has a greater influence on it. After all, the Tang Dynasty was defeated repeatedly in Qinghai for decades, and the prestige accumulated in its early years has long been gone.

However, it is not easy for Tubo to directly control the Jiuqu land. One is the road is too far away, and the other is that there is a strong army like the Heyuan Army between the Qinghai area where Tubo focuses on operating.

Once Tubo sends troops to actually occupy the Jiuqu land, if it is resisted by the local Hu tribe, it will give Heyuan troops the opportunity to leave Qinghai and cut off its retreat. Moreover, Qinling has to take into account disputes in the country in recent years and cannot concentrate on annexing the Jiuqu land.

Although Tubo has won some vassals in the Jiuqu Land with its strength, the effect is not good. For example, the Dangxiang Qiang Xifeng tribe, which was just wiped out by Li Tong, fled from the Jiuqu Land several years ago. It can be seen that Qinling really has no talent for mass relations.

Previously, the Heyuan Army was still east of Chiling, and Tubo could not send troops to occupy the Jiuqu land. Now the Tang army has come again, and the troops stationed in Haidong and Qinling cannot even confront the Tang army for a long time. Do you still have the spare time to go to the labor army to expedition the Jiuqu land?

So this must be just a bluff, forcing the Tang army to take the initiative to rescue the Jiuqu land. The conditions for farming and pastoral farming in the Yellow River are far better than those of the useless land in Haidong, and it is more convenient to enter and exit Longyou.

During the period of Zhongzong and Ruizong in history, Tubo gradually occupied the Nine Curves of the Yellow River, which put great military pressure on Longyou. This problem was not solved until the late Tianbao period. The Tang army fought several consecutive battles and repelled the Tubo power to the west of Jishishan.

But this situation did not last long. After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Tubo made a comeback, and it was from the Nine Curves that entered Longyou and cut off the Hexi Corridor.

In view of this, although the main force of the Tang army sent troops from Chiling to approach Qinghai, Li Tong did not ignore the prevention and control of the Jiuqu land, and sent Xue Na and Fu Meng Lingqing to station in Taozhou in order to prevent Tubo from starting from the Jiuqu land.

Therefore, Li Tong subconsciously felt that he didn't have to pay attention to Qin Ling's action. Not to mention that this guy was just bluffing, even if he really used his troops in the land of the Nine Curves, he didn't have to care at all.

Although he had such an idea, Li Tong did not make a rash decision because he was facing an opponent like Qinling.

This possibility has been discussed with the generals before. If you really don’t have to care at all, Heichi Changzhi doesn’t have to report it so seriously at this time and ask Li Tong to decide how to deal with it.

So Li Tong did not make a decision immediately, but instead pondered at the desk. After a while, his face gradually became serious and he realized the problem.

He naturally knew that Qin Ling was just bluffing and it was impossible for him to really send troops to the Nine Curved Land. But the problem was that the Hu tribes in the Nine Curved Land did not know! Or, the game at the Tang army and Tubo at this level had exceeded their understanding.

Previously, due to the checks and balances of the Heyuan Army, the Tubo army stationed in Qinghai did not dare to go south easily, and the Hu tribes were happy to maintain a certain degree of independence between the gaps between the two countries.

But now, the Tang army took the initiative to send troops to Qinghai, but it was enough to stop in Haidong and did not seek a decisive battle with Tubo. Instead, Tubo had the spare energy to invade the Jiuqu land. In the eyes of the native Hu tribes, it was naturally clear that the strength and weakness were distinguished, and the superiority was determined. They would think that the Tang army in Haidong was no match for Tubo at all.

With this understanding, in order to survive, they might really be recruited by Tubo and help Tubo attack the Tang army!

In other words, Qinling used his invincible reputation and the relatively conservative tactical steps of the Tang army to achieve the purpose of integrating the Hu tribes in the Nine Curves.

He is indeed bluffing now, but if the Hu tribes in the Nine Curves can't bear the pressure and choose to join the Tubo camp, then they will really have a stronger power.

Once such a situation occurs, even if the Tang army occupied the useless land of Haidong, the Jiuqu land completely turned to Tubo. Moreover, after Qinling was surrendered by the Hu tribes in Jiuqu land, the momentum became stronger and he launched an attack on Haidong. Then he would be worried about the outcome.

"What a trouble!"

After realizing this, Li Tong couldn't help but feel a headache. It was not that Qin Ling was tricky, but that he was a little annoyed by the Hu tribe who were riding on the fences in the Nine Curves.

"Return to Duke Yan, and regain Youyi to advance towards Moliyi, but there is no need to start a real war with the enemy. The thief retreats and I will advance, and the thief comes and I will leave!"

Qinling used these methods to force the Tang army to go deeper into the Qinghai area and fight a decisive battle in a terrain that was conducive to Tubo. Since this is the case, you might as well shake him and send You Yi elite troops to attack Moliyi, so that Qinling gradually increased troops to Dafeichuan and had no time to take care of him.

But the Tang army would never have entered the Dafeichuan to fight against Tubo, not just because this place is unlucky.

"As for the Jiuqu land, there is no need to worry about the situation in the front. I think I will handle it properly and will never let Jiuqu and Hu interfere with the war in Haidong."

After first giving the front line a reassurance, Li Tong then began to think about how to deal with the problem of the Nine Curves.

He killed the thin seal that escaped from the Nine Curve Land, which would definitely have a significant negative impact on the Nine Curve Land. After all, the thin seal is an example of the existence in recent years.

Perhaps Qin Ling also learned about his actions from some channels, so he had the intention of intimidating and threatening Jiuqu Zhuhu to use it. However, Li Tong may not be Qin Ling's opponent on the battlefield, but the application of elements outside the battlefield, especially in terms of coercion and inducement, Qin Ling may not be able to make Li Tong better. Only when his father Lu Dongzan could Li Tong be truly afraid.

After pondering for a moment, Li Tong ordered again: "Tell me about Shancheng, and ordered Zhang Renyuan to come and receive the order immediately. Tell me about Xue Na, Taozhou, gather my troops to strictly guard against all areas and prepare for war in Lintao."

Li Tong lacked a lot of favor for the Jiuqu Hu Hu.

But now that the war is approaching, he decided to seek stability first, and let Zhang Renyuan negotiate with the Jiuqu Hu in the name of Xihexing Society. If he can win over some of them, of course, it is best. But if the Hu tribes still have the intention to wait and see and want to raise the price, then do it!

In Qinghai, the Tang army adopted a relatively conservative strategy. However, there was nothing to be afraid of the Hu Hu in the Nine Curves.

Qinling was nothing more than a fierce verbal clamor, but Li Tong really dared to send troops. At worst, he could delay the inheritance tax of the Hu chiefs in Longyou a few days later, and first drag the two or five boys in Xihexing Society to the Jiuqu Land to take a walk.

At present, the main force of Tubo was attracted by the Tang army around Qinghai and was unable to interfere with the situation of the Nine Curves. The Hu tribes of Xihexing Society had just divided the legacy of the Seifeng tribe, and they were almost done with big hands and big feet, and they were in need of finding several new goals.

The Seifeng tribe was born in the Jiuqu Hu family. With the marrow and taste, the strong forces of the Xihexing Society can withstand the temptation of those fat sheep in the Jiuqu of the Yellow River?

Let Zhang Renyuan go to the Jiuqu of the Yellow River first, contact a few leaders, and then send the Hu soldiers from Xihexing Society to disrupt the situation of Jiuqu of the Yellow River. Xue Ne commanded the army in Lintao, and was not worried that the riots in the Jiuqu of the Jiuqu would spread to Longyou.

Once the Nine Curves land becomes chaotic, it will be much more difficult for Qinling to recruit a group of Hu soldiers to fight for it.

The Hu Hu feared power but not virtue. If the Tang army was just stuck in Haidong, no matter how nice the envoys said, it would probably not be able to stop the Jiuqu Hu Hu from surrendering to Tubo.

But now, the Tang army not only confronted Tubo in Haidong, but also directly sent troops to attack the disrespectful Hu tribes in Jiuqu. In horror, they did not dare to rashly intervene in the battle between the two powerful countries.

Even if there are those who have a grudge against the Tang army and surrender to Tubo for revenge, there will inevitably be not many, which will not be enough to increase Qinling's strength substantially.

Once the idea of ​​levying aid in the local area in the short term failed, the Tubo family was busy with war in the Western Regions and had no time to look east. Qinling either retreated obediently to the Haixi area and waited for the time to fight, or he could only attack the battlefield chosen by the Tang army.

Li Tong may not have the ability to fight on the battlefield, but he will try his best to create an environment for the frontline soldiers to focus on their minds and devote themselves to the battle.
Chapter completed!