Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 482 Meiniang, please analyze this for me.

With a "snap," Li Zhi picked up a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

Princess Taiping's big eyes lit up. Before Li Zhi could retract his hand, she placed a piece, surrounding and killing a small group of Li Zhi's pieces.

"Hehe, Father made a mistake today." She reached out her little hand to take Li Zhi's chess piece.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhi reached out and took her small hand, saying, "Yue'er, you can't mention these things."

Taiping Mingzhu stared wide-eyed at Li Zhi in disbelief.

“Father, you are the emperor, and your word is law. How can you go back on your word to your own daughter?”

Li Zhi smiled slightly and said, "I am not cheating. I have lost this game of chess today. Don't move any pieces."

At this moment, Wu Meiniang entered with her maid, who carried tea and served a cup to Li Zhi and Princess Taiping respectively.

Wu Meiniang glanced at the chessboard and said to Princess Taiping, "Yue'er, you go out first. Mother has something to say to your father."

Princess Taiping glanced at her father and then at her mother, noticing that they were both preoccupied with their own thoughts, which she guessed were related to important matters of state. She obediently agreed and left the room.

Wu Meiniang sat in the seat that Princess Taiping had just occupied, gazing at the few white pieces surrounded by black pieces by Princess Taiping, and said softly, "Is Your Majesty still thinking about the Tocharian matter?"

Li Zhi stared at the chessboard and nodded.

"Yes, I really can't figure out Pei Xingjian's move. Meiniang, you've always been intelligent, can you help me analyze why Pei Xingjian only used 30,000 men to block the enemy's reinforcements of over 100,000?"

After Pei Xingjian and others finalized their battle plan, Xue Rengui sent a messenger on horseback to report the plan to Li Zhi.

This battle was of great importance. Li Zhi couldn't figure out Pei Xingjian's intentions, and even when he was playing chess with Princess Taiping, his thoughts were already on Tokharistan.

Wu Meiniang said, "Your Majesty, could you please tell me about the situation in Tokharistan?"

Li Zhi then used the chessboard as a diagram and placed two piles of black chess pieces in the southwest corner of the board.

A group of ten black pieces represents the 100,000-strong Arab army defending the Iron Fortress.

Two squares away from this group of pieces, there are seven white pieces, representing Xue Rengui's army attacking Tieshi Fortress.

North of Ironstone Fortress, eight squares away, there is another group of black pieces, totaling thirteen squares, representing the 130,000 enemy troops defending Wolf Fortress.

Between Canglang Fortress and Tieshi Fortress, there are three white pieces, which represent the 30,000 Tang soldiers that Pei Xingjian is using to block Canglang Fortress's reinforcements.

Li Zhi pointed at Pei Xingjian's 30,000 Tang troops and said, "Look, Pei Xingjian only has 30,000 Zhaowu troops, while the enemy's reinforcements number at least 100,000. What do you think he can do to hold off the enemy for a month?"

Wu Meiniang frowned and pondered for a while before asking, "Your Majesty, are all 130,000 enemies at Canglang Fortress from the Abbasid Caliphate?"

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "No, only 50,000 are the direct troops of the Abbasid Caliphate, another 50,000 are Tocharian wolf soldiers, and there are 30,000 Turkic soldiers."

Wu Meiniang's phoenix eyes flashed, and she said, "Pei Xingjian is skilled in strategy. Could it be that he has already secretly sent people to turn the Tokharistan wolf soldiers or the Turkic army against him?"

Li Zhi thought for a moment, then turned to look at Wang Fusheng and said, "Summon Minister Wang to an audience."

"Yes."

In less than a quarter of an hour, Wang Jishan arrived at the Lizheng Hall.

Li Zhi asked him, "Minister Wang, has Pei Xingjian discussed with you the matter of turning the Tokharistan army against the Tokharistan?"

Wang Jishan cupped his hands and said, "No, if I had such a plan, I would certainly report it to Your Majesty."

"Does Your Excellency think it's possible for Pei Xingjian to turn the Tokharistan army against his own side?" Li Zhi asked again.

Wang Jishan pondered for a moment, then remained silent.

Seeing his expression, Li Zhi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that possible?"

Wang Jishan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Tocharian army is indeed dissatisfied with the Arabs. I once asked Sissis to send someone to contact the wolf warrior leader Rashid, but the person sent was killed by Rashid."

Li Zhi frowned. Even the men sent by Sissis had been killed. From this, it seemed highly unlikely that Pei Xingjian could turn the Tocharian wolf soldiers against him.

Wu Zetian suddenly asked, "Why is the Tocharian army dissatisfied with the Arabs?"

Wang Jishan said, "Your Highness, according to the intelligence provided by Sissis's men, most of the original main force of the Tocharian wolf soldiers were transferred away after they defected to the Abbasid Caliphate, and the current wolf soldiers are newly recruited."

"At that time, the Arabs were in turmoil, and the Slavic tribal alliance took the opportunity to invade. The Arabs could not spare troops, so they sent Tocharian wolf soldiers to deal with the Slavs."

"Although the battle repelled the Slavs, the Tocharian wolf soldiers were also almost completely wiped out. From then on, the Tocharian wolf soldiers became hostile to the Arabs and refused to be conscripted again."

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang said, "So, this wolf army, though bearing the name of the wolf army, is not as strong as the original wolf army?"

"exactly."

Wu Meiniang nodded, her eyes flashing as she fell into deep thought.

After she finished asking her questions, Li Zhi then inquired about the situation of the Arab army at Canglang Fort from Wang Jishan.

He had heard Xue Rengui's report that the Arab army was at odds with the Arab army at Tieshibao.

Wang Jishan replied, "Your Majesty, General Xue is not wrong. The Arab army of Canglang Fortress is called the Holy Shield Legion, while the Arab army of Tieshi Fortress is called the Lion Legion. The two armies' commanders have always been at odds."

Li Zhi's heart stirred, and he vaguely grasped something, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Wu Meiniang asked, "What about the Turkic army? How have they been treated since they surrendered to the Arabs? Do they harbor any resentment towards the Arabs?" Wang Jishan replied, "I suspect they also have quite a few complaints."

"Why?"

"Because they had only recently submitted, all their horses were requisitioned by the Arabs, and the Turks were transformed from cavalry into infantry, and were frequently conscripted for battle."

Nomadic peoples are usually hard to keep loyal. When the Turks and Khitans surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, they became dissatisfied because they were repeatedly conscripted.

Naturally, they were dissatisfied with the Arabs' harsh treatment of them.

Wu Meiniang then asked, "General Wang, do you think it's possible for Protector-General Pei to turn the Turkic army against him?"

Wang Jishan hesitated for a moment and said, "I think it will be difficult, especially since Protector Pei just dealt with the Turks of the Nushibi tribe."

Wu Meiniang said, "Helu comes from the Dulu tribe. Is it possible for Pei Xingjian to use his influence to turn the Turks against him?"

Wang Jishan's eyes flashed, and he said, "Your Highness's question reminds me of something. According to a report from one of my captains, Protector Pei had a private conversation with Helu for an hour before leaving Suyab.

Wu Meiniang's face lit up with joy. She glanced at Li Zhi and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that Pei Xingjian must have a plan against the Turks."

Li Zhi asked, "Does the Empress believe that Pei Xingjian will instigate a rebellion against the Turks?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Even if we can't turn them to the side, we can still sow discord and prevent these three forces from working together to rescue Ironstone Fortress."

Li Zhi nodded.

The Tocharian wolf soldiers were dissatisfied with the Arabs, and the Holy Shield Legion was at odds with the Lion Legion.

If the Turks are further provoked, these three forces will certainly not be fully committed to the rescue.

In this way, Pei Xingjian still has a chance to block their reinforcements.

However, Pei Xingjian's arrangement was ultimately somewhat risky.

He could at least transfer 10,000 Tang troops from Xue Rengui, and another 10,000 from the 20,000 troops stationed at Mulu Valley.

There's no need for 20,000 troops to defend Mulu Valley; even if danger arises, Kangguo will surely come to the rescue.

With this force of 50,000 men, the chances of successfully repelling the enemy would be much higher.

Why did he only use 30,000? Was he truly confident, or did he have some other ulterior motive?
Just as Li Zhi was puzzled, the battle against the Tocharians had already begun.

Xue Rengui's 70,000-strong army has reached Tieshibao.

Ironstone Fortress has two commanders: one is Baitu, the commander of the Lion Legion, and the other is named Leman, a member of the Umayyad family, who is Mu'awiya's cousin in terms of seniority.

Lyman was a typical Arab aristocrat, lecherous by nature and skilled in eating, drinking and having fun.

Nobles like him did not like to stay in the capital because the rules and regulations there were too strict. They preferred to serve as local governors, where they were free from constraints.

Lehman was the governor of Tokharistan.

Using the excuse of adapting to local customs, he indulged in gluttony and debauchery in Tokharistan, requiring three women to serve him every night and disregarding all monastic rules.

Compared to ordinary nobles, he also had advantages. He was skilled in riding and archery and had won several battles, which is why Mu'awiyah allowed him to guard a region.

Lyman was arrogant by nature and did not take any enemies seriously.

He was furious when he learned that the Tang army, with only 120,000 men, dared to invade Tokharistan.

What puzzled him even more was that Muawiyah had sent over 100,000 reinforcements.

The attacking enemy numbered only a few hundred thousand, while the defending Arab army numbered over two hundred thousand. It was as if the world had been turned upside down!

He immediately wanted to lead his troops to attack Mulu Valley, and Bai Tu tried to stop him but to no avail.

Later, Baitu produced Mu'awiya's secret order, which made him obey his commands in everything, and only then did the matter drop.

Now that Xue Rengui is leading 70,000 Tang troops to attack Ironstone Fortress, Lyman couldn't hold back any longer and said to Bai Tu, "Now that they've delivered themselves to our doorstep, I can go out of the city to meet them, can't I?"

“No, this Xue Rengui of the Tang army is as famous as Su Dingfang. It’s best to hold our ground,” Bai Tu still objected.

Lyman scoffed and said, "I think you're scared of Su Dingfang, aren't you?"

Bai Tu's eyes blazed with anger as he coldly said, "The Caliph has already given orders that you must obey my commands in everything."

Lyman curled his lip and snorted, "Then you can be a coward yourself, I'm not playing along."

They left the city gate tower and returned to the mansions of wealthy families in the city, where they continued to drink and make merry.

As long as he wasn't in the way, Bai Tu immediately ordered one of his lieutenants, "Send men to Canglang Fort immediately and have them lead troops to provide assistance!"

The lieutenant asked in surprise, "General, the Tang army only has 70,000 men, while we have 100,000. Do we still need to request reinforcements?"

Bai Tu coldly said, "Fool, the Tang army only has 120,000 men in total, and they still have to defend Mulu Valley, which means that their main force is all here with us! Once the Canglang Fort reinforcements arrive, we can launch a coordinated attack from within and without to defeat the Tang army!"

The lieutenant then accepted the order and left.

(End of this chapter)