Chapter 32: Turkic Invasion
"General, I am in awe of your majesty. From now on, Ashina Fuwen will follow your lead!"

After getting off his horse, Ashina Fuwen bowed to Li Xuan, picked up the arrow that Li Xuan had shot, and presented it to Li Xuan with both hands.

This is the way some nomadic tribes submit to a strong man.

"My stone-carved bow is only better than General Ashina's seven-bowl horseback bow. If we both hold the seven-bowl bow, the outcome is still uncertain!"

Li Xuan helped Ashina Fuwen up and took the arrow he offered.

"Even without a strong bow, your archery skills have reached the pinnacle, and I will never be able to catch up."

Ashina Fuwen did not need Li Xuan to give him a way out, and he was convinced.

"If you meet the soldiers from Lecheng, tell them if I can shoot people."

Li Xuan smiled at the soldiers around him.

It is also true that many Hu people are generous, honest, loyal and brave.

At least, Ashina Fuwen is such a person now.

"Ha ha……"

Li Xuan's words caused a burst of laughter.

It also meant that the soldiers would be less resentful of him.

Just wait for Liu Xi to spread the news of Chen Huiguang's promotion throughout the army.

After the competition, the generals called the soldiers back to their respective training grounds.

The soldiers were amazed by what had just happened. They returned to their own training grounds and explained it in vivid detail to the soldiers who had not seen it.

"Judge Liu, was General Lu promoted by General Chen?"

Li Xuan and Liu Xi stood at the edge of the cavalry training ground.

"Not really! General Chen has only been in Feng'an Army for a year, and General Lu was transferred from Hedong to be the deputy envoy of Feng'an Army half a year ago."

Liu Xi looked at Li Xuan deeply and replied.

"I see. Isn't it the right time to publicize General Chen's promotion now?"

Li Xuan nodded slightly and gave instructions to Liu Xi.

"My subordinate understands."

Liu Xi understood. Li Xuan's miraculous move today was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and would surely change the soldiers' views.

Li Xuan said that Chen Huiguang was going to be promoted, and that was inevitable.

Although news from Chang'an takes a long time to reach here, it will eventually get here.

For the next day, Li Xuan trained with the soldiers between different arms.

All the soldiers saw it.

This is the difference between a civilian general and a fierce general.

It is absolutely impossible for a civilian official to train with the soldiers.

Training with the soldiers will help increase the general's prestige in the soldiers' hearts.

The evening drum sounded, and after the training, Li Xuan returned to his residence.

As soon as he took off his armor, the servants brought him food.

Li Xuan smelled a fragrant aroma.

One servant was carrying a huge roasted leg of lamb, and another servant was carrying a plate of unknown "vegetables" and a pot of fine wine.

"Is the food in the army so abundant?"

Li Xuan asked one of the thin servants named Lin Jiu.

Another slightly stronger servant was named Wang Shi.

They are all young.

"When I went to prepare meals for the general, the chef gave these to us, saying that they were specially prepared for the general." Lin Jiu replied to Li Xuan.

"Take these wine and meat and follow me."

Li Xuan frowned.

There were indeed many generals in the army of the prosperous Tang Dynasty who enjoyed the best of food and even wine and women.

But Li Xuan had only been here for two days and was still in the process of restoring his reputation.

Two servants were carrying wine and meat from the dining room to here. Many soldiers must have seen them and they were bound to be talked about.

Li Xuan felt that Lu Yu had deliberately instructed the chef to prepare wine and meat for him.

He brought two servants and Luo Xing to the dining hall next to the Tiaodang military camp.

Although the camp was filled with the aroma of corn, the corn in the soldiers' bowls seemed tasteless compared to the delicious roasted lamb legs.

The soldiers were puzzled as to why Li Xuan came with wine and meat. They were salivating. "I am new to Feng'an and have not done anything yet. I don't know why the chef prepared such a sumptuous feast for me. As a man, I am ashamed and cannot swallow it."

Li Xuan came to the military camp and spoke to the warriors in a sonorous and powerful voice.

Then, Li Xuan turned to the general Gao Kai and said, "General Gao, which soldier has trained the hardest today?"

"Liu Jihu worked the hardest."

Gao Kai thought about it and answered Li Xuan.

"Who is Liu Jihu?"

Li Xuan shouted.

"I am your subordinate."

A sturdy man holding a bowl stood up.

"Give him the wine and meat. He deserves to eat them." Li Xuan instructed Lin Jiu and Wang Shi.

Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, wine and meat were placed next to Liu Jihu.

"Thank you for the reward, General!"

Liu Jihu swallowed his saliva and immediately thanked Li Xuan.

Except before the war with the Turks, it was considered good to eat meat once during the holidays.

The other soldiers looked at him with envy and regretted not working as hard as Liu Jihu today.

Afterwards, in full view of everyone, Li Xuan served a bowl of corn in the dining room, put some salt in the bowl like the soldiers, and sat beside it, eating it in big mouthfuls with relish.

The soldiers were moved.

General Chen was not like Li Xuan at the beginning.

That night, news spread in the military camp that General Chen was not dismissed, but was promoted back to Chang'an. When he came to the frontier again, he would at least be a military commander.

"Is this only sixteen years old? His abilities and wisdom are impeccable, and he can control his desires!"

In the residence of Commander Lu Yu, after learning of Li Xuan's every move, he sighed.

A letter was burned to ashes by Lu Yu using the flame of a candle.

……

The next day was a rest day, and Li Xuan wrote a letter overnight, informing Li Shizhi of his situation and asking Li Shizhi to make use of Chen Huiguang.

Early in the morning, Luo Xing took the letter, crossed the Yellow River to Feng'an County, and handed it to the messenger.

Li Xuan read the "March Record" given to him by King Xin'an at his residence.

The details of the battles with Tubo, both large and small, were recorded here, which benefited Li Xuan a lot.

Li Xuan can also use his experience in commanding troops to think about what to do when he encounters the enemy?

How should we command considering the mountainous terrain?

"Dong dong..."

At 2:00 p.m., drums suddenly sounded in front of the military city. Judging from the frequency of the drums, there was military intelligence, but it was not urgent.

If it is an emergency military situation, the frequency of the drum beats will be very rapid.

Li Xuan immediately put on armor and went to the military envoy's residence.

In the main hall of the Military Envoy's Mansion, an old man dressed in coarse cloth stood in the main hall, with unkempt hair, shabby clothes and a sad expression.

"He is a herdsman from Feng'an County. This morning, thousands of Turkic cavalrymen attacked the border of Feng'an and robbed hundreds of herdsmen. In addition to hundreds of our Tang people being abducted, nearly ten thousand cattle and sheep were also stolen. What do you think?"

After Li Xuan and the generals arrived, Lu Yu pointed at the old man in the hall and said with a serious face.

Fifty miles north of Feng'an Army, west of the Yellow River, and east of the ruins of the Han Great Wall, there is a fertile grassland.

There is no natural barrier to protect the area west of the Yellow River, so no Han people have lived there over the years.

But for more than ten years, during the reign of Bilge Khan, the country was friendly with the Tang Dynasty and paid tribute every year.

That pasture became a temporary safe place, and hundreds of Han herdsmen moved there.

Although they have broken with the Turks in recent years, Feng'an Military City is not far from the pasture and patrols are often conducted there, so the herders have not moved.

Now the bitter fruit has finally come.

"The Turks who attacked the border are probably from the Apoda or Dulu tribes. Our Feng'an army is short of cavalry. Even if we ask the king for support, it will be too late."

Although Qi Chong, the prosecutor, felt pity for the people who were robbed, his cavalry was limited.

If we knew the enemy's movements in advance and sent crossbows to ambush them, we would definitely make the enemy return in defeat.

It was obvious that the Turks traveled at night and attacked in the early morning, and they were well prepared.

(End of this chapter)