Chapter 54 Secretly assassinating Chen Cang
After thinking of this possibility, Li Xuan simply divided half of the watermelon into several portions and planned to taste them.

"General, this thing is unknown, you can't try it. If you must try it, let me do it!"

Ashina Fuwen hurriedly stopped Li Xuan.

"Yes, General, please be cautious..."

"Let us do it for you..."

The other generals also tried to dissuade Li Xuan.

"Huh! Pretty sweet?"

Just when Li Xuan was about to say that they were being too suspicious, a voice came from the side.

It turned out that Luo Xing was already holding half of the watermelon and started eating it.

He was also afraid that the "watermelon" was poisonous and didn't want to put his owner in danger.

"Don't be afraid, people from the Western Regions have verified that this melon is not poisonous."

Li Xuan said to Luo Xing, "Luo Xing, can you tell them that this is what it tastes like?"

"A sip of sweet water, so fragrant, and tastes so delicious."

Luo Xing wiped his mouth and replied.

After hearing this, Li Xuan also took a bite of the watermelon.

He frowned. The flesh was too thick and the veins were too obvious. Although it had a lot of juice, it was not very sweet.

Even the most dishonest merchants in later generations could not sell melons with such sweetness. According to later generations, Li Xuan estimated that the sweetness of this melon was only five to seven.

“This melon is so sweet…”

Li Xuan cut the melon and the generals each took a portion and praised it highly.

For people of this era, this sweetness of melon is enough to satisfy them.

"Alas... watermelon rind is not edible..."

Seeing Ashina Fuwen wolfing down his food and even gnawing on a corner of the watermelon rind, Li Xuan immediately spoke out to stop him.

"I wonder why it tastes like grass."

Ashina Fuwen's face changed and he threw the watermelon rind away.

All the generals laughed, and Ashina Fuwen reminded them so that they would not embarrass themselves.

Li Xuan was not very satisfied with the ripe watermelon, but he could understand it.

In the future, we will select seeds to breed sweeter watermelons, and even watermelons with red flesh.

This requires generations to do it, and Li Xuan may not be able to see it.

Afterwards, Li Xuan taught the soldiers to identify ripe watermelons.

The watermelons were picked and transported to the military city to be shared with the soldiers.

Don’t worry if you didn’t get one, wait until the other watermelons are ripe.

There are more than ten acres of watermelons, so at least everyone can have a taste of the freshness.

Li Xuan ordered the soldiers who ate the watermelon to keep the seeds.

After selecting the best ones, plant more watermelons in March next year.

At that time, you can enjoy a delicious meal when the weather is the hottest.

This made the soldiers quite yearning for it.

August 10th, autumn has arrived.

Whether it is the Turks or the Tang army, now is the best time to use military force.

According to the agreement, the Feng'an Army arrived at Mingsha Ferry before August 16.

Li Xuan is preparing.

He has two routes to reach Mingsha Ferry.

One way is to cross the Yellow River first, then go to Mingsha Ferry, and then cross the river from Mingsha Ferry.

Another way is to go down the Yellow River, which saves time and effort, but has certain risks.

"Report..."

A scout flew into the military city and reported the military situation to Li Xuan.

"General, we have discovered a large group of Turkic light cavalry in the southern foothills of the Helan Mountains, numbering tens of thousands. Their target should be the Gorge Stone Pass."

The scout reported to Li Xuan.

"It seems that the Turkic Left Wing tribes have already known the movements of our Tang Dynasty. They are forcing us here, hoping to attack us when our army has crossed the Yellow River and has not yet established a firm foothold."

After some thought, Li Xuan understood the purpose of the Turkic left wing tribes.

The Lingwu area was originally a place where Hu and Han people lived together. The Shuofang army mobilized more than ten counties to transport food and supplies from various places to Mingsha Ferry, which could not be concealed from the Turkic spies.

Moreover, there were at least 5,000 Hu people in the Shuofang army, if not 7,000, and more than half of them were Turks.

It is impossible for them all to be united with the Tang Dynasty.

Although they did not know the exact time of the attack, they could guess from the number of soldiers and horses gathered at Mingshadu. If the Tang army gathered together and marched in formation, the Turkic tribes would have little chance.

On the contrary, attacking when the Tang army crossed the river was the best opportunity for the Turks.

Of course, the Tang army could take a detour through the territory and cross the river, but that would affect the battle plan and cause unexpected events.

The Turks obviously wanted to fight the Tang army and force them to retreat.

The Xiashi (now Qingtongxia) passage is a passage for Mingshadu to get out of the Great Wall.

Because of the natural barrier of the Yellow River, the Tang army did not need to guard it.

Moreover, the open space in the gorge is too large and difficult to defend.

"Our army could have crossed the Yellow River from outside, but now we have to march from inside."

After hearing this report, Wang Sili said to Li Xuan.

"The Turks are guarding the crossing from Mingsha to Feng'an, seemingly forcing our main force to cross the river southwards and deplete our morale."

Li Xuan said to the generals.

This section of the Yellow River ferry, including the Feng'an Army ferry, will be monitored by the Turks.

Once the Tang army crosses the river, they will quickly send light cavalry.

It would take several days to carry tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as their corresponding armor and weapons across the river.

The Tang army originally came to destroy the Turks, so they took the initiative and their morale was high.

If we are forced to spend ten more days, morale will be hit.

Li Xuan stared at the map hanging on the wall and said to everyone, "The Feng'an Army is outside the Yellow River. You can tell Marshal Wang to send our army to approach the gorge."

Dingyuan Army was 200 miles northeast of Lingwu. Although it was also outside the Yellow River, it was cut off by mountain roads. Dingyuan Army could only go to the Yellow River first and then go south to Mingsha Ferry.

Dingyuan Army is the gateway guarding the north, facing the grassland, making it convenient for crossing the border.

"What if the main forces of the Turkic tribes launch an all-out assault on our Feng'an army?" Wang Sili asked.

"When we set out, the Jinglüe troops at Mingshadu pretended to cross the river to tie down the main force of the Turkic cavalry. We sent another part of the Jinglüe troops to secretly pass through Chencang and cross the river at Feng'an at night."

"If the Feng'an Army and part of the Jinglüe Army gather together, there is no need to worry about the Turkic cavalry."

Li Xuan replied to Wang Sili.

He hoped to compete with the Turkic cavalry in the Xia Shi area.

As long as these Turkic cavalry are eliminated, the Turkic tribes west and north of the Helan Mountains will surrender.

"Great idea, General, but we need to seek Marshal Wang's opinion."

Wang Sili praised.

"If the commander knew that the Turkic cavalry was approaching the gorge, he would definitely do the same thing. Maybe there is a better plan."

This is not a brilliant plan, but just the basics of being a general.

After finalizing the plan, Li Xuan immediately drafted a military document and sent someone to deliver the message to Wang Zhongsi at full speed.

Wang Zhongsi agreed.

Soon after, 10,000 military governors moved southward to Feng'an Military Ferry.

At dusk on August 14, Zhang Qiqiu led the remaining 15,000 soldiers of the Dingyuan Army and the Jinglüe Army, and 10,000 Hu cavalry from Gao Lanzhou and other places, and lined up at Mingsha Ferry, organizing hundreds of small boats to prepare to cross the river.

At the same time, Li Xuan led a thousand light cavalry out of Feng'an Military City, divided into twenty teams, and drove away the Turkic scouts.

The Turkic cavalry who were monitoring the surrounding area saw this situation and quickly went to the gorge to report.

Half an hour later, at Feng'an Jun Ferry, groups of Tang troops appeared.

Among them, there were as many as three thousand men wearing Ming Guang armor, and two thousand Tang soldiers wearing fish-scale heavy armor and holding spears nearly two meters long.

In addition, there were thousands of powerful crossbows, as well as chariots, deer horns, and other defensive equipment.

This was what the Tang army relied on when facing the Hu cavalry.

Wang Zhongsi dispatched all the armored soldiers of his army here.

To prevent the Turks from becoming desperate and charging into the battle line recklessly.

Wang Sili led all the infantry and cavalry in the city to go out of the military city to provide support and formed a battle array in front of the military city.

Soon, the Turkic cavalry at the gorge learned that a thousand Tang cavalrymen had left Feng'an Military City.

They suspected that the Feng'an Army would cross the river from Feng'an and join the main force of the Tang Army.

But the Tang army on the other side looked ready to cross the river at any time.

After discussion, several tribal chiefs decided to send 10,000 cavalrymen to march south, and the other 20,000 cavalrymen to continue stationed at the gorge.

The Turks believed that with 10,000 cavalrymen, they could wipe out the Fengan Army even if they left the city...

The chief of the Apoda cadre was a leader jointly elected by several Turkic tribes.

They sought to fight with the Tang army, repel it and save their own tribe.

Surrendering to the Tang people is not their destiny!

(End of this chapter)