And, after all, Du Jin Mountain is the Holy Mountain of the Turks.

Gu Quan, as a member of the Gu Clan, would never forget the inherent advantages of the clan.

This move also has a strategic intention.

That is to seize Juyan Sea.

This action would not only block Jie Li’s path to flee west but also lay a foundation for future pacification of the Western Turks.

The Central Plains have been chaotic for a long time, and the Western Regions have long been out of its control, now dominated by the Western Turks.

Even the trade routes in between have been obstructed by various tribes.

Although the Western Turks are different from the Eastern Turks, having maintained surface-level peace with the Great Tang over the years, they actually held strategic passes, occupied the Western Regions, and even influenced the trade routes between the Great Tang and the Western Regions.

He could be sure that, given Li Shimin’s character, he would absolutely not tolerate such matters to continue indefinitely.

This battle would come sooner or later.

And now, occupying Juyan Sea is to lay the groundwork for it.

Gu Quan is no longer just focusing on the Turks; he intends to succeed on two fronts!

Seeing this scene, even Gu Yi was taken aback.

He quickly went through Gu Quan’s ideas in his mind and contemplated based on the great battles of original history.

In the end, he had to admit that Gu Quan’s strategy was absolutely feasible.

Burning the Turkic fodder.

This would definitely have a fatal impact on the entire Turks, plunging their various tribes into sudden famine.

Occupying the Holy Mountain.

Will crush their faith.

With these two strategies implemented, coupled with the surprise attack by Li Jing and others, it’s definitely possible to quickly pacify the Eastern Turks. By then, the Tang Army will naturally have the capability to face the current Western Turks.

It must be known that, in original history,

the Western Turks constantly surrendered and rebelled against the Great Tang, significantly affecting the Tang’s control over the Western Regions. This issue was only resolved from the beginning of the Zhenguan era to the Xianqing era.

If true integration could be achieved early now, the boost to the national power of the Great Tang would be unimaginable.

This move, although somewhat risky,

but the potential gains far exceed any risk.

The most crucial point is—

even in defeat, it would be difficult for the Turks to inflict any significant harm on the Tang’s forces.

The abilities of Li Jing and others are not to be underestimated!

Thinking of this, Gu Yi couldn’t help but have his heart race.

If this could truly be achieved, this battle would significantly accelerate the process of original history, definitely taking the national power of the Great Tang to another level, perhaps... it truly might realize everything he envisioned in years past.

Gu Yi’s excitement grew more and more.

If the Maritime Silk Road could be successfully opened, the benefits to Kyushu would be unimaginable.

And the Gu Clan could completely rid itself of Kyushu’s burdens.

Establish enterprises overseas.

Then it would be possible to successfully build a dual guarantee with Kyushu as the main and overseas as the auxiliary!

This would absolutely be a groundbreaking event for both the Gu Clan and Kyushu!

The tent was silent.

Gu Yan and the others were all closely scrutinizing the geographic maps, contemplating the possibilities.

Though they trusted Gu Quan immensely, regarding matters involving the clan’s prestige, they wouldn’t blindly follow; they needed to carefully analyze the gains and losses.

Although their abilities were not as great as Gu Quan’s,

with Gu Quan pointing out the strategic intentions, they too could assess its feasibility.

Gu Quan did not say much more.

He knew that whether it was him or Gu Yan and the brothers, there was a determination burning inside them.

Once they figured out the details, they could not possibly refuse such a course of action.

Sure enough—

Moments later, as Gu Yan nodded slightly, everyone else’s gaze became resolute.

"Good!"

"As big brother says!"

.....

This battle is destined to be earth-shattering.

Jie Li Khan is no fool, he naturally had already heard of the Great Tang’s movements and made some precautions.

But he was still overly confident.

He firmly believed that people from the Central Plains would not choose to start a war in the deep winter. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

And Li Jing didn’t stray from Gu Quan’s expectations either, seizing this opportunity for a rapid surprise attack.

In December,

Li Jing personally led three thousand elite cavalry, setting off from Mayi, and launched a night raid on Dingxiang.

Compared to original history,

the surprise tactics of the Kyushu generals now, after generations of refinement, were indeed much stronger.

Even though Jie Li Khan had prepared in advance, the final result still far exceeded his expectations.

Within a day—Li Jing broke through the unprepared Turkic army.

In the chaos, the main tent at Dingxiang was destroyed.

The scattered Turkic soldiers frantically fled northward to Qikou, and Jie Li Khan, shocked, immediately initiated defenses across Yin Mountain.

At the same time, Li Ji also led troops north from Yunzhong, launching an all-out offensive on the Turkic tribes.

Gu Quan did not act directly.

Jie Li Khan never stopped focusing on the Gu Clan.

He needed to wait;

needed to wait for these people to entirely absorb Jie Li Khan’s attention to truly deliver a fatal strike.

The fifth year of Zhenguan, January.

Li Ji encountered the Turkic army at Baidao, killing over ten thousand, capturing a large number of its people.

——The news spread.

Turks were terrified.

An indescribable fear enveloped the entire interior of the Turks, and the decisiveness of the Great Tang this time far exceeded their expectations, leading some smaller tribes to begin surrendering to the Tang army.