Before this alliance meeting was held, many people thought that they were not much worse than the Tang army. If there was any difference, it was that they did not have a strong leadership. Since their defeat, the Tang Dynasty did not allow them to contact each other, which was also what they resented.
After the competition between the two sides today, they realized what the gap was between them and the Tang Dynasty. No matter from which aspect, they were already behind. Even if they had a leader, it was impossible for them to surpass the Tang Dynasty now.
"It's a rare opportunity for you all to come here, and I'd like to take this opportunity today to show you our Tang Dynasty army and see if they have any shortcomings. Please feel free to speak freely, and I will humbly accept your opinions."
After defeating the Turks, don't think that's the end of it. Taking advantage of today's opportunity, Li Xiang wants to let people from all walks of life see that our Tang Dynasty is much stronger than before. If you are still so indecisive, don't blame us for being rude to you in the future.
These tribal leaders also knew that Li Xiang wanted to show off his military power, and they also wanted to see how powerful the Tang Dynasty army was, so when Li Xiang finished speaking, these people stretched their necks and looked into the distance.
Soon someone felt the ground shaking slightly. This kind of vibration is almost imperceptible if you don't pay attention. But when you feel it, you know that the cavalry in the distance is not far away. Everyone on the grassland knows that this kind of vibration is crucial to a tribe. If you feel it at the beginning, then your tribe can still be saved, but if you miss that moment, your tribe will be slaughtered by others.
Although they all belong to the Turkic people, there is no harmony between the tribes. Just like on the Tuyuhun grassland, there are constant conflicts between the tribes due to issues of water and grass for grazing, but they still obey the orders of the Turkic Khan. Therefore, under the suppression of the Turkic Khan, the conflicts between the tribes are not big and they can still get along with each other.
Moreover, for the Turkic Khan, fighting between tribes is also beneficial to him. It allows each tribe to train its own warriors and grow slowly in this kind of fighting. The Turks believe in the survival of the fittest and believe that only the soldiers who survive the fighting are the best soldiers on the grassland.
The people who came today were all the best soldiers. When they felt the slight vibration, they were not surprised. It was normal for the Tang Dynasty to have a powerful cavalry. However, what surprised them happened a few seconds later. In their minds, after this slight vibration, it would take at least two or three minutes for the cavalry to arrive. Who knew that in less than a minute, the cavalry in the distance had already arrived.
It is very normal for infantry to march in neat rows, and there is nothing to brag about. There are also many infantry phalanxes now, with shield soldiers in the front row, spear soldiers in the back, and archers in the back.
But if you want to train the cavalry into a phalanx, the difficulty will increase more than ten times. The most important thing is that war horses are livestock. Although war horses are spiritual, it is not impossible to train war horses to be like humans, but such cases are rare.
At this moment, a cavalry column of 5,000 people came over. This cavalry column was arranged in neat rows, and from beginning to end they almost looked like one person.
The Turks were restless at this moment. In their legends, it seemed that their ancestors once had such an army. Once they had such an army, it was easy to command. No matter what kind of enemy was in front of them, this cavalry formation could defeat it. This was because such a formation had unified command and could focus all its efforts, which was extremely rare on the battlefield.
But now they feel a little sad. They should feel happy when they see the legendary cavalry, but this cavalry belongs to the Tang Dynasty at this moment, which has nothing to do with them. If this cavalry appeared in a Turkic tribe, it would mean that they have hope of rising.
But now, many people in the Tang Dynasty's cavalry closed their eyes helplessly. They knew that in the next few decades, there would be no freedom in the entire Turkic steppe. No matter what they wanted to do, they had to seek the consent of the Tang Dynasty.
"You are all experts in cavalry training. Do you have any opinions on my cavalry? I also want to train them well so that they can better serve the Tang Dynasty in the future. If you have any opinions, please feel free to tell me. If you adopt them, I will exempt you from a year's tribute."
Li Xiang said this deliberately to let everyone take a good look at this cavalry. No one knew how to answer Li Xiang. When they looked at Li Xiang, they could not help but avoid Li Xiang's gaze. This was a look of aggression. The Turkic steppe could not resist this man.
"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
These people didn't know how to answer Li Xiang, so they could only kneel down in front of Li Xiang and answer him in this way.
"Everyone, please stand up. You will have many opportunities to instruct them in the future. I plan to set up three cavalry battalions on the Turkic steppes. Each battalion will have 5,000 soldiers, all of whom will be cavalrymen like these. I will have them work with you to ensure the safety of the Turkic steppes. We will never see a Xueyantuo invasion again."
Li Xiang said this nonchalantly, but these words made the people around him feel cold in their hearts. Fifteen thousand cavalrymen were not a big number for them. In the past, some large tribes could withdraw them, but after this war, there were not many tribes that could withdraw three thousand cavalrymen. The Tang Dynasty left fifteen thousand cavalrymen here, which meant that whatever they did in the future would have to be done under the supervision of these fifteen thousand cavalrymen.
In addition, there is another fatal problem. Although the Tang Dynasty stipulated the amount of tribute for them, there were always some people who were short of weight in the past. Anyway, they could not send troops to argue over such a small matter, so these people were used to it. But if there were these three cavalry battalions, I am afraid some things would be difficult to say. If you are short of cattle and sheep today, people will come on horseback to take them tomorrow.
