Chapter 306: A tentative battle

"Mr., it's not that I don't want to. The soldiers of the Shi Kingdom are weak in combat and cannot help but attack the Dashi Army. This time, not only will it not be able to assist in the war, but it may also drag down the Tang army. It's better to......"

Hearing Li Qing's request for soldiers, Mo He hesitated immediately. In Shi Kingdom, strength is the basis for determining the distribution of power. If he wants to firmly hold the position of King of Shi Kingdom, he must have absolute military strength. The soldiers who have finally been chariots will return. If he drags them out to fight the big cannibals, it is tantamount to hitting the stone with an egg. He knew that Budu would not come again after retreating. What he wants to do now is to consolidate the throne he has obtained, and not to fight with the big cannibals. In the face of vital interests and national interests, Mo He was shaken in the face of power and friendship, but Li Qing's request could not be refused. He hesitated again and again, he gritted his teeth and said, "I will give the minister a thousand elite soldiers, and 10,000 taels of gold, which is my reward to the minister."

"Reward?"

Li Qing was speechless. He stared at Mo Hedu silently. The darkness and selfishness of the people were fully exposed at this moment. If the plan of uniting the nine surnames of Zhaowu when the Dashi Army attacked the city was only shaken, but at one moment, his plan was completely shattered. The Hu people were fickle. They succumbed to strength and power. The Tang Dynasty implemented a hundred years of benevolence and righteousness and respect in the end was just a title of Tian Khan. After the Anshi Rebellion, everything disappeared with the sound of camel bells that went away, while the iron and blood believed in by the Great Cannibal finally spread Islam to the east.

The city wall was silent, and only the sound of the wind slapping the flag was heard. At this time, Princess Luo Lan, who was standing behind Mo Hedu, finally spoke. On one side was his father, and on the other side was the Tang envoy who was kind to her and to Shiguo. She knew the severity of the situation. Li Qing would never plead until she had no choice. Her conscience prevented her from keeping silent.

"Father, if the Tang army encounters misfortune, we may not be able to explain to the court. I suggest sending troops!" The subtext behind this sentence is that if there is no danger, if Dashi comes again, the Tang Dynasty may have stood by and watched. How could Mo He not understand his daughter's words? If the opponent is Bahan or Kang Guo, he would send troops without hesitation, but the opponent is Abbas' elite, and sending troops can only be a part of death. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to give up. He glanced at his daughter and said coldly: "Don't interrupt if you are a child, go! Go where you should go."

Princess Luo Lan's heart was suddenly stabbed. She didn't expect that her father would be so short-sighted in the face of power, which would ruin the Shi Kingdom. The father, who had always been wise and decisive, suddenly became unfamiliar. Princess Luo Lan took a long breath, but she was unwilling to accept it!

At this time, Li Qing cast a gratitude look at her, but raised his hand to stop her persuasion. Since she was not interested in fighting, what's the use of taking it with her! The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty may not be able to fight against the Great Food Demon Army. Li Qing smiled coldly in his heart. He pointed to the six thousand slave soldiers behind him and laughed at Mo He: "Then you don't make things difficult for your Highness. These slave soldiers have made contributions today. In the future, they and their families will all be handed over to me!"

The slave was not his Mo Hedu's, and he was not heartbroken. He was concerned about his real power and status. Since Li Qing had already bargained, he no longer covered up and bargained: "The court needs a minister to speak well for me!"

"Of course, I will report to the emperor and enthrone Your Highness as the governor of Dayuan and the king of Dashi Kingdom."

On the vast grassland, the Dashi Army was moving westward against the wind. The commander Budu was mixed in the middle of the cavalry team. At this moment, he looked confused and lowered his head to think about the situation in front of him. Although the information he received was not complete, he only heard that an army attacked his camp. The source was unknown, but Budu immediately guessed that it was Li Qing's guardian. He came from all the way, and how could he do it? Besides, the army that dared to attack his camp in the nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu have not yet been born!

The problem is not here. One of the main purposes of Budu's mission to Shiguo this time was to test the Tang Dynasty's reaction to the eastward expansion of the Great Food. If the Tang Dynasty was indifferent, he would immediately destroy the Shiguo, but the envoys of the Tang Dynasty came. This shows that they were very sensitive to the eastward expansion of the Great Food. It seems that the collision between the two empires of the East and the West is inevitable.

It is necessary to persuade the Caliph to stop the attack on Rome and temporarily put the strategic center in the east. Otherwise, they will not only wipe out the remnants of Wu Maiye, but also expand into Rome, so there will be no force to deal with the powerful Tang Dynasty.

"Report to His Highness Emil (i.e. Governor), did our army cross the river?"

The news from the front army interrupted Budu's thoughts. When he looked up, he saw a bright white river blocking the way in the distance. It was fifty miles away from Tuozhe City. The terrain became obviously undulating. A low hilly area stretched northward, as if a very curved goddess was lying on the ground. To the west of the hill was a big river called Yaoshe, and its downstream was Zhenzhu River.

Large forests are distributed on both sides of the river. In order to collect taxes, Shiguo demolished all the bridges, leaving only a narrow stone bridge lying across the river. Although the bridge is narrow, it is a must-pass on the Silk Road. The tax-collecting pavilion was burned by the Great Food Army this morning, and it is still slightly emitting blue smoke.

Budu was like a suspicious old fox, wandering back and forth by the bridge. There was also a hill opposite, covered by dense black pine forests. This was an excellent location for ambushing. When he came, Budu did not consider ambushing, but now there is a Tang army on the other side of the river, so how could he act accidentally?

"Send a team of scouts to explore the other side of the river, and search for me within ten miles!"

Soon, the scout came back to report that there was no abnormality within ten miles opposite. Budu was slightly relieved. With a command, the Dashi Army began to cross the river. The cavalry was in the middle, the infantry was at the front and back, and the stairs were adjusted in order. The two thousand cavalrymen passed quickly, and the remaining infantry had also walked a little bit. Budu had crossed the river, but he was still standing at the bridge and looking to both sides. He had always felt uneasy. This uneasiness came from his rich combat experience. If he were the Tang army, he would definitely ambush here, but he sent people to search both sides of the river, and there was no abnormality.

At this moment, some rafts floated in the river, intermittently, with as many as a hundred. The rafts hit the bridge pier and made a dull sound of "bang! bang". Everyone's eyes were attracted. Budu was extremely confused. Even if the Tang army attacked from the water, sitting on this kind of raft would only be to die.

Suddenly, he felt something shaking in front of him, rubbed it and looked carefully, and saw another light flashing in the woods opposite him. Budu's eyes suddenly widened. He saw that there seemed to be someone moving quickly in the woods. He suddenly understood, 'That was the reflection of the Tang army's armor!'

Budu was so shocked that his scalp was about to explode. He yelled loudly, "Stop crossing the river!" But it was too late. Behind the Great Food Army, on both sides of the burned pavilion, suddenly thousands of arrows were fired in one go, sweeping over like a storm, accurate and ruthless. This was a world away from the weak arrows of the Shiguo defenders. He screamed loudly. The thousand Great Food Army were caught off guard at the bridge and were caught in chaos. They all fell to the ground with arrows, and the dead and injured were killed and injured. The outermost layers of the Great Food Army were shot like hedgehogs.

The soldiers on the bridge became even more alive targets, and the shield in their hands could not resist the whistling crossbow arrows. In just a moment, there was no one standing on the bridge.

Bows and arrows have always been the strongest long-range weapon to deal with cavalry. In the Tang Dynasty's military system, each soldier must be equipped with bows and arrows. In the frontier army, it is generally equipped with military crossbows. There are heavy Fuyuan crossbows, which can range up to 300 steps. Secondly, there are broken crossbows, horn crossbows, and single crossbows. The ranges are different, and their roles are also different.

Although they were ambushed by the Tang army, this great food army was the elite of Abbas after all. They immediately organized themselves and connected the shields in their hands into a shield wall to resist the flowing arrows. The soldiers behind formed a square formation and pushed them step by step towards the ambush of the Tang army. From time to time, spears flew out, like a bolt of lightning passing through the rain of arrows.

Gradually, the lethality of the bow and arrow began to decrease. At this moment, a clear sound of horns sounded in the woods. A large group of Tang troops suddenly surged out of the woods. Five hundred Modao soldiers rushed in front. Tian Zhen and Li Fei Yuanli bravely took the lead. They seemed to be two heroic troops, one on the left and one on the right, roaring towards the Dashi Army.

A thousand light cavalry were divided into two teams, like two smart long dragons, sometimes curved and sometimes straight, specifically attacking the enemy's flanks, and like two pairs of scissors, breaking and dividing the Dashi Army. Behind the Modao Team are five hundred sword shields, who are reserve troops, ready to fill the storm at any time.

There were also a thousand crossbowmen standing a hundred steps away, striking arrows on the bridge. Their mission was to block the bridge deck and prevent the enemy heavy cavalry and main forces from returning across the bridge.

The two armies collided in an instant, like huge waves slamming against the reefs. The narrow bridgehead immediately turned into a slaughterhouse. The Dashi Army had not crossed the river for about 1,000 people. In addition to hundreds of people being shot, there were nearly 800 people left, less than half of the Tang army, which was obviously at a disadvantage.

The other side was full of swords and swords, screams and shouts, but Budu slowly calmed down. He ordered that no one was allowed to cross the bridge to support. This was already a meaningless battle. The Tang army was not as strong as himself and would not rush across the bridge. His heavy cavalry could not rush over the bridge under the enemy's sharp bows and arrows blocked, and would only increase casualties.

He stared at the opposite shore with a gloomy face, but kept ordering the drums of attack to ring again and again, and ordered the soldiers who stayed on the other shore to launch offensives again and again. Obviously, he had decided to give up on them.

He wanted to exchange them for the military information of the Tang army, and he could see the characteristics of the Tang army's formation; he could see how the various armies cooperated, the range of bows and arrows, the attack routines of light cavalry, and even the most famous Modao Army in the Tang Dynasty.

Gradually, the shouts of killing became less and less than a hundred people stayed on the other side of the river. They were surrounded by the Tang army and they were no longer able to jump into the river.

At this moment, Budu suddenly discovered that at the highest point of the opposite hill, there was a group of cavalry standing, surrounded by a young Tang general in a fan shape, and at their feet was a slaughterhouse with a blood-flowing river.

I don’t know how long they have been there, maybe they have been there since the beginning. Butu sneered softly and murmured to himself: “Li Qing, we will meet again!”

He suddenly turned his horse's head and yelled: "Retreat!"

The Great Food Army immediately arranged neatly and drove westward with murderous intent, as if nothing had happened.
Chapter completed!