Chapter 452: Broken Leaf Fengyun (17)

In November of the fifth year of Dazhi, the Tang army sent surprise troops from Ashibulai City to attack Bahanna, and took advantage of the loopholes in the defense of the Dashi Army to burn all the supplies stored in Bahanna, and then broke the Bahanna capital, Thunder City. The Saman family's private army was weak and defeated by the two thousand Tang troops, and almost wiped out the entire army.

Inspired by the victory of the Tang army, King Cheli of Bahan called on the people to rise up and resist the cannibals, and received the response of nearly 200,000 people gathered in Thunder City for winter. Bahan rose up and started a massive uprising.

Not only did the great changes in Bahanna directly affect the Battle of Saiye, in mid-November, the 7,000 Hulushan Great Food Army, who transported heavy stone throwers from Bahanna, encountered 40,000 Tang reinforcements from Shule in Yezhi City. The Battle of Saiye was outnumbered and was defeated in one battle. Five hundred heavy stone throwers and 30,000 camels all fell into the hands of the Tang army. At the same time, the Tang army vanguard who headed south from Yili Henan also arrived in Zhuque City, and the Battle of Saiye began to turn around.

Under the city of Suoye, the Dashi Army had already pressed forward. Nearly 200 giant catapults used huge rocks to smash the East City Gate in turn. The huge iron gate had been smashed by the huge rocks. Many places had broken, revealing the gray-white stones blocking the door. Finally, the huge rocks under the city gate were piled like a hill, and even the city gate was covered. However, the Dashi Army did not stop bombarding. They seemed to want the huge rocks to pile up a stone slope so that the army could rush up to the city along the stone slope. This was already the desperate bet of the Dashi Army.

In the past two days, Alan seemed to be a gambler who lost all his money. The situation in Bakhan reversed, all the supplies were burned, Yilihe was defeated, Yezhicheng was defeated, Tang army reinforcements were about to arrive, all the unfavorable news came one after another, almost driving him crazy. In order to turn the situation around in the end, he made the final decision to put all the carriages in the city, and all the turbulent oil bombs were poured to the top of Shuye City. In just two days, his carriages were completely destroyed and the turbulent oil bombs were exhausted, but Shuye City still stood tall, and as the weather became colder, thick ice was formed on the ground and the city walls, and the attack became even more difficult.

After a whole day of bombardment, the huge rocks thrown by the trenchers were getting higher and higher, and they were gradually level with the top of the city. Most of the 200 trenchers were damaged due to excessive use, and only a dozen trenchers were left to continue attacking. The Tang army did not watch. They set up a large pot of water on the top of the city. More than a thousand soldiers seemed to be spinning the dragon, pouring pots of hot water on the pile of huge rocks through bamboo tubes and funnels. Soon the hot water cooled down and formed a layer of thin ice.

But the coach of the Dashi Alan was obviously unwilling to give up. As the last dozen catapults slowly stopped bombarding, he gave the order, and the three thousand stone army was the front-line, shouting and rushing towards the towering huge rocks. The huge rock mountains were piled up in chaos. The mountains were steep and strange and rugged, sometimes like knife cutting and difficult to climb, but also like a trap, hiding huge holes. These three thousand people were obviously looking for a way to climb upwards.

The Tang army did not use the thunder bomb and allowed the three thousand stone national army to climb and find the way. A rather funny scene appeared on the entire battlefield. The three thousand stone national army was like ants looking for food, looking for a way to climb on the stone mountain. The stone mountain was extremely smooth. From time to time, soldiers fell off the stone, broken bones and tendons broke. However, on the south side of the stone mountain, hundreds of people gradually climbed to the top of the mountain, less than thirty steps from the head of the city, but a three-meter-wide gully appeared in front, making the stone mountain and the city wall a distance away. Perhaps they could pass it with wooden boards, but how could the Tang army give them a chance?

At this moment, a clapper sounded on the top of the city, and thousands of crossbowmen of the Tang army suddenly appeared. Thousands of arrows were fired at the Shiguo Army. The hundreds of soldiers on the top of the stone mountain had nowhere to hide. They were all shot down from the top of the stone mountain and fell down from the top of the stone mountain. In a moment, hundreds of soldiers were either shot to death by arrows or fell to death by falling to the bottom of the stone mountain. None of them were spared. The blood stained the stone mountain red, and the rest of the Shiguo Army was so scared that they turned around and fled.

Alan was furious and shouted: "Super 20,000 Turkic slaves were ordered to be pushed forward, who would be the first to attack the city and reward 100,000 dinars, and 100 beauties!" The messenger got the order and turned around and wanted to give the order.

"Let's go!" Moyali shouted and stopped the messenger. Seeing that Alan had lost his mind, he hurriedly persuaded him: "General, we should give up Saiye and withdraw from Bakhan before the enemy reinforcements arrived to preserve our strength. What's the use of the general to capture Saiye now? There are not many troops in the city and will hold us back. Once the reinforcements arrive, we will be trapped in a situation where we are attacked from both sides. I must evacuate as soon as possible."

"Retreat!" Alan suddenly turned around and stared at Moyali, and said excitedly: "I have lost more than 50,000 people. Are you willing to leave so much? The Caliph ordered us to take down the Shattered Leaf 12 months ago. If we withdraw our troops, how can we explain to the Caliph?"

"It's better than being completely wiped out by the general. General, we can't attack and destroy the Ye anymore. Let's retreat south! Save our strength and wait until we will attack the city next year." Moyali begged. He had fought head-on with the Tang army and knew the power of the Tang army.

"No!" Alan stared at the city. He seemed to have thought of something, and his pupils slowly closed. "Maybe I can use Tang Jun's confidence to turn the situation around."

He turned around and ordered: "Order to withdraw his troops and return to the camp and prepare to retreat south!"

‘Woo-’ The long horn sound echoed on the battlefield. This was the order to withdraw the troops. The Dashi Army slowly evacuated the battlefield and returned to the military camp.

It was already dusk, and the blood-red sunset shone on the hideous stone mountain. In the strong north wind, the stone mountain seemed to have a raging fire, and the desolate sky gradually revealed the figure of the night. Wang Siyu slowly walked to the city. His majestic body was straight, revealing a tough and decisive military temperament. He looked at the enemy's camp for a long time. The attack of the Dashi Army was obviously unstructured in the past few days. The carriages on the board of the city had been destroyed. The sulphur bombs never appeared again after the last attack yesterday. Today, he even thought of such a clumsy way to climb the city with huge rocks, but in the end he was a terrible attack. After a stunning attack, he stopped his troops. Don't they know that after a night of freezing, the stone mountain will become unacceptable?

A trace of enlightenment appeared in Wang Siyu's deep eyes, and the fatigue of the attack showed the impetuousness and anxiety of the enemy commander. The situation in Bahanna changed drastically, the logistics supply was cut off, and the arrival of the Tang army's reinforcements on the north and south roads was becoming increasingly unfavorable to the Dashi Army. He had realized that the enemy's offensive power was exhausted and he had the idea of ​​retreating.

"Master, look at the sunset that seems to be a bit weird!" The Censor Wu Yuanheng walked up slowly, and the afterglow of the sunset was on his face. His face turned red as if he was drunk and drunk, and his eyes seemed to have ignited two flames. He held it on the top of the city and stared at the blood-red sunset, saying with a hint of melancholy: "This bleeding sunset is often a sign of a major disaster."

Seeing that Wang Siyu did not answer, he turned to look at him. He was looking at the Dashi military camp in the distance, and seemed not to hear what he said. Wu Yuanheng smiled helplessly, and the topic turned to the main topic, "Master, do you think the Dashi Army will really retreat across the board tonight?" Wang Siyu glanced at him and smiled faintly: "The situation is obviously unfavorable to the Dashi people. Do you think they are still unwilling to withdraw?"

Wu Yuanheng shook his head and said, "I have been dealing with the enemy's commander for more than two months and I am almost experiencing his character. This person is a stubborn person who refuses to lose easily. If he doesn't fight a good fight with us, how can he retreat? So I infer that he will retreat tonight, just to lure us to pursue and kill another shot. Maybe he will defeat us in one battle, and then take advantage of the opportunity to occupy Sailye and turn the situation around in one fell swoop."

"Chief Wu is worthy of being a person from the Ministry of War, and he can see through it thoroughly." Wang Siyu looked at the heavy catapult of the Dashi Army and was slowly returning to the camp. He nodded slightly. Wu Yuanheng's analysis made sense. The possibility of the Dashi Man returning to the horseback is extremely high. This will be the last crazy attempt of the Dashi Commander, but it was his crazy thought that would ruin the entire Dashi Army's vitality. Wang Siyu pondered for a moment and said, "I have a plan, Chief Wu will help me see if it works."

That night, there was a strange movement in the Dashi military camp. The whole night was filled with people and war horses were neighing. When dawn was approaching, the Dashi Army began to retreat, as if the unkempt black clouds were slowly drifting south. The sound of the Tang army spontaneously knocking on the bowl and basin began to appear on the top of the city. At first, it was just sparse. Later, more and more Tang troops caught the city, and the earth-shaking cheers resounded through the sky. Countless Tang soldiers hugged each other and cried. The Dashi People finally withdrew their troops. The war ended for more than two months, as if they were nightmares. The Tang army also paid a heavy price of 8,000 people, but they won the victory, and nothing could inspire the morale of the soldiers.

"Master General, since the enemy has no desire to fight, we cannot let this fighter plane go!"

"Master General, our army is full of morale and is ready to fight the enemy."

The generals under his command asked for battle, and they had not fought a battle with the enemy for more than two months. How could they let them run away easily? Wang Siyu was confident. He waved his hand and smiled at the generals: "Don't worry, I had already made the arrangement yesterday, and the Dashi Army would definitely not be able to escape."

In the north of Yezhi City, Cao Hanchen's 40,000 army dug a long trench in one day, which lasted three miles. This trench was located at the exit of the Saiye Valley on the north bank of the Yezhi River. It was about forty miles away from Saiye, and strangled the only way to return west. Six thousand crossbows, five thousand saber soldiers, twenty thousand light cavalry and five thousand spearmen formed this elite army. There were also five hundred Thunderbolt chariots cruising across the Yezhi River to prevent the enemy from crossing Henan and fleeing.

This army, including the 10,000 Tang army that went out of the Pamirs to disrupt the Tochar Dashi Army and the 10,000 Tang army left behind Shule, a total of 60,000 troops were the elite soldiers from Guanzhong, Bashu, Hedong, and Longyou. Most of them were the former Western Liang army. Their mission was to block the Dashi Army from fleeing west.

Cao Hanchen stood on a high hill and stared at the cold Shawye Valley in the distance. He had already received the command of the commander last night. Just today, some of the enemy's troops were likely to leave Shawye Valley and return to the west. He ordered him to block the Dashi Army's way back to the west at all costs. This would be a battle that determines the fate of the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions. Cao Hanchen's heart was heavy. Although he had been named Gaochang Marquis, it was the first time he independently commanded a battle, and his troops were not very strong. It was still on the way to recruit 80,000 coalition forces from the Western Regions. It would take at least two days to come here.

"General, look at the Red Eagle!" A soldier pointed to the sky and shouted. Cao Hanchen put his hand on the curtain and saw several red eagles hovering in the gray sky. The Red Eagle has always been a traditional way of reporting information for Zhang Huan's Xiliang Army. It is usually used to warn. It is more concealed than beacon fires. It is trained and controlled by special scouts. The appearance of the Red Eagle means that the brigade of enemy troops is less than ten miles apart.

Cao Hanchen immediately ordered: "The crossbow army entered the position, the Modao hand was ready, the cavalry laid out the wings, and then passed my order, and quickly dispatched the thunder chariot to support it."

The Six Thousand Crossbows Army immediately arranged three rows in front of the trench, half squatted down, and began to pull the strings and raise arrows. These were specially trained crossbow soldiers. They used the Fuyuan Crossbow, which had the longest range and the most powerful range of the Tang army, which was extremely accurate and could penetrate the enemy's ordinary shields a hundred steps away. However, the only disadvantage was that the strings were slow, inconvenient to operate, and could not be used on rainy days. Therefore, the Tang army adopted the three-stage shooting method invented by the Qin army, arranged them into three rows to shoot alternately. In this way, each crossbow soldiers could shoot three arrows within the 100-step sprint of the enemy cavalry.

Behind them were five thousand Mo Dao Army, arranged in two rows, holding two feet long Mo Dao Army. When the crossbow army finished shooting three rounds, they would be the main force against the Dashi Cavalry. The 20,000 light cavalry were arranged on both sides with wings, which could be retracted or released to intercept the enemy's scattered soldiers to escape. At the end were five thousand spearmen. This spearmen, Cao Hanchen's Ya Army, all of them were from Guanzhong. They were tall and strong, holding three feet long spears in their hands, and they formed a huge square formation, which was also a powerful weapon to deal with the cavalry.

In a moment, the Tang army was ready, and on the distant horizon, a black line appeared faintly. This army was the 40,000 Dashi Army led by Deputy General Moyali, composed of two Turkic slave corps and two Egyptian corpses. Their mission was the same as Cao Hanchen's troops, in order to intercept the Tang army going north to attack the main force of the Dashi Army from behind. At present, the main force of the Dashi Army led by Alan is located in General Peiluo City, fifteen miles away from Saiye. There is the acropolis of Saiye. Just beside this acropolis, the main force of the Dashi Army was like a huge viper, opening its bloody mouth, waiting for the Saiye Tang army to come to the door.

At this moment, Moyali also saw the Tang army in the distance. He was secretly surprised. Yesterday, the scout reported that the Tang army was in Yezhi City. He did not expect that they would advance to this place now, so close to General Peiluo City. And judging from the opponent's insurgency formation, the number of people was no less than him. In the battle of Shule, Moyali was captured by the Tang army for three years. He worked as a miner in the Suye Silver Mine until he was released by the Tang army two years ago. Although he knew the Tang army very well and was sent as a deputy general, he had a fear of the Tang army in his bones. The powerful weapons and well-trained soldiers of the Tang army left him with deep memories. Although the Dashi Army could sweep across the West, it had no advantage over this powerful Eastern army, and was even at a disadvantage in weapons and equipment.

"General Moyali, are we going to fight?" A Turkic legion commander was eager to try. The Turkic slave army was the Turkic soldiers captured by Dashi when Dashi fought against the Western Turks. They adapted them into Dashi's army and stationed east of the Amu River. Although they were called the slave army, they mainly refer to the first generation of Turks. After decades of evolution, the Turkic people have become a special race in Dashi and have been mercenaries of Dashi for generations, somewhat similar to the military households of the Tang Dynasty. They fought bravely, second only to the Caliph Guards and Kharasan's native army. They have a high evaluation in Dashi's army. In fact, three hundred years later, it was this Turkic army that controlled the military and politics of Dashi's black clothes. Dashi's caliph became their puppet and could be abolished at any time. This army is the ancestor of Türkiye now.

According to Moyali's original intention, he was not willing to fight against the Tang army, and even wanted to turn around and retreat. He came to intercept the Tang army to head north instead of taking the initiative to fight against the Tang army. However, he also knew that retreating means that his official fortune would end here. No matter what the reason, the Caliph would never tolerate a coward general who escaped.

He pondered for a while, then turned around and asked the four legion commanders, "I need a legion to test the reality of the Tang army. Is the Turks willing to take the lead, or is the Egyptians willing to take the lead?"

"Does this still need to be asked?" The two Turkic commanders looked at each other and said arrogantly: "The Turks fought against the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years. Apart from us, who has the qualification to fight against the Tang army? Let the black and white people in the West take aside!"

"Okay! Then the Second Turkic Army will challenge the Tang army. There is no need to fight hard. If you find that you are not supported, you can retreat immediately." Moyali gave a few instructions and immediately ordered: "The Second Turkic Army will attack!"

With Moyali's order, ten thousand Turkic troops rushed out of the brigade, like a sharp blade, wrapped in murderous aura in the sky, and stabbed towards the Tang army several miles away.

This Turkic army is no longer the strong enemy in the north that confronted the Sui and Tang armies back then. Their organization and equipment are no longer different from that of the Dashi Army. Especially in long-distance weapons, the Turks originally learned the Han bow-making techniques, and the bows and arrows were very sharp, but because the Great Cannibals were used to throwing short spears, after being incorporated by the Great Cannibals, the Turkic people also used short spears and gave up bows and arrows. Moreover, the army organization was like the Great Cannibals, with a legion as an independent combat unit, with about 10,000 people, and divided into ten brigades below, with a thousand people as a squadron under the brigade, and finally ten people as a small brigade, which was simple and clear. The captain was killed, and the superior officer could directly appoint a new captain.

"Kill!" The overwhelming Turkic cavalry had rushed to five hundred steps away.

The Tang army's camp was still motionless. Six thousand crossbows began to lift nearly twenty kilograms of Fuyuan crossbow from the ground, pressing one end of Fuyuan crossbow against its shoulders. The cold arrow aimed at the dark Turkic cavalry opposite. Three hundred steps, the Turkic cavalry had rushed into the range of Fuyuan crossbow, but the remaining strength of the three hundred steps of arrow was gone and could not penetrate the white silk. The crossbows were still motionless. They were waiting for the best range. This crossbows came from Hedong. After three years of rigorous training, the feeling of distance was quite good. They had already ordered a hundred steps to shoot arrows in advance, so there was no need to beat the drum and pass the order.

‘Two hundred steps.

’The Tang army crossbowmen still remained motionless, and their cold eyes were staring at the Turks who were galloping over thousands of horses. They could even clearly see the shrugging faces of the Turks.

'One Hundred Steps!' With a light sound of 'click', the sound of breaking through the air suddenly rang out. Two thousand sharp crossbow arrows were like dark clouds, cutting through the cold mist and shooting towards the Turkic cavalry in black. The powerful crossbow arrows shattered the Turkic shields and penetrated their heads and chests. Screams one after another, falling from the war horses. The dense sound of horse hooves was trampled into flesh mud. After the first round of arrows, more than 400 Turkic soldiers who rushed in front were killed, as if they were peeled off a layer of skin, but only less than twenty steps were running. The second row of arrows and the third row of arrows shot in turn. After two rounds of arrows, the powerful crossbow formation of the Tang army caused heavy casualties and injuries to the Turkic people. The dead bodies and wounded soldiers hindered the galloping of subsequent war horses. The Turkic offensive momentum was obviously blocked.

The huge sound of skin drums rumbled behind Tang Jun. The well-trained crossbow soldiers immediately retreated from the gap reserved by the Modao Army, and quickly ran three hundred steps away to re-arrange the formation, waiting for the next opportunity to shoot, but they left nearly a thousand crossbow soldiers, squatting down at about sixty steps from the Modao Hand, pulling the strings and placing arrows, waiting for a possible opportunity to hit the bird.

The Turkic cavalry were a step slower. They were distracted by the trench one meter wide, and they slowed down and rode their horses across the trench. In a very short time when the Turkic cavalry leaped over the trench, the crossbow soldiers had already rushed beyond the range of the Turkic short spear. This was the function of the trench. Although it could not stop the charge of the enemy cavalry, it won time for the crossbow soldiers to retreat and not be injured by the Dashi Army's short spear. Perhaps this was the details that determine success or failure. Often a small detail could save the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

The Turkic army rushed into forty steps and entered their throwing range. He had already held his strength. The overwhelming short spears rushed towards the Tang army. Five thousand Mo Dao Army shouted neatly. The passage of crossbow soldiers retreated suddenly closed, forming a copper wall and iron wall. The flying spears stabbed on their heavy armor, making a jingle sound, which fell to the ground one after another, unable to hurt the Mo Dao Army. Five thousand Mo Dao Army suddenly flattened the Mo Dao Army. The sharp spikes at the front of the Mo Dao formed a dense forest of swords, and the cold light shone on the enemy who was rushing toward the killing.

The more than a hundred Turkic people who rushed in the front were not enough to recover. They crashed into the spike forest on behalf of their horses and fell down large bloody corpses. The Turkic people behind them rushed to revolve, and the war horses stood up and jumped high. This was the opportunity for thousands of crossbow soldiers to wait sixty steps behind. Thousands of powerful crossbow arrows flew away, crossed the head of the Modao Army, and shot hundreds of birds who emerged and turned over to the ground.

Five thousand sword soldiers began to advance like a wall. Where the blade passed, the momentum was like a rush, blood and flesh burst, bones shattered, and the black heads rolled to the ground, and the crying moans suddenly started. The ownerless war horse neighed in sadness, draped with mane, and left the battlefield in an avalanche-like fierce battle, like a ghost horse from hell.

About half an hour later, Cao Hanchen saw that the enemy was in a collapse. His red flag flashed, and the drums on both sides sounded at the same time. The light cavalry on both wings began to launch. They contracted the front line and rushed forward at the tips of the two wings. From a high altitude, the dense Tang cavalry was like a huge bird shaking its wings, and its wings bent forward, as if they were going to wrap the Turkic army.

‘Woo-’ The sound of the horn of the cannibal withdrawing troops suddenly came from afar. Moyali saw that the Turkic slave army was in danger. Once the two wings of the Tang army were surrounded, the army would be like a flying insect caught by Cordyceps, and would be eaten by the Tang army without any left.

But it was too late to withdraw the horn, and the Tang cavalry was flying like horses, and the encirclement quickly closed, and none of the remaining thousands of Turks could escape.

"General Moyali, we must suppress our entire army and save our brothers!" Another leader of the Turkic Legion shouted loudly with red eyes, "If you don't save me, I will tell the Cali to tell you to collude with the enemy and deliberately let us Turks die."

"What are you talking nonsense?" Moyali glared at him fiercely. He observed for a moment and confirmed that the surrounded Turks could not break through on their own. He made up his mind and finally issued an order to attack: "The whole army will be dispatched to defeat the Tang army."

Ten thousand horses galloped, and the 30,000 Great Food Army swept towards the Tang Army. The huge drum sound of the Tang Army also rumbling, and five thousand spearmen began to move.
Chapter completed!