Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 873

On September 21st, Li Shan sat in the tent of the Chinese army with a sad face, and Dou Gui and Wen Yanbo on both sides also looked solemn. It was already the eighth day of the war, and the Turks still had not retreated.

After Li Shan sent heavy cavalry to break through the formation on the first day, and the Turks suffered heavy casualties, everyone from Li Shan, Dou Gui, Li Daoxuan to the generals below felt that the Turks would choose to retreat. bear such a huge loss for a long time.

Therefore, Li Shan did not continue to send heavy troops to attack, but slowed down, and only tried again and again, or small-scale cavalry battles, to urge the Turks to retreat as soon as possible.

But Li Shan did not expect that the Turks did not choose to retreat, but fought with Tang Qi again and again, and also sent partial divisions to test and attack the left and right armies again and again.

It is said that the Turks are hard to last, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult. It was almost as hard as the Tungus savages of later generations... Li Shan had various speculations in his heart. It is also possible to develop in a direction that you least expect to see.

If the Turks refused to give up the main roads at the border, then Li Shan had no choice but to attack with all his strength to break through the main roads and control the initiative... But in this way, if the Turks still had to fight to the death, the loss of troops would be very large.

In fact, Li Shan had tried it out yesterday and ordered Su Dingfang to lead the cavalry to press forward. After fighting for an hour, he killed more than [-] Turkic cavalry, but the Turkic still had no intention of retreating. Riding, Li Shanxin is about to bleed.

In a short period of time, the heavy cavalry died one by one, and there was no way to replenish them.

It is already late September, and there is not much time. If the Turks cannot be driven away, it means that the Tang army is likely to build a stronghold in the current garrison and wait for the Turks to retreat on their own... Judging from the current trend of the Turks, even if they retreat, It is also very likely that heavy troops will be used to control the main roads, and maybe let Liang Shidu take over.

Zhang Zhongjian added: "The heavy cavalry and the Modao team will follow, and the Turks may choose to retreat."

Li Shan turned his head to look at Xue Wanche, "This time, we will use Brother Wanche's bravery to invite a battle before the battle."

It's okay to try again, at most it's just a heavy attack.

Zhang Shigui turned his eyes around Li Daoxuan and Li Keshi, and said in a deep voice: "This time I came here by order, and I have all followed His Highness's orders."

Indeed, Zhang Baoxiang is indeed a lucky general. Otherwise, the five armies in time and space destroyed the Eastern Turks, why was he the one who captured Jieli Khan alive?

Perhaps, the Turks suffered several major defeats last year, which have shaken their dominance on the grasslands. What could be more convincing than defeating the Tang army?
Or maybe it is to organize people to send the plundered food, property, and population back to the grassland?

"Su Dingfang." Li Shan ordered, "Choose two thousand cavalry."

After a moment of silence, Li Shan sighed, "Is there any other choice?"

Long-lost Zhang Shigui and Xue Wanche came striding forward, prostrated themselves on the ground, "I pay my respects to the King of Handan."

"Yes."

Among the crowd, Su Dingfang, Zhang Zhongjian, Wang Junhao and others were all generals who fought in last year's battle. The first two were silent, while the latter was a talker, talking endlessly about Zhang Baoxiang's luck.

"It's just in time." Li Shan smiled lightly, and got up to greet him himself.

When the arrangement was settled properly, when thousands of infantry rushed out from the middle and rear troops of the Tang army, there was a commotion in the Turkic army on the opposite side. Ashina Sheer and Tuli Khan squinted their eyes on the hill to watch, but Before the Tang army came to attack, thousands of Tang soldiers split into left and right groups, and rushed to the left and right sides under the cover of cavalry.

Zhang Shigui was startled, are you in such a hurry?

"Let's take a rest for the time being, the Duke of Xihe County will arrange it properly." Li Shan shook his head, and said slowly: "Seven thousand troops... transferred to the right army, two thousand, left army two thousand, and four thousand remained in the central army."

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Li Shan was about to give orders, when suddenly a personal guard shouted loudly from outside, "Your Highness, please see the Duke of Nanyang County and the Duke of Wu'an County, the Deputy Chiefs of the Daizhou Cavalry."

"Huai Ren, try again today?" Li Daoxuan suggested: "Someone is here to lead the army, there is no need to use heavy cavalry to break through the formation."

The reinforcements came all the way from Bingzhou or even Daizhou, and they arrived in just seven or eight days, so they must be exhausted. Logically speaking, they should take at least one day of rest.

After thinking for a while, Li Shan asked, "Do you need to rest?"

Dou Gui nodded in agreement and said: "Let the left and right armies move northward, lure the Turks to attack, use crossbowmen to cover, and then use cavalry to make a surprise attack."

"This is..." Tuli Khan felt a little baffled, the battlefield was narrow, and the Tang army had actually completely controlled the left and right wings of the battlefield. Is it necessary to replenish troops?

No matter how much he feels sorry for the casualties, Li Shan will not allow the current situation to continue. If he does not control the key points, he will turn a blind eye to sleep at night.

The main reason for Li Shan's worries is still difficult to make a choice. I can't guess what Ashina Sheer and Tuli Khan on the opposite side are thinking. Are they really going to fight Tang Jun here?
is this necessary?

Xue Wanche patted his chest, "Don't worry, Your Highness, if you fight immediately, you will be able to break the formation!"

Dou Gui nodded slightly. He was one of the few people who knew Li Shan's overall plan. With the development of the war to this point, he didn't think there were any loopholes in Li Shan's plan. Khan is likely still hesitating.

The generals on the side all sneered in their hearts, this bullshit is a bit big, this time the Turks will not retreat, even if you can break the formation, so what?
These days, it is not once or twice that the heavy cavalry is used as the vanguard to break through the formation. Every time, they are forced back by the Turks with superior forces at the end.

Li Shan turned around and laughed and said, "Zhang Baoxiang is the Fu general of the lonely king. In the battle of Yanmen, he led his troops to the north to help the lonely defeat the enemy. After the battle of Guji Town, it was Zhang Baoxiang who chased after him so hard that Jieli It was difficult for the Khan to gather troops, so the Turks were defeated."

"Brother Wu An and Brother Wan Che are safe and sound." Li Shan took the two sworn brothers who were sworn brothers to Jinlan one by one, and said with a smile: "There is going to be a big battle, and a general is needed to lead the army."

"About [-] troops." Xue Wanche explained: "Originally, there were only [-] troops. Later, Bingzhou dispatched troops to help. Among them, the King of Rencheng sent [-] cavalrymen from Bishui County to accompany him."

To be honest, Li Shan hoped to fight the Turks here, not the Liang army... The Liang divisions all occupy Shuofang County, and the center is the famous Tongwan City, which is very good at defense.

Ashina Sheer nodded slightly, "It should be that the reinforcements have arrived."

Not long after, two thousand Tang cavalry rolled in, and a general drove out, waving his horse in his hand. There were also warriors in the Turkic army who stepped forward to fight, but they were stabbed by the Tang general after two or three rounds. Seven or eight times in a row , No Turkic dared to fight anymore.

Ashina Sheer's face was livid, and he pointed his halberd in the distance, "Who is that?"

A quarter of an hour later, the guard's return made Ashina Sheer's expression extremely complicated. While gnashing his teeth, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, which seemed rather strange. It turned out to be Xue Wanche who guarded Guji Town with Li Huairen last year.

(End of this chapter)