Tibet

Chapter 817 Surprise Attack and Battle

Li Ye stood at the head of Xihoujiang City and smiled at Lei Wanchun next to him: "The three eastern, central and western surrendered cities were originally large defensive cities that replaced the Great Wall. Each city had 10,000 people and was equipped with 1,400 beacons. Each beacon has five men, a total of 37,000 people, plus 63,000 Shuofang troops, a total of 100,000 troops. It would be a pity to abandon them."

Lei Wanchun said with a smile: "Your Highness wants to use the Xishou surrender city to contain the Huihe army?"

Li Ye nodded, "Ximou surrenders to the city and deploys 10,000 troops to deal with the enemy, and 30,000 troops are lurking in the periphery. When the enemy cannot attack for a long time, their morale is low, and they are ready to evacuate, that will be the day when the 30,000 troops will show their power. The enemy troops were annihilated in one battle and the Uighurs' attempt to go south to plunder the Tang Dynasty was completely ended!"

Why didn't Lei Wanchun understand what His Highness meant? He immediately clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to lead the order to guard Xishou Jiangcheng!"

Li Ye nodded, "I will give you 10,000 troops and enough food and supplies to annihilate as many enemy troops as possible."

"I'm just a little worried that the Huihe army won't come again."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "If he doesn't come, his prestige in the grassland will be lost. If people don't trust him, they will be useless. Who among the major tribes will be willing to follow him in the future? Gel Khan knows this, so he will definitely send a large army. Get this place back.”

"Then will he move southward with all his troops?"

Li Ye shook his head, "As long as he does not unify the grassland, and as long as Geluolu and Jiankun are not destroyed, the Uighurs will never dare to go south."

Didi took the second prince Yi Dijian and ran all the way. Seven days later, they escaped back to the temporary tooth tent camp.

Yi Di Jian fell down in front of his father Khan and burst into tears. Ge Le Khan was so angry that he was shaking all over and cursed the Tang army for being despicable and without integrity.

At this time, Gel Khan had received the news brought to him by a Tang Dynasty businessman that the military governor of Longyou and Hexi was Li Ye, the governor of Hezhong at that time.

Although the news shocked Gel Khan, he had no choice but to take action. The entire grassland was watching him. If he couldn't defeat a mere warlord of the Tang Dynasty, how could he have the dignity to become the lord of the grassland?

Ignoring the repeated persuasion of Prince Yehu and Prime Minister Dagan, on the one hand he ordered Prince Yehu and his second son Yidijian and Prime Minister Dagan to lead their troops back to the royal court to take charge. On the other hand, he ordered Di De and Meili to be his deputy generals. He personally Lead an army of 30,000 and ten supporting tribes to Fengzhou, and must annihilate the Tang army in Fengzhou in one fell swoop.

As for the interests of the Tang Dynasty, after annihilating Li Ye's army, he took advantage of the power of thunder and personally went south to challenge the Tang Dynasty.

The news that Li Ye led the army to fight against the Uighurs in Fengzhou finally reached Shanzhou, which made Shang Jiezan's heart beat. He realized that this was an opportunity to sneak attack Jincheng County.

Shang Jiezan did not hesitate. He ordered Lun Mangre to sit in Shanzhou and personally led an army of 50,000 people to kill Jincheng County along the ancient Tang-Tibet road.

Unfortunately, the Tang army deployed intelligence spies in Shanzhou. As soon as Tubo sent troops, they were discovered. Three trust eagles simultaneously brought the news of Tubo's troops to Jincheng County.

At this time, Xin Yunjing had just returned to Jincheng County and received the news that Tubo was sending troops. He and Li Baozhen divided the work. Li Baozhen led 20,000 troops to guard Jincheng County, while Xin Yunjing led 15,000 troops to rush to the mouth of Taoshui River and Huilong Pass to defend these two areas. a key node.

Originally, Li Baozhen planned to guard the Tao River, but Xin Yunjing insisted on guarding it himself. His second brother Xin Kuang was killed in the Battle of Dadou City. Xin Yunjing was filled with resentment against the Tibetan army.

At the same time, Li Mi also ordered the 10,000 troops guarding Qinzhou and Weizhou to be transferred back to strengthen the defense of Jincheng County, bringing the number of city defenders to 30,000.

Just when Jincheng County was urgently dispatching troops and generals, Guan Pei, the deputy governor of Ganzhou, also received news of the Tibetan army's eastward advance. He immediately led 10,000 troops to Dadou Valley.

According to the plan that Li Ye told Guan Pei, a simple balance was maintained in Dadou Valley. If the Tibetan army was stable, the Tang army would not launch an attack on Dadou City. Once the Tubo army went eastward, the Tang army would also have to attack Dadou City. Cheng took action, captured the Great Dou City, and put pressure on Shang Jiezan from behind.

Now is the time for Guan Pei to take action.

At two o'clock in the morning, the army set off, and the pontoon bridge was ready. In less than half an hour, the pontoon bridge was completed. The 12,000-strong army quietly crossed the Datong River and headed towards Dadou City, which was more than ten miles away.

Three hundred steps away from the city, the army paused and laid an ambush. Hundreds of soldiers continued to move forward. They carried a hundred cyclone cannons. This small trebuchet can throw a heavy object weighing five or six kilograms two times. A hundred steps away. Of course, according to the deployment of the Tang Army, tonight is to throw sulfur and charcoal fire mud. Sulfur and charcoal fire mud is not suitable for fighting in the field or defending the city, but it is indeed the best firearm for arson in the city. It has a wide coverage and can be used in all aspects, including river warships and water battles. very suitable.

The Great Dou City has been renovated. The gates have been replaced with iron gates. A trebuchet has been installed on the top of the city. A two-foot-wide trench has been dug around the city as a moat. There are 10,000 troops in the city, almost all of them. The Tuyuhun people can only set up tents in the city at night.

Shang Jiezan actually knew about this hidden danger, but there was no way. If they were all built into houses, the soldiers would not be able to spread out.

The only way is to strengthen patrols on the top of the city. Once an enemy is detected, they will immediately sound the alarm and collect accounts.

Guan Pei specially chose a cloudy day to attack. The night was covered with dark clouds, blocking the stars and moonlight. It was extremely dark in the wilderness. He could only see 30 steps away from the city. He could only see 30 steps away from the top of the city. His head was covered with torches, but he could barely see fifty steps away.

Moreover, it was pitch dark outside, and no one dared to go out to patrol. Someone shot him in the dark with a hidden arrow, and he still didn’t know how he died.

Four hundred Tang troops were quickly dispersed and deployed. Fifty cyclone cannons were deployed outside the four walls of the east, west, south and north. The soldiers had been trained. They were located about 60 to 70 paces on the city wall, shrouded in the dark night, and the garrison on the top of the city. Just can't see them.

At the fourth watch, a gunpowder arrow actually flew up in the sky in the distance, which was exceptionally bright and dazzling in mid-air.

This was the signal to attack. The sulfur and charcoal fire clay on the hundreds of trebuchets were ignited at the same time. The surrounding fire suddenly lit up. The defenders at the top of the city knew that something was wrong, but it was too late. They saw fireballs in the sky flying towards the city from all directions. After leaping over the city, the fire ball turned into sparks and spread towards the city.

The city was filled with densely packed large tents, one on top of the other. They were all made of wool and could catch fire easily.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The alarm bells rang loudly on the city top.

But the wool tent was already on fire.

At the same time, 12,000 Tang soldiers were divided into two groups, one east and one west. A dragnet was set up a hundred steps away from the city gate, and countless bows and crossbows were aimed at the city gate.

The fire in the city was raging into the sky, and the smoke was billowing. The fire-breathing soldiers woke up from their sleep and ran in all directions. There was black smoke everywhere and nothing could be seen. Many people bumped into each other heavily while running and fainted immediately.

The soldiers of the Tang army turned a deaf ear to the cries of fear, howls of despair, and violent coughs, and still threw bags of oleander leaf powder into the city, turning the thick smoke in the city into poisonous smoke.

The east and west city gates opened almost at the same time, the suspension bridge was lowered, and countless Tibetan soldiers fled from the city, but what greeted them was a rain of arrows.

The commander-in-chief of the Tang Army, Li Ye, issued a killing order and refused to accept prisoners of war, just as the Tubo Army did not accept prisoners of war from the Tang Army. Both sides killed them all.

Pieces of Tibetan soldiers fell into the outer trench. The trench was two feet wide and filled with tens of thousands of sharp stakes. It did not harm the Tang army, but became a nightmare for the Tibetan soldiers.

Countless soldiers were shot down the trench by arrows or pushed out of the trench, and their bodies were immediately pierced by sharp stakes, killing them instantly.

More and more Tibetan soldiers were shot outside the city, piling up like a hill, and the trenches on both sides were filled with corpses.

After killing more than 3,000 people, fewer and fewer soldiers came out. The entire city was filled with poisonous smoke, and even the top of the city was covered in thick smoke.

The fire had been burning for more than half an hour. At this time, it was impossible for any more soldiers to escape. Watching the Big Dou City gradually calm down.

(End of this chapter)