The Great Tang General

"Report..."

"Reporting to the Great Khan, the Tang army in the direction of Baitinghai retreated southward on a large scale, and they evacuated very quickly. In addition, in addition to the Great Tang Black Dragon Flag, there are also the legendary Great Tang Emperor's banner and flags on Baitinghai. The Tang cavalry guarding Baitinghai is less than 10,000."

At an oasis more than 300 miles northwest of Baitinghai, the Huihe scouts who returned from Baitinghai entered the central army tent and reported to Yidijian.

"It must be that Donsang Teqin successfully broke into the Hexi Corridor, and the Tang army sent cavalry back to defend it."

Yidijian was overjoyed.

Finally waited for this good news.

Since marching southward, Yi Dijian has been walking on thin ice. He has sent scouts to the front, back, left and right of the army, for fear that his actions would be discovered by the Tang army.

Fortunately, since they were stationed here, no trace of Tang army scouts had been seen within a hundred miles.

"Great Khan, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is in Baiting City. If we kill him, it will be just as the wizard said. This is an opportunity created for us by God."

Governor Hu Lu said to Yi Dijian very excitedly.

"Yes... Great Khan. Li Xuan died in Huihe. The prestige of our Huihe will surpass that of the former Turkic, and our national strength will grow rapidly."

The fierce general Zhi Du also said to Yi Dijian.

"Li Xuan's position was not legitimate, and Li Longji is not dead yet. Once he dies on the grassland, the Tang Dynasty will surely fall into a struggle for power and collapse, and will no longer have time to worry about us."

Mohedagan was proud of his strategy.

He did not understand the reforms and systems of the Tang Dynasty, and did not realize that Li Xuan had established deep interest ties with the civil and military officials of the first generation. He thought that Li Xuan had usurped the throne and that the Tang Dynasty's political system was fragile.

"Great Khan, that Li Xuan was once a general, and now a Khan. He is truly an enemy of ten thousand men, beheading generals and pulling down flags, just like a god. Although our army is large, we still need to be cautious!"

When everyone was showing joy, Gunlidagan of the Uighurs made an inappropriate statement.

"Don't boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige. I heard about Li Xuan's legend when I was a child. Now Li Xuan should be old. How can he fight in the battlefield again?"

I really don't believe that Li Xuan can be the same as the legend said.

"Don't underestimate the enemy. You have to be cautious. Li Xuan is known as the Heavenly Khan, so he must have some tricks up his sleeve."

Yidijian knew well that Li Xuan was only a few years older than him.

Having had many experiences of defeating the enemy with a smaller force, he had to be on guard.

"Great Khan, Donsang Teqin went deep into the Hexi Corridor and narrowly escaped death. We cannot let down Donsang Teqin and the warriors who accompanied him. Even if Li Xuan still has his might, we must attack, at all costs, to capture and kill Li Xuan, and burn the Tang army's food, grass, and livestock."

As the prime minister, Mohedagan asked Yidijian to set the time for the march.

"Wait until the Tang army moves a little further, and then the army will set out to the south in two days."

Yidijian nodded, he was not in a hurry to advance.

Two days later, the Tang army had returned to Liangzhou City. It was too late for them to go back to support Bai Tinghai.

"Yes, we must have a careful plan to prevent Li Xuan from escaping."

Governor Hu Lu also said.

With overwhelming force, the Uighurs decided to raid Baitinghai with 50,000 cavalry.

Yidijian promised all the Uighur generals that whoever killed Heavenly Khan Li Xuan would be appointed as a special agent.

I hope everyone can work together to accomplish the great feat of the Uighurs’ rise.

Yidijian wants to show Prince Yehu why his father chose him as the Great Khan!
"In the previous Battle of Baiting Sea, the Tang army was able to defeat my father because they took him by surprise. Now that the Battle of Baiting Sea has reappeared, our army will surely win if we take him by surprise."

When the meeting was dismissed, Yidijian spoke to the Uighur generals and officials.

The Second Battle of Baitinghai, like the Second Battle of Dayechuan in the Tang Dynasty, was a battle to avenge the previous humiliation.

The only thing that his father was criticized for in his life was the loss of 50,000 Uighur coalition troops at Baitinghai, which caused some small Uighur tribes to become alienated from the Uighurs.

This also hindered the development of the Uighurs, and they had to pay heavy tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

As Mo Yanchu's son, he must personally take back the glory that he had lost.

He is the tiger in the forest and the eagle on the grassland.

……

Two days later, the Uighur army set out southward.

The figures of 50,000 Uighur cavalry marched across the desert, and the sound of their horses' hooves echoed in the desert like dull thunder.

The flags covered the sky, like huge dark clouds floating above the desert.

The Heavenly Khan will die on the steppe.

After learning that only Li Xuan was leading an isolated army at Baitinghai, more Uighur soldiers believed the wizard's prophecy.

Their morale was high and they believed they were the victorious side.

Yidi Jian ordered the fierce general Zhi Du to lead 5,000 light cavalry to march separately.

Once they get close to the Tang Dynasty, these 5,000 light cavalry will begin to make a detour, preferably back to the foot of Suwu Mountain and cut off the Tang army's retreat.

Don't let Li Xuan run away.

In just two days, they arrived thirty miles away from Baiting Sea.

Zhi Duo had already led 5,000 light cavalry to start a detour.

Tang army scouts "accidentally" discovered the Uighur invasion, and the sounds of war drums and horns rang out over Baiting Lake.

At the same time, orders were sent to Li Zhushi in the south of Xiutu Ze and Hun Yu in the southeast to start the action.

The Tiance Guards in the city climbed up to Baiting City.

The 13,000 Tiance Guards outside the city were divided into three parts.

One part was led by Che Guangqian and was located north of Baiting Sea.

One part was led by Pei Ying and was in the granary area.

The other part was in the ranch area, led by Geshu Huang.

They supported each other and seemed to be in a hurry to mount their horses, but in fact their formation was strict.

The Mingguang armor sparkled brightly under the sunlight.

Seen from a distance, the shining golden light is intimidating.

Li Xuan took Li Mi, Feng Changqing and other civil and military officials to the north city tower, waiting for the arrival of the Uighur troops.

The Supreme Being was calm and composed, so the ministers were naturally not panicked.

Just as the Supreme said, as long as the Uighurs took the initiative to attack, the Tian Ce Guards could defeat the Uighur cavalry.

Lure the enemy deep into your territory and attack them from both sides, just to make victory easier and reduce losses.

"Rumble..."

At noon, dust was flying in the north.

Countless vague figures rushed out from the yellow sand.

They were as aggressive as a tiger descending from a mountain, and it seemed that the entire Baiting Sea could not satisfy their appetite.

"First, destroy the Tang cavalry, then attack the city. Capture and kill Li Xuan!"

I have rested before.

This was the military order issued by Mohedagan before the charge.

It's also a very ideal battle.

After capturing and killing Li Xuan, they burned the food and fodder stored by the Tang Dynasty in Baiting Sea and returned in triumph.

But when he got closer to Baiting Sea, he saw that all the Tiance Guards were wearing the Ming Guang armor of the Tang Dynasty, and he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

The main thing is that the Tang Dynasty did not run around, but stood still, with great momentum.

Now that they had drawn their swords, there was no way to retreat, and they rushed towards the Tiance Guards from all directions.

They hoped to crush the Tang cavalry with their numbers.

"Comrades, the Huihe people overestimated their own strength and invaded our Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty is on the tower, witnessing our victory over the enemy. It is time to prove yourself to Your Majesty, just like Ma Lin and Wei Boyu did."

Che Guangqian was at the front line, giving orders to the cavalry around him.

Ma Lin and Wei Boyu, who were born as soldiers and rose to the rank of generals, have always been role models in the army.

Their heroic deeds in the Tang Monthly are inspiring.

Everyone wants to follow suit!

They are cavalrymen and although they can ride and shoot, that is not applicable on this battlefield.

And they also have to protect the warehouse.

If they break into the Huihe formation, they will be able to break through it with the advantage of Mingguang armor. The Huihe cavalry is the attacker, and as long as the Tang army confronts them, their advantage in cavalry archery will be difficult to play.

There were many scimitars among the Huihe soldiers. Soldiers without armor holding scimitars were no match for soldiers wearing armor and holding spears.

When the two sides were only five or six miles apart, Che Guangqian began to order his knights to move.

But he obeyed the order of the Supreme and did not go near the place where the flag was raised in the north.

On the sand two miles away from the Tang cavalry at Bai Tinghai, several white flags were planted in a line.

Not far from the flag, there were several Jinyiwei.

They were not panicking at all as they were about to face a charge from a huge army.

When the front of the Uighur cavalry was a hundred feet away from the flag, they took out fire starters and lit the fuses several feet long.

These are the explosive packs and thunder bombs that Li Xuan carried in this battle.

There are ten carts in total, and most of them are buried here.

"Bah..."

As the fuse burned quickly, the Jinyiwei mounted their horses and ran back.

The Uighur cavalry had no idea what was going on. At the urging of the trumpet, tens of thousands of them charged forward.

They didn't even care about the small spark from the fuse.

How can a small spark contain the passion in their hearts?
As the fuse became shorter and shorter, some Uighur cavalry had already crossed over the place where the Tang army had buried explosive packs and thunder mines.

"Boom..."

"Boom..."

When a part of the Uighur cavalry crossed over, there were loud noises and yellow sand was blown into the air like a raging sea. Where the flags were planted, flames shot up into the sky and black smoke filled the air.

Explosive packs and thunder bombs exploded one after another under the hooves of the Uighur cavalry, and the blazing flames and shock waves ruthlessly tore everything apart.

Hundreds of cavalrymen were blown to the ground in an instant, with broken arms and limbs and torn flags scattered everywhere.

With the explosion as the center, the war horses were frightened, neighing and wailing, and their front hooves were raised wildly, throwing the Uighur cavalry off heavily.

More Uighur cavalrymen stopped their horses, they were terrified, with disbelief written all over their faces.

There is sunshine tomorrow!
A bolt from the blue!

Or from underground?
Is this a god descending to earth?
The team was originally a mighty one, but when they saw the tragic and chaotic scene, they hesitated to move forward.

Because the cavalry were more dispersed when they were running.

Li Xuan's ten carts of thunder bombs and explosive packs only killed about a hundred people and horses.

But the deterrent effect of gunpowder far outweighs the actual damage.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing.

Many of the steppe Hu people believed in gods.

The high morale was shattered by the huge explosion.

The Uighur soldiers were confused and dared not attack again.

The sound of the Uighur war drums and horns also came to an abrupt end because of the explosion.

"what sound?"

“Why doesn’t the army move forward?”

Yidijian was horrified, he also heard the deafening sound.

He also saw black smoke rising into the sky.

The army was originally on the verge of charging, but now it suddenly stopped, which made him even more worried.

"Earth... Earth... Thunder and fire... Our troops suffered heavy casualties."

A scout who saw the situation reported to Yidijian.

He hesitated, not knowing how to describe the tragic scene.

Mohedagan was speechless. This strange phenomenon was beyond his understanding.

"Soldiers, this is God's blessing on us. If we don't kill them now, when will we? Follow me and build great achievements together!"

In contrast, the Tang army was not affected because of the long distance.

Che Guangqian didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he knew that this was a powerful weapon created by the Supreme.

According to the plan, the Tian Ce Guards charged towards the Uighur formation.

"Kill!"

Seeing that they were really helped by God, the Tang soldiers rushed towards the Uighur soldiers as if they were possessed by the gods of war.

"Why don't you fight back? Do you want to wait for your head to fall off?"

The Uighur general quickly ordered his men to meet the Tang army.

Even if God takes them away, they will still resist. They can't just stick their necks out and let the Tang army chop them off!
Some soldiers reacted and quickly made their horses run.

But they were extremely guilty and feared that the underground fire would occur again.

Hundreds of cavalrymen also fled from the team.

They were mumbling something and running away without fighting, obviously frightened by the explosion.

There was no more time for the Uighur soldiers to make a decision, as the Tang army's vanguard cavalry had already charged into the formation.

The Uighur cavalry was clearly the attacking party, but they were attacked by the Tang army.

Before the dust from the explosion had settled, five thousand Tang cavalrymen charged directly into the center of the formation like a torrent of steel.

"Pfft..."

The morale of the Uighur front army was low, and the leading general was stabbed off his horse by Che Guangqian.

Che Guangqian led the charge, shaking his spear like a dancing snake, thrusting straight forward. Wherever the spear tip reached, the armor of the enemy cavalry shattered, and they screamed in agony, dying with their eyes open.

He was agile, he dodged left and right, used the force of the opponent's attack, and then stabbed out fiercely.

Every time he thrust his spear, a man fell from his horse; every time he swept forward, a rain of blood was brought up.

In the midst of thousands of troops, he seemed to be alone, fighting against many enemies and killing people in all directions. The Uighur cavalry was as vulnerable as paper.

The elite Tang cavalry also followed Che Guangqian into the Uighur cavalry formation, thrusting their spears. Wherever they passed, the Uighur cavalry formation was in chaos and their morale collapsed.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Huihe cavalry were stunned by the explosion and had not yet integrated, Che Guangqian continued to dig deeper, hoping to split the Huihe cavalry with 5,000 cavalry.

"Hold on...Hold on..."

Gunlidagan came forward to organize the troops. He strictly ordered all the generals to disperse the troops first and not allow the chaos to continue.

Otherwise, the Huihe people would die without a burial place.

Although the Tang army was brave, it did not have many soldiers and horses.

The Uighur cavalry tried to fight back, but the Tiance Guards led by Che Guangqian were unstoppable. They fought one against ten and galloped across the battlefield, and almost all the Uighur cavalry were defeated.

"That underground fire is a trick of the Tang army. Let us kill the Tang army who are playing tricks. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!"

Not far away, Yi Dijian said through gritted teeth.

After he came to his senses, he thought that this was not the power of God and that there was no such coincidence.

They still have a lot of soldiers and horses. It would take a whole day and a night for the Tang army to kill all of them in this vast Baiting Sea.

"Great Khan, something is wrong. The Tang army showed no signs of haste in responding to the battle. It seems that they knew our army was coming..."

Mohedagan's heart sank to the bottom when he came back from observing the battle situation.

What a bad start!
It was far from the expected raid.

"Isn't this your strategy? What else can we do? Keep the morale of the soldiers stable and annihilate this elite Tang army first."

Yidijian was in a state of confusion. He blamed Mohedagan but restrained himself.

The Tang army must have discovered them yesterday, so they were fully prepared.

Li Xuan saw Che Guangqian leading the Tiance Guards to achieve unexpected results on the city wall.

The Uighur cavalry seemed to have no time to take care of the warehouses and pastures, so Pei Ying and Geshu Huang were ordered to lead the imperial guards to attack the two wings of the Uighur cavalry.

He still underestimated the deterrent power of gunpowder in this era!
One sound breaks the enemy's courage and determines victory.

(End of this chapter)