Chapter 380: Bloody Battle with Yuezhi (Part 2)

In Damascus, Khalid looked solemn and hurried into the palace. Under the leadership of the inner palace, he quickly walked towards the map hall.

"How is the Caliph's condition now?"

Khalid asked with some concern. He heard that Mansour had been irritable in the past two days and had killed more than a dozen eunuchs and palace maids. He was very worried that Mansour would lose his mind.

The Inner Palace Supervisor was not too worried. He smiled and said, "Please rest assured that His Highness Vizier, the Caliph is in good condition now. Although he is a little irritable, he no longer indulges in alcohol and sex as before. He is diligent in government affairs every day and spends more time considering dynasty affairs in the Map Palace."

The two of them quickly arrived in front of the map palace. The inner palace chief stopped. He did not dare to go in at will, so Khalid walked directly into the gate.

The Map Palace is named after the palace is full of maps. It is the office of Mansour, which is equivalent to the imperial study. Khalid walked into the palace and saw Mansour standing in front of a huge map with his hands behind his back.

The battle situation was guessed by Khalid. Ten days ago, the Roman Empire mobilized thousands of warships, dispatched nearly 100,000 troops, and launched a large-scale attack on the island of Cyprus from three directions. The 30,000 Arab defenders on the island of Cyprus have sent letters of help in succession.

Their crossbows had no advantage. The cavalry archers and infantry crossbowmen of the Roman army used sharper bows and arrows, causing the Arab army to retreat step by step, and the island of Cyprus was about to be lost.

In order to prevent the Roman army from launching an attack from the ground, Mansour ordered 150,000 troops from all over the country to gather in Edessa City, but at this time, they received news from the East that the Tang army launched a large-scale attack on Tocharo.

"Khalid, I feel our empire shaking."

Mansour sighed. The situation was obvious. Li Qingan had already colluded with the Romans.

"Khalid, what should I do now?"

"My Majesty, I don't think the situation has reached its worst moment."

"Worst?" Mansour turned around and asked, "Then what do you think is the worst?"

"The worst moment is Spain's participation."

Mansour was a little stunned. He suddenly understood what Khalid meant. If the situation worsened and dragged on like this, it is very likely that Spain would also participate in the war. His dynasty was attacked from all sides. The situation was really dangerous. Khalid meant to end the crisis in front of him as soon as possible.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"The subordinates believe that Cyprus is likely to be unable to defend it anymore, so they simply withdraw troops from Cyprus for the time being, and the Romans will naturally cease to fight."

"But what if they refuse to truce?"

"No! They will definitely truce. Your Majesty. Don't forget that the Romans' enemies are not only us, but also Bulgaria. If the Romans really want to start a war, then we will form an alliance with Bulgaria and let it be attacked from both sides."

Mansour pondered for a while, and he had to sigh, "What should I do when Dongfang?"

"The Dongfang will be handed over to Qiyade for treatment. If he can't handle it well, then His Majesty will go to Khurashan in person. Didn't His Majesty want to replace Qiyade long ago?"

Mansour slowly walked to the map, and he looked anxiously at the East, not only Tochar, but also Sindhi and Punjab, which made him worried.

The main force of the Tang army on the middle line led by Li Qing'an had been stationed in Segashen City for a full ten days. He had been patiently waiting for Li Guangbi's news. In fact, from a straight line, Li Qing'an was not far from Ayan City, only more than 400 miles, but the mountains were tall and steep, and layers of blockage made the transmission of the news extremely difficult. It was not until ten days later that Li Qing'an finally got the news of the Tang army on the Western Front. Li Guangbi had already captured the first city of Ayan City and the second largest city of Bushi City, and burned all the rations of the Tochar army.

But until now, Li Guangbi refused to confront the Tochar army head-on, but dragged them around to run, causing the Tochar army to run away.

Hearing this news, Li Qing'an couldn't help but breathe a lightly. He is worthy of being a famous general in the middle Tang Dynasty. Li Guangbi's strategy of avoiding the real and turning the false is very clever and firmly grasped the initiative in the war. Of course, Li Qing'an also knew that Li Guangbi had indulged soldiers to loot the city, but he did not want to punish Li Guangbi for this.

Li Qingan has also experienced many battles. He knew that this was an important means to inspire morale. In the mobile warfare, the Tang army was also tired. In order to maintain morale, they could only use the method of indulging soldiers to inspire fighting spirit.

This is not in the art of military affairs, but it is indeed the most effective method. What he is concerned about now is when Li Guangbi is going to take action?

Li Qing'an stood in front of the map and pondered for a long time. He was actually worried about the movement of the Dashi Army. Although he signed a military alliance agreement with Byzantium and he also believed that Byzantium would abide by the contract and send troops to the Dashi Army, but the territory was vast and there was a time difference here. If the Dashi Army of Khorasan had not received the order from Damascus, they would most likely send troops to Tochar to support the Yuezhi people. Moreover, if Byzantium's offensive was unfavorable, it would reduce the pressure of Dashi and make them focus their military focus on the east. So far, the Dashi Army of the Sindhi side had not made any movement to support Tochar, then would it be Khorasan's Dashi Army of Khorasan come to support Tochar? If Li Guangbi delayed the time for too long, the situation would be unfavorable to him.

Of course, Li Qingan also considered the influence of the Kharasan Food Army's dispatch of troops to Tochara, and he had ordered the Hezhong Army to be on high alert. Once the Kharasan army advances to Tochara on a large scale, the Hezhong Army will fight toward Kharasan without hesitation.

Despite this, Li Qing'an still needs to think more carefully.

"General Zhao, do you still remember the details of the Dashi Army supporting Tochar four years ago? I mean their marching speed."

Zhao Chongjie pondered for a moment and said, "Reporting to the general, the battle of Beiyi four years ago is still fresh in his memory. In Beiyi's memory, the marching speed of the Dashi Army was not fast. When they crossed the Amu River, we found out. But the problem was that the Dashi people sent troops to attack Saiye, which forced Gao Shuai to divide his troops to rescue Saiye. Moreover, Gao Shuai was not willing to withdraw from Tucharo in such a mess. What happened later was beyond his expectations. The Dashi Army was much stronger than he imagined. After all, he still looked down on the Dashi people too much and thought that they were just Hu people like the countries in the river, which resulted in a final defeat."

"What about the combat power of the Tochar army?" Li Qingan asked again.

"The Tochari army has average combat power, which is similar to that of ordinary Hezhong troops. Moreover, their equipment is behind, and their leather armor cannot withstand the crossbow arrows of the Tang army. If the Tang army had 50,000 troops, they could defeat the 100,000 Tochari coalition in one battle."

"But what if the Tang army had only 30,000 people?"

"I think that if that is the case, the Tang army needs to pay attention to military strategy and fight head-on, which means that they think there is little chance of victory."

Li Qing'an nodded. Zhao Chongjie said it well. The key is to see how Li Guangbi used troops. At this time, his eyes fell on the Chiban River. In fact, there are many articles to do in this river, but it depends on whether Li Guangbi is good at using it.

In mid-August, eight days have passed since the Tang army attacked Tocharo. The battle did not decide the outcome, but the 100,000 Tocharo army fell into an unprecedented passive. When the news that the main force of the Tang army captured Ayan City came, the Tocharo army was almost crazy. They rushed back to Ayan City regardless of everything, but got the news halfway. The second largest city in Tocharo was captured by the Tang army. The huge losses caused the kings of the Tocharo countries in the army to be seriously dissatisfied with Said's tactics, especially in the Yuezhi Kingdom. The royal city palace was burned by the Tang army, his wives and concubines were killed, and their children were not sure where they ended. This made Qu Zhaomu

Extremely angry, he strongly demanded that the army immediately return to Ayan City, but at this time, the capital of Wangtingguo Bushi City was also captured by the Tang army. King Alan of Wangtingguo strongly demanded that the coalition forces turn to the Bushi City, and a dispute broke out between the two kings. At the same time, the other Gao Fu, Gu Mo and Khan were also worried that their capitals would be attacked, and they also made similar demands, requiring the army to protect their country, and there was a dispute over interests. Li Guangbi's tactics of defeating each of them were like a huge pry stick, prying open the unsolid bond between the coalition forces, and the Tocharian coalition began to split step by step.

The Penchi River is the upper reaches of the Amu River. It was called the Wuhu River in the Tang Dynasty. It is also the mother river in the Tochar region. It flows through the most densely populated and fertile area of ​​Tochar. Several major countries in Tochar are all distributed along the Wuhu River. At this time, the main force of Li Guangbi's Tang army was located on the south bank of the Penchi River, about thirty miles away from the capital of Gumozhou.

When the Penchi River arrived here, the water level had become smooth, and there were no steep cliffs on both sides, but a desert area with deserts and Gobi intersecting. More than 20,000 Tang troops and more than 10,000 camels were resting on a vast sandy land, waiting for the craftsmen to build a floating bridge. Li Guangbi sat on a flat rock. He raised the kettle and drank a sip of water, but his eyes were still staring at the other side of the river, the city of Tawu where the outline could be vaguely visible.

For eight days, his tactics were undoubtedly successful, destroying two big cities one after another, but Li Guangbi also knew that his success was more or less lucky. He did not expect that the scouting ability of the Tochar army was so low. Two days ago, his army passed behind the enemy's 100,000 troops. He thought that the Tochar army would chase after him, but the other party did not find them, which forced him to remind the other party by taking the initiative to warn him.

At this time, several war horses rushed over and immediately scouted off the horse, and stepped forward to report: "Report to General Li, the Tocharian army has divided into two groups, and about 60,000 people are chasing us, about thirty miles away from us, and the other 40,000 people are traveling south of us, about 70 miles away from us."

The sudden news made Li Guangbi stand up suddenly, and a kind of unconcealable excitement appeared in his calm eyes. Tochar finally divided his troops into two groups. This was exactly what he expected and the result of his constant efforts. Li Guangbi restrained his inner excitement. He took out the map and spread it in front of him, carefully searching for the marching trajectory of the two armies. From the map, the intention of the Tochar army was very obvious. From here to the southwest is the Great Khanate. They obviously learned the lessons of Us City and were worried that the Tang army would attack the Great Khanate again. Therefore, they divided the troops into two groups, which could not only encircle the Tang army, but also prevent the Tang army from attacking the Great Khanate in the south. This was exactly what he wanted to Li Guangbi, but to seize the opportunity, he needed to have superb ability to mobilize troops. Thinking of this, Li Guangbi immediately ordered: "Transfer my order, build a floating bridge within half an hour, and delay for a moment, and behead them all!"

The place where the Tang army crossed the river was the most gentler place in the Bichi River. The river was about one mile wide and it was also the main ferry for Gumo Kingdom to cross the river south. There was originally a narrow bridge, but three days ago, the city of Tawei City demolished the bridge because it was afraid of the Tang army's attack, so that the Tang army could only build bridges again across the river. Although the Tang army also recruited dozens of small boats, it was undoubtedly unrealistic to cross the river by relying on these small boats. However, they could be used to build floating bridges. This was just like the chain scheme used by Cao's army in Chibi. Dozens of small boats were locked with iron chains and covered with wooden boards, so that the Tang army could pass quickly. Under Li Guangbi's strict order, the Tang army craftsmen and soldiers quickly built a simple floating bridge. At this time, the 70,000 troops of the Tochari army were still fifteen miles away from the Tang army. Time was quite urgent, and the Tang army accelerated the speed of crossing the river.

"General Li, look!" a soldier shouted in the distance.

Li Guangbi put his hand on the curtain and looked east. He saw dust flying in the distance, wind and sand covering the sun, as if a sandstorm was coming. The Tochari army finally arrived. Li Guangbi could even feel the angry and anxious mood of the Tochari army, and they were eager to seek revenge on themselves.

"Hate will cover your eyes!"

Li Guangbi muttered to himself lightly, and he waved his hand and said, "Cross the bridge!"

The last thousand guards Li Guangbi stepped onto the floating bridge and quickly ran towards the other side. After a moment, a Tocharian camel cavalry team arrived first, which was the army of Gumo Kingdom.

The Tocharian coalition received news from the main force of the Tang army in the early morning, so they chased after them desperately, especially in Gumo Kingdom. The whereabouts of the Tang army were obviously targeting their capital, and they were so anxious that they almost went crazy.

However, during the pursuit, serious differences arose within the coalition. Yuezhi, Gao Fu, Wang Ting and Gu Mo Kingdom suffered serious losses due to their own interests. They advocated a decisive battle with the Tang army immediately, but Sayed proposed to wait for the arrival of the Great Food and Khurashan reinforcements, so that the two armies would jointly strangle the invading Tang army and be more confident. He was especially worried that the Tang army would drag down their main force by splitting the troops and let them repeat the mistakes of Us City. He suggested keeping a certain distance from the Tang army to prevent the main force of the Tang army from moving south from the Great Khanate.

However, Said's proposal was only supported by the Great Khanate. The other four countries firmly opposed it, and neither side refused to give in. Said was helpless and had to divide his troops. He led 40,000 troops to detour from the south to prevent the main force of the Tang army from leaving. Qu Zhaomu and Alan led 60,000 joint troops to pursue the Tang army from the front. Before leaving, Said repeatedly reminded that the two sides would join the river to attack the Tang army together and must not act without authorization.

If it were the past, Said's decision was not to be opposed, but these days, Said's command made a major mistake, resulting in Ayan City and Bushi City being captured by the main force of the Tang army, and the two cities were looted, especially the royal nobles were almost killed by the Tang army, which made Said lose his usual authority. The King of Yuezhi Kingdom Qu Zhaomu and King of Wangting Kingdom A Lan were both seriously dissatisfied with him, but these two countries occupied the most troops in the coalition.

More importantly, Li Guangbi's military actions have loosened the already unsolid joint foundation within Tochar, making all countries only consider their own interests.

When the 60,000 troops were killed by the river, King Qisa of Gumo was anxious and did not discuss with other countries. He led the 6,000 Gumo troops to chase the other side along the floating bridge left by the Tang army.
Chapter completed!