Cao Lingzhong came to Beiting twenty years ago. He almost witnessed the entire process of the Uighurs replacing the Turks and rising on the grassland.
As for the Uighur Gel Khan, Cao Lingzhong took the lead in all military operations against the Uighurs in the Tang Dynasty after he served as the governor of Beiting for more than ten years.
The two people can be said to be fatal enemies, but they have never met once.
Even though they are only a few miles apart now, the two have no chance to meet.
By the early morning of the third day, it was as expected by Manggucha. Because the grassland was muddy on a rainy night, the Uighur cavalry who came from the lower reaches to surround the Tang army failed to reach the designated position on time.
Gel Khan walked out of the camp. The refreshing air outside made him feel relaxed and happy. The rain that had rained all night had stopped, and there was cool air outside the camp. It was much more comfortable than the sultry weather of the previous few days.
Such weather was naturally suitable for fighting. Gel Khan raised his head and looked at the clear sky. Although the rain caused a little trouble for the Uighurs, it only allowed the Tang cavalry on the opposite side to survive for half a day longer.
Gel Khan asked coldly: "When will the cavalry downstream complete the double-teaming?"
Manggucha immediately said: "It only takes half a day."
"Pass my order. If the Tang army cannot be surrounded in half a day, the gains of the rear army will be halved."
Manggucha quickly recorded the Khan's order and ordered a personal guard to rush to deliver the Khan's order to the rear army.
Gains are used to measure military achievements. Halving the gains equals halving the military merits. This is intolerable to the Uighurs who are eager to make meritorious deeds.
In Datang's camp, the Tang cavalry had assembled early in the morning, and the soldiers patiently wrapped anti-slip rags on the horses' hooves.
Cao Lingzhong sat steadily in the Chinese army tent. He finished the pancake in his hand slowly and drank a sip of water slowly.
Pang Yawei stood aside, and when the whole army was digested, Cao Lingzhong put on his armor and mounted his horse.
This sight of uniform orders and prohibitions made Pang Yawei marvel. Cao Lingzhong really managed the army well.
This time the Tang army did not attack the Uighur camp in the river valley, but turned around and ran towards the lower reaches of the Katon River.
Cao Lingzhong knew very well that if Gel Khan had used all the Uighur troops in the valley, his 6,000 men would have been defeated long ago.
The reason why Gel Khan did not go out in full force was because he wanted to wait until the cavalry downstream had packed their pockets and capture all six thousand cavalry in one fell swoop.
Last night, Cao Lingzhong had already sent out scouts to detect the encirclement of the Uighur cavalry downstream.
However, it rained all night yesterday. Cao Lingzhong knew that these cavalry could not reach the designated encirclement point, so he let the Tang army rest and recuperate until they had breakfast and supplies in the morning before leading his troops to attack.
The target of Cao Lingzhong's attack was the Uighur cavalry troops who had marched in the rain yesterday from the lower reaches!
Next, Pang Yawei finally understood why Beiting's cavalry was the strongest cavalry in the Tang Dynasty. The light cavalry of the Tang Dynasty, which came and went like the wind, blitzed the exhausted Uighur rangers with lightning speed.
These cavalrymen were rushing in the rain and camped in the wild yesterday. It rained all night yesterday, and the grassland was already muddy. These cavalry generals were urged by Gel Khan in order to arrive at the designated encirclement before noon.
They were marching in a hurry before breakfast.
On the other hand, the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty had a full rest last night, had a good breakfast before setting off, and had anti-slip cloth tied on their horses' hooves.
The Uighur cavalry came from the lower reaches to support more than 10,000 people, but the Tang army's cavalry of less than 6,000 broke through the formation.
After the formation was broken through, the Uighur cavalry completely collapsed, but Cao Lingzhong did not let the soldiers chase him. Instead, he allowed the Uighur cavalry to defeat and flee. Officers at all levels restrained their men and regrouped in formation.
As soon as the Tang army regrouped, reinforcements from Gel Khan arrived.
However, seeing that Cao Lingzhong's troops did not disperse their formation to pursue the defeated Uighur cavalry, Gel Khan also knew that his own morale was low and that he would not be able to catch the Tang army's flaws today.
The two sides faced off for a while, and it was getting dark. Both sides stopped their troops and returned to their camps.
Back in the camp, Cao Lingzhong took off his armor tiredly. He said to Pang Yawei: "You said you wanted me to hold off the Uighur army for five days. Today is the third day."
Pang Yawei said firmly: "It will take another two days!"
Cao Lingzhong sighed and said: "It is not easy to delay for another two days. Although we defeated the reinforcements in the lower reaches of the Uighurs today, our army did not pursue them. The casualties of the reinforcements in the lower reaches of the Uighurs were not heavy. It only takes a day or two to regroup."
"And Gel Khan has also seen the strength of our army. He no longer takes chances. He will probably mobilize all his troops to attack us. It will be difficult to survive in the next two days."
Pang Yawei was also silent. These three days of fighting had caused considerable losses to the Tang army, but he still said sincerely: "Old general, please hold on for another two days."
Cao Lingzhong nodded and said, "Hey, let's hold on for two more days!"
At this time, at a bend in the upper reaches of the Katon River at the foot of Jinshan Mountain, all the men, women, and children of the Geluolu tribe who could work were gathered on the construction site.
They dug rocks out of the mountains and dammed the Catun River.
The players took the construction drawings of the dam and constantly directed the Geluolu people to throw stones into the river.
A dam was already taking shape. Timur looked at the gradually rising water level in the dam, but he still had no idea in his heart.
The continuous high temperature has caused the water level of the Katon River to drop by half. The water level in the upper reaches is not enough, and even if the river dam is blown up, it will not be able to destroy the Uighur camp.
Although the player who studied meteorology repeatedly assured that it would rain heavily soon, after the light rain last night, the weather cleared up today and there was not even a dark cloud in the sky.
Will it continue to rain? If it doesn't rain, then the plan to flood the Uighur army will be ruined.
But now, we can only speed up the construction of the dam. Timur carried hot water to the edge of the dam and called to the herdsmen who were busy on the construction site to drive away the cold.
In the Beiting Protector's Mansion, the military strategists and players were too nervous to sleep. They stared at the sand table, adjusting the positions of the chess pieces on the sand table at all times, and deducing the development of the war.
Yu Junjie kept sighing as he looked at the results of the deduction. Only then did he understand why those famous battles in history were so rare.
Sun Tzu's summary of the right time, right place and right people is really a wise saying. To successfully overwhelm the Uighur army, all three are indispensable.
There must be heavy rain at the right time to raise the water level of the Katon River, so that the Uighur military camp can be washed away.
The geographical advantage must drag the Uighurs into the valley camp, which requires the Tianshan Army led by Cao Lingzhong to hold back the main Uighur force.
And Renhe is even more mysterious. If you want to win this battle, you must mobilize the Tianshan Army and the Geluolu people at the same time, and you must unite all the forces that can be combined.
Yu Junjie sighed again, the stage has been set, whether the next performance will be wonderful depends on the actors' on-the-spot performance!