Fifty thousand Tang troops faced off against 70,000 Dashi troops south of Nasebo. Both sides set up large camps. The two sides faced off for nearly twenty days, each using a thousand-man small-scale combat method to test the other side.
A total of five battles were fought, and the Great Eaters lost all five battles, including the complete annihilation of Sabah's army before, and the Great Eaters did not dare to act rashly.
The chief general of the Great Food Army was none other than Ziad, the governor of Khorasan. More than ten years ago, he participated in the Battle of Talas as Abu Muslim's deputy general, and in the end the Great Food Army was defeated miserably.
The shadow of the tragic defeat has always been hidden deep in Ziad's heart, making him have an unspeakable fear of the Tang army.
In the big tent, Ziad stood in front of the sand table. This sand table was snatched by Sabah from the Suiye Governor's Mansion of the Tang Army and presented to Ziad. When Ziad saw the sand table for the first time, he was immediately shocked by the artifact.
Although the sand table production is still relatively rough and not very accurate, it roughly reflects the terrain and cities in the Hezhong area and is very practical for combat deployment.
Ziad had already discovered a weakness of the Tang Army. The Tang Army's camp was stationed on the north bank of the Nami River, very close to the river. If he launched a fire attack on the Tang Army from the river, it would surely burn down the Tang Army's camp, which would then cause the Tang Army's defeat. He would take the opportunity to pursue and kill him.
, this battle will be a complete victory.
Ziad immediately ordered a thousand barrels of kerosene to be transferred from Mulu and transported by thirty large boats on the Amu Darya River, in preparation for launching an attack on the Tang army.
The kerosene of the Great Food Country was a light oil produced near Basra and sold to the Greeks. After the Greeks refined it slightly, it became a famous naval warfare weapon, Greek fire, which can burn on the sea.
Dashi also learned this refining method, and Dashi also possessed Dashi Fire. In the Battle of Talos, the Dashi army was defeated by the Tang army's kerosene weapons, which left a deep impression on them.
This time 70,000 troops invaded the river, and the food army also prepared 3,000 barrels of kerosene.
The ships of the Dashi Army were the ships captured by Anguo. Anguo also had a large number of large ships, about three thousand stones, used to transport goods. The Dashi Army modified them and installed three small trebuchets on each ship, which could
More than twenty kilograms of heavy objects were thrown a hundred steps away.
There were ninety trebuchets on thirty ships, enough to launch a large-scale fire attack on the Tang army's camp.
At this time, Lieutenant General Bachmann quickly walked into the big tent and said: "To inform the governor, the ship has been renovated and the kerosene is ready. We can launch an attack on the Tang army at any time!"
Ziad nodded, "We will launch an attack tonight, General Bachman, under your full command!"
"Follow the order!"
The confrontation between Dashi and the Tang army had reached a limit. Just as Dashi was preparing to attack the Tang army at night, the Tang army was also preparing to attack.
The Tang Army shipped a large number of trebuchet parts from Chang'an, but not including the thick brackets. In the past twenty days, Tang Army craftsmen have been making trebuchets, cutting down local date palm trees, making brackets and wheels, and installing various metal parts.
part.
In the afternoon, Bai Xiaode inspected the final completion status in the fortification camp. He received the news that forty large trebuchets had been completed. Bai Xiaode was overjoyed and immediately came to inspect.
Bai Xiaode is a typical slow-warming general. His performance is mediocre in the early stage, but he gets better and better as he fights later. Therefore, his performance was not ideal at the beginning when fighting against Khan. When fighting Qianquan City, he made a mistake in judgment and allowed Sabah's army to escape. However,
Things started to turn around in the country of Daishi.
But later on, the fighting got better and better, and Sabah was completely annihilated in Tocao Kingdom. He also mobilized his troops in a targeted manner, sending 20,000 cavalry and 3,000 heavy infantry, and not allowing the use of firearms. As expected, Sabah's army was completely annihilated.
At the same time, it did not attract the attention of the food army.
This time he faced the Dashi Army. He chose the battlefield. He took the initiative to draw the Tang Army to Na Sebo, forcing the Dashi Army to also rush to Na Sebo.
Bai Xiaode mainly wanted to use powerful explosive arrows, but the Sogdian countries are surrounded by sandy terrain, and the ground is too soft. The explosive arrows will not explode after touching the ground. Instead, when the Tang army charges, the explosive arrows will explode when their horses step on them.
But he discovered that there was a large cobblestone terrain outside the city of Sebo. It was very large, covering more than 100 square kilometers. It was an old river bed left over tens of millions of years. This large river bed contained huge gemstones and pebbles, making it
Nasebo became the largest gem producing area in the river, and a large number of rubies and sapphires were shipped to the Tang Dynasty by Sogdian merchants every year.
Of course, women in the Tang Dynasty liked gems, but men in the Tang Dynasty liked jade, especially scholar-bureaucrats. The Khotanese white jade seeds shipped from the Khotan Kingdom had always been a symbol of identity and status. Only high-ranking officials of third rank or above were allowed to wear jade belts.
What Bai Xiaode was interested in was the large pebble terrain, where his explosive arrows would be useful. The ground was hard, and even if the explosive arrows could not hit the enemy, they would still explode when they hit the ground. They could still kill and injure war horses on a large scale.
Moreover, these pebbles are densely embedded in the sand, not just scattered pebbles, so war horses can run on them without spraining their feet.
It was at this time that Bai Xiaode's talent was revealed. He focused on details and found terrain where explosive arrows could be used.
Just when Bai Xiaode was inspecting the fortification camp, a scout rushed to report, "Commander, the enemy warships have begun to move!"
The scouts of the Tang Army had long discovered that the Dashi Army was renovating large ships and installing trebuchets on the Mi River. As a Tang Army general who had experienced many battles, Bai Xiaode immediately understood the opponent's intention. They wanted to attack the Tang Army's camp from the waterway.
Bai Xiaode stood still and waited patiently for the enemy's follow-up. At this time, he finally waited for the last moment.
Bai Xiaode immediately ordered: "Please come to see me, General Li Fei!"
Not long after, Lieutenant General Li Fei Yuanli arrived in a hurry, bowed and saluted, "See you, General!"
Bai Xiaode said calmly: "It is estimated that the food army will attack the camp from the water tonight, be prepared so that they will never come back!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Historically, Li Fei did well in Yuanli. In the late Anshi Rebellion, he was granted the title of Prince of the County and the Military Envoy of Beiting. However, with Li Ye, he did not do well.
Mainly because of his bad temper, he liked to abuse soldiers, and often relied on the fact that he was an Anxi army, and did not obey the general's orders, so Li Ye kept him in the cold, gave him a false title of general, and put him in Chang'an to retire.
As the world became peaceful and Li Fei Yuanli was over fifty years old, he was getting older. He knew what would happen to his descendants if he didn't get some military glory?
He repeatedly begged for the opportunity to go on an expedition. Seeing that his violent temper was gradually fading, Li Ye gave him the opportunity to be the deputy general of the Western Expedition. Li Fei Yuanli was indeed honest and conscientiously served as deputy general for Bai Xiaode.
If we don't take into account Li Fei Yuan Li's violent character, Li Fei Yuan Li is still very powerful in fighting, decisive, brave and strategic.
Li Fei Yuanli immediately ordered that all the contents of the tents within 300 steps along the river be moved, leaving each tent empty first, and then dismantling it after the enemy troops arrived, so as not to dismantle it prematurely and alarm the enemy.
At the same time, he ordered a long trench to be dug along the river. When night fell, five thousand crossbowmen were mobilized to prepare.
Time passed little by little, and at the first watch, the scouts came to report that they found an enemy fleet ten miles away from the camp, thirty ships in total.
Li Fei Yuanli immediately ordered: "Pass my order to dismantle all the tents and put the crossbowmen in place!"
The soldiers acted together and quickly dismantled all the tents within 300 steps along the river. Five thousand crossbowmen also entered the trench. Explosive arrows were erected in the quivers behind them. Everything was ready.