The Gasi Grassland is located in the south of the Altun Mountains, more than 700 miles away from Ruoqiang. Even riding a horse would take four days. Moreover, the altitude is over 4,000 meters. It is impossible to run fast at all and can only stop and go.
Resting as much as possible, Li Ye marched hard with nine thousand Beiting cavalry, followed by a camel team at a distance.
In the end, nearly 3,000 people, including 1,000 heavy armored infantry, could not withstand the high altitude of Altun Mountain and had to return halfway.
Li Ye led the remaining 6,000 cavalry and thousands of camels to continue southward. They walked for thirteen days, and finally arrived at the Gasi grassland when the dry food and horse supplies they carried were about to be exhausted.
After walking such a difficult journey, Li Ye finally understood why Tubo had not captured Anxi in the early stage. It was only after the Anshi Rebellion broke out and the Tang army in Anxi retreated to the Central Plains that Tubo had a chance.
In the final analysis, it is still a matter of food supply. This supply line is too far away and too easy to be cut off. If the environment of Qiang and Qiemo is right, they can support at most one or two thousand troops.
As long as the Tang army was stationed in the fortified cities of the four towns of Anxi, the small Tibetan army would not be able to attack the city.
Therefore, more than 40 years have passed since the Anshi Rebellion, and thousands of Anxi troops still guarded the four towns of Anxi. It was not until these Anxi troops died one by one, and the Anxi army finally died, that the Tubo army completely occupied Anxi. Of course, internal strife broke out within Tubo.
It has a lot to do with it. Internal strife caused Tubo to suffer a great loss in strength and was unable to send more troops to Anxi.
They saw countless tents in the distance, and horns were constantly blowing. They had been discovered by the enemy, and then a Tibetan army of two thousand people quickly gathered and ran towards them.
Li Ye immediately said to General Wang Weiliang: "General Wang, lead a thousand cavalry to bypass the Tibetan army and intercept the shepherds and sheep. If they don't stop, we will kill them!"
Li Ye realized that the Tibetan army was trying to cover the retreat of the shepherds and sheep behind him. His army had run out of food, so how could he allow the sheep to evacuate? When life and death were at stake, there should be no kindness as a woman.
Wang Weiliang cupped his fists and said, "General, I will obey your order!"
He waved his hand and said, "Follow me!"
Wang Weiliang led a thousand cavalrymen to bypass the Tibetan army and kill towards the rear.
Li Ye raised his head and shouted: "Men of the Tang Dynasty, today is the day when we serve the country and make meritorious service. Everyone, follow me and kill the enemy army!"
"Destroy the enemy army!"
Five thousand Beiting cavalry shouted and followed Li Ye.
Thousands of horses galloped, iron hoofs beat on the ground, making a thunderous sound, and the Tang army's cavalry swept towards the Tibetan army like a stormy sea.
Two thousand Tibetan troops were half infantry and half cavalry. The cavalry ran in front with spears raised, and the infantry followed in formation behind.
In an instant, the two armies collided with each other, and dozens of Tibetan cavalry were knocked away.
The war horses of the Tibetan army are not tall, but they are strong, have excellent endurance, and can survive the low oxygen in the plateau area.
Although the war horses of the Tang army were also plateau horses, and the Gasi Grassland was only three thousand meters above sea level, making it a low-lying area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Tang army had crossed the Altyn Mountains, and the men and horses had consumed too much energy. They could not hold on for long, and they had to fight quickly.
The fierce battle between the two sides was extremely fierce. Either you died or I lived. Even if the Tang army fell to the ground, they would kill each other with daggers. In many cases, both sides died together.
Li Ye's eyes were red from the killing. He was like a god of murder. There were many corpses everywhere he passed. He led a thousand cavalry to cut up the enemy's army and break down the enemy's formation.
In less than an hour, both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Tang army lost more than 2,000 people, while the Tibetan army only had less than 700 people left.
At this time, Li Ye finally saw the opponent's general, hiding in the crowd like a snake, constantly directing the Tibetan soldiers to assemble formations and use collective strength to fight against the Tang army.
Li Ye galloped on his horse, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow through the crowd. The arrow passed through the gap in the crowd like lightning. By the time the enemy general found out, it was already too late.
"Poof!" An arrow hit his neck, and the enemy general screamed, falling off his horse and dying.
Without the general, although the Tubo army was still tenacious, the formation could no longer maintain its formation and gradually dispersed, and was soon broken into pieces by the cavalry led by Li Ye.
Seven hundred Tubo soldiers could not hold their fists, and were eventually annihilated one by one by the Tang army, which was several times their size. The last group of Tibetan soldiers was also surrounded by the Tang army and killed.
The fierce battle was finally over. Both men and horses were exhausted. They couldn't hold on any longer. The soldiers were lying on the ground and the horses were breathing heavily. At this time, if another thousand elite Tibetan soldiers came, they would probably be killed.
The whole army was destroyed.
Not long after, Wang Weiliang's army came back with hundreds of thousands of sheep. When he left, there were a thousand cavalry, but when they came back, only more than 800 people were left. They encountered fierce resistance from the herdsmen.
In anger, the Tang army went on a killing spree, killing hundreds of families of Tuyuhun herdsmen.
Wang Weiliang knelt down and apologized, "Their women also fought with swords. They were humble and helpless, so they had no choice but to order to kill them all. This violated the principle of not killing women and children."
Li Ye shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you. It's me who gave the order to kill without mercy. I'm not that pedantic. The so-called not killing women and children is just for innocent people. But this is a battlefield. There is no kindness to women on the battlefield. I will record your seizure.
Food credit.”
"Thank you, envoy!"
Li Ye immediately ordered that the sheep be slaughtered and roasted to give the soldiers a hearty meal. After their physical strength began to recover, the battlefield was cleared and the bodies of the fallen soldiers were buried.
Li Ye let out a long sigh and captured the four cities of Ruoqiang and Qiemo City. The total casualties were less than a hundred. However, in the battle of Gasi Grassland, there were as many as 1,800 soldiers killed and nearly a thousand injured. Had it not been for the overwhelming force,
Due to the number of troops, they were the ones defeated in this battle.
The Tang army was really not suitable for fighting in high-altitude areas.
After a day's rest, the Tang army turned around and returned to Anxi with the captured tents, hay and hundreds of thousands of sheep. The Tang army's horses also suffered heavy losses. Many soldiers had no horses and could only ride back on Tibetan horses.
The Tibetan attack on Ruoqiang and Qiemo this time was more of a test than a strategic attack. After this battle is over, the Tibetan army will not come again for at least a few years.
Back in Ruoqiang, it was already December, and the first heavy snow came quietly.
After resting for five days, the nine thousand Tang army set off eastward again. Their goal was Kucha, but to go from Ruoqiang to Kucha, they had to return to Puchang Sea first, and then go to Kucha along the Chihe River from Puchang Sea.
In the Tang Dynasty, it was impossible to cross the Taklimakan Desert.
One of the biggest advantages of winter is that they can freeze the slaughtered sheep and carry them as dry food.
The camel bells rang, and the team marched along the Qiemo River toward Puchanghai.
In Qiuci, Sima Kanghuaishun hurriedly came to the house of Bi Sichen, the deputy envoy of Jiedu, and the housekeeper took him quickly to the back house.
There was the sound of silk and bamboo in the back hall, several musicians were playing hard music, and several dancers were dancing gracefully. Bi Sichen was lying on the soft couch, his eyes like an eagle narrowed to a slit, I don't know what he was thinking about?
Several concubines were lying around him, some were beating his legs, some were peeling fruits for him, and some were kneeling behind him, massaging his shoulders and neck.
Although Bi Sichen is enjoying the glory and wealth, he does not look rich. Instead, he is dark and thin. He is quite tall and his arms feel very powerful. However, he is not young anymore. He is fifty years old this year.
Bi Sichen was very upset. He finally drove Feng Changqing away, and the eunuch who oversaw the army also returned. He could live the life of a Tu emperor comfortably for a few years. Unexpectedly, last month he suddenly received news from someone sent by Qing Wang Li Cong.
.
The emperor had appointed Li Ye as the governor of Anxi. This news was like a bolt from the blue.
This incident has been making Bi Sichen upset for a month.
Of course, Bi Sichen was not only able to sideline Feng Changqing by currying favor with Bian Lingcheng, he also hugged the lap of Qing Wang Li Cong. With Bian Lingcheng's good words and Qing Wang Li Cong's activities in the court, Bi Sichen was able to become a soldier of the four towns.
make.
As a result, even if Feng Changqing complained to the court, it would be of no avail.
After killing Feng Changqing, Li Ye came again. Bi Sichen knew very well that Li Ye was not an official with no qualifications, no backing, no money, and physical disabilities like Feng Changqing. Even if the Anxi soldiers supported him, they would not
use.
But Li Ye is different. Li Linfu's grandson, the King of Gaochang County, is much stronger than Feng Changqing, and he might fall into his hands.
Bi Sichen suddenly became upset, kicked the concubine away, and shouted angrily: "Get out of here, everyone!"
The musicians, dancers and concubines were so frightened that they rolled and ran away.