In the tenth year of Yongjing's reign, it was mid-May.
On the Congling Plateau, warblers fly and grass grows.
Moistened by snow water, the plateau is a vibrant scene.
But in Li Chuyun's eyes, there was something desolate.
Li Chuyun was very uncomfortable with this situation and said: "The coalition forces of Dafa are determined to recreate the Battle of Talas. Not a single ghost can be seen along the way..."
There are more than 300 miles between Kashgar and Talas, and we have already traveled half of it. Apart from their army, we have not seen a single person along the way.
It is not that Ali Musa did not arrange to explore the horses, but when they found the shadow of the Yu army's outpost, they stayed away. Naturally, Li Chuyun's Chinese army could not encounter it.
This land was already inaccessible, and the move of Da Shifa made the mighty fifty or sixty thousand allied troops of Dongfang Dayu seem as small as a drop in the ocean.
Li Chuyun, who was born in the Central Plains, had no way of understanding how vast the land was and how sparsely populated it was. Even though he had been living in Liangzhou, a sparsely populated city, he had never seen such a scene.
The Lion King has long been used to it and said: "This is the case in the Western Region. The environment here is relatively harsh. If hundreds of thousands of people gather in one place like the Central Plains, resources will be insufficiently allocated and it will be difficult to survive. The only way to survive is to spread out. It's actually pretty good here.
Okay, it’s normal for two villages in Tarim to be three to five hundred miles apart.”
Li Chuyun smiled and said: "I am quite ignorant." He said with a bit of joy: "Thanks to the Great Khan as our guide along the way, our army has been so successful, and the Great Khan should be the first to contribute!"
He gave a thumbs up to the Lion King and said: "Drinking is not allowed in the army. After this battle, I invited the Great Khan to drink my old Jimo wine from the Central Plains. It was a treasure specially given to me by His Majesty and has been stored for sixty years."
.I have been carrying it with the army this time, just thinking that after the victory, I will take a few generals and have a drink. The Great Khan will definitely reward me..."
The Lion King said hurriedly: "What an honor!"
Li Chuyun didn't feel like he was marching at all at this moment. He felt like he was traveling around the mountains and rivers, chatting and discussing with the Lion King about the customs, customs and fantastic scenery of the Western Regions.
The two talked almost all the way.
It wasn't until we were still fifty miles away from Talas that we began to restrain ourselves, feeling like a storm was about to come before the war.
Li Chuyun was not in a hurry to fight with the Western coalition forces. They trekked all the way and needed a good rest, so they set up camp forty miles away from Talas.
That night, an uninvited guest came to the Lion King's tent.
"I've seen the Great Khan!"
The Lion King squinted at the stranger in front of him and said, "Are you the envoy of Ali Musa?"
"Exactly!" The stranger said with a smile on his face: "Khan, I'm..."
"Okay!" The Lion King interrupted with a wave of his hand and said, "I don't want to listen to your nonsense. If you have anything to say, go tell Governor Li."
"Someone is coming!"
He shouted and said: "Tie this man up and send him to Li Dadu's account."
The messenger didn't even have time to say his name, so he let the Lion King take it.
In fact, the great Khan of the Gaochang Uighurs disliked Dayu and Li Chuyun from the bottom of his heart.
How can others snore and sleep on this side of the bed? This sentence is from the perspective of the owner. On the other hand, think about it, what is the mood of the person sleeping on the edge of the bed?
What makes The Lion King smarter than Li Shengtian is that he knows that some things are irresistible. Rather than destroying them, it is better to take a step back. This inner discomfort is inevitable.
But as he came into contact with Li Chuyun these days, the Lion King became very fond of the governor. The reputation Dayu had accumulated over the years, the technology and equipment of Dayu's army, and the terrifying combat power displayed all gave him a sense of
If you can't resist it, you might as well lie down and enjoy the feeling.
Compare this to the Ganzhou Uyghurs of the same clan who were surrounded by Dayu. They were like fish and meat to be slaughtered. Even Dayu's court chose not to eat them. What else can be said? Compared with them, I am still very good.
When I thought about it, everything was relieved.
When the Kara Khanate envoy was escorted to Li Chuyun's commander's tent, Li Chuyun was discussing tomorrow's deployment with Brother Yelvxiu, Chang Side, Zhe Yuxun, and Zhe Yuqing.
Li Chuyun looked at the envoy sent in front of him, smiled and said: "I know, drag it down and chop it down."
He didn't even ask and just executed him.
Li Chuyun learned Gao Xianzhi's lesson when he entered the Western Regions this time, and he showed kindness and power to all the countries in the Western Regions, especially the Gaochang Uighurs. He believed that the Lion King could clearly distinguish the interests.
No matter what purpose the Karakhanate envoy had, this trusting attitude was enough.
Brother Yelvxiu listened to the messenger's panic shouting and said: "It seems that our prediction was good. The other party has no intention of letting us rest and recuperate. We will have to fight tomorrow."
Li Chuyun said: "Then follow the original plan... Xun Ning, you lead the army into the Julan Grassland. The Julan Grassland at the foot of the Julan Mountain is the most suitable for cavalry to gallop, and it is just a good place to show off your strengths."
Brother Yelvxiu nodded slightly and said, "Leave it to me!"
He said and glanced at Zhe Yuqing.
Zhe Yuqing immediately came out of the squad and said: "Great Governor, I would like to go into battle with Deputy Commander Yelu."
Li Chuyun smiled and knew that brother Yelu Xiu and Zhe Yuqing had cultivated a master-disciple friendship along the way, so he agreed. Thinking of his young and energetic son, the time he spent with Cao Bin and Pan Mei came to mind.
During the days in Yuyingsi, there was a hint of expectation in his eyes. Zhe Yuqing's potential was not inferior to Li Jilong's at all. It was better to have a peer who could encourage each other than to be the only one.
Li Chuyun continued: "There is a desert Gobi north of the Talos River, called Baersi. There is an oasis in the center. The locals built a fortress here called Jiangbul Fort. The sky is full of wind and sand, and the terrain is complex, but as long as
If we capture this place, we can penetrate directly into the rear of Talos, or besiege the city, or take advantage of the situation to invade the Samanid Kingdom and take the initiative in attacking..."
Naturally, he said this to Zhe Yuxun.
Zhe Yuxun said: "Don't worry, Governor, the desert wind and sand these years are not for nothing."
The infantry and cavalry groups under his command have been training in the Ningxia desert for a long time and have accumulated a lot of experience in sand combat. Especially the three thousand camel cavalry are really built with a lot of money.
"Everyone..."
This was not a formal military meeting, but the core members decided on the combat strategy by chatting in private to discuss the military situation.
But Li Chuyun suddenly looked solemn and stood up seriously.
Everyone looked solemn and stood up and held their hands.
Li Chuyun looked around the account and said: "When His Majesty was hiding in his residence, he taught us that as generals, we should be like Wei Huo and Li Su, opening up territory and expanding the territory, sealing the wolf to live in Xu. Today we are one step away from this goal. If
If we win, all the Western Regions will belong to me, Dayu, and we will leave our name in history and be remembered for eternity. If we lose, the results of our six-month expedition to the west will be in vain. How can we have the face to go back to see His Majesty?"
Brother Yeluxiu, Chang Side, Zhe Yuxun, and Zhe Yuqing all have their own ideas.
Brother Yelvxiu thought to himself: It is a great favor from the emperor that he can save his life by surrendering the Khitan. However, instead of despising him, Your Majesty trusts and appreciates him. The favor is as heavy as a mountain...
Chang Side also thought: He was just a laborer on the dock, but he was lucky enough to be incorporated into the Imperial Camp Division. From a humble beginning, he became a general, and his kindness was as great as a mountain...
Zhe Yuxun and Zhe Yuqing also looked solemn: they have a noble status, and they are relatives of the country after the generals. There is no special situation like Brother Yelvxiu and Chang Side, but Luo Youdu gave them the greatest support and purchased camels for them.
Select elites to create improved instruments and tools for desert warfare, respond to requests and give full support, and the king's kindness is like the sea.
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting better, Li Chuyun said: "The victory or defeat depends on this battle. We will attack separately tomorrow. We will not give up until we break the feast."
"I won't give up until I eat too much!"
Just as they expected, Ali Musa gathered troops in Talos for half a year and made full preparations for the war. He had no intention of giving the Dayu coalition troops who came from afar time to rest.
Early the next morning, the news of Ali Musa's dispatch of troops reached Li Chuyun's ears.
Li Chuyun was riding on his horse, but looking at the map in his hand, he whispered: "The first to come into contact with the enemy should be Brother Yelvxiu's Hehuang Army..."
The Allied Army of Dayu and the Allied Army of Da Shifa were separated in the east and west.
The topography can be divided into three sections: the Baersi Sand Dunes to the north of the Talas River, the inter-river hills to the south of the Talas River, and the Julan Grassland to the north of the Julan Mountains.
From a strategic perspective, we should be attacking and defending each other.
As long as the Zhambol Fort in the Baersi sand dunes is defeated, Dayu will be able to threaten the rear of Talos and take the strategic initiative. There is no doubt that Dayu will attack and defend the defense.
There is nothing to say about the face-to-face in the middle.
As for the Julan Grassland on the lower road, the area is vast, and the enemy cavalry can make a detour to the rear of their center to attack the grain road.
This road was supposed to be the main focus, protecting the Chinese army and grain road logistics, and waiting for the other two roads to obtain fighters.
But Li Chuyun chose the most radical tactic and chose to attack in three directions.
Brother Yelvxiu also attacked with force along the way...
Compared to their army, which was dominated by infantry, and marched through the river hills, north through the desert Gobi, and all cavalry on the grasslands, Brother Yeluxiu was naturally the fastest to encounter the enemy.
At noon, Brother Yelvxiu's cavalry team who was exploring the road first discovered the enemy's vanguard troops.
Xiao Punu looked through his telescope at the more than two thousand enemy cavalry who were searching for him from several miles away. He rolled his eyes and said, "Let's all rest at the foot of the mountain. Let's give him a big gift."
"General Long, the enemy has been discovered ahead!"
Long Hu reined in his horse and stopped, his eyes blazing, and asked: "How many people are there?"
"More than a thousand people are resting at the foot of the mountain. They are very cautious and do not dare to light a fire. They are eating dry food."
Long Hu looked excited. In the battle on the Congling Plateau, he was very dissatisfied with the defeat of his pig teammates. Today he volunteered to ask for help just to avenge his shame. "Well done! If you win this battle, I will give you an extra reward."
Ten silver coins. Come on, lead the way, we can touch it and get off to a good start."
When Long Hu got closer, he saw more than a thousand Dayu cavalry sitting around. They didn't know what they were doing. It was meal time. They must have taken a rest and ate.
"assault!"
Long Hu did not hesitate, shouted and rushed towards the direction of Dayu Cavalry.
Long Hu rushed to the front, and the imaginary scene of the enemy panicking did not happen. Instead, he took out the hidden weapons in an orderly manner...
Dayu's soldiers, infantry and cavalry, were all equipped with crossbows and arrows...