The spring breeze blows across the earth, and the grass is green on the oasis after the rain and snow thaw.
The weeds that had been dormant all winter emerged from the soil, greedily absorbing the snow water and nutrients, and grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The ground suddenly shook slightly.
Wherever iron hoofs trample, the turf flies up and down; where swords and axes chop, blood spurts left and right.
Li Shaorong leaned back to avoid a killing move from the Tubo cavalry. Then he used strength from his waist and abdomen to sit back on the horse, gripped his mace, and fought fiercely with another oncoming Tubo cavalry.
The cavalry army arrived in Liangzhou three days ago. Along with it came a large number of camels, grain and grass carried by carriages, equipment, and even more than 300 newly sent Guandong prisoners - the emperor did not change the Yuan Dynasty this year to amnesty the world.
The exiled prisoners were very disappointed.
The Cavalry Army has been in existence for many years, and has developed into a force with mature tactics and diverse fighting styles.
The military envoy Zetsugu Yu divided his troops into two compartments: the left compartment with 2,500 cavalry, called Tu Qi, and the right compartment with 2,500 cavalry, called Beiwei.
Zuoxiang is commonly known as "Tuqidu" among Shuofang's army. This is a typical cavalry of the Tang Dynasty. During the Tianbao period, there were as many as 160,000 cavalry among the 570,000 troops in the country, which is an astonishing proportion.
The cavalry is mainly deployed in border prefectures and counties, and the horse prisons are mainly located in the northwest, making it easier to recruit soldiers.
Before An Lushan raised his army, he had tried to mobilize a large number of northwest war horses to Fanyang. Therefore, the cavalry tradition here is deeply rooted in the bones.
The sergeants of Tuqidu have gradually eliminated the long horses and replaced them with short horses (1.8-2 meters) that are as long as one person.
The blade of this spear is pointed upward and the handle is downward. It is inserted into the holster next to the saddle. It hangs side by side with knives, swords, axes, hammers, halberds and other short weapons on the left side. On the right side, horn bows and arrows hang.
Bags and other debris.
With the constant wars all year round, the sergeants of the Cavalry City are now more and more fond of using blunt weapons for close combat. Some people go to private blacksmiths to forge such weapons, which has brought prosperity to many blacksmiths for a time.
There are 2,500 riders in Beiwei. In fact, not all of them are Beiwei. Marshal Shao was not so crazy that he just killed hundreds of people. Half of them were accompanied by party leaders who organized households and people, and the other half came from the eight prefectures of Longyou.
The leaders of various Tubo tribes, large and small, were ordered to submit a certain number of warriors to accompany them, and moved to Lingzhou with their families.
The battle of this unit is a different style: up and down hills, in and out of streams, on steep and steep roads, galloping and shooting. To put it simply, because the horsemanship and archery skills are really good, the tactics are based on riding.
They mainly shoot, and they are also generally equipped with short spears and javelins that are easy to throw. They are not equipped with long-handled horse weapons. When they really need to fight in close combat, they use sabers.
These five thousand cavalry have been trained all year round, and they are well coordinated and skilled. They are also very strict in replenishment. Especially in Beiweidu, there are currently only six or seven hundred Beiwei worthy of the name, but the commander-in-chief has said that in the future, the recruitment of troops will be based on Beiwei as much as possible.
Lord, those who do not carry Wei back must also be strong enough to carry Wei back.
This is to take care of hundreds of tribal chiefs, big and small, all at once! The cost of training is paid by others, and in the end, the people use it for themselves. How beautiful.
The one currently fighting against the Tibetan cavalry was the Tubo Cavalry Department, led by deputy envoy Liu Zijing. Li Shaorong, who had been promoted to deputy general, had killed two Tibetan cavalry today, both of whom died under his hand. The third person who followed was
Most likely I will have to change my way of death.
Leaning forward, leaning back, leaning left, rocking right, all kinds of tactical movements, the whole body looks like it is growing on a horse. Even if the back is full of warriors who claim to have been riding horses since childhood, it is nothing more than that.
There was a muffled "poof" sound, and the brave Li Shaorong, who was an expert in art, dodged the attack of a Tubo man, and hit him in the face with his mace, causing the enemy to fall.
"You have become a deputy general and you are still working so hard." On a small slope not far away, Oritsugu Yu cursed with a smile.
"Military envoy, the Uighurs have not moved." Li Renfu, who had just been transferred to the cavalry army as the capital of Yuhou, said.
"Did you kill too hard yesterday?" Oritsugu Yu was unsure.
Yesterday, the Uighurs were a little arrogant and advanced more than ten miles south of Liangzhou City. The cavalry army was ordered to go out to fight, and both the left and right compartments came out, but the attack was mainly from the right compartment.
The invincible Uighurs in Ganzhou met their opponents.
The cavalry archers who carried Weidu were not bad at first. After years of rigorous training, their skills became more sophisticated. After the first battle, they killed 300 enemies, and their own casualties were less than half of the opponent's. This was because the Uighur cavalry accounted for the majority.
What are the advantages?
However, the casualties of more than a hundred people in Beiweidu also made Zhejiyu feel a little sad, and his impression of the Ganzhou Uighurs became even worse.
Fortunately, the commander stopped their aggressive attack.
"Just stop after we've defeated the bandit army." Oritsugu Yu looked at the thousands of Uighur cavalry in formation in the distance, and smiled contemptuously: "Sooner or later, I'll deal with you."
Li Renfu glanced at Oritsugu quietly.
The commander-in-law’s brother-in-law is very confident. But what can I say, the Uighurs did not send any elite soldiers. A few days ago, a group of elite Uighur cavalry appeared on the battlefield, with a number of about two thousand. They cooperated tacitly, and they were both capable of riding and shooting.
Easy to deal with.
Perhaps, that is the standing army of the Uighurs in Ganzhou? With so many forces in the three states of Hexi, the Uighurs were the last to arrive, but they were the first to establish political power. Their so-called "capital" in Xiedan is completely imitation of the original Uighur Khanate
The construction of the royal city is on a grand scale and is still under construction.
To put it bluntly, various large and small forces such as Fumo, Liugu Tubo, Suzhou Longjia, etc., have been going backwards and forwards since the collapse of the Tubo Empire. They cannot be seen as regular forces and are completely grass-roots teams.
On the contrary, the Uighurs managed the business very well, built a capital city, established a government system, and translated many books.
Li Renfu even heard that the Uighurs also wrote poems in their own language. It sounded a bit funny, but he didn't know if it was true.
The battles in Liugu Tubo and Tuqidu ended in the evening. The Tibetans lost more than 300 corpses and slowly retreated with the support of the Uighurs.
In the past few days, they have made some gains from going north. Several small tribes that were originally vassals of the Momo people were raided, and they lost a lot of people and property. Most of them must have been eaten by the Uighurs, because there were tourists
The cavalry saw the Uighurs escorting a large number of old, weak, women, children, cattle and sheep, and more than a hundred carts of goods back to the south.
He is capable of fighting, and he is also so shrewd that he never holds back. We need to think of a way to deal with the Ganzhou Uighurs.
After the Tibetan and Uighur forces retreated, Lord Umu learned of the battle situation immediately.
Fortunately, everything is under control!
The Tang people probably didn't have many cavalry, and they only went into battle when they were forced to do so.
Once the Tibetans and Uighur coalition forces were defeated, they immediately retreated to lick their wounds.
Lord Wumu estimated that the number of Tang army cavalry should be comparable to that in the Haomen Valley in the south, with about three to four thousand cavalry. However, it was much more elite than the tribal cavalry in the south, and it could be seen that they had been trained all year round.
Lord Umu still has a trump card that he has not yet used.
The five thousand elite cavalry are all warriors selected by various ministries. Many of them even do not work all year round and only focus on fighting on horseback.
So far, this unit has only been involved in one battle, and it was against the newly arrived cavalry of the Tang Army.
When the two sides met for the first time, they both felt a little proud and looked down on each other. After the fight started, they found that the other side was difficult to deal with. They both killed and injured many people, and finally broke away from the contact in a tacit understanding. One side concentrated on bullying Xia Mo, and the other stared at him.
He was beating the six grains of Tubo, tacitly knowing what he was doing.
"If we can defeat the Tang army in this battle, we must recruit the Tang people's cavalry." Lord Wumu looked at the battle flag with the white falcon and said softly: "If you are so good at fighting, if you can get it, you can defeat Suzhou, Shazhou,
I’m a little more confident.”
"Khan, this year is the Year of the Rooster (the Uighur people's zodiac year). Chickens eat grains and will tear up dry grass, which is prone to accidents. Moreover, the first two lamb months have passed, and the growth of pasture in the big month (March) is later than
In previous years, the omens were ominous. Pindao suggested withdrawing the troops as soon as possible. The Tang Dynasty’s behavior was a bit strange, and they seemed to want to stick us here." Monk Mani, who was deeply admired by the Khan, said.
This man is in his early thirties, and it is said that he has practiced Buddhism to a very advanced level.
Umm Lord Khan respected him and felt that Monk Mani was talented and learned, so he often took him with him and asked him about everything.
It’s not clear how profound Mani’s Buddhist teachings were, but his eloquence was indeed good. Historically, he went to the Central Plains to communicate and debated with the monks, without falling behind at all. In the third year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty (925), he passed away in Taiyuan
.
Monk Mani is proficient in Uighur, Sogdian, Turkic, Han, and Tibetan. He has translated many Uighur books in Ganzhou. In addition, the local Han people who are familiar with Uighur and Tibetan have also translated many books.
Few books.
Umm Khan's attitude towards the Han people was very good.
There were many Tianbao remnants living in Ganzhou, who cultivated land, grazed cattle, and provided food and grass for the Great Khan. They also participated in the design of the palace.
The highest status among the Han people should be Governor Zhou Yiyan. This person followed the leader of Umu to kill the previous Khan. He was very trusted and had great military power. If a Han general was given military power, he could even command the Uighur cavalry. In this regard,
The Uighurs in Ganzhou are broader-minded than those of the Momo and Long families. This may be an important reason why their khanate lasted for 132 years and repeatedly prevented the Xixia and Liao kingdoms from moving south.
"If you miss this opportunity, I don't know when it will be the next time I get involved in Liangzhou." Lord Wumu was still a little unwilling, and said: "The situation in the area is no longer good. If we retreat at this time, the Tang people can calmly deal with the situation in the area."
Mo tribes, and then attack the six valleys of Tubo. What will we do next? Will we leave Ganzhou alone? This is a big threat."
Monk Mani was silent. The truth is indeed such a truth, and it is indeed difficult to make a choice.
After all, the Khan had great ambitions. If the Suzhou and Liangzhou tribes could be annexed, and then spend a few years integrating them, they could attack the west and return to the rebel army, and then eat the Sha and Guazhous.
In the five states of Gansu, Su, Gua, Sha, and Liang, there are many Uighur tribes who have established clan accounts and are related to each other. Once they occupy the territory, they can establish a vast Uighur Khanate, and
The Gaochang Uighur branch, which was in full swing, resisted.
The next step is of course a showdown with the Gaochang Uighurs. Whoever wins can unify the tribes from Jinshan in the west to Dahe in the east and restore their former glory.
Greed, anger, and ignorance are the three poisons, and I can't even see them through!
In Liangzhou City, Shao Shude faced expressionlessly a group of Liangzhou Tibetan leaders who came to complain.
Most of them were prime ministers and governors of the Qi Dynasty, and a small number were small tribesmen such as Sogdians, Longjia, Dangxiang, Tuyuhun, and Tatars.
Especially the latter. Those who retreated to the vicinity of Liangzhou in time were still able to be saved, but those who dragged their feet were in misfortune. They were beaten to pieces by the sturdy and agile Uighur cavalry, and suffered heavy losses of cattle, sheep and cattle.
"Great Khan, when will we send troops to go south?" Cui Su, the calmest among the leaders, asked.
"The matter of household registration and people registration is progressing very slowly." Shao Shude sat leisurely on the tiger-skin chair and said: "Prime Minister Cui might as well discuss it with the heads of the tribes. The two counties of Guzang and Shenniao have only been compiled so far.
It’s too slow to reach 2,200 households. Now it’s the spring sowing season, and the governors are still holding on to the people, but you want to get nothing for the whole year?”
The tribes have gathered many scattered tribes in recent days. Now, those who have settled in the two counties are basically tribes that suffered serious losses in the Liugu Tubo raid, or they are weak, with only a few hundred people in the tribe.
People, in order to seek shelter, are willing to accept household registration and make the people more harmonious.
But the big tribes still refuse to give up! They are still making small moves, and even secretly annexing small tribes and robbing them of their cattle, sheep, and people.
We have to let the Tubo and Uighurs survive these murderous people!
In these days of fighting, they have lost a lot of people. How long can they last? It doesn't matter. It takes time to organize households and people. Take your time. Marshal Shao is not in a hurry.
Cui Su frowned. The current situation really couldn't get any worse.
The desert to the north is the pastoral area of the Hexi Dangxiang and Tatar tribes. It is fierce and poor, so don't even think about going there.
To the east is the territory of Shuofang's army, to the west is the Ganzhou Uighurs, and to the south is the Liugu Tubo. There is nowhere to run!
Or even if you can run away, you will most likely be annexed by others, whether it is Hexi Dangxiang or Ganzhou Uighurs. If it is destined to be this fate, then it is better to be annexed by Shuofang Army, at least you can become an official and exchange for some wealth, alas!
Shao Shude picked up the tea bowl and tasted it slowly.
The wars with the Tibetans in Liugu and the Uighurs in Ganzhou have been going on, but they are mostly fights between cavalry and the scale is not large.
As they fought and retreated, the pressure on the tribes such as Mo Mo continued to increase. Unable to hold on, small tribes continued to come to surrender and were willing to create households to unite the people. The leaders of the big tribes worked together day and night, but they still could not stop this trend.
.
The Ganzhou Uighur has become a knife in Marshal Shao's hand, a knife that forces the poor to lower their bodies and surrender completely. In today's world, if you want to seek asylum, how can you do it without paying the price?
Well, the Uyghurs may have noticed the recent integration of various ethnic groups and the integration of people into households. What did Li Renmei think? Shao Shude was now afraid that he would slip away.
Now that they have come, of course it is best to stew them in one pot. If they run away and then chase them to Ganzhou to fight, it will not be safe.