Chang'an West Railway Station, a palace-style railway station.
Since the Tang army began to regain the Western Regions, this place has become the busiest place in the entire Tang Dynasty.
Every day, countless horse-drawn carriages would transport various supplies, which would then be put into wagons by the baggage workers and sent to the Western Regions, rain or shine.
As the war in the Western Region suddenly became tense, this place became increasingly busier.
On this day, a large number of sergeants carrying equipment gathered in the square in front of the station and were divided into groups.
These were sergeants recruited by Zhang Shigui from Hebei and other places. Their training had not even been completed before they were sent here to get on the train and go to reinforce the Western Regions.
There is no other way. The fighting on the front line is fierce and reinforcements are urgently needed. Most of the hundreds of thousands of troops near Chang'an City have been dispatched. Now we can only send them all to the front line one by one.
Although they are new recruits, most of them are strong men from the land of Yanzhao, and all of them are tall and tall.
Everyone carries heavy luggage, which basically weighs about 100 kilograms.
In addition to carrying weapons and armor, there are also quilts and blankets, cotton-padded clothes and leather boots, socks, underwear and hats, military rations and food supplements, multi-functional tool bags, fire-proof lunch boxes, kettles, washbasins, toothbrushes, rain ponchos, rubber shoes, ropes, towels, etc.
Under the leadership of Li Yunze, the logistics level of the Tang Army in this era has even reached the standards of later generations in World War I.
If nothing else, at least in the eyes of people of this era, it is something unimaginable.
The sergeants sitting on the plaster floor were whispering, with various emotions ranging from excitement to worry to anticipation.
"Xue Li."
The commander called to a young recruit, "Go and help in the kitchen."
Young Xue Li's face froze. He came to serve as a soldier to restore the glory of his ancestors, but for some reason he was asked to help in the kitchen when he had nothing to do. It was really depressing.
Although he was very unhappy, Xue Li still took the order and got up and went to the head camp of the camp.
The train station cannot provide meals for more than 2,000 people, and the train transporting them will not leave until the afternoon, so they will have to prepare lunch by themselves.
"Xue Li is here." In the Huotou Army's temporary camp, the Huotou Army and the cooks from each team saw Xue Li and greeted him enthusiastically, "Go and cut the meat."
Xue Li responded, walked to the chopping board, picked up the kitchen knife and started to chop the meat.
Naturally, there is nothing elaborate about eating in the army. The so-called cutting of meat is actually just hastily chopped into large pieces.
An acquaintance from the Huotou Army brought a large piece of steak and placed it in front of Xue Li. "This is sent from Lijiazhuang Ranch. It is said that all the soldiers who are going on the expedition will be well fed."
"Didn't you have a feast from His Majesty yesterday?"
Xue Li, holding a kitchen knife, responded helplessly while chopping meat, "I just helped the cook yesterday, why are you asking me to come?"
"Who told you that you are good at swordsmanship and strong?"
Huotoujun said with a smile, "I think you might as well just transfer to Huotoujun. It's hard to say anything else here, but the food and drink are definitely the best. We eat meat every day."
Xue Li suddenly stopped what he was doing and turned around to stare at the Huotou Army seriously, "I, Xue Rengui, didn't join the army to eat meat! I wanted to make a name for myself and return home in fine clothes to move the graves of my ancestors!"
Xue Rengui is a child of a poor family in the true sense. His ancestors are from the Xue family in Hedong. From his great-grandfather Xue Rong to his father Xue Gui, they all served as officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty and Sui Dynasty.
However, after Xue Gui's death, his family fell into poverty and he could only become a farmer by farming.
At the beginning of the year, he planned to move the ancestral grave back to his hometown. His wife said that she would move the grave after gaining fame and returning home in glory.
Xue Rengui's wife is Liu Yinhuan, not Wang Baochuan.
He doesn't have a son named Xue Dingshan, and naturally he doesn't have a daughter-in-law named Fan Lihua.
Of course, the deeds of three arrows fixing the Tianshan Mountains are indeed true.
Seeing that Xue Rengui was angry, the Huotou Army walked away and did not dare to mention Xue Rengui's joining the Huotou Army again.
The troops had lunch and waited in the square for more than an hour before entering the station and boarding the train.
First, the horses, livestock and large equipment accompanying the army were put on the trucks, and then the sergeants lined up and boarded different passenger cars.
From Li Yunze's perspective, the passenger car was very crude.
A carriage made of wood was built on top of the metal chassis. Apart from the stove, there were only rows of simple wooden chairs inside.
However, in the eyes of the sergeants of the Tang Dynasty, this was an unimaginable enjoyment.
At the very least, they don't have to rely on their own feet to walk thousands of miles to the battlefield.
Especially in the eyes of veterans who have served as corps commanders, these wooden chairs can be used to sit, lean, and lie down on, and they are not afraid of wind, frost, rain, and snow in the carriage, and you can even eat hot food in the car.
It's the best enjoyment.
During the boring journey, apart from eating and going to the toilet, there was only the sound of the wheels clanging.
Seeing the scenery outside the window gradually changing from the Guanzhong plain to the hills and plateaus, the idle sergeants began to joke and joke.
Here at Xue Rengui, Tongshi's sergeants were talking about the Third Division General Li Yunze.
"We all know Li Caishen's name in our hometown. But he is great at making money, but he is not necessarily great at fighting."
"That's right, I've never heard of Li Caishen fighting in any battle before. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse to be under his command this time."
"There are so many famous generals in the country, why did you choose Li Caishen?"
"You don't understand, then Li Caishen is the emperor's son-in-law."
"Hey, there is no need for a son-in-law for a famous general. Let's go there this time."
"Shut up!" Shi Chang scolded with a dark face after returning from going to the toilet, "Is this something you can discuss? If you talk nonsense again, you will be beaten with military sticks like a marching army!"
In the Tang Dynasty, there were not many people punished for speech. As long as they did not insult the royal family, or ran outside the palace to urinate and cry rebellion, they would basically not be punished.
However, it is different in the army. A group of top soldiers are talking about the general's incompetence. Once spread, it will affect the morale of the army.
The sergeants quickly became quiet, but as a veteran, the sergeant also muttered in his mind after sitting down.
Then Li Caishen, can he really fight?
Li Yunze does know how to fight.
Even though he has no talent, he has rich experience.
Just like applauding for love, even if you are not gifted, as long as you have rich experience, you can still make up for it with skills and achieve the state of Dzogchen.
There is no doubt that Li Yunze is extremely experienced, and he also received specialized education during the Jingnan World.
When the anti-Tang coalition forces from all directions rushed towards him, Li Yunze reacted quickly and quickly informed everyone to guard the city and not to go out to fight.
Then began to prepare additional food and military supplies, ready to be used when reinforcements arrived.
He did not expect that Li Er would actually ask him to lead the reinforcements, but since the lives of many Tang army soldiers were at stake, he naturally had no shirk in his responsibility.
First, they used telegrams to communicate urgently with Su Dingfang, Cheng Yaojin and others. After some discussion, they decided on the strategy of rescuing the Tang Army on the South Road first.
Su Dingfang was more powerful. With nearly 100,000 Tang troops beside him, he slowly retreated into the Ili River Valley. It was not difficult to retreat to Suiye. At least the Western Turks Huihe Xue Yantuo and other troops could not stop him.
There are enough military supplies for more than 100,000 Tang troops to be used for several months by Zuiye, enough to last until reinforcements arrive with logistical supplies.
The South Road is very dangerous.
The Tibetans rushed down the mountain like a tide, and the entire supply line was almost paralyzed.
Moreover, Cheng Yaojin kept dividing his troops and stationed them at various places along the way. Even if he only had more than 10,000 Tang troops by his side, it was really very dangerous.
After determining the strategy, Li Yunze waited for the arrival of follow-up reinforcements.
Train after train brought thousands of Tang troops and war horses. In just over half a month, more than 30,000 Tang troops gathered under his command.
This is the maximum field force that Li Er can mobilize. If there is any more, it will have to wait at least a month.
Li Yunze did not hesitate, and directly led his soldiers and horses to escort the huge transport team towards Yanqi.
Yanqi only encountered a few Tubo attacks here, and the defense was very strong.
According to what the defenders said, they sent detective horses to Kucha Kingdom and other places in Kucha, and discovered that Kucha and other places were already surrounded by Tibetan armies as large as mountains and seas.
The specific number starts at least over 100,000.
Li Yunze's soldiers all thought that a decisive battle would break out in Kucha, Kucha, and were gearing up to prepare for a decisive battle with the Tibetans.
But what everyone didn't expect was that after Li Yunze considered it, he left five thousand soldiers and horses, and together with the original defenders, he gathered tens of thousands of troops to garrison Yanqi, who was not in any danger.
He also stated that a group of reinforcements would be mobilized from Yizhou and other places in the future. The only order was that the defenders must hold on here and absolutely no Tibetans could be allowed to cross the border.
In fact, Li Yunze did not leave any supplies for them, only saying that the supplies would be shipped from Illinois and other places in the future.
After that, Li Yunze took reinforcements and supplies and headed south in a mighty way, directly plunging into the vast sea (Taklimakan Desert).
This operation really shocked everyone, and the soldiers commented one after another that the prince-in-law really didn't know how to fight.
In other words, are you too timid to fight the Tubo people?
"A decisive battle? Where does this decisive battle come from?"
While camping in the desert, facing the generals who came to inquire, Li Yunze stated frankly in the main tent: "Originally, when you questioned this general, you should have pushed him out and killed him. How can I arrange this for you?"
Talk too much."
"It's just that I am in a good mood today. I want to tell you and other provinces that you have been suspicious all day long and said that I don't know how to fight."
Li Yunze, who was sitting on the horse, picked up the water glass in front of him and took a sip. "Tell me, general, what is the mission of our army?"
Everyone knows this: "Rescue besieged friendly forces and provide them with supplies."
"That's the first point." Li Yunze raised a finger. "First, let's figure out what we are here for. We are not here to fight the Tubo people, but to rescue friendly forces."
"General." A captain couldn't help but stepped forward and saluted, "But why don't we go west along the Tianshan Mountains, passing through Kucha, Kucha and other places, and then we can reach Shule."
"Yes, General." Someone next to him said, "The foot of Tianshan Mountain is not only rich in supplies, but also the roads are easy to walk."
"Everything you said is right."
Li Yunze nodded and raised his second finger, "This is the second question. Tell me, what will you encounter if you walk from the foot of Tianshan Mountain?"
What else can we encounter, at least a Tubo army of more than 100,000 people.
"We only have 30,000 soldiers and horses here, and most of them are new recruits who have never been on the battlefield." Li Yunze pointed outside the tent, "We are going to fight hundreds of thousands of Tibetan soldiers and horses, and there are countless miscellaneous tribesmen from all over the country who are watching eagerly.
The escort transport team needs at least half of the troops. In this case, what strength will there be to fight the decisive battle with the Tibetans? Do you really think that these new soldiers can fight one against ten?"
"Remember, what we want to do is to escort the supplies to Shule, not to fight the Tibetans."
"But general." A captain couldn't help but ask, "We still have to fight the Tubo people. Otherwise, even if we don't fight, they will come after us."
"Already fighting."
Li Yunze simply stood up and came to the map.
His fingers first crossed the towering Tianshan Mountains in the north, and then drew a circle along the vast sea.
"I left my troops to defend Yanqi. Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not stupid. That's the exit of the pocket. We must leave a lot of troops to kill it. Shule is the entrance to the pocket. We also have to go there and kill it.
.”
"After retaking the southern line of the Hanhai, taking Khotan and sealing both sides, what should we do with the at least hundreds of thousands of Tibetan troops who crossed the Hanhai? All mountain passes in the Tianshan Mountains are in the hands of the Tang army, and they cannot go to the north. They have no source of supplies.
, they either go to Yanqi or Shule, or they plunge into the vast sea and run back to the plateau."
After returning to the mazha and sitting down, Li Yunze simply spread his hands and said, "Don't think that all the soldiers and horses in the world have sufficient supplies like the Tang army. The hundreds of thousands of Tibetan soldiers who lack supplies can only have ten left when they come out of the vast sea."
One part of it is the gods blessing them!"
PS: Thank you to book friend Qiqi Yanning for your 100-point reward and support. I am deeply grateful. Thank you!