On the 17th day of the second month of the first year of Tiaolu, it was sunny and cloudless. The sky was very hot. The sun had just risen. The heat wave was already hitting us in the desert. It was undoubtedly not a pleasant journey in such weather.
It was a pleasant thing for people, but the food army had no choice. Under the constant urging of the coach Yezid Ibn Abu, they could only beat the horse wildly and run wildly. This rush lasted for several hours.
There was no rest, and both the men and horses were exhausted. Fortunately, they finally arrived near Tianhuang Mountain according to their schedule.
Tianhuang Mountain is located deep in the desert. Although it is called Tianhuang, it is not a place without grass. It is a green mountain range spanning more than 500 miles. Although the mountains are covered with low bushes, they are rare in the desert.
The green landscape you can see is only because the mountains block the moist air from the south. The rainfall is much more abundant than in other places in the desert. In addition, there are many springs in the mountains, which are places where animals gather. It is just because the desert is so lonely.
Because of its depth, there are few people except for the occasional caravan passing by.
"The whole army stops, forms an array, forms an array!"
Although Tianhuang Mountain looked peaceful and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, Yazid Ibn Abu did not dare to be careless, even though he was extremely anxious and anxious to rescue the trapped Muhan Ali.
Kenyon's troops did not dare to rush directly into the canyon in the mountain. They were afraid of a possible ambush by the Tang army. In view of this, he ordered the entire army to close in when there was still a few miles away from the mountain.
In addition to forming a scattered formation, they also did not forget to send out rangers towards the mountains and canyons to find out the true situation.
"Master, the traitor is very cautious. This battle may not be easy to fight!"
Halfway up the mountain, the First Brigade Commander Wan Chenghe, who was lying next to Xiao Sanlang, frowned slightly when he saw the Dashi Army acting so cautiously, and mumbled towards Xiao Sanlang with some emotion.
"Send away all those rangers!"
Xiao Sanlang didn't pay attention to Wan Chenghe's emotion at all. After observing carefully for a while with a monocular in his hand, he calmly gave the order.
"okay."
Wan Chenghe was originally an optimist. Although he complained that this battle was not easy to fight, he actually had no fear at all. When Xiao Sanlang gave the order, he smiled cheerfully and agreed readily, bending his waist.
, and ran along the trench towards the forward position.
"Bah, bah..."
The outpost team of the Great Food Army were obviously experienced in the battlefield, and they were quite familiar with the tactical movements. They first rode their horses around in front of the mountain for a while, then sent a small group of troops to patrol the valley, and then sent several small groups to dismount their horses.
The mountain was searched very carefully. After a while, the Tang Army's first trench was close to the mountainside. At this moment, the luck of the Dashi Tour Post had been exhausted, but he heard a sound like fried beans.
The sound of gunshots rang out, and most of the Dashiyou sentries who were bending forward to search and advance fell immediately. The few remaining people were so frightened that they dropped their weapons and fled down the mountain.
"Report, Your Highness, there is an ambush by Tang troops on the mountain, the exact number is unknown!"
As soon as the gunfire rang out on the mountainside, the Dashi cavalry sentries who were still patrolling at the foot of the mountain did not dare to stay in the dangerous area any longer. Regardless of the life and death of the brothers who went up the mountain, they beat their horses crazily and rushed back to the central army.
He hurriedly reported the situation to Yazid Ibn Abu.
"Um!"
There was no need for a sentry to report. As early as the gunshots were fired on the mountainside, Yazid Ibn Abu already knew the answer. He would not be interested in the sentry's report and just waved indifferently. He raised his hand, gave a noncommittal word, and dismissed the sentry officer who came to report the news.
"Hussein, what do you think of this?"
After sending away the sentry, Yazid Ibn Abu did not rush to issue an order, but pondered for a moment, turned his attention to Mohammed Subin Hussein, who was standing by the side, and inquired. He asked.
"Returning to your highness, the general thought that the Tang army might be ambushed by this move, and it seemed that it was not appropriate to attack by force. If the Tang army did not go around the mountain and go straight to the back of the mountain, no matter how many tricks the Tang army had in the mountain, they would be unable to use it. "
Mohammed Suben Hussein was really frightened by the sharp firearms of the Tang army. Seeing that the mountain was guarded by musketeers again, he felt fear in his heart, but he never dared to attack Yezid? Ibn Abu showed it in front of him, and he tactfully spoke out his advice.
"Your Highness, you must not do this. This mountain stretches for hundreds of miles. If our army goes around the mountain, it will take an extra two days. By then, Lord Kenyon's troops may have been destroyed by the Tang army. We Even if the army arrives, what's the point?"
As soon as Muhammad Subin Hussein finished speaking, before Yazid Ibn Abu could say anything, a sturdy bearded general stepped out from the side and objected loudly.
"Oh? What does General Abdul think should be done?"
Seeing that it was Aziz Ibn Abdul, the most powerful general in the army, who stood up to oppose, Yazid Ibn Abu immediately raised his eyebrows, but did not act on what he said. comment, but asked a question unhurriedly.
"Your Highness, the general thought that there was going to be a battle. Although the terrain of this mountain is dangerous, there is no hiding place for the cavalry. This shows that there are only some infantrymen of the Tang bandits on the mountain. According to Lord Kenyon's letter yesterday, the main force of the Tang bandits are behind the mountain. Ten miles away, even if we rush back, we will not be able to launch a surprise attack on our army. This is a battle. Our army is in a situation where we can attack, retreat, or defend. If we can capture this mountain, we can ensure the rescue of Lord Kenyon's troops. Even if we can't defeat it, it's not difficult for our army to retreat. In that case, why not give it a try!"
Although Aziz ibn Abdul was famous for his martial prowess, he was not a blindly brave person. He was also quite capable in military strategy. After a few words, he could analyze the situation between the enemy and ourselves very clearly.
"Your Highness, just give the order, we are willing to fight!"
"Your Highness, stop fighting!"
…
The main force of the Dashi Army is the troops transferred from the Western Front. All the Dashi generals are warlike people. Although they have heard about the Tang army's muskets and the extremely powerful artillery, they don't take it seriously. At this time, they are being When Aziz ibn Abdul encouraged them, they all snatched them out. Everyone wanted to fight, and everyone shouted to kill. The morale was very high.
"Well, who dares to take down this mountain for me?"
Yezid Ibn Abu's original intention was also to attack the mountain. After all, the road around the mountain was too far. The only chance to rescue Kenyon's men or even seize the main force of the Tang army was Yezid Ibn Abu knew this truth very well in capturing this mountain as soon as possible. The reason why he wanted to ask the generals was just to inspire the generals to fight bravely. At this time, all the generals saw that Having expressed his stance, he naturally had no further hesitation. He pressed his hand to signal the generals to be quiet, and then asked with a solemn expression.
"I will go where I will in the end!"
As soon as Aziz Ibn Abdul finished speaking, Aziz Ibn Abdul was the first to stand up and ask for orders.
"The last general is willing to fight!"
"The general has asked for orders to go into battle. Please give me your permission, Your Highness!"
…
All the generals on the Western Front were experienced in the battlefield, and they were all full of fighting spirit. They came forward one after another to ask for a fight. Only Mohammed Subin Hussein stood aside silently, obviously not interested in attacking the mountain.
This move is quite doubtful.
"Okay, General Abdul, I, the commander, will lead my troops to attack the mountain. We must capture the mountain before the sun sets. Are you confident?"
Yazid Ibn Abu was obviously very satisfied with the bravery of the generals. He nodded with pleasure and handed over the task to Aziz Ibn Abdul who was the first to ask for the battle.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, if you can't take this mountain, you will eventually come to see me!"
The fighting spirit in Aziz Ibn Abdul's heart was already boiling. When he heard the crown prince ordering his general, there was no reason why he would not be happy. He bowed excitedly and issued the military order impassionedly.
"Well, okay, what you need is this courage. General Abdul just goes down to prepare for war. All the baggage is at the general's disposal. I am here to cheer for the general. Go ahead!"
Yazid Ibn Abu applauded him and gave Aziz Ibn Abdul some kind words to comfort him.
"Yes, I will obey your orders!"
Having received the order, Aziz Ibn Abdul did not want to waste a moment. He hurriedly accepted the promise, rushed out of the central army, and rushed to the headquarters to dispatch troops.
.
"Your Highness, although General Abdul is the bravest of the three armies, he has never fought against the Tang army. If he launches an attack as usual, he will inevitably suffer losses."
Muhammad Subin Hussein did not want to attack the mountain, but all the generals wanted to fight. In addition, Yazid Ibn Abu also wanted to attack the mountain, so he was not good at this.
He made many suggestions on the issue, but he was also worried that he would be ambushed by the Tang army. He was extremely uneasy. When he saw Aziz Ibn Abdul leave in a hurry, he finally couldn't help it anymore, so he walked from the side.
He stood up and whispered a reminder.
"Well, that's alright. How about taking the trouble to make a trip to General Hussein and cooperate with General Abdul in attacking the mountain?"
The reason why Yazid Ibn Abu took Muhammad Suben Hussein, the defeated general, with him was to draw on his experience in fighting against the Tang army. See what he said at this time
It makes sense, so I thought deeply about it. After pondering for a while, I gave the order in a consultative tone.
"Yes, I will obey your orders!"
Muhammad Subin Hussein was a cautious man. He knew the value of his existence here and would not refuse Yazid Ibn Abu's request. After he responded, he immediately
He hurried towards Aziz ibn Abdul on the left wing.
"Ohh Ohh ohh……"
The Dashi Army was well prepared for this expedition. All kinds of baggage reserves were quite abundant. In addition, they were all experienced in hundreds of battles. Their tactical movements were very fast. It only took the time for a stick of incense to be fired. They were as close as each other.
The horn sounded suddenly, and soon groups of large food cavalry were seen marching out of the formation and methodically advancing towards the foot of the mountain. The prelude to an offensive and defensive battle began...