A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1152 Can We Still Win?
"Can we still win?"

Several dozen miles northwest of Futu City, at the foot of Tanhan Mountain, Helu and others gathered the defeated soldiers.

The night is as black as ink,

The military camp was filled with gloom and morale was low.

When Helu met the leaders of the tribes again, each of them looked uglier than the other. No one could have imagined that the war would turn out like this.

"The Tang people's firearms are too powerful," sighed Quejijin Ajue of the Zhuxie tribe. He had heard that the Gongyue advance branch of the Chuyue tribe was attacked by Tang people's firearms and the city was broken. The Tang people used firearms to attack at night and easily broke down the Gongyue city wall and easily entered the city.

Yuzhi Jijin, the most valiant soldier of the Gongyue tribe in decades, died in this battle. When Ajue heard the news at that time, he always felt it was untrue. He suspected that the Tang people had deliberately spread it like this. In reality, there was definitely no such secret weapon like the divine thunder and heavenly fire.

But later I heard that Guo Xiaoke and his men sent troops from Yiwulu and also launched a night attack on Tiandi City, also using divine thunder and heavenly fire, which also directly shook down the city walls and then broke into the city.

But until today, when I really saw the Tang people's firearms, I realized how sharp they were, especially during their last attack.
Each army assembled 10,000 men to dismount and fight on foot, and they attacked from all sides simultaneously. As a result, when they were only 20 or 30 steps away, they were defeated by their firearms.
The volleys of bullets, iron stones, and bullets were so numerous that even leather armor could not withstand them. In addition to those long-barreled flamethrowers, they also had palm bombs and even larger explosive packs.

In short, the warriors of various tribes had never seen such a thing before.
Especially at such a close distance of twenty or thirty steps, being shot down in large numbers like being mowed grass, the huge impact was so terrifying that no one could help but feel fear.

Once morale collapses, the fight can no longer be continued.

Finally, the Qibi cavalry unexpectedly pursued them, and the Tang cavalry in the city rushed out again, which was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Now that I think about it, they were completely scared and just ran away.
"We could still have fought back then,"

When Helu recalled the scene at that time, he became furious. He even questioned the Shatuo and Zhuye tribes in public, asking why they ran so fast.

Obviously, they could still fight at that time. As long as each tribe persisted, the Qibi tribe had only 2,000 cavalrymen and would have been exhausted. They could not charge for long. As long as they could withstand that wave, not only would they not be defeated, but they could also eat them up and even counterattack again.
Maybe they are already slaughtering cattle and sheep in Futu City to celebrate, instead of being in such a miserable state now.

"Zhuxie Quejijin and Shatuo Jijin, please give us an explanation, why did you disobey orders and run so fast!"

Zhuye Ajue's face darkened, "Respected and great Shaboluo Khan, at that time, morale collapsed, all tribes were defeated, and the war was irreversible. What else could we do if we didn't retreat?

We left the battlefield early so that we could regroup, otherwise we would be defeated even more miserably."

Shatanasua also gave the same answer. At that time, the situation was such that they could not stabilize the morale of the army with just one or two orders.

"The Tang people's firearms are too powerful, and they are defending a strong city. We have just been defeated, and I am afraid it will be difficult for us to fight again." Ajue said frankly. Although he most wanted to capture Futu City, after all, according to the agreement, if Futu City was captured, the population, livestock, and money in the city would be divided equally among the various tribes, and the city would be given to the Zhuxie tribe.

But after this battle, even Ajue, who was usually brave, felt afraid.

Helu looked at the two leaders of the Dulu tribe, Luchuo and Quchuo, but the two were silent at this time, obviously deeply shocked. Perhaps they had already wavered in their hearts.

At this time, Duman Teqin of the West Wing Nushibi Asijie tribe spoke up, "In today's battle, we underestimated the enemy. I have observed that the Tang people's firearms are sharp, but they also have some shortcomings. First, there are not many of them, and second, the range is very short.

It can only be fired when it is within 20 to 30 steps. Although it has strong lethality at close range, it is only slightly stronger than a bow and crossbow, but it is not durable enough. After each firing, a long interval is required.
This was the first time we encountered this type of weapon and we were frightened by the flash and the loud noise."

"I don't think the Tang people have many weapons of this kind, especially the Tang army in Futu City. If we reorganize our troops, we can fight Futu City again."

Duman even proposed a bold plan.

"I think that after the great victory of the Tang army tonight, their troops are exhausted and they certainly didn't expect that we could fight back. They must not be very prepared at this moment and they are exhausted and have no fighting power."

"I suggest we strike back, this time we should do it at night,"

Although Futu City is the largest city in the north of Tanhan Mountain, it is in the Western Regions after all, and the city is not that tall.

However, the city wall is more than two meters high. Even if there are no large siege equipment, if it is a sneak attack, a rope hook can be thrown up to hook the city wall and then climb up.

Duman's proposal was very bold.
Even Helu was stunned for a moment. He was defeated so miserably today. He was even traumatized by the Tang people's firearms and the Qibi cavalry. His heart was still beating fast.

Who would dare to think of launching a surprise attack overnight?

"The Tang army in Futu City has suffered heavy casualties today, and they are also very tired. This is when they are at their weakest, and it is also our only chance. If we cannot seize the opportunity to take Futu City, it will be very difficult to take it again.
The Tang army from Gaochang Yiwu will soon come to reinforce us. With more soldiers and more firearms, what will we use to attack Futu City?"

As soon as Dumanteqin said this,
Everyone was silent.
Yes, this time they secretly united and suddenly launched an attack, attacking Futu City. As a result, they were outnumbered by tens of thousands and still failed to capture it.
If reinforcements are coming for the Tang army, how will they capture Futu City?

If we can’t take Futu City, how can we expect to defeat Gaochang, attack Yiwulu, drive the Tang people across the Great Sand Desert, and drive them back to Hexi?

"Hit again," Duman shouted.

But no one responded to him.

Even Ashina Helu, who had just declared himself the Great Turkic Emperor Shaboluo Khan, hesitated. The Tang army was tired and weak, but they were even more tired and weak.
Look at the troops outside. They are less than half of the number who went out today. A small number of them have run away and no one knows where they went. In addition, there are nearly 10,000 people left in Futu City. They have either become prisoners or corpses.

If they were asked to turn back and attack Futu City again now, I am afraid that even if their leaders agree, the soldiers will not be willing to do so.

Duman looked at these people and sighed inwardly.

Ashina Helu was quite ambitious and courageous, but he still lacked courage. He didn't even have the courage to counterattack. How could he fight against the Tang people?

Thinking of this, he no longer had any hope for Helu's uprising.

Futu City is very important. After taking Futu City, we will go on to take Luntai City which is still under construction by the Tang people. By blocking the east and west ends, the Tang people will be trapped south of Tanhan Mountain.

At least they can advance and retreat freely, and have time to unite various tribes and gather more troops to fight against the Tang army.

But now, they couldn't even take down a Futu City, and they didn't even have the courage to fight again. How could they fight against the Tang army? Wu Huaiyu was the one who turned the entire Western Region upside down in a short period of time. He was the god of war of the Tang Dynasty.
He followed Wu Huaiyu all the way from Gongyue City to Gaochang, and observed the Tang Dynasty's military prime minister for a long time. The more he understood him, the more he felt that he was unfathomable. In fact, before he came, he also talked to Nishu Quejijin. He felt that Helu was ambitious, but lacked vision and pattern.

Under the current situation, although the various tribes are dissatisfied with the Tang people because of the attack on Gaochang, Wu Huaiyu is very capable and the Tang army is fierce, so it is not appropriate to start a war at this time.
Helu should be patient, otherwise the resentment of the Turkic tribes will not be released, but will accumulate. The Tang army will definitely return to the Central Plains. Even if the Tang people change Gaochang to Xizhou and station troops in Gongyue and Luntai, the number is limited.

Wouldn't it be better to wait until then to raise the army than to hastily raise the flag now?
But Ni Shuque Shijin still let him come, with some hope.

"Shaboluo Khan, are you afraid?"

Helu hesitated when faced with this question.

He put his hand on the hilt of the wolf-head knife and rubbed it.

Helu pondered for a moment and asked Duman, "Does the Asiqie tribe dare to declare war on the Tang people? Do you dare to raise an army?"

Now it was Duman's turn to be silent.
He wanted to fight and dared to fight, but it was not his turn to be the leader of the Asijie tribe. Asijie was now led by Queshijin, and there was also Nishushijin in charge of another part.
Although the two Jijins had previously joined forces with Shiguo Tongtutun to rebel against Dilish Khan and raised the banner of supporting Yugushe as the Great Khan,
But those two were both very shrewd and successful people.

They won't release the eagle until they see the rabbit, and they won't end it easily.

The current situation is unclear, and they certainly won't rush to raise the flag against the Tang Dynasty, but they are willing to secretly support Helu's rebellion against the Tang Dynasty. The more Helu stirs up the water, the better.

They can then reap the benefits.

"The Asijie tribe has long been dissatisfied with the Tang people, otherwise we would not have joined forces with the Tongtutun to raise an army to abolish Dilishi and support Yugushe.

Now the two Jijins have sent me to form an alliance with the Khan, isn't that enough to show our position?"

Helu pressed the handle of the wolf-head knife and understood what he had heard.

Asiqie was not happy with the Western Turkic Khanate's close relationship with the Tang Dynasty, and was even more unhappy with the Tang people's entry into the Western Regions. The leader of Asiqie even wanted to become the Khan himself.
They now support him in proclaiming himself Khan and in raising an army to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, but they will not raise the flag to rebel against the Tang Dynasty now.

These damn old foxes.

Helu cursed a few words in his heart.

"We Turks have a tribe like Asiqie who has backbone. Why should we worry about the Turks not prospering?"

Helu first said a few polite words, then sighed and said, "The night attack counterattack plan you proposed, Duman Teqin, is very good, but the warriors of the various tribes are already very tired, and many tribal brothers are still scattered outside and have not been able to gather together."

"Everyone, rest here for two or three days first, gather your troops, and then attack Futu City."

When Duman heard this, he could only sigh inwardly.

If Helu did this, he would surely lose. His opponent was Wu Huaiyu, a master of military tactics who was best at mastering the rhythm.
Time is so precious now, why are you wasting two or three days here?
In these two or three days, Wu Huaiyu will have enough things to do. By the time you have rested, I am afraid that Wu Huaiyu will have arrived with his troops in person.

"Okay," Duman nodded. "In that case, I will return to Gaochang first and report the Khan's plan to you two, Asijie."

Duman did not plan to stay any longer. He felt that he could not stay here for long, otherwise he might become a prisoner of the Tang army.

Helu did not stay long.

"Then have a good rest for the night and leave in the morning."

"All right,"

Seeing that it was already midnight, Duman nodded in agreement.

"Bring some wine," Helu said, looking at the leaders who were all dejected, especially Chumukun's Luchu and Huluwu's Quchu, who had not spoken a word from beginning to end.

It's clear that these two are wavering.

Helu asked someone to bring some wine, intending to use drinking to stabilize the two leaders.

"I'm not in the mood to drink," Helu's father-in-law Luchu said bluntly, "Many of my soldiers died today."

My father-in-law Quechu didn't want to drink either. This failure made him sober up a little.

"The dead are dead, but we who are alive must continue to live and continue to fight. This wine is for them and for us," Helu filled everyone's glasses.

Under his persuasion, everyone picked up the ox horn cup and drank the wine. This was the white wine brought by the Sogdian merchants from the Central Plains. The wine was clear, but it was very spicy when it went down the throat, but it was deeply loved by the men of the grassland.

After a few drinks,

The mood of the crowd improved a little.
The sound of horse hooves came,
Several riders entered the camp directly.

Helu's guards stopped the knight, and after a conversation, the captain of the guards came over with a knight.

"Great Khan, the patrol scouts encountered a group of Tang people. They claimed to be the generals of the Tang army in Futu City. They said they were Liu Demin, the governor of Shazhou and the founding marquis of Wangdu County. They came to see the Khan on the orders of the deputy chief general Cheng Yaojin."

Helu held the ox-horn cup, his face already red from drinking, "What is he doing here?"

"They said they came to persuade the Khan to surrender, hoping that he would realize his mistake and turn back to the right path."

(End of this chapter)