Tibet.

Chapter 1294: Autumn and Winter War
The Tang army currently has only 10,000 troops stationed in the Xihai camp, with another 20,000 troops stationed in Shanzhou.

Li Sheng immediately ordered 20,000 troops from Shanzhou to rush to the West Sea to prepare for war.

At the same time, Li Sheng sent another eagle letter to Chang'an, requesting the Regent to send an additional army to fill the military gap in Shanzhou.

After thinking for a moment, Li Sheng sent scouts to Hezhou to inform Hun Yu, who was defending Jiuqu, that the Tibetan army was attacking.

Deputy General Zhang Bingquan advised: "The number of Tibetans is unknown now. If it is just a small group of more than a thousand people harassing, and you notify the court and Hezhou, the court will feel that you are making a fuss."

Li Sheng shook his head and said, "There is no distinction between big and small military affairs, only between serious and careless ones. If the court thinks I am making a fuss over nothing, then ask them to change the general."

Zhang Bingquan was truly ashamed. His predecessor, Xin Yunjing, would not report this to the court, fearing that the regent would criticize him for making a fuss out of nothing.

"The general is right. No matter how big or small the military event is, we must go all out and not be careless. I suggest that we immediately notify the herdsmen to move away. There are too many herdsmen here. If a war breaks out, they will be affected."

Li Sheng smiled slightly and said, "General Zhang was able to draw inferences from one example and reminded me in time. I almost forgot about the herdsmen."

Li Sheng immediately dispatched two thousand cavalrymen to organize the herdsmen to retreat westward, and sent scouts to Dafeichuan to investigate the enemy situation.

Xu Wu and his men had already taken a detour down the hill. They were much more familiar with this hill than the Tibetans.

Hundreds of Indians were searching on the mountain, and there were only three Tibetan cavalrymen waiting at the foot of the mountain, a thousand-man captain and two centurions. They naturally would not go up the mountain, but wait at the foot of the mountain, followed by five or six Indian soldiers.

At this time, Xu Wu and his men targeted the three people, or to be more precise, their horses. If they killed these three people and had these three horses, they could return to the West Sea camp smoothly.

As for the few Indian soldiers, they didn't take them seriously at all.

At this time, a Tibetan centurion dismounted from his horse and went to relieve himself. This was an opportunity.

Xu Wu seized the opportunity decisively. He asked his men to continue to keep an eye on the other two people, and he rolled forward twice in a row and got behind the lone centurion.

When the Tibetan centurion was about to stand up, Xu Wu rushed over, covered his mouth, and pierced his back with the sharp dagger. The centurion fell to the ground without a word.

Xu Wu dragged the body behind a big rock and quickly returned to his hiding place. The two Tubo generals were still looking at the mountain. At this time, the beacon fire on the mountain was trampled out.

Everyone's attention was focused on the top of the mountain. This was an opportunity. Xu Wu and his men raised their crossbows and aimed at the two captains. Although they were only a few dozen steps away, both of them were wearing chain mail. The only target was their throats.

It just so happened that the two men were looking up at the top of the mountain, which gave them a perfect opportunity.

It would be useful for Xu Wu to keep this soldier because he is an excellent archer and can play a role at critical moments, such as now.

The two men shot their arrows almost at the same time. The two arrows flew like lightning and hit the throats of the two Tibetan generals. The two men fell off their horses.

Xu Wu and his men leaped up, waving short spears and charging forward, roaring like thunder.

The five Indian soldiers thought that there were many people coming from the other side, so they turned around and fled in fear.

Xu Wu and his men mounted their horses, took another horse, turned their horses around and galloped into the vast Gobi Desert, soon disappearing without a trace.

In Chang'an, after entering late October, the weather became noticeably colder, with biting winds. People in Chang'an put on thick clothes and hunched their necks when walking on the road.

Although the court was busy preparing for the new emperor's ascension, Li Ye's mind flew to the distant Longyou. He had just received an urgent eagle message from Li Sheng, saying that the enemy had appeared in Dafeichuan and requesting the court to send more troops to Shanzhou. In the staff room, Li Ye stood in front of the sand table in deep thought. The Privy Envoy Duan Xiushi said, "Your Highness, it is almost November now. It is very risky for Tubo to send troops at this time. They basically cannot go back, which means that there will be no logistical supplies, only the food they carry with them. If they can't find a place to stay or get food, they may be completely destroyed. Tubo will not have considered this!"

Li Ye nodded, "I find it strange too. Burning the boats and breaking the cauldrons is a gesture made when there is no way out. If there is any way out, no one would do such a thing. So it is very strange that Tubo sent troops to Longyou at this time. There must be a reason behind it."

"Maybe there are only one or two thousand troops, conducting a small-scale harassment?" Duan Xueshi asked again.

Li Ye shook his head. "This has nothing to do with the number of troops. It's that we shouldn't send troops out at this time. There must be something fishy going on if we send troops out at the wrong time!"

"Then Your Highness will you send troops?"

"Of course, I have ordered the 20,000 troops stationed in Lanzhou to rush to Shanzhou, and at the same time ordered Pei Xiu's 10,000 Ganzhou troops to leave Dadouba Valley to support Longyou."

At this time, Duan Xueshi thought of something and said quickly, "Your Highness, I just remembered that a few months ago, the Privy Council received intelligence. At that time, Your Highness was still in Youzhou. Hun Yu captured more than a dozen Tibetan spies, all of whom were Indians. According to their account, more than 30,000 Indians in the Tibetan army died last winter due to insufficient supplies, either freezing to death or dying of disease. Now there are only 70,000 to 80,000 Indians in the Tibetan army. Could it be that the Tibetan army attacking Longyou this time are all Indians?"

"You mean that the Tibetan leaders are worried that they won't survive the winter, so they're killing them in advance?"

Duan Xiushi nodded, "That's exactly what I mean!"

Li Ye pondered for a moment. This was indeed possible. It fits the Tibetan army's philosophy of "those who are not my kind are consumables." This is the only reason that can explain the current dispatch of troops. The Tibetan army wants to consume the Indians. To be more precise, they want to use the Indians to consume the Tang army."

Li Ye took a few steps with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "I was just worrying about not being able to find laborers to develop Ryukyu and Luzon, and the Tubo army sent these Indians here, just like handing over a pillow when you are sleepy."

Li Ye immediately ordered: "It is reported that Hun Yu's army has also led troops to join the battle. If the enemy army is Indian, they must be captured alive!"

Li Sheng had already obtained accurate intelligence that the enemy had more than 75,000 people, most of whom were Indians, with only a few thousand Tibetan cavalry.

This information was brought by Xu Wu, the commander of the Lenghu Garrison Brigade. He led his men to avoid the main force of the enemy, took a shortcut to the Xihai camp, and brought the first-hand and most detailed information.

From the thousand-man captain's horse bag, they found a lot of important information, such as the enemy's main general was Dazalugong, and the enemy's troop composition, which was 5,000 Tibetan soldiers and 70,000 Indian soldiers.

They also found a letter from a centurion to Shang Jiexi, the prime minister, complaining that this was an irrational expedition, using 70,000 Indian troops to consume the Tang army, and that in the end even 5,000 Tibetan cavalry might be lost.

It was this information that gave Li Sheng ideas for defeating the enemy.

Li Sheng really appreciated Xu Wu's responsibility and wisdom and courage, and immediately promoted him to the rank of Scout General, rewarded him with 500 strings of cash, and promoted his subordinates to the rank of team leaders.

At this time, Li Sheng had received express letters from Pei Xiu, the governor of Ganliang, and Hun Yu, the governor of Hezhou, stating that Pei Xiu had led an army of 10,000 out of Dadouba Valley and was heading towards the Xihai camp.

Hun Yu led 20,000 troops from Jiuqu to the north to support him.

Of course, this must be the order of the Regent, which is why they rushed here in such a hurry.

Together with their 30,000 troops, Li Sheng now has 60,000 troops under his command. In addition, there are 20,000 troops coming from Lanzhou. These 20,000 troops have to guard the Chiling Pass and cannot all be sent forward.

Li Sheng pondered for a long time. He wrote a letter to Hun Yu, suggesting that he lead his troops to deploy in the Dafeichuan area to cut off the enemy's retreat.

He immediately sent scouts to deliver a message to Hun Yu's army.

(End of this chapter)