People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1597: The Great Victory at Talas

Inside the military tent.

Li Xuan stood in front of the sand table with a cold expression.

The entire Western Regions, no, to be precise, the terrain from the four towns of Anxi to the west to the edge of the Caspian Sea, was all completely displayed before his eyes.

Light footsteps were heard behind him, and Li Xuan turned around with cold eyes.

Xue Shao, Zhao Gong, and Fan Yunxian suddenly felt as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast.

The gentleness of Li Xuan when they were with her before seemed like a dream.

Even Zhao Gong did not expect that Li Xuan would be like this when commanding the army.

Zhao Gong finally had the most experience. He calmed down first, looked at the sand table, and asked in a low voice: "Da Lang, these are the countries in the Western Regions."

"I guess so." Li Xuan's voice was low. He turned around, looked at the sand table in front of him and said, "The farthest countries that our Tang Dynasty can contact are the countries near the West Sea."

The Caspian Sea has been referred to as the West Sea in ancient books since the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Later, the Yuan Dynasty defeated the Western Sea, invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, and renamed it the Caspian Sea.

"But in fact, the countries that can reach the Tang Dynasty include the Arab Empire and the Qin Dynasty which is further west of the Arab Empire." Li Xuan sighed lightly. He really didn't understand why the Eastern Roman Empire was called the Qin Dynasty?
After a short pause, Li Xuan continued, "However, to the west of Daqin, there seems to be a large area of ​​land inhabited by all black people. The common Kunlun slaves are those sold to Tang by Persia, the Arabs, and Daqin. There is also another group of people who seem to be whiter than the people of Daqin, living in the northwest of Daqin."

Whether the Eastern Roman Empire was of white, Caucasian, or Central Asian yellow descent is a historical mystery.

As Li Xuan spoke, he gestured slightly on the sand table.

Xue Shao and Zhao Gong did not care much about it. The Tang Dynasty was the most superior country in the world, and both the Arabs and the Qin Dynasty acknowledged this.

And they are indeed not as good as the Tang Dynasty.

On the contrary, it was Fan Yunxian who listened carefully to every word Li Xuan said.

Retracting his thoughts, Li Xuan pointed to the center of the sand table again and said seriously: "The Western Region in front of us is between the Tianshan Mountains and the Western Sea. In the center of the entire terrain is a vast black desert. Only the north and south sides are passable. The north side is the territory of the Western Turks, and the south side is the Arabs, Persia and Tocharian countries."

Li Xuan pointed to Persia on the southern side of the Caspian Sea and said, "Persia has been destroyed by the Arabs. The Persian prince has now sneaked into Tokharistan to prepare for the restoration of the country. This is also what Emperor Taizong, the late Emperor, and Emperor Zhongzong care about. I think for the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, if you want to surpass the former, this place cannot be ignored."

Having said that, Li Xuan deliberately glanced at Fan Yunxian, and Fan Yunxian listened very seriously.

Li Xuan knew that when Fan Yunxian was in contact with him, every word he said would be secretly reported to Chang'an and delivered to Empress Wu.

The meaning of Li Xuan's words was very clear. He needed to make Empress Wu recognize his role in the Western Regions.

Empress Wu occupied the court and she was very ambitious.

Ruling the world is only one of her goals. If she could surpass Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Taizong in the future, this would be the achievement that Empress Wu pursued.

In this way, Empress Wu would find Li Xuan very useful.

In this way, Empress Wu would feel that Li Xuan was showing how useful he was through Fan Yunxian.

In this way, Empress Wu would feel that Li Xuan would definitely return to Chang'an.

In this way, Empress Wu would let down her guard against Li Xuan.

……

"The mountains and deserts between Persia and Tocharistan prevented the Arabs from continuing to advance eastward after annexing Persia. In the end, the Arabs had to march along the western coast of the West Sea into the territory of the Western Turks." Li Xuan focused on the vast grassland north of the Tianshan Mountains in the north.

Western Turkestan is the vast grassland in the north of the Tianshan Mountains that extends to the entire Central Asia.

Li Xuan thought about it carefully and concluded that that place should be the location of Kazakhstan in future generations.

However, compared to the desolation in the north, the main tribes of the Western Turks tend to be more inclined towards the southern and eastern regions.

That is the area around Suiye City and Talas.

"The Arabs went north from Persia along the Western Sea, eventually passing through Talas and Suiye City, crossing the Tianshan Mountains, and then they were able to enter the four towns of Anxi."

Li Xuan shook his head solemnly and said, "In this way, not only Anxi Town, but also the Western Regions such as Shiguo, Kangguo, and Anguo adjacent to Anxi will fall into the hands of the Persians, and the entire Silk Road will be controlled by the Persians."

Xue Shao and Zhao Gong's expressions suddenly became serious.

"The wealth provided by the Silk Road to the Tang Dynasty is close to 30% of the annual tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty. Once it is cut off, the world will be in chaos." Li Xuan nodded at Fan Yunxian again, and Fan Yunxian's expression had become serious.

Li Xuan, this is already a threat.

The temptation of the vast world is not enough, the threat from the wild world is even more disturbing.

"Originally, I thought that I could have two or three years to slowly build up the economy, first forcing the Arabs out of Western Turkestan, and then helping Persia to restore its country, building up barriers along the coast of the West Sea that are sufficient to stop the Arabs. Now it seems that my Tang Dynasty can have at least fifty years of peaceful occupation of the Silk Road." At this point, Li Xuan couldn't help but shook his head.

"Fifty years?" Xue Shao looked at Li Xuan in surprise and asked, "Uncle Wang, only fifty years? What will happen in fifty years?"

"The Arabs sent out an army of 300,000 soldiers, defeating the Western Turks in the north and advancing into Tokharistan in the south. They attacked the Tang Dynasty from both the north and the south." Li Xuan's expression became solemn. This was the Battle of Talas during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.

Of course, in the Battle of Talas, the Persians only deployed 100,000 troops to the battlefield of Talas. The other 200,000 troops, in addition to the 100,000 troops who were going to march into Tokharistan, also included troops to provide military supplies and food support.

After Li Xuan said this, Fan Yunxian's face became even gloomier.

Even Zhao Gong and Xue Shao looked unhappy.

The Arabs have only sent 5,000 troops to the Western Regions, but this has already brought heavy pressure to the Tang Dynasty.

If they come with an army of 300,000, I'm afraid no one will give up unless they fight the Tang Dynasty to the bitter end.

……

"The current situation." Li Xuan pointed to the north of Tianshan Mountain and said solemnly: "To the west of Suiye City, the army has defeated the main force of the Western Turkic cavalry. Three of the Ten Surnames tribes have been annihilated, and two of the Ten Surnames tribes are on the run."

Fan Yunxian stood on one side, looking at Li Xuan carefully. He had been here for such a long time that he had already thoroughly understood the war in Western Turkestan.

Half of the more than 100,000 Western Turkic troops west of Suiye City died directly on the battlefield.

Among them, two leaders of different surnames died under Li Xuan's sword. Only 40,000 main forces were left to retreat towards Talas, but the Right Guard General Qiu Zhenmu and the Left Guard General Tang Zhenxing were still chasing them from behind.

Not only that, behind them, the left guard and the right guard followed closely.

Behind the 40,000 main forces of the Western Turks, there were 5,000 Arab cavalry who retreated first.

There were also tens of thousands of Western Turkic cavalry who evacuated towards the wider grasslands in the north.

The Tang Dynasty won this battle.

But there is still the Arabs.

Although Fan Yunxian held Empress Wu's secret decree in her hand, Li Xuan had already expressed his intention to return to the court. Moreover, there was still some time before the deadline set by Empress Wu that Li Xuan must return to the court by the end of the year, which was enough for Li Xuan to end the war.

After some hesitation, Fan Yunxian chose to wait quietly.

After all, the person he was looking for was still on the battlefield.

A Qianniu Guard quickly ran into the tent and delivered a military report to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan glanced at the military report, then looked at the sand table, squinting his eyes and said: "The Western Turkic cavalry and the Arab cavalry have retreated to Talas."

After a brief pause, Li Xuan narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice: "Pass the order."

"Yes!" Chen Ziang stepped forward immediately.

"Order the left and right guards to deploy along the north and south sides of Talas. Order the left and right guards to stop the pursuit and set up camp thirty miles east of Talas. All the weapons and food left in the army should be sent to the left and right guards." Li Xuan finished speaking.

Chen Ziang immediately turned around to write the military order, then quickly walked out of the military tent to deliver the order.

Soon, the thunderous sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the tent.

Li Xuan calmly looked at the entire sand table. When Chen Ziang came back, he spoke again, "Order Li Duozuo to give up chasing the defeated army and lead the army to encircle them from outside Talas. Order Lun Gongren to lead the army from the south of Tianshan Mountain to the Syr Darya River to cut off the Arabs' retreat route. I want them all to die here."

"Yes!" Chen Ziang immediately turned around and passed the order.

Li Xuan looked up at Li Zhu and said, "Order our 5,000 cavalry to be ready to go at any time."

"Yes!" Li Zhu turned and left immediately.

Countless armies were quickly mobilized at Li Xuan's words. His awe-inspiring aura made Xue Shao, Zhao Gong, and Fan Yunxian dare not say a word.

Especially at this moment, the neighing of war horses could be heard outside the tent. If something went wrong, Li Xuan would immediately rush into the battle himself.

At this moment, a thought flashed through Fan Yunxian's mind.

If King Peng went into battle and killed the enemy at this moment, and then died on the battlefield, then the Queen Mother would not have to worry about anything anymore.

The sun sets and the moon rises and sets.

In the military tent, Li Xuan suddenly said, "Send an order, General Tang Zhenxing of the Left Guard and General Qiu Zhenmu of the Right Guard, attack Talas immediately, regardless of any casualties."

"Yes!" Chen Ziang immediately turned around and passed the order.

Li Xuan turned around and looked at Zhao Gong and Xue Shao, and said with a smile: "My uncle is now the General of the Left Thousand Bull Guards, and my husband is now the General of the Left Leading Army Guards. Are you interested in going to the battlefield with Xuan?"

"Okay!" Zhao Gong agreed immediately without any hesitation.

Xue Shao hesitated slightly, then nodded in agreement.

Only Fan Yunxian's expression changed slightly.

It was not a conspiracy in his mind. Under the current circumstances, even if he accidentally died on the battlefield, no one would ask any questions.

On the contrary, people throughout the Tang Dynasty would praise his bravery.

……

A day and a night passed quickly.

In the early morning, Li Xuan walked out from the tent door in black clothes and black armor.

Zhao Gong and Xue Shao all put on their armor and prepared to accompany them.

Fan Yunxian fell behind, and he will guard the camp today.

Five thousand black-armored cavalrymen have already formed up their formations and are ready for battle.

As Li Xuan walked towards his warhorse, he said to Zhao Gong and Xue Shao, "Talas is difficult to attack. The left and right guards must pay a huge price to take it down. Originally, Xuan planned to take it slowly, but now it seems that we should hurry up."

No matter how stupid Xue Shao was, he could see that Li Xuan had already determined that it would be difficult for him to return to the Western Regions after this time, so he wanted to end his defeat in one battle.

Neither of them spoke much.

Li Xuan jumped on his horse, and five thousand cavalrymen immediately formed a formation behind him.

Li Xuan waved his hand forward, and five thousand cavalrymen followed him and rushed towards the outside of Tianshan Mountain.

Looking at the army surging like a black tide, Fan Yunxian felt inexplicably trembling all over.

……

Two days later, the army reported victory.

King Peng defeated Talas and beheaded 20,000 of the 40,000 Western Turkic cavalry.

Except for one thousand Arab cavalrymen who escaped early, all the others were beheaded.

At this moment, Fan Yunxian was drunk.

Great victory!
(End of this chapter)