Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 312 Attack instead of defense

Just as Fang Chongyong led the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army to plunder land in the Qianyuan area, the Tubo people began to exert force in Shanzhou!

The elite Tibetan Southern Route Army on the battlefield in Shanzhou, with heavy infantry as the main force, set out from the plateau in the Dafeichuan area and attacked Shibao City and surrounding fortresses regardless of casualties!

The Tang army was caught off guard, and Dingrong City, which was across the mountain from Shibao City, was struck down. Since then, the road for Tang troops to fight for reinforcements has been blocked, and Shibao City has become an isolated city.

In this battle, for the first time, the Tubo army focused on heavy infantry, which mainly consisted of small nobles. They were all covered in leaf armor, with only their eyes exposed, and charged at the front. These "iron cans" were often hit by dozens of arrows but did not fall down. The Tang army's swords and spears could not break through the armor, so they suffered heavy losses in the battle!

Wang Zhongsi quickly mobilized the elite Lintao army to garrison in Anrong City (Huangyuan County, Qinghai), north of Dingrong City. After inquiring about the situation of the battle, Wang Zhongsi did not act recklessly. Instead, he selected 500 warriors from the Lintao army as the vanguard of the commando team, responsible for attacking the Tibetan heavy armor formation on the open mountain road.

Each member of the commando team wields a giant sword with both hands and wields it to kill the enemy. They go into battle with light armor and do not hold a shield. The main character is a bold one who spends all his skill points on attacks.

The so-called "gianthudou" is a general term for stick striking weapons. This is a standard equipment in the Tang army. It requires that "the big stick is made of strong and heavy wood, four or five feet long, and the one wrapped with iron is called a helix stick; the one with nails on it, like a wolf's teeth, is called a wolf." Tooth stick".

Wang Zhongsi asked the Lintao Army's commandos to use Heli sticks. Since they can't break armor, let's use "kinetic weapons."

Sure enough, this move had a miraculous effect, and it immediately reversed the unfavorable situation against the Tang army.

As soon as the Lintao Army's Heli Bang Commando appeared, they defeated the unprepared heavy infantry of the Tibetan Army. After a bloody battle at the foot of Dingrong City, the main force of the Tubo Army retreated to Dafeichuan.

After a small victory, the Tang army did not dare to pursue, and easily pulled out Dingrong City, which was occupied by the Tubo people and still had an unstable foothold.

In terms of battle losses, it must be that many Tubo people died; but now Shanzhou's strategic advantage is indeed in the hands of the Tubo people.

After capturing Shibao City, the Tubo people held the Tang army's main channel to the Nine Bends of the Yellow River.

If the northern line really can't withstand it, then let the Tianwei Army do it. "

Ge Shuhan obviously understood Wang Zhongsi's situation very well. He lowered his voice and asked:

"Wang Jieshuai, the Tibetan army is moving from the south to the north, just like a pair of pliers clamping down on us.

"Wang Jieshuai, Stone Castle must not be lost. If it is lost, the court will punish it.

After the medical officer treated Ge Shuhan's wound, he saw Wang Zhongsi wave his hand to him and then quietly left the room.

Taking advantage of the time difference when the Lintao Army was transferred to Anrong City, the elite Northern Route Army of Tibet on the Shanzhou battlefield rushed to attack the Heyuan Army garrison (urban area of ​​Xining City, Qinghai). Since the elite of the Heyuan Army had been transferred to Shibao City in the early stage to change defenses, the Tang Army's wooden fort was now filled with wounded soldiers and second-line troops.

"General Geshu, thanks to your persistence in the bloody battle, the Longyou Tang Army escaped disaster! The commander-in-chief has already recorded your great achievements in this section, and you will be rewarded after the war!"

If it is lost, not only will the main force of Longyou Town led by Wang Zhongsi be unable to escape from the front line, and the back route will be cut off by the Tubo people, but also the entire Longyou Town army will be short of food.

"I understand, you go and have a rest first."

Ge Shuhan's eyes were very precise, and he could tell at a glance what the Tibetan people wanted to do by wagging their tails in such a big way.

By then this battle will be impossible to fight!

If Tang Jun really decided to just defend Fengxiang, then of course it would be very easy to defend.

Now the Tibetans are trying to lure us to send more troops to the northern front. Their goal has never been to occupy the place where the Heyuan Army is staying. The general thought that after the Tubo people took Shibao City and consolidated their defense, they would retreat directly. "

For example, Wang Zhongsi now feels that it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

Do the Tubo people know this? In fact, they know it very well.

If the Tang border troops were not severely weakened within at least ten years, it would be completely impossible for the Tibetans to achieve their goals.

Wang Zhongsi is not Brother Ji. He cannot decide where Datang should defend and where it should give up. He could only maintain the basic base of Longyou Town with his limited military strength, and he had to explain to the court.

In a simple detention room in the Heyuan Army garrison, Wang Zhongsi looked at Ge Shuhan who was being treated by a medical officer and said. The medical officer took out the arrowhead of the Tibetan army, applied gold sore medicine, wrapped the wound with breathable linen cloth, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Heyuan Army garrison is located slightly behind the front line of the Tang Army. It has a little strategic buffer, but not much. It is the place where the Tang Army in Longyou Town stores grain, grass and supplies.

Ge Shuhan, who had just been appointed by Wang Zhongsi as the military envoy of the Heyuan Army, was hit by three arrows that failed to hit the line of fire. At the critical moment, Ge Shuhan took off his bloody shirt, led the soldiers into battle shirtless, fought a bloody battle with Tibetan elite soldiers at the top of the wooden castle, and finally saved the Heyuan Army camp.

No matter how fierce the fight was in the north, when the Tang Dynasty had abundant national power, the Tibetans would eat up the Hehuang Valley plain area occupied by the Heyuan Army. When the Tang Army was ready for a major counterattack, they would still spit it out.

The Tubo people seem to be fighting fiercely, but in fact they are just using offense instead of defense, which is quite confusing.

The entire Tubo army attacked Shibao City, but Longyou Town was no more than a section of the Tang Dynasty's frontier army. The Tang army occupied this place, which meant that it had to consume more manpower and material resources to maintain it than the Tubo people. This was determined by geographical conditions.

Nowadays, the Tubo people seem to be full of stamina, but Longyou Town can no longer withstand it. The commander in charge of this section is worried about this. "

Finally, the invasion of Tibet, which has strong troops and horses, will also lead to tight border defense in Fengxiang area.

But if the Tianwei Army also goes to the battlefield, it means that Wang Zhongsi has no room for adjustment. In this battle, he can only passively respond to Tubo's attacks and cannot counterattack.

If we cannot hold the north, we will all be lost in Hehuang. If we cannot defend the south, we will lose Shibao City and let the Tibetans succeed.

Therefore, for the Tang Dynasty, whether to defend the northwest, where to defend it, and where to expand the country's borders are very dialectical questions with no clear answer.

Wang Zhongsi sighed softly, seeming to be in a bad mood.

It is close to Guanzhong, so there is no shortage of soldiers and supplies. However, if you do this, you will have to give up a lot of land in Longyou to Tubo, which will eventually feed Tubo.

Although Wang Zhongsi recaptured Dingrong City, it did not alleviate the crisis in the offensive and defensive battle of Shibao City at all.

"You go to Huangshui County to recuperate. I will ask Gai Jiayun to take over for you."

"General Geshu, the arrowheads of the Tibetans are all stained with feces. They are very poisonous. You must not be careless."

Hearing that the Heyuan Army camp was in danger, Wang Zhongsi dispatched 3,000 cavalry from all front-line armies to return reinforcements, and then the elite Tibetan army on the northern route was driven back.

Ge Shuhan suggested to Wang Zhongsi.

Wang Zhongsi also had a strategic counterattack force in his hands, which was the Tianwei Army, which was newly established and had not yet a full complement of soldiers. He suppressed it to no avail and stayed in Shanzhou City to rest. If the war situation continues to deteriorate, it cannot be ruled out being used in key places.

What the Tubo people were counting on was Shibao City.

Now the Tang Army in Longyou Town has reduced its defense line in Shanzhou. The Xingluo Gorge where the Anren Army was located in the early stage and the intersection of rivers where the Baishui Army was stationed have all taken the initiative to abandon it and shrink their troops to defend Shibao City. The Tubo people did not attack blindly, but tightened the noose step by step, squeezing the Tang army's space in Longyou.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Commander Li Guangbi led the Tianwei Army as a backup plan. He wanted to take advantage of the Tibetan people's depletion of manpower to fight back and seize the land of Jiuqu.

Wang Zhongsi sighed, war is a very "materialistic" thing, and there is no way to win by relying on emotions and feelings. The balance of power between the two warring parties accounts for most of the factors in victory.

Wang Zhongsi nodded slightly, seemingly noncommittal.

After Ge Shuhan left, a middle-aged man wearing a futou and a black Tang Army uniform walked up to Wang Zhongsi, crossed his hands and saluted without saying a word.

"Guang Bi, what do you think of the current battle situation?"

Wang Zhongsi asked in a deep voice, his attitude obviously much more cordial than when he treated Ge Shuhan.

"Commander, I want to go to war.

Now the war situation is tense. As long as we counterattack the Tubo North Road, we can break the situation.

If one of his arms is cut off, the Tibetan army on the southern front will retreat. "

Li Guangbi said sonorously and forcefully, with a very firm attitude.

He followed Wang Zhongsi to promote the Li family in Liucheng, not just to mess around!

How could you give up when you encounter an opportunity that can make you successful?

“What you just said seems to make sense, but it’s not.

If you can see it, the Tubo people can also see it. How could they be unprepared? It is true that a counterattack on the northern Tibetan front can break the situation, but the Tianwei Army must not move. You are my trump card and cannot be touched easily.

As long as it moves, the winner of this battle will be decided. Now is not the time to knock the Tubo army to the ground with one punch. "

Wang Zhongsi's eyes were like lightning, and there was a flash of light in his eyes.

The military deployment of the Tibetan and Tang armies near the Shanzhou River and Huang Valley was basically a clear sign. The main force of the Tibetan army on the southern front is hoarded in Dafeichuan, and the main force of the Tibetan army on the northern front is hoarded in Datong City north of Xingluo Gorge, like the two ends of a pair of pliers.

Tang Jun cannot use tactics such as breaking through the middle and cutting through the middle, because the central node of this "plier" is the mountains surrounding Qinghai Lake!

Soldiers can just attack people, but they can't attack mountains, right?

This is the geographical advantage that the Tubo people have, and it cannot be changed by the Tang army.

The southern supply base of the Tibetan army is in the Jiuqu of the Yellow River, and the northern supply base is in the Qiyuan area. If the Tang army in Longyou Town wanted to penetrate the Tibetan army's lines and cut off their food routes, it would basically mean killing all the Tibetan armies.

Compared with the strong strength of the Tibetan army on the southern front, the Tibetan army on the northern front was a partial division. As long as this arm is cut off, the opportunity to counterattack the southern line of Tubo and capture the Nine Bends of the Yellow River will come.

In this way, the situation that Shibao City is threatened by the Tubo people every day can be solved once and for all.

When Tubo was plotting against Shibao City, Wang Zhongsi was also plotting against them!

As for Wang Zhongsi's current state, he was constantly catching the stones thrown by the Tibetan people with one hand, looking like he was in a hurry. And his other hand must be kept ready for counterattack at any time, and he does not dare to fully respond to the invasion of the Tibetan army.

If all the reserve teams are sent up, what will happen if the Tibetans still have backup? Not only is this possibility possible, it is even very consistent with the Tibetan army's usual style of play.

It cannot be said that there is anything wrong with Li Guangbi's idea, but that the troops he mobilized are wrong.

"Please be patient, now is not the time."

Wang Zhongsi patted Li Guangbi's shoulder affectionately and said.

"Wang Jieshuai, I'm just worried that if this goes on, sooner or later I won't be able to withstand it. I don't know what the imperial court is doing, but at this juncture, they don't send troops to support Longyou."

Li Guangbi sighed and complained helplessly.

"Be careful! Is it okay to say this? If you don't send troops, you won't fight?"

Wang Zhongsi snarled with a sullen expression, and then waved his hands tiredly.

In fact, he was also very dissatisfied, but he couldn't say it. Since he has served as the governor of Longyou, he should use the frontier troops in Longyou Town to defend the territory. This is his duty.

People below can complain about the imperial court not sending reinforcements, but he can't.

"Go and rest. When it's your turn to take action, you must not be vague."

Wang Zhongsi said to Li Guangbi with a solemn expression.

"Please rest assured Commander-in-Chief, the general will definitely go all out when the time comes, and I will not live without success!"

Li Guangbi patted his chest and vowed.

"Go ahead. I still have military duties, so I won't send you off."

……

Fuqi City, the old capital of Tuyuhun, is located to the west of Dafeichuan, adjacent to Qinghai Lake and southwest of it. Fuqi City serves as the headquarters of the Tubo South Route Army, and the elderly Tubo Dalun Kilixu lives here to command remotely. The Tibetan army's frontline battles on the southern front were all commanded by the Forbidden Army general Enlanda Zalukong.

In a certain lobby of the main building of Fuqi City, two Tibetan army generals covered in blood knelt on the ground to plead guilty, while Kilixu sat high up with a sinister expression on his face, seemingly on the verge of an explosion.

Fang Chongyong's cheap sworn brother Enlanda Zalukong stood next to Kilisu like a sculpture.

"The two Dongdai Imperial Guards from Luoxue City were unable to attack Shibao City despite losing their troops and generals. They also lost Dingrong City. How should they be dealt with according to military law?"

Kilixu feebly asked Enlanda Zalukong beside him.

"According to military law, if a unit hangs a fox tail, the commander will kill it."

Enlanda Zalugong said expressionlessly.

"Enforce military law."

Kilisu nodded slightly and said.

"Wait for the big talk. The generals think that hanging the foxtail must serve as a warning to others, but killing the generals can be put in the background, so that they can make meritorious deeds and wash away their shame.

Next time we attack Stone Castle, let them take the lead. "

Enlanda Zalugong said slowly.

"That's it, that's fine, let's do it."

Kilisu nodded slightly and said, waving his hand gently.

The two Tibetan generals who were kneeling on the ground hurriedly exited the hall as if they had been granted amnesty.

"Is now the time?"

Kilisu waved to Enlanda Zalukong, asked him to come close to him, and asked in a low voice.

After hearing this, Enlanda Zalugong shook his head, sighed and said:

"It's not the right time yet, as long as the mighty Tianwei army in Longyou doesn't move, we won't move.

If you defend for a long time, you will lose. With the current strength of the Tang army, sooner or later the Tianwei army will be thrown in to fill the loopholes. That moment is when we close the net. "

"Wang Zhongsi has been famous for a long time, and his steady style does not seem to fall into the trap."

Kilisu sighed and said, frowning. He is already an old man in his dying years. In Tubo, he has a long life that is rare. Nowadays, the internal fighting in Tubo has suddenly escalated with the assassination of the previous Zampu. The elderly Kilixu is the "greatest common denominator" that both factions can accept, and he can sit in Fuqi City and take charge of the overall situation.

The Tibetan troops on the northern front also had to obey his orders.

Kilixu has been in charge of military affairs on the border between Tubo and Tang Dynasty since the beginning of the Kaiyuan Dynasty. He has seen too much of the world, so he feels deeply worried about the current war situation.

"Wang Zhongsi is just like Lian Po in the Changping battle between Qin and Zhao. There will always be a Zhao Kuo in the Tang army. We can wait."

Enlanda Zalukong slowly shook his head and said.

The soldiers and horses of Longyou Town of the Tang Army tried their best to defend Tubo from attacking Shanzhou on both sides, but they were already very passive.

What's more, there are two partial divisions of the Tubo army, attacking Minzhou and Danzhou on the southern line of Longyou Town! Crazy slap in the face of the Emperor of Tang Dynasty!

Wang Zhongsi was indifferent. Could it be that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was also indifferent?

Wang Zhongsi actually dared to stay in such a critical situation. It would be a matter of time before he was dismissed!

Enlanda Zalugong didn't believe that the Tang army in Shanzhou could hold on forever! The Tibetan army's strategic goal was very small, which was Shibao City, and at the same time weakened the Tang Dynasty's effective strength. And they are well prepared.

With adequate preparation and reasonable strategic goals, winning this battle is not a problem. In fact, just before Dingrong City, the Tubo Imperial Guards were pushed back by the Tang army. It was the responsibility of the Tibetan generals on the scene to command on the spot, and they could have won.

Enlanda Zalukong also wanted to beat those two losers to death! But after all, he is not talking about Tubo now. It is still necessary to win people's hearts and cannot be motivated.

"How long do you expect it to be?"

Kilisu glanced at Enlanda Zalukong, who looked calm, and asked softly.

"Fifteen days... no, ten days is about right."

(End of this chapter)