Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 316 Whoever is a coward is a dog

In the past two days, the Tibetans attacked Shibao City and Dingrong City on the hill opposite Shibao City, regardless of casualties, day and night. They also fought fiercely on the broad hillside with the Tang army soldiers and horses who came for reinforcements, and the fighting intensity was very intense.

Such a ferocious offensive made Wang Zhongsi a little overwhelmed, so he had no choice but to use the Tianwei Army, which had not participated in the war before and was a reserve force, as the main force, and transferred soldiers who could still fight from other Longyou armies that needed to be repaired. Form a new force and spend time with the Tubo people in Shibao City.

There is nothing remarkable about this kind of battle. Both sides rely on brute force and hope to "defeat cleverness with great force."

The Tubo army was fighting on the hillside, with Dingrong City to the west, Shibao City to the east, and the Tang Army's reinforcements to the south. As soon as they arrived, they were attacked from three sides, and their situation was very disadvantageous. However, even in the face of such an unfavorable situation, the Tubo people refused to retreat and had a very tenacious will to fight.

After two days, the Tubo army lost many troops and generals, leaving many corpses on this vast battlefield. However, although the Tang army had a small victory, Wang Zhongsi, the Tang army's Longyou Jiedu envoy, was puzzled.

What's the point of the Tubo people playing a war of attrition?

Just after nightfall, Wang Zhongsi inspected the wooden village in Anrong City and found that there was nothing unusual around him, so he felt a little relieved. After returning to the commander's tent, he saw a messenger from the Chishui Army coming to see him. The latter sent a personal letter from Guo Ziyi, the envoy of the Chishui Army, and then withdrew from the military tent.

"Hexi soldiers and horses have captured Qianyuan. No wonder the Tibetan offensive on the north road has been suspended. It turns out that the offensive and defensive positions have changed!"

After reading the letter, Wang Zhongsi put the letter on the table, slightly relaxed the wrinkles on his forehead, and tapped the table with his index finger. Guo Ziyi was very cautious and did not inform Fang Chongyong about the roundabout advance of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army, fearing that the news would be leaked due to overcrowding.

In Wang Zhongsi's view, the Hexi soldiers and horses seizing Qianyuan seemed unexpected, but in fact it was a reasonable thing. This can actually explain why Hexi did not send troops to Shanzhou as a reserve army for "Teletubbies".

Wang Zhongsi sighed deeply and burned the letter written by Guo Ziyi directly under the oil lamp. No evidence is left, as long as Guo Ziyi doesn't talk loudly in the future, just pretend that this incident didn't happen.

Should we take action now, or... wait until the Tibetan offensive on the southern front slows down?

Under the light of the torch, the expression on Wang Zhongsi's face was unpredictable and he looked very troubled. Li Guangbi fought well on the front line and executed his tactics very resolutely. The Tang army clearly had the upper hand.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhongsi has made up his mind.

Now that the Chishui Army has occupied Qianyuan, the Tibetan Northern Route Army in Shanzhou has been cut off from support and has fallen into a two-sided attack. The only escape route is from the Heilin Valley Road northwest of Datong to the north of Qinghai Lake, that is, It is adjacent to the Tubo Defense Area in the northwest of Huangyuan County and the former Anren Army station.

Because of that style of play, the price-performance ratio is too low for Hexi Town, and the supply of food and grass is also a problem.

However, strategically speaking, Shibao City is the key to entering the Tubo Plateau area. If the Tang army loses this key, then Tubo will be invincible. If they lose outside, they can just go home and replenish their blood.

"It still doesn't work, focus on stability."

To take back the key to your own door, how can you not be determined?

Of course, it is not unusual to seize this valley that the Tang Dynasty and Tubo have repeatedly fought for. The only question is whether they can retain the organized Tubo field army!

Stone Castle cannot afford to make any mistakes! Others are on hold!

That’s all it can do now!

Wang Zhongsi shouted, and a soldier came forward, crossed his hands and saluted, and asked, "What are your orders, Commander-in-Chief?"

The difficulty of this road is that it has to rush from a low altitude to the plateau of Qinghai Lake, and it also has to walk through mountain roads and valleys. For an army, the logistical pressure is not ordinary.

It doesn’t mean that you can evacuate them all in an instant!

Wang Zhongsi could easily judge from this important news that the Tibetan army's North Road Division in Shanzhou had basically been abolished. Now it's not that those people want to attack the Heyuan Army's garrison, but they have to worry about being taken over by the Tang Army!

From a topographic point of view, today's Datong area is besieged on three sides by the Tang army and is basically in a precarious state.

Stone Castle City was worthless from a detailed and tactical perspective. Occupying this place would not allow the Tang Army to gain a tactical advantage. On the contrary, in order to maintain this place, a lot of manpower and material resources would be wasted.

If we want to relieve our worries, we can only send Li Guangbi and the Tianwei Army back to the Heyuan Army garrison. After joining forces, we can then concentrate our forces to attack the Tibetan Army in Datong northward and pull out this annoying nail!

However, by removing Li Guangbi and the Tianwei Army, the front line of Shibao City would once again be in a state of tight troop strength. This was a strategic risk that Wang Zhongsi had to consider.

Moreover, after the threat on the northern front was eliminated, the Longyou Tang Army could press forward across the entire front and compete with the Tibetans for supremacy in Shibao City. There was no need to divide the troops to guard the rear route.

If Shibao City is lost, even if we occupy places like Qianyuan and Datong, we cannot make up for the strategic losses.

So no matter what the Tang Dynasty thought, the Tubo people were very determined to recapture Shibao City.

"Take my command arrow and send a message to Ge Shuhan, asking him to send someone to investigate the movements of the Tibetan army in the Datong area. Let him judge the situation of the battle by himself.

Destroying the enemy's effective forces is more important than occupying the land.

"Someone is coming."

If the Tibetan army retreats, they can try to attack. "

Wang Zhongsi thought for a while and said that he did not make a decision, but he delegated command authority to his subordinates.

No one can find fault with it.

"Well, let's go to the humble position."

The soldiers took Wang Zhongsi's command arrow and left.

"I'm so unwilling."

Wang Zhongsi couldn't help but sigh. Due to the lack of troops in Longyou Town in this battle, the east wall had been demolished to repair the west wall. The battle situation was full of dangers.

He was like a fierce man with martial arts, being beaten by a group of people, and he was in a state of embarrassment as he dodged around.

Sure enough, the two towns of Hexi and Longyou are integrated. As long as there is a big war, the two towns have to link up and defend each other on a vast front.

Let Longyou Town hold back from the front, while Hexi Town's elite troops fight back. This way, they can be said to be able to attack and defend without any worries.

One person manages two towns. It seems that this is an inevitable trend!

Recalling the "plan to serve as two towns in the northwest" that Fang Chongyong had mentioned to him back then, Wang Zhongsi felt that the other party was not just talking nonsense.

It should be said that it was quite prophetic.

……

Keep walking along the Qihan Gorge, and you will see a very narrow pass, which is called "Qihan Gorge" by later generations.

Walk through this canyon until you reach the Satangcheon River, then turn and follow the mountain road southward. You will find that the altitude of the mountain road continues to decrease. The scenery and vegetation nearby are not much different from those in the Hehuang Valley.

In fact, the Datong area, like Huangyuan County, is part of the periphery of the Hehuang Valley, but is divided by local mountains. Regardless of the altitude, climate, hydrology, and vegetation conditions here, they are basically carved out of the same mold.

Marching all the way, Fang Chongyong felt as if he was lucky, because in the area northwest of Datong where defenses could be deployed, there were no Tibetans stationed at all! These people probably trusted the Tibetan defenders in the Qiyuan area.

The Silver Spear Xiaojie Army went south along the canyon where the Shatangchuan River was located, and came to an unknown large lake, where they were blocked.

At this moment, Chongyong ordered the team to repair where they were. He didn't know whether he should lead them forward.

In fact, it's not impossible to continue going south. There is a mountain road full of footprints on the west bank of the unknown lake, and it seems that people and animals often pass by.

The main issue Fang Chongyong considered was that, according to the guide, after this period, there would really be no mountains, rivers, or lakes that could be used as defensive strongholds!

Behind this lake is the last canyon in the northwest of Datong. Beyond that, there is a flat plain with farming land and grazing grassland everywhere. In other words, at that time, they will lose the team's concealment, and when they encounter the Tubo people, they will have to fight with real swords and guns.

There were less than 3,000 people when they arrived, but they lost two to three hundred people in a battle with the Tubo Imperial Guards. Whether they should continue to charge forward will really test the general's planning skills. It's not uncommon for a downwind game to turn into shit if you're not careful.

Fang Chongyong ordered the soldiers of the Yinqian Xiaojie Army to camp on the shore of Hubei, and then sent scouts to scout the surrounding areas, so as to gather the Tibetan troops to his own place as soon as possible.

One day later, after eating some dry biscuits in the morning, Fang Chongyong took a walk along the lakeshore to change his mood and think about what to do next.

I have to say that the scenery in this area is very beautiful, with blue sky, green grass, blue lake, and white stones.

Fang Chongyong sat on a big rock, picked up a charcoal pencil, and drew a simple map based on the guide's introduction. The more he drew, the more he frowned.

The Datong area was the middle area where the Tubo Army and the Tang Army fought repeatedly. There was no official map of the Tang Dynasty. Even the accountant in the Hexi Army only knew the general terrain here, but could not explain the specifics.

The terrain here is mainly composed of relatively low hills and hills, combined with strip-shaped plains, which is very suitable for cavalry operations. Of course, it also tests the command level of the cavalry generals.

Whether it's an ambush or an encounter, you can play well, and the terrain is quite complicated. Because the hills between the hills are not insurmountable like the mountains we passed through before! Fang Chongyong even doubted that he could go up the hill on horseback.

Looking from high to low, he saw that terraces could actually be arranged on these hills. It's just because Longyou has been in war for years and has a sparse population, so there is no manpower to develop it.

Although the soldiers and horses in Fang Chongyong's hands can be regarded as the top soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the best equipment, and they have also defeated the Tubo Imperial Guard before, their morale is high!

But he still didn't dare to be careless.

A general who leads troops can be arrogant, careless, and play with fire a thousand times or ten thousand times, and win every time.

However, as long as you lose once, you will be dead and there will be no chance to reload the file.

Those who won before will lose everything at once!

Fang Chongyong did not dare to leave the chance of victory to the enemy. We will not place all our hopes on the enemy's stupidity.

After a while, He Changqi came back with several scouts and reported to Fang Chongyong what they had discovered.

"Shuai Fang, there is a fairly spacious valley directly west of the unknown lake where we are, and after passing through it is the core area of ​​the Datong area. The Tibetans built wooden forts here and stationed a large number of baggage and troops. The number is definitely no less than 10,000.”

One of the scouts reported to Fang Zhongyong.

"What about you? What did you say?"

Fang Chongyong asked another scout of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army.

"Back to Commander, if you go south along the Shatangchuan River, you can reach a grazing area of ​​the Tubo people. They only set up a camp there, with about one or two thousand people. The army is not large. They seem to be Warn the Tang army in Longyou Town to take a detour and attack Datong.

Further south is the Heyuan Army garrison. "

the scout gasped.

"Fang Jieshuai, now we have another choice between buying a big one and a small one. What do you think we should do?"

He Changqi asked helplessly.

If we go south, we will not only be able to successfully defeat this Tubo force, which is only one or two thousand strong after all, but we will also be able to capture a large number of cattle, sheep and livestock, and finally we will be able to successfully join forces with the Longyou Army to ensure our own safety!

Performing a small feat and then escaping unscathed is a conservative victory plan.

It is equivalent to taking away all the achievements achieved so far and then leaving as a spectator!

If they advance westward, they will face the main force of the Tibetan army in the Datong area.

It would be great if they could win, as they could eliminate the main force of the Tibetan army on the northern front, and the Tibetan partial division of one or two thousand people heading south was heavily besieged by the Tang army and could not escape.

It can even influence the situation of the war at a strategic level. Can we win more than tens of thousands?

This is definitely the best solution for the next battle.

The premise is that you can win!

To put it simply, "I want it all"!

The Silver Spear Xiaojie Army wants to be the most handsome boy in this battle of Longyou!

But what if you lose?

If you lose, you will lose all your previous profits, and you will probably lose your life in Chase.

Is it really worth it?

He Changqi felt that their team had been winning, winning, winning since they set off, and they had accumulated more and more military exploits! To be honest, this wave easily wiped out the partial divisions of the Tibetan army, retreated bravely, and just watched the show from the sidelines.

The Silver Spear Filial Piety Army has already been in the limelight enough this time. I'm afraid they will be registered with the Tibetan Army after the war, so why take another risk?

"Fang Jieshuai, we have made enough this time, we can be a little more conservative..."

He Changqi suggested cautiously.

"Only children make choices. The answer for adults is that I want them all!

This is the battle for fame of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army. If you advance, you will never retreat!

There is only one sentence in this section: There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts! Whoever is a coward is a dog!

Pass the order, prepare now, set off in an hour, and the entire army will head to the mouth of the canyon to the west.

After eating dry food there, we walked through the canyon and raided the Tibetan army camp! "

Fang Chongyong ordered in a deep voice.

This kind of thinking that a small fortune will make you happy is unacceptable!

The Silver Spear Filial Piety Army is going to take advantage of this opportunity to show off its prestige!

What does it mean to have enough! Qiu Ba, who was like a wolf and a tiger, wanted Han Xin to order troops, the more the better!

You can never get enough!

"Move it, move it! If you win in the next round, your wives, houses, and sons will be rich!"

"I'm wearing armor, I'm carrying bows and crossbows. The Tibetan troops over there are all fully armed!"

"Leave unnecessary things here. The Commander-in-Chief will notify Guo Jun to take care of them."

"If you lose, there is no way out. If you don't win, you will die! If you win, you will be rewarded with gold and jade, and you will be as beautiful as jade!"

"No one is allowed to be a coward, anyone who is a coward is a dog!"

Fang Chongyong held an iron trumpet and kept shouting in the camp to cheer up the soldiers.

(End of this chapter)