Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 372 Overestimating one’s own capabilities
"According to the last general's observation, although Suiye City has no defensive capabilities, it occupies a very large area and is modeled after Chang'an. It is about eight or nine miles long and wide. Countless merchants and travelers from the Western Regions pass through it, so its location is very important.

Tuqishi sent people there to collect business taxes and did not station troops. "

The army rode along the south bank of Atami, and Feng Changqing introduced to Fang Chongyong what he had seen in Suiye City. The situation is quite different from what was imagined.

The Tuqishi were a nomadic tribe and had no experience in managing a large city, let alone rebuilding it. Their advantage is that they live nomadically, have no fixed abode, and are very mobile.

The herders and livestock under his command are basically the main wealth. Nomadic economy and agricultural economy are two completely different ideas.

Only by breaking the inherent thinking of the farming people can we better understand the thoughts of the Tuqishi people.

For the place where Suiye City and the surrounding rivers meet, Tuqishi is used for grazing and collecting taxes from passing merchants. Therefore, the extremely backward farming technology and the relatively advanced trade civilization seem absurd, but they are very consistent with the living conditions of the Tuqishi people.

Agricultural civilization often derives relatively developed commerce only when farming technology is very developed.

If we cannot understand these, we will not be able to correctly deal with the needs of the nomads and we will not be able to deal with them.

"Feng Canjun's learned knowledge and strong memory, this victory is a great achievement of yours."

Since the current tenth Khan has fallen out with the Tang army, setting up an ambush on the southern front is just based on normal military logic and is not surprising.

However, this kind of little routine is not enough in front of the elite soldiers of the Tang Army.

"Suiye City has been dilapidated for too long, and the army cannot hold its own here. During the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the Tang army built a Buddhist temple here, named Dayun Temple, which is still there today, and the incense continues.

The southern line of Atami has rivers flowing into it in autumn and winter, but the northern line does not, so it is naturally the primary route for marching.

At this moment, there was a gentle breeze blowing from the large lake to their right, which was refreshing. There are sparkling waves on the big lake, and at the end of the field of vision is a dark blue mountain mixed with white, towering and with overlapping mountains.

Desolate, simple and magnificent.

Feng Changqing said eloquently.

Fang Chongyong suddenly remembered this incident and asked doubtfully.

When the Turks swore an oath, they referred to the name of this sacred mountain as the abode of the Emperor of Heaven.

"By the way, the Tenth Khan must be here in Suiye Town. Is it because there is a Turkic holy mountain near Suiye?"

As far as the general knows, in addition to the black and yellow surnames, Turks also have white surnames, red surnames, etc., which correspond to the yin and yang and the five elements. These so-called surnames are also one of the ways that Turks combine people from different places. "

These ambush soldiers didn't even have to think about it. They were "servant troops" recruited by Tu Qishi, and they didn't even have horses. They were used as cannon fodder and came to test the strength of the Tang army.

The scenery is indeed beautiful, but it cannot be used as food. The saltwater lake has cut off most of the local life. Fang Chongyong secretly regretted it in his heart.

Every time the Tang Dynasty enthroned a khan with ten surnames, the new khan would be made to swear an oath to heaven in front of the mountains north of the Suiye River.

Fang Chongyong shouted, pointed at a hill ahead with his riding crop and said.

Otherwise, you will not be able to get the allegiance of the ministries. Tuqishi currently has two surnames: Huang and Black. They are from the split Turks.

However, the general only heard about it and did not see it with his own eyes. Tu Qishi's Tooth Tent is not in Suiye City, but lives with the water and grass somewhere on the Suiye River. If you want to find it, you have to ask the locals. "

"Concerning this matter, Commander Jiesai is right to the point.

Fang Chongyong encouraged Feng Changqing and said that this man was very good at map surveying, investigating the enemy's situation, and collecting information on mountains and rivers.

"He Laohu, you took the lead with the leading soldiers and killed those ambush soldiers. It's on the hill on the left hand side in front."

The two rode in front of the team, chatting as they walked. Soon, a scout from the front turned around, raised his fists and saluted Fang Chongyong and said, "Commander, there is an ambush halfway up the mountain ahead!"

I don’t feel bad if I get killed, and it’s easy to shirk responsibility!

"Order!"

He Changqi yelled, took the flag from Feng Changqing, and headed towards his headquarters.

After He Changqi left, Fang Chongyong continued to give the order: "The Tiaodang soldiers are ready to set off. They are wearing leather armor and following behind He Laohu's front team, taking turns to cover up and kill. The sword and shield soldiers are wearing heavy armor, forming a circular formation, and staying on standby. . In addition, the entire army has its crossbows strung and is ready for battle, wearing no armor."

After receiving the military order, the long marching team began to form a formation, in an orderly manner without any panic.

Fang Chongyong took a single-tube "telescope" from Feng Changqing's hand, squinted one eye, looked into the telescope with the other, and looked into the distance.

In the establishment of the Tang army, soldiers, weapons, armor, crossbows, equipment, and horses were all organized separately, and many of them were distributed before the battle. For example, infantry can ride horses and then dismount to fight on foot after arriving at the battle location. It can also march and fight with the infantry team, which is very flexible.

Depending on the situation, the weapons and horses equipped will be different.

The armor worn by the soldiers is also changed according to actual needs, rather than a set of equipment stuck to a certain soldier and never changed. Except for horizontal knives and bows and arrows, all other ordnance belongs to the government and is not the private property of the soldiers. If he sells it privately, he will be executed immediately after being discovered.

A general who can figure out what equipment to use in any situation is already above the average level in the Tang army.

There are standard operations for battlefield tactics, but how to use them depends on the individual.

It doesn't matter if you wear heavy armor all over your body like a tortoise and slowly wear out your blood, or you can kill with one blow with a Mo Dao while exposing your breasts. The only criterion for testing suitability is winning or losing in battle.

Soon, an unbearable scene appeared in the narrow field of view of the telescope in Fang Chongyong's hand.

A turbaned warrior from Tu Qishi's side held a short spear and stabbed at He Changqi. Fang Chongyong had seen this kind of short spear that could be "thrown and stabbed" by Bai Xiaode, the tenth general in Qiuci Town. However, the man's skills were too poor, so He Changqi "took the sword with his bare hands" and grabbed the spear shaft.

Then he dragged hard and swept the knife across directly. The head flew up and the body slowly fell down. He Changqi took the opponent's short spear and stabbed down another enemy soldier, really like a tiger descending from the mountain.

"He Laohu usually doesn't have a very bright mind, but he is extremely ferocious when killing enemies in battle."

Fang Chongyong put down the "Telescope" and muttered to himself.

In fact, he didn't need to say more. When the ambush was discovered, their demise would come. The situation should have been one-sided, but now it became a one-sided massacre. Fang Zhongyong couldn't bear to look at the bloody slaughter on the hill ahead.

Many enemy soldiers who were already kneeling on the ground begging for mercy from unknown tribes were still killed by He Changqi's elite soldiers with a single blow.

This is not called fighting, this is pure slaughter!
Fang Chongyong frowned slightly, but did not order them to stop.

Less than half an hour later, He Changqi, covered in blood, came over with a short spear he picked up from the enemy and a human head in his hand. The sword and shield soldiers formed by the Tang army separated a path for him to come in, with relaxed smiles on each other's faces. "Commander, luckily you have fulfilled your duty. The enemy general's head is here. The general also wanted to capture him alive for questioning, but his gang of bastards acted too quickly."

He Changqi complained with a smug look on his face.

It wasn't that they acted too quickly, but that they were too murderous and had no intention of leaving anyone alive.

Khan surnamed Shi Shi of Tuqi actually dared to detain the Tang army’s envoy, stabbed him in the back without any reason, and sent troops to ambush the Tang army entering the southern line of Rehai!
Failure to kill is not enough to deter the enemy chieftain.

He Changqi's thoughts were extremely simple and simple: kill everyone who dared to resist, and the rest would be respectful and obedient.

Want to rebel against the Tang Dynasty? You shouldn’t have this thought!

"Feng Canjun, you are responsible for keeping track of your merits. Just camp on the bank of the river ahead."

Fang Chongyong gave instructions to Feng Changqing and was too lazy to say anything more to He Changqi.

The rules tempered in war really cannot be changed by one or two generals. Fang Chongyong believed that even if he ordered to hold back in advance, these people would not care about it on the battlefield.

Many times the defeated enemy soldiers would kneel down and beg for mercy, and would be easily killed by the red-eyed soldiers.

He didn't like this, but he also knew that the power of habit was extremely powerful. The ideological level of the Qiu Ba people cannot reach the height of the "united front", so we cannot be too demanding of them.

……

"Khan! Something bad has happened! On the southern line of Rehai, the Tang Army's Pofrog City and Heye City are already heading towards Yezhi City! There is only a river blocking them from here!
The transfer department also rebelled, showing no resistance at all, and even leading the way! "

In the tent of the camp outside Yezhi City, a scout from Tuqishi reported to the Khan with the tenth surname, his face extremely anxious.

In order to prevent the leading party from growing like a snowball, Khan of the Tenth surname rushed from the vicinity of Suiye City to the front line Yezhi City to supervise the battle, trying to block the Tang army's march towards Suiye City with the narrow passage of Rehai.

Anyway, we have already broken up, so there is no need to mention nonsense like "misunderstanding", let's fight with real swords and guns and finish it!
But this Khan with the tenth surname seemed to have overlooked one thing.

A hundred eggs, stacked together and touching a stone, cannot harm the stone at all.

The northern and southern fronts of Atami were unable to deploy troops, which was indeed a great restriction for the Tang army. But the same is true for Tuqishi's troops!
Objective geographical conditions have no different impact on the warring parties.

The two lines of defense deployed by the Tenth Khan on the southern front were completely unable to stop the Tang army's advance. In other words, those Tuqishi people had no fighting will at all, and even the transfer troops stationed in Helie City directly surrendered to the Tang army!

In the final analysis, the Tuqishi people were not mentally prepared for why they suddenly fell out with the Tang Dynasty, let alone war.

The collusion between the Tenth Khan and the Black-clad Dashi was a matter between him and his inner circle, and the middle- and lower-class Tuqishi people did not know about it. Moreover, since Tuqishi's internal forces are naturally divided into "yellow and black surnames", it is impossible to unite them together.

Therefore, it is unexpected and reasonable for someone on the front line to rebel.

"Khan! Khan! There are Tang troops from the north coming to attack the camp!"

A scream came from outside the tent. In fact, there was no need for anyone to shout, because at this moment, the Khan of the Tenth Surname could already hear the sound of shouting and killing everywhere in the camp, from far to near!

"What's going on! Didn't you say that the Tang Army is on the southern front, across a river from us? How could it come from the north!"

The tenth Khan grabbed the scout by the collar and was furious!

At this moment, dozens of rockets hit the tent tent. Soon, one side of the tent was engulfed in fire, and it was teetering on the edge of being unable to hold up!

"Let's go back to Broken Leaf City!"

Khan with the tenth surname shouted.

As soon as he walked out of the tent, he saw Tang Army cavalry riding rampant everywhere in the camp outside. The tooth tent where he was located had been surrounded by more than a hundred Tang soldiers.

The tooth tent has a special shape and is extremely gorgeous. It can be seen from a long distance. It is the only one in the entire camp and has no semicolon. It is difficult to avoid being noticed!
Khan, surnamed Ten, regretted that he was too high-profile. If he had been in an inconspicuous small tent before, he might still have a chance to run away now.

Suddenly, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who surrounded the Yazhang separated into a lane. A general on horseback rode forward, raised his horse and pointed at Khan surnamed Shi and asked: "You are Tuqi Shi Shi Shi Khan, Iridimi Shi?" Gu Duolu Bijia?”

This Tang Army general was none other than Wang Rao, who had been attacking all the way from the northern front without stopping! He was looking at the Tuqishi Khan in front of him with an arrogant look, who was a little overwhelmed.

"I am the Tenth Khan, a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. May I ask why the Tang army attacked my camp without any reason?"

Khan, surnamed Ten, pretended to be confused and asked, but his trembling legs betrayed his true thoughts.

"If you have any excuses when you are about to die, go and talk to our Fang Jieshuai. Come on, take it down!"

Wang Rao shouted loudly, and the two sharp soldiers beside him rushed directly to the Khan of the Tenth Surname and tied him tightly with ropes.

Tu Qishi was attracted by the Tang army in the south, and the main force was on the southern front. This time the king made a rare sneak attack on Tuqishi's camp. It was like an adult bullying a child. The other party was completely unprepared. They never considered that the Tang army would take the northern route. There were not many elite soldiers in the camp.

This is actually a betting game. If you bet on one side, you still have hope of winning; if you bet on both sides, your strength will be dispersed, and you will be unable to defend both ends, and you will lose even more miserably.

It's not that there is a problem with the response of the Ten Surnamed Khans, but that today's Tuqishi is far behind the elite strength of the Tang army. Strategy can no longer make up for the gap.

In fact, although the Tenth Khan concentrated his strength, he could not hold on to the southern front. The transfer department was stabbed in the back at the critical moment, which made the Tuqishi Khan despair.

"Take the person away! Send him to Fang Jieshuai's camp!
Just tell Commander Jie that I am currently leading the troops to attack Suiye City. I think I will be the vanguard of the army and will not go back to resume my life. "

Wang Nan laughed loudly.

He didn't want Fang Chongyong to "peacefully resolve" Tu Qishi. If so, how would he gain military exploits?
Don't say anything, just rush all the way and it's over. There is nothing that the Tang Army's cavalry can't solve with one sword!
If one cut doesn't solve the problem, cut it again.

"I've been given the order, I'll do it now!"

The lieutenant said to Wang Qianlan, clasping his fists in a salute, and couldn't help but stepped forward and kicked Khan named Ten.

"Anyone who offends our strong men will be punished no matter how far away they are. You, a small warrior named Shi Khan, dare to raise arms against the Tang Dynasty. Who gives you the face? Who gives you the courage?"

The lieutenant pointed at the 10th Khan who looked like he was mourning for his heir, cursed, and tapped the opponent's cheek with the handle of the horizontal knife.

His face was full of disdain.

(End of this chapter)