Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 502 Simple Hidden Danger
Chen Qingsi was still very confident in the abilities of the three detectives of Wu Zhou. He waited for their investigation results and dealt with the affairs of the Ministry of War with peace of mind.

Although Qinghai is far away, the imperial court has renovated the road leading to Qinghai Lake and established several post stations in recent years.

The exchange of military information was relatively convenient. Normally, battle reports could be delivered in more than 20 days. Crucial military information could be delivered within 10 days if it was delivered over a hundred miles, day and night.

As for the situation in the Western Regions, there is nothing that can be done.

Communications were exchanged only once every few months, and the war situation was entirely up to the commanders in charge to decide.

The situation in Qinghai is under control. Cheng Wuting is aware of the overall strategy and there is no need to win a quick victory in the battle with Tubo.

On the surface, the Tang Dynasty was fighting one against two, fighting two different countries in Qinghai and the Western Regions respectively, but in fact, the two could be combined into one front...

Because Tibet had been exhausted by the Tang Dynasty over the years and had almost experienced a coup d'état internally, its power had been greatly damaged and it no longer had the ability to launch a campaign.

There are two reasons why we can launch a large-scale attack now: we are gambling on the fate of the country and we have received funding from the Arab Empire.

Among them, the funding from the Kingdom of the Caliphate was the key. Although the ice and snow melted in many places on the plateau due to the warming climate, and many fertile arable land and grasslands were created due to the water from the snow, which provided the prerequisite for the rise of Tubo, the failure to seize Qinghai Lake also prevented Tubo from becoming a truly powerful country.

Tibet’s supplies were almost exhausted. How long they could hold out on the front line depended on the support of the Arab Empire rather than their own domestic economy.

If Tubo could be defeated in a few strokes, the Arab Empire would lose a force that could contain the Tang army, but it would also save unnecessary logistical costs.

The war in the Western Regions will be a protracted one. Keeping Tubo here can consume the logistical strength of the Arab Empire, which can just make up for the consumption of the Tang court.

Therefore, maintaining an undefeated record is a victory for Cheng Wuting.

Once the Arab Empire gives up supporting Tubo, the Tubo army in Qinghai will be defeated without a fight.

Judging from the battle reports from the front line, Cheng Wuting had the situation under good control. He and Xi Junmai established a defense system around Fu'ai City and fought a war of attrition with Tubo.

The Tang army had strong armor and powerful bows and crossbows, and had repelled several attacks.

The only thing that gave the Tang army a headache was the expeditionary force dispatched from Africa.

Blacks had a huge advantage in the era of cold weapons, and they were simply a powerful weapon for night attacks.

They can blatantly walk near your camp and then launch a surprise attack, which is impossible to defend against.

No matter how many guards we have, we can't prevent...

Fortunately, the Tang army already knew that the soldiers who launched the surprise attack were Kunlun slaves from the west, who were also flesh and blood people. Flesh and blood bodies could not withstand the swinging and chopping of swords, hammers and clubs.

After overcoming the psychological pressure, even though they couldn't avoid getting close to him, he was able to stabilize the situation and repel the thieves through his quick reaction ability.

Thinking about the battle reports sent from the front line, Chen Qingsi wrote a letter of commendation to Cheng Wuting. He did not intend to interfere with Cheng Wuting's decision-making, but only gave his own suggestions.

"The number of Kunlun slaves will not be too large. As long as we can kill more of them, we can reduce the threat. Kunlun slaves don't know how to adapt. Their attack methods are bound to be rigid. We can design a plan to show weakness and then surround and kill them."

Chen Qingsi was very familiar with the Western way of doing things. Due to the living environment, black people had not been able to develop their own civilization and had to live a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood. The religious culture of Westerners was full of barbarism and aggression. They were extremely cruel to their own people with different beliefs, let alone black people?
Chen Qingsi knew without even trying to understand that they would not be recognized by Westerners.

Westerners regard black people as slave goods, even animals, and objects of entertainment. They do not regard them as human beings at all, let alone teach them knowledge.

This is how Kunlun slaves came about.

They used war to sell black people from Africa to all parts of the world.

Chen Qingsi was certain that this group of black soldiers were the lowest-level slave soldiers who could only follow orders rigidly, had no knowledge of military tactics, and were inflexible, making them the easiest to be deceived.

To deal with this type of soldier, the simplest method is the most effective. If you have too many ideas and your tactics are too complicated, it will be useless against their simple minds.

Chen Qingsi's letter was delivered to Cheng Wuting more than 20 days later.

The military situation did not change much. Xi Junmai and Cheng Wuting were both famous generals of the time. One of them occupied Fu'ai City, and the other built a defense line around Fu'ai City. Tubo attacked several times in succession, but was repelled by the two of them working together.

However, the Tang army still had no good solution to the Kunlun slaves' night attacks.

Cheng Wuting was so angry that he cursed many times, but there was nothing he could do.

Blacks have too much advantage on this dark plateau.

They could rely on their skin color to get to within twenty steps of the camp, then crawl up close to launch an attack and create chaos.

The Tang army reacted quickly and organized a counterattack. They did not want to fight at all and turned around and ran away.

Then it blended into the night and I didn't know where to chase it.

Some black people were even injured and couldn't run, so they just lay down on the grass, and it was possible that they could not be found even if they passed by nearby.

The blacks' night attack did not cause much casualties to the Tang army, but it brought great psychological pressure to the Tang army.

The blacks' attack was to sneak up close and attack directly, leaving the Tang army no chance to react or prepare.

The pressure on the soldiers of the two armies was already enormous. They worried about being attacked from time to time, and were startled by the slightest noise. Even a soldier having a nightmare and screaming could wake up hundreds or even thousands of soldiers.

If this continues, it will be a huge threat to military morale.

Cheng Wuting tried many methods, but none of them worked very well.

It was not until he received Chen Qingsi's letter that Cheng Wuting thought for a long time, and then he made the arrangements with some doubts.

It’s not that Chen Qingsi’s method is too clever, but that it is too low-level, so low-level that it is not even worth using.

The night on the grassland is not peaceful. The sounds of insects come one after another, gathering together in a chaotic manner.

A group of black men came closer quietly, barefoot. Looking at the camp not far away, they crawled forward until they reached the fence of the camp: this was also the key point that the Tang army had no defense against.

The Tang army's defense line was built around the city of Fu'ai.

The area surrounding Fu'ai City was a flat grassland, and the Tang army's military camp was built on the grassland. Twenty-five thousand soldiers and horses were divided into camps covering an area of ​​five miles.

With such a huge army, the camp cannot cover everything...

The black surprise attack troops of the Arab Empire could not tell where the flaws were, which made them even more difficult to defend against.

Because it is a truly random probability.

"Enemy attack!"

As the golden gongs of the Tang army sounded.

This time, the Tang army did not organize a counterattack immediately, but fled in panic.

They were defeated in one battle and fled inside...

The leader of the blacks was called Twenty-One, because twenty-one people were killed or injured in the attempt to capture him. This is the origin of his name Twenty-One.

This is not a name. Black people do not deserve to have a name. It is just a name, a code name.

Twenty-one looked at the defeated Tang army, his eyes flashing with bloodthirsty excitement, as if he saw meat and women...

Twenty-one had no extra thoughts, only one thought in his mind: to survive. He was originally a wild man in the African jungle, living a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood, and he lived the same life after being captured by the slave trade. For him, there was no difference except freedom.

It’s not that they hadn’t thought about escaping for freedom, but they were already far away from home.

The appearance of black people is too eye-catching. Black people without masters are runaway slaves, without exception.

At that time, the existence of black people was not accepted in Western society. The fate of escaped slaves was even more tragic.

Having experienced too many tragic experiences, these twenty-one people have long been tamed. They think that if they escape they will die, but if they don't escape they can still have food to eat, and if they behave well they can eat meat and have women to play with.

Killing and destruction have numbed Twenty-One's mind to the point where he has become accustomed to his current life.

If you are obedient, you will get food. If you win the battle, you will get a lot of food, and even women.

Simple and practical...

So when he saw the Tang army's defeat, Twenty-One never thought that this was a trick.

There are no such complicated things in his mind. All he thinks is that if he can't beat the opponent, he will run away, and if he can beat the opponent, he will get meat and women.

Now that we have fought, let’s fight for meat and women…

The twenty-one were only thinking about rushing forward, but they didn't notice that when the Tang army was fleeing, the troops on the left and right wings began to encircle them.

Tang army camp!

"Report, more than a thousand Kunlun slave soldiers of Tibet have been annihilated by us!"

"..."

Cheng Wuting was a little confused and said in disbelief: "Destroy them? No one was left alive?"

"Well... the soldiers had bad tempers and were a bit heavy-handed. We shouted to lay down our weapons and surrender, but they didn't understand. In short, those who survived were all seriously injured, and few could make it."

"Okay!" Cheng Wuting said, "I understand... Let's go down!"

Cheng Wuting felt as if he was dreaming. He never thought that the problem that gave him a headache could be solved with such a crude method?
“Is this what they call the ultimate simplicity?”

Cheng Wuting thought that he had tried every possible means to guard against the night attack by the Kunlun slaves. He had changed the layout of the camp several times and even deliberately left some loopholes to lure the enemy to attack.

No matter how he planned, the Kunlun slaves would appear in places he least expected. He racked his brains but couldn't figure out why the Kunlun slaves chose that place for the night attack...

As a result, today a trap that could only deceive young children was completely destroyed.

This gave Cheng Wuting a feeling of searching for an enemy in the void, battling wits and courage with the air.

"Forget it, at least I can get a good night's sleep."

Cheng Wuting forced himself to find a happy thought.

Tibetan military camp.

"Cough cough!"

Galdongzan coughed twice.

Zanpo immediately handed her father some ginseng tea and said, "Moisten your throat, father."

Galdongzan took the tea with a smile, drank it all in one gulp, took a deep breath, and asked, "What time is it now?"

Zanpo walked out of the tent and looked at the sky: "The sun is high in the sky, around noon."

Gal Dongzan said: "So, the Arabs' Kunlun slaves didn't come back?"

Zan Po said, "There has been no news so far. I'm afraid it's very dangerous. We have to give General Schmidt an explanation."

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive.

Before they finished their conversation about father and son, the general of the Arab Empire, Shimid ibn al-As, came into the tent angrily.

"Da Lun! Almost all my slaves are dead. When will your people move?"

Schmidt ibn As's tone was somewhat aggressive.

Schmidt was the envoy from the Arab Empire who participated in the Fengshan ceremony of the Tang Dynasty, and the son of Amr, a wise man from the Arab Empire.

Originally, the two countries agreed to attack the Tang Dynasty together. However, Galdongzan fell into the trap of Chen Qingsi and Su Dingfang. In order to force Su Dingfang, the powerful enemy, to death, he took the initiative to attack first. As a result, he was defeated and suffered heavy losses.

This directly led to instability in the internal political power of Tubo. If it were not for the young and capable Tubo Zamp who turned the tide and stabilized the situation at the critical moment, Tubo might have collapsed.

The current Tubo no longer has the strength to gain the trust of the Arab Empire.

The Arab Empire was worried that Tubo would sit on the sidelines and watch the fight at this critical moment, so it specially sent Schmidt to lead troops and food to provide support.

On the surface, it's helping each other, but in fact, it's just supervision...

Tubo has been sending troops for more than half a year, but there has been no obvious results and the situation is now in a stalemate.

The casualties in this stalemate were not heavy, and Schmidt was a man who knew military affairs, so he was not too anxious.

But now all his slave soldiers have returned, and Schmidt can no longer sit still.

The price of strong, obedient and fighting blacks is extremely high, and ordinary people simply cannot put together a black army.

That is, his father, Amr ibn al-As, was the governor of Egypt and the uncrowned king of Egypt. 70% of the business of black people in Africa was controlled by his family.

Only in this way could he form a black slave army. Now all the black slave army under his command were wiped out, while the casualties of Tubo were not great.

Schmidt couldn't accept it, and even suspected that the old man Galdongzan was deliberately consuming his troops in order to get rid of his control.

Before leaving, his father, the wisest man of the Arab Empire, asked him to pay attention to Galdongzan.

This old man is as cunning as a fox and should not be trusted.

Gal Dongzan didn't care about Schmidt's tone and said amiably, "General Schmidt, give me two months, at most two months, and I am confident that I can defeat the Tang army."

"Really?"

Schmidt sounded a little unconvinced.

He had participated in the Fengshan ceremony, witnessed the power of the Tang Dynasty, and also felt the fighting power of the Tang army during the confrontation during these days.

Schmitt still finds it hard to believe that how could the soldiers of a country with mixed beliefs be so brave and in no way inferior to their devout Arab followers.

"Of course!" Galdongzan was full of confidence.

"Okay!" Schmidt said, "Then I'll wait for two months."

He bowed with the Arab etiquette and left.

The two communicated in Arab language, which Zanpo could not understand at all.

After Schmidt walked away, Zanpo asked, "Father, what are you talking about?"

Gal Dong praised: "I will let him wait for two months. After two months, I will defeat the Tang army and give him a different situation."

Zanpo herself was a little unconvinced and asked hurriedly, "Are you serious, father?"

"Of course, Su Dingfang is an unparalleled military strategist, but his heroism is too strong, leaving behind a huge hidden danger. Your father has been trying to provoke the outbreak of this hidden danger for the past six months. Today, the black slave army of the Arab Empire has been annihilated, and it is just the right time. In two months at most, the opportunity will come."

(End of this chapter)