Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 546 The Enemy is Ahead
In the spring of the first year of Yonglong, the ice and snow began to melt. With the nourishment of snow water, most places in the Western Regions took on a different look, except for Yaoshashui.

After being silent for the entire winter, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses were frequently mobilized on both sides of the Yaosha River, and the air was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

Tang army camp!

Li Ji sat high up, and below him were a group of Tang army generals including Pei Xingjian, Qibi Heli, Ashina Zhong, Tang Xiujing, Wang Fangyi, Heichi Changzhi, Li Duozuo, Zhang Qianxu and others gathered together.

Pei Xingjian was reporting the latest military situation: "Since the beginning of spring, the Arab Empire has been making frequent movements. According to the scouts, many of the Arab Empire's military camps made major movements yesterday. I suspect that the Arab Empire will make major movements in the near future."

The old general Qibi Heli, who was still as brave as ever, burst into laughter when he heard this: "These rats finally couldn't hold back any longer."

Qibi Heli was a foreign general. Whenever he fought a war, he usually led the coalition forces of the grassland tribes. The mobility of the grassland coalition forces was crucial in driving the Arab Empire from the borders of Tokharistan and Kangju to the Yaosha River. In short, as a general, he enjoyed fighting and killing very much.

However, as the Arab Empire retreated to the Yaosha River and deployed defenses along the river bank, the mobility of the grassland tribes was greatly weakened, and Qibi Heli was also restricted and felt a little frustrated.

Qibi Heli was a fierce general who had fought in the battlefields with the Tang army and was rarely defeated. He never feared a fight, but was afraid that his opponent was too timid and would not dare to fight.

Tang Xiujing was good at making plans. Thinking about the frequency of the two armies fighting on the east bank of Yaosha River in recent days, he said, "In the past few days, the Arab Empire has been acting out of character and has crossed Yaosha River many times to seek battle. I suspect that something happened in the Arab Empire that we don't know about, which prompted them to act like this."

Li Ji and Pei Xingjian knew the reason for the successive actions of the Arab Empire. They were creating chaos and muddying the situation. Only in this way could they fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the defection of the Karluks to gain the greatest benefits.

However, Li Ji and Pei Xingjian did not spread the matter. They both understood that if they wanted to hide it from the enemy, they had to hide it from their own people first.

Li Ji took advantage of the situation and stood up and gave the order: "If we don't fight, we will fight him. My lords, don't be afraid of the provocation of the Arab Empire. Show the power of the court. If there is any change, please inform us at any time."

Accompanied by the endless responses from the generals.

The Tang army located on the east bank of the Yaosha River also frequently attacked and took the initiative to seek out the enemy.

This confrontation with the Arab Empire was not limited to one place, but spanned the thousand-mile-long Yaosha River, with more than a dozen battlefield positions.

They were constantly testing each other to find opportunities to fight, and their tempers were aroused during the testing. On both sides of the Yaosha River, they fought with real swords and guns.

The situation became more and more chaotic. If the generals did not check for a moment, they would be taken advantage of by the enemy and reveal their weaknesses.

But whether it is Li Ji from the Tang army or Muawiyah, the caliph of the Arab Empire, they are all veterans who have come through the battlefield. They will send reinforcements as soon as possible to stabilize the situation and prevent the disadvantage from expanding.

This is also the key to the difficulty of this battle. Both sides have strong follow-up supply forces. Even if there is a local failure, there are remaining reserve forces to fill the gap and it will not affect the overall situation.

The battlefield became tense again.

On this day, the Egyptian army of the Arab Empire suddenly attacked the hill fortress guarded by Pei Xingjian.

Pei Xingjian was different from other Tang generals who always led the front in every battle. He was not good at martial arts, but was more adept at strategies and tactics, especially astronomy and meteorology. He applied them to military science and was always successful on the battlefield. He wore a light general's armor, which made him look like a great Confucian general. At this time, he was on a high place, looking down at the hills.

At the foot of the hill, the soldiers of the Arab Empire, wearing iron armor and leather jackets, holding shields and long swords, held high the black flag and moved swiftly between the hills and ravines like tigers.

Although some of them kept falling, they were numerous and they launched wave after wave of attacks fanatically, stepping on blood and corpses.

Pei Xingjian had seen this kind of scene more than a dozen times during the years of fighting against the Arabs, but every time he saw it, he found it incredible. Are there really people in this world who are not afraid of death?

The soldiers of the Arab Empire actually laughed when facing death on the battlefield, as if death was a relief and a glorious thing.

In fact, opposite Pei Xingjian, the think tank of the Arab Empire, Amr, and Yazid, the eldest son of Caliph Muawiyah, had the same feeling.

In the teachings of the Arabs, death is the inevitable final destination of a person. It is the disappearance of the body and the sublimation of the spirit. It is the return to the true nature of life, not the end of life. Dedicating oneself to God is a very glorious thing...

They couldn't understand why even the Eastern Tang court, with its mixed beliefs, could cultivate such brave and fearless warriors.

The two sides fought hard in attack and defense...

Amur said: "Li Ji's use of troops is very comprehensive, and there are no opportunities to exploit. Pei Xingjian is one of the few opportunities we can exploit..." He patiently instructed his students and said: "Li Ji has a high prestige in the Central Plains, but it won't work in the Western Regions. In the Western Regions, there are only two people in the Tang court who are truly prestigious. One is Su Dingfang, and the other is Pei Xingjian. Su Dingfang is dead, and Pei Xingjian is the only one who can stabilize the morale of the coalition forces of the Western Regions. As long as we capture and kill him, the game will be halfway won."

Yezide nodded, then suddenly smiled strangely and said, "It all depends on how the Qarluks perform today!"

at the same time.

While all the Tang army generals were concentrating on dealing with the enemies on the west bank of Yaosha River, the Qarlugs quietly left their stationed area. The three tribal chiefs, Nashi, Luman and Apostusut, led the most elite warriors of their tribe and quietly appeared in the rear of Pei Xingjian's camp.

Nashi was pulling the whip, Ruman was stroking the mane of his mount, and Apostoth was looking around. They were all doing their own things, but their absent-minded state betrayed them.

Until a dark shadow appeared in the distance and came towards them rapidly.

"coming!"

A word was heard in the silent environment.

The three of them waited anxiously, waiting for the black shadow to arrive nearby.

After confirming the identity of the person, the three of them went up to him and asked in unison: "How is it?" "What's the situation?" "Are you prepared?"

What they asked about was naturally the situation in Pei Xingjian's military camp.

According to Nashi's original idea, they directly helped the Arabs to attack the Tang army's granary and lay the foundation for victory. However, the Arabs had another plan, asking them to give up their defense zone and let the Arab army pass through their defense line to attack the Tang army's granary, while they assisted the Arab Egyptian army to attack Pei Xingjian's camp.

This was a direct attack on Pei Xingjian's military camp. Knowing how powerful Pei Xingjian was, Nashi, Luman and Apostote were inevitably nervous.

But what the Arab Empire offered was too much, and they couldn't resist the temptation.

"To the clan leader, the Tang army is fully focused on dealing with the attack from the Arab Empire and has no time to worry about the rear..."

The three were overjoyed when they heard this.

Nashi was so excited that his saliva flew everywhere. He drew the scimitar at his waist and shouted: "The enemy is in front of us. Warriors of Karluk, follow your leader and crush all enemies that stand in our way!"

(End of this chapter)