The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 181 Victory Algorithm
"Commanding troops and fighting outside, I'm bound to be exposed to the sun and rain. I'll probably get even darker in the future." Li Heng smiled bitterly.

Yang Yuhuan said: "No matter how dark you are, you are still the most handsome man in the world."

"I believe you are sincere in what you said." Li Ying looked at Yang Yuhuan, "You are really becoming more and more stunningly beautiful. Just one look at you makes my heart tremble."

"No matter how beautiful your face is, without your lover's care, it is nothing." Yang Yuhuan hugged Li Heng tightly, "It is said that heroes are like beauties since ancient times, and they are not allowed to grow old in the world. My lover is now a hero unrivaled in the world, and I can barely be considered a beauty..."

"We just want to see each other grow old together." Li Heng interrupted Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan listened to Li Heng's firm tone, hugged Li Heng's neck, kissed him deeply, and said, "I will listen to you, my lord. I have ordered someone to boil some hot water. Do you need to take a bath?"

"Of course." Li Ying nodded and asked with a smile: "How about we go together?"

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan smiled happily again.

Li Heng carried Yang Yuhuan towards the bathroom.

Yang Yuhuan said, "My dear, please let me down first. I will undress you."

Li Ying said, "I can also undress you."

"This goes against etiquette." Yang Yuhuan said.

Li Ying said: "My words are the etiquette."

Yang Yuhuan chuckled and said, "My dear, you hold me so easily, you don't look like a sick person at all."

As they talked, they went to the bathroom.

After a while, the sound of two people fighting came from the bathroom.

……

The next day.

Li Heng and his generals discussed the war with the Arabs.

Li Heng had a plan in mind, but he didn't intend to say it directly. Instead, he wanted to ask first: "What do you think, what are our chances of winning this time against the Arabs?"

"In terms of military strength, if we fight a tough battle, we can only use 50% at most." Gao Xianzhi spoke first, gave a conclusion, and then explained: "Anxi originally had 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 horses. After the reinforcement of Suiye City, there are 40,000 soldiers and 4,000 horses. Beiting has more than 20,000 soldiers and 5,000 horses. If we withdraw 60% to 70% of them to fight, we can mobilize nearly 40,000 soldiers and nearly 6,000 horses. The Arabs are led by Nasr, who has more than 100,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 horses, which is twice as many as our army. Our army needs to call on the vassal states in the Western Regions to send troops to balance the power with them. But if we add logistical supplies, I'm afraid it will be less than 40%."

"Why is that?" Li Ying asked.

Gao Xianzhi said: "Our army's logistics transportation is mainly cattle, followed by horses. Normally, the transportation capacity is sufficient, but there are many deserts in the Western Regions, so cattle and horses are not advantageous. The Arabs mainly use camels for transportation. Their skins can store water and they are good at traversing the desert. If our army cannot find the enemy's main force and fight quickly, it will be disadvantageous to our army if it delays. That is why General An Sishun and others chose to hold the city firmly."

When the generals present heard Gao Xianzhi present the data, they all frowned.

Li Heng glanced at the generals and said with a smile, "From the perspective of military strength and logistics, it is indeed as General Gao said. But if we consider other factors, I think it is at least 70%."

"Hmm?" The generals were startled and said, "Your Highness, please enlighten me."

Li Heng stood up and analyzed, "Although the Arabs have more than 100,000 soldiers, half of them were recruited from the occupied territories. After the Arabs invaded other countries, they did not treat everyone equally. The taxes and corvée labor in the occupied territories are heavier than those of the Arabs. The Persians and the countries in the Tocharian region have long been unable to bear the burden and are indignant about the injustice. The soldiers in these regions will not be very loyal to the Arabs. In this way, their strength can be reduced by 30%." "Indeed." Li Siye nodded in agreement, "General An Sishun was originally from Anguo. Now that Anguo has been occupied by the Arabs, he is very worried and angry. This time he is in charge of Bukhara, and he also hates the Arabs."

Cen Shen also said: "Cao Lingzhong was originally from Cao State. When he heard that the Arabs had occupied Cao State, he immediately asked for permission to go to the front."

The fact that An Sishun and Cao Lingzhong had such an attitude was closely related to the many policies of the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire towards the Western Regions.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin said: "Since ancient times, people have valued the Chinese and despised the foreigners, but I love them all equally."

Adhering to this idea, the Tang Dynasty has always been very tolerant and equal to foreigners.

The Tang Dynasty adopted a system of vassalage for the conquered areas, and a system of vassalage for the Western Regions countries that were willing to submit, giving them the utmost respect.

Gao Xianzhi's later attack on the Shi Kingdom, which was criticized, was not really a betrayal of the Tang Dynasty as some people believed.

There are two kings in the Stone Kingdom, one chief and one deputy.

The previous king was pro-Tang. After the Arabs occupied Tocharistan, they demoted the pro-Tang king and enthroned a new pro-Arab king named Bistreller.

It was because this king was not pro-Tang that Gao Xianzhi invaded the Shi Kingdom and killed him.

Therefore, the starting point of the Tang Dynasty was not betrayal. It was just that during the march, Gao Xianzhi failed to discipline his subordinates and committed atrocities in the Shi Kingdom, which completely pushed the Tang Dynasty to the opposite side of the Western Regions.

The Arabs had always been committed all kinds of atrocities, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities wherever they went. Once they occupied a place, they would enslave the people without limit.

In contrast, many people in the Western Regions would rather follow the Tang Dynasty.

Li Heng gave Li Siye and Cen Shen an affirmative look, and then said: "In this battle with the Arabs, we are helping the Western Regions to repel the invading enemy. The letters of help from the Western Regions are all in my hands. We are a righteous army with a legitimate reason. This way, our chances of winning can be increased by another 10%."

The generals nodded in agreement.

Li Heng added: "The rear camp of the Arabs is in Khorasan, and our rear camp is in Suiye City. In comparison, the Arabs are the ones who are going on a long expedition, so our chance of winning will increase by another 10%."

As Li Heng spoke, he mentally calculated the advantages of this battle and the Battle of Talas in history.

In comparison, the Battle of Talas in history was seven or eight years late in rescuing the countries in the Western Regions, and the Tang Dynasty went from being an army of justice to a conquered enemy.

Moreover, at that time, Suiye City was still in the hands of the Turks, not the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was truly embarking on a long expedition.

In addition to these two points, during the Battle of Talas in history, although the Arab Empire had just been established and its national strength was not strong, it also had fewer sharp domestic conflicts.

After listening to Li Heng's analysis, Gao Xianzhi admired and said: "After listening to your words, I suddenly understand. As your Highness said, our army has at least a 70% chance of winning."

The generals nodded, their confidence growing. Li Heng smiled slightly.
Li Heng was just trying to stabilize everyone's confidence at the strategic level. To truly win, we still have to look at the practical operations at the tactical level.

Li Heng came to the map and said, "The Arabs have more than 100,000 soldiers, divided into three routes. The southern route is at Geluoling. The purpose of this route is to threaten Shule, but in fact, it is also to suppress the Tokharistan region in the rear. The central route is in Bukhara. This route is mainly to conquer Bukhara and advance westward. The northern route is in Baishui City. On the one hand, this route serves as a support for the central route, and on the other hand, it guards against the Turks and Karluks in the north. Therefore, on the surface, the Arabs are advancing in three directions at the same time, but in fact, they have no choice."

Li Heng said at this point, then changed the subject and said, "But we are different. We can rely on the steep Pamir Mountains to defend our southern route, and we have a decent relationship with the Turks and Karluks in the north. With the help of the Beiting Anxi garrison, we should be able to maintain stability for a while. The Kingdom of Bukhanna in the middle is very pro-Tang, so we can mobilize a large army and focus on the middle route. As long as we win the first battle, we can deter those who have ulterior motives against the Tang Dynasty and win over those who want to resist the Arabs."

(End of this chapter)