Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 207 Breakout, breakout (2)

Finally, you can retreat, and you must retreat. If you don’t leave, you will never have a chance if you want to. Khotan is an important gateway for Tubo to enter and leave the Western Regions. The gate in his hand was slammed shut, and the Tubo defenders huddled in Shule and other cities are now shackles, without the slightest strength to struggle. The Anxi army of the Tang Dynasty can wait until next spring to clean up one by one. Chi, as for the main force of the Tubo army in Tuyuhun, there is nothing they can do except to sit and watch the Anxi Tubo tribes fall one by one. The reason is very simple. As winter approaches, the pass of Kunlun Mountain has been closed by heavy snow. At that time, it will take March or April next year to resume traffic. By then, the Tubo army in Anxi will have been wiped out. Besides, the Tubo people will be sad this winter because of Li Xian's fuss. There would be a famine in all likelihood, so there was no room for mobilizing troops to attack the Western Regions. I was afraid that the Tang army would take the opportunity to launch a spring offensive, and the defense would be too weak, let alone send out a large army to attack the Tang Dynasty.

All in all, the Tubo people don't want to go abroad without several years of cultivation, but then again, it is precisely because they are worried that the Tang army may launch a spring offensive next year, the Tubo people are more eager to think about it. It is necessary to hold such an important hostage as Li Xian as a barrier. In other words, once the news of Fujaxiong's righteousness reaches Fuqi City, it will definitely stimulate Gar Qinling to mobilize all the main forces at all costs in order to wipe out Li. Xian's subordinates, at that time, Li Xian did not dare to guarantee that his troops would be able to escape smoothly.

Retreat is inevitable, but how to retreat and which route to retreat is very particular. It must be carefully planned. In general, there are five ways for Li Xian's troops to return to the territory of the Tang Dynasty:

First, taking Songpan to Sichuan, the road is far away, and there are many obstacles along the way, so it is very difficult to travel quickly. Considering the current time, even if the Tubo people do not stop them along the way, Li Xian's troops will not be able to catch up with the heavy snow. Back to Datang in front of the mountain, it is obvious that this road is not going to work.

The second road is to take the Tang-Fan ancient road, pass through Shanzhou (now Xining), cross the Hehuang Valley, and return to Tianshui. The Tubo army was besieging. Although the Zuojian Gate Guard General Gao Xun had more than [-] troops, he could barely protect himself. It was really difficult to allocate troops to meet Li Xian's troops who had returned from the east. The consequence can only be to give credit to the Tubo people.

The third way is the way we came here. It goes back to Lanzhou via Babaochuan. This route is the most familiar to Li Xian's troops, and it is also the most convenient way to go. However, the Tubo army in this direction is the most powerful, and it is in Li Xian's hands. With such a small force, there was no hope of breaking through the siege at all. If they forced themselves to leave, they could only be dumped by the Tubo people, and there might not even be a horse bone left.

The fourth road is the most dangerous, because the road leading to Zhangye is an extremely rugged mountain road, full of strange dangers, people and horses trekking through it, if you don't pay attention, you will be smashed to pieces. There are not many Tubo troops on this road. As long as Li Xian's troops can quickly bypass Fuluochuan City, they can escape into the continuous Qilian Mountains. It will be difficult for the Tubo army to chase them. This small road was originally the last escape route reserved by Li Xian—this road It is the mountain path taken by the herb collectors, and the local people know very little about it. The reason why Li Xian knows it is probably because Li Xian was a "donkey friend" when he was studying in university. If you have an understanding of the geographical situation along the way, it is very possible to achieve unexpected results by taking this road. The prerequisite is that Li Xian can break through the siege of the Tubo army on the Fuluochuan line. Although this is difficult, it is not impossible. , as long as careful planning is possible.

As for the fifth road, there is no doubt that it is the pass of Kunlun Mountain that has just been won. You only need to bypass the dangerous place of Dafeichuan to go straight to the pass of Kunlun Mountain. Although this road is difficult, it is better than There was hardly any main Tubo army along the road, so Li Xian's troops could run wildly and rush all the way to Khotan. Of course, this refers to before the Tubo people reacted. Once the resourceful general knows that Khotan has rebelled, he will most likely deploy troops to block this passage. Obviously, if you want to take this road, you must first rush for time, and second, you have to plan carefully and create some It is possible to realize the illusion only if it confuses Gar Qinling.

In general, except for the fourth and fifth roads, which are more likely to be successful, the rest are dead ends, and only the ancient Tang and Tibetan roads seem to have such a glimmer of hope, but basically it can be ignored. , the four roads are the same as the first half of the second road, and they have to cross the Daoman River, while the fifth road needs to cross the Buha River. The two rivers are not on the same road. The latter is located on the northwest side of Qinghai Lake. , while the former is located in the southeast corner of Qinghai Lake. Both rivers are large inland rivers in Qinghai. Fortunately, this is the dry season. The water in the two rivers is very shallow, and people and horses can wade through it. Building a pontoon bridge, the difference is that the front line of the Daoman River is close to Fuluochuan City, and the guards are relatively tight, while the Buha River is close to Wuhai. After a big battle, the defense force is relatively weak.

"Report, Your Highness, more than [-] barbarian dogs were found in the west, less than twenty miles away from our army."

"Report, Your Highness, nearly [-] enemies are coming from the north, and they have reached Xiaoling, eighteen miles away from our troops!"

Before Li Xian could think about the specific route and steps for the retreat, the two messengers sent back the news that the pursuers were approaching. In desperation, Li Xian had to stop thinking, and ordered the whole army to quickly pack up the camp and prepare to continue. Playing a game of cat and mouse with the Tibetans, although the orders were given hastily, the army has long been accustomed to the rules of the game, and they acted very quickly. In less than a quarter of an hour, more than [-] soldiers All ready to go.

"The whole army obeyed the order. Except for the seven-day ration, discard all the luggage and rush to the mouth of the Buha River. Let's go home. Anyone who dares to block the way will be killed!"

While all the soldiers were packing their luggage, Li Xian finally made up his mind. First, he released the eagle for communication, and then, in front of the whole army, he issued an order to withdraw troops.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

After more than half a month of hard fighting, all the soldiers were already returning home. When they heard that they could finally go home, they were all excited, and the passionate shouts of killing rang out, and they went straight to the sky... The Buha River is located in the northwest of Qinghai Lake. It originates from the northern foot of Mantan Rigeng Peak in Shule Nanshan, a branch of Qilian Mountains. It flows roughly from northwest to southeast. It is extremely beautiful and meanders on the desert grassland like a green ribbon. The prairie on both sides of the river bank is the famous summer pasture of Tuyuhun. Every time spring and summer meet, various tribes gather here. The grass is green and the cattle and sheep are everywhere. Of course, such beautiful scenery can only be seen in summer, when the severe winter is approaching, the vegetation is withered, the two sides of the river are dead silent, there are no people for thousands of miles, only the piercing cold wind whistling endlessly, how desolate it is, However, this vast and uninhabited scene is what Li Xian, who has fought bloody battles all the way here, hopes to see the most, because after crossing this river, the road is already smooth, and there is no other place except Kunlun Pass danger.

It's not easy, it's really not easy. Looking at the gurgling Buha River in the distance, Li Xian's eyes can't help getting moist—it's only been three days since he decided to retreat. But what a difficult three days it was, not to mention how hard it was to travel thousands of miles, nor to mention how dangerous the encounters along the way were, but how many brains Li Xian lost in order to confuse Gar Qinling Cells——Li Xian's troops first rushed towards the mouth of the Pumman River like a rainbow, and at the cost of hundreds of casualties, broke through two ten-thousand-thousand Tubo teams who came to intercept them in succession, and let Gaoyan who was standing firm in Shanzhou The troops paid the price of more than a thousand casualties, launched an offensive forcibly, and pretended to support Li Xian's troops, and then Li Xian's troops turned halfway under the cover of the night, at the cost of exhausting nearly half of the horses. After running for more than 3000 miles a day and a night, he finally jumped out of the encirclement of the Tubo army and arrived at the mouth of the Buha River with great difficulty. There is only one man and one horse left in the equipment. This kind of sacrifice and this kind of price can only be described in one word, and that is tragic!
It was really too tragic. Even though he knew that "kindness does not command soldiers" is the most reasonable saying of military strategists, after all, people are not machines, and their hearts are always fleshy. Li Xian's heart sank when he saw his robe falling all the way. It's like being filled with lead. Fortunately, all this is finally coming to an end. Li Xian has nothing to regret if he can successfully take back Anxi and delay the rise of Tubo. Xian believes that there will be a day when he will get it back, and there is only one priority right now, and that is to cross the river!
"Woooooooo..."

The river is obviously not so easy to pass, and the sky seems to be playing a joke on Li Xian. Just when the gunman was about to order the whole army to cross the Buha River, a shrill horn sounded suddenly, and immediately saw a not-so-high Smoke and dust billowed from behind the mountain ridge, and thousands of elite Tubo cavalry rushed towards Li Xian's troops roaring.

Not good, ambushed!As soon as he saw the Tubo cavalry rushing over the mountains and plains, Li Xian's heart sank immediately. However, now that the men and horses are exhausted, it is absolutely impossible to get rid of the Tubo cavalry's cover-up. There is only one way to go, and that is to fight, to kill against each other, to fight a bloody way!

"When the two armies meet, the brave one wins. My sons, follow me to kill the thief, kill, kill, kill!"

No hesitation, no time for hesitation, facing the surging Tubo cavalry brigade, Li Xian took off the Qinglong Yanyue Knife on the victory hook, raised it high, and issued the most passionate declaration of battle...

(End of this chapter)