Wentang

Chapter 821
The Sasanian king Yi Siqi was both worried and happy when he heard that the Tang Dynasty was going to directly attack the Bahrain region.

The happy part is that in this way, the lost land can be regained quickly. The worried part is that if such a hard bone is gnawed in the first battle, what will happen if it fails.

Before the Sassanid Dynasty fought and failed repeatedly and even lost the capital Taixifeng, Yi Siqi had to organize manpower to build a new line of defense in Nihawind.

If this battle fails again, it means that the remaining land of the Sasanian Dynasty will be cut into fragments, and it will no longer be possible to organize a united front.

Only then will it really be a catastrophe.

Yi Sicheng, who had already been beaten and almost lost his courage, didn't want to take such a risk. He wanted to stop the big cannibal first, and slowly found a way to regain the lost ground.

Even if it is impossible to regain the lost land, as long as the existing land can be kept.

Li Daozong fought a decisive battle as soon as he came, which was naturally not what he wanted.

In fact, it's not just the Sasanians who don't understand, there are also many people in the Western Expeditionary Army who don't understand.

Li Daozong had to call all the senior and middle generals together and tell them the purpose of doing so:

"In the past, we fought for our own country and our own family. No matter what kind of situation we faced, the soldiers could persevere."

"Now we are fighting for other countries thousands of miles away. If the war drags on for too long, the soldiers will feel war-weary."

"Besides, it is difficult for us to fight and supply far away from the homeland, and it is convenient for the big cannibals to fight and supply supplies at their doorstep. The more we fight, the weaker they become, and the more they fight, the stronger they become."

"So we must fight the decisive battle while the morale of the soldiers is still there and all the supplies are in place. If we win this battle, we can maintain the morale for a longer period of time."

"At the same time, it can also deter the various forces in the surrounding area, making them obediently become Datang's vassals, and providing Datang with enough cannon fodder and military supplies."

"So what we taboo most is fighting a bad battle, even if we can't win all the time, the decisive battle is what we need most."

Those who can be selected into the Western Expeditionary Army are all elites. Many of them are outstanding graduates from military academies, and they are all people who understand the art of war. After Li Daozong explained it, he understood his painstaking efforts.

While deeply admired, they all changed their attitudes and fully supported his plan.

After unifying the internal thinking, Li Daozong ordered troops to be dispatched, leaving Li Xiaoyi to lead [-] troops from the headquarters to defend Ruimi City.

So in fact, he carried only [-] headquarter troops and [-] various retinues.

But no one was worried that they would fail. Leaving aside the combat effectiveness of the soldiers, this time there were a hundred cannons accompanying them.

The army rushed to the battlefield all the way, and people from all major forces along the way watched from a distance. Seeing the Tang army armed to the teeth, they felt trembling from the bottom of their hearts.

It's too strong, and the aura it exudes makes people unable to resist turning around and running away.

It took more than ten days for the army to arrive in Nihawind, where they met the Sasanian king Yisiqi.

After seeing Li Daozong, Yi Sitang's posture was very low. Although he is the lord of a country in name, countries are different from each other.

Li Daozong belonged to the Tang clan with the title of prince, and was also the chief protector of the Da Yue clan's protectorate, but he, the Sasanian king, was only the protector of Persia, under the jurisdiction of Li Daozong.

He really didn't have the courage to show off in front of Li Daozong, but he still expressed his worries: "General Protector, is it too dangerous to directly attack Bahrain, why don't we attack from other places first?"

Li Daozong's attitude towards him is also very kind. After all, he is also the lord of a country, but his attitude is very firm:

"This battle is unavoidable, and the big cannibals also understand this truth. No matter where we attack from, the main force of the big cannibals will meet us."

"Presumably the big cannibals have stopped attacking recently, right? There is even the possibility of withdrawing troops from the front line. I don't know if I am right?"

Yi Sicheng said in surprise: "The Protectorate is indeed worthy of being a famous general of the Tang Dynasty. The situation is exactly as you said. The cannibal stopped attacking a month ago, and began to transfer the front-line troops to Bahrain for defense half a month ago."

Li Daozong said: "They are not for defense, but want to shrink their troops and wait for us to fight a decisive battle."

Yi Situ hurriedly said: "Then you shouldn't go, the big cannibal must have deployed heavy troops there, you only have 15 soldiers, and the troops I can deploy are only [-]... You can't jump into the trap .”

Obviously he didn't take the retinue army seriously.

Li Daozong said: "Don't worry, whoever has the most people won't win a war. Otherwise, why are you still fighting? Isn't it enough for everyone to report the number of people to determine the outcome? I know this battle well."

Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Yi Si could only say: "Hey, since you have made up your mind, I won't say anything more. The 15 soldiers under my command are all under your command, and this battle will be left to the guards."

Li Daozong finally showed an appreciative smile, he was waiting for this sentence.

Although this Sasanian king lacked ability, he was able to survive the danger of destroying his country.

Li Daozong didn't plan to use 4 people plus [-] retinues to attack the elite of the army, even if he had artillery, he was unwilling to do so.

Even if he wins, it will be a miserable victory, which is not what he needs.

He had long focused on the army in the hands of the Sasanian king. Although the Sasanian army was not a cannibal army, it was also a systematically trained regular army, which was much stronger than the temporarily recruited army.

It cannot be used to fight tough battles, but it can still be used to contain the cannibal army.

After the two sides discussed it, the army set off again after a day off.

Yi Siqi stood on the side of the road and looked at Tang Jun walking past, his eyes straightened.

"This is the Mo Dao Army, and the sword in their hands is the Mo Dao. All of them are composed of strong men selected from the whole army, and they all have the strength of hundreds of catties in their hands. When fighting, the enemy's soldiers and horses will be broken with one blow. "

"This is light cavalry. The key point is their clothes. The underwear inside is made of silk, which can effectively block the arrows that are thrown."

"This is heavy armored cavalry. In addition to the sabers in their hands, they also have gourd hammers and pickaxes specially designed to break armor..."

Yi Siqi was numb. The big sword in the hands of the Modao team weighed dozens of catties. The light armor on the light cavalry was inlaid with iron pieces in the vital parts.The heavy cavalry is made of iron from top to bottom, at least dozens of catties.

When the Sasanian Dynasty was at its strongest, it didn't have such a luxurious army, it was simply piled up with money.

No, it should be said that it is made of money. In ancient times, not only gold, silver and copper can be used as money, but all metals have the property of money, and so does iron.

That is to say, Datang mastered advanced iron smelting technology, discovered several iron mines with huge reserves, and built many giant iron smelting plants, which made iron popular among the people and suppressed the price.

Before he appeared, iron was worth more than copper.

These tens of thousands of troops, just the cost of manufacturing iron armor, can crush any country other than Datang.

What's more, each Tang army has three war horses, one is used to carry weapons and dry food, and the other two are used for transfer.Two words, luxury.

That's not to mention, soon a unit with relatively simple equipment came over, most of the soldiers in this unit didn't even wear light armor, they were wearing civilian clothes, and they were escorting carriages.

Yi Sicheng asked in surprise: "Is this someone who transports grain and grass? How did it get mixed up with the main force?"

One of his subordinates said: "No, this is the Shenwei cannon."

Yi Sicheng's eyeballs almost popped out: "Shenwei Cannon? A Shenwei Cannon that can attack the enemy from ten miles away?"

"Yes, that's it."

Yi Sicheng did not hide the greed in his eyes: "It would be great if we also have this kind of artifact."

The subordinate said: "Cannons are easy to make, but the most difficult thing is gunpowder. Only a few people know the formula, and they are all formulated in private and then transported to the front line for use."

"It is said that all the gunpowder in this army was transported from the mainland of Datang by sea ship, and then transported from China when it is used up."

Yi Sitang sighed and said, "No need to explain, I don't want to use the Shenwei Cannon, we can't afford to offend Datang."

Only then did the official feel relieved, fearing that the unreliable king would mess up his mind.

……

At this time, the Dashi Kingdom had also mobilized an army to wait for Li Daozong's arrival.

Nuerman Mukarin is the highest military general in the Bahrain region. He was supposed to be in command of this army, but today a piece of news that shocked him came.

An envoy came to the front camp and said, "General, the caliph and the first division have arrived twenty miles away. Please go and meet them."

Nuerman said in surprise: "What? Why didn't you notify me earlier?"

The messenger said: "The caliph was afraid that someone would reveal his whereabouts, so he didn't tell anyone."

Nuerman didn't care too much about it, and hurriedly led people to greet him, and saw the ruler of the Great Food Kingdom, Caliph Osman, more than ten miles away.

After the ceremony, Nuerman said: "Caliph, why did you come to the front line in person? It's too dangerous."

Osman said: "In all the legends, Datang is an invincible existence. Today I finally want to fight them. I have to come."

Nuerman said: "I understand your concerns, but it's too dangerous."

Osman's expression turned serious, and he said, "The Tang people only mobilized 5 people, and the rest are all temporary recruits and remnants of the Sassanid army."

"Counting the 10 people I brought, we have gathered 40 troops here, and you still say it's dangerous. Are you so pessimistic about this battle?"

Nuerman said seriously: "The strength of the Tang people is not something to brag about. The Turkic people are the best proof."

"And I got the definite news that the Tang people carried a hundred Shenwei cannons. Facing this unprecedentedly powerful enemy, I don't think it's too prudent."

Aziz on the side praised: "If you don't expect victory, you predict defeat. The general has already acquired the essence of the art of war."

Osman also said with satisfaction: "I'm relieved if you think so. This battle is still under your command. I will sit in the rear and boost your morale."

Nuerman said: "Thank you, Caliph, for writing my teacher's praise."

Osman nodded and did not speak again, Aziz said: "This time I am going to meet the commander of the Tang people and ask them what their plans are. You can't fight in such a muddle."

Nuerman said: "Please trouble Master."

The daily consumption of the 40 troops is a huge number that is difficult to calculate. Fortunately, the Great Food Kingdom has plundered a lot of wealth in these years.

Since the occupation of Bahrain, a lot of manpower and material resources have been invested to build it into an important military base, otherwise the logistics alone would be enough for them to drink a pot.

Five days after Osman and his party arrived, Datang's army also arrived at the front line, and Li Daozong set up camp thirty miles away.

Originally, he was still on guard against a sneak attack by big cannibals, but nothing happened in the calm.

Just after he set up the camp and the troops settled down, a messenger from the Great Food Kingdom arrived and sent a letter.

Officially, Aziz asked him to meet him before the battle.

After reading it, Li Daozong decided to meet the legendary character who was cheated by Yue Shan with a piece of information.

His decision was opposed by many people, who were afraid of being a cannibal.

Instead, it was Yi Sicheng who suggested that they could go to meet each other. Although the big cannibal was very cruel, he kept his promise. He also said that if Li Daozong didn't believe him, he could go with him.

How could Li Daozong be cowardly, and decided to go to the appointment against all opinions.

Besides, he is not a fool, how could he step into the range of the cannibal.In this case, the armies of both sides will be separated by a long distance, and any movement on the opposite side can be seen clearly and withdraw in time.

It was Aziz who was in danger, because Tang's cannons could attack targets ten miles away.

So Li Daozong told the messenger that we will meet in front of the battle tomorrow morning.

The next day, the two sides led their armies to the battlefield. The two sides stopped three miles apart, and Li Daozong and Aziz rode alone into the designated center line to meet here.

Aziz cupped his hands with the Tang ceremony: "Hi, General Li, I'm Aziz."

As a businessman, he understands the Tang language.

Li Daozong also replied: "Hello, General Aziz, a certain Li Daozong."

Aziz said: "I don't think the general wants to hear my nonsense, how about we get straight to the point?"

Li Daozong said: "Zhenghe Mouyi, General Aziz will come if you have anything to say."

"I don't know what the general labor division is asking for in the expedition?"

"Sassan is a vassal state of my Great Tang. Your Great Food Kingdom invaded his country and killed his people. Naturally, my Great Tang will send troops to seek justice."

"Is that all?"

"Otherwise what do you think?"

"It's my fault, I shouldn't have asked this question. So how can Datang end this war?"

"The Great Food Kingdom returned Sassan's land and compensated them for their losses. Why, do you want to take the initiative to return it?"

Aziz said with a smile: "I don't count on this matter, and you don't count on it. Only the swords in the hands of the soldiers count. What does the general think?"

Li Daozong said: "Happy, haha..."

The two chatted for a while, and each asked a few questions that they wanted to ask. They both had an understanding of the other's plan, and each returned to the formation.

"General, what did that Aziz say?"

Li Daozong did not answer directly, but said: "Get ready for a decisive battle."

Then the two sides withdrew their troops to prepare for the upcoming war.

……

Li Daozong and others who were preparing for the battle with the Great Food Kingdom far away in the west did not know that a major event that could shake the foundation of the country happened in the Great Tang.

　Originally, there were still about five chapters of battlefield description, but it was deleted due to well-known reasons.

　　In the following, I can only briefly describe the results from the perspective of a third person, please understand.

　　In fact, the content written here is already full of sensitive content, and further writing will easily cause unnecessary conflicts.

　　The line of sight from the back will be shifted to Datang, or to other fronts.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)