Chapter 3156: Fire burning food
Yuan Wei took the lead, looked back at the raging fire behind him, and then led his soldiers to rush away on the same route.
The enemy troops arrived belatedly and were surrounding them from all directions, intending to kill all the Tang troops who were attacking by surprise.
Yuan Wei was not afraid at all.
The purpose of this trip was to burn the few supplies of food and supplies of the Arab army. As long as this purpose was achieved, what would happen even if all these hundreds of people were wiped out? Seeing the fire engulfing the Arabs' food camp, with tongues of fire rising into the sky and thick smoke billowing, he felt completely at ease.
He naturally understood the power of such kerosene bombs. It was difficult to put out the flames with ordinary river water. The only way to completely bury the flames was with sand. However, grain, fodder and other materials are all flammable. By the time the enemy troops bury the fire, what should be burned has already been reduced to ashes.
Haha, barbarians are barbarians. When our ancestors were fighting, these guys were still drinking blood. How could we know that there was such a war as "burning the black nest on fire"?
Back then, Cao Mengde burned down Yuan Shao's dream of becoming an emperor. Today, even if his fire cannot make the Arabs retreat in embarrassment, it can still draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. The strategy set by Xue Sima was to "strengthen the walls and clear the country." No matter whether the city was evacuated or fell, the grain and supplies would be moved away. Even if it was too late to move away, they would be burned as soon as possible, and a grain of rice or a tree would be burned. No grass would be left to the Arabs.
If the Arabs want supplies, they can only sweep away those tribes in the Western Regions...
In order to rule the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty had to adopt a tolerant policy towards the countries and tribes in the Western Regions. Although it knew that these guys had both sides, they had to hold their noses and admit it. After all, this is the Western Region. If there is a mass killing and the tribes in the entire Western Region rebel, it will threaten the rule of the Tang Dynasty here.
But if the Arabs had to raid those tribes for food, it would be exciting.
The Tang Dynasty was a country of benevolence and righteousness, and naturally would not do things that would damage its reputation, including burning, killing, and looting; but the Arabs were different. In order to annihilate the Anxi Army and annex the entire Western Region, they had no choice but to attack those tribes.
Each tribe in the Western Region faced the Arabs' butcher's knife. Regardless of whether they obeyed or resisted, they would face extremely serious consequences: either the accumulation of several generations would be robbed, or the entire clan would simply die under the Arab's butcher's knife.
After this battle, there will be no one in the entire Western Region who can compete with the Anxi Army.
It is said that Xue Sima is a god in his military skills and is the most brave among the three armies, but when it comes to intrigues, he is also a good hand...
……
The fire behind him soared into the sky. Yuanwei cheered up and shouted: "Brothers, kill one to earn your base, kill two to earn one! If you can kill someone for the first time, then you can get promoted to a higher position and be granted the title of wife! Then! I’ll kill you!”
He shouted wildly, leaped on his horse and raised his sword, rushing straight into the enemy formation that came to intercept him.
The sharp horizontal knife easily cut through the enemy's thin clothing. With the speed of the charge of the war horse, an enemy's head was cut off in one fell swoop, and blood rose into the sky.
Hundreds of Tang troops followed closely behind, rushing into the enemy formation like a torrent, their sharp swords flying up and down, killing the enemy troops till they howled like ghosts and wolves.
When the enemies gathered more and more, they took off the thunderbolts, lit them and threw them into the enemy formation. With a loud bang, the enemy troops were blown to pieces by the thunderbolts, and their broken limbs were scattered all over the ground. The most damaging thing was the shrapnel from the thunder. The flying shrapnel flew in all directions driven by the violent force, easily piercing the enemy's limbs and burrowing into their torsos.
The Tang army took advantage of the situation and encircled them, running desperately towards the north.
It's just that there are too many enemy troops. If one group is defeated, another group will get the order and attack from the side and the front, chasing and intercepting them.
The Tang army broke out of the siege time and time again, but then fell into another siege. Even if he could break out of the encirclement with the power of the Thunderous Thunder, he would inevitably be stripped off a layer of skin, and the soldiers following Yuan Wei continued to fall behind and die in battle.
The battle was extremely brutal.
*****
The fire in the Arab army's supply camp was the clarion call for the Tang army to counterattack.
When Xue Rengui, who was on the bank of Suiye River, saw the fire, he cut off the dam and the unfettered river roared wildly towards Suiye City downstream. The turbid waves rolled all the way, shaking the earth and the earth, showing the power of heaven and earth.
Ye Zide, who was sitting in the center, was still looking forward to the army's quick attack on Shattered Ye City, but he suddenly saw a fire in the backyard and was shocked.
"What military camp is there?"
Ye Qide's expression changed drastically. Although he guessed that it must be the direction of the transport camp, there was still a trace of luck in his heart.
The generals under his command were silent, and there was no need for them to answer, as the scouts were already galloping in on their horses.
"Report! Report to the commander-in-chief that the Tang army attacked our army's logistics equipment and set it on fire!"
Within a few feet, everyone gasped. When the army marched into the Western Regions, they originally carried only a small amount of food and supplies. They all expected to "support war with war" and plunder the food and food from the Tang army after defeating it. At present, Suiye City has been burning for a whole day, and the smoke is billowing. Even if the city is captured, it is impossible to get a grain of food or a bundle of fodder.
Under such circumstances, his food was burned by the Tang army... How could he fight this battle?
Ye Zide shouted: "Quickly put out the fire!"
The scout lowered his head and said quickly: "Commander, the thing set on fire by the Tang army was a kind of black oil. Fires ignited wherever it splashed. Water can't put it out. Our food... has been burned out."
Ye Zide's eyes widened in disbelief.
How long has it been since the fire started? So much grain has been burned?
He covered his forehead, feeling dizzy.
This battle was fought, and the outcome was not yet known. First he received a blow to his heart and foot, which hurt so much that he couldn't breathe. He became angry with shame. There are only a few thousand Anxi troops stationed in Suiye City. With such a small force, how can they dare to split up their troops to sneak attack on their own baggage?
It was simply audacious and did not take him, the successor of the caliphate, into consideration at all!
He pulled out the scimitar from his waist and shouted with a distorted face: "Hit! Beat hard! Capture Suiye City at all costs. I will slaughter all the Anxi troops in the city without leaving a single prisoner!"< br>
"Here!"
The generals under his command quickly rode their horses to the front line and issued Yezid's order.
The generals on the side looked at each other and shook their heads, but did not dissuade him. Suiye City must be conquered now. It doesn't matter if there is no food in the city. The Tang army can be cleared out of the city first, and then the army disperses to sweep away the various nearby tribes. Regardless of food, livestock, and fodder, they must be snatched to supply the army first.
Otherwise, if the delay lasts for a long time, the army will be short of food, which will lead to a rapid decline in morale, which will be a serious problem.
Ye Zide put his scimitar into its sheath, with a flushed face, he grabbed the reins and jumped onto the horse's back, shouting: "You all will come with me to supervise the battle, and conquer Suiye City in one go, so as to eliminate the hatred in my heart." ! ”
"Here!"
The generals quickly got on their horses.
Just as he was about to move forward, there was an earth-shattering muffled sound, which even shook the ground beneath his feet. Everyone's expressions changed. What went wrong?
Ye Zide had a bad feeling in his heart. He quickly clamped his horse's belly and led the crowd towards Suiye City. He wanted to personally command the battle on the front line. The Tang army was cunning. If they could not capture Suiye City quickly, they would inevitably have long nights and many dreams.
A group of people were moving forward when they saw two scouts riding towards them. Seeing Ye Qide, he quickly dismounted his horse and knelt down and said: "Commander! The Tang army dug up the broken leaf water, causing the river to surge. It has already Flooded outside the west city! ”
"What?!"
Ye Zide's originally flushed face suddenly turned white without a trace of blood.
He swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice: "Where is Khorassan? How about the 'Sword of Allah'?"
Commanding nearly 200,000 troops to conquer the Western Regions, he has enough strategic space to accept some small-scale defeats. Even if Suiye City cannot be captured in a short period of time, it will only affect the morale of the army. They can plunder some supplies from the surrounding tribes in the Western Region to replenish food and then reorganize the army to fight again.
Two hundred thousand versus tens of thousands, the advantage is not of the same magnitude at all, victory will come sooner or later.
However, no matter the outcome of this battle, the "Sword of Allah", as the defender of father Mu'awiya's power, cannot make any mistakes.
If such an elite of elites, a powerful army that is simply like an Arab totem, is completely destroyed, the blow to the entire Arab world will be irreparable.
It also had a huge impact on his father's position as caliph...
That is the invincible and invincible "Sword of Allah"! It is an artifact given by God, the wings of the prophet to conquer the world, the sword that his father relied on to ascend the throne, and a symbol of the entire Arab world, representing power and bravery!
If the loss is in your own hands...
Ye Zide shuddered, his eyes fixed on the scout kneeling in front of him, waiting for his answer, but praying silently in his heart. (End of chapter)