Chapter 3329: Soldiers are expensive and fast
Ye Qide, with his big horse and golden sword, was sitting in the central army tent, listening to the faint sound of fighting coming from outside the tent, his expression was extremely ugly.
Who would have thought that an elite cavalry sent out to sneak for hundreds of miles just to ambush the Youtun Guards who fought a bloody battle with the Turks would be defeated and the entire army was annihilated? If the Changsun family had not sent someone to inform him, he would not have known that the cavalry had been destroyed and reinforcements from the Anxi Army were about to arrive.
He admitted that the Tang army's combat power was extremely high. He attacked with almost ten times the strength, but still failed to cause great damage to the Anxi army. On the contrary, his side seemed to be rushing forward, but in fact he only captured empty cities one after another. No baggage or supplies could be found.
But he didn't take the Changsun family's warning seriously.
What kind of impact can an army of no more than 20,000 men have on the war situation in the Western Region? The number of troops he lost in the battle at Broken Leaf City was almost twice that...
The entire Tang Dynasty marched eastward, and all the troops, baggage, and ordnance were given priority to the Liaodong battlefield. Even if they wanted to retreat at this moment, there was no time to rush to the aid of the Anxi army. As long as the Arabs gritted their teeth and fought this battle, victory would be within their grasp. things.
Not only would they be able to invade the entire Western Region, but once the troops came to the Yumen Pass, who would be able to break through the barrier in one fell swoop, penetrate into the heart of the Tang Dynasty, and overthrow it?
Of course this is almost impossible.
The "Sword of Allah" and the cavalry heading to the hinterland of the Western Regions were already the elite of the Arab army, but they sank into the sand and were annihilated without even a splash, which made him lose control of the Tang army's combat effectiveness. Recognize.
But even though he repeatedly improved his assessment of the Tang Army's combat power, he still did not believe that a single reinforcement from the Right Guards could change the status quo of the Battle of the Western Regions. Under the protection of the prophets and gods, the Arabs still occupied a dominant position. The Tang army could only fight and retreat, blocking the advance of the Arab army with the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country...
Therefore, after he learned that the cavalry sent to ambush the Youtun Guards had been wiped out, he immediately gathered a large army to attack Gongyue City. He did not seek to break into the city, but only wanted to give the Youtun Guards a sense of strength when they arrived. The pressure has dampened their morale and shaken their military morale.
Moreover, Gongyue City has been resisting for two months, and it must be at the end of its treacherous period. What if my fierce attack actually works...
The scouts continuously sent back battle reports from the front.
The Tang army in Gongyue City resisted tenaciously, and the army stormed the city, causing serious casualties... This was what Ye Qide had expected. Although there was a trace of luck in his heart, he also knew how strong the Tang army was in defending the city.
The reinforcements of the Tang Army have already rushed along the Ili River and are less than a hundred miles away from Gongyue City... This is somewhat surprising. This Tang Army marched so fast that they crossed the Tianshan Pass in just three days and walked 800 miles. It is indeed a strong army on a difficult road.
The reinforcement cavalry broke away from the group and advanced at full speed...
This confused Ye Zide.
He stood up and came to the wall, looked at the simple topographic map of the Tianshan Mountains hanging on it, and gestured with his fingers. After a long time, he said in surprise: "Is this Tang army planning to raid our camp?"< br>
The generals and generals nearby gathered behind him and started making noises when they heard the words.
"How is it possible? In this weather, it is not easy for this army to rush to the rescue of Gongyue City so quickly. It is absolutely impossible for us to attack us again."
"According to the information sent by the Tang Dynasty, the strength of this Youtun Guards force is no more than 20,000. Although they are all elites, the cavalry should not exceed 5,000. A mere 5,000 people want to attack our 50,000-strong Chinese army? Haha, What a big joke.”
"One of us can drown him with just a drop of spit!"
……
Ye Zide also didn't believe that the commander-in-chief of the Tang army was so stupid.
"Perhaps it is just a feint attack, a show of force, in order to force our army to feel the pressure and have to withdraw the front siege troops, thus reducing the defensive pressure on Gongyue City?"
Such thoughts were running through his mind. Before he could think about it in a deeper level, a scout had already brought the latest news.
"The Tang army passed Gongyue City without entering, and charged at full speed along the Ili River!"
……
There was silence in the tent, and everyone had expressions of disbelief.
Are the Tang people seeking death?
Five thousand people attacked the 50,000-strong Chinese army, not to mention the tens of thousands of siege troops in the front, and another 780,000 to 80,000 troops guarding the rear... 17 to 80,000 people gathered outside Gongyue City, facing the Ili River and leaning against the Tianshan Mountains. Once you rush in, you will most likely be surrounded by people, and you will be unable to fly...
Either the commander of this Tang army had no military skills and was extremely stupid, or he had a perverse and arrogant personality and never paid attention to the Arab warriors.
Naturally, Ye Zide would not think it was the former. In fact, although his father Mu'awiya had entered the Western Regions, the critical moment was when he encountered Fang Juncai and returned defeated. Although there was an internal crisis in the food country at that time, Muawiya had to return to Damascus, but he still lost the battle after all.
Therefore, Ye Zide believed that it was General Youtunwei and Gongfangjun of the State of Yue who were so confident that they did not take the Arabs seriously.
"Bang!"
Ye Zide punched the wall hard and said angrily: "I hope this guy didn't just fake a shot, but really intends to attack our army camp. When the time comes, he will not be able to come or go!"
Since the beginning of the war, on the surface it seems that the Dashi army is advancing wildly, and the Anxi army is difficult to resist. In fact, the damage done by the Dashi army to the Anxi army is very limited. The Anxi army is like a cunning loach that will not hold back. Retreating would not give Dashi's army a chance to fight decisively, and it would even take advantage of Dashi's army not paying attention to hit him coldly, which was heartbreaking and annoying.
The proud and arrogant Yezid regarded this attack on the Western Region as a God-given opportunity for him to ascend to the throne of the Caliphate. How could he endure being teased again and again by the Tang army and unable to achieve fruitful results?
No matter how much depression has accumulated in my heart, the anger that bursts out at this moment is so strong.
How can we bear to think that the successor of the Caliph of the Arab Empire, who has a high status and is admired by everyone in the entire Arab world, came to this land in the Western Regions and was repeatedly teased by his enemies and ignored him?
"Send the order and assemble the troops. Today, the Tang army will be unable to come or go!"
"Here!"
The generals and commanders in the tent all received their orders, then walked out of the tent, scattered in all directions, and rushed back to their respective units to gather soldiers to face the Tang army that was about to attack.
However, the establishment of the army and the execution of orders and prohibitions are not the strengths of the Arab army. The continuous violent attacks on Gongyue City under the severe cold weather have already made the soldiers ill-equipped, and they have become a little war-weary. Now they are mobilized again to face the surprise attack. The enemy troops of the army naturally complained one after another.
I dare not resist the order, but my feet may not be so nimble. Moreover, the subordinate relationship between tens of thousands of people is not so clear. For a while, people started to move, but it was chaotic.
Ye Zide was still sitting in the tent, drinking wine and thinking about how to catch the turtles in the urn and annihilate the Tang army that was attacking, when he heard a scout reporting: "The Tang army has arrived thirty miles away!"
< br>
For the cavalry, if the charging speed is increased to the extreme, thirty miles will be reached in the blink of an eye.
Ye Zide shouted: "Okay!"
Asked again: "Have the troops been assembled?"
The deputy general went out to ask around, and came back sweating profusely: "Commander Qi, to prevent chaos among the various ministries, the assembly has not yet been completed..."
"What?"
Ye Zide was furious. The enemy was already close at hand, but his side hadn't yet finished gathering? If the Tang army's cavalry charged in during the chaos...
Ji Lingling shuddered, stood up, grabbed the scimitar and strode out, shouting as she walked: "Is it all a waste of food and wine? It takes so much time to assemble the army, damn it!"
When I walked out of the tent, the wind and snow blew in my face. What I saw was a messy military camp. Soldiers were scurrying around like headless flies. It was messier than the snowflakes in the sky...
"Commander, the enemy has arrived ten miles away. There are many armored cavalry in the formation and they have begun to charge at full speed!"
Ye Zide took a breath: "And there are armored cavalry?"
Although the armored cavalry is a great weapon for charging into battle, it has a fatal flaw, that is, lack of mobility. So how did the armored cavalry in the Tang Army's formation, together with the other light cavalry, quickly advance for nearly a hundred miles and be able to launch a full-speed charge at this moment?
He had already realized that something was wrong. The enemy troops were coming too fast, and they had powerful and violent armored cavalry. How could they stop the mess of soldiers in front of him?
At this moment, Na Na still had no hope of breaking through Gongyue City, so he quickly issued an order: "Send the order, stop the siege, order the siege troops to move from the rear to the front, and return to support the Chinese army immediately!"
"Here!"
Not far after the scout ran out, a rolling cloud of clouds swept over the horizon. The thunderous sound of horse hooves shook the ground beneath his feet, and Ye Zide's face turned as white as snow.
How did it come so fast? ! (End of chapter)