The third day of June, night.
The Tang army marched to the main camp of the Western Army.
This place is only sixty miles away from Shanzhou City.
Zhao Ziliang ordered to camp by the Huangshui River.
The scouts went thirty miles to the front and right side to conduct inspections.
To be more safe, another team of scouts also crossed the Huangshui River to the other side.
Along the river bank to the west Searching forward, this is the northern foothills of Gila Mountain, a branch of the Qilian Mountains.
Some Qiang people live at the foot of the mountain.
They are bordered by Gila Mountain to the south and Huangshui River to the north.
Although the area is not vast, it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there are still many living resources.
Quite a few.
Xuan Wu has been in charge of the reconnaissance outposts in front of the army.
After setting up camp, it was getting dark.
Zhao Ziliang was preparing to lead the generals to inspect the camp.
This has been his habit for many years.
No matter where he marched, he would always It is necessary to inspect the military camp once a day, mostly at night.
Through this kind of behavior, on the one hand, it can cheer up the sentries and patrols and increase their vigilance.
On the other hand, it can tell these soldiers on duty that the senior officers in the army are not lazy.
It is also equivalent to telling all the soldiers that there are senior officers in the army.
Inspecting the camp, they can rest assured.
Just when Zhao Ziliang was about to take the generals to inspect various parts of the camp, Xuan Wu hurriedly walked into the Chinese army's tent and clasped his fists at Zhao Ziliang and said: "Commander, there is the latest military intelligence report from the front, and there is reliable news that the Tubo Kingdom Zanpu Xisongde came to Longyou, and yesterday morning he also appeared in Shanzhou City, Tubo Army Marshal Dazalugong personally led his troops to greet him, but this morning the Tubo army retreated across the board to Linqiang territory.
There is one more thing.
We have just received the exact military information.
The Tubo army has wiped out all the areas south of the Qilian Mountains in these days.
Only a few Longyou and Hexi troops broke up and fled into the mountains and forests."
"Oh, Tubo Zanpu Xisongde came to the Longyou area and appeared in Shanzhou City.
This is indeed beyond my expectation.
But it is not surprising that the Tubo army was able to wipe out the area south of the Qilian Mountains during this period.
They have already reached the hinterland of Hexi. , captured Wuwei City, Qilian Mountain The military garrison belonging to Hexi in the southern region will fall sooner or later if they cannot get enough support.
It is a miracle that they can survive until now.
The key is why they have to retreat from Shanzhou City?
Don't they want to fight us decisively?"
Zhao Ziliang said and came to the sand table .
The generals also came over and surrounded the sand table.
Zhao Ziliang checked the topography on the sand table and the status of Tibetan troops stationed south of the Qilian Mountains and around the West Sea.
Then he asked: "Li Sheng, why do you think the Tubo people want to withdraw to Linshan?"
Qiang" Li Sheng looked at the sand table, thought for a moment and said: "Commander, the terrain around Shanzhou is not suitable for large-scale military operations, and the Tubo people are not good at defending the city, but Linqiang is different.
Linqiang and Longqi City have large areas In the grassland, our troops can be deployed.
In addition, if we take the initiative to attack, after waiting After reaching Xiping, we have to worry about the right wing being attacked by the Tibetan army from the direction of Changning.
If we want to eliminate the hidden dangers on the right wing, we must divide our forces to recapture the cities along the Changning, Xincheng, and Qilian lines.
Now our main force is only 100,000.
If we divide our forces , there is the danger of being defeated by the Tubo people one by one."
Zhao Ziliang nodded: "That's half right.
Apart from what you said, Dazalugong must have already known that most of our army's soldiers have never been here before and are not adapted to the plateau environment.
As they go upstream of the Huangshui River, the terrain becomes higher and higher. , it will become more and more difficult for our army to supply food and grass.
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They are now retreating to Linqiang.
If our army enters Shanzhou City and does not leave, they will definitely go and come back.
They will approach the city and prevent us from providing supplies to the soldiers.
It takes time to fully adapt to the plateau environment.
The city of Shanzhou is not tall and thick and cannot stop the Tibetan offensive.
Now that we have not arrived in Shanzhou, many soldiers in the army have already felt symptoms of difficulty breathing, dizziness, etc.
When we arrived in Shanzhou, we were unable to organize the soldiers to go out to fight.
We could only be trapped in Shanzhou City by them.
Another purpose of their retreat to Linqiang was to lure us to speed up our march and occupy Shancheng."
Bai Xiaode said: "In that case, our army really doesn't know what to do.
Our army's weakness is that it cannot adapt to the plateau climate in a short period of time.
Now thousands of soldiers have lost their combat effectiveness.
If we go forward, There will definitely be more and more soldiers losing their combat effectiveness."
Zhao Ziliang asked: "Cen Shen, how much medicine are left to overcome altitude sickness?"
Cen Shen cupped his hands and said: "There are no more, but the official has sent people to urge them, but the army is large in number and the roads are difficult to travel.
The baggage team needs to transport too many materials each time, and there are not many medicines that can be carried, and Jincheng The production capacity there is limited, but the official has already sent someone to hurry up."
Zhao Ziliang frowned.
The difficulty of this western expedition was beyond his imagination.
A plateau terrain brought the combat effectiveness of his elite army below the passing line.
This is why the armies of Hexi and Longyou have been fighting for so many years.
The reason for local recruitment is that they cannot adapt to the plateau terrain and cold weather and cannot fight at all.
After thinking for a long time, Zhao Ziliang said: "Tomorrow we will march another thirty miles and then camp on the spot to let the soldiers adapt for a few days.
I want to see what happens to the Tibetan people after we are stationed thirty miles east of Shanzhou City.
What’s the reaction?”
The generals cupped their hands and said: "Promise" Zhao Ziliang looked at Wang Can again: "Is there any news about Chu Ge and Li Siye?"
Wang Can handed over his hand and reported: "Commander, the road conditions here are not good, the transportation is not convenient, and it is difficult to transmit information.
The general has not received any news from Chu Ge and Li Siye yet."
After Chu Ge led the Second Route Army to march towards Hezhou, the initial attack went smoothly after entering the territory occupied by the Tibetan army.
The 5,000 Tibetan soldiers occupying the boundary of Hezhou did not expect that the Tang army would attack Hezhou first, and the Tubo army was not good at defending.
After Chu Ge led his army to siege the city, it only took two days to break through Hezhou City, killing and capturing all the Tibetan troops in the city.
After retaking Hezhou, Chu Ge ordered to kill all the Tibetan prisoners and left a thousand soldiers to guard Hezhou City.
He only stayed in Hezhou for one day and then continued southward towards the Momen Army's garrison, all the way south.
Although the road condition is not very good, there is no increase in altitude.
"Send the order, speed up the march."
Chu Ge stood on the roadside on a war horse and ordered the herald.
"Yes, General" The messengers quickly conveyed the military orders to various ministries and battalions.
The soldiers rode horses significantly faster.
The long-distance march was a great test for the physical fitness, spirit and will of the soldiers, even though everyone was riding a horse. , but riding a horse also consumes energy, especially when the road conditions are not good.
Not only did the soldiers lose their physical strength quickly, but the horses also suffered heavy losses.
Many horses broke their legs.
Chu Ge turned around and asked: "How far is it from Lintan, where the Momen Army is stationed?"
The general looked at the map and said: "There are still one hundred and twenty miles."
Chu Ge calculated and said: "According to the current marching speed, we should be able to reach the Momen Army's garrison by the end of this afternoon and attack the city before dark."
"yes"
About three days in the afternoon, Chu Ge arrived at the Momen Army with 20,000 troops.
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Although it was called the Momen Army, it was actually a city.
Before the Tibetans came over, this was where the Momen Army was stationed.
In order to prevent the Tubos from sneak attacks, the garrison A city was built here.
Although the city walls were not high, they were very It was also an insurmountable wall for the Tibetan army who knew how to attack the city.
However, after the Longyou Army was demobilized, there were only a few hundred troops stationed here.
Therefore, no matter how strong the tall city wall was, it was useless without defense.
The Tubo people could not With little effort, he climbed up the city wall, entered the city, and captured the city.
There are many fertile fields and houses around the city.
In the past, not only Tang troops were stationed here, but also many local residents.
The fertile fields outside the city were cultivated by the garrison and the people.
The garrison cultivated fields here and were self-sufficient in food.
At this time, many Tubo people were harvesting grain from the fields outside the city.
This grain originally belonged to the local people and the garrison.
However, after the Tubo army came over, the garrison and the people were slaughtered.
Only a few people fled into the mountains and forests.
Therefore, The crops in these fields were cheap for the Tibetan people who came with the Tubo army.
Chu Ge's army stopped ten miles away.
Everyone dismounted and took a rest.
While taking care of their physical needs, they waited for the report from the detective sentry in front.
After waiting for more than an hour, he finally shook his head, inspected the sentry and rode back, "General Qi, we have found out clearly.
There are 3,000 Tibetan troops garrisoned and more than 5,000 civilians.
There are only a few hundred Tibetan troops and most of the Tibetan people in the city."
They are all harvesting crops outside the city.”
A smile appeared on Chu Ge's face and he said: "It seems that we have arrived at the right time to send the order.
The cavalry will follow me to attack, and the infantry will come soon."
"promise" After the order was given, all the cavalry got on their horses, formed a long snake formation and followed Chu Ge towards the city.
After running for less than a quarter of an hour, the city where the Momen Army was stationed came into Chu Ge's sight.
The city was surrounded by countless fertile fields.
There were golden waves of wheat in the fields, and countless Tubo people were working in it like black dots.
The terrain was not suitable for the cavalry group to charge in a neat formation, which would result in the loss of a large number of horses.
Chu Ge ran wildly on horseback and shouted: "Herald, pass the order, everyone spreads out and attacks freely."
"Yes, General" The sound of a large number of horse hoofs woke up the Tibetan people who were working.
There were both Tubo soldiers and Tubo people in the fields.
In fact, there was no difference between the Tubo soldiers and the Tubo people.
"Tang Army, it's Tang Army, Tang Army is coming."
When the Tubo people discovered that it was Tang Army who was coming over, they immediately ran towards the city.
"Bows and arrows shoot freely," Chu Ge shouted, taking out his bow and arrows and shooting at the fleeing Tibetans.
"Swish swish" Arrows were shot out one after another, and the fleeing Tibetans were shot to the ground one by one.
Some Tang army cavalry pursued them on the road, and some pursued them in the fields.
Killing and frightened cries spread all around. .
The overtaken Tibetan troops were chopped to the ground, and the fleeing Tibetans were shot down one by one.
The Tibetan troops in the city finally reacted, and hundreds of Tubo troops rushed out of the city on horseback to face the Tang army.
"Killing" Chu Singer slashed his sword from the air and cut the oncoming Tubo army in half, and a cloud of blood splashed all over him
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