The bright moon hangs high in the sky, casting thousands of silver rays, illuminating the ground brightly. The battlefield where people fought during the day is now silent. The Turks who failed to get any advantage in the first battle no longer come to harass them at night. Mingsha Camp It was quiet inside, except for the sound of the roaring water of the Yellow River.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, after counting the number of people, Tang Jian was a little big-headed and his face was a little pale. Although he had been in charge of the Imperial Guard with Li Yuan in the former Sui Dynasty, to be fair, he did not have any outstanding performance in military strategy... In fact, his several battles against Liu Wuzhou and Xue Ju ended in heavy defeats.
However, Tang Jian was a man of wild temperament, straightforward and heroic, did not follow the rules, loved to indulge in drinking, and was quite courageous, but tonight he was shocked... No wonder, on the first day of the war, the Tang army lost more than 1,600 people and was injured. There were more than 1,200 people who were unable to fight, which meant a total of nearly 3,000 casualties.
In the Mingsha Camp, excluding civilians, there were only 30,000 Tang soldiers. In other words, they lost 10% in the first battle.
Tang Jian originally wanted to hold on to the Mingsha Camp until the freezing cold and the Turks retreated. Calculating the time, it would take at least fifty days... He lost 10% of his power on the first day, even if he was not defeated. Thirty thousand Tang troops could only last ten days at most.
Shi Danai, Duan Zhixuan, and Hou Hongtao looked at each other a few times. They all participated in the battle of Jingzhou last year. They were not as frightened as Tang Jian, but there was a bit of relaxation in their expressions.
"The Turks suffered more casualties. They lost at least 5,000 cavalry on the east side alone." Hou Hongtao said with a smile: "Counting the north and south sides, the number of Turks killed in the first battle should be between 6,000 and 7,000."
Duan Zhixuan added: "How many days can such a heavy casualty last?"
"Ashina She'er killed his uncle and came to power, and the Turkic Khans decentralized power. His authority within the Turks is far inferior to that of the previous khans. Such heavy casualties..." Hou Hongtao sneered: "What's more, all the Although Bu Khan has an army of 100,000, there must be other tribes who have been dragged southward, and it is impossible to devote all his strength to attack the Mingsha Camp."
"Yes, not to mention the defenders of Zhongning, the Turks must also beware of Anle Prefecture, and also keep an eye on Zhang Wu'an of Yuan Prefecture who may send troops." Duan Zhixuan said cheerfully: "Maybe they can also separate a partial division to guard against Yanzhou's Dai. Where is the Duke?"
"Dong dong dong." Zhang Zhongjian tapped his fingers on the table and looked at Hou Hongtao and Duan Zhixuan displeased. He had no prestige in the army, but of the two people in front of him, one was a personal guard of Li Shan, and the other was There are not many generals in Tiance Mansion who have friendship with Li Shan, and they also obey him. Zhang Zhongjian can command them in the Lingzhou Army.
Shi Danai, who had been silent, smoothed things over with a smile, and explained to Tang Jian, who was still confused: "The Turks are best at cavalry and don't like to attack fortresses. However, the main force of the Tang army is stationed in Mingsha, and the Turks cannot circumvent it, so they have to attack fiercely." Camp.”
"If the Turks can gain the upper hand today and the Tang army seems to be weak, Dubu Khan may continue to attack with all his strength, cut off communications, intimidate outside, and use cavalry to undermine the morale of the army. He may even wait until the Tang army runs out of food and grass and has to break out. Let’s pursue again.”
"But in today's first battle, although the Turks attacked fiercely all day long and suffered nearly three thousand casualties, by sunset, the Turks failed to break through the sheep and horse wall and suffered extremely heavy casualties. Even if Dubu Khan wanted to continue the fierce attack, I am afraid it would be unsustainable. "
Zhang Zhongjian briefly summarized: "The Turks attack with all their strength on the first day. If the defenders can fight, the Turks will not attack again, but instead harass various places, ambush reinforcements, and cut off food routes."
Tang Jian breathed a long sigh of relief, which meant that there would be no such heavy casualties in the future. Dubu Khan could not afford such a price, or he did not have the ability to pay such a high price.
Ambush reinforcements... This possibility is not high. The only reinforcements are from two directions, either Anle Prefecture or Zhang Shigui. Thank God if the former can insist on not surrendering Zhang Zhongjian and others, and Zhang Shigui's duty is to hold on to Yuan Prefecture. , let alone a stalemate, even if the Lingzhou army is defeated, Yuanzhou will not send troops. If the Turks attack Yuanzhou, big trouble will happen.
Cutting off the grain road... Tang Jian didn't care. Zhang Zhongjian started hoarding grain and grass as early as a few months ago. More than half a month ago, a large amount of grain and grass materials were transported to Mingsha. Considering the current strength of more than 30,000 troops, at least It can last more than a month.
And don’t forget, if the Turks attack, if the knights die in battle, the horses will definitely be captured by the Tang army. The Tang army has enough food and grass, but it will not waste food and grass to raise the horses. It is almost certain that they will be killed and eaten for meat. Calculated in this way, It won't be a problem even if it's freezing cold or snowing.
As for harassing various places... Zhang Zhongjian has actually given up most of Lingzhou. It is impossible for the Turks to leave Mingsha Camp alone and attack Yuanzhou with a large army, but it is possible to go around and attack Huizhou.
However, the Tang army in Huizhou has secured its walls and cleared the field and concentrated its forces. If the Turks want to break through Huizhou, it is impossible not to send out a large army. However, if too many troops are sent, there will be more than 10,000 Tang army elite cavalry in the Mingsha camp.
Thinking of this, Tang Jian had to look at Zhang Zhongjian with admiration and thought about how Li Huairen picked out such an outstanding person from the vast crowd. He seemed to lack courage and led his troops to retreat, but in fact he was looking at the overall situation and had an extraordinary vision.
"Of course, it's also because the coach of this battle is not King Wei Si." Duan Zhixuan laughed.
Shi Danai couldn't help but laugh, "The Turks have been attacking the city for a long time and refused to retreat. This dynasty has only done it twice."
"The first time was in the sixth year of Wude, when Yuan Junzhang and the Turkic coalition attacked Mayi. Li Gaoqian, the Duke of Jiangxia, led his troops out to help, but the entire army was wiped out. No more troops were sent out at Yanmen Pass. After more than a month, Mayi's food and grass were cut off. , Gao Manzheng broke through and was beheaded."
Tang Jian nodded repeatedly when he heard this. He attacked Mayi for a long time because Mayi was too important, but even so, he would ambush reinforcements and cut off food and grass.
"The second time is of course Guji Town." Duan Zhixuan said enthusiastically: "By the way, Hou Hongtao... Oh, by the way, you weren't following King Wei Si at that time."
Hou Hongtao nodded while thinking, "It seems that He Liu was in Shuozhou at that time, but he was the deputy chief of the Shuozhou Cavalry and was not in Guji Town."
Several people began to comment on the Turkic attack on Guji Town that failed for eight days but was finally defeated by the Tang army. Tang Jian thought in his heart, as Duan Zhixuan said, it would be bad if the coach this time was Li Huairen.
Zhang Zhongjian had been sitting there in silence, and several generals suddenly talked about the battle in Guji Town, which reminded him of something Li Shan said.
Zhang Zhongjian has always found it strange. He has been in the army for a long time. As early as before and after Mayi's army reorganization, he discovered that although Alang was known as the most famous general in the world second only to His Royal Highness the King of Qin, he actually didn't understand many things in the army. Of course, on the contrary, Alang often has some fantastic ideas.
For example, the Sheep and Horse Wall played an extremely important role in the first battle today, and the Wengcheng where the battle of Guji Town almost defeated the morale of the Turks, and Alang once said a word, rhythm.
When the enemy and we are facing off, when the situation is stalemate or slightly unfavorable, disrupting the opponent's rhythm will often have unexpected and excellent results.
I’ve been too busy these past few days. It’s the China International Import Expo soon. I’m so exhausted. I just came out of this.
(End of chapter)
