On the way to Yiwu City, An Xinggui looked at the troops around him with emotion! With such an army in the Western Region, he didn't know where there would be any opponents!
Fifty thousand cavalry, all equipped with armor, all in steel armor! And each person is equipped with a Tang sword, a bow and arrows, and sixty arrows.
This is the configuration of the South Route Army and the Middle Route Army that have left. They are not equipped with heavy siege equipment, mainly for these small countries... basically not used.
Because not many of these small countries dare to oppose the Tang Dynasty. In addition, after they arrive in Ruoqiang City, they will be replenished with supplies in Ruoqiang City. Also, these small countries that are the targets of the Southern Route Army... do not need to attack or besiege the city. That's it, they will surrender.
The cities of these small countries cannot last long. They do not have enough self-sustainability, and they will have to run out of food in ten days at most.
Regardless of whether it is the small countries at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains or the small countries at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, their main farmland and other crops are outside the city, and the army has never been short of food in the past.
The equipment was changed in Dunhuang City. All the troops dispatched this time were replaced with brand-new weapons and armor. Unlike the South Route Army, the main army destined to attack the city along the way also carried a large number of different weapons. equipment.
In addition, An Xinggui also noticed some special equipment.
For example, the equipment arranged for the scouts. Their armor is no longer covered in bright armor like the main battle troops, but the armor all over the body is painted khaki. The armor painted in a special color does not reflect light in the sun. , and even from a long distance you can't tell that the other person is wearing armor.
In the Western Region where there are many Gobi deserts, if you are advancing on foot, such equipment is difficult to be discovered by the enemy and has a certain camouflage effect.
In addition, the scouts were issued with a kind of binoculars, which An Xinggui and the others also had.
An Xinggui has watched it several times along the way. This thing... is so amazing. It can bring extremely far places into view. Although it looks a bit distorted, it still plays a huge role in investigation.
An Xinggui didn't know how this thing was made, but it was foreseeable that this thing was definitely an artifact of war.
In addition, there are some special signaling devices, which are modified from the fireworks that appeared in Chang'an City. Even in the daytime, you can see brighter colors and emit a unique dazzling light.
If it is on a plain with a flat line of sight, it can probably be seen more than ten miles away, and it will be even more conspicuous in the night sky. Almost every scout will carry this thing. This means that when marching, the probability of a sneak attack on the army is infinitely reduced. As long as they are not stupid enough to not send out scouts, they should not be attacked by a sneak attack.
In addition, the saddles, horseshoes, etc. of the horses for this sortie are all in the latest styles. An Xinggui doesn't know how to describe just the replacement of these complete sets of weapons and equipment.
He didn't know how much His Highness had prepared for the war, but he knew that the current Tang army would be invincible! With thirty thousand elite soldiers like this, An Xinggui was confident of defeating any enemy.
Three days later, 20,000 troops had bypassed the Gobi Desert on both sides of Yiwu City. Because they had enough war horses, the number of scouts sent out ensured that no enemy scouts could enter their hinterland and would not be discovered. The whereabouts of the army.
When the 20,000-strong army crossed Yiwu City, An Xinggui and his scouts had also learned about the movements of the Gaochang army. They obviously did not know that the Intelligence Department of the Tang Dynasty had learned of their movements. They thought that their actions were very serious. Quickly, with the support of 3,000 Turkic cavalry, Ju Wentai temporarily mobilized 1,000 young men to form 5,000 soldiers, a total of 8,000 troops, and quickly approached Yiwu with thousands of auxiliary coolies.
Before setting off, they directly detained all caravans in Gaochang and sent Turkic cavalry to intercept all Tang caravans along the way.
Fortunately, Ju Wentai was not stupid. He did not let the Turks intercept and kill these caravans, because Ju Wentai knew very well that Gaochang relied on the Silk Road for prosperity. If he intercepted and killed the caravans for no reason, even if he waited for the war to end, I'm afraid no businessmen will pass through Gaochang anymore.
Therefore, he strictly ordered the Western Turkic cavalry who cooperated with him in fighting not to intercept and kill any caravans.
Because Yibi Duolu gave the Turkic generals who came to lead the team an order to strictly obey Ju Wentai's orders, so the other party did not take action. After all the caravans were captured, they were subsequently escorted by Gaochang to transport supplies and temporarily formed The army was escorted back to Gaochang City.
Ju Wentai personally led the expedition. Perhaps he was sure that Yiwu City did not have enough defense because there was no Tang Dynasty army stationed in Yiwu City.
To be precise, Yiwu is not a city of the Tang Dynasty. Yiwu City is the country of Yiwu. The country of Yiwu is smaller than Gaochang. The entire Yiwu has less than 2,000 troops and a total of more than 10,000 citizens.
But the difference between Yiwu and other Western Region countries is that Yiwu surrendered to the Tang Dynasty earlier, and when the king of Yiwu wrote a letter to the Tang Dynasty, he expressed his willingness to obey the leadership of the Tang Dynasty, and he submitted directly and completely to the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty.
At that time, Li Shimin had some good face, or in other words, this was the case in all dynasties of the Central Plains. As long as small countries like you give me face, then I will give you face. If you are willing to listen to me in everything, and I fight, you If you are still willing to send troops, then I can always ensure that you are my vassal state instead of directly annexing you.
So in fact, in later generations, China’s concept of win-win cooperation around the world has been inherited. This concept that has been passed down from history has actually been recognized by the international community, but many domestically have been taken away. It's just rhythm.
When Yiwu country surrendered, Li Shimin had this idea. Everyone reached this point. Li Shimin said on the spot that Yiwu country is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and then I, the Tang Dynasty, will keep you safe and so on. But I, the Tang Dynasty Tang will not garrison troops and so on.
But King Yiwu also thought very clearly at the time, and simply stated that I am no longer a vassal state, I am a city of the Tang Dynasty.
Then Li Shimin became happy and directly made King Yiwu the governor of Yiwu. To put it bluntly, if you give me this face, then your things will still be yours, and then he rewarded King Yiwu with many things.
For King Yiwu, he was indeed looking for a backer, but he was also obedient. Because King Yiwu knew very well that he had a bad neighbor.
So Yiwu City is such a special existence. Although it is nominally owned by the Tang Dynasty, Yiwu City does not have the garrison of the Tang Dynasty. It is still the army before Yiwu, the officials before Yiwu, and all taxes and so on. It belongs to the governor of King Yiwu.
