"But these guys are all lying!" Cui Hongdu said: "If what they say is true, there are at least 50,000 Tibetans who would have arrived in Songzhou long ago!"
"Of course some of them are lying!" Wang Wenzuo replied slowly: "But not all of them are lying, there are still a lot of truths in them!"
"Yes, but it's impossible to tell the difference at all!" Cui Hongdu said.
"That's not necessarily the case!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "You can be sure by taking a look at all the information, such as here, here, and here. This obviously refers to an army. There should be no problem with this one. Got it!" Wang Wenzuo said, pointing to several adjacent black spots on the map.
"Captain!" Yiji Lianbod pushed the door open and came in. He took out the map: "Look, this is the place where the Tibetans were found as reported by the Qiang and Hu people!"
"Okay, bring it over and review the details together!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "The Lang Dang of Mohe, Baekje and Japan still need to rest for three or four days, and then they can go out for inspections. After winning two battles, the situation will be very different. Those The Qiang and Hu people will naturally come to the side of Datang!"
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The wind blew through the woods, making bursts of whistling sounds that lingered in my ears.
The river flows in the valley, meandering through the riverbed, and the sunlight sparkles on the water. Under the tree, the war horses neighed softly and stretched out their hooves to pry the soft ground covered with fallen leaves. People lowered their voices and joked nervously. Tuyan Mangjiebo heard the faint sounds of the collision of spears and the sliding of chain mail from time to time, but even these sounds seemed hazy and indistinct. The Qiang girl carefully looked for Actun's figure in the crowd, which made her feel at ease.
"How far ahead?" Black Teeth Changzhi asked.
"Go out of this valley, then walk three miles west along the river. There is a ford. Cross the river from that ford, turn east and walk five miles and you're there!" The Qiang girl's voice trembled slightly. She didn't know why. This bearded and thick-bearded Tang general always made him tremble unconsciously.
"Very good!" Hei Te Changzhi nodded with satisfaction. Before setting off, he was a little unhappy when he learned that his guide was a woman, but as the trip continued, his attitude changed. Tuyan Mangjiebo In her eyes, this plateau is as familiar as her palm prints. She knows how to pass through certain rivers, valleys, forests, and swamps safely, but she doesn't know why she always trembles when talking to herself. Could it be that she Wearing less clothes? That's not good. The weather in this damn place is so unpredictable. The sun is still shining at noon, but it's stormy in the afternoon. It would be troublesome if this little Qiang lady fell ill.
"Come here, bring me my fox fur jacket!" Hei Qichang said. He took the fox fur jacket from his subordinates and handed it to Tuyan Mangjiebo: "Put it on! This is warm! I Look at you always shaking!"
"Thank you, General!" Tuyan Mangjiebo bowed her head in embarrassment and thanked her. She wanted to say that her trembling was not because of the cold, but she also knew that it was best to express her gratitude at this time.
Black Teeth Changzhi waved his hand, indicating that the Qiang girl did not need to pay attention. Although he didn't express it on the surface, he was very happy that Wang Wenzuo let him take on the first inspection task. It is always a good thing for his boss to take him seriously, especially for a boss with a promising future like Wang Wenzuo.
There was a faint bird song in the distance. It was a high-pitched and sharp trill, like a cold hand passing across the back of Black Tooth Changzhi's neck. Another bird trilled in response, then a third and a fourth. This is the call of the shrike. This kind of raptor is very common in the Korean Peninsula and Liaodong. Black Teeth Changzhi is very familiar with its cry, but he has never heard it in Songzhou.
"We have military information!" Hei Te Changzhi raised his right hand: "All armies are ready!"
Seeing the Tang troops around him unfolding their formations and putting on their armor, Tuyan Mangjiebo felt an invisible tremor pass through his body, the battle was about to begin! Those damn Tubo dogs can finally take revenge on them! The girl subconsciously clenched the handle of the knife at her waist, completely unaware that a bright red color had oozed from her lips.
The surroundings became quiet, and in the silence, she could hear the sound of horse hooves. Although they were far away, they were approaching quickly. That was the scout in front, that familiar person. Is he supposed to be okay?
Billions of years seemed to come and go, and the sounds became louder and louder. She heard more sounds, someone shouted loudly, and water splashed as they crossed the river. The war horses were snoring. She saw him...even though it was only for a moment, even though it was only through the gap between the trees, she knew it must be him. Even at such a long distance, Acton's figure is still clearly distinguishable. His armor is shining with the sun, and his gray cloak is fluttering in the wind. For some reason, he is not wearing a helmet. A moment later, Acton's figure disappeared into the woods again, replaced by a rhythmic whistle.
"The Tubo people are coming. The total strength should be about three thousand people!" Heiji Changzhi accurately read the message sent by the scouts from the whistle. He had also gone to Dinglin Temple to take classes. In theory, he was also an Ake. One of the teachers of Dun Dun and Wang Pu. He pulled out his saber and pointed forward: "Crossbowmen forward, three lines in a row!"
Although it was an encounter, the position chosen by Hei Te Changzhi was still excellent. The sun shines from behind the crossbowmen of the Tang Army, so there is no need to worry about dazzling the crossbowmen's eyes. The ground is covered with thick leaves, with a raised ridge behind it, dense forests on both sides, and the hills below them slowly descending to the river. The lower the land, the sparser the undergrowth. Hei Te Changzhi ordered all the cavalry to dismount and line up on both sides of the crossbowmen. The Danyang Tengpai players lined up behind the crossbowmen. He himself was standing under the high flag, with two accompanying "scorpions" in front of him.
The scouts' war horses crossed the stream, splashing water all over the sky. Tuyan Mangjiebo's heart couldn't help but jump for joy. He was safe and sound, so good! She couldn't help but bow her head and pray to the gods to thank her.
Aktun tightened the reins and his horse neighed loudly. He shouted to Hei Te Changzhi: "The Tibetans are coming soon!"
"Very good, go back to your place!" Hei Te Changzhi was like a piece of cold and hard granite: "Blow the trumpet to welcome the guests!"
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The sound of horns sounded, causing echoes. The figures of the Tubo people appeared on the slopes on the other side of the river. The lines were endless, the tips of the spears were like cold stars. The Qiang girl's heart beat violently, once, twice, four times. Next, she couldn't help but hate herself, why? The enemy is right in front of you, are you afraid?
The Tubo people did not let the Tang army wait. With the sound of cowhide drums and horns, the Tubo people's ranks began to move forward. Like the Tang army, the Tubo people arranged the infantry in the middle and the cavalry on both sides. The difference was that, The Tubo people formed a three-fold formation. At first, only the first formation was able to cross the river to attack, while the two following formations stayed in place and waited for orders.
"What a big support to the Tibetan soldiers!" Hei Te Changzhi snorted coldly, but his vigilance became even stronger. This kind of triple formation is actually very common in the armies of ancient nations. For example, the ancient Romans divided the army into three columns according to age and equipment. The first column was for the youngest soldiers with little combat experience, and the second column was for those with more experience. It is composed of adult soldiers with certain combat experience. The third column is composed of older veterans with rich combat experience, called reserves. When fighting, the first column goes into battle first. When the first column cannot defeat the opponent, the prime-age soldiers in the second column go into battle. If the second column still cannot win, the veterans in the third column who have been recharging their troops at the end go into battle. . Some readers may wonder, why did the ancient generals go to so much trouble when they didn't put the entire army into battle at once and completely defeat the enemy? Isn't this a fueling tactic?
In fact, there is a reason for this. In the cold weapon era, most of the time the length of the battle line between the two armies was limited to a certain limit. It could not be too long. The reason was very simple. At that time, the way generals commanded the army was either with drums or flags. If the line exceeds a certain length, the general will not be able to direct the troops to coordinate operations. Now that the length of the front line has been determined, there is a certain upper limit for the number of soldiers from both sides that can directly engage in combat. If this upper limit is exceeded, more soldiers will actually just wave flags and shout from behind, unable to actually fight. So instead of putting all the soldiers into battle at once, it would be more flexible to divide them into several columns and put them into battle one by one according to the battle situation.
But not all armies can do this kind of triple formation. First of all, the number of soldiers in each formation will usually be at a disadvantage. When the soldiers in the formation see that the enemy is more numerous than themselves, they must be able to maintain their strength. The courage and resilience to fight are extraordinary. The fact that the Tubo people dared to face the Tang army and set up a triple formation showed that their generals were very confident in the discipline and courage of their soldiers.
The boots of the Tubo soldiers stepped into the river, splashing water, and the sound of drums was like thunder, which made Tuyan Mangjiebo's scalp numb. She suddenly felt a sense of fear. Can she really take revenge on the Tubo people?
The first ones to fire were the Tang Army's "Scorpions" and then the archers. As for the Xuanrun crossbowmen, they did not start shooting, but remained stationary, as if they were a group of sculptures. People kept falling in the ranks of the Tubo people, but the vacancies were quickly filled by those behind them, like a moving stone wall, moving forward at a constant speed. It wasn't until the distance between the two sides shortened to only about fifty steps that the crossbowmen began to shoot. After the crossbowman finished shooting, he stepped back and began to step on the iron ring in front of the crossbow with his feet and buckle the crossbow string with the iron hook on his belt. , then stand up straight, use the strength of your waist and abdomen to pull the crossbow open, and finally load the crossbow arrows.
Facing such a powerful crossbow, more gaps quickly appeared in the ranks of the Tibetan soldiers. Although they were immediately filled by successors, the calm momentum no longer existed. Finally, a loud horn sound came from the Tibetan formation. , three times in a row. The Tibetan soldiers in the first row shouted in unison, and then rushed forward quickly.
"The crossbowmen stand back and change their sticks!"
Following the call, the crossbowmen dispersed and retreated into the gap between the Tengpai players behind them. They would put on large wooden clubs with iron sheets on the top and prepare to join the battle in the melee. The Tengpai players would first throw their arrows at the Tubo people who rushed towards them. A row of javelins, and then a tight shield wall, withstood the Tubo attack.
Whether in the East or the West, ancient generals unanimously believed that hand-to-hand combat was the most brutal of all battles, and the one that most tested the courage and tenacity of soldiers. The Tubo people relied on this to defeat their enemies one after another and expand their empire from the southwest corner of the Tibetan Plateau to the vast land from the Indus River to the northern grasslands. They waved their weapons and tried their best to chop and hit the shield wall in front of them, trying to open a hole in it and break through the enemy's line. Then they chased north and chopped down the enemy's broken troops.
Judging from their past experience, this process should not be long, and few people can withstand such a fierce attack. But this time, something seemed wrong. The shield wall on the opposite side was unexpectedly tough. They used their shields to cover each other, and from time to time they thrust out from the gaps in the shields to stab their own warriors to death. Most of their attacks were wasted on that shield in vain. on the wall.
The horn sounded again in the Tubo formation, and the soldiers in the second column began to move forward. It was obvious that the Tubo general no longer wanted to wait any longer. He wanted to increase his chips and defeat his opponent in one fell swoop.
"Akdon, Sha Zha Xiangru, you guys mount your horses, lead the cavalry out from both wings, and flank the enemy formation!" Black Teeth Changzhi said loudly, knowing very well that no matter how strong a shield wall is, it is impossible to resist the impact indefinitely. The best way to resist an attack on the battlefield is not to defend, but to counterattack skillfully. The weakness of the Tubo's horizontal line is the sides. As long as the cavalry appears on the battlefield, the infantry's instinctive reaction is to shrink the sides to prevent the enemy cavalry from flanking them. Or in a roundabout way.
As the banner of the Tang Army's center waved, hundreds of cavalry poured out from both sides of the Tang Army. They circled the top of the second column of the Tubo people at extremely fast speeds, then fired a burst of arrows at them, and then fired at them. Passing behind them, the threatened second column of Tubo people had to slow down, and the infantry at the left and right ends of the column began to shrink toward the center, forming a huge "door" shape.
"Well, these Tubo people really have a lot of tricks up their sleeves!" Heijia Changzhi praised. Until the emergence of hot weapons, the cold weapon infantry's roundabout methods to deal with cavalry were all very similar. They all contracted the wings and changed the horizontal formation into a column, forming a hollow-like formation. It is one thing to know the phalanx formation, but it is another thing to be able to do it on a chaotic battlefield. This requires not only excellent commanders, but also the courage and discipline of the soldiers.
As the horns of the Tibetan rear formation sounded again, the third and final formation of the Tibetan army also began to move forward. Along with it, there were large flags and a few cavalry. The Tibetan horses were not very good. The horses on the plateau are tough and have good endurance, but they are short in size and their sprinting speed is not fast. Compared with the tall war horses of the Tang army, they are stronger than donkeys. Therefore, most of the cavalry in the Tubo army are servants of other conquered ethnic groups. As this Tubo army has not yet conquered the local Qianghu tribe, the cavalry is few and weak. It is obvious that the Tubo people are going to make a desperate move.
I wish everyone a happy 520, readers all come in pairs, everything goes well, and long-lasting happiness!
(End of chapter)
