Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 217: A Great Battle in the Xueyantuo Army
The cavalry's speed was gradually increasing. They shuttled through the thick fog and quickly approached the Xueyantuo camp.

The thick fog seemed to serve as a natural cover for them, allowing them to approach the enemy without being noticed.

Three thousand light cavalry armed with sharp blades were cleverly divided into three groups under the command of Su Dingfang.

Two of them detoured from the left and right wings respectively, like two poisonous snakes hiding in the darkness, ready to give the enemy a fatal blow at any time.

Su Dingfang himself led a thousand elite cavalrymen and rushed straight to the gate of Xueyantuo's camp from the front like a tiger descending from the mountain.

He wanted to use the same trick again, attack Huanglong directly, and capture the Xueyantuo’s central military camp.

Catch the thief first to catch the king.

"Tread! Tread! Tread!"

The originally light sound of horse hooves became louder and louder, like bursts of muffled thunder, coming from far away.

The sound was faint at first, but as time went on, it became clear and deafening.

The Xueyantuo soldiers on duty were immersed in their sleep and were suddenly awakened by the sudden noise.

They rubbed their sleepy eyes, their hearts filled with confusion and anxiety.

However, the moment they opened their eyes, what they saw were spears flashing with cold light.

These spears stabbed at lightning speed, leaving people no time to react.

In an instant, the smell of blood filled the air, and the pungent smell was nauseating.

Su Dingfang was seen waving the spear in his hand, and the tip of the spear, with a sharp gust of wind, hit the fence in front of him that was used for blocking hard.

With a crisp "crack" sound, the sturdy fence was unexpectedly blown high into the air by his shot, drew an arc in the air, and then fell heavily to the ground.

"kill!"

At this moment, earth-shaking shouts of killing rang out from all directions of the Xueyantuo camp.

The shouts and cries were like surging waves, one higher than the other, as if they were going to swallow up the entire earth.

At the same time, the faint light of morning shone down, and through the thin mist, one could see countless fluttering Tang army flags freely shuttling back and forth in the Xueyantuo camp.

The flags fluttering in the wind gave people an endless sense of oppression.

The Tang army's light cavalry galloped past, weaving without hesitation between the enemy's tents, waving burning torches in their hands. The torches were like dancing fire snakes, drawing dazzling arcs in the air, and then accurately ignited the makeshift tents.

In an instant, flames shot up into the sky, rushing straight into the distant sky, as violent as a volcanic eruption.

The originally messy military camp became even more chaotic at this time. In a short period of time, the flames engulfed the entire temporary camp.

The blazing flames licked the clouds, illuminating half the sky red. The Xueyantuo camp was engulfed in a sea of ​​fire, with thick smoke billowing and blocking out the sky.

The entire Xueyantuo camp suddenly fell into chaos. The panicked soldiers fled everywhere like headless flies, and everyone's face was filled with fear.

They desperately ran towards what they thought was a safe direction, but due to the fierce fire and smoke in the military camp, many people lost their way, and collisions, crowding and trampling occurred frequently.

What’s worse is that the Tang army’s flags can be seen everywhere in the army.

This made it impossible for many Xueyantuo soldiers to distinguish the actual strength and deployment of the Tang army.

The fear brought by the unknown further exacerbated the level of chaos. The soldiers fled blindly and completely lost their organization and discipline.

For a moment, screams, curses, and the sounds of weapons clashing could be heard one after another.

Many of Xueyantuo's soldiers died in extremely miserable ways.

The number of people who were ruthlessly trampled to death by their own people or pushed into the blazing sea of ​​fire far exceeded the number of those who fell under the sharp butcher knife of the Tang army.

In a large-scale battle, the role played by the commander is crucial.

Because what is frightening is often not the powerful enemy, but the chaos and disorder from within.

"Could it be that the Tang army is coming again? Where on earth did they mobilize so many troops from?"

Duomi Khan opened his eyes wide and looked in horror at the Tang Dynasty flags flying high everywhere in the tent. He couldn't help but fall into deep fear and couldn't extricate himself.

Then, he hurriedly waved to call his right-hand men and personal guards, already planning to escape again.

At this moment, Mu Ke Na, who was standing by, looked at the Tang army flag that was vaguely visible in the camp and said with an extremely firm tone:
"Don't worry, Khan. In my opinion, this is just a trick used by the Tang army to confuse the enemy. The distribution of these flags only indicates that there are only a few thousand soldiers."

In order to clearly identify the enemy and our side on the battlefield and to have a strong deterrent effect on the enemy, the weapons and armor of the Tang Dynasty had a bright flag on the back of each soldier.

Therefore, these flags fluttering in the wind do not symbolize the entire huge army, but merely represent individual Tang soldiers.

"Having said that, the army is in chaos right now, and military orders are difficult to be effectively enforced!"

Duomi Khan responded with helplessness and aggrieved feeling.

Although he knew very well that the enemy's military strength was far less than his own, he still felt helpless in the face of the chaotic battle situation.

"To defeat this small Tang army, you don't actually need to deploy too many troops. Just your personal guards will be enough."

Under the current severe situation, it seems that only Duomi Khan's personal guards can obey orders and organize actions quickly.

Mukena looked at Duomi Khan, quietly waiting for his final order.

However, what was unexpected was that at this moment, Duomi Khan actually hesitated.

After all, this personal guard is the last trump card in his hand. If he sends it out rashly and encounters an unexpected event, the consequences will be disastrous.

I'm afraid he will fall under the iron cavalry of the Tang army.

But if decisive measures are not taken, this war is likely to end in failure.

At this moment, Duomi Khan was experiencing intense struggle and weighing in his heart.

"Khan, we can't hesitate any longer. The Tang army is best at dividing and combining forces. If we don't make a decision now, we will only be chased by the Tang army endlessly. By then, we will be powerless to save the situation."

Xueyantuo's generosity has a lot to say.

When Yinan was still alive, Datushe was the leading marshal of Xueyantuo.

In 641, he and Yi Nan led an army of to attack the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty also sent out all its elite generals at that time. In addition to Li Jing, famous generals such as Li Ji, Li Daozon, Xue Wanche, Xue Wanbei, Zhang Shigui, etc. all participated in that battle, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops.

The Battle of Nuozhenshui, in which Li Ji inflicted heavy losses on the main force of the Xueyantuo, began.

And its opponent is Dadushe.

In fact, Dadushe was not a bad guy. At the beginning, he took advantage of the sandstorm in the north to lure Li Ji's army deep into the territory and encircled the Tang army.

Li Ji suffered a lot for a time, and after the armies took over, Xueyantuo suffered a great loss in weapons and equipment.

In addition, the horsemen in the rear were ambushed by Xue Wanche's troops, causing chaos, which led to the Xueyantuo's defeat in the Battle of Nuozhen River. Only a small number of Datushe's troops escaped.

"Khan! Xueyantuo has now reached a critical moment of life and death. There can be no more hesitation!"

Mukena shouted at Duomi Khan anxiously. He stared at the Tang army flag that was getting closer and closer in the distance with wide eyes. Veins popped out on his forehead and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. As the Tang army pressed forward step by step, the tense atmosphere enveloped the entire battlefield like an invisible giant net, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Even Mu Kena, who was usually calm, could no longer remain calm and was extremely anxious.

Because he knew very well that if he missed the current opportunity, it would be too late when the Tang army approached.

Even Duomi Khan's personal guard would probably fall into chaos and be difficult to command.

Duomi Khan is indeed a powerful figure who dominates a region and has a certain amount of courage.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the front. After a moment of silence, he suddenly waved his hand and said loudly:
"Mukena, from now on, I will hand over all my personal guards to you for command! You must stop the Tang army's attack!"

Hearing what Duomi Khan said, Mukena felt relieved at first.

"Yes! I will obey your command!"

Then he stood up suddenly, turned around and looked behind him at the guards.

Mu Kena took a deep breath, then waved his strong arms vigorously and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Warriors, follow me to fight the Tang army! Beat the drums and form a battle formation!"

Along with his command, the exciting sound of war drums suddenly rang out, as if a thunder exploded on the battlefield.

Nearly a thousand Xueyantuo personal guards followed Mukena's steps and pounced on the Tang army.

Duomi Khan and Datushe were also busy at this moment.

They led the flag-bearers to beat the leather drums, trying to stabilize the army that had already fallen into chaos.

With their active command and dispatch, the situation in the Xueyantuo camp, which had been in chaos, began to stabilize and was gradually brought under effective control.

Wherever their troops passed, the panicked Xueyantuo soldiers found the direction in an instant.

So, these soldiers followed the team in front closely, like small trickles of water gathering into a mighty river, gradually gathering and merging into a large army.

This was also because the Tang army was too sparse, otherwise, continuous charging would surely have broken up the Xueyantuo's gathering.

On the other side of the battlefield, the situation on Mu Ke's side was quite different.

The tactics of the Xueyantuo side remained unchanged. They marched forward steadily in uniform steps and quickly formed one infantry phalanx after another.

It has to be admitted that this battle formation, which has been tempered through countless actual combat, does contain powerful combat power that cannot be underestimated.

Mu Ke Na, who was at the back of the formation, gave the order to shoot without hesitation.

But what is surprising is that this time the target was not the Tang army, but other Xueyantuo soldiers caught between the two armies.

Without any hesitation or pause!
The archers moved in unison, and with the terrifying sound of bowstrings snapping, hundreds of arrows were shot out like locusts.

These arrows flew past like lightning, drawing sharp arcs in the air and whistling away with the breath of death.

In an instant, the sky above the originally slightly crowded venue was covered by arrows as dense as a rainstorm.

All that could be heard was the continuous sound of "swooshing" breaking through the air, and all the Xueyantuo soldiers who were standing before were hit and fell to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, a wide blank area was cleared across the entire venue.

At this moment, the Tang cavalry, which was charging rapidly, was completely exposed to the sharp arrows and crossbows.

"Put it back!"

Mu Ke Na waved his sword and continued to give orders.

The arrows flew through the air, catching the Tang army soldiers off guard.

The horses beneath their crotches neighed in fear, and the knights waved their weapons, trying to break through the line of arrows, but everything seemed so futile.

At this time, they were all walking lightly and without any armor support. Nearly a hundred people in the front row, including their horses, were shot dead on the spot.

Every Tang soldier was pierced with arrows.

Seeing this, Mu Kena revealed a cruel smile.

At a glance, he knew why this Tang army had caught up with their army so quickly.

Arrows continued to rain down, accompanied by the sound of breaking through the air.

Tang army soldiers fell down in rows.

The speed of the cavalry's charge was far slower than that of the arrows, and they were all shot dead before they could reach the Xueyantuo army.

What is the difference between the Tang army soldiers without the protection of heavy armor and the Eastern Turkic knights of the past?

In a short period of time, half of the 1,000 soldiers led by Su Dingfang were lost.

The situation took a turn for the worse.

It doesn't mean that every raid will be successful.

In fact, there are very few battles that can be won by attacking a camp with a small number of soldiers.

After all, relatively speaking, the enemy must be extremely familiar with the layout of the camp and have strategies in place to prevent attacks on the camp.

More often than not, it's like throwing a meat bun at a dog, which never comes back.

The key to attacking the camp lies in whether the enemy's command center can be destroyed and the enemy will fall into a chaotic situation with no leader.

Thus, the enemy was killed in the chaos.

However, the current situation is that Xueyantuo's command center has not been destroyed.

On the contrary, under the command of Xueyantuo's high-level officials, they gradually gained a foothold.

"Everyone dismount, pick up the enemy's corpses as shields, and attack with me."

Su Dingfang reacted very quickly and immediately found a way to defeat the enemy.

The knights immediately tightened their reins and stopped their horses quickly.

As soon as they were stable, they all jumped off their horses and rolled into the corpses.

The dead bodies were lifted up, lined up in a row, and pushed forward.

"Unload your bows and charge!"

Seeing that the arrows were ineffective, Mukena also gave the order to charge.

The Tang army no longer had armor support, so Mu Ke Na naturally no longer took them seriously.

Because he now commands the bravest warriors of Xueyantuo.

Not afraid of a head-on battle with the Tang army.

(End of this chapter)