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

Chapter 218 Li Shimin Leads the Army Again

In a flash, as if time had frozen at this moment, the two cavalrymen who had just dismounted from their horses collided with each other like two torrents!
In an instant, the sound of metal clashing resounded through the sky, deafening.

When the weapons came into close combat, the flashes of swords and sabers intertwined and the cold light was dazzling.

There was no time to care about anything else at this point. The only thought in the minds of the soldiers on both sides was to do everything they could to survive.

At the moment of life and death, everyone burst out with unprecedented potential and fighting spirit.

The soldiers of these two armies are the top elites carefully selected from their respective camps. They are experienced in many battles and have high martial arts skills.

In the case that the difference in troop strength was not obvious, the two sides fought hard and there was a moment of chaos on the battlefield, with the sound of killing deafening and blood and flesh flying everywhere, it was a horrific sight.

Su Dingfang was still leading the charge, the spear in his hand was like a nimble dragon, flying up and down, circling left and right.

Every time the spear was swung, it would cause a bloody storm, and the enemies would fall to the ground and die with screams.

However, although Su Dingfang was extremely brave, how could he shake the entire battle situation by himself?

No matter how he charged left and right and fought bravely, he was unable to break through the solid infantry phalanx formed by the five fierce Xueyantuo generals.

When one wave breaks, another will come to replace it.

In this way, the square formations are arranged together, which has both defensive and practical purposes.

At one point, the Tang army soldiers were overwhelmed.

As the situation of the Xueyantuo army gradually stabilized, more and more Xueyantuo soldiers poured in like a tide, tightly surrounding the few Tang troops.

The Tang army was surrounded and the situation became precarious.

"Ugh!"

Su Dingfang looked at the tent not far away and sighed heavily.

His ambition to achieve great things through this was ruthlessly extinguished.

If he doesn't make a decision, there is a high possibility that he will die here.

Doing something that cannot be done is unwise.

Those who command the army must be decisive.

"The whole army retreats! Break out!"

Su Dingfang fired a sweeping shot, forcing several people to retreat, then turned quickly and ran towards the direction of the horses.

"Kill one Tang soldier and you'll be rewarded with ten good horses."

How could Mukena miss the opportunity to pursue the victory? The Xueyantuo horsemen in the rear quickly mounted their horses and pulled the rest of the horses along.

This is still part of the Xueyantuo infantry phalanx.

Dismount and face the enemy.

Mount your horse and chase the enemy.

Because of the presence of the horse bearers, the Xueyantuo soldiers were able to mount their horses faster than the Tang army.

At this time, the cavalry launched a charge towards where Su Dingfang was.

For a moment, the Tang army in the rear was ruthlessly trampled by the war horses.

Fortunately, the Tang army’s war horses were not far away.

More than a hundred Tang soldiers, including Su Dingfang, quickly came to the front of the horses, jumped on their horses, and rushed towards the periphery.

The Tang troops in other places also returned along the same route. Their strategy failed and they had no choice but to retreat.

When several military forces gathered together, the number of personnel was less than one-third of the previous number.

However, compared with the losses suffered by Xueyantuo, this was a great victory for them.

More than a thousand light cavalry rushed out from the fireworks, and behind them was an endless sea of ​​fire.

It can only be said that the Xueyantuo army was not completely wiped out. In this battle alone, their food and supplies were burned, and they no longer had the possibility of continuing to plunder southwards.

Whether they can successfully return to the Mobei royal court remains an unknown.

Because in between, there is a desert with few people.

"All warriors, listen up! Our baggage and food have been burned by the Tang army. It is impossible to retreat. Our only way to survive is to occupy the Tang people's land and plunder their food."

Duomi Khan looked at the sea of ​​fire, made up his mind, and made the decision to fight to the death.

They really have no way out.

Datushe and Mukena also nodded slightly, and they very much approved of Duomi Khan's tactics at the time.

Only by being put to death can one be reborn.

In desperate situations, people often burst out with extraordinary strength in order to survive.

"It is this group of hateful Tang soldiers in front of us who want to cut off our survival. Can we let them go?"

Dadushe shouted loudly, arousing the hatred of the Xueyantuo soldiers towards the Tang army.

"kill!"

Earth-shaking shouts of killing broke out from the Xueyantuo army.

So that the Tang army who had escaped far away could hear it clearly.

Su Dingfang's face also became extremely gloomy at this time.

This is nothing more than shooting oneself in the foot.

Instead of defeating the enemy, we angered them.

This made Xueyantuo even more dangerous.

The subsequent battles will be extremely difficult.

However, Su Dingfang thought too much.

The most important thing is how to get rid of the current Xueyantuo pursuers.

Because of their urgent pursuit of speed in order to catch up with the Xueyantuo army, they did not carry any supplies.

A midnight journey and half a day of fighting.

Both humans and horses have reached their limit in terms of physical strength.

How could they escape the pursuit of the Xueyantuo army when their men were tired and their horses were exhausted?

In just half an hour, the Xueyantuo cavalry had caught up with the exhausted army.

It should be said that they were the Xueyantuo cavalry archers.

In this process of pursuit, there is no doubt that the Xueyantuo soldiers had an absolute advantage.

Looking around, I saw that each of the Xueyantuo soldiers was skillfully riding their horses, with agile postures and their hands freely leaving the reins. They quickly bent their bows and drew their arrows, aiming at the backs of the fleeing Tang soldiers in front of them.

Then, the sound of bowstrings could be heard one after another.

"Bang! Bang!"

In an instant, several Tang army soldiers who fell behind the team fell off their horses with screams.

As the Xueyantuo archers continued to approach, more and more Tang soldiers became victims of their arrows.

Although not every arrow of the Xueyantuo cavalry archers could hit the target, their hit rate was at least over 50%.

In contrast, the Tang army at this time could only stand helpless in the face of such an attack and had no ability to fight back at all.

You know, guerrilla fighting between cavalry has always been the combat method that the Xueyantuo army is good at.

"Disperse and break out!"

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly critical, Su Dingfang knew that if they continued to remain in this stalemate, the only thing that awaited them would be the annihilation of their entire army.

At this moment, he no longer cared about anything else and split the troops into small units. Although the hope was slim, there was still a possibility that some of them could successfully escape the enemy's pursuit.

"Chase down the Tang generals and ignore the rest of the Tang army!"

Dadu sets clear goals.

He had recognized Su Dingfang. It was this Tang general who had led his troops to defeat the Xueyantuo army and forced it to retreat.

This time, the situation was even more serious. The leader of the army burned the food and grass, forcing the others into a desperate situation.

How could we let go of such a deep hatred and such a vicious Tang general?

If we don't take the opportunity to kill him now, the subsequent battles will bring endless troubles to Xueyantuo.

Therefore, in Datushe's eyes, Su Dingfang's importance was much greater than that of other Tang troops.

No matter what, he must be killed.

A large group of Xueyantuo cavalrymen were always following Su Dingfang. Arrows whistled from behind, making Su Dingfang feel like he was on edge. He had to lean forward to barely dodge them.

Although he reacted quickly, he would be hit by arrows sooner or later as the enemy was deliberately targeting him.

"Everyone, take off your shirts and flee."

The general's uniform on his body made him too conspicuous.

Soon, the Xueyantuo soldiers lost their target as the troops and horses crossed paths. They looked at the Tang army scattered into several groups and did not know how to catch up.

"What a cunning Tang man!"

Dadushe looked at the scattered Tang army and fell into a brief hesitation.

This is Tang territory, and it would be risky to split our forces and pursue them.

He didn't know whether the main force of the Tang army was nearby.

However, he was unwilling to let Su Dingfang, this very difficult enemy general, go.

"Divide into a hundred people and chase them separately."

Dadushe was still very steady. He didn't know how to disperse the large army and instead sent out small groups of cavalry to pursue the enemy. He still led the army himself and pursued along the main road.

Also as a vanguard, he opened the way for the army and explored the strength of the Tang army to avoid being ambushed again.

Although they were very tired, the Tang army was very familiar with the terrain of Lingzhou, which reduced casualties during the subsequent escape.

Su Dingfang even fled into the woods and used the trees to successfully hide his whereabouts.

Saved his life.

……

"Your Majesty, ten miles ahead, we have spotted a large number of Xueyantuo cavalrymen chasing our scattered cavalrymen."

After a short rest, Li Shimin personally led the cavalry out of the city to pursue the Xueyantuo.

"It should be General Su Dingfang."

Zhishisi Li said immediately.

On the march, Li Shimin encountered Zhang Jian's evacuating troops.

Also learned the specific battle situation.

This made Li Shimin's advance faster.

No one knows how to use speed to win better than him.

"Scouts are going to explore again!"

There was no ripple in Li Shimin's eyes, he seemed extremely calm.

"Zhishishili, listen to my orders. You lead our troops westward and station in the Helan Mountains, waiting for an opportunity to act."

"Cheng Zhijie, listen to my order. You lead three thousand elite soldiers to bypass the Hetao Plain and head north to Yinshan Mountain to cut off the Xueyantuo's retreat route to prevent them from escaping to the north."

"The last general takes command!"

Cheng Zhijie and Zhishisili accepted the order and withdrew.

Li Shimin not only wanted to defeat the Xueyantuo, but also wanted to annihilate the Xueyantuo army.

A large-scale battle is, of course, not just a one-sided charge, but an all-out development of the entire war situation.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to eliminate its main force.

"Zhang Jian, you lead the baggage and stay behind. Yuchi Jingde, you go ahead and check out the troops. Go ahead with me and meet the Xueyantuo cavalry."

Without any delay, tens of thousands of soldiers were quickly and clearly arranged.

This is the commander-in-chief, who oversees the overall situation and designates strategies.

As for whether the execution is in place, it depends on the temporary response ability of the generals of each army.

"Your Majesty, they are just a group of defeated soldiers. Why do you need to go out in person?"

Yuchi Jingde did not take any immediate action, but said with a silly smile.

"Yuchi Jingde, you are an honest man, but after spending so much time with Cheng Zhijie, you have learned to flatter him."

Li Shimin turned his head with a faint smile on his face.

The war situation was stable and was proceeding in the expected direction, which made Li Shimin feel particularly good.

"I am telling the truth. I am the only one who can deal with Xueyantuo."

As Li Shimin's close guard, Yuchi Jingde certainly knew about Li Shimin's illness.

He was also one of the generals entrusted by Li Shimin to take care of his son.

Yuchi Jingde was even more worried about Li Shimin's health, fearing that he would fall ill again due to such constant traveling.

"Have you forgotten? My foundation was gained on horseback. Perhaps the battlefield is my best destination."

Li Shimin had been suffering from illness for a long time and had been bedridden for a long time. He did not want to wait for death in the deep palace.

"Okay, then I will accompany Your Majesty to fight another battle."

"Your Majesty, hold the bow, and I, Yuchi Jingde, hold the spear, and we will destroy the Xueyantuo."

Seeing that Li Shimin was determined to do so, Yuchi Jingde stopped trying to persuade him and instead raised the spear in his hand.

Not long after, nearly three thousand cavalry separated from the main army.

Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde stood in front of the cavalry.

The two men looked extremely excited, and they were galloping on their horses, not much less capable than when they were young.

Both men were in their early fifties, and if it weren't for their old illnesses, they would have been in the prime of their military careers.

Military experience has accumulated to a terrifying level.

The oncoming cavalry will soon meet.

Less than half an hour after marching, Li Shimin stopped on the back of a hill.

They seized the initiative and set up an ambush here to ambush the pursuing Xueyantuo cavalry.

Lingzhou is located in the northern border of the Tang Dynasty. It is a very important military location and the last barrier to prevent the northern nomadic peoples from entering the heartland of the Central Plains.

It also became an important military base to protect Kyoto.

All this is inseparable from its unique geographical location.

The vast majority of Lingzhou is plains, backed by Yinshan Mountain in the north and Helan Mountain in the west. It is known as "Mountains in the East and Rivers in the West".

If you want to attack the Central Plains, Lingzhou is the only way.

However, if the Central Plains dynasty wanted to go north, it also had to pass through Lingzhou, which was a place of contention for military strategists.

Going west, you can enter the Hexi Corridor and lead directly to the Western Regions.

By occupying Lingzhou, the Tang Dynasty gained the initiative in the attack.

For the northern peoples, it is also like a thorn in their throat.

Therefore, before the Tang Dynasty, Lingzhou was a place where wars frequently occurred.

At the beginning, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Hetao Plain was conquered, which is now Lingzhou in the Tang Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, after becoming unprecedentedly powerful, the front line was pushed northward, and Yanmen Pass (Xiheng Pass) was rebuilt, keeping the war out of Lingzhou.

The terrain here is flat and the view is extremely broad.

After a while, you can see a black mass of cavalry emerging on the horizon.

"coming!"

Yuchi Jingde said softly, eager to try.

"Follow the plan!"

Li Shimin said with a little excitement, probably because he had not participated in fighting for a long time.

It's definitely not because of nervousness.

"Pass the order down. Once our cavalry passes, launch the attack."

Yuchi Jingde turned around and spoke to the deputy general behind him.

Everything is ready, just waiting for the Xueyantuo army to come in.

"That person must be Su Dingfang, right?"

From a distance, Li Shimin recognized Su Lie and Su Dingfang, who were shirtless.

"It is Su Dingfang. His deployment of troops is somewhat similar to your majesty's. However, he acted too hastily and suffered a great defeat. If he can be sculpted, he may become a famous general of our Tang Dynasty in the future."

Yuchi Jingde praised him generously.

"This man is brave and decisive, and is good at winning by surprise. The rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty in the future will be due to his power."

However, Li Shimin gave a higher evaluation.

With the successful resolution of the siege of Lingzhou, Su Dingfang has entered Li Shimin's vision.

Li Shimin asked himself, under the same circumstances, he could not handle it better than Su Dingfang.

(End of this chapter)