Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 363 A few thousand against hundreds of thousands, the advantage is in my hands! [Seeking monthly votes]

Although Li Chengqian didn't consider himself a moral person, seeing Murong Shun like this made him feel that celebrating someone else's father's death was immoral.

After an awkward silence that lasted a few minutes, he calmly dismissed the person who had reported the incident, then stepped forward, patted Murong Shun on the shoulder, and said, "Please accept my condolences."

He had initially thought that Murong Shun would give him a bitter look, but his next response made him suddenly realize that there was a reason why his father had been so angry that he died.

Murong Shun slowly exhaled, then turned to look at Li Chengqian and said, "Fu Yun is dead, now only Yan Mang Jie Bo remains. Should we press our advantage?"

Are you serious, bro?!
Li Chengqian was startled for a moment by these words, but quickly regained his composure and said, "As the saying goes, 'Don't bite off more than you can chew.' Fu Yun is dead, and we have conquered most of the territory. Even if Dayan Mangjiebo escapes, he won't amount to much!"

"So, what does His Highness the Crown Prince mean?"

"Let's consolidate our territory first. I don't want all the land I've worked so hard to conquer to end up in chaos!"

"this."

Murong Shun hesitated for a moment, then thought it made sense. He immediately ordered towards the door, "Pass on my order: immediately issue arrest warrants for the remaining followers of Dayan Mangjiebo, and do not give them any chance to cause trouble!"

"Yes!"

A voice answered from outside the door, and someone left quickly.

At the same time, Li Chengqian said thoughtfully, "Tuyuhun has basically been taken over. Now it depends on Xueyantuo. It should be over soon!"

"Yes, with His Highness the Crown Prince's wisdom and martial prowess, Xueyantuo is naturally within his grasp."

"hehe."

Hearing Murong Shun's flattery, Li Chengqian smiled noncommittally, seemingly used to his nature. He then patted him on the shoulder again and said, "You can go now. There are still many things to deal with in the city. Also, send people to keep an eye on Shanshan City and prevent Dayan Mangjiebo from causing trouble!"

"it is good!"

Murong Shun readily agreed and immediately began to make arrangements for Li Chengqian.

On the other side, along the banks of the Xueyantuo and Nuozhen River.

The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo was also coming to an end.

During the match, both sides had their wins and losses, and neither side could be considered to have dominated the other.

However, the situation in the Tang Dynasty was slightly more severe than that of the Xueyantuo, because their food supplies were almost exhausted.

The Xueyantuo also faced considerable problems.

Because of Yishi Dadu's death, Yishi Yinan was on the verge of collapse. Even when commanding battles, he would occasionally act impulsively, which made the alliance within the Xueyantuo Khanate increasingly dissatisfied.

After all, the Xueyantuo Khanate was formed by many steppe tribes.

If Yishiyinan continues like this, their tribe will likely be wiped out.

That's why we have this decisive battle today.

At this moment, the 300,000-strong Xueyantuo army was lined up along the Nuozhen River, stretching for more than ten miles, with swords and spears standing tall and banners obscuring the sun.

Judging from their posture, even if each person stepped on one foot, they would still crush the Tang army to death.

On the other hand, the Tang army had a small number of men, only a mere 80,000.

Eighty thousand men against three hundred thousand men – this was definitely one of the most fierce battles in Li Ji's military career.

So, can Li Ji win?

Judging from the number of players, almost no one thinks he will win.

This is also the main reason why Yi Shi Yinan dared to fight him.

Of course, in addition to the absolute advantage in troop strength, there was another important reason: through this period of fighting against the Tang army, especially in dealing with the Tang cavalry, he gradually figured out a new tactic.

For example, in battle, they would form a group of five, with one person in charge of managing the horses and the other four fighting on foot. The horses were mainly used to pursue the enemy after a victory.

In other words, as a nomadic people skilled in cavalry warfare, the Xueyantuo had begun to strengthen their infantry combat tactics on top of their existing cavalry.

This was very rare among nomadic peoples in the past.

It's important to understand that the reason nomadic peoples had a huge advantage in warfare over agricultural peoples was because their cavalry was exceptionally skilled.

Agricultural societies, on the other hand, primarily demonstrate this through infantry warfare.

For example, in siege warfare and legion battles, infantry has a huge advantage.

However, the grasslands are vast and the terrain is complex. There are no large cities or large army formations, so the advantages of infantry are difficult to bring into play on the grasslands.

Nomadic peoples generally do not engage in infantry warfare with agricultural peoples.

However, Yishiyinan combined these two types of troops on the grassland.

This meant that cavalry, which could fight alone, were far from being a match for this new type of unit that could be both infantry and cavalry.

At this moment, Yi Shiyinan was watching the Tang army camp several miles away with a smug smile, wanting to see how Li Ji would be defeated by him.

But he said calmly, "The Tang army is already at its last gasp. As long as we win this battle, Khan Ben will never be like Jieli, who had his army at the Wei River and still signed a peace treaty with Li Shimin!"

At this point, as if suddenly remembering something, his face turned furious, and he said viciously, "This Khan will surely crush Chang'an! Slaughter the entire Li Tang clan to avenge my son's blood feud!"

Upon hearing this, the Xueyantuo generals and tribal leaders around them all looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although they believed they could win the battle, the idea of ​​breaching Chang'an and slaughtering the entire Li Tang clan was a bit of a stretch.

Do they really think that the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty is a pushover?

Just being able to maintain our current territory and prevent the country from collapsing is already a blessing!

Clearly, they were speechless and didn't want to say anything more about Yi Shi Yinan's insane ramblings.

But they didn't say anything; Yi Shi Yinan just kept talking and getting more and more excited.

But then he continued through gritted teeth, "And that Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty! He massacred 70,000 of my Xueyantuo troops and slaughtered my son. He's utterly inhuman! How could such a despicable and immoral person be fit to be the Crown Prince? Li Shimin must be blind!"

"This Khan must!"

"Sweat!"

Before Yishiyinan could finish speaking, the Uyghur chieftain beside him couldn't stand it anymore: "I think something's wrong with the Tang army! Although they have 80,000 men, it seems like not many are actually fighting."

As he spoke, he pointed ahead and continued, "Look, there are only a few thousand cavalrymen directing operations over there. Could they be going to fight us with just a few thousand cavalrymen?"

Wow!
These words caused an uproar, and everyone turned to look at the Tang army's camp.

At the front of the Tang army camp, only a few thousand cavalrymen were actively preparing for battle, while the main army behind them did not move an inch.

He wondered to himself, what's going on?

A few thousand against hundreds of thousands?
Is the problem with us, or is the problem with them?!
However, before they could react, the Tang army launched an attack on them.

Just as the Uyghur chieftain had said, the Tang army only mobilized a few thousand cavalry.

"Hmph! Pretending to be a ghost!"

Yi Shiyinan scoffed dismissively and immediately ordered, "Boerzhen! You shall immediately lead ten thousand cavalry to meet them in battle. Make sure to annihilate them all, and take no prisoners!"

"Yes!"

Xueyantuo general Boerzhen immediately accepted the order.

Before long, he led 10,000 Xueyantuo cavalrymen to meet the Tang army.

"Kill--!"

Amidst deafening battle cries, the two cavalry forces clashed swiftly.

Boerzhen originally thought that with his numerical advantage, he could definitely defeat the Tang cavalry in a short time.

However, reality slapped him in the face.

He discovered that the fighting strength of this Tang cavalry force was on a completely different level from the Tang cavalry he had encountered before.

Not only were their swordsmanship skills fierce, but their archery was also extremely accurate; often, a single arrow could take the life of one of their warriors.

In contrast, the Xueyantuo cavalry, despite their large numbers, appeared utterly vulnerable in the face of this Tang cavalry force.

In just a short time, more than a thousand people had been lost.

This greatly alarmed Bohr, who immediately ordered a retreat.

However, the Tang cavalry would not give them that chance. They immediately pressed their advantage and killed more than two thousand more men.

It was only at this moment that Boer finally realized he had kicked a hornet's nest.

Not daring to engage the Tang cavalry any longer, they hurriedly led the remaining cavalry back to their own lines.

"Great Khan! This Tang cavalry is too formidable; we are no match for them!"

Boerzhen reported to Yishiyin with a look of horror.

Upon hearing this, Yishiyinan's face turned ashen. He had not expected that Li Ji would have such a cavalry force.

Could it be that Li Ji had been hiding his true abilities throughout the previous wars?
Those despicable Tang people!
As expected, he's full of cunning tricks!

Yishiyinan gripped the reins tightly, then looked at his youngest son not far away and said in a deep voice, "Yemang, you take 20,000 infantry and cavalry to meet them in battle. You must kill them all for me!"

"Father, rest assured! Your son will never let you down!"

Yi Shiye Mang touched the large earring on his ear and revealed a confident smile.

He knew this was a huge opportunity for him. If he won this battle, his father, the Khan, would surely make him the crown prince.

It was all thanks to that illegitimate son, Yi Shi Dadu, that I had this opportunity. If he hadn't died so young, I wouldn't have had this chance.

Without a word, Yi Shi Ye Mang immediately mustered his troops and charged towards Li Ji's cavalry.

At the same time, Xue Wanche, who was beside Li Ji, hurriedly reminded him, "General, they are attacking again!"

"No problem! The advantage is with us!" Li Ji sneered disdainfully and immediately ordered, "Proceed according to the original plan. You continue to charge and lure them into the trap!"

"it is good!"

Xue Wanche smiled excitedly and immediately spurred his horse to meet Yishi Yemang's army.

Although the numerical gap between the two sides was widening, the Tang army showed no fear whatsoever.

One improvement was in their equipment. They not only had the three-piece cavalry set of the Eastern Palace Six Guards, but also quivers, repeating crossbows, and steel swords that surpassed those of the existing Tang cavalry.

In addition, they were elite troops selected from tens of thousands of cavalrymen.

It can be said that, apart from Li Shimin's Xuanjia Army and Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace Six Guards, they were among the strongest cavalry in the Tang Dynasty.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

"Come on—!"

With a loud shout from Xue Wanche, his warhorse charged towards the Xueyantuo army with unparalleled momentum, like a thunderbolt.

Having learned from Boerzhen's experience, Yishiye Mang became much more cautious when fighting against the Tang army.

He dared not engage the Tang cavalry in direct combat again, and instead adopted a hit-and-run tactic.

However, even so, his cavalry was still no match for the Tang army's cavalry.

In just half an hour, they lost another five thousand men.

This made Yi Shiye Mang somewhat flustered.

Fortunately, he had Yishi Yinan, the commander-in-chief, behind him. The moment he saw that Yishi Yemang was in trouble, he ordered someone to beat the drum to send a message.

"Dong dong dong——!"

As the drumbeats resounded, Yi Shiye Mang seemed to react instantly, immediately ordering those around him: "Immediately adopt infantry and cavalry tactics!"

Soon, the Xueyantuo infantry and cavalry, who were originally fighting the Tang cavalry on horseback, immediately took out their bows and arrows and unleashed a volley of arrows at the Tang cavalry.

Tang cavalry had to adopt a riding style that relied on stomping on the ground to avoid arrows.

It was at this moment that the Xueyantuo cavalry seized the opportunity and charged towards the Tang cavalry.

What should have been a cavalry battle suddenly turned into an infantry battle.

In an instant, Tang cavalry and Xueyantuo soldiers engaged in close-quarters combat amidst the galloping of their warhorses.

The sounds of swords clashing and blood and flesh flying everywhere were incredibly intense.

"Kill!"

Xue Wanche roared again, "Kill all these barbarians!"

"Your opponent is me!"

As Xue Wanche's battle cries subsided, Yi Shiye Mang quickly charged to his side.

Without exchanging any pleasantries, the two immediately began hand-to-hand combat.

Xue Wanche displayed immense strength, and with a single slash, he knocked the saber from Yi Shiye Mang's hand.

Yi Shiye Mang was shocked and quickly retreated, trying to distance himself from Xue Wanche.

However, Xue Wanche would not give him that chance. He immediately pressed his advantage and slashed at Yi Shiye Mang's neck.

Yi Shiye was caught off guard and could only raise his hand to block.

With a clang, sparks flew, and Yi Shiye Mang's arm went numb from the shock of Xue Wanche's knife.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xue Wanche kicked Yi Shiye Mang in the chest, sending him flying.

Yi Shiye fell heavily to the ground, spitting out blood; he was clearly seriously injured.

Upon seeing this, Xue Wanche immediately stepped forward to deliver the final blow.

However, at that moment, a stray arrow suddenly shot from the side.

Xue Wanche was unable to dodge in time and was hit in the shoulder by the arrow.

Although the arrow did not hit a vital spot, it still caused Xue Wanche considerable pain, causing him to pause in his movements.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yi Shiye Mang quickly got up from the ground and fled into the distance.

Xue Wanche clutched his injured shoulder, watching Yi Shiye Mang's departing figure, his eyes filled with anger and resentment.

However, Xue Wanche also understood that the most urgent task was to retreat as soon as possible, so as not to affect Li Ji's battle plan.

Thinking of this, Xue Wanche immediately turned his horse around and fled towards the Tang army's formation.

Meanwhile, when Yi Shi Yinan saw Yi Shi Ye Mang escape back, his expression turned extremely ugly.

He hadn't expected Xue Wanche to be so powerful; even he, the son of the number one warrior of Xueyantuo, was no match for him.

This is simply incredible!

Yi Shiyin took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

He knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.

As long as I can hold off Li Ji and wait for my infantry and cavalry tactics to be fully utilized, then victory will still belong to me.

Thinking of this, Yi Shiyinan immediately ordered, "Pass down the order to have all infantry and cavalry go out into battle and annihilate the Tang cavalry!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the Xueyantuo generals around him immediately responded and then turned around to convey Yishiyinan's orders.

In an instant, the morale of the Xueyantuo army, which had been somewhat low, was greatly boosted once again.

They began to employ infantry and cavalry tactics exclusively, engaging in fierce battles with the Tang army.

Upon seeing this scene, Li Ji's eyes flashed with a cold smile.

Because this is exactly the moment he's been waiting for!
He immediately gave the order: "All troops, attack!"

Soon, he led several thousand cavalrymen to meet them.

This time it was thousands against tens of thousands, more than ten times the number of people.

Yi Shi Yinan thought his infantry was already very powerful, but in front of the Tang army, his so-called infantry and cavalry tactics were nothing short of showing off his skills in front of an expert.

The fighting power of the Tang infantry far exceeded his expectations.

Despite the Xueyantuo's superior numbers, they were still able to withstand the Tang army's charge.

Gradually, the Xueyantuo army began to break down, and Yishiyinan's command system also began to malfunction. The advantage of having a large number of people not only could not be brought into play, but instead became a disadvantage.

And at this crucial moment that would determine the outcome.

Zhang Gongjin, who had been lying in ambush nearby, suddenly led several thousand cavalrymen straight to the rear of the Xueyantuo infantry and cavalry, specifically targeting the soldiers in charge of managing the horses.

"not good!"

Yi Shiyin's expression changed drastically, and he instantly sensed that something was very wrong. He hurriedly ordered, "Quick! Mount up and fight—hurry!"

To be honest, he never expected Tang Jun to pull this stunt.

But it's too late now.

Because the soldiers leading the warhorses were slaughtered by the Tang army and fled in panic, each trying to escape for their lives.

The unattended warhorses also scattered and fled.

The infantry and cavalry who had abandoned their horses looked back and were dumbfounded.

Those warhorses were not only used to defeat the pursuing enemy, but also to escape after their defeat.

Moreover, it is now the dead of winter, and they are fighting on enemy territory thousands of miles away from the capital of Xueyantuo. Whether they win or lose, they cannot possibly spend the winter in the southern desert.

But now that all their warhorses have run away, how are they going to get back?

It's impossible to walk back to Commander Yu's Mountain on two legs, is it?
Therefore, warhorses were their lifeline; without them, they were doomed.

With this mindset, the morale of the Xueyantuo infantry and cavalry plummeted, and everyone lost the will to fight. In a short time, tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry became headless flies.

"Come back! Come back quickly!"

Yi Shiye Mang was so anxious that he screamed loudly.

But at such a distance, his voice was less than that of a fly on the battlefield.

Yi Shiyinan sighed in grief and indignation. He knew that the situation was hopeless, so he decisively issued the order to withdraw his troops.

The Tang army, on the other hand, pressed their advantage and killed nearly 3,000 people and captured more than 50,000, achieving a great victory.

(End of this chapter)