Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 588 Rescue of the Northern Army

Having children is a long-term plan.

Once the restrictions are lifted, there will be plenty of Hu women willing to marry into the Anxi army.

The reason is simple: quality of life.

The prosperity along the Silk Road was built on trade and commerce.

As the most important trade route in ancient times, it was truly filled with the crisp sound of gold coins flowing along the way.

But now the trade routes are cut off, and we can't collect tolls anymore.

The new generation of Hu women can only hear about the past glory and prosperity from the elders.

Nowadays, without toll fees and the flow of goods, even basic necessities like food and clothing are a problem.

Although most of the soldiers in the Anxi army were old men, old men were rich.

They were recruits, their pay was high and paid on time, and they also had rations to eat.

Old Man Beng is much wealthier than if he had married a local.

Women in ancient times were actually quite pragmatic; everyone was pursuing a better life.

As for love stories, they only exist in the writings of scholars who are most adept at fantasy.

Regarding the issue of the virility of the Anxi Army soldiers, Lin Daoxian first provided traditional Chinese medicine, including Liuwei Dihuang Pills.

If the effect is not obvious, then go straight for hard currency, the kind that can be detected in river water.

This needs to be done gradually, after all, raising children takes at least ten years.

The most urgent matter at present is to rescue the Beiting army.

The core of the entire Western Regions is the Tianshan Mountains.

The Tianshan Mountains, running east to west, divide the Western Regions in two.

The men of Tianshan refer to the Anxi Protectorate, which is centered around the Four Garrisons of Anxi.

North of the Tianshan Mountains lies the Beiting Protectorate.

In terms of reputation, the Beiting Protectorate was not as famous as the Anxi Army. After all, the Anxi Army fought the Battle of Talas, which was not a big deal at the time, but it gained great fame in later generations.

Moreover, the Anxi Army defended the western region alone for more than forty years, so in the eyes of later generations, its reputation was not only great but also very righteous.

In reality, the Beiting Army, which was separated from the Anxi Army by a mountain, was on par with the Anxi Army in all aspects.

In terms of military strength, the Anxi Army was equipped with 24,000 regular field troops and 2,700 warhorses.

The Beiting Army's field army consisted of 20,000 men and 5,000 warhorses.

When the Tang army is mentioned, everyone refers to it as the Great Tang Iron Cavalry.

It was precisely because the Tang army had a powerful cavalry force.

In the Tang Dynasty, riding horses, private horses, pack horses, and draft horses were all consumables.

The horses included in the regular cavalry were warhorses used for heavy cavalry charges, and like the people, they had military status.

The basic number of warhorses is the number of heavy cavalry in this field army.

They are heavy cavalry.
The Beiting Army's heavy cavalry force was even larger than that of the Anxi Army.

Moreover, the Protectorate General's territory was extremely large, encompassing the entire Altai Mountains, Lake Barkun, and even reaching as far as the Caspian Sea coast.

With such a vast territory, it's no wonder that so many heavy cavalry are needed.

At the height of the Northern Protectorate's military might, the various tribes of the Western Turks and the Uyghurs were suppressed to the point that they dared not even breathe.

In terms of strength and prestige, it was no less than the Anxi Army, and it even held out for thirty years.

But it was still because of the An Lushan Rebellion.

The main force of the Beiting Field Army was transferred to the Central Plains to quell the rebellion and participated in the Battle of Xiangji Temple.

In fact, the main force of the Tang army in the Battle of Xiangji Temple consisted of the Beiting Army, the Anxi Army, and the various armies of Hexi.

Although the Tang army won, it lost more than 70,000 men.

The vast majority of these were elite Northwest Army troops, including those from Beiting, Anxi, and Hexi.

As is well known, in the era of cold weapons, a force that could continue fighting even after suffering more than 15% casualties was considered an elite army.

In the Battle of Xiangji Temple, the Tang Dynasty's Northwest Army suffered more than 50% casualties, while the opposing Northeast Army suffered more than 60% casualties.

Its ferocity even surpassed that of the Battle of the Somme.

The hundreds of thousands of casualties were the most elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.

Only the most elite troops could withstand such devastating casualties.

Let's get back to the point.

Having lost their main field army, the Karluks and Uyghurs, who had been under their control, quickly rebelled and seized most of the land of the Beiting Protectorate.

Their remaining troops could only retreat to defend a few isolated cities.

Just last month, the main Tibetan army bypassed the main force and launched a surprise attack on Beiting, capturing the capital of the Beiting Protectorate.

The situation in Beiting is extremely dangerous; it is on the verge of destruction.

Lin Dao suggested to Guo Xin that they send troops to rescue the Beiting Protectorate.

"I understand the principle of mutual dependence."

Guo Xin looked troubled. "But the Anxi army is not in good condition either. All the towns are facing threats from the Tibetans and various Hu tribes."

The troops were already insufficient, and more men had to be transferred to support Beiting.

If too few are transferred, it's completely useless and a waste of resources.

If too many people are transferred, will the towns in Anxi still be needed?
Guo Xin wanted to provide assistance, but lacked the resources, which put him in a difficult position.

At this time in history, the Anxi army was shocked by the fall of Khotan.

The remaining troops were busy defending the city, fearing that they would be eaten up by the Tibetans again.

We are truly powerless to help Beiting.

Now, with Lin Dao here, even though he's just one person, he has the ability to change the situation!

"There were wooden-handled grenades and flamethrowers."

Lin Dao slowly said, "With so many good things, we are not afraid of the Tibetans attacking us, or even the entire Tibetan army attacking us."

"and."

"With me here, I can rush back to rescue people in a short time if there is a real emergency."

He owns a plane and can even fly it himself.

Once the beacon towers along the route are lit, he can fly back directly.

As for training radio operators, we simply don't have the time or energy for that.

Walkie-talkies are out of the question; their communication range couldn't possibly extend beyond the Tianshan Mountains.

Guo Xin finally agreed.

The reason is simple: having witnessed Lin Dao's miraculous appearances before others, they gained faith.

They are even less willing to offend people by refusing.

Urged on by Lin Dao, Guo Xin organized an army of three thousand men in two days.

For the Anxi army, three thousand men was already a formidable force.

When Gao Xianzhi led the Anxi army to fight the Battle of Talas, the regular Anxi field army only numbered a little over 10,000.

The Battle of Talas was the only defeat suffered by the Tang Dynasty in its many battles with the Arab Empire.

This has always been the case in China.

The record of victory is downplayed, but the record of defeat is remembered even a thousand years later!
In the era of cold weapons, Guo Xin's ability to organize thousands of field troops in just two days is beyond doubt.

Those who lacked field combat skills were left to guard the city of Kucha.

Guo Xin left the garrison with tens of thousands of wooden-handled grenades, and also begged Lin Dao to use his supernatural powers to collect a batch of grenades and take them to Yanqi Town to leave for the local garrison.

As for the flamethrower soldiers, Guo Xin gritted his teeth and brought them all along.

He also said that once they arrived in Yanqi Town, he would provide an extra sum of money to ask Lin Dao to sell more flamethrowers, with training fees to be calculated separately.

After witnessing the power of the flamethrower firsthand, Guo Xin was completely impressed.

Herds of cattle, sheep, horses, camels, and the like were set ablaze by the spray, burning to a crisp.

In a densely populated battlefield, the sudden sweep of dozens of flamethrower soldiers would undoubtedly play a decisive role.

"Time is of the essence."

Lin Dao urged, "Let's set off as soon as possible."

The reason he was in such a hurry was that he knew that the Uyghurs, who were ostensibly allies of the Tang Dynasty, would soon also covet the Northern Court.

Before long, they will, in the name of allies, summon Yang Xigu, the Grand Protector of Beiting, to lead the remnants of the Beiting army in a counterattack.

After their defeat, the Uyghurs, in an act of revenge, killed Yang Xigu and the Beiting army!
Uyghurs!

Lin Dao planned to use the flamethrower soldiers in their first real combat experience on the battlefield!
What kind of bullshit allies are they? Even spaghetti is better than them. Let's take out our allies first before we start the war.

Three thousand soldiers, accompanied by a large number of horses and camels, set off and headed straight for Yanqi Town.

The Anxi army had not conducted such a large-scale military operation for many years. The local natives and various tribes along the way were all shocked.

Although most of the Tang army were old men with gray hair.

Yet that indomitable military momentum still terrified the various barbarian tribes.

It's as if the mighty Tang cavalry, which once dominated the world, has returned!

Lin Dao was also thinking of catching some miscellaneous barbarians so that Guo Xin could test the flamethrower's effectiveness in actual combat.

Guo Xin, who has many years of combat experience, was also frightened by this suggestion and shook his head repeatedly.

It's invaluable for use on the battlefield.

He could arrest herders and start a fire—well, in the forest pass, they're considered bandits, but Guo Xin still couldn't bring himself to do it.

The army sped along without even carrying supplies, as the forest road had taken over logistical support.

After quickly arriving at Yanqi Town, Guo Xin summoned the garrison commander Yang Riyou and directly ordered Yang Riyou to lead more than a thousand Anxi soldiers with field combat capabilities to join the main army and go to Beiting.

Yang Riyou argued that if core personnel were transferred to Beiting, what would happen if the Tibetan army attacked?
For the Western Regions at that time, every city was an extremely valuable resource.

Only with cities can there be population, resources, income, and food supplies.

Losing even a single city is a devastating blow.

Guo Xin first took him to see the training of grenadiers and flamethrowers.

Afterwards, he took the bewildered Yang Riyou to see Lin Dao and asked Lin Dao to perform a miracle in front of the public.

When Yang Riyou witnessed Lin Dao disappear into thin air and reappear with a large pile of grain and fodder beside him, he was amazed.

Without hesitation, he immediately returned to the city to mobilize troops to join the expeditionary force.

They then continued eastward, heading straight for Xizhou.

The Beiting Protectorate had three armies: the Hanhai Army stationed in Tingzhou, the Tianshan Army stationed in Xizhou, and the Yiwu Army stationed in Yizhou.

Thirty years ago, the main force of the Beiting army was transferred to fight in the Central Plains, and they were basically all lost in the Battle of Xiangji Temple.

The remaining garrison of less than 10,000 men had already suffered heavy losses after thirty years of continuous attrition.

More than 20 years ago, Yizhou was occupied by the Tibetans, and the Yiwu army was completely wiped out.

Now the Tibetans have launched a major offensive against Tingzhou and captured its capital.

Yang Xigu led his remaining troops in retreat to Xizhou, leaving only Xizhou in the entire Beiting, with only two thousand soldiers.

The once formidable Beiting Army, with its illustrious military prowess and glorious past, is now reduced to just two thousand old men.

Even so, they still did not give up the idea of ​​recovering Tingzhou.

Anxi reinforcements have arrived, and the God of Slaughter Lin Dao has arrived!
A bloody battle with countless kills is about to break out!
(End of this chapter)